A United Kingdom (2016) France, UK

The story of two kingdoms.

Genre:

Biography, Drama, Romance.

Length:

Approximately 4-minute read.


Review:
     It got the mixed responses from all the quarters, but I had a little doubt that did I watched the same film! Because it was much better than what I have had heard from them. It's a biographical romance-drama from the director of 'Belle'. And like the inspiring life stories of Gandhi, Mandela, Martin Luther King Jr. et cetera, this one falls in the same line. All of their life events set in different kind of geopolitical scenario, so do this man's. But it was like differences in the family, which led to geopolitics. Anyway, the history book says, all the great struggles began with some game changing incidents like in this story.

     Seretse Khama, a king to be to a Southern African nation, now known as Botswana. His/this story was not filled with any violence. In fact, there were none, but political tension was at high. More or less, everything depicted in the film was like a chess game. Each opponent had their time with their pawns moved in the right direction to check their opponents. So he had to play accordingly for his nation and its people. I think he handled so well without any violence and that's why this film was merely a simple drama rather than packed with full of twist and turns and stunts.

     Like any biopic, it is an inspiring film. The implementation of non-violent tool to fight back was at its best in a film I've seen. Though, he was not like the most intelligent man, fighting it on his way, but an average man with a good education and character. The film opened with his final days in London as his law practice is coming to end. Then, unexpectedly, he meets a white woman. After going out with her for a few dates, they find love for each other. The real hurdle comes between them when the Britain government tries to break their relationship because it would affect their interest in his resourceful nation in Africa and peace with their neighbours.

 Let us not allow the ugliness of this world to take our joy away from us. 

     As he was banished from returning to his native, separated from his family, how he works hard to bring the peace and stability to the region, especially to come out of the British oppression was the rest of the story to focus on. An amazing film. I liked it because it was not about heroism or working under a spotlight since he comes from the royal family. His simplicity of life and approach to all the problems was uplifting. I never heard that a nation ever got its independence without spilling a drop of blood. This is the one, at least for me. I mean no guns, or any other kind of weapons, except small, small protests impacting big way. But the big sacrifices were made in other ways. That's the major reason for I love it.

     Based on the book, 'Colour Bar'. The screenplay was slow, but it required to slow down to impact the atmosphere of passing time as the film spans with just important events for 4-5 years. So, assuming the film lacked depth is a misconception. Shot in both England and Botswana. The two different continents and its landscapes tell the story of its own. I mean the long distance between these two nations and distinct between the cultures, their own agenda to fight what's right for them. The initial part was like a pure romance film, and then suddenly the political tension takes the centre stage. Between the romance and politics, the narration keeps its flow without much progression in the middle section. Yet, impressive.

     As for me, Seretse Khama was a much, much better role than Martin King Luther Jr. that the David Oyelowo has played. But that role was more popular as it was an American. So this film needs a big uplifted, since the film has not reached a wider audience. Felt like I'm seeing Rosamund Pike after a long time. She was excellent as Ruth. The rest of the cast in the small parts were not bad. It was an Oscar product, but no one ever mentioned that. If you are interested in history of Botswana, particularly in the time surrounding its independence, you should try it. But I think it is a must see film, one of the best films based on a king, a freedom fighter and a husband.



Suitable for:
Tween, Teen, Adult, All


Final verdict:
Ignore, Bad, Average, Good, Excellent


Similar movies:
Belle, Diana, Gandhi, Kundun, Lincoln, Selma, Loving, Queen of the Desert.


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Trollhunters (2016) USA

For the glory of Merlin, Daylight is mine to command!

Season:

One (26 Episodes)

Genre:

TV Series, Animation (3D), Action, Adventure, Comedy, Family, Fantasy.

Length:

Approximately 6-minute read.


Review:
     It has been twenty years since the revolution of 3D animation. The feature films are on the another level, but I always wondered why the television series are lagging behind on this. A few of them from the recent were not that impressive as this one. This surely would become a classic as the years to come. But don't judge it as it is only for children. That's what I surprised with. I should have seen it six months ago when it came. I was not discarding, but delaying my watch and now I regret that kind of mindset of mine.

