Sneha Jaiswal's Blog, page 28

‘We Were Liars’ Recapped, Ending Explained – Cady’s Summer 16 Revisited

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Adapted from a bestselling novel by E. Lockhart, “We Were Liars” is a drama series set on a private island owned by the wealthy Sinclair family, who gather there every summer. The story centers on Cadence, the eldest granddaughter, who returns to the island after a mysterious accident two summers prior left her with memory loss and debilitating migraines. As she reconnects with her cousins and family members, Cadence struggles to fill in the blanks about what happened the summer of her injury.

The narrative in “We Were Liars” unfolds through fragmented flashbacks and Cadence’s unreliable perspective, gradually revealing the dysfunction within the Sinclair family – particularly the toxic relationships between her mother and aunts, who compete for their father’s approval and inheritance. The story builds toward a twist meant to reframe everything Cadence and the viewer thought they understood about the events leading up to her accident.

We Were Liars Review: We Were Gratingly One-Dimensional

Despite its central mystery of ‘We Were Liars’, the series is slow-paced and leans heavily on melodrama, with much of the dialogue and character interaction revolving around privilege, family tension, and vague philosophical reflections. The overall tone is somber, and the payoff relies entirely on its final reveal. Which some of us thoughts was a total cheat code!

Here’s a recap on the primary characters of “We Were Liars”:  

Cadence Sinclair Eastman (Cady)

The protagonist. Intelligent, sensitive, and emotionally fragile, Cady is trying to recover from a traumatic accident and piece together the mystery of what happened one fateful summer. Her journey is about memory, guilt, and rediscovering truth.

Gat Patil

The outsider. Gat is the nephew of Cadence’s aunt’s boyfriend, not blood-related to the Sinclairs, but part of the “Liars” crew. Smart, thoughtful, politically aware, he challenges the Sinclair family’s privilege and Cady’s worldview. Also, he’s her love interest.

Mirren Sinclair

Cadence’s cousin. Sweet, stylish, and sensitive, Mirren plays the role of the “golden girl” but struggles under the weight of family expectations. She’s part of the Liars and shares a close bond with Cady.

Johnny Sinclair

Another cousin and Liar. Charismatic and fun-loving, Johnny brings humor and energy to the group. He’s loyal to the core, but like the others, he’s hiding something beneath his sunny exterior.

Harris Sinclair

Cady’s grandfather. Patriarch of the Sinclair family. He’s rich, controlling, and obsessed with the family legacy, often pitting his daughters against each other in twisted power plays.

Penny, Carrie & Bess

Harris’s three daughters (Cady’s mom and aunts). They’re constantly fighting over inheritance and family status, using their kids as pawns. Toxic AF and quite annoying in the series.

The eight episodes of “We Were Liars” alternate between past and present, easily distinguished by Cady’s hairstyle. In the flashbacks, she’s the golden Sinclair child with the family’s signature blonde hair. In the present, she’s dyed it black, part rebellion, part rejection of her racist grandfather. Every summer, Cady usually meets her cousins and Gat at her family’s private island. But after the accident in her “Summer 16,” she returns to the island hoping to reconnect and recover her lost memories.

Weirdly, her cousins Johnny and Mirren refuse to tell her anything about the accident, why she washed up on the shore alone or why they completely ghosted her for a year. Even Gat is frustratingly evasive. They all hint that Cady’s mother has instructed them not to trigger her and to let her piece things together on her own.

Oddly enough, we rarely see “The Liars” interact with any adults in the present timeline of “We Were Liars”. The flashbacks reveal how deeply smitten Cady was with Gat, and how he seemed to reciprocate. Johnny, noticing their growing closeness, subtly warns them not to mess up the group dynamic, hinting that a breakup could ruin things. But Cady and Gat don’t care. That is, until Gat starts acting hot and cold, and then Cady finds out he already has a girlfriend. He gives her a vague excuse about never being accepted by the Sinclair family because of his background. Sure, whatever.

As fragments of memory return, Cady recalls Johnny having issues at school, Mirren grappling with her mother’s affair, and all three mothers constantly fighting for their father Harris’s attention. Things spiral further after Cady’s grandmother dies, sparking a ridiculous fight over who will inherit her pearls. Then Johnny’s mother abruptly breaks up with her long-time boyfriend Ed (Gat’s uncle). Turns out, Harris made her choose between her inheritance and her Indian-origin partner. Charming. At the funeral, Cady tries giving Gat the cold shoulder, but they eventually reconcile. Still, Cady knows her grandfather will never approve of them being together.

