Jurassic World : Dominon. Or how to ruin a movie franchise.

 And so, it happens. I am going to type in here , something I never thought I woulds say in my life. 

They ruined my favourite movie franchise for me. I hate dinosaur movies now.

Hollywood ruined it. Today I watched the utter trash that they called Dominion in a theatre today. And for about 5 minutes, I was so bored, I actually fell asleep. While a rampage was going on on the screen.

Collin Trevorow, I hate you. I will never watch anything you are involved in.

It is amazing how rancid commercialisation can actually take creativity out of movies.

I hope they teach this in film school tomorrow. How absolute morons can ruin long standing classics.

‘First Man’ destroyed my eyes

 

Man, I was really looking forward to this movie. Its a subject matter I am close to, and had high expectations from the director and studio. But all that was destroyed last week, when I watched this movie on the big screen at Hoyts.

I hated it. I hated it so bad that I walked out half way through it. The reason was not the story, or the acting. It was the cinematrography. Shaky camera. Too much shaky camera. WTF , Damien ? Its as if you just discovered the shaky camera effect. The idiotic director and cinemtagrapher chose to shoot every scene on two legs, right in the actor’s faces ! One could see the hair in their nostrills. And with the camera constanly shaking and moving, I was soon overcome with dizziness. Specially in the lauch sequences, I shrill music and shakes almost made me throw up.

I walked out just after Neil was chosen to the Apollo program.

I will catch this movie on torrents when it becomes available, because I really wanted to see his walk on the moon. But I plan to use some kind of image stabilizer software at that time.

I understand this was the perspective of Neil Armstrong, who took such a big risk for a mission guided by the cold-war politics of the time. But I didn’t want to see the actors noses all the time. I wanted to see the rest of the world too.

Space. And everyting else.

Bad movies

 

I’ve been watching lesser and lesser movies nowadays, partly because I hardly get the time. But mostly because most of the movies coming out nowadays are garbage.  There are tricks to identify a bad movie.  One trick is asking someone who watched it. If someone tells you it is ok for a one time watch, then it is a bad movie.

Another trick is to check the wikipedia page of that movie sometime after it comes out. If its not updated, specially the plot part, then it is really bad. I mean really bad. Run ! Escape !!

But there are even worse movies coming out, which for some reason , people seem to enjoy. And write about. I watched a few of them this year, because the are available on DVD rip sites. Like the latest Transformer movie, the Last Knight. I wonder what the hell were the creators, thinking ? Right, they were not thinking. Its so bad, I deleted my download the second I skipped till the end. Same for baywatch, the new mummy reboot and furious 8. Horrible horrible movies.

Its even worse for bollywood. That Harry-Sejal bullshit, Raabta, Lipstick-Burka…eww…there are just ones I watched. There are far outrageous crimes being committed. Can’t believe they remade that bad Tamil movie as well.

What I cannot fathom is why are the public still watching these kind of movies. They still make money , some of them still get remakes and sequels. They get prime air time when they debut on cable. The makers are able to make a quick buck before the word gets out, its almost like a huge ponzi scheme. And hardly anyone seems to care.

I guess its a little difficult when there aren’t many options. I can’t say for sure, but I think this is one of the worst years for movie entertainment.

 

 

So bad, I had to go back to my collection of classics, just to stay sane.

Plus point: I came across an Indian version of the Golden Raspberry awards for bad movies, termed the Golden Kela awards.

A series of flops

 

Rangoon

Rangoon revolves around Rusi Billimoria (Saif Ali Khan), Miss Julia (Kangana Ranaut) and Jamadar Nawab Malik (Shahid Kapoor). The film is set in the era of World War II. Contrary to all the hype created for the film, Rangoon soon ran out of the fizz and failed to make a mark. The film was made on a budget of INR 80 crore and satellite, digital and music rights were sold in INR 15 crore. So, to break even, the film had to earn INR 65 crore. But, the film could only manage to collect INR 21.57 crore at the box office. And hence, Rangoon turned out to be a huge debacle at the box office.

Ok Jaanu

Produced jointly by Karan Johar and Mani Ratnam, Ok Jaanu is the remake of successful Tamil film from 2015, Ok Kanmani. Ok Jaanu stars the Aashiqui 2 stars Aditya Roy Kapur and Shraddha Kapoor in the lead roles. Made with a budget of INR 28 crore, Ok Jaanu couldn't even manage to earn to recover the cost of production. It collected INR 23.64 crore and hence comes in this category.

Running Shaadi

Adding to the list, next up is Taapsee Pannu and Amit Sadhs's Running Shaadi. It is a romantic comedy and revolves around three character who start a new website called Running Shaadi which helps couples in Amritsar elope with their lovers. Well, the film itself had to elope from the race of becoming an earner at the ticket windows. The film could only earn INR 50 lacs at the box office, but was expected to rake in around INR 3 crore.

