Monthly Archives: February 2023

TV Reviews

TV Review: Farzi

STORY

Sunny is an artist and Firoz, is a printer. Both of them work in a printing press that is run by Sunny’s grandfather. When the printing business hit a crisis and runs out of solutions, Sunny decides to generate money by making counterfeit money.

INTRODUCTION

Released on Amazon Prime Video, Farzi is an Indian black-comedy action series starring Shahid Kapoor. During its eight-episode run, we come to know that the show is set in the same universe as Manoj Bajpayee-starrer ‘The Family Man‘. Directed by the filmmaking duo Raj & DK, Farzi was first planned to be a film years ago but then they decided to make a series.

REVIEW

Looking at its story and the continuity, Farzi is a kind of project that is flexible to be shaped into a film as well as a tv series. The plus point for deciding to stretch Farzi is that the audience got the whole exposure of printing currency and running a business out of it. Officer Michael’s life was focused as well as Megha’s.

But when you stretch the details, the screenplay of the tv series notions development in the central story. I feel this is the area where Farzi is weak because Farzi easily could have been a four-episode show. The writing’s commitment to action and comedy drops the quality in the second half of the season.

I like the plot, it is fresh for the audience with a Narcos-tic narration by Shahid Kapoor. Some minor points raised were sharp like the minister and other attendees not listening to the presentation, Megha and her mother’s typical calls, Michael speaking with his wife and family in Tamil and English, etc. I wanted Michael’s scenes with his family completely without Hindi but it is okay.

Presenting the show in a non-linear way was also a good idea. The dialogues were natural but on several counts, I felt the dialogues went cheesy.

Farzi has plenty of errors in writing. Officer Michael’s disrespectful conduct in conversation with the minister was quite surprising. Just because you have his private pictures, doesn’t mean that you can try to annoy a minister that often and he will tolerate that much.

I have never understood the Bollywood logic. Why the friend of the leading character is always silly and ultra-loyalist to him? Why cannot the directors level the personalities of two or more friends? When the press is demanded to open, uncle Yasir goes cold as the dead body. How come the police and Megha do not suspect Yasir of lying or hiding something from them?

The action sequence in the season finale was quite stretched and boring. The cops repeatedly running towards the front and back was so stupid.

The worst character of the show is Mansoor Dalal played by such a quality actor like Kay Kay Menon. A very stereotypical villain who thinks he is funny but merciless. There was no originality in his antagonism. It was like just another clone of a psycho pretending to be a psycho.

CLOSING REMARKS

What propels me to watch ‘Farzi’ is the continuity of the story that is set toward the next season and Shahid Kapoor’s performance. With age, his mental strength in acting has gone better, and improved his skill in depicting anger and frustration.

I am not sure if Vijay Sethupati has worked on a Hindi project before but it was absolute fun to listen to him uttering thick curse words in his Tamilian Hindi. I am happy to see Amol Palekar but it looks visible that his acting has faded. What took him so long to return to acting?

Those who are willing to try a black-comedy action series with an interesting plot can try this.

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Film Reviews

Film Review: Argentina, 1985 (2022)

STORY

In 1985, prosecutors Julio César Strassera and Luis Moreno Ocampo fights a criminal case against the military dictators that ruled Argentina from 1976 to 1983. When Strassera is unable to recruit lawyers to form his prosecution team, then Ocampo joins his cause and shockingly recruits a bunch of young law graduates and amateur lawyers to take on the most powerful people in the country.

HISTORICAL BACKGROUND

The Argentine military led by Jorge Rafael Videla seized political power during the 1976 coup against Isabel Perón. When the military established their government, they proceeded to launch their state terrorism campaign which is famously known as the ‘Dirty War‘ that lasted until 1983.

Under this campaign, around 9,000 to 30,000 civilians including the supporters of Perón were either killed or forcibly disappeared. Many of the victims were tortured and were put to extrajudicial murder.

For these intolerable crimes against humanity, the ‘Trial of the Juntas‘ happened two years after the military dictatorship collapsed in 1983 severely after losing the Falklands War against the British. This trial was a historical moment because, for the first time, a civil justice convicted a military dictatorship. And this trial is what the film ‘Argentina, 1985‘ is based on.

REVIEW

The film with all its seriousness finds a narrative way that is convincing for the audience. It is a well-directed film. In 140 screen minutes, the film covers the difficulties the prosecutor Strassera faced, the efforts of the young prosecution team in building a solid case against the criminals, the addresses of the victims that were painful, and many more.

