Saving the damsels in distress

Lucius Malfoy… excuse me, Jason Isaacs stars in this fast-paced mystery drama about a former cop-present detective who has a penchant for finding lost people, especially girls.

The mysteries are intriguing and the chase by the lone detective are rewarding. The stories are intertwined and flow into each other and sometimes we have to follow three cases at once. From finding a girl who went missing 20 years ago to aiding a crime novelist in his who gets embroiled in an accident, Scottish detective Jackson Brodie is the unlucky detective, who is always at the right place at the wrong time and loves his old American country songs.

What I liked about the series was that it did not try to be more than what it is. There is the mystery that is tackled and sometimes we are made privy to Brodie’s internal struggle as he continues to deal with the drowning of his sister when he was a child. Comparing this to Wallander, I found Case Histories to be a better drama in terms of pace, storyline and action. Wallander mostly took place inside the mind but Case Histories takes you where you want to be.

The failings of House of Cards

House of Cards is a political drama about a Congressman Frank Underwood who has a promised Secretary of State post taken away from him. The story charts how he follows through on his thwarted ambitions. A man of means, Underwood shows you all the dirt and is of course not afraid to get his hands dirty in the process.

House of cards starts off strongly. The first 5 episodes are enough to convince you that it is a must-watch series. There are sneaky machinations, string-pulling, corruption trails, revenge plots, and some political absurdities along the way.

But the excitement soon fizzles as you realize that it is the same thing happening all over again. Deceit and lies are served as the main course but the dishes become monotonous as you keep being served.

What I like about the series are the small pauses where the fourth wall breaks and the Underwood addresses us with what he really thinks; sometimes it becomes a welcome break from all the lies he spews and churns.

House of Cards falls bit by bit as the ambitions of Francis Underwood (played by the gracefully ageing Kevin Spacey) rise. The series fails to capture the characters and their development; Underwood’s wife Claire becomes small in comparison to her husband’s goals and aims and she often becomes a casualty of her husband’s plans. The growth of other characters is also uneven.

The series, a strong Emmy contender, is a good series, no doubt. But I have to agree with Alan Sepinwall, who says that the show might have been “a mid-tier drama for HBO or Showtime.” I started to lose interest mid-way and it is only Kevin Spacey who has manages to deliver a strong performance through out the 13 episodes.

Throne of Blood

I finally picked up Kurosawa’s Throne of Blood, which had been lying with me for a few years. Kurosawa’s films are a treat to watch and ofcourse, Rashomon is a must for film/literature lovers.

Based on Macbeth, the film follows the Samurai commander Washizu (played by the very charming and able Toshiro Mifune) who hears a prophecy by a forest spirit declaring him first, the master of the North castle and next, as the Lord of the Spider Web Castle. As the first prediction comes true, Washizu, pushed by his ambitious wife Asaji, kills the current lord and takes over his position.

However, the forest spirit also foretold that another commander’s son would become the Lord after Washizu, who then spirals into an endless and a frantic struggle to maintain his power.

The movie, like the play it is based on, deals with the question of predestination and free will. Predestination becomes the cover for actions that are fuelled by ambition and ruthlessness (classic Shakespeare!).

The film is beautifully-shot and has few dialogues. There is vast emptiness and ominous sounds, which just seem to highlight the troubled minds of the protagonist. Lady Asaji portrays her madness and villainy with ease and brilliance. Washizu, led by his wife’s direction, commits what he thinks is his destiny. (But we know better)

Themes of prophecy/predestination and free will are a source of delight and/or discussion, at least for me. Another recent reference that comes to mind is of course Harry Potter. I would love to watch more movies dealing with this theme. Any ideas?

p.s. Lord Krishna is another one!

Review: The Girls

I would usually avoid a series with such an obvious title. But I am not regretting picking this up. The series is a fresh take on girls living in New York and experiencing lives as an adventure. I think there is some Gossip Girl and SATC in this but I also saw some hues of Mad Men.

