Un-kvlt Year in Review 2022 (Movies) - The Runner-Ups and the Losers

After the previous 3 Un-kvlt installments where I talked about the movies that rocked my boat in 2022 - Ep 01, Ep 02 and Ep 03 - These are the ones that either didn't quite make the cut or disappointed me big time.

Movies that were decent (Cliched but solid, or ambitious but seriously flawed):

Candyman (English, Prime)

The presence of Jordan Peele in the creative team for the 2021 Candyman reboot was a major attraction, since his presence at least indicated that this would not be some thoughtless cash-in on a known IP. Candyman 2021 is not a traditional remake, but in fact a sequel that incorporates into its backstory the events of the 1992 movie and revisits the setting nearly 30 years later. For me the film works a lot better on paper than on the screen. One of its problems is trying to depict a wide-ranging take on race prejudice within its fantasy universe in a very limited time-frame. The film does get stronger in the climax, where it more fully realizes its horror potential. But even here, it does not reach the heights of the original, losing some of its majesty and mystique in favor of being a social justice cry. (Reviewed on this site HERE)

'83 (Hindi, Netflix/Hotstar)

The story of how the Indian cricket team under Kapil Dev's captaincy went from being complete underdogs to winning the World Cup in 1983 is an incredible and inspiring saga. Sadly director Kabir Khan and his team barely do it justice. The screenplay defines lack of focus, reducing what could have been a gripping tale of courage under fire to a collage of mostly forgettable moments and some puerile patriotic jingo. A small measure of cheer comes from Ranveer Singh's uncannily faithful portrayal of Kapil Dev, but if the aim had been to make an Indian equivalent to Chariots of Fire, then they certainly dropped the ball on this. (Reviewed on this site HERE)

Malayan Kunju (Malayalam, Prime)

This survival saga starring maverick actor Fahadh Faasil is a film of 2 uneven halves. The first is a dragged-out anemic prologue lacking sufficient richness in the narrative to justify the build-up. Thankfully though, this is followed by a superbly executed gripping and visceral second half, masterfully captured by the production crew and performed by Faasil with complete involvement. A shorter, tighter film with less backstory (and less of AR Rahman's spoon-feeding score) would have been a total winner. (Reviewed on this site HERE)

KGF-2 (Kannada, Prime)
The 4-year delayed follow-up to 2018's breakout success gangster drama continues the swagger, and even takes it a notch higher. This is a movie where our gangsta hero can among other things:

• Barge in unannounced into the Prime Minister's working chambers and swag at her, while she hisses ineffectively.
• Have a helicopter hovering above his lawn when his fiancee whines about the lack of breeze.
• Single-handedly assault a police station with a large caliber machine gun to recover a single gold biscuit.

The film's canvas feels genuinely big, and while the strokes are broad, they are also unabashedly virile, with some epic visual moments. What I would criticize is the deja vu occurring over the course of this two-part narrative. The danger of painting in broad strokes is always that there's not sufficient detailing for the characters. A lengthy symphony cannot be composed solely of overtures, and this is where KGF-2 flounders. (Reviewed on this site HERE)

Kaun Pravin Tambe? (Hindi, Hotstar)

Actor Shreyas Talpade, who debuted as a budding cricketer in Iqbal, returns as another underdog trying to make it in cricket. This is the true-life story of Pravin Tambe, a club cricketer who persevered with the game despite not being selected for any national tournament up to his 40's, which is when most sportspeople start to talk about retirement. KPT? has some nice Sai Paranjpe style touches in depicting the Tambe family's lower middle class life and Pravin's struggle to hold various jobs while continuing with cricket. The script is formulaic and most of the characters are etched in broad strokes. But if you like cricket in general, I thought this was better than those bigger-budget cricket movies. (Reviewed on this site HERE)

X (English, Prime)

In X, an amateur movie crew in 70's Texas go to shoot a porno movie on a remote farm owned by a strange and surly looking guy. This is like director Ti West's post Rob Zombie world take on Texas Chainsaw Massacre. It is in some parts good fun, with some canny split-screen juxtaposition and some nice humor, in others it's uninspired or eye-rolling stupid. Since it's Ti West, you know there's going to be a lot of visual nods to the period. It's not a classic but it's not a bad choice for a popcorn movie night. Definitely more engaging than The Innkeepers.

