Hokum

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https://www.thehindu.com/

Rating: 3.5 stars out of 5
Starring: Adam Scott, Peter Coonan, David Wilmot, Florence Ordesh, Michael Patric, Will O’Connell
Where to watch: In theatres
To watch or not to watch: Flawed but strong horror movie from Ireland. It is turning the genre around in interesting ways

Ohm Bauman (Adam Scott) is a borderline alcoholic author living alone in the US, struggling to finish a book which appears to be about the lack of humanity in diversity, probably a reflection of his own conscience. While writing at night in almost darkness, and slightly inebriated, he feels visited by his dead mother’s ghost. He rifles through the limited keepsakes, finds a picture, and assuming his mother was happy in that time and place, he decides to take his parents’ ashes to Ireland, checks himself into the hotel where his parents honeymooned, and meets the hotel staff members – Fergal (Michael Patric), the groundskeeper, and Mal (Peter Coonan), the desk clerk and the son-in-law of the hotel owner. He goes to scatter his parents’ ashes, and meets a happy-go-lucky homeless man named Jerry (David Wilmot), who offers Bauman moonshine while he himself partakes of milk with shrooms to “open his mind”. Bauman, uncharacteristically, is nice to Jerry and is grateful for the alcohol (obviously). He returns emotional and resumes his drinking in the hotel bar, while Fiona (Florence Ordesh) pours him drinks and listens to him sympathetically. Bauman is haunted by his childhood when his mother was shot in the face by an intruder when Bauman was 10, and his bitter father drunk himself to death. They talk about the locked Honeymoon Suite in the hotel, where he believes his parents stayed, but which has been locked up since the hotel owner trapped a witch inside. Then Alby (Will O’Connell), the bellhop enters, who expresses his ambition to be a writer, whom Bauman insults to no end, going as far as burning Alby’s hand, and Fergal pushes Bauman to go back to his room. A little later, Fiona goes to Bauman’s room to return his tape recorder, and when Bauman doesn’t open the door, because he has attempted suicide by hanging, Fiona and Alby save his life. On being discharged, Bauman learns that the hotel is closed for the off-season and Fiona has disappeared, and Jerry is suspected of her disappearance. Bauman feels grateful to her for saving his life, and wants to do a good turn to her by finding her. Jerry and him break into the hotel and go upto the honeymoon suite, where Jerry is shot by a crossbow, and Bauman is trapped inside, and he learns the truth about the whole situation, while also drinking whiskey from his old flask.

While watching the movie, it will seem to be a simple plot about a grumpy, lonely author in a remote B&B/hotel/what-have-you, trying to finish his book while battling his inner demons. Since Hokum has limited characters, and doesn’t dwell too much on plot development, on the surface it seems to be falling into the formula. As you can see from the paragraph above, it is longer than average. And that’s ok, because the focus of the movie remains on the story and the build-up to the crux and the resolution, but the movie would have benefited from a little more backstory, maybe worth 2 minutes extra, and removing the same 2 min fat from a few scenes which do not really do much to the storytelling. This movie is director Damian McCarthy’s third, after unfairly under-acclaimed Oddity (read its review here), and it was supposed to be a spin-off from it. The majority of the movie is shot within the hotel setting, and it is shot so beautifully that when the scene changes to the hospital, it is a subconscious physical relief – such is the skill of the cinematographer Colm Hogan. And the best part? The subtlety of the setting. Not the writing, but only the cinematography. The writing has a few moments where it is quite on-the-nose and would have benefited from the audience’s subconscious interpretation of the emotions present. Then we move to the second almost-half where it goes to the place we were all eager to see. That is literally going to leave the viewer with jitters.

