Tag Archives: Vlog

Film Reviews

Film Review: Uunchai (2022)

Leave a comment

STORY

Lifelong friends Amit, Om, and Javed decide to take a trek to the Everest Base Camp when their close friend Bhupen passes away.

INTRODUCTION

Uunchai is an emotional drama and a journey towards a mark where travelers seek the meaning of life. Four old friends visibly in their late 60s and 70s meeting, parting, singing, dancing, and enjoying whatever is left in their life. Uunchai is about a burning desire that one has longed to fulfill for ages. Uunchai is about learning and tolerating from a generational gap. Uunchai is about holding hands, bringing back memories, and hugs. Uunchai is about climbing. Uunchai is about lost love.

REVIEW

The biggest plus of the film is the story. To my heavy surprise, Bollywood is very limited in basing its films on friendships. And here, Uunchai talks about old-age friendships. The audience deserves to get attention through thoughtful plots.

Another plus is the ensemble casting of senior actors. The friendship quartet was Amitabh Bachchan, Anupam Kher, Boman Irani, and Danny Denzongpa. The female leads were Neena Gupta and Sarika; and Nafisa Ali in a cameo. Parineeti Chopra played an important supporting role.

I refuse to believe that the film is directed by Sooraj R. Barjatya. His filmmaking aesthetics for Uunchai are completely different from what he presented to the audience in his previous films. Maybe someone else directed Uunchai under his name or maybe he has learned with time that if he has to survive and make successful films amongst the current crop of excellent directors, then he has to change the directional techniques. I say this because Bollywood history is full of disappointing comebacks.

With such an impressive plot and fabulous casting, Uunchai could have been one of the best films of 2022. But one negative factor declined this film from achieving that purpose – length! This film is almost a three-hour film. So what to blame when the length becomes the issue? Indeed, screenwriting! It was a simple plot but the screenplay was massively stretched on the journey to Everest and then on the climbing.

Technically, stretching on the climbing was acceptable because trekking to Mount Everest for their friend was actually the core of the story. It is their journey in the middle portion of the film that bought a lot of time. Lying to Javed’s wife, then taking her on the journey to be dropped at the daughter’s house. When things do not work then consider meeting Om’s family and then drop her. And then another arc of taking a lady during the journey who turns out to be Bhupen’s lost love, Mala.

To my calculation, all these developments took 50 minutes of the film. Not saying that Sooraj Barjatya should have avoided all this but he could have shortened this journey length. Let’s say 20 minutes instead of 50 and a few more minutes from the whole climbing part of the film. And then the film picturized a lot of songs. The film at stretch could have been a 120-minute film, absolutely not 170.

The second half had a lot of plotholes and raised a lot of questions. Why would the local villagers cross the bridge when they observe that the climbers are already struggling to cross it? How did the tour guide allow Amit to continue the journey after knowing what he suffers from? Amit is given oxygen when he collapses again. I was wondering, why was he not using it while trying to reach it in the first place.

UUNCHAI MUST HAVE BEEN NON-LINEAR

I think Uunchai should have been a non-linear film. The reason is that Sooraj Barjatya was firm to stretch on the friendship but the problem is that Bhupen’s character died within half an hour. So there was no growth in such a friendship quartet and at the time of Bhupen’s death, the real impact of sentiments fall flat. It would have been an extraordinary direction of film running with two different timelines concluding over Bhupen’s death in one parallel and throwing his ashes on the base camp in the other parallel. 

CLOSING REMARKS

Uunchai sustains Rajshri Productions‘ long hold on traditional and culturally influenced family values. Here, the film focused more on friendship. I think this film is for all ages and in the development of the continuity, it emotionally relates to us somehow. You can absolutely watch this along with your family.

In a world full of stories and incidents, things with you happen for a reason. Bhupen bought the tickets for trekking but died. His friends paid their final respect and went on an emotional and spiritual journey. And during this journey, until reaching that mark, they came across a lot of things in life that taught them a lot. Had Bhupen not died perhaps Amit would never happen to speak to his wife, Om would never consider a change in business nor would he ever realized how many grudges his relatives were holding for him, Javed and his wife would have never understood their daughter’s domestic situation, Amit would have never understood the value of his books, Mala would never get the second chance, and last of all Bhupen’s friends would have never realized his obsession with Mount Everest and the girl he loved the most.

So, friends, things happen for a reason.

RATINGS: 7/10

SUBSCRIBE TO MY YOUTUBE CHANNEL AND WATCH MY FILM REVIEW HERE

FOLLOW ‘THE DARK KNAIK’ ON OTHER SOCIAL PLATFORMS

TIKTOK  https://www.tiktok.com/@thedarkknaik
FACEBOOK https://www.facebook.com/thedarkknaik
INSTAGRAM https://www.instagram.com/thedarkknaik/

TWITTER

Film Reviews

Film Review: Luther – The Fallen Sun (2023)

STORY

Detective John Luther is unable to trace the whereabouts of a young hostage Callum Aldrich when he is jailed for his illegal acts as a police officer. Years later, Callum and other hostages are brutally murdered and the serial killer teases Luther for fun.

