Category: Movies

A Honest Review: Family Man – Season 2

by Harikrishna Puranik, posted in Movies

I was a Vocal Critic of Indian TV Series

In all possibility, I never imagined I would be writing a review of an Indian TV series. To start with, I am not really a fan of Indian entertainment industry for its over use of stereotypes, illogical dramas and the story lines that seem to be headed no where. No offence to the Industry, but it wasn’t my cup of tea. I guess the only series I watched was Scam 1992, and that too was since it was related to Stock Market.

But the fact that trailers of “Family Man 2” was making so much of noise in the social media, be it for its perceived racial prejudice or for other reasons, intrigued me. I had not seen the season 1, so had to start there to play catch up before the Season 2 came out.

Couple of episodes, and man, I was hooked. Again, with the Title like “Family Man” I knew I had to sit through some family dramas to get to the gripping “Espionage” Storyline, the reviews had promised. But surprisingly, what got me pressing Play on the next episode, was the timely comedy between JK and Shri. The Chemistry between those too, the Comedic timing, dialogue delivery, is upto the mark with some of the best sitcoms in the industry. The Production values too are Very impressive.

The Writers are sensible enough, to not diverge off in one direction and play the mix & match card with different frontiers of the story line. Atleast for me, this is something which was missing in Indian TV Series. Overall Suspense factor was quite good, although there were occasions where the plot line was quite predictable (or may be I have just gotten used to watching so many Jack Rayns 😉 )

A big salute to the casting team, all the actors are well suited for the roles. New faces, One timers, washed up former stars, or the one guy who always plays supporting characters, all falls into place perfectly. I liked the dialogue delivery of Srikant Thiwari, well I guess no one can use Indian sware words that efficiently.

So, after the fast paced 10 episodes and a cliff hanger (I wont spoil it for those who haven’t watched Season 1), I was now ready for Season 2.

Season 2

I had lost all my inhibitions with season 1, and was really looking forward for season 2.

For a moment when I played the Episode 1, I presumed Amazon has again messed my default language and switched it to Tamil. Only after a few minutes I understood the brilliance of the producers to let the story give a hint of authenticity to the characters. I was egarly waiting for the recap/recall on what happened in the end of season 1, but they kept it on hold till mid of the episode. But no complaints! Its not as if they forgot it completely (like the “what the hell happened in Lonwalla” storyline)

Again, the chemistry between the actors are quite great. The weird boss, who was trying to emulate McConaughey of “Wolf of Wall-Street”, The physco -therapist, The growing bond between JK and Shri, and JK many more expedition for getting out of single life, the typical Indian story of a dysfunctional family. Yet again the perfect Dialogue delivery of Srikanth, fast paced story line and amazing production values (just that one continuously shot scene at beginning is enough to make a point). And to address the elephant in the room. Samatha!! A famous South Indian actor trying her luck in Bollywood, that’s not new. But her transformation to act in such a demanding(may be a little controversial? I will come to it later) and delivering a powerful performance, now that’s something refreshing.

Coming to the plot line, it was really brave of the team to tackle such a taboo subject. But I guess they have done a fairly good job. As the line goes “All South Indians are not Madrasis” the clever dialogues tries to show the diversity of India. Usually In Bollywood movies, they tend to label people based on the ethnicity. Gujrathi has to be a businessmen, Bengalurian has to be a techie, Bengali has to be a Babu and so on and so forth. I feel the show tried to break those line. It was funny enough, for those who understood the reference, with the moves of the PM. As per my disclaimer, I am not gonna touch the topics of a strained marriage, teenage kids, corporate jobs, etc, which too is played well into the storyline.

The most impactful aspect in season 2 is how they try to highlight the fact that in todays world, how good and bad is not as clear as black and white (no, its not a mistake, I switched the colors deliberately). We live in a grey world, where a hero or a villain is all based on which side of the line you are standing.

And there is also a hint of Season 3!!

PS: Any ideas for Similar Shows?

9 Feel Good Movies to Wind up 2020

by Harikrishna Puranik, posted in Movies

Thanks to the lock down, we have had more than our share of movies for the year. But, the below movies have something, which we all craved for in 2020.

You’ve had a bad day. You’ve had a bad week. You’ve had a bad year!!. And sometimes, you’re not in the mood to watch “the best” films. There’s nothing wrong with The Godfather, but if you’re feeling low, it’s probably not the film you want to watch while you’re down in the dumps. Sometimes all you want is a movie that can lift your spirits.