McCarthy is turning out to be one in the league of Creggor and Peele, creating solid horror movies one after the other. Or maybe more in the league of the Philippou Brothers, as he created movies from Irish folklore. In fact, he is doing something more to the genre, exploring it beyond the supernatural or foreign or psychological, to mystery. Oddity was a scary murder mystery with a sprinkling of supernatural, and Hokum is similar. This is the experimentation which is going to be the saviour of the craft of filmmaking. And now let us spare a moment for the actor, Adam Scott. In a movie which already has limited characters, Scott has a disproportionately high screen time. And he smashes in conveying his emotions as if the audience his him, he is the audience. And that is because the centre of the movie is not the starring of an acclaimed Hollywood actor, but the story. Always. Looking forward to more from McCarthy.
This is not a movie for the faint of heart, definitely a must-watch for horror lovers.

Diés Iraé

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https://indianexpress.com/

Rating: 4 stars out of 5
Starring: Pranav Mohanlal, Sushmita Bhat, Gibin Gopinath, Shine Tom Chacko, Arun Ajikumar
Where to watch: Jio Hotstar
To watch or not to watch: One of the best horror movies to come out last year. Rahul Sadasivan knows his craft

Rohan (Pranav Mohanlal) is an architect, the son of a super successful architect, studied in the USA, living in Kerala in a mansion on his own, is a f**kboy who smokes up, drinks and throws lavish parties for his friends at this home. One day, he learns that his recently ex-girlfriend Kani (Sushmita Bhat) has unalived herself. Kani was a Bharatnatyam dancer, quite dedicated to her craft, but from a slightly less affluent family than Rohan (but then, who isn’t), and probably more into Rohan than he was into her. It is also implied that her unaliving herself was a direct consequence of them breaking up. Rohan feels a bit guilty and responsible for her, and goes to visit her family to offer his condolences. He goes up to her room, is reminded of her, picks up one of her red hairclips as a keepsake, and talks with her brother Kiran (Arun Ajikumar). He also meets Madhu (Gibin Gopinath) who is Kani’s neighbour and works as a contractor for Rohan’s father. Rohan comes back home and starts experiencing unexplained sounds at night. This escalates to him being beaten up brutally by an invisible force, and creepily enough, Kiran is thrown off the terrace to his death by the same force. This makes him seek guidance, and Madhu comes to the rescue. They find the cause of the haunting and how it can be undone. Exciting.

Rahul Sadasivan is attempting to do something fun in the horror genre, which, if knowledge and memory serve, has not been done till now in India. This movie is the third in this universe he has created, and while arguably the weakest of the three, it is still a brilliant watch. Pranav Mohanlal is a nepo baby, and yes, nepotism is bad for all the right reasons, Pranav is an example of when it can be good too. His performance doesn’t falter even for a moment and his demeanour as Rohan feels very authentic, and it probably is, given his pedigree. Where it is weaker than its predecessors is in the story, which lacks atmosphere and can be on-the-nose, and since the previous movies were so, so good, there is little to be done to make this one better than them, so temper the expectations accordingly. But it wins in execution, like the others. The build-up of the haunting and its impact on Rohan is slow and delibrate, leaves the viewer wondering in anticipation. The movie doesn’t deliver on the grandiosity of the title (which is Latin for Day Of Wrath, and it doesn’t explain which Day and whose Wrath it is about), but it makes for a good horror movie.

Malayalam cinema is where it’s at these days, especially in the genres of suspense/thriller and horror. It has given us bangers after bangers in recent years, and hopefully this continues. Bhoothakalam was definitely an award-winning calibre movie, working with story and atmosphere rather than any tropes. Diés Iraé does falter in that department – less atmosphere and more shock factor, even (cheap) jump scares and really sh*ts the bed towards the end. But here’s the thing, even then it is a good movie, not just by Indian standards, but by global standards. It introduces drama in the story, which was absent in the previous instalments by Sadasivan, and still less drama than the Conjuring/Insidious universe. Movies like these give hope to cinema, which has taken a nose dive in the recent years, and you only have to look through the recent posts on this website to get proof of that. Rahul Sadasivan is a director and writer to look out for; he gets it right! Watch this movie please. Support the cinema which doesn’t take the audience for granted.

