Falling Inn Love (2019)- Netflix

‘Falling Inn love’ is a run of the mill and predictable romcom that is light hearted and fun to watch. The first thing that I remembered was Elvis’ song which has lyrics similar to the movie’s title. It has a deep message with respect to fixing things that are broken and like the song the film subtly shows us that some things are meant to be. The script by Elizabeth Hackett and Hilary Galano isn't remarkable but can work as a good one time watch for the characters come across exactly as one usually expects from films of this genre. 

Directed by Roger Kumble this film stars Christina Milian as Gabriela an executive in San Francisco who routinely describes her life as one spent running like a hamster in the corporate wheel. Right from the first shot she is shown as someone who adores journeying through the countryside as she elects to have her virtual reality goggles show her as though she is cycling through the countryside whilst she pedals furiously in her living room.

Her personal and professional life unravel within the space of a few hours. Real life would usually have a person hit rock bottom only to realise that it wasn’t actually rock bottom, but that would defeat the point of this rom-com. Gabriella decides to enter an online contest called win an inn and based on the title of the film it’s all but obvious what the outcome of the contest is going to be. Or else what's the point of the movie?

The only catch is that she has to fly halfway across the world. However once she reaches New Zealand she learns that everything isn't as it seems and sets out to realise her dream and hopefully find herself in the fictional town of Beachwood Downs with the help of its residents( who say that everyone's business is their business). It’s amusing to see who strangers to a town are portrayed in different genres. Aren’t we all raised to be suspicious of a new person no matter who they are?

One resident in particular is Jack (Adam Demos), who is the first person she meets when he crashes his pickup truck into her suitcase. He is the contractor of the town. We learn that he has built a wall and locked himself from the world due to a deep personal loss, and it is to be expected that this complete stranger would somehow unlock this man from his fortress of solitude (I can totally see him as Superman in the blue bodysuit and red cape)

Based on rom-com formulas we know that he's the guy. Later on when the two repeatedly meet there is the aversion and the kiddish hiding from and trying to avoid the other. The ups and downs are like a regular rom com film however at times I did get a bit confounded as to why the happy ending isn't coming yet. There is just that one more level of disappointment we are made to encounter before that happy ending which happens not just to the 2 leads but one other important character too.

The script by though predictable successfully takes us on a journey and pieces together the 2 leads' thoughts and backstories which leads us to actually buy into the fact that this could be a happily ever after we can invest in. I found the ‘Crocodile Dundee’ reference quite hilarious for I haven't seen those 2 countries being mixed up in that manner. And it's something I'm so used to hearing with respect to ignorant individuals claiming that east Asians are the same when actually they are poles apart.

Christina Millian’s Gabriella is what most of us are. Frustrated run of the mill corporate employees who would gladly describe their lives as ‘soulless.’ We can relate to her and invest in her character as let’s face it, we all dream of going out there to the countryside and starting something of our own, or just taking a sabbatical and discovering ourselves. Her dialogues such as , We have off days, but just don’t take them”, and, “struck a chord with me.” She has an urge to be modern and wants to replace the old things such as the fireplace and a faucet. Her character is a polar opposite to  Adam Demos. As Jack he gave me Chris Hemsworth Thor vibes and wants to retain the past. He lives a country life that others dream off. In addition to being a corporator he is a beekeeper and even a volunteer firefighter.

But the star of the film for me for Gilbert the goat. Initially Gabriella says, "I don't like this goat", but the audience would surely have loved him and he could perhaps become a meme if this film is seen by many. Gilbert’s timing is amazing and you don’t even fault him when he punctuates a crucial moment in this film. You just can’t help but smile when Gilbert’s around.

Falling Inn Love is a fun 98 minute watch for those who just want a couple hours of leisure and light hearted entertainment. The shots of the beautiful New Zealand landscape lend weight to the leads love of the countryside and at times it may seem like a New Zealand tourism advertisement (I certainly added New Zealand to a bucket list of countries I’d like to visit someday). These beautiful shots help us understand the mood of the characters and also the magnet which is attracting Gabriella to remain where she is. The story could even present us that fantasy for a fleeting second (till we learn that the only place we can visit are our desks and our homes) and act as a clarion call to ditch your soulless lives and head to an exotic location to finally realise that dream of running your own business.

