Narnia, Middle-Earth, Star Wars – You get to live out your days in any fictional film world/universe.
Which one do you choose, and why?
Answer with a gif – and an explanation.
For me – a rare hopeful and progressive view of the future (created for t.v. but featured in film). pic.twitter.com/dXQrMebOnn

— Joseph Mallozzi (@BaronDestructo) August 7, 2020

So, what do you think?

Good zoom chat last night with boo readers Lori, Kevin, and Shane.  Topics covered included Stargate’s SG-1, Atlantis, and Universe, Dark Matter, writing, and standing out on your lawn under the sprinklers on a hot summer’s day.  A great time was had by all (I can only assume!).

The Crime Club reconvenes to discuss…

A Hindi-Indian mystery-thriller about a pregnant wife who travels to Kolkata in search of her missing husband, this movie offers up a terrific premise and a fantastic performance by lead Vidya Balan.  She is nothing short of terrific, offering up a character who is sympathetically vulnerable and yet, at the same time, surprisingly capable.  Our protagonist, Vidya (sharing a name with the actress who plays her) doggedly pursues the truth about a man no one seems to know.

I enjoyed the movie for its unique heroine and setting, but bumped on some of the very weird directorial and editorial choices, as well as an all-too liberal use of computer chyrons that felt better suited to a late 90’s spy movie.

The big break in the investigation hinges on a convenient coincidence (a personal pet peeve in storytelling), with a young witness just happening to catch sight of a crucial suspect at the appropriate moment.  Equally convenient, as someone pointed out on twitter, was a sequence in which an armed assassin is chased through back alleys by an unarmed police man – and never once things to turn around and use the weapon he is holding.

As an aside, I thought that, next to Vidya, the hitman character was my faovorite – sort of a disarming Eeyore personality with a psychotic twist.

The big twist ending, while interesting, was ultimately a little too reminiscent of two more notable films of the same genre (I won’t spoil them here as they are on our Crime Club to-watch list) and that fact muted the thrill of the reveal.

Still, not a bad little movie given that it was shot on a shoestring budget.

Anyone else check it out?  Thoughts?

If you missed it, don’t worry because we get to do it all over again tomorrow (or probably Monday since tomorrow is Suji Sunday)  when the Crime Club reconvenes to discuss the John Woo classic Hard Boiled.