Rate the Last Film You Watched
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Aeon
Student Council President
Indeed, both Bahubali the Beginning and the Conclusion were actually the next thing on my watch list so I'll be checking them out very soon.
Aeon
Student Council President
Bahubali the Beginning
Because this is part 1 of a two part epic, the score that I give has a small chance of being altered by the sequel, also I'm likely to compare this to RRR a fair bit as that film set my expectations for this one really high.
After watching the masterpiece that was RRR, I knew I needed to check out some of S.S. Rajamouli's other films and this one is for the most part really good as well.
The first 20 to 30 minutes were excellent, during which we see Shivudu (the subs on Netflix simply call him Shiva for some reason) setting out to climb what has to be the biggest waterfall in films and he is hell bent on it, he will stop at nothing to climb to the top, which results in a scene with an incredible sense of scale, the first of quite a few.
After this is where things take a bit of a dip, while the issues that RRR had did not bother me so much, I cannot say the same for this, the one that irks me the most is a forced romance scene, although romance is not my genre of preference, I can say that I don't so much mind it as long as we don't have one participant trying to kill the other only for them to both make out literally minutes later, that is what happens here and I personally find scenes like that hard to watch, the surrounding segments are just ok and it takes a bit of time for the film to regain it's footing but when it does, it flips right back into action and is an absolute ride from then on.
The final segment of the film features an epic battle on the scale of Lord of The Rings... (the good one's back in the 2000's), in fact it is even more epic dare I say, which is quite an achievement, as with RRR, there is a story behind every set piece which always helps, in terms of action it's kind of like a live action Dynasty Warriors... only not completely mindless.
The soundtrack is really good, it has some really memorable tracks that fit the scenes perfectly, particularily the one that plays when Shivudu climbs the waterfall, with that said, the music here not quite as good as the soundtrack of RRR, something I can say about most of this film except for the sense of scale, in this area, RRR cannot hold a candle to Bahubali, the sets are absolutely massive and the backgrounds all look incredible, with that said, a lot of modern Hollywood productions also have a massive sense of scale as well but most of those are average at best, so the most crucial thing is the script which, just like RRR, is really good, it would do this narrative a disservice to go into too much detail but lets just say that, while I personally was able to predict the revelation at the end thanks to the timing of the actors performance, it did leave a massive question in my mind that will most likely be answered in the sequel; as a result, the predictability of the twist did not matter as much as the question, why?
Overall Bahubali the Beginning is really fun to watch, the early to middle segment is a bit clumsily handled but after that the film regains it's footing and then some, it didn't blow me away quite as much as RRR did but I still very much enjoyed this one and it's got me very excited to watch Bahubali the Conclusion.
Score 8/10
Because this is part 1 of a two part epic, the score that I give has a small chance of being altered by the sequel, also I'm likely to compare this to RRR a fair bit as that film set my expectations for this one really high.
After watching the masterpiece that was RRR, I knew I needed to check out some of S.S. Rajamouli's other films and this one is for the most part really good as well.
The first 20 to 30 minutes were excellent, during which we see Shivudu (the subs on Netflix simply call him Shiva for some reason) setting out to climb what has to be the biggest waterfall in films and he is hell bent on it, he will stop at nothing to climb to the top, which results in a scene with an incredible sense of scale, the first of quite a few.
After this is where things take a bit of a dip, while the issues that RRR had did not bother me so much, I cannot say the same for this, the one that irks me the most is a forced romance scene, although romance is not my genre of preference, I can say that I don't so much mind it as long as we don't have one participant trying to kill the other only for them to both make out literally minutes later, that is what happens here and I personally find scenes like that hard to watch, the surrounding segments are just ok and it takes a bit of time for the film to regain it's footing but when it does, it flips right back into action and is an absolute ride from then on.
The final segment of the film features an epic battle on the scale of Lord of The Rings... (the good one's back in the 2000's), in fact it is even more epic dare I say, which is quite an achievement, as with RRR, there is a story behind every set piece which always helps, in terms of action it's kind of like a live action Dynasty Warriors... only not completely mindless.
The soundtrack is really good, it has some really memorable tracks that fit the scenes perfectly, particularily the one that plays when Shivudu climbs the waterfall, with that said, the music here not quite as good as the soundtrack of RRR, something I can say about most of this film except for the sense of scale, in this area, RRR cannot hold a candle to Bahubali, the sets are absolutely massive and the backgrounds all look incredible, with that said, a lot of modern Hollywood productions also have a massive sense of scale as well but most of those are average at best, so the most crucial thing is the script which, just like RRR, is really good, it would do this narrative a disservice to go into too much detail but lets just say that, while I personally was able to predict the revelation at the end thanks to the timing of the actors performance, it did leave a massive question in my mind that will most likely be answered in the sequel; as a result, the predictability of the twist did not matter as much as the question, why?
Overall Bahubali the Beginning is really fun to watch, the early to middle segment is a bit clumsily handled but after that the film regains it's footing and then some, it didn't blow me away quite as much as RRR did but I still very much enjoyed this one and it's got me very excited to watch Bahubali the Conclusion.
Score 8/10
Aeon
Student Council President
Bahubali 2 The Conclusion
After watching RRR my standards were set through the roof and, while the first film was really good for the most part, it did not quite meet those astronomical standards, the sequel however most definitely does.
The quality of the story here goes through the roof, it focuses more on Amarendra Bahubali as opposed to Mahendra Bahubali this time and we see the events transpire that led to the cliffhanger at the end of the first film, both stories are geniusly interwoven and when rating the original I said that the score may be subject to change, well it most definitely did, this film manages to both make the original better and be an absolute masterpiece in it's own right; the somewhat odd order of each story makes it so that it creates a cycle where one may feel the urge to watch the original after watching the sequel and vice versa.
One more thing about the story is that it shows both the values and dangers of loyalty in such a powerful way.
All too often when a film makes me appreciate it's predecessor more, it's down to the film in question being pants (Incredibles 2) but this film is not pants, it's an absolute classic that flawlessly weaves the script of the original with the script of the sequel.