Trying to find a good movie to watch is hard enough, but trying to find, specifically, a happy movie to watch can be extra difficult. Sometimes you just need a pick-me-up, and the right film at the right time can do wonders to improve your mood. That’s the power of storytelling, especially on a feature-length scale, and Hollywood isn’t lacking in films that make you happy without forsaking quality.

These movies are all terrific, that carry an uplifting message that is earned, thoughtful, and will definitely leave you smiling as the credits roll.

  1. UP

This is a masterwork from Pixar, which is leading the charge in modern animation. The movie was directed by Pete Docter, who also directed “Monsters, Inc.,” wrote “Toy Story” and was a co-writer on “WALL-E” before leaving to devote full time to this project. So Docter’s one of the leading artists of this latest renaissance of animation.

It begins with a romance as sweet and lovely as any I can recall in feature animation. Two children named Carl and Ellie meet and discover they share the same dream of someday being explorers. In newsreels, they see the exploits of a daring adventurer named Charles Muntz (Christopher Plummer), who uses his gigantic airship to explore a lost world on a plateau in Venezuela and then bring back the bones of fantastic creatures previously unknown to man. When his discoveries are accused of being faked, he flies off enraged to South America again, vowing to bring back living creatures to prove his claims.

Nothing is heard from him for years. Ellie and Carl (Edward Asner) grow up, have a courtship, marry, buy a ramshackle house and turn it into their dream home, are happy together and grow old. This process is silent, except for music (the elder Ellie doesn’t even have a voice credit). It’s shown by Docter in a lovely sequence, without dialogue, that deals with the life experience in a way that is almost never found in family animation. The lovebirds save their loose change in a gallon jug intended to finance their trip to the legendary Paradise Falls, but real life gets in the way: flat tires, home repairs, medical bills. Then they make a heartbreaking discovery. This interlude is poetic and touching.

2. The Shawshank Redemption

The Shawshank Redemption is based on a short story written by Steven King and directed by Frank Darabont. The movie portrays the bond being shared between two men during the years of their imprisonment who share emotions and find solace in each other, ultimately paving their way to salvation. The movie also shows how to maintain one’s self significance in the most disintegrated and hopeless place. It leaves us with “PERSISTENCE AND PERSEVERANCE ARE KEY TO SUCCESS”.  Keep your mind occupied when you are going thru difficult times. I agree the beginning of the movie may be a little depressing. But trust me. Sit through and you are up for a wonderful thriller.

3. Sisters Act

When lively lounge singer Deloris Van Cartier (Whoopi Goldberg) sees her mobster beau, Vince LaRocca (Harvey Keitel), commit murder, she is relocated for her protection. Set up in the guise of a nun in a California convent, Deloris proceeds to upend the quiet lives of the resident sisters. In an effort to keep her out of trouble, they assign Deloris to the convent’s choir, an ensemble that she soon turns into a vibrant and soulful act that gains widespread attention.

Many of Goldberg’s scenes are funny, and there’s an older nun (Mary Wickes) who has some great one-liners, and when the swinging nuns start rocking in the choir, that’s almost as funny in the movie as it was in the trailer.

4. The Pursuit of Happyness

Life is a struggle for single father Chris Gardner (Will Smith). Evicted from their apartment, he and his young son (Jaden Christopher Syre Smith) find themselves alone with no place to go. Even though Chris eventually lands a job as an intern at a prestigious brokerage firm, the position pays no money. The pair must live in shelters and endure many hardships, but Chris refuses to give in to despair as he struggles to create a better life for himself and his son.

Gardner, played by Will Smith, endures homelessness with his young son, with grit and determination. The Pursuit of Happyness teaches us You can’t let people discourage you from your dreams. It’s okay if people don’t believe in your dream as long as you believe in it yourself. We can also learn that there should never be any excuse not to try. And its never too late to start something new. Acting of both the Smith`s is heart touching.

