JAWS 2

I remember Dad taking me to watch Jaws 1 as a little girl. I would be fascinated with all the action on the big screen. And I was definitely terrified as the shark attacked one person after the other. As the music heightened to a scary crescendo and the waves of the sea almost swirled around me, I would cling to my Dad's arm, shuddering at the very horror of seeing the water turn red as the shark would take its victims down. An absolute entertainer, I would say now when I look back!
And today, while surfing channels, I got to see Jaws 2, another refreshing thriller. Ofcourse the same romping and chomping by the shark and the screaming by a teenage group but then it somehow refreshed my memories of Dad and me going to watch weird movies. Dad always loved that somehow! Watching weird, scary stuff and I loved it too! I give it a 4.5 out of 5 for its riveting story, making sure I didn't blink a peep!

Jaws 2 is a 1978 American horror thriller film, the first sequel to Steven Spielberg's Jaws (1975), and the second installment in the Jaws franchise. Directed by Jeannot Szwarc, it stars Roy Scheider as Police Chief Martin Brody, who must deal with another great white shark terrorizing the waters of Amity Island, a fictional seaside resort, with Lorraine Gary and Murray Hamilton reprising their respective roles as Martin's wife Ellen Brody and mayor Larry Vaughn.

Jaws 2 was briefly the highest-grossing sequel in history until The Empire Strikes Back was released in 1980. The film's tagline, "Just when you thought it was safe to go back in the water...," has become one of the most famous in film history and has been parodied and homaged several times. Jaws 2 is widely considered to be the best Jaws sequel.^[7]

Jaws 2 was followed by Jaws 3-D and Jaws: The Revenge, released in 1983 and 1987, respectively. (Wikipedia)

Around the same time in 1978 in Assam, Atul Bordoloi was directing Kollol, a story which was definitely different from Jaws but was far more interesting for the Assamese audience as it revolved around a shark in the Brahmaputra river. The late Chandra Narayan Baruah did an excellent show of his acting skills. Years later, when I met him on the sets of one of his directorial productions, Stabdha Prahar, in which I playing one of the lead roles, he narrated how hard they had to work for Kollol. The shark in the river was actually a man swimming under water with a prop of the dorsal fin. The man had a tough time as he couldn't remain under water for a long time. Yet they created a master-piece. The cinematography was excellent, not to forget Bishnu Khargoria's exemplary presence on screen. This film was produced in 1978 and subsequently bagged the Rajat Kamal Award for the Best Feature Film in Assamese. A 5 out of 5 for an excellent Assamese film of the late 70's.

RUSTOM

Akshay Kumar's acting was always larger than life, even when he was not as good-looking as now and like old wine, he's just getting better with age. He is so skilled in everything that all other actors fade away and the entire spotlight rests on him. In Rustom too, Akshay didn't have to make much of an effort to look good, or act or make his presence felt amply. A 4.5 out of 5 for him. 

The story though riveting could have had better sets than designing it like a barbie-doll's tea party. The lighting was too harsh; I am contemplating that with a romantic period film like Rustom, the director could have thought of playing it low-key with the lights. However tacky it might be, the film did well only for Akshay. I should say a 4 out of 5!

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Rustom is a 2016 Indian crime thriller film written by Vipul K Rawal, directed by Tinu Suresh Desai and produced by Neeraj Pandey. It features Akshay Kumar, Ileana D'Cruz, Arjan Bajwa and Esha Gupta in the lead roles.

The film is based on the real life incident of Naval Officer K.M. Nanavati and businessman Prem Ahuja.

Principal photography of the film was commenced in February 2016 and it was released on 12 August 2016.

India

The film was released alongside Mohenjo Daro on 2317 screens across India on August 12, 2016. Rustom collected approximately 14.11 crore on its opening day. The film collected 50 crore in its opening weekend and 90.9 crore in its first week in India.

Overseas

The film also performed well overseas, grossing approximately $3 million in its opening weekend.

