MGM Amazon Prime’s Fallout: Keep a safe distance

MGM Amazon Prime’s Fallout: Keep a safe distance

PR Agency Moe’s Art warmly invited us for an exclusive screening of Prime Video’s ‘highly-anticipated global hit, Fallout Season 2’— a wild, wicked and wonderfully wasteland-chaotic journey into New Vegas.

It asked us to “Step out of the Vault and into an evening crafted for the S.P.E.C.I.A.L. ones — an immersive escape into the world of Fallout, packed with its signature grit, humour, and post-apocalyptic charm. Gear up, vault dwellers. The wasteland awaits.” We waited. Exactly two hours after the scheduled time, a compere took over and indulged in then usual applause and noise squeezing. He also conducted a quiz, promising rewards to those who answered correctly. All the questions were answered by one or the other members of the audience, at PVR Icon, Infiniti Mall, Andheri. I did not have any answers as I have not seen this OTT “hit” at all. There was a video message from the lead actress, Ella Purnell, who sounded distinctly British. It was short and sweet. And then, Fallout rolled out.

A suave ‘gentleman’ gets into an argument with the customers at a bar about a Senator (or was it the President?) of the USA, who the others hate but who the Clark Gable wannabe adores. They step out. Mr. City Slicker invites the ‘heavy’ of the group to punch him in the face, saying that he would like it. The man obliges. Mr. Millionaire takes it lightly. Then he opens his car boot with a remote and shows the group stacks of dollars, “31 million dollars. And it is yours, if you let me put this little thing at the back of your neck (showing them a contraption shaped like a mini walkie-talkie. Mr. Heavy is not impressed. He decides to carry on punching. But, in the scuffle, Mr. Moustache manages to plant the device on his neck.

This turns him into a slave of Mr. Greenbacks, and he asks Mr. Burly to take a baseball bat that he offers him, and beat the daylights out of his friends. Which he does, as ordered. Then, Mr. Slave Driver pumps-up the volume on the dial he is carrying, to its limit. Boom. Mr. Baseballer explodes. End of scene.

A middle-aged man sings merrily, plays with a yo-yo, rides on a year 2225 version of a golf cart, and carries a tiny white mouse, who it pets as he drives along. He enters what appears to be a lab, puts the same device that Mr. Bar Buster had clamped on the back of a customer’s neck on the mouse’s back, drops him in something like an aquarium, and then….turns the dial. There is a minor explosion, and the remains of the mouse are splashed on to the glass of the container. You don’t see the explosion, but you are served the delightful sight of the mouse’s bloody remains. Quite happy at what he has achieved, the man moves on to another lab, with another mouse, and repeats the act, with…the same result. This calls for an encore, and there you go. Another mouse, another explosion.

After he has done it half-a-dozen times, he picks up a year 2225 phone and talks to somebody who might be his boss, and is not sure whether the man at the other end is alive or dead. He says he is happy with the cat and mouse game, but complains that the mice are too small. He then raises the issue of a raise…a promotion, and threatens the Supremo (dead or alive) that he would not he, the mouse-bomber, is indispensable. Elsewhere, the ‘father searching’ leading lady of the series is walking along with The Ghoul (a nose-less Walton Goggins), when they hear a woman’s desperate cries for help. Ghoul ignores them, but Sensitive Lady wants to go and help the woman in distress. Ghoul mutters a confession. “You know, when I was your age, I was just like you….” She half-smiles. Then comes the punch-word, “Stupid.” Nevertheless, then two head in the direction of the wailing. They find a woman in great distress, who would die, unless she is given some vital ‘medicine’, of which the Nurse Lady has only one. And then the sign of Scorpio is on the ascendant. A swarm of scorpions attacks them. They range from a few inches in size to a metre. The King Scorpion breaks open the door and chooses Ghoul as his target, but, since Ghoul is to continue in the series, he survives a gruelling duel with Mr. Ten Tacles.

Dystopia has set in. It is post apocalypse. A group of men and woman who had volunteered to be frozen for 200 years, awake to find the world in a state of a wasteland, where one man owns half of Las Vegas, now known as New Vegas. There is an actor, a Black Knight called Maximus (Aaron Moten), a fight to the finish between him and a hunk, various rival battlers settled far away from each other and itching to have a go at each other, a council of the ‘states’ and looming disaster. There are vaults, volts and bolts. Vaults like you had never imagined, volts from wired bombs and bolts from the fare on screen. You have just read the sanest parts of what we saw. What we haven’t told you is bound to make your stomachs churn. And it is not okey-dokey.

Lucy says "Okie-dokie/okey dokey" in many situations, such as when she approves something, when she does not get what she wants, or even when doing something mentally challenging, such as preparing to posthumously behead Wilzig. Funny? I did not find it funny. Would I be interested in watching an any more episodes of Fallout? Not on your life. But there are millions going gaga over it. Oh yeah? Well, after all, it is a video game that made it to the OTT platform. Video-gamers, you are welcome to your share of numbed and de-sensitised viewing. I will need to meditate to get out of this Vault.

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‘‘BlacKkKlansman’’ is a daring, cathartic, and critically acclaimed look at race and power © by film critic Lalit Rao (FIPRESCI)

Spike Lee film ‘‘BlacKkKlansman’’ (2018) is a daring, cathartic, and critically acclaimed look at race and power in modern America © by film critic Lalit Rao (FIPRESCI)

 

Spike Lee’s BlacKkKlansman is a film that lives in the intersection of comedy, crime, and profound social commentary. Based on the memoir of Ron Stallworth, a retired African American detective from Colorado Springs, this 2018 film brings a story of an audacious infiltration of the Ku Klux Klan to the big screen. Stallworth’s story is remarkable: the first Black officer of the Colorado Springs Police Department, he managed to infiltrate the KKK in the 1970s with little more than his quick wit, an ear for accents, and a determined will to bring justice. While the plot seems almost unbelievable, the film effectively blends humor, sharp critique of systemic racism, and a cathartic portrayal of a moment in American history that continues to have ripples in the present day.

 

BlacKkKlansman as a cinematic achievement

 

 

One of the central achievements of BlacKkKlansman is the way it combines different film genres to tell a story that is both darkly comedic and deeply serious. Lee has long been a director known for his political engagement, and BlacKkKlansman is no exception. The film’s treatment of race relations, American nationalism, and police brutality reflects the director’s continuing interest in the struggle for racial justice. However, where many of his other works like Do the Right Thing or Malcolm X lean heavily on the dramatic, BlacKkKlansman takes a slightly lighter, more comedic approach, blending elements of crime fiction with dark humor to convey the absurdity of the situation at hand.

At the heart of this film is its satirical depiction of the Ku Klux Klan. The KKK is presented as an organization so backward, so ridiculous in its ideology, that it almost borders on farce. Yet, as the film points out with alarming clarity, this isn’t just a "bad joke" — these are the individuals and organizations that have been instrumental in fostering systemic racism throughout America’s history. Lee draws a direct line between the far-right ideology of groups like the Klan and the more mainstream white nationalist rhetoric that persists in America today, especially under the leadership of President Donald Trump.

 

BlacKkKlansman is about the tale of two men 

 

 

The film tells the story of Ron Stallworth’s infiltration of the Klan with his Jewish colleague Flip Zimmermann, played by Adam Driver. The casting is brilliant, with Washington’s compelling performance as Stallworth standing out as one of the strongest of his career. John David Washington, in his portrayal of the complex, intelligent, and quick-witted Stallworth, shows a maturity and depth that make it impossible to deny his potential as a leading man in Hollywood. His ability to navigate both the comedic and serious aspects of the film makes him a truly compelling figure to watch.

Meanwhile, Adam Driver as Flip Zimmermann provides a perfect foil to Washington’s performance. Zimmermann is a white cop who, while initially hesitant about the operation, becomes a willing participant in Stallworth’s mission. Driver portrays the character with the perfect blend of humor and solemnity, showing the internal conflict of a man who is both complicit in the larger system of racial oppression and trying to do what is right. Together, the two actors create an unlikely but effective partnership, navigating the dangers of infiltrating one of America’s most notorious hate groups while also tackling the question of identity — both personal and societal.

 

BlacKkKlansman is the satire of infiltrating hate 

 

 

Stallworth’s mission is one of the most absurd — and at times darkly hilarious — aspects of the film. Using his voice to impersonate a white man on the phone, Stallworth successfully joins the Ku Klux Klan, much to the confusion of its members. The film plays up the absurdity of the situation with great effect, using humor to demonstrate just how ridiculous the Klan is. These men, often portrayed as virulent racists, are shown as backward, bumbling, and deeply ignorant — even as they hold dangerous power in their hands.

What’s even more striking is that Lee does not shy away from exposing the real-world danger of such ignorance. The humor of the Klan members’ buffoonery is a sharp juxtaposition against the real violence they have historically inflicted on marginalized communities, making the film’s darker moments — including the horrific scenes of violence at the end — all the more potent. The farcical nature of the Klan’s ideology stands in direct contrast to the very real, very dangerous consequences of its existence in the world.

 

BlacKkKlansman as a potent vehicle of social commentary and racism in America 

 

Through the eyes of Ron Stallworth, BlacKkKlansman serves as a direct commentary on the state of race relations in America. One of the most important aspects of the film is its critique of the police force. Although Stallworth is determined to be a part of the police force, his career is marred by the pervasive racism of his colleagues. The "Pigs" epithet that Stallworth protests against, despite the inherent flaws in the system he serves, becomes symbolic of a larger issue with law enforcement in America: a system built on racist foundations and perpetuated by institutionalized bias.

The film also sharply critiques the way racism is often brushed aside in the public consciousness, especially under the veneer of "good intentions." BlacKkKlansman suggests that the so-called "few rotten apples" argument — that only a few bad cops or individuals are responsible for systemic racism — is not only flawed but dangerously naive. While this may be a cathartic and feel-good notion for some viewers, it fails to recognize the deeply entrenched racism that affects policing, politics, and American life at every level.

 

By drawing direct comparisons between the violence of the Klan and the rhetoric of political leaders like Donald Trump, Lee underscores the way in which America has struggled — and continues to struggle — with its racist past. The final moments of the film, which include real-life footage of racial violence and protests from the 2017 Charlottesville rally, remind viewers that the fight against hate and racism is far from over. The implications of this are clear: the same racial tensions that were central to the 1970s are still alive today, only exacerbated by the rhetoric of political figures who exploit and manipulate fear for their own gain.

