Sneha Jaiswal's Blog, page 162
June 30, 2023
Nimona Review – Varied Vibrant Shades Like Its Lead!
Sneha Jaiswal (Twitter | Instagram)
Would you want to watch a giant pink rhinoceros chasing armored knights through the shiny floors of a royal institute? Sounds crazy fun! And looks just as ridiculously entertaining too.
Based on the graphic novel by ND Stevenson, the 2023 Netflix film “Nimona” follows Ballister Boldheart (voiced by Riz Ahmed), the first ‘common’ citizen in his kingdom to become a knight. However, on the day of his knighthood, he is framed by someone to make it appear as if he murdered the queen. As the entire realm turns against him, even his best-friend Ambrosius Goldenloin, Boldheart’s only ally is a shape-shifting stranger who desires to be his evil sidekick. Voiced by Chloë Grace Moretz, Nimona is the heart of this story, a feisty and energetic young girl who seeks to eliminate, demolish, and overcome all obstacles that stand in their path. Her ability to transform into any creature makes their journey an epic and chaotic adventure.
“Nimona” is every bit as fun, silly, and entertaining as its trailer promises it to be. So, if you loved the trailer, you’ll love the movie. The animation is colorful and sparkly, and the creators make great use of gold and yellow tones, which adds a royal and fantastical touch to the story. Despite the kingdom being set in a modern world, with subways, flying cars, and smartphones, there is still a sense of magical fantasy.
The dynamic between Ballister and Nimona, with their clashing personalities, is an absolute joy to watch. Nimona is like a mischievous problem child with superpowers, while Ballister takes on the role of the “cool” yet restrained guardian, trying to maintain control of the situation. Their “strangers-to-friends” arc is endearing, although their friendship is severely tested during their mission to expose the true killer of the Queen.
Starting off as a delightfully goofy action-adventure story, “Nimona” gradually transforms into a profound narrative that delves into themes of discrimination and class divisions. While Ballister, a young boy from humble beginnings, is targeted for daring to aspire to become an elite knight, Nimona experiences constant ostracization for not being “normal”. This animated gem not only features a spirited protagonist but also offers warm and authentic queer representation, setting it apart from other animated titles by bigger studios.
It’s a 4.5/5 from me! Stream the film on Netflix.
The Night Manager Part 2 Review – Fizzles Out
Some of our fears have come true. After a gripping four-episode start, “The Night Manager,” starring Anil Kapoor and Aditya Roy Kapoor, has released three new final episodes that don’t match up to the pace of the first half.
Read: The Night Manager Part One Review
A quick recap of the story so far – Shaan (Aditya Roy Kapoor), a night manager, is part of an undercover operation led by Indian agent Lipikia Saikia Rao (Tillotama Shome) to expose the illegal arms dealings of powerful businessman Shailendra Rungta (Anil Kapoor) AKA Shelly. While Shaan successfully embeds himself within Shelly’s inner circle, some suspect him of being a spy, making it increasingly difficult to gather proof against him without risking lives.
Reservations about the show turning into a sob-story romance between Shaan and Shelly’s girlfriend Kaveri (Sobhita Dhulipala) unfortunately turn out to be true. The fifth episode is far too slow, featuring slo-mo shots and unnecessary stylistic breaks that waste valuable seconds. However, the cinematography is top-tier for most parts, except for some weak special effects in the sixth episode, which showcases a fairly impressive presentation of Shelly’s arsenal of weapons to potential buyers.”
Both Shelly and Shaan’s characters become weaker as the plot progresses, with some of their decisions being inconsistent with the personalities they are initially shown to possess. Additionally, a few of the more interesting characters in the show, such as Shelly’s sweet son Taha and his colorful and feisty best friend Brijpal (Saswata Chatterjee), are completely pushed to the sidelines. Tillotama Shome’s Lipika Saikia Rao and her colleague Danish Khan (Joy Sengupta) are the only two characters who continue to exhibit strong growth, despite their limited screen time.