Episode 7 of “We Were Liars” reaches a turning point: Cady argues with her grandfather, he falls and is rushed to the hospital. Everyone goes, except “The Liars”: Cady, Johnny, Mirren, and Gat. Then, in an incredibly misguided move, Cady comes up with a plan to burn down her grandfather’s house, along with his will, so he’ll stop manipulating his daughters. Because, apparently, destroying property is the solution. Only a privileged, arrogant teen would think arson is a fix for generational trauma. But somehow, the others agree.

They set the house on fire. And in Episode 8 of “We Were Liars”, it’s revealed that everyone except Cady dies in the fire. Cady, Johnny, and Mirren were supposed to light the place, while Gat waited with a boat. But Johnny and Mirren don’t make it out. Cady tries to save the family’s golden retrievers, and then wastes precious time retrieving her grandmother’s pearls. Gat, seeing the fire spread and no one coming out, runs back into the house.

Cady finally understands why no one contacted her for a year: they were all dead. She has been hallucinating their presence, aided by the meds she’s been on. The adults never mention the truth, trying to shield her from more trauma. Maybe in the novel, this ending must have been a lot more emotional, but in the live-action adaptation, it feels more of a cheat-code, where viewers of “We Were Liars” are constantly deceived over some big mystery of might’ve happened to Cady, only to reveal that she is responsible for her own ordeal.

Although, sure, the climactic events of “We Were Liars” also makes sense. After all, who could’ve dared to hurt the wealthy, golden child of the Sinclair family? Not any outsider for sure.

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Shamanic Chaos Begins: Head Over Heels Episode 1 is All Cho Yi-hyun

Sneha Jaiswal (Twitter | Instagram)

Park Seong-ah is a teenage shaman, busy juggling ghosts, demons, whiny customers in need of talismans, and high school exams. And just when she resolves to study harder, she falls head over heels in love with the handsome Bae Gyeon-woo, a client dragged by his grandmother to see the shaman because he is almost always in mortal danger.

Directed by Kim Yong-wan, the Korean series Head Over Heels is adapted from the webtoon Gyeonuwa Seonnyeo (견우와 선녀) by An Su Min. Actor Cho Yi-hyun (Hospital Playlist, All of Us Are Dead) plays lead protagonist Park Seong-ah, known as “Fairy Cheon Ji” to her shamanic clientele, to whom she appears in a veil.

Choo Young-woo plays the handsome new student Bae Gyeon-woo, who has no clue that his classmate Sung-a is the same shaman he visited with his grandmother. With ghosts and evil spirits constantly targeting him and his death predicted to be just days away, Sung-a does everything she can to protect Gyeon-woo – even if, to him, she comes off as an overly clingy, slightly unhinged class girl obsessed with him for no reason.

Episode one of ‘Head Over Heels’ opens with a colorful early morning shamanic exorcism-like ritual being performed by Seong-ah. It’s a colorful, comedic introductory scene, where a stubborn spirit refuses to leave the human realm, making poor Seong-ah late for school! Cha Kang-yoon plays Pyo Ji-ho, possibly the only friend Seong-ah has at school, and also, it’s clear he has a huge crush on her, but she isn’t interested. Instead, it’s love at first for her when she see the handsome Bae Gyeon-woo, clearly cursed to die too soon, but death will have to wait since Seong-ah wants him to be her boyfriend.

Cho Yi-hyun is endearingly cute as Seong-ah in the opening episode of ‘Head Over Heels’, her personality is established as a hard-working, cheerful girl, too busy with her shamanic duties to enjoy the life of a regular teen girl. She can see ghosts and misfortune from a mile away, and her love for new student Gyeon-woo is hilariously shallow at this point – only based on his great looks. Kim Mi-kyung portrays ‘Mother Sin’, Seong-ha’s spiritual mentor, who thinks she should leave Gyeon-woo alone to his fate.

Choo Young-woo does look dashingly handsome as Gyeon-woo; however, he sticks out a little amid the high-school cast of ‘Head over Heels’, seeming evidently too old to be a high school student. He has a more adult-like air to him than the rest of the cast playing teens, although his character is also a serious, moody, asocial young man. His character has no interest in making friends or getting a girlfriend at the new school, so it’s going to be a big challenge for the protagonist to have her crush reciprocated.

Going by the first episode, ‘Head Over Heels‘ promises to be an entertaining comedic-fantasy-romance, with at least three ghosts already making their appearance in the pilot edition. The supernatural element should excite horror fans, even though it’s more horror-comedy than spooky, eerie stuff. I am looking forward to Seong-ha fighting more evil spirits while she tries to save Gyeon-woo from dying.

The edition ends with a funny bathroom scene, where Seong-ha fights a water ghost but looks more like she has gone off the rocker. Can she explain her weird behavior to classmates—and more importantly, to her crush?

