Reviews

When I started watching the movie and noticed that the professor is teaching about evolutionary biology and he has done work on Ants and Hives, I thought it would roll up as science fiction and he'd somehow connect his dream scenario into a collective thinking thing. But it ended up being totally different. I have always loved Nicholas Cage because he was one of the actors who brought me into the movie scene and his movies were the very first drama/action movies I watched on DVDs. So I always had good vibes for him because I knew that he had the potential of a great actor which I believe he is.

Since I'm learning management and working on developing my knowledge on understanding situations, I see this movie as a tragedy because of the lack of situation management skills of the main character. Of course you can't expect it from a professor of evolutionary biology so how he reacted to the whole situation is acceptable. Even though he has a PhD in his field as he himself blabbered, he's just a simple human being. Not to mention the situation he had is out of this world.

Anyway, throughout the movie I was thinking about how I would face this kind of situation and how would I manage something like this. It was all alone a learning experience for me and I would suggest this movie for anyone who would like to understand how people's minds work, how situations change, how you should react to those situations and how you should learn to manage those situations. It was kind of an example of how to be yourself and how to be calm and understand the situations happening around you.

A great movie with a fresh concept.

I knew it's good before watching and yet it took a long time for me to start watching. Once started, I ended up finishing all the seasons in one run within 3 days.

I had 'Better call Saul' and 'Breaking Bad' on the very top from the TV but now there's three. And I believe After Life is as almost good as any of them.

It redefined love for me. My love for my wife, my parents, friends and everyone including my dog.

Since I'm from Sri Lanka with the south Asian cultural background, it's not easy to be in the mental state I am in without religious believes and many of such nuisance. But some of us have developed openness and ability to understand people with various believes. That's why we can enjoy philosophy while living in a opposite background.

However, After Life made me re think about a lot of things. As I mentioned earlier, my love for the people who are around me. As I believed for a long time, love should be alive when people are there. Once they are gone, there's nothing we can do than weeping. So making many memories with them to last a life time is the only way to survive happily.

I haven't seen the earlier cartoons but all the TMNT movies came so far. And I even liked them considering the time of release, technology and iteration. I really enjoyed this one too because it's modern and graphically stunning for me. It's like a B grade spiderverse movie in Animation perspective and I really loved that. Making something imperfect is really hard without a load of creative thinking. So for me, this one is a really good one. Also enjoyed how the teen voices are used since they are literally teens. And it has the Seth Rogan touch to it which I like. Maybe the plot isn't as tough or complex but it doesn't matter. It's an entertaining movie. And this made me want to watch the earlier animated movies again.

I don't know why I kept from watching this earlier. It's from a very long time before and I blame myself for not seeing it earlier. I've seen and read the story of Moses from many movies and sources but this beats many of those because it reaches the very soul of the characters and show you.

Actually a watchmojo video talking about best voice acts of animation history had a character of this movie and that video filled my list of movies to watch. I was slowly watching each of them and this movie caught my attention very much. It's a marvel of animation. In that time probably not with many help from silicon minds, the animators has done a great job. Voice acting is superb.

I think this movie is a rich source for animation students and enthusiasts to learn.

I actually had heard about this but never cared to watch sooner. I only wanted to watch this after the last episode of S06 of Black Mirror. Wanted to see her acting more.

I couldn't stop watching every episode after I started today evening. It's carefully crafted work. Not too long, no repeating stuff. Just in the line till the end.

Waiting for the S02.

And why IMDb doesn't allow posting this without 600 words? Has someone decided that it's the minimum no of characters a person can express a feeling for an amazing creation?

However, I'll be recommending this series to all of my movie loving friends.

This is a well written brilliantly directed and perfectly acted movie. Everyone contributed have done their best. Unni doing a perfect job. Some of the scenes are so naturally done. After all, it's a very realistic movie. Loved it!

It's just perfect with the flow, characters, music and talent! I don't actually remember the first one but that doesn't matter at all.

Every character has a task. No one is wasted. All are perfectly fitting in!

This deserves better ratings. Yes, it's predictable but are we all unpredictable always? And do people memorise every movie they watch and eliminate any other movie like that?

I also had mixed feelings for about half an hour but then it got interesting. There are some unexpected events but yes, the whole thing is predictable after that.

What I liked most of is the change of Irfaan. As I searched, he gained some weight and lose some for the character. And there was real boxing. At least for me, it felt real. They must have worked hard for that. If it is a sports movie, it must stay true to the sport. And I'm happy with how they've done it here.