The soundtrack is really good, all 3 Rajamouli films I have seen have great soundtrack, on this note I think RRR remains the winner but the fact is that these films all have an exceptional soundtrack, compare that to modern hollywood productions that 99% of the time discard a good melody in favour of just trying to sound cool coming out of cinema speakers, which, by the way, is mostly pointless as films are only in cinema for a limited period of time anyway; meanwhile here, we have tracks that do have the cool cinema speaker appeal but also have a great melody to them, the latter of which is absolutely crucial to a track, with that said I don't recall any standout tracks here when they are all good compared to the first film that had the waterfall scene that truly stuck out.
The action here is way more akin to RRR than it's predecessor, which makes sense as it's more recent, one of my favourite scenes has a bunch of soldiers, literally catapulting themselves and forming a ball with their shields, it's absolutely ridiculous but who cares, the action here is not ashamed to get absolutely bonkers at times and I'm all for it.
One thing that could be better is the CGI, I don't mind this myself as it still looks good enough considering that it is generating some absolutely bonkers scenes anyway so realism is not a priority but it does look inconsistent with the live action; with that said, the film tends to only use it when needed (unlike most MCU films), otherwise there are a lot of practical effects that are really good; also the use of CGI is way more interesting than modern Hollywood films anyway, with one scene in the middle being up there with some of the best Dreamworks movies; personally I vastly prefer interesting uses of CGI that has a story to it to CGI that looks good and it's clear that the priority here is the former.
Overall Bahubali 2 is one of the best films I have seen, dare I say it, I think it's better than RRR, at the risk of looking like I give these out gratis (I'm not, this film is actually this good) I give this film a.
10/10
Also, updated score for Bahubali the Beginning 9/10
After watching RRR my standards were set through the roof and, while the first film was really good for the most part, it did not quite meet those astronomical standards, the sequel however most definitely does.
The quality of the story here goes through the roof, it focuses more on Amarendra Bahubali as opposed to Mahendra Bahubali this time and we see the events transpire that led to the cliffhanger at the end of the first film, both stories are geniusly interwoven and when rating the original I said that the score may be subject to change, well it most definitely did, this film manages to both make the original better and be an absolute masterpiece in it's own right; the somewhat odd order of each story makes it so that it creates a cycle where one may feel the urge to watch the original after watching the sequel and vice versa.
One more thing about the story is that it shows both the values and dangers of loyalty in such a powerful way.
All too often when a film makes me appreciate it's predecessor more, it's down to the film in question being pants (Incredibles 2) but this film is not pants, it's an absolute classic that flawlessly weaves the script of the original with the script of the sequel.
The soundtrack is really good, all 3 Rajamouli films I have seen have great soundtrack, on this note I think RRR remains the winner but the fact is that these films all have an exceptional soundtrack, compare that to modern hollywood productions that 99% of the time discard a good melody in favour of just trying to sound cool coming out of cinema speakers, which, by the way, is mostly pointless as films are only in cinema for a limited period of time anyway; meanwhile here, we have tracks that do have the cool cinema speaker appeal but also have a great melody to them, the latter of which is absolutely crucial to a track, with that said I don't recall any standout tracks here when they are all good compared to the first film that had the waterfall scene that truly stuck out.
The action here is way more akin to RRR than it's predecessor, which makes sense as it's more recent, one of my favourite scenes has a bunch of soldiers, literally catapulting themselves and forming a ball with their shields, it's absolutely ridiculous but who cares, the action here is not ashamed to get absolutely bonkers at times and I'm all for it.
One thing that could be better is the CGI, I don't mind this myself as it still looks good enough considering that it is generating some absolutely bonkers scenes anyway so realism is not a priority but it does look inconsistent with the live action; with that said, the film tends to only use it when needed (unlike most MCU films), otherwise there are a lot of practical effects that are really good; also the use of CGI is way more interesting than modern Hollywood films anyway, with one scene in the middle being up there with some of the best Dreamworks movies; personally I vastly prefer interesting uses of CGI that has a story to it to CGI that looks good and it's clear that the priority here is the former.
Overall Bahubali 2 is one of the best films I have seen, dare I say it, I think it's better than RRR, at the risk of looking like I give these out gratis (I'm not, this film is actually this good) I give this film a.
10/10
Also, updated score for Bahubali the Beginning 9/10
Eternal chibi
Student Council President
I have to say to you my friend it sounds like you have been tripping
but now you have enjoyed a live action so i am happy for you and hope this will be the start of a new rennaisance of your own personal film enjoyment
I did not hear of this film series before, I have just looked it up, it looks quite cool and i think it is something i will watch as well
Aeon
Student Council President
Bahubali 1, 2 and RRR are well worth watching, they're all on Netflix and they are some of the best films I have seen, my least favourite of them, Bahubali the Beginning, is still an absolute rollercoaster and lightyears ahead of any live action film (outside of the other 2 Rajamouli films I've seen of course) I have seen since quite possibly the first Iron Man film.
Though I have not been tripping lol, I have not seen a truly great live action film made in the west for a long time now, too many of the one's I have seen have a basically identical presentation to each other which just caused me to lose interest in the medium for the most part, especially seeing as I got back into animated films last year, which have so much more variety than live action.
Honestly one thing, though far from the only thing, that makes Bahubali and, to some extent, RRR so great is that they feel like they have a lot of the charm and variety of a really good animated film but it is carried over to live action, they're unlike any other live action film that I've seen and all the better for it; also the story is fantastic and the music is genuinely some of the best I've heard in any film.
Yami
Thousand Master
Glad you enjoyed it.
I'm not sure it's a case of prioritisation as simply the capabilities of the Indian film industry; it was the most expensive Indian film ever made at the time, but that's still only equates to a budget of $37 million. That's a few million less than the budget for the most recent Downton Abbey film. While some of the visual effects aren't up to the standards you might expect from a Hollywood production, I think they're still relatively impressive considering their comparative limited budget and resources.
