Category: Netflix

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.

Caught Stealing

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https://www.newyorker.com/

Rating: 3.5 stars out of 5
Starring: Austin Butler, Regina King, Zoë Kravitz,  Matt Smith, Liev Schreiber, Vincent D’Onofrio, Bad Bunny
Where to watch: Netflix
To watch or not to watch: It is a fun ride, delivers what it promises, which is a non-exceptional chase thriller in New York, filled with quirky eccentric characters

Hank (Austin Butler) is a sweet, borderline alcoholic bartender, who is more than an average ball player and one of the biggest fans of Giants. One night, after closing up the bar, he returns home with his non-committed long term girlfriend Yvonne (Zoë Kravitz), only to find that his neighbour Russ (Matt Smith) is leaving for the airport to take care of his sick dad and has given the responsibility of his bad tempered cat Bud to Hank. Little does Hank know that Russ is running away from Russian mobsters who are out for Russ’ blood. They mistake Hank for Russ, and beat to a pulp so much so that he needs to be admitted to the hospital to remove his ruptured kidney. From there, he is contacted by narcotics detective Elise Roman (Regina King), who tells him that the ring of drugs run deeper than Russians. There is the Puerto Rican Colorado (Bad Bunny) who works with the Russians, who in turn owe Hasidic Drucker brothers (Liev Schreiber, Vincent D’Onofrio), basically making a drug dealer’s Ponzi scheme. Fascinating.

The script is tight and clear, two of the most important and underrated things a script should be. It is fun to watch, doesn’t take itself too seriously (unlike Aronofsky’s Black Swan, The Whale, basically his entire filmography) and thus delivers what it promises, which is also not commonly seen these days. Another winning point in the movie’s favour is the character of Hank, who is unlike the macho, testosterone-filled action movie stars we see in these movies (cue: Jason Statham). Is he an alcoholic? Yes. Is he commitment-phobic? Also yes. But he calls his mother daily, is loyal and faithful to his non-girlfriend, takes care of a foul cat. And that’s adorable, and you don’t want the goons to be after someone so adorable. You are rooting for the guy. Even the bad guys aren’t totally bad; they are in a business and are only working to solve for the stolen merchandise. Some of them will observe the traditions set by their grandmothers and follow the rules of their religion (which added a little sumnin’-sumnin’, NGL). The real bad guys are the real surprise. This is a big shift from the regular grim Aronofsky flick, and it is a pleasant surprise that he is willing to experiment (and he goes with the body anti-dismorphia with Austin Butler).

Having said so many good things about the movie, there are some things which the movie fails to deliver. The individual gangsters are mostly cliched, the chase sequences predictable, the romantic storyline adding nothing much to the whole, etc. Basically, the parts that make it a whole, while flowing into each other seamlessly, are nonetheless not surprising. There are some unbelievable points like Hank being able to run right after getting his kidney removed, being a cliched hero with a traumatic past, a die-hard sports fan making him a stereotypical American, kinda make it a bit boring too. But here’s the thing, these parts also fit together, so you need to take the good with the bad, because altogether it is quite pleasant. Will highly recommend for a Friday night chill movie session. Austin Butler has great things ahead of him for sure.

Infernal Affairs

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Yes, it is as good as you have heard

https://www.netflix.com/

Rating: 5 stars out of 5
Starring: Andy Lau Tak-wah, Tony Leung Chiu-wai, Anthony Wong Chau-sang, Eric Tsang Chi-wai
Where to watch: Netflix
To watch or not to watch: There are only a very small group of people who probably might not like this movie. Probably

Hong Kong has recently been taken over by the Chinese government after the British handed over the territory, and the police have been very strict about illegal activities. A don by the name of Sam (Eric Tsang Chi-wai) has lost a few men to the police raids. He has a clever plan to foil the police though – to place young kids with no criminal record in the police academy so he gets an inside man. The police has a similar plan – they place a smart young cadet right out of the academy in the criminal underworld (well, they make a whole show of throwing that man out of the academy so there is no suspicion. Just semantics). Now the young man is a long-term undercover policeman Chen Wing-yan (Tony Leung Chiu-wai) and the inside man of Sam is Inspector Lau Kin-ming (Andy Lau Tak-wah). Both the opposite parties know there is a rat in their midst, which they are unable to find out, until they do (if you have seen The Departed, you know how this goes). There is a lot collateral damage along the way, which depicts the Chinese influence on Hong Kong very clearly. It is a true delight (Edmund could have chosen this movie instead of those stupid turkish delights. Just saying).