INTRODUCTION

Luther was a critically acclaimed detective series by BBC that concluded in 2019 after five seasons. The show was widely praised for its crime screenwriting, direction, and performances of Idris Elba as detective John Luther and Ruth Wilson as Alice Morgan.

REVIEW

It is a difficult task to continue the story of a television series into a film due to limitations in the screen length. There is also a certainty that the development of the existing characters and their arcs from the television series will suffocate in the film when connected to the main plotline. Alas, this is precisely what happened with ‘Luther: The Fallen Sun‘.

The usual dynamics of Luther’s storytelling looks visibly compromised. The biggest spine-breaker is the story that is rotten, stereotypical, and carries plenty of repeated content. The whole plotline is extremely predictable. Luther tries his sources to help him break the jail and of course, it is certain to happen. The new officer DCI Odette, played by very talented Cynthia Erivo, replaces Luther and takes him completely wrong but then trusts him, and then fights together, is a whole new level of an overbaked script of a super action film.

Luther television series was known for impressive suspense. Regrettably, there is no element of suspense about who the antagonist is. We the audience are exposed in the beginning that Andy Serkis is a serial killer. And absolutely gutted about his hair.

Maybe it makes sense but for me, it is strange that the serial killer planned for the victims to commit suicides from the top of various buildings but no surveillance monitored more than one hostage scene from the top.

I am also confused about Luther’s fate in the final 15 minutes. After the job is done, Luther gets handcuffed but ends up in a safe house. Which means Luther does not go to jail. Is that so? He broke the jail. He was shamed for his crimes as an officer. Is he pardoned by the law or what? We observed angry media backlash at the beginning in favor of his arrest.

CLOSING REMARKS

‘Luther: The Fallen Sun’ is easily the weakest Luther project so far. Yes, Idris Elba as Luther never disappoints but the rest. Looking at the development in the final scene, Luther’s sequel surely is considered. And I hope that part outdo this because this is a disappointing film overall.

RATINGS: 3/10

SUBSCRIBE TO MY YOUTUBE CHANNEL AND WATCH MY FILM REVIEW HERE

FOLLOW ‘THE DARK KNAIK’ ON OTHER SOCIAL PLATFORMS

TIKTOK  https://www.tiktok.com/@thedarkknaik
FACEBOOK https://www.facebook.com/thedarkknaik
INSTAGRAM https://www.instagram.com/thedarkknaik/

TWITTER

Film Reviews

Film Review: Maja Ma (2022)

STORY

Maja Ma is about a Gujarati boy Tejas who is in love with Esha and wants to get married. During the parents’ meetup, a rumor sparks in society about Tejas’ mother Pallavi when she is exposed in the video admitting to her daughter Tara that she is a lesbian.

REVIEW

Maja Ma has a lot of social issues to work on. A typical middle-class Gujarati family marrying into NRI. Then Tejas’ sister, who is an activist for LGBTQIA+ rights. And then the mystery behind Tejas’ mother who is highly insecure and unable to decide if she must tell the world what she is. Three different elements in the same plot challenge writing and grows a lot of responsibility on the director’s shoulders. Sadly, Maja Ma collapses itself by staying in the bubble and not provoking the resistance.

Within half an hour to the start, Tara finds out that mom is lesbian, just before Esha and her parents are reaching India from the US. There was no buildup before the revelation so the reaction was flat.

Director Anand Tiwari didn’t bother to take risks at all. When Tejas’ family receives Esha’s at the airport, the director didn’t show how both parents interact. The biggest directional miss of the film was when Pallavi is exposed in the festival, the aftermath is skipped and then Pallavi is depicted to be on her bed with her family taking care of her. How can you not shoot the moments after she got exposed in front of society and Esha’s parents?

I am further surprised that the continuity didn’t even bother to reflect on the reaction of Pallavi’s husband Manohar. He looked quite normal.

I don’t know why but Esha and her parents’ American accents sounded to me pretty fake. And then Esha’s father using a lie detector on Pallavi was too far a stretch. How can a family marry their boy in a house where the girl’s father uses this machine on the boy’s mother? How come Tejas didn’t protest or oppose? How come the family didn’t take a stand against it? I can understand the girl’s father testing the boy but his parents? That is low.

Another miss was leaving the culprit behind who made the video viral. How did the culprit escape? How was the elephant in the room not addressed? So, Maja Ma suffers from careless writing.

PERFORMANCES

The film had some good performances. Gajraj Rao continues his superb form and what impresses me about him is his body language hits the right tone. His style of communication is very natural. Srishti Shrivastava and Simone Singh in supporting roles are excellent though. The biggest plus was the heart of the film Madhuri Dixit. She proves again why is she such a phenomenal actress and one of the biggest legends of the cinema. Just look at her facial tone when Tara presses for a response. In fact, the mother/daughter arguments were intense.

CLOSING REMARKS

Maja Ma wasted a life out of the story and couldn’t do justice to the points the film wanted to speak about. A mother/wife in a typical household turning out to be a lesbian is something we do not think of in the film. The film deserved a better script and needed to execute the project like that of ‘2 States‘.