Watch ‘Head Over Heels’ on Prime Video.

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Dare to be Fabulous Review: Crime Meets Glam in Bold Little Film

Sneha Jaiswal (Twitter | Instagram)

“My dad… is a strong man. Best gangster in the city”

The short animated film ‘Dare to be Fabulous‘ starts off with a youthful narrator’s voice beaming with pride as he describes his gangster dad and how “he is the man I wanna be.”

Directed by João Buosi, Yangjia Chen, and Carla Sampaio Da Silva, the six-minute-long retro animated film follows Alessandro who teams up with a friend to rob a popular bar to impress his dad. Alessandro, however, isn’t prepared to see his idol’s new avatar as Lady Victoria, a fabulous drag queen.

‘Dare to be Fabulous’ is a genre-bending little animated film that mixes the dark world of crime and gangsters with the colorful, glossy lives of drag queens and music. It delivers tension, family drama, and a twisty, powerful climax. Alessandro is forced to redefine what it means to be “strong” and “powerful” – terms that don’t have to be synonymous with traditional definitions of a “man.”

The animation for ‘Dare to be Fabulous’ looks slightly old-school, like pen sketches brought to life, using warm tones that complement the themes and tone of the story. Alessandro’s dad as Lady Victoria stands out in stunning hues of red, with sprinklings of gold and silver. When the father and son are confronted with this new side of the gangster, the moment of truth is far too overwhelming for Alessandro, but in a flash, he is forced to realize what truly matters.

Overall, the little film about identity, family, and gender norms is quite fabulous.

Watch Dare to be Fabulous on YouTube. It’s also embedded below.

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‘Good Boy’ Episode 8 Review: Special Team vs. Bad Guys – Game On!

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‘Good Boy’ Dong-ju (Park Bo-Gum) isn’t ready to back down or give up anything, neither his professional mission to put the nefarious villain Min Joo-Yeong (Oh Jung-se) behind bars, nor his blossoming love story with crush Han-na (Kim So-hyun). However, arresting the customs officer is proving to be a herculean task for the cops, but at least there’s promising progress in his romantic life.

Recap of ‘Good Boy’ Episode 7: Dong-ju brutally beats up Joo-Yeong while the customs officer is at work for fatally shooting Jung Mi-ja, his dead’s friend mother. The incident is recorded on camera, and Dong-ju could be suspended or even lose his police job. His team leader Man-Sik (Heo Sung-tae), along with the rest of the special team – Jong-hyeon (Lee Sang-yi) and Jae-Hong (Tae Won-Seok) – work hard to gather solid evidence against Joo-Yeong and prevent their team from being disbanded.

Meanwhile, Joo-Yeong’s criminal associates increase pressure on him due to the slowdown of their activities caused by heightened police scrutiny on their operations. A flashback also reveals it was the Drug Demon (Lee Ho-jung) who saved Jung Mi-ja (Seo Jung-yeon) from dying.

Moved by the support he receives from the team, Dong-ju strikes a deal with the evil Joo-Yeong, asking him to beat him up as much as he wants, but to ensure the special team isn’t forced to quit. This deal is especially worrying, because unfortunately, the ending scare from Episode 5 of “Good Boy” wasn’t just a fake-out: Dong-ju is diagnosed with ‘Punch Drunk Syndrome’, a neurodegenerative condition. Although it’s not supposed to be fatal anytime soon. Dong-ju nearly resigns as a police officer, but in the end, he resolves to keep fighting. The episode ends with Dong-ju kissing Han-na at her house.

Titled “The Aimless Bullet”, episode 8 of “Good Boy” starts with a cold open featuring chaotic scenes of violence. Then the scene flips to the romantic night between Dong-ju and Han-na, with the latter letting him crash at her place. The next day, everyone is back to working on the Joo-Yeong case. The team figures out where his smuggling unit might be and comes up with a plan to infiltrate the customs office to uncover the drug stash. On the other hand, Joo-Yeong lays an elaborate trap for the cops who’ve been making his life hell.

Unlike the last episode, this edition of “Good Boy” is fast-paced and expertly balances both comedic and action elements. The comedic parts, as usual, come from the overdramatic Man-Sik’s shenanigans, but also from the rivalry between Jong-hyeon and Dong-ju over Han-na. Increasingly suspicious of the boxer’s growing proximity with his ex-girlfriend, Jong-hyeon practically drags Dong-ju to his flat so that he won’t spend too much time with Han-na.

Park Bo-gum really turns on the cute, pet-like charm in this chapter, especially when his character is flirting with Han-na at work. As Dong-ju spends some time with Jong-hyeon, he can’t help but admit that the former Olympian fencer is ‘cool’, despite his annoyance over Jong-hyeon being Han-na’s ex. Viewers also get flashbacks to Jong-hyeon’s time at the Olympics and why he failed to win gold.