When a movie is this good, it is this exact goodness which makes it difficult to write/review/critique it, because the reaction to it is plain gushing. There are multiple layers to this movie, from the characters to the situation and the story in general. We have Yan, the undercover cop who is tired of this life and is longing to have a normal life on his morals. He is not the top honcho in the criminal group and is struggling morally, very strong in convictions, but living in sub-optimal conditions, only able to sleep on his therapist’s couch. In parallel and in contrast, there is Inspector Lau, who is sure about who he is, what he needs to do to get what he wants, comfortable in the life he is leading and has recently moved into a swanky apartment with a girlfriend (who is writing a novel about a man with multiple personalities. Cheeky, that). All this is super easy to see and conclude and is a prime example of show-don’t-tell policy. Even the casting of the movie is on point. The viewer cannot help but sympathise with Yan who elicits a “poor guy” response at every point, and Lau with the chiselled cheekbones depicts a smooth operator policeman, rising through the ranks, getting what he wants before he even asks for it. And of course, Superintendent Wong is an intelligent, worldly man who is a formidable opponent. All of the players are all about business and there is little to no drama about it.

Drama is what differentiates the American version of this movie from this one, and the potential reason why Infernal Affairs might be rated higher than The Departed. The conversation between Yan and Wong on getting out of the undercover business drips with the desperation of a lonely, conflicted man vs the similar conversation in The Departed, which is more dramatised and had a high-horse moral tone to it. Infernal Affairs doesn’t need to explain the right and wrong of the situation, since that is largely stitched into our society’s DNA. It cuts through all that, gets straight to the story, and even eliminates any action. It is pure intrigue. And for these reasons, Infernal Affairs is a must-watch!

The Residence

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https://www.theguardian.com/

Rating: 4 stars out of 5
Starring: Uzo Aduba, Giancarlo Esposito, Molly Griggs, Ken Marino, Randall Park, Susan Kelechi Watson, Isiah Whitlock Jr., Edwina Findley
Where to watch: Netflix (8 episodes, 50-odd minutes each)
To watch or not to watch: A closed mansion mystery with multiple suspects and Rian Johnson style storytelling. It is highly recommended for fans of typical whodunnit.

It is the night of Australian state dinner at The White House, rather THE WHITE HOUSE, where Hugh Jackman and Kylie Minogue are also present. In the middle of this, they find the chief usher AB Wynter (Giancarlo Esposito) dead on the third floor. The chiefs of all the major intelligence/security/investigation agencies are at the scene and are quick to call the death a suicide, except Cordelia Cupp (Uzo Aduba), the greatest detective in the world (not unlike Poirot, only she is female and has less differentiated mannerisms) is called upon. She declares the death a murder and presents compelling evidence or lack thereof to boost her statement. What follows is a non-linear sequence of statements, evidence, lies, corroboration, congressional committee, exposure of personal lives and bird-watching to arrive at the truth. Oh! And Kylie Minogue performs. She is chiefly assisted by Susan Kelechi Watson (Jasmine Haney) who was Assistant Usher until Wynter’s death, and Edwin Park (Randall Park), an FBI special agent. Did Jasmine murder Wynter to quicken her promotion, or was it Harry Hollinger (Ken Marino) who was suspected of having a fight with the victim sometime before the “incident”, or was it the drunk butler Sheila (Edwina Findley), or even the pastry chef?