Paresh Rawal wasn't listed in IMDb credits properly for some reason. The movie has some great moments of him acting like he's living the moment.

A good sports movie with a fairly satisfying story.

This is pure visual poetry. Stunning visuals. Sometimes reminded me of Valhalla Rising. Loved the music. Loved Dev Patel.

Loved it even from the opening credits. Waiting for more seasons. Wonder how it would be if it was a live action series.

This is one of the movies which include nature, people, government officers, politics and media. This reminded me the movie 'Newton' several times.

It's always a pleasure to watch Vidya and that's another reason I considered watching this.

The story is altogether sad. There are some enthusiastic government officers who try to do a difference but it's hard to keep up with the politics and media sneaking around. Nowadays there's nothing not-pilitical. Everything can be made out to be a political issue and media is there to even decorate it. Public or nature in this instance won't get any benefit.

I loved the sceneries in the movie. Regret not watching it on big screen. And loved Vijay Raaz in a movie after a long time. This man should have had better chances.

It's a dissapointment for me because some friends suggested this as a good Telugu movie to watch. But there was nothing exciting about it for me. It's the same kind of movie with just a different way of telling it. So I continuously expected something miraculous to happen and make my time worthy.

Maybe it's even stupider with skin colour becoming a key role. And even promoting suicide as a solution is not acceptable. So it's not a socially conscious movie at all.

I like the acting, some dialogs and bgm. But it's not a recommendable movie for me.

This forcefully pushed me towards a past I really don't like to remember. Not because I don't like that time of my life but because I am so embarrassed remembering how stupid I was.

This movie is more relatable to me than any other movie in this kind. I've seen many 'collage love' movies and there are many such stories in Malayalam movies I've watched where they show us the entire history of the characters.

The most touching thing in gantumoote is how the characters are developed and acted. And how it is directed. The acclaim it had received showcases how touching it was for many people.

I use this movie and 'aami' as examples when I say that Manju Warrior is the most versatile actress in current Malayalam cinema. Her act alone seems enough for me to suggest this movie to someone. Though I admire Indrajith and other actors alone with all the people contributed their best for this marvelous movie.

I first heard about the director of this movie by a facebook post written by a fellow Sri Lankan movie lover. As mentioned in that post, the director Sai Paranjpye had received many acclaims for the movie and awarded many times. So without even thinking or researching (which I do before I decide to watch a movie if I haven't heard about it before) I downloaded it and watched it.

It was a slow start but I was amazed by Naseeruddin's acting and fell in love with Shabana's natural smile and eyes. And the plot was not a usual one to me.

To be honest, it took me sometime to fully attain to it but when I did, I couldn't took my eyes away. It was a great plot with great dialogs and characters. How she has captured the most inner feelings of the characters and how perfect the actors do their best to express it is truly amazing.

And even when I thought something might get wrong, well it doesn't. Everything was perfect and this became a movie which rushed tears in to my eyes.

Looking forward to watch more movies of the director. Hope they are available with English subtitles.

It's a Guy Richie movie and you get almost what you expect. Solid Statham performance but somewhat a predictable plot.

I don't understand why Jan cannot identify H. And I think the ending should have been more intensive.

Anyway, loved every minute of it.

It's an overhyped movie. Maybe because many people like the actions. Regarding the action choreography, I also like this one. And I believe this is one of the movie that got it right. And the actors do their best to achieve that. But apart from that, after some of the camera work, there's nothing more to it. And it could have been done within one hour. So the slowmo shots and unnecessary sequences seems to be eating your time.

I've read the Sinhalese translation of the novel long time ago and I have the original book in my list of books to be purchased because I want to read the exact words Mr. Shyam used. This movie, I never expected to watch before that.

First, I like to give credit for the actors who have done their best. Specially I really enjoyed how Agam Darshi, Nimmi Harasgama, Shivantha Wijesinha, Brandon Ingram and Rehan Mudannayake did their magic.

Its direction is balanced enough as I saw but to be honest, I can't say. It's a very troubled era for all the sri lankans but even now, I don't think the problem is solved permanently. Let's hand it over to history.

I enjoyed every minute of the movie very much.

Sufiyum Sujatayum 2020

I don't know why people rate this movie badly. It's wonderfully done movie. Heart touching romance at its best. Well directed and some good acting by the cast. Music is really great. Enjoyed it very much. I always love how M. Jayachandran do his magic.