RATINGS: 3/10

SUBSCRIBE TO MY YOUTUBE CHANNEL AND WATCH MY FILM REVIEW HERE

FOLLOW ‘THE DARK KNAIK’ ON OTHER SOCIAL PLATFORMS

TIKTOK  https://www.tiktok.com/@thedarkknaik
FACEBOOK https://www.facebook.com/thedarkknaik
INSTAGRAM https://www.instagram.com/thedarkknaik/

TWITTER

Film Reviews

Film Review: Raksha Bandhan (2022)

STORY

Lala and Sapna are childhood lovers but Lala is delaying getting married to her because he promised his dying mother that he will settle after marrying his four sisters into suitable homes.

INTRODUCTION

Raksha Bandhan brings back the lost essence in Bollywood which is the traditional and family values. What made my mind to add Raksha Bandhan to my watchlist was the plot that highlights a very critical social problem which is marrying your daughters, and your sisters in the best possible families. A responsibility, the heaviest in weight and socially one of the significant scrutinies that hold the most critical center of attraction. This a much-needed storytelling in today’s Bollywood to bring awareness of how tough it is for a father or a brother particularly in middle and lower-class families to search for the most suitable man and give their girl to him.

BOX OFFICE

Raksha Bandhan was released with Laal Singh Chaddha on the same date and both failed to make any impression. On ₹70 crores of the production budget, the film grossed only ₹52 crores at home. Was the film that bad? It surely was a disappointment but I think the reason for failure was more political than economic.

REVIEW

One of the good aspects of the writing is that the story didn’t waste time in showing Lala and Sapna falling in love and dancing on the streets with all the pedestrians joining them in dancing in Sri Lankan rain, Swiss snow, Egyptian pyramids, Piccadilly Circus, or Time Square. Because it was unnecessary and better focused on the central plot.

Despite the fact that the film’s intention to showcase the social problem is in the right direction, the directional value rotates back to entertainment and misses a large part to emphasize. Three of the four sisters have particular traits. One is manly, the other is dark-skinned, and another is fat. The latter two carry critical concerns as a girl being dark or fat brings more difficulty in making her case acceptable to the boy’s family than the boy’s. And both the issues of color and weight surprisingly don’t get stretchy content in the film.

The problem with Raksha Bandhan revolves around screenwriting. It is a comedy-drama but a very important issue slips the element of realism due to its being too entertaining. And needless songs and story arc of Lala-Sapna eat the screen length.

Director Aanand L. Rai has a habit of running the film on a high musical score that disturbs the momentum and triggers the seriousness of the sequence. In the most shocking moment of the film, the death in the family, is madly ruined by loud music in the background. This was a jaw-dropping scene because development occurred out of nowhere and here, Aanand Rai must have collapsed the tone instead of making it a melodrama.

Raksha Bandhan confuses and messes with the story development. Lala goes physical on the harassers when they whistle his sisters but doesn’t even lift his hand on the in-laws of his sister. Sisters really don’t have much to add to the screen time. They are mostly together with typical dialogues and backing their brother. A film that is fully based on them fails to give them their screen importance.

And then Bollywood’s biggest predicament, fatal conclusion. Yet again, the writer-director fails to finish the film on a high note. Outrageous final fifteen minutes! And the final scenes that were about how the sisters progressed later were what should have been a significant portion connecting the main plot in the first place.

WHY ARE OLD LEADING ACTRESSES NOT CONSIDERED?

Although Bhumi Pednekar fitted into the role and did her part well. But a kind of story that followed with Lala keeping his girl waiting to marry for almost a decade. I wondered if 55-year-old Akshay Kumar can play the part of an assumingly fifteen years younger man, then why not the leading actress in the same capacity can get her role? After all, the role of Bhumi was of someone who was waiting for years. So she definitely wasn’t playing the role of a girl in her 20s but older than that.

And this is where Bollywood is beyond my understanding. How come the actors in their 50s and 60s get to play the role of the man in his 30s and 40s but actresses of the same age bracket mostly get ignored to fill in a young actress? Why the heroines of the ’90s are heavily ignored in Bollywood?

PLUSES

I thoroughly enjoyed the comedy. After a long time, I watched a film that really had funny dialogue and that too without making it sleazy. The collective performances were impressive, particularly Neeraj Sood, he was fabulous. Impressive anger and comic timing. Observe his performance when he humiliates Lala after his sister’s wedding.

The biggest plus of the film, the only reason for which I can easily recommend you to watch is Akshay Kumar. After so many years, I have watched that hilariously troubled Akshay Kumar of the old times making me laugh. And not just his comedy, this was an incredible performance.

Just watch him when he gets the news of his sister’s wedding. His reaction and the entire walk of honor, pride, and joy. And then when he gets the shocking news that makes him leave the house and cries in the first fifteen seconds of running on the streets. And then the scene after the funeral after he opens the shop and goes mad. Raksha Bandhan is definitely Akshay Kumar’s best performance since Pad Man and one of the best of his career.

CLOSING REMARKS

Raksha Bandhan is a missed opportunity that couldn’t do justice to a social message due to bad writing and unimpressive aesthetics. The film relied on Akshay Kumar instead of a promising plot. It is a one-timer but a blessing for the eyes of Akshay Kumar fans.

