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Reviews
Aynabaji (2016)
An entertaining movie that's not what it's hyped up to be
If the hype around social media wasn't enough to get someone's attention to this movie, the buzz and response outside surely were. Aynabaji stormed through cinema halls at a time when Bengali movie industry was awaiting its impending doom and eventual loss of identity by morphing into just another counterfeit of more profitable Indian movie industries. Evidently, this was enough to make the Bangladeshi moviegoers rediscover their craving for Bengali cinema. But does it make Aynabaji the movie that it is fabled to be? My answer may not satisfy some.
As I am reviewing it anyway, let me get started with the positives first. Aynabaji is unique. There is nothing quite like it in Bengali cinema. And the titular character Ayna is certainly one of the most complex and fascinating characters in Bengali fiction. He can be seen as a meta-commentary to actors in a whole. The struggles that come with their professions and how this affect their sense of personal identity. The director did a tremendous job at fleshing him out. While not a comedy, it's dry humor was witty and fitting but pretty shallow as well. The soundtrack and background sounds were nicely placed in many of the scenes but grossly exaggerated in others. While it tried to break out of the shell of a typical Bengali movie, it failed. Attention to detail in set design, cinematography and the portrayal of Dhaka was accurately done. Another thing also worth mentioning is the way some recurring characters aren't just cardboard cutouts but characters somewhat resembling real human beings even if the primary focus was always on the titular character.
Sadly, Aynabaji isn't the perfect movie that many speak of. And many of its strong aspects are overshadowed by faults. The biggest issue of Aynabaji is that it tries to be too many things at once. A drama, a character study, a thriller, a satire, a love story, a psychological thriller, a slapstick comedy and in the end, it doesn't know what it is. The plot was needlessly convoluted and many plot elements were brought up and then thrown out without a warning or handled without necessary care. And some of the major events were made possible by plot conveniences which were undoubtedly immersion-breaking, The director bet his dollar on a willing suspension of disbelief too often and it doesn't pay off.
The acting is certainly sub-par. The actors are either overacting or underacting. The sound editing doesn't do it any good either. And the cartoonish and grossly stereotypical representation of some side characters makes them increasingly difficult to take seriously(Especially the major and minor antagonists). In fact, keeping a straight face and not cringing becomes rather challenging as the movie progresses.
The writing is filled to the brim with amateurish movie tropes. It doesn't try to think outside the box. As a result, the movie becomes predictable to anyone with minimal movie viewing experience. And the dialogue, oh the dialogue! It is undoubtedly the worst part of this movie. If I had a penny for every time the characters tried and miserably failed to say something profound, I'd have my ticket back. Bad dialogues don't make good chemistry either. As a result, character chemistry was forced. Most noteworthy being the chemistry between two main characters. Last, but not least, the movie's urge for crowd-pleasing ended the movie on a not so high note. And the ending certainly felt weaker than what I predicted.
So, is it worth watching? It is if you are a Bengali. Because its success will lead to more filmmakers taking risks or being ambitious and the condition of this decaying film industry may improve. If you are a foreigner swayed by the high ratings on its IMDb page, don't watch it.
Overall Aynabaji is a breath of fresh air in Bengali movie scene but only as a source of pure entertainment and nothing beyond. But even a popcorn flick as this comes with a fair share of positives to make one hopeful about the future of Bengali movies. Just don't expect it winning awards anytime soon and don't hype it to be something it's not.
P.S. Sorry for any grammatical errors.l
Kigeki (2002)
Hauntingly beautiful Gothic tale
Kigeki or Comedy is a short film of only 11 minutes and that is enough to take the viewer on a journey that is as beautiful as it gets. It is a dark fairy tale that is presented with superb direction. The story is about a young girl's quest to save her village during the Irish war of independence by making a deal with an enigmatic swordsman. The short is very straightforward, the few dialogs it had, was fantastically given voice to and the voice acting fit the atmosphere perfectly. The art gave the anime a terrifying Gothic atmosphere filled with melancholy and made it look surreal, and the animations, especially during the action scenes were jaw dropping. You can almost feel the English horsemen riding through the dark grassy plains and the black swordsmen cutting them down like a birthday cake. And as an Icing to the cake is the music. It features Schubert's Ave Maria and Erlkönig, both tracks were great choices considering the atmosphere and will engulf the viewer's soul with beautiful melancholy.
The only fault of this short is it's length. After watching "Comedy" the viewer will only hope it was longer.Overall, this is a must watch for anyone who likes surreal or Gothic stories with top tier direction.
Daredevil (2015)
The disappointment is real, the hype is not
Daredevil is the most hyped new series of this year and the crazy high ratings in IMDb can led anyone to think this is a masterpiece. The truth is, it's not. This is nothing but a mediocre vigilante show that tries to impress people by having more gore than average MCU shows. Now, I never read the comics but this show felt really flat to me.The story is neither engaging nor great. In fact it felt very forced. The characters were really bland. In fact, the titular character felt nothing more than a nice guy trying to do the right thing from beginning to end. There is absolutely no development for him from beginning to end. He feels too generic. His gang of supposed to be comic relief sidekicks are also nothing more than copy paste character with super corny dialogs and there's little to no development for them.Across the show you will come across gang of unnecessary characters only to have them killed off. But I have to give praise to Vincent D'Onofrio because main antagonist fisk was the best character in the show and a well written one. He has significant development. While storyline from our hero's point of view is too boring, Fisk's pov was great and engaging. Acting was good. Most actors were very professional with their performance.The action was pretty well done although they are nothing but elaborate fight scenes of our hero fighting gang of criminals and kicking there asses while getting his ass kicked sometimes. The cinematography is decent, soundtrack is average.
And if you are someone like me who searches for logic and realism in these things,oh god you are going going to a world of unlimited pain. You won't understand character interactions, motivations. chemistry, goal, physical ability and at the end of every episode you will think, how the hell this guy recover so quickly? In the end, if you are someone like me who has no idea about the comics and are tempted to watch this because of these extra high ratings, don't. You will be disappointed.
Kaubôi bibappu: Cowboy Bebop: Ballad of Fallen Angels (1998)
One of the best episodes ever to come out from any anime
This is arguably the best episode of the entire series that is without a doubt a masterpiece of a show. After four average episodes Ballad of Fallen angels comes as a tornado and takes everyone by surprise. The story involves Spike's past and his inability to escape it. His story in a way that can be described in no other words but Brilliantly. And introduces his arch nemesis who also captures the role of a ruthless villain beautifully. The episode starts of strong and takes viewers on a roller coaster ride. The soundtrack is masterfully done that captures every moment beautifully. Whole episode is full of thrill, tension and emotions. And the whole church shootout is certainly one of the most iconic scenes of the whole series. Overall this episode really proves what Bebop is all about and it is near perfection.