Review: Passengers

I finally watched the movie (I had wanted to for a while because of the cast), which I put off because of the poor reviews, and I can finally see why they were justified.

My dad watched the movie a while ago, and he has a nasty habit of spoiling movies. After watching the movie, I realized that there was nothing he really could have spoiled. It was predictable and bland. 

Me as I look out the window: "Where did the plot go?"

I'll spoil from the start - it's a love story of sorts. Or at least, it's supposed to be. Additionally, from what I saw in the trailer, I expected a high action, intense, fast-paced space thriller, all of which I only got about... 15 minutes? Romance is space is a big bang (as in it was a sad explosion of elements. Sorry.). And they did in fact... you know.

But it is unfortunate because I did not feel any emotion towards their relationship because it was so random and sudden, and it made no sense (especially the ending).

Such good actors, such bad chemistry

The themes that should have been presented include the sheer vastness of space, as well as the sheer LONELINESS of it. The loneliness that drove Pratt's character to making the decisions he did. Because the plot did not portray that struggle sufficiently at all. There was never a moment of just pure silence, pure lost-in-thought moments, and I think it might have been a better plot for him to stay alone and pang for someone he could never have or wake because of his moral reasoning - and that his love story was tragic. 

When the romance took hold of the plot, it was rather rushed, and our characters suddenly fell in love. There was little consideration of the fact that the two of them were alone, together. For the rest of their lives. That's daunting, and undesirable. I would not want to live in a world where the only person I know is my romantic partner. I thought there could have been a Huis Clos-esque plot in which "Hell is other people", but it did not take that path, and I am a bit disappointed with the direction it took.

The ending was ridiculous. One miracle after another, I was expecting everything to go wrong and stay wrong in order to nuance the plot more, but no - since this is a romance movie it has to end a certain way, right? Spoiler Alert: Them getting and staying together was as unfortunate as their sudden romance. Would you really give up everything you've worked for your whole life for a man you knew a bit too intimately for a year, who also happened to have screwed you over without your consent? Not a moral question, but a practical one. End Spoiler.

To conclude, I did not particularly like this movie (I do like the actors!), if that wasn't apparent yet. The plot was stale and could have been more creative, more refreshing. If you want to watch a cool space movie, I suggest Gravity or Interstellar. Passengers fell a little short of expectation on this. But hey, I look forward to the next X-Men and Guardians of the Galaxy! Marvel to the rescue! 😄

Review: Jab Harry Met Sejal

Watched the movie yesterday - couldn't miss a King Khan-focused movie for anything, after all. 

Though I was apprehensive, since I haven't been particularly impressed by his string of movies in recent years. I liked Fan, I thought Raees was passable. Dilwale? Please no. Plus, my dad taunted me with reviews of how poorly the movie was made. 
But! I got loyalty, boi. I wasn't gonna pass a judgement on the movie before actually watching it myself. So, I did - and I wasn't really disappointed. 

Have I ever cried about Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi to you before?
Once I start, I never stop; I will cry forever. 💓

Anushka Sharma and Shah Rukh Khan have a lot of onscreen chemistry (hah! With the king of romance, who doesn't... Sorry, I'll stop fangirling now). Did it all come out in the movie? Not quite, no.

At first I thought, why the heck would someone name the movie so similarly to a prior superhit and one of my faves, Jab We Met? And as I watched the movie, I realized... why would the director even include themes so similar to Jab We Met? And later I was awakened to the (apparently common knowledge) fact that they have the same director. So... Imtiaz Ali, you played yourself? On purpose, it seems? Oh well. I would have ranted more about that had the directors been different because of the seeming cheap imitation attempt made. Now I know that there was some attempt to reawaken former romance film glory. Anyways, on to the review. 

Okay, so the film starts off with SRK in a stylish outfit looking slick and chic - a surprisingly athletic and buff tour guide with a very edgy chest tattoo. I loved it. But, as the film progressed, I wanted to pull my buddy (and number one idol since childhood *sigh*) and chat with him about how he is not a slapstick humor guy. When he does humor, it's suave, it's sassy, (it's sexy) - but never just silliness. 

