Tag: Anime

10 Greatest Movies of This Decade!

So another year goes by with you doing absolutely nothing, and you wonder on your couch, “Is there any other bad news?!”. Okay then, sorry to break it to you but it’s been a decade and you are still a couch potato! 😛 But before we move into another decade, (unless you are reading this from the future; oh hey there, time traveller!) here’s a list of 10 greatest movies from this decade that you shouldn’t miss:

#10 Detective Byomkesh Bakshy

Poster by Ashraf Ghori

Set in 1942’s war-torn Calcutta, Detective Byomkesh Bakshy is India’s answer to R-Rated thriller films from Hollywood! Made by Dibakar Bannerjee, the film is a perfectly crafted mystery-thriller based on the characters created by Sharadindu Bandyopadhyay and is a must-watch if you are into gore and historical detective films.

Get this film: https://amzn.to/35Jvtgr

#9 Alita Battle Angel

A Visual Masterpiece!

Adapted from the Japanese manga: Gunm, Alita Battle Angel story of a teenage cyborg girl, in search for her forgotten memories… After Avatar, James Cameron does it again with this amazing flick and a whooping budget of $170 million! The film is a world-building and a visual masterpiece and I definitely recommend it to those who are into SciFi, Anime and VFX stuff!

If you don’t watch it on a 3D Blu-Ray, you are definitely missing a lot; So grab your copy of Alita Battle Angel here: https://amzn.to/34IsXG5

Alita Battle Angel 2D HD: https://amzn.to/34GmRpB

4K UHD and HD: https://amzn.to/34G2KI8

#8 Tumbbad

Remember all those bedtime stories by your granny? Now imagine a bedtime story, making it to the big screen and being darker that the word ‘dark’ itself: yup, that’s Tumbbad for you. The intriguing part is that the film has been marketed as a horror movie without ghosts and surprisingly it’s the perfect description. With a spine chilling conclusion, the film delivers a powerful message about the word it is entirely based on: GREED!

#7 The Babadook

Okay, I will be totally honest with you guys: most horror movies don’t really scare me! But I swear to God that The Babadook has zero jump scares, yet it’s one of the scariest horror films I’ve ever watched! The Babadook is actually a metaphor for mental health issues and this is what makes me add the film to the list! Seriously go and watch it to learn why ‘the more you stay in denial, the stronger your problems get’?

Get the movie right now: https://amzn.to/2Mc503l

#6 Train to Busan/Busanhaeng

Train to Busan is not another cliche zombie film, instead it’s a roller-coaster of emotions, an edge-of-seat thriller and a Korean flick that won laurels at the Cannes Film Festival! The world definitely has something to learn from these amazing Korean horror flicks!

And by the way, this may seem kinda random but if you like my content, do give me a follow on my Instagram, just click here! 🙂

#5 Bioscopewala

Bioscopewala is a really unique adaptation of Rabindranath Tagore’s Kabuliwala. It’s actually the continuation of Tagore’s story, with a modern touch and some major changes, but simultaneously retaining the spirit of the original story. The film begins with Mini’s struggle, trying to recollect her childhood memories with the Kabuliwala… Or should I say the Bioscopewala?

Click here to watch Bioscopewala for free, only on Hotstar!

#4 The Founder

Now we all are familiar with a popular story from the self-help industry, the one about Colonel Sanders, aka the guy who knocked thousands of doors because he wanted to sell his mother’s fried chicken recipe… And he would then become the founder of KFC! But, have you ever wondered why you weren’t told the story of Ray Kroc, the controversial founder of McDonald’s? I geddit, you seem kinda worried why Ray’s (the founder) name doesn’t end with ‘McDonald’… Well then, I wouldn’t ruin this film for you but let’s just say that it is kinda a great but a sad story about the dark beginnings of our favourite hamburger chain!

#3 A Silent Voice/ Koe no Katachi

A tale of redemption, and how a bully falls in love with his own victim. Koe no Katachi is about Shouko Nishimiya, a clinically deaf girl who is mercilessly bullied. Years later, one of her bullies regrets his deeds and begins his journey, to meet her and seek forgiveness, only to fall in love!

#2 The Hundred-Foot Journey

An Indian family moves to France and sets up a restaurant opposite a well-established French haute cuisine restaurant, which has earned a Michelin Star. An intense professional rivalry breaks out between the restaurateurs. With a never seen before plot and splendid actors like Om Puri, Helen Mirren and Manish Dayal, this is one of my all-time favourites.

Get the movie here: https://amzn.to/35IqgWq

#1 Your Name/Kimi no Na wa

Did you ever think that an anime film can be ranked #1 on the list of greatest movies of this decade? Well then, think again! There’s definitely a reason why hollywood’s planning a remake (and trying to ruin it )… At first, Makato Shinkai’s Your Name may look like any other teenage romance films but, you will be surprised to see why it stands out among others in the genre! ‘Body-swapping’ is one of those elements, which has probably never been used in a romance film. With an ingenious storytelling and spellbinding artistry, this has to be one of the greatest movies of the decade! <3

Honourable Mention: Parasite (2019)

Parasite deserves a special place on the list!