MIRZYA

Mirzya is a 2016 Indian Hindi epic fantasy romantic thriller film directed by Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra. Produced by Cinestaan Film Company and Mehra under his ROM Pictures, it stars Harshvardhan Kapoor and Saiyami Kher in lead roles along with Anuj Choudhry, Om Puri, Art Malik, K. K. Raina, and Anjali Patil in supporting roles. The basic premise of the film is inspired by the Punjabi folklore of Mirza Sahiban.^[4][5][6]

Mirzya was released in India on 7 October 2016.

Though the film grossed 9.6 crore (US$1.4 million) during its first week run and has been given a 3.5 out of 5 and Harshvardhan Kapoor and Saiyami Kher did good with their fluid acting, I still think Mehra could have thought of taking up a better story than a two-tiered narrative, which again is very cliched, at least in the present day situation. Ofcourse, there's no denying the fact that it had its own ingrained romance. But it definitely doesn't have the appeal for a second time viewing!

WEIRD! WHO, ME? NAH!

YOU GOTO CHECK THESE OUT!

Lately, I have been doing things; weird things, like watching really weird movies, not that I get to do weird stuff everyday. Aww..isn't this weird? I have written weird five times already! Does this make me weird? Maybe, that could be one reason why I had holed myself up and settled my mind to simply watch some flicks, which were screaming for attention with comic posters.
Gnaw, a 2016 film, was tasteless, with a drab story of killing and gore. They could have made the murders a little more interesting. There was nothing horrific about the film except for categorizing it as a 'Horror'. Why? Does it even have a genre? I thought it pretty much had perfect comic timing! The director must have been in two minds; should I or should I not?..What? Make a comedy or a horror! Yep, Sir Gregory Mandry, I hereby give you knighthood for directing the Best Worst Film of 2016!

I wonder why people are still thinking of making sequels. It's so old school. I mean that if you have watched one of the Grudges, you have seen them all. The same old story. Why would I be scared of the same ghost, in the same make-up, who needs a hair-cut really bad, over and over again? You tried to scare us once, Mr. Takashi Shimizu, with Grudge 1 in 2004, then Grudge 2 in 2006 and I am definitely not going to watch Grudge 3. The scare index has definitely gone up for people like me. You have to make something really really scary to scare the daylights out of me!

Peter Winther definitely made this horror film in 2012 not for adults like me but for kids, who also laughed their heads off at such immature film-making. Instead of scaring us, we were bound to think that it was some kind of fairy-tale, with a witch whose make-up has gone awry.  1 out of 5!

I somehow liked this 2010 horror-thriller Uninhabited, more so for the fact that it could build up a lot of creepy thoughts and feelings. It didn't have any weirdo running around the beach, trying to scare the couple on their holiday. The story build-up was subtle, yet kept me rooted to my chair to watch more. The end was cliched and oh-I-Knew-it kind. A big thumbs up to director, Bill Bennet for a horror film that is going to come to my mind if I decide to spend a holiday on some lonely island! But wished it was scarier! 4.5 out of 5!


So, there see, I went and watched some films back to back, not the usual me! But it's really fun to do weird (there, I go again!) stuff once in a while because we hardly do anything out of context! People around us never allow it and they are always appalled if someone like me decides to do it! So, a 'good girl' like me stays home on a holiday, watches weird movies and writes warped reviews! Hola! 

DIKCHOW BONOT POLAKH

Finally, a movie par excellence! A movie that moved me!
The love, the passion of two lovers, separated by consequences but bound together by a hope, so despairing that there was this gnawing in my heart to actually see them together at the end, which ofcourse was not to be! Dikchow Bonot Polakh is not for regular cine goers, who would rather see some skinny damsel in her miniest best gyrating to some lyrics and a beat only they can associate with!
Sanjib Sabhapandit did great in creating a film that's going to be in the minds and hearts of people who actually made it a point to watch the movie. The story is so much bigger than it probably actually sought to be. It is so much about hope, love and dreams. As tears rolled down my already wet cheeks, I was desperate to compose a poem for my Lover!

