Sneha Jaiswal's Blog, page 238

Love & Leashes – Quick Movie Review

Office colleagues Jung Ji-Woo and Jung Ji-Hoo have confusingly similar names, so when one of them mistakenly receives a personal parcel containing a bondage item, it sets the ball rolling for an interesting relationship between the two. And the story is far more amusing than ’50 Shades of Grey’ can ever be.

Directed and written by Hyeon-jin Park, the 2022 Korean romantic-comedy ‘Love & Leashes’ brings ‘cute’ to the kinky genre of BDSM. Joon Young-Lee plays Jung Ji-Hoo, a good-looking popular guy at work, who is assertive in office, but submissive in bed. His sexual preferences are exposed when his poker-face colleague Jung Ji-Woo (Seohyun) receives his purchase of a dog collar. Instead of outing him as a ‘pervert’, Ji-Woo gets curious about his life and the two begin a S&M relationship, complete with a contract.

Even though the film has a 18+ rating, the erotic scenes are shot in a manner that’s not sleazy or titillating. Hyeon-jin Park gives viewers a basic lowdown of how S&M relationships work, emphasizing on consent and respect. A big theme of the story is an attempt to de-stigmatize BDSM and sensitize viewers towards practitioners as regular individuals who just prefer to express or receive love differently.

Actor Joon Young-Lee is charming as the vulnerable Ji-hoo, he hilariously and convincingly portrays the different shades of his character. Seohyum with her fierce eyes, slips in the role of the dominant Ji-Woo with ease and the two explore unique forms of play that will keep viewers amused. She has an admirably mature, calm, assertive yet kind nature. The two might not burn the screen, but make a interesting pair, indulging in a lot of ‘play’, some of which is quite hilarious. One wishes they were more communicative.

Despite its super-popular androgynous pop-star culture, South-Korea is known to be a fairly conservative society, and this is displayed subtly through a few scenes in the film. We are shown how those considered ‘deviant’ are undeservedly bullied, shamed and abused, both physically and verbally, and often their perpetrators are someone known to them. It’s laudable how the makers slip in these messages in a romantic-comedy.

Overall, “Love & Leashes” is quite entertaining, with serious scenes interspersed throughout, so that the characters aren’t reduced to exaggerated caricatures. It’s well-paced for most part, even though the climax gets a little shaky and melodramatic. A major twist that brings conflict into the lead pair’s life felt forced and unimaginative. So after some awkward climactic events, we get a happy enough ending.

It’s a 6.5/10 from me.

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

Tall Girl 2 Review: Cutesy Feel-Good Sequel

By Sneha Jaiswal (Twitter | Instagram)

The 2019 Netflix film ‘Tall Girl’ was a pretty average but sweet story about a very tall girl dealing with high-school. It ends on a cliched but conclusive tone and probably didn’t need a sequel. But trust Netflix to not care. So we have ‘Tall Girl 2’, which surprisingly turned out be a fun watch for a teen rom-com. Although, viewers expecting a concrete story-line complete with some strong conflict, might be left disappointed.

Directed by Emily Tang, written by Sam Wolfson, ‘Tall Girl 2’ continues with the story of Jodie (Ava Michelle), who has been dating her much shorter best-friend Jack Dunkleman (Griffin Gluck) for three months. In an adorable opening sequence, the two quickly recap the events that led them into a relationship, so it helps in summing up the first film. However, with ‘Tall Girl’ resolving Jodie’s insecurities about her height and giving her a steady boyfriend, the sequel explores how she navigates through her new-found popularity, and now struggles with ‘imposter syndrome’.

Now here is what the sequel does differently than most teen flicks, it splinters its focus on Jodie’s friends, and doesn’t keep the limelight on her. This may not go down well with many, but kind of worked for me (although, this is something I have complained about in some series/movies). Apart from watching Jodie’s struggle with the pressures of playing the lead-role in the school’s play, there’s a fun sub-plot about Jack Dunkleman finally accepting his Swedish housemate Stig Mohlin’s (Luke Eisner) friendship. So the two boys talk stuff out and have some fun, this was a refreshing addition, since it’s usually only girls talking their feelings out onscreen. Sabrina Harper gets some emotional scenes in as the elder sister too.

