The Founder [2017]

After watching bs[in my opinion, at least] like Passengers and xXx : The Return of Xander Cage, this film released, and the fact that it had something, nay, a lot, to do with McDonald’s attracted us all to the film. So, how does the film perform?

The Founder, first up, is based on the real-life story of how Ray Kroc came to acquire McDonald’s, and his history with the McDonald brothers, who were the founders. The story begins with Ray Kroc, who was then a travelling salesman, trying to sell milkshake makers and failing hard. He has a supportive wife Ethel and has saved up enough money to live a reasonably comfortable life, but Ray is not one to settle for small pleasures; he wants to achieve great success in life.

One day, Ray gets an unusually large order[6 milkshake makers] from a far-off diner. This is pleasantly surprising for Ray, considering he struggles to sell even one a day, and even that after much haggling. When he visits the diner, he’s in for more surprises. He is impressed, to say the least, with the fast service, good quality of food and the family-oriented atmosphere there; something that was sorely missing in all the other diners he’d been to. This was Ray Kroc’s first brush with McDonald’s. He takes so much of an interest in the McDonald’s diner after checking out the premises, that he signs on the dotted line to work under the McDonald brothers as someone who would expand the diner, without a second thought to any of the conditions and stipulations on the contract. I don’t want to reveal any more of the story for fear it might spoil the sense of discovery one feels when they watch or read something for the first time.

The plot is nothing short of brilliant; the adaptation of this real-life events to screen is fluid, and not a thing is amiss.Of course, there might be some creative liberties taken by the makers, but the plot progression of the film itself is spot-on. At no point does the film feel like it’s slowing down or such. The 1950s setting has also been recreated really well. As far as acting is concerned, Michael Keaton playing the lead role of Ray Kroc, is on point and is easily the best part of the film, with Nic Offerman[as Dick McDonald] and John Carroll Lynch[as Mac McDonald] playing strong supporting roles in the film. Laura Dern as Ethel, Ray’s wife, does well too, however her role is too short to make a significant impact.

This is the best film I’ve seen since the mind-screw that was The Chaser. So, as you’d expect. I strongly recommend The Founder to anyone who likes movies based on historic events or real-life incidents.

RATING : 9.5/10

PROS :
– solid acting, especially from Michael Keaton
– amazing plot
– good pacing

PASSENGERS [2016]

I watched this film about a week ago with my friends in 3D, so let’s talk about it now. So, is this Chris Pratt-Jennifer Lawrence starrer any good?

The movie starts off with a contingent of about 5,000 people in stasis, going off to a new planet named Homestead II in a starship named Avalon; a journey which lasts for 120 years. Along the journey, Avalon collides with a large asteroid that happens to be in its path. The resulting impact fries some important conections in one of the passengers’ hibernation pods. As a result, Jim Preston, a mechanical engineer, wakes up from his stasis, and gets out into the huge starship. As he wanders around, he makes contact with just the ship’s bartender Arthur, who is really an android.

Of course, he is surprised to discover that he is the only one awake in this journey, and finds out after asking some questions that the journey is still 89 years from completion. This really puts him in a binder, as for all he knows, he’s just going to die in the ship, alone for ever. After trying every thing he could to get into stasis again and failing, he is pushed to the brink of suicide. But then, he notices the beautiful Aurora Lane in one of the hibernation pods, and grows to like her more and more after reading her writings. Now, a new quandary strikes him; does he bring Aurora out of stasis for some company and love, or does he let her be?

This is how the film begins, and revealing any more might spoil the story, such as it is. Because even though the concept looks good on paper, it isn’t all that great on screen, because of the events that keep transpiring. It is really slow, and I found myself dropping off on multiple occasions. It actually felt sort of like the space version of Titanic to me at a certain point, and not in a good way. Nothing much happens for a substantial period of time in the film, which really sucks because the acting is pretty solid. Chris Pratt as the unfortunate Jim Preston is brilliant in most every way. Jennifer Lawrence as Aurora Lane looks great and does well in her role as the writer, and so does Michael Sheen as the android bartender Arthur. Laurence Fishburne has a cameo role[sort of] towards the later part of the film, and he does great as well. The CGI is undoubtedly one of the strengths of Passengers. The starship Avalon has been amazingly well-rendered, and the infinite space looks nothing short of gorgeous from the interiors of the ship.

Overall, I myself wouldn’t really recommend this film to you unless you are a true-blue fan of the lead actors.

RATING : 6.3/10

PROS :
– CGI is great
– solid acting

CONS :
– weak story
– way too many unnecessary events prolonging the film
– ending isn’t all that satisfying

 

AJIN [SEASON 2]

The second season of Ajin finished airing just about ten days ago. Those of you who haven’t yet caught up on the anime after the season one cliffhanger, get ready to jump on the hype train! [Spoilers ahead for those who haven’t seen S1]

So the first season ended with Nagai Kei and his new companion Nakano Kou making a break and escaping the clutches of Tosaki and Shimomura. And in the meantime, Satou has issued an ultimatum to the Japanese government to include provisions for ajin to be treated as normal human beings, and to stop using them as guinea pigs for experimentation. The alternative being that Satou and his fellow ajin go after 15 officials who are the main culprits regarding this matter. The second season picks up from there, with Satou beginning to make good on his promise. On the other end, Nagai and Nakano want to stop Satou from executing his master plan, but they are severely lacking on manpower. Nagai comes up with the idea of pairing up with one of the main officials in secret so that this issue ceases to remain an issue anymore. And guess who that is… Tosaki himself!

                                                                  Way too OP…

The story is pretty fast paced, as it was in the first season. And it doesn’t waste time in pleasantries of any sort. The action keeps moving from Satou’s perspective to that of Nagai and Tosaki, and these switches have been handled well, so that the viewer is not distracted in the least. And as it was in the previous season, the action scenes are amazing; especially the ones where Satou goes berserk in killing people, they are truly badass moments in the show. The characters have been further developed, and some backstory for Tosaki and Shimomura comes in too. Nagai and Co. are great, no doubt about that. But my favorite character would be Satou, as is only to be expected. The guy says so many awesome things in his trademark nonchalant style; the writers did a fantastic job with this particular role. It’s as if he is the anime version of Vaas from FarCry 3. And just in case you don’t know this guy, let’s just say he is still the best villain I’ve seen in a game yet.

The only real issue with Ajin is the same as it was with the first season; the frame rates. I know that the production crew decided to do it the hard way and make it a 3D animated show, and I laud them for it. The actions are remarkably human-like, as a result. But more than occasionally, you’re left trying to see if you can differentiate one frame from another during some of the quieter moments of the show. Other than that, the show is pretty slick.

In conclusion, I would personally recommend Ajin to anyone who watches anime, and have done it on numerous occasions already. If for nothing else, just for the amazingly haunting background score that plays at the beginning and end of each episode…

RATING : 9/10

PROS :
– good plot pacing
– action scenes are even cooler
– amazing background score
– Satou-san OP
– improved 3DCG

CONS :
– frame rate is still a bit unsatisfactory