Sneha Jaiswal's Blog, page 277
December 30, 2020
Death To 2020 Netflix Mockumentary Review
‘Death to 2020’ the Netflix mockumentary by Black Mirror creators Charlie Brooker and Annabel Jones is only 1 hour 10 minutes long, so I’ll keep my review short too – it’s 60 per cent ‘l-o-l, ha ha ha’, and 40 per cent ‘eh, not funny’. For me, that’s a pretty good entertainment ratio!
What really works for this creation is the fact that the makers use super famous faces that are already audience favorites – so doesn’t matter what they say, some viewers will like it for the sheer fact that it is them spouting those lines. Hugh Grant plays a historian that cannot differentiate between Star Wars & reality; Samuel L. Jackson plays a journalist with a few wisecracks to why 2020 sucked; Leslie Jones of SNL fame is a therapist who hates people (l-o-l); Lisa Kudrow is hilarious as the ‘conservative’ White House spokesperson/Trump supporter who claims ‘Ukraine’ doesn’t exist, etc…..
‘Death To 2020’ is just a surface recap of the year, highlighting some of the most momentous (even if monstrous) events that nobody really needs reminding of. The makers intersperse the narrative with real news footage and ‘fake’ experts, but never go beyond obvious insights and stand-up comedy sort of material. The focus of the film was a bit of a muddle, while it’s mostly U.S-centric, they also go into UK politics and barely dwell into it, except for constantly dissing Boris Johnson’s hair. A lot of screen-time is eaten up by the U.S elections and Trump’s stupidity, which frankly, the whole world has already had enough of.
Unless you switched off from news/world events to go on an ‘information detox’ mode during the covid19 pandemic year, you won’t learn anything new from the ‘mockumentary’. It makes for a fun watch if you sit with a bunch of friends to pass time. You would either have a laugh riot or wonder why you wasted so many minutes of your life – kind of like Samuel Jackson the journalist at the beginning of this film.
“What do you want to talk about?” he asks the cameraman in the first few minutes.
“We are reliving the events of 2020” he is told.
“Why the fuck would you wanna do that?” Jackson asks with a frown.
The best question in ‘Death to 2020’.
December 29, 2020
Apostle – Horror Film Review
Let’s be nice and save horror film fans some time – skip the 2018 movie ‘Apostle’ if you are not a patient viewer and have low tolerance for gore and brutal bloody scenes.
Directed and written by Gareth Evans, the film is set in 1905 and focuses on a man’s mission to rescue his sister who has been kidnapped by a crazy/creepy cult that inhabits an isolated island. Actor Dan Stevens of ‘Beauty & the Beast’ fame plays Thomas Richardson, the protagonist, who attempts to blend in with the sinister cult to find out where his sister is.
Cinematography wise the movie is great to look at, the island where the story unfolds is beautiful and scenic to look at. But a dark, somber atmosphere pervades throughout the runtime, with crazy zealots doing weird shit around the place. All the actors are pretty great, but the pace is snail-paced. It’s slow, with an unnecessary romantic sub-lot involving two young inhabitants of the island that ends in tragedy. The director goes all out to make you sit at the edge of your seat and scream over the pain of the victims, but this comes at the cost of several boring scenes in between that are snooze-worthy.
At the heart of it, the movie is all about the anatomy of cults – how they start, how they function, how they survive and how they eventually degenerate. But even this theme is not dwelt too deeply upon. If I had to sum the story in a sentence, I would say – evil men kidnap a girl for money, get screwed over by her brother.
The good thing about ‘Apostle’ is that there are no jump-scares or those cliched slow build-ups to something scary. The viewer is made to know what’s coming next and they know it’s not going to be pleasant to watch. What really doesn’t work in the film’s favor is the extra 40 minutes of drama and sub-plots that could’ve been chopped off to make it more edgy and exciting to watch.
The climax wasn’t all too bad and overall – ‘Apostle’ is an interesting mix of horror, cult, mystery, magic & ancient lore. But TOO DAMN LONG. It’s a 5/10 from me.
December 27, 2020
Padubidri – The Blue Flag Beach
Eight beaches in India won the coveted “Blue Flag” tag in October 2020. It’s a certification that’s awarded by a jury that includes members of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) & United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO), among others.
While I’ve been to four of them much before 2020, I got an opportunity to tick off another name – Padubidri beach in Karnataka. It’s very close to Mangalore and is situated close to a very pretty fishing village.
We were pretty much the only visitors and it felt like being in a private beach. It was serene, calm, clean and beautiful and the pictures I took do no justice to the place.
Except for a small shop selling refreshments, there was nothing around the beach.
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To those interested in visiting the beach, it’s best combined with a visit to Mangalore & a few other destinations. There are buses that ply between Mangalore city and Padubidri regularly. We however went by a car from Mangalore and it was a 40 minute drive, the roads are great.