Love the way they show that culture. As a Malayalam fan Sufism in Kerala and the culture associated with it is something new to me. Haven't seen much of it there.

Maybe you hate the religion but it's always nice to see a different culture with their own values.

Yes it's slow and even predictable to some extent but it's not a reason to decide as bad. Maybe there's nothing much but that simplicity is something we need very much in the complex lives we live in.

Today's movie lovers in Sri Lanka are in love with movies not because of Sinhala movies nor because they love the theater experience. Most people watch movies at home in TVs, PCs or mobile devices than in a theater. That's why we have to face some specific issues while watching a movie in theater. For example, when you watch a non-Sinhala movie with a subtitle and if you miss a dialogue, there is no way to backward it for a few seconds. And if a particular scene takes too long to process in mind, we miss the progression. Because of these things, watching a movie in a theater is a different experience than watching a movie in any other private way. In a theater, our comprehension and processing ability are tested.

I wanted to tell this because there were many occasions I felt the need to backward the movie few seconds and re-watch. This was not because of a processing issue but because I simply wanted to re-watch the scene. And it's the first time this happened while watching a Sinhala movie. That's because it's frames and camera work was excellent. So, till I watch the movie in the future in another format, I thought of writing down some thoughts about it. Actually, this is not entirely about the movie. Just a few things I felt later about the surroundings of the movie.

I realized that I was not alone in meeting Tarantino and David Lynch in the movie after reading some relevant material about it. The style of the scenes, the use of colors, the music used, the nature of the events and the violence are some features I spotted in Avilenasului. I've seen almost all the Tarantino movies, but only seen a few of Lynch's. I wanted to clarify what I saw in Lynch's movies so what I read and watched helped me to understand Awilenasului a bit more. I have not properly learned about these things. Therefore, these ideas may not be 100% fundamentally correct.

Lynch is considered a surrealist moviemaker. He talks about an idea that exists outside or inside what is actually seen on screen in his movies. Sometimes he takes the person who watches the movie, into the movie. An improbable event or object constructs events of the movie. Understanding them also depends on the capacity of the person who watches. Lynch presents a series of events rather than a perfectly standardized story. Interpretations can vary according to what each person feels and understands through those events. And I have not heard that Lynch explained any of his movies. He says that he makes a movie in the language of movies. They cannot be understood in any other language. In that sense, he is a director who never gives the audience any chance or forgiveness.

Avilenasului is technically a nearly perfect Sinhala movie. The camera operates at a range never seen before in a Sri Lankan movie. It is a new experience to see such frames. There is certain loneliness behind the colors. It is very rare for a local movie to express itself in colors. Like I said before, there were a number of scenes that I felt I should watch again. Overall the look of the movie is attractive. It's a quality job.

I heard the same quality in the music. 'Manike mama aye gedara enawa' is a theme in a way. Anyone can link to the repetitious consent in the song to the movie. The small part of Priyantha Sirikumara among the actors pops up differently from the rest. He should be given more opportunities.

Usually the fantasy of the Sri lankan cultural people is to get married. 'Then' make children, take care of them and spend the cycle of nature. But there is very little cultural talk about the challenges after that 'then' section. It says that problems of the family should keep inside the family. As a result, one is less likely to know about the unpleasant situations and stress that he/ she may face when living together for a long time. People live on the ground and understand the rules can manage this. But I think the chances of that not happening are very high. By now, social media is absorbing some of that family pressure. However, even after being released on social media, one cannot predict the decisions one will make regarding a difficult family situation. Avilenasului kind of ignited that thought inside me.

We Sri Lankans are grown with stories. Stories with a beginning, a middle and an end are the common type of stories we've heard. Many people become movie lovers as an extension of the desire to listen to and enjoy stories. Serious movie lovers are constantly on the lookout for different types of movies. Enjoy different flavors along the way. Awilenasului is a film with a different flavor that was developed in Sinhala cinema. If you go for a story behind it, it'll be a mess for you. This is more of a series of events than a story. May be you'll feel that there are several stories behind it. Or are there two instances of the same story? Or two representations of the same story? A present encounter with the past? Or is it a simple story that includes only what you see and nothing more?

It is up to the person to sort it out. Even if you go to the theater with a group, the movie gives you a personal experience. Yes, all the movies are like that but this is extraordinary.

This is not a movie that suits everyone. But if Sri Lankan cinema is to develop, films like this are needed. That diversity is essential to attract Sri Lankan film fans that enjoy international cinema with a variety.