 

BlacKkKlansman boasts of a cathartic ending

 

BlacKkKlansman doesn’t shy away from providing a cathartic conclusion, but Lee also gives the viewer a potent reminder that the fight for racial justice is ongoing. The movie’s final scenes, which juxtapose footage from the Klan’s reign of terror with the 2017 Charlottesville rally, drive home the point that the fight for racial equality is not a battle of the past but one that continues today. It’s a stark, uncompromising message that serves as a reminder that the work of fighting racism and bigotry is far from over.

 

One of the film’s major critiques has been its treatment of the police. BlacKkKlansman presents the idea that there are just "a few bad apples" within the police force, but this view is problematic for some. While it may offer a cathartic resolution to the story of Ron Stallworth, it skirts around the larger systemic issues of racism within law enforcement — a reality that many feel is insufficiently addressed in the film.

 

BlacKkKlansman as an important film in Spike Lee’s oeuvre

 

BlacKkKlansman is one of Spike Lee’s most powerful and timely films, deftly mixing humor, crime, and social commentary to expose the absurdity of American racism and the persistence of hate in the modern world. By focusing on the incredible true story of Ron Stallworth and his daring infiltration of the Klan, Lee delivers a film that is as entertaining as it is thought-provoking. The performances are outstanding, particularly from John David Washington and Adam Driver, and the film’s visual and narrative style is both engaging and incisive.

 

In the end, BlacKkKlansman is not just a commentary on the past; it’s a powerful critique of the present and a call to action for the future. As Lee shows us, racism and hate are not just historical footnotes — they are living, breathing forces that continue to shape American society. The film’s humor, combined with its biting critique of systemic oppression, offers an unflinching look at the realities of racism and the ongoing fight for racial justice. In doing so, it secures its place as one of the most important films of its time.

 

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Boyz N The Hood depicts the violent education of a forgotten generation of black youth by © film critic Lalit Rao (FIPRESCI)

American film “Boyz N The Hood’’ (1991) depicts the violent education of a forgotten generation of black youth’’ by © film critic Lalit Rao (FIPRESCI) 

 

 

When Boyz N the Hood was released in 1991, it announced the arrival of a new and authentic voice in American cinema. John Singleton, then only 23 years old, became the youngest person and the first African-American ever nominated for the Academy Award for Best Director. His debut film was not merely a narrative about Black life in Los Angeles—it was a sociological document disguised as drama, a cinematic mirror that reflected the struggles, dreams, and disillusionments of an entire generation raised under the shadow of systemic neglect.

 

A film rooted in reality

 

Set in 1984 but released in 1991, Boyz N the Hood reconstructs life in South Central Los Angeles with documentary-like authenticity. Singleton was writing about what he knew—the geography, the rhythm of speech, the invisible boundaries that divided blocks and fates. This autobiographical impulse gives the film its rare combination of intimacy and urgency. The streets of Crenshaw are not backdrops; they are living, breathing ecosystems that dictate who lives, who dies, and who escapes.

 

The film’s structure revolves around Tre Styles (Cuba Gooding Jr.), a bright young man sent by his mother to live with his father, Furious Styles (Laurence Fishburne). Furious’s household offers discipline, education, and moral grounding—a stark contrast to the chaos that consumes the surrounding neighborhood. Through Tre’s eyes, Singleton observes a community balancing between familial tenderness and the omnipresent threat of violence.

 

Interrogating internalized violence

 

One of the film’s most disturbing and profound questions is why Black men end up turning their weapons on one another. Singleton never simplifies this inquiry. Instead, he maps the forces that shape such behavior: economic inequality, police brutality, the easy availability of firearms, and the absence of meaningful opportunities. His narrative doesn’t externalize all the blame—it looks inward too. The characters are aware of their entrapment but are often unable to break free.

 

The killing of young Black men by other Black men is presented not as a pathology but as a consequence of structural despair. In a chilling early scene, a group of children gather around a dead body lying on the street, staring with the same casual curiosity as if it were a broken toy. Singleton uses this moment to reveal how death becomes normalized in a world where violence replaces dialogue. The tragedy of Boyz N the Hood is not that it depicts death—it’s that it depicts desensitization.

 

No place for black men in the US army

 

Running throughout the film is an understated yet significant critique of the American military. Furious Styles, an ex-soldier himself, warns Tre about the illusion of equality that institutions like the U.S. Army promise. He argues that young Black men are systematically targeted for recruitment, not to uplift them, but to channel their aggression into imperial wars that have nothing to do with their liberation. “There ain’t no place for a Black man in that white man’s army,” Furious tells his son, his voice carrying both the authority of experience and the bitterness of disillusionment.

This argument resonates beyond the narrative. In 1991, as the Gulf War unfolded, many African-American families watched their sons shipped overseas even as their communities at home continued to suffer from poverty and police violence. Singleton’s film, though set in 1984, reads like a commentary on the hypocrisy of a nation that funds wars abroad while abandoning its citizens at home.

 

Thematic Landscape : sex, drugs, violence, and parenting

 

Boyz N the Hood is as much a coming-of-age story as it is a sociopolitical chronicle. Singleton balances comedy and tragedy, realism and allegory, to explore the codes of masculinity that govern young Black men’s lives. Sexuality is shown not as romantic liberation but as social currency—a marker of maturity in an environment where sensitivity is seen as weakness. Drugs, meanwhile, are the silent plague—both a coping mechanism and a weapon of destruction, imported into the neighborhood by forces that remain unseen but deeply felt.

Violence, of course, is the film’s gravitational center. Every conversation, every gesture, carries the possibility of eruption. Yet Singleton’s genius lies in how he frames violence not through sensationalism but through inevitability. The film is filled with humor, warmth, and friendship; it makes the final tragedy even more unbearable. Singleton uses irony to devastating effect—when characters laugh, we sense that their laughter is a fragile defense against despair.

 

Parenting, particularly fatherhood, stands as the film’s moral anchor. Furious Styles, played with quiet gravitas by Laurence Fishburne, represents the antithesis of the absent Black father stereotype that dominated Hollywood portrayals at the time. His lessons to Tre—about responsibility, property ownership, and self-respect—are practical and philosophical at once. “Any fool with a dick can make a baby,” he says, “but only a real man can raise his children.” In those few words lies Singleton’s manifesto for Black America.

 

The Black Cop : a mirror of internalized hatred

 

In two brief yet unforgettable appearances, a Black police officer embodies another layer of Singleton’s critique: internalized racism. The officer treats the young men of his own race with open contempt, almost relishing his authority over them. When he presses his gun against Tre’s neck, his hatred feels more personal than professional. Singleton avoids caricature; instead, he exposes how institutional power corrodes empathy. The officer’s behavior suggests that racism is not merely an external system but a psychological infection that can make victims into instruments of their own oppression.

 

This portrayal was groundbreaking for its time. While Hollywood films of the 1980s and early 1990s often depicted white cops as racist antagonists, Singleton’s decision to make this character Black complicates the narrative. It forces viewers to confront how systemic structures of policing transcend individual color and become ideological.

 

Aesthetics and realism in Boyz N the Hood

 

 

Visually, Boyz N the Hood is both raw and composed. Charles Mills’s cinematography captures South Central Los Angeles not as a desolate ghetto but as a vibrant community full of life, warmth, and contradictions. The streets are clean, the houses modest but well-kept. This choice defies stereotypes. Singleton refuses to reduce his characters to urban victims living in perpetual decay. Instead, he shows that even in hardship, there is dignity, humor, and grace.

The film’s color palette—sun-drenched yellows, suburban blues, and nighttime reds—suggests a paradoxical beauty amid danger. The soundtrack, blending early 1990s hip-hop with soulful jazz interludes, situates the story within a specific cultural moment while giving it universal rhythm. Every scene feels grounded in authenticity, whether it’s the boys playing football in the street or hanging out by the car at night, discussing sex, loyalty, and dreams.

Performances : a gallery of intensity

 

The ensemble cast delivers performances that blend restraint with emotional precision. Laurence Fishburne’s Furious Styles is the film’s conscience—a man of intelligence and integrity who understands both the limitations and responsibilities of being Black in America. His philosophical monologues could have easily become didactic, but Fishburne infuses them with warmth and controlled anger. He is the rare cinematic father who educates without preaching.

 

Cuba Gooding Jr., as Tre, gives a nuanced portrayal of adolescence on the brink of adulthood. His performance captures the vulnerability of a young man trying to maintain dignity in a world that demands toughness. Ice Cube, in his first film role as Doughboy, is extraordinary. His portrayal of a man hardened by neglect and betrayal is both charismatic and heartbreaking. Doughboy’s final monologue—“Either they don’t know, don’t show, or don’t care about what’s going on in the hood”—remains one of the most haunting lines in American cinema. Angela Bassett, as Tre’s mother, adds emotional balance; her brief scenes convey the strength and exhaustion of Black women who must protect their sons from both the streets and the system.

 

The politics of space and survival

 

One of Singleton’s major achievements lies in his portrayal of space—how geography itself becomes destiny. South Central Los Angeles is portrayed as both home and prison. The same neighborhood that nurtures community also enforces invisible boundaries that few can cross. Furious Styles’s impromptu lesson on real estate gentrification—delivered to a small crowd at a street corner—remains one of the film’s most intelligent moments. He explains how liquor stores and gun shops saturate Black neighborhoods while property ownership is discouraged, making gentrification inevitable. This sequence transforms urban economics into moral education.

 

Humor as resistance in Boyz N the Hood

 

Although heavy with tragedy, Boyz N the Hood contains surprising doses of humor. Singleton uses laughter not as relief but as resilience. The camaraderie between Tre, Ricky, and Doughboy feels genuine, filled with teasing, slang, and small moments of joy. Their conversations about sex, dreams, and fears humanize them far beyond the headlines about gang violence. The film’s humor underscores its tragedy: these are boys who might have lived ordinary, fulfilling lives if society had given them a chance.

