To watch or not to watch: Good in pieces, not as a whole
The story of the series is about the lives of some of the residents of an apartment complex called Sunflower. One morning, one of the residents of the society, Mr. Kapoor (Ashwin Kaushal), is murdered by his neighbour, Mr. Ahuja (Mukul Chadda). What follows is an investigation into the murder by two police officers, Inspector DG and Sub-Inspector Tambe (Ranvir Shorey and Girish Kulkarni). Sonu Singh (Sunil Grover) is the protagonist and falls under suspicion due to his erratic nature. Along with the main story line with a protagonist, we also have an ensemble cast and an insight in the lives of a select few residents and one person each related to them.
Over-all the series is funny, sometimes thrilling and mostly lost. There are too many sub-plots, which have nothing to do with the main plot and have nothing to do in general, except probably elicit some laughs. In each of the 8 episodes, we have Dilip Iyer (Ashish Vidhyarthi) interviewing and rejecting potential residents because of one or the other social bias. There are certain points in Sonu’s character which throw an insight into his past life and make the viewers feel there’s more than meets the eye. All this has nothing to do with the main plot, even tangentially. After about more than half the series is over, you wonder if the series even has anything to do with the murder mystery. Sunflower society and slowly and suddenly takes center stage and things revolve around it.
There is a conflict between the advertisement and the real idea of the series. it comes off as more of an ensemble cast series than a thriller series. Since it is going head-to-head with an acclaimed thriller series, The Family Man, it needed to be made more in-line with the advertisement or changed the messaging. If one has watched these two series together, Sunflower will definitely lose. Though it does go head-and-head with the performances.
The webseries these days have latched on to the nostalgia effect, by getting older actor, who were quite popular in the yesteryears to come back and act in the series. While it is commendable and gets more viewers along with the promise of good performances, it can be overdone, specially when it is the focal point of the series. After finishing watching the series, the only thought that makes a viewer feel they haven’t wasted their time, that all the loose threads and the unresolved sub-plots make for a good foundation for season 2. Right on the heels of that, is the knowledge that each episode is only about 30 minutes long and has only 8 episodes (though it didn’t need even that for the amount of content it had). That might be the only reason for people to watch the second season, to get some closure. All in all, if one is not suffering from FOMO, skip it.
Starring: Sophia Lillis, Wyatt Oleff, Kathleen Rose Perkins, Sofia Bryant, Richard Ellis, Sophia Tatum, David Theune, Zachary S. Williams, Aidan Wojtak-Hissong
Genre: Sci-fi/supernatural, coming-of-age story
This series is about a 17 year old girl Sydney, who lost her father the previous year. As a result, the family life has changed drastically and not for the better. She has trouble connecting with her mother, trouble getting along with peers, trouble focusing on school and trouble in general with her temper, which flares and is acted upon. She has one best friend named Dina who is the “popular one” and is dating the school jock. She also has a neighbour called Stanley Barber who has a crush on Sydney and is as much as an oddball as is stereotyped.
The story follows Sydney managing her life, her anger and then her very sudden super powers. She becomes a target or a fascinating study for some savoury/unsavoury characters. And if that was not enough, she is also trying to figure out the matters of her sexuality. She is definitely not okay with any of this.
Netflix is so used to producing below average stuff that the one time they have something good which has all the elements to grasp the attention of the audience, they balk at the thought. They are not used to producing good original content and hence they have cancelled the show (this is the real reason, despite of what is said by the company). They are producing season 2 of Bridgerton.
Amazon, please pick this up. But then you aren’t without faults of your own.
Starring: David Tennant, Michael Sheen, Adria Arjona.
Genre: Comedy, Fantasy (slightly theological)
Aziraphale and Crowley are Angel and Demon, respectively and have been assigned to do their respective jobs on Earth since the seventh day of creation (Crowley/Crawley is the snake with Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden). They have grown rather fond of the planet and grudgingly, of each other too. In the present time, the grounds of Armageddon have been laid down and in only a week Heaven and Hell will fight it out to establish their supremacy and effectively end Earth. The Angel and Demon duo must prevent it from happening at all costs. Thus begins their adventure to find out The Chosen One and manipulate their respective offices in their favour. Their natures have evolved through thousands of years on the planet and it is shown through some cleverly inserted flash-backs at the important moments in history.