Good Fortune

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https://www.joblo.com/

Rating: 2.5 stars out of 5
Starring: Keanu Reeves, Seth Rogen, Aziz Ansari, Keke Palmer, Sandra Oh
Where to watch: PrimeVideo
To watch or not to watch: Aziz Ansari shines in his directorial debut, the story is great, but fizzles out towards the end

Gabriel (Keanu Reeves) is a low-ranking angel in the hierarchy, responsible for saving people from accidents while texting and driving. But like most low-ranking people, he aspires to grow and be responsible for more serious soul-saving acts, but Martha (Sandra Oh) tells him that needs to perform the duties given to him diligently and that he is not ready to handle more responsibility. But Gabriel is adamant, and he finds Arj (Aziz Ansari) who is working odd-jobs and living out of his car. Arj meets Jeff (Seth Rogen) while doing one of his jobs, and learns that Jeff is in need of an assistant, and being enterprising, applies for the job, gets it and starts working as Jeff’s assistant. His life is good for almost one full day, until he uses Jeff’s company credit card to pay for a dinner on a date, which leads to Jeff firing him. Arj then hits rock-bottom when his car is towed because of unpaid parking tickets. Gabriel seeing this, decides that Arj will be the recipient of his beneficence, and grants Arj’s wish to swap places with Jeff, just to show Arj that money is not what it is purported to be. But on the contrary, Arj’s life is better than he could have imagined, and money has solved all of his problems. Martha learns what Gabriel has done and take away his angel status, and will return it only when Arj agrees to swaps his life back with Jeff. This is followed by a commentary on the economy, humanity, and how the wealthy can help the non-wealthy live a better life. It makes for a good concept but not a good movie.

Good Fortune takes the old trope of body swaps and turns it on its head to make it more real. It is turning the adage “High School are the best years” on its head for people who peaked later in life. Imagine Freaky Friday where Lindsay Lohan was having a horrible time at school because of not fitting in, and she swaps with her mother, who has a successful career and a stable relationship; she would not be complaining about the swap. The same thing happens here, which you have read above, and the results are so refreshingly new and honest that it makes the viewer want to wait and see where it goes. And where it goes doesn’t complement the premise. It then loses its USP and becomes predictable and downright silly. It leverages a lot of real personalities of the actors, most obvious being Keanu Reeves. It is easy to imagine him believing that money is not all it is made out to be, because that’s how he is in real life. Seth Rogen is unfortunately not doing much, though there is a lot of potential in his character – either that was his understanding of the script, or he was not very interested, who knows.

This movie has its heart in the right place – it sends a message of empathy and understanding for others who might be dealing with things we are not aware of. But because it is not well made and becomes childish towards the end (when it began as really mature and real and adult-like, it is jarring), it is difficult to say how many people would be watching this movie and then learning from it. It does get points for doing the right thing for the right reasons by the right people. It will be exciting to see Aziz Ansari come out with something interesting down the line. Watch this one, you won’t hate it, but not love it either. Hopefully it changes your perspective towards people who are less-advantaged than you.

The Sheep Detectives

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https://theplaylist.net/

Rating: 3.5 stars out of 5
Starring: Hugh Jackman, Nicholas Braun, Nicholas Galitzine, Molly Gordon, Hong Chau, Emma Thompson, Tosin Cole, Kobna Holdbrook-Smith, Conleth Hill, Mandeep Dhillon, Brett Goldstein, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Bryan Cranston, Chris O’Dowd, Regina Hall, Patrick Stewart, Bella Ramsey, Rhys Darby 
Where to watch: In theatres
To watch or not to watch: A whodunnit where sheep figure out whodunnit!? Yea! Absolutely! Don’t expect a Pixar level substance though

