Sneha Jaiswal's Blog, page 192

‘Choco Milk Shake’ Review – Saccharine Fluff

There’s a weird influx of ‘animals turning into humans’ stories in the romance genre, and I am not really fan of the trope. I’ve tried seeing one or two in the past and quickly abandoned them, because they are usually too silly, cliched and almost unbearable. However, 2022 Korean mini-series ‘Choco Milk Shake’ by Matchboxfilm turned out to be both watchable and quite adorable.

Directed by Ahn Ji Hee, the eleven episode series follows Jung Woo (Go Ho Jung), a reserved young man who works at his uncle’s (Park Seung Bin) restaurant. When two handsome men turn up at Jung Woo’s door and claim to be the human incarnations of his beloved deceased pets Choco and Milk, he is completely flummoxed. Lee Jae Bin plays the cute clingy dog-human Choco, Kim Seong Hyuk is the more restrained cat-human Milk. The three actors are grounded in their performances, at ease around each other and bring a believable warmth to the weird/magical story which also delves into themes of loss, alienation and friendships.

Episode 6 has this brief flashback of how Jungwoo found Choco when he was little pup, and in a clever creative decision, the makers use animation to recreate the story. The artwork was simple, charming and nostalgic due to the sepia tones palette and saved the creators from dealing with a child actor for the scenes. Even otherwise, the cinematography is straightforward, with most scenes unfolding either at the restaurant where Jung Woo works or at his flat.

If you’re looking for a fluffy sweet romance, stream ‘Choco Milk Shake’ on YouTube.

It’s a 7/10 from me.

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‘Jack Reacher’ Review – Too Verbose

When a former military man is nabbed for the senseless murders of five civilians, he asks for ‘Jack Reacher’, the only man who he believes can help him. Based on a novel called ‘One Shot’ by Lee Child, the 2012 movie ‘Jack Reacher’ directed by Christopher McQuarrie stars Tom Cruise as the titular hero.

Since I haven’t read the novel, it’s hard to say how faithful the script is to its source material, but Christopher McQuarrie for sure has tailored the onscreen adaptation to make the film look like it was made for Tom Cruise fans. Cruise’s character Reacher is made out to be some sort of ghost who cannot be found unless he wants to be found. You get the drift, right? He is batman, minus the fancy tech and wealth.

Joseph Sikora plays Barr, a trained military sniper accused of the five murders, while Rosamund Pike is his defence attorney Helen. Helen is forced to work with Reacher, whose legwork leads him to believe the deaths aren’t as random as they appear to be. Robert Duvall has a fun little cameo as a former military guy who helps Reacher with his investigation.

While the plot is mildly intriguing, Jack Reacher’s character is too larger than life and the movie doesn’t back him up with enough action sequences to justify the exaggerated swagger. The script is also unnecessarily verbose, and yet the characters aren’t memorable (except for Reacher) or likable. For example, in the very first half, viewers are informed Barr isn’t a great guy, so it becomes hard to care about anybody trying to defend him.

Overall, ‘Jack Reacher’ is an interesting enough film to watch once. Tom Cruise obviously pulls off the ‘too cool for school’ military cop role with ease.

It’s a 6.5/10 from me. Stream it on Prime Video.

A Boy & A Girl – Graphic Novel Review

Set somewhere in the future, Travis and Charlie meet at a party being thrown by a man for his ‘mother’s debut’, a humanlike robot resembling the host’s dead mom. In a world where lifelike machines are replacing humans, a chance to experience ‘real love’ is rare, so when the two strangers spontaneously snog at the party, Travis is convinced Charlie might be ‘the one’ for him.

Created by Jamie S. Rich and Natalie Nourigat, ‘A Boy & A Girl’ is a fast-paced sci-fi romance that reads like a regular fiction love story, despite unfolding in scarily advanced technological times. The comic panels are filled in blue shades, which adds a surreal nostalgic charm to the futuristic novel. The artwork is simple, expressive and contemporary.

Both lead characters are charming; Travis is a Philosophy Major specialising in ‘Digital Ethics’, while the gorgeous Charlie works at a coffee shop but has some plans for her future, which doesn’t have space for a boyfriend. The plot raises some interesting questions that are never answered, but if you can ignore all the doubts that crop up in your, the graphic novel makes for a breezy read.

‘A Boy and A Girl’ is more of an extended ‘meet cute’ tale unfolding in about two days, with some fun turns and an unexpected climax. Depending on how the viewer perceives it, the ending might either seem too abrupt, or just the perfect poetic closure to Travis and Charlie’s story. Or perhaps just the beginning… since there’s definitely scope for a sequel and I wouldn’t mind reading it.

It’s a 4/5 from me.

Cold Iron – Comic Series Review

Celtic folklore and modern moxie collide as an ancient pact between worlds is broken. The sinister forces of Faerie have slipped their shackles, and the Black Dog walks abroad this night…

The four-issue comic series ‘Cold Iron’ by Andy Diggle and Nick Brokenshire follows aspiring musician Kay, who feels stuck on the Isle of Man, with a thankless job and an aging grandmother to look after. Kay’s life turns upside down when she accidentally hits a young girl with her car and the two encounter a sinister talking goat. Turns out, her grandmother’s stories about magic, beasts, hidden paths and faerie rings are all true. It’s up to Kay to keep the young girl safe from villainous entities.

