Sneha Jaiswal's Blog, page 231

Heart Shot – Short Film Review

By Sneha Jaiswal (Twitter | Instagram)

“Adrenaline Rush”, “Explosive”, “Exciting” – these are the tags someone at Netflix chose to describe the 2022 short film ‘Heart Shot’. The 19-minute long movie has been directed by Marielle Woods, who has also co-written the script with Lauren Ludwig.

The first few minutes just don’t fit in with the description, although it does keep your curiosity up about what’s going to happen next. Actors Elena Heuze and Nia Sondaya plays girlfriends Nikki and Samantha respectively, two teenagers who want to have a future together but Nikki’s dark past complicates things for them. So what starts off like a cute but sweet looking romantic tale, does take a sudden ‘exciting’ turn, but it is far from explosive.

The twist towards the end is interesting, yes, but it’s just so random and disjointed, that the viewer is left exclaiming “huh?”. And then you rationalize your decision to stream the short by saying “oh well, not bad for a 19 minute film”. Which is true, it’s a forgettable flick that you can watch during your snack break, without worrying about streaming something larger and then reluctantly pausing it to go back to work and more constructive things in life.

The lead actors don’t seem to be very comfortable with each other and the script just doesn’t give them much. The climax is made chaotic by some weird-ass background music, which sounds like a combination of people trying to breathe after running. Otherwise, the movie is shot quite well, the production quality is great, but the 19 minutes have a “prologue” vibe to them, as if it were a really long trailer for a series. It feels incomplete.

But not a bad pick for a 20 minute break. It’s a 5/10 from me.

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

Ep 69: The Dangers of Smoking In Bed – Spoiler-free Book Review

Demon Slayer Entertainment District Arc Review

Demon Slayer’s new season ‘Entertainment District Arc’ promised to be a fun ride, with the first episode setting ground for the story to unfold in Tokyo’s Yoshiwara, which is home to the city’s pleasure industry.

Plot Overview – The three young demon-slayers Tanjiro, Zenitsu, and Inosuke are led by the flamboyant Hashira (a high ranking slayer) Tengen Uzui to the entertainment district to sniff out demons hiding in the brothels. The three boys go undercover dressed as girls into different brothels to help find Tengen’s partners and also uncover monsters passing off as courtesans.

The first few episodes are quite entertaining, with the boys trying their best to pass off as demure girls, while being on their toes. Some of it was pretty hilarious. The makers do a great job of explaining how things work in the pleasure district, giving viewers a quick lesson on the different ranks of courtesans and the inner workings of brothels. A lot of the details in this episode is inspired by the real Yoshiwara, which used to be a licensed red-light district, and continues to be home to establishments that deal in the sex-trade.

Just like the previous season, team Ufotable (the studio) does a fantastic job with the animation, conjuring up a fascinating historical slice of Yoshiwara, complete with all sorts of courtesans, colorful night processions, traditional painting and some rhythmic periodic music playing in the background now and then. There isn’t much to complain about in the art department, however some more variations in secondary character faces would’ve been nice.

Just like Mugen Train, the primary trio & Tengen have to fight one high-ranking demon called Daki, who is just as ruthless and formidable as older villains. The first confrontation comes in episode 4 and the face-off between the slayers and Daki goes on till the end of the show and was a little too prolonged. While there are some fun action sequences, it wasn’t as thrilling as the battle in Mugen Train. For a 11-episode season, some of us were hoping there would be more demons and twists in the tale. An intriguing cameo of the demon-leader Kibutsuji in a new form in the first episode is never followed up, so that was another let-down. Nezuko’s character see some growth, quite literally, but like expected – she gets to come on screen only during dire circumstances.

The biggest problem with ‘Entertainment District Arc’ is that the characters OVER-EXPLAIN & overthink everything. Instead of going by the classic rule of ‘show, don’t tell’, we get an overload of unnecessary narration, even though the scenes are self-explanatory. For example, if Tanjiro gets injured in a scene and his fingers start to bleed, Tanjiro will have an internal dialogue on the lines of = “Oh no, the demon injured me, I have hurt my fingers, my fingers are bleeding and it hurts a lot, this is not good, I need to stop my fingers from bleeding and worry about fighting the demon”. It’s like they are narrating the episodes for 8-year-old kids, but funnily, the series has a 16+ rating.

For fans, ‘Demon Slayer’ continues to be a good distraction, but the writers really need to up their game with the villains and fight sequences. This should have been a 5 episode long affair. It’s a 6.5/10 from me.

