Sneha Jaiswal's Blog, page 216

My Fake Boyfriend Review – TP Kinda Film

TP stands for ‘time pass’, it’s a phrase commonly used in some parts of the world to use to describe things that come in handy when we just want to kill some time. And there’s a whole genre of TP movies we like to watch, even though we know they are trash, but fun trash; like the 2022 movie ‘My Fake Boyfriend’.

Directed by Rose Troche, the film stars Keiynan Londsale as Andrew a stuntman who is in an ‘on & off’ relationship with a television star called Nico (Marcus Rosner). Dylan Sprouse plays his nosy best-friend Jake who comes with an equally enthusiastic girlfriend Kelly portrayed by Sarah Hyland. The pair create a fake digital boyfriend for Andrew to help him get over Nico, but things get out of hand when Jake begins to blur the lines between what’s real and what’s fake.

Dylan Sprouse and Sarah Hyland make an adorable onscreen couple, but give off a ‘dumb & dumber’ vibe, despite their characters being intelligent. Keiynan Londsale’s Andrew has low self-esteem issues and is a total doormat, not only does his partner not respect him, his friends Jake-Kelly have so sense of space – they are borderline stalkers who take an unhealthy interest in his movements. The friendship goes from ‘cute’ to ‘crazy’ in a heartbeat. While a lot of stuff is exaggerated non-sense, which isn’t necessarily as hilarious as intended, so there’s more cringe than comedy; but the story does take a fun dig at people’s obsession with social media ‘influencers’.

Honestly, there isn’t much to critique in this film, it’s just a silly no-brainer flick. One wouldn’t call it a ‘romantic comedy’, since the romance quotient is quite low. It’s more about friends going overboard with “intervention” and needing one themselves. There are some ridiculous fight scenes, digs at the movie industry, dating apps, ‘influencer’ culture, cooking shows and what not.

If the trailer seemed entertaining to you, go stream the movie on Amazon Prime for ‘time pass’. Or else just skip it.

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Listen To Ep 78 – Spiderhead Movie Recapped & Ending Explained

Little Notes of Anguish – Author’s Take

‘Little Notes of Anguish & Other Poems’ is my fourth book, which was first published on July 26th 2022. Get the book if contemporary poetry interest you. Listen to me talk about it a little on Abstract AF’s youtube channel.

The book is available both in kindle and paperback formats depending on which country you are in. It’s also available on Kindle Unlimited. Here are a few buying links –

U.S – https://amzn.to/38vqkPQ

India – https://amzn.to/39E4Wbl

UK – https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0B1VZQCDV

Canada – https://www.amazon.ca/dp/B0B1VZQCDV

Kimi No Koto Dake Mite Itai Review – Comfy Summer Blues

Set against a gorgeous sea-town, Japanese mini-series ‘Kimi No Koto Dake Itai’ (I Only Want to Keep Looking At You) captures the motions of teenage love in some of its most precious shades. The story is playful, innocent, heartwarming and lets its teen protagonists be young and silly schoolkids, unlike a lot of shows in the genre.

Directed by Kariyama Shunsuke, the series follows childhood best-friends Asakura Sakura (Kura Yuki) and Nagase Yuki (Mizusawa Rintaro), who are on the brink of finishing high-school. Asakura observes how they are neither fully adults nor children anymore, and yet, he doesn’t want to let go of the phase they are in… a sweet spot between a carefree childhood and the impending burdens of adulthood. But with their school life coming to an end, Asakura confesses his love for Yuki, who in turn is dazed and confused by the revelation. Is Asakura’s crush unrequited?

There’s a stark simplicity about the way this show is shot, the scenes have a touch of mundane reality to them and yet manage to be riveting. It’s the kind of comfort summer show one can leisurely binge-watch on the weekend. I love how Asakura and Yuki just eat ice-cream by the seashore and discuss random things; or how they have a ‘bucket list’ that includes things like ‘skipping rocks till we get home’. How do you not like such goofy characters?!

The romance is subtle, there aren’t too many sub-plots or supporting characters to scuttle the flow of show. Both lead actors Kura Yuki and Mizusawa Rintaro are endearing in their roles, making it easy to believe in their friendship and root for their success. Kura Yuki’s Asakura is ruminative, calm and a talented piano player, while Mizusawa plays the impish, energetic, class-clown kind of a boy, who doesn’t dwell on things too deeply. Both their characters are straight-forward, choosing to communicate with each other with raw honesty.

Just four episodes long, ‘Kimi No Koto Dake Mite Itai Review’ beautifully balances the hilarity of high-school students and the intensity of ‘first love’. Asakura and Yuki deserve a season two.

It’s a 8/10 from me.

