Misha Saji

An interesting concept for a movie. But the execution didn't match up. Acting was neither bad nor good. But the worst part other than the disjointed scenes are the illogical plot holes. How can you not recognize your own sister? Did she have a plastic surgery and kept her old face as a mask for the future?!😅😅 That twist mask scene reminded me of Dhoom 2, but at least there it sort of worked because that movie itself was not meant to be taken seriously. But that trick didn't work here and rather than be surprised i had a good laugh instead. Chumma veruthe kanan patiya cinema.

Arjun Reddy takes a nuance in story-telling and character development in Telugu filmography. The titular character played by Vijay Devarkonda is aptly performed and well written to relate to the audience (mainly male audience) the turmoil of a complicated love story. But this same ingenuity was lost when it came to the female character as she was potrayed as a passive persona who was constantly forced into various situations without her consent that almost borders on an abusive relationship. The lack-luster character was not only lacking in complexity, but was also poorly written and therefore tedious to watch.

As a person who has read the manga Hot gimmick, the movie is a tacky and cringy potrayal of the story with a plot of about 54 chapters which is impossible To condense but yet done so poorly, with bizarre editing and terrible characters. The original Hatsumi was not a dull, weak willed, indecisive girl as potrayed in the movie. In fact she actually has somewhat interesting and humorous character which was completely lost on the live action version. But the worst was the male characters especially the main lead who all came across as actual sociopaths who was borderline abusing her throughout the movie. There was zero chemistry between the main couple and overall the movie is a waste of 2 hours worth of time.

A beautiful adaption of the book of the same name by Dianne Wynne Jones by the Masterful animation studio Ghibli. Like all of his works, Hayao Miyazaki introduced us to yet another gorgeous world of magic with an equally engaging story.The movie has taken some creative liberties in trimming away unnecessary plotlines and few characters from the book. But despite this change the story is brilliantly woven back together which didn't stray too far from the source. The picturesque animation interspersed with melodious background music sets the mood for the whimsical and mystic aesthetic. The characters especially Sophie and Howl and their inner conflicts are well presented with redeemable character arcs given for characters such as Witch of the West who was presented as the villian at the beginning of the movie. However, it does not have a deeper complexities and conflicts of morals like many of the other Ghibli well-known movies other than maybe a coming of age story interpreted from Sophie's character transformation. A concept they did harboured on was the consequences of war which could have been elaborated if they hadn't resolved it with convenient plotline at the end rather than bring a satisfying solution to it. And there is a bit of pacing problem as the plot seemed to drag at certain points and rushed at the end. Otherwise it is a spectacular movie that you can watch with your family.