Nna Thaan Case Kodu (Malayalam, Hotstar)

NTCK got a lot of hype, but I didn't find it engaging. This satire tries to take a leaf from Chaitanya Tamhane's Court in capturing the rhythms of a legal proceeding and infusing it with some legal-political farce elements. It is effective in parts. Kunchako Boban's lead is the best element, creating a credible character even when the goings-on around him aren't especially so. But the film meanders a good deal, and sometimes it feels that humorous elements have been forced in to maintain a certain tone. This could have been an entertaining farce at about 100min. At nearly an hour more, the appeal is significantly diminished.

Prey (English, Hotstar)
This new feature in the Predator franchise goes back in time to the 18th century, with a native American protagonist, played by an actual Native American Amber Midthunder. I think the best thing about Prey is that it doesn't spend too much time building the mythology or connecting to previous installments in the franchise. It's never particularly memorable, but it's breezy and has a fair amount of old-skool action. Overall, not a bad way of passing time. 

Movies that sucked / I didn't care for:

Bheeshma Parvam (Malayalam, Hotstar)

This Mammootty starrer directed by Amal Neerad is not as infuriatingly dumb as Mohanlal's film Lucifer, but there's a lot to be desired for in this umpteenth desi take on The Godfather series. BP is less a movie and more a collection of visual and narrative elements the maker fetishizes over. The camera zooms and pans over a medley of 1980's era-specific inanimate objects for no reason other than that Neerad wants to show you how much he was invested in the production design. Inversely the writing is devoid of detail and texture, and emotional moments are negated by a creative sensibility more concerned with the period paraphernalia than the characters. (Reviewed on this site HERE)

Kadaisi Vivasayi aka The Last Farmer (Tamil, SonyLiv)

My favorite Indian movie critic Baradwaj Rangan's enthusiastic review of The Last Farmer suggested an "organic" humanist narrative with an ecological bent. My viewing at the cinema however had me wincing at what I thought was a homily-dropping "arid" slog, hard to "plough" through, and with only few redeeming elements, like Vijay Sethupati's wandering hermit character. Only recommended if you really missed the farming tips from those agricultural programs on Indian National television in the 80's.

Chup: Revenge of the Artist (Hindi)

A mystery film where movie critics are being bumped off by a mysterious killer. Director R. Balki may be a deep lover of ‘cinema’, I don’t know. But in this thriller that's really more filler, what I see is the reduction of that love to some shallow 'reference' scenes that serve as rare quirky respite in a trainwreck narrative with wafer-thin characters and zero emotional engagement. About the only time I whole-heartedly cheered in this movie was when 90's Bollywood's angry hero Sunny Deol yelled out his favorite catchphrase, "Bastard!". Instead of 'Chup' they might as well have called it 'Dabba', which would have served as both reference to the celluloid cans we see in the film AND a pertinent self-critique of its hubris.

Vikram (Tamil, Hotstar)

Lokesh Kanagaraj's previous action drama Kaithi was entertaining masala that had an organic build-up and made you feel for the main characters, so even the exaggerations towards the end could be taken in stride. Vikram is the opposite, so labored and contrived it is sad to think it came from the same guy. The effortless flow and interlocking of scenes in Kaithi is replaced by a jerky unstable narrative that struggles to do justice to its star lineup. The action has the same jerky quality as the writing. If anything Vikram is proof that all this talk about Bollywood films failing  before South movies because people want better content is BS, because I can't imagine anyone that cheers for this bilge having particularly high standards in cinematic entertainment. (Reviewed on this site HERE)

I'm not primarily a series watcher (either on TV or Streaming), because I find it hard to give the time commitment, but I did happen to catch these and you may find them interesting.

TV Series / Mini-series:

The Devil's Hour (English, Prime)

This mini-series on Prime where a suspected serial killer is connected with a single mother and her emotionally-diverse child is a sort of Silence of the Lambs meets The Sixth Sense meets Groundhog Day. The characters have intense obsessive personalities and dark secrets, the crime scenes are gruesome and no one is allowed to feel happy for long. But at the same time it's not misanthropic and does have a sense of humor. On the whole, it is cliched and contrived, but still nicely polished and frequently effective. Fans of mystery/horror dramas can definitely give it a shot. (Reviewed on this site HERE)

As We See It (English, Prime)

The first 8-episode season of this series deals with the lives of 3 adults on the autistic spectrum in very different ways. The three share an apartment where they are guided towards becoming more independent by a behavioral therapist who is the other main character. Autism is a difficult topic as the central theme of a series. To keep things palatable to a general audience, the writing remains on the side of heart-warming when it showcases the troubles faced by the autistics, and the people around who are affected by their behavior. There is a certain amount of pat problem solving and "Love conquers all" element, but I suspect anything else would make it a downbeat niche kind of show. On the whole, quite watchable.