Timbuktu (2014) - 95min

Country: Mauritania
Director: Abderrahmane Sissako
Cast: Abel Jafri, Hichem Yacoubi, Mehdi Ag Mohamed, Ibrahim Ahmed dit Pino & Toulou Kiki.
Kidane is a cattle herder who lives with his wife and daughter near Timbuktu and his adopted son take care of the cattle. One day an unfortunate incident occurs which force Kidane to argue with a local fisherman that leads to a fight.
Timbuktu is a compelling drama with a touch of Islamic beliefs and a lot of jihadist activities. The only Mauritanian movie ever submitted for the Academy Awards for Best foreign language category and it was nominated. The football scene was a mind blowing idea from the director and he literally nails me down with that move. Sissako's frames look promising and it holds the narrative together. Overall, it's a slow poison and Sissako show us the horror side of a place controlled by jihadists.
Verdict: Good

Turtles Can Fly (2004) - 97 min

Country: Iran
Director: Bahman Ghobadi
Cast: Soran Ebrahim, Avaz Latif, Hiresh Feysal Rahman & Abdol Rahman Karim.
A 13 year old boy nicknamed Satellite is our hero who controls the entire refugee camp near the Turkish border. Every person, including governor needs him and Satellite is the star of the camp.
It's a heart breaking film from Bahman Ghobadi which talks about children's survival instinct and Bahman dedicated this movie to all innocent children in the world. Award winning cinematographer Shahram Assadi makes each scene looks simple and at the same time making a strong impression on the viewer's emotions. It was the first film made in Iraq after Saddam Hussein arrest and it won many awards. The children who act in the movie were once Iraqi refugees themselves and they possess a considerable amount of emotions throughout the movie. Overall, it's been a few weeks since I saw this movie and the ending still haunts me.
Verdict: Good

Lady Bird (2017) - 93 min

Lady Bird is an American coming of age film directed by Greta Gerwig.
Starring Saoirse Ronan, Laurie Metcalf, Tracy Letts, Lucas Hedges, Timothée Chalamet & Beanie Feldstein.
The story is set in 2002, during the South American economic crisis. Christine, who calls herself ladybird is preparing to join distant college to fly high and her family doesn't have any money to do such things.
Making her directional debut, Gerwig's show potential of a fine director, still, it's hard to digest how this film gets nominated for the Best Picture category in the first place. I don't have any problem with other nominations of the movie like best actress, best supporting actress - at least they earn those categories with the performance. Talking about the positive sides, Lady bird is unpredictable and very attractive as a character. Both Saoirse Ronan and Laurie Metcalf delivers eye catching performances. Overall, the overarching story disappoints me from the beginning and a major let down of the year.
Verdict: Average 

The Post (2017) - 116 min

The Post is an American historical drama political thriller film directed by Steven Spielberg.
Starring Meryl Streep, Tom Hanks, Sarah Paulson, Bob Odenkirk & Tracy Letts.
It tells the story of a classified information about Vietnam War known as the Pentagon Papers in the Washington Post. The story was first published in the New York Times and they were accused of violating the Espionage Act.
Spielberg focuses on the people who risked everything for the news and watch this film with little expectations. Spielberg does his best to make this newspaper movie an interesting one to watch like Spotlight. Unfortunately, the plot was so lame that you don't care whether they post it or not. Streep and Hanks shines in some areas and the Oscar nomination for Streep is questionable or she is a myth when it comes to Oscar nominations. Overall, you can try this one to watch Streep and Hanks sharing the screen.
Verdict: Average

Neelakasham Pachakadal Chuvanna Bhoomi (2013) - 137 min

Neelakasham Pachakadal Chuvanna Bhoomi is a Malayalam thriller road film directed by Sameer Thahir.
Starring Dulquer Salmaan, Surja Bala Hijam, Sunny Wayne, Dhritiman Chatterjee, Avanthika Mohan, Ena Saha & Modhubala Devi.
To find answers, Kasi decides to go on a road trip to Nagaland and He always wanted to go alone but Suni joins the party. Kasi's aim was to find his lover Assi and bring her back to his home.
It's a road movie that covers different states of India and the narrative moves at its own pace. Dulquer Salmaan and Sunny Wayne's combo makes this ride an unforgettable one and you can see Sunny Wayne at his best when he acts with DQ. The visuals talks the most and credits goes to Gireesh Gangadharan. The outstanding background score by Rex Vijayan were perfectly in sync with the story. Overall, it's a beautiful adventurous road trip and the film made a huge impact on youths who dreams to travel a lot.
Verdict: Good