Do you know who can pull that serious but slapstick act off easily? Akshay Kumar. But unlike Dilwale and Happy New Year, Shah Rukh Khan did stray from the very few attempts at slapstick humor, and I had a few good laughs from his interactions with Anushka Sharma.

It's a typical "travel, escape, be free and find love" that was present in Jab We Met, but executed a lot less interestingly. There was a bit of suspense regarding Harry's past which was never addressed - the hype was there, the delivery was disappointing. 

Also, can I be honest? Unless your movie is literally Room - about two people in a goddamn room, why did these two actors get 99.99% of the screen time? This movie could definitely have benefited from the presence of a couple of supporting actors (anyone, I'll be honest) that helped establish that line drawn between reality and the dream world that the two characters were straddling at times.

"I love translated subtitles" said no one ever.

Regardless, the movie had some sass, some crazy (though not as believable or well-crafted as Jab We Met). The characters did not feel real enough for the movie to be "good". I blame the script and the lack of thought put into crafting a meaning. The attempt was present and implied, but it was not fleshed out enough. The themes most present were those of the freedom that Sejal was experiencing away from the direct influence of her parents and fiance. 

The conclusion we got to was - you should know who you are and what you want, and follow that. At least I got that. Also one of the main lines in the movie was "If you look for something hard enough, you'll find it", which needed a bit more oomph. Were the characters physically looking for something? Clearly. Emotionally? That was a little less present, but there nonetheless. I think those scenes lacked a little of the seriousness they warranted. Khan's gaze was plenty serious to make the romance scenes very nice, especially if you enjoy romance plots like I do.

Then, perhaps the problem was that this movie lacked the seriousness that made Jab We Met, Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi and others truly strike its audiences. The romance was believable, however, which was more than can be said for most onscreen chemistry attempts in film. Sometimes I wish Bollywood didn't shun its older actresses. Then perhaps SRK could have amazing onscreen chemistry without looking like a creepy uncle (please, Bollywood, wake up). 

At certain points in the movie I was a little bored because of how slow things were progressing. I grew to kind of like Harry, Sejal was never serious enough, and she never matured, beyond maybe her sexual desire for Harry. That being said, Anushka Sharma did a phenomenal job portraying the Gujurati character and her values and her decisions (however random they were), and I think she nailed her role more than Shah Rukh did (I keep coming back to the slapstick) - but which was also partially a problem with how much the actors were convinced with their roles, probably. I dislike the "save me" trope of tough, broken men and sweet non-slut women, but I suppose that's exactly what this was. Why SRK was broken? I will really never know. It was all pushed onto Harry being "lonely"... I don't buy it. His behavior warrants a darker past (SPOILER: seriously, who randomly breaks down and starts talking to/consoling themselves while crying and hugging a pillar? SRK, sure, but only when he's got cancer [Kal Ho Naa Ho]).

My least favorite part of the movie was the way it was wrapped up. Not necessarily ambiguous, but lacking any practicality or sustainability in their relationship. Any such relationship displayed in a movie ought to have ended more unconventionally. The two characters getting together was so impossible. And the pressure of others, society, family, was implied, hinted at, but honestly not present. I would once again venture to claim that a personification (by that, I mean a person) of this truth the characters had to return to would have been helpful. 

TL;DR, long story short - if you are a rom-com person, go ahead, watch this movie. If you're looking for freshness, you might get some. Hey, it's honestly not a bad rom-com. If you just want to stare into SRK's eyes and wish there were more SRKs in the world, go ahead; this is a good movie for that kind of stuff. If you have never understood Shah Rukh Khan's lover boy image, a) do you even exist? b) don't watch the movie - you'll be disappointed. 
I for one, enjoyed it - a decent way to spend 3 hours of my day. Is it worth paying movie theater money for? Nah. Does Shah Rukh Khan still got the ability to make hearts beat rapidly worldwide? Yes, I glimpsed it in this film, in the few lines that made me melt a little. So, SRK, pls, choose a better script for next time, or a better role, or something. Even if you do still do romance, please work with a script that'll enchant us all with your acting. (Heck, my fanfiction scripts are pretty good - can I write you a movie?) I'd rate the movie a 4/10.