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

Ep 69: The Dangers of Smoking In Bed – Spoiler-free Book Review

The Dangers of Smoking In Bed – Book Review

We take a spoiler-look at the contemporary horror fiction book ‘The Dangers of Smoking in Bed’ by Mariana Enriquez in the latest podcast episode of Abstract AF. It was shortlisted for the 2021 International Booker Prize.

Listen in & subscribe to the channel.

Hecate’s Will #2 – Comic Book Review

If you were intrigued by the first issue of ‘Hecate’s Will’ by Iolanda Zanfardino, you’ll love how #2 starts – with the protagonist completely owning her sexuality in the first few panels. Hecate walks through streets, head held high, the back of her jacket screaming ‘Dyke’ in bold, reclaiming the term with pride. When a bunch of old women whisper in disapproval at her, she pokes her tongue out to them (not as a child would) and moves on. I like her.

Quick recap – Hecate is a street artist who plans on giving up art, but not before doing a final ambitiously cryptic graffiti series. The first few of them get people buzzing in the city and social media. Meanwhile, she also volunteers to help best-friend Mateo with a play. That’s where Hecate crosses path with a lot of interesting people, including the gorgeous Naomi, someone she can’t stand. A potential enemies-to-lovers plot brews…

Also Read: Hecate’s Will #1 Review – Intriguing Tale of Art Vs Artist

Issue #2 continues to set the story up, we get introduced to a charming cancer-survivor Amber, who runs a fancy boutique that caters to ‘ridiculously rich customers’. She utters the world-wise quote – “isn’t art just proudly showing your scars to the world?” to Hecate. It happens to be the same quote the comic series begins with. And the author poignantly illustrates over the next few panels how different people looks at their scars. While for some they are badges of honor, marks of a life well-lived, for some others they are a source of shame, something to cover-up. Along with the theme of body acceptance, the author also touches upon the themes of poverty, death & family alienation. We get a brief flashback of Hecate’s childhood to get some understanding of her fraught relationship with her father. (I just hope the author won’t be cramming in too many issues into the plot.)

Since this leg of the story unfolds during winter, there are some gorgeous snow-filled panels. Iolanda continues with a peachy-palette for the color scheme and the white snow flakes against those tones looks alive. There are 3-4 pages set in the outdoors when it’s snowing, and those panels really stand out, doesn’t matter what month you are reading the comic in, it makes you feel like December is knocking on your door.

The possibility of romance between Hecate and Naomi is further strengthened in the comic, so those hoping to see sparks fly between the two will be satisfied. As far as where Hecate’s final plan is going, it remains a mystery. So readers will have to wait for the next few issues to get something concrete.

It’s a 4/5 from me.

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

Ep 68: Should You Read The ‘Bartimaeus’ Trilogy? Listen In!

The Tea Dragon Tapestry – Book Review

Not sure what most readers expect out of book 3 in the ‘Tea Dragon’ series by K O’Neill, but some of us were hoping for a few new characters and some more exciting adventures. And while I loved the second book, ‘The Tea Dragon Tapestry’ was not quite up to the mark.

The artwork is gorgeous, with beautiful bright colors seamlessly woven into dreamy panels of the book. Like the previous works, the story unfolds in a lush laid-back village. We see a sort of reunion of all the main characters that appeared before, however, nothing exciting happens. K O’Neill repeats the themes of friendship, love and loss, without adding much to the story.

If it weren’t for the lovely artwork, I would’ve probably fallen asleep mid-way through the 130 odd pages. It’s a pretty small book, some bibliophiles can finish it off in less than an hour, and yet, the material is unimaginative. The tiny tea-dragons largely serve as decorative pieces throughout the story. Although the author tries to humanize them by reminding readers how the little beings gets acutely attached to their owners.

For those who absolutely loved the first two books, ‘The Tea Dragon Tapestry’ might be equally captivating. I was hoping for something more, instead the sub-plots were a little too repetitive, but full points on the lovely painting-like illustrations. The panels makes readers want to retire in the woods and live a peaceful life sans technology. And some good home-brewed tea.

It’s a 3/5 from me.

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

Ep 68: Should You Read The ‘Bartimaeus’ Trilogy?

Paint With Love – Quick Review

By Sneha Jaiswal (Twitter | Instagram)

A hoity-toity greedy media agency head hires a free-spirited artist for an event, and the two start an uncomfortable working relationship that evolves into a cozier equation. That’s the primary plot of the Thai series “Paint With Love”.

