Two Japanese half-siblings Cate and Kentaro search for their missing father Hiroshi who was working for Monarch. Monarch is a covert organization that was built in the 1940s to monitor and study Kaijus called ‘Titans’. Kaiju is a Japanese word for a giant monster. It was Monarch who discovered Gojira, the original name of the globally popular monster, Godzilla.
The reason for highlighting the Japanese references is to acknowledge the Japanese legacy, that was built by the entertainment company Toho, for their science fiction films that introduced several kaijus that later established a universal fanbase. Toho’s Kaiju films are mostly centered around their Big Five who are Godzilla, Rodan, Mothra, King Ghidorah, and Mechagodzilla.
THE HUMAN ARCS
In all honesty, the human arcs have been dragged in the four Monsterverse films so far. A lot of screen-time were spent to value the human assistance in relation to these monsters. In the films based on creatures, the human connection looks bizarre because eventually, the humans with all the given science do not stand any chance to survive the wrath of these monsters. So what’s the point of shooting their scenes and introducing so many humans?
The reason for stating all this to the readers is to explain why this Ápple TV+ series is so important for those who are fond of watching these monsters. Because ‘Monarch’ is the only acceptable human angle in the world of Monsterverse.
This show completes the Monsterverse. A continuity of this cinematic universe that was questionable at some point between the four films will be cleared by watching this 10-episode series. The discoveries and developments that resulted in bombing Godzilla in Bikini Atoll are all in this show.
Monarch is run in two different timelines. The old age reflects on the trinity of scientists, Keiko and Bill, and an army officer Lee representing Monarch making groundbreaking efforts in their research. Whereas the half-siblings and a hacking friend May in the new age tries to uncover the mysteries of the secret organization.
CONTINUITY FATIGUE
In the middle of the series, I was irritated at the screenplay losing its direction and the show’s core purpose. In both timelines, the writers began to emphasize on their love angles. The old age trinity became a love triangle and much time was spent on Keiko’s relation with Bill and Lee. On the other hand, Kentaro and May were in relation whereas Cate turned out to be a lesbian who cheated on her girlfriend.
I understand that growing and developing the character in a television series is a must. But all this character work had zero value because their love stories contribute nothing to the main plot. So for quite some time, Monarch became some teenage crybaby drama and their romantic arcs ruined the show. During all this, Monarch missed the chance for not offering much action sequences between the monsters.
THE RUSSELLS
One factor that I really liked about the series was Kurt Russell and Wyatt Russell playing the old and young versions of officer Lee Shaw. For dramatizing in different timelines, the involvement of the real father and son serves the purpose. I have no knowledge if Monarch has won the audience and the critics but if this series has survived, that is because of them. Their lively presence particularly Kurt’s is the reason why the continuity in the new age become very interesting.
Surely everyone were confused like me over Kurt’s character being a 90-year-old because obviously he looks too young for a nonagenarian. At first, I thought the makers compromised and ignored the personification of a man in an advanced age for the sake of hyping the involvement of the Russells but it was a relief that it was part of the story. I am impressed with Wyatt’s execution of the character. I feel sorry for him for all the backlash he had for being Captain America. If you observe, he is a fine actor.
CLOSING REMARKS
Easily, the season finale was my favorite and the saviour of the show’s efficacy. All the reunions were well-performed. Monarch is an important development between all the four films and cannot be ignored.
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Afwaah is a mystery thriller centralized on two characters, Rahab and Nivi played by Nawazuddin Siddiqui and Bhumi Pednekar. Rahab is a CEO of a telecom company and Nivi is fiancée of a local politician Vicky. One night, Nivi runs away from Vicky and accidentally crosses path with Rahab when the latter saves her from Vicky’s goons. And then the chase begins.
REVIEW
Veteran filmmaker Sudhir Mishra brings another interesting plot about one horrible night like he made “Is Raat Ki Subah Nahin“. What ‘Afwaah’ gives us in its two-hour presentation is the series of unfortunate incidents that leads us to ridiculous as well as thought-provoking consequences. The core of the purpose was to show the audience how the netizens are manipulated and brainwashed by a lie that ignites with emphasizing on the Islamophobic content of “Love Jihad“.