If you are reading this, then I believe that you must be fortunate enough to have internet access; Now, take a moment to think about those who not only lack internet access but even basic necessities, cause that’s what Parasite is about: the gap between the social hierarchies of the rich and the poor. Parasite begins as an ingenious comedy film, and then mutates into an edge-of-seat thriller! It delivers a powerful message about materialistic greed and comfort, making it worthy of an honorable mention!

Currently, your understanding of the film must be 0, after watching the trailer it’s gonna be -1! LOL!

In conclusion, that’s all for now… Make sure you watch these! And see you next year, in a new decade with some fresh new content! 🙂
Thank you for reading and a very Happy New Year!

December 20, 2019
5 Reasons to Watch Alita Battle Angel

There’s a brutal, tear-jerking story behind that blood (Image Courtesy: Alita Battle Angel/ 20th Century Fox)

Yukito Kishiro’s creation has finally made it from the black and white pages of the classic manga, to the ultra-realistic environment of the big screen. Here are 5 convincing (spoiler-free) reasons to watch Alita Battle Angel:

#5: Fantastic Worldbuilding

Set in a post-apocalyptic 26th century world, the film vividly shows-off it’s dystopian landscape full of rusted infrastructure in the Iron City and a floating city called Zalem, just above it. The Iron City serves as the residence for the poor and is infested with criminal cyborgs and ruthless folks. Winning the Motorball game is apparently the only way for one to make it to the Zalem. There are numerous other minute details which have been taken care of and can be seen in the film.

So enough with the details, I must say that although the movie may lack a proper narration, it succeeds in worldbuilding, especially because this particular element serves as the set-up for… shhhhh…

I won’t be giving any spoilers!

#4: It breaks the ‘Anime/Manga Live-Action Adaptions Are Crap’-Stereotype!

Alita has to be the only live action adaptation of a manga that I actually loved! And no, this isn’t just my opinion, but go browse the web for reviews by the Otaku community and you won’t believe your eyes! They are absolutely in love with it!

Although people were initially creeped-out due to those photo-realistic anime eyes, the manga distinctly mentions that Alita had unusually big eyes and dude, SHE’S A CYBORG! There’s nothing wrong with those eyes! In fact, they are lively, expressive and serve to make her look larger then life and adorable (or is just me who thinks she’s adorable?)!

Do I need to say anything else about this?

#3: The fast paced action sequences will put any Kung-Fu movie to shame

This blockbuster, had the best action sequences in the history of films and NO, I’m not exaggerating it in any way! Kudos to Rodriguez and his team for the fantastic fight direction!

Alita uses a special form of combat called the Panzer Kunst. As per the Battle Angel Fandom Wiki:

Panzer Kunst is the first fighting style developed to anticipate cyborg combat. Its foundation is fighting in zero gravity, a prerequisite for all space age martial arts, which allows the practitioner to fight in any atmosphere. Panzer Kunst seems to emphasize speed as well as the use of vibration-based attacks to bypass an opponent’s cyborg armour and directly cause damage to limbs or internal organs. The art is also quite effective against larger foes.

#2: Rosa Salazar’s Brilliant Performance & Alita’s Character Development

Imagine wearing a black spandex like costume with multiple markers attached to your body, face, along with some batteries and cameras attached to your head, and the director shouts, “ACTION!”. This is what Rosa had to go through for the entire filming process! In spite of this, she succeeds in bringing the character to life with those expressive eyes (and with the VFX team of course!).

Okay, I’m sorry! Just don’t kill me for obsessing over those eyes! 🙏

*Me when someone says Alita has creepy eyes 👀* (Image Courtesy: ABC10)

Talking about the character development, Alita, being the titular cyborg and getting ample of screen time, shows significant development in the movie.

“Alita Battle Angel is about a girl who is plopped into the world not knowing who she is and she goes on a journey of self discovery and discovers that she’s not an insignificant girl at all. She is someone quite extraordinary!”

-Rosa Salazar

Initially, she is shown to be a playful, joyous, lively and a vulnerable girl, who’s learning and adapting to the new environment after 300 years of sleep. She’s powerful, yet thinks of herself to be an insignificant girl. This changes later, as the plot progresses, making her more confident about herself.

#1: It’s a Cameron Masterpiece

(Image Credits: 20th Century Fox/ YouTube)

Oh come on, this reason alone should be enough to convince you to watch the film (at first, it was the sole reason I wanted to watch it!). After all, he’s known for great films like Avatar and Titanic. Not to mention the technology developed specially for his films since Alita used the same tech used in making Avatar, alongside some new one. The VFX is totally outta this world! And of course, it’s not just James Cameron; Jon Landau produced it too, while it was directed by Robert Rodriguez.

Cameron went crazy after reading the manga and immediately registered the site domain for film about 20 years ago! Yeah, you read that right! 20 YEARS AGO! He delayed completing the script since he was busy with Avatar and hence the time.

So have I convinced you enough to watch Cameron’s baby and the labor of his love? Comment below; Clap and share if you liked it!

You can watch Alita Battle Angel on YouTube, Google Play Movies or Amazon Prime Video!

And if you are a fan of horror flicks, have a look at my other article about Tumbbad, a non-cliche horror film which is art at it’s best: 10 Facts About Tumbbad That Will BLOW YOUR MIND!

Thanks for reading, you are awesome and yeah, GO watch Alita Battle Angel! 🙂

February 17, 2019