While Park Bo-gum’s character gets the most screen time (and deservedly so, since he is the titular Good Boy) there are still eight more episodes to go in the series, and hopefully we’ll see other characters and sub-plots develop a bit more too. For instance, Lee Sang-yi has great screen presence as Jong-hyeon, a fantastic character so far, someone who is honest, hard-working, and a fighter, just like Dong-ju. But so far, the character feels slightly underutilized. Also, Han-na’s investigation into her cop father’s death hasn’t seen any updates in a while!

Regardless, this episode of “Good Boy” is very entertaining, and the second half delivers intense action, where the cops find themselves cornered and nearly overwhelmed by the bad guys. Will the evil Min Joo-Yeong once again get away with his dastardly plans and leave the cops frustrated?

Watch Good Boy on Prime Video.

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Sitaare Zameen Par Review: Sikandar Kaun? Aamir & Kids Win

Sneha Jaiswal (Twitter | Instagram)

“That was such a clean film with a good message, right?” my grandfather rhetorically told me as we exited the theatre after watching Sitaare Zameen Par. And well, that’s one way to sum up the Aamir Khan movie: an entertaining film you can watch with the entire family (I’d say the kids need to be over 10) without worrying about awkward or uncomfortable scenes and moments.

Directed by Prasanna RS and written by Divy Nidhi Sharma, “Sitaare Zameen Par” is an Indian adaptation of the Spanish hit film Campeones. The Bollywood remake stars Aamir Khan as Gulshan, a disgraced basketball coach ordered to train a group of special-needs children for three months. This is his “punishment” for driving under the influence of alcohol and hitting a police car.

“Sitaare Zameen Par” introduces Gulshan as the assistant coach of the Delhi basketball team, often mocked as ‘tingu’ (a Hindi slang that means ‘shorty’), due to his short height. After a fight with the head-coach, a drunk Gulshan comically hits a police car, while the song ‘Bhaag DK Bose’ plays in the background. You know, the iconic song from ‘Delhi Belly’, which was produced by Aamir Khan.

So, Aamir’s Gulshan starts off as a typical arrogant, egoistic, outspoken Delhi jerk who calls kids with Down syndrome or any other mental health problems “mental” or “mad.” Both his personal and professional lives are in shambles: he’s temporarily staying with his mother (Dolly Ahluwalia) while constantly clashing with his wife Suneeta (Genelia D’Souza), who runs a boutique.

But once Gulshan meets the team he is supposed to coach, it is Gulshan who gets schooled by the kids on compassion, love, empathy, and athletic spirit. Gulshan’s first instinct is to find a way out of the three-month ordeal, but once the kids are enrolled in a national basketball championship, Gulshan does his best to train them and finds himself often surprised by their spirit.

The “Sitaare Zameen Par” – aka the special kids – are:

Sunil (Ashish Pendse), who loves to track flights and works as a parking lot attendant.Guddu (Gopi Krishnan Varma), a smelly kid with an intense passion for pets and animals.Sharmaji (Rishi Shahani), a bespectacled old soul who works at a café.Kareem (Samvit Desai), slow and independent, living in a hostel, supporting himself by working at a hotel.Lotus (Aayush Bhansali), passionate about hair dyes and obsessed with his girlfriend.Satbir (Aroush Datta), whose mum cannot recognize him if he isn’t wearing red.Rishabh Jain, a Delhi boy who brings Goa vibes to the team.Bantu (Vedant Sharmaa), umm, he loves to dig his ears.Golu (Simran Mangeshkar), the only girl in the group who chooses violence to solve things.Hargovind (Naman Misra), the tallest in the team, who can play like a true champ.

Bollywood fans will find plenty of easter eggs referencing the actor’s old projects throughout the runtime of Sitaare Zameen Par. For instance, the song “Papa Kehte Hain Bada Naam Karega“, which remains a beloved Bollywood classic from Aamir’s debut film ‘Qayamat Se Qayamat Tak’, gets a modern comic twist in the new original track “Good for Nothing” by Amitabh Bhattacharya, whose lyrics go, “Papa kehte the aisa kaam karega, bada hoke mujhko tu badnaam karega.”

Much like Aamir’s 2007 hit Taare Zameen Par, this 2025 film tackles stereotypes and ignorance around children with special needs. “Everybody’s normal is different,” says Kartar Paaji (Gurpal Singh), the sports complex in-charge, when Gulshan questions the kids’ normalcy. The point lands comically when Kartar asks how much sugar Gulshan wants in his tea. “Normal amount,” he replies, only for Kartar to ask, “Your normal or mine?” Turns out, Gulshan’s “normal” is six spoons!