Ava Michelle as the awkward Jodie doesn’t exactly stand-out, but she has a sturdy charming support-cast backing her up and holding the film together. Griffin Gluck for example is an absolute sweetheart as Jack Dunkleman, who literally lights multiple candles for his lady-love. Luke Eisner as the dashing Swede sees growth in his character, someone who goes out of his way to help his friends out. Angela Kinsey and Steve Zahn reprise their roles as Jodie’s parents, and are quirky as the over-protective but emphatic mom-dad to two daughters. I love how they sensitively handle Jodie’s anxiety and do not downplay her issues.

This is a fluffy, funny, feel-good teen movie, with very little conflict and some really sweet characters. Off-late, I’ve been watching a lot of teen mini-series, and most of them have so much drama and toxicity stuffed in, “Tall Girl 2” came as a breath of fresh air. There’s close to zero bullying and no back-stabbing. The makers include a little bit of everything – friendships, heartbreaks, sisterhood, parties, singing, dancing and anxiety attacks. It’s all about inner little demons this time around.

Like typical good-budget Netflix teen flicks, everything in ‘Tall Girl 2’ is pretty looking, with bright colors, sparkly lights everywhere, and everybody living, eating or dancing in gorgeous looking places. I am not going to give this a rating, especially because I enjoyed watching it a lot. I would recommend it to those looking for a fun teen movie to watch on the weekend. Like we say in India, this is a good ‘time-pass’ film.

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

Gehraiyaan – Deep Enough, But Dips In The 2nd Half

By Sneha Jaiswal (Twitter | Instagram)

The 2022 Bollywood movie ‘Gehraiyaan’ directed by Shakun Batra promised to be a deep-dive into the intricacies of modern relationships. The makers almost deliver, except, the story is really about a woman dealing with the trappings of a dysfunctional family. And some of us can probably smell one of the the big climactic plot-twists in the very first hour of the 2 hr 28 minute runtime.

Deepika Padukone plays lead Alisha, a yoga instructor trying to launch her own fitness app, while simultaneously supporting her writer boyfriend and taking care of all the bills. She suffers from anxiety, has financial stress, an estranged father, a dead mom… so my question is – why the fuck is she not seeing a therapist & simply popping Valium pills instead? Anyway, Alisha’s boyfriend Karan (Dhairya Karwa) is best-friend’s with her first cousin Tia (Ananya Pandey), so they go on a two day vacation with Tia and her fiance. And that’s where Alisha and Zain (Siddhant Chaturvedi) find themselves attracted to each other. But what was supposed to be brief fling turns into a complicated prolonged affair, leading to tragic consequences.

One of the biggest strengths of this movie is the fluid dialogue writing. Even though viewers may not be able relate to the characters, their conversations, awkward first interactions or even heated exchanges – all sound believable. As far as the theme of infidelity is concerned, Shakun Batra doesn’t bring anything new to the table really – except for the lingo and settings. But instead, the film also dwells into how life can become a complex circle of pain for some, especially if one is unable to let go of their past. In Gehraiyaan, Alisha’s biggest fear seems to be meeting her mother’s fate – being trapped in a loveless relationship (again, why is she not seeing a therapist? and why does she not have any friends?).

Some of Alisha’s decisions as a young independent woman are questionable, and I am not talking about the infidelity. That said, Deepika Padukona perhaps delivers her career best in the film, she follows her brief and poignantly portrays an emotionally torn woman. Siddhant Chaturvedi is quite the charmer as Zain, a young real-estate entrepreneur who is ambitious, passionate and manipulative. The chemistry between the two was easy on the eyes and their intimate scenes are breezy, filled with the excitement of young love. Ananya Pandey as Tia is perfect for the role, she looks & plays the part of a rich-sweet-gullible young woman with little effort. You almost feel bad for her character in the movie. Dhairya Karwa who plays Karan is quite forgettable as Alisha’s writer boyfriend. Nasseruddin Shah in a very brief cameo as Alisha’s father is a scene-stealer, but has the right amount of screen-time necessary for his character.

