Charlie

Movie Review
Film-Charlie ( Malayalam)
Director - Martin Prakkat
Genre- Romance /comedy /drama

What a beautiful movie!

It is like being in a fantasy world. 

The stories, the sketches and graffiti, accessories strewn around the rooms and vivid colours make the viewing a treat for us. The locations are breath taking and make us want to go there for a few days and enjoy the local flavours of that place. 

It is heartening to see the gypsy-like Charlie being a good samaritan and spreading love and happiness all around and being there for others during their tough moments and being a smile on their faces. He is a traveller who touches lives as he goes around.

This is a story of how Tessa tries her best to meet Charlie. Do they meet? What does destiny have in store for them?

The songs are hummable and the story line keeps us connected. Gopi Sundar is the talented music director for this film.Even without knowing the language, I found the songs beautiful and foot tapping.

I fell in love with Dulquer Salman (once again) who plays Charlie.

His mesmerizing eyes, adorable smile and the way he naughtily sticks his tongue out, his super fit physique and the colourful clothes he wears, all add up to his personality and makes me want to go there and hug him. His acting skills are exemplary and other characters give good support.

It is a feel good movie that makes us see that there is good in this world. It is a film about hope, love and friendship. The world would be a much better place if it had many more good Samaritans around who bring hope and lift others up instead of spreading negativity and putting others down or being judgemental. Do watch this clean and wholesome entertainer.

Amazing movie with a heart!

Simply Irresistible!

The cute couple.......will they unite?

In search of the genie!

Bangalore Days

Movie Review
Film-Bangalore Days (2014) Malayalam
Director and writer - Anjali Menon
Genre- Romance /comedy /drama

This is a beautiful film that takes us along with three cousins Divya, Arjun and Kuttan to Bangalore where they plan to settle. It is a story of their respective lives and how they find solace in each other during trying times and enjoy each others company during the best of times. 

The story is simple and realistic. The actors are eye candy in the true sense. I could not keep my eyes off Dulquer Salmaan, Fahadh Faasil, Nivin Pauly and Nazriya Nazim. This film won many awards and rightly so. I watch these regional language films on the recommendation of my friends and was not at all disappointed. The songs are very well picturised and hummable. I also loved the locations in the film. It brought back memories of my short visit to Bangalore.

The three cousins share an amazing bond. The film takes us on a journey to see the challenges they face and the support they give each other. The acting of each character is brilliant and there is no hamming. All the three love angles shown are different and interesting. Each emotion is well portrayed. All the love interests are as capable as the leads. The story line keeps us engrossed and does not drag. The film runs at a good pace and acquaints us with the individual stories of the leads.
It is a feel good movie with a treat for our eyes with the likes of Dulquer, Fahadh, Nivin and Nazriya as a bonus. I have fallen in love with Dulquer Salmaan once again! This film is available on Hotstar. Do watch it.

I thoroughly enjoyed the film. It is good to know that language is no bar any more when we want to watch good cinema. The sub titles are a boon for all cinema lovers as now we can enjoy regional cinema too.I am proud that India has become a hub of great cinema. Let us learn to appreciate and promote good Indian cinema in whichever way we can.

Brittany Runs a Marathon

Movie Review
Film-Brittany Runs a Marathon
Director and writer- Paul Downs Colaizzo
Genre- American comedy


Life is a roller coaster ride. It has its ups and downs and what matters most is how we deal with them. This film is all heart. It makes us feel for Brittany, played by Jillian Bell, who at the age of 27 is still struggling with  finding her true calling . She looks around her and feels that everyone is happy doing well in their jobs, having a fantastic love and family life and looking their best while she is struggling with insufficient funds, lack of a good job and love interest in her life and to top it all she is becoming fatter due to her lifestyle preferences.It's about how she tries to get back her life in order and find her true calling.

This film inspires but is not preachy in any way. As Brittany goes though her upheavals it is easy to see ourselves there at some point. We connect with her when we remember the times we too have failed in something, we remember when we made bad choices in love, we remember when we made mistakes and tried to overcome our flaws. I could relate with Brittany at so many levels. At some point in our lives, we realize the need to change. It takes effort to make those changes but once that is achieved ,there is tremendous satisfaction.

As the movie proceeds we realize that it is not just about the marathon anymore. It is about proving to ourselves our worth, understanding what we want to do in life and making the right choices that will make us a better version of ourselves. Life is what we make of it. It is important to stick to what we aspire to do. This film also tells us about how much of a difference the support from our family and friends can make in our lives. During the marathon , Brittany nearly gives up on completing the marathon, but a cheer from her friends makes her take that extra effort to complete the marathon. Sometimes a small gesture like a smile or an appreciative comment or even just being a good listener can make a big difference to someones life. Similarly, a small hurtful comment can make a person feel unwanted and inferior.

This film is about not being judgemental about others. Many a times we meet someone and we develop our own perception about them - about their values, their family life, their personality etc. We try to weigh them according to our scale failing to realize that we can never ever understand another person completely as we have not been in their shoes. This film is about the bonds we build with our true friends and about the realization that there are  many who are around us masquerading as our friends but they can do more harm than any good. It is easy to get influenced by them.

As a runner of a few marathons myself, this film was a treat for me. It could portray accurately the emotions of being a finisher at a marathon. It is not all about the timing we clock at a marathon, it is about being a finisher and overcoming our hurdles at our pace. Towards the end of the film Brittany , with her grit, dedication and perseverance finds her true calling in life. She has her friends for support and she also finds love. All's well that ends well.

This beautiful film has some great locations. The actual marathon scene made me wish I too could run a half or full marathon some time in my lifetime.It brought back some memories of the 5K and
10K marathons I had run. I really wish they could had shown more of her training for the marathon.The story line is interesting and realistic. Towards the end of the marathon when we see that Brittany may give up we fervently hope she does not. We remember all the times we have given up on things and wish we could have stuck on then .This film inspires us and gives us the message that it is OK to fail but it is important to try again with renewed vigour and dedication to achieve our goals.I could not stop the tears when she crossed the finishing line.It was an emotional and inspirational film. I could not understand how it could be categorized in the comedy genre.
To conclude, this is an amazing and clean film full of inspiration for all.