In a small village of Denbrook, England, there lives a shepherd named George Hardy (Hugh Jackman) in a trailer on the meadow with his flock of sheep, without much human contact. He treats his sheep like human, identifies their personalities and reads murder mystery books in the evening. It is then revealed that the sheep can talk like humans, have human emotions and characteristics – they would discuss the solution to the murders amongst them, and one sheep in particular, Lily (Julia Louis-Dreyfus) would always figure out the killer. Then one morning, George is found dead outside his trailer from a heart failure. The sheep being well versed in murder mysteries, are able to correctly deduce that it’s a murder, which had escaped the town police Tim (Nicholas Braun), that is until an out-of-station reporter Elliot Matthews (Nicholas Galitzine) pushes the police to investigate. It turns out that there are multiple suspects – George didn’t compromise on his values, so he had made enemies of his neighbour shepherd Caleb (Tosin Cole) and town’s butcher Ham (Conleth Hill), the twins he had given up for adoption through the church right after their birth (and the death of his wife) because he was young and poor. It turns out his daughter Rebecca Hampstead (Molly Gordon) was in town and had met George the night of his death, lied about her identity, lied about her alibi, and overall was the best suspect. But through the sheep’s investigation into the incident and their intervention, the real killer is revealed to the police and is captured. The End.

This movie achieves something which has proven to be difficult – it is entertaining and easy to understand for the kids, and engaging for the adults. It deals with complex emotions of loss, acceptance of people with differences, understanding of circumstances and values (maybe it is complex only for adults – young people might not find it difficult to accept). It is entertaining to see sheep crossing a road for the first time, going into town, leveraging their strengths and coming together as a group to arrive at the truth of their beloved shepherd. The visual effects are also top-class – the sheep look so life-like! and it has its moments of wit too! Then add to that the perfectly acted cameo by the brilliant, the divine, the magnificent Emma Thompson!
The issue with the movie is that it has twice as many characters as any other whodunnit – the townsfolk and the sheep. It becomes tough to keep track in the beginning and there are just too many backstories, which is fair to the characters, but the movie might have been better with a slightly more simplistic approach. And the ending! We need to rewind and go back to the era of no over-emotional drama towards the end, especially here. There is a murder to solve after all!

After a very long time, we have received a movie which will stand the test of time and will age gracefully. It has its heart in the right place and is not afraid to show it to the world. And after the disastrous adaptations of A Good Girl’s Guide To Murder, The Thursday Murder Club and the absurd take on Poirot by Branagh, The Sheep Detectives is a shot of hope. It has its flaws, is on the nose at times and of course, the aforementioned ending. All these things do take away from the storytelling, but do not ruin it for the viewer. And it has the potential to become a favourite family movie for the weekends and holidays. Watch it on a Sunday afternoon with kids around you, and you will enjoy it. Promise!

Send Help

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https://www.cinemablend.com/

Rating: 3.5 stars out of 5
Starring: Rachel McAdams, Dylan O’Brien, Xavier Samuel 
Where to watch: JioHotstar
To watch or not to watch: It is a fun movie, subverts genre in the best way and makes for a good movie for a night in, but somehow… you know… not that great

Linda Liddle (Rachel McAdams) is a manager at a consulting company, is very efficient, slightly socially awkward, dresses for function rather than fashion and as a result is overlooked for a much-anticipated promotion. What rubs salt on wounds is that she is passed over for a person who has been at the company for only six months, versus her 7 years, passes off her work as his, and plays golf with the boss, hence the promotion. Speaking of the boss, Bradley (Dylan O’Brien) – he has recently inherited the company from his father, the same father who valued Linda’s contribution to the company and had all but promised her a vice-president position, which has kept her going. She is asked to prove herself once more on a trip to Bangkok on a private plane, where she decides that she has had enough and deletes her important document, right before the plane hits turbulence. Only Linda and Bradley survive the crash, Bradley with a serious injury. Now, our Linda is a Survivor enthusiast and has even auditioned for the show, so she is unarguably more suited to being stranded on an island than loafer-wearing Bradley. Linda nurses him, forages for food, builds shelter, basically is an all-around superstar, while Bradley is a whiney man-child who thinks he can build a raft off the island. She thrives on the island, really coming into herself (even her make-up is better), and he gets sunburnt – well, you get the gist. But there is more to Linda than what appears – she hasn’t forgotten how she was treated, and the bitterness is compounded by her loneliness, resulting in a movie which is a hybrid between slasher horror-comedy and thriller.