The pace slows down in the second-half, and things get a little more chaotic than necessary, with multiple twists, one of which was absolutely unnecessary. However, there was one twist towards the end that does shake things up a little. But everything is wrapped up a little too conveniently by the end. Some viewers may find their interest dipping after an hour, a shorter runtime would’ve made this flick a lot more engrossing. Also, the makers keep showing sea-waves as transitions through the story, which just got funny after a point – too blatant an attempt at throwing the “gehraiyaan (deep)” metaphor on our faces.

Watch the film on Amazon Prime if you liked the trailer. It’s a 7/10 from me.

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

Ep 63 – Author Balaji Vittal on Pure Evil – A Guide To Bollywood Villainy

Gehraiyaan Review – Deep Enough, But Dips In The 2nd Half

By Sneha Jaiswal (Twitter | Instagram)

The 2022 Bollywood movie ‘Gehraiyaan’ directed by Shakun Batra promised to be a deep-dive into the intricacies of modern relationships. The makers almost deliver, except, the story is really about a woman dealing with the trappings of a dysfunctional family. And some of us can probably smell one of the the big climactic plot-twists in the very first hour of the 2 hr 28 minute runtime.

Deepika Padukone plays lead Alisha, a yoga instructor trying to launch her own fitness app, while simultaneously supporting her writer boyfriend and taking care of all the bills. She suffers from anxiety, has financial stress, an estranged father, a dead mom… so my question is – why the fuck is she not seeing a therapist & simply popping Valium pills instead? Anyway, Alisha’s boyfriend Karan (Dhairya Karwa) is best-friend’s with her first cousin Tia (Ananya Pandey), so they go on a two day vacation with Tia and her fiance. And that’s where Alisha and Zain (Siddhant Chaturvedi) find themselves attracted to each other. But what was supposed to be brief fling turns into a complicated prolonged affair, leading to tragic consequences.

One of the biggest strengths of this movie is the fluid dialogue writing. Even though viewers may not be able relate to the characters, their conversations, awkward first interactions or even heated exchanges – all sound believable. As far as the theme of infidelity is concerned, Shakun Batra doesn’t bring anything new to the table really – except for the lingo and settings. But instead, the film also dwells into how life can become a complex circle of pain for some, especially if one is unable to let go of their past. In Gehraiyaan, Alisha’s biggest fear seems to be meeting her mother’s fate – being trapped in a loveless relationship (again, why is she not seeing a therapist? and why does she not have any friends?).

Some of Alisha’s decisions as a young independent woman are questionable, and I am not talking about the infidelity. That said, Deepika Padukona perhaps delivers her career best in the film, she follows her brief and poignantly portrays an emotionally torn woman. Siddhant Chaturvedi is quite the charmer as Zain, a young real-estate entrepreneur who is ambitious, passionate and manipulative. The chemistry between the two was easy on the eyes and their intimate scenes are breezy, filled with the excitement of young love. Ananya Pandey as Tia is perfect for the role, she looks & plays the part of a rich-sweet-gullible young woman with little effort. You almost feel bad for her character in the movie. Dhairya Karwa who plays Karan is quite forgettable as Alisha’s writer boyfriend. Nasseruddin Shah in a very brief cameo as Alisha’s father is a scene-stealer, but has the right amount of screen-time necessary for his character.

The pace slows down in the second-half, and things get a little more chaotic than necessary, with multiple twists, one of which was absolutely unnecessary. However, there was one twist towards the end that does shake things up a little. But everything is wrapped up a little too conveniently by the end. Some viewers may find their interest dipping after an hour, a shorter runtime would’ve made this flick a lot more engrossing. Also, the makers keep showing sea-waves as transitions through the story, which just got funny after a point – too blatant an attempt at throwing the “gehraiyaan (deep)” metaphor on our faces.

Watch the film on Amazon Prime if you liked the trailer. It’s a 7/10 from me.

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

Ep 63 – Author Balaji Vittal on Pure Evil – A Guide To Bollywood Villainy

Riverdance – Quick Movie Review

The 2021 animated film ‘Riverdance’ is only 90 minutes long, but it took me three days to finish watching the film on Netflix. While it starts with a brilliant introduction told through animated that looks like paper cut-outs in motion. But that’s only for a few minutes. And even though the animation is bright, colorful and quite nice to look at, the movie has no charm.

