Tag: Whodunnit

Poker Face

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https://www.rottentomatoes.com/

Rating: 4.5 stars out of 5
Starring:  Natasha Lyonne, Adrian Brody, Simon Helberg, Benjamin Bratt, Ron Perlman, Rhea Perlman and many other celebrities who appear for 1 episode
Where to watch: Peacock+/Jio Hotstar (2 seasons, 22 episodes in total, 50 min per episode)
To watch or not to watch: A must watch for people of all ages, preferences, inclinations, etc. And guaranteed fun!

Charlie Cale (Natasha Lyonne) is a real life human life detector – she doesn’t need to check your pulse, or pupils, or anything such thing. She just knows, there is a tell, a small flicker somewhere in the voice, face, anywhere, which makes her call people’s bullshit. Excellent for a poker players, not so good when you run into criminals everywhere you go.
Well, Charlie is a layabout, easy going, cigarette smoking, beer drinking free spirit, who is banned from gambling because of her remarkable ability, but it helps the owners of said gambling dens to catch cheaters. But things take a turn for the worse when she becomes a target of the mafia and has to be on the run, where she inadvertently runs into murders and murderers and their victims leading to the case-of-the-week structure with many celebrity cameos.

The format of the show is similar to Columbo, where we see the crime happen in the opening sequence of the episodes and then we see how Charlie falls into the scene, only Charlie notices things like Psych or The Mentalist and solves the crimes with the help of her power. Of course, some episodes are better than the others, and the episodes go from good in the beginning of the season to mid in the middle and ending with real good ones. But even the mid episodes will not dim the charm of the show, primarily contributed by Lyonne’s Cale. This Johnson-Lyonne duo is a match made in heaven, where it looks like everyone was having fun while making it. The vibe of the show is easy and fun, and the cases they present are serious crimes.

There are quite a few articles comparing Poker Face with Elsbeth and it is a fair comparison – they both have the same format of opening sequence revealing the crime entire followed by the sleuthing to uncover it, where Elsbeth relies too much on the character’s quirk, Poker Face divides that between the quirk and the quality of the story. There is also an over-arching theme of Charlie Cale’s run for her life from thugs, which adds a bit more spice to the show. Over-all, Poker Face is just better. It is that simple. Rian Johnson has found his niche and is doing a good job in this genre enough that the fiasco of The Last Jedi can be forgiven, unless he ruins the Knives Out franchise with the new installment, that is. His story writing skills are equal to the directorial ones, giving us one banger after another. This one is not to be missed!

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.

Ludwig

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https://www.radiotimes.com/

Rating: 4.5 stars out of 5
Starring: Dave Mitchell, Anna Maxwell Martin, Dipo Ola, Sophie Willan, Dorothy Atkinson, Ralph Ineson
Where to watch: BBC One
To watch or not to watch: Ooo… this is a fun watch. It is a comic-mystery and it is so much fun!!!

John Taylor (Dave Mitchell) is a master puzzle maker who lives in his childhood home, has a specific routine that needs to be followed (similar to Sheldon Cooper), has no close friends and has been estranged from his twin brother and his family for a few years now. His twin brother is named James Taylor, who is a successful DCI with Cambridge constabulary, is married to Lucy (Anna Maxwell Martin) and has a teenage son. Lucy, John and James used to be friends since they were 5 years old, and it is hinted that John had a crush on Lucy. Anyway, background now complete, James has disappeared without a conspicuous trace, and Lucy enlists John’s help – in that she wants John to impersonate his brother at the constabulary and find out what happened to him. A highly reluctant John does as he is told (he is a stickler for rules) but soon finds out entwined in regular police work, aka a murder mystery, which he finds out to be quite similar to solving puzzles which he incidentally thoroughly enjoys. With this is the overarching mystery of disappearance of his brother.

It is difficult to choose from where to begin singing praises about this series. David Mitchell and this role is a match custom made in Olympus (if Gods were flawless entities). He brings the totally-social-inept-and-out-of-depth character to fore most adequately. That in addition to what the God gave him – a highly expressive face, a physique to complement this character and the over-all look, and this makes it one of the best actor-character matches. The writing is also top notch, the script used puzzle solving into play which is a newish twist to this genre. Anna Maxwell is good too, but somehow she fails to convey the worry of a wife with a missing husband. But her character Lucy is an inspiration – she is a force of nature who would do what is necessary to figure out the disappearance and not be a despondent figure looking for a knight. The British know how to write a strong female character right.

There are plenty of comic-mystery series out there. What sets Ludwig apart is the clever writing. The puzzle solving aspect of it brings out the sleuth in all of us. Comparing the tools of the trade – DMV or arrest records, which are not usually accessible to common public, versus a puzzle which are accessible to people (might also interest some of the people) and it is not geographically limiting. Makes the series interesting in the mystery and the solving modus operandi. Not to mention the comedy sprinkled through the series coming mostly from Mitchell’s character and his social ineptness. It is rarely done this accurately. All in all, a must watch and still holds for repeat viewing.

Sookshmadarshini – an entertaining, fun thriller

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https://arynews.tv/

Rating: 4.5 stars out of 5
Starring: Nazriya Nazim, Basil Joseph, Akhila Bhargavan, Merin Philip, Deepak Parambol, Pooja Mohanraj
Where to watch: JioHotstar
To watch or not to watch: Oh it is a must watch. It is a fun and thrilling ride.

Priya or Priyadarshini (Nazriya Nazim) is a homemaker and an aspiring professional who lives in harmony with her husband, daughter and group of ladies around the neighbourhood, where they are always into each other’s business. When a new neighbour Manuel (Basil Joseph), with his sick mother, moves next door to Priya, her curiosity peeks its head. Manuel is a people pleaser and very well to do, managing his family’s bakery. His mother is said to have dementia and is thus a recluse. Priya finds that suspicious as she has seen the mother walking around their property, seemingly in full control of her senses. One day the mother walks out of the house and is subsequently lost, but Priya is sure she has seen her in the house, leading her to conclude that Manuel is holding her captive, but none of her friends believe her. In the parallel, Manuel is indeed cooking something with the help of his uncle and his doctor friend who is treating his mother. What is the plan? And why such elaborate facade in a gossipy and nosy neighbourhood?

This movie is not trying to hide things. We know there is something crooked about Manuel, we know Priya has seen his mother easily carrying out daily tasks without any hint of confusion and that he has fed a monitor lizard as beef to his neighbours in a party (gross!!!). But there is still a sense of urgency, a sense of confusion and an eagerness to know the truth throughout the film. Priya appears to be a very loving mother and wife, who is frustrated at not being able to bag a job and is bored as a homemaker. It is understandable when people don’t believe her, but as an audience member you get frustrated on her behalf. This is movie is that engaging. It is so much fun too, as Priya makes a cartel of sorts of the other stay-at-home ladies of the neighbourhood to aid in her investigation. It goes to show that minds can work in mysterious ways.

The end of the movie is gratifying, though albeit convoluted. It is wasn’t for some of the overdone climax twists, this movie would have been a 5/5, hands down. This is a fresh take on the whodunnit trope which can only be experimented in the Malayalam film industry. All the other regional and national movie makers need to stop what they are doing and really, deliberately take notes of what is being done right. This movie’s budget is 10 cr or approximately $1.2 million and what it produced is pure entertainment. Yes, it is not a thought provoking, moral preaching movie – it is a fun, entertaining watch which delivers the thrill it promises the audience.