Well, I watched it! I hated it! And not just because I was planning to hate it. I really did hate it, even after giving it a fair chance and sitting straight through. Also, I was really really really really bored. I checked my phone 5 times, the first time after the first 20 minutes because I thought surely the first hour at least must have passed. Honestly, the best part of the whole experience were the trailers (A Gentleman, looking better and better!). And now I am sitting in the mall food court, eating lunch and writing this very fast so I can leave the whole horrible experience behind me.
Monthly Archives: July 2017
New Podcast! I Made Dina Watch Thondimuthalum Driksakshiyum, Her First Malayalam Film in Theaters!
New Podcast! Been a while, because Dina’s been sick. But now she is better! So we got to go to a movie last night, and talk about it all the way home, just like usual.
Monthly Donate To Keep Me Going Reminder!
I’m going to start putting up a reminder post once a month. Because maybe you are a new reader, or maybe you suddenly got a raise at work and are wondering what to spend it on, or maybe you just forgot that there are ways to send me money if you want to show me appreciation for what I do. So this is a reminder!
(I provide free content all day every day, so one tiny post a month reminding you that I am a real person whose work has value seems fair, right?)
There is a little button on the menu at the top, if you enjoy my writing and want me to keep going, you can always click there to give me a donation. If you don’t have the money, or don’t feel my content is worth paying for, that’s okay too.
Additionally, you can always buy my book, click HERE to purchase. I get about 50 cents per book sale (exciting! Means about $1 a month), but more importantly, every purchase drives me up on the Amazon/other website rankings, which means more people see me instead of other lesser books on the same topic. Oh, and MOST IMPORTANTLY, then you get to read my book! It’s very good.
For a straight donation because you love me and my website, here are two options:
Donate through Patreon, which will allow you to set up a monthly subscription donation. And which can allow you to pick a reward, if you wish.
Or through Paypal, which allows for a one time donation of any amount you choose. Any time you particularly like a post, or appreciate something I am doing, just go over here and give me a dollar.
https://www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr?cmd=_s-xclick&hosted_button_id=VSPHQJB8GVL5S
Jagga Jasoos, News From the Front
First, just getting it out of the way, I did NOT see Jagga Jasoos last night. Instead I went to see an actual good movie, Thondimuthlum Driksakshiyum (podcast going up soon, review up for Monday Malayalam). But I will be seeing it first possible show today! And taking my laptop so I can write the review for you guys from the food court at the mall and have it up ASAP.
Bahubali Theme Post: Amarendra Bahubali, He Always Tries to Be Better
Our final Bahubali character post, so sad! And almost our final Bahubali post altogether (There’s one final one coming in a few days. And of course the fanfic, I will be keeping that up, if only as a personal challenge to see if I can write a whole novel with a tiny cheering section of dedicated readers to help). You can see all the Bahubali posts listed in one place in the index here.
Really Good Shahrukh Photo, Gets Me Thinking About Why We Love His Romances (Jab Harry Met Sejal)
No real reason for this post beyond it being late on Friday (TGIF just wasn’t brainless enough), and me just stumbling across one image that was too good not to share. And heck, any excuse to discuss the unique appeal of SRK!
TGIF: Jagga Jasoos Themed! Men in Sweater Vests
Now, if I am following this correctly, the thinking goes “men wear sweater vests in mountains-many children’s boarding schools are in mountains because it is supposed to be healthier-young men in sweater vests makes us think they are teenagers”. But the way in which these sweater vests come across can vary greatly image to image.
Friday Not-So-Classic: Gupt! The “Secret” is, This is a Fun Movie!
I know I know, normally this is where I talk about a classic film. But it’s been a busy week, and I didn’t manage to watch anything fancy, and I don’t have the energy to talk about anything fancy, and Gupt was a the library. And it is SO AMUSING!!!! In an “amusingly bad” kind of delightful way.
Thursday Telugu (a lazy one): Mr. Perfect! Based on My Imperfect Memory of It!