When Vicky understands that Nivi is running away with a guy named Rahab assumingly a Muslim, Vicky plays a dirty game and allows his social media team to viral their running video and fit the angle of love jihad so that people lose their mind and help him bring Nivi back.
Afwaah’s story and the screenplay started and developed well with all major characters of the plot getting decent minutes and settled the viewers to the focal point. The film gets slow where the character has to grow and picks up the pace when the thrill is required. I think the screen time of 120 minutes was accurate due to important subplots of Vicky’s goon Chandan and police officers Tomar and Riya.
I don’t understand why Tomar didn’t kill Chandan when he saw him in the truck. Why did he scan the truck and interrogated the driver instead of easily catching Chandan who was sleeping?
Are Tata Motors one of the producers of the film? I ask because their car Range Rover driven by Rahab falls in the ditch and later one of the goons speaks highly about the car, reckons the price and even talks about selling it for a higher price. That was an unnecessary scene too.
KEEPING RAHAB ALIVE WAS WRONG
The film gave Nivi a deserving conclusion. But I am absolutely not convinced with keeping Rahab alive somehow. The gate of the festival was closed after his viral video with Nivi and Rahab’s wife kept protesting over the decision that fall on deaf ears. Rahab desperately kept hitting the gate to get in but the media brainwashing won over him. After Chandan stabbed Rahab, he must have died with injustice. The dialogue that he uttered to his wife that his death will be a total waste if he died were fittingly the character’s final words and must have cried these words when he was stabbed. Had he died, the purpose of the film would have been served, the word ‘Afwaah’ would have won, the lie would have defeated the truth. Sadly, Bollywood maintained keeping the hero of the film alive.
CLOSING REMARKS
I want to thank Sudhir ji for not making Rahab and Nivi fall in love with each other. Afwaah, without a doubt, deserves the praise for a thought provoking story followed by an impressive screenplay. Nawaz was superb as usual but the real winner was Bhumi. Watch her argument with Vicky, escaping from goons, when she humiliates the boy, and her scenes outside the gate. She was fabulous. Afwaah successfully shows the viewers how a political denunciation brings hatred and divides the communities through media manipulation.
When I finished watching Afwaah, I remembered that Rahab lectured to the audience about why he came back from the US. Because he wanted to contribute to his country. And see what happened. Where this passion led to? A viral video almost killed him because his name was Rahab. Because he was assumed that he is one of those Muslims who would take a Hindu girl, convert her religion or marry her to produce Muslim children, and pace down the Hindu population and accelerate and do favor to the fastest growing religion in the world. All this was poisoned to all the netizens through a viral video.
RATING 8/10
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Radhika is an investigative journalist working on a story about the traffic offenders at a particular flyover who move the divider blocks to take a U-turn. One night, the police interrogate her in a murder mystery. When she informs them about her extensive research, the police inquire about her findings. And in a shocking revelation, the police find out that all those offenders that she tracked were also murdered.
U-Turn is the remake of a Kannada film with the same title but this supernatural thriller heavily relies on two pluses. One is the story and the other is Alaya F‘s performance. U-Turn has an interesting story because the idea covers many interesting elements like a particular traffic violation, its offender and the victims, journalism, police, crime investigation, superstition, suspense, and super-naturalism.
This is my second experience of Alaya’s acting and I must say that she is really impressive in applying behavioral attitude and body language of the character that you can observe when the police interrogates her, her immediate reaction when the body falls on the police’s vehicle, when she almost had a pedestrian accident, or her series of getting scared of unnatural appearances.
Besides these two pluses, U-Turn struggles to compel me for any impression. And that’s the problem with the low-budget films. Good stories fail to sell if the direction has no impact. And the final act of the film is a let-down. The film in its entirety loses towards the motive.