The series revolves around Hannah and her friends, trying to figure out their lives (aren’t we all?) as they traverse through their 20s. The series generates a lot of introspection and sometimes as you look through the characters’ anxieties, mistakes and misgivings, you oscillate through a sense of belonging and a sense of alienation.

But the series is more of a montage on living and experiencing. I really liked an episode where Hannah goes to apologize to a stranger for dumping garbage in his trash can and somehow ends up spending two days with him.

Overall, the series is worth watching and I would recommend it to anyone who is interested in light watching and slight contemplation.

anime review

Just completed: Aku no Hana (Flowers of Evil)

Is Aku no Hana a story about teenage urges and desires gone awry or does it have a deeper meaning regarding teenage angst and ennui?

While we ponder on this, we have to watch the show move at a snail’s pace. Kasuga, the protagonist, fancies himself to be different from the rest. He thinks that by reading different/varied literature, he is a pioneer of sorts. Once, by mistake, he steals the gym clothes of his classmate Saeki, whom he worships as his femme fatale, his muse. Big words for someone in middle school. He is seen by the class oddball Nakamura, who then forces him into a contract.

What follows is a twisted and dark journey into teenage worries and anxiety. The under confident Kasuga, the all-embracing Saeki and the bullying yet needy Nakamura: the show revolves around these three and the only time we see the rest of the class is when they are commenting on these three.

But is it an over-reach? The manga is still on-going and the show’s first season spanned only 13 episodes. The story seemed to be going nowhere except spiralling through Kasuga’s worries and fears.
On the fence about it.

Current Servings

A nifty list of what I am currently watching:

Jormungand

Tells the story of an arms dealer Koko and her troupe as they negotiate with governments, competitors and assassins. Just three episodes in and I like the fast pace, music and characterization.

Chihayafuru

Based on the Japanese traditional card game karuta, Chihayafuru is an amalgamation of sorts. It is a sports anime, a romantic anime and a shoujo ‘bildungsroman’ anime. The characters are good and sparkly, the storyline strong but the weak link is the pace which progresses slower than the astrological signage. But the build ups are definitely worth it. Have finished season one (and rewatched it too) and about to finish season 2.

Iryu Sousa

From the long (and sometimes exhausting) line of Japanese detective series comes Iryu Sousa. Although each episode starts out fine with a strong mystery element, the end is always lacking and emotional. I guess the point of the whole series is that the protagonist is from the personal effects department, which also includes the family members of the deceased. So after each mystery concludes, this ‘cop’ goes to the relatives and explains to them the reason behind the death and the actions of the deceased , among other things.
Not at all to my liking. Sigh, a few more episodes to go in season 1.

Saikou no Rikon

A very interesting and funny take on love and divorce is Saikou no Rikon. The characters are crisp and relatable, the story line taut and pacy. While some elements could have been better out than in, the story always keeps its focus right. Of course, the acting is stellar with Eita and Ono Machiko as the leads. A must watch.
Two more episodes to go.

Apart from these, the usual still go on. Naruto, One Piece, Detective Conan are always on the backburner, being collected steadily and being watched intermittently.

Who likes to work?

Points of observation, work-wise:

• Even though you may be away from work, structures and hierarchies never go away. 
• You may feel you are doing what you are supposed to do, but your bosses feel otherwise.
• You might be asked to tell how you feel, but, really, no one wants to hear it.
• The more breaks you take, the worse you feel.
• Everyone's grammar might make you feel like bursting but you still can't laugh or correct them, as you are in a team meeting!
• Counting down the days to your salary does not make you work harder for it.
• There will always be people who irk you just because of the way they are dressed.

I am sure there will be tons more in the small period I plan to work.

Drat!

Working through the formula: Kdramas

Best Love: A love story set in Korea’s TV/film industry. The hero, an egotistical actor, figures out he loves the heroine, a down-and-out singer, by measuring his pulse.

I like watching Korean dramas. They’re usually fluffy romcoms, with enough melodrama and separation that drives viewers mad but not away. (I say usually because there is something called A Love to Kill – beautiful to see but extremely tough to watch).