RATINGS: 4.5/10

SUBSCRIBE TO MY YOUTUBE CHANNEL AND WATCH MY FILM REVIEW HERE

FOLLOW ‘THE DARK KNAIK’ ON OTHER SOCIAL PLATFORMS

TIKTOK  https://www.tiktok.com/@thedarkknaik
FACEBOOK https://www.facebook.com/thedarkknaik
INSTAGRAM https://www.instagram.com/thedarkknaik/

TWITTER

TV Reviews

TV Review: Welcome to Wrexham

STORY

Two American celebrities grab an opportunity to invest and become the owners of a Welsh football club, Wrexham A.F.C. The journey from takeover until the conclusion of the first season under their ownership is documented in ”Welcome to Wrexham”.

INTRODUCTION

”Welcome to Wrexham” is a sports documented series by FX that covers all the important events that have occurred with time since Rob McElhenney and Ryan Reynolds bought the club. Wrexham A.F.C. Why Wrexham? Why this club has blown the trumpets all over the world among the football loyalists? There are two major reasons that reflect highly on Wrexham’s significance.

One is history. Wrexham A.F.C. is the oldest football club of Wales and the third-oldest professional football club in the world. The club was formed in 1864 and since then, the Racecourse Stadium has been the club’s home. Therefore, this is the world’s oldest international football stadium that itself was established back in 1807.

There was a time when the club used to be Wales’ best club. In the late 1970s, Wrexham actually reached to the second division. But in the eighties, the city become economically challenged with increasing unemployment. With that followed a sore collapse in the club’s performance and got repeatedly relegated. Since 2008, the club has been playing in the National League which is the lowest division in the English Football Pyramid.

The second compelling significance is the people of Wrexham. Their staunch enthusiasm and passion for football has kept the spirit of the club alive for 150 years. The one remarkable proof of their dedication is the existence of the club’s official public house, The Turf. This tavern was built back in the 1840s and since the inception of the club, this place has lit up to gather the locals and support the club at any cost. In the past, it was the only pub to be built inside the ground of a football club. Today, this is the oldest pub in the United Kingdom for any sports.

Observing what Wrexham stands for in the British football, the coverage of their remarkable tale of football attracts the global football audience to be sticking around towards their progress.

REVIEW

WELCOME TO WREXHAM- Pictured: (l-r) Ryan Reynolds, Rob McElhenney. CR: Patrick McElhenney/FX.

”Welcome to Wrexham” has many incredible aspects for a sports docu-series. The show serves its purpose not only in reminding us football fans why Wrexham story should be narrated louder and deserves revival but also showing us what it takes to the owners and the locals to raise optimism to see them achieve success.

Yes, Rob and Ryan like a few American owners of football clubs have no knowledge of ‘soccer’ as we can watch in the episodes that they try to understand how this game and the whole football system in the United Kingdom works. But the point that I loved about them is that they found a purpose to buy the club. Considering to document the whole new-era club-story has to be the wisest decision. Not only recording the whole progress brought awareness in the global football audience but also helped in generating the revenue that contributed to the seasonal budget.

By this way, Rob and Ryan with or without intentions also demonstrated to the world how the business decisions and strategies can help fetch the positive results in a venture where you have your heart but the knowledge is minimal. More than that, Rob and Ryan set an example by getting accustomed and understand the system, the society, and the legacy of the local club. Visiting ”The Turf”, meeting hardcore club supporters, asking their opinions and taking suggestions. Things like these wins the locals and builds the trust. Despite all the investments and further heartbreaks, they trusted in the manager, the staff, and the squad.

The presentation and editing of the series makes the case to develop interest towards such an incredible underdog story. Wrexham story under Rob and Ryan is something the writer and director seeks to script down and intensify the proceedings. Wrexham’s last season needed no spice to add up. The earlier episodes stretched to their failures and changed the tone with their winning ways. It looked like some Bollywood larger-than-life unthinkable tale. So, I particularly liked how the show maintained the tone while depicting their ups and downs.

Another point of admiration is that the makers of the show reflected most of the sentimental setup around the Wrexham society that correlates with the club. The show took care of covering the club’s die-hard supporters and volunteers. Broadly covered the personal lives of a few of them. Even after losing the last league game, no fan left and cheered for the team. Recording such scenes grows the following of the show.

CLOSING REMARKS

Impressive leadership skills, never-say-die spirit of Wrexham fans, and superb presentation of the whole Rob-Ryan football journey has won the hearts of millions of fans. Like many, I whole-heartedly wish Wrexham football club all the success. If you are passionate to listen and watch a football story, Wrexham should not be avoided at all.

I wonder what if Wrexham gets promotion and with time, progress to reach Premier League one day? It is a tough call. English football is mad and unpredictable. But if Wrexham reaches to the highest football rank with all these years-long recording, ‘Welcome to Wrexham’ will be the greatest club football story ever told.

SUBSCRIBE TO MY YOUTUBE CHANNEL AND WATCH MY TV REVIEW HERE

FOLLOW ‘THE DARK KNAIK’ ON OTHER SOCIAL PLATFORMS

TIKTOK  https://www.tiktok.com/@thedarkknaik
FACEBOOK https://www.facebook.com/thedarkknaik
INSTAGRAM https://www.instagram.com/thedarkknaik/

TWITTER

Film Reviews

Film Review: Laal Singh Chaddha (2022)

STORY

Laal Singh Chaddha narrates his incredible story on the train to the nearby passengers as he travels to meet the love of his life.

