Sneha Jaiswal's Blog, page 263

‘Love, Death + Robots’ Vol 2 – Quick Review

Netflix has released the second volume of ‘Love, Death + Robots’, an anthology of short animated films and well… they are not riveting. While the first edition with 18 films on the menu offered a wide range of stories – from super stunning to shitty stuff, the second volume with just 8 movies on offer is largely just slow, boring and repetitive.

The first one titled ‘Automated Customer Service’ is about a cleaning robot going crazy and attacking its old owner. Another Netflix animated film ‘The Mitchells vs the Machines’ basically had the same theme – robots rebelling against humans – and was released in the same month too. So unfortunately, the whole ‘machine vs man’ angle in two of the short films in this collection just felt stale.

The animation quality in most of the films are A+, some of them are visually stunning. However, the plot-lines aren’t very interesting and pale out in comparison of the first installment. The one titled ‘All Through The House’ had an interesting spin to the Santa Claus legend. In fact, most of the plot-lines seemed to be inspired by classic tales and stories. Like the one called ‘The Tall Grass’ was a total rip-off of Stephen King’s novel ‘In The Tall Grass’ and nope, King gets no credit. The most boring story in this collection was ‘The Drowned Giant’, which at first felt like a promising watch and looked like it was inspired from ‘Gulliver’s Travels’, but was painfully insipid. And some warning – do not watch it while eating anything, you will lose your appetite.

Some of us love watching animation, because it offers a more fun escape from reality than live-action-movies. But the problem with ‘Love, Death + Robots’ is the fact that the animation in some of them are too realistic and even the themes are extremely dark, dystopian and existentialist. There was very little humor or fun elements in the stories. We could just watch a regular movie instead. Sigh.

If you are in mood for some dark, depressing and slow animated films, go ahead, stream volume two of ‘Love, Death + Robots’.

Also read – ‘Love, Death + Robots’ Volume One Review

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

Listen in to Episode 31 for a spoiler-free review of the animated show Castlevania

10 Ways ‘Castlevania’ Season 4 Outshines 3

Netflix has released the 4th installment of the popular animated show ‘Castlevania’ and it’s bigger, better and bloodier than the last one. Sure, it has a few flaws, but considering how disappointing the last season turned out to be for some fans, the writers have bucked up and given us a satisfactory series finale.

Season three had ended with Trevor Belmont and Sypha Belnades stopping an attempt to bring Dracula back to life by some madmen and monsters. But turns out, there were not the only ones trying to bring back the man who wanted to end all of humankind.

In the latest podcast episode of ‘Abstract AF’, we discuss 10 ways in which Season 4 outshines the last season. And it’s all spoiler-free. Listen in and do subscribe to the channel.

‘Little’ Review – Little On Offer

The 2019 comedy movie ‘Little’ directed by Tina Gordon is a little like the famous funny film ’13 Going On 30′ in REVERSE. In the latter, a 13-year-old who is often bullied wishes to be an adult and finds her wish fulfilled when she wakes up as a successful 30-year-old the next day. ‘Little’ on the other hand is about Jordan Sanders (Regina Hall), a successful ‘boss-woman’ who often bullies those around her; one day she wakes up to find herself transformed to her 13-year-old self. This weird magical change happens just days before a crucial business pitch meet and Jordan’s assistant is forced to become her stand-in and babysitter.

Body-swap films are usually fun, and ‘Little’ has it’s bright moments, most of it comes after the older Jordan becomes her teen self. It’s actor Marsai Martin (she plays the younger Jordan) who makes this film worth watching, with her impeccable acting. For a teenager, Marsai gets the tone and mannerisms of an older woman absolutely right. However, there is just not enough story to keep this comedy interesting. Most jokes are recycled and some sequences that are meant to be hilarious do not evoke any emotion in the viewer except for an urge to press the fast-forward button.

At the core of it, ‘Little’ is an anti-bullying film, which shows how people who are bullied as kids often turn into bullies themselves. “Attack them before they attack you” becomes older Jordan’s mantra, because she was often pushed to the corner by her peers when she was in school. When she becomes a rich businesswoman, her assistant April Williams (Issa Ray) is at the receiving end of most of her passive-aggressiveness.

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There are a lot of plot-holes in the movie, little details that the makers miss, but it hits the viewers. For example, when little Jordan is forced to go back to school, she befriends a bunch of kids, takes them to her apartment for a make-over and somehow has clothes that would even fit the two teen boys she brings along. Where did these clothes magically appear in the closet of the lady who evidently hates kids? It would’ve made more sense if she took them shopping first.