Soosthi (2020)

I went to the theater in an empty background about the movie without even watching the trailer. All I could remember was that it was a road trip movie starring Dasun Pathirana. Until about fifteen minutes into the movie, I thought Dasun would play a main character. :P

If you take the whole idea I had about the film, I have to say GREAT! If polished a bit more, it would have been REALLY GREAT! Right now, a significant number of people in Sri Lanka are at least internationally familiar with quality movies and teledramas. So you can't fool them. It's something that can be felt by a person who usually watches any type of movies. So that's what I think. It's a great job. A little more polish would have made it really great. Nevertheless it's great as a movie made in Sri Lanka. Soosthi is not the kind of movie that most people would watch anyway. But further efforts to diversify the tastes of the majority must continue. No need to be stuck in two 'thousand five hundred' and 'five hundred and fifty'. Soosthi is a film that can appeal to traditional audiences as well. So it should be promoted by the non-majority who has tasted it. This effort is for that.

'Soosthi' is a film that will not fool the audience who are looking for diversity in cinema. I've seen a lot of Hollywood or European movies like this, but this is different. Because behind this road trip, they were able to catch the current truth in Sri Lanka right now. 'Susthi' is a film that punch our face with the nakedness of the society. I love this emerging branch of Sinhala cinema and I wish it to be strong. Because this movie comes from a study of films and society. It doesn't seem to have come out just because there are tools to make films. Such a thing would only come up completely if people watched it in theater.

I knew about Kalana's writings because I had read that he had published a book of poetry. After watching an interview on YouTube, I had the idea that he was a man with a reading about the whereabouts. So there was hope for his writing.

The writing is in a very good place, but I have the impression that it could have been done better. The dialogue that develops within the film is advanced. But behind some dialogues I got caught at one or two places that are not practical. It feels like a glitch in a video. I don't know if those conversations within the movie could be brought down a bit more. Maybe the extension of their discussions about this film will come out in the next production as well.

Much of what was said above is negligible due to the performances of Kalana and Samanali. I have never seen a Samanali act before and I have not even watched Kalanas Koombio teledrama in its entirety. I think Samanali's acting is wonderful throughout the film. Kalana's dialogue delivery is probably very natural maybe because he wrote it himself. Both of them understand the character and realized they are in the scene.

On the other hand, I don't think characters of parents need in this. Those few scenes break the flow and the fact that they didn't exist doesn't bother the theme of the story. Perhaps Kushan and Kalana wanted to put an unreadable angle behind the film during the discussions between the two lead actors.

The vibe is great with the music and the lyrics. Camera operation is a next level job. There were several scenes that were filmed for quite a time in a single shot. I had never seen Sinhala films with such work before. The dialogue behind those long scenes means that the group has taken the work seriously.

I think the current social change in our country (and perhaps in the world) is due to the disruption of education. There are many people who do not know words like patience and discipline. They do not understand how to look at a problem from different angles, and do not understand how to work with mutual respect. It was not an instantaneous thing. With the change in the economic and social systems, the methods of adapting to them are not updated. It is now widespread throughout our society. Something that is so ubiquitous and repetitive. Someone who is tired of all that and bored might want to kill him/ herself. Would a second be enough to make you want to see life differently?

I think this film is an experiment in a way. The distance that a script like this can go in Sri Lanka is being tested. Although there are action level creations about politics, I have not seen a film that was made from a philosophical point of view. I think this is a good approach to work like that. A film that puts a headline reading and conversation about society. Since everyone is a socio-political analyst these days, I think this one would have value. This is what Sri Lanka needs.

This is a modified Google translating of my original Sinhala note.

The Newspaper (2020)

We wanted to see this Sinhala film in the theater because Sarath Kotelawala and Kumara Thirimadura have never failed us before. That's from their acting. We expected that they would do a great job as directors as well. That's why I went to the theater without reading a single note posted by people who had seen this. I watched the trailer while writing this post. Actually I had missed it.

This is a movie that made a pretty perfect impression. Nearly Perfect. As far as I understand, it is a work in which all the artistic and technical aspects such as acting, screenwriting, editing, art direction and music have contributed equally and to the fullest. As if there were no flaws and that should be told at the beginning.

As a Sinhala film, this feeling of perfection came to an end after 'Ho Gana Pokuna' and 'Komali Kings'. I did not go to a theater and watch a Sinhala movie after those, so there is no way I can get caught in a good sinhala movie.

This raises optimism about the future. Now there are two other directors who can work for Sinhala cinema. If their first job is successful enough, they will continue to work hard to make Sri Lankan movie fans as well as the world.

