Mom

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Mom, after 2 States I was on a rare Indian film high and decided to give it a go. Sridevi is not one of my faves (mainly because I'm not into comedy and she has great comedic abilities put to good use) but the plot seemed interesting and I decided to give this a go. I'm very happy that I did since I love it to bits. The story, the characters, the cast led by Sridevi who is excellent here and the melodrama and the drama, the action, the suspense all worked for me and I was shaking with tears in the end. Unexpected and welcome surprise.

2 States

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2 States was a novel I really liked and the film turned out to be decent too. It is as loyal to the novel as it can get I suppose. I liked the two main leads too. 

The Hating Game

The Hating Game turned out to be as good as everyone says it is. I have enjoyed it very much and highly recommend if you like the genre. 

The Light We Lost

The Light We Lost well it definitely is not One Day (one of my all time faves) not only it doesn't carry the latter's heft and depth but also it is like a manual for women balancing career, motherhood and marriage. I'm all for the message but it definitely did not make me cry or anything. 

Bedtime Stories

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Bedtime Stories is yet another formulaic Adam Sandler film where he is a goofy blue collar working man and his partner is one of the most beautiful actresses in Hollywood (this time Keri Russel). It works for me everytime though. 

The Greatest Showman

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The Greatest Showman well I was under the mistaken impression that this film has something to do with Baz Luhrman (whose films I love) however it turned out to be different sort of film without the manic energy but not as exciting and emotional. The songs were good and I enjoyed it a lot despite the fact that none of the actors are my favorites (I love Hugh Jackman's entertainment persona but I don't get the attraction whenever he is not Wolverine)

Isle of Dogs

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Isle of Dogs amazing film. I love Wes Anderson (whose every film I have watched and liked). This one is against fascism and its not so subtle ways of obtaining power. Not only the animation was amazing but the voice actors are all great. Highly recommended.  

Keys To The Heart

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Keys To The Heart I almost didn't choose to watch because I kind of do not like Lee Byung Hun in Mr. Sunshine. But then I clicked on it and I'm glad that I did because it turned out to be the type of shameless melodrama that makes me cry rivers (and I did). Superbly acted by everyone in the cast it definitely made me happy.

All The Money In The World

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All The Money In The World is a film I have watched and completed it three different time periods. And the last section was the longest and surprisingly I have enjoyed it very much. But then again I like Ridley Scott films. 

Mission: Impossible - Fallout

Mission: Impossible - Fallout turned out to be not as great as everyone said it was (on twitter). It just didn't work for me the way Ghost Protocol did (still my second favorite of the series, I like the first one best because: De Palma) This one was trying too hard without any emotional substance. Henry Cavill is great looking and he is not a bad actor but there is something about him that does not work on screen (at least for me that is). 

The Life We Bury

The Life We Bury was not wehat I expected based on the plot summary but it turned out a novel that I liked a lot. Being an eternal optimist, a story that improves its characters lives makes me happy and this one sure did. I love the reader too and will look for more novels he has read. All in all highly recommended. 

Faultlines

Faultlines well I got this on a sale and was not really eager to start it but I liked it very much. It had a good storyline with interesting characters and a general positive look at life. I'll probably look out for more of her work in secondhand shops. 

Raven Black

Raven Black turned out to be decent mystery and I enjoyed it very much. It had a certain atmosphere that appealed to me. 

The Juliette Society

The Juliette Society turned out to be a badly written novel. I don't recommend.

Boneman's Daughters

Boneman's Daughters well no, just no. This one was unfortunately not good at all. Stay away.

The Tenth Circle

The Tenth Circle turned out to be good as expected. I like Jodi Picoult and her novels never dissapoint. The reader is good too. 

Gardens of The Moon

Gardens of The Moon started a bit confusing. However it got better and things became clearer as the story progressed. And it is a well written novel seemingly to my taste but I couldn't connect. I don't plan on continuing the series (but will probably read the plots at wikipedia). This time novel, it is not you, it is me. 

Detroit

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Detroit tells a horrible story and sadly not that well, it deserved a better film.

Ready Player One

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Ready Player One turned out to be a not so good film. It is different from the novel in a not so good way. The book however is great and I highly recommend reading it, instead of watching this film.

Impossibility Defense

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Impossibility Defense turned out to be more suited to a TV show than a film. I liked it mainly because the antagonist was hot. 

Perdida

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Perdida I really liked it. It was not that good a film to be honest but I liked the fact that the beautiful lead character is also a bad ass who makes the bad guys pay. I did not see the twist coming but it didn't surprise or shock me. All in all it was nice to look at and entertaining and had the kind of cinematography I liked,  but still it is not that good a film. 

Affinity

Affinity  I love Sarah Waters (started reading her randomly choosing Tipping The Velvet, which is not among her best - while being better than many other novels) and this novel turned out to be amazing. I didn't see the ending coming either (not the scheme but the choice made by one of the leads). Great story telling and great writing combined. 

Secret Healer

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Secret Healer despite not being very good worked for me on many levels. I love the lead actors and watching them make me happy. The supernatural theme worked for me and I especially liked the ending despite shedding more than a few tears over it. 

