Sneha Jaiswal's Blog, page 71
October 2, 2024
Polite Society Review: Sisters, Stunts, and a Smarmy Suitor
Sneha Jaiswal (Twitter | Instagram)
Pro tip: You need to watch “Polite Society” from Ria’s point of view (POV), which is exaggerated and larger than life.
Ria Khan wants to be a stuntwoman and is rooting for her older sister Lena to become a great artist. However, when Lena gets engaged to the filthy-rich Salim Shah, a successful geneticist vetted by his mother, Ria goes on a mission to stop their wedding. The feisty teenager is convinced that arranged marriages are patriarchal traps to prevent young women from reaching their full potential. And because she thinks Salim “is a smarmy wanker.”
Written and directed by Nida Manzoor, “Polite Society” stars Priya Kansara as protagonist Ria, while Ritu Arya plays her older sister Lena. They belong to a typical British-Pakistani family. The film unfolds like a fun Marvel teen superhero movie but without any super-powered protagonists. It’s aspiring stuntwoman Ria against a scheming world that wants to crush her sister Lena’s personality and reduce her to a trophy wife, even though Lena herself is content to give up her artistic dreams and marry Salim (Akshay Khanna).
One of the biggest villains in “Polite Society” is Salim’s mom, Raheela, excellently played by Nimra Bucha, who makes the character feel like a desi Disney villain. If anybody decides to make an Indian or Pakistani version of ‘101 Dalmatians’, Nimra Bucha might make a fitting Cruella. Anyway… Ria knows it’s Raheela who picked Lena for Salim among a stream of potential brides, and finds it exceedingly fishy; so she teams up with her best friends Clara (Seraphina Beh) and Alba (Ella Bruccoleri) to dig up dirt on Salim. The end-goal? Find a way to break up his impending marriage with Lena.
Since Ria is always practicing martial arts or getting into fights, there are plenty of action scenes in “Polite Society.” Some of the stunt scenes, especially the ones featuring Ria trying a very Kung-Fu-style air kick, are fun to watch. “I am the fury” is Ria’s favorite chant, and she embodies female rage against a patriarchal system that’s intent on converting women into ornamental home décor and baby-makers post-marriage. Except for some of the hideous outfits the stylists make her wear in the movie, Priya Kansara is pitch-perfect as the young, angry, ambitious Ria. Seraphina Beh and Ella Bruccoleri are equally engaging and hilarious as her best friends, especially in a mock-spy sequence where the trio attempts to steal Salim’s laptop. It’s a girl-power mission all the way.
While “Polite Society” starts off by establishing a close sibling bond between sisters Ria and Lena, the kind who always have each other’s backs, their relationship steadily deteriorates due to their differences of opinion over Salim. Lena is convinced Salim is the man she wants to spend the rest of her life with, but her younger sister strongly disagrees. Her family blames her ‘over-active’ imagination, but Ria is intent on ‘exposing’ Salim, even though she isn’t even sure of what — which, of course, is quite comical.
There’s a scene in the movie that some viewers might consider a goof — Ria and Lena fight like feral cats at home, with Lena smashing Ria’s head so badly that it bleeds, but as soon as the sisters are called for dinner, there are no injuries or signs of a fight on their bodies. But I don’t think that’s a goof; instead, it’s the director’s way of showing how “Polite Society” is unfolding from Ria’s POV — so everything is a lot more dramatic from her angsty teen lens. Her shenanigans are often funny, and the movie is consistently amusing and engaging for most of its 1 hour 44 minute runtime.
Despite the serious fallout with her sister, a determined Ria refuses to back off and plots an elaborate wedding day heist with her friends. The wedding celebrations are aptly grand, and in one of the most exciting scenes of “Polite Society,” viewers also get a little Bollywood song-and-dance. Nida Manzoor and the team give a fantastic ode to a Bollywood hit track, and I am not going to mention which one to keep that bit spoiler-free.
The climactic twist in the tale is over-the-top, but it’s the kind of plot surprise that wouldn’t have seemed as absurd if the movie were an actual comic-book-based superhero flick. And although I was a little disappointed with the far-fetched, sci-fi-like ending, it’s on theme with the overarching feminist themes of “Polite Society.” Regardless, the final climactic moments are gratifying, celebrating female friendships, sibling bonds, and the indomitable spirit of a teenager who would do anything to achieve her goals. Priya Kansara is a star to watch out for!