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Listen to – Heartstopper The Netflix Series Is As Adorable As The Comics

Bhool Bhulaiyya 2 Review – Bhool Hi Jao

By Sneha Jaiswal (Twitter | Instagram)

Tabu’s name rolls in before Kartik Aaryan and Kiara Advani in the opening credits of the 2022 horror comedy ‘Bhool Bhulaiyya 2’ and deservedly so, because acting isn’t the strong suit of either of the younger two actors. Directed by Anees Bazmee, the film has close to zero jump scares and falters even in the supposedly funny scenes. You start feeling bad for Tabu at one point, because she deserves so much better.

Plot overview: Reet Thakur (Kiara Advani) is a rich girl vacationing in the hills before her wedding, there she meets the impish Ruhan Randhawa (Kartik Aaryan), who convinces her into taking a later bus to the city. Their originally scheduled bus meets with an accident and their families assume they are dead. Reet sees this as an opportunity to skip her wedding and set some things right. So, the pair goes to Rajasthan and accidentally frees a vengeful ghost that wants Reet’s family destroyed. The ghost’s name is Manjulika. Obviously.

It took me 2 days to watch ‘Bhool Bhulaiya 2’ because it’s simply insufferable in one go. No wonder the film went out of theaters in a flash and is already on Netflix within weeks of its big screen release. One can smell the big climactic twist within the first half of the story, and there are too many repetitive elements – from story, names, songs – in the film to keep things interesting. Kartik Aaryan and Kiara Advani have zero chemistry and look like two rich kids pretending to like each other because their parents set them up.

Some more effort with the story-writing and dialogues could’ve made this 2-hour long ridiculousness a lot more bearable, maybe even fun. It was hard not to think how a Rajkummar Rao (who was fantastic in the horror comedies ‘Stree’ & ‘Roohi’) would’ve elevated the entertainment quotient of a movie like this simply with his dialogue delivery. Too bad he doesn’t fit the “tall cute dude who can charm a girl he has just met into taking him home the very next day” brief. Sigh.

Actors Rajpal Yadav, Sanjay Mishra and Ashwini Kalsekar are completely wasted in their two-bit comedic roles, with lines and humor written for 10-year-olds. Thankfully Tabu gets a meaty part and is the only saving grace of this completely forgettable flick. And even though they were some genuinely hilarious moments here and there, a massively underwhelming climax drowns any sort of satisfaction viewers would’ve experienced.

It’s a 4/10 from me.

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Ep 78 – Spiderhead Movie Recapped & Ending Explained

Flavor Issue 1 & 2 Review

If you’ve never been lured into watching an episode of ‘Master Chef’, or any kind of cooking/baking shows, the comic series ‘Flavor’ is definitely not for you. Created by Joseph Keatinge, Wook Jin Clark (Artist), Tamra Bonvillain (Colorist) and Ariana Maher (Letters), the comic is a burst of colors and all about food.

The first issue starts with teen protagonist Xoo racing through the city to bag an ingredient that apparently ripens only once in a 100 years. Xoo is an underage chef, her parents are both wheelchair bound due to a recent accident and she needs a legal (and able) guardian to look after her, or the authorities will shut their restaurant down. Luckily, a reluctant uncle arrives on the scene, and might be the answer to her problems.

The artwork is bright, filled with eye-popping shades, but Xoo’s character is a little too rudimentary looking. Some readers have compared it with Studio Ghibli’s work, although as someone who has seen all their films (except Earthsea and Earwig), I couldn’t spot any similarities. Neither in the art, nor in the storytelling.

Not a lot happens in #issue 2 and despite being only 30 pages long, I didn’t really feel like finishing it. So it took two days to get through the rather small comic. Although, the second comic is a lot different than the first one and has more of a Harry Potter vibe than Ghibli. Things end in a cliff-hanger – Xoo arrives at an underground black-market to buy some ingredients, but is going to have to fight for them.

Not sure if non-food enthusiasts will enjoy this comic-book series. The creators actually have an award-winning culinary consultant onboard to help with the story – Ali Bouzari. But the first two issues are pretty generic and don’t give readers any fascinating insights about any kind of food, except for the fictional ‘Garuda Truffle’, the one that ripens in a century.

It’s a 3/5 from me.

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Listen to Ep 75 – Psychological Thriller ‘Girl A’ by Abigail Dean Explained

Unforgotten Night – Isn’t Exactly Memorable

The Thai BL version of ’50 Shades of Grey’ has finally arrived in the form of ‘Unforgotten Night’, starring Yoon Pushanu and Ton Saran Anantasetthakul as leads Kamol and Kim. Episode one starts off with annoying background music and Kamol’s character is introduced to viewers. It’s the kind of music that declares “LOOK AT OUR HERO, HE IS DANGEROUS!” too loudly.

The plot is pretty straightforward – Kim is a heartbroken working professional who catches the eyes of wealthy businessman/Mafia boss-man Kamol who is into BDSM. Unaware of Kamol’s fetishes, Kim agrees to spend the night together and consents to letting Kamol do ‘anything’ with him. And thus a long steamy affair begins.