Back before I started this blog, instead of writing for you nice people, I wrote long long long epic length emails to friends about movies I had seen. And since I am completely exhausted this week, we are taking a trip back in time and this is a post based on one of those emails, plus my memories of the film.
New Jab Harry Met Sejal Song! Guarantee of a Happy Ending?
Another song! They are coming fast and furious now, it’s getting closer and closer! Oh geez, I have to figure out new angles for my Shahrukh Week, don’t I? Veer-Zaara for Shahrukh as a Punjabi? A third post on how ridiculous it is that Shahrukh didn’t end up with Anushka in Jab Tak? I can talk about that forever!
Hindi Film 101: Gandhi-Nehru Family Part 5, Rajiv, Sonia, and Rahul
Happy Birthday to my Sister a Day Late!
I put up a nice new combined post for my mother and my sister, and my sister got that Sunday post, but I felt bad that my poor sister didn’t get any posts just for her because she was foolishly born 34 years before a protest day. So a day late, I am going to re-post the post I made for her birthday last year.
Internet Day of Action: NO POSTING
Sorry to my non-American readers, this has nothing to do with you. But I am an American based blog, so it’s really important for me and the 50% of my readers who are American. There is a change to national internet policy being considered which would make my blog harder to reach. To give you a taste of what that might be like, No Posting Today.
If you already know about the Net Neutrality issues and the protections the FCC is considering rolling back, you can submit a letter to the FCC protesting this proposal. The link is HERE
The website that is organizing all of this is called http://www.battleforthenet.com, you can also go there and sign up for more information and to participate in additional protests.
If you need more information, here is what is happening:
The FCC is considering changing rules to allow for internet providers to charge websites for higher speed service. Essentially, letting them be paid twice, once by the consumer (us) who pays for internet access. And once by the websites we are trying to reach who would have to pay to be available to the consumer.
If this passes, it means that little websites like mine would no longer be available to American consumers at the same speed and ease as larger websites that are able to pay the ransom demands of the cable companies.
Essentially, it means that the internet is for sale. If you have enough money, you can pay for your website to be more easily accessible than any other website on the same topic. To put it in terms of this blog, it means that the makers of Tubelight could pay so that the official website, with all the glowing reviews on it, loads fast and easily. And this blog, with an honest unbiased review from a public citizen, loads more slowly.
If you are an American, you can submit a letter to the FCC protesting this proposal. The link is HERE
The website that is organizing all of this is called http://www.battleforthenet.com, you can also go there and sign up for more information and to participate.
Finally, if you are not an American but still want to help, all I can think to suggest is that the man who is selling us all to the corporations is named Ajit V. Pai. His family is Konkoni from around Maharasthra. His parents are both doctors, named Radha Pai and V.S. Pai and they settled in upstate New York. Ajit went to Harvard and University of Chicago.
Now, knowing how things work, I am thinking there is a slight chance that someone reading this blog knows someone who knows someone who knows this man’s family. If you do, feel free to contact his family and tell them that they should tell him not to do this. I don’t know if that will make any difference, but getting yelled at by an Auntie might do something that all these petitions and protests are not.
It’s My Mother’s Birthday! And My Sister’s Birthday Tomorrow!
I’ve been dropping comments for the past few days and I finally thought “oh to heck with it! I’ll just explain what’s going on.” Plus, it will be a fun post for you all to read while I drive back and forth and back and forth and have two birthday cakes.
It’s My Mother’s Birthday! In Her Honor, Her Favorite Songs!
It’s my mother’s birthday today! I debated a post of sappy mother type songs, but she wouldn’t actually enjoy that. So instead, I’m going to put up a post of all her favorite song videos!
Box Office Report: Mom Does Good, Ninnu Kori Does Very Good
I’m gonna try to be good and get back on the Box Office report wagon. Because it really doesn’t mean anything unless you do it every week so you have context. Even if there isn’t that much of a story this week.