Badla (2019)- Netflix

'Badla' is just as its title suggests. A tale of revenge which leads us to believe things and switch those very beliefs within seconds. This film is an elaborately constructed psychological game of cat and mouse, which covers what the general public believes about the legal profession. It has us empathize with certain characters and hate them just minutes later for their despicable actions. This movie comes across as a locked room mystery, a revenge story, a twisty thriller, but it is a tale which implores us to pay attention to the details again and again. More often than not a tiny element in some frame was missed by me and I felt just as a particular character did when they too realised that they hadn't paid close attention to all the details. 

We get right to it from the start. The opening credits created a tense atmosphere which captured my attention. Everything was in black and white and seemed intricately connected. The background song vocalized by the lead actor too was what I managed to identify and began thinking of the last time an actor sang his own song in a film. There have been many instances of course, but this minor thing got me interested.

This film takes place in the apartment of Naina Sethi (Tapsee Pannu) where she is interrogated by her defence counsel and undefeated lawyer Badal Gupta (Amitabh Bachchan) who says he has been persuaded to come out of retirement. Naina who is out on bail (she has to wear an ankle tracker) narrates her version of events which have led up to this moment to her legal counsel. The scenes from outside the apartment take place in the form of narration through flashbacks. 

The first thing I remembered about this combo was their earlier film "Pink" where they portrayed the lawyer and client characters. However, this lawyer-client relationship here is completely different.

Badal believes that justice is blind and constantly thwarts Naina’s version of events going as far to call it very convenient that a character develops a new skill just at the right moment. Isn’t that a thought we have all had whilst watching a movie. 

He repeatedly tells Naina (and indirectly addresses us behind the 4th wall) that it is important to focus on each and every single minute detail. At times I wish I had paid better attention to the minutest element in the frame and not just been delighted at having found that one detail but completely miss the details within that detail.

Badal takes the words of Dr. Gregory House to heart and believes that, "Everybody lies." And it is only through the successful identification of ones lies that the truth can be spotted. The thing to remember while watching this film is to focus on the details and believe everything or maybe not? But always remember the liar seeks to recreate a setting from inspiration and if something seems out of place... well it usually is. Spoiler? No, you will see too many red herrings if you are determined to spot this based on my previous sentence. 

Having caught this film on Netflix after being confounded on numerous occasions I decided to rewind to the critical moments and saw that what was being shown more clearly was actually there in screen in a blink and you miss it style of appearance. To really enjoy and experience this film you need to have your brain switched on throughout. ‘Badla’ does spell things out for you later on, but what's the fun in that.. wouldn't you rather have that satisfied smirk on your face when you see your prediction unfold on screen. And make no mistake if your grey cells are active you will be able to predict what happens for this film seems to fall victim to the frequency of its plot twists. 

With the basic structure of mystery films in general and our limited number of characters it is all but obvious that one of them is heavily involved in the killing. You know that there will be that one final twist, because the film has had no shortage of them and the twists won’t stop coming right at the climax where the audience usually expects the major reveal to pop up. You will be waiting for it and perhaps like me you too would find it predictable and be of the opinion that 'Badla' fell victim to its own ingenious script character development

The acting is good with special praise going to Tapsee Pannu after initially coming across as the scared woman she has been in both Pink and Game Over presented another side of herself which managed to make me direct a variety of emotions other than sympathy to her character. In her scenes with Amitabh Bachchan she both acts with authority and reacts with tension and is able to hold her own. 

Looking back and thinking closely about this film, particularly the dialogues I felt delighted that I was able to predict that ending. It was that obvious in retrospect... who else would speak about what they spoke in that manner. Perhaps it was due to the fact that there were so many twists and turns throughout the 117 minute run time that there could be an argument that this was predictable and shouldn't have been missed by the eagle eyed viewers. But are we conditioned to tune in to a Bollywood film with our brains switched on? 

This is a good thing that is happening in Bollywood right now and hopefully more films like 'Badla' can change the way Bollywood is looked at from films of song and dance melodrama to serious and gripping cerebral cinema.

