Tag Archives: magic

Amelia’s Children

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Vampire Owl: We have not been reviewing many Portuguese movies.

Vampire Bat: We have only managed one, and it was not out of Portugal either.

Vampire Owl: I am sure that Bacurau will still count as Portuguese.

Vampire Bat: Yes, Brazilian movies are in Portuguese, so it counted.

Vampire Owl: So, this is the first Portuguese film from Portugal we are reviewing.

Vampire Bat: Yes, this is indeed a milestone too.

Vampire Owl: Yet we have so many Spanish movies here.

Vampire Bat: Some of these Spanish movies were true classics.

Vampire Owl: I hope that this one will inspire us to watch more Portuguese films.

Vampire Bat: Well, we are immortal and can watch them all.

[Gets a paneer masala dosa and three cups of Wayanad tea].

What is the movie about? :: Edward (Carloto Cotta) has been looking to find his family as he has always felt without roots. One day, his girlfriend Riley (Jack Haven) provides him with a DNA test kit. The results reveal more about his birth, and that he has a twin brother, Manuel (Carloto Cotta) and also their mother named Amelia (Anabela Moreira) who live in a small village in Portugal. Edward and Riley travel to the huge villa in the middle of the woods so that he can finally feel like having a family. This is a strange, but an emotional reunion. But Riley feels that there is something wrong, as the locals are hostile to them, and both the twin brother and the mother seem to be hiding something. There seems to be not much of interest being talked about, and Amelia looks and acts strange. She even hears something weird from outside the room where Manuel and Amelia are found sleeping together in a bed, making her question the kind of family which seems to exist in that seemingly perfect building.

So, what happens with the events here as we just keep looking? :: Riley notices a strange bonding between the brothers that feels unnatural, even though they are seeing each other for the first time, and Edward was once not really sure about the meeting. Riley tries to uncover the secrets that seems to plague the villa, and feels that Amelia has some supernatural powers and is part of a ritualistic system of which Manuel is also a member. The mother-son relationship is not what seems to be from a distance. Riley’s growing realization is also supported by nightmares which seem to come to her at regular intervals. The question remains if she knows this particular world within the woods well enough and whether she can escape from it. Edward seems to be ready to remain there as part of the family, but he is also having his own dose of hallucinations. The people of the village seem to hope that they will leave soon, as if it is the right things to do. Will there be escape or will there be death?

The defence of Amelia’s Children a.k.a. A Semente do Mal :: The world has been nicely built here, and finding the roots itself was a starting which seemed to mean much more than what met the eye. This idea of discovering a long-lost family through DNA testing, only to find something supernatural associated with it, makes the whole thing interesting. The mixture of psychological with the supernatural elements gives it much more depth. Then there is the setting, the atmosphere that does a fine job. The building itself has something like we ha in Crimson Peak to add to the structural fear, even though this is not that much of a scary architecture, and never is an attempt to made to elevate the level to such a world of fear. The creepiness is always present, even they do not really come to the front. The premise has already done most of the work here. The presence of a witch provides the much-needed boost to a world which has started off well. The ending, even though not that deep into the situation, leaves us with a scope for a sequel to expand this better.

The claws of flaw :: The struggle of long run-time seems to plague this movie even though it is not long at all. There might be a little bit too much revealed early, and that might have plagued the later run and might have kept it running without much happening to create an impact. The twist should have been kept better hidden with red herrings or at least by deviating to something less important. It seems to stretch due to not trying to do well enough with the content and let everything unfold – even the leading performers seem to be left on their own rather than their characters undergoing anything. The mood seems to be mixed here, as the strongest element of supernatural horror often losses the way. The main lady character should have been the central point, and the one who should stay scared and attacked, but she seems to have a run without that big sense of danger. She does not become that big a scream queen as the usual elements of horror, and even that of slasher remains largely forgotten when dealing with her character.

The performers of the soul :: The performances are pretty good, but not much when we consider the possibilities of the horror. This is a world of scares, and the usual do not satisfy the environment that much – The Well had realized the same in Italy, but in Portugal, that blending is paused due to the lack of pace which seems to plague the characters as if it is an old award movie where not enough happens to provide the performers with scope. Carloto Cotta does quite well in the two roles, even though it is nothing out of the box, and not much expands. Anabela Moreira does well to manage the strangeness present there, while Alba Baptista who portrays her younger version does the same perfectly – she has the looks and expression to bring the strangeness of a mortal immortal. Jack Haven does a fine job, but does not seem to try that hard. There is a certain amount of predictability in the work and the journey is just accordingly, nothing more or less. The same is also applicable to the final moments when there is nothing grand in the performances, but just enough, as if playing by the safe side.

How it finishes :: Amelia’s Children could have been a classic, but it chooses not use that many scares even though it is in a village with woods and a strange villa in the middle of all – this could have been horror unleashing itself, but the movie holds itself back. The same is also done in the last moments when this could have come with a shock, but chooses to go for the unexpected. The titular character wanders in the old form too much, and the young form would have been nice if appeared at least in hallucinations often. There are moments when the mother could have been young, and there are situations when fear could have had many different faces, and even darkness could have been used better. Yet, the movie keeps us interested, thanks to the mystery that prevails throughout its run. There is always the feeling that something bigger is to come and that it is going to be a shocker, and it is that feeling and the existence of terror ready to be unleashed keeps us going. It was never going to be The Conjuring, The Nun, Annabelle, Insidious or Sinister, but manages to do enough.

Release date: 18th January 2024
Running time: 91 minutes
Directed by: Gabriel Abrantes
Starring: Jack Haven, Carloto Cotta, Anabela Moreira, Alba Baptista, Rita Blanco

<<< Click here to go to the previous review.

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@ Cemetery Watch
✠ The Vampire Bat.

Pechi

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Vampire Owl: Are we now looking for witches again?

Vampire Bat: We have stopped looking for witches since a long time ago.

Vampire Owl: Well, the war can restart any time now.

Vampire Bat: The next war will not be of this realm.

Vampire Owl: You talk like we have had enough of war, but not all species have been part of them.

Vampire Bat: The war affects the whole realm, whether or not they are part of it.

Vampire Owl: If it affects the advanced the vampire civilization, yes.

Vampire Bat: You should know that the magic used in our wars are nuclear in nature.

Vampire Owl: You are talking about the mythical weapons which are never used.

Vampire Bat: The witches are known to have a magical powerhouse which stores sorcery of the unknown supported by necromancy.

[Gets a chilli chicken puffs and three cups of black tea].

What is the movie about? :: At Aranmanaikaadu in Kollimalai, Ram (Murali Ram) and his wife (Aadhirai Soundarajan) are spending their peaceful time within the forest. After a lot of difficulty and getting a few days off from their busy schedule, they look forward to spend some time of their own in the lap of nature. They venture far deep and sets up a camp there. The temperature drops very soon, and while looking for some firewood, Ram ends up cutting the branch of a tree which reveals a nail, followed by a witchcraft doll. There seems to be something else coming out of the tree, and has him scared, but his wife who is listening to music do not hear a thing. Soon, he is taken away by an unknown force, and the same evil entity also captures his wife. But this evil presence is not identified by anyone. But three weeks later, another group of youngsters come to the area with a desire to venture through this lesser-known area of the forest as part of a trekking adventure. Maari (Bala Saravanan), a forest guard who acts as a part-time guide is asked to escort them all the way into the forest and back, as the paths can be confusing and some animals might also be around.

So, what happens with the events here as we just keep looking? :: The five friends, Charan (Dev Ramnath), Meena (Gayathri Shanker), Sethu (Jana), Charu (Preethi Nedumaran) and Jerry (Mageshwaran) are looking for adventure, and are not interested in listening to their guide who talks to them about restrictions due to wildlife and traditions that have been followed for a long time. Meena is frustrated with the restrictions imposed on her, as she feels that they could go through the walk all by themselves and that a tourist guide is only an extra burden. Meanwhile, an arrogant Charu destroys a blockage to an area considered restricted by tradition to the local villagers, ignoring the warning signs. Sethu who considers him to be courageous one among them supports the same, much to the dismay of Maari who continues to ask them not to disturb the nature of the beliefs of people that runs through the area.

And what more happens in the forest where the villages rarely choose to enter :: There seems to be something strange going on though, as Charu almost falls from a cliff and Jerry feels that something grabbed his legs. As Charu and Sethu makes fun of him, he challenges them to go back to the area where the warning board was kept and tie a scarf. Both are not really worried, and accepts the challenge telling everyone that Maari is just creating random stories and is trying to keep them scared as if they are children. On the way there, Charu and Sethu comes across a house, which they enter and finds witchcraft dolls and elements of black magic. Charu is startled to see an unknown figure appearing out of nowhere. Maari and Charan begin searching for them, only to find Charu lying motionless. But soon, they realize that is was not really Charu, and Maari tells them a story, that of a woman from a long time ago who learned black magic and started ritual sacrifices of children. But how is it relevant now? Can they escape whatever is in the forest?

The defence of Pechi :: The movie thrives on its atmosphere and an ancient tale of folklore than runs right through it. Bala Saravanan comes up with the best among the cast, and he plays the only fully sane person around there who seems to understand the gravity of the situation – we remember him in those funny sequences of Godha. Gayathrie Shankar, the actress of Nna Thaan Case Kodu, has provided a memorable performance here, and excels in the last few moments and the flashbacks. The rest of the cast nicely follows the procedure as a cabin in the woods, or lost in the forest tale would unfold. The antagonist here is strong, and is not just another demonic presence – it is the kind of creature from where escape seems almost impossible. There are the moments which provide us with those quick scares and above that, there are the times when it keeps us scared at all times. The fear factor with an inescapable fate brings the terror here. Along with that, the visuals are too good, whether of horror or of the green and dark woods.

The claws of flaw :: The flashback feels repetitive at times, and comes in at a time when it was not to enter. There are moments in between which feels rather confusing, and the scares could have been more visual – it is the kind of scare that would work the best in these situations. Here it seems that the horror elements are not innovative enough and inspired from others instead. The use of darkness is also not at the best. As a cabin in the woods, or journey to the woods story with the usual horror background, there is always a lot more to be added. It also becomes repetitive, and that grand scares which should have come in the end is never there to be taken. A visual terror in the end could have served the best, and combined with the twists would have brought wonders. The twist in the end, even though effective, does not bring that grandeur on the screen, and the flashback provided, even though clear, could have been more detailed. The present situation of the villagers in relation to the witch could have also been shown.

How it finishes :: The movie manages to be an interesting horror flick that elevates itself with the setting and folk-tale power. In a world where there is a shortage of good horror, this one score well, and becomes a good example of bringing working scares out of folklore and myth, something only Stree could do so effectively. As visuals and performances support the scares, fine horror is born. The movie could have still been better, but it is worth watching for sure considering for fans of folk-horror who can appreciate mood over momentum—but it is not for all. There is still a lot to come in a possible sequel, considering how the movie ended, and with one of these main characters having an even bigger role to play there, we will be only glad to wait for more of fear. Until then, we have this movie, and something to remember when we go on trekking, and a reminder to respect nature, local traditions and those who guide the way and advice for the best.