Despite the weaker second half, “The Night Manager” is still worth watching due to its gripping performances and cinematography. You can stream the series on Hotstar.”
June 29, 2023
Lust Stories 2 – 3 Shades Carnal, 1 Shade Banal
Years ago, someone we knew was having a difficult time deciding if she should say “yes” to an arranged match she had been introduced to and had been conversing with for nearly a year. Lacking compelling reasons for any sort of decision, she felt the mounting pressure to make a choice. We suggested she simply do it with the guy to at least find out if they were compatible in bed. Apparently they were and that quickly sealed the deal for her, few months later, they were happily married.
“Lust Stories 2” kicks off with a similar narrative, albeit with a twist—the advice this time originates from a grandmother to her granddaughter. This 2023 Netflix offering is an anthology of four short stories set in India, ranging from safely sweet to wildly quirky. Director R. Balki leads the way with his short film, featuring Neena Gupta as the ‘cool granny’ who proposes that her granddaughter (Mrunal Thakur) engage in a ‘test drive’ with her fiancé (Angad Bedi) before tying the knot. Amusingly, this conversation unfolds while both sets of parents are engrossed in discussions regarding the couple’s compatibility. Neena Gupta was the only interesting character, while the others were too single-dimensional. The short film could’ve been shorter and would’ve made a fun condom ad, with the tagline “try us before you try marriage”.
The second film by Konkona Sen Sharma was the quirkiest of the lot, delving into the voyeuristic realm of female desires. Tillotama Shome plays Isheeta, a single independent working woman, who walks into her home early one day and finds her help Seema didi (Amruta Subhash) having sex with a stranger in her bedroom. Rather than repulsing her, this discovery ignites an erotic experience for Isheeta, leading her down an illicit path of voyeurism. But what happens if she gets caught? This particular short can be a somewhat uncomfortable viewing experience due to the presence of double voyeurism at play – there’s the viewer watching Isheeta watching Seema didi getting her kinks on. However, it stays the most faithful to the title’s theme and despite its raunchy plot, the film is aesthetic in its cinematography, with well-lit and strikingly composed shots emphasizing the facial expressions of the protagonists, rather than descending into a sleazy or pornographic portrayal. From her seductive vampire act in “Tooth Pari”, to the more desperate Isheeta, Tillotama Shome is proving her acting prowess one work at a time and is excellent as the invisible third wheel in “Lust Stories”.
The less said about the third story, the better. Directed by Sujoy Ghosh, it stars Vijay Varma and Tamannaah Bhatia in the lead. Varma basically plays a horndog, whose plan to have a sexcation with his girlfriend is ruined by an emergency office meeting called by his father-in-law. As fate would have it, his car meets with an accident and he runs into a former flame while waiting for the vehicle to be fixed. The chance meeting leads to surprising consequences. But the twist in the tale was disappointing and the story looked like it was shot in some old forgotten film set.
Kajol leads the last story, which takes viewers back to a completely different era and is directed by Amit Ravindernath Sharma. Kumud Mishra plays Kajol’s abusive husband, who hails from a fading royal family and preys upon any woman that catches his fancy. While it takes time for this story to pick up steam, it has an interesting little twist in the end that saves it from becoming a total downer. Overall, “Lust Stories 2” makes for an entertaining enough one-time-watch.
You can stream the film on Netflix.
‘Eldorado – Alles, was die Nazis hassen’ Review
Sneha Jaiswal (Twitter | Instagram)
Berlin is the place where everything happens—it’s the capital of sin. The narrator emphasizes the word “sin” as the title ‘Eldorado’ spins onto your screen. The 2023 Netflix documentary, directed by Benjamin Cantu and Matt Lambert, revolves around a Berlin nightclub called ‘Eldorado,’ which was a popular party spot for the city’s queer community in the 1920s. The club’s sign screamed “Hier ist richtig,” roughly translating to “here it is right” in English. This phrase symbolizes the freedom and liberation that the club’s glittering confines offered to members of the LGBTQ+ community, almost a 100 years ago, just when Hitler’s Nazi party was on the rise. The documentary thus follows how the queer community was crushed in the German reich.