5. Forest Gump

Forrest Gump had a below average IQ of 75, yet he he still managed to teach Elvis how to dance, receive a football scholarship from the University of Alabama, be named to the All-American team, meet John F. Kennedy and Lyndon B. Johnson, receive the medal of honor for his heroism in Vietnam, play in ping pong diplomacy against Chinese teams, have an interview on the Dick Cavett show with John Lennon, meet President Nixon and expose the Watergate Scandal, create the extremely successful Bubba Gump Shrimp Company, invest in Apple computers thereby becoming a millionaire, run across the U.S. just because he felt like it, and in the end became an awesome father. He teaches us to be authentic, Don’t let others to turn you down, channel the pain into something productive, don’t be afraid of being honest, Dedication will take you places, so do what you love.

6. The Terminal

Steven Spielberg and Tom Hanks have made, “The Terminal,” a sweet and delicate comedy, a film to make you hold your breath, it is so precisely devised. It has big laughs, but it never seems to make an effort for them; it knows exactly, minutely and in every detail who its hero is and remains absolutely consistent to what he believes and how he behaves.

The hero is named Viktor Navorski. He has arrived in a vast American airport just as his nation, Krakozia, has fallen in a coup. Therefore his passport and visa are worthless, his country no longer exists, and he cannot go forward or go back. Dixon the customs official (Stanley Tucci) tells him he is free to remain in the International Arrivals Lounge, but forbidden to step foot on American soil.

Spielberg, his actors and writers (Sacha Gervasi and Jeff Nathanson) weave it into a human comedy that is gentle and true, that creates sympathy for all of its characters, that finds a tone that will carry them through, that made me unreasonably happy.

There is a humanity in its humor that reminds you of sequences in Chaplin or Keaton where comedy and sadness find a fragile balance.

7. Cast Away

Cast Away is a dramatic story of an ordinary man facing an extraordinary situation. Tom Hanks, playing as a FedEx delivery supervisor, whose plane unfortunately crashes into the ocean. He is in an isolated island as the sole survivor of the terrible crash. There he lives a solitary life full of uncertainties and depression. He tries to cope with new environment with his wit and feeble camping skills. As a survivor, Tom Hanks attempts every strategy possible to live on the island. The thought of reuniting with his family becomes his reason to live. The movie celebrates the rediscovery of life’s simple joys as it features Tom Hanks’ struggle with the natural environment. It also signifies the importance of hope and persistence.

PS: 3 Tom Hank Movies in a Row!? No wonder he is called the sweet heart of the Hollywood 🙂

8. The Martian

When astronauts blast off from the planet Mars, they leave behind Mark Watney (Matt Damon), presumed dead after a fierce storm. With only a meager amount of supplies, the stranded visitor must utilize his wits and spirit to find a way to survive on the hostile planet. Meanwhile, back on Earth, members of NASA and a team of international scientists work tirelessly to bring him home, while his crew mates hatch their own plan for a daring rescue mission.

9. The Bucket List

Corporate billionaire Edward Cole (Jack Nicholson) and working class mechanic Carter Chambers (Morgan Freeman) are worlds apart. At a crossroads in their lives, they share a hospital room and discover they have two things in common: a desire to spend the time they have left doing everything they ever wanted to do before they “kick the bucket” and an unrealized need to come to terms with who they are. Together they embark on the road trip of a lifetime, becoming friends along the way and learning to live life to the fullest. Each adventure adds another check to their list, all done with insight and humor.

Plus, we get to see two Legends sharing the screen for the first time!!

So, Let me know in the comments, how many movies are you watching this holidays!

Movies to Make you ROFL

by Harikrishna Puranik, posted in Movies

Hello folks!! I haven`t posted anything on the blog, for quite sometime now. Also I have been accused of forgetting my roots as a movie/media blog, and turned into a full-time therapist. Guilty is charged!! So today I am going to share with you some Movies that made me laugh, hoping to bring some joy and laughter during these stressful times.

Shaun of the Dead

Shaun of the Dead | Own & Watch Shaun of the Dead | Universal Pictures

This acerbic action comedy introduced a winning combo: sparring buddies Simon Pegg and Nick Frost and master of style Edgar Wright, who dreamed up the script with Pegg. He plays a sad sack who turns out to be more brave and adept at slaying the walking dead than he ever would have thought. And he gets the girl. More Working Title collaborations followed, but the first time out was the charm: mash up a witty British romance and a zombie gorefest, and hilarity ensues.