Release date: 2nd August 2024
Running time: 110 minutes
Directed by: Ramachandran B
Starring: Gayathrie Shankar, Bala Saravanan, Preethi Nedumaran, Dev, Jana, Mageshwaran, Seeniammaal, Murali Ram, Aadhirai Soundararajan, Shanthimani

<<< Click here to go to the previous review.

@ Cemetery Watch
✠ The Vampire Bat.

Tantra

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Vampire Owl: So, after a long time, we are back to a movie of this particular language.

Vampire Bat: We haven’t had many movies in this language.

Vampire Owl: Well, the ones available at nearby theatres are those mass flicks.

Vampire Bat: I vote against watching any of such movies.

Vampire Owl: Well, those need not comes to us as we are different.

Vampire Bat: Mass masala has been too much present in this world.

Vampire Owl: It is strange that such movies even get awards.

Vampire Bat: We are glad to have some horror here instead.

Vampire Owl: As long as we have Amazon Prime Video, we can search for them.

Vampire Bat: OTT platforms have served us well with lesser-known fine movies in languages other than English and Hindi.

[Gets a kadai chicken pizza and three cups of iced tea].

What is the movie about? :: Rekha (Ananya Nagalla) is a young lady doing her graduation who has the ability to see spirits. The dead people seem to appear to her randomly, sometimes where they died and often leads to her sleepwalking in the middle of the night. She is in love with Teju (Dhanush Raghumudri) who goes to the same college, and they are like the two people who believes in black magic existing in the area and causing evil to spread through their lands. Teju’s uncle Shankaram (Meesala Lakshman) also understands that this black magic or tantra had once existed in their lands as he himself had once ptractised the same not once, but twice, after which he took the decision to never do it again. According to him, it has been there for a very long time, and are even depicted in Mahabharata and Ramayana, as well as other sacred texts. He also cites incidents from history as much as religious texts.

So, what happens with the events here as we just keep looking? :: When the best friend of Shailaja (Kusalina Pulapa) seems to be affected by this dark magic. When a master of magic known only as Baba (Bhaskar Manyam) confirms the same, they decide to take the needed measures. They understand that Shailaja is getting weaker every day, and has started visiting graveyard at nights. Both Rekha and Teju who had their bad upbringings due to the former being born with the death of her mother and the latter having a prostitute as mother. They manage to defeat the evil sorcerer who was trying to take control of Shailaja forever as she had rejected her romantic advances. They manage to do it just moments before she would be completely under his control. It is then that Vigathi Swami (Temper Vamsi), a sorcerer and temple priest arrives at the village after a very long time, and starts searching for Rekha.

And what is to follow as evil spread during the darkest of nights? :: With a warning about death coming to the village, it is to be known how such ancient evil can be stopped. But Baba himself is helpless against this man who had done black magic with Rekha’s mother and that had actually caused her death. His return after eighteen years is with the determination that matches no other. He will have Rekha one way or the other. He has control over more than one demon, and not just some random spirit that scares people. He is powered by some evil deity that knows no boundaries of evil, and is the over-reacher who will awaken those forces hidden for centuries. With sleepwalking remaining as her habit and after finding her in the middle of the road at late nights during regular intervals, how long can Rekha stop herself from going into his captivity? What does he really want to do with her?

The defence of Tantra :: The movie effectively delivers its scares, and due to the settings used, it could elevate the side of fear with ease, at times. The movie has the pillar of the work done by the leading lady Ananya Nagalla, who makes use of a strong character with a lot of emotional depth – reminds one of the leading actresses of ARM from some angles. The performances including that of the villain remains good, and seems to suit the horror world nicely. The atmosphere is too good here, and with the help of some fine tales from the belief systems combined with the myth, the world works really well. The folklore keeps coming up all the time in here, and the cultural roots work in favour, even though the overdose of talks keeps it in check. The idea of black magic has been used to the best advantage. The links are nicely made here with the incidents and a certain narrative skill can be seen at work. The background sounds work well in support of the movie, and the twist is working with suspense maintained.

The claws of flaw :: The movie has a lot of moments which feels stretched, increasing the total length of the movie itself. It gives too many explanations, and the movie could have done well without some of them. Too much talking often makes a horror movie struggle, as a few things could be left without explaining as if it is a horror tuition class. There are too many flashbacks, and we also find those subplots to be rather too much. The drag is mostly felt due to this reason, and in the end, the movie feels long. The fear generation of the final moments is rather too less, and it seems to forced to get to that end. When there is something too dark and demonic coming in the end, it had to do more, if not with the action, at least with the scares. Well, we have met too many nocturnal creatures of the night to like any lesser one unless backup by enough power. This might not appeal in the same way for everyone due to the extra dose of strange content too.

How it finishes :: I have not seen many Telugu movies, and you would not see many film reviews of the same language here for that reason. I did not watch those most famous Telugu movies which the crowd had watched and have been looking forward to make everyone watch more than once. But I have not been a person who wished to go with the crowd. Therefore, the two Telugu movies which I have reviewed here are Konda Polam and Drushyam 2. This one becomes the third, and the first Telugu horror movie to be reviewed here. In this case, it can be seen that despite the problems with the overall pace, the movie maintains the embedded horror really well. It might have rushed towards that ending, but finishes off well enough. There are some good horror movies, and this one will surely stay with us, as that horror movie which raises its level and uses the less used elements to its advantage too. This one is recommended for horror fans for sure.

Release date: 15th March 2024
Running time: 134 minutes
Directed by: Srinivas Gopisetti
Starring: Ananya Nagalla, Dhanush Raghumudri, Saloni Aswani, Temper Vamsi, Meesala Lakshman, Manoj Muthyam, Kushalini, Bhaskar Manyam

<<< Click here to go to the previous review.

@ Cemetery Watch
✠ The Vampire Bat.

Kraven

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Vampire Owl: This is not the kind if superhero that we were looking for.

Vampire Bat: I am pretty sure that this is an anti-hero.

Vampire Owl: All vigilantes are not really anti-heroes.

Vampire Bat: Well, this one seems to have less heroism than others.

Vampire Owl: Sometimes villains are the true heroes.

Vampire Bat: You are talking about Thanos, aren’t you?

Vampire Owl: I always wished that they ended the series with The Avengers: Infinity War.

Vampire Bat: I also agree that a dead character should stay dead.

Vampire Owl: Well, death is only the beginning.

Vampire Bat: Yes, as far as the dead keep rising.

[Gets a vanilla shake and three cups of iced tea].

What is the movie about? :: Nikolai Kravinoff (Russell Crowe) is a much-feared drug lord and crime boss, and he moves to Ghana with his sons after the death of his wife, only to have his sons attacked by a lion and one of them even leaves him after seeing that his father brutally killed the animal. The family feels broken down, but the younger son stays with the father, whom considers him to be too weak to continue his legacy. The elder son Sergei Kravinoff (Aaron Taylor-Johnson) goes on to become Kraven the Hunter, an entity whose real identity is known. The younger son Dmitri Kravinoff (Fred Hechinger) lives with his father, but has no part in his crime business. Sergei goes on as a vigilante who hunts criminals. After assassinating an arms trafficker in a Russian prison, and following it up with a few others, he travels to London for Dmitri’s birthday where there is a family reunion including the father. But their reunion is short-lived, as mercenaries abduct Dmitri despite the best efforts of the big brother to stop the effort.

So, what happens with the events here as we just keep looking? :: The man who was behind this kidnapping, Aleksei Sytsevich (Alessandro Nivola) has been an opponent of Nikolai. He also has the strength of a rhinoceros along with its skin, after an experiment which was conducted a few years ago. Aleksei proposes an alliance with the brothers to overthrow Nikolai, and after agreeing to this, he says that they would be partners. As there seems to be no solution, Aleksei lures him to a monastery in Turkey, but the ambush is not successful. Aleksei hires the Foreigner (Christopher Abbott), a hypnotic assassin to kill him. Sergei’s only support it Calypso Ezili (Ariana DeBose), a lady who had also helped him earlier to survive when he was attacked by the lion as a child. Now, it remains to be seen if a deal or a raid could be done, as Nikolai is not ready to pay the kidnapper. Still, it is to be seen if the assassin would kill Sergei even before that. He finds himself searching without results, but some result is sure to come soon.

The defence of Kraven the Hunter :: There is the usual anti-hero dose being provided here, and there is a look at the environmental concern and the love for animals, as if an emergency of our times. The action scenes in the forest and grasslands bring a certain amount of variety here and there. A connection between the wild and the domestic is established easily. The actors seem to very much capable of working through the side of action, and the anti-hero side is indeed well-maintained here. The fights do feel more raw than stylish, and that often comes as a welcome change. The mystical elements do run through here. The antagonist is indeed strong, and there is more than one that goes with the title, all of them strong enough to make an impact. There is a lot of idea left for a possible sequel, as the ending seems to suggest more to come, and there is surely some mystery to be solved later. The anti-hero elements do work better than what Deadpool has been turning out to be with its ridiculous nonsense.

The claws of flaw :: The movie never manages to raise its level that much as it keeps moving through the safe zone and keep it even safer. In this world of too many superheroes, some risk needed to be taken in the right way to bring variety through innovation and not through strange representation and change of races and ethnicities. The movie also struggles with its special effects, and even its antagonist could have scored further with better computer-generated imagery. There should have been some Spider-Man connection made here, and without that presence even in the end credits, we struggle to believe in the seriousness here. The negative opinions about Madame Web might affected this one too, as the world of spiders surely seems to be in a crippling state – we miss The Amazing Spider-Man more than ever. There are complications about his position in this world, and the lack of clarity regarding his powers would mean more confusion – well, it is that kind of a family where everyone seems like an anti-hero or a villain and we do wonder about the situation being like this with just a hunter around.

The performers of the soul :: Aaron Taylor-Johnson leads the way pretty well as the anti-hero who goes on hunting without remorse, as he chooses the worst people. There might be the question if someone bigger would have been there, but this would feel good enough due to his dedicated work. Even though Ariana DeBose as Calypso Ezili manages pretty well, Diaana Babnicova who played the younger version seemed to match the character the best, and a deviation from the past is visible around there. Alessandro Nivola makes a fine antagonist, and even with lesser graphics and special effects, he is indeed a menacing villain and a match for the protagonist. Christopher Abbott plays the other villain, and the menace should have been given more time as we look at it. About Russell Crowe, we see a certain amount of grey side here, and it is also something to remember as we move away from this movie. Fred Hechinger who made a point will surely have more to make in the sequel as we notice the ending moments.

