Sneha Jaiswal's Blog, page 240

A Spindle Splintered – Book Review

A Spindle Splintered by Alix E. Harrow – Review by @Arcana_Reads

After three back-to-back shitty books (may review them later or erase them from memory altogether), the universe decided to reward me. (thank you, fairy godmother!)

I’ve read a few fairy tale re-tellings over the years, and they are either extremely irritating or utterly magnificent (ps: do check out Naomi Novik’s Spinning Silver for a haunting take on Rumpelstiltskin).

Harrow has re-imagined Sleeping Beauty or as it is better known as, “..pretty much the worst fairy tale, any way you slice it.” That was the first sentence of the book btw. Hook, line and sinker right??

Twenty-one year old Zinnia Gray has a wickedly dry humour and a penchant for imminent death. Oh, and she’s obsessed with Sleeping Beauty. Because as she says it, “Romantic girls like Beauty and the Beast, vanilla girls like Cinderella; goth girls like Snow White. Only dying girls like Sleeping Beauty.”

If you think this book is a paean to the classic, hold on to your smelling salts. Harrow’s Gray tears apart the fable – ridiculing the notion of a princely rescue, harkening back to darker versions where the kiss wasn’t just a kiss and the evil witch being probably a case of bad branding.

Harrow gives power back to the women – those damsels in distress on whom the entire story hinges and yet don’t get to choose their happy endings. Those stories dressed up in glittery ball gowns, sparkling jewels, stately castles or anthropomorphized woodland creatures, in which the woman’s fate is determined by usually, an idiot. Agency, returned!

Think of it, if you’re cursed and can be rescued by the kiss — that’s all well and fine, but do you really “want” the kiss or “need” the kiss? I mean I gotta take meds when I’m sick but do I need to fall in love with my meds and marry it? Why would you inextricably link the two and create a picture that all that every woman craves is the touch of a prince?

My favourite part of the book is Gray and Charm’s friendship – a stubbornly acerbic love that digs its heels into fate willing to stop the inevitable. It’s the stuff dreams are made of! There are rare books in which brilliant authors manage to weave in complexity and depth – whether in character development or world-building – in a few sentences. Stuff others need pages to convey. Spindle Splintered is a short book but Harrow makes you root for every woman in it. A wonderfully sensitive tale for the modern woman. Definitely recommend.

Rating: 5/5

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

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Ep 64 – 15 Random but Great Book Recommendations

A Thing Called Truth #4 Comic Review

Doctor Magdalene Traumer and Dorian head to Madrid after their ‘Roman Holiday’ style trip in Issue #4 of ‘A Thing Called Truth’ by Iolanda Zanfardino & Elisa Romboli.

Quick Plot Overview – Madgalene Traumer goes on a crazy road-trip with virtual stranger Dorian, right after she gets fired from her job at a lab where she was on the verge of a major breakthrough. So while Traumer loses the primary purpose of her life, Dorian is on a personal mission to fulfill her dead brother’s dreams of traveling around the world and re-creating his favorite movie scenes.

Also Read: A Thing Called Truth #3 Comic Review

By now the two protagonists are completely comfortable with each other and develop an easy friendship. The rather uptight Magdalene loosens up and starts to keep up with Dorian’s free-wheeling spirit, so the two of them practically paint the town red.

It feels like Elisa Romboli uses a lot more colors in this issue, because the comic panels feel a lot more vibrant this time around. As always, the art captures the joy of travel and infuses the pages with an extra dash of vitality. And while it had only been touristy stuff for a while in the story, Iolanda finally gives readers a glimpse of just what is happening back at Traumer’s work-place, since she pretty much went AWOL as far as everybody else is concerned. The colors and art style slightly differs during this sub-plot, and offer contrast to the travel bits. The juxtaposition of Traumer frolicking around Europe while her friends/colleagues worry about her whereabouts is cleverly done.

Overall, this issue was an interesting mix and was filled with warm moments towards the climax. Things are moving to an exciting crescendo and the mystery over how things are going to go between Magdalene and Dorian remains. At this point, they are two women, each trying to let go of the past in their own ways and live life in the moment.

It’s a 4/5 from me.

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Ep 64 – 15 Random but Great Book Recommendations

Color Rush 2 – Korean Series Review

The plot of the 2022 Korean mini-series ‘Color Rush 2’ picks off from where the first one ended, after a period of six months though. Directed by Park Sun Jae again, this time around, we only have actor Yoo Jun reprising his role as the color-blind Yeon Woo.

Quick recap of the first season – Yeon Woo is a ‘mono’, a term for people who see life in the grey-scale. Monos experience a ‘color rush’ only if they meet their ‘probe’. Woo meets his ‘probe’ at school, a classmate called Go Yoo Han, who is also a K-pop trainee. However, Woo isn’t very thrilled by Yoo Han’s advances, because he is busy with his personal mission of finding his mother, who was also a ‘mono’ and went missing a few years ago.