Yoon Phusanu sort off manages to pull off the young ‘mafia’ look if Episode 1 is anything to go by, but things get cringe-y on the bed. For someone used to switching partners, Yoon’s character Kamol looks confused while wielding the whip. And the weepy Kim continues to be weepy in bed too. It’s all unintentionally comedic. Ton as Kim gives off a student vibe, which makes the series like a campus romance where the lead pair is role-playing older characters. Also, the chemistry is quite lacking. Although, to the writers credit, the dialogues aren’t as trashy as ‘Fifty Shades of Grey’, but the characters are just as one-dimensional… so far.

With the popular 18+ mafia themed series ‘KinnPorsche’ still ongoing, fans might have been right in being apprehensive about ‘Unforgotten Night’, which shares similar themes, but the quality is starkly different. With just one episode out, it’s too early to judge how the rest of the series will turn out. For now, it seems like a decent attempt and I will be streaming the other episodes.

New episodes come out every Wednesdays on GMM25 and YouTube.

Subscribe to our podcast on YouTube by the same name – AbstractAF

Listen To Ep 78 – Spiderhead Movie Recapped & Ending Explained

World War Z – Quick Movie Review

It’s taken years for me to get over the prejudice that a horror film starring a Hollywood heartthrob like Brad Pitt could be any good. But the 2013 movie ‘World War Z’ directed by Marc Forster is a pretty entertaining ‘end of the world’ flick. Maybe not so much a zombie one.

Pitt plays Former United Nations employee Gerry Lane, who is tasked to investigate the origin of a virus spreading dangerously throughout the world, turning people into zombie like creatures within seconds. The film starts off with news channels reporting about an unknown outbreak and a martial law being imposed in the city until thing get under control. Lane first faces the task of safely getting his wife and two little daughters to an extraction point, while all hell breaks lose around them.

While horror fans would’ve liked some more zombie killing, the plot if fast-paced, people are dying constantly, so there is enough dying to keep things interesting. It helps that Gerry Lane miraculously manages to travel around the world even when cities are falling to the virus like a pack of cards. His quest first takes him to South Korea, from there he flies to Israel and then Wales. Dude is like terminator, just doesn’t die! But Brad Pitt makes everything believable.

First rule of watching a horror movie – suspend some logic to enjoy it. ‘World War Z’ conveniently wraps things up towards the climax. It’s one of those rare zombie stories with a ‘feel-good’ ending hinging on an almost concrete resolution to the outbreak and not just an emotional closure. This is definitely a Z movie worth checking out for horror fans and is available to stream on Netflix.

It’s a 7/10 from me.

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Listen To Ep 78 – Spiderhead Movie Recapped & Ending Explained

Spy X Family Episode 11 Review

The Forgers are trying their best to get Anya on top of her class in the anime series ‘Spy X Family’, but the kid scores the worst grades in class! Loid Forger has little hope for his mission now, and wonder if he will just have to cheat his way through the ordeal. Titled ‘Stella’, episode 11 is all about brainstorming how to make Anya win gold badge (nicknamed Stella) in her school, an honor for exemplary students.

(Read Spy x Family Episode 1 Review if you have no clue what the show is about)

Loid takes Anya to a rehabilitation center, hoping that some public service might help Anya win a Stella. The spy dad still has no clue his adopted daughter can read minds and our little psychic smells (hears) a great opportunity to win an award! The makers have established a nice balance in dividing the screen-time between the three protagonists. While Episode 10 focused on the mother-daughter bond between Anya and Yor, this new episode has Loid spending more time with the child.

Episode 11 isn’t as pacy or hilarious as the previous one, but it has its share of fun moments. It’s the animation that saves the day, because there are a lot more of the typical exaggerated Manga expressions this time around, adding a lot of comic relief. Love how despite having a lot of pressure to make his mission work, Loid tries his best to not push Anya and let’s her be a kid, after all, she is only five. The father-daughter outing turns out to be surprisingly great, so much so that it almost feels like the characters are imagining things. It’s all too good to be true, but the story had to pull in a big twist to push the story forward. While Anya’s friendship with Damian continues to be non-existent, we get to know a little more about the rich brat – he isn’t as bad as he seems to to be.

While no new characters are introduced, viewers are left with the promise of an interesting new addition to the Forger Family for next episode. Don’t think fans would want this cute silly family show to ever end! Stream it on Netflix if you still haven’t.

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Listen To Ep 78 – Spiderhead Movie Recapped & Ending Explained

Jaadugar Trailer – Random But Quirky

“Main Meenu, Magic Meenu, part-time lover, aur full time jaadugar” says Jitendra Kumar while introducing his character in the 2022 Netflix movie trailer ‘Jaadugar’. It’s the Hindi word for magician. But in a random unexpected twist, the trailer turned out to be more about football and a lot less about being a magician.