Directed by Peed Panchapong Kongkanoi & Not Pongsatorn Thongjaroen, the series heavily rests on the shoulders of Singto Prachaya and Tae Darvid, the lead actors, who play Maze and Phap. The intro music along with the stop-motion art is catchy and sets the mood for the comedic drama. Singto Prachaya, who is usually Mr Goody-Two-Shoes, plays a strict bossy arrogant Maze with a lot of charm. However, it takes time to get warmed up to Tae Darvid’s Phap, an artist, whose character is played up in a very stereotypical manner – the artist in need of a muse, living in a whimsical house, with unpaid bills piling up, paint lying everywhere and a bunch of unusual pets including a rooster.

Along with the love-hate relationship between Phap and Maze, there’s also a secondary plot about two actors called Nueng (Pushanu Wongsavanischakorn) and Tharn (Surat Permpoonsavat) working in a BL series, one of who is managed by Maze’s company. This sub-plot was all over the place, had no fun elements at all and the chemistry was barely there. What makes it worse is that we literally know nothing about any of the characters, they are all too one-dimensional. Phap and Nueng are shown to be half-brothers with a complicated history, which is a source of lot of unnecessary misunderstandings for the other characters… and quite frustrating to watch for viewers! The character development is so shallow, if it were a swimming-pool, Phap’s rooster could swim in it.

The story does have a decent amount of funny moments, but fails to rise above tropes that are getting quite stale to see on screen. Unlike most series in its genre, the story is about working professionals, and yet, we see the same ‘miscommunication’ conflict causing problems for the protagonists. While petty fights and ego-tussles are fine in high-school settings, watching a bunch of adults behave like annoying teens isn’t very entertaining. I lost complete interest in the show by episode 10 but eventually did see the closing episodes. They were cliched and barely bearable. The unimaginative script pretty much ruins the show.

It’s a 5.5/10 from me.

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

Ep 66: 5 Things That Keep ‘All Of Us Are Dead’ Alive

The Privilege – ‘Get Out’ Meets Stranger Things. Sort Of.

The 2022 Netflix horror movie ‘The Privilege’ (Das Privileg) starts off with a sandman like villain in the opening scene that sets pace for a bizarre/creepy thriller involving parasitic supernatural elements. Directed by Felix Fuchssteiner and Katharina Schode, the film stars Max Shimmelpfenning as troubled teen Finn Bergmann, who was mentally scarred after watching his older sister’s die. Years later, when his twin sister starts to get sick, Finn starts to see eerie things and begins to investigate if there’s something try to harm his family or if it’s just his imagination.

While the story begins on an interesting note, complete with a gruesome death, but the series of events that unfold next are convoluted and mix too many things at once. The story has slices of horror movies/series like ‘Hereditary’, ‘Get Out’, ‘Stranger Things’, ‘Conjuring’, among others. So there are mental health issues to be dealt with, houses to escape from, suspicious pills being passed around, strange ugly entities lurking under beds and gloomy looking teens trying to get laid while also figuring out how to fight supernatural beings.

Max Shimmelpfenning looks a little old to play a teenager, but since his character is pushed to premature adulthood due to childhood trauma, he manages to be convincing as the angst-ridden Finn Bergmann. Lea van Acken as his best-friend/side-kick provides some color and life to the screen in the otherwise serious-looking cast. Tijan Marei who plays Finn’s crush Samira was an almost pointless character, squeezed into the script to just give us some romantic moments. Although funnily, Finn has more chemistry with his lesbian best-friend, than Samira.

Things get silly when the kids approach a woman to research on something, and she turns out to be some sort of psychic who can communicate with spirits/demons. What promised to be building into an intriguing sci-fi horror, descends into tropes from the 1980s that are snooze-worthy. The film does have some gruesome scenes that will make you flinch, but it never gets scary enough. And while there was a good twist towards the end, the climax was laughably silly. It will leave most viewers with a sense of disappointment.

While it’s laudable that the makers attempted a new concept, too bad they couldn’t resist blending their novel plot with the same old things we are used to seeing in horror movies.

It’s a 5/10 from me.

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

Ep 66: 5 Things That Keep ‘All Of Us Are Dead’ Alive

The Privilege Review – ‘Get Out’ Meets Stranger Things. Sort Of.

The 2022 Netflix horror movie ‘The Privilege’ (Das Privileg) starts off with a sandman like villain in the opening scene that sets pace for a bizarre/creepy thriller involving parasitic supernatural elements. Directed by Felix Fuchssteiner and Katharina Schode, the film stars Max Shimmelpfenning as troubled teen Finn Bergmann, who was mentally scarred after watching his older sister’s die. Years later, when his twin sister starts to get sick, Finn starts to see eerie things and begins to investigate if there’s something try to harm his family or if it’s just his imagination.

