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Marui Video (2023)
The motive behind those possessions...
The ghost/vengeful spirit of Cho Kyung-could have killed his crazy father & took his revenge without possessing some random individuals, then committing some random crime. Particularly, the killing in Dongsungjang Inn was unnecessary, as the spirit was able to travel to the Inn, he could have possessed anyone to haunt & kill Byung-sun on any day as he owned the Inn and was hiding on the top floor for quite some time. That ghost was intentionally seeking media attention, I guess.
Overall, MARUI got a decent budget & fine production value; I just expected it to be a lot more creepier as an Asian found footage horror. There aren't much quality FF flicks out there from Asia actually. I've seen very few so far; i.e. NOROI, INCANTATION, OCCULT, A RECORD OF SWEET MURDER and THE MEDIUM.
Surongo (2023)
Good story that deserved a little more compact & better execution
SURONGO primarily comes with 2 acts...an introduction of a greedy wife, Moyna; how she manupulates and abuses her husband, Masud for money. In the 2nd act, the titular & more interesting 'Surongo' parts begins and I hoped this would get more focus from the beginning on a back and forth manner. Technically Rafi's film shines in the major areas i.e. Cinematography, lighting, background scores (mostly). The adult contents could have been handled more skillfully rather than throwing some random intimate scenes on the screen. Nisho & Shahiduzzaman Salim delivered best with their respective well written character arc. Though Toma Mirza did a competent job with her role, specially in dialogue delivery but with her "glamorous look" she felt kind of miscast for this part of a rural, deceitful femme fatale at times. The best part of the movie was its ending that will surely satisfy most of the moviegoers.
Evil Dead Rise (2023)
Better than ED (2013) but lacks eeriness & tension
The urban setting of a rundown apartment complex was really a nice idea for the series and the Writer-director Lee Cronin quite decently exploited that premise. I'm not a huge fan of Fede Alvarez's 2013 version but this one at least satisfied me in terms of its portrayal of Deadites. That being said, I still think the original deadites from Raimi's first 2 Evil Dead were the best; maybe I'm an old-school guy but still nothing beats those Tom Sullivan's awesome, practical make-up effects, IMO.
Alyssa Sutherland was the star of this show. She deserved to get regular in more horror films in the coming days.
Lee Cronin's EDR is fairly dense with gore contents, my only complaint is that it could be more chilling in terms of creepy encounters in multiple occasions but Cronin didn't spend much time to develop those eerieness with adequate momentum. Like, I thoroughly enjoyed EDR for its deadites' action & gory stuff but it rarely able to creep me out in its entire runtime.
Overall, a decent addition to the franchise, definitely worth a watch.
Ostatnia wieczerza (2022)
In the last few minutes...
Conceptually it wasn't bad; just needed a different take that should have treated the idea with more creepy set pieces instead of its somewhat 'conventional thriller' approach. The last 10 minutes or so was fun but I didn't expect the demon to show up in a broad daylight! The final revelation should have been more atmospheric, engaging & eerily done. It would be better if one or two "Possessed female prisoners" had little more importance or space in the script, I guess.
Overall, not a terrible film but could have been more twisted & entertaining. The dubbing was alright except for Prior Andrzej.
Halloween Ends (2022)
A lame idea to conclude a mediocre trilogy
The story arc of Corey Cunningham wasn't a terrible one, just doesn't fit in a popular franchise like Halloween. They could have used it in a standalone film as an origin story for a murderer or a next possible slasher icon.
ENDS felt more like a middle part (4,5 or 6) of a long running series that no one ever asked for to happen. I'm pretty sure many fans of this series won't like the way they treated Michael in this film.
Expected a lot better from David Gordon Green & Danny Mcbride duo. They managed to give us a promising start back in 2018, followed by a flawed sequel (KILLS)....that at least had the better premise in terms of providing the "necessary End" to this reboot trilogy. Anyway, little disappointed to see Gordon & Danny concluded their efforts in a such uninspired, dull & forgettable fashion.