How it finishes :: Kraven the Hunter adds to that list of lesser-known anti-heroes, even though it might never be as popular as Venom and Deadpool who became the main characters out of Spider-Man and Wolverine. This is that movie which seemed to have been missed by too many people around here. Unlike those earlier superhero movies, this one is the flick which came with no hype at all, and most people also failed to realize that this one existed in the theatres nearby. They would expect many things here, but they would no not much about him, as this man is no hero that the people in this part of the world have ever known. All these are happening in a timeline where fine superhero movies like Minnal Murali and Gundala and brought about by those industries which have not been known for creating this kind of a universe. With that long comic support, it is surprising that people of Spidey are struggling to make an impact. I would for a better work with a sequel even though this one did work well enough.

Release date: 13h December 2024
Running time: 127 minutes
Directed by: J C Chandor
Starring: Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Ariana DeBose, Fred Hechinger, Alessandro Nivola, Christopher Abbott, Russell Crowe

<<< Click here to go to the previous review.

@ Cemetery Watch
✠ The Vampire Bat.

ARM

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Vampire Owl: What do you know about the Vampire Arm?

Vampire Bat: This is not really about the Arm of the Vampire.

Vampire Owl: I do know about the secret nuclear weapon known as the Vampire Arm.

Vampire Bat: We are certainly not talking about that magical weapon right now.

Vampire Owl: It was invented by Doctor Frankenstein, right?

Vampire Bat: It is a thing of magic, not science.

Vampire Owl: Mr. Frankenstein missed that opportunity, I see.

Vampire Bat: There is nothing special that a pseudo-doctor can do.

Vampire Owl: You should not disrespect the greatest scientist of our world.

Vampire Bat: Well, he is not even a vampire.

Vampire Owl: We are a free society with a policy of inclusion for all.

Vampire Bat: We are unlike humans who are divided by caste, race, religion and more.

Vampire Owl: I heard that this movie also has similar elements.

Vampire Bat: Well, the division has been with humans all the time.

Vampire Owl: They never had hesitation to even kill their own people.

Vampire Bat: I cannot wait to see the hate displayed in this particular film.

Vampire Owl: There is the certainty of hate when humans are around.

Vampire Bat: And here we watch our first theatre movie outside Kerala.

Vampire Owl: So, you mean to say that Birla Planetarium will not count?

Vampire Bat: That never counted as a real movie.

Vampire Owl: What about that show in Science City?

Vampire Bat: That was never a regular film.

Vampire Owl: We should have watched that Bengali film in Kolkata.

Vampire Bat: Well, we did have just enough time, but not the support of fate.

[Gets a box with caramel popcorn and three ice creams and moves into theatre].

Vampire Owl: The strength of fantasy is displayed so well.

Vampire Bat: The three main characters belonging to three different time periods are portrayed well.

Vampire Owl: Yet, there could have been more focus on the first one, which ends too quickly.

Vampire Bat: Fantasy was to take root and spread during that time, but was not to be seen.

Vampire Owl: Fantasy has not limits, I would say, as we have seen where it has led Hollywood and gained followers from all ages.

Vampire Bat: We are the fans of the genres in other languages, and now we have one of ours executed well.

Vampire Owl: And that too without too much of heroism attributed to the main character.

Vampire Bat: The last character does remind us of someone we might usually see with the helplessness and troubles following him.

Vampire Owl: Well, they have made a fine mix, it seems.

Vampire Bat: It also seems to have borrowed elements from some folk-tales.

Vampire Owl: I have also seen the power of myths and legends on display here.

Vampire Bat: The magic has its own way of dealing with things. Sorcery is often the common part of these worlds.

Vampire Owl: The action is too good, especially with the visuals in support.

Vampire Bat: I am doubtful whether someone other than Tovino could have managed this so well.

Vampire Owl: The three roles and middle one stands out above the rest.

Vampire Bat: And among the leading actress, Surabhi Lakshmi comes out on top.

Vampire Owl: All of a sudden, this became the right fantasy movie.

Vampire Bat: Something to rise above the combinations of myth and history that we have already seen.

Vampire Owl: This is what Odiyan could have been.

Vampire Bat: Even Kayamkulam Kochunni and Mamangam could have been like this.

Vampire Owl: Well, they did not have Tovino for sure.

Vampire Bat: Tovino has been continuously evolving as an actor; we know Minnal Murali well.

Vampire Owl: The romantic side goes through a weaker journey though.

Vampire Bat: That makes the fairy-tale element go out of the equation.

Vampire Owl: Still, this is a “once upon a time” story.

Vampire Bat: Yes, with focus less on the story and more on the rest. There were times when we wondered that this would be a reverse fairy-tale.

Vampire Owl: There are many things that this movie reminds me about, and those reminders are not limited to movies.

Vampire Bat: The computer games are some of them. As long as we remember Prince of Persia and Tomb Raider series which are also movies now. There were more advanced in traps in science fiction movies too.

Vampire Owl: These kinds of traps are rarely seen in Malayalam movies. It seems to show the further evolution of Tovino into something more than the usual action hero of our times.

Vampire Bat: This is an evolution in the right path.

Vampire Owl: We were limited to watching such traps in Hollywood movies only, and now there is the change.

Vampire Bat: Still, one is left with the feeling that there could have been even more.

Vampire Owl: Yet, it works so well as a risky attempt with effectiveness. We do not see that much courage these days among our film-makers.

[Disappears into the darkness of the day with clouds bringing the cover, as drops of rain slowly started pouring down].

This is the YouTube video with the fourth film review there. The video reviews have had the focus by attracting more viewers, and tries to make interesting comments about the selected movies. The writing will also go on through its path, but the visual side also has its say more than ever, as the YouTube channel “Scholar Nomads” intends to explore more areas of interest. For both blog and vlog, there will be film reviews and even more to be seen with new styles.

Release date: 12th September 2024 (Theatre – Onam Release)
Running time: 142 minutes
Directed by: Jithin Laal
Starring: Tovino Thomas, Krithi Shetty, Aishwarya Rajesh Surabhi Lakshmi, Basil Joseph, Aju Varghese, Jagadish, Sanju Sivram, Pramod Shetty, Kabir Duhan Singh, Madhupal, Santhosh Keezhattoor, Rohini, Harish Uthaman, Nisthar Sait, Biju Kuttan, Sudheesh, Parvathi T

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@ Cemetery Watch
✠ The Vampire Bat.

Pendulum

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Vampire Owl: I have heard a lot about this movie being different.

Vampire Bat: One of the most divergent movies in Malayalam indeed.

Vampire Owl: I earlier had the feeling that this would be horror.

Vampire Bat: A mystery thriller need not be horror in any way.

Vampire Owl: Nothing would be better than a combination of all of these.

Vampire Bat: When it comes in Malayalam, there is a special feeling.

Vampire Owl: We need all the variety that we can have.

Vampire Bat: Let us thrive on such variety like never before.

Vampire Owl: The acceptance of audience would remain a question though.

Vampire Bat: The best movies would not be accepted well by our audience.

[Gets a marble cake and three cups of ginger tea].

What is the movie about? :: A truck driver named Antony (Shobi Thilakan) finds a strange man named Amir (Binoj Villya) on his vehicle, and despite his best attempts, the man does not get down, and seems to be mentally challenged and without most of his memories. Alex (Sunil Sukhada), the owner of the warehouse to which the truck supplied the goods tells them to keep him with them, and let him get down where he wanted to. Antony is surprised to find a number of snails around when Amir is there. Amir also predicts a number of things which would happen including heavy rains and hitting a dog on the way. Antony becomes more careful as Amir continues to reveal more. At the same time, Dr. Mahesh Narayan (Vijay Babu), a reputed surgeon returning from Australia after many years of service, joins a famous hospital in Kerala. He is accompanied by his wife Shwetha (Devaki Rajendran) and daughter Thanmayi (Aavani) who are happy to be back home from the concrete jungles of Australia’s cities. One day, he meets an old man in the hospital who tells him to find out where his son is, a case which he refers to the psychiatrist, feeling that the man is crazy.

So, what happens with the events here as we just keep looking? :: As Mahesh and his family goes on a short trip to Marayur, he gets a feeling of déjà vu for no reason, and Thanmayi locks the key of the car inside the trunk while they were having tea on a roadside shop. They decide to stay there, and while he was trying to get signal for his mobile phone, gets hit by a truck, and this is proven to be the one driven by Antony with Amir in it. Shweta finds him unconscious on the side of the road, and only he remembers that he was hit by a truck. Just before he was hit, he had found him in a dream of Amir and his friend Angel without invitation, and the old man had also asked him to find his son again. There seems to be something strange about all of these, but only he feels that all these have actually happened. His friend Dr. Jain Joseph (Ramesh Pisharody) seems to have some belief in what he has been saying. He asks Mahesh to talk to a man named John Master (Prakash Bare) who has had some interesting explanations for strange events which have happened all around the world. But as the incidents of the dreams have happened with a huge time gap in between, can there be an actual solution and a chance to extract what is required from the dreams?

The defence of Pendulum :: The ideas of time travelling and lucid dreaming come as new concepts to Malayalam cinema, and they have been used with effectively to create an impact like never before. This entry of the elements of science fiction into our movies with quality is to be remembered for long, as we hope for more of similar movies after watching this one. We should always be looking for experimentation here, and hope that this is only the beginning of some fine variety which is to follow soon enough. Maybe such movies will be made in big budget instead. The quality of making is also to be noted here as we move forward. The dreams are presented very well, and nice visuals support them. The mystery that prevails in this movie keeps us going, like no other similar film. After all, we are all set in a series of time loops in our own lives, and there seems to be no end or chance to escape – the realities that we create do not come to our help. The film often feels like a reflection of our meaningless lives which seem like busy realities. The music serves the purpose well enough as the mystery only gets sharper and thicker as we move forward.

Positives and negatives :: There is no doubt about the fact that the movie could have used more refining as some more of attention to details would have helped this one to connect to its audience better. There are times when the film seems to be confused about where it is heading. After all, there was the need for more explanation as the concept is new for the audience – we do have a lot of explanation here for sure, but not in the way that there is a perfectly defined conclusion to things. As time is not linear in this movie, such an explanation could have done a lot of good to the non-complicated, unsuspecting viewers. There is still the need to understand how the main character is involved in all of these, and how things have actually turned out in the end. It leaves us with the feeling that we have watched something special, but the chance to become a classic movie is not there because of the absence of some focused writing in relation to the complication between time and dreams in a world that walks on a bridge between real and unreal.