 

A film that redefined representation

 

Before Boyz N the Hood, Hollywood’s depiction of Black life was dominated by two extremes—the sanitized respectability of The Cosby Show or the sensationalized violence of “Blaxploitation” films. Singleton shattered that binary. His characters were educated and uneducated, strong and vulnerable, moral and flawed. He gave cinematic legitimacy to lives that mainstream America preferred to ignore. His film opened doors for future Black filmmakers like Spike Lee, F. Gary Gray, and Barry Jenkins, who would continue exploring similar terrain from new perspectives.

The film’s success also challenged industry assumptions about audience. Contrary to studio fears, Boyz N the Hood attracted not just Black viewers but a wide cross-section of Americans who recognized its universal themes—family, friendship, and the struggle for identity in a hostile world.

 

The inevitable tragedy in Boyz N the Hood

 

The murder of Ricky (Morris Chestnut), Tre’s best friend, is the film’s emotional climax and moral rupture. Singleton stages the scene with devastating simplicity: the camera doesn’t sensationalize the killing—it observes it with quiet fatalism. Ricky’s death feels both shocking and inevitable, the logical outcome of a society that teaches its youth to equate respect with revenge. In the aftermath, Doughboy’s revenge killing provides no catharsis, only emptiness. When he stands in silence, watching news reports that ignore their suffering, we realize that Singleton has constructed a tragedy in the classical sense: the fall of heroes not because of individual flaws, but because of a corrupt world order.

Legacy and contemporary relevance of Boyz N the Hood

 

More than three decades after its release, Boyz N the Hood remains frighteningly relevant. The cycles of police brutality, racial segregation, and economic disparity it exposes continue to define urban America. Yet the film’s power lies not in its anger but in its compassion. Singleton’s gaze is empathetic, not exploitative. He invites viewers to mourn, to understand, and perhaps to change.

 

Today, when movements like Black Lives Matter have forced these conversations into the mainstream, Boyz N the Hood feels prophetic. Its questions about belonging, masculinity, and systemic injustice remain unresolved. The film’s closing line—“Increase the peace”—is not a slogan but a plea that still echoes through the decades.

 

Boyz N the Hood  is a testament to vision and voice

 

Boyz N the Hood is more than a film; it is a social testament, a cinematic sermon on survival and self-worth. John Singleton’s debut marked a turning point in American cinema—proof that realism, when grounded in personal truth, can be revolutionary. By blending humor, heartbreak, and hard reality, he created a film that refuses to age, because its subject—the struggle to be seen and survive—is timeless.

In the end, what makes Boyz N the Hood unforgettable is not its depiction of violence but its insistence on life. Amid the bullets and broken dreams, Singleton discovers dignity, love, and the faint possibility of redemption. That is his gift—and his warning—to America.

 

 

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Gabby’s Dollhouse, Review: A tonic for cat-a-tonics

Gabby’s Dollhouse, Review: A tonic for every catatonic

Gabby Dollhouse is the second live-action film produced by DreamWorks Animation, after the 2025 remake of How to Train Your Dragon (2010). It is also DreamWorks Animation's first live-action +animation film that is not a remake. DreamWorks is a ComCast company, as is the international distributor of the film, Universal. It is the big screen version of Gabby's Dollhouse an American interactive television series, premièred on Netflix on January 5, 2021. At its première in Mumbai’s PVR Icon multiplex, the audience consisted of a large number of children, with an average age of about 7.3. And here I am, all of 73, reviewing it. Gabby’s Dollhouse is that kind of film which must be rated, ‘Adults allowed only of they are accompanied by at least one child, aged 7 years, or less’. I wasn’t. And that’s the catch. I had a hard time reducing my sensibilities to the level of a pre-school or early school level, but when I could, I found the film quite suitable and enjoyable.

Gabby is a pre-teens kid who is smitten by every kitten. She dotes on her Grandmother, whom she lovingly calls Gigi. Gigi gifts her a Dollhouse, full of toy cats of various sizes, and other toys, like a box-house named Baby Box. Gabby is beside herself with joy. What is more, Gigi takes Gabby, Pandy Paws (the stuffed toy she is most attached to, her Gabby cats, and her dollhouse, on a road trip to visit her home, in Cat Francisco, for a special craft project. The dollhouse is attached to Gigi’s van. While Gigi is busy coking for Gabby and the guests, a member of the dollhouse, CatRat, accidentally unlatches the dollhouse from the van, causing it to roll on for miles, until it reaches a store, where Vera, a ‘cat lady’ famous for promoting her product, a Kitty Litter Glitter that is fragrant, wants to buy it, for her collection. But Kitty Ranger 1, a very young girl, tries to stop her, by saying that her mother will buy it for her. Vera thumps wads of dollars on the cashier’s table, and takes possession of the dollhouse, which she takes home. Vera then splits the Gabby cats up, placing them at various positions in her vast mansion, as pretty objects.   

CatRat finds a plush cat named Chumsley in a drawer. Chumsley used to be Vera’s favourite toy when she was a kid, but has been confined to the drawer ever since she grew up. As an adult, Vera has a real cat named Marlena as her pet. When Gabby finds the dollhouse missing, she is determined to find and recover it. So, she shrinks, using her unique, magic head band, which has the ability to help her shrink from feet to inches. All she needs to do is give one pinch to the left ear and two to the right, and hug Pandy tight. The minuscule Gabby, Pandy manage to reach Vera's home. Gabby learns most Gabby cats are missing, but meets Chumsley at Cakey's kitchen. Chumsley offers to help. Gabby and Pandy find MerCats (mermaid cats) in Vera's aquarium, and jump in, turning into a mermaid herself. They free MerCat, and, travelling in a bubble, find the Gabby cats in a bag that is fastened by a zip. Vera opens the door, causing them to fly outside, and fall into a bush. They meet kitty gnomes, who take them to the Kitty Fairy, their queen, pretending that they have captured the intruders. The rescue is yet to begin.

Here are the names of the adult writers who have spun this yarn: Screenplay by Mike Lew,

Rehana Lew Mirza, Adam Wilson and Melanie Wilson LaBracio, story by director Ryan Crego the basis being Gabby's Dollhouse, by Traci Paige Johnson and Jennifer Twomey. Curious about the names Mike Lew and Rehana Lew Mirza, both new to me, I looked up their credentials. The two first met in 2005, Writers Lab, in Manhattan. Reading a part of a play, The Good Muslim, in which Rehana had humanised Islamophobia and taken a sharp dig at proselytisers of American ideals, who try to convert others to their religious and political belief systems, Lew, a Chinese American and a Yale graduate, said it had “blown his mind”. Lew’s play, A Better Babylon, intrigued the half-Pakistani, half-Filipina Rehana, Rehana Mirza and Michael Lew were married in 2011.

 

There are about six live action characters, and many shots of cities and roads, with real traffic. Besides Gabby and Gigi, the other four are Kitty Rangers 1,2, 3 and the shopkeeper. Creating Kitty Rangers, three young girls who love kitties, was a good ploy, and the interaction between them and Vera is hilarious. However, the little girls appear as adults, having walkie-talkies to communicate and tracing the dollhouse to Vera’s home. One would have loved to see more of them. As was to be expected, there is no back-story about Gabby and Gigi, and none of their family, if they have one, is shown. At the very end, there is a momentary mention of Gabby’s younger sister. Another trope is the distancing technique of playwright Bertolt Brecht (most probably contributed by theatre veterans Mike and Rehana), wherein Gabby addresses the camera (the audience) whenever she finds herself helpless, and asks them to join in her recitation/singing too. Getting Vera to sing was another funny idea, though I could not decide whether she was hitting the right notes, or singing off-key.

 

Starting with a completely believable premise, the film proceeds in a linear narrative for about a third of its length. After that, it gets intro an adrenaline rush, challenging any rational thinking, introducing dozens of characters, of all shapes and sizes, including fairies and mermaids, making it impossible to keep track of their identities. It is a roller-coaster ride, at 200 kmph, which is bound to come to an end, but, while it lasts, does not give you time enough even to bat an eyelid. Differing from other films of this genre, the female antagonist is not anything like Cruela De Vil. She is merely a grown-up, who has out-grown her love for toys and dolls, and metamorphosed into a marketer, but still stuck in cat mode. She talks to her cat, Marlena, who, to be noted, does not talk at all. One scene, where Vera tries out yoga postures while conversing with Marlena, is well-written. There is an insider joke about Vera having a Mr. Spielberg as her client, but it turns out that it is not Steven. Such a reference, as the names Cat Francisco and Pexas, will not resonate with Indian children, and I wonder whether children of that age in any country, including the USA, will know who Steven Spielberg is.

An award winning show creator and Emmy nominated director, working in the animation industry, Ryan Crego was based at DreamWorks Animation from 2013 to 2017, and then from 2022 to the present, as well as a story artist and voice actor on DreamWorks’ animated features, Shrek Forever After (2010), Puss in Boots (2011), Kung Fu Panda 2 (2011), Rise of the Guardians (2012), The Lorax (2012), Turbo (2013), and Mr. Peabody & Sherman (2014). Gabby’s Dollhouse is his fantasy-animation-live action debut film. AS story-writer, he chooses to base this film on the premise that adults should not outgrow their affection for child-hood toys and dolls, because these inanimate objects have been a vital part of their lives. That is a noble thought, albeit a debatable one. Can we really expect to treat our dolls and toys at 20-30-40, as we did when were 2-3-4? I guess that is asking for too much. Yet, is a departure from the plots of many an animation film seen over several decades, and has novelty value. And with such lovable characters, and such delectable food, including huge cakes and donuts, he might succeed in hooking the toddlers+ age bracket.

In the live action scenes, we see Laila Lockhart Kraner as Gabby, Kraner also voices her animated counterpart. She has a broad smile and easy demeanour, though the inter-active scenes could have been better presented. Tina Ukwu plays the young Gabby, while, hold your breath, the eight-time Grammy Award winner Gloria (María Milagrosa) Estefan, a Cuban-American singer, songwriter and actress, is Grandma Gigi, and, like Laila, Estefan also voices her animated counterpart. Indians know her as the voice that gave us The Rhythm is Gonna Get You and Oye Mi Canto. Now 68, she is an endearing Gigi. Kristen Wiig is cast as Vera. Wiig gained on Saturday Night Live, known for her impersonations and original characters. Wiig has starred in successful films, including Bridesmaids, which she co-wrote, and earned an Academy Award nomination for Best Original Screenplay. She has also been involved in voice acting and other creative projects. Basically a comedienne, she shows easy drifting into a character with ambivalent morals. Wiig also voices her animated counterpart.

