All posts by Absar Ahmad

Born on 3rd January 1989 in Aligarh, India. I have completed my Masters degree in Communication Studies. I believe "Cinema" is a very powerful tool to communicate with masses across the world.
Articles, The Star of The Week

Jason Momoa – All You Need To Know About Him

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Jason Momoa born Joseph Jason Namakaeha Momoa in 1979 on a beautiful island of Hawaii, is an American Hollywood actor. Jason has starred in a dozen movies so far in his career, and most of his movies are average in terms of box office value as well as public acceptance. He has also starred in over half a dozen TV series that includes the likes of Game of Thrones and Baywatch-two of the most famous and successful TV series of this century.

Jason Momoa
Jason Momoa

The 39-year-old muscular hunk is over 6 feet tall (6 feet 3 inches to be precise) and has a huge female fan following around the world. Jason’s stroke of luck came when the famed Hollywood companies DC Films and Warner Bros. Pictures decided to cast him as Arthur Curry AKA “Aquaman”. Jason Momoa has starred in the last two DC movies along with the other superheroes of the DC Extended Universe (DCEU). In Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice he had a little part to play and was only there to make DC lovers understand that the DCEU has a counterpart of Avengers Thor. However, he created an impact in the Justice League with his swashbuckling style, heavy tone, and authoritative acting.

It is expected that his forthcoming movie – Aquaman – will be a milestone in his career. The movie is predicted to earn in excess of $800 million, making it one of the biggest hits of the year.

Read More About Aquaman Here

Personal Life of Jason Momoa:

Jason Momoa is married to Lisa Bonet, who is 12 years older than him. They have two lovely kids – a boy and a girl. Jason identifies himself as a religious guy and practices Buddhism. He often visits Tibet in China for religious purposes. The Braven actor also loves tattoos and has plenty painted on his body-adding a distinct charm to his personality and giving unique touch to the character of Aquaman.

Interesting Facts About Jason Momoa:

# The dashing actor was slated to appear in 2016 blockbuster – The Magnificent Seven. However, he dropped out due to his busy schedule and commitment with Aquaman.

# The most famous and distinguished tattoo of Jason is a half-sleeve on his left forearm. The tattoo is a tribute to his family god “Aumakua”.

# The Sugar Mountain star has a step daughter named, Zoe. And, he loves her a lot like his own kids.

# Our beloved Aquaman has also auditioned for a role (not known) in Marvel’s Guardians of The Galaxy. Imagine, what would have happened, if he was not casted as the Aquaman? Probably, we would not be rooting him this much as we do now.

# Jason Momoa is the first world-famed superhero belonging to the underwater world. Sounds great isn’t it?

# In an interview recently, Jason told that he used to jump from cliffs as kid and he did the same on an occasion for the promotion of his upcoming movie.

# The Game of Thrones star Karl Drogo loves playing guitar and drums.

# Jason Momoa has studied Marine Biology for some time. How strange that now he is playing the role of lord of the water in Aquaman!

# He has also worked as a lifeguard in the Gulf Coast. Well, it appears as if Jason Momoa was destined to be the Aquaman oneday!

List of Jason Momoa Movies:

  • Aquaman (2018)
  • Braven (2018)
  • Justice League (2017)
  • Once Upon a time in Venice (2017)
  • The Bad Batch (2016)
  • Sugar Mountain (2016)
  • Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice (2016)
  • Debug (2014)
  • Road to Paloma (2014)
  • Wolves (2014)
  • Bullet to the head (2012)
  • Conan the Barbarian (2011)

List of Jason Momoa TV Series:

  • Baywatch (1999-2001; Famous American drama; Jason appeared as Jason Loane), Johnson
  • Family Vacation (2004)
  • Game of Thrones ( appeared as Khal Drogo in 10 episodes)
  • Frontier (appeared as Declan Harp)

Notable Performances of Jason Momoa:

To be true, I haven’t seen most of the movies starring Jason. So, in this section, I am only writing about the performances that I have watched and appreciated of Jason Momoa.

  1. Justice League (2017) starring Gal Gadot, Ezra Miller, Ben Affleck, and Henry Cavill; was the fourth most expensive film of all time  at the time of its release. Jason appeared in the role of Arthur Curry/Aquaman and won accolades not just from the public but critics also for his impressive performance. His long hairs, trident, and heavy accent were a treat to watch for superhero movie lovers. I personally liked the scene where Arthur Curry stops the water in the labyrinth and saves his friends. You watch it below:

2. Once Upon a time in Venice (2017) an action comedy; in the film Bruce Willis was compelled to perform some difficult tasks for a gang’s leader performed by Jason Momoa. The film was a box office bomb and was snubbed by public and critics alike.