As far as the cinematography is concerned, it’s quite a treat to the eyes; especially the lavish flat Jordan lives in. It’s very swanky and might make some viewers wish they were richer. The film has a mild ‘Mean Girls’ meets ‘Devil Wears Prada’ vibe, probably because of the over-the-top costumes the lead likes to wear – flashy pink pantsuits, cheetah print shirts, leather skirts, stuff like that. The background score is not too bad either.

All that said, ‘Little’ has little to offer its viewers in terms of both content and comedy. And a talented cast cannot keep you interested in a weak script (said this in so many reviews that I’ve lost count). The writers fail the actors again. It’s a 5/10 from me.

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

Listen to episode 29 for more fun movie recommendations. And do subscribe.

‘Things Heard & Seen’ Review – Supernatural Silliness

An artist moves to the suburbs with her family after her husband lands a new teaching job. Their new home was built in the 1800s and has a tragic history, however this information is withheld from her. But the house’s warped past is only a small part of the many secrets her husband is hiding from her. That’s the plot of the 2021 horror/thriller film ‘Things Heard & Seen’ directed by Shari Springer Berman, Robert Pulcini. It’s based on a book by Elizabath Brundage called ‘All Things Cease To Appear’.

Amanda Seyfreid perfectly plays Catherine Claire, an artist who is struggling with an eating disorder. She puts her career on the back-foot for husband George (James Norton), who turns out to be an evil scumbag. Although Catherine’s mom feels like she should be grateful, because George “did her right” by marrying her, after he had knocked her up. Catholic girls need to start using contraceptives so they won’t have to thank a**holes anymore for getting them pregnant. They would have been saved a whole lot of misery. Anyway, back to the movie – so George Claire is an evil piece of shit and their family life is completely shaken up due to a series of bad decisions on his part. Add some ghosts to the mix and things get chaotic.

Not sure about how the novel is, but if the makers of the film could’ve steered clear from the ‘horror’ territory and kept this one strictly in the ‘thriller’ realm, it would have been a MUCH BETTER movie. There is enough meat in the plot to make it a good crime thriller; the stereotypical ghosts in old clothes only pull the story down. The ‘horror’ bits are not remotely scary and the religious stuff that accompanies it only makes it less credible. George Claire is evil enough, he didn’t need competition from sinister spirits.

Like some of the last few horror films that have come out in the fast, the cast is pretty great, but the script is a muddle. One can understand that it’s hard to cram a 400-page novel into two-hours of screen-time. From the synopsis of the book online, it’s pretty clear that the makers have made quite a few changes to the original plot. They could’ve done without a lot of sub-plots that make no sense in the timeline. For example, Claire’s eating disorder doesn’t serve much to further the story. Sure there are some crucial scenes where it’s made mention of, but they could’ve easily been tweaked.

After a slow first half, things get quite interesting in the second-half, with one little twist after the other, and as the climax approaches, it gets laughably terrible. Too many plot-holes and supernatural silliness. We don’t get to know what exactly are the motivations of some of the ‘ghosts’ and we don’t get to know why this George Claire is such a nut-job. What a waste of a potential plot and talented cast. It’s a 5/10 from me.

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

Listen to episode 29 for more fun movie recommendations. And do subscribe.

‘Norwegian Wood’ Review – Of Sex, Songs, Strolls & Some Sake

For many readers, Japanese author Haruki Murakami has a status of a literary rock-star, a tag the writer himself perhaps isn’t too fond of. This was indicated by the English translator of ‘Norwegian Wood’, which was originally published in Japanese in 1987. According to the translator’s note at the end, it was this novel that catapulted Murakami to international stardom, bringing in a kind of fame he had not fathomed. And it’s easy to see why the novel was/is such a hit – it’s essentially a love story.

If one ripped off the cover of Norwegian Wood and gave it a reader without telling them who the author is, they would think it’s an American novel, if not for the the Japanese names and cuisines. Any other Japanese cultural references are too few and scattered. What I am trying to say is – Norwegian Wood could have taken place anywhere in the world; maybe the century would have to be changed, depending on which country it was taking place in. So the book has a universal appeal.

The story is narrated by Toru Watanabe, who remembers his life as a 19-year-old student in Tokyo and his first love – Naoko, his best-friend’s girlfriend. The song ‘Norwegian Wood’ by the Beatles was her favorite track. Toru’s love-life unravels in the late 1960s. He lives in a boys’ dorm, has two part-time jobs, nearly no friends, and yet manages to get girls interested in him. It’s almost explicitly explained that he is not great to look at, not exceptionally smart, not even very rich, doesn’t even has a good sense-of-humor; in-fact, at some points, you feel like he is a door-mat, the kind people walk over all the time, if he gets close to them. Toru’s lack of enthusiasm for life seeps through the pages and makes the novel almost depressing.