U-Turn guarantees fresh idea about the story but that is because it is remade and is not an original content. The film could have been much better than presented.
RATING 5/10
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In the Chattahoochee National Forest, an American black bear gets super addicted to cocaine which results in madness. The bear becomes very aggressive, and violent, and shows no mercy to any visitor who steps into the forest.
Cocaine Bear in its entirety is not fully but partially a true story. Back in 1985, a drug smuggler actually dumped packages of cocaine from the plane but unfortunately died in a free fall due to getting caught in his parachute. A couple of months later, a black bear was found dead in the forest that had eaten a large amount of cocaine.
The reason why the film become a massive success is because this black bear naturally grabs a unanimous attention. Making a dark horror about the incident would have bored the audience. Bringing out a comedy by imagining the cocaine bear in a funny angle was the only route to sell the product. And that worked very well.
Some uninspiring sub plots were exhausted in the film to make a strong case for the bear. But actually, the idea looked pretty stuffed up because you really didn’t need so many characters to revolve around the bear. In consequence, the film got a predictable and unimpressive conclusion.
Cocaine Bear was the ideal plot for being a slasher and I think it honored the sub-genre of horror very well. Giving the bear an opportunity to go violent on humans and tear them down and shed their blood was the correct method for making this comedy horror.
CLOSING REMARKS
I think it is challenging to shape a story for the films that are based on creatures because the human contact gets boring if more screen-time is spent on them for the sake of assisting the central character. Take a look at the Monsterverse that is dragging human angle doing no favor. I must give credit to the director Elizabeth Banks to come up with the most acceptable presentation for this actual event. There can be no better idea for Cocaine Bear and does entertain us with superb comedy.
RATING 7/10
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A young group of friends in the Riverdale High School take stand to save Green Park, the heart of the town Riverdale.
REVIEW
The Archies is based on the characters created and published by Archie Comics. The film is directed by Zoya Akhtar who herself is a fan of Archie comics. The Archie Comics is remembered for its golden run from the early 1940s until the late 1950s. These characters and their Riverdale cannot look fit in any other era at all. Setting Archie Comics in India was also difficult so Zoya did a huge favor by setting the storyline in the Anglo-Indian community based in India of the 1960s.
There can no question over the production and costume designing at all. The architectures, color tone, and the camera technique really brings that time back.
The detailing in the film is meticulous. The story is set in the year 1964 and I noticed the newspaper that Archie’s father reads. The year is 1964 and two headlines are about reforms in Nepal and cyclone in India. And both events actually occurred that year. Another point, Archie asks the tourists if they ever heard The Beatles five years ago. The Beatles was formed in 1960, their first studio albums were released three years later but 1964 is the year when the band gained international stardom.
Another good reason for setting the story in the 1960s is because of the rebellious elements in the plot. When the developers decide to destroy the legacy of Riverdale and build a hotel by destroying the Green Park, the young ones take stand, sign petitions across the community, protest, and perform for more votes. That is the most 1960s thing one can remember.
Making the film a teen musical was the only way to run it. The music and tracks really lived up to that time period. Excel Entertainment’s most trusted musical team Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy were well supported by Ankur Tewari, The Islanders, and Dot.
A couple of scenes were well shot. I loved the one where after kissing, Archie and Betty close and hang in their doors, and touch their lips and then leave on the opposite directions at the same instant when the camera is moving out.
I liked the corporate angle that folds the Riverdale society. Zoya showed how the community affects by the decisions. People and their emotions are bought by the rich, you get the capitalistic vibes in the book shops and salons.
CAST
The teaser of the film that was released last year sparked outrage among the netizens and Bollywood buffs due to sense of nepotism as three of the seven kids belonged to major film families. After the release of the film, the netizens showed no mercy to note down how badly star kids performed on the silver screen.
Someday I will speak about Bollywood and nepotism but in brief, the criticism is harsh because the audience needs to understand that nepotism is one of the main roots that defines the film industry. These kids have made their debuts but their acting careers in the future will run ONLY if the audience accepts them.
