Sneha Jaiswal's Blog, page 202
October 26, 2022
Cabinet of Curiosities Episode 1 (Lot 36) Review
By Sneha Jaiswal (Twitter | Instagram)
‘In centuries past, when the world was full of mystery and traveling was reserved for the very few, a new form of collection was born. The Cabinet of Curiosities. This collection could be lodged in a building, a chamber, or a piece of furniture. In these private collections, one would find books painting or specimens of natural and unnatural history. A dragon’s tooth, a Fiji mermaid, a unicorn’s horn. And behind each of these, a story”, explains Guillermo del Toro at the beginning of Netflix’s 2022 horror anthology ‘Cabinet of Curiosities’.
While the creator of the show sets a fascinating tone for the horror anthology, the first story takes some time to gain momentum. Titled ‘Lot 36’, it follows Nick Appleton (Tim Blake Nelson) who makes money by buying storage lockers at auctions and selling their content (like the American show ‘Storage Wars’ if you’re familiar with it); his life changes when he comes in possession of lot number 36, owned by a deceased old man since the 1940s. The first half was too political, Appleton is a typical disgruntled white man who resents people of color and owes a lot of money to the wrong kind of folks.
Also Read: Cabinet of Curiosities Ep 2 – ‘Graveyard Rats’ Review
Just when thing begin to get interesting, the ending is sprung upon the viewers and is quite predictable and anticlimactic. The supernatural elements are minimal and there’s just one tried and tested trope running through most of the tale – flickering lights. The actors make ‘Lot 26’ a lot more compelling than it actually is. Hopefully, the other seven stories are more interesting. It’s a 5/10 from me for the first episode.
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Listen To: ‘The Seven Moons Of Maali Almeida’ Worth A Read?
Cabinet of Curiosities – Lot 36 Review
By Sneha Jaiswal (Twitter | Instagram)
‘In centuries past, when the world was full of mystery and traveling was reserved for the very few, a new form of collection was born. The Cabinet of Curiosities. This collection could be lodged in a building, a chamber, or a piece of furniture. In these private collections, one would find books painting or specimens of natural and unnatural history. A dragon’s tooth, a Fiji mermaid, a unicorn’s horn. And behind each of these, a story”, explains Guillermo del Toro at the beginning of Netflix’s 2022 horror anthology ‘Cabinet of Curiosities’.
While the creator of the show sets a fascinating tone for the horror anthology, the first story takes some time to gain momentum. Titled ‘Lot 36’, it follows Nick Appleton (Tim Blake Nelson) who makes money by buying storage lockers at auctions and selling their content (like the American show ‘Storage Wars’ if you’re familiar with it); his life changes when he comes in possession of lot number 36, owned by a deceased old man since the 1940s. The first half was too political, Appleton is a typical disgruntled white man who resents people of color and owes a lot of money to the wrong kind of folks.
Also Read: Cabinet of Curiosities Ep 2 – ‘Graveyard Rats’ Review
Just when thing begin to get interesting, the ending is sprung upon the viewers and is quite predictable and anticlimactic. The supernatural elements are minimal and there’s just one tried and tested trope running through most of the tale – flickering lights. The actors make ‘Lot 26’ a lot more compelling than it actually is. Hopefully, the other seven stories are more interesting. It’s a 5/10 from me for the first episode.
Subscribe to our podcast on YouTube by the same name – AbstractAF
Listen To: ‘The Seven Moons Of Maali Almeida’ Worth A Read?
October 25, 2022
‘28 Days Haunted’ Review – Like Big Brother, But Worse
‘The Conjuring’ franchise has made Ed and Lorraine Warren the most famous paranormal investigators in the world. Lot of us cannot even name a third. So, the 2022 Netflix reality show ’28 Days Haunted’ banks on the franchise’s popularity, hoping viewers would be thrilled to watch three groups test Lorraines-propounded paranormal theories in three different haunted locations. Tony Spera, a paranormal expert (also, the couple’s son-in-law) co-hosts the show with Shane Pittman. The two monitor activities of the groups, who are under who are under 24*7 surveillance and give their ‘expert’ opinion.