So where is the conflict? All great fiction stories thrive on conflict right? Well, Toru and Naoko get closer over the course of long-leisurely walks along the streets of Tokyo, after his best friend kills himself. However, the mentally fragile Naoko warns that she may never love him back. But the two continue to pursue a not-so-platonic relationship. Enter Midori, an outgoing, lively girl, who develops an interest in Toru. So who is he going to go after? The girl he has been in love with for years, or the girl who appeared out of nowhere and made his otherwise dull life a little more exciting?

Murakami’s story-telling skills keeps you hooked to the pages, although there are times when the descriptions get overbearing. Maybe some readers enjoy every little detail, but can’t imagine a whole lot of us relishing the knowledge of what a food-store looks like. Although out of the 386 pages in the novel, I might have skipped 2-3 pages worth of lines, so well, guess there very little that’s unnecessary.

One of the strongest themes of ‘Norwegian Wood’ is mental health, and it’s dealt with in a very philosophical way. Some readers may not like the treatment of the issue, but modern readers need to keep in mind that it’s the 1960s. Since it’s a personal saga of the young Toru, everything is seen through his lens, be it love, friendship, politics, sex or mental heath. Just like most ‘average’ people, Toru imagines that time can heal the scars of the mind and almost lives in a bubble of his own. He is your typical hero, trapped in a web of unrequited love, but has a chance at happiness with someone who desires him. Life flits between tragic and too good to be true for Toru.

Haruki Murakami conjures up a nostalgic romantic tale, where most characters take themselves too seriously and yet at likable in their own unique ways. ‘Norwegian Wood’ will take you deep into the realms of romance, sprinkled with sex, songs, strolls and some sake. It’s a 3.5/5 from me.

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

Listen to episode 15 – about controversial graphic novels. Do subscribe.

The Possession – Horror Movie Review

When ‘The Possession’ turned up in horror movie suggestions on Netflix, it didn’t look like it would have a lot to offer as far as films dealing with the genre is concerned. The poster of this 2012 production directed by Ole Bornedal might remind viewers of films ‘The Exorcism of Emily Rose’ (which is a pretty good one by the way) and ‘The Exorcist’.

Let’s get to the plot – Basketball coach Clyde (Jeffrey Dean Morgan) and his wife Stephanie (Sedgwick) are recently divorced, because he is rarely there for his daughters Emily (Natasha Callis) and Hannah (M adison Davenport). With the couple now living in two different homes, the girls get to divide their time between their parents. So one day, when Clyde buys an antique box for his younger daughter Emily, little do they know that it’s home to a sinister spirit that consumes children. The rest of the story is obviously about the possession and if the family can save Emily from the malevolent demon.

This film is very slow, has few jump scares, but when they do come, there is so much anticipation built around the scene that the viewer can expect something creepy is about to happen soon. Unfortunately, for a horror movie, those creepy moments are very few and far in between. The cast is the only saving grace in this thinly plotted script. Actor Natasha Calis who plays little Emily, who gets ‘possessed’, does a very commendable job. It’s funny that I didn’t recognize Jeffrey Dean Morgan in the lead role, despite writing so much about him over his role as the villain ‘Negan’ in ‘The Walking Dead’ series. Sign of a good actor I suppose. So the cast slips into their roles effortlessly, but the story is just not strong enough.

There is some Jewish folklore that’s mixed into the story, which was only mildly interesting. A little more background to the evil spirit could’ve perhaps generated more interest in the viewer. Just a silly old box, with some dead bugs in it doesn’t really inspire confidence in anybody. On the surface, it sure looks harmless, but even when the night gets darker, nothing too sinister happens. The climax was straight out of an 80s horror film, with very little to scare the viewer. It’s a 5/10 for this film from me.

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

Listen to episode 29 for more fun movie recommendations. And do subscribe.

The Magic Fish – Graphic Novel Review

Book number 43 for the year – ‘The Magic Fish’ by Trung Le Nyugen, a beautiful graphic novel about a young boy Tien who loves reading fairy tales with his mom. It’s not just a way for the two of them to bond, but also a way to practice English language.

Tien’s parents are Vietnamese immigrants, who came to the U.S as a young couple, and only very recently managed to attain American citizenship. While Tien’s mother is struggling to make peace with her past in Vietnam, her son has his own personal battles to fight.

I love how the author Nyugen blends themes of both sexual and immigrant identity in the story. Fantasy and real-life seamlessly spread over the pages, so along with Tien’s tale, the reader also gets beautifully drawn folklore stories with new twists. There is a grim version of Cinderella and a more inclusive variant of the ‘Little Mermaid’ that a lot of people would adore.