Strassera is the central figure of the film where the writing acknowledges how stressful it was to take the case as well as look after the family. Ocampo, who worked with him in this trial, was also severely under-pressure. There is a sequence where Ocampo is scared of something bad occurring in the court. I liked that part of giving the audience a horror image of the prosecutors who are playing with fire and are unable to hold their temporary mental catastrophe.

The courtroom drama is absolutely not dramatic to the usual standards that we often watch. And due to this reason, the audience will get a real feel of the proceedings. The real heart of the film is in the middle that will boil the blood listening to the tortures the witnesses suffered when they testify in the cross-examination phase, particularly of Adriana Calvo.

HISTORICAL ACCURACY

As far as accuracy is concerned, the film has used real footage to level the dramatization. A few aspects of the writing are true but some of the scenes looked to be exaggerated like the prosecutor and Viola making insulting gestures, judges at the restaurant, Judith mocking the lawyer, and the interviews of the young graduates, etc.

Strassera’s closing argument is around nine minutes of screen time which indicates how significant this address was for justice and the people of Argentina. The audience may feel that the closing argument had no intensity and Strassera just read the argument. But this is exactly how Strassera, in real, addressed the court. The spectators getting jubilant and emotional with a standing ovation is all in the footage.

THE TITLE

The makers surely had plenty of options to entitle the film. The most fitting could have been ‘Juicio a las Juntas’ (Trial of the Juntas) but they chose ‘Argentina, 1985’. That leads to a few theories that make this title a more fitting title than ‘Juicio a las Juntas’. The most compelling theory is that this year was a defining moment in the country’s history that learned from the political mess and shaped the country for better economic and social growth.

CLOSING REMARKS

I am not sure how often an Argentine or Spanish film has dramatized this event before. But I feel that this was the need of the hour. The fall of the military dictatorship is considered the re-independence of the country.

This historical drama successfully highlights how the judicial system of a country sets an example for others and brings dangerous people to justice. I wanted to watch a short dramatization of military violence to initiate this film. Looks incomplete without it. But in all sorts, ‘Argentina, 1985’ has set the bar high for courtroom dramas. And addressed their national crisis with justice.

Nunca más!

RATING: 8.3/10

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Film Reviews

Film Review: Emily (2022)

STORY

Nearing her death and after the publication of her novel, Emily Brontë remembers her troubled past when she and her brother Branwell spent their time playing, drinking, and scaring people out. During all this, a handsome curate William Weightman becomes a frequent visitor to the Brontës. And he and Emily, out of nowhere, develops a romantic affair.

THE BRONTËS

British literature history will never forget that one of the houses in Yorkshire produced not one, not two but three writers who at such young ages wrote one of the most beloved novels. They were three sisters; Charlotte, Emily, and Anne. Charlotte wrote ‘Jane Eyre‘. Emily’s only published novel was ‘Wuthering Heights‘. And Anne, the youngest of them, wrote only two novels in her lifetime, ‘Agnes Grey‘ and ‘The Tenant of Wildfell Hall‘.

This tendency of minimal but significant writing makes us believe that blessed literary prodigies came into existence who left this world at such young ages. They would certainly have done wonders had they all lived longer.

REVIEW

The film dramatizes all the family members and centralizes on Emily by reimagining her life with creative liberties. Unsure if the writing of Emily’s character in the film is accurate. But I get the motive that the filmmakers wanted the audience to understand why Emily chose to be sadistic as compared to the other sisters.

The dramatization of the old British era has always been on point. So the technicalities were not the primary concern for me. My keenness towards the film was to observe if Emily Brontë is characterized by the personal rank that justifies her significance to the birth of ‘Wuthering Heights’. Therefore, I couldn’t settle myself into that presentation.

EMILY AS EMILY

Something looked off in the writing. And that persistently is Emily’s portrayal of herself. Because she was an introvert, a timid and reserved woman who sometimes was unable to speak in public. She was a daydreamer who is understood to have created her own fictional universe. She was considered ‘The Strange One’. But the hows and whys of being ‘The Strange One’ were not fully understood.

And due to the reason Emily is so unknown to us, the filmmakers gave their vision and took liberty about her life and tried to reason it. But a fictional reimagination will come to debate when you alter the timeline or historical accuracies.

HISTORICAL INACCURACIES

For example, the film shows that ‘Wuthering Heights’ is published under her name whereas it was published under her name after her death. The Brontë sisters used male pseudonyms for publishing novels because the author being a woman was quite unthinkable and there was a fear of rejection that would hurt the publishing company’s business. Thank Lord, how much the world has progressed from there.