This series is adapted from a Neil Gaiman book. When it comes to book adaptations, this is something near perfection. The acting and the direction leave nothing to be desired and it doesn’t feel incomplete or staccato at any point. The storyline, peppered with theology through the ages is smooth, smart, witty and dark too.
This show was cancelled as it was called out for hurting religious sentimentality. While a case can be made for that, it can be said it shows changing for a higher calling, namely humanity and to get priorities straight, regardless of what we have been taught since birth.
Religions have survived thousands of years. An itty-bitty Amazon series with some 8 hours runtime can hardly harm them suddenly. Please lift the embargo on it and get out season 2.
Starring: Nick Frost, Samson Kayo, Malcolm McDowell, Susan Wokoma, Emma D’Arcy and Simon Pegg
Genre: Horror-comedy
Gus is a broadband installer for Britain’s largest network provider, Smyle. He also moonlights as a paranormal activity investigator and has a YouTube channel, Truth Seekers. His boos, Dave, assigns an apprentice to Gus by the name of Elton Jon (LoL!) to train, and Gus isn’t too happy about it. Together Gus and Elton go around fixing and providing broadband connections. Gus luck seems to have turned around as they have real paranormal encounters at each of the places they visit. They also meet Astris, who is running from the demons haunting her and they try to figure out how to exorcise them.
No story is complete with a supervillain with an extremely nefarious agenda. In this one, the supervillain wants to attain immortality and the way to reach there is mega destructive and the consequences dire.
Nick Frost and Simon Pegg come together again on screen for yet another spectacular production which has humour, thrill and horror combined. There is also a threat to humanity, similar to the movies in the Cornetto trilogy (Shaun of the Dead, Hot Fuzz and The End of the World – all must watch). There is emotional investment for the recurring cast and also for the anthology-like ghosts they encounter. There is no moment which is dull or draggy. In the short time, it manages to show EVERYTHING. Utter shame it is cancelled and Goliath gets seasons after seasons.
Maigret is adapted from a book series by Georges Simenon, featuring the detective Jules Maigret. It has 2 season with 2 episodes each and the episodes are in anthology format, with new cases in each episode. It is a police procedural, set in Paris of 1950s. What sets this apart from the other police procedurals is primarily Rowan Atkinson. It is very refreshing to see him in a serious role, which he performs flawlessly (goes without saying). Also, the cases are quite interesting and there are little to no red-herrings. The cases are solved by old-fashioned police work. The cases are dark and gritty which keeps one guessing throughout. The performances in the individual episodes too are commendable – no shoddy work here.
Given we don’t have too many of whodunnits series these days, this would have been a good addition to the online content. It is refreshing, nostalgic and pleasing to the eye. With very little personal drama and good storyline, can’t see this failing. And yet it is not renewed for further seasons. It is saddening.
The movie is adapted from the 2015 Paula Hawkins’ novel of the same name. The book has been adapted into a movie earlier too, starring Emily Blunt (early warning: watch that one, not this).
Mira Kapoor (Parineeti Chopra) has become an alcoholic after the death of her unborn child in a car accident. As far as she knows, she cannot be a mother again, when all she wanted in life was to be one. On top of this, she is suffering from trauma and has short-term amnesia (a concept explored in Memento and Ghajini). All this puts a strain on her married life and her husband Shekhar (Avinash Tiwary) and she separate. In her previous avatar she was a bad-ass lawyer who wouldn’t cower even in the face of death threats and would see justice done. All that is lost within two years. She travels on the same route everyday in a train (whereto – no idea, she just does) and she spots Nusrat John (Aditi Rao Hydari) having a picture perfect life with her husband, and she lives vicariously through Nusrat. One day she sees Nusrat with another man and is furious at her for ruining her supposedly perfect marriage and seeks her out. Thus ensues the memory lapse where she doesn’t remember what happened, but she is left with bruising all over her. It turns out Nusrat is killed and the police are suspecting Mira. The investigation is led by Dalbir Kaur Bagga (Kirti Kulhari).
There are so many questions. First, how was it possible to screw up a movie, which has been made only recently? The script is literally in your hands. While the whole internal conflict written in the book is understandably difficult to put into a visual medium, there is already a blue print, just 5 years old. Second, why did this movie have to be shot in London, with London street names and NRIs who justifiably do not have an Indian accent? It would have been so much more easier to follow and so much less cringy if only they had shot it in India with Indian actors. Third, given the above two, who thought it a good idea to diverge from the original story? And who thought the new angle was good? Fourth, what’s with that bruise on Mira’s temple dude? It looked like something straight out of a Ramsay brothers’ movie make-up.