Once Upon a Time in Hollywood (2019)

Quentin Tarantino’s 9th film ‘Once Upon a Time in Hollywood’ (OUATIH) is no Pulp Fiction where the jumbled up storyline feels just right, nor is it a Django Unchained where we bear witness to blood splatter and an abundance of expletives, nor is it The Hateful Eight. None of the performances really shine as Christoph Waltz's turns in Inglorious Basterds and Django Unchained. It could feel out of place in today’s world where we thirst for plot heavy films. OUATIH has multiple storylines which seem jumbled up, however it worked for me as it served its purpose of transporting me back to the 1960's I have become accustomed to seeing on screen or hearing about and evoking a sense of nostalgia among older viewers. 

The film is Tarantino’s ode to the golden era of Hollywood which functions as the major star of the film. It is a slow fairytale of two halves where we get to see and hear about the key elements in that era such as the single screen cinema halls, westerns and the emergence of ‘Spaghetti Westerns’ and Black & White 35mm prints. We see the characters shaped by and respond to this era as they meander along the various sets of Tinseltown and all over a delightful looking, non congested freeways of L.A.

In the first half, our fictional protagonists as well as a few real life characters are established through a series of storylines which are weaved across each other at crucial points to give us a comparison between the old and the new as well as set up for that final showdown which you obviously would be aware of if you aren't living beneath a rock in today's information inundated universe. 

From L-R: Brad Pitt as Cliff Booth, Leonardo DiCaprio as Rick Dalton and Al Pacino as Marvin Schwarz

Leonardo DiCaprio in his first feature film since 2015’s The Revenant, plays Rick Dalton, a fading western star who is reduced to playing bit roles. His agent Marvin Schwarz (Al Pacino) summarises this predicament by saying that he is in that phase of his career where what matters is who will beat him up next week. Dalton is a complete contrast to his on screen persona which radiates confidence. This emotional wreck is ably supported by his buddy and stunt double Cliff Booth (Brad Pitt) who doesn't mind Dalton crying, but not in front of the Mexicans. 

Booth is introduced right at the beginning of the film as the guy who ensures that the studios don’t go into losses if the star of the production were to suffer an injury. However we soon realise that he is more than just a stuntman. Booth is Dalton’s man friday and the only person he has for support. It is believable to see Pitt as a supporting actor to DiCaprio in this film as he does everything to elevate the lead actor and ably supports him. 

They meander through the 1969 Hollywood and learn that they are part of a fading era. Dalton is desperate to score big in pilot season but is often cast against type. This element of the story is quite common and introduces the Spaghetti Westerns (westerns produced in Europe most notably Italy) where actors were quite often cast against type. Dalton has to be attired and presented in a manner where the audiences don't see the character he was in his prime. This takes me back to what I read about the film called ‘Once Upon a Time in the West’ where older actor Peter Fonda was cast against type as the villain. He too looked way different from what he used to when he played the good guy. 

As the duo realise their place on the ladder we are shown the infamous Cielo Drive. The camera lingers on this signboard for a tad longer than usual as Tarantino plays with the audience knowledge of the movie synopsis which is based on real life events which occurred half a century ago.

We are then introduced to our first parallel storyline as the new 'It' couple of Hollywood [Sharon Tate (Margot Robbie) and Roman Polanski] pull up in the adjacent driveway. Following the success of Rosemary's Baby the director is the toast of Hollywood. 

The way they spend their nights lays the groundwork for the next day as Tarantino more explicitly and yet ever so subtly explores the despair of the fading star and the joy of the rising star. The scene has Sharon Tate visit a theater where she watches a film of the real Sharon Tate thus enabling us to watch Sharon Tate watching Sharon Tate. The patrons in the theater lap up scene after scene and Tate revels in the adulation she receives. Her star is on the rise. This runs parallel to Rick Dalton fighting with the notion of being a ‘has been.’ He goes through a crisis of confidence and a lengthy shot of him on set gave me the impression that I was watching a western. Dalton yelling out, "Line, Line!" is what made me realise that Dalton Western was a movie within Tarantino's Once Upon a Time in Hollywood. 

