Posts

Superhero Fatigue

I have it, you have it and everyone's mother has it.  Superhero fatigue is real and it's here.  I guess no one (that I know) could've seen it coming when Marvel decided to create their first superhero blockbuster that this was going to be a thing. And a pretty huge one at that. But it did. And with Marvel expanding universe with re-boots and sequels, DC polished their shoes and made the choice to join the race as well. The impact of which we feel to this day. Which is what I wanted to talk about. Today. The now of it all. The consequences of those desicisons that the big-wigs at Marvel and DC made. Because of that we've gotten (uptil 2019) three clunky, but otherwise heartfelt messes out of Marvel with a two-part ending that was historic in it's on right and from DC, a solid batman trilogy and other stuff not so memorable. But they made comic books, something that was considered a 'weird-kid' activity into a cool thing. And as they got more and more success ...

Boo! (hoo-hoo)

Happy Halloween!  To get into the true spirit of the day, I figured I'd talk about what I think is rotting the horror genre to further dull your insipid souls.  Consider this a whodunnit of sorts, where we sift through and pin point our culprit. Because unfortunately we do have one. If there's something I've noticed throughout the years as a horror fan (who gets rattled so quick), it's the deterioration in the quality of horror film-making. Not to say there aren't any exceptions of course. Also, quick shout-out to the parent of the horror genre who literally made it a codified genre after it's release, Dracula (1931). As someone who enjoyed the experience of reading the book by Bram Stoker, it's nice to see appreciation for frightfully good storytelling through film too. So let's review our first suspect. 1. Psychological thrillers/horror movies Psychological horror looks more into the mind and the psyche and how fear is a tool that can be used to contro...

Maybe Karan Johar Deserves Some Rights

Controversial take, I know.  However, I do have some reasoning for my thinking. You see, I just recently (about 2 weeks ago) watched Mr. Johar's new movie Rocky Aur Rani and I didn't have my eyes bleached. A win!  This actually a huge deal because I've been having beef with Bollywood for about three years now due to their lack of good movies. They have a few gems but it's never consistent and we no longer get bangers from the soundtrack. I'm hoping Zoya Akhtar and Sanjay Leela Bansali won't do me wrong because I only have faith in them right now.  And in the middle of me having this mindset, in came Karan Johar with his movie and surprise, surprise it's actually good. I saw a few clips on Instagram and I wasn't sure but finally decided to check it out.  You have to understand that I'm saying this rather begrudgingly because I'm not a Karan Johar fan. I like his movies but he, the person, makes me want to destroy every coffee packet I see in the s...

Rebecca (And The Art Of Subjective Narration)

Rebecca by Daphne Du Maurier is a delightfully well-written book and a true work of art. If there's any book that deserved it's position as a classic, it's this one.  Granted, it did take me a month to finish because I was doing an experiment but that ended up enriching my reading experience so I actually didn't hinder the storytelling, I accidently made it more intriguing. Because of the gaps in my reading time, each time I picked up the book I was so curious as to where we were going next.  It is a slow-build up story-wise but that helps us better understand our characters, the backdrop and the history with some context sprinkled about.  I was quite clueless when picking up this book as I wasn't sure what to expect other than some possible murder and ideally a character named Rebecca. Basically grasping at straws trying to think of something I'd heard about this novel before. Rebecca was released in 1938 as a Gothic novel which follows the story of a young (un...

Clue is Cinema

That is not an exaggeration and I stand by my words.  As everyone knows, it is currently spooky season and with Halloween coming up I wanted to start make more festive content. So, what's more festive than a murder mystery? Clue (1985) is a cinematic experience and did its fair share and then some more in making the murder mystery/detective genre as beloved as it was. It inspired and is referenced in other movies and shows of the same genre like Knives Out, The Haunting Of The Hill House and more. Though it wasn't well-received by critics at the time for its campy and outlandish nature, it later became a cult classic through way of DVD's and movie renting.  I know a lot of people might get a jumpscare from seeing the year 1985 but the movie is more well-done than most of the movies we get currently and there is color so age isn't really a concern here. Based of the boardgame of the same name, Clue is a crime-mystery following the story of six blackmail victims who are l...

female rage!

I love female rage.  So the mission (or hidden agenda really) for today is to spread the love around. You too will love female rage. Or maybe you won't. I still want to talk about it so that's relative.  Female rage is a character defining trait used to classify movies featuring women or is female-led. Just as the words mean, female rage is simply that, women/girls expressing anger or rage or any form of hatred in a raw and realistic (though not always) manner.  Now comes the question: 'What's so special about women getting angry? That's not a healthy thing to normalize.'  Well, I'm so glad you asked.  Female rage as a sub-genre is enjoyed so thoroughly by it's viewers because women, historically and systemically were and are not allowed to get mad. Not really. It's strange because throughout time, we have called 'hysterical', 'sensitive', 'emotional' and many other words to basically insult our natural reaction to...feel feel...

Stalking, Time Machines and Romance

Hi there! And if you're a normal person reading this title, you may be a little confused about what we're going to be talking about today. But let me try to explain. The topic for today's discussion is as usual about films and their tropes. Specifically, regarding the 'stalker romance' trope and it's devious forms in media.  If you're not aware of the stalker romance, fear not! I'll clue you in. It's basically a trope found in romance movies and other genres, where the main lead stalks or 'wears down' his romantic interest over a period of time and eventually gains his/her love. He/she does this through following them, keeping tabs on them and using many other predatory methods to learn more about them, which is played off by the movie as a cute 'gesture'. However, it is still stalking. The difference here is that compared to real life scenarios where the same behavior is emulated, in the movies that you'd see this trope, it isn...