All the new actors in the basketball team are endearing, each getting a quick little intro to make their characters stick. Thankfully, except for one or two overstretched sequences here and there, “Sitaare Zameen Par” rarely get preachy, and maintains a comedic, light-hearted tone throughout its 2 hour 30 minute length. The film works due to Aamir’s willingness to be poked fun at and play second-fiddle to the younger cast. There are moments when his trademark stiffness creeps in, but he ultimately pulls it off, especially when it comes to the emotional climax. But the climax isn’t your regular tear-jerker, as one would expect from such a script, instead, it focuses on finding joys in small victories.

Aamir Khan’s Gulshan is ultimately humbled by his basketball squad, who teach him to love, laugh, and find joy in life’s simplest moments. “Sitaare Zameen Par” gently reminds us that Jo Jeeta Wohi Sikandar is just one way to look at life, sometimes, just showing up with heart is enough to win.

“Sitaare Zameen Par” is playing in theaters.

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‘Good Boy’ Episode 7 Review: Joo-Yeong Bleeds, Dong-ju Breaks

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“When I had the chance, I should’ve beaten you to death.” Dong-ju (Park Bo-Gum) confronts senior customs officer Min Joo-Yeong (Oh Jung-se), the primary antagonist of ‘Good Boy’, once again. But this time around, Dong-ju doesn’t hold back his punches and has vengeance in his eyes. Things get serious, scary, and dramatic.

Recap of ‘Good Boy’ Episode 6: The resourceful Dong-ju recovers a burner phone discarded by Min Joo-Yeong, which could hold clues to his criminal network. Meanwhile, the “Drug Demon” (Lee Ho-jung) remains under surveillance at a police safe house. She cleverly tips them off about the “Drug Demon’s” location, actually the hideout of thugs faking her popular drug-candies, buying herself time to plan an escape. In a twist, Ko Man-Sik’s (Oh Jung-se) daughter is also placed in the same safe house, putting her at risk since the real “Drug Demon” is right there.

Tension spikes when the cops begin to suspect the woman in their custody might be the notorious drug boss and could harm Man-Sik’s daughter. But the episode’s biggest shock comes when Joo-Yeong shoots Jung Mi-ja (Seo Jung-yeon), Lee Gyeong-il’s mother and a maternal figure to Dong-ju. The episode ends at the shipyard, where Dong-ju walks up to a smug Joo-Yeong and lands a punch that would knock most people out cold.

Titled “Par Terre Par Terre” (a wrestling term), episode seven of Good Boy begins with a scene of Min Joo-Yeong overseeing a gold-smuggling operation and brutally murdering two people. Then, viewers finally see the aftermath of that violent cliffhanger, where Dong-ju attacks Joo-Yeong on a rain-soaked night. For a second, some might wonder if he’s only dreaming his revenge, but no, the cop really does go over and beats the living daylights out of the evil Joo-Yeong, who gleefully admits to shooting Jung Mi-ja. A brutal counterpunch aimed straight at Dong-ju’s heart.

Now both Joo-Yeong and Mi-ja are in the hospital, neither dead yet. So, this edition of ‘Good Boy’ largely follows the consequences of Dong-ju’s reckless decision to hit the customs officer in public. The special team faces the possibility of being disbanded, but team leader Ko Man-Sik (Heo Sung-tae) is determined to save Dong-ju from severe repercussions. In-fact, the entire team – crush Han-na (Kim So-hyun), Jong-hyeon (Lee Sang-yi), and Jae-Hong (Tae Won-Seok) – are united in their support for Dong-ju and their mission to expose Joo-Yeong’s connection to the mafia. So, they scramble to work harder and gather evidence against him, before the team is made to call it quits.

As far as the tension over the investigation is concerned, nothing new is offered to the viewers, although the cops do find some new insights to help them push the case forward. The pace of this episode is slow, and the constant confrontations between Dong-ju and the malevolent Joo-Yeong are beginning to feel tiring at this juncture. Given that there are nine more episodes to go (Good Boy is a 16 episode show, in-case you forgot), I am not sure how the writers are going to keep up the tension and excitement in the story. Even the constant bullying of Man-Sik by the corrupt police commissioner is painfully humiliating and also unnecessarily so.

There is some mild progress in the romantic subplot of ‘Good Boy‘, with things moving in a positive direction between Han-na and Dong-ju. The onscreen chemistry between the characters falls somewhere between “cute” and “cold.” Viewers looking forward to romance will be thrilled that the couple moves forward toward the end of the episode – there’s a nice romantic scene, although it’s weirdly timed.