https://www.netflix.com/gf-en/title/70003227

The Heat

Amazon.com: Watch The Heat | Prime Video

This yin-and-yang teaming of Sandra Bullock and Melissa McCarthy as mismatched cops in a summer buddy comedy was Paul Feig’s wildly successful ($230 million) follow-up to “Bridesmaids.” Bullock’s ambitious, uptight and trim FBI agent is forced to team with McCarthy’s sloppy, overweight, profane, maverick Boston cop in order to nab a nasty drug lord. Feig’s casting combo was inspired, as McCarthy’s anarchic improv loosens up Bullock’s controlled comic timing.

https://www.netflix.com/at-en/title/70259168

Zombieland

Is 'Zombieland' available to watch on Netflix in America? - NewOnNetflixUSA

You’d be hard-pressed to find a more fun zombie comedy Zombieland. Stars an a-list cast as a group of characters that must resolve their many many differences band together and survive in a post-apocalyptic zombie world and maybe find a Twinkie along the way. Zombieland doesn’t really do anything new with the genre but its sheer sense of goofy fun it’s referential take on the zombie genre headed stellar cast make it a classic. The Bill Murray scene alone places zombie land in the pantheon of the all-time great zombie comedies. It’s ridiculous but it’s also a ton of fun.

https://www.netflix.com/in/title/70123542

Spy

Spy DVD Release Date | Redbox, Netflix, iTunes, Amazon
https://www.netflix.com/gb/title/80027379

Spy Spoof Genere is as old as the James Bond Movies itself, and I assumed that I have seen it all. But Spy, is a completely different movie all together. Simultaneously broad and progressive, Spy offers further proof that Melissa McCarthy and writer-director Paul Feig bring out the best in one another — and delivers scores of belly laughs along the way.

Tropic Thunder

Is 'Tropic Thunder' available to watch on Netflix in America? - NewOnNetflixUSA

Director Ben Stiller’s Tropic Thunder is, in my opinion, one of the last decades best comedies and has yet to be surpassed. As a gross-out meta-satire, wickedly on point and revelling in its irony, Tropic Thunder sends up Hollywood, war movie tropes, celebrity and method acting with shiny bright performances from its cherry-picked cast. It is a formidably funny spoof. The smartest, dumbest, and arguably one of the best comedy movies. Starring names such as Ben Stiller, Robert Downey Jr, Jack Black, and Tom Cruise among many well known names, this movie is a real good time.

https://www.netflix.com/dk-en/Title/70097582

The other guys

The Other Guys (2010) - Rotten Tomatoes

Will Ferrel and Mark Wahlberg star as Allen Gamble and Terry Hoitz, two under-achieving New York cops who, along with everyone else on the force, live in the shadow of the two super-cops, Christopher Danson (Dwayne Johnson) and P.K. Highsmith (Samuel L. Jackson). When an unexpected turn of events puts Danson and Highsmith out of commission, Allen and Terry decide to step up and take on an investigation of their own, leading to a tangle with foreign operatives, and an arrogant billionaire. This movie had me cracking up from start to finish, with the most over-the-top humorous dialogue between Will Ferrel and Mark Wahlberg.

https://www.netflix.com/title/70127228

As many of you requested, I have added the netflix links.

Hope you guys enjoy these movies as much as I did!

My Take on Movie “The Parasite”

by Harikrishna Puranik, posted in Movies

For Quite some time now, the movie Parasite is making a buzz. Apart from being a box office hit, it also won an Oscar for Best Picture, Making History as first foreign film to do so. Described by its creator as “a comedy without clowns, a tragedy without villains”, Parasite is a tale of two families from opposite ends of the socioeconomic spectrum, slip seamlessly from murder mystery, via monster movie, to dystopian future-fantasy and beyond.

For some reason, I have been putting off watching this movie. Somehow, I cant watch a movie thru its subtitles. Its hard to concentrate on the acting or the expressions, while your eyes are glued to the CCs. And I never felt comfortable watching a Korean Movie. Last night I somehow took up the courage to watch the hyped movie. And I am not regretting the decision now 🙂

The Plot

As in all my posts, here is your spoiler alert!