This movie is wont to leave viewers with confusion and opposing views because on the one hand it s well directed and written, but on the other, the twists are genre subverting in a way which doesn’t fit the narrative as a whole. Sam Raimi goes back to his Evil Dead roots with some of the gore and slasher scenes which give the movie an extra outworldly oomph (could have done without the gore, but it doesn’t take away anything from the movie, in fact, adds humour at some points). This movie is largely a two-handers with McAdams and O’Brien working with and over each other. Their dynamics in the movie as actors and characters they play is top-notch, and the reason why the movie is not trash. Another good thing is that the movie is original, with a premise most of us with day jobs will find relatable, and there is a ready hero of our stories in Linda at first blush.

If you check the internet, you will find people who have diametrically opposite views of the movie, and that is totally understandable. It is divisive in its greyness. Any more explanation and we will enter spoiler territory. Maybe it is something everyone decides for themselves – their choices in lives, and what makes them the way they are, which is not always and not in entirety in their control. Leaving you with such a crystal clear review, will definitely help you decide if you want to watch it or not. Not. It is a good movie, it is fun, thrilling, emotional and thought provoking. Do watch it with people so you can discuss and debate about it later.
(Interesting coincidence that this post is similar to the previous one in having Thailand as the location)

Fountain Of Youth

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https://www.thehindu.com/

Rating: 1 stars out of 5
Starring: John Krasinski, Natalie Portman, Eiza González, Domhnall Gleeson, Stanley Tucci
Where to watch: Apple TV
To watch or not to watch: What a disaster of a movie! Ritchie tried making a National Treasure and ended up with a Travesty

So, Luke (John Krazinski) is an art thief who has just stolen a precious painting from a collector in Thailand. He is on the run on a moped, chased by the goons in heavy SUVs carrying machine guns. Through clever manoeuvres and some witty repartee, he is able to shake off the goons, catch a train and be at peace only to wake up and find Esme (Eiza González) sitting opposite him. She is also there to retrieve the painting for a boss unknown. Since Luke is the hero, and he is witty, pretty good looking and well, because the director said so, he is able to escape Esme and onto London, where he meets his museum curator sister Charlotte (Natalie Portman), who is in the middle of a bitter divorce. Because he is a caring brother who is able to see beyond the length of his nose, and who knows what his sister wants more than the sister herself, he steals a Rembrandt, landing Charlotte in the middle of a losing custody battle. She protests, cries, swears at Luke, that she doesn’t want to be in the middle of this mess, but her actions don’t match it, similar to an alcoholic abusive partner in a relationship. She even drags her 11 year old musical prodigy son to the mix. But Luke is not doing this for himself, oh no, he is the noble one. He is doing this for a billionaire named Owen Carver (Domhnall Gleeson) who is suffering from liver cancer, and is looking for the fabled Fountain Of Youth which seems to be the only cure. This Fountain is secretive but still known, is difficult to find but hidden in famous paintings, is complex but people can blunder through with drills and hammers. They end up in Egypt, because we all have run out of imagination at this point, where everyone gathers somehow for the culmination.

There is no saving grace for this movie, it has no story, almost zero acting, no cohesion between scenes, or whatever else is required to make a movie even remotely palatable. The adage of “Show Not Tell” doesn’t apply here. Please don’t show and certainly don’t tell us anything, because you are ruining it. There is no flow of information as linear storyline is more fluid than Nolan storytelling, and not for the purpose of storytelling but for the purpose of convenience. They have essentially taken all the famous heist movies, shredded them, put them through a sieve to filter out the reason why they were worth a watch and only retained… hollowness, probably, then add the words “Journey” and “Adventure” like chia seeds throughout, which annoyingly get between the teeth. The embarrassing incident in your life that keeps you awake till 3 AM has nothing on the cringe dialogues. Only Luke had anything remotely interesting to say in the whole film, but since his character is a selfish gaslighter, it does nothing to his credit.