The brilliance of the series lies in the manner of storytelling ie, the pacing. It is quite like Knives Out, with the opening scene being the discovery of the body, fun quick cuts to scenes which lead to non-linearity and dizziness in the viewer, also making the viewer’s attempt to solve the crime difficult. Cordelia follows clues, which are lost on everyone, gets people to talk by not asking questions, push people into the corner by questioning everything, all in all, the fast-paced movement of scenes and dialogues and characters themselves, make for a really fun viewing. There are multiple characters and storylines, complicated by lies and small incidents deemed insignificant but turn out to be the real crux of the matter, Cordelia’s shifting focus to bird-watching, ensuring the viewer is kept on their toes. The show doesn’t take itself seriously and is self-aware enough to acknowledge the heavy borrowing from Christie and Johnson and what-not, it is funny despite the fact it is based in The White House, not because of it.

This show is a brilliant first watch, testing the viewer’s willpower to not binge it in one sitting, but only the first time. After that, the plot holes, the ridiculousness of the setting and extravagant mannerisms are easy to see through as distraction tactics. Aduba is good at her job and has an engaging screen presence, but someone alluding to her ability to solve unsolvable cases is not entirely believable, we are expected to just accept it. Then there is a whole origin story in the middle of the series, which was only a filler to make it last 8 episodes. The uncovered truth about the murder and the murderer is underwhelming so adjust the expectations accordingly. This is also the point where the series loses a score in the rating. There is so much underhanded display of female empowerment, that it is tiring. If you want real female empowerment in cinema, start paying equal wages, but putting men down only reverses the problem. Sigh!
Shonda Rhimes has made women-centric content in the past, while they were highly superficial, this is much, much better than the convenient, self-congratulatory plotlines of series like Scandal. It is flawed, but there is progress. And it is a good watch for all the mystery-starved people out there.

Inside Man – a study on wasting good actors with bad writing

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https://m.imdb.com/

Rating: 2 stars out of 5
Starring: David Tennant, Stanley Tucci
Where to watch: Netflix
Seasons and episodes: 1 season, 4 episodes, 1 hour per episode
To watch or not to watch: Please skip this despite the stellar cast

The series opens with Jefferson Grieff (Stanley Tucci) in a prison cell helping someone solve a murder. He is a former American law professor convicted of murdering his wife, to which he confessed and is haunted by his act. In the parallel, there is Harry Watling (David Tennant) who is a vicar in a small town in England. He has a troubled parishioner Edgar who lives with his verbally abusive mother. Edgar hands a memory stick to Harry to safe keep, away from his mother. Harry picks up his son’s maths tutor Janice Fife (Dolly Wells), reaches home and deposits his keys and memory stick in a bowl at the entrance. Harry’s son Ben (Louis Oliver) gives the stick to Janice to transfer some material. Janice pokes her nose into what is stored on the drive to find child p*rn, and thinks Harry is a pedophile. This leads to a lot of misunderstandings, and a comedy of errors.

If they had made the series into a real comedy instead of whatever it was, it would have gone down better with the audience. From the opening scene with Tucci’s Hannibal-esque Grieff acting as a consultant because somehow he is a criminal mastermind to the taking of memory stick home, when it was equally safe in the church is farcical. Ben tries to save his father by declaring ownership of the offending memory stick, but the father is digging a deeper hole for himself. Maths tuition and all is fine, but maybe a cognitive understanding class was more needed in this household. There was no confusion which couldn’t be solved by a simple conversation with Janice, which would have taken barely 5 sentences and need not involve Edgar’s identity. Instead, Janice is locked in the basement, she is a believer in making a bad situation worse, by the way (maybe she also needs lessons in cognitive understanding), Tucci is doing something, which has nothing to do with anyone or anything but still features in the series, and there is a reporter investigating Janice’s disappearance? SOS, brain not computing.

Netflix, my dear Netflix, what is wrong hun? All ok? Childhood trauma working overtime? Why take the stellar cast, drive up your production cost and not have someone go through the script once? How did you even get Tucci and Tennant to sign up? Are you blackmailing them? Ok, apologies, got carried away for a bit there, but then the series is unbelievably bad. And the actors did a fantastic job. So much so that a case can be made that Janice was the real villain (and if you go by some of the reviews online, many writers have the same opinion), such is the residual emotion for her character. Listen, the premise is great, and with good writing, it might even make for a beautiful thriller. But working with what was given to us, unfortunately it makes for a horrible horrible play, which cannot be saved by acting alone. Please do better.