Directed by Eamonn Butler and Dave Rosenbaum, ‘Riverdance – The Animated Adventure’ is inspired by a theatrical show of the same name that was started in the 1990s and consists of traditional Irish music and dance. The story follows a boy called Keegan and his friend Moira, who meet mythical deer-like creatures that love dancing and are the source of their town’s rivers. While I haven’t seen the real ‘Riverdance’ dance production, the long dance scenes in the film get a little tedious to watch, because they just don’t have that human spark to them. If an adult (and I love to watch dance forms) could get bored quickly, kids are probably going to fall asleep.

Now, for some weird reason, the protagonist Keegan reminded me a lot of Chucky, the doll from the famous horror movie franchise. There aren’t a lot of similarities, but maybe that’s the biggest flaw of this flick – the lead animated characters are quite unimaginative. The jokes are all flat. And there is no stand-out character. It’s a pity, because the animation quality is pretty good and the makers did have an interesting concept at hand.

After being done with half the film, I pretty much fast-forwarded the rest of it. Skip this one if you are looking for a fun entertaining movie to watch.

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

10 Book Reviews Under 10 Minutes #12thEdition

We are back with another edition of ’10 Book Reviews under 10 Minutes’ for our podcast. So if you aren’t into reading long book reviews, listen to episode 67, where we quickly look at some diverse titles. And this time around, they are all graphic novels, except for one. So if you aren’t into reading long books either, definitely check the list out out.

Titles reviewed are as follows –

Sebastian O/The Mystery Play – Grant MorrisonThe Girl From The Sea – Molly Knox OstertagHedy Lamarr – William Roy and Sylavain Dorange.Algeria Is Beautiful Like America – Olivia Burton and Mahi GrandGirl Town – Carolyn NowaThe Dire Days of Willowweep Manor – Shaenon K. GarrityThe Tea Dragon Society – Kay O’NeillThe Tea Dragon Festival – Kay O’NeillWhat To Do When I’m Gone – Hallie Bateman and Suzy HopkinsPure Evil – Balaji Vittal

Do subscribe to the channel. Episode below.

Murderbot Diaries – Book Series Review

Murderbot Diaries by Martha Wells – Review by @arcana_reads

I wish some characters could be torn off pages and dropped into reality. Quite a selfish take, considering Murderbot wouldn’t like it one bit. Murderbot is well, a robot, which has hacked its governor module – a program that makes it obey its overlords aka humans.

After becoming the master of its actions, Murderbot realised something that takes some of us humans 35 years (and a pandemic) to comprehend. That complete freedom from societal bonds is best utilised by…. consuming media. Constantly. Always. That’s it.

The basic premise of the series is if AI is truly “intelligent” and coldly logical – do you really believe that after seeing us humans gloriously fuck up everything we touch, they will want to rule… US???? Like, why? Why would an intelligent and logical system look at its new-found freedom and immediately decide “wow lemme kill me some humans”?

Martha Wells’ Murderbot is probably the first logical and sane robot I’ve ever read. Anyway, I digress. Wells has released six books till date – most of them quite short and easy to race through. The first book (All Systems Red) is a novella – which is the perfect springboard to launch a series, IMHO. All series should start with a novella. Authors, please take note.

None of the books end on a cliffhanger and at least till book 5 they continue as a series. Book 6 (Fugitive Telemetry) feels a bit like a standalone novel (and equally fun to read).

Book 2 (Artifical Condition) is my favorite. The sarcastic, dry-humored banter between the aptly-named ART and Murderbot is fun. The most engaging part of the entire series is Murderbot’s take on humanity – relationships, emotions, daily life, essentials.. everything. But I’m also worried that more it comes closer to the dark side (aka adopts humanity), it might get boring.

Wrapping this up on a happy note because Goodreads indicates there are three more books in the offing. Definitely recommend!