I've been watching a lot more Indian cinema recently and there's some truly extraordinary films that have been made in the past few decades. I suspect that it hasn't really broken through in the West until now is a combination of unfamiliar form (while we are au fait with a musical, totally breaking away from the narrative for a tangentially-related fourth-wall breaking musical number is a bit jarring to the uninitiated) and an indifferent industry - when they are released in Cineworlds here, they're aimed at the Indian diaspora rather than trying to advertise to the masses. They're not screened for critics, get next to no press, and aren't released on DVD/Blu-Ray afterward. Hopefully that will change.
Some I've watched recently:
Sholay (Ramesh Sippy, 1975) -
An epoch-making film in Indian cinema, Sholay is a near-3 1/2 hour western/musical adrenaline rush heavily influenced by the films of Sergio Leone and Once Upon a Time in the West in particular.
Dharmendra and a magnetic Amitabh Bachchan star as a couple of convicts who are hired by the policeman (Sanjeev Kumar) who once caught them in order to help him bring the villainous bandit leader Gabbar Singh to justice.
Sholay is a film that feels like it lurches from moment to moment, set piece to set piece, with its audience strapped into the seat of its rollercoster as it goes around its twists and turns, punctuating a relatively traditional Western landscape with bursts of colour and song.
I don't know enough about the social or political situation in India to be confident in attempting deeper analysis of the film but it seems to be largely in favour of post-colonial symbols of power, with its hero(es) finding purpose having been adopted into civil society to oppose a cyclonic, pitiless, agent of chaos. In any case, I found it to be thrilling entertainment - maximalist cinema that attempts to be something to everyone and quite possibly succeeds.
Nayakan (Mani Ratnam, 1987) -
I loved this - a gangster epic that has frequently been called India's answer to The Godfather but, to me, bears more similarity to Kinji Fukasaku's Battles Without Honor and Humanity with its kineticism and verve.
Where it differs from most other gangster films is in the motivations of its protagonist - Kamal Hassan's Velu certainly has no regard for the law, but he is driven not for financial gain, or even will to power, but to help the downtrodden in a profoundly unequal society. He fashions himself in the Robin Hood mould but for too long doesn't fully consider the collateral damage in the cycle of violence that he perpetuates.
Like most Indian films of this vintage, it's a film in desperate need of restoration but the print available to stream of Amazon is watchable through the scratches and color fluctuations.
Bombay (Mani Ratnam, 1995) - The star-crossed lovers plot has been a well worn trope since Antiquity, but Mani Ratnam's mid-90s take has to be one of my favourite in cinema. A Hindu boy and a Muslim girl fall in love in late 80s India. Understandably, this causes some family drama and they end up eloping together without parental permission. So far, so unremarkable, though it's very well done in its own right. Then, cut to 92-93 and the outbreak of Hindu-Muslim violence provoked by the destruction of the Babri Masjit by Hindu nationalists and suddenly our young couple are facing danger from both sides in a confusing maelstrom of senseless destruction for what they represent - neither Hindu, nor Muslim, nor neither, but an example of unity and progression. Magnificent - and a film that seems to have only grown in power, considering the developments in India since, which have seen right-wing Hindu nationalist Narendra Modi elected Prime Minister despite questions over his role in the 2002 Gujarat riots that saw nearly 1000 Muslims killed.
Ponniyin Selvan: Part I (Mani Ratnam, 2022) - My most anticipated film of the year is undoubtedly the second part of this historical epic which is a strong challenger to RRR for best Indian film of 2022.
Aeon
Student Council President
To be fair, the CGI issue didn't bother me as such, I just thought it was worth pointing out, but I very much agree that it still looks good enough considering the budget; with regards to the musical side of things, I would normally be critical of when characters start singing out of the blue but in these films the music was so good that it pretty much gets away with it IMO.
If the previous few Indian films I've seen are anything to go by then I very much agree that the west definitely should promote them more; if that happens then they are basically guaranteed to give modern Hollywood a run for it's money.
RadFemHedonist
Mad Scientist
@Aeon I'll admit that my dire ADHD attention span means I often do not read the reviews you post here in full (not a criticism of you I'm really impressed that you put so much detail and effort into them) I will tentatively suggest perhaps watching The Hudsucker Proxy if you haven't already seen it, I finished watching it tonight and I'm really glad I did, sharp satire with a heart and phenomenal cinematography and score 
I haven't seen that many Indian films but I love Kuch Kuch Hota Hai (one of my all time favourite films) and Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge
I haven't seen that many Indian films but I love Kuch Kuch Hota Hai (one of my all time favourite films) and Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge
Aeon
Student Council President
@Yami & @RadFemHedonist Just thought I should say thanks for the recommendations, I might look into some of them when I get the time.
With regards to the length of the reviews though I think it boils down to the fact that I have a bit of a habit of going big with what I do as long as long as I enjoy doing it; sometimes I am confident that I do a good job with them, like when I reviewed Shrek 2 and Kung Fu Panda, while other times I tend to forget about what to talk about or even get fixated on one particular part, like when I reviewed Aggretsuko season 5, I did like the show but the last episode really held that one back; I think in the latter's case I probably should have made it a TLDR in the viewing journal instead lol.
And also thanks very much for the positive feedback, every bit of it's a boost to my confidence.I'll admit that my dire ADHD attention span means I often do not read the reviews you post here in full (not a criticism of you I'm really impressed that you put so much detail and effort into them) I will tentatively suggest perhaps watching The Hudsucker Proxy if you haven't already seen it, I finished watching it tonight and I'm really glad I did, sharp satire with a heart and phenomenal cinematography and score
I haven't seen that many Indian films but I love Kuch Kuch Hota Hai (one of my all time favourite films) and Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge
With regards to the length of the reviews though I think it boils down to the fact that I have a bit of a habit of going big with what I do as long as long as I enjoy doing it; sometimes I am confident that I do a good job with them, like when I reviewed Shrek 2 and Kung Fu Panda, while other times I tend to forget about what to talk about or even get fixated on one particular part, like when I reviewed Aggretsuko season 5, I did like the show but the last episode really held that one back; I think in the latter's case I probably should have made it a TLDR in the viewing journal instead lol.
