Sneha Jaiswal's Blog, page 130

Boys Like Boys Review – Six Days of Sun, Smiles, Tears

According to some religions, God took six days to build the world, so maybe finding love in six days shouldn’t be that hard for humans? The 2023 Taiwanese gay dating reality series “Boys Like Boys” (Original title – 男生男生配) brings together eight different men from different walks of life to spend six days together going on romantic dates to see if they fall in love on the show.

The series is a little like the Korean show “His Man” in format, where only six contestants arrive on the first day of the series and two other men join them later. However, the two people who join the show later in “Boys Like Boys” are at a complete disadvantage because the six others have already developed major crushes by then and don’t really give them too much thought.

Spread over ten hour-long episodes, the series is pretty breezy and made fun by some of the participants, with the chief entertainer being the extroverted singer/hairstylist Eri, who wears his heart on his sleeves and is always around to make a little joke and liven up the atmosphere. Ironically, Eri is roommates with the quiet introvert civil servant Bobo, who is dubbed Bo-bo-boring by one of the participants. Still, Eri and Bobo strike a heartwarming platonic friendship on the show and have each other’s back through the runtime. Eri has a consistent crush on singer Nio, who is of mixed-race and does stand out a bit due to his different (but good) looks. But it’s the oldest contestant, Gino, who is the boldest of the lot, he takes a liking to fitness instructor Guan-Yu and doesn’t hold back from handsy to show his affection.

The creators should have had all contestants come in from the first day because latecomers Susu and Jia-Hang lose out on establishing a decent connection with the others. But most them are keen on having a good time, so all of them walk away with new meaningful friendships and experience from the show. But despite only six days, there’s a lot of love, laughter, tears and cathartic moments on the show for the boys. Episode 5 featured a special guest, popular Taiwanese singer Abao, who is known for her vocal support for the LGBTQ+ community. Abao’s appearance on the show was an emotional surprise for all the members, and they all opened up about their personal journeys and coming out experiences with her.

From picking fruits, making jams, going on horse ride, most of the dates are set in scenic places, so aesthetically the series is bright and nice to look at. Everybody seems to develop significant feelings in the show and despite some being aware that they might like the same person, there’s no heightened drama or negativity. The creators however could’ve added some more fun segments or games in the show to make it more structured, because often, the contestants are just loitering around, unsure of what they should do when they aren’t on designated dates. Overall, it’s a good one time watch for those who like dating reality shows sans negativity and over-the-top drama.

Rating: 7 on 10. You can stream it on GagaOolala.

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Memoirs of a Man in Pajamas – Book Review

Rating: 3.5 out of 5.

Sneha Jaiswal (X | Insta | FB | GoodReads)

“Random Ramblings of a Cartoonist” should’ve probably been the title of this graphic novel, but you’ve got to admit – “Memoirs of a Man in Pajamas” sounds more fun. Written and illustrated by Paco Roca, the memoir is jammed with anecdotal tidbits, travel stories, jokes, opinions that range from extremely hilarious to kinda tedious. If like me, you didn’t know that Paco Roca is a pretty celebrated Spanish cartoonist (which becomes pretty evident in the book), you should read some of his other works before this. Because, “Memoirs of a Man in Pajamas” (original title – Trilogía de un hombre en pijama) seems to be the kind of book that would be more enjoyable to those who are already fans of Paco’s works.

“Memoirs of a Man in Pajamas” starts with Paco Roca humorously portraying his doormat personality. He struggles to say no to anyone, prefers staying at home and avoiding people, and yet is an unabashed people-pleaser. He readily shares his number with random strangers, accepts invitations from anyone who asks him out, and fully embraces the personality of the woman he is dating in a bid to endear himself to them. Paco works from home and stays in his pajamas the whole day, unless he needs to step out for a drink with friends or groceries.