I would suggest that one visit it in either end December or start of January, because it’s quite hot in this part of India throughout the year. Or perhaps when it’s raining, if you are a monsoon fan.
December 26, 2020
‘Bad Town Kids’ Is OUT
“Bad Town Kids” is out and it’s hard to believe it’s my THIRD book, even though it’s actually my debut novel.
I am traveling as I type this, with a super fierce sun piercing through the window grills of my train window and burning my face and legs. A lot of fields and streams keep passing by and it reminds me a lot about the setting of my book.
‘Bad Town Kids’ is about four friends, growing up in a small town and spending idyllic evenings together. Things however change as they grow up and beging to face stifling rules of living in a place that’s yet to catch up with the modern complexities of city life.
The obscure little town of Dakhinpur is home to Anita, a sprightly young girl who doesn’t have much to look forward to except long conversations with her close friends – a reserved cousin, a steadfast best friend, and a neighbour who is somewhat of a rebel.
The four friends have a shared dream – to be inseparable, and to live on their own terms. But age, distance, and having to deal with regressive mindsets could tear that dream apart. And some of them carry secrets so startling, it might just challenge everything they’ve known about each other.
‘Bad Town Kids’ will take you back in time to a simpler era, where social media didn’t complicate lives, but growing up was still as hard.
BAD TOWN KIDS BY SNEHA JAISWAL
That’s the blurb. If it sounds like something you would like to read, PLEASE get a copy now. And reviews will be appreciated. Dropping a few country-wise links –
December 25, 2020
Going Away
New places scare me
Travel steals my sleep
Little can be comforting
Dreams make me weep
Water filling up coaches
Aircraft going up in fumes
Us fighting for each breath
Even as sure doom looms
“Journey matters” they say
I await them with dread
It never eases or goes away
Some of us just want to stay
Whatever we call home
With familiar smelling sheets
All the ‘travelers’ can roam
Leave us to our streets
Note: It’s been months since I travelled due to Covid19 and one day before our December trip, for the first time, I felt a sense of unease and didn’t really look forward to travelling. While I experienced only mild feelings of discomfort at the thought of leaving home for a few days, it reminded me of a conversation with somebody in the family, who revealed how they experience high anxiety and sometime even panic attacks before they have to travel somewhere. It’s that conversation that inspired me to write this poem.
December 23, 2020
New Book Alert – Bad Town Kids
The obscure little town of Dakhinpur is home to Anita, a sprightly young girl who doesn’t have much to look forward to except long conversations with her close friends – a reserved cousin, a steadfast best friend, and a neighbour who is somewhat of a rebel.
The four friends have a shared dream – to be inseparable, and to live on their own terms. But age, distance, and having to deal with regressive mindsets could tear that dream apart. And some of them carry secrets so startling, it might just challenge everything they’ve known about each other.
‘Bad Town Kids’ will take you back in time to a simpler era, where social media didn’t complicate lives, but growing up was still as hard.
Bad Town Kids by Sneha Jaiswal
That’s the blurb of my third book, which also happens to be my debut fiction novel. It’s available for pre-orders on Amazon and will be out on 26th December, 2020. This weekend.
I finished writing the first draft of the book in February 2020, but got sidetracked with the pandemic themed short-stories collection “Love, Loss, Lockdown”. If you like contemporary fiction and slice-of-life stories, you would probably love “Bad Town Kids”. Dropping a few country-wise links for pre-order –
Do leave a review when you finish reading the book.
December 21, 2020
New Book Anxiety
Did I ever mention I am working on a new book?
I didn’t?
Well… I am working on a new book. And it’s in its last stages. Very last stages.
And my confidence meter on the story wavers on a day to day basis.
Some days I feel like “this is going to be the next bestseller”. Then there are other days when I feels like “maybe this is not a good idea, maybe I should not publish this at all”. If you are an artist or a content creator of any sort, you’ll probably know what I mean.
A close friend of mine always says “you just write, let people decide whether they like it or not”.
If it only were that easy. Sigh.
Why is why, I am experiencing a high amount of unfounded anxiety these days, which explains the slightly dark poem I wrote before this. I wasn’t intending on writing a personal post at all. But sometimes writing helps.
December 20, 2020
Head Takes Over
I’ve only felt my forehead today
heavy, in constant knots
rest of the body disappearing
like none of it mattered
only the head existed
with fears & unfounded anxiety
with hatred in all its notoriety
a thinking being no more
when such rage takes over
words laced with hurt
bruising all those around
the mind first relishes it all
then bleeds most from the fall
December 19, 2020
Temple Run at Halebeedu & Belur
Halebeedu & Belur are homes to some gorgeous south-Indian temples, owing to the fact that both towns were once the capital of the Hoysala empire. I first heard of them in 2011, when I was pursuing a post-graduate diploma in Bangalore, which is over 200 kms from the towns.