Even though, Dear Reader, you have understood how unwatchable the “movie” is, it bears repeating. If you watch this movie, a demonic presence like in the movie The Ring will possess you and you would want to kill everyone. It will need to be exorcised. There is not even one single thing which can be said in the favour of this, not even cinematography, costumes, lighting, nothing. This movie is the point where sanity goes to die.
PSA – Do Not Watch It
Spoiler: Dalbir Kaur Bagga is the daughter of the man whom Mira put behind bars and she commits the crime to frame Mira. There. You are welcome.
To watch or not to watch: Brilliant watch with popcorn
The movie continues after the first installment where the crime (murder of IG’s son) was committed 6 years ago. The family is constantly under the threat and fear of the crime being traced to them. Meanwhile, Georgekutty (Mohanlal) is chasing his dream of making a movie and the script is in the works for some time. He has spent a lot of money in getting it just right. They have new neighbours, a couple with an alcoholic and abusive husband and a simple wife. The Georgekutty family is living their lives, amongst local gossip about the daughter Anju (Ansiba) who also has PTSD and Georgekutty’s recent alcoholism. The police is still looking to solve the crime and they now have new witnesses and clues. The story then “resumes” from that point and becomes again a game of intelligence and sheer will power.
The movie feels like a sweet melancholic orchestra in the beginning and takes it to the best crescendo any performance could. The movie is long-ish at 2 hours 33 minutes of play, and the first hour is director showing us the lay of the land, to generate the same emotions the first movie generated for the family and how that incident has changed their lives. The performances of the actors is yet again, flawless. Mohanlal shines brightly as a man juggling multitude aspects of life. The protagonist of the movie still remains human psyche. It is present in all the aspects of the story – the crime, the public opinion, human conscience, persecution, everything. It is difficult to express in words.
It is one of the best sequels made, not only for the execution of the idea, but for the idea itself. A crime is committed and how the people affected by it are dealing with the aftermath. The idea of multi-faceted persecution is beautifully depicted. It is more a psychological thriller, exploring/exploiting human nature than a crime genre movie – more so than the first installment. This shows how the line between crime and righteousness is grey and we cannot escape the consequences of our actions no matter how clever we try to be. It becomes almost philosophical at this point.
Do watch it, with a huge tub of popcorn for stress eating.
Starring: Millie Bobby Brown, Henry Cavill, Helena Bonham Carter, Louis Partridge
Streaming on: Netflix
To watch or not to watch: An average movie which loses its track with runtime
Enola (Millie Bobby Brown) has been brought up single-handedly by her mother Eudoria Holmes (Helena Bonham Carter) who is a feminist and quite talented in word plays, hand-to-hand combat, etc. Enola adores her mother and learnt a lot from her. On Enola’s 16th birthday, Eudoria disappears from their home and their town, leaving only breadcrumbs for Enola to follow. She lists the help of her two elder brothers, Sherlock (Henry Cavill) and Mycroft to find Eudoria. They in turn want Enola to be a proper lady according to the day and age they lived in. Enola runs away from home and directly into the path of another absconding teenager Tewksbury (Louis Partridge) and enters London to look for her mother. Follows a series of shocking stories, often putting Enola’s life in danger.
The movie is directed by Harry Bradbeer, who also directed the wildly popular (and deservedly so) Fleabag. He has incorporated breaking the fourth-wall in the movie too, which was so seamlessly done in Fleabag, though he isn’t able to carry it off throughout the movie. The fourth wall merely cracks a little in the first half hour of the movie and then stays the same way for the rest of the run time. This theme of inconsistency is seen throughout the movie – Enola not so much as solves the crime, as she is blindly thrown into it, quite literally. The movie pays a homage to the women’s liberalization movement on the late 19th century, but frankly that concept is overused these days. And trying to please the PC police, they have cast a woman of colour who runs a teashop and also teaches jujitsu which not era appropriate (the teashop bit, not the jujitsu one).