Vashdaman
Za Warudo
this is going to be a pretty spoilery review, so probably best not to read at all if you haven't seen this and have any intention of doing so!
Edge of Darkness (1985)
This is a complex thriller murky with cold war-era political and especially nuclear paranoia, and probably one of the best things the BBC, that now well known gov shill, has ever produced. As compelling as it is poignant and as strange as it is dark, this is the kind of odd little gem of a show that seems difficult to imagine getting green-lit today, but it was massively successful upon release in 1985 and even deservingly won a BAFTA.
After his daughter is murdered in front of him Yorkshire policeman, Ronald Craven, descends down into the crepuscular world of government intelligence agencies, conspiracies and nuclear industry shadiness. The show is brilliant at capturing that dizzy fuzzy feeling of dimly realising you're on the cusp of something big and malevolent and vast. It weaves an intricate web of intrigue on a large scale, but it also manages more than anything else to be a very personal story of grief. Craven isn't just descending into the darkness of government conspiracies, but also wading into the darkness inside his own despair filled heart. He's anything but the typical hero with smoothed edges you'd expect in this kind of show, he's a cold and hollow man who has done awful things in Northern Ireland in the name of the establishment, and after losing his daughter - whose ghost he regularly sees and has conversations with - has lost the last of himself.
His relationship with his daughter is both the most touching and perhaps disturbing thing in the show. His rapport with his adult climate activist daughter sometimes seems like that of a close friend sometimes that of a lover. There's the, apparently infamous, dildo kissing scene in the first episode which for me is maybe both the most touching and troubling scene in the whole show, it seems to both contain the man's raw love for his now adult daughter and inconsolable pain in losing her, but also perhaps intimations of something darker and less healthy. The show steadily layers more undertones of incest, very deliberately, throughout, giving one a disconcerted unsettled feeling, as unsure of what unpleasant secrets about Craven we'll discover as he is of government conspiracies. And yet, the show ultimately doesn't give us a verdict on him, just these hints for us to interpret ourselves, he remains both a likeable and troubling protagonist.
That troubling unknowableness of another human's heart is a big theme in the show, Craven is shaken by just how much of his daughter's life he was ignorant of, the person he thought he was closest to, and we're never really quite sure which of any of the characters are trustworthy or what motivates them. Even oneself and place in the world being difficult to truly know. A mention has to made of Joe Don Baker's superb turn as Jedbugh, the unclassifiable CIA man who is horrendous and wonderful and menacing and cooler than he has any right to be, all at the same time. And I haven't even touched on the elements environmentalism and mysticism that are also at the core of the series! There's so much in Edge of Darkness that it can't really all be unpicked and unpacked neatly, its as intricate and interwoven as a human heart. I see the show as a melancholic wish for humanity to understand itself better before the end comes, but not an optimistic one.
Edge of Darkness (1985)
This is a complex thriller murky with cold war-era political and especially nuclear paranoia, and probably one of the best things the BBC, that now well known gov shill, has ever produced. As compelling as it is poignant and as strange as it is dark, this is the kind of odd little gem of a show that seems difficult to imagine getting green-lit today, but it was massively successful upon release in 1985 and even deservingly won a BAFTA.
After his daughter is murdered in front of him Yorkshire policeman, Ronald Craven, descends down into the crepuscular world of government intelligence agencies, conspiracies and nuclear industry shadiness. The show is brilliant at capturing that dizzy fuzzy feeling of dimly realising you're on the cusp of something big and malevolent and vast. It weaves an intricate web of intrigue on a large scale, but it also manages more than anything else to be a very personal story of grief. Craven isn't just descending into the darkness of government conspiracies, but also wading into the darkness inside his own despair filled heart. He's anything but the typical hero with smoothed edges you'd expect in this kind of show, he's a cold and hollow man who has done awful things in Northern Ireland in the name of the establishment, and after losing his daughter - whose ghost he regularly sees and has conversations with - has lost the last of himself.
His relationship with his daughter is both the most touching and perhaps disturbing thing in the show. His rapport with his adult climate activist daughter sometimes seems like that of a close friend sometimes that of a lover. There's the, apparently infamous, dildo kissing scene in the first episode which for me is maybe both the most touching and troubling scene in the whole show, it seems to both contain the man's raw love for his now adult daughter and inconsolable pain in losing her, but also perhaps intimations of something darker and less healthy. The show steadily layers more undertones of incest, very deliberately, throughout, giving one a disconcerted unsettled feeling, as unsure of what unpleasant secrets about Craven we'll discover as he is of government conspiracies. And yet, the show ultimately doesn't give us a verdict on him, just these hints for us to interpret ourselves, he remains both a likeable and troubling protagonist.
That troubling unknowableness of another human's heart is a big theme in the show, Craven is shaken by just how much of his daughter's life he was ignorant of, the person he thought he was closest to, and we're never really quite sure which of any of the characters are trustworthy or what motivates them. Even oneself and place in the world being difficult to truly know. A mention has to made of Joe Don Baker's superb turn as Jedbugh, the unclassifiable CIA man who is horrendous and wonderful and menacing and cooler than he has any right to be, all at the same time. And I haven't even touched on the elements environmentalism and mysticism that are also at the core of the series! There's so much in Edge of Darkness that it can't really all be unpicked and unpacked neatly, its as intricate and interwoven as a human heart. I see the show as a melancholic wish for humanity to understand itself better before the end comes, but not an optimistic one.
Dai
Death Scythe
Edge of Darkness doesn't pull its punches. It's bleak, horrifying and utterly compelling. Eric Clapton's mournful theme music deserves special mention too.