Almost a year ago, in a podcast with Nadir Ali, the British-Pakistani actor Alyy Khan, who play’s Suhana’s father, shared his experience of working in this very film and showed his dissatisfaction working with these newcomers. He gave an interesting insider that these kids get to work in a workshop for one year. He judged that if the kids still do not perform, then damnation on them. He was absolutely right.
Out of seven, none of them performed. They all were disappointing. The dialogue deliveries, the facial expressions, the body languages, they failed everywhere despite having Zoya Akhtar on the director chair. The fun fact is that the supporting actors are the actors.
I am unsure if the kids were instructed to act like that despite one year at the workshop. Particularly, Suhana’s acting was extremely messed up but if you look at her performance in that short film “The Grey Part of Blue”, you will be surprised.
But readers, again! time will tell. Many star kids were awful on their debut in the past. Some of them became very outstanding actors.
CLOSING REMARKS
The Archies with all impressive technicalities and music is halted to crafting the film into excellence for one major reason and that is the leading cast. The film depends on the Archies more than the pluses I mentioned above.
The era of rock’n’roll and miniskirts dashed by the obviousness and predictability. If the spine is broken, it leads to paralysis. A factory ready to manufacture the best possible product with best available resources but failing to deliver the required result due to weak labor force.
RATING 6.5/10
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A boy from Chambal leaves his family and village behind to become IPS officer. On a difficult route is an unthinkable struggle that will either achieve his purpose of life or break him and his dreams ending up returning to his family without a uniform.
I think this was about time that one of the finest filmmakers of Bollywood Vidhu Vinod Chopra reintroduced us as a director. The last couple of generations have mostly known him to have produced the most beloved Munna Bhai series and 3 Idiots but film buffs like me will always remember that this man blessed us with Khamosh, Parinda, and 1942: A Love Story. His Parinda is one of my 4 all-time favorites and one of the very few to whom I have given my highest rating 9.5.
So I am excited that his 12th Fail is a sleeper-hit and after watching it, I know all the reasons of the film being exceptionally so well. So read me out.
REVIEW
One of the most impressive aspects of the film is the art of simplicity. The workload of the script has no complexity nor is it incohesive. From the village days to Manoj’s institute days, nothing looks exaggerated, unnatural, or profusely stereotypical. In fact, there is a fair balance of black comedy and seriousness. There are some classic touches of elements that reminds us of being cultured and sticking to traditions.
Observe Manoj’s mother who after being furious over the crisis runs towards her husband to hand him his food, covers her head, and touches his feet. I haven’t watched such importance of beautiful tradition in the films in a while. This was common in films forty years ago.
The product is a fabulous raw, the content is original, watching this film is exciting. 12th Fail doesn’t look like a reel but real. The film is very related and whoever watches it, will grow on them. Just like Gauri bhayya’s tution center will make most of us remember our time. A private class in a very small apartment with the tutor on the mattress teaching dozens of students spread from his room to the corridor while sitting on the floor.
When Manoj passes the prelims, I actually thought that when he calls to his family, someone at his home may have passed away. But then, it would have been predictable and typically dramatic. Perhaps, no one died in reality when the real Manoj called.
VIDHUGRAPHY
Vidhu Chopra takes a lot of care in giving some captivating shots. My favorite shot was when the brothers were driving the tractor and the camera drone zoomed out when the police stopped them for arresting. The whole walk of DSP Dushyant and the school principal from the class to the latter’s office is a one-shot scene. It began with honey talk and ended with failed bribery. After the police arrests the principal and leaves the school, you observe all the dark-brown skinned uniformed students spectating. For once, you cannot notice at where Manoj is standing.
The director’s vision distinguishes in brilliance depending on how he is willing to present a shot. There are numerous gathering and crowd of students and Manoj is mixed with them. Nowhere is his seated in the class in order. He is not taking the center stage for his being the leading character. Equaling him with the others signifies that he is one of the million stories fighting for their dreams.