Kill Boksoon

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https://decider.com/

Rating: 4 stars out of 5
Starring: Jeon Do-yeon, Esom, Sol Kyung-gu, Koo Kyo-hwan, Kim si-a
Where to watch: Netflix
To watch or not to watch: A highly recommended watch for all the action lovers and thrill seekers

Gill Boksoon (Jeon Do-yeon) has been rechristened Kill Boksoon by her peers, as she has the most and the best kills within the contract killer agency, MK Entertainment. She is a single mother who participates in PTA, has lunches with other mothers, drives a G-wagon, can also drive a beat-up van to a secluded spot to fight to death against a Yakuza. She has a clairvoyance-like ability to sense the victim’s next possible move, clout within the contract killer community, respect of fellow PTA mothers, a ton of money as evidenced by the high ceiling flat, the ultra premium school she is sending her daughter to, and a boss who is slightly in love with her. What she doesn’t have is a close relationship with her daughter, which she desperately wants, even though she is a “cool mom” and has kept her personal and professional life totally separate. Now, as in any good story, comes a conflict which challenges this precarious balance. Her agency has asked her to kill a minor, something that is not aligned with her principles. This gets the ire of her boss, fueled and fanned by his jealous sister (Esom), a betrayal by her booty call, and a run for her life. All this culminates in one of the most visually appealing and well choreographed fight scenes.

The movie does well what it sets out to do – give a thrilling and chilling action movie with right emotions dotted along the way in the relationships between Boksoon, her boss, her daughter and the boss’ twisted sister. It is centered around the titular character Boksoon. All the other things are mere decors. It doesn’t pull punches when describing Boksoon’s life, but even better is that it doesn’t overdo it either (of which a lot of Korean action movies I have seen are guilty). Boksoon is flawed, she doesn’t always treat people well, her position in her work community has led to conceit, not to mention what she does for a living. But in conjunction with this is also her irresolute principles even within the contract killing, her motherhood, which is reflected in the guidance she gives to the trainee under her and the way she handles the problems her daughter faces in her school. And, as already mentioned, the choreography and direction of the action sequences make up for all the other flaws which the movie has.

Why do we watch movies? To get entertained, to be taken on an emotional roller-coaster, to see experiences we may or may not have experiences ourselves depicted through other people. This one is surely entertaining, and that should be enough to make for the reason to watch it. It also does one thing which is commendable – it portrays, single-motherhood and unconventional relationships which come along with it as part of course. It is much needed to normalise this also-reality, specially coming from Korean cinema which is has been rather binary in this (Oldboy, Handmaiden vs K-dramas). It is a small step in the right direction.

All this rant just to say that it is a good movie to watch after a tiring day, just to get that adrenaline pumping, the heart beating and to feel good. Watch it with popcorn for sure.

Sh**ting Stars

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https://www.koreaboo.com/

Rating: 3.5 stars out of 5
Starring: Lee Sung-kyung, Kim Young-dae, Yoon Jong-hoon, Kim Yoon-hye, Lee Jung-shin, Park So-jin
Where to watch: Netflix
Seasons and episodes: 1 season with 16 episodes and around 1 hour per episode
To watch or not to watch: It delivers the promise of K-dramas – it is light-hearted, sweet, and gives hope of finding love to all the singles

Oh Han Byeol (Lee Sung Kyung) is a kick-a** PR manager for Star Entertainment and is usually kept busy handling the escapades of their biggest star Gong Tae Sung (Kim Young Dae). The both of them were friends in college and took separate paths after graduation. Tae Sung resents Han Byeol for a mistake she made which affected his reputation. And Han Byeol doesn’t trust/like Tae Sung as he is notorious and has decided to make her life a living hell. Eventually Tae Sung realises his feelings for Han Byeol and tries to win her over. In the parallel, there are people around the lead actors who have their own paths to finding their respective romance.

