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Anil Kapoor recommended City Lights (1931) in Movies (curated)

 
City Lights (1931)
City Lights (1931)
1931 | Classics, Comedy, Drama

"Ah, City Lights. [It] doesn’t [really] make an effort to do comedy or [try] to make me cry. It just flows so naturally. A true artist. And you don’t have to be sensible [to watch Chaplin’s films]. You [can be] a kid but you still can understand his films. [One] doesn’t need education, academic education, to understand or enjoy his films. And I would see in the theater, in the audience, all kinds of people: children, parents, grandparents, poor, rich, very rich people, everybody in the theater enjoying his films. Chaplin really influenced me on being an actor. And I remember, back in India, Raj Kapoor, was greatly influenced by Charlie Chaplin. [Kapoor] became one of the biggest filmmakers of our country. You know, [Kapoor] is one of the few filmmakers who are very very known in that part of the world, especially Russia and the Middle East, the Far East. All the countries, one of the most famous filmmakers, Raj Kapoor. And he was influenced by Charlie Chaplin. Everybody says, “Are you influenced by Raj Kapoor?” and I say, “No, I’m not inspired by Raj Kapoor, I’m inspired by Charlie Chaplin.” It all goes back to that. And if you see my films, films like Woh 7 Din, Mr. India, and all those kinds of films, there is a bit of Chaplin. In every role which I do to this day, there is that flavor, because I’ve been influenced by all this. I will always think, if there is a scene, I will always have him in mind. Even in Slumdog Millionaire… [My performance in Slumdog Millionaire] is very animated, it’s very flamboyant. That influence always works when I’m doing those kinds of roles. There are certain times when I’m slightly larger than life and animated, still in control and still looking natural, and not looking like a buffoon, and not looking caricaturish. Still looking real. I think some way it is the influence of Charlie Chaplin. And even if I can achieve one percent or two percent of what he has achieved in this life in terms of art, in terms of what he has done, I’ll feel pretty fulfilled. When I try to do stuff which he has done, a little bit here and there, then I realize what a great man he was, and what a great character he was, and what he accomplished. Very, very difficult. I heard that he would rehearse for hours and days for every punch. For every punch. And there are times when I’m doing my films, I say, “Let’s copy this punch on this film.” And we could never get it. We just couldn’t get it."

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The Rental (2020)
The Rental (2020)
2020 | Horror, Thriller
4
5.6 (5 Ratings)
Movie Rating
Business startup partners Charlie (Dan Stevens) and Mina (Sheila Vand) are celebrating the success of their company by looking at Airbnb rentals for a weekend getaway. As Mina casually rests on Charlie, looking over his shoulder at the amazing, but expensive house they’re thinking of renting, you get the impression they are a couple. That is, until Charlie’s brother Josh (Jeremy Allen White) walks in, and we learn that it is Josh and Mina who are together. And that the weekend trip is to include Charlie’s wife Michelle (Alison Brie).

Some obstacles to a perfect weekend arise before the foursome even make it to their rented house. Josh has decided to bring along his dog, Reggie, a violation of the homeowners no-pets rule, and Mina is concerned that the homeowner may be racist. She had tried to book the exact same house just an hour before Charlie did but was turned down, and she believes her Middle-Eastern name (her surname is Mohammadi) was the reason.

They arrive at the idyllic house, set out in the woods and right by the ocean, where they are greeted by the caretaker, and brother of the homeowner, Taylor (Toby Huss). He’s not exactly a welcoming barrel of laughs though – unhappy at the group for arriving an hour late and definitely giving off some racist vibes towards Mina which only add fuel to the concerns she’d raised in the car earlier.

With Taylor gone, the couples begin to settle into their weekend break with some music, drink and drugs. When Josh and Michelle decide to get an early night in preparation for a planned hike the next day, business partners Charlie and Mina decide to go and try out the hottub. And, well, I’m sure you can figure out how much of a mistake that turns out to be. To top it all off, somebody seems to be watching the group from afar…

The Rental is the directorial debut of actor Dave Franco. It’s a horror movie, but spends half of its 88 minute runtime with very little happening at all. If it wasn’t for the foreboding music, and the occasional hint at some sort of stalker, you’d think this was just a drama about two couples getting themselves into a whole heap of trouble in a strangers house.

When things do begin to shift, some potentially interesting twists and plot setups quickly fall by the wayside, as The Rental slips into being just a very generic slasher movie with nothing we haven’t seen before. I suddenly realised just how interesting that first half was in comparison and what a waste of a great cast it was.