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Adventure movies based on treasure hunts are not really my thing. You read RL Stevenson’s 1883 classic ‘Treasure Island’ once and you will find most of the bounty hunt movies following the same pattern. Among the numerous treasure hunt movies that Hollywood has produced in the last few decades, the ‘Indiana Jones’ film series, that started in the 80s featuring Harrison Ford in the iconic titular role, has to be the most popular. The reason I’m giving so much context here is because I felt like I was watching another one of those Indiana Jones movies when watching ‘Uncharted’, the latest release on Netflix. Based on the famous video game franchise called ‘Uncharted’, the American action-adventure movie, directed by Ruben Fleischer, features Hollywood stars Tom Holland and Mark Wahlberg on a treasure-finding frenzy. Nate (Tom Holland), an orphan who got separated from his brother Sam 15 years ago, works as a bartender in New York. He’s also a quick-handed pickpocket who steals from the rich people he meets. Then one day, he’s paid a visit by Victor ‘Sully’ Sullivan (Mark Wahlberg), who introduces himself as Sam’s friend. Introducing himself as a fortune hunter, Sully entices Nate to help him steal a golden cross which is the key to finding an enormous treasure. Nate declines at first but when he learns that finding his brother Sam would also be a part of the deal, he agrees to join Sully. The duo manages to steal the golden cross, but they find themselves in trouble with Santiago Moncada, the last descendant of the Moncada family who believes the cross and the treasure are rightfully his, and Jo Braddock, a ruthless mercenary. Then follows a series of adventures, deceptions, shocks, and surprises till the very end. Despite the fact that the writers and the director of Uncharted had to follow the theme of the video game in storytelling, there is a lot of redundancy in the movie. The storyline, the plot, and even the characters have nothing new about them. This lack of freshness in the creation and the unimaginative production makes this star-studded movie a lot less enjoyable than it could have potentially been. The movie had apparently entered development back in 2008 and was delayed for various reasons. Between then and the time the filming actually began in 2015, the movie’s development went through massive changes in its crew and cast. But I guess the filmmakers who actually executed the script might have forgotten to contextualize it for the present times. As a result, Uncharted feels like it was produced and released back in the 90s or early 2000s as one of the last films in a lengthy series of sequels. Actors Holland and Wahlberg have both played some iconic roles in their careers, so famous that they are sometimes recognized by the names of their characters. In Uncharted, both actors had the opportunity to play characters that had already established their names worldwide following the success of the game. But the weak script and direction didn’t let these actors own their roles and make them memorable. Even the legendary desperado Antonio Banderas doesn’t seem to fit in his character of a mighty antagonist. He is supposedly very wealthy and powerful. But his persona does not get a proper build-up and ends up not being credible enough. Nothing against any of the actors though. The uninspiring characters are the result of weak writing and storytelling that makes the movie silly. How the movie earned three times its budget at the box office still beats me. Or perhaps I’m just being a bit too critical here and the majority of the audience is still hungry for treasure hunts. Who should watch it? ‘Uncharted’ is a fast-paced action-adventure movie. Despite its failure to create excitement while watching it, it’s still not boring. People who love action films with death-defying stunts, glorious camerawork, and some CGI will definitely enjoy it in parts. If you want to watch something similar with better storytelling, check out Nicolas Cage’s ‘National Treasure’ (2004). Rating: 2.5 stars Genre: Action/adventure Run time: 1hr 56mins Actors: Tom Holland, Mark Wahlberg, Antonio Banderas Director: Ruben Fleischer  