The screenplay is often the first step in making a film a success. Depending on the country, it may vary. I don't think there are fans in Sri Lanka who go to theater because of actors and actresses. They want a story. A story they can connect with. This is not about people who are drawn to royal stories and religious stories anyway. It's about a significant portion of people who face life in a different way, people who are watching a movie for a little fun, or for change while living a harsh life. It is not an easy task to write a screenplay that can bring together those people and the fans of the religious/ royal stories alone with those who are not in both categories. 'Newspaper' is a work of that level.

It is no coincidence that two or three years ago I was caught up in the magic of Malayalam movies. A significant number of those films are about the lives of the people of Sri Lanka as well. Those stories are our own stories. The stories of the rural Malayalam culture are more a story in Sri Lanka than the stories of any other culture. When you see people drinking arrack with tap water, pre planned drinking parties, wearing rubber sandals and coming home with the sound of chirping after washing face from a river or a well, that's how we've seen Sri Lankan village. Sri Lankan people. And for a long time, that naturalness of pure life missed from sinhala movies. Newspaper is something that felt like a movie that fills that void.

This is run by Sarath and Kumara and later by Mashi but even in a very small role, the best actors in the industry scores. So it builds our confidence in the film. The crew has managed to keep that belief intact throughout the film. Especially Sarath Kumara (single name). The heartfelt friendship we feel behind the chemistry of the two actors is the factor that fascinates us throughout the film. Whatever it is, we feel safe with the idea that they are there for them. The graphics, the moment-to-moment music, and the silly interludes all help to maintain this feeling. The fire of all this can melt your eyes and flow in the final scene.

I thought Lewis' character should have developed a little more. At times, I even thought that they could have given him more dialogs without being that dumb. To me he is a character that is not clearly described. It's not an easy character to build. In any case, Mr. Thirimadura's acting is excellent. Lewis' words are gold in a difficult situation.

Usually the essence of a film is hard to put into words. It is something to be understood with a great philosophical and social study. However, in the end, it's the part of the film that stays in our memory and shocks us. Movies that have no such essence are quickly forgotten by us. We watch essence rich movies over and over again. We try to get a little more of that essence into our lives. The 'Newspaper' is a movie with a soul. The feeling we feel throughout the film connects us to those characters. We feel their feelings. Those bonds become our bonds. Behind that, there may come a moment where we judge ourselves.

This is a movie about dust. Dust none of us care. Likewise, this is also a story of people who are neglected. This movie shows it only need just a moment for anyone to be dust. Those who have power and wealth get rid of it, but it is not easy for normal folks to stay out of it. The ideals we believe in, the people who get paid to listen to our complaints, and the many people we trust will not come forward for us in such a moment. But too may often come forward to dust us off. That's what usually happens to us. So this is our story.

Finally, this is not a review. Just howl of a raven that has tasted something good. If you want to see a Sri Lankan movie, spread about this movie for others.

This is a modifies google translation of my Sinhala note about the movie.

Of course it is a localized copy of the great movie 'Sound of Music' and it's not a reason to hate this movie. Yes I didn't watch it on theater and I never received any good suggestion to watch it either. But I had to watch it as a part of a project I'm involved with and I liked it. A huge praise must go for Ashan Dias who plays the captain. And for someone, it could be the whole reason to watch the movie. Pooja is OK. Though she is not perfect in delivering the dialog, she surely understands the character. On the other hand, Ashan nails the character with his perfectly tuned expressions.

It has some good songs and good music. And some of the child actors are really good. And for the worst part, some of the actors are ruining it. It could have been a way better movie if those actors were good enough. And if some dialogs are changed in to more practical ones.

But overall, I see a good entertaining movie for the regular Sri Lankan family.

I watch this mainly because of Vineeth Sreenivasan. Because I hadn't watch a movie of him for a while. I had a slight idea about what the story is by IMDB description. And because I love art and painting, I knew that I would be able to connect with this easily.

And so it happened. It's not a great movie but a simple isolated one. But ultimately it made me happy and gave me some genuine laughs throughout.

I have seen Basil Joseph in other movies but I think this is the one that I recognised him as a good comedy actor. Here he delivers perfectly.

But I didn't entire like the camera danced mostly in the first half. It was irritating. Maybe they were trying something new or having a technical difficulty but anyway I didn't like it and I really hoped that it would stop soon.

I like to say that this is one of the good films I watched in 2020.