INTRODUCTION

Laal Singh Chaddha is the official adaptation of the Oscar-winning film ‘Forrest Gump‘ with Aamir Khan returning to the silver screen after a gap of four years to play the Indian version of Tom Hanks‘ most memorable and one of Hollywood’s iconic roles ever.

REVIEW

So obviously, considering what ‘Forrest Gump’ means to the audience and the reputation it has built for decades being the darling of the global audience, there was immense pressure on Aamir Khan and the crew to put on a show that gives at least half-decent remake of the original classic. Most regrettably, Laal Singh Chaddha stands nowhere close to an average crafted film, forget about being a remake.

ALIEN KHAN

It is a classic disaster thanks to Aamir Khan that the mighty collapses right from the beginning when he opens his mouth to speak to the passenger on the train. It is no surprise that the center of satisfaction from the film rests on Aamir Khan’s shoulders. What surprises me is the actor, Mr. Perfectionist, who is well-known for his original takes on some interesting characters he has played throughout his career, is attempting to imitate Tom Hanks in Forrest Gump instead of bringing his own method. And in this process, Aamir Khan is neither convincing the audience nor appealing. And this is one of the major reasons for the film’s box-office failure.

When you listen to his Punjabi accent, it clearly sounds that something is not right. Aamir is certainly not the right choice for a Punjabi character and that was visible in Rang de Basanti. And then the younger version of Laal that he acted, it was like watching Aamir in ‘3 Idiots‘ and ‘PK‘. Same facial expressions and performance. And it is disappointing that an actor known for perfectly adjusting himself to the character has given identical performances in not one but three different films. In the younger version, he looked more mentally unstable than he was as a child. Extreme overacting.

WRITING NEXT TO NONSENSE!

The entire continuity questions the credibility of the screenwriting which is second to nonsense. Spreading humor in a drama for average entertainment is acceptable if executed well. But here, I feel as if the director was confused about how to justify the remake and connect the dots. First, he ridiculed India’s historic timeline to settle Laal’s stupendous journey to legacy. Second, he overstretched the plot and suffocated the audience in an awful second half. And third, the entire film looks like a Google translation.

Laal’s childhood highlights India’s state of Emergency under former PM Indira Gandhi, India’s World Cup winning moment occurs minutes later, and then the Anti-Sikh riots in Amritsar. If you have watched the film with active brains, you will realize that these three incidents occurred in different years. The emergency event happened in the mid-70s, India won the World Cup in 1983 and the riots occurred the next year. So how is the young boy Laal Singh Chaddha not growing for approximately eight to nine years? Or if the director is depicting that all three events happened one after the other which is more silly. In both cases, there is a big hole in the writing.

I must mention the supporting character of Bala played by Naga Chaitanya in his Hindi debut. It must have to be the most annoying character of 2022 or maybe of recent years. Playing the original role of Bubba from Forrest Gump, it was sickening to watch him repeat his passion for undergarments and remake scene-to-scene from the original source.

When you remake an original source, the writing demands a re-introduction on a whole new level of presentation expecting that the writer will come up with a thoughtful story adapting from the original idea. But here, Laal Singh Chaddha shows no intention to play a different beat. Besides adjusting Laal’s life story with the Indian side of historical moments, almost every plot development, almost every scene is straight from ‘Forrest Gump’. And this is one of the reasons why the audience disliked the film. The writer made absolutely no effort in coming up with their own idea to revise the whole plot.

WHAT A MISS!

In order to settle Laal’s life story with some historic moments, the film shows how the local boy of Delhi become a megastar in Bollywood with Shah Rukh Khan playing his own role. It was funny that his iconic arms-stretched-out pose was joked to be inspired by Laal. But what I want to complain about is a big miss. Amongst the three major Khans, the two who have never shared the screen as the lead or starred in the same film are Shah Rukh and Aamir. Salman Khan has starred with both of them in the past. And Shah Rukh and Aamir shared the screen for a few seconds in a cameo in Ashutosh Gowariker‘s “Pehla Nasha“. Despite the fact that Aamir Khan is the producer of this film and roped in Shah Rukh to play a cameo, they still didn’t share the same screen. How idiotic! What a miss!

PLUSES

 

Yes, ironically there are a few pluses like Satyajit Pande‘s cinematography and Tanuj Tiku‘s background score. A couple of tracks were good too. The makers raised the issue of domestic abuse well. But the biggest plus of the film that impressed me was Mona Singh who played Laal Singh Chaddha’s mother. She was impressive throughout the film. Watch her, particularly in the scene of the riots.

CLOSING REMARKS

So Laal Singh Chaddha has all the reasons to terribly fail at the box office and disappoint the audience. This has to be Aamir Khan’s worst performance in ages. He needs to become choosy again about the selection of his films because his recent run has been awful. Those who have never watched Forrest Gump can enjoy this translated version.

Was Laal Singh Chaddha that bad to be rejected in India? I don’t think so. We have watched worse Indian films than Laal Singh Chaddha. Then what happened?