We picked a Friday to visit, in hopes that there will be very few tourists. The plan was simple – we do a road trip from Bangalore & if there are too many visitors, we take a U-turn & keep it to being just a road trip. No temple run.
Fortunately, there were only a handful of people at our first stop – the gorgeously carved Hoysaleswara temple in Halebeedu. Despite being plundered by the Delhi sultanate, a lot of the intricate stone carvings have managed to survive unscathed.
The temple is dedicated to the Hindu God Shiva and has several scenes from the epic Mahabharatha carved outside, so you’ll see a lot of warriors. There is no entry free, although visitors aren’t allowed to go in with their footwear, the staff charges a nominal fee to store your shoes. The museum adjoining the temple is closed on Fridays, so we didn’t get to see it and were fine by that. The premises is very well maintained and clean.
Just 800 metres away is another Jain temple called ‘Basadi Halli’ which is not as beautiful and can be skipped if you are short on time. We went to see it anyway and there were close to no visitors there. Another 13th century temple called Kedareswar temple was just 450 metres away from the Basadi Halli shrine. While much smaller in size and less ornate, it had detailed carvings on its outside and is worth a look. If you don’t mind walking, you can just walk to both these tourist points from Hoyalesawara. Although, despite being the winter season, it was quite hot.
We then headed to Belur to see the famed Chennakesava temple, another architectural marvel of the 12th century. The gopuram at the entrance has been given a modern court of yellow paint, which takes away the ancient rustic charm off it. There is no entry fee here either, but you have to leave your footwear outside for a minimal charge. As soon as you enter, the spacious courtyard takes you by surprise. There is an ancient well in the middle that makes for an intriguing sight. While there wasn’t much of a crowd, there were more people than Halebeedu, maybe a little more than a dozen, which is absolutely scant footfall for a famous Hindu destination.
The premises has one large temple and several smaller shrines flanking it. The stonework on the main monument is stunning. On the upper corners were gorgeous dancers, leaning down, as if they were holding the roof. It took me while to look at each of them and marvel at the art-work. We did not go inside the inner sanctum because it was slightly packed and given it’s still Covid19 times, we didn’t want to take any risks, even though we had masks on.
There are a few more smaller temples in Belur, but after visiting four, didn’t want to see any more. We chose to drive to the Yagachi dam and have lunch at the water-front. There is a small park by the dam with a nice view, the public is not allowed to go over the dam. The park is a nice picnic spot, the view is not breathtaking or anything. We spotted a bunch of super-cute puppies though. There is a well maintained government restaurant right opposite the park, which was very clean and had usable washrooms. We had packed lunch, so we didn’t eat there, so I can’t vouch for the food. But you can use it for a washroom break.
And well, that’s it. We had late lunch and drove back to Bangalore, which was a 4.5 hour long drive, since 15 kms on the highway was about 15 minutes ETA, but 15 kms inside the city took an hour. To those living close by or even planning to visit Karnataka, Belur-Halebidu is worth putting on your plan for a day, or even half a day. If you are on a tight schedule – just go to the main temples. The Hoysaleswara shrine was the prettiest of them all.
Wrapping it up with the image of those aww-dorable stray puppies we spotted at the park.
December 17, 2020
Watching Flipped Again
I saw the 2010 film ‘Flipped’ for the first time when I was in college and it didn’t take much for me to adore the tale. Watching it years later, I began to understand what made the film seem endearing to me the first time – the memories of teen crushes were still fresh and watching a school-girl be outspoken about her feelings for a boy was new territory for a Bollywood enthusiast.
Despite being set in the 1960s, ‘Flipped’ was charming & relevant. Callan McAuliffe as Bryce Loski and Madeline Carroll as Juli Baker are so good in their roles that it’s hard to imagine anybody else play their characters. Based on Wendelin Van Draanen’s young adult novel of the same name, director Rob Reiner co-wrote the onscreen adaptation with the author to bring to us one of the sweetest coming of age tales ever. The makers brilliantly flip the narratives from the point of view of both the protagonists, wittily portraying how the same situation can be perceived differently by two people.
Bryce Loski moves into the house next door to Juli Baker, who falls in love at first sight. She does everything possible to show her affection, but he prefers avoiding her at all costs. When he finally begins to feel something, Juli Baker doesn’t want to do anything with him. The story is simple but has a nostalgic warmth to it, despite being set so far back in time.
The film is not without its flaws, stuff I only noticed after watching it again. Perhaps ten more years of movie watching experience has made me more critical – it’s slightly slow & some of the characters are a little caricatured. While the dual perspectives is nice, some of the scenes are unnecessarily repetitive and could’ve been done differently.
The film would appeal a lot more to romantics than cynics, even though I am on the cynical side these days, that hasn’t made me forget how much I loved the movie at first sight. Ten years ago, I would’ve given the film a 9/10 without batting an eyelid, now I might say it’s a 7/10. Worth a watch, either way.