Rating: 8 out of 10. “Polite Society” is on Netflix/Zee5 and available to rent on Prime Video.
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Chasing Echoes: Graphic Novel Review
Sneha Jaiswal (Twitter | Instagram)
Malka is a divorced mom of two, nearly broke, and about to get evicted. Her son chooses to move out and live with his dad, and for some reason, she feels entitled to be invited on a family trip to Poland undertaken by her uncle and cousins because she is the self-anointed family historian.
The graphic novel Chasing Echoes by Dan Goldman and George Schall (artist) focuses on a big Polish-American family taking a vacation to Europe, with the ultimate goal of tracking down their grandfather’s home that he had to abandon during the Holocaust. However, unfortunately, except for the name of the town, nobody has a concrete clue on locating the house or a family-owned mill that was built by their ancestors.
What I enjoyed about Chasing Echoes is the chaotic energy of the big family traveling around in a minibus, bickering, gossiping, eating, and having fun together. However, since the book is only 152 pages long, it’s hard to keep track of the uncles, aunts, and cousins making their way through the book. Malka manages to be the only memorable character in the graphic novel because almost everybody in the family bitches about her being a hopeless case. One cousin, who flies in from Jerusalem for the trip, is the only person who looks forward to Malka’s company.
The artwork by George Schall in Chasing Echoes is not a big highlight of the graphic novel, but it engagingly brings to life the road trip Malka’s dysfunctional family goes on. From visiting Holocaust museums, encountering anti-Semitic symbols, to attending a fun musical concert, the family goes on a rollercoaster ride of emotions in Poland. The story also includes some flashback scenes of World War II with Malka’s grandfather to lend some retro nostalgia to the tale.
If you’re looking for some fictional stories about Jewish Americans trying to connect with their family roots and struggling to come to terms with the impact the Holocaust had on their past generations, this is an interesting read.
Rating: 3 on 5. ‘Chasing Echoes’ in also on Kindle Unlimited
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Auron Main Kahan Dum Tha Review: Serves up Retro Nostalgia
Sneha Jaiswal (Twitter | Instagram)
Everything about the 2024 Bollywood movie “Auron Main Kahan Dum Tha” screams 1990s, that’s besides the fact that much of the story takes place closer to the 90s than the 2020s.
Written and directed by Neeraj Pandey, “Auron Main Kahan Dum Tha” follows Krishna (Ajay Devgn), a convict who is about to be released from prison after two decades, and the truth about his crime is slowly unraveled through the 2-hour-30-minute runtime. While his plan is to fly away to Dubai the same night of his release, his former lover Vasudha (Tabu) surprises him with a visit and confronts their past.
Flashbacks slowly reveal what transpired between the two, with Shantanu Maheshwari (Gangubai Kathiawadi) and Saiee Manjrekar playing the younger versions of Krishna and Vasudha, respectively. Both young actors pull off their roles with ease and grace, without getting lost under the shadows of Ajay Devgn and Tabu, although the older actors do most of the heavy lifting, with the more emotional aspects of the plot rightfully falling on their shoulders.
“Auron Main Kahan Dum Tha” essentially panders to an audience looking for some retro Bollywood nostalgia – it’s slow-moving, dramatic, predictable, and even features a soundtrack that’s melodious but slightly outdated. In fact, while the songs have a dramatic, old-school flourish to them, some of the background music is annoyingly loud, like it’s out of those theatrical saas-bahu shows from the early 2000s. For instance, there’s a scene in the present where Vasudha catches Krishna off-guard when she invites him to meet her husband Abhijit (Jimmy Shergill). It’s a refreshingly modern, mature plot development, where a woman doesn’t see the need to conceal her past from her spouse, but the dramatic music that plays during the scene sounds like the character has announced the discovery of a terrorist plot to bomb a café.