Others in the cast are Gweneth Everlee as young Vera, Cassidy Nugent as teenage Vera, Kate Widdington as Kitty Ranger 1, Sophia Biling as Kitty Ranger 2, Lauren Chan as Kitty Ranger 3. All the rangers are within good range. Some of the animated characters are voiced by Jason Mantzoukas (Chumsley), Logan Bailey (Pandy Paws) and Juliet Donenfeld. There is not much to say about these gentlemen and ladies, who have done their jobs competently. Cinematography by Tony Elyzen, providing the platform for the animators to take over, works at a variable pace.

Editor Marcus Taylor and the decision of the directorial and animation team, to keep the length to just 98 minutes, is a wise decision. Music by Stephanie Economou includes 12 songs (12?  Really, felt more like 6) goes along with magic, miniaturisation, floating, flying and swimming characters, not to mention cake immersions and donut boats.

One cannot but help feasting one’s eyes on the nuclear explosion of colours and creatures (dolls and toys) on the big screen, that must be stuff the dreams of kiddos are made of. If your children are cat lovers, this is the right dollhouse you should be heading for. Even if they are not enamoured of cats, there are many other forms of animated life that they might resonate with. Going with the theme, I will give a dual rating for this film, for the benefit of the adults, who are going to read this review. Kids don’t read film reviews. They play games on mobile phones.                                                 Gabby's Dollhouse can serve as a tonic for those who are in a cat-a-tonic limbo.

Trailer: https://youtu.be/S-GFCPEWqe4

Kitty…er Kiddy rating: ** ½

Adult rating: **

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Downton Abbey-The Grand Finalé, Review: Down Times for the Upper Class

Downton Abbey-The Grand Finalé, Review: Down Times for the Upper Class

One good thing about British films is that we can follow the dialogue. British accent is more comprehensible than its American cousin. Add to that some helpful sub-titles, and you have a film in which both, the audio can be understood, without straining your eardrums. Moreover, Downton Abbey: The Grand Finalé, set in the England of over a hundred years ago, avoids the use of uncommon or effete words, except for the occasional ‘bish’. No need to do a search. Here is what it means: a short, informal abbreviation for "bish-bash-bosh," which is often used to describe a "job done" or a “quick finish”.  A historical fiction, Downton Abbey: The Grand Finalé is set in the period 1912-1930, and first aired in the UK on ITV, in September 2010. The show ran for fifty-two episodes across six series, including five Christmas specials.

The first film adaptation, a continuation of the series, was released in the United Kingdom in 2019. A second feature film, Downton Abbey: A New Era, was released in the United Kingdom in April 2022. Downton Abbey: The Grand Finalé, is the third and final film released in the UK and India on 12 September 2025, yesterday. A grand première was organised at the PVR Maison multiplex in Jio World Drive, BKC, Mumbai, on 11^th September. Scheduled to start at 7.30, it began at about 8.30. Preceding the film, representatives of the British Council and Universal Pictures addressed the gathering. The British Council rep lady informed the audience that this film is being used as part of the English teaching tools at the Council. With a 15-minute interval, anybody, who arrived on time, would have spent about 3 ½ hours in the cinema. Was it worth it? Read on.

Watching the grand finalé in the film version of a TV series that was first broadcast in 2010, in 2025, without having seen any of its episodes or the two films that preceded this third and final outing, has its own hazards. More so, when there is a large cast, all of them with their back-stories. To their credit, writer-creator Julian Fellowes and director Simon Curtis have been successful in ensuring that the film would make enough sense for first-time viewers, to keep them engaged. It retains its soap opera constitution, but is shot on a grander scale than most TV series. The characters and setting are immensely credible, convincing you that the England of the 1920s was really as depicted here, and that British aristocracy was on its last legs, with Castles and former Abbeys, now owned by Lords and Ladies, were making way for the flat/apartment phenomenon, which was coming as a culture shock to the decadent ‘royalty’.

A tale of the Crawley family, in 1930, it begins with them attending a London musical play, starring Guy Dexter and Noël Coward. Backstage they meet with Guy, Coward and former Downton butler, Thomas Barrow, now Guy's assistant and homosexual lover. When news breaks about Mary and Henry Talbot's divorce, a disgraced Mary is asked to leave a party, where the hostess thinks that her royal guests might take umbrage at the presence of a divorced woman. Divorce, in the England of the 20s and 30s, was seen as anathema. The Crawleys return to Downton Abbey, in Yorkshire, their palatial home, except for Mary, who stays behind at Grantham House, to receive Cora's brother, Harold Levinson, who is arriving from America, following their mother, Martha's death. Accompanying Harold is American financial advisor Gus Sambrook, who ‘saved’ Harold from financial ruin, by withdrawing his investments in the stock market, prior to the great Wall Street Crash, of 1929. Gus and Mary are mutually attracted and sleep together, while being totally drunk. The party travels to Downton Abbey, where Harold, to Cora's dismay, reveals that he squandered their mother's fortune on poor investments. He wants to invest Downton's remaining assets, including Grantham House, in London, to recoup his losses and repay his debt to Gus. It is later discovered that Sambrook is a confidence trickster, who has pocketed Levinson’s money.

News of Mary's divorce causes Downton neighbours to snub the Crawleys. Robert, still reeling from Mary's marriage ending and Harold's delinquency, furiously walks out when Mary proposes selling the London Grantham House to raise capital. Mary leads her family in rejecting Gus' proposal to invest Downton's income, prompting Gus to hint at blackmailing Mary over their one-night stand. Meanwhile, family member Tom Branson arrives and, along with Bertie Pelham, convinces Robert that Mary is doing what is best for the estate. Robert agrees and fully entrusts Downton Abbey to her, while he and Cora resolve to move to the Downton Dower house, taking along servants John and Anna Bates.

A lot of the film is in-house talk-talk, as in a TV series, but Fellowes has brought in some outdoor action too, in the form of a musical play, the legendary Ascot horse-race, and the annual county fair, which ensure that the audience does not develop claustrophobia. His dialogue is as complex as his characters, with questions being asked, and the answers being yes, no, maybe, I don’t know and this is not like me. Fellowes and Curtis do not deviate from the plot one bit, and avoid any digressions or tangential take offs. Curtis, who has worked mainly in television, has directed four films before donning the director’s hat for the 2022 and 2025 outings of Downton Abbey.

A coup of sorts was to bring in the real-life character of Noël Coward (1899-1973). Coward was already working as a stage actor in London by his teens, and had his first major hit as both playwright and performer by his mid-20s, with The Vortex, a scandalous look at cocaine-addicted aristocrats, with incestuous overtones. Coward wrote songs, films, short stories, and even a novel. He recorded albums and had a smash success in Las Vegas. He entertained troops during World War II, with tireless zeal, even as his homosexuality kept him officially outside the establishment. He was knighted in 1970. In the film, Coward is inspired by the character of Mary, and says that her life could be an interesting subject for him to write about. Then, when somebody chides him for prying into and exposing private lives, he gets a hint about the title of his new play.

Private Lives, a comedy in three acts, by Noël Coward, was published and produced in 1930. It is a cynical comment on love and marriage, characterised by his trademark witty dialogue. Elyot Chase and his second wife, Sibyl, are honeymooning on the French Riviera, when he discovers that his first wife, Amanda Prynne, and her second husband, Victor, have the room next to theirs. Elyot and Amanda’s attraction to each other is too strong to ignore; they run off to Paris together only to discover that their love is based on a mutual craving for violent arguments and physical brawls. Its second-act love scene was nearly censored in Britain, as too risqué. Coward wrote one of his most popular songs, ‘Someday I'll Find You’, for the play. The play starring Coward, Gertrude Lawrence, Adrianne Allen and Laurence Olivier. A Broadway production followed in 1931

Allotting screen-time and space to about 20 characters is a Herculean task, and Fellowes and Curtis are up to it. All the characters come across as credible, and it is difficult to single out any one as a better performer. Some of them begin where they ended their contribution to the earlier film, or the TV series, and some have been newly inducted. None of them go over the top. Mary, who accepts the imminent change in society and loss of privileges of Lords and ladies, is the at the center of the film, and her interaction with Sambrook, as well as her sister giving a piece of her mind to the con-man, stand out as engaging tracks in the narrative. Sambrook and Levinson look their parts physically.

Royalty and aristocracy all over the world began to get phased out in the early to mid-20^th century, and this movie captures the Crawleys coming to grips with the phenomenon in London and Yorkshire. We have seen numerous Indian films about decadent Rajas and Nawabs failing to accept the inevitable change, and the emergence of socialism as a way of life, in many countries. Satyajit Ray’s Jalsaghar and Abrar Alvi-Guru Dutt’s Sahib Bibi Aur Ghulam did a splendid job of recreating this ambience. In fact, Ray traced the onset of losing royal privileges, albeit to invading East India company forces, and not social upheavals, in the 19^th century based Shatranj Ke Khilari too.

If you need to know who’s who in the film, here is a list of actors and the roles they have played.

Hugh Bonneville as Robert Crawley, 7th Earl of Grantham

Laura Carmichael as Edith Pelham, Marchioness of Hexham, second daughter of Lord and Lady Grantham

Jim Carter as Charles "Charlie" Carson, former butler of the Crawley family and husband of Elsie Hughes, housekeeper.

