Meri Pyaari Bindu (2017) - Movie Review

For as much as I’ve railed against certain conventions of the genre, I can’t say I have any real issue with romance films as a whole. The genre exists for the same reason any other does, in that it’s a type of story that people want to see, and when done right, it can make for some truly powerful cinema. Whether today’s film fits that mould, I’ll get into in due time, but suffice to say, we’re in for a treat this time around.

Noor (2017) - Movie Review

Even though certain statements have only grown in relevancy over the last few months, feelings of real discontent with one’s surroundings have existed for as long as we have. Whether it’s down to the nigh-on impossible task of being a true populist or just voter’s remorse, no matter how much we try to back the people who have our best interests at heart, there will always be irritation at how the higher-ups run the world. Raging against the machine is a thriving industry, bleeding out of the real world into all forms of art or really anything that involves creative input. Journalism, in one form or another, fits into this category as well, giving people that single bullet to blow the kneecaps off the world as they see fit. I bring this all up because that idea of voicing dissent against the injustices of the world is a major aspect of today’s film. So, with that in mind, how does this fluffy rom-com turn out? If that sounds out of place, it’s only because it is.

Begum Jaan (2017) - Movie Review

After my explosion while looking at one of the worst made films in the history of the medium, I figure I’d just get right into today’s film and try and get back to the good stuff. Whether or not this film will actually deliver said good stuff, though, is another matter.

Badrinath Ki Dulhania (2017) - Movie Review

Long-time readers will have noticed, among many other writing quirks that I should probably do away with, I am far less confident when talking about issues that don’t pertain strictly to cinema. Even when I try and make statements about my stone cold beliefs in certain areas, it’s always been with my general willingness to admit to complete ignorance behind it. Despite how I may come across, anything and everything written here is posted under the impression that there are several thousand people out there who could correct me on every little thing.

 

So, with all that said, it really says something when I’m continuing with my journey into Bollywood and I have found an old issue that brings a certain discomfort when it comes to the prospect of talking about it. Of course, my self-admitted amateurism also comes with a general lack of caring about what people think of my thoughts as well; I’m an idiot, but then again, so is the rest of the world when you get right down to it. Anyway, before this navel-gazing goes any further, let’s get started with today’s film.

Raees (2017) - Movie Review

It’s Bollywood time again, and I am once again thankful that I am stepping on familiar ground with this one. This time around, it’s with one of the most recognisable Indian actors out there: Shah Rukh Khan. Now, that term doesn’t have as much worth to me as it probably should, but that’s only because I’m still on the learning path when it comes to understanding Bollywood cinema. It took me two decades to understand Hollywood’s antics; chances are I have a while to go yet. I’ve already covered two of Khan’s more recent films on this blog before, with the decent if insubstantial Happy New Year and the phenomenally misguided Dilwale, and I’m far from an aficionado for his work but I definitely give the man credit where it’s due; even in Dilwale, the guy still managed to deliver. So, with that in mind, let’s take a look at his latest offering.

Kaabil (2017) - Movie Review

Summer here in Australia means a lot of things: Intense heat, insects flying everywhere, the occasional blackout just make the heat and bugs feel that little bit worse, that sort of thing. Of course, for the country’s cinephiles, it also marks a point of weirdness concerning releases. I say this because every release in January/February falls into one of three disparate categories.

You’ve got the last remnants of the Oscar nominations that get released so that we can be as informed as possible while pretending to give a crap about the Oscars like Lion. You’ve got the scrap heap that wasn’t good enough for a release during the previous year like Monster Trucks. And then you’ve got the first glimmers of the traditional summer action blockbusters to make sure everyone is still awake to see the rest of the year. Today, we’re very much talking about the latter, and considering this is also another Bollywood release, I can’t say I knew what to expect walking into it. Specifically, I wasn’t expecting something this good.

Ok Jaanu (2017) - Movie Review

As part of my continuing look at the Bollywood scene, considering the frequency with which they are being released at my local(s), I find myself actually stepping into somewhat familiar territory with this one. Not necessarily in terms of subject matter, although that does play a small part in it, but in terms of who is involved in the production. If I’m going to be making this a regular thing, I better start to recognize the names attached to Bollywood productions and, thankfully, there’s a name here that I’m sure most Western audiences will be familiar with: A.R. Rahman. In cinephilic circles, he is known for constructing the soundtrack to Oscar favourite Slumdog Millionaire. To everyone else, he’s the guy who collaborated with the Pussycat Dolls for Jai Ho!, a song that will always make me feel uneasy and, nearly 7 years later, I still don’t know why. At any rate, on our next step into the Indian-Australian connection (whether intentional or not), let’s look at this rom-com… you know, maybe our cultures aren’t so different after all.

Dangal (2016) - Movie Review

New year, new film selection, same old asshole taking time out to look at them; yep, it’s beginning to feel a lot like 2017 around here. New year’s resolutions are have devolved into single-sentence punchlines with how often they end up just discarded, but around here, I’m putting one in place to make more of an effort to see more foreign films. Given the selection at my local haunts, this shouldn’t be much of an issue, but I’m going to be spending a bit of time in January looking at a few films that I just didn’t manage to catch last year. So, in finding a meeting point between the two, let’s look at this Bollywood film. This is Dangal.

Dilwale (2015) - Movie Review

I’m kind of surprised and, honestly, kind of disappointed that it’s taken me this long into the year to talk about another Bollywood movie. Given how we had not one but three arrive at my local last year, I honestly thought that we’d get more coming in this year. However, probably as a result of the release drought in response to no-one wanting to directly to compete with Star Wars, as well as the mass releases on Christmas Day, this is one of the few new releases that have come in in the last few weeks. Well, even given my admittedly limited exposure to Indian cinema, I reckon I’ve taken a look at a semi-decent sample: There was Kick, which started out shaky but ended up pretty good, there was Happy New Year, which was alright but a bit forgettable, and then there was PK, which was legitimately surprising in the best way possible. Time to see how today’s film measures up to the minor experience I’ve had previously.

PK (2014) - Movie Review

It’s one thing to go into a film with a general assumption about whether it’ll be good or bad based on what you know about the film beforehand. It’s quite another thing, however, when you go into a film without any idea what to expect because, quite frankly, you don’t know thing one about the film itself. Granted, this is far less a case for people who do the sensible thing and choose what they see at the cinema, but for critics who have to see and give an opinion on as many movies that come out as possible (or idiots like me who have a compulsion to do a similar thing), there can be the occasional blinder. The last time this happened for me personally, funnily enough, was with Happy New Year, another Bollywood movie. This is another one of those occasions: This is PK.

Happy New Year (2014) - Movie Review

As much as I like to pretend that I know what I’m talking about, I really don’t for all intents and purposes; I just like talking about movies. It is with today’s film that my lack of experience shows as I go into a Bollywood movie. Not to say that I’ve never seen a Bollywood movie before, but then again, I might as well have because I only have two under my belt so far: Kick from earlier this year, which was good, and I vaguely remember watching Dhoom when I was younger. Aside from that, I know very little about the norms of Bollywood movies and I will without a doubt get thrown off by some things. However, I did start this blog partially as a learning experience for myself, so I guess I’ll just have to learn as I go.