3. The Bad Batch (2016) starring Jim Carrey, Keanu Reeves alongside Jason Momoa was selected for Golden Lion Award. The movie was based on people who are dumped outside Texas because they are deemed as anti-social elements by the society; Jim Carrey played the role of a Hermit in the film. Jason’s performance as the Miami Man was appreciated all around. The Bad Batch to was a box office bomb, but received some positive response from the critics.

Apparently, I have not seen any TV series that Jason has worked in, so I am not writing about it. Moreover, I am really hoping that in two weeks time, I will add a paragraph more on Jason Momoa’s performance in Aquaman film.

Written by: Mirza Yusuf Faiyaz & Absar Ahmad

Adventure Movies, American Movies, Fantasy Movies, Hollywood

Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald – Movie Review

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After the huge success of Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them in 2016, here comes the much-awaited second part of the Fantastic Beasts film series – Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald. Many professional movie reviewers in India and abroad have literally thrashed this movie; with some even going to the extent of saying that this is the worst movie in the Wizarding World franchise. I suggest don’t bother to even think about them. Just watch the movie and decide yourself instead of being influenced by these ‘well-established’ movie reviewers.

While Fantastic Beasts one was based almost entirely in the US, the part two takes place in the European cities of London and Paris. The Crimes of Grindelwald has much resemblance to the Harry Potter series-be it the Harry Potter theme music or the mesmerizing featuring of the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, and not to forget our beloved Albus Dumbledore. The film evokes a feeling of nostalgia in you.

Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald – Storyline:

Set in the year, 1927, the film starts with Grindelwald detained by the Magical Congress of the United States of America, MACUSA). As expected, he tricks MACUSA officials and escapes with his associate to Paris. Meanwhile, Newt Scamander (Eddie Redmayne) is back in England and has been banned from International travel the magic ministry.

However, his brother (an auror) offers him to come onboard as an auror to hunt down Credence in exchange of lifting travel ban to which Newt gladly reject. All of a sudden, Jacob Kowalski and Queenie Goldstein makes an appearance in Newt’s home. Newt asks about Tina and gets to know that she is searching for Credence in Paris on orders of MACUSA.

The Wizarding world is left divided and in grave trouble with the news of Grindelwald trying to get Credence on his side to take control of the whole world including the muggles/ no-majs. In comes, Albus Dumbledore (played by the effervescent, Jude Law). Dumbledore tasks Newt with finding Credence before Grindelwald could lay his hands on him. At this moment, we wonder why can’t Dumbledore himself tries to stop Grindelwald? The answer lies in the climax-Dumbledore and Grindelwald were sworn brothers and took a blood pact not to fight each other.

Somehow, with the help of Dumbledore’s influence, Newt along with Jacob leaves England and reaches Paris. In Paris, he meets Tina tries to stop Grindelwald from reaching Credence. However, there are people in the magic ministry who secretly help Grindelwald in his quest to unite the pure-bloods for his evil end.

To see how Newt and his “Fantastic Beasts” tackle the threat of Grindelwald and once again save the Wizarding world from the dark forces, you must watch Fantastic Beasts 2 in theatres now.

Fantastic-Beasts-2-Movie-2018
Fantastic-Beasts-2-Movie-2018

Characters to Watch in Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald:

The most exciting thing about Fantastic Beasts two is, it introduces us to a number of new characters that are connected to the Harry Potter series-in a way that we hardly thought about. I appreciate the way this film has references to the Harry Potter series in an intricate yet spellbinding manner. My top three new characters of this movie are:

  1. Nagini (played by Claudia Kim): Nagini is a being who carries a blood curse that means she will sooner or later transform into a snake permanently. Does it ring any bells? Yes, Nagini is Lord Voldemort’s horcrux killed by Neville Longbottom with Godric Gryffindor’s Sword in the last movie of the Harry Potter series. Claudia as Nagini has performed extremely well although she had little to speak in this part. However, it is expected that in the next part, she will have a telling role.
  2. Albus Dumbledore (the younger version that we don’t know): Well, there was hardly any doubt in the fact that Albus was the most clever, wise and powerful wizard of all time. However, The Crimes of Grindelwald, added one more dimension to his personality-he was also the most secretive of all in the Wizarding world with a questioning past. To me Jude Law is a perfect choice for this character because of his sheer quality and class.
  3. Leta Lestrange (played by Zoë Kravitz): Lita is one of the ancestors of Bellatrix Lestrange (who killed Sirius Black). She is a wise, young, and beautiful woman, who is engaged to Newt’s brother, Theseus. Since childhood, Lita was a misfit among peers. She is different from others like Newt, who was with her at the Hogwarts. Most probably she was Newt’s first love.