Neeraj Pandey probably aimed to serve a romantic thriller like Keigo Higashino’s “The Devotion of Suspect X,” which was made into the Bollywood movie “Jaane Jaan.” However, “Auron Main Kahan Dum Tha” never builds up enough suspense over Krishna’s crime and unfolds like a clichéd, familiar tale, with even the eventual plot twist failing to come as much of a surprise. Props to the writers for not reducing Vasudha’s character to a damsel in distress; she grows up to be a strong, successful businesswoman who has a healthy relationship with her husband.
Even though Ajay Devgn and Tabu don’t really have any romantic scenes as the older Krishna and Vasudha, there’s palpable “former lovers” tension between the two. So, while the first half of “Auron Main Kahan Dum Tha” wasn’t as gripping, Krishna and Vasudha’s emotional reunion in the last half of the film delivers a tear-jerker climax. The ending is unconventional, practical, and emotional, wrapping up a long saga of love, separation, sacrifices, and regret with a cathartic curtain call.
If you’re in the mood for some old-school drama, “Auron Main Kahan Dum Tha” has the right amount of dum to be entertaining on a weekend evening.
Rating: 6 out of 10. Watch the film on Prime Video.
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October 1, 2024
Chastity High Review: Puts Dating on the Naughty List
Sneha Jaiswal (Twitter | Instagram)
Why is it that in fancy schools meant for rich kids, the smartest girl happens to be from a broke family and falls for the richest, Casanova-like dude on campus? I’ve written about how the trope is getting tiring while reviewing ‘Maxton Hall’, which is also a high-school-themed romance about the hot, rich, wild hunk courting the poor scholarship girl. Fortunately, Netflix’s Japanese series ‘Chastity High’ manages to be interesting despite its protagonist’s clichéd romantic life, because the primary focus is on how Ichica Arisawa, a model student, begins to blackmail other kids whenever she catches them violating the school’s ridiculously strict ‘no dating’ rule. She calls herself the ‘Love Keeper’ – she ensures nobody’s dating life makes it to the principal’s office for a price, as she decides to secretly pay off loan sharks hounding her mother.
Created by Soshi Masumoto, Yuka Yasukawa, and Ryo Ota, ‘Chastity High’ spans eight episodes and stars Ai Mikami as the primary protagonist, Ichica Arisawa. Episode one begins with the merger of Ichica’s expensive all-girls’ school with a boys’ school, prompting the Principal (Shinobu Terajima) to set up strict rules barring students from having intimate contact with the opposite sex, not just on campus, but also off campus! Students are outraged at the draconian rule, the punishment for which is either suspension or even expulsion. The student council is tasked with keeping an eye on their classmates and is encouraged to spy on students even after school hours, their vigilance soon gaining the hilarious moniker – “rabbit hunting.” When Ichica’s single working mother is unable to pay her term fee, Ichica uses these new rules for her own financial benefit by offering to save couples from being caught.
While the premise is almost dystopian in nature (banning hormonal teenagers from dating? Really?), ‘Chastity High’ explores the stories of different kinds of young couples in love – some sweet, others bitter. At the same time, there’s the other side of the coin: students obsessively spying on each other to get others in trouble while they should be studying or, well, having fun. The Principal seems like the antagonist, but she is very clear about her agenda – she doesn’t want students getting knocked up, both for their benefit and the school’s, which is built up like a secret – “ooh, that’s her true intention” – even though it’s quite obvious from the start. And even though it isn’t explicitly stated, the themes of the show astutely underlines how it’s ultimately the girls who pay a higher price for a steamy relationship gone wrong. It will definitely divide viewers over whether private institutions should be allowed to put curbs on the private lives of their students.
Ai Mikami strongly anchors ‘Chastity High’ as Ichica, a smart teen weighed down by financial burdens foisted upon her mother by her ex-husband. For Ichica’s her rich classmates, the fee she charges to keep their affairs secret is peanuts. She is a “rabbit hunter” by day, and come evening, she becomes the “Love Keeper,” saving teen couples from getting suspended or expelled. But she herself runs the danger of becoming a victim of the harsh rule when she finds herself attracted to “bad boy” Maki Ryogo (Miyase Ryubi), a wealthy, flirtatious brat whose father, Maki Akira (Ishiguro Ken), is a big donor to the school, and whose elder brother, Maki Haruto (Asaka Kodai), is a teacher. Obviously, to make the brat seem more humane, ‘Chastity High’ writers give him daddy issues – Ishiguro Ken’s Akira is a tyrant at home, an insufferable patriarch, a wife-beater, and a manipulative, hateful father. His brother’s character is no better: a teacher who has an affair with an underage student, one of the most problematic subplots, where there’s barely any censure of the inappropriate relationship.