PK

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PK turned out to be as good as everyone says it is. I truly liked it and was in tears (predictably) in the end. This is a story where the aliens do not land in USA. Instead they land in India and the first human contact was to steal the one thing the naked alien had on him. He then travelled around the country looking for it (the return device to his home planet). The reality is that he is pushed around, cheated and has trouble understanding the ways of humans. He comes across a TV journalist who turns him into a story (without exposing his alien status since she is actually one of the good guys). The main theme is how any religion is exploited for money and how people allow it. This is a sore point for me too and I welcomed the way this is shown. I simply can't understand how people believe other people when there are perfectly good at least 3 holy books as sufficient sources of information free of charge. When a characted in the film says that "he will protect the God" PK says to him "you, who is less than a speck of dust in the great universe created by God, think that you can "protect" him? Who do you think you are, presuming that God needs your protection?"

Happy Gilmore

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Happy Gilmore the original unwatered down version of the same sort of story I like to watch from Adam Sandler/ Dennis Dugan. It was a good surprise to see it on Netflix since I have been wanting to watch it for some time. Not surprisingly I liked it very much. 

Contact

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Contact is a film I had watched in theater a long time ago and I welcomed this second viewing. Good actors and good direction. A valid story that is relevant as much now as it was then.

Rosetta

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Rosetta is a Dardenne brothers film and I love these directors. Great story tellers and actors' directors. Their cinematography is not one I usually like but in the hands of these guys I welcome it. I have never watched a bad film from them and this one is very good too. My 80 something year old aunt (who has lived in a small Turkish villiage all her life) and I watched this film about a teen who tries to find honest work while dealing with an alcoholic mother and poverty and she said that this turned out to be a very good film. So that is the power of a story well told. 

The Woman In The Window

The Woman In The Window  well it was not that bad but I just can't understand all the praise heaped upon it. It is just not that good either. Your regular mystery, you can take it or leave it. I can recommend it to the lovers of the genre. 

The Thousand Faces of Dunjia

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The Thousand Faces of Dunjia was very entertaining and has the feel of early 90s Hong Kong films. I really liked it and wanted more. 

Legion of Gods

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Legion of Gods well I would have enjoyed this film a lot better if it was in its own language and not English voiceover. It has the abundance of CGI effects (Chinese cinema loves them) and I liked the story which could have been melodramatic but they peppered it with particular jokes that actually made me laugh (yeah I have a weakness for flatulance jokes and this film had a mighty one). The actors I know were all baddies (except Jet Li) in this film. It was interesting. Anyway the film ended in the middle of the story making me think that there will be a sequel. Hopefully Netflix will get the Chinese original this time. 

The Silent Dead

The Silent Dead I really liked it. Of course I have a fondness for the English translations of Japanese novels and this one is very good. It is also good as a mystery novel even though I have guessed who the perpetrator is, it was interesting how the detectives reached the conclusion. Also one of the characters reminded me of Ollie Weeks (yeah I love Ed McBain) and I think the writer is inspired by him (based on nothing concrete, I just thought it). 

Flavors of Youth

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Flavors of Youth turned out to be lack lustre and it was weird to hear Chinese characters speak Japanese but it kind of moved this viewer prone to be manipulated easily by even a small dose of melodrama. I'm not going to recommend it but it worked for me. 

The Party

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The Party turned out to be very entertaining for the viewer that is, not the participants of the titular event. And I liked the ending too, unexpected. 

Like Father

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Like Father didn't work. It didn't work at any level. The acting was good but not enough to save it. Kristen Bell is an actress I like a lot. But is she the go to actor for the holiday destination film? Forgetting Sarah Marshall (great film), Couples Retreat so so and now this. Despite and interesting plot the film fell flat on all counts. 

Ghost

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Ghost really affected me when I first watched in cinema and it affected me a lot the second time I have watched but I think the biggest impact was this third viewing. This film is good. It has a good plot, great cast, love, revenge, melodrama and it caused many tears to fall every time. And I realised that I have never appreciated Patrick Swayze (RIP) as an actor. He is really good and he was so in everything I have seen him in. My favorite youth film is still Dirty Dancing btw. He and Demi Moore are so so good in it. 

Switched

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Switched ok these two in the above photo have only minor parts in this TV show. I chose this one because I liked the plot. A popular girl in high school unwillingly switches bodies with the class loser who is overweight. Anyway it is not that good a show (nowhere near, say Nobuta Wo Produce) but I liked its message and the acting from the two female leads (not the ones above) were very good. I alos liked the fact that the overweight girl ended up being happy without having to lose weight or getting a make over or something like that. I shed many tears during this one and especially felt sad for the secondary male lead and hoped the best for the character in the future. 

It

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It well it is not that bad I suppose but I was not scared during the viewing. Some of the reasons for that are unrelated to the film; I have watched a LOT of horror films and I guess I'm a bit jaded. Also I very rarely watch a horror film about something that truly scares me (these are mainly low grade Turkish horror films about djinns and those really scare me so I never watch them) and also I have read the novel a few times and know if pretty well (now the novel kind of scares me, even though I know what is coming). The acting, the set design, the make up are all good (as evidenced in the photo) but there is something lacking in it. Something the novel has abundance of. Even though this is only chapter one it only barely grazes over the issues in the novel and also eschews its storytelling timeline. Anyway the book is way better but I didn't fall asleep during this one. 

The Nightingale

The Nightingale turned out to be as good as everyone says it is. I actually do not like this writer very much. Not because of her writing style or storytelling (which is good) but something else I can't quite put my finger on. Something about the way her characters act. Anyway I was so ready not to like this novel but in the end I was in tears and actually had to take the tissue box since a few silent tears quickly turned into ugly crying. 

Eileen turned out to be good but not captivating. I liked it well enough but did not feel emotionally connected (and to be fair I don't think the writer wants the reader to).