The biggest problem with season one was how the primary mystery in the series remained unsolved, viewers get no closure on what exactly happened to Yeon Woo’s mom. So in season two, Woo tries to track both his missing mother and boyfriend. The plot is slightly stronger this time around, with the story focusing on Woo’s investigation into a shady group that deals with drugs and illegal procedures that promise a ‘life of color’ to Monos. There are more elements of thriller and a lot less romance, which serves well to keep things intriguing.

Actor Hyuk plays the new protagonist Kim Se Hyun, another of Woo’s classmate, who helps him in investigating the shady group. Their friendship develops at a lighting speed and although the two have better chemistry (than Yeon Woo and Yoo Han) the episodes feel rushed, especially because Hyun’s character is introduced out of nowhere. At least I don’t remember him being on season 1. The series is largely watchable because Yoo Jun is gorgeous/cute as hell and he also emotes well. I would love to see him in more dramas and series. In-fact, most actors in the cast do their parts convincingly, it’s just that the plot isn’t paced well and could’ve been a lot better.

I feel like maybe the makers had budget constraints, or else this series had the potential to be longer. With themes like drugs, abuse and family ties, ‘Color Rush 2’ does hit some emotional notes, but feels very generic by the climax.

It’s a 6/10 from me.

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

Only 2 Films From 2021 Are On IMDB Top 250

Only two films made in 2021 have managed to retain their spots in the IMDB top 250. One is a Hollywood film, while the other is an Indian movie.

Kapella – Quick Movie Review

From being a slow, dreamy, innocent love story set in a small Indian town, the 2020 movie ‘Kappela’ suddenly morphs into a confusing tale of unemployment, harassment and gullibility.

Directed by Muhammed Musthafa, the story centers around a young woman Jessy (Anna Ben), who failed class 12 and doesn’t aspire for much. A phone call to a wrong number brings some excitement to her life, as the young man who picks up the call tries to befriend her. What follows is a phone-romance of sorts, complicated by a marriage proposal that comes from an affluent family for Jessy.

The first half of the movie is leisurely paced, building up towards what looks like a naive but sweet slow-burn romance. The man Jessy strikes a phone-friendship with is an auto-driver called Vishnu (Roshan Matthew), who manages to charm his way into her heart. Anna Ben as a simple town girl is sweet, while Roshan Matthew felt slightly unconvincing as a small-time driver. And out of nowhere, a new character is introduced in the second half – an angry young unemployed man called Roy, played by Sreenath Bhasi. For a while, his character makes no sense in the grand scheme of things, it feels like you have switched to watching a different movie altogether. But a new twist is introduced that connects Roy to Jessy’s story, but it feels forced and underwhelming. Even though Sreenath Bhasi does a fantastic job in his cameo.

The intention of the story comes across as muddled. It looks like the makers were trying to give us a modern cautionary tale against the perils of striking up relationships with strangers. There is also the confusing theme of employment – they cannot decide if they want to glorify unemployment or lament the lack of job opportunities for local youth. Or maybe I am reading too much into the story.

The cinematography captures the rural beauty of Kerala and gives viewers an interesting glimpse of what it’s like to live in a small town. However, by the climax, I was left asking myself ‘WTF?’, the movie was a little too random. Some viewers might be charmed by what ‘Kapella’ has to offer, but it’s definitely not everybody’s cup of tea.

It’s a 6/10 from me. The movie is available to stream on Netflix.

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Ep 64 – 15 Random but Great Book Recommendations

Bad Buddy Series Review – Leads Romp This RomCom

The Thai romantic-college-comedy ‘Bad Buddy’ aired its finale on Jan 21st and it has the most fun and satisfactory climactic episode I’ve seen seen in a while.

Directed by Backaof Noppharnach Chaiwimol, the show pretty much struck gold with lead stars Nanon Korapat and Ohm Pawat, who play Pran and Pat – two neighboring college kids from feuding families. It’s inspired by Romeo-Juliet, something they even allude to on the show, except that the lead pair here is older, more mature and have known each all their life, so their feelings run deeper.

While there is a lot of confusion over why Pran and Pat’s families hate each other, the enmity is loud and clear. The two sets of parents cannot see eye to eye and let their rivalry spill over to their kids, so Pran and Pat are constantly made to compete against each other through their school life. In college too, the two are in rival gangs who often come to blows. The too finally get so sick of all the fighting, they strike secret pact and vow to shield each other from trouble. This new arrangement leads to them into falling in love, but now they have to hide it not just from their family, but also from their feuding friends.