Armed with equipment but little else, the investigators/psychics forming each group has 28 days to uncover the secrets behind the haunting. Horror fans who believe in ghosts, banshees and poltergeists might find this series mildly entertaining, but skeptics are going to want to rip their hair apart over just how bad this is. Episode three is titled “I’m Done”, in which the bickering between members begins and most viewers would be done with the show too. The fights between the cast is straight out of reality shows like ‘Big Brother’, but at least the drama on those shows is bitchy and hilarious, here it’s just unwatchable. The hosts of the show however try to spin the in-fighting as “the ghosts trying to divide and conquer the teams to stop them from uncovering the secrets of the location”. L-O-L.
Except for a few odd sounds and the paranormal investigators claiming they ‘feel’ something, not a lot of happens on the show. It’s most definitely scripted and terribly so. In-fact, even the cast members accuse each other of faking some of the weird supernatural stuff that occur. And the most atrocious thing the series does is trivialize a tragedy. One of the haunted locations is where the ‘Lawson murders’ took place, a case famous enough to have its own wikipedia page. Charles Lawson, a tobacco farmer, had shot his wife and six of his seven children to death in 1929 at their home. Later, claims were made that Lawson had sexually abused his teen daughter Marie and she was allegedly a few pregnant by her father at the time of the slaughter. In the series, the paranormal investigators ‘uncover’ that Charles Lawson did abuse his daughter and was possessed by a demon when he murdered his family. So they both implicate and defend the murderer – the devil made him do it. Disgusting.
Netflix should have just asked the producers of this show to make a fictional anthology of three short horror films spread over six episodes, instead of this monstrosity of a ‘reality series’.
It’s a 2/10 from me.
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Listen To: ‘The Seven Moons Of Maali Almeida’ Worth A Read?
October 24, 2022
Spy x Family Episode 13 Review
After a three month break, ‘Spy X Family’ has resumed on Netflix with new weekly episodes, so the 13th one begins with a quick recap of the whole plot – top spy Twilight is undercover for an important mission, for which he adopts a little girl and marries a young woman to pass off as a regular civilian named Loid Forger. What he doesn’t know is that his daughter Anya can read minds and his new wife Yor is a deadly assassin. It’s a family full of secrets and surprises.
Also read: Spy X Family Episode 12 Review
Titled ‘Project Apple’, episode 13 follows the Forgers on a quest to adopt a dog for Anya. The pet is her reward for winning a ‘Stella’ and improving at school. This development was foreshadowed in episode 11, so a lot of fans were hoping the family would get a dog in 12, but when it comes to adding a fluffy friend to the brood, it’s better late than never. And just like the rest of the Forger clan, the new addition to the family is ‘special’ too.
For a post hiatus episode, ‘Project Apple’ packs in a lot of serious action and hilarity. Loid is called for an emergency meeting to stop student terrorists from assassinating an influential political figure. Yor and Anya continue pet hunting, only for Anya to go astray and land into the hands of bad guys. Who’s going to save the little one? Overall, it’s a cute chapter which ends in an exciting comedic cliffhanger.
Stream the series on Netflix.
Subscribe to our podcast on YouTube by the same name – AbstractAF
Listen To: ‘The Seven Moons Of Maali Almeida’ Worth A Read?
October 23, 2022
‘The Seven Moons of Maali Almeida’ Worth A Read?
Click here for the audio version of this review or scroll to the bottom
‘The Seven Moons of Maali Almeida’ by Shehan Karunatilaka (2022 Booker Prize winner) follows Maali Almeida, a Sri Lankan war photographer who is casually in the closet, not like ‘casually in the closet’ is a phrase, but I say ‘casually’ because the protagonist has no qualms about making out with men in public places but lies as easily about having a girlfriend when questioned about his orientation… where were we? Yes, Maali Almeida – queer war photographer, fixer, risk-taker, liar, gambler, and now a specter. It’s 1990, Almeida is dead, he cannot remember how and has seven days to solve his murder, after which he can ‘pass over’ into the light and not be stuck in the afterlife. So, the story is set in a place called ‘the in between’, where souls find themselves after dying, and not very surprisingly, the place is just as bureaucratic as the living world. Dead souls must line up at counters to start the process of passing on completely and they are expected to finish that process by seven moons, if not, they could be stuck in between forever.