Also, is this a good place to rant about SRK's body? Okay, seems like I Khan (HAH I'm hilarious). You work on your body, we get it. Thank GOD there were no unnecessary fighting scenes in this movie, but as has been the trend, while you want to show off your body subtly, it is not the be-all end-all make-or-break aspect of the film. I've been a fan from before you buffed up, and it is kinda cheapening to give up deeper aspects of your films for the sake of showing off your bod. The older ladies out there may be thirsty (I'm 17, so ew), but I think there's a separate category of film-making for that entirely. Or they'll stick to Salman Khan, so please, choose better!

This chick who wants to be cool like you so bad, 

Ritika 💜

P.S. Do tell me what you thought of the movie and/or the review below!

Review: Dunkirk

War movies... never get old? 

Well, I can't account for that; however, at least this movie had a fresh take and did not aim for total emotional breakdown of the audience. In fact, very little was explored regarding the principle characters' backstories. It was war. Everybody had someone to get back to. We know that. 

In that sense, it was very in-the-moment and edge-of-the-seat. 

Christopher Nolan of course had a great soundtrack to go with that had the audience excited, and we got close enough to the characters to care a little, despite the low dialogue and little we knew of the characters besides what their actions spoke.

The cast performed well, and all consist of British actors you've probably seen before, and confirmed the theory that there are only around 30 British actors in the world. I was completely not expecting to see friendly neighborhood Harry Styles, and it caught me completely off guard, which perhaps raises the theory that there are only about 50 British people in the world total? Perhaps? Tom Hardy, though - I didn't even know he was British. Honestly my favorite guy in the movie. 

A little bit of Google-ing finds that there was a previous Dunkirk from 1958, which I have not and probably will not watch. Also a 2004 BBC TV series (gotta love BBC), which I also will not watch. So much for a comparison. The movie made reference to Churchill's "We shall fight on the beaches" speech, and brings up the point that this movie had a lot of British patriotism (shocking) which also means that it probably cannot be as fully appreciated unless you feel a connection to World War II from a British perspective. But this also means the rosy view of the events that actually happened, be it the surrender of the french soldiers or the Ken doll rescuing soldiers in a red sweater on a boat (who are you and how single are you).

The movie, in a word, was artsy. Not everybody's cup of tea, but I definitely like it and think it's worth a watch. I did not watch it in IMAX 3D but the camerawork was great, and it was exciting, well-made. An iconic scene that represents what I mean is this somewhat long but nerve-wracking sequence a little after the movie starts as two principle characters attempt to catch a boat to cross the channel and leave Dunkirk (spoiler: it doesn't really work right off the bat. Kind of the point of the movie). There are several principle characters, and the plot shifts between timelines and points of view that all culminate to the climax of the film and paint a fuller picture of our Allied soldiers' story and the evacuation of Dunkirk. 

While the majority of the film is just one hurdle after the other, and paints a grim picture following any glint of hope that appears, the movie ends clearly and definitely on a hopeful note. Sure (spoiler), a certain character probably got captured and killed as a POW despite doing such a great job saving the others - damn did I root for him, but his scene on the beach was heartwarming and full of hope. What an actor. 

I don't want to say that World War movies are overdone, because it honestly wasn't that long ago, even if most of us are detached from it. But the emotion was still there. 

Now, for what I didn't like. The characters. Perhaps Nolan got caught up in great cinematic effects (never a bad thing), and neglected the connection the audience felt to the characters. I cared enough that the characters' actions and fates had me rooting for them, but the deaths (not a spoiler, it's a war movie) and getaways did not elicit more of a reaction than the occasional "lucky bastard" at Tommy. The movie, while it was a great one-time watch, did not draw a deep enough connection, enough for me to call it... well, forgettable. 

I wouldn't watch it again if I didn't have to. Mainly because there wasn't enough that I felt for it. And the attempts that were made to build our connections with characters sometimes felt forced, and involved more dialogue than perhaps necessary (nobody talked for most of the time; I think Harry Styles honestly had the most lines - for no real reason), and the sweetest moments involved us understanding and inferring their character through their actions.

Regardless, I enjoyed it. I think the movie is worth watching, especially if impressive camerawork excites you. Sure, this is no Interstellar, but I recommend it for at least one watch, even if only for the hype. If you adjust your expectations a little, it won't disappoint you (isn't that true for everything? Haha). 

- Ritika RC -