This overly long scene helps the audience share the tumultuous feeling of the character as he goes through the ups and downs. The “8 fucking whiskey sours” montage is incredible and you would wish that there was a rewind button as you just want to watch and re watch this incredible scene. 

Whilst we explore the rising star and the fading star our stuntman/man friday sets off on a drive around LA. He fixes an antenna on the roof where he takes off his shirt for no one's attention whatsoever(maybe it was for the benefit of those behind the 4th wall). He is like a star in his own movie and there are scars on his body which makes his flashback fight scene believable. While Pitt is no Achilles (the character he played in the 2004 film ‘Troy’) in this film, his scene did draw a few excited murmurs from the patrons of the cinema hall I was in. Tarantino constantly teases us by having Booth cross paths with members of the Manson family on multiple occasions. 

This first half which is in excess of half the run time makes the audience aware of the characters and their deepest desires. It appeals to their pathos thus enabling them to emotionally invest in the characters in the 2nd half which accepts that the golden era is on its way out. That is evident with the costumes and hairstyles sported by our fictional leads. Fans who up until this point had to be content with the overuse of "Fuck" and a solitary pussy joke are treated to an ending which finally makes them believe that this film as directed by Tarantino. 

Based on our synopsis I knew what's going to happen, but then I remembered that Quentin Tarantino has directed and written this film. Tarantino decides to alter history in a manner that sticks to the one and only idea of this script which is to pay tribute to Hollywood albeit in a hotchpotch manner. If someone looks at me incredulously when I say the words, "alter history" I imagine Tarantino looking at them with a half turn and wink whilst quoting Billy Crystal from his 84th Academy Awards opening number, "You didn't think I wasn't gonna do this now did you?"

The climax which will enthrall every single Tarantino fan sees purpose of the stuntman examined word for word. This when seen in the context of this film brings Shakespeare's, “All the world’s a stage,” to my mind. OUATIH has Tarantino show us that he too is following the rules he lays out for his own characters and this is part of the beauty of this film.

It is only when I left the cinema hall that I noticed how long this film actually was and was perplexed because I did not feel it's 165 minutes. In retrospect there could be an argument calling for a few scenes to be discarded in the editing room as they stretch the film. Yet they work for me as they fit with the ‘once upon a time’ theme which exhibits the yesteryear glamour of the region. 

Tarantino had initially intended OUATIH to be a novel and then decided to bring it to our cinema screens. Despite the film working for me there is still a part of me that believes that it should have made as a much longer film or a  miniseries (like True Detective Season 1). The longer format would have worked wonders as the buildup to the film’s latter half seems like a disappointing reward (perhaps there is a tiny inherent bias against non plot heavy films here) to first half which is like an intricate puzzle box requiring you to take time to appreciate it and just marvel at the masterful construction. 

Tarantino has mellowed and his 9th film doesn't leave the audience walking out of the cinema hall under the impression that they have seen a TRUE Tarantino film. I hope this isn't his last outing and if indeed we get number 10 which we claims will be his final offering to Hollywood I hope to see the real foul mouthed, smart talking comic book type violence in that one. 

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Ash is Purest White (2018)

Ash is Purest White is a Chinese language film which premiered at the 2018 Cannes Film Festival. This Palme D'Or finalist finally made its way to the Indian cinema halls almost a year later. Starring Zhao Tao as Zhao Qiao and Liao Fan as Guo Bin this film seems like the story of Qiao and Bin, but it actually is the tragedy of Qiao. 

In the 2001 part of the film, Bin and Qiao are walking in the grassy wilderness where they stop and stare at a volcano in the distance. Qiao remarks, “ Volcanic Ash is very pure, isn't it? Anything that burns at a high temperature is made pure.” Bin replies, “no one would know if you burned to a crisp.” This exchange offers the viewer a hint into the psychology of the characters and the direction they will take in this film.  

Directed by Jia Zhangke, this film starts off with scenes of a bus journey with seemingly regular people in our frame. The grainy documentary like footage which makes the viewer assume that they are watching a handheld camera video. This helps lend the feel of an old China that proves to be crucial to the progress of the film. 