Raquel Cassidy as Phyllis Baxter, lady's maid to Lady Grantham, and wife of Joseph Molesley

Paul Copley as Albert Mason, a tenant farmer under the Crawleys, father of Daisy's first husband, William Mason and love interest of Beryl Patmore

Brendan Coyle as John Bates, the valet of Lord Grantham, and husband of Anna Bates

Michelle Dockery as Lady Mary Crawley, eldest daughter of Lord and Lady Grantham

Kevin Doyle as Joseph Molesley, the local school-teacher at Downton, former footman at Downton Abbey and husband of Phyllis Baxter, now a film script-writer

Michael Fox as Andrew "Andy" Parker, former footman and current butler at Downton Abbey and husband of Daisy Parker

Joanne Froggatt as Anna Bates, lady's maid to Lady Mary, and wife of John Bates

Paul Giamatti as Harold Levinson, an American businessman, and brother of Lady Grantham

Harry Hadden-Paton as Herbert "Bertie" Pelham, 7th Marquess of Hexham, and husband of Edith

Robert James-Collier as Thomas Barrow, former butler at Downton Abbey, currently the housekeeper, dresser, and secret lover of Guy Dexter

Allen Leech as Tom Branson, the widower of Lady Sybil, Lord and Lady Grantham's late youngest daughter, and husband of Lucy Smith, a distant cousin of the Crawley family

Phyllis Logan as Elsie Hughes, the housekeeper at Downton Abbey and wife of Charlie Carson

Elizabeth McGovern as Cora Crawley, Countess of Grantham

Sophie McShera as Daisy Parker, assistant cook at Downton Abbey and wife of Andy Parker

Lesley Nicol as Beryl Patmore, long-time cook at Downton Abbey

Douglas Reith as Richard "Dickie" Grey, Lord Merton, a family friend of the Crawleys, godfather of Lady Mary, and second husband of Isobel

Dominic West as Guy Dexter, an actor and secret lover of Thomas Barrow

Penelope Wilton as Isobel Grey, Lady Merton and mother of Mary's late first husband Matthew Crawley

Simon Russell Beale as Sir Hector Moreland

Arty Froushan as Noël Coward

Alessandro Nivola as Gus Sambrook

Joely Richardson as Lady Petersfield

Rating: ***

Trailer: https://youtu.be/P_30wFRxlnA

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LEGOLAND California: awesome is eternal

 

 

We have been coming to Legoland California (https://www.legoland.com/california/ ) since our firstborn son, Felix, was 5! That’s 15 years ago, and we keep coming back, every summer, for a 24-hour extravaganza between enjoying one of the two Lego hotels, this year the Castle Hotel, and the three parks for a long, fun day under the California sun.

We have 3 boys now, Felix (20), Max (13), and Rex (11), and their love for Legos and Legoland California is still skyrocketing high in the sky. All year long, they play Lego and build dream-like construction, one brick at a time. And they long for the enchanting escapade to Legoland California every mid-July.

Every year, Legoland surprises us with new attractions. This year, we noticed that there was an all-new driving school with even a car wash with bubbles. The site where the old driving schools were is now undergoing an intense building project as Legoland is preparing to announce a new indoor roller coaster and a  new Space themed land, sure to take your breath away. Max and Rex sure had a blast chasing each other on this new track, and they think they are now ready to take my car to drive us home, ha-ha!  Next to this area, you must experience the Nike and Lego play arena, providing a basketball-themed experience for the whole family. It’s only running until August 10^th, so make sure to pack and head straight to Carlsbad’s Legoland, at once! And still in the same area and going onto the Legoland movie land, you must watch the new Lego World Parade at the end of each day. It’s quite a spectacle with floats coming to life with your favorite LEGO characters, such as the firemen, the pirates, or even the Ninjas from Ninjago! But before we experienced all of these fun times, we enjoyed our stay the night before at the Castle Hotel, where I booked a room with the theme of Knights and Dragons. It fits easily five people as there is a king-size bed in the master bedroom and 3 single beds (two are bunk beds) in the kids’ area. I am proud of myself for sleeping with the boys in the kids’ area while I gave my king bed to my son Felix and his fiancée. That’s what fathers do to keep their family happy! Each room has plenty of space for the whole family, and it comes with breakfast included, which is a yummy buffet in the heart of the castle (I highly recommend you make a reservation for breakfast as it can get crowded in the morning). Note that if you choose the Legoland Hotel, next door, you now have the choice of three new themed rooms:  Lego Duplo, Lego Ninjago, and Lego Friends rooms. We have also stayed many times at the “classic” Legoland Hotel, and it’s also a super place to relax and enjoy your time at the pool before a nice buffet meal at their restaurant.

Three of our kids’ favorite rides are: ‘Lego City: Deep Sea Adventure’, ‘Lego Technic Coaster’, and ‘The Dragon’. Each ride is such a different emotional and adrenaline-driven experience. Who doesn’t love to get on board a submarine and explore the deep sea with so many real fish, sting rays, and sharks to encounter along the dive! And what about a deep dive with a roller coaster that will put your stomach upside down! Finally, The Dragon is a friendly roller coaster which takes you to an enchanted castle inhabited by a dragon that you are riding on, quite a journey!

One of the highlights of the day is to go “wild’n’wet” at the water park. When they were younger, my kids loved the Lego universe of Chima, and this is what a Legoland California built: The Chima water park area with ‘Cragger’ s swamp’ where kids can slide though the mouth of a crocodile and the legendary Lion Temple wave pool, surrounded by a 30-foot-high Mt.Cavora and a Lego lion head archway. You truly feel immersed in the world of Chima, and your kids will roar all afternoon long. Note that the water park closes at 5:30 pm. So, I recommend you get there by 2:00 pm to enjoy a smooth 3-hour water ride. And don’t forget to end your stay with a lazy river ride, just to calm down the pulse of the wild jungle life.

Finally, on your way out and just after you get a few Legos “necessary” souvenirs at the Big Lego Store, you should experience the Sea Life aquarium. This is truly an interactive, hands-on experience for your kids, and they will feel like deep dive explorers of their own. Get up close and personal with so much sea life, such as stingrays, sharks, octopuses, and even feel and touch all types of starfish and other mesmerizing, colorful sea creatures.  Altogether, the Sea Life aquarium is home to 350 different species and more than 5,000 marine creatures.

Right now, is the best time of the year to head to Legoland California and have a memorable family time. We just came back from this enchanting, dreamlike park, and we are already planning to come back next summer, especially as we are eager to discover the new Space Themed Land!

Awesome is eternal in Legoland California. We see you there!

 

A big thank you to the Legoland California PR team, who were so kind to invite us, again, to experience so much family joy.

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From the World of John Wick-Ballerina, Review: Biting the Ballet, gunfire and fireguns

From the World of John Wick-Ballerina, Review: Biting the Ballet, gunfire and fireguns

Father and young daughter talking seriously, almost in whispers; daughter clinging on to a plastic toy, where a ballerina performs to Tchaikovsky’s tune, in a small round container

Heads, torsos and figures emerging from a river, carrying guns

Hell breaks loose; there are a dozen or more men; they want to get to the man and his daughter, who, live in a fancy, remote mansion

Bullets, bullets, more bullets;

Man hides daughter, who clings to the ballerina

Crash, bang, blast, boom; half the invaders are eliminated; that still leaves half of them

Man floored, faces doom

Leader of the pack is an old man in a long overcoat who approaches the down and out man; extolls the virtues of one bullet; gives gun to man; reprimands him for breaking rules, marrying his daughter, who had to die as a punishment; gives him a gun, and makes him an offer, “Kill yourself, and the girl (named Eve), lives. Kill me, and both of you die.” Man shoots himself in the head.

The majordomo is called Chancellor; He hands over the girl to an old Russian woman, called the Director, who runs a ballet troupe; shortly after mastering ballet, the girls are initiated into martial arts, use of knives and guns, and blood sport; they are taught to become contract killers, in a tradition called Ruska Roma. Bounties are in the range of USD 750,000-USD 40,00,000.

Twelve years pass. The girl must now be 18 (legal age to kill, I suppose). She asserts that she is ready and insists on getting into the act. Her first assignment: save a Korean billionaire’s daughter from a gang that wants to kidnap her and hold her for ransom; Eve is on her first mission; girl is dancing in a super-large disco, with state-of-the-art lighting and obvious drug-tripping; some Koreans appear.

Hell breaks loose; all kinds of armaments are used. The disco is reduced to a rubble. Eve is almost overpowered. But she manages to eliminate all the henchmen, save the leader of the pack. He is leaving with Miss Korea, when Eve stops him. A couple of minutes later he is dead. Girl saved.

Eve discovers she is working for an organisation that has John Wick as one of its veterans. She sees him and talks to him about her role as contract killer. He replies, “You had a choice. You could have opted out. She replies that at this stage, he has a choice, so why hasn’t he opted out? He replies, deadpan, “I’m working on it.”

Ballerina bites the bullet.

More contracts. More cities to travel to. More choreographed fights. More killings.

Time bombs, and an incredible scene where humungous flames thrown by the flame gun of an adversary meet a mini-flood of water from a fire emergency hosepipe.

Eve finds that one of the men she killed has an X mark on his ram. She severs it and places it on her Madame’s table. “The men who killed my father had this tattooed on his arm. I want you to tell me about this gang and where I can find its leader.” Madame is nonplussed. Avoids revealing details. Finally gives out a bit of information. It is a rival gang, and they kill both for money and pleasure. Exact whereabouts unknown.

Eve traces the gang and starts hunting down its members. Chancellor calls Madame and asks her to stop Eve. Madame says Eve is doing this on her own and against Madame’s wishes. Chancellor gives her until midnight to stop Eve, or else there will be war between the two gangs…ooops, organisations. The Chancellor’ unit has networks across cities, countries and continents, a full-fledged telephone exchange, walkie-talkies manned by a Sardarjee, and a whole village that will help him to eliminate the Outsider. Old-fashioned Madame uses the landline to call Eve, but Eve is recalcitrant. So, she sends her own man to stop Eve, and he reaches her at 11.30 pm. He has 30 minutes to stop her, and is capable of doing just that. Such assignments are his daily bread, and that is what makes him tick. His name is John Wick. And Ballerina Eve is now in his world.

Time-bombs, an array of guns and machine guns, grenades, smoke and fire bombs, knives, cleavers, rods, chairs, tables, mobile phones…am I missing something? I sure am. Will somebody please count and name all the objects and arms used in the film? Naw, just kidding. It is not possible, unless you go frame by frame.

John’s Wick-ed ways were first imagined by Derek Kolstad, now 51, and he made his first appearance 11 years ago. This film gives writing credit to Shay Hatten and Derek Kolstad. Written in the form of a series of encounters, it takes inspiration from ballet. Just as a ballerina has to be perfect in her steps and pirouettes, the contract killers have to be the same. Ballerina and murderina is a deadly concoction. It’s tenuous. And the motivation and “rules” of the organisation run by the Chancellor are flimsy.