The artwork in the book is lively, cartoonish, and Paco Roca keeps changing the color tones of the panels as the memoir is divided into several little sections, each about a different theme. So from jet-setting around the world for book tours to sitting at home struggling to draw his next comic the whole day, having an argument with his partner over movies, or offering solutions on how to end global poverty, “Memoirs of a Man in Pajamas” offers a vastly divergent set of scenarios. And to protect the identities of his friends features in fun anecdotal snippets, the artist refers to them by their sun-signs. So you’d find out how “Aquarius is a magnet for men who are going through midlife crises” or how his friend “Aries” has an astonishing talent for scoring with women.

While the graphic novel is only 232 pages long, it felt infinitely longer, largely due to the disconnected anecdotes. After a very funny first half, the book begins to slow down and even gets a bit boring towards the end. Yet, because of some quirky and even heartfelt moments in the novel, I didn’t really want “Memoirs of a Man in Pajamas” to end. Besides, the climax felt too abrupt, like being thrown off a movie before the last chapter concludes. Overall, it was a fun book that makes me want to read Paco Roca’s other fiction works.

Rating: 3.5 on 5.

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Mast Mein Rehne Ka Review – Jackie Shroff & Neena Gupta Make This Mast-Watch

Rating: 3.5 out of 5.

Sneha Jaiswal (Twitter | Instagram)

Sometimes, or perhaps too often, people forget that age is going to catch up with them and this memory lapse often makes them unkind. I remember reading a recent news report about a rise in the number of retired people being exploited, cheated, and duped, and in the majority of cases, the perpetrators are family and relatives. In Uttar Pradesh, India, the state govt is mulling upon giving senior citizens rights to evict their children from their property if they feel unhappy or unsafe with them. The 2023 Bollywood movie “Mast Mein Rehne Ka” starring Jackie Shroff and Neena Gupta, explores the loneliness and isolation faced by senior citizens who have no family to turn to, and throws in an interesting sub-plot about an amateur thief targeting such lonely old residents.

Directed by Vijay Maurya, who has co-written the script with Payal Arora, “Mast Mein Rehne Ka” opens with a sepia toned Mumbai skyline, with protagonist Kamath (Jackie Shroff), a retired man walking along the beach and then going about his day. When a thief attacks and loots his flat, Kamath is advised by the cops to befriend people his age and be more alert, which leads him to strike an unlikely friendship with Mrs Handa (Neena Gupta), a feisty Punjabi widower who has returned from Canada and lives alone too. A parallel sub-plot focuses on Nanhe (Abhishek Chauhan), a tailor fired from his job, who is struggling to make ends meet, so he begins to target lonely old people. The narrative pivots on the convergence of the thieving Nanhe’s path with that of the older pair attempting to apprehend the thief.

The two parallel stories offer an interesting juxtaposition of the lives of very different people, on one hand there’s the middle-class Kamath and Mrs Handa who try to find meaning in life despite their isolation, on the other there’s Nanhe, the young tailor who desperately tries to start his own business and begins to falls for Rawas (Monika Panwar), a street beggar. Rakhi Sawant has a small comedic cameo as Bimla, who runs a dance studio and offers Nanhe a job to stitch costumes for her troupe. There’s a dance number featuring Rakhi, which sounds like a peppy item song but isn’t sleazy or sexy. It’s a fun track with comedic lyrics where Bimla dances with her troupe in her studio in bright costumes stitched by Nanhe. The cinematography is simple, straightforward, with several outdoor scenes that interweave Mumbai as a distinct character in the background. Its focus on protagonists who aren’t wealthy or glamorous was reminiscent of “Tiku Weds Sheru,” also set in Mumbai, but with protagonists who give viewers a reality check about just how unsightly life in a big city can be.

Abhishek Chauhan and Monika Pawar deliver poignant performances as two poor individuals trying to survive the grinds of an unforgiving city like Mumbai. But it’s the budding friendship between Mr Kamath and Mrs Handa that’s the most fun and poignant aspect of “Mast Mein Rehne Ka”. Jackie Shroff and Neena Gupta are impeccably effortless in their roles, like real buddies bonding over cutting chai on the streets, discussing their roots, families, and other older people walking in the park. Kamath initially calls Mrs Handa “Handa amma and the casual moniker was hilarious. Their easy friendly chemistry is such a delight to watch that it makes you care a lot less about what is happening with the doomed Nanhe, who is constantly getting himself in trouble.