It is a cold day in hell indeed when Natalie Portman is out acted by Krasinski (not by González). Either she was not interested in the movie, or maybe her botox/fillers didn’t allow but man, she was so bad, only seconded by González. Ritchie, we understand your loyalty to the people you work with, but maybe not all relationships fit into our lives the way we want them to. Directing Swept Away should have taught you that. Ritchie has proven himself time and again with Sherlock Holmes, arguably one of the best adaptations, The Gentlemen, etc, and even the opening chase scene of this movie gave hope, but then it just stopped. This is the worst part, when good creators underperform, what hope do we have from anyone else?
For your sanity, please skip this movie, even as a second screen.

The Roses

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https://www.20thcenturystudios.com.au/

Rating: 2 stars out of 5
Starring: Benedict Cumberbatch, Olivia Colman, Kate McKinnon, Andy Samberg, Allison Janney
Where to watch: Jio Hotstar
To watch or not to watch: Well, rather to watch the original movie, or the trailer for this one multiple times. The movie, not so much

In their youth, while Theo (Benedict Cumberbatch) was a struggling architect feeling creatively stifled, and Ivy (Olivia Colman) was trying to get by as a cook in a restaurant, they meet, have a whirlwind romance, and ten years later, have two kids. The issue is that they are poles apart in their approach towards life – while Ivy is maniacally carefree, Theo is a strict disciplinarian. They are also at different points in their career, with Ivy being a stay-at-home mother and Theo being a successful architect. Theo gifts a piece of land to Ivy to start her own restaurant, which though struggles in the beginning, soon becomes a raging success, while in the parallel, Theo’s career ends and he becomes a stay-at-home dad. This breeds resentment between the two, leading Theo to decide to divorce Ivy. Barry (Andy Samberg) is the couple’s long term friend is now the lawyer representing Theo, while Ivy is represented by Eleanor (Allison Janney) and in the middle is their home which they don’t want the other to have. Then they attempt to sabotage each other, which you have seen in the trailer.

This movie is a disappointment, to be honest, specially after the promise made to the audience in the trailer. It was promised to have its focus on the fights and attempted sabotage, Home Alone style, but that barely forms one-fifth of the movie, whereas the majority of the time spent is on building their relationship and bringing the story to the point where conflict between the characters start. The point where the movie ends, should ideally have been the middle of the movie to build the story to a conclusion. The current end of the movie feels like they ran out of steam, budget, runtime and frankly, the will to continue production. Must have been fun for the editor. Not. It fails to get the audience invested in their relationship. We are like their kids shipped off to boarding school and left their parents to their own devices Then there enters a one-joke character of Amy (Kate McKinnon) who finds Theo uncontrollably attractive and keeps making uncomfortable sexual remarks, which gets tiring in theory itself. This is in part because the leads don’t have any chemistry to begin with, while they are brilliant individually.

The saddest part of this movie is not the whole experience but the unrealised potential of the subject matter and undoubtedly talented comedy actors. It could have been a cult classic and listed as one of the best remakes (similar to Ocean’s series) but the lack of effort in writing the script with a clear agenda, is starkly visible. And if the makers, who have a lot invested in the movie, do not care enough to do what is required, an audience which is only looking for entertainment and doesn’t care either way about the movie, definitely has no reason to bother with it. Basically, it is a “not angry but disappointed” type of situation. Don’t watch it. There are better things in the world.