The camera moves onto the other passengers in the bus and we finally are given a glimpse of  Zhao Qiao. Qiao is shown as one who has strong roots within her community and has an aversion to ballroom as it is in her words “too western.” She is in love with Guo Bin, who is the head brother of the Jianghu. 

Based on the progression of this storyline and a plethora of western films it would be safe to assume that Jianghu could be a translation of the mob or an organised crime group in China. (The customary subtitles were absent from the screen at the utterance of this word)

Soon, Bin falls victim to an attack by young pretenders and has to brawl his way out before he is overpowered. This leads to Qiao intervening and sacrificing herself for Bin. 

The scene of her interrogation shows that she is aware of exactly what she is getting into with her deception of the law enforcement authorities, yet she does so of her own free will, this marks the beginning of her 'burning at a high temperature.'

This film weaves together some of the real life happenings in China (the Three Gorges dam on the Yangtze River) and presents them to the audience with a voiceover (the ferry announcer) which through informing the passengers is seen as a commentary on the displacement of people in a changing world. This happens when we are reintroduced to Qiao in 2006 after she has served her 5 year prison sentence and sets out to locate Bin. 

There is a wonderful shot in this scene with Qiao drifting on the river and framed as a silhouette against the mountains and the twilight sky. It symbolically shows the old Qiao fading away to give rise to a new version of herself- pure and having risen from the fire. 

Zhao Qiao grows as the film progresses. She is still innocent at heart and gets duped, but quickly learns that the world is not what it once was and adapts. She misses the way things were and this is crucial to her character. 

Qiao who appears like a delicate porcelain doll in the initial part of the film is transformed by her half a decade imprisonment which lends a sort of hard edge to her character. A decade later, she finally evolves into a fearsome woman who commands respect from the Jianghu. 

However, what didn’t evolve was her ability to recognise a past situation recurring, thus leaving her to be emotionally burnt to a crisp with no one knowing, but also being purified due to being metaphorically burnt by her one true love as realisation finally dawned upon her.  

The movie progresses slowly and its runtime of 136 minutes would feel long when you decide to narrate the story to a friend. They would be like, "is this film really that long?" 

This "lengthy" runtime is a result of long pauses before replies and multiple reflections by Qiao of life around her. These extra long pauses in the post 2006 interactions between Bin and Qiao helped emphasize the realization dawning slowly upon Qiao. 

Ash is Purest White showed me a China that is worlds apart from the China I have become accustomed to witnessing through popular culture. There is more to China than the glitz and glamour of the skyline which every Hollywood movie shows when they visit the world's most populous country. It focuses on the dangers of not learning from the past.

The western music combined with the weird ballroom dancing at a funeral and a bizarre and out of the blue appearance of a UFO serve as a respite from the brooding pace of this film which is a 16 year tale of love, betrayal and has traces of the impact of a rapidly evolving capitalistic society.

This simple metaphor helping structure the entire story was something I loved. It is a film that will help you use the metaphor in your life and help you grow as well as looking back at your life and realising how the toughest of times have made you the best version of yourself. 

La Dolce Vita (1960)

La Dolce Vita (the sweet life) is an Italian language drama film directed by Federico Fellini. This film stars Marcello Mastroianni, Ankita Ekberg, Anouk Aimee, Yvonne Furneaux, Aalin Curry and Walter Santesso in pivotal roles.

The first time I heard of Fellini was before my class was due to watch a screening of La Strada. It was at this moment our instructor informed us about the film La Dolce Vita which in his opinion is Fellini's best film.

He spoke to us about Fellini having a fascination with the number 7 and this film possibly representing the number 7 in Christianity thanks to its opening sequence (We can call this as our prologue for the movie is divided into what I'd like to call as chapters) There are numerous different interpretations of the number 7 such as the 7 deadly sins, the 7 sacraments, the identification of 7 as the perfect number. However, I think there are 7 parts as it is Fellini's 7th feature film. 

These 7 parts seem like different chapters akin to an episodic show chronicling the life of hedonistic reporter Marcello Rubini where we get to examine his life and career. Each chapter contributes to a deeper understanding of himself as a person and leaves the viewer with a message about Marcello's psyche. We understand that he is being challenged to look within and find something. 