If you have not watched the movie yet, Please skip directly to the last section of this post

Ki-woo Kim (Choi Woo-Shik) is a young man living in poverty in the slums of a nameless South Korean city with his family – father Ki-taek Kim (Song Kang-ho), mother Chung-sook Kim (Jang Hye-jin), and sister Ki-jung (Park So-dam). The family lives in a garden unit where they struggle finding a Wi-Fi signal to sneak into in order to get access to the Internet to watch TV, get fumigated on, and have to watch men urinating in the alley outside their home. They make ends meet by doing menial tasks such as folding pizza boxes – and even then, get criticized by the pizza employees for messing up the boxes. Ki-woo’s wealthy friend Min-hyuk pays the family a visit, giving them a gift – a rock that is supposed to bring those who have it wealth and prosperity. He then tells Ki-woo that he has been tutoring the teenage daughter of a very wealthy family. He is leaving to study abroad but is in love with the daughter, and knows that any of the other university boys would steal her away. He wants Ki-woo to be her tutor, knowing he will watch over her so that Min-hyuk can propose to her once she graduates high school. Ki-woo knows he isn’t qualified since he isn’t in college, but Min-hyuk promises to vouch for him, and so he agrees and has Ki-jung forge credentials for him to take to his interview.

Ki-woo interviews at the very wealthy Park family where he meets Mr. Park (Lee Sun-kyun), his scatterbrained wife Mrs. Park (Choi Yeo-jeong), and their children, teenage daughter Da-hye and young son Da-song. Ki-woo realizes he needs to flirt with Da-hye to get the job, and he does – Mrs. Park pays him an exorbitant amount of money and mentions they need an art tutor for Da-song. Da-song had a traumatic incident where he saw a “ghost” in the house and had a seizure and has been needing help with his art. Ki-woo introduces them to Ki-jung, who forges documents for herself and goes by “Jessica,” and she too begins making money hand over fist. When the Park’s limo driver takes her home, Ki-jung leaves her underwear in the car in order to get him fired: she then suggests her “Uncle” as the new driver – who is really Ki-taek. The last position is that of the housekeeper, Moon-kwang (Lee Jeung-eun). She has worked for the home since before the Park family lived there – she worked for the previous owner, an eccentric architect. In order to get her fired, the Kims exploit her allergy to peaches, causing her to have allergic reactions: they then convince Mrs. Park that she is seriously contagiously ill and cannot be around their son. She leaves, devastated, and Mrs. Kim is given the job, fooling the Park family into hiring the entire Kim family.

The Kim family enjoys their massive increase of income, and when the Park family decides to leave to go camping for Da-song’s birthday weekend, they take the opportunity to stay in the huge Park house for the weekend. They spend the evening drinking and eating and making a mess of the place when the doorbell rings: it’s Moon-kwang. She claims she was fired so quickly she left without being able to get something and just wants it back. Mrs. Kim reluctantly lets her in, and Moon-kwang runs into the basement and begins screaming, opening a secret passage behind some shelves. She goes to her husband, Geun-sae (Park Myung-hoon), who has secretly been living in the bunker ever since the previous owner moved out in order to hide from loan sharks. She gives him food while Mrs. Kim looks on in horror – she tells Moon-kwang she needs to leave, and as Moon-kwang begs her to let them stay, the rest of the Kim family (who had been eavesdropping) falls off the stairs and into view – and they call each other “dad,” etc., which Moon-kwang films on her phone, realizing the con the family has pulled. She threatens to send it to the Park family and uses that so she and her husband can force the Kim family to do their bidding.

The Kim family manages to get the upper hand on them, getting them into the secret bunker, but the Park family calls: they’ve canceled their camping trip due to rain and will be home in eight minutes. The Kims scramble, trying to clean up as much mess as they can, keeping the other two in the basement. They manage to do a good enough job that the rest of the family is able to hide while Mrs. Kim gives the Parks their dinner – when Moon-kwang breaks out and runs upstairs, Mrs. Kim shoves her back down the stairs, where she hits her head and is severely wounded. Moon-kwang and Geun-sae are locked in the bunker. Mr. and Mrs. Park end up sleeping in the living room in order to keep an eye on Da-song who is camping out in the backyard, forcing the Kims to stay under the table, frozen all night, even as the Parks complain about Mr. Kim’s smell – and then later, have sex. Eventually, in the dead of night, they are able to sneak out. They return home to find their apartment completely flooded with rain and sewage. Ki-woo takes the rock, and the family sleeps in a shelter for the night.