CHARACTERS – MANOJ
This show is solely run by Vikrant Massey who plays Manoj, the guy who keeps failing the tests but never gives up. There comes a time in the celebrity’s life when a particular work becomes the highlight of the career. Vikrant has several good performances but I think he has found the one that he will be best remembered for. I have never watched him act so splendidly as in 12th Fail. In my opinion, his performance in one of his earliest films “A Death in the Gunj” was his best until this occurred.
Observe him when he begs for help to the DSP and shows his desperation. Also notice him, when his bag is stolen and he is looking here and there, and getting lump in his throat. And watch his marvelous reaction when he eventually passes. This film is gifted with his many facial performances, check him when he stands up to request Gauri bhayya for some work while he takes his time in humbleness.
CHARACTERS – GAURI
The role of Gauri bhayya played by Anshumaan Pushkar heavily reminded me of Kota Factory‘s Jeetu bhayya. Same energy, same optimism.
Gauri’s speech was worth attentive. Straight up facts spoken. 12th fail has that distinctive motivation that propels you to never give up. You can feel that blood pumping when Gauri cheers up Manoj after failing and rises his voice RESTART. Thanks to this film that restart now is a motivational word. Before that, restart was always annoying especially for the console gamers.
CHARACTERS – SHRADDHA
Although there is immense importance of Shraddha because not just that she is the heroine of the film but like Manoj, she also became the officer. Medha Shankar did a fair job but there must have been something about her character to bring it to audience instead of only being Manoj’s love interest. Just like recently in Maestro, the film was based on the maestro but also gave justice and importance to his wife.
CHARACTERS – PRITAM
Talking about giving importance, Pritam’s character, played by Anant V Joshi, had more growth than Shraddha. Another UPSC aspirant who cannot afford disappointing his family which was clearly visible in his phone calls with his father. Those calls became intense with time, every attempt he failed. Pritam was shown so lost in the call that he could not be disturbed while talking; and that’s how he lost a girlfriend. With repeated failures and losing a girlfriend, he dropped his frustration on Manoj and almost jeopardized the other relation.
I like how Vidhu used this character as an opposite case to Manoj. Someone who had money, phone, girlfriend, money enough to drink but was lazy to struggle for the test. He regretted that he couldn’t be as dedicated as Manoj. It was Pritam who found him and cleared the tests before him. And that brought jealousy and made him look ignored.
CHARACTERS – DUSHYANT
The character of DSP Dushyant Singh played by Priyanshu laid the foundation of Manoj’s dream as his staunch loyalty with work set his mind to become ISP officer. The character disappeared after the start and I sensed that he will return for a very important scene.
He did return but I think it was not an ideal scene as it could have been when Manoj arrives at a police station to release his friend. In the scene, there is an argument between Manoj and the inspector, and if you have watched the film, you will note that a senior officer is noticing him from his back since he arrived to the station. When Manoj wins the argument, that man steps in and walks slowly towards him. But to my surprise, that man was someone else. This could have been so heartfelt if this would be Dushyant observing Manoj in a new avatar.
ACCURACY/AUTHENTICITY
I have neither read the book nor I have any knowledge of the minor details about Manoj and his wife Shraddha Joshi like if Manoj cleaned toilets and worked on the flour or if one of their friends actually misinformed Shraddha’s father. Accuracy is important and I understand the need of dramatizing and taking liberty where necessary. But what’s important are the bullet highlights. Was Manoj poor and left the village to become the officer? Yes, he did. Did Manoj and Shraddha become officers? They did. Did Manoj fail the tests again and again? He did.
Vidhu Chopra also worked on the authenticity of the film and gave a real feel. The teacher in the class is the actual UPSC teacher, Vikas Divyakriti. In fact, Vikrant confirms that some junior UPSC aspirants get to play their roles. When Shraddha is dared to sing, she actually sings instead of using a playback singer. Moreover, the real Manoj and Shraddha were sitting on the other table. The extent of Manoj’s poor background can be traced from his father’s briefcase.