Charlotte’s ‘Jane Eyre’ doesn’t revolve around the film and is depicted in a way that she got that inspiration after Branwell and Emily died. Whereas ‘Jane Eyre’ happened before ‘Wuthering Heights’. If this is all intentional, for me, it makes no sense. The power of writing compromises for lacking critical factualities.

Affair with Weightman?

The biggest mess is Emily shown to be in love with William Weightman. There is no trace or fact-finding if Emily ever fell in love. And then I also question, how come she wrote ‘Wuthering Heights’? The principal curator of Brontë Parsonage Museum, Ann Dinsdale, has told The Telegraph that there is no evidence that Emily had a love affair with anyone. William Weightman is rumored to have an affair with the youngest sister, Anne.

So the director tried to squeeze the younghood of feminine liberty and didn’t only make Emily kiss William Weightman but commit multiple intercourses. Unsure of how far you can go with the character. Not being a conservative here but I believe Emily would have been written much better.

THE BIGGEST PLUS

Yes, I must praise Emma Mackay‘s selection for the titular role. She really fitted in that character and gave us a thorough look at the suffering and desperation. The devastation that she throws on William is what I am talking about.

CLOSING REMARKS

‘Emily’ is an assumption galvanizing a possibility of vibrance in Emily Brontë’s supposedly love life. But the attempt of justifying the What-Ifs is ridiculed by passive writing.

RATING: 6/10

 

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TV Reviews

TV Review: Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee

Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee (CCGC) was Jerry Seinfeld‘s talk show on the streaming service, Crackle, and later on Netflix. The aim of the show was for Jerry to pick up some celebrities (mostly comedians) in vintage cars, drive with each of them to numerous roads, check in some restaurants, sip coffee together, talk about comedy, friendship, life, and many things, and call it a day by dropping off to their residence.

I say that this was a unique format for hosting a talk show. You do not have to sit your ass in a studio and speak to your host. Instead, enjoy one fine evening with Jerry in some classic car, roaming the streets, eating and drinking somewhere, and informally chatting your heart out.

I am unsure if there has been a similar concept in the past. The closest I recall is Robert Llewellyn‘s Carpool which began three years before CCGC. Jerry was unaware of the show but apologized to Robert on Twitter for not knowing about it after CCGC was finished.

Jerry stated that he met a lot of people through this show whom he never met before and are now friends. Isn’t that a wonderful thing? Two strangers from the same showbiz talking about life while driving around, eating and drinking together, and during all this, finding common grounds in what they stand for, which eventually befriends them. Although, CCGC is a rich show with well-known people spending their time together in some expensive hotels or restaurants eating and drinking a lot. But I just imagine, what if we common people try to find common grounds and casually hang around for an evening? Will this not be a quality moment of our lives to live with?

I take this show a lot personally with an understanding that there are moments in my life that I have spent and like to spend with a particular friend in my or their cars and do exactly what Jerry and his friends did. The format of the show is fresh to me and we all can relate to that. Because there is no narrative, there is no fake exchange of mood for overdramatic and commercial appeal. Because this is what this show is about – spending quality time with someone and talking about life.

Jerry’s questions about habits, moods, aims, behaviors, and manners; his questions are very human. And then Jerry and his friends discuss these things in the car or in some restaurants at length. And makes the audience realize that this kind of communication is badly missing. We really do not point out a certain matter and speak it to a friend unless that has something to do with them.

Jerry had his fair share of celebrities to hang around with. Some were A-list comedians like Jim Carrey, Will Ferrell, Ricky Gervais, Chris Rock, Dave Chappelle, Kevin Hart, Steve Martin, Martin Short, some classic-era biggies like Jerry Lewis, Carl Reiner, Mel Brooks, and Don Rickles, and there were some with limited success. Yes, each of Seinfeld’s majors showed up.

It is hard to pick which was the best of all episodes because many of Jerry’s meetings had a particular room of enjoyment. Although Jerry is done with CCGC, I feel even after 11 seasons and 84 episodes, he could have invited a lot of celebrities. I feel celebrities like Steve Carell, Billy Crystal, Kelsey Grammer, Ray Romano, Wayne Knight, Woody Allen, Ed O’Neill, Amy Poehler, and many more would have made a terrific meeting with Jerry.

Why CCGC is so distinctive is because we all see ourselves in them when well-known people hang around and speak like us. And makes us believe that showbiz biggies are us who recovered from difficult paths and pushed their luck from sad stories and earned their way. All we need is an inspiring story that can motivate us after listening to or watching them speak about their struggles.