The cinematography for ‘Chastity High’ is just as visually engaging as most Netflix high-school romances featuring fancy schools; the color palette is somewhere between the dark, edgy ‘Elite’ and the bright, bubbly ‘Heartstopper’. The background music is upbeat, featuring an eclectic mix of tracks ranging from Japanese to English, and even German numbers.
As mentioned earlier, Ichica’s blooming romance with Maki Ryogo is very predictable and kind of boring, even though the chemistry between the characters is sweet. And even though Miyase Ryubi has his charms as Ryogo, he feels miscast in the part, and a lot of other younger characters in the show might’ve pulled off his rebellious character better. For instance, Toyoda Yudai who plays Ryogo’s handsome, playful best-friend Miyama Asuka, or Mizusawa Rintaro who portrays the introverted Kanda Atsushi, a member of the student council with an unhealthy crush on Ichica.
The last few episodes of ‘Chastity High’ aren’t as gripping as the first half of the show, but the series is driven by a talented ensemble cast. Although a lot of the characters would’ve benefited from more screen time, and maybe each young couple could’ve used an entire chapter to themselves, instead of brief glimpses into their romantic lives. I would’ve liked to see more of Kanemitsu Honoka’s Nonami Koharu, a wealthy student who serves as a trigger for Ichica’s ‘Love Keeper’ scheme at school. Nonami is a practical, sweet, rich girl, who knows when and how to get out of sticky situations, and is entertainingly portrayed by the actor. It took me a few seconds to recognize Honda Kyoya (saw him last in Jack o’ Frost), who looked refreshingly youthful as Ichinose Ruka, a closeted student who is outed due to the no-dating rule, but embraces his sexuality openly and questions the school’s double-standards over the way his case is dealt with.
The climactic episodes center around Ichica and other students challenging the draconian ‘no dating’ rule, with a “school versus students” face-off over the issue. This could’ve been a lot more charged and exciting than the tepid showdown we are served, so the ending feels underwhelming. Regardless, a clever little twist at the end promises that Ichica’s battles are far from over. If you’re looking for a high-school drama with multiple leads and enjoy the “rich person falls for poor person” trope, this makes for an entertaining watch.
Rating: 6 on 10. Watch ‘Chastity High’ on Netflix.
Also Read: Nobody Wants This Review – The RomCom We Need (Short Audio Version below)
September 30, 2024
Sugar Dog Life Review: Filling Plates, Romance on a Diet
Sneha Jaiswal (Twitter | Instagram)
As a non-Japanese viewer, the title Sugar Dog Life AKA Shugaa Doggu Raifu is a little lost on me, and I am assuming it could maybe (emphasis on ‘maybe’) be a euphemism for ‘Sugar Daddy Life’ because it’s a romance between a 30-year-old cop and a 20-year-old college student. But the cop is a friendly, neighborhood angel, always helping old ladies cross roads and cheering up people, like a therapy dog—not the ‘sexy daddy cop’ hero from steamy romance novels.
Based on the manga by Yoriko, the nine-episode Japanese romantic drama Sugar Dog Life (シュガードッグライフ) is directed by Honda Ryuichi and Ouchi Takahiro. The plot follows Sakuraba Isumi (Tanaka Koki), a cute university student who loves to cook and is an active participant in a food club that he frequents with his best friends Nakagawa Yohei (Uemura Souta) and Shoji Rihito (Raiku). One day, he is almost taken into custody by a cop named Amasawa Kyosuke (Tawada Hideya), who mistakes Isumi for an underage kid while loitering late at night with a drink in hand. The two begin running into each other in the neighborhood, and Isumi starts making home-cooked meals for Amasawa, leading to an unexpected friendship between them.