There can be no fault found with Millie Bobby Brown’s performance, she has really showed the wide spectrum of roles she can do from Eleven to Enola. Henry Cavill is cool as cucumber in his role. Though his and Helena Bonham Carter’s characters seem to be done a disservice, in not been used to their full potential. It is an easily missed movie, as it doesn’t add much fun to the watching experience. Being more than 2 hour long, it drags at times. It also doesn’t justify the plot points bring dropped at quite a few places. All in all, pretty meh.
Starring: Nawazuddin Siddiqui, Radhika Apte, Shweta Tripathi, Ila Arun
Streaming on: Netflix
To watch or not to watch: A good whodunnit to watch over a meal
Raghuveer Singh, a politically connected, powerful and old landowner is found brutally murdered in his home on his wedding day. He was shot with a rifle and his face was bashed in with the same gun. The bride is Radha (Radhika Apte) who was sold to Raghuveer Singh and was his mistress. The wedding party was small, with only immediate family members in attendance. They opposed to the marriage, and they all collude to blame Radha for the murder. In comes Inspector Jatil Yadav (Nawazuddin Siddiqui) to investigate the crime, which includes political plot points and internal conflicts between family members.
It is not a very refreshing movie, as crime/mystery/thrillers are a dime a dozen and are a formula for success. This is different from others, in that it has a larger cast list with more well-known faces and a bit more serious crime plot. The movie touches a few social issues and doesn’t veer off the plot. They could have built upon the character stories a bit more, specially Radha, who has a key role. Even Jatil Yadav’s character is only understood by some subtext spread across the movie, making it difficult to understand the reason behind his actions and decisions.
The performances by Radhika Apte and Nawazuddin Siddiqui are perfect. In theory, they would have made an unlikely pair online, but in execution it all looks seamless. It isn’t something which demands constant attention and can be watched while getting chores done. It is good content from Netflix Originals, maybe their best yet.
Starring: Eugene Levy, Catherine O’Hara, Daniel Levy, Annie Murphy
Streaming on: Netflix
To watch or not to watch: A must watch – a perfect pick-me-upper
A filthy rich family in a big town has all its assets seized because their accountant misfiled their taxes. The only asset left with them is a town called Schitt’s Creek, which the dad, Johnny Rose (Eugene Levy) bought as a joke for his son, David (Daniel Levy). The town is so hopeless that even the revenue department couldn’t sell it. So the family, which also has a daughter, Alexis Rose (Annie Murphy) and a mother, Moira (Catherine O’Hara) move to the motel in Schitt’s Creek. Their current situation is a far cry from their previous life, which was filled with expensive parties and clothes. The entire series follows them on the new adventure and shows how they rebuild their lives and relationships.
The premise of the series is not unheard of (Arrested Development comes to mind, which executes the same plot in a completely opposite story and is a blast) but the rest of it all is totally fresh. The characters are rich, spoiled and are lovable and not relatable at all, unless one is ultra rich. These 4 are utterly clueless on how the real world works and they have to navigate the new waters with only their resourcefulness. It is a huge change they have to make, where they have to adjust with not being the popular and have things come easy. The characters really grow over the seasons. It is heartening to see them really mature into less-pretentious adults and have care about others. Somewhat.
It is a hilarious story about reality check and self-improvement. Not an easy topic to work comedy into, and yet it achieves it. Daniel Levy is the star of the show. He is charming and probably the second least pretentious character after his series (and real life) father Eugene. The first season doesn’t leave the audience wanting too much, but just hang on. It is all more than worth it as the seasons progress. It is not often that series really evolve along with the characters and this show does it beautifully. A shout out to the costume designer Debra Hanson, who has subtly made the Roses look ridiculous and showed the difference in characters. A must watch for some much needed upliftment in these trying times.
To watch or not to watch: A good watch for a lazy afternoon
Katherine Newbury (Emma Thompson) has been the host of a late night talk show for more than a decade. She has been famous once and regarded as the best in the industry. Now the ratings are declining and the network is planning to replace her with a new comedian. In parallel, she has been called out for hiring a certain demographic – male and Caucasian. In comes Molly Patel (Mindy Kaling) who was working at a chemical plant but somehow ended up in front of the show’s producer and is hired. Molly is new to the industry, naive, straight-shooter and down on her luck. Her fresh outlook gets her noticed and also helps Katherine in her personal and professional life.