Rating (for all six books) : 5/5

This book review is by @arcana_reads (Click to follow on Instagram)

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Ep 64 – Why ‘Diary of a Bad Year’ Was Bad Reading Experience

Andre The Giant – Graphic Novel Review

Just something about the cover of ‘Andre The Giant’ by Brandon Easton & Denis Medri intrigued me a lot. Maybe it was the school-girl memories of watching wrestling matches with my younger brother that it triggered. Although we’ve never seen Andre in action in the ring. Heck, my brother wasn’t even born when the wrestling icon died. Anyway, that didn’t stop me from hitting download button on the e-book version of biographical graphic novel, but it took me months before finally getting to reading it. Because I wasn’t sure if I’d like it. But to my surprise, it turned out to be interesting enough for a non-stop reading session.

The book starts off with a poignant foreword by Robin Christensen Roussinmoff, the daughter of Andre ‘the giant’, who barely got any time with her father. And then we dive into the life of a boy who grew up too soon, and was pushed into a heady life of fame, alcohol and professional wrestling. Andre was only 20 when he was ‘discovered’ and trained into a man who would eventually become the biggest names in the world of wrestling. And despite having zero interest in the subject, I was drawn into the graphic novel, which is brilliantly illustrated by Denis Medri.

Andre’s career as a wrestler started at time when it was barely popular among the masses, so along with his rise as a star, we also see the history of professional wrestling unfold. It’s amusing to see how a ‘sport’ that’s clearly stage-managed, became a billion-dollar industry. So we obviously get a little story of Vince McMahon, the brains behind WWE, in the book too.

The biggest strength of this graphic novel is how it humanizes a larger-than-life figure, a man who knew his life was perhaps on a timer (he suffered from Acromegaly and was informed by doctor he didn’t have long to live), yet, he was dedicated to wrestling throughout his short-life, a profession he equals to the art of theater. Writer Brandon Easton together with artist Denis Medri spins a biographical story that is insightful, peppered with lots of anecdotal events, some funny, some not so funny, but interesting nonetheless.

Pick this book if you are a graphic novel enthusiast. It’s a 4/5 from me.

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Ep 66: 5 Things Keeping ‘All Of Us Are Dead’ Alive In Netflix Top 10

Shyam Singha Roy: Revists an age old trope with elegance

By Munish Rathore

Candid admission: I haven’t seen a lot of Telugu films. The ones I have, I haven’t been very impressed with, but my love for period dramas and Sai Pallavi drove me to give this one a shot, and might I say, I wasn’t disappointed. In fact I was very pleased!

The movie is a well-made masala entertainer. It has two love stories that unfold in different eras, a small but decent portion of courtroom sequences, and grandeur and scale; it draws on the rich and vibrant culture of Bengal, and has some stunning Telugu song and dance sequences. A potboiler, in short.

The film is about an aspiring Telugu director who gets embroiled in a copyright tussle, charged with stealing a dead Bengali author’s work. He is put behind bars for ripping-off a story from a language he can’t read or understand. As the case reaches the court, a series of twists and turns lead to the revelation that (dramatic pause) this director is actually the reincarnation of the author. That brings down the curtains on the first half of the film.

The second half of the films is set in the 60s, where Shyam Singha Roy- played by Nani- is a revolutionary, upper-caste hero who fights societal ills to the chagrin of his own family and village elders. Hoping to make a mark in the world, he decides to leave for Calcutta, but the night he is supposed to scoot, he finds himself in a temple complex mesmerized by Sai Pallavi who plays Maitreyi/ Rosie performing an awe-inspiring dance sequence. Sai Pallavi is a Devdasi who is confined to the courtyards of a temple complex, held hostage by an evil Pujari.

What follows is a budding romance between Nani and Pallavi, who manages to sneak out during the nights. These nocturnal excursions are craftfully created. Each night a little more stunning than the previous. Sai has very few dialogues but her expressions and her moves speak louder than words. The cinematography of these sequences is beautiful and shows how good scenes can be shot even with very little lighting and practically no dialogues.

The film would have been perfect had it not slid down the slope of the knight-in-shining-armour-rescuing-the-damsel-in-distress trope. But I guess the hero has to showcase his heroics for the audience to lap it up, especially when it comes to films that are meant for the masses. The end seems a bit stretched but even that redeems itself with an older Sai Pallavi veing discovered by our young director-reincarnation of Sai Pallavi. As one of my friends put it, ‘that scene has a separate fan-base’, but Sai Pallavi simping aside, the film has a decent amount of merit for one watch.