The performers of the soul :: Vijay Babu nicely leads a complicated movie with twisted characters all around. The sinister and seemingly unsolvable problems faced by the character is nicely shown by Vijay Babu who seems to blend in to the doctor facing unexpected terror. He has to go through an Inception-like world living through magically created world, and at the same time, relive his life multiple times like in Edge of Tomorrow. The helplessness is displayed really well by the actor. Ramesh Pisharody comes up with an interesting role here, as a doctor and support. Devaki Rajendran plays the main lady character here, and keeps us hoping to see her more around. Anumol is playing the other lady character of relevance, and handles her moments really well with a touch of mystery following her. Prakash Bare has another strong role well played here as we go deep into a world of mystery. Indrans plays a strange character without enough attention provided to characterization, but it is nice to see him in another classic role. Shobi Thilakan also has a strong presence here. Sunil Sukhada and Neena Kurup also have some small, but notable roles.

How it finishes :: With lucid dreaming and time travelling making its way nicely in here, this becomes a landmark movie in Malayalam movie industry. It is just strange that it had gone unnoticed among the common audience – one can blame the absence of the required kind of advertisement and also the missing superstar at least in the form of a leading lady for the same. The cast that we see here is surely able to hold the movie universe together, but we needed that special ingredient which could have appealed better to our audience, and in its absence in advertising has left this film mostly unwatched, which is rather disappointing. Maybe some people still fail to understand the basic idea behind this movie. Yet, it is brilliant as the attempt, and I would say that this is a fine New Year movie which one could watch with the presence of what seems to be a blend of science fiction and magic. So, we go on and watch this one and wish each other a Very Happy New Year. May this new year bring the best moments in your life, as world never ceases to have enough to offer.

Release date: 8th December 2023 (Saina Play); 16th June 2023 (Theatre)
Running time: 106 minutes
Directed by: Rejin S Babu
Starring: Vijay Babu, Ramesh Pisharody, Devaki Rajendran, Anumol, Prakash Bare, Indrans, Shobi Thilakan, Deepu Navaikulam, Sunil Sukhada, Neena Kurup, Jolly Chirayath, Aseem Ibrahim, Biju Sopanam

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<<< Click here to go to the previous full sci-fi review.

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@ Cemetery Watch
✠ The Vampire Bat.

Multiverse of Madness

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Vampire Owl: I don’t like how the Marvel universe have transformed.

Vampire Bat: Yes, it seems to have gone some other way than intended.

Vampire Owl: I didn’t like the Marvel people much after Captain Marvel.

Vampire Bat: Captain Marvel was one too powerful thing that didn’t suit the world.

Vampire Owl: Are we shifting our loyalties to DC?

Vampire Bat: Well, the first Wonder Woman and Aquaman were really good.

Vampire Owl: You mean to say that DC will rise above Marvel?

Vampire Bat: I am seeing that chance more than ever now.

Vampire Owl: Doctor Frankenstein had told me that you are seeing things.

Vampire Bat: Well, the fake doctors’ opinions do not count.

[Gets a chicken biriyani and three cups of Mogu Mogu juice].

What is the movie about? :: Doctor Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch) attends the wedding ceremony of his former lover Christine Palmer (Rachel McAdams), but is interrupted by a strange octopus-like creature which is destroying the city. He finds out that the creature is after a young girl named America Chavez (Xochitl Gomez), and is helped by the Sorcerer Supreme Wong (Benedict Wong). Despite being in trouble early on, Strange manages to destroy the monstrous creature and save America. America tells them that she is able to travel through the multiple universes, and the demons are trying to take her power. To make sure that he gets some strong support against the demonic witchcraft, he visits Wanda Maximoff (Elizabeth Olsen) who seems to be living a peaceful life. But it turns out that she calls herself Scarlet Witch with possession of the Darkhold, and has harnessed chaos magic like never before. She was the one who was hunting America to get back to her imaginary children who exist only in other universes now. She asks him to hand over the girl peacefully or face the consequences.

So, what happens with the events here as we just keep looking? :: Strange doesn’t agree to her demands to hand over the child to brutally murder her, and it was expected by her though. The Scarlet Witch gives a quick warning, following it with an attack on the stronghold of the sorcerers, and the magic of all the sorcerers could not stop the witch, and she almost destroys the fortress while murdering most of the people present there. As they are almost caught by the Scarlett Witch, America ends up transporting them to a very distant universe. Scarlet Witch travels to the origins of the Darkhold, where all the spells are carved in, and establishes a very powerful dream-walk which helps her to take control of her alternative self in the universe where America had traveled. In the new world, there are so many things that he and America cannot really understand, and this realization makes them travel to find the Sorcerer Supreme who doesn’t trust either of them, and considers them to be an incursion into their safe universe. He drugs and imprisons them, despite the warning from Strange about what could follow him in the form of chaos magic.

And what more is to follow here around here? :: He understands there is some twist awaiting him, as he is brought in front of a group similar to the Avengers which includes members of Fantastic Four and X-Men, and their version of stopping Thanos from the battles of Infinity War and Endgame remains different. The group known as Illuminati in this world expects to stop the Scarlet Witch all by themselves as they have stopped many witches themselves, despite Strange warning them against even attempting to do so. With the demons under her control in her world along with all the powers of witchcraft, she could just do more this time. There is also the Book of Vishanti which could work against the Darkhold somewhere around there. But would that be powerful against Darkhold which uses chaos magic? With the highest of demonic powers, where has the Scarlet Witch reached with her brutal strength? How far is everyone in every universe prepared for someone like the Scarlet Witch with an infinity of chaotic powers of mass destruction?

The defence of Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness :: This version of Doctor Strange seems to serve what exactly was expected of it, with grand visuals of multiple worlds that catch our attention. The colourful looks with a touch horror makes a fine combination here – this comes from the director of the original Evil Dead, Sam Raimi; so, we know. There are some more interesting characters added here, that makes the whole thing more spectacular. The action is splendid, and it might be the best that a movie like this can get, and there are also some fine surprises in store here. Benedict Cumberbatch becomes the sorcerer superhero again, and that works perfectly again, with hope for even more in the future. Elizabeth Olsen as the witch antagonist remains as interesting as she has always been, a character to be hated for remaining the psycho mother of non-existing children. We hope to see lot of Xochitl Gomez in the future too. Then, about Rachel McAdams, we are always to see her around in any role. The casting continues to work in favour of Marvel’s universe, and we never cease to admire how well things turn out in the multiverse too.

Positives and negatives :: The movie nicely sets the path for the sequel, with Charlize Theron coming in as a sorceress in the post-credit scenes. The continuation from WandaVision would not work with most of the audience, as most people around here are not into watching the online series. There is some loss of strength to the universe in total after the retirement or death of its main superheroes. But the ideas used here brings this world back to life with enough strength. The movie’s best scenes include the battle at the stronghold, movement towards the Book of Vishanti and the final zombie battle. The demons could have still had more role to do though, as there is always a lot that could be done with chaos magic’s ability to bring destruction all around. You can never underestimate a horror movie’s ability to do horror, even without becoming a conjuring or evil dead thing in the process. In comparison to what these new versions of Spider-Man and others having, Doctor Strange will always have better movies with variety and class.

How it finishes :: Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness is a movie that offers a lot, and it does the same with class. Multiverse has always been an interesting idea, as the belief in parallel worlds in different galaxies would make life more interesting. It feels more like those video games which have the same world with small differences in the environment and slightly different characters. We are introduced into so many possibilities here, and we hope for more to come with possible sequels. The ending asserts the same, and the audience would be ready for any number of parallel universes. Our hope for the return of Marvel to its old glory can see some possibilities here, and the universe would do well as long as it focuses on the content rather than trying to make some strange comments on random things. Entertainment should be the focus once again, but with enough seriousness. We are all in support of more worlds of madness – but the question would remain if there is any world which is more psychotic than what we know in existence.

Release date: 6th May 2022 (Theatre), 22nd June 2022 (Disney-Hotstar)
Running time: 126 minutes
Directed by: Sam Raimi
Starring: Benedict Cumberbatch, Elizabeth Olsen, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Benedict Wong, Xochitl Gomez, Michael Stuhlbarg, Rachel McAdams

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@ Cemetery Watch
✠ The Vampire Bat.

Black Adam

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Vampire Owl: I have heard about this person before.

Vampire Bat: He is not the Adam from your Frankenstein’s tale.

Vampire Owl: Doctor Frankenstein has already confirmed it.

Vampire Bat: Mr Frank cannot claim to know these many people.

Vampire Owl: He has lived enough to come with such a claim.

Vampire Bat: Well, he is not a true old immortal like us.

Vampire Owl: He has been a semi-immortal with the help of science.

Vampire Bat: There is no semi-immortal. We only have immortals and mortals.

Vampire Owl: You should be better aware of the ways of science.

Vampire Bat: The ways of science do not work in our realm.

[Gets a Hyderabadi biriyani and three cups of Vagamon tea].

What is the movie about? :: Black Adam (Dwayne Johnson) was provided the powers of ancient deities of Egypt as he fought a tyrannical ruler in Kahndaq who had enslaved the people of his nation a long time before the great civilizations of the world held their powers. The king who was trying to use the artifact known as Crown of Sabbac to attain power like no other mortal could, but is defeated by this new champion, thus ending the evil reign. Adrianna Tomaz (Sarah Shahi) who lives the same city in the present finds her people oppressed by an international criminal organization named Intergang. As the new hope for resistance and as a renowned archeologist, she is determined to make sure that the Crown of Sabbac does not fall into the hands of any of those mercenary groups. As she almost reaches the crown, she is ambushed by a team sent by the organization which wants to use the artifact to control as much of the world as they can. The group looks forward to a kind of world domination like never done before with the ultimate control in Kahndaq. The group has the military strength with air, land and water support like most of the nations of the world can never dream of.

So, what happens with the events here as we just keep looking? :: As she is captured by the mercenaries who look forward to kill her, she uses her last option and chants the incantation which awakens Black Adam from beneath the tomb. It is seen that the newly unleashed metahuman is extremely powerful and he violently destroys all the enemies of Adrianna who keeps shooting at him without success. As Adam is wounded by one of the rockets which he catches on the way, he is taken to Adrianna’s home, where he begins to realize things and understand the new world, he lives in. He understands that the ways of the world have changes the situation is much different now. Considering his murder of many assassins, he is considered as a threat and the Justice Society sent to annihilate him, even though the Suicide Squad was also an option. The team includes the leader Hawkman (Aldis Hodge), the veteran sorcerer Doctor Fate (Pierce Brosnan), molecular manipulator Atom Smasher (Noah Centineo) and wind-controlling Cyclone (Quintessa Swindell), a team which seems to have members with their own inner struggles.

And what more is to follow in this tale of a centuries old superhero? :: Hawkman doesn’t consider this to be too much of a task, but Doctor Fate who has seen many dark futures doesn’t think so. They arrive at the city only to find Adam murdering more mercenaries. The battle goes very much in favour of Adam, as he seems to have an answer to everything which is thrown at him. It is then that Adrianna’s teenage son Amon Tomaz (Bodhi Sabongui) is kidnapped by Ishmael Gregor (Marwan Kenzari), who had disguised as a friend for a very long time. Ishmael wishes to gain the powers of the six powerful demons of Hell: Lucifer, Aym, Belial, Beelzebub, Asmodeus and Crateis using the crown. As the Justice Society and Adam fight each other, there seems to be other forces gaining control of the situation. Can the superheroes find a way out of it? How much can this possible terror from hell be stopped or delayed? Can Black Adam, with a troubled past defeat his enemies on all sides? Will he understand the new world and adjust to live in it? Will this ancient city be finally free in the end? The situation seems bleak for everyone around him.