The chapters pit themes against their opposites thus providing both Marcello and the viewer the opportunity to introspect and understand what truly is 'La Dolce Vita.' Marcello comes across as one who believes that monogamy is mundane, however his promiscuous activities are meaningless for they are unable to help him find meaning in a life where he already is without a clear goal. This is a man whose life in the late 1950s or early 1960s seems to mirror the indecisiveness that people experienced and still continue to do so especially in today’s era where the audiences are inundated with choices. 

He is at a crossroads between a life of journalism and literature. As a journalist it is his job to cover the high class and exuberant i.e. the ones who are living 'La Dolce Vita' and in doing so he too gets a taste of the sweet life, but it feels meaningless as what he reports on is considered as meaningless drivel and the manner in which he (and the other journalists) do it, is described in the film as ‘hyena like.’ 

Director Federico Fellini even contrasts the definition of what the idea of 'La Dolce Vita' truly is, with Marcello being one definition and the character of Steiner representing the opposite. This character is crucial and his solace in the church, his recordings of nature combined with progressive life of 1950s Italy portray him as one of the few who are averse to change i.e the conservative Italian. This scene in which Steiner speaks about the progress of society being just a mirage hiding a dangerous world where the end can be announced with just a single phone call is framed and shot brilliantly. Steiner is looking out of the window with the night sky resulting in the audience seeing his reflection in the window as he reflects on his view of the progressive world contradicting his ideal of 'La Dolce Vita.' This character drives Marcello to realization of what has happened due to his self destructive indulgences.

As the chapters progress and Marello witnesses life around him, he along with the audience are be able to form an interpretation both of his life and this film respectively. Every single person will have something to take away from this film. 

It is a delightful monochromatic kaleidoscope of meanings if one is prepared to introspect and look beyond the surface of the seemingly normal and unrelated incidents. If not well then this is an almost 3 hour snoozefest. 

Considering the time period in which this film premiered and it's country of origin there are certain scenes which one would look at without blinking twice in 2019. But in the 1960s…. The orgy scene, the depiction of Christ to enhance the theme of the movie and the sunbathers would have caused the audience to avert their gaze from the screen. 

Like the other film of Fellini which I have seen, this one too comes full circle with the characters exchanging places with what they were doing the previous time around. Everything begins and ends like a circle and it is possible that there could be 60 different viewpoints from 60 different people. This movie has been renowned for being able to change what people can take from it when they rewatch it at a later stage in their lives. La Dolce Vita remains the same and despite its release almost 60 years ago, it still remains relevant today and can still provide a different context to every single person who decides to spend 173 minutes of their life on this Italian masterpiece. 

Netflix: Murder Mystery

Murder Mystery is a murder mystery movie distributed by Netflix. The name of this film may come across as one of a tentatively titled venture during its pre-production and production stages but is not. This is the film's final title and like the title the film seems quite unfinished.

As Adam Sandler's Nick Spitz says to his wife Audrey (Jennifer Aniston) "This is our adventure." That's primarily what the movie (Murder Mystery) is and strives to be. The adventure of an officer and his hairstylist/avid murder mystery novel reader as they go on a honeymoon to reignite a spark in their marriage and fall headlong into a Murder Mystery.

Nick Spitz fails his detectives exam and in a bid to surprise his wife and also pacify her decides that the time is now ripe for them to take their dream honeymoon 15 years to the day they were married. Their vacation turns into quite a surprising invitation by Viscount Charles Cavendish to a family gathering aboard a yacht. This invitation reeks of desperation and made me think about the character of 'the millionaire' from 'City Lights.' Except for the fact that here Cavendish is not drunk and he remembers then the next day and their invitation still stands.

Throughout the movie there are major call backs to Agatha Christie novels. The mixture of characters aboard the yacht are introduced in a manner so synonymous with the way they are in her novels. And every single one of them feels completely out of place in the year 2019. For example. The Maharaja of Mumbai! If you recognised this introduction style, you would understand that one particular character is crucial to the story.