The Challenge (1982)
A solid, often surprisingly brutal action film that largely side-steps the cheap orientalism of 'foriegner in Japan' films of the time, this one sees washed-up Californian boxer Scott Glen recruited as a bag man to smuggle an antique sword into Japan, at the behest of aging martial arts master Toshiro Mifune (!) Glen seems an odd choice at first - given the material, someone like Mickey Rourke might have been a more obvious pick - but does well here as a noirish near down and out, whose main skills in life are being able to take a beating and knowing when to keep his mouth shut, while Mifune adds a touch of class as the distant yet humane patriarch. After a lightning fast first half-hour, the film does sag a little in the middle, but rallies to an admirably mad finale as Mifune and Glen storm the villain's lair in the real-life Kyoto Conference Centre. A pacy and enjoyable genre piece.
Dark of the Sun (1968)
Rod Taylor and Jim Brown star as a pair of unlikely soldier-buddies heading up a mission to run an evacuation train into a civillian village threatened by anti-government rebels in the DRC, spurred on by nefarious interests seeking a large cache of diamonds held in their town. This is at its best during the jaunty first half, as Taylor spars with a former nazi officer forced into his ranks, but once it gets into the latter part of the film, it's hard not to see the portrayal of the rebel army as crude and caricaturish, even if the violence meted out to the civillians likely does have at least some basis in fact. The film is still well made for what it is, however, with gritty action that's unusually graphic for a mainstream release of this time, and a wonderfully ominous jazz piano score that seems to reflect the motion of the train across the tracks. Worth a look if the subject matter interests you.
A solid, often surprisingly brutal action film that largely side-steps the cheap orientalism of 'foriegner in Japan' films of the time, this one sees washed-up Californian boxer Scott Glen recruited as a bag man to smuggle an antique sword into Japan, at the behest of aging martial arts master Toshiro Mifune (!) Glen seems an odd choice at first - given the material, someone like Mickey Rourke might have been a more obvious pick - but does well here as a noirish near down and out, whose main skills in life are being able to take a beating and knowing when to keep his mouth shut, while Mifune adds a touch of class as the distant yet humane patriarch. After a lightning fast first half-hour, the film does sag a little in the middle, but rallies to an admirably mad finale as Mifune and Glen storm the villain's lair in the real-life Kyoto Conference Centre. A pacy and enjoyable genre piece.
Dark of the Sun (1968)
Rod Taylor and Jim Brown star as a pair of unlikely soldier-buddies heading up a mission to run an evacuation train into a civillian village threatened by anti-government rebels in the DRC, spurred on by nefarious interests seeking a large cache of diamonds held in their town. This is at its best during the jaunty first half, as Taylor spars with a former nazi officer forced into his ranks, but once it gets into the latter part of the film, it's hard not to see the portrayal of the rebel army as crude and caricaturish, even if the violence meted out to the civillians likely does have at least some basis in fact. The film is still well made for what it is, however, with gritty action that's unusually graphic for a mainstream release of this time, and a wonderfully ominous jazz piano score that seems to reflect the motion of the train across the tracks. Worth a look if the subject matter interests you.
Eternal chibi
Student Council President
glad to hear it said by someone other than me for once...
worst time was when I said to someone who replied with "actually I work for the BBC and that isn't true" lol!!!!! on a date no less!!!!!!
anyway, i never heard of edge of darkness! I will have to watch it sounds very much like my thing
you probably already know, but if not look at Threads, "uh oh cold war!!" made for TV film on BBC that is actually a very good watch and quite harrowing as well
Yeah… Don’t go into Threads too lightly, that’s one of the bleakest experiences ever put to film.
Dai
Death Scythe
Yes, it's the most disturbing and convincing live-action depiction of a nuclear attack I've seen. It's shot in a merciless docudrama style and intercut with real government information films that would have been broadcast in the event of this happening, showing such things as how to dispose of your family's corpses.
Aeon
Student Council President
Tumbbad
Not Tumb,bad at all actually
I might be a bit of an oddity when it comes down to my preferences in the horror genre, a lot of people seem to find the humans to be the scary part while I personally find inexplicable, supernatural events mixed with nightmare fuel imagery and sound to be what gives me the heebie jeebies; with that said, Tumbbad caters to both horror audiences, there are bad people, including the protagonist, and there are nightmare fuel scenes, and those nightmare fuel scenes kept me up last night for a few more hours than I would have liked.
First off, the premise of the film is about greed, first and foremost, as well as the consequences of said greed, the mythology goes that the goddess of prosperity gave birth to 160 million gods but above all else, gave special treatment to Hastar who took it for granted and then tried to take everything the goddess had to offer all for himself, he got all the gold but could not get all the food as the others attacked him, afterwards, the goddess saved him by preserving him in her womb on the condition that he would be forgotten and never be worshipped; well that did not go according to plan as the village of Tumbbad started worshipping him, as a result, the gods punished the village with eternal rain, though that is the least of the resident's problems.
The story of the film is fantastic, it interweaves the narrative with the horror in ways that manage to somehow achieve both making a good deal of sense while at the same time leaving out just enough information to keep it so that the question of how this supernatural event actually managed to collide with the real world remains a mystery even after the credits roll; the theme of greed continues throughout and another cool thing is that the monster of this story is not one who can simply chase down the protagonist, if Rao ever decides to leave Tumbbad and never return then he will probably never have to deal with Hastar again but there is a reason that Rao keeps coming back that I'll get to shortly.
The film takes place across three chapters which chronicle the life of Vinayak Rao, and how his greed will be his undoing, the first chapter chronicles his childhood; during which we are constantly warned that the old woman should not be woken up, the film leaves that nugget of information in your head and just seeing the characters getting ready to feed her in their very ritualistic and specific way is made very tense by the clever use of audio and lighting, mixed with the point that she must not be woken up; this is eerie stuff to begin with but it pales in comparison to the second chapter.
On the note of audio and lighting, it really sets a dark and ominous tone, from what I read, the dark parts were shot with only one light source, that being Rao's lantern, it really makes the scenes very dark, sometimes a bit too much so as it can be quite hard to see what is going on, sometimes this is beneficial but other times it is not, it really adds to the ambience in the horror segments but it can be too dark even in the segments outside of Tumbbad; in terms of audio, it is consistently eerie when it needs to be, though the mixing could be better, I remember one scene where the characters were talking so quietly that I would have thought they were not saying a thing if not for the subtitles, I've never been a fan of whisper acting but this takes the cake, though usually it's the sounds that are too quiet while the talking is much louder; I watched this on my TV so it may be much better for headphone users but this held back my experience a bit.