The Running Man

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https://www.out.com/

Rating: 3 stars out of 5
Starring: Glen Powell, Josh Brolin, Colman Domingo, Lee Pace, Michael Cera
Where to watch: Prime Video
To watch or not to watch: Even though it is a much anticipated movie by the most creative director of the last decade, this movie fails to do justice to its subject matter

This movie is set in a dystopian world where the country is almost ruled by a broadcasting network (creatively) called the Network in parallel with the government. Most of the population lived below the poverty line in squalor, and money and power reside with a select few, as is with any authoritarian/totalitarian regime. Network has a reality show called The Running Man, where a contestant fights to survive for 30 days in exchange for $1 billion. In this world, there resides our hero Ben Williams (Glen Powell) who is not able to afford flu medicine for his 2 year old kid. He then decides to play for The Running Man, if it means saving his daughter and giving a better life to his family. He is joined by 2 other contestants, who are a little more naive/optimistic than him. As the “game” progresses, we learn how rigged it is, with well-equipped hunters doing everything to ensure the contestants do not win. The game is hosted by Bobby T (Colman Domingo) who is removed from the plight of the people and is only a show piece. The real muscle behind the Network is Dan Killian (Josh Brolin) who is the scary kind of evil – calm and too self-assured. The contestants don’t have any chance of bettering the game or the Network as all the stakes are against them. But our hero Ben fights against all the odds, or at least tries to.

A few years ago, there was a movie called Jackpot starring Awkwafina and John Cena, which was on similar lines, without a dystopian world and an all-powerful Network, but hilarious nonetheless. It is not meant to be taken seriously, and the makers are self-aware. This is exactly the problem with Edgar Wright’s movie – it doesn’t know what it wants to be. It is in equal parts Scott Pilgrim and a socialist’s manifesto. The cinematography of the movie by Chung Chung-hoon is on point and does elicit an emotional response from the viewer. The 80’s aesthetic with the sci-fi future is shown on point. But that’s where the movie’s promise ends. The world setting of the movie in Act 1 is very quick and effective, leaving a huge margin to develop the story and characters, but that is sacrificed for style, which leaves the viewers quite apathetic towards the characters. It also fails to prove a point or even instil hope in the viewer, as most of the people in the movie are portrayed to be too desperate to be good, too selfish to be considerate, which does not land the point of hope home, and hope is a good thing. Maybe the best of things.

Edgar Wright is one director who is not pinned down by genres – be it horror movies like Hot Fuzz and Last Night in Soho, or action-packed Scott Pilgrim, etc, and that too with a blend of genres. Even in movies where he was associated tangentially, his signature style of quick zooms and pans were visible and made for great storytelling. But here where the story was already in place by the great Stephen King, the execution is bland. One would be hard-pressed to determine if the movie was an Edgar Wright work. But that is ok, he has proven himself more times than not, so there is no cause for worry, he will be back soon and better for it (“calm down heart. all is not lost”). In other news, has anyone else noticed how Josh Brolin is in everything these days? Anyway, give The Running Man a miss, and if you are looking for fun escapism, opt for Jackpot.

Doom At Your Service

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https://www.netflix.com/

Rating: 4 stars out of 5
Starring: Park Bo-young, Seo In-guk, Lee Soo-hyuk, Kang Tae-oh, Shin Do-Hyun
Where to watch: Netflix
To watch or not to watch: It is one of the best Kdramas out there. It shows the maturity in storylines and side character development we have been asking to see

Tak Dong-kyung (Park Bo-young) lost her parents when she was very young, and had taken the responsibility for her younger brother early, with the help of her aunt. Currently, she is working as an editor for a web novel publishing company. One fateful day, on the anniversary of her parents’ passing incidentally, she discovers that the man she was in a relationship with is married and is expecting a child, and that she has glioblastoma and has about 100 days to live. She goes back to her home all alone, gets drunk and in anger wishes upon a shooting star for the world to end (understandably). As fate would have it, Doom (Seo In-guk) is actually listening, and decides to meet her to fulfil her wish. He introduces himself as Myul Mang, and Dong-kyung makes a deal with him that gives her pain-free 100 days to live as she wants, in exchange for the world to end or someone she loves will die. The rest of the movie is about how she navigates her fate, ironically finds love in Myul Mang and wants to live. In turn Myul Mang starts appreciating humans and their emotions, realises the worth of a life and looks for redemption for himself. The supporting cast in Lee Soo-hyuk as Cha Ju-ik, Dong-kyung’s boss is heart-warming without the drama and his relationship with Na Ji-na (Shin Do-hyun) is also relatable.