Overall, this episode of ‘Good Boy’ is choppily paced and grim, largely driven by Park Bo-gum’s emotional punches and Oh Jung-se’s increasingly malicious portrayal of primary antagonist Joo-Yeong. Oh Jung-se is so good at playing the bad boy to Bo-gum’s “Good Boy,” it’s easy to imagine him playing an evil entity in a horror movie or a zombie apocalypse film.

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We Were Liars Review: We Were Gratingly One-Dimensional

Rating: 1.5 out of 5.

Sneha Jaiswal (Twitter | Instagram)

Some writers unwittingly makes their main character (MC) so much more unlikable than other supporting characters, even when terrible tragedies befall upon them, instead of feeling sorry for the MC, you feel sorry for yourself, for enduring the story. “We Were Liars” falls under that category, which gave me a headache, and was largely unbearable. Although, to be fair, some of the actors were really great in their parts, and I will expand upon it later. But that still doesn’t made this show from being mostly unbearable for me.

Based on a book by E. Lockhart, the Prime Original series “We Were Liars” stars Emily Alyn Lind as primary protagonist Cadence Sinclair, only 16-years-old, but the eldest heir of the Sinclair family, who washes up on the beach after a terrible accident, with no memories of what happened to her in the last few days. She turns to her closest friends Johnny (Joseph Zada), Mirren (Esther McGregor) and Gat (Shubham Maheshwari) for answers, but they seem to be under strict instructions to not exacerbate her mental health, so they refuse to divulge much, hoping she will find all her answers herself. Johnny and Mirren are also her first cousins, while Gat’s her ‘first love’.

The first episode of “We Were Liars” immediately reminded me of The Summer I Turned Pretty, another beachside tale about privileged teens spending their summers in luxurious coastal homes. But unlike that show, “We Were Liars” is far more convoluted, pretentious, and painfully difficult to sit through. The writers make the show way more serious in tone than it needed to be, trying too hard to be a dark drama about privilege, secrets, love, heartbreak and class differences.

Set on the exclusive Beechwood Island, the story “We Were Liars” revolves around Cadence Sinclair and her dysfunctional, ultra-wealthy family. The island belongs to her grandfather Harris Sinclair (David Morse), a manipulative old-money patriarch with no sons. His three daughters: Penny (Caitlin FitzGerald), Carrie (Mamie Gummer), and Bess (Candice King), are more concerned with inheritance than kinship, constantly bickering over money like rival corporate heirs. The sisters’ petty feuds could’ve delivered sharp, dark humor, but their mean-spirited exchanges often cross the line into bad taste.

Sinclair sisters in ‘We Were Liars’

Their toxic competitiveness trickles down to the next generation. The teens, Cadence, Johnny, Mirren, and Gat, are dubbed “the liars” for always getting into mischief. Cadence is an only child, Johnny has a younger brother, and Mirren has twin sisters. Gat, the outsider, is the nephew of the boyfriend of Johnny’s mom. Cadence and Gat play the brooding thinkers, Johnny is the flamboyant, fun one, and Mirren is the quiet artist.

Emily Alyn Lind instantly reminded me of Elle Fanning as Cadence, but the character quickly devolves into a frustrating mess: obsessed with Gat and unwilling to drop her infatuation even after discovering that he isn’t the “knight in shining armour” she thought him to be. Shubham Maheshwari’s Gat starts off as charismatic, but soon morphs into a clichéd “brown boy” trope, suddenly awakened to colonial injustice after one trip to India, reducing centuries of history into a single bland comment about “so much culture there.” Like seriously, no regular 16-year-old would come back from their first trip to India with nothing but a newfound hatred for colonialism, unless they were enrolled into a history class on their trip.

Rahul Kohli as Ed Patil, Gat’s uncle and Carrie’s boyfriend, is a far more grounded character than the younger cast of “We Were Liars”. Still, it’s hard to care about any of these “private island rich” people, whose biggest crisis is that no one except the patriarch can manage money. The Sinclair sisters are all spoiled, and so are their kids, though Mirren, played sweetly by Esther McGregor (last seen as Nicole Kidman’s rebel daughter in Baby Girl), is a mild exception.

Cadence and Gat in “We Were Liars”

Told through indulgent flashbacks and a present-day mystery about Cadence’s memory loss, “We Were Liars” feels like a trick on the audience, an overly drawn-out drama about people with too much money and too little purpose. Cadence’s biggest “struggle” (apart from the memory thing) is whether her grandfather will accept Gat, who isn’t white, never mind that she doesn’t even know if they’re dating.

By episode 5, I was tempted to quit. I skimmed through episodes 6 and 7, but watched episode 8 out of stubbornness, and regretted it. Yes, the show looks beautiful, offering sunlit beaches, aesthetic summer wear, and a moody soundtrack, but none of it saves the shallow, repetitive storytelling.