I feel there was a particular hate campaign by the Hindu nationalists of the ruling party on a large scale that played its part. Back in 2015, Aamir Khan expressed his insecurity about living in India in one interview. That circulated before the film’s release.

The ruling party pushed its supporters to share more than 200,000 tweets demanding to boycott film with the hashtag ‘Boycott Laal Singh Chaddha’. That flamed severe hatred and due to this reason, Laal Singh Chaddha earned only ₹58.73 crore in India against a production budget of ₹180 crore.

But, if you observe the collections from abroad, those were far better than in India. You will be surprised to know that Laal Singh Chaddha became 2022’s highest-grossing Hindi film at the international box office and earned more than Gangubai Kathiawadi, Bhool Bhulaiyaa 2, and ruling party’s all-time favorite ‘The Kashmir Files‘.

So yes, more than all the reasons I stated above, the hate campaign was a bigger reason that flopped the film.

RATINGS: 3/10

SUBSCRIBE TO MY YOUTUBE CHANNEL AND WATCH MY FILM REVIEW HERE

FOLLOW ‘THE DARK KNAIK’ ON OTHER SOCIAL PLATFORMS

TIKTOK  https://www.tiktok.com/@thedarkknaik
FACEBOOK https://www.facebook.com/thedarkknaik
INSTAGRAM https://www.instagram.com/thedarkknaik/

TWITTER

Film Reviews

Film Review: Argentina, 1985 (2022)

STORY

In 1985, prosecutors Julio César Strassera and Luis Moreno Ocampo fights a criminal case against the military dictators that ruled Argentina from 1976 to 1983. When Strassera is unable to recruit lawyers to form his prosecution team, then Ocampo joins his cause and shockingly recruits a bunch of young law graduates and amateur lawyers to take on the most powerful people in the country.

HISTORICAL BACKGROUND

The Argentine military led by Jorge Rafael Videla seized political power during the 1976 coup against Isabel Perón. When the military established their government, they proceeded to launch their state terrorism campaign which is famously known as the ‘Dirty War‘ that lasted until 1983.

Under this campaign, around 9,000 to 30,000 civilians including the supporters of Perón were either killed or forcibly disappeared. Many of the victims were tortured and were put to extrajudicial murder.

For these intolerable crimes against humanity, the ‘Trial of the Juntas‘ happened two years after the military dictatorship collapsed in 1983 severely after losing the Falklands War against the British. This trial was a historical moment because, for the first time, a civil justice convicted a military dictatorship. And this trial is what the film ‘Argentina, 1985‘ is based on.

REVIEW

The film with all its seriousness finds a narrative way that is convincing for the audience. It is a well-directed film. In 140 screen minutes, the film covers the difficulties the prosecutor Strassera faced, the efforts of the young prosecution team in building a solid case against the criminals, the addresses of the victims that were painful, and many more.

Strassera is the central figure of the film where the writing acknowledges how stressful it was to take the case as well as look after the family. Ocampo, who worked with him in this trial, was also severely under-pressure. There is a sequence where Ocampo is scared of something bad occurring in the court. I liked that part of giving the audience a horror image of the prosecutors who are playing with fire and are unable to hold their temporary mental catastrophe.

The courtroom drama is absolutely not dramatic to the usual standards that we often watch. And due to this reason, the audience will get a real feel of the proceedings. The real heart of the film is in the middle that will boil the blood listening to the tortures the witnesses suffered when they testify in the cross-examination phase, particularly of Adriana Calvo.

HISTORICAL ACCURACY

As far as accuracy is concerned, the film has used real footage to level the dramatization. A few aspects of the writing are true but some of the scenes looked to be exaggerated like the prosecutor and Viola making insulting gestures, judges at the restaurant, Judith mocking the lawyer, and the interviews of the young graduates, etc.

Strassera’s closing argument is around nine minutes of screen time which indicates how significant this address was for justice and the people of Argentina. The audience may feel that the closing argument had no intensity and Strassera just read the argument. But this is exactly how Strassera, in real, addressed the court. The spectators getting jubilant and emotional with a standing ovation is all in the footage.

THE TITLE

The makers surely had plenty of options to entitle the film. The most fitting could have been ‘Juicio a las Juntas’ (Trial of the Juntas) but they chose ‘Argentina, 1985’. That leads to a few theories that make this title a more fitting title than ‘Juicio a las Juntas’. The most compelling theory is that this year was a defining moment in the country’s history that learned from the political mess and shaped the country for better economic and social growth.

CLOSING REMARKS

I am not sure how often an Argentine or Spanish film has dramatized this event before. But I feel that this was the need of the hour. The fall of the military dictatorship is considered the re-independence of the country.

This historical drama successfully highlights how the judicial system of a country sets an example for others and brings dangerous people to justice. I wanted to watch a short dramatization of military violence to initiate this film. Looks incomplete without it. But in all sorts, ‘Argentina, 1985’ has set the bar high for courtroom dramas. And addressed their national crisis with justice.

Nunca más!