Sugar Dog Life is a cutesy, food-based romance, where most episodes feature an eager Isumi cooking meals for his new cop friend Amasawa because Amasawa usually buys frozen meals from the store where Isumi works part-time. So just like Kohei and Taichi bond over delicious plates in Hidamari ga Kikoeru AKA I Hear The Sunspot, another popular manga turned live-action series, Isumi and Amasawa also grow close while eating together. But Amasawa is completely clueless about Isumi’s growing romantic feelings for him, so there’s mild comedy over their “situationship.”
Despite all the delectable dishes viewers get to see throughout the nine episodes, the plot for Sugar Dog Life is very generic and bland, so the chemistry between Tanaka Koki and Tawada Hideya barely stands out. They feel like bros hanging out, having a chat, sharing a meal, so their interactions aren’t exciting to watch. Instead, the most fun bit in this series was Isumi’s overprotective friend Yohei fussing over Isumi. He is aptly referred to as Isumi’s ‘monster parent’ by their other BFF Rihito, who spends all his time on the phone.
Honestly, nothing really stands out in Sugar Dog Life. It’s a light, cozy-looking show; the romance elements aren’t strong, and the characters are kind of forgettable. At the same time, it’s the kind of show you can watch when you’re in the mood for a straightforward, regular, old-school-style romance about two clueless people falling in love with each other. I enjoyed the Japanese series Our Dining Table a lot more, which, like its title suggests, is centered on food.
Rating for Sugar Dog Life: 6 out of 10.
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Jailbreak: Love on the Run Documentary Review
Sneha Jaiswal (Twitter | Instagram)
“It’s like a disgusting romance novel”
An interviewee says this about the events involving her former colleague Vicky White, a corrections officer who helped a dangerous criminal escape from prison because she was having an affair with him.
The Netflix documentary Jailbreak: Love on the Run is 1 hour and 28 minutes long and first establishes Vicky White’s personality—a fifty-something corrections officer who was the boss-woman at the Lauderdale County Jail in Alabama. Former colleagues recall Vicky as a very hardworking woman who put in seventeen years of service at the place and basically ran the show. So when she ran away with Casey White (the same surname is a coincidence), who was serving a 75-year jail term for a string of crimes, everybody was shocked. However, a few inmates were already aware of something brewing between Casey and Vicky White.
The jailbreak took place in 2022, and the documentary features recorded audio calls between Casey and Vicky over a period of two years, many of which were sexual in nature. There’s also a lot of cam footage of Vicky and Casey from the Lauderdale facility. The quality is very grainy, and except for lending some authenticity to this over-stretched documentary, it doesn’t do much for the storytelling.
Jailbreak: Love on the Run should’ve simply been an episode in a true-crime documentary series, like Netflix’s Worst Ex Ever, with a crisper one-hour runtime or maybe even shorter. A lot of the documentary is simply about Vicky’s former colleagues repeating the same sentiments—’oh, she was so hardworking’/’she was very diligent’/’she ran the place.’ Apart from this, it also features a few ex-convicts who served time at the Lauderdale facility, giving their testimony and romanticizing the sordid affair.
Vicky is made out to be some sort of old, gullible, lonely victim who was manipulated by a shrewd career criminal—which is probably true to some extent. However, given that she was a corrections officer for seventeen long years, always surrounded by dangerous criminals, it’s ridiculous to paint her as the victim. It seemed that everybody knew she was slightly ‘soft’ on the inmates, and if that was really the case, maybe she shouldn’t have been in charge of the place at all.
The documentary unwittingly highlights a bigger problem than law enforcement being betrayed by one of their own—the overcrowding of prisons and the lack of enough force to keep things under control. Vicky was able to help Casey escape the prison with unprecedented ease; she said he had a court hearing and offered to take him to court alone. Nobody objected because they were understaffed, even though it was absurd to let a lone woman escort a much younger, hulking criminal—Casey White was 6 feet 9 inches tall. From their flirtatious calls to months-long planning of running away together, the documentary coherently charts how Vicky orchestrated the escape and triggered a nationwide search for her and her lover. It’s definitely the stuff for a pulpy crime-romance, all right.
