Sneha Jaiswal's Blog, page 256

‘The Dead Don’t Die’ Review – Your Brain May Have Fun Or Need A Funeral

Viewers who watch the 2019 horror film ‘The Dead Don’t Die’ can perhaps be classified into two types –

Those who regret the decision because they find it mind-numbingly slow Find themselves laughing more than they should because the movie completely subverts the zombie genre.

Directed by Jim Jarmusch, it has an impressive cast that deliberately delivers deadpan performances in this satire/horror comedy. The story unfolds in a sleepy little fictional town called “Centerville”, where the dead start rising from their graves because the earth has been thrown off its axis. It’s up to two cops – the police chief Cliff Robertson (Bill Murray) and Ronnie Peterson (Adam Driver) – to get the situation under control.

While on the surface, ‘The Dead Don’t Die’ does resemble most zombie films, with Jim Jarmusch borrowing a lot of tested horror tropes, with gory deaths and the faithful “kill the head” rule. But the treatment can feel underwhelming to most watchers. There is close to no sense of urgency in the plot, no jarring survival tactics, very little screaming, dispassionate protagonists and a leisurely paced background music that can lull some to sleep. The title track is played one too many times, it’s a laid-back song by Sturgill Simpson that has his signature spaced-out country music stamp.

The film almost feels like a parody play and Jarmusch clearly had a lot of fun making it, putting the economic viability of such a script on the back-burner. Only horror-enthusiasts will be able to appreciate this politically driven drivel. For example, the zombies aren’t completely dumb and gravitate towards things they were fond of when they were alive. So you have zombies heading to a diner to grab some coffee, undead musicians looking for guitars, and a whole bunch of them holding cellphones and looking for wifi. Where the hell did they get those phones from? But the whole wifi scene was a fun jab at us humans who are disconnected from reality and constantly staring at our screens like we’re dead.

There was one hilarious scene, where the zombies are trying to break into the house of farmer Miller (Steve Buscemi) and he shoots at them saying “I won’t let you refugees take over our country”. It was a stark dig at Trump’s America. In-fact, farmer Miller’s character constantly walks around town wearing a cap with the slogan “Make America White Again”. Tom Waits plays ‘Hermit Bob’, to serve as a contrast to all the materialistic folks around him, living in the woods and watching the world burn.

Among the oddball but impressive cast was Tilda Swinton, who plays Zelda Winston, an eccentric foreigner who runs the funeral home in town. She is a weird sword-wielding lady who suavely chops off the waking dead. It looked like Jarmusch was parodying her role from Marvel’s ‘Doctor Strange’, where she plays ‘The Ancient One’, Strange’s mentor and a Celtic mystic. Chloe Sevigny as police officer Mindy was the only person in the mix who was allowed to emote regular human expressions. Selena Gomez has a small cameo as a hipster where she pretty much plays herself. And there was a whole sub-plot involving a juvenile home which was pretty unnecessarily.

“The Dead Don’t Die” is laden with so many pop-culture references & political jibes, that those who don’t catch all the little jokes will find it painfully boring. Well, some might even catch them and still not be too amused. At one point, the characters break the fourth-wall, although not in the conventional way, and discuss the movie script. Now ‘breaking the fourth wall’ is a very tricky trope, a lot of movie-enthusiasts tend to find it supremely annoying and pretentious. But like mentioned earlier, doesn’t seem like Jarmusch was keeping audience preferences in mind.

If you are looking for a fast-paced regular zombie action film, avoid “The Dead Don’t Die” at all costs. If you are hard-core horror enthusiasts like me, who loves all kinds of stuff, from big budget haunted house movies to B-grade trashy slasher scripts, give this film a chance by all means.

It’s a 6/10 from me.

Trivia: Singer Sturgill Simpson plays the guitar wielding zombie

Please subscribe to our podcast on YouTube by the same name – Abstract AF

Listen to episode 29 for some fun movie recommendations.

Ray Trailer Review – Reminiscent of an Old World Charm

Netflix dropped the trailer for its new Indian series inspired by four stories of Satyajit Ray. The show which is set to stream on the site on June 25 is simply titled ‘Ray’.