Monday Malayalam: ABCD, Not a Very Good Movie
I am continuing my “well, it’s the DVD on top” decision making process for films as I unpack. After two good Malayalam choices and one so-so Telugu, I have landed on a really quite bad Malayalam film. It looks like it was a big of a box office hit, but most critics agree with me that it is generally no good.
Bahubali Theme Post: Devasena, The Catalyst
Happy Monday! After writing a very mean post about the Bahubali novel on Sunday, I thought I should write us a nice post about Devasena for contrast. (full index of Bahubali posts here)
New Jab Harry Met Sejal Song and A Gentlemen Trailer!
Shahrukh is not being very considerate to me! I have this bonkers week (my family is staying about an hour and a half outside of the city, so I am commuting back and forth and they are keeping me up all night with family stuff and then I have to drive drive drive to work the next day), and I get up this morning thinking maybe I will have a little time to, like, brush my hair, but no! Shahrukh has just posted a 5 minute video that I have to watch instead. Oh, and also Siddharth has a trailer, but it’s not as long and I don’t have to watch as closely. And neither of them used subtitles, because they hate me because I am disgusting and live in a car and never wash my hair.
Monday Morning Questions, My Sister’s Birthday Week!
Also, my mother’s birthday week! As I said, it’s a whole thing, they are one day after the other, so I am running back and forth between work and celebrations all week. But I still want to answer your questions!
Silly Sunday Speculative Post: It’s My Sister’s Birthday Week! Why Doesn’t Hindi Film Have More Sister Storylines?
Happy Sunday! I am greeting you from Friday, when I am writing this post, because Sunday I will be out of town celebrating my sister’s birthday. Also my mother’s, it’s a whole thing, you’ll be hearing more about it. Anyway, since it’s my sister’s birthday this week, I thought I would offer up some script ideas for good sister based films, since Hindi film is woefully lacking in them! (and since the sister relationship is the most important in my life, as I have said)
Rise of Sivagami Plot and Why I Didn’t Like It (SPOILERS)
So, I just FINALLY finished the Rise of Sivagami novel. And I really really didn’t like it. Which isn’t to say you won’t, or that you shouldn’t. It just wasn’t for me. I’ll give you a really brief run down in generalities for why it didn’t work for me, and if you think it won’t work for you either for the same reasons, then you can read the rest of the post and learn all the plot details and stuff without needing to read the book. But if you think you might like it, you should totally read it for yourself! And if you already read it and really liked it, fair warning, this is a very mean review (full index of Bahubali posts here)
Netflix List Update For July (Thank you Accessbollywood.net): Dangal! But More Importantly, PROFESSOR!
Accessbollywood.net does the real work of keeping this list updated, if you want a day by day update, subscribe to them. My update is woefully late and out of date. But it does give my opinion and recommendation on every single one, which might be handy.
Mom Review (SPOILERS): Mother’s Always Have to Do the Dirty Jobs
I debated putting up this spoiler review so soon, because the filmmakers clearly want the plot to remain a surprise. But, see, I don’t think they have to worry about it that much. The performances and the camerawork and the music and everything else are so good, that you just have to see how it plays out, even if you know what’s going to happen. But if you want to see this movie as it was intended, DON’T READ ON. Read my non-spoiler review instead. However, if you suspect that it may be a bit tough for you to watch but still want to know what happens, you are correct, it will be tough to watch, and I am here for you to tell you what happens.
Mom Review (No Spoilers): Sridevi Does Sunny Deol
I did it! I saw Mom! Even though it meant screeching out of work the second it hit 5pm and fighting rush hour traffic to make the 5:30 show. Because I had to rush home tonight so I would have time to work on my mother’s birthday present. Which is thematic, I guess! Anyway, it’s a good movie, but don’t be fooled by the artsy film stock and stuff, this is a straight up potboiler action film as over the top and satisfying as anything from Sunny Deol.