These shows usually work within a paradigm. Most of them are love stories of a rich, emotionally-stunted hero and a poor but heart-warming heroine. Of course, there are usual suspects - the side hero who love the poor girl but has a fatal flow (he’s her brother, is the best of the lot); the side-heroine, who has her agenda but is deep down a kind person. For the pair to get together in the end, there are obstacles like the hero’s stern family, the heroine’s always-broke dad, etc.

 
Gloria: This show had all the familiar trappings of a K-drama. A closed-up hero who only knew how to express himself through getting beat up and a heroine who raised her older but mentally-challenged sister by doing 10 jobs a day.

So within this age-old formula, which works wonders in all cultures, it is always difficult to establish an OTP (one true pairing) that can sustain a) their own character flaws b) family outbursts and machinations and c) ratings! The first one is extremely negotiable, though.

Goong/Princess Hours: A classic trope loved by all, the forced marriage, with the added bonus of being set in a royal household, Goong is much-liked by all. The story is shaky but there are spots of good acting. Mostly, the OTP wins hearts. 

In any case, while the formula is constraining and limited, the possibilities of experimentation are huge. The same story told through different lens, with things changed here and there, just fuels the fancy of viewers. While Gloria added the theme of revenge to the story, Best Love became a story told through metaphors and symbols.

While I haven’t watched many Kdramas, I’m still waiting to see them try some Japanese police/detective shows like Trick. Can someone make that somewhere?!

A week’s worth of films

Here are some of the films I have this new year. Nothing recent and nothing spectacular or off the charts. Some just sounded interesting and some were critically-acclaimed.

1. Dressed to Kill
Last year I finally saw Scarface. I thought another Brian De Palma film wouldn’t hurt, especially one whose synopsis from IMDB read :A mysterious, tall, blonde woman, wearing sunglasses murders one of a psychiatrist's patients, and now she's after the prostitute who witnessed it. 

2. Leon the Professional
This movie is always floating in IMDB lists; so finally picked it up. While watching it, I loved the music, especially juxtaposing it with the continuous massacre in the film.

3. Paths of Glory
I am making an effort to watch war films. I haven’t counted but this might be my third war/anti-war film.
Paths of Glory is an anti-war parable, mostly about how war is not about the macro-picture but just about individual ambitions trumping over the lives of feeble soldiers. I was appalled and shocked at the right moments and Kirk Douglas was a revelation! Also Stanley Kubrick as the director ain’t bad either! 

4. The Social Network
I avoided this film on purpose. It’s difficult to see this film as an objective viewer. I’ll post a very apt blog entry by Filmdr who says that after watching this film ‘two ironies emerge’:
a) A shy, anti-social young man electronically seduces the world by appealing to everyone's social instincts.
b) Goaded on by sexual rejection and class resentment, Zuckerberg invents the ultimate club that establishes its own kind of exclusivity by allowing only members with the Harvard.edu address, but then he gradually lets everyone join. Like a bunch of lemmings, we do.

5. The Bad Seed
What makes a child go bad? Is it nurture or nature? I think the film tried to answer the question by introducing us to a child who acts perfect but is a basket of killings waiting to unravel. The film is a precursor to Children of the Corn, The Omen’s Damien but at a small, household level.

6. The Hurt Locker
In my attempts to watch War films, I came across this Oscar winner. I liked the film; the tension is palpable and loved the first words of the film:  The rush of battle is a potent and often lethal addiction, for war is a drug. There is no rush and there is no fast—paced action. Just the strain of getting out of anywhere alive. The film flowed like a poem, and ended where it began.


7. Winter’s Bone
I had heard a lot about the film but no names had popped up. The film’s story is nothing great, a girl who is hunting for her father; but the cinematography with the bleak and desolate land and a futile search kept me hooked. A thriller story set in the neo-noir country, the film creeps up on you. Just goes to show you that a good film can be made with less resources.

Around the year, again

What’s new about the year?
It’s just figures, ain’t it?
Another number to bear,
Makes me older and you know it!

Under the moonlight and the sunshine,
it’s the blinding beam all over again.
Tired and dead,
We all fall down the drain.