The trailer starts with a quick montages of the four protagonists, facing their back to the cameras with a philosophical voice-over stating how humans are skin to Gods. First we are introduced to Ali Fazal, who plays an entrepreneur called Ipsit Nair with the “memory of a computer”. Next comes Harshvarrdhan Kapoor’s character, an actor who seems to have a weird tryst with religion; next in the line-up is the talented Manoj Bajpai, who’s a poet named Musafir Ali; and finally – Kay Kay Menon who plays an eccentric make-up artist.

There’s a subtle yellow tint cast on most of the scenes in the trailer, giving it all a vintage charm. Directed by Sayantan Mukherjee, the trailer is cleverly cut, with racy music that adds a certain underlining tension to all the stories, building a lot of intrigue. What stood out starkly was the measly representation of women characters in the first look. It’s pretty clear that this is a complete male dominated saga.

Well, women representation aside, ‘Ray’ looks like a very promising tribute to the master auteur that Satyajit Ray was. Come June 25 and we will know if it lives up to the expectations it’s managed to churn up.

Korean Creatives Out LGBTQ themes from the closet

South-Korea is known for K-pop, K-Dramas, Kimbap, Kimchi and just how grueling their entertainment industry is. Celebrities and pop-idols are usually under very strict contracts, some that go as far as explicitly forbidding them from being in a relationship. Coming out as a member of the LGBTQ+ community is considered close to career suicide.

So the rare few who have dared to be open about their sexuality in the conservative nation are nothing short of trailblazers. Like singer Holland, who not only came out as gay, but has not shied away from being open about it in his music videos either.

“No One Else Wanted To Be Openly Gay. So I Stood Up.”

Korean singer Holland

In a 2002 interview to Vogue, the singer whose real name is Go Tae-seob, talked about how he had absolutely no role-models to look up to in the Korean entertainment industry. At a time when he was struggling with his sexuality, all he needed was somebody to look up. So he ended up turning to western icons.

Academicians who’ve studied the Korean society refer to the years between 1945-1997 as the “Invisible Age” for LGBT representation in mainstream media. One can just surmise from the name that queer themes were given close to no spotlight.

And some of the popular movies that did include LGBTQ+ representation were depressingly tragic. Take the case of the very popular period film “A Frozen Flower” that came out in 2008. It’s lavishly shot, with beautiful traditional music, and a talented cast to boot. The story is about a King who falls in love with a male soldier and is unable to have a child with his queen. Let’s just say, things end very badly. One of the earlier Korean films to have gay protagonists is the 1999 horror flick ‘Memento Mori’ – it’s about a lesbian couple who are bullied due to their sexual orientation and no prizes for guessing that things don’t work out for the girls.

So while alternate sexuality did start to find some space in scripts, most of them were all about tragedy, death, remorse and loneliness. Things only started to get slightly better in the late 2000s, with films like “No Regret” (2006), “Antique” (2008), Two Weddings And A Funeral (2012). ‘Two Weddings And A Funeral’ is quite a fun comedy about a lesbian and a gay man entering into a sham marriage to placate their families, how their partners deal with this new situation of ‘fooling the family” forms the rest of the story.

Enter 2020 and Korean creatives seem to be finally getting a little bolder and brighter about LGBTQ+ representation in their dramas. It could be that they are trying to catch up with all the attention the “BL” (short for Boys Love) genre is garnering in other Asian countries like Thailand, Taiwan & Philippines and they do not want to lose out on the boom.

First came “Where Your Eyes Linger”, a mini gay series directed by Hwang Da Seul which was released in the last week of May in 2020, just in time for the Pride Month. It had a very good-looking lead couple, one of whom was a K-pop trainee. A few months later, another mini-gay series called Mr Heart came out, a very breezy story about two athletes falling in love, directed by Park Sun Jae. Both these directors went on to make another different gay series each in 2021.

But the most ground-breaking Korean drama came in the form of the 2021 mini-series “Nobleman Ryu’s Wedding”, a historical drama about two Joseon era noblemen falling in love. And it had a happy ending. In the series review, I remember mentioning how a fan had hilariously commented  “never thought I would live long enough to see Korea make a historical drama about two men in love”.