Trapped

Directed by Vikramaditya Motwane, Trapped is about a guy who gets locked in his own apartment and the whole story revolves around his tactics of survival and how he manages to make his way out. Ever after Rajkummar Rao's brilliant performance couldn't attract the audience to come to the theatres. Trapped is made on a very low budget of less than INR 10 crore,  but would still struggling to recover that money. The film earned only INR 2.59 crore.

Aa Gaya Hero

Govinda's comeback Aa Gaya Hero had to return to the pavilion before even making a 10 runs on the field. The film was made on a budget of INR 8 crore, but could only earn INR 1.30 crore at the box office.

Machine

Directed by Abbas Mustan, Machine features Kiara Advani, Carla Dennis, Eshaan Shankar & Mustafa in lead roles. The film couldn't make a mark and even viewers weren't interested watching the film. Made on a budget INR 25 crore, the film could only earn INR 3.12 crore at the box office.

Anaarkali Of Aarah

Swara Bhaskar's Anaarkali Of Aarah was in news ever since it was announced. It made headlines for its tussle with CBFC and how the film's scenes got leaked online, But, none of these factors really helped the movie mint money and it ran out of steam as soon as it released. The film was made on a budget of around INR 5 crore and it collected only INR 0.80 crore at the ticket windows.

OK Kanmani

 

Bakwaas Movie.

 

Today's Hindu has finally published a review of the movie from the point of view of more sensible viewers:

 

O Kadhal Kanmani, the latest Mani Ratnam film, is the buzzword now. The film has triggered off a discussion on relationships, live-in and marriage among the youth. The lead pair looked adorable. The visual language was fresh. But something was missing in the story that tackles a modern-day relationship. Aadhi and Tara, the lead pair in the film, decide to go against the nuptials and explore a living-together relationship. Though the theme is fresh, many youngsters feel let down with the way it has been handled by the director.

“Mani Ratnam lacks conviction about live-in relationships,” says Athul Domichen, a media professional from Calicut. According to the 25-year-old, the director has taken an easy way out. “ The lead pair who does not believe in marriage decide to get hitched when they have to split ways to pursue their ambitions.” Aadhi (played by Dulquer Salmaan) is represented as the quintessential metro man who avoids commitment. And so is Tara (Nithya Menen), who comes from a broken family. “I am not against marriage. But then it should not be used as an adhesive to keep two people together. Can’t a relationship sustain with trust and patience too?” asks Athul.

Manasa Ramakrishnan feels the commitment phobia part was overdone. She thinks the film stereotyped youth as anti-marriage. The 25-year-old school teacher from Bangalore adds that the film portrayed marriage as a tough deal. “It is not. It is about companionship. Life can be a lot more organised in marriage and fun too. The movie complicated these aspects unnecessarily. ”

Like any other Mani Ratnam film, this one too comes with classy frames and groovy music. But then, the pretty frames killed the drama and made the story look unrealistic. For instance, a supposedly shady lodge, where Tara and Aadhi spend a night together, is so tastefully designed that it almost looks like an art studio. “The sets were too glossy. The apartment looked unreal. It killed the flavour of romance for me,” says Athul.

In the film, everything is breezy for Tara and Aadhi. Chithra Dhara, a student from English and Foreign Languages University, Hyderabad, wonders if the Indian society is as accepting about living together as picturised in the movie. “The couple hardly faces any kind of moral policing, which is the case with young lovers in the country. Except for one scene, where Tara is interrogated by Aadhi’s relative, they had it easy. It came across as a shallow rom-com .”

Deepti Sreeram, a journalist from New Delhi, believes the film showcased convenient ideas of romance. “As a generation, we are socially independent. But, when it comes to choices pertaining to our partners, we are still not free. Many couples, who live in with their partners, are plagued by financial insecurities and safety issues. They do not even have a space to get physically intimate. The film left all these issues unexplored and conveniently shut us off from reality.”

At one point in the film Aadhi leaves the city without informing Tara, and she is worried. And her friend warns her not to turn possessive and behave like a wife. Many find this aspect a twisted depiction of a live-in relationship. Sindhu Jose, a research scholar from Hyderabad, feels “Live-in might not involve marriage. But then the lovers would want to lead a life together. There is an emotional bonding. It is as complex as a marital relationship. I expected a more nuanced take on the subject from a director like Mani Ratnam.”

Also, Aadhi and Tara seem to be living in a bubble. The world around them is filled with well-wishing uncles, sweet maamis and progressive friends.

In fact, all it takes Tara to convince Aadhi’s landlord for the live-in is belt out a Carnatic music bhajan! Everything fell into place a little too easy, says Deepti. “I missed the intense, risky love portrayed in films like Raavan and Dil Se. Here, both the girl and boy belong to the same class, caste, religion, and their life has no challenges. The movie seems to be hinting that the old generation is okay with us falling in love and even living together so long as we keep these yardsticks in mind!”