     Based on the book of the same name, co-written by Guillermo del Toro. One of the final works of Anton Yelchin before his unexpected death in the last year. I do not have to check for that, once I have heard the voice, I knew right away it was him. A very unique voice tone as only a very few in the film industry gifted with. He has done many good works, but this is the one to remember as his final.

     The series had won three Annie Awards out of four nominees and several others. Really a great achievement in animation, the product that made for television. Definitely many 3D animated series would follow the same route. Especially I am expecting from the Disney as I am a big fan of it, despite their two famous films turned successfully into 2D animated series, which I liked they're not letting go the dying art of the early days. That's me. I want everything!

 Destiny is a gift. Some to their entire lives, living existence as a quiet desperation. 

     I am a film fanatic, not series', but I regularly watch them. So, normally I won't review television series, unless I loved it's all the episodes. Which means, usually the documentaries and history related series'. Probably this is the first time for an entertainment series and I'm happy for doing that. I just want to let others know how great it is, because it is not one of the most watched series, unlike the high rating and praised big.

     The season one consists of 26 episodes, just like the old days. Because, nowadays the series episodes are reduced between 10-13. You might have heard that recently the writers are on the protest for losing their work. Anyway, each episode was so awesome. Like full story, with lots of twist and turns. It could have made a fantastic film series of around 10 to 12 films like the 'Harry Potter'. Yeah, even as a live-action film is not a bad idea, since todays technology was far better than ten years ago.

     BUT I'm happy for it as it is as a series, that makes it very unique. The characters were totally unpredictable. There are like 10-15 major characters and as the series progress, you would witness a complete changeover in them. And that's I call a perfect character development. I mean there are no flashbacks, but all the needed infos were revealed to us quite stylishly like with the missions in each episode.

     It is obviously about a chosen one. I have not seen a masterpiece like this on the chosen one concept since 'The Lord of the Rings'. There is no wasting of time, it all begins right away and when that happened, I said 'here it comes the boring part'. After watching the first episode, I felt it was not bad. Awesome in fact. Then I was not expecting the following episodes to follow the same magic, but they did. As I watched first 3-4 episodes, I came to realise its brilliance. That's it, since then there's nothing to stop me as I finished watching the entire first season as much as soon as I can.

 Well, I wouldn't really call it an issue, an issue is something you can fix. 

     The disappointment came from not with the series, but after ending my watch, there were no more to continue. So I can't wait for the second season, which is due later this year. One of the reasons I loved the series is for each episode was better the previous one. It's only going up in the graph of impressing its viewers. If someone did not like an episode means, probably he's did not pay attention in his watch. Coming back to the story, I liked the details of everything. Easy to follow and the introduction of all the characters are nicely done.

     So a teenager named Jim Lake from a town called Arcadia becomes the first human Trollhunter after the amulet chose him. Soon he was guided by the two trolls and he was taken to their world called Heartstone Trollmarket that lies underneath the Arcadia. With his not so fierce training and other small-small missions, Jim has to improve his efficiency in order to do what he has chosen for. He struggles, but the faith on him among the trolls gives all the needed strength. That's when he meets Bular, the son of Gunmar who is trying to rise from the darkness.

     Meanwhile, he has to face other threats like from Changleings and Goblins. With the help of his friends he succeeds most of the time in defending Trollmarket. The story aimed in one direction, but that does not stay that way for very long. One of the best things about this series is changing the course in its narration. Like in the halfway of the season, the Trollhunter who was preparing for his cause, has to face the threats from a different angle as he's the protector of the Trolls. Which makes the plot to go another way, while you are starting to predict on the other way. My first appreciation is the screen-writing. Well done del Toro.

 You humans cut stones unlock their beauty, but trolls cut stones unlock their power. 

     When I and my niece watched 'Miraculous Ladybug...', she was chanting 'Tikki spots on' without her conscious and now I'm doing the same after watching this. Surely it's not just me, anyone who loved it like I did would do the same. Yeah, 'for the glory of Merlin, Daylight is mine to command' is not just a word, though it became a slogan. It had good action sequences. There are sentiments too. As the season approaches its finale, it gets very emotional. I liked several characters, but AAARRGGHH was the top in my chart, followed by Blinky his philosophical dialogues. But not all the time what he says concerns about our world. Most of them are funny and inspiring.