All this LGBTQ representation slowly but steadily creeping into the Korean mainstream only promises that members of the community can finally look up to role-models in their own country, even if fictional. And hope for more acceptance from their peers.

A Korean media company even released a cute gay short film on 1st June 2021, calling it a gift for its viewers for “Pride Month”. The winds are changing.

‘Sweet Tooth’ Review – DC’s Post-Apocalyptic Gloom & Doom With Disney’s Dinky Charm

The 2021 Netflix show ‘Sweet Tooth’ is adapted from the comic-series of the same name written & illustrated by Jeff Lemire. Comic-book enthusiasts familiar with Lemire’s work know his books tend to have a dark, gloomy tone. However, the live-action series created by Jim Mickle and Beth Schwartz is bright, with breathtaking landscape shots of nature’s bounty.

The story is set in a post-apocalyptic world, with the human population drastically reduced due to a deadly pandemic simply referred to as ‘the sick’. Just when the virus started to kill, humans started giving birth to ‘hybrids’, babies that are half-human and half-animal. Our hero is a little boy called Gus, half-deer and half-human, raised by his dad deep in the woods for nine years, with no contact with the outside world. But when ‘the sick’ claims the father’s life, Gus sets out in search of his birth mother. The journey isn’t going to be easy, the new world is ruled by a group called the “Last Men” who hunt and kill hybrids like him.

Christian Convery who plays Gus aka ‘Sweet Tooth’ is the soul of the show, he is a ball of sunshine – so adorable that even bad hulking men melt over by his sunny aura. Nonso Anozie as Jepperd (called ‘Big Man’ by little Gus), is just right for his part as an ominous big-bad-dude who turns guardian to our Sweet Tooth. The duo’s strikingly polar-opposite personalities makes for some really good television. You will have to suspend logical thinking a little to truly enjoy this show. That’s not saying that the show is not intelligent, but it borders on the fantasy genre, so some scenes that take place can only be possible in grand fictional books. Like timely dramatic escapes, animals appearing out of nowhere and well – half-human kids.

There are two more parallel story-lines that run alongside the main plot. The first one is that of Doctor Aditya Singh (Adeel Akhtar), who finds himself with the burden of finding the cure for ‘the sick’ because his wife Rani (Aliza Vellani) is suffering from it. What most Indian-American viewers would probably appreciate about the Singh story-line is the fact that the couple isn’t forced to put on a weird Indian accent. If you heard them on the radio, you would not be able to tell that they are Indian, which is the case with majority Indian-Americans who are born and raised there.

The second story-line is that of a woman called Aimee (Dania Ramirez), who adopts a hybrid child and runs a conservatory for hybrid children. It’s here that we get a glimpse of more hybrid kids and it serves as a warm complimentary plot-line that is tied up neatly with Sweet Tooth’s journey in the end.

Netflix has landed a winner with this comic-book adaptation, it’s visually stunning and has an adorable line-up for the hybrid kids. Little things like how Sweet Tooth’s deer ears constantly chirp-up are wonders to look at. It’s a little like the ‘The Walking Dead’ meets ‘Peter Rabbit’, you have the doom and gloom of a post-apocalyptic zombie series, but that’s overpowered by the bunny like cuteness of it’s hybrid protagonist Gus and the other characters who’ve managed to create their own isolated but happy corners.

Another bit worth mentioning is the soundtrack in the series, the creative team has picked up some great numbers that sound like they were tailor-made for ‘Sweet Tooth’. Like the 2012 song ‘Dirty Paws’ by the band ‘Of Monsters And Men’, the lyrics are symbolic of the half-deer Gus – “Jumping up and down the floor; my head is an animal”. Adding to the charm is the wise-old throaty voice of James Brolin, who serves as narrator to the series.

The climax is dark, almost cataclysmic and leaves on a cliff-hanger. “Assholes” I exclaimed when the credits rolled in, slightly overwhelmed by an emotional ending involving all the kids and also upset that season one was over and we will have to wait a while before season two comes in. Not fair. Not fair.

Sweet Tooth is beautifully shot and is absolutely binge-worthy. It’s a 8.5/10 from me.

Please check out our podcast on YouTube by the same name – Abstract AF

Listen to episode 29 for some fun films to watch with the family. And do subscribe.

