RIFLE RANGE BOY

Bitter Moon (1992) Director: Roman Polanski https://www.amazon.co.uk/Bitter-Moon-DVD-Peter-Coyote /dp/B001AOHPN0 I have been reading about Polanski's brush with the law for years. In 1977, he was charged with multiple charges of drugging and raping a 13-year-old girl. Even though he made a plea bargain, upon hearing that he might be receiving a jail sentence, he absconded from the US, and till now, he has lived as a fugitive in France. He rarely travels for fear of extradition.  Even before this case, he made headlines in 1969 when the deviant followers of Marilyn Manson embarked on a violent spree, killing Polanski's wife, Sharon Tate, who was eight-and-a-half months pregnant. Polanski's 2002 film 'The Pianist' was well-received by the showbiz world. It went on to win multiple awards, including the Academy Award for Best Director (Polanski) and Best Actor (Adrian Brody). In 2008, a documentary was created about the life and times of Roman Polanski, receiving much a...

Penguin Miniseries (8 episodes) Even though it was supposed to be shot in Gotham City, we do not see a single shot of Batman or any resemblance to his existence in this miniseries. After all, it is a spin-off from Batman 2022 . It tells how Penguin turns to become a wealthy mobster that he is. It also serves as a cooling period before the first sequel to the trilogy comes out in 2027. This miniseries helps to maintain the DC Comic fans' interests before the dark-caped one makes his presence again.  The series explores Penguin, aka Oswald Cobb, 's rise to power. Often ridiculed for his physical handicap, Mama's boy decides to fight his tormentors through his devious, twisted mind and planned outbursts. From a disfigured run-around nobody, he becomes a feared gangster. Along the way, he picks up a faithful, quick-thinking sidekick. His nemesis is a lady from a gangster family who Oz killed and pocketed his new designer drug. At the end of the day, when one is well-heeled, no...

Por Thozhil (2023) Director: Vignesh Raja https://indianexpress.com/article/entertainment/tamil/por- thozhil-trailer-sarath-kumar-ashok-selvan-starrer- action-packed-gripping-thriller-8637264/ Thanks to SD for recommending this. SD is a childhood friend with a photographic memory for anything Bollywood when Bollywood was simply known as Hindi cinema. Back in school, during recess, he would attract an audience of friends who would listen as he belted out old Hindi songs and provided detailed backgrounds on the film's actors, music composers, release dates, and even the studios that produced the movies. Even now, he can still rattle off the same information after all these years. However, his interest came to a grinding halt in the 1980s when he felt that Bollywood had lost its charm. These days, SD is into Tamil and Malayalam cinema, which, he claims, are more interesting in storytelling.   This is a Tamil film that faithfully adheres to its intended genre. It is meant to be a thril...

Better Man (2024) Director: Michael Gracey The main character, who roams about in a chimpanzee suit, is the first aspect that captures your attention. The other characters do not make a fuss about this. They simply talk, hug, and interact with him as if he were one of their own. The reason is never disclosed, even at the end of the film. We only learn from newspaper interviews later that there is a hidden philosophy behind the setup. As the title suggests, the film's protagonist is inspired by the life and times of Robbie Williams from Take That. For the uninformed—including many in the intended audience—namely, the non-British—the recurring question is: "Robbie, who?" This same factor contributed to the film's lack of success at the box office. Anthropomorphically speaking, we have evolved from primates. As we transition from chimpanzees to Homo sapiens, we technically become a 'better man.' Over time, as we move into the future, we aspire to be better than t...

Sabarmati Report Director: Dheeraj Sarna https://uae.voxcinemas.com/movies/ the-sabarmati-report-hindi Numerous events occur constantly in India. With such a vast population, all possessing clear minds and no hesitation in expressing their views, skirmishes are inevitable. The issue is that resolutions or conclusions to these conflicts are rarely found. Legal processes for achieving closure and incarcerating the perpetrators are agonisingly slow. When justice is attained, the public loses interest and shifts focus to more pressing matters. The tragic fire that claimed the lives of 59 individuals in two coaches of the Sabarmati Express, which was travelling from Ayodhya to Ahmedabad on 27 February 2002, serves as an example. The train, carrying numerous volunteers and devotees, was returning from Ayodhya. During a scheduled stop at Godhra, Gujarat, chaos erupted, and before long, the passengers found themselves trapped in a burning train. Shortly after the incident, the State of Gujarat...

Squid Games 2 (Korean; 2024) Miniseries, E1-E7. Continuing with  Season 1 ,  Squid Game (SqG) moves into a new set of games featuring a fresh group of players. Admittedly, SqG 2 is not as captivating as its predecessor. The storyline is predictable, and viewers can easily discern who will survive and which characters will likely be eliminated.   Nevertheless, while engrossed in the miniseries, I noticed that the entire storyline symbolises the challenges Malaysia's thinking voters face regarding democratic governance under their duly elected government. To provide context, the games in SqG2, much like those in SqG1, involve teamwork and lethal consequences for the losers. An amendment was made to the clause allowing players to vote on whether to proceed to the next game. After each match, the accumulated betting money increases. If the players, by majority, choose to discontinue, the funds would be divided equally, and the games would be halted. Humans, being inherently h...

Clark (Swedish; 2022) Miniseries S1, E1-6 https://www.imdb.com/title/tt12304420/ I came across this miniseries after reading about Stockholm Syndrome. Clark Olofsson is the man whom the bank robber at Norrmalmstorg, Stockholm, in August 1973, wanted to be released from prison as part of the deal to free the hostages. We all know how it all went terribly wrong. The robbers were confined in the bank vault and were smoked out with poisonous gas.  It was the heady time of the late 1960s and early 1970s. The generation had a rebellious streak within them. After witnessing the world annihilate itself in World War II and observing their contemporaries bomb Vietnam to smithereens, they became disillusioned. They regarded anti-establishment acts as heroic. Bank robbery and plane hijacking were seen as political expressions.  Clark Olofsson was born into a dysfunctional family. His father is an abusive alcoholic, and Clark receives far more whippings than affection. He spends most of hi...