There is humour (hear, hear) too, with the names Eve and Frank being punned upon, and the manner in which Eve pulls out and re-collects all her knives from her dead victim’s bodies. After placing the severed arm on the table of the Director, and being pulled up for her audacity, she is told by the Director to, “…take your arm back.” Relations between the two rival “corporations” are not clearly demarcated and the concept of an international chain of hotels and a whole European village being run by a Chancellor for “the last thousand years” is too much to swallow. Nowhere seems too far for the contractual killers, who travel thousands of miles at the drop of a hat, to Prague in particular. Every encounter is based on the ratio of 1:30 (approximate), which is obviously skewed in favour of the 30, who are all as professional as their adversary. They give the protagonist a very hard time, but, in the end, it is the triumph of the will. Ballerina is always battered, but wins the battle every time.

Making impact with action films like the Underworld series, Live Free or Die Hard, and the 2012 remake of Total Recall, he began his association with cinema through the art department. In Ballerina, he has used the services of five art directors. Earlier, when he was 15, when he saw the first Die Hard movie (1988) and he made his own version of the film using a video camera. In films like this one, you have to give more credit to the camera, SFX, VFX and Stunts teams, which consist of hundreds of names each. One particular car bang scene stands out, for the creativity of showing two cars colliding at perpendicular angles and one of them being dragged along the road for quite a distance.

Cuba-born, 27-year-old Ana de Armas gets to train and dance the ballet, emote, fight, fight, fight, fight, fight, fight, fight, fight, fight and more fight. But she seems to be in good control, playing an odd assimilation of parts: ballerina, contract killer and revenge-seeker. The emotional scenes are stereo-typical. Getting a female to take centre-stage and inviting 60-year-old Canadian Keanu Reeves as John Wick to put in what we Indians call a Special Appearance was a good piece of imagination. Gabriel Byrne as Chancellor is a good choice, menacing and stone cold. Ian MacShane plays Winston, a brief role. Inspiration from Winston Churchill and the moniker of the German head of state? Almost all the scenes of Anjelica Huston as the Director are shot with her sitting. Is it because age or illness makes it difficult for her to stand? Daughter of famed director late John Huston, she is 74 now. Incidentally, her mother was Russian prima ballerina Enrica 'Ricki' Soma. Did the ballerina angle come from this background?

Norman Reedus impresses as Daniel Pine, the father of another girl facing the same situation as Eve and her father did. Rendering adequate support are Catalina Sandino Moreno as Lena,

Ava Joyce McCarthy as Ella, Juliet Doherty as Tatiana, Lance Reddick as Charon, Sharon Duncan-Brewster as Nogi, David Castañeda as Javier, Victoria Comte as young Eve, Robert Maaser as Dex, Sooyoung Choi as Katla Park and Jung Doo-hong as Il Seong. One of the bad guys, who has a relatively longer lasting encounter with Eve, looks a lot like director Wiseman. Is that you, Len?

After all this, I might have prepared you for a low rating. Well, this is a genre film, and it pushes the boundaries. There several adrenaline rushes, and the action (tons of it) is really well crafted, like a ballet. If gory violence is infra-dig for you and you are not into mayhem and decimation, you would not think of watching From the World of John Wick: Ballerina in the first place. But if you love bangs and bullets for your bucks, please proceed.

The Indian release comes just a week after the international release. The last two John Wick films grossed over $326 million and $440 million worldwide, and distributor Lionsgate was hoping this one could still add at least another $250 million to that total. However, till last Sunday, the film made just $51 million. Indian distributors PVR INOX would be hoping for its better performance in India.

Rating: ***

Trailer: https://youtu.be/0FSwsrFpkbw

P.S.: For a show scheduled for 7 pm, I reached, horror of horrors, only at 7.50 pm. Blame it on Mumbai traffic and non-availability of transport. At least twice, I thought of heading back home, for, if it started at 7, I would have missed just about half the film. And I am not known for being late. So, I sent WhatsApp messages to the PR girl who had invited me, about my late arrival, and she replied that it was no problem. I guessed that, like on some rare occasions, this time, too, the show had been unduly delayed. Minutes after I entered the auditorium, a long but eloquent speech was delivered about PVR INOX Pictures, and its achievements and contributions to the cause of Hollywood's independent cinema and its partnerships with some of the local ditsributors there. This was followed by another eloquent speech, by another PVR INOX high official, detailing the same subject and screening trailers of the POVR INOX slate of films due for release in October and November 2025. It must have been 8.30 pm by the time the film started, and interval included, it ended at about 10.45 pm. Those who live in Mumbai—and that includes the organisers and the PR agency-- need not be told that it can take, on an average, 90 minutes to travel to the Juhu PVR INOX multiplex, during the peak hours of 5.30 to 7 pm. It would take at least 60 minutes to get home after the film, not because of peak hours, but because of a shut-down of suburban bus services, by about 10.30 pm. So, many of us who left home at 5.30 pm would have reached home by around 11.45. A good 375 minutes or 6 hours and 15 minutes were invested in the show. Most Indians have dinner between 8.30 and 9.30 pm. A lot of Indians need to have food, or at least snacks, every three hours, because they get acidity if they don’t do so.

Almost all screenings treat the media to a soft drink, two samosas and a box of popcorn. In cases where the organisers do not have the budget or are penny-wise, the samosa content is reduced to one or nil. On the other hand, more accommodating organisers let the media choose their soft drink and popcorn flavor, a luxury denied in other cases. This was a PVR INOX film, being screened at one of the chain’s own 2,000 odd cinemas. The show took double the time of that other such screenings take, and the speakers listed their achievements, hoping to impress journalists and get good write-ups. But they forgot one cardinal rule: “Bhookey bhajan na hoye Gopala” (you cannot sing praises of the Lord on an empty stomach). A coupon was handed over to us by the PR team, on which was printed “A packet of samosas (two), Coke and Popcorn.” This was hardly enough to keep anyone going for 375 minutes, but something was better than nothing.

A rude shock awaited us at the concessionaire counters, where we were told that there would be no samosas, we would not be given the choice of drink nor would we be allowed to choose our flavor of popcorn! Moreover, popcorn isn’t even a snack. And this was happening in the bastion of PVR INOX, which surely outsources its menu at a fraction of the price it is sold at. One would have expected that they would go over the top, and open their stock of drinks, goodies and savories, to one and all. Nobody demands that certain items must be served at press shows. It is a question of courtesy, hospitality and tradition. In fact, I have no problem with PR agencies warning me in advance that NOTHING would be served. I would then either make my own arrangements, or skip the event altogether. But the hospitality on Wednesday night was rock-bottom, much unlike the exciting climax of the feature presentation. This is not a rant, but an inescapable fact. Of course, as a conscientious critic, such inhospitality and terrible PR has not affected my review of the film in any way, as will be obvious to all my regular readers.

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Mission Impossible-The Final Reckoning, Review: Tom Cruises through air, water, tice and land; dies twice, lives

Mission Impossible-The Final Reckoning, Review: Tom Cruises through air, water, ice and land; dies twice, lives thrice

1,000? You are nowhere near. 10,000? You are getting warmer. 100,000? That, I guess, is very, very, close. It must have taken at least 100,000 persons to put together this humungous spectacle called Mission Impossible-The Final Reckoning, going by the end credits roll. I am making a wild guess, since it was not possible to count the names, which went on rolling for several minutes, and, in any case, many contributors remain uncredited. Budget estimates of what it cost to make the film are between $300 and $400 million. Let us put that in zeroes: $30,00,00,000-$40,00,00,000. Rupees anyone? At the 17 May 2025 exchange rate of Rs. 85 to a dollar, from a reliable website, the film cost Rs. 2,568 crore to Rs. 3,423 crore. Entire industries can be set-up in India with that kind of money. Governments announce packages of such sizes for the development of certain sectors of their country. Mission Impossible-The Final Reckoning, is not a film, it is an industry. Averages can be odious, but the budget translates to an average income of Rs. 25,680 to Rs. 34,233 per person, including bottom of the line hands, associated with the film, though I am sure that Skydance, Tom Cruise and Christopher McQuarrie will have a take home package not much less than $300 to $400 million each, by the time the film has had its run. And its runtime is 170 minutes.

Tom Cruise announced that the seventh and eighth Mission: Impossible films would be shot back-to-back, with McQuarrie writing and directing both films. Filming of the eighth instalment began in March 2022, in the UK, Malta, South Africa and Norway. Production was halted in July 2023, due to the SAG-AFTRA strike, resumed in March 2024, and concluded in November 2024. The film, originally titled Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part Two, dropped its subtitle in October 2023, and the new subtitle was announced in November 2024. The Final Reckoning had its world premiere two weeks ago, in Tokyo. Assuming it was shot and processed over a period of two years/730 days, the producers spent $55,000/day, taking the cost as $400 million. And one minute of edited film cost $2.35 million. The film’s makers are not launching welfare schemes or setting-up industries, they want to make money. And real big money. In multiples of $300-$400 million. Now, with such mind-boggling numbers, the film had better be good. Not every big investment brings such returns. No worries. They got most of it right. This one is a safe bet, and very likely to take M/s Skydance, Cruise and McQuarrie several notches up on the billionaires’ ladder.

I began watching with two handicaps. The PR agency which was handling the press previews of Mission Impossible: The Dead Reckoning (part I) did not invite me for the press show. And we poor journalists cannot afford to pay and write. As a result, I missed out on that one. So, the continuity was jerking. Although the censor certificate stated that the copy we were going to watch in IMAX had English sub-titles, it only had sub-titles when somebody spoke a language other than English. Add to that, the film has hundreds of four-frame fleeting shots, where you would require a freeze-frame and repeated rewinds and playbacks to make sense. Obviously, they either do not want you to make sense, or presume that every member of the audience has seen the prequel and will connect to the sequel, with the barest of hints. Moreover, they either expect the audience to be M.Sc.s in IT and/or AI, and wizards with numbers. Various components of a menace that could destroy the whole world are going to come together towards the end of the film (obviously; this detail is redundant), and the saviours of the planet will have from 20 minutes to a milli second to prevent the looming extermination. And they take 170 minutes/10,200 seconds to reach there. But Ethan Hunt, and his band of geniuses, which includes a state-of-the-art female pickpocket, can be trusted to achieve the impossible. Am reminded of a company that had as its credo, “We do the impossible immediately. The miraculous takes a little longer.” Ever wondered why the series is called Mission Impossible?

