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It Snows in Benidorm (2020)
2 hours of poor storytelling.
The film seems to think puking out poor symbolism one after the other will automatically grant a commendable film. Just because you have symbolism doesn't mean the story should be forgotten. The ending is possibly one the worst Ive come across, nothing gets resolved, the characters don't undergo any development but rather stay how they were from the beginning and the film just abruptly ends.
I will admit, the first 20 or so minutes seemed enticing enough to continue but after that I began reevaluating why I was sitting in the cinema theatre in the first place. It's a shame because both Timothy Spall and Sarita Choudhury are very talented actors and this was just a wasted opportunity.
Aladdin (2019)
Shining, Shimmering, Splendid!
A movie for everyone. This film has had quite a reputation in the media and almost every social media platform before it's release. Coming out of the theatre I realised how one can misinterpret the film and judge it based off it's trailers and marketing as being horrible. As someone who felt that way, I can assure Aladdin is an experience where the audience will cherish if you loved the animated-classic - The nostalgia kicks in from the very start.
Everything about this film pays homage to the animated classic yet still manages to surprise and gift the audience with a few new changes to the plotline. Among all aspects of this theatrical release, it is the cast who mainly stand out and carry the film. Mainly seen in the leads Mena Massoud (Aladdin), Naomi Scott (Princess Jasmine) and Will Smith as the iconic 'Aladdin' character, Genie, the actors elevate the film to another level of entertainment and bring more depth to the characters.
Mena as Aladdin is a delight to watch. His looks and singing truly revealed to the audience of what capability he has in the future of acting. Naomi Scott's performance is one of the most memorable a watcher will ever come across in Disney's live-action remakes and quite possibly the year. With the help of re-writing the character, Princess Jasmine becomes a character we wish to continuously see on the big screen through Naomi's onscreen presence.
As many had speculated to be the massive let-down of the film, Will Smith's Genie changes the character to his own style while paying homage to the late Robin Williams' take. Smith brings a slight hip like feel in his comedic timings and to the character while maintaining the close friendship with Aladdin. The one letdown in casting admittedly is Jafar (Marwan Kenzari). Kenzari proves he is capable of acting and the character has been written with a few delightful details, the only problem is Jafar is not well represented visually. The new addition of Dalia, Jasmine's maiden and friend played by Nasim Pedrad is always a treat to watch. Her awkwardness when interacting makes the character extremely likeable and enjoyable to watch. Once again the visual effects team have outdone themselves in Disney's live-action trend when it came to representing Rajah, Abu, Iago and Carpet.
Once again Alan Menken has returned to remaster his famous soundtrack with the addition of a new song, 'Speechless' for Princess Jasmine, and it truly is one of the memorable moments throughout the film. The background score is one reason to watch this movie on the big screen. Menken's renditions of our favourite tunes with the slight Arabian feels makes you want to listen to it forever and ever.
The action sequences found this film are some of the many unique and eye-catching sequences one could possibly witness. Director, Guy Ritchie really shows his passion during these momments.
The only issues found in this film were in the editing, CGI of the background landscapes in some scenes and screenplay, especially in a few numbers. These are extremely minor details when focused on the film's storyline.
Overall, I rate this film a 4/5 and highly recommend seeing this film at the theatre. Give yourself an open mind if you truly want to witness the magic. It's an experience that one could only witness on the big screen.
Kaatru Veliyidai (2017)
A Bitter Sweet Relationship
To many, Mani Ratnam is considered a pure magician from writing electrifying and opinionated characters to breathtaking visuals in his storytelling. In the case of Kaatru Veliyidai, there is a reception among audiences and watchers. Either you will adore the film or you will look upon it with confusion, asking yourself why such a prestigious director chose to direct such a film. In the case of my review, Kaatru Veliyidai is a tragic romance that perfectly portrayed an abusive relationship. This I believe was Mani Sir's intention; abusive relationships still happen among all ages even among young ages.
This idea is clearly visualised among the two primary characters, VC (Karthi) and Leela (Aditi Rao Hydari), two lovers who we see are destined to be together through their eyes and perspectives of the film. But throughout the film, we see another viewpoint, a third perspective to their relationship that paints the true colours of a narcissist. That narcissist being VC. Throughout the film, we see VC's arrogance to make every situation about himself even when it isn't necessary. This is a perfect example when Leela confesses her pregnancy to VC who would rather focus on his career than their child. Karthi's ability to portray such a character is excellently achieved causing most watchers to instantly hate him. This hatred is mostly seen at the climax when we see Leela and VC reunite after the war. The thought of seeing a mentally disturbed character who treated his partner with disrespect and lack of care makes you realise the hate and cruelty audiences experience towards the character of VC.
Leela Abraham played by Aditi Rao Hydari was by far the highlight to Kaatru Veliyidai. Aditi Rao Hydari was the only true scene stealer where Mani Ratnam's directing along with Ravi Varma's Cinematography portrayed Aditi in the most beautiful and graceful manner ever seen in her work. Her character played striking similarities to Shobhana's Subhalakshmi in Thalapathi in terms of the way she reacted and performed, bring back a massive sensation of happy nostalgia to Mani Ratnam fanatics. She was the most beautifully written character who was given enough depth for audiences to realises her likeable and dislikable characteristics, making her more humanlike and relatable. This is specifically seen when she keeps returning to VC who we see treat her with disrespect when she tries to bring up serious or important issues such as committing to a permanent relationship. We see her kind and peaceful qualities that are likeable but her choice to constantly return back to her lover creates a frustration in audiences minds. This is where Mani Ratnam's brilliance comes into the picture. The intention of Leela's character was to make her as relatable and realistic showing how most people behave with their admirers or partners no matter how mentally disturbed they are; you will always keep them in your mind when in love. This portraying the likable and dislikable qualities of us as humans through the character of Leela.
In terms of cinematography, Ravi Varma is imaculate as he brilliantly uses warm lighting on specific characters especially among Leela and VC. When ever Leela is seen, we see a warm yellow sunlight shine on her, especially when VC wears his aviator glasses. This is a clear example of Leela being VC's sunshine or pure happiness of light.
Once again, A.R Rahman does an excellent job bringing the style and aesthetics of the film through to this film with the use of minimal instruments, executing it perfectly.
Overrall, I would rate Kaatru Veliyidai an 8 out 10. Partly due to the lack of depth in story telling where it was needed. If there film did not center on two different genres (Romance and Action) that so frequently, then the film could have recieved a better rating.