It’s very clear that the story makes for a better movie script than a dry documentary. I could imagine Kate Winslet playing Vicky and actor Timothy Simons (recently seen in ‘Nobody Wants This’) portray Casey, largely owing to his height. There’s a 2022 movie titled Prisoner of Love inspired by the case, starring Nicholle Tom and Adam Mayfield, on Tubi TV. Regardless, for true-crime fans who do not know anything about the Casey White prison-break case, Jailbreak: Love on the Run is a decent one-time watch.
Rating: 5 on 10. You can watch the documentary on Netflix.
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September 29, 2024
Nobody Wants This Review – Adam Brody, Kristen Bell In a RomCom We Need
Sneha Jaiswal (Twitter | Instagram)
“Is she Jewish at all?”
“There is not a single Jewish bone in her body. Unless, you put one in her.”
“Shh…”
Ashley (Sherry Cola) plays cupid for Rabbi Noah Roklov (Adam Brody) and the atheist/agnostic podcaster Joanne (Kristen Bell). While the rabbi is up for a big promotion at his church, Joanne hosts a show about sex and relationships with her sister Morgan (Justine Lupe) called ‘Nobody Wants This’. So, almost everybody views the blossoming romance between the Rabbi and the non-religious podcaster as ‘weird’, or a joke that will end soon. However, despite their contrasting lives, upbringing, and widely different emotional baggage, Noah and Joanne have the best time together.
Created by Erin Foster, the Netflix romantic comedy ‘Nobody Wants This’ is loosely inspired by Erin’s own life – she is married to a Jewish entrepreneur. When Netflix first dropped its trailer, I assumed it would be a movie, but it works so much better as a ten episode mini-series, giving its key characters just enough space to grow on you and make the show entertaining as hell.
The pilot episode starts with a low-key hilarious scene where Joanne ghosts a date and goes home with her sister to rant about how boring he was on their podcast. Meanwhile, Noah gets a slightly more serious introduction scene, with an awkward conversation with his longtime girlfriend Rebecca (Emily Arlook) for not respecting his privacy, leading to a break-up. Nine minutes into the first episode, Joanne and Noah meet at mutual friend Ashley’s party, they instantly bond as Noah helps Joanne open a bottle of wine, while casually joking about how they both love getting attention (because Joanne comes dressed in a gigantic furry coat you can see from Mars).
That’s where “Nobody Wants This” really shines best – the fun banter between its characters, the witty dialogues, and the relatable family dynamics (even though quite a few characters aren’t likable at all). Adam Brody and Kirsten Bell’s onscreen chemistry as Noah and Joanne is cute and is amplified to a cheer-worthy level due to their direct, flirty-zesty interactions. Timothy Simons is super likable as Sasha, Noah’s older brother who helps their father run the family business, and always has his brother’s back. Sasha’s bossy wife Esther (Jackie Tohn) however is completely against Joanne because Noah’s ex is Esther’s best-friend. Joanne’s love-hate relationship with her sister Morgan is endearing, one minute they are fighting and ignoring each other, the other minute they are dressed to kill and lift each other up at a party where nobody wants them.
I love that I learnt a new term by the very first episode, ‘shiksa’, a Yiddish insult for someone who is a non-Jew, but largely meant for hot blondes, or so Noah explains to Joanne. “Nobody Wants This” is actually rife with some Jewish traditions, terms, even a Bat Mitzvah celebration, but ever overdoes the religion card. Noah is the ‘cool, hot’ Rabbi, who drinks, smokes, often uses the ‘f’ word, and despite dedication to his temple, he is relaxed, laid-back, although also quite the mommy’s boy when it comes to his domineering, outspoken mum Bina Roklov (Tovah Feldshuh), who just won’t stand for him dating a shiksa. In-fact, even Joanna’s sister Morgan finds her crazy-fast moving relationship with Noah absurd. So ‘Nobody Wants This’ is the perfect title for the series, since a LOT of people are against the rabbi dating the non-religious podcaster. Of-course, most of the work falls on Joanne’s shoulders, since she is the one who has a hard time finding acceptance with Noah’s conservative tribe.