The defence of Black Adam :: There is a lot of entertainment that goes around this movie, especially with Dwayne Johnson in the lead. There is no lack of fun when he is around, even if he did not have those superpowers. Unlike the overrated all-powerful heroes like Captain Marvel, Black Adam is the kind of superhero who seems to be more believable and enjoyable inside the willing suspension of disbelief with the addition of ancient magic. Despite being a dark enough movie with demons ready to be unleashed and having wrath of the ancient gods in control, the movie manages its light-hearted moments really well with a touch of effective humour. The comic side never gets out of control, and the Rock provides an assurance about it. Sarah Shahi nicely blends in, and looks even younger with some moments of action added to her work. Marwan Kenzari’s villainous side would also be memorable, as the sinister side works really well. We can be assured that Black Adam will have a bigger role to play than most of those overrated superheroes who jump around in the different comics universes, as there is a certain amount of class written over this particular character played by Dwayne Johnson, and that too beyond this world.

Positives and negatives :: The movie is a visual stunner as expected, and the graphics used here is really good. The setting is interesting, as we have a city away from the usual areas, and the need for protection that it requires and the type of hero that it gets, are all different in nature. The action sequences with the display of superpowers manage to be really good, and the Justice Society makes an interesting group of people, and the presence of Pierce Brosnan as Doctor Fate stands out, seemingly asking for Doctor Strange of the of the other universe to do better. The movie also has a strong villain, and finding one has not been easy in this particular universe in comparison to that of Marvel Cinematic Universe. There is the presence of the usual repeated elements, but we know that it is supposed to happen in almost every superhero flick. It doesn’t deviate and become that dull superhero movie even though the tendency was always there, and the length is surely a little more than the requirement. The movie still rises a long way above the usual Shazam movie which is too childish for anyone to make it the top favourite superhero movie.

How it finishes :: Black Adam is a nicely done superhero film which is powered by the Rock a.k.a. Dwayne Johnson who never ceases to entertain us. This has been one film which we have been waiting for, and seeing him as the superhero brings no surprises, but appreciation. Most of us have always wondered how a full-superhero movie would look with him around, and a full-horror film would look with the Undertaker around. We can be sure that no other WWE wrestler can make the impact in film industry like the Rock has done with the movies like Jumanji, Fast and Furious and others, with action films like How it will bring the power to the DC Extended Universe is yet to be seen, even though, the final moments and the end credits scene do provide us with a lot of hope. These are the times when Marvel Cinematic Universe has been losing in power, especially by making Thor a silly person and with having the tales move through series instead of movies where it should have always focused. Marvel’s overuse of humour will only come back to strike it one day, and DC finding balance will elevate its status as the superior comic book adapted universe.

Release date: 15th Match 2023 (Amazon Prime Video); 21st October 2022 (Theatre)
Running time: 125 minutes
Directed by: Jaume Collet-Serra
Starring: Dwayne Johnson, Aldis Hodge, Noah Centineo, Sarah Shahi, Marwan Kenzari, Quintessa Swindell, Pierce Brosnan

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@ Cemetery Watch
✠ The Vampire Bat.

Shang-Chi

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Vampire Owl: Let me know when Marvel has actually finished with the superheroes.

Vampire Bat: You do think that it is a possibility?

Vampire Owl: Yes, everything comes to an end, in one way or the other.

Vampire Bat: Not everything. We are immortals, so you should know.

Vampire Owl: Marvel is not immortal. There are no vampires among them.

Vampire Bat: There are vampiric superheroes and villains though.

Vampire Owl: But they are not real, you know.

Vampire Bat: They don’t consider us as real either.

Vampire Owl: Who cares about the evil humans think about?

Vampire Bat: We should care about them as they possess the evil of science, and sooner or later, they will come to get us through that portal on the north.

[Gets an onion vada and three cups of cardamom tea].

What is the movie about? :: Xu Wenwu (Tony Leung) had discovered the mystical power of ten rings which granted immortality and the strength resembling a god. He could have used these powers for the good, but instead had chosen to get richer and even stronger, being left with almost nothing to conquer as he had all nations under his control directly or indirectly, within a few years. Later in the 1990s, he travels to a magical forest, which he also required to be in his control. Therem he is stopped by the guardian of the forest, Ying Li (Fala Chen), who stops him, and the two ends up falling in love. As he is not accepted in the village, the two leaves the village and returns to the city. Back to the present, Xu Shang-Chi a.k.a. Shaun (Simu Liu) has grown up, and is best friends with Katy (Awkwafina), both now living carefree life at San Francisco in the United States. They do valet parking for a living, and Shaun doesn’t want to remember much of his martial arts training of early childhood as things seem to go in a natural way in the city.

So, what happens with the events here as we just keep looking? :: Soon, he is attacked by a group of assassins on a bus. The attackers take his pendant, and he does feel that he need to find his sister, Xu Xialing (Meng’er Zhang), and save her. Even though he decides to run away soon, Katy manages to convince him and accompany him on the journey after the awakening on a darker past. As he reaches the place where Xu is staying, she turns out to be a thankless moron of a sister, who forces him into a battle with her, which she cheats to win. She also abandons him to fight on his own, until she finally has a change of heart to become less of a deserter. Now, it seems that it was their father who had sent these people to take the two pendants, which he wants to use for some strange and evil plan. But Xu is that kind of a person who feels that she will build her own empire that rivals her father’s, and Shaun would be caught between the two, not looking forward to goodness in anyway.

And what more is to be added to this world of possible chaos and destruction? :: It doesn’t matter how much they fight, as the father finally returns to take them to their original home, and make his son the grand successor, and the holder of the ten rings. Wenwu who wishes to reunite the family again, uses the pendants to bring to life, a magical map leading to that old, enchanted forest – Ta Lo. He tells them that he feels that he could hear his wife calling from the village where he has been held captive. He intends to make them release her, or he will burn the village to the ground. But the two children don’t really have anything to do with it, and they are locked up in the dungeons. There, they meet a former actor who was imprisoned for impersonating Wenwu. There, they find a possibility for some future plans, as there is a magical creature which can lead them to the magical forest through an easier path, which is a little bit too dangerous though. Can they get there before the evil father does?

The defence of Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings :: There is a lot of action around here, as one would expect from a movie like this. The same is nicely supported by the visuals and the special effects contribute very well. The final battle with the dragon is so much full of grandeur. There are also some nice details with the magical world and the fantasy creatures present in the village which has all the most beautiful secrets that we find around on the screen. It is the kind of mythological and magical world which we connect with the medieval model with castles and dungeons like so many of the films from Hollywood have done so far. This is the divergent one in that case, and we never really have enough of this. Well, the world surely needs to be different in each and every case, and that would provide us with the feeling of seeing a different civilization every time with its own attributes in Age of Empires and its sequels, or different magical races in Age of Wonders and its sequels. Nowadays, globalization has brought too many similarities, making landscapes looking so similar to each other.

Positives and negatives :: As this movie is releasing rather late in comparison with the others, one can be sure that there are indeed repetitions which are to be found around here, even though there is a certain flavour added which makes them feel somewhat new. Yet, a little predictability will provide some resistance and won’t go away at all. There is always something about different worlds coming together, and evil trying to get into another realm to capture it – the same has been the idea of so many wonderful video games too. The father-son battle is also a usual thing, and even though repetitive as it is, there is something divergent about it for sure. Simu Liu nicely becomes the fine protagonist that we have all wanted around here, and Awkwafina as well as Meng’er Zhang comes up with some fine support in the process. Tony Leung makes a strong villain too, and he surely has more than what meets the eye. Florian Munteanu as Razor Fist also has his moments, and so do Michelle Yeoh and Fala Chen as the fighter motherly figures.

How it finishes :: Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings keeps on moving the Marvel Cinematic Universe straight forward after Infinity War and Endgame provided us with what seemed to be a grand end. There is the feeling of something more magical about this particular movie than any other in the franchise, maybe with the one exception of Doctor Strange, which was all so much of magic and sorcery. You can only enjoy the beauty created by magic around here, instead of the science that has run through Avengers all the time and begged for attention. It is always nice to see magic having the upper hand over science, which has been all about war, death and terror. After all, the Corona virus is also a product of science, and we have failed to stop it completely. The mythology of the Dark Gate and The Great Protector told in this movie also further helps in understanding the terrible nature of humanity, and how the whole world should be a better place without their ambitions and hatred that always prevails.

Release date: 3rd September 2021
Running time: 132 minutes
Directed by: Destin Daniel Cretton
Starring: Simu Liu, Awkwafina, Meng’er Zhang, Fala Chen, Florian Munteanu, Benedict Wong, Michelle Yeoh, Ben Kingsley, Tony Leung

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@ Cemetery Watch
✠ The Vampire Bat.

Curse of Audrey Earnshaw

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Vampire Owl: I think that I have met this girl before.

Vampire Bat: No, she is not the witch who cursed you last year.

Vampire Owl: How can you be so sure? She had the same expressions.

Vampire Bat: The witches can be confusing with their looks.

Vampire Owl: You mean to say that they alter their appearances very often.

Vampire Bat: Yes, many more times than we do in a human city.

Vampire Owl: Yet, we can see through them, can’t we?

Vampire Bat: We are not immune to all kinds of magic.

Vampire Owl: We are still immune to dark magic.

Vampire Bat: Yes, but not all kind of dark magic. Some witches practice the darkest of magic, and we are often not strong enough to resist the same.

[Gets a vegetable samosa and three glasses of Vanilla shake].

What is the movie about? :: During the times when there were more and more settlements in North America, a group of families decided to separate from the Church of England, leading to the establishment of an isolated settlement, further away from the rest in the continent. Years passed, the the World Wars broke out, and science had the advantage over religion, with unrestricted expansions, but the villagers of this particular settlement kept their old ways of life alive. Later, in the year 1956, a strange phenomenon, which came to be known as the eclipse, a kind of pestilence spread throughout the settlement and its surroundings, poisoning the land and also corrupting the livestock. The only exception was the land belonging to one woman, Agatha Earnshaw (Catherine Walker), and he was suspected of heresy. She also gave birth to a girl child during the eclipse, but kept the child as a secret from the villagers who kept looking at her with suspecting eyes.