‘Cold Iron’ heavily leans on existing fables, beliefs and beasts, so those who aren’t familiar with Celtic folklore are going to feel a little lost at the beginning. Kay is an interesting protagonist, while she isn’t ambitious enough to take risks and is trapped in a relationship with someone who doesn’t respect her; she is a responsible caring adult who is there for her grandmother. It’s the antagonists who aren’t fleshed out well enough to offer a strong conflict.

The illustrations by Nick Brokenshire are slightly retro in style, the dark palette lends a very 80s horror comic-strip atmosphere to the tale. It also makes reader expect a lot more action, excitement, crazy plot twists than the creators have to offer. So the climax felt rushed, childish and underwhelming.

Perhaps this could’ve been a longer series, but it would’ve become extremely tedious if the writers didn’t have enough story to keep the issues going. In its current four-issues state, ‘Cold Iron’ is a decent limited fantasy comic series. It’s available on Kindle Unlimited.

It’s a 3/5 from me.

‘Burning Patience’ Review – Lukewarm

Set against the breathtaking shores of Chilie, the 2022 spanish film “Burning Patience” is beautifully nostalgic piece to look at, but as the title suggests, it’s a slow-burn romance that can test the viewer’s patience.

Directed by Rodrigo Sepúlveda, the film stars Andrew Bargsted as Mario, a young postman who delivers famed poet Pablo Neruda (Claudio Arrendondo) his daily mail & is inspired to woo his crush Clarita (Amalia Kassai) with words and metaphors.

The cinematography captures the Chilean shores and Island life in the 1960s with ardour. However, as a Neruda fan, it was hard to picture Claudio Arrendondo as the wordsmith in the last leg of his life. Andrew Bargsted and Amalia Kassai are cute, yet, their chemistry is lukewarm for a passionate romantic story.

Mario and Clarita’s life looks too idyllic, the two live in their own bubble, flirting by the rough waters of their beautiful island. So even when a conflict is introduced in the story, it feels disjointed and uninteresting. “Burning Patience” might have all the elements of a quintessential romance, yet, it never really “burns”.

It’ a 5/10 from me.

‘A Castle for Christmas’ : Quick Review

Rating: 2.5 out of 5.

‘A Castle for Christmas’ is a pretty unrealistic tale about a successful author buying a castle in Scotland on a bit of a whim (as a struggling author, I assure you I was crying while typing that sentence); but because Brooke Shield and Cary Elwes looked pretty great in the trailer, we decided to give it a go. It’s the kind of flick you want to watch sometimes – an exaggerated tale about rich beautiful people buying castles and romancing in gilded halls.

Directed by Mary Lambers, the 2021 movie stars Brooke Shields as author Sophie, who goes to scotland for a holiday but ends up buying a castle owned by Myles, a jaded, divorced royal played by Cary Elwes. The movie starts off with a hilarious little tv interview, where Sophie has a bit of a meltdown while being interviewed by Drew Barrymore (playing herself).

First half of the film is quite nice, the it becomes too cliched and overbearing in the second-half. Brooke Shields and Elwes make a decent pair, but as Miles, the actor has a ghastly Scottish accent for no good reason. I am no expert in accents, but for a character who is supposedly Harvard-Cambridge educated, a local exaggerated accent was unnecessary.

The stately old castle is definitely the highlight of the story, which looks splendid when decked up for a Christmas ball. There really isn’t much to critique, it’s a mildly entertaining Christmas romance, stream it on Netlix if the plot sounds fun to you.

It’s a 5/10 from me.

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Listen To ‘The House – An Unusual Animated Anthology

Martha the Monster – Short Film Review

“What do you call a monster with sharp teeth and claws?”

You’ll have to watch “Martha the Monster”, the short 2019 film to find out the punchline. Written and directed by Christopher Weekes, it’s a weird metaphorical film set in a world where humans and monsters co-exist, but the latter are second-class citizens. Martha lives in a ‘monsters only’ neighborhood and struggles to make her mark in a world where the rules are made by humans. Her kind is representative of all minority communities that are terrorized by the ruling class.

Voiced by Rose Byrne, Martha is an interesting protagonist, who aspires to be a stand-up-comic, but unfortunately isn’t very funny. The character designs are slightly bizarre, which makes the story seem darker and scarier than it is.

While Martha doesn’t feel real, her isolation and insecurities are grounded in reality. She struggles with body issues, tries too hard to ‘fit in’ and viewers can feel the suffocation she experiences in just the 15 minute runtime of the short film. And if humans aren’t bad enough, Martha also has to face harassment from her own kind.

You can watch the film on YouTube. It’s a 6/10 from me.

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Listen to ‘The Closet’ Horror Comic Series Review

‘Leonide the Vampyr: A Christmas for Crows’ Review

‘Leonide the Vampyr: A Christmas for Crows’ is a 30 page one-shot comic by Mike Mignola, Rachele Aragno and Dave Stewart. While the artwork in the book is delightful, the story was just… forgettable. The book’s ‘GoodReads’ page doesn’t have a description for it (at least not at the time of writing this review); whoever added it to the website’s library clearly didn’t want to break their head over it or simply forgot the plot.