The book is a supernatural thriller/satire, generously sprinkled with Sri Lankan politics, folklore, religious beliefs, and queer identity. Like a good mystery plot, there are multiple suspects and red herrings and readers will keep theorizing about who killed Maali Almeida. The freelance photographer was in possession of explosively incriminating war photos that a lot of people would kill to get their hands on. From powerful ministers, shady undertakers, activists, journalists, even the military… Maali Almeida has a long list of suspects who wanted him dead.
While gripping for most parts, the second half gets a little tedious, the story begins to drag its feet over the last few chapters. There are so many elements stuffed in that it can make the average reader’s head spin a little. It did mine for sure. Took me a few days to finish the novel, because the information and character overload would make me feel mentally exhausted after a bunch of chapters. Those who aren’t too fond of excessive politics in their fiction might even want to wash their hands off this novel midway. That said, author Shehan Karunatilaka does slip in a quick guide to the Sri Lankan war to familiarize foreign readers with what was happening in the country in the 80s and 90s. As you read along, you will know exactly who the LTTE and the JVP are, their motivations, goals, and their beef with the ruling government. We also get quick little explainers on all the supernatural beings that appear through the stories.
The author pours in most of his effort in the politics of war, it’s the personal equations of Maali Almeida that leave a more lasting impact in the novel than his professional/political altercations. So, the two characters who are most likeable in ‘Seven Moons of Maali Alemeida’ are his best-friend Jaaki and lover DD. Jaaki is young, fearless, and impulsive; while DD is more uptight, serious, and diplomatic and despite their polar-opposite personalities, if their love for Maali could be measured tangibly, it would probably be a tie. Maali’s ghost relies on Jaaki and DD to help unravel his murder mystery, although he also has ample help from crazy spirits and a blind old human who can communicate with the dead.
What really stood out most for me in the novel was the contemporary nature of the language. I really liked how Shehan’s sentences were simple to read; the dialogues felt colloquial and real, not flowery literary spiel. So even though it wasn’t a page-turner for me, the straightforward prose made it easier to read and made things seem less surreal.
It’s a 3.5/5 from me. Definitely worth checking out once.
October 22, 2022
‘Vice Versa’ Series Review – Too Long Drawn
Multiverse travel, body-swapping, life after death and what not, the 2022 Thai series ‘Vice Versa’ packs in a bizarre tale to two young men trapped in an alternate world, wrapped in unfamiliar faces. The two need to find a ‘port key’ if they want to return back to their normal lives, but until then, they need to fit in their current new roles. It’s one of those shows that should’ve been limited to six-eight episodes, but the makers stretch it on for twelve.
Directed by X Nuttapong Mongkolsawas, ‘Vice Versa’ follows Talay (Sea Tawinan), who wakes up as Tess, a rich brat and he meets the charming Puen (Jimmy Jitaraphol) who also is in someone else’s body. The two team up to find out a way to get back to their worlds and what ensues is a beautifully shot but too long drama about falling in love and going back home. Both the leads look great onscreen, but that’s because they are gorgeous, their actual chemistry is almost non-existent. The protagonists give off a very ‘dude friends’ vibe, rather than the romantic mood the makers try to create.
The writers should’ve just made this a platonic body-swapping story, instead of the exceedingly cosmetic romance served to viewers. Fans who just want to see a cute cast with minimal story should be satisfied with ‘Vice Versa’, others might have a hard time finishing all episodes.
It’s a 4/10 from me.
Subscribe to our podcast on YouTube by the same name – AbstractAF
Listen To: 10 Graphic Novel Reviews Under 10 Minutes
October 21, 2022
‘Blue Lock’ Episode 2 Review
It’s only episode two of anime series ‘Blue Lock’ and 25 kids find themselves eliminated from the crazy soccer training program designed to create Japan’s greatest player. Protagonist Isagi Yoichi is still in race, however, he is at the bottom of the ranking pool. Yoichi is in team Z with other lower ranking players and they all will have to go up against other teams soon. So while fans don’t get much soccer play in the episode, we finally get to know who is funding the program and what their motivations are.