This drama defies the standard love triangle which are the norm in Kdramas and by that alone this series sets itself apart. It is also low on comedy and high on emotional drama, making it not similar to the popular Bo-young’s work, Strong Woman. There are some genuine themes touched in this one, like mortality, the futility of life, hope or lack thereof, and world’s fate. In between this, we humans need to find our purpose in life and do everything to achieve it, no matter the grief it brings. It is profound.

Bo-young and In-guk had a good chemistry in the series, and though Bo-young’s screen presence is difficult to equal, In-guk does stand on his own, even though in the story he exists because of and for Bo-young. This is not a typical love story of boy-meets-girl or enemies-to-lovers trope. It is a story of growth, of reliving, of suffering but smiling through it. The side characters are kind of annoying in this set-up, as their story is not as deep or holistic and that is kind of a bummer, but it still offers a relief from the heavy topic of our main characters. Watch this to appreciate the growth we are seeing in Kdramas, let them know that their efforts are seen. It is actually a good story.

Ghosts UK

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Rating: 5 stars out of 5
Starring: Charlotte Ritchie, Kiell Smith-Bynoe, Lolly Adefope, Mathew Baynton, Simon Farnaby, Martha Howe-Douglas, Jim Howick, Laurence Rickard, Ben Willbond, Katy Wix
Where to watch: BBC/Prime Video
To watch or not to watch: Of course it is a must watch! Why is that even a question!?

Alison (Charlotte Ritchie) and Mike (Kiell Smith-Bynoe) are an average couple looking for a new place to move into. As luck would have it, Alison’s distant relative passes away, and Alison being the only living relative left, she inherits an estate manor. Of course it seems like lady luck has finally shone her light on the couple and their life can finally take off, but no no, not so soon. There are a (couple of) group(s) of ghosts living their best afterlife in that manor who would rather the manor be left to themselves. In this pursuit, they try to push Alison from a first storey window (and this works only in this series) and she wakes up with the ability to see and hear the ghosts as if they were a real people! Ooo! Excitement galore! Now Alison’s life has been changed forever. Since that land has been on earth since life began, there are ghosts from neolithic, regency, World War, etc time periods. We also have a Tory MP who dies in questionable circumstances and is destined to die out the rest of his death without trousers. We also have an Edwardian era royalty who was beheaded and is constantly losing his body. And wait, there are a bunch of ghosts living in the basement from the time they lost their lives to the plague, but then we can ignore them.

This series is super cool and funny. It moves and evolves along with the characters, and the said characters have depth, width and everything in between. We have a closeted war colonel, an enlightened milkmaid, and a politician who missed the birth of his child because he was busy cheating on his wife. This is handled with finesse, calling a spade a spade, but still maintaining a levity throughout. There is never a dull moment in the series, if it is not the fantastical money making schemes of the married couple, it is the opportunistic neighbour who adds excitement. There is also exploration of the themes of death and life. And it is this charm which wins the heart of Alison and the viewers too.

This series, like The Office, has been adapted into a US, German, French and Greek version too, with Australian production on the way. It is a good story, and comparing it with the American version, it is a tighter script with 5 seasons and 6 episodes each. It keeps the story rolling and viewer invested, and left wanting more. The actors and humour are also quintessentially British, without annoying pauses for laughter tracks. It can also be classified as absurd situational comedy. A must watch, and ensure it is the UK version.