The gathering of all the characters in a plethora of classic Agatha Christie novels such as 'Hercule Poirot's Christmas' and the iconic 'And then there were none' takes place here and we finally get the murder.

From this point on, one would be expecting the story to pick up, but it stumbles as it's sole purpose is to get particular characters to various locations. It has a stop start kind of feel to it which caused me to zone out.

Rather than a compelling murder mystery or even one along the lines of the 2006 film 'The Pink Panther' and it's sequel which fall into the comedy mystery genre we get ridiculous gags such as touching the body and puerile shtick like sticking the knife in and pulling it out.

The reactions and acting of the other guests aboard the yacht made me think of entertainment skits on talk shows as their reactions seemed manufactured and over the top. The two leads' bickering is also annoying, but this is their adventure.

'Murder Mystery' meanders on for another hour introducing us to a French detective whose name on first hearing sounds like Hercule Poirot. There are further call backs to Agatha Christie mysteries such as questioning everyone individually, the mysterious reveals of deeds many years ago and the classic seating of all the participants involved before the killer is revealed.

At this point I was so disinterested in this film and was extremely happy when the final reveal came in about 15 minutes before the movie was about to end. I didn't think that it's not quite right and there must be something more and was happy that this parody like film was finally over....

Murder Mystery is the type of 1 time watch for anyone, though most people may lack the mental fortitude required to not click the back button and return to the Netflix home screen. Fans of comedy and not so serious and dramatic Murder Mysteries will enjoy this Murder Mystery but unfortunately I'm not one of them. The movie ends in a manner that leaves room for a sequel which I personally hope isn't part of Adam Sandler's remaining films on his Netflix deal.

Black Mirror S05 E01: Striking Vipers

Striking Vipers is the first episode of the 5th season of Black Mirror.

The episode features best friends Karl and Danny use the video game 'Striking Vipers' as an escape from their day to day lives. The game offers players a chance to choose between a plethora of characters. Danny chooses a ripped male fighter Lance and Karl opts for scantily clad female fighter Roxette.

There is a line in this pre game dialogue between Karl and Danny which shows that Danny is one who has responsibility at the back of his mind and uses the game as a fantasy escape from reality. His tone shows that he is slightly sad, but that is a constant of Danny throughout the episode. It's sad-sad, sad-angry and shows us that he is just resigned to accepting life.

We jump 11 years to Danny's birthday barbecue party. He is now in his late 30s and doesn't seem that into his love life and is searching for excuses to avoid a second child. At this gathering his old friend Karl comes back into his life and his gift is the 'Striking Vipers X' game complete with all the technological upgrades of a decade.

Callister Inc (from the episode USS Calister) has released its technology which allows humans to transfer their consciousness onto the characters they play and even gives them the exact experience their on screen persona is going through. This is like Westworld come real except that here there are no other characters (hosts) apart from the ones you choose to lose yourself in.

They choose the same characters as they did over a decade ago, inhibit the characters consciousness in the virtual world and resume their battles. Then they have virtual sex with each other. It's a heterosexual encounter w.r.t. the virtual characters but the consciousness inhabiting the characters and experiencing the pleasure results in it being a homosexual encounter.

This frequent virtual sex leads to a further decline in Danny's marital life with Theo and she can sense it as she literally asks is there someone else. He forgets important dates and lives each day of his life waiting to get to the time he and Karl's consciousness will meet. And soon he feels guilty and locks the game, but Karl who continues to play reveals to Danny that virtual sex with other characters doesn't feel the same.

Striking Vipers a solid episode which manages to provide a balance between technology, fantasy and a way of escape and real life and responsibilities in keeping the commitments people have made to one another. It focuses on how people consider their virtual in game identities as a projection of their real lives unfulfilled desires and at times they become unable to differentiate between the boundaries of real and virtual.

It speaks about how technology can also be used to satisfy ones intrinsic needs but it's usage in limitation with the consent of all parties is a solution which has benefits for all.

The cast of is one of the best ever ensemble lineups for a Netflix episode and honestly such a line up should be getting much more attention than Miley Cyrus received for her appearance in the third episode of the series.