El Dorado is a legendary mythical city of gold, famously depicted in Voltaire’s Candide (1759) as a blissful wealthy kingdom where everyone is content with their lives. However, in the vibrant era of Berlin known as the Golden 1920s, El Dorado was more than a mere legend—it was a real club pulsating with shimmering costumes, provocative dances, and passionate rendezvous.
About 90 minutes long, the documentary uses file footage, newspaper clippings and re-creates several stories and figures to make its story-telling more compelling.Through these means, significant figures from the 1920s queer community are brought back to life. Like the famous sexologist Magnus Hirschfeld, who founded the Institut für Sexualwissenschaft (‘Institute of Sexual Research’) in Berlin and was one of the earliest advocates of transgender rights in the world. He befriended Jewish-American Charlotte Charlaque, a trans-woman at the club, who along with her girlfriend soon started working for him at the institute. Eldorado also attracted actors, singers, athletes, and notably, a key Nazi figure who was very close to Hitler
The documentary evokes memories of “Goodbye To Berlin” by Christopher Isherwood, a gay American author who formed close friendships at Magnus Hirschfeld’s institute. Similar to Isherwood’s novel, this documentary vividly captures the exhilarating and hedonistic lifestyle that characterized Berlin, where people blissfully indulged themselves, detached from the looming politics of war. However, what seemed like an era of sexual revolution is cut-short after Hitler’s decisive win and the LGBTQ+ community’s freedom is short-lived. Although the Jewish population endured the harshest scale of victimization, it is crucial to acknowledge that anyone who did not conform to the Nazis’ ideal of an ‘Aryan race’ faced a similar fate.
Among the interviewees featured in the documentary, Walter Arlen, a Jewish composer born in 1920, vividly recalls how Hitler’s speeches instilled fear in him during his youth in the 1930s and 1940s. Tragically, his father was captured and sent to a concentration camp, while Walter managed to survive and eventually escape to America in search of a better life. However, Walter Arlen’s story stands as a reminder of the few fortunate ones, as many others were not as lucky. The Netflix documentary pays homage to the countless men and women who suffered persecution due to their sexual orientation, enduring surveillance and being treated as criminals under the scrutiny of the ‘Pink lists.’ Eldorado serves as a poignant reminder of the fleeting nature of freedom, emphasizing that even the most hard-won progress can be swiftly dismantled by a single individual in power.
Stream the documentary on Netflix.
June 28, 2023
Bird Box Barcelona Banks on Ominous Original
“It’s exciting that Netflix is bringing horror fans a spin-off that takes place in the same timeline as Sandra Bullock’s 2018 film, ‘Bird Box,’ but in a different country. Starring Georgina Campbell, Mario Casas, and Diego Calva, the official trailer for ‘Bird Box Barcelona’ reveals a mysterious and sinister phenomenon that drives people to their deaths. To protect themselves, individuals must wear blindfolds, preventing the invisible creatures from exposing them to terrifying visions that lead to self-destruction.
The best aspect of ‘Bird Box Barcelona’ is that viewers do not need to have seen the original movie from 2018 to understand the story. It starts from the first day of the paranormal outbreak, capturing the initial chaos and panic as people succumb to possession and take their own lives. The core of the narrative revolves around a group of survivors who band together and struggle to overcome the threat.
“Bird Box Barcelona” will be streaming on Netflix on July 14.
June 27, 2023
Yellowface: Kuang and her relentless quest to make people uncomfortable
There’s a scene in the popular-and-reviled sitcom F.R.I.E.N.D.S in which Joey stashes a copy of Little Woman in the freezer when he gets the inkling that (spoiler alert) Beth might die. I wish I could have chucked my eReader into the freezer while reading Yellowface.
Joey froze Little Women in an attempt to delay the inevitable. I slammed shut the cover of my Kobo several times because of the gnawing discomfort in my stomach as I delved deeper into the psyche of the troubled June Song Hayward.