“Mast Mein Rehne Ka” succinctly illustrates the importance of friendships and companionship in a person’s life without dramatic speeches, monologues or preachy sermons. The climax is surprisingly cliched, but things end on a conclusively positive note. It really makes you want to watch Jackie Shroff and Neena Gupta in another movie as the lead pair.

Rating: 7.5 on 10. You can stream the film on “Mast Mein Rehne Ka”.

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Riot Doll – Short Film Review

Set in the volatile streets of Moscow, rife with protests and riot police, the 2023 animated short film “Riot Doll” is like an anti-war fever dream. It follows a delivery girl caught between street chaos who wishes the war would just end, allowing her to live in peace without having to run for her life while delivering pizza.

Produced by Gobelins, the short has been created by Mrunal Khairnar, Lwazi Msipha, Daria Skripka, Poornima Subramaniam, and Hassan YOLA. The animation style resembles watercolor illustrations mixed with crayon drawings, and the color palette is dominated by dull shades to capture the grim atmosphere of conflict and angst in the air.

A little less than seven minutes long, “Riot Doll” is a swift yet deep look at conflict through the eyes of a common middle-class citizen, a pizza delivery girl in this case, who dreams up a solution to get rid of all the war hawks around her. She is seen carrying a giant pizza box for most of the runtime, which serves as a great literal metaphor for all the invisible weight people carry on their shoulders. In the end, the girl realizes there’s no simple button to end complex problems, so she finally does something more meaningful in times of conflict than simply delivering food.

It’s a riveting little animated film that plays out like a song, with minimal dialogue, and yet packs a powerful message. You can watch “Riot Doll” on Youtube, it’s also embedded below.

Jujutsu Kaisen Season 2 episode 20 Review

Hope you are here after Jujutsu Kaisen Season 2 episode 19. Minor spoilers ahead

There’s blood, sweat, tears, and regret on Shibuya station’s floor. And the air is filled with Mahito’s malice. If fans had to pick the most gut-wrenching scene in the series so far, some of us would choose Jujutsu Kaisen Season 2 episode 20, where Yuji Itadori crumbles and curls up into a defeated ball of blood-soaked mass, struggling for breath and sobbing for failing his friends.

Titled “Right and Wrong – Part 3”, the episode begins with a blood splatter, but soon takes viewers to a fun flashback of Yuji Itadori, Megumi Fushiguro and Nobara Kugisaki having a hilarious conversation over Nobara ruining Gojo’s freshly pressed white shirt by spilling a drink over it. In the present, Yuji is on the verge of giving up, as Mahito’s tactics to batter his morale work out like intended. But an ally steps up in the nick of time to jolt our protagonist and another intense round of fighting ensues.

The pacing of this edition is like a rhythmic slow-fast-slow dance, serious scenes are alternated with lighter moments. After clutching my face in anxiety over Yuji’s awful plight in the first few minutes, I found myself laughing in a funny scene and it felt like it’s been ages since Jujutsu Kaisen gave viewers scenes that could make you break into a laugh. But that’s obviously not true, it only seemed so because those brief seconds of a broken Yuji crying felt like a painful eternity. To see an otherwise cheery-confident character’s spirit ripped to shreds and have it contrasted with the mirthful Mahito (who by the way is simply living his best villain life) is pure climactic energy.

The animation in this episode felt a little raw in parts, but honestly, given that Gege Akutami has written such a solidly entertaining fantasy-action story, as long as MAPPA delivers tightly paced chapters with movements that are able to convey what’s happening, it works! Although some of the action scenes are pretty incredible, probably just doesn’t seem as impressive due to the epic thunderclap episodes.

“Right and Wrong – Part 3” ends right in the middle of a trippy mid-battle scene, so until next time!

You can stream Jujutsu Kaisen on Netflix or CrunchyRoll.