‘The Power’ Review – Sparks and Sputters

The 2021 horror film ‘The Power’ written and directed by Corinna Faith is representative of both the noun and verb definition of the word. The movie takes place in London of 1970s, where power cuts are quite the norm due to an economic crisis. So when a new nurse joins an infirmary, she is tortured by something supernatural in the darkness due to a power cut. The unfortunate situation is foisted upon her by a senior who abuses their power to bully the ‘new girl’.

The hospital setting is just perfect for the horror genre – you already have both the dead and the dying in the setting to make it eerie. However, ‘The Power’ start slowly, with nothing concrete happening in the first 30 minutes, or that’s what it feels like to the viewer in the first half. As the story unravels, little cryptic scenes that seemed like unnecessary distractions, start to make sense eventually.

Actor Rose Williams plays Valerie, the new nurse, who finds herself on the night-shift on her first day at work. Williams exudes an aura of helplessness that fits just right into the personality of the protagonist. Valerie is scared of the dark and having to work in a large hospital with people on their death-beds is quite frightening just in theory itself. Child actor Shakira Rahman does a commendable job as Saba, a shifty girl who constantly tries to run away from the hospital due to a sinister reason.

However, the director largely wastes the potential of the grim hospital setting, and too much time is wasted in long-pointless shots of Valerie just walking through dark corridors. While it helps build tension, the scene those long-shots culminate into hardly manage to scare the viewer. Some of the sequences seemed straight rip-offs of horror films from the 1980s.

What really works in favor of ‘The Power’ is the plot, which is stronger than most horror films that depend on jump-scares and gore. Director Corinna Faith does a pretty good job with concealing details and letting viewers fill in pieces of the puzzle in a way that very little is left unexplained. By the time the climax unfolds, all little anomalies fall into place and make sense. It has a powerful message against the abuse of those without voice and ends almost satisfactorily. While it has a great theme of both female oppression and women empowerment, it just doesn’t pack as much punch as it could have. So it sparks and sputters.

It’s a 6/10 from me.

‘The Power” is available to steam on Amazon Prime.

Fun fact: The character Saba speaks gibberish that is passed off as “foreign language” in the movie, just so that the viewers cannot understand what she is saying. I know this, because the “foreign language” is supposed to be Hindi, and what they speak in the film was just a bunch of random words, some of which were probably made up, others were from different Indian and Middle-east languages.

Please subscribe to our podcast by the same name on YouTube – AbstractAF.

Listen to episode 34 for some book recommendations for Pride Month.

Ten Fun Books To Read This Pride Month

In the latest podcast episode of Abstract AF, we list 10 LGBTQ-themed books, both fiction & non-fiction, to read this Pride month.

From a dark-comedic graphic novel memoir to a fluffy fictional romantic book that’s all about baking and finding one’s true calling, episode 34 has some cool book recommendations. Listen in!

Ayako Review – Dark,Twisted & Unputdownable

OH-FREAKING-HELL.

Ayako by the master of Manga – Mr Osamu Tezuka – is one heck of a graphic novel! First published in 1972, the story starts off in the late 1940s, in a post World War II Japan.

This is a roller-coaster ride about a rich rural Japanese family, that is so fucked up, that any other word apart from the ‘f’ word would be putting it mildly. Ayako is our protagonist, who we meet as a sprightly little 4-year-old. She is the doting daughter of the Tenge family patriarch, who is both her father & grandfather (yes, I did a double-take while reading that in the description/blurb). Maybe it’s only right to warn some readers that this book is a bit of an ‘incest-fest’. The author however does not glorify the twisted relationships that occur through the pages, but displays how rotten humans can become when they let lust rule them.

Ayako’s story unfolds over three decades and Tezuka surrounds the narrative with a lot of politics, protests, murders and the mafia. All of which Ayako is sheltered from, but under very pitiable circumstances. The pacy story-telling will keep you hooked to each page and you might find it hard to keep the book down. Each character in the Tenge family is interesting, some very despicable, and even the righteous ones have their fall.