My Verdict & Rating of Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald

I gave 10/10 to Fantastic Beasts 1 and I am giving 9/10 to The Crimes of Grindelwald. Fantastic Beasts 2 is a movie that takes you to a well, but don’t let you drink from it and yet it quenches your thirst. After watching Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald, you will feel more excited to know about the third installment of Fantastic Beasts series.

Fantastic Beasts 2 has a great plot and an equally exciting climax that reinforces the fact-no matter how much hatred progress; it has no power to stand against love, friendship and family.

In my view, if you are a fantasy movie lover, then Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald is a must watch for you.

Reviewed by: Absar Ahmad

Also read: Why to watch Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them?

Web Series Review

Kaali Trailer Review: To What Extent Can A Mother Go To Save Her Child?

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The trailer of ZEE5’s latest Hindi-dubbed web series “Kaali” is out. The web series stars Paoli Dam, Shantilal Mukherjee and Rahul in the lead roles. Directed by talented upcoming director Korok Murmu, Kaali will be the first Bengali web series to be streamed on ZEE5. It consists of eight webisodes of 22 minutes each.

According to the introduction mentioned on the OTT platform, Kaali is the story of a helpless mother played by renowned Bengali actress Paoli Dam and explores different shades of womanhood. It is a fast-paced crime-thriller drama that seems to have all the thrills to make it a big success among audiences of all ages.

Kaali Trailer Review: My Observation

The trailer starts with Paoli Dam telling her husband (who is in lockup for reasons known later in the trailer) that their son, Sunny has met an accident and she needs to arrange six lakhs in twelve hours to save his life. Her husband tells her a way of getting at least three lakhs in no time, but with a grave repercussion. It is revealed later that it is drugs that she needs to sell or supply to someone for those three lakhs.

Later in another scene, we came to know that somehow police gets the information about the drugs that are hidden in Kaali’s home. We also see that she might be considering some other ways to make up the rest of the money required for the surgery of her son. It is not clear from the trailer what she is considering, but I believe she might have run into some drug dealers who force her to do more work for them.

Who is Rahul? A Friend or Foe?

Rahul plays the most mysterious character in this web series. In a couple of scenes, he looks like a friend of Paoli, while in a few scenes it seems as if he is double-crossing her and trying to blackmail her to take physical advantage of her. I also feel that there’s an old equation between the characters of Paoli and Rahul that we will only be able to know once the series is released.

Why Kaali Kills Someone?

We also see at the end of the trailer that Kaali kills a man (most probably a drug lord). But why? The answer is difficult and can only be answered after watching the series. But, from the trailer, it seems that it was an act of “self-defence”. But knowing how good crime thrillers are made, I won’t be surprised if it turns out that Paoli was just used as a pawn in a great scripted scheme by people close to her–Rahul, Her Husband or even Sunny. So, basically, I have my fingers crossed till November 12, 2018.

Stay tuned to The World of Movies for my full review of the web series soon!

Reviewed by: Absar Ahmad

Action Movies, Adventure Movies, Bollywood, Crime Movies, History Movies, Indian Movies

Thugs of Hindostan Movie Review

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The Big Question Dekhen Ya Nahin?

Dekho! For the exquisite settings, larger than life drama and perfect cinematography. Every rope in place, every cloud with perfect colouring and the period costume such a welcome change from the glam and glitter of YRF films.

Thugs and Baaghi

Amitabh Bachchan as Azad, not just a title but an inspiration of freedom and the rebel princess, Fatima Shaikh set up their hideout in North India by the ocean and no amount of artistic license allows you to digest this geographic impossibility. Ila Arun as the medicine woman who doesn’t always get her potions right is barely funny.

One fleeting scene with the good looking thugs of the 1700s barely shows the horrors they wrought.

Cross ya Double-cross

Aamir Khan can’t make up his mind and neither will you, whether he is a good guy or bad. The curly hair and nose pin adds the swag that he lights up the screen with.

Aamir and his friend, Zeeshan Ayub’s comic timing not being bang on is disappointing though. Katrina Kaif as Suraiya Jaan with the exotic looks is the ultimate letdown as she just does not fit in with her glitzy costumes and jhatak phatak dance moves as a 18th century nautch girl.

Lloyd Owen and Gavin Marshall have played the mean ruthless role of East India Company officers very well.

Remake or Not

Perhaps remix or mashup of multiple movies and themes would be better suited descriptions. You can play a guessing game of ‘which movie..which movie’ for every scene.

3 on 10, No more

Wonder what director, Vijay Krishna Acharya really had in mind. Epic or fantasy? It’s sad that the stars are bigger than the story which seems to sink steadily right from the start.

Image credit: YRF Films Official Facebook Page.

Reviewed by: Shyamala Nawab