While the story begins on an interesting note, complete with a gruesome death, but the series of events that unfold next are convoluted and mix too many things at once. The story has slices of horror movies/series like ‘Hereditary’, ‘Get Out’, ‘Stranger Things’, ‘Conjuring’, among others. So there are mental health issues to be dealt with, houses to escape from, suspicious pills being passed around, strange ugly entities lurking under beds and gloomy looking teens trying to get laid while also figuring out how to fight supernatural beings.

Max Shimmelpfenning looks a little old to play a teenager, but since his character is pushed to premature adulthood due to childhood trauma, he manages to be convincing as the angst-ridden Finn Bergmann. Lea van Acken as his best-friend/side-kick provides some color and life to the screen in the otherwise serious-looking cast. Tijan Marei who plays Finn’s crush Samira was an almost pointless character, squeezed into the script to just give us some romantic moments. Although funnily, Finn has more chemistry with his lesbian best-friend, than Samira.

Things get silly when the kids approach a woman to research on something, and she turns out to be some sort of psychic who can communicate with spirits/demons. What promised to be building into an intriguing sci-fi horror, descends into tropes from the 1980s that are snooze-worthy. The film does have some gruesome scenes that will make you flinch, but it never gets scary enough. And while there was a good twist towards the end, the climax was laughably silly. It will leave most viewers with a sense of disappointment.

While it’s laudable that the makers attempted a new concept, too bad they couldn’t resist blending their novel plot with the same old things we are used to seeing in horror movies.

It’s a 5/10 from me.

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

Ep 66: 5 Things That Keep ‘All Of Us Are Dead’ Alive

The Tinder Swindler – Quick Review

If you’ve seen the American sitcom ‘Friends’, you’ll probably be able to recall an episode where one of the primary characters – Chandler – begins flirting with a stranger online and his friends warn him that it could be an old sleazy man pretending to be a woman. Basically, even in the 1990s, when most people didn’t even own a computer, folks knew the online world was filled with phonies trying to con you. So the 2022 Netflix documentary “The Tinder Swindler”, about a good-looking dude conning multiple women after meeting them on dating apps has very little shock/novelty value. Although the kind of money he swindled is insane.

Directed by Felicity Morris, “The Tinder Swindler” is primarily told through the interviews of three women that were duped by an Israeli man who went by the name Simon Leviev. Leviev claimed to be the son of a diamond tycoon, flew in a private jet, drove fancy cars, constantly moved around the world for supposed business deals and always stayed in 5-star-hotels. He would meet women on Tinder, sweep them off their feet with an extravagant show of wealth, and then drain them off their money.

The documentary takes too long to get to the modus-operandi and spends a lot of time recreating and embellishing how Leviev wooed his victims. So we have shots of five-star hotels, flashy wheels, tinder profiles, and a fashionably dressed headless man representing Leviev in the recreated scenes. Cecilie Fjellhoy, a 29-year-old living in London, recalls her first date with Leviev and while the retelling was necessary, it was tediously stretched out. Pernilla Sjoholm, the other woman who found herself in debt due to Leviev, wasn’t even dating him. Even though they met on Tinder, they did not go on a second date, but instead became friends and the dude managed to wring her dry too. The third one lived in Norway and was probably in the longest relationship with him.

What I really liked about ‘The Tinder Swindler’ is the fact that the women chose to fight back and ensured their stories were told. The second-half of the runtime deals with how a bunch of journalists worked on tracking Leviev, especially because there were multiple victims and enough photos/videos for it to make a great tabloid story. It’s what makes the Neflix documentary more interesting than usual too, because they have a tonne of audio/video footage to use. Or it would’ve been one hell of a boring story.

With the staggering amount of text/voice/video trail Leviev left as evidence, it’s clear he wasn’t an evil genius, but a over-confident conceited criminal who knew who to prey on. “You watch too much Netflix!” he berates one of his victims when she tries to outwit him and refuses to give him money. But maybe he did too.

This documentary serves as a great cautionary tale against the perils of online dating, especially for the old romantics who let their heart rule over their mind. It could’ve been 30 minutes shorter. It’s a 6/10 from me.

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

Ep 66: 5 Things That Keep ‘All Of Us Are Dead’ Alive

Should You Read The ‘Bartimaeus’ Trilogy?

In the latest podcast episode of Abstract AF, we take a spoiler-free look at the ‘Bartimaeus’ trilogy by author Jonathan Stroud, to help you decide if you should read it. It’s a fantasy fiction series that largely unfolds in London and is about a 5000-year-old spirit that is summoned on earth by a budding magician. And to a very commonly asked question about the series – it’s not like Harry Potter at all. We explain that too.

Listen in and do subscribe to our channel.