The movie is likable. Very. It has good performances in Emma Thompson who is so strong as a person and as the character she plays, it is inspiring all round, and Mindy Kaling who is funny, smart and well, Indian. Hugh Dancy, Reid Scott and John Lithgow are other familiar faces. The movie addresses a lot of fundamental issues in the entertainment industry, like male dominance, nepotism, lack of ethnic diversity, and #MeToo. In a short stand-up clip in the movie, Katherine speaks how the industry discriminates on the basis of age of women, but not of men. It is hard hitting.
It is so refreshing to see a fell good movie which isn’t about romance, nor about a quirky female and an impossibly perfect male protagonist. Both the leading characters are females, and flawed in various degrees in their own different ways. They have genuine human problems which are relatable. The problem is, Late Night tries to do a lot together, such that not everything gets its proper attention. It isn’t a well made movie, but the creators weren’t going for it. Mindy Kaling and Nisha Ganatra (Director) wanted to portray the real struggles, some of which were from personal expereinces.
A good watch on a lazy afternoon for a little pick-me-up.
To watch or not to watch: A must watch when looking for something intense
The movie is a true story of a US Senate Investigative Committee’s report on the CIA’s interrogation techniques after the 9/11 attacks. The ungainful torture of the suspected terrorists was called “Enhanced Interrogative Techniques” by the CIA and was outsourced to independent contractors, who did not have the qualification to carry out the task. And yet, they got the free hand for many years. After the government changed, interrogation by torture was supposed to stop, but didn’t, thus leading to the investigation. The Committee was led by an idealistic and tenacious Daniel J Jones and his small staff, working in a basement office for about 5 years. They got 6.3 million documents to read which lead to 6,700 pages’ report and about 500 pages summary. Understandably, there was backlash from CIA and the red tape restricted the access directly into the Agency.
Though the premise of the movie doesn’t make it a compelling watch, but it is. Scott Z Burns managed to make the process of reading the documents and the presentation of the report exciting and intriguing. the role of Daniel J Jones, played by Adam Driver, is an inspiring character in and of himself. The investigation, the screenplay of reading of the documents were interspersed by the footage of the interrogation of the suspected terrorists, all playing the emotions of the viewer masterfully.
The acting skills of Adam Driver have never been in question. Coupled with the ideal outlook of Dan Jones, he is truly commendable. The movie doesn’t pull any punches and is transparent about the entire process, including the apathy of the CIA, the plot to cover up the truth and the resistance from the White House to stop the truth from coming out. It is an honest movie, simply made and yet delivers. A must watch.
Starring: Shahid Kapoor, Kangana Ranaut, Saif Ali Khan, Richard McCabe
The movie is set in 1944, the time of freedom struggles of Mahatama Gandhi and Subhash Chandra Bose, and Work War II. Julie (Kangana Ranaut) is a spoilt actress who used to be a gypse, until she was rescued at 14 by Rusie Billimoria (Saif Ali Khan), a successful movie producer, and now is his mistress. Nawab Mallik (Shahid Kapoor) is a serious, stoic soldier assigned to be her bodyguard, on the trip to Indo-Burma border. In that entourage, is a Indian National Army loyal, carrying a valuable sword from a Maharaja to be given to INA to fund their freedom struggle. Enroute, the Japanese forces attack and Julie with Nawab are separated from others, and fall in love with each other. Nawab takes his responsibility of a bodyguard seriously and successfully returns Julie to the destination, there ensues a series of events full of intrigue, action and suspense.
All the three main characters of the movie are crafted carefully and are immensely intriguing. Shahid Kapoor is one of the most brilliant actors in Bollywood these days, and delivers the role of a stoic soldier shouldering responsibilities way beyond his stature, to the T. Kangana Ranaut’s performance steals the show. It is so powerful that it shadows over everything else. And everything else isn’t much. The story line, while sounding good off-hand, was killed by poor execution. Eroticism was prioritised over plot, drama over direction. At some points it looked like a spoof of a heist movie. The first half was only a build up to what audience can expect from the second half, and second half was anti-climactic. The dialogues were clichéd, the songs over long, unnecessary background details of characters, made the movie long and tiring. It lost the focus from the love-triangle in a war torn land and freedom struggle and instead, focussed on multiple insignificant things, like bad Hindi accents of Britishers. Vishal Bhardwaj has broken the hearts of many hard-core cinema lovers. He does deserves a mention for creating the sublime music this movie has. All in all, this movie should be missed.
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