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Film Reviews

Film Review: Babylon (2022)

STORY

In 1926, a Mexican immigrant Manuel ‘Manny’ Torres gets involved with Nellie LaRoy in a wild crazy party run by a film studio executive. Soon, Manny gets a job in the studio and Nellie becomes a star. But fates begin to change when the golden silence meets its voice and the pictures go talkie.

REVIEW

Babylon is a time traveler to America where the booming period of the silent era was soon meeting its end. By that time, many actors and filmmakers had found success and earned a lot of money because watching silent films across America was still fresh. I am talking about feature films in America that began in 1915 when ‘The Birth of a Nation‘ was released.

So this film is not based on a real-life event but is inspired by a few stories of that period. Director Damien Chazelle briefed the audience and puzzled into a story. The purpose is to show that many successful artists and production companies of the silent era couldn’t make it and got liquidated. They lost their way, got vanished. Some tried to work in other business lines, some began to work hard for bread and butter, and some committed suicide.

FILM SHOOTING

The film tries to settle the audience in a mesmerizing dramatization of shooting a war scene and the struggle behind arranging the camera and managing the crew in a broad daylight. Shooting a film one hundred years ago was tormenting.

I particularly liked the sequence where Nellie had to shoot in a studio where something repeatedly messes up and has to improve in retakes without any certainty of any error in extreme heat.

PICTURING THE HISTORIC MOMENT

A scene where Manny is shocked to witness the audience going berserk in joy about a talkie scene was accurate to the actual footage Damien Chazelle used here. A few of you may have gotten the idea but let me tell you that this was a historic moment during the proceedings of the 1927 film ‘The Jazz Singer‘ when Al Jolson said “Wait a minute, wait a minute, you ain’t heard nothin’ yet”. These were the first spoken words in any feature film. And that marked the end of the silent era.

It was extremely important to show this moment to the audience and I believe it was a fabulous shot.

BACCHANALIA AT THE START

Were the parties that wild as depicted in the opening sequence? Not sure to what level of craziness can bewilder into assuming it is accurate. It was like The Great Gatsby meets The Wolf of Wall Street one hot evening. I was just lost in a marvelous production and costume designing, and heavily detailed choreography.

BLACKFACE

Another vital fact from the 1920s Babylon captures is the controversial ‘Blackface‘. It was a kind of makeup to portray a caricature of a black person. Jazz trumpeter Sidney Palmer is requested to use blackface to make his skin further dark for the Southern audience. It was heartbreaking to see Sidney’s reaction. It was an insult and who knows, how often this happened in those times.

MARGOT ROBBIE

Amongst all the performances, Margot Robbie has the standout performance. That display of incredible body language, and mental breakdown, she is a beautiful and exceptional actress. And I feel sorry for her. She deserved the nomination for Best Actress at the Oscars but couldn’t make it perhaps because the film failed at the box office. And this is what I do not like. If the film flops, so goes the chance of getting nominated.

BABYLON FLOPPED!!!

Tobey Maguire plays James McKay in Babylon from Paramount Pictures.

Babylon was financed at nearly $80 million dollars but grossed only $50 million, not domestically but worldwide. This is an outrageous business.

Now, why the film failed at the box office? Screen time is the biggest reason that clocks around 190 minutes! Three hours and ten minutes of showing the audience the transition from silent to sound and how the main characters begin to fade. I am sorry but that is kind of lazy writing that will bore the audience to death.

Damien Chazelle was lost in presenting to us his visual artistry and his idea for glamour, sexuality, hedonism, and a few more. There were many scenes that were needless. The whole Tobey Maguire segment was a waste of time and contributed nothing to the story. In fact, what is the story of Babylon? Maybe I was lost in gazing at Margot Robbie that I didn’t question the story to myself.

CLOSING REMARKS

Babylon is a beautiful distraction. Perhaps, the film works better if it is rewritten as a musical. Deservingly nominated for both costume and production design. Should have also been nominated for Best Editing. It is a massive blunder! 

Babylon wants us the see the shining stars falling from the sky and fading in the proceeding. It is like our lives; we will gloom once we age. It also shows that if you do not keep it with the world, you will lose the path. The acceptance will diminish. The remembrance will suffer amnesia.

RATING: 6.5/10

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Film Reviews

Film Review: The Elephant Whisperers (2022)

STORY

An indigenous couple in Tamil Nadu, Bellie and Boman, are mahouts and raise two orphaned elephants, Raghu and Ammu. With time and climate change, the other elephants roam in search of food and water and often get lost. But the couple does not give up and despite all the difficulties, they work hard to give Raghu and Ammu better lives.