Now, cut to inputs from Wikipedia. Two months after it became aware of the artificial intelligence known as the Entity (no, no, not the ghost of the 1982 film; in 1982, Tom was shooting for his first film, at age 20; he is 63 now; Mission Impossible 1 arrived in 1996), the world has plunged into chaos. Disinformation is rampant, civil disorder is becoming increasingly common, and the world's nuclear powers are drawing nearer and nearer, to conflict with each other. United States President Erika Sloane reaches out to IMF (‘International Monetary Fund’? ha-ha, got you there) agent Ethan Hunt, imploring him to surrender the key to the IT system located on the sunken Russian submarine Sevastopol (then what was Belgorod?) that would allow the user to control the Entity. Hunt refuses, as he believes that nobody will be able to control it; he instead pursues his one lead, Entity agent Gabriel, who has plans of his own. Hunt assembles a team consisting of IMF agents Luther Stickell, Benji Dunn and Grace, to break Gabriel's associate, Paris, out of custody, in a bid to locate him.

Hunt and Grace attempt to apprehend Gabriel in London, but Gabriel intercepts them first. Gabriel locks Hunt in a cell and threatens Grace to force Hunt into retrieving the core of the Sevastopol for him, revealing that Hunt is responsible for the Entity's creation: it was originally known as the ‘Rabbit's Foot’, an incomplete prototype weapon that Hunt had stolen from a laboratory in Shanghai. Hunt breaks free of his cell, and gives chase, but Gabriel escapes. The IMF team find a device Gabriel used to communicate with the Entity, and it tries to persuade Hunt to give it access to a secure bunker in South Africa, to save humanity. Hunt realises that the Entity believes itself to be a god, and intends to start the war it warned him about, but that it needs to visit the bunker, to survive the coming conflict. He concludes that Gabriel has been cut off from the Entity, and develops a plan to destroy it, for good. Hunt sends the team to locate the co-ordinates for the Sevastopol, while he returns to Stickell. He finds Stickell attempting to disarm a nuclear bomb planted by Gabriel. Stickell warns Hunt that he can defuse the bomb, in a race against time, and save the city, but the drastically reduced explosion will nevertheless destroy the tube railway tunnel where he is working, and he will die in the explosion. The Plot, on Wiki, is 1,225 words. I have edited it, including my own inputs, to 417 words, and no spoilers, with due apologies to Eddie Hamilton. Who’s that? Read on.

The Final Reckoning may or may not be the final chapter in 30-year-old series (remember a James Bond film titled Never Say Never Again?), and Cruise might be replaced with a younger actor. But it is good tribute to the team of Cruise-McQuarrie. McQuarrie is a frequent collaborator with Tom Cruise, having written and directed Jack Reacher (2012), as well as four instalments of the Mission: Impossible film series: Rogue Nation (2015), Fallout (2018), Dead Reckoning (2023), in addition to uncredited rewrites on Ghost Protocol (2011). He was also a part of the writing and/or producing team on the Cruise films Valkyrie (2008), Edge of Tomorrow (2014), Jack Reacher: Never Go Back (2016), The Mummy (2017), and Top Gun: Maverick (2022). McQuarrie has collaborated on this script with Erik Jendresen, of the Band of Brothers fame, who also shared the writing credit with McQuarrie in The Dead Reckoning. The duo has written a plot that is vast and wide, and encompasses various cities, and locales that are recreated by set-pieces. They have incorporated earth, wind, fire, water and ice, and all kinds of transportations that move in these realms. Though the bi-plane action scenes and the underwater escapades are breath-taking, it does seem odd that on land, Hunt rarely uses a vehicle, depending, instead, on his marathon running capabilities. Just when you see the protagonists reaching what might have been the powder-keg, the burning fuse, the writers shift co-ordinates to another location, several thousand kilometres away. When you find Hunt chasing a bi-plane as it takes off, you expect him to get a grip and move on to air-borne histrionics. Put then again, the writers let the plane beat Hunt, and then bring in another bi-plane, which he manages to latch on two. The rest is to be seen to be believed.

As director, McQuarrie gives all his actors ample scope to make their presences felt. There are multiple close-ups of almost every actor, and each has a separate, distinctive identity, some on the basis of ethnicity and language, while others on the basis of facial features and stances. In most cases, however, the actor has to look grim and rattle off some lines about IT/AI/Nuclear Physics/Decompression/Defusing of bombs/Hypothermia and such. And, as is the case with any series, there is no back-story, except when it comes as a flash, to connect a current event, or meeting, to the past. The near death situations, the dying, and the revivals, get to be monotonous by the time you have reached 120 minutes, but some of them sparked laughter in the audience. Humour also surfaces in the shape of languages, when two or more persons can speak only their own language, and not the others’. In desperation, the players resort to sign language, and though the plot points in the story are far from funny, the exchanges elicit laughter.

Do we need to have Tom Cruise in his briefs in about a quarter of the film? At least two major action scenes and many underwater exploits find him in his underwear. On the other hand, his laugh lines, seen in the airborne calisthenics, add gravitas to the character. Those scenes are breath-taking, if anything. He is good at his job, very good too, but why, as always, mumble the dialogue?  Hayley Atwell is Grace, the pick-pocket, who epitomises the definition of a great pick-pocket, as distinguished from a merely good one. It’s all about timing. She is wide-eyed most of the time. Ving Rhames as Luther Stickell, the computer technician, Ethan's best friend, and the only member of his team who dies in this film, is endearing, a far cry from the stock villain in one of the Pulp Fiction stories of yesteryear. Simon Pegg, as Benji Dunn, remains his animated, disarming self. Angela Bassett as Erika Sloane, the former CIA director, now President of the United States (a black woman President?), falls in from Fallout, and lands safely. Esai Morales as Gabriel, an assassin with ties to Ethan's past, before the IMF, who acts as the Entity's liaison, comes across as more egotistic and confused than a pure villain. Pom Klementieff as Paris, the French assassin who was betrayed by Gabriel and became Ethan's ally to kill Gabriel, has sharp features and a sexy aura. Pasha D. Lychnikoff as Captain Koltsov, the Russian, is comfortable, both while terrorising his quarry, and when he gives them a fair chance. Henry Czerny, Holt McCallany, Janet McTeer, Nick Offerman, Hannah Waddingham, Shea Whigham, Greg Tarzan Davis, Charles Parnell, and Rolf Saxon provide high grade support. Saxon, somehow, comes across to me as an Indian actor, which he certainly is not.

Music is a key element in the narrative. The various titular themes written by Lalo Schifrin, and the back-ground score by Max Aruj and Alfie Godfrey, leave very little to be desired. Assisted by at least thousands of post-production technicians, cinematography by Fraser Taggart is still world class. Here comes Eddie Hamilton (read above), who is the editor (what else could he be?). Quite obviously, he has had to be ruthlessly sharp with the amount of footage downloaded on his computer, to make it, a slightly stretched, 170 minutes, and that still is a sword that cuts both ways; it gives the film pace and velocity, and causes blurs when the shots are as short as a (milli?) second and leaves the audience to its imagination whenever a scene starts in mid-action.

The MI series cannot escape comparison with the Bondwagon, which took off in 1962, when Tom Cruise was born, and has lasted 63 years, like the age of the superstar. But that can be the subject of another discourse. Yet, one cannot help noticing that there was a Bond film called You Only Live Twice, and Tom Cruise lives thrice in The Final Reckoning. Well, cats have nine lives, don’t they? Ethan Hunt possesses three lives at least: one for the land, one for the water and one for the air.

Rating: *** ½

Trailer: https://youtu.be/fsQgc9pCyDU

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The Legend of Ochi, Review: Conversations with a baby monster

The Legend of Ochi, Review: Conversations with a baby monster

Whenever Hollywood films take-up a subject that is steeped in folklore, mythology, talking animals, birds, creatures or monsters, it creates a universe for them. In other, similar films, the creature is neither a hero or villain among his own ilk. Then there is the choice between full-fledged animation, or a combination of Animation and VFX. The Legend of Ochi is one film where the monster is neither glorified nor vilified. Instead, while in the film, creatures live in forests and caves, and do cause death and havoc among humans, a baby Ochi is saved by a caring girl, while a possé tries to hunt down as many of the beasts it can. She is Yuri, the daughter of the man who leads the armed mini-army. She finds little Ochi, the size of a one-year-old human infant, to be harmless, cute and adorable. On an impulse, she hides him in her back-packers’ bag, and takes him home. You might try and guess what happens next, but, most likely, you will never imagine the developments thereafter. The Legend of Ochi is old wine on the surface, but a new cocktail, in a brand new bottle. It is strange and brooding in parts, with some content that the kids should not be exposed to, yet it has overall universal appeal.

Ochi have been attacking, even killing, the village folk in a remote Carpathian island in the Black Sea, where modernism and Biblical influences co-exist and thrive. They have anachronistic institutions and convenience stores, like churches, cars, gas stations and supermarkets. Maxim and Yuri live in a far-off, mountainous village that has been targetted by the Ochi, time and again. His wife, Dasha, has left them and lives alone, far away from her conjugal home, doing cattle farming. Maxim seems to hold on to ancient references, mainly from the Bible, which he sometimes chants or speaks aloud, or songs played on the radio, which he sings along.

He gathers a bunch of boys and an adult, who seems to be in his late teens. They arm themselves with guns and axes, and head for the forest, which is the hideout of the Ochi, to eliminate as many of the animals as possible. In addition to a gun, Maxim gives Yuri a knife, which, he says was handed down to him by his father. He also reminds her that an Ochi had attacked her mother and brutally injured her. The couple do not live together because the woman abandoned them, and left for an unknown place in the vast jungle, and, Maxim adds, she does not want to them ever again.