Honestly, much of the script is quite run off the mill, but it’s the charming acting of Nanon and Ohm that breathes a lot of honesty and love into the show. Not only do the two make their characters seem very authentic, but they have great onscreen chemistry. And unlike a lot of other series in the ‘romcom’ genre, what really works for ‘Bad Buddy’ is how the lead characters actually COMMUNICATE with each other. Seriously, I am so sick of seeing movies/series where you still have the 20th century trope of the couple misunderstanding something they overheard or believing some shit some third person tells them about their partner. In ‘Bad Buddy’, despite being surrounded by people who despise each other, Pran and Pat talk their feelings out.

While the show is 12 episodes long, the strongest highlight comes early on, in episode 5, where the two leads have a poignant talk about what they want from each other. It’s a tender emotional scene, where the actors transition from being frenemies to more. Nanon and Ohm capture the subtleties of their characters brilliantly and throughout the script, their roles are written in tandem with their personalities with close to zero inconsistencies. There is no awkwardness between the two, something that makes complete sense for people who’ve known each their whole lives. Pat is the more confident, straightforward and laid-back of the two, the one who is always taking initiative in the relationship, who doesn’t hold back what’s on his mind and isn’t afraid to lose little games, if it’s his partner who is winning. Nanon’s Pran is a little more complex, somebody who likes to bury his feelings and needs some pushing to come out of his shell.

I wasn’t a big fan of a sub-plot involving Pat’s little sister, who gets a romantic side-story, which is cutesy but completely unnecessary. It’s just a lot of awkward, overtly sweet stuff that the show could’ve done without. Instead, maybe some more screen-time for their best-friends could’ve made more sense. Towards the last few episodes, the actual reason for the family rivalry is revealed and it felt underwhelming. It was all a little to simplified and didn’t make much sense for the kind of toxic tension between two grown up couples with adult kids. The writing could’ve benefited with more attention to the primary conflict between the family, because it weakens the entire plot in the second-half.

However, the last episode was near perfection as far as a series finale is concerned, tying everything up in a delightful manner. All the creases are smoothed over by the lead pair, they do a fantastic job and have viewers completely rooting for them. The makers also squeeze in some very apt songs through the show, so Nanon gets to show off his singing skills. It helps that all the tracks help in carrying the story forward and aren’t those really random numbers which serve as nothing but musical breaks.

Overall, ‘Bad Buddy’ is a wholesome romantic-comedy, just the fun kind of entertainment for the weekend. It’s a 8/10 from me.

You can stream the show for free on GMMTV’s YouTube Channel.

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Ep 64 – 15 Random but Great Book Recommendations

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

“Isn’t making art just proudly showing your scars to the world?”… asks the first panel of the first issue of Iolanda Zanfardino’s new comic ‘Hecate’s Will’. So the story starts off with an existential question for artists, making the reader feel like maybe the tale is going to be morose, but Iolanda makes the mood swing in the next few pages. And so we dive into Hecate’s world – a queer artist who plans on giving up art, but not before doing a series of last graffiti pieces around Manhattan.

The color palette is mono-chromatic, but instead of going for the usual grayscale, Iolanda goes for coral tones, reminiscent of the bright-peachy panels of her comic-series ‘Alice in Leatherland’. The artwork is itself is quite sleek and I love how Iolanda makes a stark differentiation between the regular panels and the ones with Hecate’s ‘guerilla art’. The two are distinctly different and help the art pieces within the comic stand out.

Also Read: Alice In Leatherland #1 & #2 Review – Fun AF!

The first issue does a good job of setting up the protagonist’s character, we know she goes by the name Hecate, but it’s indicated that her real name is perhaps Rebecca and that maybe her family isn’t accepting of her street-artist lifestyle. There are probably issues/themes that might be tackled over the next few issues. A few other characters are also introduced in this one, like Mateo, her best-friend/flatmate, a cheery theater enthusiast. So there’s a whole sub-plot about Hecate helping Mateo out with his next play, that happens to be a tribute to playwright Jonathan Larson (yes, the guy Andrew Garfield played in the film ‘Tick, Tick… Boom!’).

Overall, this was a fun introductory issue, with some interesting diverse characters and an intriguing plot. Hecate is clearly someone who derives joy out of creating art, she also has a talent for designing clothes, so it makes you wonder why she wants to give it all up. Pick this issue up if you want to read a comic that’s all about art and some solid LGBTQ+ representation.

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Ep 64 – 15 Random but Great Book Recommendations

Dragman – Graphic Novel Review

‘Dragman’ by Steven Appleby is a 300+ extravaganza that drags you into the eclectic world of superheroes (or superhumans?), serial-killers, cross-dressers, and evil corporations that deal with the business of selling ‘souls’ to the devil. That’s right, in Appleby’s universe, human souls are commodities that can be sold off. But the loss of one’s soul comes at a heavy price of-course.