The above written synopsis is just about everything in the story. There is little to no depth to the characters or the story built up. But then Kdramas don’t promise anything earth shattering – they are to take your mind off real life, without adding intensity. There is a slight emotional drama related to the male lead’s apparent difficult childhood, but that’s easy to skip.

While this series does some things right, it does lose points on somethings which are touched upon but are not explored, namely the challenges in a celebrity’s life. This can be due to difficult relationships, adopting an untrue persona, etc. Tae Sung had a tough childhood, it is shown that it has impact in his adult life, but how, what and why are still unanswered. The jobs of a PR person and celebrity manager are have a certain set of challenges and are used as a comic relief. It feels hollow and unsatisfactory. The leads are all good actors. The choice of casting Lee Sung Kyung was a good one, as she fits this character and her expressions add to the humour. All in all, do watch it for a nice and breezy break from reality.

Monica, O My Darling

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https://www.bollywoodmdb.com/

Rating: 3 stars out of 5
Starring: Rajkumar Rao, Huma Qureshi, Radhika Apte, Sikander Kher, Sukant Goel, Akansha Ranjan Kapoor, Bagavathi Perumal,
Where to watch: Netflix
To watch or not to watch: A neo-noir movie which tries too hard and fails. Skip this one

Jayant (Rajkumar Rao) is a star robotics engineer at Unicorn Robotics, and is in a relationship with the owner’s daughter Nikki (Akansha Ranjan). He hails from a small town, intent on escaping it and lands at Pune. Now things are all looking up for him and he is as susceptible to ego as any human, and gets into a casual relationship with the secretary to his future father-in-law, Monica Machado (Huma Qureshi). She claims to be pregnant with his child and is blackmailing him. He is spooked, and rightly so, as it threatens his rise up the company. It turns out, she has been blackmailing other heterosexual male members of the company, namely Arvind Manivannan (Bagavathi Perumal) and Nishant Adhikari (Sikander Kher). The three of them hatch a plan to kill Monica and dispose of the body in a rather Strangers on a Train way. The case is handled by ACP Naidu (Radhika Apte). Needless to say, the plan goes awry and then there is confusion, anxiety and insecurity, which enhances the chaos.

The problem with any such movie (read: Netflix Originals and Bollywood) is that they try too hard. They have tried to do everything the great masters have done in their art, for example, there is quirkiness of Knives Out, confusion of Guy Ritchie’s Snatch, opening credit fonts of Quentin Tarantino (seriously, this has to be the biggest crime of this movie, touching something so holy), etc. The idea of the movie, which by the way, is taken from a Keigo Higashino book titled Burutasu No Shinzou (Heart of Brutus) (another blasphemy), is superb, and so are the performances. What else to expect from Rajkumar Rao, Huma Qureshi and Radhika Apte. But everything else just doesn’t reach the mark. The storyline is unnecessarily convoluted, with random flashbacks and parallels which do not add to the mystery, only serves as a distraction. There are multiple plot lines they tried to address, but couldn’t do justice to a single one. Radhika Apte as a sarcastic-comic police inspector adds no entertainment value, only succeeds in being a slight annoyance. Disappointing.

The movie gets aa few things right – Huma Qureshi’s femme fatale is no simpering mess in size 2, she is comfortable in her skin, slays in her character and succeeds in getting all men’s attention without trying too hard. Maybe this movie has rightly projected that it is not always the vampy females who manage to trap guileless men. It is the men who need to be better and not villainize females. It also shows Radhika Apte as a not-too-honest police inspector, something we don’t see, and don’t associate with females. Rajkumar Rao’s Jayant is thankfully not a toxic masculine person either, though is toxic in general. All these points, while good, do not a good movie make. A movie is an amalgamation of direction, story, screenplay, editing and acting. The other points defying convention only enhance it. And in this case, it was simply disappointing to waste so much good because some aspects did not put in the work required. Skip this one without regrets.