Meenu is passionate about magic, but is forced to take part in local football matches, even though he is no good at it. However, when he is finally dropped out of the team, he begs to be taken back, because he needs to prove his worth in a football tournament to get the girl he loves. The story is set in small India, filled with cheesy/funny dialogues that promise an entertaining ride.

At first glance, ‘Jaadugar’ seems to be too random, mixing two very different themes – the art of magic and the sweaty energy of football, along with a girl-crazy man. By the looks of it, Jitendra Kumar is going to be the heartbeat of this new Netflix offering. Arushi Sharma who plays Meenu’s love interest doesn’t really land a punch in the teaser, will have to wait and watch if she can match Jitendra’s energy levels or charm.

Directed by Sameer Saxena, ‘Jaadugar’ will be available to stream on July 15th.

The Summer I Turned Pretty… Predictable

Half-way through the Amazon original series ‘The Summer I Turned Pretty’, I told myself – “if scenario A turns out to be climax, I will give this show a 7.5, if things end in scenario B, it’s going to be a 6/10”. Now that I am done watching it, I am confused between five and six. Scenario B it was.

The series is based on a book by Jenny Han, who is also an executive producer of the show. This is what hits you first about it – everything is super pretty. From all the actors playing the teen cast, to the houses, cafes, club-house, everything is aesthetically pleasing to the eye… some of the buildings looked like those hyper-realistic cakes people bake these days. The story unfolds in a beach town called Cousins, where protagonist Belly/Isabella (Lola Tung) goes every summer with her family, to spend time with her mom’s best-friend Susannah and sons. Almost 16, Belly has had a crush on Susannah’s older son Conrad (Christopher Briney) since she was eight. Unknown to her, Conrad’s cute pan-sexual brother Jeremiah (Gavin Casalegno) – who would date anybody that looks good enough – also likes her.

So, as the title suggests, Belly’s 16th summer turns to be quite different from all her other vacations before, because she turned ‘pretty’ that year – code for ‘doesn’t wear big glasses, braces and nerdy clothes anymore’. The plot is standard territory – a beautiful girl is torn must choose hot brother A and hot brother B, oh what a hard life it is. Also, one brother is the older broody, unreadable, sulky kind, the other is a fun-loving, adorable, laid-back guy, who do you think a typical heroine will choose? Your guess is probably as right as mine. Why do we even have the done to death ‘torn between siblings’ trope in 2022? It should be limited to porn and period pieces.

The adult relationships in the series were a lot more enjoyable than the teen drama going on. The friendship between Belly’s author mother Laura (Jackie Chung) and Susannah (Rachel Blanchard) made for a heartwarming watch, even though at points it felt like they were a little too involved in each other’s life. For example, there’s a scene where Laura and Susannah have a disagreement over how Susannah is handling her marriage and Laura talks about how she would have to clean up Susannah’s mess. Why? She is her best-friend, not her mother. Otherwise, Jackie Chung and Rachel Blanchard play really cool individuals and onscreen moms.

Lola Tung makes a lovely lead, but come episode 5, her character Belly has too many margaritas and starts to behave like an idiot; Tung’s acting ability finally slips, she isn’t convincing as a drunk and is just extremely annoying to watch for the first time in the show. All the boys (subtle shade to Jenny Han’s other popular book) in the series have the screen-time almost evenly distributed and deliver whatever brief was given to them. Christopher Briney and Gavin Casalegno convincingly play brothers with contrasting personalities, although Briney’s character is mundanely one-dimensional. Yet, he is the one Belly pines for and would probably build a shrine for. Sean Kaufman as Belly’s older protective brother Steven is charming; Minni Mills plays his gorgeous petite rich girlfriend Shayla, and the two are adorable together. Although, Steven and Jeremiah have way more chemistry than Belly and Jeremiah. Team Stevia (Steven + Jeremiah) over Team Jelly (Belly + Jeremiah). That would’ve shaken things a bit.

‘The Year I Turned Pretty’ is just another basic teen romance, which surprisingly shines more while dealing with its older characters than the young confused ones. Since everything looks picture-perfect, so the series is definitely easy on the eyes. All the girls wear cutesy outfits, the boys have dreamy bodies, and everybody seems to be rich enough to have fancy houses and lavish parties. The soundtrack is strewn with popular upbeat songs, so you get tracks from Nicki Minaj, Billie Eilish, Dua Lipa and the likes.

It’s definitely a very ‘summer’ film, with gorgeous arial shots of beaches and bungalows. All the visual, audio elements make it quite the likable watch. Although don’t think it deserves a season two. Unless #Stevia happens. It’s a 6/10 from me.

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Listen to – Heartstopper The Netflix Series Is As Adorable As The Comics