Plot overview – Amid a string of trans murders, August Crimp who is retired super-hero ‘Dragman’, teams up with his best-friend Dog-Girl to help his neighbor Cherry restore her parents souls. But the soul-trade is a sinister web of corruption that’s not going to be an easy one to solve.

Appleby’s artwork is relatively simpler against the complex story, but the dash of color through the pages more than makes up for the draft-style strokes of the characters and objects. A lot of elements in Dragman reminded me of the popular Amazon series ‘The Boys’, which explores how superheroes abuse their abilities and are part of a big corporate nexus only interested in big bucks. Appleby goes a step further and introduces the concept of ‘superhero insurance’, an insurance that covers the average citizen from being saved in dire situations. For example, if a bus crashes and a superhero happens to be close to the scene, they’ll not save you if you aren’t insured. That’s how commercial the whole ‘saving the world’ business is.

August Crimp makes for a great protagonist, his confusion with his body and the experience of growing up years under the shadow of a strict mom who refuses to divulge anything about who his father is/was, makes for poignant reading. It’s funny how he learns about his superpower – he can fly when he wears women’s clothing. The metaphor is just delicious – giving in to his inner desire of dressing up as a women empowers him. But he hangs up his boots pretty quickly, and lives a regular life, with a wife and baby. The former has absolutely no clue about his past.

It took me four days to finish reading the book, but only because I wanted to slowly enjoy the reading experience. And since there’s quite a lot that’s happening simultaneously, it’s probably best to give the novel a few days. At one point it does feel like maybe the author tries to take up too many issues in one book, but at no point does the plot get confusing or overbearing. And despite dealing with a lot of dark themes, including some disturbing transphobhia, ‘Dragman’ manages to be heart-warming, giving the world a new trans-hero.

I absolutely loved reading this graphic novel. It’s a 5/5 from me.

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Ep 64 – 15 Random but Great Book Recommendations

Brazen Movie Review – Dull AF

The 2022 thriller movie ‘Brazen’ sounds like a fun flick, but nothing can be farther away from the truth. Directed by Monika Mitchell, it’s based on a 1998 book by Nora Roberts, and is just as outdated as the publishing date of its original source material. I haven’t read the book, but the makers do tweak the story to keep it up to date with time – it follows the murder of a woman who was leading a double life, teacher during day and racy webcam performer by night. Her sister Grace (Alyssa Milano), a famous crime writer, tries to crack the case by interfering in the investigation.

Despite having hackers, live webcams, cctv cameras, the story feels like it’s stuck in the 1990s. And lead actors Alyssa Milano and Sam Page have zero chemistry. I didn’t have the patience or interest in their romantic scenes and would just fast-forward them. In-fact, this film would’ve probably been a whole lot more entertaining if it had better lead actors. It’s the supporting cast, the actors playing high-school students, whose performances are a lot more convincing than the primary protagonists.

Also, some stuff in the script is just not in sync with the character brief of the leads. For example, Grace is a famous crime writer, and even though her age isn’t explicitly mentioned, she is either in her late 30s or early 40s. The first thing she does when she sees her sister’s body is scream like a teen cheerleader in a horror movie. Instead of calling the cops/ambulance, she rushes out and breaks into a pool of loud tears again. WTF dude? Are you sure you are a crime writer? And then when her neighbor rushes to help, she wonders through her tears if the sister is okay. She is dead, you wimp.

Whatever, this film is just bad. Even though it’s only 90 minutes long, it manages to be dull, boring and absolutely skip-worthy. It’s a 4/10 from me. Don’t even bother.

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Ep 64 – 15 Random but Great Book Recommendations

Can Someone Say ‘Cut’?

Some days are out of a bad movie

The direction chaotic, muddled

One could belt tracks that are groovy

Won’t drown the mundane beats of life

So you dread the approaching end

confused over what to expect

every little turn is a terribly drawn bend

but unpredictable in all its shades

Who knew dispirited events could hold surprises

Nothing exciting about a new rash

Or the unfamiliar pain that rises

Through your chest or the throat

The med cabinet overflowing now

thick with remedies of all kinds

all sorts of sicknesses can take a bow

once a pop of color finds its way

All the way from my throat to the pit

slowly washing away the day’s pain

from sick bones come something fit

fresh from a fight on the insides

But every day won’t see resolution

things will only get worse, and worse

from new woes will come a new solution

but until then you live in the dark

Like in a badly produced indie short

where nobody knows how things end

Ball not even in the maker’s court

For all they say is – ‘go with the flow’

-Sneha Jaiswal

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

Ep 64 – 15 Random but Great Book Recommendations