Unknown Origins

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https://vocal.media/geeks/

Rating: 4 stars out of 5
Starring: Javier Rey, Antonio Resines, Brays Efe, Verónica Echegaray, Ernesto Alterio
Where to watch: Netflix
To watch or not to watch: A good spoof movie which sets itself apart by its good-ness

The movie opens with a murder of a man. The said man is murdered by steroids injected into him, enough to make him Hulk. This is followed my another murder of a man who has his heart pulled out and replaced by a metal suit. These cases are given to a new cop David (Javier Rey) and Cosme (Antonio Resines), but Cosme is on the brink of retirement (quite literally, the day the first murder is discovered, is the last day for Cosme before retirement). It is soon inferred that these murders have an association with the comic world, of which Jorge (Brays Efe) is an expert – he also happens to be the son of Cosme. So now David and Cosme (much to David’s chagrin) go around understanding the crime, the method and inspiration, which leads them to the criminal eventually. There is also a love angle, because why not, between David and his boss Norma (Verónica Echegaray).

If the above story triggers a memory of David Fincher’s Se7en, no brownie points for you – the movie is quite on the nose about it, mentioning it in one of the dialogues. Despite the sacrilege arising from spoofing one of the best psychological thrillers till date, the movie delivers on what it promises.
First of all, it is doesn’t take itself seriously. It is a fun take on comic book heroes, serial killers and investigations.
Second of all, the quality of direction and production is really good. It doesn’t skimp on that, just because it is sort-of spoof, quite unlike the other spoofs out there.
Finally, the ending of the movie is really good. By no means perfect, but good. The mystery is very unexpected.

This movie is by no means perfect – not the best story, not the best acting, etc. But it is highly entertaining. It is light-hearted and resonates with people because of connection with Se7en and superheroes. This is what the movie was aiming at and it achieves it. The only thing which it could have done without is Norma’s character. It is only a filler, for a gap that doesn’t exist. And to make it even weirder, there is a romantic angle between David and Norma, because apparently two attractive people have to love each other. Without this angle, the whole movie would have come out crisper and more focused. Nonetheless, it is a good one-time watch for people looking for pure entertainment.

The Invisible Man

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https://filmschoolrejects.com/

Rating: 4.5 stars out of 5
Starring: Elizabeth Moss, Oliver Jackson-Cohen, Aldis Hodge, Harriet Dyer, Storm Reid
Where to watch: Netflix
To watch or not to watch: Obsessive-controlling-man trope done the right way

Cecilia (Elizabeth Moss) is married to Adrian (Oliver Jackson-Cohen) who is a extremely rich pioneer in optics technology. She has the perfect plan to escape and she does it by the skin of her teeth, but her husband gets hurt in the process. She goes underground with the help of her sister and sister’s police boyfriend with no connection to anyone from her past. Then it is heard on the news that Adrian has committed suicide and left his fortune to Cecilia, bringing a much needed relief to everyone involved. Cecilia begins leading a normal life, looking for jobs and socialising with people, but strange occurrences start happening around her. In fact, she is arrested for slitting her sister’s throat in a crowded restaurant. She suspects Adrian has faked his death and is using his optics technology to somehow become invisible. By then, she has had enough and fights back.

The movie is done right – it takes the oft done theme of an obsessive male partner abusing the female partner and turns it into solid movie. It has done the opposite of what is unusual these days – great execution. While the theme might seem to many as common and might deter them to check this one out, the way this is ideated, crafted, acted and directed would be a treat. Another thing it does which makes it stand out is it is female centric, while most movies in this genre are centered around the male and his actions (slightly glorifying and justifying the toxicity).

The Invisible Man is visually stimulating, has the least amount of sound effects and only two false scares. Elizabeth Moss has once again delivered a brilliant performance, and it is safe to say The Handmaid’s Tale is the best thing to happen to her and her to it. Without it we wouldn’t have seen her in these leading roles. It is not very common for a female to carry off these roles and not easy either, and since these both things are present, it makes a must watch for more reasons.