Unlike the first chapter, there are some, somewhat, brighter moments in the second but these are quite brief and are followed up with a grotesque nightmare fuel scene where a merchant known as Raghav travels to Tumbbad, hoping to learn Rao's secret, only he then discovers a sarcophagus which he opens up and descends inside, as he goes deeper, he finds himself literally inside the goddesses womb where he find a flour doll, after picking it up, he is attacked by Hastar who then buries him partway in the bloody, fleshy walls, this scene managed to disturb me and I've managed to play through most Silent Hill games.
Both the setting and the monster here are genuinely nightmarish but Rao knows how to exploit it; in all actuality, it's kind of like a very high risk exp (or gold to be specific) farm in a game... except in this case it's no game, the way it works is that Rao can generate gold coins by swiping at Hastar's loincloth (I have no idea why) but he can only obtain a chance by feeding him a flour doll and doing so when Hastar is distracted and then climbing out of the goddesses womb before Hastar catches him.
One would think that the first encounter with Hastar should be the scariest, after all it is the one that would catch you by suprise but oh no, the film has a very clever twist towards the end, in chapter 3, Rao's son Pandurang suggests trying to take multiple dolls for Hastar to eat, so they can keep him busy long enough to take away his loincloth, I.E, the source of the coins, Rao goes along with the plan and creates dozens, one would think that this would keep him busy but there's one problem, there are multiple Hastar's, as many as there are dolls, and Rao took down dozens of them, it's a twist that is unexpected but actually incredibly simple at the same time, it both makes sense and doesn't in all the right ways.
I will say that this is not a film I plan to rewatch, it very much thrives on it's fantastic script but once the biggest twists are known it has played most of it's cards, it's not like RRR or Bahubali which are so distinct from any other live action film that they barely feel like live action; Tumbbad feels more like the live action films that I've become all too familar with in terms of it's presentation, though, being an indian movie, it still has some distinctions from western live action movies, for instance the song that plays in the middle of the film during a montage, it's a pretty good track as well.
Overall Tumbbad is a film that I highly suggest checking out if you have Amazon Prime, it's not a film for everyone but if you like horror then this is a film that is well worth watching.
Score 8/10
Not Tumb,bad at all actually
I might be a bit of an oddity when it comes down to my preferences in the horror genre, a lot of people seem to find the humans to be the scary part while I personally find inexplicable, supernatural events mixed with nightmare fuel imagery and sound to be what gives me the heebie jeebies; with that said, Tumbbad caters to both horror audiences, there are bad people, including the protagonist, and there are nightmare fuel scenes, and those nightmare fuel scenes kept me up last night for a few more hours than I would have liked.
First off, the premise of the film is about greed, first and foremost, as well as the consequences of said greed, the mythology goes that the goddess of prosperity gave birth to 160 million gods but above all else, gave special treatment to Hastar who took it for granted and then tried to take everything the goddess had to offer all for himself, he got all the gold but could not get all the food as the others attacked him, afterwards, the goddess saved him by preserving him in her womb on the condition that he would be forgotten and never be worshipped; well that did not go according to plan as the village of Tumbbad started worshipping him, as a result, the gods punished the village with eternal rain, though that is the least of the resident's problems.
The story of the film is fantastic, it interweaves the narrative with the horror in ways that manage to somehow achieve both making a good deal of sense while at the same time leaving out just enough information to keep it so that the question of how this supernatural event actually managed to collide with the real world remains a mystery even after the credits roll; the theme of greed continues throughout and another cool thing is that the monster of this story is not one who can simply chase down the protagonist, if Rao ever decides to leave Tumbbad and never return then he will probably never have to deal with Hastar again but there is a reason that Rao keeps coming back that I'll get to shortly.
The film takes place across three chapters which chronicle the life of Vinayak Rao, and how his greed will be his undoing, the first chapter chronicles his childhood; during which we are constantly warned that the old woman should not be woken up, the film leaves that nugget of information in your head and just seeing the characters getting ready to feed her in their very ritualistic and specific way is made very tense by the clever use of audio and lighting, mixed with the point that she must not be woken up; this is eerie stuff to begin with but it pales in comparison to the second chapter.
On the note of audio and lighting, it really sets a dark and ominous tone, from what I read, the dark parts were shot with only one light source, that being Rao's lantern, it really makes the scenes very dark, sometimes a bit too much so as it can be quite hard to see what is going on, sometimes this is beneficial but other times it is not, it really adds to the ambience in the horror segments but it can be too dark even in the segments outside of Tumbbad; in terms of audio, it is consistently eerie when it needs to be, though the mixing could be better, I remember one scene where the characters were talking so quietly that I would have thought they were not saying a thing if not for the subtitles, I've never been a fan of whisper acting but this takes the cake, though usually it's the sounds that are too quiet while the talking is much louder; I watched this on my TV so it may be much better for headphone users but this held back my experience a bit.
Unlike the first chapter, there are some, somewhat, brighter moments in the second but these are quite brief and are followed up with a grotesque nightmare fuel scene where a merchant known as Raghav travels to Tumbbad, hoping to learn Rao's secret, only he then discovers a sarcophagus which he opens up and descends inside, as he goes deeper, he finds himself literally inside the goddesses womb where he find a flour doll, after picking it up, he is attacked by Hastar who then buries him partway in the bloody, fleshy walls, this scene managed to disturb me and I've managed to play through most Silent Hill games.
Both the setting and the monster here are genuinely nightmarish but Rao knows how to exploit it; in all actuality, it's kind of like a very high risk exp (or gold to be specific) farm in a game... except in this case it's no game, the way it works is that Rao can generate gold coins by swiping at Hastar's loincloth (I have no idea why) but he can only obtain a chance by feeding him a flour doll and doing so when Hastar is distracted and then climbing out of the goddesses womb before Hastar catches him.