RATING: 8.3/10

SUBSCRIBE TO MY YOUTUBE CHANNEL AND WATCH MY FILM REVIEW HERE

FOLLOW ‘THE DARK KNAIK’ ON OTHER SOCIAL PLATFORMS

TIKTOK  https://www.tiktok.com/@thedarkknaik
FACEBOOK https://www.facebook.com/thedarkknaik
INSTAGRAM https://www.instagram.com/thedarkknaik/

TWITTER

Film Reviews

Film Review: Emily (2022)

STORY

Nearing her death and after the publication of her novel, Emily Brontë remembers her troubled past when she and her brother Branwell spent their time playing, drinking, and scaring people out. During all this, a handsome curate William Weightman becomes a frequent visitor to the Brontës. And he and Emily, out of nowhere, develops a romantic affair.

THE BRONTËS

British literature history will never forget that one of the houses in Yorkshire produced not one, not two but three writers who at such young ages wrote one of the most beloved novels. They were three sisters; Charlotte, Emily, and Anne. Charlotte wrote ‘Jane Eyre‘. Emily’s only published novel was ‘Wuthering Heights‘. And Anne, the youngest of them, wrote only two novels in her lifetime, ‘Agnes Grey‘ and ‘The Tenant of Wildfell Hall‘.

This tendency of minimal but significant writing makes us believe that blessed literary prodigies came into existence who left this world at such young ages. They would certainly have done wonders had they all lived longer.

REVIEW

The film dramatizes all the family members and centralizes on Emily by reimagining her life with creative liberties. Unsure if the writing of Emily’s character in the film is accurate. But I get the motive that the filmmakers wanted the audience to understand why Emily chose to be sadistic as compared to the other sisters.

The dramatization of the old British era has always been on point. So the technicalities were not the primary concern for me. My keenness towards the film was to observe if Emily Brontë is characterized by the personal rank that justifies her significance to the birth of ‘Wuthering Heights’. Therefore, I couldn’t settle myself into that presentation.

EMILY AS EMILY

Something looked off in the writing. And that persistently is Emily’s portrayal of herself. Because she was an introvert, a timid and reserved woman who sometimes was unable to speak in public. She was a daydreamer who is understood to have created her own fictional universe. She was considered ‘The Strange One’. But the hows and whys of being ‘The Strange One’ were not fully understood.

And due to the reason Emily is so unknown to us, the filmmakers gave their vision and took liberty about her life and tried to reason it. But a fictional reimagination will come to debate when you alter the timeline or historical accuracies.

HISTORICAL INACCURACIES

For example, the film shows that ‘Wuthering Heights’ is published under her name whereas it was published under her name after her death. The Brontë sisters used male pseudonyms for publishing novels because the author being a woman was quite unthinkable and there was a fear of rejection that would hurt the publishing company’s business. Thank Lord, how much the world has progressed from there.

Charlotte’s ‘Jane Eyre’ doesn’t revolve around the film and is depicted in a way that she got that inspiration after Branwell and Emily died. Whereas ‘Jane Eyre’ happened before ‘Wuthering Heights’. If this is all intentional, for me, it makes no sense. The power of writing compromises for lacking critical factualities.

Affair with Weightman?

The biggest mess is Emily shown to be in love with William Weightman. There is no trace or fact-finding if Emily ever fell in love. And then I also question, how come she wrote ‘Wuthering Heights’? The principal curator of Brontë Parsonage Museum, Ann Dinsdale, has told The Telegraph that there is no evidence that Emily had a love affair with anyone. William Weightman is rumored to have an affair with the youngest sister, Anne.

So the director tried to squeeze the younghood of feminine liberty and didn’t only make Emily kiss William Weightman but commit multiple intercourses. Unsure of how far you can go with the character. Not being a conservative here but I believe Emily would have been written much better.

THE BIGGEST PLUS

Yes, I must praise Emma Mackay‘s selection for the titular role. She really fitted in that character and gave us a thorough look at the suffering and desperation. The devastation that she throws on William is what I am talking about.

CLOSING REMARKS

‘Emily’ is an assumption galvanizing a possibility of vibrance in Emily Brontë’s supposedly love life. But the attempt of justifying the What-Ifs is ridiculed by passive writing.

RATING: 6/10

 

SUBSCRIBE TO MY YOUTUBE CHANNEL AND WATCH MY FILM REVIEW HERE

FOLLOW ‘THE DARK KNAIK’ ON OTHER SOCIAL PLATFORMS

TIKTOK  https://www.tiktok.com/@thedarkknaik
FACEBOOK https://www.facebook.com/thedarkknaik
INSTAGRAM https://www.instagram.com/thedarkknaik/

TWITTER

TV Reviews

TV Review: That ’90s Show

STORY

16 years after the events that wrapped in ‘That ’70s Show‘, the house of the Formans in the fictional town of Point Place in Wisconsin becomes lively in the summer of 1995 when Leia Forman arrives to spend time with her grandparents and joins a group of teenagers.

REVIEW

“That ’90s Show” is a spin-off of “That ’70s Show” with Kurtwood Smith and Debra Jo Rupp as the cantankerous Red and super-cheerful Kitty Forman returning as one of television history’s most beloved parents ever.

The aesthetics are the same and the fans of That ’70s Show will be excited to get into the skin of the spin-off so easily. The nostalgia is there and is still vibrant.