Read: ‘Blue Lock’ Episode 1 Review
Titled ‘Monster’, two parallel plots run through this episode, one where Yoichi trains hard with the impish Bachira, while the other sub-story focuses on the people running ‘Blue Lock’. A few new characters are introduced, but Itoshi Sae is the most intriguing of them all, an international soccer player of repute, who looks down upon Japan over the state of sports in the country. However, a press conference about the ‘Blue Lock’ program piques his interest and it’s implied that we might get to see more of the arrogant new character.
The animation by Eight Bit Studio could’ve been a little more polished, but it doesn’t diminish the entertainment value of the series in any way. Unlike a lot of anime series that exaggerate protagonists into cute chibi like characters during emotional scenes, the animators of ‘Blue Lock’ switch the art style into horror like sketches with shadows, which are hilariously dark and almost grotesque. So the animation is far from cute and instead matches the dystopian mood of the show.
Episode two ends on the promise of an exciting soccer match that will decide the fates of Team Z and Isagi. So things are pretty interesting and fun so far! You can stream ‘Blue Lock’ on Netflix. New episodes drop Sunday.
Subscribe to our podcast on YouTube by the same name – AbstractAF
Listen To: 10 Graphic Novel Reviews Under 10 Minutes
‘The Watcher’ Review – Gets Tiring
Imagine moving to the house of your dreams and then getting bizarre threatening letters about someone ‘watching’ you and your family constantly. The 2022 Netflix series pulls you into an intriguing vortex of fear, anger, anxiety, loathing… it eventually starts taking a toll on your mental faculties, because none of its characters are likeable. The plot twists and the protagonists’ constant knee-jerk reactions to everything is annoyingly exaggerated.
Created by Ian Brennan and Ryan Murphy, the horror/thriller series stars Naomi Watts, Bobby Cannavale as Nora and Dean Brannock. The Brannocks move from New York into a gorgeous suburban property with their little son and teen daughter, only to slowly discover the house has a terrifying history of murders when someone starts sending them twisted letters. There are multiple suspects who could want them out of the house. Is it the creepy neighboring retired couple Maureen (Margo Martindale) and Mitch (Richard Kind)? Or the creepier brother-sister duo Pearl (Mia Farrow) and Jasper Winslow (Terry Kinney), who are obsessively fond of the dumbwaiter in the Brannock home. Or perhaps it’s the security-systems guy Dakota (Henry Hunter Hall), who benefits with the family buying his home security services? The suspect list keeps getting bigger, like a good old Agatha Christie novel, minus the easy pleasing entertaining mystery. Noma Dume plays private detective Theodora Birch, the Miss Marple of the muddled mystery.
One can barely blame the stellar cast for the faults in the writing. Bobby Cannavale, last seen in ‘Blonde’, is compelling as Dean Brannock, a man who loves his family but loses his shit when things get a little scary. Noah quickly morphs into a psycho-white-guy, who lets his paranoia get the best of him. His ‘over-protective’ behavior towards his teen daughter is discomforting. Naomi Watts seems to have taken a shine to the horror genre these days, but feels a little wasted in this series. Her 2022 horror film ‘Goodnight Mommy’ and this series are at par with each other in mediocrity. Jennifer Coolidge was surprisingly more entertaining as her pretentious bitchy friend and foul-mouthed real-estate agent Karen Calhoun.
For those who aren’t aware, this series is based on a real life case, which remains unsolved until date. And while it’s understandable why some creators try to be as loyal to their source material as possible, it’s pretty clear the directors of this limited series have taken a LOT of creative liberties with the plot. So why not thrown in a fictional ending that gives closure to viewers? After seven freaking hours of “oh this asshole is tormenting us” and “this bitch is trying to ruin us” by the protagonists, we are left hanging with an idiotic made-up climax. And there’s no scope for a sequel. Okay, maybe a little… but it would be too contrived and stretched. Especially if the same writing team is brought onboard.
Anyway, there are some interesting themes in ‘The Watcher’ that keep the plot intriguing. It’s sort of a cautionary tale about living beyond one’s means and the perils of materialism.
It’s a 5/10 from.