I went searching for you
On a cold wintry night
Towards the snow-capped mountains,
Shivering, yet warm with your love,
Around me!
And over the dale
The next morning
Wading through the ice-cold river
With your love sacredly
Wrapped around my waist.
The desert sands stung my feet
But tarried I did not,
As I smiled
At thoughts of you and me
Together, once upon a time
On the hills,
In our home together,
Your love burned a fire
Oft known by few,
And now, I see you nigh,
Just beyond the oceans,
You wave at me and call me,
Your love strengthens me!
I know we will meet!

It has been a long wait, a long search for you, my Love; from when time began and now....this sacred moment..!!

THE SIXTH SENSE

The Sixth Sense is a 1999 American supernatural horror-thriller film written and directed by M. Night Shyamalan. The film tells the story of Cole Sear (Haley Joel Osment), a troubled, isolated boy who is able to see and talk to the dead, and an equally troubled child psychologist (Bruce Willis) who tries to help him. The film established Shyamalan as a writer and director, and introduced the cinema public to his traits, most notably his affinity for surprise endings.

Released by Hollywood Pictures on August 6, 1999, the film was received well; critics highlighted the performances (especially by Osment, Collette and Willis), its atmosphere, and twist conclusion. The film was the second highest-grossing film of 1999 (behind Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace), grossing about $293 million domestically and $672 million worldwide. The film was nominated for six Academy Awards, including Best Picture, Best Director for Shyamalan, Best Original Screenplay, Best Supporting Actor for Osment, and Best Supporting Actress for Toni Collette. (Wikipedia)

In fact, even though I have watched this film really late in the day, which is a trend with me, I basked in the perfection of Night's story-telling. Superbly riveting. Osment's act was absolutely delightful; restrained and a maturity of the rarest kind! And like Wikipedia says, Night indeed gave us a surprise towards the end of the film, which I was not prepared for! 

Night has a rare quality of taking his viewers from a comparatively low relaxed point to slowly leaning forward and then literally sitting on the edge of the seat. Sixth Sense was exciting. Wouldn't  mind watching it again!

TO WATCH OR NOT TO WATCH

Kothanodi was good! Why I say good is that here we have a story-teller, Bhaskar Hazarika, who has shown us that thoughts can be portrayed in a different way, not necessarily the way we want them. By we, I mean the listeners of the story. There was a time when Aita (Grandma) was telling us the stories from Lakhinath Bezbaruah's Burhi Aiyr Hadhu (Grandma's Tales) in a style we wished to hear them. Well, not anymore. Right now, we have a totally different genre of story-tellers who prefer to disrupt our thoughts and makes no qualms about it. Well, we love to go with the flow!
However, having said this, I would have preferred the film to have zero flaws, giving us no scope to discuss about the tiny loopholes the team over-looked. A film is never made by just one person, we all know that. So, the man or the men who should have a keen eye for details should concentrate only and only on those teeny-weeny bits, which a sharp audience can never overlook. For example, for the sake of continuity, the team could have used the same mekhela sador, which was initially shown by the step-mother to Tezeemola instead of the one sans the woven motifs, which Tezeemola carried home after it was gnawed by the rat.
And instead of Zerifa Wahid as the wicked step-mother, I would have preferred someone else. She has done a good job but somehow I would have liked someone who needn't have made great efforts to look and act cruel.
And Adil Hussain could have cut out all the accent for the sake of the film and pick up a local accent instead. Don't we know he has gone global? For an actor to really define his role for the audience, he/she has to come out of that halo of being someone else and be the character he is enacting. I mean, Adil Hussain could have done a better study of his character instead of putting forth an interestingly uninteresting act!
On the whole, a film worth watching, more so for the fact that it had a totally different flavour for movie-goers. Some people were critical about it and the cribbing is still on a high but hey, how critical are you when you watch a Harry Potter film or any of those Hollywood films based on folk-tales? Do you complain then that some of the scenes are not suitable for children? I will not point out just one movie in particular but are the children not watching a lot of cruelty, gore, et al in Hollywood movies everyday? And who is knocking the Censor Board down for that?
....And after all these years of reading Lakhinath Bezbaruah's stories in Assamese and English, we suddenly realise they have an element of cruelty and what have you in them? Why were there no protests since the time the stories were doing the rounds?
Well, we will probably have some answers soon in a debate on whether children should have been allowed to watch Kothanodi or not!