     Those characters are the soul of this series, but I don't know how the following season would stay with the same intensity. I hope they sort it out. Claire Nunez surely reminds Marinette as someone pointed out that in Pinster. It might be a co-incident, but a very fact, just like I still confuse between Mark Walhberg and Matt Damon. Then there's Toby, one of the best sidekick ever. He was fun, but according to the situation his role turns, yet still he remains fun.

     The villains are great. It's always very important to match the hero or overpower. There is no just one bad guy, but many and each of them were so unique. By far, as how far this season went on, Angor Rot was the best. His powers simply amazes, even though he's a negative role. The Gumar is yet to be revealed so I can't make judgement on him. But Angor Rot was like Darth Vader of this story.

     This could be DreamWorks animation's game changing program. But like usual the praise also goes to Netflix for joining the hand with. I don't know what they would do for Anton Yelchin casting in the season two. Surely they'll come up with something. Finally, I end my review by saying don't miss it, especially if you have kids in the house, watch with them for more fun. I hope to return for the next season review.



Suitable for:
Tween, Teen, Adult, All


Final verdict:
Ignore, Bad, Average, Good, Excellent


Similar movies:
Miraculous: Tales of Ladybug & Cat Noir, All Hail King Julien, Tangled: The Series.


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Guardians (2017) Russia

Not just another superhero film!

Original title:

Zashchitniki (Russian)

Genre:

Action, Adventure, Science Fiction.

Length:

Approximately 5-minute read.


Review:
     It was more like a counterpart of the first 'Captain America' film. Because both the films set in the same background, which is the Cold War. But the Cold War was merely a reason to initiate what the film needed for its story. So as we roughly guessing the plot, there's something goes wrong in the secret experiment and then there emerges the superheroes and the supervillains.

     The last time I saw such scale grand Russian film was 'The Inhabited Island' and decided never watch such Russian flicks. I might be wrong, because my knowledge about the Russian films is less, but there could be a lot better films that I haven't seen. Anyway, I put all my faith on it, despite very low ratings and heavily criticised it on the internet. I must say that, it was a decent film, neither a breathtaking nor a worst film (of the year).

     Yep, there's lots of cliche, because you have seen them all in high standard Hollywood films. But since it is not a Hollywood, comparing them is unfair. A little appreciation needed for its effort. Except borrowing the concept should be questioned here. Because that's made its lack of originality. And one more exception is that science is everywhere the same, which is a big excuse for that.

     The graphics were almost flawless. The characters are unique, but adapted from the same blueprint how every superhero film take off. So what went wrong with it is the big question, despite everything's carefully and nicely done. And the answer is the screenplay. Any superhero films majorly depends on the best designed action sequences and the stunt choreography with respective superpowers of the superheroes at its best.

 Death for us is not a problem, we've lived long enough. 

     I liked the costumes, which aren't too fancy or simple, and the superpowers, but I don't think they were used that in the best way possible. And have you ever seen a 90 or less minute superhero film. That's another drawback. Because shortening the runtime does not speed up the narration. In this film, there were no space given for the character developments, like to make them, those heroes sit somewhere and have some lazy takes, which surely opens their deep thought, including personal events of the past and all. What I saw was, they came, they saw the villain and they fought him.

     Well, at first attempt, it should not succeed, otherwise the film ends there. That's how all the superheroes rise back from the initial stumble. Only after upgrading with modern scientific weapons and gadgets to boost their superpowers, they now can match the bad guy. Those were the properly done things from the film. But not everybody will be happy for it as it is another cliched segment. So what, that's same even if it is a Hollywood or European film.

     Then what makes the film watchable is the production standards, that very much comparable with the big cost films around the world. Those criticised it was wrongly accused as saying it has the cheap CGI visuals, but that's definitely not true. Then the most successful film in the history of Indian cinema, 'Bahubali' would lead such worst visual effects list. If you watch this film, you would know that or you would bring your own perception. But the plot holes, surely there are many, if you are focused enough to identify them.