Gargi (2022)
A stellar Sai Pallavi show!
Director Gautham Ramachandran deserves all the praise for handling such emotionally absorbing & delicate subject matter with much grace & respectful manner from the very beginning. But the star of his twisted, hard hitting legal drama is Sai Pallavi on the titular role. She's a calm, determined & self-dependent woman who seeks justice for her father who is accused of rape of a 9 year old girl! Pallavi as Gargi owns every frame of the movie with a very realistic, compelling performance. Her pain, helplessness and desperation is the heart of this shockingly moving tale. This is definitely one of the finest performances by an Indian actress I have seen in recent years.
The supporting cast also did a tremendous job for conveying the impactful essence of this cinema. A special nod I'd like to give to Saravanan, the man who soulfully portrayed the father of the victim.
Paap Punyo (2022)
An interesting story that suffered for uninspired direction
Paap Punyo comes with a good story where the cast tried hard to pull it through mostly.
But the thing that frustrated me most was flat, uninspired direction by Gias Uddin Salim. Probably due to dull camera work, editing or lack of BGM, he failed to capture the total essence of the story effectively here. In some parts, scene transition or moving one sequence to another felt quite clumsy. In multiple occasions, there were moments that supposed to be emotionally impactful but sadly failed to reach the mark that they were intended for.
Moreover, the whole trunk incident in the train was kind of questionable. Chanchal's character was an honest chairman of a locality but how come he turned out to be so stupid to take the responsibility of such a suspicious luggage from some unknown people?! Considering the timeline of the story, the whole thing actually happened AFTER he killed Al Amin (Siam) and put his dead body to a similar luggage and threw it to a river! Btw, that res suitcase was too small for a Siam-sized body :D We get the irony of his fate but this series of events could have been portrayed in a more believable manner.
Overall, it was a fine, twisted story that deserved better screen adaptation, IMO.
She Will (2021)
Revenge delivers at Witching hour with a superb BGM!
This slow burn psychological "Witching' horror flick at times felt like a psychedelic trip with some art-house potentials. In her directorial debut, Charlotte Colbert delivers this meditative, atmospheric horror where ideas like child abuse, trauma and vengeance slowly gets steeped in witchcraft lore quite intriguingly.
Kudos to Clint Mansell from crafting a superb background score that contributed a lot to set the mood & kept me glued to the the screen.
Hawa (2022)
Pleasantly Surprised! A Supernatural-Slasher for Bangladeshi Cinema!
Ill fortune follows on the boat of Chan Majhi (Chanchal Chowdhury), when his group of fishermen finds a beautiful young woman in their fishing net at the mid-sea. Tension rises along with mistrust, misfortune and body-count when mystery surrounding the 'mute-woman' gradually starts to reveal with deadly consequences.
Beautifully shot, capturing the ever lustful appeal of Bay of Bengal and nuances of life on the sea, director Mejbaur Rahman Sumon mostly succeeds in HAWA for skillful framing and some stunning cinematography. But a big thumbs up also goes to the whole cast for their standout performances on their respective roles.
Based on a Siren-like local folklore, HAWA is a pleasant surprise for a Bangladeshi cinema that offers a twisted tale of supernatural with a little dose of "Slasher" also in its tensed 2nd half! Considering the general standard of genre-filmmaking in BD, the film indeed deserves all the hype.
Mousa (2021)
Could have been an interesting Anti-Superhero film!
An Egyptian attempt into superhero genre, inspired by Hollywood blockbusters like IRON MAN or CHAPPIE.
Story wise it was quite messy with an annoyingly awkward & extremely shy character on the lead (the engineering college student who invents Mousa, the robot). It seems like the team behind the film wasn't much sure of the idea and how to actually plot & execute it with a sensible & engaging approach.