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The Archies Review – Frothy Teen Musical

Rating: 3 out of 5.

Sneha Jaiswal (Twitter | Instagram)

“Archie, Archie, you can’t just live your life for kicks. Archie, Archie, everything is politics.”

Archie Andrews might be the lead vocalist of his band, but he learns a thing or two from his friends through the power of music in Zoya Akhtar’s teen musical, “The Archies.” Agastya Nanda, Khushi Kapoor and Suhana Khan play lead trio Archie, Betty and Veronica and the story unfolds in a fictional Indian town called Riverdale in the 1960s. Just like the comics, the film focuses on the love triangle between Archie, Veronica, and Betty but also throws in a capitalistic conflict in the tale – industrialists plan to demolish their favorite park that’s situated in the heart of Riverdale, and the kids band together to save it. Vedang Raina, Mihir Ahuja, Dot, and Yuvraj Menda complete the friend group, playing Reggie, Jughead, Ethel, and Dilton, respectively.

“The Archies” opens with a cute-colorful cutout animation to explain the history of the fiction Riverdale, its residents & how Green Park is integral to the community’s roots. The wealthy Lodge family moves back to Riverdale, and Veronica rekindles her friendship with her best-friend Betty, but both girls have their eyes on the school flirt Archie. The first half focuses on the romantic tango between the teenagers, and slowly builds up to the primary conflict of the tale – the town’s park and a lot of small businesses are threatened as Veronica’s father Hiram Lodge (Alyy Khan) plans a massive redevelopment in the region for profit. How the high-school friends strategize, get together and fight the town council’s plan to raze the park forms the crux of the story.

While the movie has an ensemble cast, the strongest character of “The Archies” is its buoyant music by Ankur Tewari, Shankar Mahadevan, Loy Mendonsa & The Islanders. If you appreciate retro jazzy beats and moody ballads (think Elvis Presley), you wouldn’t want to fast-forward a single song in the film. Agastya Nanda is quite middling as Archie, and his character progression from a boy who wants to escape his small town to an activist who wants to save it is too abrupt and unconvincing. Suhana Khan fluctuates in her role as Veronica. There are times when she charmingly embodies a rich brat with a big heart, but she isn’t able to exude the sassy confidence Veronica Lodge is known for. You feel like maybe Suhana should’ve played Betty Cooper, because her body language if often more demure and apologetic. Meanwhile, Khushi Kapoor is nearly invisible as Betty, if it weren’t for the beautiful songs featured in her scenes, she’d be completely forgettable. Dot as Ehtel has a lot more personality as Betty’s feisty protective friend who despises Archie’s frivolous ways with girls.

If someone perfectly embodies their comic-book counterpart, it’s Alyy Khan as Hiram Lodge, he has the intimidating presence of a wealthy businessman who does not have any time for trivial matters. It’s funny how Agastya Nanda and Vedang Raina seem to look like fraternal brothers, but Vedang Raina had a lot more main-character energy as Reggie Mantel than Agastya. Vedang’s Reggie is also a lot more sensible and sensitive than the comic-book version, although he remains just as flirty, with a soft spot for Veronica. Mihir Ahuja is pretty goofy as Archie’s best-friend Jughead, and provides some comic-relief through his love for food and his fear that Betty and Veronica will kill Archie or him if they find out about his two-timing ways. Yuvraj Menda is sweet as the nerdy Dilton, who idolizes Hedy Lamarr and always had a quick solution to problems. His friends love to repeat the funny way in which he says “Thank You”, which seems to be definitely inspired by social-media personality Josh Zilberberg, who is known for his quick sarcastic witticisms that he always ends with a nasal “Thank Yew”.

Zoya Akhtar and team build up a dreamy Riverdale, which has a sunny Goa-like charm, so “The Archies” is both light on the eyes and a delight to the ears courtesy its foot-tapping original soundtrack. But despite strong audio-visual elements, the plot is thin and the romantic sub-plot is weak, although the importance on friendship and community-spirit are great themes. While the lead trio are fine in their parts, it feels like they are holding back their emotions and do not amplify the carefree teen spirits of their characters. Archie and friends inhabit a whimsical fictional realm, where everything is sunny, and some music and games is all it takes to solve a capitalistic crisis. But the fact that this is a teen drama lays emphasis on the fact that life transcends trivial rivalries and romantic entanglements, makes it worth the watch.