One would think that the first encounter with Hastar should be the scariest, after all it is the one that would catch you by suprise but oh no, the film has a very clever twist towards the end, in chapter 3, Rao's son Pandurang suggests trying to take multiple dolls for Hastar to eat, so they can keep him busy long enough to take away his loincloth, I.E, the source of the coins, Rao goes along with the plan and creates dozens, one would think that this would keep him busy but there's one problem, there are multiple Hastar's, as many as there are dolls, and Rao took down dozens of them, it's a twist that is unexpected but actually incredibly simple at the same time, it both makes sense and doesn't in all the right ways.
I will say that this is not a film I plan to rewatch, it very much thrives on it's fantastic script but once the biggest twists are known it has played most of it's cards, it's not like RRR or Bahubali which are so distinct from any other live action film that they barely feel like live action; Tumbbad feels more like the live action films that I've become all too familar with in terms of it's presentation, though, being an indian movie, it still has some distinctions from western live action movies, for instance the song that plays in the middle of the film during a montage, it's a pretty good track as well.
Overall Tumbbad is a film that I highly suggest checking out if you have Amazon Prime, it's not a film for everyone but if you like horror then this is a film that is well worth watching.
Score 8/10
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Vincentdante
Time-Traveller
Once Upon a Time in Hollywood
I went into this movie knowing it's reputation as a very polarising movie, with community opinion split between either loving it or hating it, and came away loving it.
So yay.
I went into this movie knowing it's reputation as a very polarising movie, with community opinion split between either loving it or hating it, and came away loving it.
So yay.
John Wick: Chapter 4
The continuing saga of Keanu Reeves’s repentant hitman sees him trying to use his former masters’ dogmatic rules against them, as he tangles with a blind assassin (Donnie Yen) sent to end him once and for all. While it does feel a bit like we’re repeating quite a few ideas and motifs we’ve seen in previous instalments, this is still a hugely entertaining film that manages to strike a perfect balance between serious crime film and knowing incredulity. I liked it slightly more than the third one, but not as much as the second, which is still my favourite.
The Siege of Jadotville (2016)
A workmanlike, but respectful and efficient action drama about a group of Irish squaddies posted to the Congo as part of a UN peacekeeping mission in 1962, they soon find themselves sacrificial pawns in a larger game played by the political superpowers angling for control of valuable uranium deposits in the region. Based on non-fiction accounts of a real-life incident, the film largely pares down an intriguing, complex situation to the titular battle between the vastly outnumbered peacekeepers and government-backed mercenaries opposed to their presence, but still delivers a tense and exciting account of events. Just don’t expect anything more than the most basic of characterisation; stars Jamie Dornan and Mark Strong are fine, but most everyone else is defined by little more than what they’re wearing, and it’s a little conspicuous that none of the Congolese soldiers are even afforded a speaking role.
The continuing saga of Keanu Reeves’s repentant hitman sees him trying to use his former masters’ dogmatic rules against them, as he tangles with a blind assassin (Donnie Yen) sent to end him once and for all. While it does feel a bit like we’re repeating quite a few ideas and motifs we’ve seen in previous instalments, this is still a hugely entertaining film that manages to strike a perfect balance between serious crime film and knowing incredulity. I liked it slightly more than the third one, but not as much as the second, which is still my favourite.
The Siege of Jadotville (2016)
A workmanlike, but respectful and efficient action drama about a group of Irish squaddies posted to the Congo as part of a UN peacekeeping mission in 1962, they soon find themselves sacrificial pawns in a larger game played by the political superpowers angling for control of valuable uranium deposits in the region. Based on non-fiction accounts of a real-life incident, the film largely pares down an intriguing, complex situation to the titular battle between the vastly outnumbered peacekeepers and government-backed mercenaries opposed to their presence, but still delivers a tense and exciting account of events. Just don’t expect anything more than the most basic of characterisation; stars Jamie Dornan and Mark Strong are fine, but most everyone else is defined by little more than what they’re wearing, and it’s a little conspicuous that none of the Congolese soldiers are even afforded a speaking role.
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Aeon
Student Council President
Eega
Quick note: This review mentions an early twist in the film, the twist in question is mentioned on the synopsis so is hardly a spoiler but just note that it won't be marked as such because of this fact.
You should be very Eega to watch this one.
Joking aside, this film is one that shouldn't work, it's concept is so borderline insane that making a good film out of it shouldn't be possible but against all odds, S.S. Rajamouli has done it again, in all honesty it was thanks to the fact that he directed this one that I gave this film the time of day and I am glad I did for the most part.
The concept in question is about a man named Nani who falls for a woman named Bindu, trouble is that a very rich evil man named Sudeep also wants Bindu and literally kills Nani for falling for her, prior to this point it all seems to be a fairly run of the mill romance story but the twist comes afterwards, where Nani is reincarnated as a fly... yes, you read that right, a fly and as said fly he sets out to take his revenge on Sudeep.
After this point is where the film really takes off, we see it go in all manner of places and it holds nothing back whatsoever, it took a bit of time to click with me but when I came to realise that this was going for a comedy sort of presentation as much as a revenge story, it all fell into place, a good chunk of the humour in this film is actually really funny as well, such as the point where Sudeep is attending an investors meeting, and Nani (the fly) lands on an investors head, by this point, Sudeep has had enough and literally dunks an entire plant pot on said investors head in the hopes of catching Nani it's not unlike a Rowan Atkinson sketch, the fact that Sudeep is the only one aware of the fact that Nani has come back as a fly makes for some of the funniest sketches I have seen in a while.
The film is not afraid to get beyond bonkers as well, even delving into the occult, it's humour is very dark at times and sometimes it can really tow a fine line between being serious and humourous, this is not a film for everyone but it is one that should be seen at least once, if for no other reason that to try something new, because there is really nothing else like this.