Though there's a college professor who was kinda against him for some lame reason but there was actually no clear antagonist in this film. Although there was a plot element that could have been use as a tool to make it interesting; just for a change, by turning it into an anti-superhero or vigilante film (!)....like a evil group of people gets hold of that robot and somehow manipulates its creator (Yehia) to serve their interest only, resulting the thin line between right & wrong, justice or plain vengeance eventually gone blurry. At the end it would be the protagonist's journey to rectify his mistakes, finally make some better decisions and becomes the hero that he deserves to be.
The Secret of Sinchanee (2021)
Very ordinary
The concept was fine but it needed some clever touches to make it interesting which was totally missing in the film. This is a pretty mediocre horror flick with an uninspired script & dull characters. Felt like a TV movie at times.
Doraibu mai kâ (2021)
Saab 900 Turbo
Aside from its very compelling story & characterization on grief & tragedy, the unusual thing that grabbed my attention was the beautiful car that they used in the film for the main character. It's a Saab 900 Turbo...from a defunct Swedish car manufacturer, Saab Automobile AB. Later acquired by GM, followed by a Dutch automobile manufacturer but went bankrupt in 2011, then again a Swedish company (NEVS) bought it that eventually lost the license in 2014.
As a diecast collector for 1:64 scale, I just wish someone would have made a diecast version of it. Matchbox did once but not this model. Found a very few 43 scale though on ebay.
The Batman (2022)
Exceeded My Expectations
A young, brooding Batman tracking down a calculative, menacing Riddler in a neo-noir, corrupted Gotham with dark secrets. Intriguingly inspird by Long Halloween, Matt Reeves delivered a superb Batman movie that I was rooting for years! Even to some extent, he went beyond than that.
I'll love to see more of his take on Bat-verse in coming years.
Texas Chainsaw Massacre (2022)
Quite silly & terrible idea for another pointless sequel
Considering the end credit scene, putting Leatherface in that old Orphanage setting in the middle of an abandoned town didn't make any sense at all. It seems they did it just to make that massacre in the bus to happen....what a load of crap! How they pitched this idea to the studio?! And some morons even bought that!
The kills were fine but the director & the cast just needed a far better script to work with.
Spider-Man: No Way Home (2021)
The Best Fan service ever done triggered by nostalgia!
Like most of their earlier popular titles this isn't something flawless or 'perfectly balanced' but still they manages to pulled it off through an effective fan service triggered by pure nostalgia. Besides some minor editing issues & few character attributes, NWH delivered almost everything it promised. For being a lifelong fan of this character(s), it's a pretty satisfying experience with a wonderfully done moving ending.
Tom Holland's Spidey finally comes full circle at the end. Kudos to this young actor for delivering his best performance so far. Damn...he must be the luckiest young actor in the world right now!
Moreover, I think I'd love to see a 2 hour long Green Goblin movie played by Willem Dafoe any day! This legend is a gem to watch in his every scene!
I'm a 40+ old dude and today I watched it on the first show with my 7 year old daughter. We had a good time at the theater. Thing is I'm glad that I've enjoyed it thoroughly; the little kid inside me hasn't died yet and still manages to enjoy this kind of stuffs at this point of life.
Keep rolling, MCU! Thanks for being there.
Rehana Maryam Noor (2021)
An Amazingly Strong Female lead that we rarely see in a movie
I think Rehana is one of the best written strong female leads that I have seen in movies in recent years. The most intriguing part is she isn't perfect; she's flawed & arrogant at times and that made her so much grounded & believable at the core.
Rehana's determination, anger & at the same time helplessness in her everyday struggle was set against our broken values & views towards women and director Abdullah Mohammad Saad depicted that flawlessly through a confined premise of a workplace and bluish, nightmarish color tone till the very symbolic, last sequence of the movie. This settings quite skillfully captures Rehana's suffocating surrounding and fights for the justice; yet at the same time slowly unfolds another excellent sub-plot of her little daughter who is also going through a terrible time at the school.