REVIEW

‘The Elephant Whisperers‘ is a wildlife short documentary of forty minutes by Sikhiya Entertainment, a production company that has financed some distinctive films like ‘That Girl in Yellow Boots‘, ‘The Lunchbox‘, ‘Masaan‘, and ‘Pagglait’.

Debutant director Kartiki Gonsalves spent five years for extensive research on the couple to document this film. As raising animals in the wildlife is common, what makes their case worthy of the documentary is that they were the first South Indian couple to successfully raise two orphaned elephants.

It is shocking but maybe that is because the forest officers take the animals from the villagers for perhaps safety reasons, or to move them to the zoo. But whatever reason there is, it is generally painful for the pet-keepers to give away their pets. And I totally understand that feeling because my family gave away dozens of cats when it became impossible to keep them.

The beauty of this documentary lies in capturing the growth of the elephants and detailing their upbringing. The detailing of their mannerism is exciting. It is so loving to see how these animals show affection to their keepers, sit and lie with them, and become moody about their choice of eating. The villagers love and respect the elephants as equivalent to a God due to their Lord Ganesha. Decorate and take them into ceremonies to seek blessings.

Also, the documentary explores the attractive natural beauty of the region. As expected, the cinematography is compelling. If wildlife forestry does not get quality camera work, especially if the film is shot in South India, I believe 90% of the hard work for that project is a waste. The camera zooming out at a mountain from where the villagers extract honey is a spectacular shot.

CLOSING REMARKS

The purpose of the documentary (both long and short) is to gather information from the exhausting research on the project and present it with the best of productional technicalities. In forty minutes, Kartiki Gonsalves gives us the best possible insights about raising elephants in different seasons and difficult conditions.

This Netflix documentary has reached the Oscar for ‘Academy Award for Best Documentary Short Film‘. Unsure if this is Oscar worth but I am 100% sure that for animal lovers, forty minutes of life are going to be well invested.

RATINGS: 8/10

 

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Film Reviews

Film Review: Black Panther: Wakanda Forever (2022)

STORY

In the Kingdom of Wakanda, T’Challa dies of some illness. His mother leads the nation but Wakanda slowly looks to become vulnerable to the intervention of the world powers.

Wakanda is alarmed by the arrival of Namor, the King of Talokan, a civilization that lives underwater. He proposes to become allies and protect each other by striking the world powers since T’Challa revealed Wakanda’s true nature to them by the end of the first film. And then the conflict begins.

REVIEW

The sequel of Black Panther holds immense sentimental value as Chadwick Bosman passed away from colon cancer a couple of years ago. It was decided that the sequel will still continue with no new actor to replace him for Black Panther. So it became a bigger challenge to proceed like that with a story that has the potential to deservingly continue the legacy that Chadwick left.

And I fully appreciate director Ryan Coogler to come up with a story and screenplay that strengthen the continuity. T’Challa’s sister Shuri is the new Black Panther and I think no one deserves more than her after Chadwick. The large gap that T’Challa has left to fill for impactful leadership is well-directed. The emergence of Namor further intensifies Shuri’s concern as the CIA is helpless this time.

During all this, Queen Ramonda gets a much more solid outing this time as compared to the previous film. And Angela Bassett has given a pretty remarkable performance, especially the scene where she breaks down and laments. Angela’s best feature about her role is the body language of grief that was carried well. She already had lost her husband in Civil War and her son at the start. And then Shuri got kidnapped.

Letitia Wright as Shuri in Marvel Studios’ Black Panther: Wakanda Forever. Photo courtesy of Marvel Studios. © 2022 MARVEL.

Surely, everyone heartfelt the funeral of T’Challa at the beginning. But my objection here is why none of the Avengers showed up at the funeral. I understand that the whole fighting crew will not assemble and attend the funeral of every superhero in the Marvel Cinematic Universe when they die like Iron Man. But this was a different case due to the real death of an actor. And I loved how the MCU’s traditional opening credits fully honored him. He deserved that.

One can easily differentiate the directional artistry of this Wakanda Forever from most of the MCU films. The tone is serious and looks pretty much for a mature audience. The film slipped only once when Shuri and Okoye go to collect Riri.

SHAPING ‘YOUNG AVENGERS’

Speaking of Riri, one must have noticed that in the last couple of years, MCU has introduced young superheroes. Eli Bradley a.k.a. Patriot made a debut in The Falcon and The Winter Soldier, Hawkeye introduced Kate Bishop, Kamala Khan had her own show, Multiverse of Madness introduced America Chavez. Cassie Lang is to be properly introduced in Quantumania. And Hulk‘s son Skaar appeared in She-Hulk‘s last episode. Billy and Tommy were introduced in WandaVision and may develop their alter-egos of Wiccan and Speed in the upcoming Agatha series.