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Listen To Ep 45 – 15 Freaky Facts About ‘The Devil Made Me Do It’ Case
October 20, 2022
‘The Midnight Club’ -Series Review
It was 11:55 pm when I started streaming ‘The Midnight Club’ alone in a room, it’s a Netflix horror series about eight young terminally ill patients swapping scary stories late at night in a large haunted looking house. I was hoping to be spooked. But since it’s created by Mike Flanagan and Leah Fong, who are also behind titled likes ‘Haunting of Hill House‘ (pretty great, definitely recommend) and ‘Haunting of Bly Manor‘ (extremely disappointing, skip it), my expectations were measured. And sure enough, despite having the almost perfect ‘old mansion’ setting, with a bunch of dying residents to make it furthermore depressing, ‘The Midnight Club’ works better as a teen drama about death, than a horror show.
The plot follows perfect student Ilonka (Iman Benson), whose dreams of studying in a Ivy league college are crushed when she finds out she has cancer. She decides to move to Brightcliffe hospice, a place where young patients are allowed to live their last days on their own terms; there she becomes part of ‘the midnight club’, where residents meet to tell all kinds of stories to each other. And while Ilonka enjoys these sessions, she suspects there’s a dark fascinating secret buried in the haunted old corridors of the mansion, which was once home to a sinister cult…
The show is only 10 episodes long, but by episode 6, Ilonka gets quite unbearable, a miss ‘know it all’ who thinks she is better than everybody else and deserves a miracle. But if there was a prize for ‘the most annoying character’ in this show, it would go to Ruth Codd who plays Anya, Ilonka’s bitchy roommate in the hospice. While it’s understandable that a terminally ill patient would have a lot of pent up anger, hatred and what not… Anya is too over the top. Maybe she is a “you’ll love her or hate her” kind of character. Didn’t love her. There is a difference between being ‘tough’ and an ‘asshole’, and the writers seem to think they are interchangeable. The rest of the cast has better written roles but feels like they don’t get enough space.
As far as the stories narrated by the club members are concerned, they ranged from mildly interesting to plain boring. The writers of the show attempt to rationalize the weak tales by subtly reminding viewers they are being told by characters who are in their late teens or early twenties, not expert storytellers. There were one or two scene that managed to give me goosebumps, but overall, the supernatural/horror bits were underwhelming. It’s the friendship and bonds the eight youngsters forge with each other in their dying days that keeps the series alive.
‘The Midnight Club’ isn’t about ghosts and buried secrets, but a poignant painting of death, of its eventuality and escaping its claws briefly through shared stories.
It’s a 6/10 from me.
‘The Haunting of Bly Manor’ Review – Blyndingly Boring
October 19, 2022
‘Crema’ Review – Tepid Blend of Coffee & Ghosts
‘The Last Roast’, reads the title of the first chapter in ‘Crema’ and then… the next page filled my senses with the dreamy aroma of coffee. I could feel myself readying to fall in love with this graphic novel by Johnnie Christmas and Dante Luiz. Everything about the first few panels of this supernatural sapphic romance would be relatable to coffee enthusiasts with sleeping difficulties. Esme the protagonist is scared of falling asleep in the night, fearing monsters would swallow her, so she arms herself with cups and cups of warm coffees to drown all sleep. With too much caffeine running through her veins, Esme can see things others can’t….
The artwork in this graphic novel is lovely and the creators use a lot of warn yellows and peaches that add a nice nostalgic touch to the story. However, what starts off as an interesting ‘girl meets girl’ plot, soon warps into a muddled tale of ghosts, unrequited love and revenge. Esme works at a coffee shop and is enamored by the gorgeous Yara, who happens to own the place and wants to sell it. While the protagonists interactions is pleasantly adult in tone, the supernatural bits thrown in the tale is too child-like. You get a hurried story that might leave both sets disappointed – the ‘young adult’ readers and older bibliophiles.
While the first-half unfolds in America, the second leg of the book is set in Brazil, where readers get a glimpse of coffee plantations and a brief history of how Esme’s favorite brew came into existence. The ghosts in ‘Crema’ get a hilariously exaggerated part in the climax, leading to a rather cliched ending. But the art, the artwork is so good, it makes the graphic novel worth reading.
It’s a 3/5 from me.
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Listen To: 10 Graphic Novel Reviews Under 10 Minutes