You can stream the film on Netflix.

Munish Rathore

Munish Rathore is a full-time journalist,
part-time dreamer and an aspiring writer. In
his free time he can be seen curled up in front
of the TV bawling over the latest tear-jerker.

instagram.com/munishrathore/

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

Ep 66: 5 Things Keeping ‘All Of Us Are Dead’ Alive In Netflix Top 10

Looop Lapeta Review – Slows Down Before The Loop Begins

By Sneha Jaiswal (Twitter | Instagram)

Aaakash Bhatia and team pick give interesting desi touches to the 1998 German time-loop thriller ‘Run Lola Run’ in the 2022 Netflix remake “Looop Lapeta”, but is that enough? Tapsi Pannu plays athlete Savi, who has to save her ‘useless boyfriend’ Satya (Tahir Raj Bhasin) from getting killed by his boss for bungling up a major money deal. Luckily for her, just when things get out of hand, she gets a miraculous second chance.

One of the first things that hit you as a viewer is the camera-work, it keeps moving a lot, and is probably supposed to be ‘artsy’, but is annoying. Had they shaken it a little more, viewers would faint from a dizzying spell. And the setting up to the big time-loop takes too long, it comes at a point where you’d expect the film to be almost over, but in an unpleasant surprise – you realize almost 3/4ths of the story is still left!

Okay, let’s talk actors. Tapsi Pannu looks convincing as the athlete Savi, she is fit AF, all the training for ‘Rashmi Rocket’ has come in handy for this film. Tahir Raj Bhasin as Satya, a pothead who loves gambling, reminds one of Uday Chopra from ‘Dhoom’ because of the way he is styled, and well, because of his silly character too. However, to his credit, Bhasin nails his part as the clueless but cute man-child. K.C. Shankar gets to play Savi’s widower dad Atul Borkar and has a refreshingly progressive part.

The pace of the film is all over the place, in most movies you either have a strong first-half or second-half, in ‘Loop Lapeta’, the scenes keep flitting between amusing, absurd and drab. There’s a sub-plot about two dumb brothers Appu-Jhappu plotting a robbery which was largely irritating, with juvenile jokes that only kids would find funny. But this movie has a 16+ rating. Oh, and the brothers seemed straight out of the popular 5-star chocolate’s ‘Ramesh-Suresh’ ad. That duo is bearable in a 10-second-ad, repeating that formula for a long feature was a bad idea.

In-fact, throughout the film, makers either intentionally or unwittingly parody a lot of famous scenes/characters. There was another annoying sub-plot about a woman who is set to get married to a random dude instead of her boyfriend. She gives a impassioned monologue about her quandary, like Kartik Aryan from ‘Pyaar Ka Punchanama’, but it’s not entertaining. A nice little original element was how the makers draw a parallel to Savi’s life with an Indian mythological story, so viewers get a quick modern re-telling of a ‘Amar Chitra Katha’.

The run-time could’ve been chopped off by at-least 20-25 minutes and ‘Loop Lapeta’ could’ve been a fantastic thriller. But instead we get repetitive montages of Savi & Satya’s cutesy couple moments show in flashbacks, and a lot of slow useless sequences that are supposed to be funny, but only serve to drag the pace further down. One of the dominant themes of the story is how a lot of things in life are inter-connected, small actions by Savi change her life drastically. To drive home the point of this ‘butterfly effect’, there is a literal gigantic shiny butterfly (too evidently fake) that makes a cameo in the movie, which was plain ridiculous.

“Looop Lapeta” will not impress movie enthusiasts who are used to watching experimental thrillers. I remember seeing the trailer for the first time and it reminded me of the super fun 2020 time-loop romantic comedy “Palm Springs“. The 2022 flick kind of pales in comparison as far as both the romance and comedy factors are concerned. It’s a 5/10 from me.

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

Ep 66: 5 Things Keeping ‘All Of Us Are Dead’ Alive In Netflix Top 10