Watch “The Archies” on Netflix.

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A Good Day to be a Dog Episode 9 Review

A Good Day to be a Dog’ plot overview: The protagonist, Han Hae-na (Park Gyuyoung), accidentally kisses her colleague Jin Seo-won (Cha Eun-Woo), triggering a curse that transforms her into a dog from 12 am to 6 am every day. The only way to break the curse is for the same person to kiss her while she’s in her dog form. And while Han Hae-na embarks on a mission to end her curse, the mysterious history teacher Lee Bo-kyeom (Lee Hyun-Woo) has some other plans for the pair.

Assuming you’ve already seen ‘A Good Day to be a Dog’ Episode 8 – Han Hae-na’s curse has finally ended. She shares a romantic kiss under the rain with the Math teacher Jin Seo-won, and the two are officially dating now. So, episode 9 starts with a happy celebration scene, where Han Hae-na’s sister Han Yoo-na (Ryu Abel) throws her a little party with best friend Song Woo Taek (Cho Jin Se). Park Gyuyoung and Ryu Abel are endearing as onscreen sisters, and their little screams of happiness and excitement in the opening scene set a fun tone for this edition.

Titled “The Secret Dates”, episode 9 of “A Good Day to be a Dog” focuses on the blossoming romance between Han Hae-na and Jin Seo-won, who behave like starry-eyed teenagers in love and are adorable around each other. However, since they are high school teachers and must strive to keep their affair a secret, as the new vice-principal warns against any show of personal display of affection (PDA) between teachers. This caution arises because a teacher-couple in a nearby school were reported by students for kissing on campus. But freshly dating, the lead couple subtly flirts with each other on campus and Han Hae-na rouses the jealousies of two other ladies who are interested in the handsome math teacher.

This episode was a fun-fluffy edition, filled with romantic and small comedic moments, the most hilarious of which featured a defeated Choi Yul (Yoon Hyun-Soo) dishing out advice to the new couple. Meanwhile, there are also some serious scenes featuring History teacher Lee Bo-kyeom (Lee Hyun-Woo), although, for those who haven’t read the original webtoon, his complete back-story continues to remain a mystery, although it’s pretty obvious that he is a mountain God who lost his love because of past versions of Han Hae-na and Jin Seo-won. Lee Hyun-Woo takes the cake with his brilliant duality as a vengeful deity pretending to be a sunny-smiley mere mortal. He switches personalities with casual ease and stands out due to his complex character amid others who are living far simpler lives.

In one of the more sombre scenes, the shamanic student Min Ji Ah (Kim Yi Kyung ) offers to do a card reading for Lee and rattles the usual calm teacher with her readings. While he doesn’t reveal anything, viewers will have to wait for the next episodes to get a full revelation on what’s Lee Bo-kyeom’s beef with Jin Seo-won. “The Secret Dates” end with a tense cliffhanger, so the next edition might not be as light-hearted as this one.

You can stream A Good Day to be a Dog on Viki.

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Onimusha Review – Swift Supernatural Samurai Series

Rating: 3.5 out of 5.

Musashi Miyamoto is Japan’s greatest swordsman and is tasked with accompanying a small pack of samurais for a dangerous mission that involves fighting supernatural powers. To arm himself for the arduous journey, Miyamoto borrows a mysterious box from a temple, which contains a powerful gauntlet, that turns out to be extremely useful against the numerous foes he encounters along the way.