12th Fail is one of those rare Bollywood films where the background score was not overused. And the usage was mostly Indian classic giving a more Indian sophisticated touch. And the love chemistry has always been Vidhu’s gem of film making.
CLOSING REMARKS
12th Fail doesn’t look like a typical Bollywood film but some international project by some multiple European or American production companies working together on a project based in India.
In the world of Indian cinema, between the territories of Baahubali, RRR, Tiger, Pathaan, Animal, follow the route of 12th Fail. Because this is called a cinematic accomplishment. This is a kind of film which attracts the global audience who are enthusiastic about watching a well-crafted film. This is the content India is badly in need of making. This is how you make a bio drama in India. This is one of the very few Indian films that has the potential to reach the Oscar.
12th Fail is the tale of struggle and the most ideal storytelling about the magnitude of hard work that paid off well. 12th Fail is an inspiration for all the generations. If someone feels low and needs their spirits to lift, recommend them 12th Fail.
RATING 9/10
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A ruthless admiral of the empire of the Motherworld, Atticus Noble, demands the villagers of Veldt an extraordinary supply of grain in 10 weeks. One of the villagers Kora decides to assemble the warriors from across the galaxy to fight against the Motherland.
I have a tremendous respect for Zack Snyder because of his style of filmmaking and the dark elements of political philosophy that he applies in his directional artistry. The meticulous structure that constructs his artistic image of the world that he shoots in the film takes time to grow. Same is the case with the first part of Rebel Moon that is now the beginning of an exciting franchise.
Although, the core of story doesn’t add much to new ideas as the plot heavily reminds me of Star Wars and Dune as well as Zack’s very own Justice League but Zack Snyder has this quality of making the film look beautiful and artistic that covers the mediocrity of the story. To my surprise, even action sequences were unimpressive. Slow-motion technique has been one of Zack’s uncontrolled habit in detailing a shot. But this time, he overused this and he needs to put limit on the slow-mos.
After I get settled with the plot in the first 40 minutes, the growth of the screenplay got confined because the remainder of the film proceeded with Kora recruiting warriors by traveling to different planets and after watching their heroics against the oppression. Moreover, the introduction of the warriors who join Kora’s justice league lack character development. The final thirty minutes were interesting but the screen-time overall is nearly 140 minutes which is quite short for a space opera. And this is exactly why the characters of Titus, Nemesis, Bloodaxe, and Tarak were unable to grow nor their worlds were given enough minutes to understand and therefore looked like mere theme parks to us.
So what’s the talking point if the film has an ordinary story and typical action sequences? It is the fictional universe and its aesthetics that are captivating. The entire universal detailing of the Rebel Moon is not based on some novel but Zack’s own vision about his universe. Rebel Moon is like any director’s re-imagination of Star Wars with darker elements and mature content. And after watching the trailer of the second part of the Rebel Moon, the vision is much clear that the Rebel Moon franchise has similar plot elements of Akira Kurosawa‘s Seven Samurai. Even Kora had seven.
There was an interesting shot about a princess of whom Kora was the royal bodyguard. Her name was Issa and had the ability to give life to the dead. Did Zack get inspiration from the Islamic faith or should I assume if it is a strange coincidence? Because Issa in Islam is the messenger of God and he was a lifegiver.
Junkie XL‘s music is a plus and so far has been a fabulous collaboration with Zack. And there is no question about Zack’s art of worldbuilding, exellence in CGI and VFX.
CLOSING REMARKS
Although, the second part will give the whole picture of where Rebel Moon stands in the elite ranks of space universes or if not. See, Rebel Moon without a doubt is enjoyable especially for Zack Snyder cultists like me. But on a judgement scale, Rebel Moon offers a repeated plot line that has been watched before with better scripts and action sequences. The visual spectacle is never a question, its just the film lacks novelty.
RATING 6.5/10
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Sami Naik | Film Critic 