Okay, maybe I am being unnecessarily cynical about a fun comic book just trying to celebrate the holiday spirit. So yeah, this quick Christmas edition is about a bunch of villagers accidentally setting a Vampire free, but she isn’t interested in drinking anybody’s blood and only wants to go back to a place where she can read. So she does just that. But an old enemy isn’t interested in leaving her alone.

The story takes place over one night, and even though the plot isn’t exciting, the artwork sure is, it feels like you are watching a quick little short film. The comic has skeletons, vampires and talking crows, but is a gothic toned tale about Christmas, gifts and forgiveness. You’ll be done reading the book even before you know it.

It’s a 3/5 from me, mostly for the art.

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Listen to – Twelve 2022 Holiday Releases To Stream (and Some to Skip!)

Avatar: The Way of Water – Cameron’s Titanic Sized Fantasy Fest

Rating: 4.5 out of 5.

Runtime: 3 hr 12 minutes

The only person James Cameron is competing with – is himself. Very few movies are in the league of his 2009 hit ‘Avatar’ when it comes to being a spectacular visual treat. Over a decade later, with cheaper technologies and easy VFX fixes, most new movies still cannot beat the fantasy-action film in the graphics department. I say that with confidence because I saw Avatar for the second time in July 2022, to serve as a refresher, and it vowed me again. And if you were in awe of ‘Avatar’, rest assured that James Cameron delivers a worthy sequel for fans.

Written and directed by Cameron, ‘Avatar: The Way of Water’ picks up Jake Sully’s (Sam Worthington) story again, a few years after he’s been leading a happy family life with wife Neytiri (Zoe Saldana) and four kids. Plot-wise, Cameron treads familiar territory again – it’s still evil greedy humans versus the nature loving Na’vi. Despite having lead a successful rebellion against ‘the sky people’, Jake finds old enemies coming after him and his family, so they leave their forest brothers and take refuge in a different part to avoid a bloodbath. So, instead of the gorgeous green forests of Pandora, viewers are made to dive into the beautiful blue waters of its aquatic tribes.

I am going to keep my review simple, short and spoiler-free. Could the story have been better? Yes. The primary conflict is a little too personal for the massive scale of the movie, although, somewhere in the second-half, there is an interesting new angle to the tale. Regardless, this sequel is a reminder of the magic of movies and world-building. Despite an old school tale, ‘Avatar: The Way of Water’ offers a great escape into the spellbinding shores of Pandora, Jake Sully’s new home. The climax was slightly reminiscent of Cameron’s other big hit, ‘Titanic’, with characters fighting for their lives aboard a sinking ship, the parallelism was simply brilliant, at least for those who’d make the connection.

Watch the film in the biggest screen near you for the best cinematographic experience.

It’s a 8.5/10 from me.

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Listen to – Twelve 2022 Holiday Releases To Stream (and Some to Skip!)

Happy Ending Romance Review – Absurdly Glum

Rating: 2.5 out of 5.

It took some of us four episode to finally understand what exactly was going on in Korean series ‘Happy Ending Romance’, until then, viewers are made to guess the dynamics between the characters. “Is this guy good or bad? Does he have evil intentions? Is he benevolent? Is he overbearing? Who is sadder? What is the problem? Why is it such a big problem? Why is it even a problem?”! Too many questions for a show whose title misleads you into believing it’s a sweet romantic offering.

Directed by Seong Do Joon, the eight episode series stars Park Hyun Chul as lead Cha Jung Woo, a brilliant writer who is shunned by the publishing world after he speaks out against some corrupt seniors. Socially isolated, he begins to live an anonymous life with his partner Kim Jung Hyun (Jung Taek Woon), who is a best-selling author. Their equation is disrupted when an enthusiastic independent publisher called Han Tae Young (Ha Jong Woo) expresses interest in getting Cha Jung Woo to write again, as Kim Jung Hyun is against such a move.

There is little romance and a lot of sulking. Ha Jong Woo as Han Tae Young is the only ray of sunshine in this gloomy story, he lights up the screen with his charming smile. The other actors do justice to their roles too, but their characters are written in a bland manner, making them way more serious than necessary. The chemistry between the leads is lukewarm, their relationship progression is sweet but not believable.

The portrayal of the publishing industry is bizarre and toxic; but if that’s how things work in Korea, then it’s even more worrisome. Despite eight episodes of 30 minutes each, the makers don’t give a solid background build-up to how Cha Jung Woo became a social pariah. Everybody keeps making a big deal out of his downfall in every episode, so the fact that viewers never get a proper ‘flashback story’ is extremely annoying. It feels like they are making a mountain out of a molehill. If ‘Happy Ending Romance’ were a December dessert, I’d say someone forgot to add sugar to it. A disappointing series with a great looking cast.

It’s a 5/10 from me.

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Listen to – Twelve 2022 Holiday Releases To Stream (and Some to Skip!)