The next day, Mrs. Park decides to throw an impromptu party for Da-song. The Kim family, in their roles as help, are invited and have to pretend that they don’t know that there are two people locked in a bunker under the house. Ki-woo takes the rock down into the bunker, where Moon-kwang has died and is ambushed by Geun-sae, who bludgeons him in the head with the rock. He then enters the party, where he stabs Ki-jung in the chest. The party explodes into horror, and Da-song has a seizure – Geun-sae was the “ghost” he had seen in the house prior. Mr. Park screams at his driver, Mr. Kim – who is trying to stop Ki-jung’s bleeding – for the car keys to take his son to the hospital, and he throws them to him. They land under Geun-sae, who is fighting with Mrs. Kim. She manages to kill him by stabbing him with a meat skewer. Mr. Park gets the keys but expresses disgusts at Geun-sae’s smell – this triggers Mr. Kim, who snaps and stabs Mr. Park, killing him. Mrs. Park faints as Mr. Kim flees.

Ki-woo wakes up in the hospital, where he had been in a coma for weeks. He finds out that Ki-jung has died, and he and Mrs. Kim are sentenced to probation. There has been no sign of Mr. Kim, even though the police have been searching for him for Mr. Park’s murder far and wide. Ki-woo leaves the rock in a river and observes the former Park house where he sees the lights flickering – Ki-woo translates the flickering from Morse code, and learns Mr. Kim is controlling them from inside the bunker, where he is now living, sneaking upstairs for food from the new owners. Ki-woo writes his father a letter back, resolving that someday he will become wealthy enough that he can buy the house and their family can be reunited.

Key Take Away`s

Critics have various meanings for the title of the movies. But what I deduced is How the Kim`s family lives in the Parks Family` s lifestlye. An alternate theory can be analysed as Parasite is a movie that taps into a rich cinematic tradition of unreliable servants with an intimate knowledge of their employers, an intimacy that easily, and inevitably, congeals into hostility

its a cunning, thrilling, dark humoured movie. if you are ready to follow the entire movie (for 2 hours long) thru the sub titles, you are up for a treat !!

Learning Through Movies

by Harikrishna Puranik, posted in Movies

Now that we are in the lockdown and struck at home, what’s the one thing we all are doing?? Don’t tell me its doing the dishes and mopping the floor!!! Anyways, atleast as per Google, its Binge Watching! There is a significant increase in the viewership of content streaming services like Netflix and Amazon Prime.

Contrary to popular belief, I am not going to lecture you here on how binge watching can be counterproductive, you should read a book instead, learn something new blah blah… When life throws lock down at you, you binge watch!!

But why not watch which is fun, as well as leaves you with something after you have finished watching? There is a up and coming concept of self-development called “Learning thru movies”. Here, a coach or a PD teacher engages the audience with a movie instead of the typical lecture. He or she typically plays the movie, pausing wherever necessary to dig deeper into understanding the concepts behind that scene.  Visual learning is one of the powerful methods to retain the concepts learnt. Also, there is the added advantage of learning by association, where the students associate themselves with the character of the movie as the plot unveils. I have tried this technique in a couple of classes and have witnessed wonderful results. So, here are some movies you can watch and learn something from it while you have fun. And, since I am going to explore some of the plots, here is your spoiler alert!!! 

1. THE REVENANT

Equal parts revenge saga and survival story, The Revenant was inspired by the frontier tale of Hugh Glass, who in 1823, against all odds, endured a mauling by a grizzly and abandonment to his fate by his fellow fur trappers. The Revenant teaches us resilience, persistence and the importance of “Hope” in our lives. Leonardo DiCaprio`s Oscar Winning performance is cheery on the top.

2. THE PURSUIT OF HAPPYNESS

Gardner, played by Will Smith, endures homelessness with his young son, with grit and determination. The Pursuit of Happyness teaches us You can’t let people discourage you from your dreams. It’s okay if people don’t believe in your dream as long as you believe in it yourself. We can also learn that there should never be any excuse not to try. And its never too late to start something new. Acting of both the Smith`s is heart touching.

3. KUNG FU PANDA SERIES

Ok, hold on. Don’t dismiss It yet as an animated kids’ movie. I bet you can’t stop watching the 2nd and 3rd movies in this trilogy once you complete the first one. The movie imparts lessons about continuously challenging oneself to be better and the importance of having good mentors. And there are no accidents in life. There’s no Bigger Pain than not Doing Something You Love. Everyone has their unique form of motivation. Its who decides how your story ends.