Shuri herself is quite young and now introduces Riri who is Ironheart. Ironheart is quite a new comic character created by Brian Michael Bendis that made debut a few years ago. She will have her own show later this year.

But my point is that maybe, a superhero team of Young Avengers is shaping that may assemble possibly in ‘Avengers: The Kang Dynasty‘. Just a theory from a comic geek. Although Doctor Strange is now leading the MCU, it will be awesome to see Peter Parker and Shuri lead the Young Avengers.

TALOKAN KING

I am very much delighted to see Namor’s debut. Although I am unsure if the origin story the film ran is accurate to comics because I have never read him but I liked the connection to how he is brought to this exciting world. So if you have any knowledge of how accurate is Namor in comics, share it with me.

CLOSING REMARKS

Black Panther: Wakanda Forever is a rare DNA amongst its equals in the MCU and deserves praise for being a film that stood for its story and matured well. Yes, at a length of 160 minutes, the film did slow down in the middle but justified because Namor was to be detailed. But the legacy of Wakanda and T’Challa has neither faded nor been ruined. It is convincingly amongst the best films Marvel Studios has ever produced.

RATING: 8.4/10

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Film Reviews

Film Review: AlKhallat+ (2023)

INTRODUCTION

Four years ago, a Saudi production and financing group, Telfaz11, started a series of 22 episodes called ‘Al-Khallat‘ on their Youtube channel. It was a massive hit in the region and immediately garnered attention. Because the Al-Khallat series stood for its rich presentation of social elements in the shape of skits that screened in a range between 15 and 35 minutes each episode.

In November 2020, Telfaz11 signed a deal with Netflix that will produce eight films in the future. This partnership was inevitable after the immediate success of the anthology series ‘Six Windows in the Desert‘. So, recently released, AlKhallat+ is Netflix’s first Saudi film. A historical moment in Saudi entertainment history.

Al-Khallat+ is an anthology film of four stories that are directed by Fahad Alammari. Each of the stories is based on lies and deception. Al-Khallat+ is a situational comedy that establishes a wind-blown-out-of-nowhere trajectory where the characters find themselves jeopardizing to survive embarrassment.

Al-Khallat+ is the upgrade of the original work with obvious high-production values and freedom of expression that aids in developing better storytelling than ever. Each of the stories is ranged half an hour and promises the audience to present short segments that are fresh, interesting, and funny.

STORIES

The film’s opener has a bunch of tire thieves sneaking into a wedding to save their partner in crime who is caught by a family whose girl is getting married. In the next story, a chef in an upscale restaurant arranges dinner for her parents to give one last shot at saving the marriage. In the third story, a friend of the deceased tries to hide his extramarital affair from his wailing wife. In the final story, a father and son are mistakenly stuck in a nightclub after the former finds out that the latter is there.

REVIEW

The entire film with four stories is shot at night. Why? Is there something that I am missing while trying to observe? Perhaps, day. I noticed that the first two stories had old cars. I liked that idea to disjoint an understanding that always goes that an Arab is always rich. Middle- and lower-class Saudi families face crises and cannot afford the luxury. The bride’s father was not going to drive his family in some luxury car for a special occasion but in a Camry. Despite the fact that the daughter works in some five-star restaurant, the family had Crown and assumingly didn’t bother considering a new car even on installments.

I must say that AlKhallat+ at some point looked to exaggerate humor. Some of the scenes were questionable. Like abducting and bullying the tire thief looked highly non-sensical. Could have called or taken him to the police and finished with him. I understand the situation was cross enough to fantasize about it for the comic. Why was the son staring and holding the teaboy for so long and calling his father when it wasn’t meant for recognising him?

The termination letter to the chef was quite shocking. Naturally, in a given scenario that messed up the business of that evening, the manager could have given her a final warning or max, suspension. But straight termination didn’t sound right.

The suspense that broke by the end of the third story was hilarious but the question is, when did the deceased’s wife sit in the ambulance? She was not inside the vehicle when the car was driven. How come the security didn’t stop the couple’s children from moving into the hotel? The boy looked clearly suspicious but went unnoticeable.