On its premier, the film received a standing ovation at the 2021 Cannes Film Festival; and I must say, at least for the performance of Azmeri Haque Badhon on the lead, supported by Afia Jahin Jaima, that amazing child actress played the role of Rehana's daughter...both truly deserved that. With Rehana, now I can finally see a new dawn for Bangladeshi cinema...which was more or less in a limbo for quite a long time. As a Bangladeshi viewer, this just made me proud that a hard hitting film like this have made in Bangladesh!
Encanto (2021)
The Best of Disney animation in last 5 years!
This is not Disney's COCO, rather different & still refreshing. With top notch animation quality, voice works and music the effort was really admirable. The story had potential to go on different routes but liked the way they kept it simple & moving. I had a good time with my family.
Last Night in Soho (2021)
This is a Disappointment!
Surprisingly a very mediocre & predictable thriller that could have been half an hour shorter. The production value was great and the two female lead did their best, specially AT Joy was ravishing in almoat every scene but cobsidering her talent, she deserved better film than this.
Dune (2021)
Felt like a pilot episode for a long running series
As an introductory installment to Frank Herbert's epic saga, his massive world of Dune, needless to say Denis Villeneuve done his primary objective successfully. It clearly makes lots of promises with stunning audio-visual spectacles and A-list star cast but I'm not sure whether another 3-hour long movie would do justice to its original source material properly. This sort of epic stories epic stories ( i.e. Game of Thrones, Star Wars, Lord of the Rings) fueled with politics, conspiracy, moral dilemma with conflicts and rise & fall of a hero or a villainous figure... need time & events to establish the characters, plot & sub-plots with their own fantastical elements.
The characters were introduced here nicely but I think it may require few additional touches to grow on you. Hope the characters will land on their foot properly with lasting impacts in the next part (specially Timothée Chalamet as Paul Atreides) but when the scale is so large I was hoping to get more strong build up this time.
Overall, felt like a pilot episode for a possible long running series or at least 4-part miniseries or quadrilogy.
Rebecca Ferguson as as Lady Jessica Atreides and Stellan Skargard as Baron was the star of this show for me. They shined on their respective roles near perfectly. Jason Momoa as Duncan Idaho and Oscar Isaac as Duke Leto also fits in their part but in limited capacity.
No Time to Die (2021)
ALL THE TIME IN THE WORLD
Quite action packed & entertaining. A lot better than QOS & SPECTRE combined...the 3rd best Craig era Bond movie after Casino Royale & Skyfall. I think this is the most conventional Bond film in his time with a simpler script & dialogues. Weakest part in the film was final action set pieces set in the 3rd act. It felt dragged somewhat.
The ending was moving but wasn't necessary, IMO. Well...at least now we all can say that there's only one film in the franchise that went in that route....again which wasn't necessary considering Craig's story arc as Bond and tradition of the series.
ALL THE TIME IN THE WORLD would be more appropriate title than NTTD.
Blame (2021)
When Student film made with a decent budget
Pretty dull thriller. Mostly the script & characterizations were lame & one dimensional. The main idea or plot wasn't nothing new but could have been done with a more intriguing approach and obviously with a better script.
Overall, felt like watching a student film that somehow managed a decent budget & production value.
Skip it, save its 86 minutes of runtime and spent that with friends & family instead.
Seance (2021)
A slasher set on an understaffed Boarding School & very limited location
Not bad for a slasher but the ending was kind of meh or typical. As a film set on a boarding school for girls, it looked severely understaffed, using very limited location & small set of characters. I think it mostly for their budgetary limitations but it looked quite odd at times.
Fantastic Voyage (1966)
Nolan brothers should go for a remake!
"Man is the center of the universe. We stand in the middle of infinity, between outer and inner space. And there's no limit to either."
