7 languages, film count of 40, and a total of 44 visits to the theatres. Low-key sad I did not keep count earlier and make it to 50 :P.
I was hyped for a lot of films that came out during the first half of the year. While most of them were on point, they did not hit it out of the park. Wide-range from outright disappointments like Quantumania to the out-of-box nostalgic bangers like Mario-bros. But almost all of them fell flat like MI: Dead Reckoning. (Mind-you, that was by no means a bad movie, but also, not a great movie. Hope you get my drift.)
I’ve been speaking about Hollywood up to this point, but they took a backset for the remainder of the year with most getting postponed owing to the SAG-AFTRA strike (it was an essential one btw, read-up on it if you were unaware). What did happen in the latter half though, was a takeover of cinema by the creators at home! Boy has it been a wild-ride. So, after weeks of deliberation I’ve compiled here my list of 10 films I loved this year. Ranked! (Opinions are mine and only mine – please read disclaimer).
Sidenote –
– Movies that almost made it to this list – John Wick: Chapter 4, Maamannan, SSE-Side B, Chittha.
– Movies I wanted to watch but couldn’t squeeze in – Kannur Squad, 12th Fail, Napoleon, The Killer (sorry Fincher!)
Psst.. movie that deserved my attention but I battled through drowsy eyes – Killers of the Flower Moon. (I definitely need a re-watch)
Also haven’t watched Snyder’s Rebel Moon yet. I intend to watch both parts together.
Now that that’s out of the way, let me run it back!
10. Sapta Sagardache Ello – Side A (3/5)
This came out of syllabus for me. One of two love stories on this list. Watched this on a random morning and I was hooked right from the opening credit song. Can you call this a feel good movie? Maybe. Thankfully, Rakhshit did not let the soap slip, if you know what I mean :P. The storytelling and performance went hand-in-hand. What each character was going through, I could feel it through the frames, loved the chemistry. The characters each had well drawn-out arcs so much so that I skipped the second innings of the world cup final this year and went to watch Side-B. Also, low-key crushing on Rukmini Vasanth! This was ranked higher in this list before I watched the last film for this year that put stuff in for a toss (more on that later.).
9. Dada (3/5)
“Thavichen karaiya thediyae, thaniya manam vaadiyae
Nenjam maruthu ponen kallaanen”
Wait a minute, Kavin can perform like this?! I watched this on Amazon Prime and re-watched it two more times over the year. This is yet another feel-good film that will not disappoint however many times you watch. I liked how they dealt with the issues in the film without taking it too serious to drive across a point. A single dad, rising up to the occasion all the while trying to get his own life in order. Simple plot, simple storytelling, great result. Also, a friend like Amith might just be too good to be true, but his role was a standout!
8. Mark Antony (3.5/5)
Vibe-uh. Full on Vibe-uh. I never thought I will enjoy a Vishal film this much, that too in theatres. En thalaivan kudutha adi larndhu (afterthe big-time STR bomber) director Adhik Ravichander has finally made a comeback. A retro-setting, time-travelling, anaconda-manifesting banger of a film this! Vera-maari padam!
7. Romancham (3.5/5)
“Athmave Poo”
Let me start by saying this film gave one of the best albums this year! Coming to the film itself, bachelor roomies going about life care-free invite chaos in the form of a new-roomie who refuses to leave. Spiritually! Another simple story that was executed on point. I felt this is one film that can be enjoyed to the maximum by anyone (language and demographic no-bar!). You just cannot, not laugh at this one.
Cue Ningalkkadaranjali Neratte *does head-bob*!
6. Hostel Hudugaru Bekagiddare (3.5/5)
As I’m typing this, I realize the trend has been one of comedic screenplays for me this year! HHB is a non-meta meta film, if I can call it that. It had one of the coolest edits in a film I’ve seen. One night in a hostel and you’ll see every character you’ve come across your hostel life. Oh, did I mention, its a murder story by the way. If there’s one film on this list I’ll recommend you to watch right away, this is it. And this was also the one that sent my list for a toss! One thing I’ve realized this year is, I need to watch more Kannada films. The first one I ever did was Lucia back in 2013-14. Never went back till KGF. I’ll have to expose myself to them more or I’ll miss out on gems like these!
We’re stepping into the upper deck now. Coming in hot at 5…
5. Hi Nanna (4/5)
Genuine question. Why are Nani’s feel-good films always going under the radar. It was Ante Sundariniki last year, and Hi Nanna this year. This is one of those films that will not even be in the discussion for top films of a year, but it should be. Beautiful story-telling. Be it the romantic thread going on in this, or the father-daughter plot, Nani effortlessly portrays both and his character deals with it all with absolute grace. You can’t help but root for him. Fantastic film!
4. Oppenheimer (4/5)
Who’d have thought Albert Einstein will end up having one of the hardest lines in all of cinematic history! This is a milestone film for No-Miss Nolan! This is his first venture after parting ways with Warner Brothers (rowing over the day-and-date release of Tenet) and Christopher Nolan seems to have found a new home in Universal. I watched it twice in three days and didn’t tire despite the three-hour runtime or constant speaking. That really speaks to the mark of a filmmaker. And I am glad the world is celebrating Cilian Murphy! A story of a troubled genius, who battles with his choices and his contemporaries over what is one of the definitive moments in history and he has relationship problems! I mean, being normal and having those is a nightmare! This film was brilliance all over. I have to ask you though, “Can you hear the music?”
3. Leo (4/5)
Launched this site with this film before I put it on the back burner :P. Ideally, I wanted to write an individual post for each of the films here, but couldn’t make time. This one has a detail post here – Leo.
This was the movie I was most hyped for this year. And to me it delivered despite the obvious issue with the flashbacks. Which is why it is placed third.
Side note – This was DC’s best film that released this year. Well, actually in the last two years! Leo is a comic book film and there’s no denying it. And DC because they own the rights to A History of Violence!
2. Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse (4/5)
I gave up on comic-book based films after Zack Snyder left WB. Had slight hopes again after watching Falcon and Winter Soldier and thought maybe MCU might pick-up. I watched Andy Muschietti’s The Flash this year and got so fucking pissed and remembered all the reasons why I hated movies made by committee (ranting to the point people sitting behind us in the audi had to ask me to shut up). A week later, I watched Across the Spider-Verse just a week later. And I was reminded of every reason why I love comic books and comic-book adapted films. To me, this has never been an event-film genre or flavor of the month. I was once a gatekeeper and this genre / art-form is something that has been close to my heart forever. The original film was a home run and I don’t know how they topped it, but the sequel is a grand-slam! I am stoked for the next film. And Miles Morales’ stock rising is a long-overdue W!
No surprises for guessing my Movie of the Year, so here we go.
1. Jigarthanda DoubleX (4/5)
In a year where the cinematic conversations were dominated by the Leos, Oppie’s, Jawans and the Animals, Karthik Subbaraj came back to the big-screen after 5 years and gave a sleeper hit. In keeping with the spirit of the original, this was a meta-film. Or atleast, it seems to be till intermission. KS celverly lures you into the theatres with that promise before he takes a 180 outta nowhere. This film shows the growth KS has gone through from his debut film, Pizza, over a decade ago. I really wanted to break down this film all by itself and feel guilty that I did not make time for it. I do have the draft for it. I’ll polish it and get it out soon. To sum up doubleX –
What’s your list? Let me know if there’s anything else I’ve missed out on or that I am not aware of.
I’ll be regular this coming year. Paid too much to renew hosting not to now :D!
