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Bring your tub of popcorn...or bag of chips.
Reviews
Lord Curzon Ki Haveli (2023)
Pizza Hut? Nay, a Pizza Manor
Nowadays I mostly tend to go into movies blind (watch no trailers, read no reviews), so that's what I did with this one. This is a film that will keep you guessing about what it's going to turn into. I wouldn't have thought that a film that started off as calmly as it did would have such an unexpected climax!
The highlight for me here was the acting by Made in Heaven's Arjun Mathur - he was SO good in this! The other actors were pretty good too, but Arjun took the cake - or should I say, the pizza... 😋
I liked the movie quite a lot, but I felt that one plot point that occurs somewhere in the middle of the movie felt a bit amiss to me - it seemed out of character for that character, and I couldn't understand why the other 2-3 characters weren't reacting enough to it vs to what people would've in reality, if faced with such a situation. And then that event escalates into a whole other thing which made me feel that this whole sequence (from the out of character moment to the escalation) simply felt written in for extra drama or suspense.
Other than that, I had no complaints. There are some lovely shots of the surrounding English countryside which I loved. Also, stick around for the full credits to watch the security camera perspective of how all the events transpired before and during what you witness in the film's runtime.
Married to the Mob (1988)
Romcom and mob-com all rolled into one!
I watched this movie for Michelle Pfeiffer, and I ended up loving it!
I mean, what's not to love?
✅ Michelle Pfeiffer
✅ Cute bebe-faced Matthew Modine
✅ The absolutely unapologetic 80s fashion
✅ The very 80s soundtrack
✅ The constant hijinks and the giggles it brings
✅ Modine's character's morning wake-up routine (you got to see it to believe it!)
And to top it all off, the hilariously over-the-top Italian mob boss wife character, Connie! I'm surprised this movie hasn't got cult status yet... or has it? At least I hadn't heard of it before Amazon Prime suggested it to me. Either ways, worth the watch.
Widows (2018)
Codename: Black Widows!
I'm not a big fan of the heist genre because they tend to be too fast-paced for me, but I loved this one! The pacing was just right and to have an all-woman gang performing the heist was just the cherry on the cake for me. It really highlights what women can achieve if they take matters into their own hands rather than simply relinquishing their agency and power to the boys.
Viola Davis was amazing as always in this, but I really enjoyed watching Elizabeth Debicki here. Her character starts off as the comic relief, yet slowly but surely she gets the other women in the crew to take her seriously. I somehow felt like Michelle Rodriguez got overshadowed in this flick. Even Cynthia Erivo stole the show from Rodriguez along with Davis and Debicki - and Erivo has arguably the smallest role compared to the main trio of leading ladies!
Overall, I'd recommend you give this film a shot. Not sure why it has just a 6.8 rating out here! If nothing but to at least watch these black widows kick ass and take names!
Hideous (2022)
Hideous, and Proud!
This was SUCH a good LGBTQ short film!
Part drama.
Part horror.
Part camp.
All parts musical.
(And some great music, at that)!
In just 22 minutes, so much is cleverly conveyed about the main character through the dialogue, the lyrics of the songs, the excellent acting (MAJOR kudos to Oliver Sim!), and the various settings that the movie morphs and melds into. The music will have you tapping your feet, and the makeup SFX is chef's kiss.
As a gay man, I could relate to quite a lot in this film. PLEASE watch it, especially if you're from the LGBTQ community. It's a quick watch that conveys so much!
C'mon C'mon (2021)
C'mon, c'mon... you just *gotta* watch this film!
OMG, this movie was SO good! And it made me cry so much! Especially the second half. Joaquin Phoenix was excellent in this, but the kid - Woody Norman? Dayum, he was good! I also loved Gaby Hoffmann, and the way she and Joaquin played their sibling roles felt so organic, relatable and natural, and was beautiful to watch.
The black and white worked so well for this movie, and it did give it more of a documentary feel, which it pretty much actually is in part. If you're a millennial or older, it will probably confirm something that you may have already realized - kids today are SOOOO smart! Some (if not all) of the words spoken by the kids interviewed throughout the film are so thoughtful, honest, and profound, that it makes you go - wow, only a kid would be so forthcoming and vulnerable enough to actually say that.
Another thing that I loved was the importance given to all the books that were being read throughout the film. I was quite thankful for that.
Overall I'd say - c'mon, c'mon, you just gotta watch this film if (you're one or more of these):
You're an adult.
