Some Things Movies

I liked this movie but it wasn't close to the first one. This continues the story of Creed as he battles a new opponent, Viktor Drago who is the son of Ivan Drago. He also has a family to take care of which I thought wasn't balanced well with his boxing. The movie from almost the beginning was very predictable. I could see where it was going right from the start. The best thing about the movie was the acting specifically from Michael B. Jordan who portrays all emotions from strength to vulnerability throughout. The boxing fights also felt very real. The soundtrack was also great and when I heard the Rocky theme, I got goosebumps. The ending with even the "antagonist" was pretty good. Overall, I think I am now finding it hard to watch movies with sports that are based on hitting people. I do not want to pass judgements and I know there is certainly sporting techniques that boxing needs but its still hard for me to watch. Rating: 7/10 

The second part in the Fantastic Beasts story brings back Newt who is now in Europe to find Credence as he is allegedly the guy Grindelwald needs to give his plans a major push.  I really enjoyed this movie and in some ways I liked it better than the first one. I am a big wizarding world fan and this movie enriched my love of this world that J.K Rowling has created. Eddie Redmayne reprises his role as Newt Scamander and I felt he did an even better job than the first one here as he takes some initiative to find his love, Tina Goldstein (Katherine Waterston).  The movie introduces us to Dumbledore (Jude Law) and although he plays a side role in this film, Law played the part really well.  I also liked Zoe Kravitz's performance as Leta Lestrange. Honestly, all of the performances and characters except perhaps one was great in the film. I have read some critics and people saying this movie is not about Newt and his beasts anymore but I didn't find the to be the case here ...

Damien Chazelle directs another good film with Ryan Gosling as his lead. The movie is about Neil Armstrong life starting from 1961 until the moon landing in 1969. Right from the start, you are in on Neil's life with a close up camera shot of Neil on a flight test. These shots continue throughout the film extending to his personal life and relationship with his wife, his sons and his daughter who he lost when she was still a very young child. The movie did show parts of the space race that was going on at the time between US and Russia but as the title suggests it was (mostly) from Neil's point of view. Damien doesn't neglect the hardships that were faced prior to the actual landing during NASA testing phases. Ryan Gosling plays Neil perfectly along with Claire Foy who plays Neil's wife Janet and I think is the best part of the film. The progression of Neil's character works until the end where it does feel slightly off when he delivers his iconic "One gian...

Bradley Cooper makes his directorial debut with this movie and he does a great job. The story has been told a few times before but this was my first time watching it and I found it very entertaining and emotional all around the board. Bradley Cooper also stars in the movie as Jackson Maine, an alcoholic and drug-addicted musician, who falls in love with a young singer and songwriter, Ally, played wonderfully by Lady Gaga. The chemistry between the two was amazing and moments especially towards the end made me emotional. I was surprised by how much I liked Lady Gaga in this movie acting wise and Bradley Cooper musically which shows the craft and talent these two portrayed on the screen. I don't think you would not not want to sing the Shallows song after watching this movie and try to sing it like Gaga does. I am still trying (and failing). The only part in the movie I didn't like was the song Ally's character sings during a Saturday Night Live sequence. It was maybe a ...

This is the first dark comedy that I have seen Paul Feig direct and he does an excellent job. I had fun throughout the movie. Anna Kendrick plays a sweet mom at the start of the movie who later has fun delving into her dark side because of the circumstances created by Blake Lively's character who is this mysterious PR director of a big firm and who suddenly goes missing. The twists and turns this movie goes through is a fun watch because of how its mixed with the comedy. I feel comedy is an extremely good vehicle to portray a wide range of storylines in an entertaining and meaningful way. This is the second consecutive movie now that I have seen told this way after Blackkklansman.  The music by Theodore Shapiro adds to the intensity of each scene. The movie reminded me a bit of Gone Girl without the comedic aspect of course. Blake Lively delivers her most entertaining and best performance in my opinion. Some of the only stuff I didn't like about this movie was towards the...

This movie has so much in it and still manages to have a smooth sail from beginning to end. Credit to Spike Lee for his direction and keeping it enjoyable while also having the seriousness of the subject not taken away. Comedy if done well can help portray so many important ideas and it is done perfectly in this movie. I found myself laughing hysterically a few times. The choice of music and the cinematography in different scenes subtly understood the stupidity and dangers of the this "organization" and the the flip side of people going against it. There was only one point in the movie at the start when a speech is being given at a Black Power movement gathering that I felt like could have been shortened or was repetitive but other than that the movie was gripping and flew by. I still have the primary music from the movie stuck in my head. All of the cast was great but Adam Driver and John David Washington led the movie well and their chemistry together was amazing and a...

I will be upfront. I did not think this movie was amazing. It was an ok movie and I had fun watching it. I do appreciate the fact that it is doing so well at the box office and the potential opportunities this might create for the Asian community in the US film industry. The one reason why I did not really enjoy this movie is because I have seen this movie a number of times already in Bollywood so there is not a new factor. The drama, comedy, romance, culture issues have all been explored in Indian movies of the past (It is changing now). The film is a grand story about a rich guy visiting his rich family in Singapore with his girlfriend and then follows their struggles, exploration and clashes of different cultures and how they overcome all of it in the end. It is very formulaic and the best performances IMO were the comedic performances from Awkwafina and Ken Jeong who were the side characters. Constance Wu who plays Rachel also delivers a good performance but the lead actor and...