The Florida Project (2017) - 111 min

The Florida Project is an American drama film directed by Sean Baker.
Starring Willem Dafoe, Brooklynn Prince, Bria Vinaite, Valeria Cotto, Christopher Rivera & Caleb Landry Jones.
The story is about a bunch of kids whose families live in motels near Walt Disney World. Moonee spends time with her friends hanging out and exploring every single corner of the motel. They cause trouble to Bobby, who works as a manager in the motel.
It's an incredible story which deals with modern poverty life of common people. The kids know everything and they simply show us how to live without tension. This is one of the best roles Dafoe ever gets in his film career and his performance as Bobby gives tough competition to other nominees in the Oscar supporting actor category. The chemistry between each character plays out well and I don't know how to express my feelings while watching the last five minutes of the film, especially the glimpse of a kid makes the day for me.  Overall, it's a masterpiece you don't want to miss and I utterly loved it.
Verdict: Great

City of Life (2009) - 120 min

Country: United Arab Emirates
Director: Ali F. Mostafa
Cast: Alexandra Maria Lara, Sonu Sood, Saoud Al Kaabi, Narcy, Jason Flemyng & Natalie Dormer.
It is an urban drama that tells three stories which are connected to each other in one way or another. A rich Arab boy who invites trouble, a ballet dancer who works as an air hostess and an Indian taxi driver who dreams to become an actor.
The three main characters struggle with their life and they all need a push to move forward with their lives. The story that outshines everything is Sood's taxi driver life struggle which crosses every aspect of a common life. The movie is in three languages and its an insight journey to show what Dubai looks from the inside. This is a well made film from a country like UAE and looking forward to see more movies from the director. Overall, it's a decent movie from Mostafa and his directional debut makes a promising future to UAE.
Verdict: Good

Grandmaster (2012) - 130 min

Grandmaster is a thriller film directed by B. Unnikrishnan.
Starring Mohanlal, Priyamani, Anoop Menon, Narain & Jagathy Sreekumar.
Chandrashekhar, an IPS officer is in charge of the Metro crime stopper cell and the main aim of the cell is to control crimes even before it happens. He plays chess to refresh his mind and a serial killer challenges him to play a deadly game which is connected to his personal life.
It's an adaptation of  Agatha Christie's detective novel 'The A.B.C Murders'. If you ask me which is your favorite movie of B.Unnikrishnan, without any hesitation I will answer it's Grandmaster. Due to the intelligent script and the way he presented it makes this crime mystery movie a fascinating one to encounter. The haunting background music from Deepak Dev was superb. Watching the complete actor Mohanlal performing a down to earth role is a treat for common audience and am I the only one who wish to see him in this type of dignified roles. Overall, it's a thriller that slowly captures your attention and the suspense was nicely held towards the end.
Verdict: Good 

Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri (2017) - 115 min

Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri is a drama film directed by Martin McDonagh.
Starring Frances McDormand, Woody Harrelson, Sam Rockwell, John Hawkes & Peter Dinklage.
It's been seven months since Mildred's daughter was brutally raped and murdered. There is no progress in the case, so she decides to rent three billboards to get local authorities' attention.
It isn't just about Mildred, she starts off something and like a chain reaction one thing leads to the other kind of tantrum. McDormand delivers yet another memorable character after Fargo. Talking about Rockwell's performance, I mean what the hell dude??? The underappreciated actor gives no clue at all about what's going on in his mind and that's the way he presented Dixon's role. The voice of Woody Harrelson makes more impact than his performance. Ever character contributes to the story in one way or another. There is no suspense or surprise in the movie, but the story is unpredictable from the beginning till it finishes. Three billboards received seven nominations in 90th Academy Awards and probably grabs Best actress, best supporting actor awards. Overall, the award winning playwright Martin McDonagh comes up with yet another incredible movie to see and a highly recommended movie of recent times.
Verdict: Brilliant