So, what happens with the events here as we just keep looking? :: The community has kept struggling without hope, and with a feeling that God abandoned them, and that there is no future for them, as the time shifts the 1973 – not many things have changed for this particular village far away from civilization. Agatha continues to live separated from everyone with her daughter who has now grown up, and yet remains hidden from the eyes of others. She tells Audrey that anyone who tries to come to their place is a villain, and that everyone in the village wishes to steal young girls like her. The villagers continue to despise her as she still has a great harvest all for herself, and is not ready to help even those who have been starving for days and close to death. Colm Dwyer (Jared Abrahamson) and Hannah Bridget Dwyer (Emily Anderson) are further angry about her as they lost their child for some illness, and lack of food comes naturally with the life. Everyone knows that there is a curse going on, and soon, they will have to take another step to change their lives.

The defence of The Curse of Audrey Earnshaw :: The film thrives on its atmosphere, which has so much in store with a setting which is established nicely with an initial writing about the premise – the first scene surely sets the mood, and the visuals nicely contributes to the same, as it does raise our expectations by quite some distance. If the story could have explained all the happenings better, the atmosphere could have elevated this one in the blink of an eye. There is the presence of blood and gore, but the same is not that much justified as we look at them. The main character does have the looks which are required, and there is always the feeling of having more than what meets the eye soon enough. We have seen films like The Witch, and so we are expecting something similar around here too, as the evil creatures of the night, from vampires and werewolves to zombies and demons, we are also interested in the witches to make the horror runs strong into a world of escapism that we always need.

The claws of flaw :: The real-life curse for the movie lies in the ending here. It doesn’t seem to know how to finish everything after building up all these. Running towards confusion is not what one would want with a film like this one. Finally, you are wondering what has actually happened, and there is always something wrong with the titular character, and it is not just the usual kind of wrong, but more, in a complicated manner. The movie is also really slow, and in between, there are scenes which don’t seem to make much of a sense, and we are always looking for some big terrifying sequence with sorcery to happen, but that is not there to be taken. There are no real witch-like gathering or frightening events happening in there, and due to the same, the movie has less strength as a horror movie, as it focuses on being a slow thriller. There were so many paths for this movie to follow, and none of them are taken, which brings some disappointment around here, as we don’t really get what we were expecting at all.

Performers of the soul :: Jessica Reynolds as Audrey Earnshaw is the young lady who is the reason for almost everything around here to happen – she has that kind of a look which would serve a witch, supported by the expressions and even movements. She has taken on the character which is a little bit too complex and strange, but managed to work with that well enough. She also has that stare that a witch would require, and her violence is unparalleled just like her curses. Catherine Walker as Agatha Earnshaw plays the mother, and she also remains as strange she can get, staying close to the character with the possible mysteries. Jared Abrahamson plays the role which is closest to a leading man, but he doesn’t really get much of a screen space either. Hannah Emily Anderson plays his wife, and that is done pretty well too. Sean McGinley adds well to the characters of interest in the movie, and so does Don McKellar, and later Geraldine O’Rawe. There are others who are just part of the world, and has something or the other to do at some occasions.

How it finishes :: There have always been something about the tales of witches in worlds created in any village far away from civilization, and with strange curses being felt all around. This one is no exception, even though it doesn’t make the best use of its resources, not living up to the strength that it displays in the beginning, and progressing to the end without enough of the explanations. You know that this movie was capable for much more, but we take this dark and disturbing story as it is, and enjoy is as much as we can, without that much expectations in horror. These movies serve as a reminder to how the world of strange beliefs have been, and how we have not become better people with science taking over – we are just the same if not worse, even without the supernatural, evil, distrustful and full of hate. We all have the devil in more people these days, and humanity’s lack of conscience has made the present world a worse place to live in than those days when people at least feared and revered God. Beware of the people around you more than the witches.

Release date: 2nd October 2020
Running time: 103 minutes
Directed by: Thomas Robert Lee
Starring: Catherine Walker, Jessica Reynolds, Jared Abrahamson, Sean McGinley, Geraldine O’Rawe, Don McKellar

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@ Cemetery Watch
✠ The Vampire Bat.

The Pale Door

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Vampire Owl: How pale is the door?

Vampire Bat: It cannot be that pale as the door to Uncle Dracula’s door.

Vampire Owl: It won’t be as pale as life itself.

Vampire Bat: Life will get better after Corona virus ends.

Vampire Owl: There is no life after COVID-19 ends.

Vampire Bat: How can you be so sure about?

Vampire Owl: The world has now become more evil, you know that.

Vampire Bat: Yes, but that is related to the humans only.

Vampire Owl: The realms are going to collide at some point of time.

Vampire Bat: When they do, we will be ready to face the evil humans and their weapons including hatred and fear.

[Gets some French fries and three glasses of pista shake].

What is the movie about? :: One day, a home is raided by a gang of thieves who are heavily armed. Two children survive the terrifying incident, while the parents are shot dead. The house is also burnt down, but the two boys decide to move on with the help of an acquaintance. The younger of the two brothers, Jake (Devin Druid) is working in a saloon, while Duncan (Zachary Knighton), the elder brother is leading the Dalton gang, a group of robbers who come up with some big heists all the time. When one their gang members die in a gang fight, they are in need of more manpower for a train heist which might be the best of their career. Even though Duncan is not sure about allowing his younger brother to involved in anything related to guns, Jake doesn’t back down, and the gang finally decides to take him because of the urgent requirement. They find the train heist to quite an easy job, and they find the chest which was being guarded there, and manage to escape with the same.

So, what happens with the events here as we just keep looking? :: Instead of finding any gold or money in the chest, they end up finding a young lady tied up inside. The girl introduces herself as Pearl (Natasha Bassett), and tells them that her home is in Potemkin, from where she was taken by these people. She also promises them some fine reward if they take her home. As the gang also wants to have some treatment for the wounded Duncan, they decide to go to her town which is closer than the rest of the civilization. As they reach the town, they try to find a doctor first, but there is nothing in the place, but woods with one small cottage in between, much to their dismay. Pearl does offer them help, as they are forced to follow her deep into the woods, and she tells them that they live in a brothel. As they are welcomed at the brothel by the one who seems to be their leader, Maria (Melora Walters) also promises that they will have the reward soon enough. But soon they realize that there is something different about this brothel, and they won’t really like that.

The defence of The Pale Door :: The movie does have a lot of action with the gun shots, and the witches are also there, which makes this a divergent type of film in comparison to those usual films which have one of these. The transform between the western heist and the world of magic and witchcraft is nicely done with the surprise working well. The message of evil being present at all times, and the final moments after building the atmosphere works pretty well, even though it doesn’t become a full horror movie at any moment as expected. There are moments which come back to the main characters as revelations about the past, and the setting within the forest brings the need for being frightened, in a strong enough manner. Placing the outlaws against the witches is a pretty good idea, as we look at it, and can also have an extended version of the same in a sequel, as the latter can go on forever, and be back for more innocent blood to sustain them. A successful mixing of these genres is exactly what has helped around here.

The claws of flaw :: The problem with this film is that it is too slow for our liking, and there are more dialogues than action on many different occasions. The movie is also really slow to go through its problems, and the beginning moments have too many scenes which keep on dragging the film until we reach the much needed action. Even though the witches are shown in their true forms, there could have been more especially related to one of them bathing in the blood of the victims, a moment that reminds of the ancient legends. The moment required an extended version, and also the hunting which the witches come up with. Just like the vampires, the witches are always capable of more, and this one doesn’t touch those abilities enough around here. The idea of witchcraft always have enough strength to rise as strong as the vampires and zombies who have ruled the world of cinema for quite a long time, and this time, they don’t go for where the strength lies the most – instead, the safe side seems to have more of an attention than anything else.

Performers of the soul :: Devin Druid as Jake and Zachary Knighton as Duncan are given importance in brotherly bond, but beyond that, they don’t work that much within limitations. Stan Shaw as Lester makes a strong impact among the group in comparison. Bill Sage and Pat Healy are fine in what they do. Melora Walters does make a fine witch with a mission here, and there is the past that is related to her, and works fine enough. Natasha Bassett makes a fine witch for the future, and might be one of the most charming of the group. There are other witches added around here, and Ashley Couch appears in the blood bath, the one which had the scope to be the most notable scene in the film, but the same gets limited – she still has one’s attention there though. As a film which deviates to witchcraft early enough, there could have been more focus on each witch character here, but the same is not provided that much of a significance around here. But the witches don’t get their due, and that is somewhat a shame, considering the possibilities.

How it finishes :: The movie seems to have done pretty well as a low budget horror movie, and has enough to keep itself strong with the big reveal that comes later. There is not that much to make a heavy entertaining impact, but the film manages well enough with what they have. Maybe, if this had left idea of the wild west behind, and focused on the witches and their past, with the forest being the permanent setting, things could have been better. Even a medieval setting in England could have lifted this one better. Yet, there is something about the film and its witches which will keep it going. During the time when the Corona virus pandemic is coming up its omicron variant, one can say that this kind of a variant can also serve the purpose. At a time when the supernatural are going down due to the strength of COVID-19 and the evil that the humans are bringing, we all need our original demons, witches, vampires, werewolves, ghosts and zombies – let us take these witches for now and enjoy what we can, while staying safe during the omicron-active Christmas season.

Release date: 21st August 2020
Running time: 96 minutes
Directed by: Aaron B Koontz
Starring: Devin Druid, Zachary Knighton, Melora Walters, Natasha Bassett, Tina Parker, Ashley Couch, Bill Sage, Pat Healy, Stan Shaw, Noah Segan

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@ Cemetery Watch
✠ The Vampire Bat.

Cinderella

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Vampire Owl: How many Cinderella movies have we watched?

Vampire Bat: I have lost count this time.

Vampire Owl: And how many more Cinderella movies will we watch?

Vampire Bat: It is also not something we can guess.

Vampire Owl: If Cinderella was a vampire, this would have been so perfect.

Vampire Bat: We don’t really have fairy-tales in the vampire world.

Vampire Owl: One doesn’t really need them, right?

Vampire Bat: Well, fairy-tales are lies, we all know that.

Vampire Owl: I am sure that humans are not really short of lies.

Vampire Bat: And they even want us to believe the same.

[Gets a beetroot cake and three cups of black tea].

What is the movie about? :: Vivian (Idina Menzel) leads her life in a village of hardworking people with her daughters (Maddie Baillio and Charlotte Spencer), as well as her stepdaughter Ella, then known as Cinderella (Camila Cabello) who is different from her stubborn sisters. She does almost everything in the house, but is not considered to be someone of importance. Nobody in the house likes her, and wastes no time in scolding or making fun of her, despite her best efforts to make things better. Everyone at home considers her to be an orphan, even though she is daughter to the mother’s earlier husband. It is then that Prince Robert (Nicholas Galitzine) is in requirement of a wife, but he is not really that much into it – King Rowan (Pierce Brosnan) and Queen Beatrice (Minnie Driver) are not really happy about it though, as they would have preferred him to marry someone whom they admired and win many colonies as wedding gift in the process.

