Scorpion King: The book of souls

​"Scorpion King: The book of souls".

Watched English movie "Scorpion King: The book of souls". 

This movie is directed by Doom Michael Paul. Produced by Mike Elliot. Written by David Alton Hedges, Frank DeJohn. Music by Frederik Wiedmann. Cinematography by Hein De Voss. It features Zach McGowan, Peter Mensah, Myling Ng, Pearl Thusi, Katy Louise Saunders, Nathan Jones, Howard Charles, Inge Beckmann. Film runs for about 1 hours 40 minutes and was released in 2008. I watched it on 14th July 2023 on Netflix with Aditi. This is the fifth movie in the series. 

In ancient Egypt King Memtep had collaborated with God of underworld Anubis to create a sword that steals the souls of those it kills and their names are written in Book of Souls. Years later, Nebserek raids Memtep’s tomb and acquires the sword. Now he is invincible, but for the Scorpion King. Scorpion king is living as Blacksmith Mathayus. Tala, Princess of Nubia and Mathayus join forces and are joined by Enkidu and Amina.

It’s a strange story. Apart from his good physique, the Scorpion King doesn’t look anything special. Even in the fights he almost dies twice and then one more time. What was the objective of the character Enkidu? He hardly does anything special. It’s just a strange story. Characters are neither well thought, nor developed. 

Movie creates more questions than answers. Why dodge Enkidu? How does he get out? Why does he jump into fire? Why is it necessary to destroy book of souls? Too many questions and not many answers. 

Very unsatisfactory.

Positives: Umm…

Negatives: Almost everything. 

AVOID.

Ghar, banduk, biryani (घर, बंदुक, बिर्याणी)

​"Ghar, banduk, biryani (घर, बंदुक, बिर्याणी)"

Watched Marathi movie "Ghar, banduk, biryani (घर, बंदुक, बिर्याणी)". 

Directed by Hemant Jangal Awtade. Written by Hemant Jangal Awtade and Nagraj Manjule. Produced by Nagraj Manjule, Bhushan Manjule. Cinematography Vikram Amladi. Music by A. V. Prafullachandra. The film stars Sayaji Shinde, Aakash Thosar, Sayli Patil, Tanaji Galgunde, Shwetambari Ghute, Kishor Kadam and Nagraj Manjule. The film runs for about 2 hour 33 minutes and was released in 2023. I watched it on Zee5 on 5th Jun 2023.

Pallam is a militant living in Jungle. His aim is to kill the local MLA who was responsible for deaths of his family and friends. Inspector Raya Patil is a hot headed honest cop transferred to this remote place. Raju Achari wants to marry but the father of his love interest wants him to own a house before agreeing for marriage. Their stories collide.

Sayaji plays Pallam. He is neither comic, nor serious, nor menacing. You don’t understand what that character is. Totally confusing! Akash plays Raju. One wonders if his character was really necessary for this movie at all? He is unimpressive. The only good point is Nagraj who plays the cop. He looks very impressive, has right physique and acts well. He’s the only shining star. 

I watched this movie, despite uninspiring title, because it was a Nagraj Manjule film. But I was greatly disappointed. The film is nowhere close to Fandry or Sairat. All sort of crazy things happen, there is action, there is comedy but there is no real story. It’s like all the ingredients are thrown together but they don’t form a recipe. One doesn’t understand who is doing what & why, and where is it leading?

Director tries to create interest at the very end by just stopping short of revealing the identity of MLA. If there is a sequel, revelation will be in that. But it is too little, too late. I doubt if I will watch the sequel. 

Positives: Nagraj, the actor. 

Negatives: Story, or the lack of it and direction.

Give it a miss!

Sirf ek Banda kaafi hai (सिर्फ एक बंदा काफी है)

​"Sirf ek Banda kaafi hai (सिर्फ एक बंदा काफी है)"

Watched Hindi movie "Sirf ek Banda kaafi hai (सिर्फ एक बंदा काफी है)". 

This film is directed by Apoorv Singh Karki. Written by Deepak Kingrani. Produced by Vinod Bhanushali and others. Music by Sangeet-Siddharth Roy. Cinematography Arjun Kukreti. The film stars Manoj Bajpai, Priyanka Setia, Surya Mohan Kulshreshtha, Nikhil Pandey, Kaustav Sinha, Vipin Sharma, Jaihind Sharma, Durga Sharma, Ajay Soni, Adrija Sinha. The film runs for about 2 hours 7 minutes and was released in May 2023. I watched it with Aditi on Zee5 on 27th Jun 2023.

A minor girl accuses a Baba of rape. The case lands in the lap of honest prosecutor PC Solanki (Manoj). It’s a high profile case. Best lawyers of India, cutting across party lines, are trying to get bail for Baba but the lightweight Manoj successfully opposes the attempts with simple facts. There is all sorts of like legal nitpicking, external pressures, violence and money inducement. Several key witnesses are murdered. There is tremendous pressure on Manoj. Public opinion is divided. But he persevers for five years and wins the case locking the Baba for life. 

Manoj plays the unassuming, lightweight lawyer who knows his subject very well and who is tough as a nut when it comes to the courtroom. He demonstrates the loving and emotional side very well. This movie is Manoj. All other actors play supporting role. 

Director resists introducing any drama or melodrama into the movie. So on one side it becomes realistic and on the other side it’s a missed opportunity to spice it up, just a little bit. 

There are too many parallels with a famous case in India. The names resemble real personalities. It’s a no brainier to recognize the real life figures.  

This film ran into controversy when the real life PC Solanki (Character played by Manoj) filed a case against it and Asarambapu ashram sent a legal notice. 

Positives: Manoj

Negatives: No twists.

Good one time watch. 

Faithfully yours

​"Faithfully yours".

Watched English version of Dutch movie "Faithfully yours". 

This movie is directed by André Van Duren. Written by André Van Duren and others. Produced by Rachel Van Bommel. Cinematography by Josje Van Erkel. Music by Lauren’s Goedhart, Fons Merkies. It features Bracha Van Doesburgh, Elise Schaap, Matteo Simoni, Hanna Hoekstra, Nasrdin Dchar, Gijs Naber. Film runs for about 1 hour and 35 minutes and was released in 2022. I watched it on 17th Jun 2023 with Aditi on Netflix.

Isabel and Bodil, Two friends, happily married to their husbands, go off for a weekend from Netherlands to Belgium and indulge themselves in carnal pleasures, covering for each other. The perfect plan goes haywire when Isabel goes missing. Then there is a murder.

Bracha Van Doesburgh and Elise Schaap play the protagonists Bodil and Isabel respectively. Other notable appearances are Hanna Hoekstra as Bodil’s sister, Nasrdin Dchar as Bodil’s husband.  

It’s a very different kind of movie that may not appeal to the senses of conservative audience. The story has twists that keeps audience interested until the final revelation. However, when the movie is over you think ‘did I watch a great movie?’. The answer is NO. ‘Was it bad?’. The answer is NO. 

Positives: Doesn’t drag. 

Negatives: Not great. 

Watch if you have spare time or give it a miss. Doesn’t matter.