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The Good Place

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The good place is a great entertainer - especially the first season. The climax of the first season was the highest point for me. Things did start going downhill (in my personal opinion) but the show managed to keep me hooked till the end. I certainly wanted to know how the show ends. However, I have some beef with the basic premise of the show - it is either flawed or they took the easy route. To discuss these issues, I will, unfortunately, have to divulge the intricate details of the show. So, needless to say, this post is full of spoilers . So, if you plan to watch the show, it would be better if you read this article after you finish watching the show. Else, the article might give a neat summary of the interesting ideas in the show. The basic premise of the show is that the criteria for deciding who goes to the good place are flawed. The main justification for the claim comes from two observations: For the last 500 years, no one has been to the good place (think heaven...
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Android Kunjappan Ver 5.25

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Android Kunjappan is a movie about loneliness at old age, but with many twists.  The movie is the story of Bhaskara Poduval and his loving son Subrahmanian (Chuppan).  Chuppan being educated and ambitious find it difficult to lead his life in rural Kerala.  Bhaskara Poduval, on the other hand, does not want to leave his home town.  Upon getting a lucrative job in a Japanese company, Chuppan leaves to Russia.  Initially, Chuppan appoints a couple of home nurses (one after the other) to take care of his father.  But, they all end up being comic disasters.  Finally, he brings a trial robot made by his company to take care of his father.  The rest of the movie is a story of companionship between man and machine.        Generally, in movies, the suffering of the elderly is caused by children who are complete jerks.  Such people certainly exist and it is worthwhile to portray their story.  However, it is important to rea...
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Kettiyollaanu Ente Maalakha

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Kettiyollaanu Ente Maalakha is the story of Sleevachan (Asif Ali), a good-natured individual ignorant of the ways of romance and sex.  Although he had avoided marriage until 35, he decides to marry to care for his ageing mother.  The rest of the movie is about his struggles in the journey forward. I would like to get a bit into the story as some of it begs discussion.  Thus, there will be some spoilers, but I believe they would not really spoil anything. Soon after fixing the marriage, he starts panicking.  He even confesses to the local priest that he is feeling stressed because of his ignorance.  However, the priest casually dismisses these worries.  After marrying Rincy, he is unable to initiate a physical relationship, causing even more stress.  Sleevachan's struggles were cracking up people all around me, and I felt, perhaps that was the director's intention.  Those very same scenes were, however, making me extremely uncomfortable....
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Helen

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Helen is the story of a girl's struggle as she is accidentally trapped in a life or death situation.  I did not enjoy the film because the girl's struggle disturbed me, proving that the movie was well made.  Anna Ben's (Helen) act was very convincing.  The movie certainly could have been better.  Certain cliches like Jayshankar's (Manager, Chicken Hub) character could have been avoided, especially because it does not add any value to the story.  The over-dramatised father-daughter relationship also falls into the same category.  In general, the bubbly character played by Anna Ben, in the initial segment of the movie, did not feel natural/convincing to me.  Although S.I Ratheesh Kumar (Aju Varghese) is a somewhat common trope in modern films, Aju Varghese's acting made it worthwhile.  By Source, Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=62280395
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Jack and Daniel

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"Jack and Daniel" is a robber-cop story with absolutely nothing new to offer.  The "grand" crime scenes which are supposed to excite, failed to make any impact.  If you are a fan of Dileep's comedy ( like me ) and that is what took you to the theatre, then again you will be highly disappointed.  The action though choreographed by some of the best didn't feel right.  The cameo by Peter Hein was one of the lowest points of the film.    I was so bored during the film that I dozed off for a few minutes in between.  This seldom happens with me and can be taken as a testimony of the film's quality.  I watched the movie with my cousin, and he jested I failed to enjoy the film because I missed those scenes.  So, if you are watching, make sure you don't miss any scene!
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Ittymaani: Made in China

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Ittymaani is a loving son living with his mother but is notorious for doing anything for money.  His neighbour, a woman of his mother's age, has three children who are his opposites -  they are well-respected in society but has abandoned their mother.  One day the neighbour has a heart attack and is hospitalised by Ittymaani.  Even after being informed of this situation, they choose to go for a trip to Munnar than attend to their mother.  To teach them a lesson, Ittymaani fakes marriage with his neighbour.  This key idea is novel and semi-interesting.  However, everything else is disappointing.  The comedy is especially stale.
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Bigil

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Bigil is the story of a rowdy neighbourhood that is reformed through sports. This transformation is shown through a gangster father (Rayappan) and his footballer son (Michael) both played by Vijay. Kids from this neighbourhood used to roam around with knives fighting each other. However, inspired by Michael (who uses the stage name Bigil) they have started playing football and are too busy to fight. Given this theme, it is unfortunate that the movie stressed the importance of winning - a recurrent dialogue by Rayappan to Michael being "Bigil, the cup is most important". I enjoyed watching the film and would recommend it to others. That said, most of my friends did not like the movie - especially those who watch and enjoy football. One of my friends was especially pissed by the fact that almost every other shot is a scissor cut.  As I dislike sports, the fact that the football portrayed in the film was unrealistic did not even strike me. If you are looking for a "mas...
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