The first five episode were excellent, and I thought eventually the pace and mood of the series might dip, but ‘Nobody Wants This’ rarely lets you down, keeping up a steady, delightful tempo till the very end. Noah and Joanna go through a lots of ups and downs, but have a very healthy communication level, something that is almost always sacrificed in romantic shows and movies to throw more drama. But since Noah and Joanna already have enough fights their way due to their cultural and religious differences, they manage to a sturdy, loving team symbolizing ‘us against the world’ phrase. They do address these clashes, not in-depth, thankful at that, because it would’ve just turned the series into a philosophical or religious snooze-fest. No, the writers leave the heavier stuff for other titles.
I haven’t had so much fun watching a Netflix series since “Beef”, even though that’s a completely different genre. ‘Nobody Wants This’ is refreshingly modern, straightforward, and is perhaps a tad bit unrealistic when it comes to exploring a serious relationship between a rabbi and a gentile who doesn’t believe in organized religion, but hey, who is looking for realism in a romantic comedy? Not me! I absolutely loved ‘Nobody Wants This’ and would recommend it to anybody who loves the genre. It’s even got a great soundtrack to boot, featuring tracks by both popular artists (think Dua Lipa, Olivia Rodrigo) and other not so ‘viral’ numbers. The climax avoids the ‘grand gesture’ known to the genre, however, delivers a memorable end which leaves plenty of scope for a season two. I’d watch that too.
Rating: 9 on 10. Stream ‘Nobody Wants This’ on Netflix.
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September 28, 2024
Snow, Glass, Apples Review – Gaiman’s Gothic, Graphic Retelling
Sneha Jaiswal (Twitter | Instagram)
First of all – this book is definitely not meant for children. It’s a retelling of the Snow White fairy tale by Neil Gaiman, but it meant for adult readers (16+). ‘Snow, Glass, Apples’ brings a creepy, gothic, erotic twist to Snow White tale, told from the perspective of her step-mother, a beautiful witch married to the king of the land. Their bedroom romps are graphically depicted at the very beginning of the book, which is followed by more disturbing imagery of blood, violence, and sex through the rest of the pages.
Neil Gaiman reimagines the young princess as an evil entity, something akin to a vampire, who sucks the blood out of humans. The stepmother doesn’t truly understand what or who she is dealing with until it’s too late and then launches a hasty plan to get rid of the stepdaughter. “I do not know what manner of thing she is. None of us do.” – are the opening quotes of Snow, Glass, Apples, which is narrated by the witch Queen. Interestingly, the witch also admits she ensnared the King for herself after he was widowed, but laments that had she known the true nature of her stepchild, she would have preferred dying over vying for the crown.
The illustrations by Colleen Doran are stunning, while the witch queen is blonde-beautiful and richly draped in finery befitting a queen, the young princess – Snow White – is pale, black-haired, and equally enchanting to look at, like a bejeweled royal from Arabian Nights. The artwork is rich, colorful, and will remind readers of illustrated fantasy books from the 1990s.
‘Snow, Glass, Apples’ uses all the familiar motifs, and plot twists from the more famous version of the tale, spinning them all differently. You have the magic mirror, dwarfs, the poisoned apples, and even the Prince falling in love with the malevolent princess over her beauty. And just like the original tale from the Brothers Grimm, in this version too, the Prince falls in love with the dead Snow White, exhibiting his madness and affinity for necrophilia.
The climax is disturbing, morbid, and tragic, highlighting how it’s the victor who gets to tell the story – Snow White wins and casts the queen as the villain. If you enjoy dark, twisted versions of familiar tales, definitely check this book out. It’s less than 100 pages long and I was completely hooked to the story and artwork.
Rating: 4 on 5.
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Ulajh Review: Tangled Tale of Treachery and Twists
Sneha Jaiswal (Twitter | Instagram)
Suhana Bhatia is a daddy’s girl, determined to prove her worth as an IFS officer, placing her work over everything else to make her family of career diplomats proud. So, when a big promotion comes her way, she becomes a pawn in a political conspiracy involving India and Pakistan.
Directed by Sudhanshu Saria (‘Sanaa’/’Big Girls Don’t Cry’), the 2024 Bollywood thriller ‘Ulajh’ stars Janhvi Kapoor as Suhana, the protagonist who gets mixed up in a high-stakes plot whose true scale she cannot even fathom—at least not in the beginning.