The finale leans on a manipulative emotional twist, possibly lifted from the novel, but instead of feeling moved, I was just irritated I had stuck with the series. The episode also ends with a very Titanic-like twist, you know, a character throwing something extremely expensive into the ocean, but more because they are a privileged brat and not a 100-year-old unable to get over a boy they dated for two days when she was 17.

If you enjoy watching rich white people cry over their imagined woes, then “We Were Liars” might be for you. Otherwise, skip it.

Now streaming on Prime Video.

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‘Callus’ Short Horror Film Review

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The word ‘Callus’ is defined as ‘an area of thick hard skin on a hand or foot, usually caused by rubbing’ by online dictionaries.

Ciarán Hickey’s short film ‘Callus‘ is a folklore-horror tale about a man named Ferghus (Michael Patric) shielding his young daughter, Íonait (Gráinne Good), from his small, superstitious town. Íonait is born with a grotesquely deformed hand, and the midwife at her delivery warns Ferghus against keeping the baby, claiming the child is an ominous sign sent to test their community. As Íonait grows older, it becomes increasingly challenging for Ferghus to keep her confined to their humble home, away from prying eyes and wagging tongues.

About 18 minutes long, ‘Callus‘ is a bleak tale exploring how superstitions can shape small rural communities, promoting discriminatory, harmful, and violent behavior. Just because she is born different, Íonait becomes a symbol of fear, hatred, and wrath. After an ominous cold open featuring a flashback to Íonait’s birth, the first few minutes of the film focus on the domestic lives of Ferghus and Íonait.

The father-daughter duo live in relative peace, even though the girl is largely confined to her home. However, she shares a loving bond with her father, with no rebellious streak in sight. On the encouragement of a neighbor, Ferghus takes Íonait out for her first drink at a local pub to celebrate her 18th birthday, and that’s they day things change.

While ‘Callus‘ doesn’t explore anything particularly new, it’s an interesting folklore-horror tale, albeit mild in violence and gore. Driven by a small cast of talented actors who convincingly sell the gloomy rural setting, it’s worth a one-time watch for indie horror film fans.

You can watch ‘Callus’ on YouTube.

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KPop Demon Hunters Review: Light Sticks Meet Dark Arts – with ‘Aegyo’

Sneha Jaiswal (Twitter | Instagram)

Given the global rage of Kpop idols and music, it was only a matter of time before someone made a movie about a Kpop girl band fighting the bad guys. Netflix’s animated musical ‘Kpop Demon Hunters‘ is set in a world where singing trios across generations protect humanity by keeping demons at bay with their music. It’s far-fetched, silly, fun and turns on the ‘aegyo’ (the word for ‘cuteness’ in Korean).

Directed by Chris Appelhans and Maggie Kang, Kpop Demon Hunters follows popular girl band Huntrix, comprising lead singer Rumi (voiced by Arden Cho), rebellious rapper Mira (May Hong), and chirpy maknae Zoey (Ji-young Yoo), who double as demon hunters, keeping evil forces at bay through their powerful music. Their strength lies in their voice and fan following, which is threatened by a rising K-pop band called the Saja Boys, demons masquerading as hot idols, led by Jinu (Ahn Hyo-seop), who aims to weaken their base and powers.

Kpop Demon Hunters starts off with a funny sequence of the girls flying in their private jet, gorging on ramyeon and junk food to power up for their big show. Their personalities are immediately established as goofy, cutesy, friendly and sort of relatable. And before they hit the mic, they also fight off some demons on the way! It’s a humorous, action-packed start that leads to their first song in the film, capturing the essence of most K-pop concerts, with fans cooing and going crazy as they cheer on Huntrix with their custom light sticks. The film takes plenty of subtle and funny digs at Kpop fans, like a small running gag which shows a bunch of guys crying their eyes out whenever they talk about their idols.

But once Jinu, the demon who plots to topple the Kpop Demon Hunters, debuts with his boy band, the Saja Boys, even the Huntrix girls are blinded by their deceptive good looks and charm for a second. Even the usually calm, cool, aloof Mira is shaken by the boys! The animation hilariously captures the girls crushing on the boys before realizing they’re demons. The rest of the film, of course, follows their quest to defeat them and save the world from their demonic charm. A major sub-plot reveals Jinu to be a far more complex character than an out-and-out villain, which makes Rumi wonder if all demons are bad. One of the film’s funniest moments is how the writers cleverly poke fun at ‘shipping’ culture, showing fans instantly pairing the Huntrix girls with the Saja Boys and setting off a frenzy of romance rumors.