So, what happens with the events here? :: As Robert goes on living his life, not intending to be the grand kind that everyone wanted to be, Princess Gwen (Tallulah Greive) hopes to be rule the realm as a queen, an idea which nobody is interested in, but she does manage to provide some ideas in between, which mostly wouldn’t suit the world she lived in. Robert would meet Cinderella in the market though, as she was trying the dress which she had designed. For them to meet again, they have to come together in a ball, and she also wants to find buyers for her clothes, and Fairy Godmother (Billy Porter) prepares her for the same, supported by the mice (James Acaster, James Corden and Romesh Ranganathan) who are transformed into men and are supposed to take her to the palace on a magical chariot. Now the question remains if she can fall in love and sell her clothes at the same time, or whether she will fail as her stepmother and stepsisters would have always thought she would. The possibilities are endless.

The defence of Cinderella :: The first song by Ella is the best one with the music, and there are a few nice songs, even though none of them rise much above that particular level, while there are some which are not interesting at all. The visuals are really good, and the magic of the original fair-tale story is maintained, even though it seems to be so more by compulsion rather than anything else – maybe this film could have been named something else and played into another tale instead of calling Cinderella for help. There are some nice ideas in the background, that is for sure, but in the implementation, it often falls on the nose, and still we find something here and there. It does have the support of some fine performances in moments, and it also thrives on the moments. After all, we can’t just avoid a Cinderella movie when it comes, even when it deviates too much from the original ideas, and even if it is not the Cinderella that we knew or wanted to watch.

The claws of flaw :: For a Cinderella movie, this one is really strange. Its deviations often feel dumb, and often it feels useless. We have watched so many Cinderella films that we know what the story should really be about despite adding something not suiting at all. Some of the music does get irritating, just like a few of the characters fo manage to do. It is the same reason why it also feels foolish at times. The director here does have some weird and silly ideas about making a Cinderella film, and one has to understand that there are a few things which really make a Cinderella, just like without a few things, some classics and fairytales are not complete – Hamlet needs vengeance, Macbeth needs the witch-like creatures, Rapunzel needs the long hair etc. This is where Cinderella making the unnecessary deviation without creativity falls behind, and in the process, it is also too long a film, considering what kind of content it has.

Performers of the soul :: A lot of characters in the movie do look strange, even though many of them seems to excel in this. Camila Cabello is really good, without doubt, and the same can be said about Idina Menzel and Pierce Brosnan. Camila Cabello has some fine moments which rise a long way up, while it is always good to see Pierce Brosnan in any role. Idina Menzel has her stepmother role smaller than what one would have expected. Maddie Baillio and Charlotte Spencer plays the usual stepdaughters of the good old fairytale. Nicholas Galitzine and Minnie Driver are okay, but seem to overdo things at some moments, and some of their dialogues are ridiculously silly – but that is more or less inheriting the silly mood of the film itself. Tallulah Greive plays basically a useless role, and she doesn’t have enough screen-space either. A number of smaller characters in this film seems to be strangely written, and we would have actually done better without them as some of them also manage to look much ridiculous. Billy Porter as the fairy godmother is nonsense.

How it finishes :: Cinderella with this version is enjoyable only because of parts. Otherwise, it is irritating in other parts. It needed better music and try not to use nonsense to sell its ideas. These won’t suit in a Cinderella film either, but as it does look good, and because we have always loved Cinderella, we go on with it. As it has released on Amazon Prime Video, there is always the option to fast forward those unnecessary elements. When people try to divert a classic fairytale without not much thinking, I can assure you that there are many areas where you wish to fast forward. If you accept people’s right to be silly if they have a high budget, and enjoy the rest, you can enjoy the magic with the visual extravaganza. Well, we have accepted many stupid films which looked good or a few others with dumb fun, it is very much possible to be entertained by this.

Release date: 3rd September 2021
Running time: 113 minutes
Directed by: Kay Cannon
Starring: Camila Cabello, Idina Menzel, Minnie Driver, Nicholas Galitzine, Billy Porter, Pierce Brosnan, Maddie Baillio, Charlotte Spencer, Tallulah Greive

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@ Cemetery Watch
✠ The Vampire Bat.

The Witches

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Vampire Owl: It is strange that we are being called by the witches too.

Vampire Bat: The vampires are now more accepted in a society than ever.

Vampire Owl: I wouldn’t say that about each and every vampire.

Vampire Bat: Well, humans create divisions among themselves and also divide vampires.

Vampire Owl: The absence of politicians among us has hindered those divisions.

Vampire Bat: I would say that we should divide them before they do the same to us.

Vampire Owl: I find the possibility of bringing more divisions to humans as too easy.

Vampire Bat: But the question still remains if there is space for more of them.

Vampire Owl: Well, lets first go and play, and we will know later.

Vampire Bat: I hope that they have at least set a good athletic sport and not something as lazy as golf or cricket.

[Gets a vegetable burger and three cups of orange juice].

What is the movie about? :: A young boy (Jahzir Kadeem Bruno) losses both his parents to a car accident on a snow evening, and his grandmother (Octavia Spencer) comes to his aid. She takes him home, and does everything to keep him happy when he is wih her. She was someone who used to be known as a healer among her people, and knew how to make sick people feel better. The boy also gets a pet mouse which he names Daisy. One day, the boy is approached by a witch with a snake in her hands, and while she tries to cast a spell on him, grandmother comes and ruins the magic. The grandmother also starts coughing, and as he tells her the story of the lady whom he had met, she realizes that it was a witch, and decides to leave the place with the boy to avoid any more meetings with the witch, as she did have a past with one of such creatures when she was a child. They decide to go to a hotel where her cousin is the chief cook, and stay there, safe from the witches.

So, what happens with the events here? :: But things there are not that safe as they thought. A group of witches led by their all-powerful great leader, The Grand High Witch (Anne Hathaway), arrives there, and the team includes the one the boy had met earlier. At the same time, the boy meets Bruno Jenkins (Codie-Lei Eastick), a boy who is addicted to food, and highly attached to chocolates. As the boy secretly enters a large hall to train his mouse, he is forced to hide, with witches coming in to hold their meeting. He sees them in their true forms, as they have claws instead of fingernails, which is hidden by wearing gloves; they are bald, and adjust by wearing wigs; have square sized feet without toes, which they hide under sensible shoes; strange and scary forms for the boy. There, the boy hears them making their grand plans, as The Grand High Witch tells them to give the all the children in the world a potion, mixed into sweets, that can transform all of them into mice, starting with Bruno. Now, he and his mouse should find a way to stop them.

The defence of The Witches :: It can be seen that the movie does capture our interest well enough from the beginning itself, as the starting scenes make a fine build-up. The special effects as well as the performances contribute nicely here, and it will appeal the most to children, with whom the movie can have some instant connection. The children would find most of the approach taken by the film to be adorable, and the pattern is the same which has been adopted by such stories for decades. There is the usual folk-tale and fairy-tale power that comes from behind it. The unpredictability factor, maybe coming out of the original book by Roald Dahl, a man who has something for the twists as we know from Lamb to the Slaughter, the much appreciated twisted short stories which became part of the syllabus of many universities including our own MG University’s Modes of Fiction paper. It is always good to see the witches, after vampires, zombies and werewolves ruled the big screen and novels for too long.

The claws of flaw :: The Witches is not that strong as it should have been, with any element attached to it. The film could have used a lot of elements of magic in there, and the whole thing could have lit up with colourful spells – maybe even with a touch of darkness to add to it. There is no clear movement towards a colourful, light world or towards that world of terror, as the movie stays reluctant, playing in the safe side, never taking the risks from the beginning to the end. The finish could have also been bigger in scope. There is also supposed to be an older version, which is supposed to be better than this, at least according to the critics. Finding of faults will be easy for this movie for people who live in the far away past, but not the same for those who understand it from the time when the book was published. The movie also came a little bit late, because an OTT release in April or May would have brought more viewers, with children not having schools, and colleges having some kind of semester breaks in between.

Performers of the soul :: Anne Hathaway comes up with a fantastic performance as the witch to remember, with a funny side – the last time we saw such a thing was related to Eva Green in Dark Shadows. She has blended into the witch-role really well. She is the one person on whom this movie can depend on, not only as the big performer, but the one huge name that everyone knows about – she has been a superstar even in the areas where people don’t remember the name of Hollywood celebrities. Octavia Spencer is there in a role which suits her really well right from the beginning itself. Jahzir Kadeem Bruno who plays the main kid does a really good job. Stanley Tucci as the manager of the grand hotel is fun throughout the film’s run. The other witches are also come up with a nice job, even though they don’t really get to do anything in particular individually. It is all left for the leader of the witches, and that comes as rather surprising, because more witch identities and some special powers to add to the same would have been nice to watch with the availability of special effects.

How it finishes :: The Witches does have your attention as the one film which seems to sparkle with its poster being shown among the new releases on the OTT platform. We did have one movie named The Witch a few years later which dealt with everything in an entirely different way. The movie we have here is certainly not the serious one among the two, focusing more on simple basic entertainment rather than anything else. There can be some accusations against this one, but those simple things can be passed over as things of no importance, as this is the kind of film which thrives on the cute silliness, and will appeal to the younger audience really well. Well, this is another movie which will keep us interested in the escapist mode, as this world where the witches go among the humans to deal with the children whom they consider to be brats, is a good addition during the COVID-19 lockdown which never really seems to end. This is the kind of old style entertainment that we need to keep us going through a world of chaos.

Release date: 22nd October 2020 (USA), 5th June 2021 (Amazon Prime)
Running time: 106 minutes
Directed by: Robert Zemeckis
Starring: Anne Hathaway, Octavia Spencer, Stanley Tucci, Kristin Chenoweth, Codie-Lei Eastick, Jahzir Kadeem Bruno, Charles Edwards, Morgana Robinson, Josette Simon, Eugenia Caruso, Ana-Maria Maskell, Orla O’Rourke, Penny Lisle, Simon Manyonda, Philippe Spall, Brian Bovell

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✠ The Vampire Bat.

Frozen II

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Vampire Owl: Everyone is frozen at home due to COVID-19, and we are watching the second part of this movie.

Vampire Bat: COVID-19 has been a serious crisis in the vampire world too.

Vampire Owl: Yes, the last world vampire conference was held in twenty five districts because they had to keep the distance.

Vampire Bat: For the undead, it wouldn’t show any symptoms. We would just die.

Vampire Owl: Death after death is a highly disappointing thing.

Vampire Bat: Yes, we become immortal, and then we die. It is ridiculous.

Vampire Owl: The vampire doctors including Mr. Frankenstein are saying that this was spread by werewolves.

Vampire Bat: This could have been the result of a pure evil magic potion prepared by the Northern Witches.

Vampire Owl: Or maybe spread by a zombie bat?

Vampire Bat: Bats becoming zombies are abominations. I wouldn’t discuss them.

