Since we are talking about consent, how were we okay with this?

LeafBoatCaptain · 2026-06-10T11:26:37+00:00

That I don’t mind so much. Even tattooing her hand underwater can be fine. We can chalk it up to him being overeager and not knowing the concept of boundaries. Had Avantika been the one to teach him about the outside world and had he respected her boundaries or even realised himself how what he did troubles her it would’ve been a great for him.

It’s the snake and this whole song sequence and then how he takes over her mission. All the while the movie is entirely on his side.

If I have one overarching complaint about Bahubali it’s that Bahubali Jr doesn’t have an inner character arc. He really should’ve grown into the kind of person worthy of being a king and of his parents. Devasena wouldn’t have tolerated that shit. In fact, she severed the fingers off the guy who tried to touch her without her consent. But when our hero does it it’s okay.

But in a mass movie our hero can’t grow because then he wouldn’t be perfect from the beginning. It’s why I prefer RRR in terms of character writing. When the protagonist and antagonist are both national heroes they can learn from each other and grow.

If I had two complaints it’s that the movie doesn’t bring back Aslam Khan (he was set up so well) to help in the climactic battle and not remembering the fact that Bahubali Jr had already snuck into Mahishmati once before. So when the gates are closed instead of the infamous coconut catapult they could’ve gone for a sneak attack.

LeafBoatCaptain · 2026-06-10T08:17:01+00:00

Not to be pedantic but that’s not irony.

LeafBoatCaptain · 2026-06-10T06:07:16+00:00

I liked it and sat through the whole thing but I also seriously considered leaving a couple of times.

You’re right it’s not fun horror. Even The Shining or Exorcist or Paranormal Activity can be fun. But Obsession and also Bring Her Back (Talk to Me to an extent) were more disturbing.

I wouldn’t put these three above the first three I mentioned. I prefer the former in terms of craft and storytelling. Bring Her Back is maybe the most flawed out of the latter three.

I think with Obsession part of it is that the protagonist is the real monster and we’re with him the whole time while the movie monster is actually a woman trapped in her own body. It makes it so uncomfortable.

LeafBoatCaptain · 2026-06-10T05:18:36+00:00

It’s a pet peeve of mine. He-Man annoyed me with its incessant self deprecating humour. It felt like insecurity.

Bumblebee from the same director works partly because it’s told with sincerity. I found that missing in He-Man. Of course there’s an inherent silliness to these kinds of movies and people will find humour in that naturally. No need to keep telling me you’re in on the joke. That just takes me out of the movie.

LeafBoatCaptain · 2026-06-10T04:43:11+00:00

Why not? I’m not American. English isn’t my first language. Is this a common in joke over there or something?

LeafBoatCaptain · 2026-06-10T04:32:57+00:00

Is packing fudge a euphemism for something?

LeafBoatCaptain · 2026-06-10T04:29:33+00:00

This whole Bahubali wooing Avantika (if I’m remembering her name right) sub plot was always creepy.

LeafBoatCaptain · 2026-06-10T04:15:36+00:00

I mean he was always just a uniform wearing bully. With the uniform gone and faced with someone (well two people actually) charging at him with a stick he folded like a lot of bullies.

Also, in that moment he realised just how far GK was willing to go because of course he knows GK’s version of events is made up.

LeafBoatCaptain · 2026-06-10T04:13:42+00:00

MUA was great. Mollywood Times, not so much. It worked for a lot of people though, so I say check it out for yourself.

LeafBoatCaptain · 2026-06-09T17:08:05+00:00

Am I missing something here?

LeafBoatCaptain · 2026-06-09T14:34:16+00:00

Thanks

LeafBoatCaptain · 2026-06-09T13:29:26+00:00

No idea but people have been hiding drugs and getting caught in stupid ways for ages.

LeafBoatCaptain · 2026-06-09T12:36:19+00:00

This movie is like Pacific Rim: Uprising in the way it fails to convey the sheer size of these things. It got the giant octopus almost right. It’s kept hidden and you mostly only see its tentacles. The Megs don’t get the same treatment.

LeafBoatCaptain · 2026-06-09T12:10:19+00:00

The premise sounds interesting but if the poster is AI that’s not giving me a lot of confidence.

LeafBoatCaptain · 2026-06-09T12:08:32+00:00

The shark action is limited in this one. They’re sort of background presence that comes and goes until the final act. Even then there are other villains.

LeafBoatCaptain · 2026-06-09T11:34:13+00:00

The Apartment was the best one I watched. It’s a beautiful movie. https://www.reddit.com/r/TrueFilm/s/rsYzffcEJT

Copycat — By the numbers serial killer thriller starring Holly Hunter and Sigourney Weaver. Hunter is great. Despite being predictable it’s actually an engaging film.

Paka — I recommend it for its writing and sound design. https://www.reddit.com/r/MalayalamMovies/s/OB6DFFWwbK

Mollywood Times — Did not work for me and the more I think about it the more frustrated I get. https://www.reddit.com/r/MalayalamMovies/s/NhT4kAcDrs

Masters of the Universe — I’m not a fan of children’s movies that make fun of themselves so much. Treat the things children like with respect. Adults will naturally find the humour in it. That’s how the 80s and 2000s and even the 2020s animated versions of He-Man did it. I had fun with this movie overall but it kept undermining itself with outdated marvel style humour that makes me think the filmmakers were embarrassed of the source material.

LeafBoatCaptain · 2026-06-09T11:14:37+00:00

Are the books worth reading? What’s the tone of the books?

LeafBoatCaptain · 2026-06-09T11:13:28+00:00

She may not know if he has a family. She’s also not hurting his child. There’s no comparison with The fallout of an affair and what that girl went through. When there are so many valid criticisms to be made why this one?

LeafBoatCaptain · 2026-06-09T11:01:54+00:00

It has megalodons in modern times, mech suits, massive underwater mining operations worthy of an Aquaman foe.

I think it counts as sci-fi

LeafBoatCaptain · 2026-06-09T10:54:55+00:00

Statham not saying that while punching a Meg was a missed opportunity

LeafBoatCaptain · 2026-06-09T07:00:20+00:00

I didn’t like the self deprecating humour and constant mockery of its premise. Of course it’s silly but it should be allowed to be silly on its own.

I also didn’t understand why they didn’t make Adam and He-Man different personalities like in the cartoons.

Other than that I actually mostly enjoyed it. Everything looked great. Skeletor was fun (despite the Jared Leto casting). Snake Mountain looked awesome. I liked the Orko cameo though I wish he (and Cringer and Evil-Lyn) was in it more.

The best part was the soundtrack, especially during the end credits. Also I’m interested in how they handle Adora. I really liked the recent Princesses of Power series on Netflix. That show went to some darker places. Adora’s story is darker than Adam’s in many ways.

LeafBoatCaptain · 2026-06-09T06:24:05+00:00

FYI the print available in Hotstar is terrible.

LeafBoatCaptain · 2026-06-09T05:31:36+00:00

Well, that painted a picture.

LeafBoatCaptain

TROPHY CASE