While one gets interesting insights into Japan’s politics and policies of the time, what really stands out is the way women were treated like inferior goods. A woman’s fate seems to be completely dependent on the men around her and Ayako symbolizes the tragedy of her gender in an age where men reigned supreme in all walks of life. The climax was cataclysmic and there was a twisted sense of poetic justice in it – the men are punished for their sins.

The art-style is cartoon-ish and yet realistic when it comes to the setting where different scenes take place. If a scene is taking place in field, you will see crops, farmers and everything else that ought to be in the outdoor. Tezuka doesn’t skimp on the details, giving us a lavishly drawn magnum-opus of sorts.

Ayako has a 16+ rating, definitely not meant for conservative readers. But manga & graphic novel enthusiasts ought to have this book on their shelf.

Please check our podcast by the same name on YouTube – AbstractAF.

If you are a graphic-novel enthusiast, listen in to Episode 15.

‘Lovely Writer’ Review – Cute & High on Consent

If you’ve see some Thai BL dramas, after a few episodes, you may get the feeling that they have very skewed ideas about romance. And probably close to no clue about the concept of “consent”. Most of them usually have a kissing scene where one protagonist is either –

A. Too drunk out of their mind to understand what’s happening around them

B. Sleeping so soundly that a smack on the lips won’t wake them up

Both scenarios lack consent and are usually cringe-worthy.

Enter 2021 Thai series “Lovely Writer” directed by Tee Bundit Sintanaparadee, which throws shade at its own industry. It’s about a writer Gene (Up Poompat Iam-samang) whose novel about a gay couple is getting adapted into a series and the lead actor Nubsib (Kao Noppakao) falls in love with him. But with media and fans constantly hounding the upcoming actor, can a romance between the two be successful? From mocking unrealistic tropes, toxic fan behavior, unreasonable expectations from actors, this series tries to rise above its peers, but with a weak script to boot, it never goes too far.

What really works in favor of ‘Lovely Writer’ is the gorgeous lead-pair – their chemistry is adorable. It helps that the rest of the cast is good-looking too, especially the antagonist Aey, played by the Bruce Sirikorn Kananurak. While Aey isn’t your typical scheming evil villain, he has complex grey shades that makes the viewer feel both scorn and sympathy for the character. Bruce is brilliant as the toxic Aey, with self-esteem issues and a constant need for validation as a rising star in the entertainment industry.

The cinematography is quite pleasing to the eye, everything is shot in bright or pastel colors. Although it is a little too picture-perfect, pretty sure no viewer would be complaining about the aesthetics of the show. Most fans were happy about the straightforward way in which Nubsib makes it clear he is attracted to Gene. We don’t have sly and silly mind-games. While the two are still in the courtship phase of their relationship, Nubsib almost always vocally seeks Gene’s consent before making any physical move on him. There wasn’t any sexual harassment that was passed off as ‘romance’ at any point in this series.

‘Lovely Writer’ has a very sunny upbeat title track ‘One to Ten’ that one gets to hear throughout the series and blends perfectly well with story-line. There are times when the viewer might even want to hear the title-track when certain scenes unfold (just the title song has 1 million views on YouTube now). Some of the flash-back stories and side plot-lines involving the talent managers weren’t necessary.

The lead actors keep you invested in this series. The climax was a little random, it’s like the writers didn’t really know how to wrap the show up, so they just made some stuff up to give it a funny but sweet ending. Some of the support cast is completely forgotten by the last episode, like we don’t know what happens to Aey? Maybe a season two would explain things.

If you are looking for a fun, light gay romantic series, “Lovely Writer” definitely makes the cut. It might not be very intelligent and gripping, but it’s silly and cute; sometimes that’s just what some of us need for some weekend watching. It’s a 7/10 from me.

Please check out our podcast on YouTube by the same name – Abstract AF

Listen to episode 29 for some fun movie recommendations.

Kicking off ‘Pride Month’ With Gaysia

June is observed as ‘Pride Month’ in America, but that has never stopped the rest of the world from bringing out the rainbow flags and celebrating the spirit of the LGBTQ community; a community that continues to be marginalized and denied basic rights in several countries.

