Movie - November 2023

Count from August 2023: 71.

November 2023: 11 Movies and series

1. Shutter Island: This movie appears on many lists of the greatest psychological thriller movies. I have been considereing watching it for a long time. Finally, I did when I was reminded that this is a Scorsese - DiCaprio movie. A good thriller. It starts off at one place and twists into another place by the end. I did not guess the twist for a long time. At one point, the twist started appearing but I was not sure about it. The twist was an uncomfortable one and I wished it was not true. But by the end it was clear that it was true and I felt terribly unhappy. A great movie. I will not watch it again.
2. Master: I don't like Vijay, the actor. Most, if not all, his movies have two big problems - his dialogue delivery and his acting. This effectively means, I should avoid watching his movies and to a great extent, I have been successful at avoiding them. 'Beast' was the first Vijay movie that I have seen in the theaters and though I had a good laugh, it was not a good movie. I have never felt the desire to see that movie again though I laughed at its silliness as I watched it. Of course, Vijay hammed through the role like he usually does. For these reasons, I gave Master a miss when it was released. I am not a big fan to Vijay Sethupati either (could it be that I have a block against the name 'Vijay'). I did not see the movie when it was released on OTT either. But I suddenly felt the urge to watch the movie. I liked the movie. Both the Vijays were not annoying and the story was interesting. I did not end up with a feeling that I should have watched the movie earlier - it was not that good. Will not disappoint one's so-what-should-I-watch-on-Prime-now urge.
3. Loki (season 2): The first part of Loki was excellent and it ended at a point that ensured that I would watch the second season. I did and I loved it. Its complex and great to watch. Tom Hiddleston is fantastic. When compared to season one this season is a lot more serious. I missed the funny part of season 1 but the makers maintained the tension well and I was engrossed in the proceedings. The end of the season seemed like the end of the series itself but one never knows. The internet is filled with speculation on how the ending of the series would affect the MCU but I don't think it would affect much. The makers of the MCU movies and series will make adjustments to their stories to fit the end of Loki season 2 into it. The conviction of Jonathan Majors, makes the continuation of Kang as a villain complex but I am sure MCU will work with that too. Ultimately, nothing really matter, its all a story after all and stories can be taken wherever the story teller desires to take it.
4. Upload (season 3): I loved Upload season 1. Sometime back I got the idea that human beings can live forever if human thought can be transferred out of a brain into a computer. This series is based on this idea and I was thrilled to see the idea being reproduced well on screen. The first season of the series was really good. The second one was good. The romance between the lead characters, reached a crescendo at the end of the second season. Thus, most of the third season focussed on the relation between these two characters and this made the series miserable. Three months have passed since I watched this season of Upload and I don't remember much about it. It was not interesting but I watched it anyway. Did not want to leave the story hanging. I think I will try and watch the next season too but if its like the current one then I would have no choice but drop it in the middle.
5. Deadpool 1: I have been thinking of watching this movie for a long time. Many people have raved about it but I somehow did not want to watch it. On watching the movie, I realized why. The reason was that I was sure I will not like the movie and sure enough, on watching it I realized I did not like this movie. It cool, sarcastic, funny, different from anything I have seen and all but I did not like this movie. It did not keep me occupied. The only scene I remember is Deadpool killing Ryan Reynold as he read the script of 'Green Lantern'. That scene was funny. I laughed, rewound, watched again and laughed again. I guess that scene alone makes this movieworth watching. 
6. Deadpool 2: Deadpool 1 was interesting and had some good jokes. It should have been a good movie but I did not like it. But to complete the deadpool scene I watched the second part. It been two months since I have seen this movie and I don't remember much of the movie. There is someone who comes from the future and tries to stop someone who ... Oh! How does it matter! This is a generic entertainer that does not deserve all the hype it receives. But I will watch Deadpool 3 when it is released. I guess it's due to FOMO.
7. Guardians of Galaxy Vol. 2: I had seen some parts of this movie many months back but I had dropped off in the middle as there were too many things happening in life and movies were the last thing in my mind. Then I heard that the third part of the movie is really good. I missed watching it in theatres. But I had a chance to watch in the Disney + Hotstar. So I decided to watch that movie but I could not do so without watching the second part. So I watched this. Its a decent movie at best. It is not as interesting at the first or third part. As in third part this gives the backstory of one of the characters but this one is not as interesting as the one in the third part. So its ok-ok. 
8. Guardians of Galaxy Vol. 3: I am not a big fan of the MCU though I have watched many movies of that universe. But Guardian of Galaxy series in one of the best in that universe. Chris Pratt is funny and cool. Zoe Saldaña plays the no nonsense role well. The Racoon, Groot and other big fellow are funny. The part 1 of the series was really good and the songs in the movie are great too. Bringing back the songs of 80s and 90s and making it an integral part of the movie pushed the movie up a notch or two. The third part of the series, is better than the second and is almost as good as the first. The serious back story of one of the characters that runs through the movie gives some heavy material to the movie. It is a good movie to watch, though I don't believe I will watch the movie again (even on OTT).
9. Napolean: At some time in the past, I heard that Ridley Scott is making a movie on Napolean and that Joaquin Phoenix is playing the role of Napolean. I had decided then that I would see the movie in the theatre. Soon the happenings in my life, pushed the movie off my head. I saw its trailer during the screening of "Killers of the Flower Moon". Soon after the movie was released, I watched it, at IMAX. I was warned the movie was disgusting by a friend, but it did not matter. I would have liked the movie if it was another hour longer. Ridley Scott mocked Scorsese about the length of his movie, but I think his own movie suffered due to it being shorter than required. The IMAX experience did not make much of an impression on me. I guess I was engrossed in the movie and the largeness of the screen was forgotten as I watched it.
10. Paatal Lok (season 1): I had heard about this series for long, but did not bother to watch. But after Dahaad I ran out of hindi series that seemed interesting. That's when I remembered about this series and how people raved about it. For some reason, I thought that series was of mythological nature - I mean, involving humans and shaitans in some manner. But the reference to paatal is metaphorical. I was a trifle disappointed but unnecessarily actually. Great series. Kept me at the edge of my seat. It started with a lot of curse words and brutality but as the season proceeded, it started focusing on the story at hand. That does not mean it is not dirty and brutal, its just that it dirtiness and brutality seemed relevant to the story. I loved the fact that the series is about a crime that is foiled. It is a search for the intention. In that sense it is not the thriller where we are looking forward to find the person responsible for the crime. I did not care about the intention behind the crime. All that I was interested in was the way the series was laid out. Of course, the brilliant cast helped in making the series interesting to watch.
11. Wakanda Forever: What a terrible movie! A lot of sentiments that did not affect me at all. Too many cliches. Also, the end credit scenes completely messed the movie. Anyway, I don't have much else to say. The only thing I liked about the movie is the kadi joke based on the movie title that I heard a few months back - If Black Panther sits down, he will never get up, Why? Because okkandha forever.