Two Academy award winning, FANTASTIC VOYAGE is often overlooked, a superior sci-fi classic that got a novelization treatment from Sci-Fi Maestro Isaac Asimov (who fixed the scientific plot holes) and later even wrote a sequel with his own idea!
It's been ages since I last saw this classic with my family as the MOVIE OF THE WEEK in our national TV channel (BTV). And again it turned out a treat to watch after so many years for its exquisitely designs in great detail on a fascinating trip inside the human body!
From James Cameroon to Guillermo del Toro, Hollywood's interest for a remake is in Development Hell since 80s! But after watching it last night, I think a remake or a "fresh" treatment with the same idea can be very interesting and a worth to try if it comes from the Nolan brothers! I'm sure this talented duo can play with this idea to a great length or in an awesome fashion if they really somehow gets involved in the project in coming years.
And my preferred cast for a Christopher Nolan's Fantastic Voyage would be.... Ken Watanabe as the Brain surgeon;
Scarlett Johansson as Cora Peterson - Brain Surgeon's technical assistant (originally played by stunning Raquel Welch);
Michael Fassbender as Dr. Michaels, chief of the medical mission (originally played by Donald Pleasance);
Himesh Patel as the skipper of the ship and Idris Elba or Tom Hardy as Agent Grant.
Godzilla vs. Kong (2021)
An entertaining fan service by Adam Wingard
Though Adam Wingard always been a hit & miss director for me but have to admit he have done a great 'fan service' with GvK. The way he constructed the fight scenes with clear showcase of the brawl and almost zero human intervention...was the best part of this installment.
Kaiju or Giant monster films struggling with relatable human characters isn't a new thing but that doesn't mean it's something impossible to manage in this genre of films. Few Toho made Godzilla films even delivered in Heisei era. Even the very first in MonsterVerse, the 2014 Godzilla movie with Bryan Cranston's Joe Brody was a fine example but they stupidly killed him off very early in that film. This whole franchise could have move forward with that character alone exploring his struggle to live in a world full of Titans that killed his family, his suspicion & rebel against Govt & pvt. Agencies like Monarch & Apex which could have been a sensible arc for this films.
But like the predecessors (mostly KOTM), GvK is also filled with too many characters, some of them were quite unnecessary including M Bobby Brown's Madison Russel, the Deadpool kid, Eiza Gonzalez as Maya Simmons & even Kyle Chandler as Mark Russel. B T Henry's pod caster character, Bernie Hayes could have been developed in a more interesting or serious way with someone like TJ Miller on that role instead.
When you're making a film like this with a "Vs" in the title and particularly keeping the fan base in mind, I think GvK in that regard was quite self-aware film, it almost delivered exactly what the Kaiju fans were expecting...where the plot or much sense in it eventually becomes secondary in the process.
As it's only the 2nd film for Kong in MonsterVerse, GvK turned out more of a Kong movie where Godzilla mostly appeared as a plot device or secondary character to some extent. But man...loved every second of those fight scenes. Glad finally able to see a MonterVerse movie (featuring Godzilla) with no blurry or dark screen.
My only major complaint is they made MechaGodzilla excessively strong against Godzilla, the way Mecha G beating the hell out of Big G was terrible to watch as Godzilla failed to make any proper strike in response...which is kind of unusual as I can hardly recall any earlier Godzilla movie where this kind of thing happened with Godzilla in a singe fight continuously. Good to see Kong become the ultimate savior of the day.
Let's hope this is not the end of MonsterVerse, they need to extend the contract with Toho with more films for this franchise.
Love (2020)
Somewhat like a Hitchcockian plot directed by Fincher!!
Pretty smartly done twisted, psychological thriller from India, comes with limited set up & cast.
Liked the way the director started & maintained the whole dilemma of what's real & imagination by only hiding the actual murder scene. A promising effort by Khalid Rahman. I think the same movie would get lots of attention & praise if it came out from Hollywood or Europe.