The art is absolutely stunning in this book, giving a certain surrealism to the panels. Despite the panels being monochromatic, one doesn’t feel the need of them having more color. There is enough life and vibrancy in the story to not need more literal shades. Tien has some of the most supportive friends you’d find in fiction books and an equally accepting family. It’s a heart-warming book that you would want to finish in one go.

For those looking for reading something for ‘Asian Heritage Month’, pick this one.

‘The Magic Fish’ is a 5/5 from me.

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

Listen to episode 30 for some fun song recommendations. And do subscribe.

50 Fun Songs From The 2000s

Episode 30 of Abstract AF’s podcast is all about music. I realized I’ve been adding a lot of old songs to my current music list in the last few days, stuff I used to listen to as a school-going teen. And all them are the kinds that you want to sing out loud, or bob your head violently. Okay, maybe not violently, but in a way that makes you want to dance. So they are all upbeat tracks that might put you in a good mood.

That’s my thing – unlike a lot of people who like to listen to sad songs when they feel low, I like to tune into songs with a ‘fun’ vibe to them. So here are 50 such songs from 2000-2009. I tried to not put more than 10 seconds of any song, to avoid any copyright strikes. This is just a music appreciation video, with lots of pop music. You’ve probably heard them all, but no harm in a little trip down the ‘nostalgia lane’.

Listen in and please subscribe to the podcast channel on YouTube –

The 39 Steps – Quick Book Review

Book number 42 for the year – The Thirty-Nine Steps by John Buchan. What a muddle of a mystery novel. Well, that’s what you get when you buy a hardback just because it was cheap.

This novel turned out to be a chaotic/pompous story about Richard Hannay, who gets mixed up in a murder case of a spy. Before dying, the spy had sough refuge in Hannay’s room and revealed to him cryptic details of a dastardly plot by anarchists to assassinate a leading figure to trigger a World War. After the spy’s death, Hannay becomes prime suspect in the murder case.

For most part of the novel, our protagonist is on the run from authorities. His adventures fluctuate between interesting & mind-numbingly boring. Buchan’s narration is slightly dry, so despite being a short novel, it takes a while to finish. You would probably be better off with a good old Agatha Christie.

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

Listen to episode 29 for more fun movie recommendations. And do subscribe.

‘Nobleman Ryu’s Wedding’ Review

When the trailer for the 2021 Korean drama ‘Nobleman Ryu’s Wedding’ first dropped on YouTube, there was one comment that was absolutely hilarious, it went something like – “never thought I would live long enough to see Korea make a historical drama about two men in love”.

Set in the Joseon dynasty era, ‘Nobleman Ryu’s Wedding’ is about a political marriage gone wrong. Hours after his marriage, Ryu Ho Seon realizes his bride is a man, the brother of Hwa Jin, the woman he was supposed to be married to. Hwa Jin’s brother Choi Ki Wan entreats Ryu to go along with the charade, informing him of how his sister disappeared just before the wedding ceremony and he dressed up as the bride to save his family from losing face in the society. He promises to set things right once they locate the sister, but until them Choi Ki Wan plays wife to the modest, humble Ryu. Things get complicated when Ryu’s friend falls in love with his ‘fake wife’ and starts sending love letters his way. How are they going to get out of this t(ri)angle?

With quick short eight episodes, ‘Nobleman Ryu’s Wedding’ is a family-friendly drama, with a lot of funny moments. It’s not an intense or overtly emotional drama like some of the other historical Korean dramas available to stream. The lead protagonists are honest with each other and there are no idiotic twists to heighten the tension or create complex situations. The sets are modest and most of the action unfolds in a limited geographical area, so don’t go expecting any grand period pieces or elaborate costumes.

Actor Lee Se Jin who plays Choi Ki Wan is perfectly cast in the lead role, with his androgynous looks, it’s easy for anybody to mistake him as a woman. In an interesting decision, the makers do not make the actor fake his voice to sound more feminine and yet those around him do not question his distinctly masculine tone. Anyway, one will have to probably oversee some of the flaws in the execution of this drama, because clearly this one was made for light-hearted entertainment purposes. Kang-In-Soo is adorable as the simple & sweet Ryu, who tries his best to adapt to the weird situation at hand. Jang Eui Soo as Kim Tae Hyung offered some endearing comic-relief as the love-struck official. Actor Jung Jae Eun needs special mention, because she was extremely likeable as Ryu’s loving unsuspecting mother who wants nothing but the best for her new daughter-in-law.

‘Nobleman Ryu’s Wedding’ exists in its own breezy bubble and does not dwell into the serious implications of its plot twists. Instead, everybody is forgiving, nice, ready to move on and the story is wrapped up in a simple-sweet climax. In total, all the eight episodes add up to a film-sized runtime and can be binge-watched. 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 more fun movie recommendations. And do subscribe.