During their attempts to shoot-at-sight, the hunters only manage to injure one baby Ochi. The rest of them escape the bullets, being barely visible in the dark jungle. While the rest of the party head home, Yuri, who has caterpillars for pets, lags behind, to take the injured, bleeding Ochi baby with her. Surprisingly, she manages to get close to it and puts him in her bag, without any struggle. When she reaches home, she dresses his wound, but is sure that the Ochi would be found out, and she will then have to bear the wrath of her father. Only one member of the party, Petro, discovers her with the Ochi, but is humane enough to let her escape, with the creature. He then sounds an alarm that Ochi is missing, and has been kidnapped. Now, more than ever before, Maxim is determined to lead his boy-army to find Yuri and kill Ochi predators. Meanwhile, Yuri discovers she can understand some of the sounds made by her pet, and soon, she is able to ‘speak’, with screeching Ochri sounds that the baby beast understands too. They are now friends. But Maxim and company are getting nearer and nearer.

Ochi might have been derived from a word like Yuichi, which means a Red Indian tribe of the South-Eastern U.S.A., who speak the Uchean language, or it might be an original proper noun, brought up at a brain-storming session of the film unit, to name the creatures. It certainly has no meaning in the English language. Writer-director Isaiah Saxon, whose name identifies with the setting of the film, has made language and familial ties, human or animal, the central theme of the film. Time and again, he brings up the issue of language and communication. Although a beast is the metaphor he uses to drive home his point, he also infuses the beast with human expressions, spoken in a language that only a little girl, with motherly traits, not only understands, but replies using the same beasty, screechy and rhythmic language. Sometimes, his using of ancient and Biblical quotes mouthed by Maxim becomes predictable and unnecessary, and will not resonate with audiences who have not read the Bible, or those that do not remember the whole text. As is stands, it has substantial appeal to all and sundry across the world, beginning with the U.S.A., but its universal appeal could have widened if he had used alternate, more familiar quotes.

Though Yuri has never been taken to the supermarket or tasted bottled milk, when she finds herself outside a supermarket, she goes in, picks up a plastic bottle containing milk, feeding the hungry Ochi Junior the same, who gulps it down without as much as a murmur. In turn, Ochi decides to teach Yuri to eats bugs and worms. There is a curfew in place at the village, from night till morning, lest some Ochi attack the villagers in the dark. Though he presents a terrain that is full of forests, streams, huge trees and caves, providing perfect hiding ground for the Ochi, it does seem that the village folk have not, as yet, gone on a concerted seek and kill, eliminating mission, full cry. Even in the present expedition, there is no real adult, only boys, who, he says, are worthy of being his sons, and his daughter. Appears strange. Saxon’s world is one in which old and new, bonds and separations, cars and rafts, humans and little known creatures, hard-boiled settlers and sympathetic folks, co-exist. In this world, you might be surprised to find a supermarket. Locales include Transylvania, in the Apuseni Mountains, at the Bâlea Lake, the Transfăgărășan Road and other Romanian locales. The film makes use of puppetry, animatronics, computer animation and matte paintings. Ochi is a puppet, operated by 7 puppeteers. It is not clear why the director has not put-sub-titles in the last leg of the film, where Yuri and Ochi Junior say a lot, in Ochian, of course.

Casting is excellent, though only the lead couple and their daughter, all three casting coups, have the trace of a back-story. The other members of the cast fit into their sketches quite well.

American-Italian actor Willem Dafoe plays Maxim. A consistent performer, 69-year-old Dafoe was seen recently in The Florida Project (2017), At Eternity's Gate (2018), The Lighthouse (2019), Spider-Man: No Way Home (2021) and Poor Things (2023). He is a treat to watch. Cast as Dasha, British actress Emily Watson was last seen playing the lead role in Dune: Prophecy (2024). 16-year-old Helena Zengel, who looks younger than her age, acted recently, in the film, Transamazonia. Helena shows amazing maturity for her age, is completely at home in most sticky of situations, and will be noticed for casting for roles in forthcoming projects. Finn Wolfhard, a Canadian actor and musician, puts on the right expressions for Petro, a man who surrenders to the will of the pack-leader, is committed to the mission, yet has an ambivalent attitude towards the Ochi.

Music, by David Longstreth, is always ominous and foreboding, eerie and super-naturalistic. The songs used in the film are not among those I am familiar with. Cinematography by Evan Prosofsky has to deal with poor lighting and many grey tones, which he does commendably. The real shots and the mastered shots blend seamlessly. The film is edited by Paul Rogers, and at 95 minutes, is just right to tell the story, without any unnecessary paddings.

The Legend of Ochi is not children’s fare if you go by the Disney-Pixar books. And yet, children will identify with the film the most. Don’t be surprised if your little ones go rattle-screech-cluck, in trying to imitate the Ochi. Adults too will find a lot to identify with, which makes it a very good husband-wife-kids outing. Just suspend the disbelief into accepting that there is an undiscovered primitive animal that lives in dense forests and occasionally attacks the settlers’ villages. Comparisons will be made with ET and Koi Mil Gaya, and one cannot deny that there is some commonality between the three, yet this films manages to stand-up on its own.

Rating: ***

Trailer: https://youtu.be/_z_mAhsK4a8

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Another Simple Favor, Review: Hope, Charity, Faith and the other ‘f’ word forever

Another Simple Favor, Review: Hope, Charity, Faith and the other ‘f’ word forever

An author who writes reality fiction and has a huge following on her ‘Moms’ social platform; she spills the beans on a gym instructor at a school, who films his children in the buff; he shoots and kills himself; she also provides material in her next book on a woman who, she says, murdered her sister; she sleeps with her half-brother; she has an obese black woman as an publishing agent who does very little besides drinking bottles and bottles of wine; she is separated from her husband and has custody of her child, yet she sleeps around, and her son talks to her about it; the woman, who went to jail based on her exposé, arrives suddenly at her current book launch, released on bail, and invites her to her wedding, which will take place in lush Capri, Italy; the woman is also a sex maniac and earlier worked in a bar as a sex worker; her husband-to-be is a Mafia boss in Capri, but when the author googles his name, she finds nothing about him; the author agrees to be her bridesmaid, though she has some fear that the woman might kill her for exposing her murderous act; the Mafia boss has a rival, but there is a delicate truce between the two Mafias, and the boss of the other Mafia comes to the wedding, but will not allow the author to take pictures of him or any of his gang; the bride to be also invites her ex-husband and her child from that marriage is also present; her ex-husband is killed in the bathroom, while being naked and having a shower; more murders follow; a lady FBI agent is tracking the author, though she seems to be a greenhorn in the profession; there is an Italian Police Inspector who believes that the author committed at least one of the murders; she is put in solitary confinement in her hotel room, but manages to escape in the chamber-maid’s cart (shades of Shivaji Maharaj escaping from Aurangzeb’s custody?), in what is supposed to be a comic scene, and is, admittedly, funny, though completely incredible; the mothers of the couple are invited to the wedding, as is the bride’s aunt, a suspicious character; it turns out that the bride was one among triplets, named Hope, Charity and Faith, but charity was supposedly born dead (why do I see Manmohan Desai sitting next to me in the Excel Entertainment preview theatre, and applauding?); no, she wasn’t born dead, it was her aunt, who served as mid-wife, who took her away at birth, to train her in high profile crimes, mainly blackmail and murder; at the wedding, the Mafia boss burns his ‘prenup’ with a cigarette lighter (have no idea what a prenup is? AI to the rescue: A prenup, or prenuptial agreement, is a legal contract signed by a couple before marriage, outlining how their assets, debts, and other financial matters will be handled, if the marriage ends in divorce or death. It essentially provides a framework for dividing property and addressing financial obligations in the event of separation); one of the sisters is dead, allegedly killed by the bride, and another materialises, all-grown-up, with an agenda of her own; the groom has been having a homosexual relationship with his arch-enemy, his rival Mafia boss; everybody uses words related to male and female genitals, breasts, intercourse, fornication, et al, at the drop of a hat; strangely, in a film that has all of the above, there is no nudity, except for the man in the shower, and even there, they refrain from showing his genitals; won’t viewers feel offended if they did; on the contrary, they expect nudity and much more, given the general sexy mounting and the ‘f’ filled dialogue track; the newly discovered Charity is in lesbian love with her twin sister, and they have a lesbian encounter, which saves the bride from being shot dead.

If this is your cup of tea, be the Guest of Amazon Prime and MGM’s original movie, Another Simple Favor, described as a black comedy, which has two minor American blacks in its cast, one male, one female. It ends with one woman asking another for a simple favor, and when asked what favor, she hands her a white sheet of paper. We don’t know what is written on that paper, because the scene is cut right there, marking the end of the film. Does it mean, God forbid, a sequel is in the offing? This one is already a sequel to the 2018 original.

The movie stars Anna Kendrick as Stephanie Smothers (the surname is punned upon as a way of smothering someone with a pillow, which is actually the case in the film, though it is not Stephanie who is guilty of that crime), an author and Miles's mother

Blake Lively as Emily Nelson, Nicky's mother

Henry Golding as Sean Townsend, Emily’s ex-husband and Nicky's father (the man in the shower; Psycho, anyone?)

Bashir Salahuddin as Detective Summerville (the black guy who is Stephanie’s inside man)

Elizabeth Perkins as Margaret McLinden, Emily’s mother. Perkins replaces Jean Smart, who portrayed the character in the first film.

Michele Morrone as Dante Versano, Emily's fiancé

Elena Sofia Ricci as Portia Versano, the mother

Allison Janney as Aunt Linda McLinden, Emily’s aunt and Margaret’s older sister

Joshua Satine as Miles Smothers, Stephanie’s son

Ian Ho as Nicholas ‘Nicky’ Townsend-Nelson, Emily and Sean’s son

Kelly McCormack as Stacy

Taylor Ortega as FBI Agent Irene Walker

Lorenzo de Moor as Matteo Bartolo, the rival Mafia boss

Jake Tapper, a real-life TV anchor as himself

Returning to reprise their roles in the first edition, A Simple Favor, are director Paul Feig (Bridesmaids, The Heat, Spy, Ghostbusters, A Simple Favor, and Last Christmas), actors Anna Kendrick Blake Lively, Henry Golding and Andrew Rannells.

A few of my loyal readers find some of my reviews very long. This is my ode and deal for them. 50% off!

Rating: * ½

Trailer: https://youtu.be/QWajCwdC_TM

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