Red Forman has gone a little soft by some tiny little percent and is understood as the character goes older. If anyone notices, he begins to hold a stick in the second half of the season.

But Kitty hasn’t aged. Debra Jo Rupp has not aged at all. She is still someone where heart melts for the elders. The Formans are still a joy to watch. I wish Betty White would have returned as Kitty’s mother. She passed away a few months after the announcement of this show.

OLD BATCH

The old batch of young rebels that starred Topher Grace as Eric, Ashton Kutcher as Michael, Mila Kunis as Jackie, Laura Prepon as Donna, Danny Masterson as Steven, and Wilmer Valderamma as Fez, shows up as cameos which was quite understood as they do not have much favor to do in the script.

Maybe it is surprising that the reunion of the group didn’t happen. Perhaps, it is better to keep it for the future when the audience settles well into the second season of the show. Who knows? Maybe Danny Masterson as Steven Hyde makes a cameo in the future and we manage to see a complete reunion only if he gets cleared as Danny is hit with heavy sexual assault allegations that have finished his career to date.

But the rest of the old friends were fun to watch especially Eric Forman. The father-son chemistry just never fades at all.

NEW BATCH

Coming to the new batch of teenage friends. At first, I wasn’t confident about how far will they take the show to convince the audience in a new phase of fashion, music, and humor. Plus, the show is run by Netflix, which began to indicate whether the political messages will ruin the show.

See, the Netflix element is present and it is very obvious that the new batch will never be able to stand as the new favorites as those in the ’70s were. I felt that the makers remade the nostalgia in the new band. The theme, the personifications, and the references were all there. I am okay with it but settling for the new band to act the very way as the older ones lack originality.

Nate and Nikki are the new Michael and Jackie. Ozzie is the new Steven. Jay is the new Fez and I must praise the selection for Jay as Michael and Jackie’s son was so accurate. I thought if the actor is actually the son of Ashton and Mila. And this Kelso is smarter than his father.

And speaking of the Kelsos, Michael and Jackie are remarried. If I am not wrong, Jackie was with Fez in the series finale. I have forgotten if Jackie went back to Michael in the finale or what? Maybe we get to see Jackie and Fez in the future.

Ozzie represents the Queer community and is gay. And I think it was a good idea to address the complicated silence of that group of teenagers in the ’90s living in the US who were overthinking to coming out. And it was never easy for the kids to show their parents and friends who they were. It still is not easy for sure but Ozzie’s character went in the right direction.

Isn’t it that funny Eric and Donna named their daughter Leia? Knowing the fact that Eric is a lifetime lover of Star Wars, naming her Leia looked so naturally funny. They must have added a character of Leia’s brother and named him Luke. Leia is the new Eric, awkward and nerd.

CLOSING REMARKS

If the use of humor in this group looks to fall apart, remember this is a teenage comedy and we are older now. We certainly cannot expect them to build the same ambiance as the oldies did.

It is plain stupid if the audience compares it with the original. But one thing is for sure, in order to run the follow-up in the right direction, the show does not disappoint at all. It is not at all trash. Even if you do not like it, at least you will agree this is a lot better than the last season. “That ’90s Show” is funny and enjoyable and will make the audience wait for the second season.

SUBSCRIBE TO MY YOUTUBE CHANNEL AND WATCH MY TV REVIEW HERE

FOLLOW ‘THE DARK KNAIK’ ON OTHER SOCIAL PLATFORMS

TIKTOK

https://www.tiktok.com/@thedarkknaik

FACEBOOK

https://www.facebook.com/thedarkknaik

INSTAGRAM

https://www.instagram.com/thedarkknaik/

TWITTER

Film Reviews

Film Review: Trans-Europ-Express (1966)

Trans-Europ-Express was a 1966 French experimental film about three people involved in establishing a film plot while riding on a train. During the travel, they discuss and present their idea about the plotline and its continuity for their next film. And the plot plays in the entire film with their commentary.

The French film industry was very thoughtful about the innovative approaches to filmmaking and this is why I choose this film. An around 100-minute film about the ifs and buts of future film projects where the makers try to reason their plot and bring it to an ultimate end.

Plus their plot ran the screen in a careful characterizing of the leading actor Elias (Jean-Louis Trintignant) whose cocaine consignment is mixed with his own sexual fantasies with the prostitutes. The detailing of intimate scenes is striking. This is called exploitation cinema where the film majorly focuses or emphasizes a subject within the main plotline. The director takes time in exploiting the actor’s dark sexual desires.

Special praise for the camera work who took some breathtaking shots of beautiful women in the film. Especially the hotel scenes, where Elias takes pleasure in Eva’s company. The enchantment is dominant.

The film is directed by Alain Robbe-Grillet who was vastly known for his artistic and experimental techniques in filmmaking. The film deserves praise for being different from the usual.

RATING: 7/10

SUBSCRIBE TO MY YOUTUBE CHANNEL AND WATCH MY FILM REVIEW HERE

FOLLOW ‘THE DARK KNAIK’ ON OTHER SOCIAL PLATFORMS

TIKTOK  https://www.tiktok.com/@thedarkknaik
FACEBOOK https://www.facebook.com/thedarkknaik
INSTAGRAM https://www.instagram.com/thedarkknaik/

TWITTER