Directed by Takashi Miike and Shinya Sugai, the eight-episode animated series “Onimusha” is set in the Edo era and has been written by Hideyuki Kurata. While the supernatural-laced story is well-spun and tightly paced, it’s the animation style that feels slightly lacking in quality. The animation has an art-style that’s akin to vivid water paintings, but the movements feel a little chunky and glitch-y, even though the fight sequences are well-choreographed. Protagonist Musashi Miyamoto and his traveling companions find themselves fighting somebody or the other in each episode, with a few enemies including zombie-like entities. As a horror fan, I was definitely thrilled with the monsters in the tale.

The antagonist of “Onimusha” is a character called “Lemon,” who is first introduced to viewers in flashbacks as a young boy eager to become a Samurai but grows up to become an evil, scheming villain. The Japanese fascination with American pop-culture is hilariously reflected in the fact that Lemon has a foreigner butler called Alfred, who is even dressed like he is out of a Batman comic and not in Edo era Japan. The only female character in the story is a feisty little girl called Sayo, who is the only living survivor in a village that was taken over by Lemon and his demonic powers. Sayo helps Miyamoto and squad in navigating her region and also gives them crucial insights into understand what must have happened in her village.

The only major complaint I have about “Onimusha” is the fact that the episodes unfold in a way that made me expect some flashback scenes to shed more light on Miyamoto’s past, but that never happens. There’s a surprise character who appears in the last two episodes, over whom a significant amount of intrigue is built. Miyamoto and the character seem to have some beef in the past, and again, not much about their enmity or history is revealed. In its current state, the eight episode series is a pretty entertaining watch for animation enthusiasts, packing in plenty of fights, twists and supernatural action.

Rating: 7.5 on 10. You can watch “Onimusha” on Netflix.

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Christmas as Usual Review – Typical Cultural hotchpotch

Sneha Jaiswal (Twitter | Instagram)

Meeting your partner’s family for the first time, especially if they have close to zero idea about who you are, can be daunting as hell. So when Thea invites her boyfriend Jashan to spend Christmas at her home in Norway, she leaves out a very crucial detail – her family doesn’t know he is Indian or that they are freshly engaged.

Directed and written by Petter Holmsen, the 2023 movie “Christmas as Usual” (Original title: Så Var Det Jul Igjen) is supposedly inspired by real events but will instantly remind some viewers of the 2020 Christmas romance “Happiest Season,” which has a very similar plot – the protagonist gets carried away in a romantic moment and invites their partner to spend the holidays with her family, and then behaves like a total prick to please their parents. Thea (Ida Ursin-Holm) does nothing to make Jashan (Kanan Gill) feel at home, her mom isn’t welcoming either, and you feel bad for the man for most of the runtime.

Marit Andreassen plays Thea’s stiff mother Anne-Lise, who tries to push her daughter towards her ex-boyfriend, which was just an awful little plot twist that wasn’t funny at all. Although a running gag about Anne-Lise not getting Jashan’s name right and calling him Shazam was kinda hilarious albeit mean. The actors are pretty good in their roles, weird around each other, capturing the awkwardness typical of initial family encounters. However their relationship barely improves as the plot progresses and everybody is obsessed with having their perfect Norwegian Christmas instead of acknowledging their guest. Even Thea’s brother and sister-in-law don’t do much to make Jashan comfortable, and instead are outright rude by gossiping about him to his face in Norwegian. A stereotypical Indian sitar music that only a firang* would choose to play would often accompany some of Jashan’s scenes and one would think a seasoned comedian like Kanan (who ironically shot to fame by mocking movies) would’ve advised the makers against it.

On the positive side, the cinematography captures the essence of Christmas well, seamlessly blending the serene, snowy landscapes of Norwegian winters with the warm and vibrant colors of festive celebrations. Ida Ursin-Holm and Kanan Gill make a sweet inter-cultural couple, but that romance lasts for only the first few minutes in “Christmas as Usual”, after that it’s all about Thea struggling and failing to be a supportive partner. The story does have some fun inter-cultural moments, like when Thea’s family isn’t able to take Jashan’s Indian cooking due to the spices or when Jashan has a tough time digesting Anne-Lise’s bland Christmas dinner. Kanan Gill is casual, laid-back and likable as Jashan, who is comfortable in his skin and doesn’t put on any pretensions to please Thea’s family, too bad Thea’s character wasn’t written better.