You're a child.
You're somebody's sibling.
You're a parent.
You're a spouse / significant other.
(On a sidenote, the B&W also somehow made Joaquin's hair look just so beautiful in some shots. :)
How to Be Single (2016)
Why is this just 6.1 out here?!?
I was SO not expecting to be as good as it turned out to be! And I definitely didn't expect to be shedding tears for even one scene, let along 2 to 3 of them lol.
Dakota Johnson was SO good in this movie - I felt like I really sat up and took notice of her acting in this one. Some of the more tender moments with her character is what brought a tear to me. And Leslie Mann was the other great element in the movie for me.
The writing is good, the jokes are funny. I don't know why it's rated so low on IMDb, but you should definitely catch this one - ESPECIALLY if you're single, or figuring out things in your life in the love department.
Joy Ride (2023)
Strap in - cos you *might* just enjoy this joy ride ;)
I didn't realize just how much I was going to love this movie, but I so do! Ashley Park was amazing in this, and post Everything Everywhere All At Once, it was so nice to watch Stephanie Hsu's comic timing! Sherry Cola is a nice discovery for me through this movie and Sabrina Wu was good in this too.
It's great that Asians have this movie to celebrate as their debauched roadtrip movie. This film is not just hilarious, but it checks all the right boxes when it comes to pointing out stereotypes. Surprisingly I shed some tears towards the end too (another thing that I definitely wasn't expecting from this movie).
Don't Breathe 2 (2021)
More like, Don't Need
Given with how impressed I was with the first installment (it's a 9/10 for me), this was a huge disappointment. Spoiler alert: Unlike with the DB1, here you will not feel compelled to hold your breath even once. Why? Well...
For starters, this movie is written in a way that this time the Blind Man is the "victim," who, mind you, has already been established as a total creep and rapist in the first movie.
Secondly, with Lang's character being the one that you're supposed to be rooting for, there's practically 0 stakes. The character is a living, breathing, killing machine, who you know is going to come out of it just fine.
The quiet moments from DB1 that kept you on the edge of your seat with bated breath are few and far between here (none for me, but I've been known to have a higher tolerance for horror, so giving the benefit of the doubt here lol). The action is good and there are some gruesome kills, but nothing that deems this flick a must-watch.
La face cachée des énergies vertes (2020)
"Clean" tech: Taking the planet from the frying pan to the forest fire
This documentary is a definite must-watch in my opinion as it will shatter any remaining illusions you hold about so-called "green" tech. So remove your green-tinted glasses, set them aside, and strap into your EV for a road of disappointment towards the clean tech industry, where you'll start questioning why these technologies are being so heavily lobbied by governments around the world v/s researching better alternatives.
In a nutshell, here are some of the facts highlighted (that you may or may not be aware of):
- (Electric Vehicles) EVs require LOADS of rare metals. Which are mined in poor, low economy countries (China, Chile, and Bolivia are explored here).
- While EU countries and other Western nations live in their "clean and green energy" bubble, blissfully ignoring what's happening elsewhere because of it, countries like China, Chile, and Bolivia are bearing the brunt of it but still continue as it's a chance for them to increase their GDP, etc.
- Besides EVs, other "clean" tech like wind turbines and solar panels aren't exactly feasible for the long term either.
Apple: The Trillion Dollar Betrayal (2022)
A must-watch, whether you're a diehard Apple fan or not
I've put a 10 star rating because I feel it's a must-watch and also it might've been review-bombed by Apple-fan dudebros. Even if you do know some or all of what this documentary talks about, it might help in uncovering more details of the various issues that plagues the tech behemoth.
The "betrayal" in the title isn't about any internal betrayals taking place behind the scenes over the company history or anything like that. It's about how, ever since Tim Cook taking over as CEO, Apple has strictly focused on profit margins, in various dubious ways, leading to the betrayal of the end consumers.
The Right Girls (2021)
Ignore the 30 one star reviews. Watch it and see for yourself.
I was compelled to write a review for this after seeing that it's only got one review. :( It was lovely to watch this sisterhood of trans women from El Salvador and Honduras supporting each other throughout their journey to seek asylum in the US. Witness the joys they celebrate and the struggles they face (despite cameras being around, so I can only imagine what it might be otherwise).
The ending was a bit soured for me due to some drama that seems to occur within the group, and sadly we don't see an update for two of the girls. However, this shouldn't dissuade you from watching it to understand and empathize with what trans communities globally need to endure each day.