Plotholes lower the quality of writing. At the same time, the writers took care of some detailing. The way the deceased’s wife unlocked the phone and forgot to remove the specs was hilarious. The mannerism of the parents at the restaurant was on point, especially the father. Asking for a family section then partition, sitting on his legs, slippers off and incorrectly eating spaghetti. I wanted something to fall when he tries to touch her hand. Although, the daughter lost her job, but her effort reunited her parents. So it was not a loss at all.

CLOSING REMARKS

The best aspect of the film and its humor is that the writing successfully jeopardizes the situation of the characters. It is more fun to see people embroiled in an unwanted scenario. This film lives on those silly moments.

AlKhallat+ for me is the promising start of the Netflix/Telfaz11 partnership. I am very interested in comedies that find their purpose in a different story setting. After all, we all are willing to watch a comedy that is based on new parallels and settlements.

And that is the beauty of global diversity. Every country has its way of showing us comedy in its typical form. Believe it or not, Saudi entertainment actually has its way to make us laugh. Coming from a generation born and raised in Saudi Arabia and watching ‘Taash ma Taash‘ every Ramadan, Al-Khallat+ naturally made me enjoy these skits.

RATINGS: 7.5/10

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Film Reviews

Film Review: To Leslie (2022)

STORY

Six years ago, Leslie ‘Lee’ Rowlands won a lottery of $190,000. Six years later, she is a drug addict and a jobless woman.

REVIEW

‘To Leslie‘ is a two-hour indie film that focuses on a troubled woman who is wandering here and there and sleeping on the streets. She recently got kicked out of a motel. Her 20-year-old son, who has distanced himself from her, had to take her. She is struggling but the mental and physical collapse is certain due to her addiction to smoking and drinking. She is just not able to get rid of it.

This film or the character of Lee is the director’s best effort to highlight the cases of homeless people on the streets who are begging for help in form of money, job, and shelter. And Lee’s case is a sorry case. For what she did with her life, the consequences were likely.

But as the legend says that there is always an angel knocking on the door sooner or later to all of us who guides us to live a life out of nowhere. I think the film pressed that worriedness well.

ANDREA RISEBOROUGH

More than the film’s continuity as it stood predictable, I was lost in the central performance. Andrea Riseborough as Lee is a born-to-play-the-role effort. A performance that makes me assume that what I watched was not dramatized at all. I observed a woman in her misery, all helpless and lost. Rejected by society, and mocked by her own. Her body language and mannerism were just outstanding.

Just watch her when the son quarrels with the neighbor or that two-and-a-half-minute one-shot scene at the pub when Lee listens to Willie Nelson‘s ‘Are You sure‘ and goes lost and frost in melancholy. My favorite scene is the unexpected mother-son reunion. Every inch of emotion was wholeheartedly felt there.

CONTROVERSY

The speculations and controversy around Andrea’s nomination for Best Actress in this year’s Oscar are unfortunate. If the rules are violated, I am not sure if the nomination will be dropped or what. Director Michael Morris and his wife organized a “celeb-backed campaign” to get her nominated. Whereas the Academy rules forbid individuals from personally or directly lobbying voters in campaign-related communications.

CLOSING REMARKS

Whatever is happening out there. I am looking at a critical matter. What is the fate of small-budget indie films? How to reach the Oscar if the film is lesser known but has all the potential to get a couple of nominations if not a few? There has to be a way.

This film has 97% of positive backing from the aggregate of critics’ reviews on Rotten Tomatoes. But guess what, this film grossed only $27,000 in the business. But this doesn’t mean Andrea does not deserve it at all.

I recommend you watch the film for Andrea’s performance.

RATING: 7/10

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Film Reviews

Film Review: The Fabelmans (2022)

STORY

The Fabelmans are a Jewish family that lives in New Jersey. One night, Mitzi and Burt take their son Sammy to a cinema to watch ‘The Greatest Show on Earth’. Sammy takes a special interest in the action sequences and gets overwhelmed by watching a train crashing scene. This moment of his life begins to shape his fondness for filmmaking but the domestic troubles of the dysfunctional family frequently interrupt his purpose in life.

With time, he understands by working with the cameras that shooting films from different angles gives more exposure and can fetch heavy consequences.

INTRODUCTION

Sometimes, you are so successful that it becomes important to let people know that reaching this grand stage and receiving a standing ovation comes with a price. Passion for something drives you to difficult paths. There are more chances of dislikes and refusals than acceptance especially if you are white in the United States of America but not Christian.

Shaming over faith, face and name was the norm after the Great War because many European immigrants moved to America. I am not talking about the Black history here, that is a separate chapter that highlights the extreme racism and cruelty over more than 300 years. Here, I am talking about the Jewish immigrants who suffered tough times but later on, progressed.

