Movie Review: Rocky aur Rani Ki Prem Kahani (2023, Prime Video)

Rocky aur Rani Ki Prem Kahani is a Bollywood movie directed by Karan Johar and stars Ranveer Singh and Alia Bhatt. (Student of the Year, Darlings) The movie was released in 2023 and takes place between 2022-2023.

The movie starts off with Rocky Randhawa (Ranveer Singh), the son to the Dhrandawa Sweets Empire, discovering his grandfather's first love. After learning her name, he tracks her down and asks her granddaughter, Rani Chatterjee (Alia Bhatt), to help his grandfather see his first love again. Rani Chatterjee is a progressive feminist and works as a TV Anchor at India Now. Through this arrangement, Rocky and Rani start to fall in love with each other and plan to marry each other. In hopes of their families getting along, they both move into the others house and try to learn about the other.

Some things that I loved about this movie are the soundtrack and the outfits. The soundtrack is so fun to listen to. In the movie, they do have some old songs they play which are really fun to reminisce on. My favorites are Baat Ban Jaye, Dhindhora Baje Re, and Rani's Intro. I love the outfits in this movie, especially Rani's. Her style was very mature and it fit really well with her character, a woman who is independent and strong. I loved how she wore saris throughout the film. It felt like old Bollywood. I feel like sometimes they try too hard to be Western which makes movies nowadays look super cheap. Rani felt like a really good heroine to watch in 2023.

The writing is also so good and reminiscent of old Bollywood. It's so modern with the topics that we go through today, but still nostalgic because of the love story between Rocky and Rani and their grandparents who meet after decades. Some topics that get discussed are women's rights, marital and family problems, and toxic masculinity. This doesn't overtly force them down your throat.

I really love this movie. I'm so glad I watched this movie. It reminded me of old Bollywood rom-coms because of the writing, costumes, characters, soundtrack, and whole aesthetic. I just think the production of this whole movie was fantastic. Rocky aur Rani Ki Prem Kahani just became one of my new favorite Bollywood movies from the 2010's-2020's.

Rating: 10/10

Movie Review: Spirited (Apple TV +, 2022)

Spirited is a Christmas movie based on A Christmas Carol. The story follows a department of workers, changing people's lives by showing them their past, present, and future on Christmas night. Spirited takes place in New York. The movie stars Ryan Reynolds, Will Ferrell, Octavia Spencer, and Tracy Morgan. 

The movie begins with the team finishing off the season, helping a woman change her ways. They celebrate the success until The ghost of Christmas present (Ferrell) strays away into a different room where he wonders if they did a good job. After the celebration, in the New Year, they start to sort and pick the next person to help. When scouting and visiting candidates, The ghost of Christmas present sees Clint Briggs (Reynolds), and convinces the team to pick him for this year. The team finds that Briggs is an "Unredeemable". Nevertheless, The ghost persists and the team picks Briggs and gets to work to make him a nicer, better person.

The movie had a lot going on, visually and musically. I think it started to give me a headache. The plot was really fun. Sure it may be overdone, but I think the musical numbers really helped make it more unique. Would I watch this movie again? I don’t think so. While the movie is entertaining and thoughtful, the end of the movie is a shocking, yet fantastic, twist that makes it unwatchable again in the future. Maybe if I did want to rewatch it, I would look for the foreshadowing, hinting towards the end. 

Some of my favorite things from the movie are obviously the soundtrack and songs, cinematography, and set design. The scene where we first met Briggs is so fun and amazing to watch. It was like a whole Christmas music video. Also, it was so exciting to hear Tracy Morgan's voice in The ghost of Yet to Come. Absolutely my favorite part of the movie. 

Overall, Spirited is a enjoyable Christmas movie with lots of jokes and love. I think it was a fun 2-hour watch for the Christmas season. The twists were also fun to see. I would recommend Spirited this holiday season.

Rating: 8/10

Movie Review: Disenchanted (Disney +, 2022)

***SPOILERS***

Disenchanted is a sequel to the 2007 film, Enchanted. The film follows Giselle and her family in the suburbs where she hopes to find a more fairytale life similar to her past. However, what she wishes for ends up creating more trouble than before. The movie stars Patrick Dempsey, Amy Adams, James Marsden, and Idina Menzel from the previous movie. The movie also stars Yvette Nicole Brown (Community), Maya Rudolph (SNL, Loot, Big Mouth), and Oscar Nuńez (The Office). The movie does take place in today's day and age.

I honestly loved this movie. It was fun and playful. Not a lot of sequels nowadays can pull that off. The story followed a predictable storyline, but it was really fun to watch it play out! The movie mainly focuses on Giselle and her relationship with Morgan. I didn't remember that Giselle was actually a stepmother to Morgan and to see Giselle turn into an evil stepmother, like most fairytales, was so great to watch. Also, the multiple references to Disney princesses and their stories were fun to point out! The performances by Amy Adams, Maya Rudolph, and Patrick Dempsey were so entertaining. And their characters, when in the fairytale world, played the archetypes hilariously. I feel like Patrick Dempsey's character is there for comedy relief. 

The musical numbers were very entertaining and sounded so good. My favorite song would have to be "Badder", sung by Amy Adams and Maya Rudolph. My favorite characters are Yvette Nicole Brown and Maya Rudolph's characters. There was also a small appearance from Morgan's previous actress, Rachel Convoy, who played a villager in town. 

There isn't much to hate about this movie. I was sad to find out they recast Morgan but the actress, Gabriella, does look exactly like Convoy but in a teenage way. I wasn't too bothered about this though.

Disenchanted is a wonderful sequel to watch and not analyze. (besides the easter eggs hidden in the movie) 

Rating: 8/10