vishalfrombombay Reviews

Mitran Da Naa Chalda (2023)

A feminist propaganda film

[2/10 · 27 June 2023]

In a nutshell: All male characters (except the hero) are sexual predators and they are looking to take advantage of all women they encounter in this movie. Coincidentally, our hero (Gippy) is the odd man out here.

But just to make a social message driven movie, one can't paint everyone with the same brush. Infact you are intentionally portraying one set of humans (males) as mainly villains. Are we saying that all women are victims and not one of them are perpetrators? Would these film creators have the guts to make a movie where all the women are perpetrators and males are the victims in the same story?

Yes, women are usually the victims in the real world, and we do need reel movies where this topic is covered sensitively. But overemphasizing this point only turns this movie into an all out feminist propaganda film.

The Free Fall (2021)

A horror film which will keep you glued

[6/10 · 15 January 2022]

Surprised by some of the negative reviews out here. I was initially sceptic going into this movie, keeping in mind the hoards of nonsensical horror movies being made under $99 budgets. However, this film held my attention throughout, without me reaching for my remote even once.

The story line is simple, and it would be easy to figure out from the first 15 minutes as to how the story would end. I guess the writers figured out the same thing and decided to give it a "slightly" unexpected twist at the end, which really got me! The short run time eliminates unnecessary fillers, acting is kind of ok, and camera work could have been better. There is a constant background score which has been nicely done and helps elevate the ominous nature of the plot. Definitely a one time watch for horror fans.

Goodbye Mr. Loser (2015)

A pretty emotional movie with a unique love story

[6/10 · 10 January 2022]

Engrossing film with pretty good production efforts. Catchy songs, and pretty good background score. One of the unique stories where our protagonist played by Shen Teng gets an opportunity to go back to his school days and a chance to redo his life. The only problem with this movie is that Shen Teng as his younger self looks completely out of place in the school environment. He looked more like a professor disguised as a student. They should have given more efforts towards portraying the actor as his younger self. A good example of achieving this feat is Christian Bale's transformation as Trevor Reznik for his movie The Machinist.

Also, this movie feels like as if it had two sets of makers - one doing the 1st 1 hour, and the other doing the final 40 minute act which definitely steals the show. Watch it for the final 40 minutes of this movie.

Jacob's Ladder (I) (1990)

An intense movie which will keep you engrossed thoughout

[7/10 · 9 January 2022]

One of the most difficult movies to watch. This a heavy movie based on PTSD-like trauma, and the bad effects of war on the person. And there is a major twist in that war sequence too. Cannot reveal more of the plot, but watching similar genres, I was able to "successfully" figure out the ending from the 1st act of the movie itself. However, the beauty of the movie was that it kept me 2nd guessing myself through each of the subsequent acts. A top class effort by the director to keep the viewer glued to the screen, and the mind constantly occupied. By the nature of this script, it could have been made a complete mess and just a regular film by someone else.

Karkhanisanchi Waari: Ashes on a road trip (2021)

A beautiful road movie

[8/10 · 20 December 2021]

A beautiful road movie with regular situational comedy, natural performances and excellent locales. One of the few movies which does not bore us with unnecessary melodrama or moral preaching - which has become all too common in any Bollywood movie of late. This movie with a simple premise has enough to keep the audience engaged for the entire duration with each character having their own personal tales in the making. This movie is a must watch.

Europa Report (2013)

This is how a Sci-fi should be made!

[8/10 · 23 October 2021]

This is one of those underrated gems that gets overshadowed by big ticket movies like Interstellar. This movie is made to perfection with due care taken on each and every aspect of space travel. No melodrama, no woke stuff, no moral preachings, and most importantly - no emotional attachments barring couple of small scenes. In other words - this is pure science fiction grounded in reality, based on how actual events were to occur. I keep watching this movie every year or two and each time it never fails to grip my 100% attention from start to finish. Now many movies can do that these days? My only wish is that they could make a sequel to continue with the story without changing the style, since it has vast potential in terms of plot.

A Few Less Men (2017)

This movie makes you laugh

[6/10 · 28 March 2021]

For me its a simple thumb rule - if a movie makes you laugh - like "really" laugh - more than 3 times - its worth watching. Especially considering the scarcity of funny movies being released these days. Slightly less funnier than the first part. But I thoroughly enjoyed it. Not sure about the few reviews being overtly negative - that's one of the reasons why these days production houses are shying away from making slapstick/silly comedy movies. Comedy movies are best enjoyed by keeping your brains aside. They are not supposed to align with reasoning.

Kris Marshall kinda seemed uninterested throughout the movie, but the rest of the actors played their part. Editing could have been better. Cinematography was ok. Definitely a one time watch.