At ‘Abstract AF’ we will be doing a lot of LGBTQ+ themed write-ups, largely book and movie reviews (yes, the usual) throughout the month of June. I couldn’t have picked up a better book to review and recommend – ‘Gaysia’ a non-fiction novel by Benjamin Law. Non-fiction books are often deemed boring, dry, scholastic, but ‘Gaysia’ is wildly entertaining, informative, funny and witty.

Sample the first paragraph from the introduction –

Of all the continents, Asia is the gayest. Deep down, you’ve probably had your suspicions all along, and I’m here to tell you those suspicions are correct

Gaysia by Benjamin Law

It immediately put a smile on my face, and the simplistic explanation that follows it up was even more hilarious. Simple truths are funny after all. In the book, Benjamin Law gives us a glimpse to the LGBTQ community in seven countries – Indonesia, Thailand, China, Japan, Malaysia, Myanmar and India. In each nation, Law meets icons and trailblazers of the community and explores different facets of gay life.

The novel starts off in a nudist ‘men-only’ hotel in Indonesia and ends with a colourful pride parade in the streets of India. While the Indonesian chapter lulls the reader into believing the book is all about sex and dicks, the tone keeps changing quite drastically with each country. The Thailand section is all about the famed ‘lady-boys’ and the author tracks a high-profile beauty pageant meant for Transgenders, meeting some very interesting people, whose glamorous exteriors betray the difficulties they face in their private lives.

Benjamin Law’s China visit was the bleakest of them all, where most people do not even acknowledge the existence of those who do not conform to hetero-normative relationships. We get an interesting inside view to how welfare groups and online communities skirt the draconian government and reach out to queer individuals in need of help and counselling. To those living in privilege first-world countries, some of the accounts narrated in ‘Gaysia’ can be a big eye-opener. Law tells all these stories with a lot of love and empathy and his patience as a gay writer shines through the most when he is dealing with those who are hostile to non-heterosexuals.

From fabulous drag queens to old men who can ‘cure’ homosexuality, this bright book is filled with interesting individuals, with a breezy paragraphs explaining various aspects of Asian culture, community and attitude towards those who are not ‘straight’. It’s a 4/5 from me.

Please check out our podcast on YouTube by the same name – Abstract AF

Listen to episode 29 for some fun movie recommendations.

Cinema Bandi Review – Celebrates Indie Spirit

When a poor auto-driver finds an expensive camera in his vehicle, he decides to make a film in his village, in the dreams of making a indie film that will reap him millions. This is the plot of the 2021 Telugu film ‘Cinema Bandi’ directed by Praveen Kandregula, which was released on Netflix this May.

The story largely unfolds in a remote village setting, where people live frugal lives and power cuts are normal. Veerababu (Vikas Vasistha) is a driver, who barely makes enough to provide for his family and is struggling to pay off the loan for his auto. He teams up with his friend Ganapthy, an amateur wedding photographer, to make a small film in their village. The rest is about how this duo struggles to find a cast, figure out camera operations and make their dream film.

‘Cinema Bandi’ has a authentic touch to it, with characters that are simple and relatable. Nobody in the cast looks out of place in the village ambience, each actor slipping into the skin of their scripted alter-egos with ease. Director Praveen Kandregula captures the essence of rural life in a light hearted & touching manner – especially their simplicity, hospitality and community kinship. There are several hilarious moments that truly reflect the kind of passions and pomposity people can nurture within themselves.

To anybody who has ever lived in South-India, the movie offers a nostalgic slice of life. For those looking for a fast-paced drama piece, the leisurely spread out plot could test their patience. It has none of the usual exaggerations, melodrama or masala of the typical Tollywood flick. At the heart of it, ‘Cinema Bandi’ celebrates the spirit of independent (indie) filmmakers, sending across a message that “everybody is a story-teller at heart”.

There is a parallel plot running alongside Veerababu’s story, that of the owner of the lost camera, who is desperately looking for it, because she had bought it with her hard-earned money. The camera-owner side-story felt cosmetic and came across as a bit of a hack-job. Although, in the end, her part is tied up neatly to the main story.

The climax is believable, sweet and emotional, leaving the viewer in good spirits. It’s a 7/10 from me.

Please check out our podcast on YouTube by the same name – Abstract AF

Listen to episode 29 for some fun movie recommendations.