Ok, hold on. Don’t dismiss It yet as an animated kids’ movie. I bet you can’t stop watching the 2nd and 3rd movies in this trilogy once you complete the first one. The movie imparts lessons about continuously challenging oneself to be better and the importance of having good mentors. And there are no accidents in life. There’s no Bigger Pain than not Doing Something You Love. Everyone has their unique form of motivation. Its who decides how your story ends.

4. ROCKY SERIES

Unless you’ve been living under a rock for most of your life, I’m sure you are familiar with the name Rocky Balboa. Played by Hollywood action legend Sylvester Stallone, Rocky was the title character of six boxing drama films that chronicled his rise from an unknown battler to the heavyweight champion of the world. In each successive film, Rocky was confronted with various life crises, ever-stronger opponents, and his own aging body. Throughout the series, Rocky came to define the perennial underdog, continually drawing strength from the struggles he faced to overcome the odds and succeed. Rocky teaches us to never quit. Being down doesn’t necessarily mean you are out. You make your own destiny.  One of the best series to binge watch. 

5. The Shawshank Redemption         

The Shawshank Redemption is based on a short story written by Steven King and directed by Frank Darabont. The movie portrays the bond being shared between two men during the years of their imprisonment who share emotions and find solace in each other, ultimately paving their way to salvation. The movie also shows how to maintain one’s self significance in the most disintegrated and hopeless place. It leaves us with “PERSISTENCE AND PERSEVERANCE ARE KEY TO SUCCESS”.  Keep your mind occupied when you are going thru difficult times. I agree the beginning of the movie may be a little depressing. But trust me. Sit through and you are up for a wonderful thriller.

6. 12 Angry Men

With a small cast of 20+ people, shot in a single room, black and white, still 12 Angry Men never stops to amaze me even today. 12 Angry Men chronicles the murder trial of an 18-year old boy from a slum, charged with stabbing his father to death. It is about a jury of 12 different individuals from distinct backgrounds; given the task of deciding unanimous whether the boy is guilty or not. Considered one of the best movies, it teaches us the skills of influencing, handling a team, understanding group dynamics, Negotiation, Risk taking, Sticking to your gut, Importance of Communication. Its nothing short of a quick MBA course.

7. Forrest Gump

Forrest Gump had a below average IQ of 75, yet he he still managed to teach Elvis how to dance, receive a football scholarship from the University of Alabama, be named to the All-American team, meet John F. Kennedy and Lyndon B. Johnson, receive the medal of honor for his heroism in Vietnam, play in ping pong diplomacy against Chinese teams, have an interview on the Dick Cavett show with John Lennon, meet President Nixon and expose the Watergate Scandal, create the extremely successful Bubba Gump Shrimp Company, invest in Apple computers thereby becoming a millionaire, run across the U.S. just because he felt like it, and in the end became an awesome father. He teaches us to be authentic, Don’t let others to turn you down, channel the pain into something productive, don’t be afraid of being honest, Dedication will take you places, so do what you love.

8. Cast Away

Cast Away is a dramatic story of an ordinary man facing an extraordinary situation. Tom Hanks, playing as a FedEx delivery supervisor, whose plane unfortunately crashes into the ocean. He is in an isolated island as the sole survivor of the terrible crash. There he lives a solitary life full of uncertainties and depression. He tries to cope with new environment with his wit and feeble camping skills. As a survivor, Tom Hanks attempts every strategy possible to live on the island. The thought of reuniting with his family becomes his reason to live. The movie celebrates the rediscovery of life’s simple joys as it features Tom Hanks’ struggle with the natural environment. It also signifies the importance of hope and persistence. (Additional Watching; The Terminal, movie with a similar theme)

9. Catch Me if You Can

Frank Abagnale, Jr. (Leonardo DiCaprio) worked as a doctor, a lawyer, and as a co-pilot for a major airline — all before his 18th birthday. A master of deception, he was also a brilliant forger, whose skill gave him his first real claim to fame: At the age of 17, Frank Abagnale, Jr. became the most successful bank robber in the history of the U.S. FBI Agent Carl Hanratty (Tom Hanks) makes it his prime mission to capture Frank and bring him to justice, but Frank is always one step ahead of him. No matter if you associate yourself with Frank for his resourcefulness or with Carl for his persistence, they both teach you so many life lessons. Confidence is the key to success, experience is never a match for your skills, don’t fear the unknown, Never give up!!