[Gets some banana chips and three cups of cardamom tea].

What is the movie about? :: King Runeard (Jeremy Sisto), long ago, had established a treaty between the people of the kingdom and those of the forest, by building a dam for the better utilization of resources by the forest tribe. But all of a sudden, a fight breaks out between the soldiers of the kingdom and the fighters of the forest tribe, leading to the death of Runeard and also that of the tribe leader, leading to a division between the two, and the forest being engulfed in an enchanted fog created by the spirits of nature, letting nobody inside and allowed nobody to go out. The enraged elemental spirits of Earth, Fire, Water, and Air of the forest had only one person escaping to the kingdom of Arendelle, Agnarr (Alfred Molina) who later became the king after the death of his father with Iduna (Evan Rachel Wood) as his queen. The tale go only this far for Elsa (Idina Menzel) and Anna (Kristen Bell).

So, what happens with the events here? :: Years after her coronation, Anna and Elsa are having some good time during the autumn season with Olaf the snowman (Josh Gad), Kristoff (Jonathan Groff), and Kristoff’s reindeer Sven along with the subjects in the kingdom. Elsa has been listening to a mysterious calling, and her response to the same awakens the four elemental spirits, Earth, Water, Air and Fire. With these spirits threatening the kingdom, Anna, Elsa, Olaf, Kristoff and Sven set off to find the problem’s root cause, leaving the people with Pabbie (Ciaran Hinds), the leader of the Rock Trolls. The team is taken in by the enchanted forest, but are trapped in there with no chance for exit. There they meet the air spirit first, followed by two groups of soldiers from both sides who are still in conflict with each other.

And what else follows with the happenings? :: Elsa and Anna manage to make peace between the two groups of soliders as they realized that the queen of the kingdom is from their tribe, and she was the one who saved the king and escaped with him from the enchanted forest years ago. Meanwhile, Kristoff keeps thinking about proposing to Anna, but doesn’t succeed in the same for which asks for her from Ryder (Jason Ritter) who shares his interest in reindeers. They come up against earth spirits, a group of giants made out of rocks, but manage to evade them. They find their parents’ destroyed ship and a map with a route to Ahtohallan, a mythical river which could answer all their questions. Elsa decides to go there alone, and with Kristoff and Sven already left behind, leaves Anna and Olaf to float down in a boat made of ice as she decides to take on the water spirit on her way through water. But there is a long way to go, and can she do it alone?

The defence of Frozen II :: The animation remains the strong point of the movie. There are also the special effects – what you see on the screen is nothing less than spectacular, getting you right into that world, and frost just gets to you if you are sitting in a theatre, especially a newer multiplex. The visual effects do the job like not many animated movies can do, and in a world of magic, it asserts the strength of the same. The characters are lovable, and we feel very close to them, even though they are part of that fantasy world only. They become part of us as much as the technical skill on display. The songs are pretty good too, and the messages are once again clear, with family bonding, not just between the sisters, but going further. Frozen will continue to have advantage over the other so called big animated movies like How to Train Your Dragon, Rio, Despicable Me, Finding Nemo, Cars, Ice Age, Madagascar, Kung Fu Panda and the others which have turned into successful franchises.

Positives and negatives in a world of enchantment :: The case of repetition could be there up to an extent. Frozen had already established a “happily ever after”, and due to the same, this could have been a reverse fantasy on another day. People might have the opinion that a sequel was not needed, considering how perfect the first movie seemed to be. A certain amount of deviation can be declared too. Finding fault with this sequel is more of a process which can be done in relation with the first movie, and not as a stand-alone flick, and it is something which a person who hasn’t watched the first film will understand with ease. We can also move on without finding any fault in this case, as this movie has no shortage of entertainment, with action, adventure and even a funny side – the cuteness factor is also at the highest with this movie in comparison with any other animated movie that strives to do the same for the audience.

How it finishes :: Frozen 2 might not be able to claim that much of a splendour as its predecessor which held the title of the highest grossing animated movie of all-time, even though the sequel has overtaken Frozen, but it has to be noted that the first position is no longer there to be taken. The two Frozen movies are now on second and third positions in that list. But that wouldn’t take away this movie’s claim as a worthy successor because the first movie had set a level which was almost impossible to meet, and this one had to stay close to what was established. The spectacular world which has been created in this film is sure to catch our attention, and the soul of the first movie is carried on, which will make this an interesting watch, and something to feel happy during the time when Corona virus is making its way through nations. Frozen 2 has the beauty of snow, hues and magic brought in style yet again for your eyes.

Release date: 22nd November 2019
Running time: 103 minutes
Directed by: Chris Buck, Jennifer Lee
Starring: Kristen Bell, Idina Menzel, Josh Gad, Jonathan Groff, Evan Rachel Wood, Sterling K Brown, Alfred Molina, Martha Plimpton, Rachel Matthews, Jason Ritter, Jeremy Sisto, Ciaran Hinds, Aurora

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✠ The Vampire Bat.

Pinocchio

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Vampire Owl: I know this person very well from childhood itself.

Vampire Bat: It is a fictional character from the children’s novel The Adventures of written by the Italian writer Carlo Collodi of Florence.

Vampire Owl: Okay, so it is from the land of Renaissance indeed,

Vampire Bat: Yes, most people don’t really know that this tale is not really English.

Vampire Owl: But it went on to become so popular all around the world.

Vampire Bat: Yes, it is that kind of a story that appeals to everyone.

Vampire Owl: And it is a fine story to read for the children of all ages.

Vampire Bat: We also add an Italian movie dealing with the same story to our list on this day.

Vampire Owl: I am sure that this one will become a fine deviation from our usual path.

Vampire Bat: Yes, and takes us back to childhood too, at least in parts.

[Gets a green apple cake and three glasses of blackcurrant shake].

What is the movie about? :: Geppetto (Roberto Benigni), a poor Italian carpenter has a hard time making his living, as he rarely gets any work, and nobody appreciates him for the quality products which he come up with. But one day, he sees a puppet theatre in the town, and becomes a lot interested in creating a puppet all by himself. He feels that he could create something special which would be appreciated all around the world for its beauty on wood. He manages to get a log of wood which its owner wanted to leave behind because it seemed to have some kind of magic associated with it. Geppetto spends all his time creating the perfect puppet, and in the end, when he finishes the same, he finds out that it can talk. After naming the puppet Pinocchio (Federico Ielapi), he decides to take him as his son. But the newfound son out of the log isn’t really an obedient one, as he keeps exercising his freedom against the wishes of his father.

So, what happens with the events here? :: Pinocchio does get into trouble due to his actions, and Geppetto decides to send him to school, so that he would study well and also mingle with the other children of the town. Geppetto sells his inherited jacket to buy Pinocchio an ABC book which is necessary to accepted into the school. Pinocchio does go for his first day at school, but notices a puppet theater, and he ends up selling the book to buy the ticket. In the theater, the other puppets notice Pinocchio among the viewers and calls him up the stage, thus messing up the show. A furious puppeteer Mangiafuoco (Gigi Proietti) catches Pinocchio and locks him in his caravan with the others puppets, and leaves the town. Mangiafuoco who has been very angry about what had happened, plans to use Pinocchio as firewood to help cooking his dinner. Pinocchio begs him to release him in order to return home from his father, who would be very much worried by then.

And what else is to follow around here with the puppet? :: Mangiafuoco decides to let him go, and seeing his compassion towards the other puppets who he saves from being burned, he gives him five gold coins to give to the poor carpenter whom he calls father. Pinocchio is really happy about it, and tries to get home as soon as possible, but is lost in his way, not sure where he is heading. As he tries to find the right directions, he meets Fox (Massimo Ceccherini) and Cat (Rocco Papaleo) who discovers that the puppet has some gold coins with him which they can use during their jobless ways. They tell him a tale about the Field of Miracles, a special place where they can bury the coins, and a tree full of money will grow rapidly. But they intend to murder the puppet and take the money. They make some fine plans for the same, and takes a room in the nearby tavern. Pinocchio is not aware of such sinister plans, and despite being warned by Talking Cricket (Davide Marotta). Can the puppet keep the money and finally get to his father who is looking for him?

The defence of Pinocchio :: The movie, as expected is a journey to a special world, and those who have known the tale before, will relate to the same very well. There is a beautiful world that provides a certain amount of enchantment close to the original version, and we have one puppet who is not familiar with the ways of humans going through. Roberto Benigni whom we know from the movie Life is Beautiful is here again playing the father figure, and that is indeed beautiful, as we remember how he managed to be a great father there – here, he is not far behind either. The one who used his imagination to shield his son from the terror within a Nazi concentration camp is not to be forgotten that easily. Marine Vacth who plays the fairy and many others also catch our attention, being out of the usual world, getting close to fantasy. With the cat, fox, snail, cricket, characters, the movie is as child-friendly as anything can get, and therefore makes itself a fine watch for the families. Well, a journey through rural Italy of those times never really gets to be less interesting for the eyes.

The claws of flaw :: Pinocchio might be different in looks from what many people might have imagined him earlier. The movie could have had a certain amount of visible magic in there too, not as being regular part of the proceedings, but as something completely out of the world. For the same, more special effects could have been used to create a visual extravaganza, because even lesser films these days seem to display the grandeur – after all, this is a children’s classic of a higher level on print. The fact that the puppet keeps falling into trouble due to not listening to the good advice makes it feel repetitive, especially for the adults who would be a long way past this tale by now – even I don’t remember most of what I read during my childhood. It could have also had more focus on the father-son relationship because the puppet as the adventurer is not of that much interest as a person, and we have to look forward to the fairy to find the next lovable character, followed by the snail. The growing nose could have also been used better.

How it finishes :: As far as the idea of Pinocchio from The Adventures of Pinocchio by the Italian author Carlo Collodi is concerned, this one manages the same well, and it is to be noted that usually the adaptations are supposed to come in the form of cartoons. Making a live-action movie with this type of characters is indeed difficult, but we can see that they have managed everything pretty well here. The Adventures of Pinocchio has been the world’s most translated book excluding religious works and had such a great impact on different cultures, also being a children’s favourite. But we see that it also explores the human condition, about what it means to be human, right here. We do have that usual child who doesn’t like to go to the school, and is not interested in obeying parents, with a certain love for entertainment and adventure over the rest, and is naive when facing the dangers of the outside world. Yes, this version is a successful one too, and you can choose to watch it, without expecting anything too special or highly innovative.

Release date: 19th December 2019
Running time: 125 minutes
Directed by: Matteo Garrone
Starring: Roberto Benigni, Federico Ielapi, Rocco Papaleo, Massimo Ceccherini, Marine Vacth, Gigi Proietti, Paolo Graziosi, Massimiliano Gallo, Maria Pia Timo, Davide Marotta, Alessio Di Domenicantonio

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@ Cemetery Watch
✠ The Vampire Bat.