With a 7+ rating, Kpop Demon Hunters is the kind of animated musical that will probably be best enjoyed by viewers between the ages of 12 and 17, although it’s also a fun watch for regular fans of animated films with goofy plots and the good old ‘good versus bad’ theme. Mira’s character reminded me of the film ‘Ruby Gillman: Teenage Kraken‘, which is all about a non-human girl trying her best to pass off as a regular kid at school. Mira, too, isn’t completely human and has a hard time concealing her true nature from her favorite bandmates, scared they won’t accept her for who she is. So there’s also the usual ’embrace yourself with all your flaws’ theme going on in the plot.

Animated by Sony Pictures Imageworks, Kpop Demon Hunters features character designs that blend popular K-pop idol aesthetics with flair. You can see the creators have even taken inspiration from the big names in the K-pop worlds – BTS, Astro, BlackPink, TWICE, among others. In-fact, TWICE members have even recorded a song for the film, it’s called ‘Takedown’. The animation is vibrant, colorful, and visually catchy, though some scenes suffer from slightly sluggish character movements, almost as if they’re buffering. But those moments are very few. On the plus side, the lip-syncing during dialogue is impressively accurate and well-timed.

And well, since Kpop Demon Hunters is a musical, with multiple song-dance sequences, the original soundtrack for the film is energetic and fun. Some of the tracks are catchy, with bubblegum beats, while others are more generic, although they do sound like a mix of Kpop songs you’ve already heard of. For instance, the Saja Boys debut with a track called ‘Soda Pop’, whose vibe might remind some of Zerobase1 song ‘Feel The Pop’. Overall, the music is enjoyable, the tracks smoothly help push the plot forward, never feeling contrived, and the vocal talent recruited the songs shine in their parts.

Packed with Korean food, glitzy visuals, girl power, and a hint of forbidden romance, ‘Kpop Demon Hunters’ is an entertaining genre-bending musical that brings Kpop to the world of action-fantasy. This also hold potential for a full spin-off series. The climax cheers on girl power, friendship, and closes the girls’ adventures on a high note.

Kpop Demon Hunters is streaming on Netflix.

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‘Trainwreck: The Astroworld Tragedy’ is More Emotional Than Investigative

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Netflix documentary ‘Trainwreck: The Astroworld Tragedy’ revisits the fatal crowd-crush that took place in November 2021 at a music festival headlined by rapper Travis Scott in Houston. Eight people died on the day of the concert due to asphyxiation, and two more passed away in the hospital over the following days.

About 1 hour and 20 minutes long, Trainwreck: The Astroworld Tragedy begins with first-hand accounts from concertgoers who attended the event, recalling their excitement to see Travis Scott perform, unaware of the nightmare that awaited them. Survivors give chilling testimonies of how they were nearly crushed to death, saved in the nick of time. Plenty of video footage and photos back up their ordeal, offering viewers a suffocating look at what happens when an overcrowded night of music spirals into chaos.

Footage from the event shows that Astroworld was a ‘trainwreck’ waiting to happen even before the music started. Unruly concertgoers can be seen rushing into the venue as soon as gates open: pushing each other, breaking barricades, and displaying a complete lack of control or oversight. Anybody remotely scared of crowds, wouldn’t want to be part of such an event.

Apart from survivors, security personnel, medics on duty that day, and event workers share their accounts of the disastrous Astroworld festival. The documentary also includes interviews with the family members of 23-year-old Rodolfo Peña, who tragically lost his life at the concert, adding a poignant perspective to the narrative.

Strikingly, no one in a position of accountability agreed to appear on camera to present their side. Instead, the creators include an old video of Travis Scott commenting on the tragedy, offering prayers for the victims’ families and claiming he was unaware of the crowd crush’s severity. However, what stands out is footage showing sections of the audience loudly chanting “Stop the concert! Stop the concert!” While it’s debatable whether Scott himself could hear or grasp the situation unfolding, the lack of action from event organizers raises serious questions about their response – or lack thereof – to the chaos.

A crowd-safety expert featured in the documentary asserts there was ample evidence the tragedy was preventable, blaming it on poor management and the overselling of tickets. Astroworld was organized by Live Nation Entertainment, yet no representative appears in the film. The absence of a legal perspective is also jarring; the creators could have strengthened the documentary by including a legal expert or any of the lawyers who represented the victims in their lawsuits against the organisers.

In the end, ‘Trainwreck: The Astroworld Tragedy’ provides an emotional account of how the devastating event impacted concertgoers and survivors. However, viewers looking for an in-depth, investigative documentary will likely be disappointed. The Wikipedia page on the Astroworld tragedy contains five times more information than what this segment presents.

Trainwreck: The Astroworld Tragedy is streaming on Netflix.

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