Roshan Mathew and Meiyang Chang play Suhana’s frosty colleagues Sebin Kutty and Jacob Tamang, who both think she stole Tamang’s position through nepotism and family links. Gulshan Devaiah plays Suhana’s potential love interest Nakul, a multilingual chef who charms her soon after her arrival in London.
The first big twist of “Ulajh” is predictable and borderline infuriating (at least for women viewers) due to its datedness, but, well, it looks like some old tropes never go out of fashion. Without giving away a spoiler, I’ll just say that Suhana finds herself in the same situation that triggers all the unfortunate events in the popular thriller “Drishyam” (the first one).
‘Ulajh’ strikes a disparate balance between reality and exaggeration; while some scenes are engaging and believable, there are many other parts that are far too absurd. For instance, towards the second half, Suhana and another character go on a very Mission: Impossible-style trip to figure out a mole in RAW and uncover their dastardly plot. Blackmail, unexpected murders, and assassination attempts are peppered throughout the film.
Gulshan Devaiah is fantastic as the chameleon-like Nakul, while Janhvi Kapoor is adequately convincing as a woman who is too young for the high-ranking promotion she receives. Suhana is shown as a serious patriot who gets trapped in dangerous quicksand that forces her into committing treason. Malayalam star Roshan Mathew’s (‘Night Drive’/ ‘Darlings’) character Sebin Kutty, comes to the forefront in the second half of ‘Ulajh,’ where his and Suhana’s paths collide as they are both on their own personal missions. Sebin starts off as an angry, sexist, young man, who cannot stand Suhana, but is able to be professional when the need arises. One of the most fun scenes in ‘Ulajh’ was were Sebin suddenly breaks into a rant in Malayalam because he is frustrated over things going south for him.
The music of ‘Ulajh’ is an eclectic mix – the song that plays while Nakul courts Suhana doesn’t sync well with their romance. However, a Sufi-themed track—a soulful song called ‘Ilahi Mere Rubaroo,’ composed by Shashwat Sachdev—at the end of the film blends perfectly with the onscreen events.
The climax is predictable, far-fetched, and ‘filmy’ if you must, but overall, it’s a pretty entertaining thriller that is gripping for the most part.
Rating: 6 out of 10. You can watch ‘Ulajh’ on Netflix.
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September 27, 2024
Tam Bir Centilmen – A True Gentleman Review
Sneha Jaiswal (Twitter | Instagram)
Saygin is a handsome, strapping sex worker, whose clientele is largely rich, old women in need for some spice and entertainment in their lives. However, things get complicated for Saygin his wealthiest client, Serap (Senay Gürler), demands that he exclusively serve her, but he finds himself falling for her daughter’s beautiful best-friend Nehir (Ebru Sahin).
Directed by Onur Bilgetay, the Turkish Netflix movie “A True Gentleman” (Original title: Tam Bir Centilmen) miserably fails at being the raunchy romance it tries to be. While Çagatay Ulusoy is convincing as the charming Saygin, who looks like the Turkish Gatsby, the plot is blandly predictable in the first half and is further dragged down by his unbearable brother Kado (Haki Biçici), an obnoxious, arrogant good-for-nothing guy who treats women poorly and has a drug problem.
First off, Çagatay Ulusoy and Haki Biçici do not look like siblings at all, which is fine, but Haki’s Kado is like an older thug, with no charm whatsoever, yet Saygin keeps promoting Kado to his own clients. He goes as far as recommending Kado for Serap’s daughter (Nazli Bulum) when she talks about her daughter suffering from insecurities. Saygin suggests that Kado could court/compliment the young girl and boost her ego, which is absurd, because if a guy like Kado came on to a girl at a bar, she would ideally be freaked out, creeped out, or feel a host of other things that do not resemble feeling flattered.
Çagatay Ulusoy and Ebru Sahin look good together, the onscreen sparks are there, however, the pair is stuck in the wrong movie. Their chemistry doesn’t save ‘A True Gentleman’, which never gets its thematic tone right and suddenly throws in a tragic twist before a happier ending rolls in. If you want to watch a romance about a male sex worker, the Bollywood Netflix series “Tribhuvan Mishra CA Topper” is far more entertaining, it’s raunchy, funny, with its own fair share of drama and tragedy.
‘A True Gentleman’ is also available on Netflix.
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