     After all, if you give your interest to watch the film, then there won't be any time to go after such errors. Thus, it is the thing what all the film critics usually do. Madness is some film fanatics joined them. So never mind all the negatives about the film. Don't think I'm defending it. Just know how I rated it, an average. My idea is to expose it not a very bad film as it was labelled. That does not mean it is a fantastic film either. A 50-50 chance film, which can be still watchable, and once you did, the outcome of the watch could be anything. So after seeing all the confusing ratings and reviews, it must be hard for you whether to go for it or not. Suppose if you ask me, I say choose wisely, and if you did, have low expectations.



Suitable for:
Tween, Teen, Adult, All


Final verdict:
Ignore, Bad, Average, Good, Excellent


Similar movies:
Avengers, Fantastic Four, Hellboy, Justice League, X-Men, Power Rangers.


External link(s):

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At the End of the Tunnel (2016) Argentina

Not all the plans are foolproof.

Original title:

Al Final del Tunel (Spaish)

Genre:

Crime, Thriller.

Length:

Approximately 6-minute read.


Review:
     Not quite what I was looking for, but still I had a nice time watching it. This is an Argentine crime-thriller. Minimal cast film and entirely shot a building and its surroundings. Literally, it was always a dark atmosphere, like it all happened at night time. The opening parts were intentional as everything deliberately put together for a quick start. It was not a matter of cliche, but knowing how all these stories begin, they did not waste time for all the details. Just the glances at related stuffs revealed all the necessary details, like unmaintained backyard, crashed car, photographs et cetera, would tell the story all you wanted to know. Even though the film ran for two hours.

     So you might think they filled entire film with a tight plot, but that's not what really happened. Watching a film over that long was the tricky part, because there's no significant change in the narration in the first half, everything was in the following half. This is the story of a paraplegic computer engineer who is living alone in his house, but most of his time he spends at the basement working with computers. He was not as mysterious as he looked at the first glance. You will know him well with the progression of the story. Not from the past, but moving forward, and his intentions.

     It's about the time a single mother and her young daughter come asking him the room as they saw the rental signboard placed outside. It all happens suddenly where she moves in in the next few hours. As staying together, there's no proper connection was made between them, her attempts does not bring any positive. As the days go by, he discovers some gang is planning a heist in the next building. Now all his focus come into it and it's time to decide how to deal it, and once he did, his plans and its executions are what takes the centre stage in the remaining narration.

 In the end no matter how organised your plan is, it always depends on either a girl or luck. 

     You probably would make a couple of guesses how it's all going to shape up, in particular how the finale sets up. So it is not that suspense if you think it would be. All the heist films you have seen in your life would make it easier for you to have many perspectives, whenever there comes a twist or turn. The bad part was the characters. All the film characters were cliched. Like every weakness, strength is for a reason and those were not protected well for revealing it in the later parts. So concentrate every scene, even a small scene without ignoring. They all come into play in the crucial segment.

     It was something like a well known story and character pattern, except the settings, which kind of gives a fresh look for the product. The fist one hour was too slow, no exciting developments. It's all between two groups, one was the criminal gang with a major plan in their hand and the second was a family, well, it was almost like a family in the next door. All the events happen separately, but once the contact was made in the final act, the slow drama turns a fast paced thriller.

     But again, it compromises in the confrontation part. If you are going to expect a big face-off after what it all were developed in the earlier section, that's a pretty disappointment. But still it is a good film to watch once. Not a silly film on the overall, a theme like this to design takes quite a brain, though not a genius film and it was pretty neatly done. Especially the kind of audience they were aiming for, is not particular anyone, but mostly everybody.

     Whatever the characters were, the cast was excellent. They all performed their parts accordingly, including that little kid. Except it was a long film, if you are okay with a simple and entertaining product, this will do fine. For those who anticipate clever twists and turns, this will fall into an average. There were lots of opportunity to improvise the screenplay, but it was in my mind that I thought it should have been like this and that who is having opinions on the film that was already made. And that's the expectation that will kill your entertainment. I'm getting used to it, so for me it was a decent film and I'll recommend it to the selected viewers.



Suitable for:
Tween, Teen, Adult, All


Final verdict:
Ignore, Bad, Average, Good, Excellent


Similar movies:
Flypaper, Empire State, The Trust, Henry's Crime, Man on a Ledge, Tower Heist.


External link(s):

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