The great thing about first person narratives is how rapidly your brain adopts the prose and builds the world the author envisions. This is perfect for my usual fare, fantasy fiction with almost no real-world connections. Djinns and ghosts, witches and dragons, wraiths and vampires are easy to imagine, and you can put them to rest when you turn the last page.
It was a very similar and dissimilar experience with Yellowface. I was torn in two as a part of me experienced Hayward’s gut-wrenching jealousy while simultaneously screaming in rage at the pathetic reasoning being employed to rationalise an obvious wrong. I didn’t understand Hayward. But I was forced to be a part of her. Can you fathom how powerful one’s prose has to be to thrust a psyche into your own mind through the written word?
Rebecca Kuang, you fucking genius. I hate and adore you.
You know how people write grey characters? When I read Yellowface, I realised all seemingly grey characters I’ve read are very much not grey. They take bad decisions, but they overturn their actions later. There is a spot of “realisation” and ultimate course correction.
Hayward isn’t grey. Lol, NOPE. She’s a steaming pile of WRONG. But Kuang dissects Hayward’s brain, butterflies it open, splays out its innards and then happily points out how people create their own realities, how they reach intersections, choose a path and then re-align the entire reality so that the fork never existed in the first place.
Yellowface’s marketing is hinged on the book’s frank portrayal of the U.S. publishing industry – but for me, a reader who isn’t or doesn’t want to be part of this industry – the focal point is the dissection of privilege, insecurity and jealousy of a human mind.
Before I picked up this book, I read a few ARC reviews that expressed disappointment in the ending, but I beg to differ. The ending is exactly how it would play out in real life and nothing in this book has pretended to be otherwise. (Well, other than the characters and the plot LOL).
Yellowface is not really a thriller. There are plot twists but everything you need to know about the book is in its blurb. You read Yellowface for the writing. I have read Kuang’s Poppy War trilogy and Babel but I feel this is her best work till date.
Will re-read when I am feeling particularly masochistic.
Trigger warnings: xenophobia, racism, suicidal ideation, graphic death scene, cyber bullying, sexual assault, islamophobia, PTSD, psychosis, stalking, gaslighting
Lookism Review – Where Beauty Is Indeed Skin Deep
Based on the webtoon by Park Tae-joon, the animated Netflix series “Lookism” follows a fat unattractive student who is brutally bullied at school, and in a miraculous turn of events, he wakes up in an extremely handsome body just before he starts going to a new school. Protagonist Park Hyung Seok for the first time in his life experiences just how different life is for those who have the ‘right look’.
The show starts off on a promising note and its primary premise is obviously interesting – that one person can switch between two bodies and live two completely different lives. From being a pariah who was constantly beaten, Park Hyung Seok becomes the shiny new boy at school with his new body, over who pretty much everybody drools. Unused to positive attention, the boy finds himself in amusing situations, but the writing doesn’t maximize the story’s comic potential. The animation is decent enough, but doesn’t stand out.
The most disappointing aspect of this series is the lack of personality in Park Hyung Seok’s character. He simply goes along with things without much individuality. It’s annoying to see him desperately seeking friendship, even with those who mistreated him in his previous body. Moreover, the other characters in the show are either generic or overly one-dimensional. The only exception is Basco, a hot-headed youngster who refuses to tolerate bullying and is cautious around wealthy and good-looking individuals.
Clocking in at eight episodes, “Lookism” attempts to criticize the beauty-obsessed Korean society, but it fails to make a significant impact. It’s almost as if the creators are implying that if you lack attractiveness and talent, you are destined to be mistreated. Regardless, it makes for an entertaining one-time watch.
You can stream the series on Netflix.
June 26, 2023
‘The Offering’ – Quick Movie Review
“The Offering” is a 2022 horror movie directed by Oliver Park, featuring an intriguing blend of Hasidic lore & supernatural elements. The story revolves around the estranged son of a funeral director who returns home with his pregnant wife, hoping for reconciliation. However, their plans are disrupted when a corpse is brought into their funeral home, unleashing an ancient demon that threatens to tear the family apart.