Also this would not be a Rajamouli film without some of the most insane choreography imaginable, the film is loaded with action set pieces that are, as expected from a Rajamouli film, as fun to watch as they are intense, and another thing that is great is the soundtrack, a name I haven't mentioned in the other few reviews of Rajamouli films but every bit deserves mentioning is M.M. Keeravani, he knocked it out of the park with every film score I have heard from him so far and this film is no exception, the soundtrack not only has the epic vibes that would sound great in a cinema but also has a great melody to it, as mentioned before, the melody is the most important part of the track.
In terms of things that I was not a fan of though, there were a few more things than with Rajamouli's later films, the first hour or so ranges from being just fine to being outright hard to watch, I particularily found it rather cringeworthy just how Nani kept really pushing himself onto Bindu and it was clear that she wasn't interested though it was later revealed that she was pretending to not be interested for some reason I will say from what I've seen that romance in movies is not Rajamouli's strong suit and there is quite a bit of it for the first hour or so, the CGI was, lets just say, on a budget and unlike with Bahubali where the CGI scenes are brief, here they are very common.
Also, the film loves to tell it's audience that smoking and alcohol is bad, there is a scene at the beginning, voiced in English for some reason (another issue to get to shortly) where you are told that it can harm you... like we don't know that and hoo boy, every time that a cigarette or bottle of booze appears on screen, you better believe the film will want you to know this, in the bottom left corner of the screen you will see a warning about drinking or smoking, it just screams of not trusting the viewers to know this while also taking the viewer out of the experience, and I'm saying this as someone who does not drink or smoke; it could be argued that this adds to the charm but that's a bit of a stretch.
As for the use of English throughout the film, the characters sometimes alternate between speaking their language (not sure if it was in Hindi, Telugu, Tamil or whatever other languages they have) and English, this would at most be a minor issue but the problem came from the fact that Amazon Prime only subtitled the Indian speaking parts, it's probably no secret by now that I vastly prefer having subtitles to not having them.
Despite these issues Eega is a film that should definitely be seen at least once, it is most likely unlike anything else you have seen and it is always throwing something new and unexpected your way, it can have a strong degree of cringe at times and it is definitely not for everyone but when it's good, it's really good; it is a film that I would suggest watching at least once.
Score 7/10
Quick note: This review mentions an early twist in the film, the twist in question is mentioned on the synopsis so is hardly a spoiler but just note that it won't be marked as such because of this fact.
You should be very Eega to watch this one.
Joking aside, this film is one that shouldn't work, it's concept is so borderline insane that making a good film out of it shouldn't be possible but against all odds, S.S. Rajamouli has done it again, in all honesty it was thanks to the fact that he directed this one that I gave this film the time of day and I am glad I did for the most part.
The concept in question is about a man named Nani who falls for a woman named Bindu, trouble is that a very rich evil man named Sudeep also wants Bindu and literally kills Nani for falling for her, prior to this point it all seems to be a fairly run of the mill romance story but the twist comes afterwards, where Nani is reincarnated as a fly... yes, you read that right, a fly and as said fly he sets out to take his revenge on Sudeep.
After this point is where the film really takes off, we see it go in all manner of places and it holds nothing back whatsoever, it took a bit of time to click with me but when I came to realise that this was going for a comedy sort of presentation as much as a revenge story, it all fell into place, a good chunk of the humour in this film is actually really funny as well, such as the point where Sudeep is attending an investors meeting, and Nani (the fly) lands on an investors head, by this point, Sudeep has had enough and literally dunks an entire plant pot on said investors head in the hopes of catching Nani it's not unlike a Rowan Atkinson sketch, the fact that Sudeep is the only one aware of the fact that Nani has come back as a fly makes for some of the funniest sketches I have seen in a while.
The film is not afraid to get beyond bonkers as well, even delving into the occult, it's humour is very dark at times and sometimes it can really tow a fine line between being serious and humourous, this is not a film for everyone but it is one that should be seen at least once, if for no other reason that to try something new, because there is really nothing else like this.
Also this would not be a Rajamouli film without some of the most insane choreography imaginable, the film is loaded with action set pieces that are, as expected from a Rajamouli film, as fun to watch as they are intense, and another thing that is great is the soundtrack, a name I haven't mentioned in the other few reviews of Rajamouli films but every bit deserves mentioning is M.M. Keeravani, he knocked it out of the park with every film score I have heard from him so far and this film is no exception, the soundtrack not only has the epic vibes that would sound great in a cinema but also has a great melody to it, as mentioned before, the melody is the most important part of the track.
In terms of things that I was not a fan of though, there were a few more things than with Rajamouli's later films, the first hour or so ranges from being just fine to being outright hard to watch, I particularily found it rather cringeworthy just how Nani kept really pushing himself onto Bindu and it was clear that she wasn't interested though it was later revealed that she was pretending to not be interested for some reason I will say from what I've seen that romance in movies is not Rajamouli's strong suit and there is quite a bit of it for the first hour or so, the CGI was, lets just say, on a budget and unlike with Bahubali where the CGI scenes are brief, here they are very common.
Also, the film loves to tell it's audience that smoking and alcohol is bad, there is a scene at the beginning, voiced in English for some reason (another issue to get to shortly) where you are told that it can harm you... like we don't know that and hoo boy, every time that a cigarette or bottle of booze appears on screen, you better believe the film will want you to know this, in the bottom left corner of the screen you will see a warning about drinking or smoking, it just screams of not trusting the viewers to know this while also taking the viewer out of the experience, and I'm saying this as someone who does not drink or smoke; it could be argued that this adds to the charm but that's a bit of a stretch.
As for the use of English throughout the film, the characters sometimes alternate between speaking their language (not sure if it was in Hindi, Telugu, Tamil or whatever other languages they have) and English, this would at most be a minor issue but the problem came from the fact that Amazon Prime only subtitled the Indian speaking parts, it's probably no secret by now that I vastly prefer having subtitles to not having them.
Despite these issues Eega is a film that should definitely be seen at least once, it is most likely unlike anything else you have seen and it is always throwing something new and unexpected your way, it can have a strong degree of cringe at times and it is definitely not for everyone but when it's good, it's really good; it is a film that I would suggest watching at least once.
Score 7/10
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