Just as its title suggests, the plot is the usual stuff – after a painful few days of misunderstandings and awkwardness, things come to a head between Thea and Jashan. A conflict ensues, and then viewers get a clichéd grand gesture finale to wrap up “Christmas as Usual” – with the overdone airport make-up scene. This could have been a quirky, fresh film, but it’s just another title in a long list of Christmas films that flood the market in December.

Rating: 5 on 10. You can stream “Christmas as Usual” on Netflix.

*firang is an Indian slang for foreigners.

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A Haunting in Venice Review – A Grandiose Mystery

Rating: 3.5 out of 5.

Sneha Jaiswal (Twitter | Instagram)

“Lighten up, pal. You might have fun.”

That’s the word of advice a medium give to the famous French detective Hercule Poirot in the 2023 thriller “A Haunting in Venice.” And as a viewer, you could use the same advice if you really want to enjoy this film, because it’s slow, atmospheric and relies on old school theatrics to keep its viewers engaged.

Inspired from an Agatha Christie novel of the same, “A Haunting in Venice” has been written for the screen by Michael Green and directed by Kenneth Branagh, who also plays protagonist Hercule Poirot. The film begins with Poirot getting an invitation by his crime author friend Ariadne Oliver (Tina Fey) to attend a seance and help explain the supernatural trickery of a medium called Joyce Reynolds (Michelle Yeoh) because her methods seem legitimate. The seance takes place on Halloween night at the haunted crumbling mansion of Opera singer Rowena Drake (Kelly Reilly) who lost her beloved daughter Alicia (Rowan Robinson) to suicide. Joyce spooks everybody by speaking in dead Alicia’s voice, claiming to have been murdered, and in a twist, the medium is found impaled on a statue not too later. It’s up to Hercule Poirot to unravel not one, but two murders now.

The cinematography and screenplay of “A Haunting in Venice” is meticulously impressive, if the postcard-like visuals of Venice from the opening scenes do not make you want to add the historic city to your “to-do” list (unless you’ve already been), then nothing else will. Set in the 1940s, most of the story unfolds in Rowena Drake’s sprawling mansion, which is decked in old world trinkets and looks a bit like a neglected museum. However, Kenneth Branagh and team often play with the camera, with slant or askew angles, that might impress some viewers and annoy others.

Michelle Yeoh is dramatically magnetic in her small supporting role as the eloquent medium Joyce, who used to be war nurse and has seen much of the world. She stirs up a hornets nest by claiming Alicia didn’t voluntarily die to her death & her own murder convinces Hercule that someone did murder Alicia and must’ve been rattled by the medium’s meddling. The list of suspects includes Joyce’s assistants Desdemona (Emma Laird) and Nicholas (Ali Khan), who are also siblings, Alicia’s former fiancé Maxime Gerard (Kyle Allen), Rowena, Rowena’s resident family doctor Dr. Leslie Ferrier (Jamie Dornan), and his nosy preteen son Leopold (Jude Hill), as well as her housekeeper Olga (Camille Cottin) and author Ariadne.

Kenneth Branagh makes an excellent Hercule Poirot and looks like he practically jumped out of an Agatha Christie novel to solve a murder mystery. Tina Fey is amusing in her portrayal of a witty-sassy author looking to write her next bestseller, while the rest of the cast swings between memorable to un-impressionable in their roles. Throughout the runtime, there’s sufficient intrigue and suspense over whether the story is going to turn out to be a regular whodunnit with a clever murderer, or an actual supernatural thriller. While the plot deviates a lot from the original novel, “A Haunting in Venice” does have all the classic Agatha Christie mystery ingredients, including a wealthy family and multiple suspects/motives for murder. If you can have the appetite for grandiose gestures and slow, dramatic theatrics, then you’d definitely enjoy “A Haunting in Venice”, which blurs the lines between real and imaginary worlds.

Rating: 7 on 10. Stream the film on Disney Hotstar.

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