Written by Hank Hoffman and Jonathan Yunger, the film stars Allan Corduner as Saul, the funeral director who is grateful for the opportunity to reunite with his son. The setting of the movie brings to mind certain elements of the horror series “The Haunting of Hill House,” even though there are several films that utilize funeral homes and morgues to create a chilling paranormal atmosphere.
While “The Offering” delivers effective jump scares and creepy scenes, the plot starts to lose momentum in the second half. The majority of the cast delivers commendable performances, but Nick Blood’s portrayal of Saul’s son Arthur is one of the weakest links in the film. Despite being a primary protagonist, his character lacks depth and fails to establish a connection with the audience. Emily Wiseman as his pregnant wife was a lot more relatable as a woman trying to mend her relationship with her orthodox father-in-law Saul, who wasn’t welcoming before, but turns out to be a lot more warm and kind than she expected him to be.
The film would have greatly benefited from providing more backstory on the demon and exploring the paranormal activity in greater detail. Nevertheless, “The Offering” remains a decent one-time watch for horror enthusiasts.
You can stream the film on Prime Video.
June 25, 2023
Through My Window: Across the Sea Review
“Through My Window: Across the Sea Review” (Original title: A través del mar) is a sequel to the forgettable 2022 movie “A través de mi ventana.” Clara Galle and Julio Pena reprise their roles as the protagonists, Raquel and Ares.
Directed by Marcal Fores, the story continues to follow the romance between aspiring author Raquel and the wealthy Ares, who are now in a long-distance relationship and struggling to maintain their connection. They decide to spend some time on a yacht and are joined by their friends. However, a surprise visitor creates problems between the couple. The only improvement in this sequel is the enhanced cinematography, thanks to the breathtaking sea and beachside shots.
Once again, we are presented with a cast of one-dimensional characters, just like in the first movie. The only likable character, Raquel’s best friend Yoshi (Guillermo Lasheras), is dealt a terrible hand. There’s a random new character who shows interest in Raquel and nothing comes off it. If you are looking for a steamy film featuring college students partying, arguing, and fooling around, you can stream this film on Netflix.
June 24, 2023
The origin & motives of demon boss Muzan Kibutsuji
Warning – Major story spoilers ahead
Japanese anime series “Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba” fans need no refresher on who Muzan Kibutsuji – the ultimate demon boss, practically the first vampire-like monster who created the rest of his brood by sharing his blood. And viewers finally get to know about his origins in the season finale of “Demon Slayer Swordsmith Village Arc“.
Muzan traces his human life back to the Heian era (between 794 and 1185), when he was a young noble suffering from a mysterious terminal disease that could kill him before his 19th birthday. A doctor concocts various medicines to cure his affliction, but nothing seems to work. Mad with helpless rage, Muzan kills his doctor one day, but the timing couldn’t have been worse. As it turns out, the doctor’s medicines were beginning to take effect, not only improving Muzan’s health but also granting him superhuman strength. However, as a crippling side effect, Muzan finds himself unable to step out in the sun. Thus begins his quest to find the “Blue Spider Lily,” a rare flower that he believes can restore his ability to face daylight. To aid in his search, Muzan creates more of his kind: demons who kill humans and carry out his bidding.
Thousands of years later, Muzan’s search for the rare flower finally comes to an end, not because he finds it, but because a demon who can withstand the sun is discovered. In the final episode of the “Swordsmith Village Arc,” Tanjiro Kamado’s sister, Nezuko, is shown burning from the first rays of dawn. However, she soon overcomes the scalding and becomes able to walk comfortably under the sun. Muzan is exhilarated to finally find a demon who has conquered the sun and vows to devour Nezuko in the hopes of inheriting her resilience!
Until now, Tanjiro was merely a junior slayer, performing exceptionally well in his fight against demons. However, he now becomes a direct adversary for Muzan Kibutsuji. Things are going to get a lot more personal and bloodier in the next season!