**Just an afterthought: The make-up artist of Kothanodi should have removed the endless number of rings from the fingers of the actor playing the Tawoi (soothsayer)! 

THE CONJURING PART II

The Conjuring 2 is a 2016 American supernatural horror film directed by James Wan and written by Carey Hayes, Chad Hayes, Wan and David Leslie Johnson. It is the sequel to the 2013 film The Conjuring, and is the second installment in The Conjuring film series. Patrick Wilsonand Vera Farmiga reprise their roles as paranormal investigators and authors Ed and Lorraine Warren from the first film. The film follows the Warrens as they travel to England to assist the Hodgson family, who are experiencing poltergeist activity at their Brimsdown, Enfield council house in 1977.

The Conjuring 2 was released in the United States on June 10, 2016. The film received generally positive reviews from critics and has grossed over $274 million worldwide. A spin-off film titled The Nun is currently in development, with Wan and Safran set to produce. (Wikipedia)

In 1977, paranormal investigators Ed (Patrick Wilson) and Lorraine Warren come out of a self-imposed sabbatical to travel to Enfield, a borough in north London. There, they meet Peggy Hodgson, an overwhelmed single mother of four who tells the couple that something evil is in her home. Ed and Lorraine believe her story when the youngest daughter starts to show signs of demonic possession. As the Warrens try to help the besieged girl, they become the next targets of the malicious spirit. And blah, blah, blah! Haven't we heard all this before? Give us a break! 

As if things were not scary in real life that we had to bear the brunt of a we-are-making-a-movie-to-scare-you-but-we-know-it's-not! And Conjuring Part II makes an entry. The exit was fast too! Thank God or thank Lorraine for the mercy she showed in barking out the spirit from the house. Oh for heavens sake, stop conjuring up such archaic stories. It looks like I have seen this film at least two decades back. It's such a yawn! So, I decided to do my laundry while I was watching it. Didn't miss much at all, I tell you! 

Can we think of something scarier or is it just that people like me are no longer spooked out by anything but murder? Ouch!

YOGI BEAR

Sunday is the time I love to sit back and relax(not that I don't freak out on the other days!) while watching a movie or two. I have grown being a movie buff with my adventurous Dad. He loved the cowboys and so did I. 
While thinking of writing a sensitive piece, I was switching channels( I write better with the music or the news on) and I chanced on Yogi Bear. I just couldn't stop myself from sitting through the whole movie and enjoying every bit of it. What a wonderful story! While watching the film, I was wondering that the Assamese film industry can also do similar stories, on the conservation of wildlife and the forests. I am hopeful we will come up with some story soon by one of our brilliant story-tellers!  

A brief about the film

Yogi Bear is a 2010 American 3D live-action/computer-animated comedy film directed by Eric Brevig, produced byDonald De Line and Karen Rosenfelt, written by Brad Copeland, Joshua Sternin and Jeffrey Ventimilia with music byJohn Debney and based on the animated television series The Yogi Bear Show and the character created by William Hanna and Joseph Barbera.^[3] The film stars Dan Aykroyd, Justin Timberlake, Anna Faris, Tom Cavanagh, T. J. Miller,Nate Corddry, and Andrew Daly with narration by Josh Robert Thompson. The movie tells the story of Yogi Bear as he tries to save his park from being logged. Principal photography began in November 2009. It was preceded by the cartoon short Rabid Rider, starring Wile E. Coyote and Road Runner.^[4] The film was panned by critics and grossed $201.6 million on a $80 million budget. The film premiered at Westwood on December 11, 2010 and was theatrically released on December 17, 2010 by Warner Bros. Pictures. Yogi Bear received a Teen Choice Award nomination for Choice Movie: Animation Voice. The theme song from the classic animated series was never played in the movie.(Wikipedia)