REVIEW

The Fabelmans is the latest play from the never-aging artistry of the illustrious career of Steven Spielberg. It is his most personal film to date because Sammy Fabelman is him.

The Fabelmans is based on the Spielbergs where the legendary director opens up in all honesty about his first crush on filmmaking, the parental bridge that collapsed, the choice his parents asked him to make other than filming, the fire that ignited by distrust, and much more.

The Fabelmans are every household that relates their troubles with them. It is a drama that points out that the relationship of humans with mistakes is infinite to waste precious time in regretting something that has passed. It will hurt you all your life but the passion for something will drive you through it.

Because, it is a hybrid of psychology and philosophy that when you love something that begins to construct your life on that, the herbs of agitation and pains of the troubling past connect with it. And I observed this theory of mine perfectly dramatized in ‘The Fabelmans’. As much as Sammy Fabelman grew on his passion, the subjectivity of life’s precious discomforts become more visible in his work.

TURNING POINT

Can you observe what was the turning point in the film? Where did Sammy find chutzpah? If we simplify the plot, the family blessed and broke him as the story continued to age. But where was the moment he came to the senses that propelled him to follow his heart like never before? It was when Uncle Boris gave him a life lesson.

That was a significant moment in Sammy’s life. The words that fall from Uncle Boris’ mouth were that of Merlin. Whatever he uttered became true in the remainder of the film.

“Art will give you crowns and laurels on earth. But, it will tear your heart out and leave you lonely. You’ll be a shanda for your loved ones.”

A kind of life lesson only an old-timer can utter. Judd Hirsch has given a performance of a lifetime. Imagine the weight of a performance that gets an actor nominated for an Oscar who appeared in the film for ONLY NINE MINUTES. That body language and mental strength at the age of 87 are so hard to observe nowadays.

METICULOUS DRAMATIC SCREENPLAY

The biggest plus of the film being so emotionally deep to the director is that the film doesn’t struggle to settle for emotions. In a space of 150 minutes, the story of Fabelmans grows with a meticulous screenplay. The first dinner talk, the siblings’ experimental plays, and the tornado scene that develops Mitzi’s mental showdown that had created doubts for the audience before.

Mitzi’s nightgown dance on the camping trip was so meaningful and highlighted the behavioral attitudes of different characters that actually grew throughout the film. Even before the daughter ran to her, we all felt awkward.

Sammy discovering the shocking moment in the reel was so hard-hitting. The fluctuation of the mother-son relation was well dramatized. Spielberg dramatized the sudden intensity so perfectly. The mother-son violence sequence was a jaw-dropper.

The anti-Semetic bullying scenes at the school were blood-boiling. How helpless a boy can be? I am surprised that no one took action for that.

And those Sam-Monica moments were every young spectator’s warm sentiments building the hormones and uncontrollable feelings. Richard Linklater! Was that you directing those Sam-Monica scenes? In fact, the entire high school dramatization was so Richard Linklater class!

And this is the beauty of Steven Spielberg’s direction. The continuity of his dramas perfectly grows on the audience. I want to especially praise the camera work of Janusz Kaminski who helped in emphasizing the detailing of some critical moments in the film. Like Sammy walking towards his room after his mother hits him. And the zoomed shots of Sammy’s face when his doubts skyrocket. And when Mitzi is exposed to Sam’s discovery in a one-shot assists the actress to display some incredible fall of emotions.

PERFORMANCES

Speaking of actress, Michelle Williams has given a stunning performance that has everything an actress requires to exceed our expectations. And if I am not wrong, she has mostly been like that. Maybe this is not her best performance as she has done that quite often but I opine to believe that she is unlucky if she doesn’t win the Oscar once again.

And I must mention how brilliantly every actor performed. And when I say ‘every’, that includes the young siblings. Just watch both the sisters when the parents announce the bad news. Good to see Seth Rogen in quite a different setup. Gabrielle LaBelle is an exciting find and was a very impressive performance of Sam Fabelman. I am not forgetting Paul Dano at all but there wasn’t that much about his performance.

CLOSING REMARKS

The Fabelmans is a reminder that successful people fail to leave melancholy behind. The film convinces us that struggle and fate are bound together. The wait is pretty long but if you stick with your passion, the opportunity eventually knocks on the door.

The film successfully proves that the parents do make mistakes and that too, critical mistakes. And children mentally suffer. You have to let things go instead of poisoning them for a lifetime.

‘The Fabelmans’ is an accomplishment in filmmaking. I’ll say that this is the best coming-of-age film since Boyhood.

RATING: 8.8/10

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