My best friend just had a baby and the mother in me has come alive. I have been reading children’s books so that I can tell him stories. Besides rereading my childhood books, I also pick up new ones at the bookstore. Some of them are so short and engaging that I read them sitting on the store steps or that one extremely comfy wicker chair. I consider the other slightly longer ones as investments. Baby K will appreciate them. One of the many children’s books I read recently was ‘Coraline’ by Neil Gaiman. It’s a horror book. I won’t be reading this one out loud to Baby K anytime soon but it was such a fun read. I loved it. I had heard good things about it for so long. It definitely lived up to the hype. The illustrations by Chris Riddell for the 20th anniversary edition make the story come alive. A girl named Coraline discovers a locked door that leads to another world, where there is the other-father and the other-mother. They look like her parents, except with black button eyes, but they treat her the way Coraline has always wished her parents did. The other-mother, unlike her real mother, cooks actual meals. The other-father is willing to play with her. Her real father shoos her away from his study. Coraline is promised everything she could ever want, if she returns to stay in this world. But her real parents go missing and Coraline suspects the other-mother is behind it. She goes to live in the other world, to find and rescue her parents. As she investigates, she discovers dark secrets. She realizes that she could also be trapped in this world with no way out. Coraline is a determined young girl and she won’t let fears stop her from finding her way back home. Gaiman has created a fascinating world. There is a cat that talks and ghosts that seem like real people. The story chills and enthralls. But it’s far more than just a horror story. It’s a story about the importance of family and not giving up, even when the odds are stacked against you. The message Gaiman wanted to give was perhaps that courage doesn’t mean being fearless. It’s doing the right thing despite being shit scared. Coraline is a bold and brave girl. She has her whims and fancies but is driven by the need to do what’s right. She creeps into your heart from the first page, with her cute and adult-like behavior, and finds a permanent place there. Three and half stars https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/17061.Coraline Fiction Coraline Neil Gaiman Illustrated by Chris Riddell Published: 2002 Publisher: Bloomsbury Pages 180, Paperback

I was actually planning on reviewing the Argentine crime-thriller “Recurrence” this week, the third installment in the “Pipa” trilogy following “Perdida” and “Intuition”—and I managed to watch all three this weekend. But Netflix did me dirty this time. It released a string of movies and series I had previously watched trailers of and anticipated. So I was forced to stay indoors the whole weekend and glare at my TV screen, in sheer joy.

So the “Pipa” trilogy gets an aggregate rating of four stars and falls under the must-watch category. Also on the must watch list is the Korean action-thriller “Carter.” It may not be an amazing movie but the visuals are mind-boggling. With mediocre VFX, the cinematography and editing in the film will sometimes make you rewind a scene and ask yourself “How did they do THAT?”

Now coming back to my senses from all the awesomeness currently available on Netflix, I review the Alia Bhatt-starrer “Darlings,” because it caters to a wider audience and I have started to love Bhatt as an actor based on her recent performances. 

Darlings is a black comedy co-written and directed by Jasmeet K. Reen and produced by Gauri Khan, Alia Bhatt and Gaurav Verma under the Red Chillies Entertainment and Eternal Sunshine Productions banners.

Actor and co-producer Bhatt plays Badru, a housewife married to Hamza (Vijay Varma). The couple appear happy and in love but their relationship is strained by Hamza’s drinking habit and abusive nature. Hamza is an alcoholic who routinely inflicts physical abuse on Badru—and makes her believe he hit her out of love. The gullible Badru buys it and forgives Hamza each time. 

Badru’s mother Shamshu (Shefali Shah), on the other hand, knows Hamza will never change and will keep abusing her daughter. She time and again begs Badru to leave her husband, to no avail. But then, one day, a disaster in Badru’s life caused by Hamza’s recklessness forever changes her. From an innocent housewife, Badru transforms into a vengeful woman, seeking to get back her self-respect.

Within this premise, the two female leads—Bhatt and Shah—paint the stage with glorious colors in Darlings. Bhatt is on a successful acting sprint with back-to-back critically acclaimed performances. I don’t understand why she gets unnecessary hate for belonging to a filmy family. That could have gotten her her first role but after that the actor has been impeccable in her works. In Darlings, she delivers another masterpiece of a performance as Badru. 

Shefali Shah also finally gets her worth in a film. The actor with immense potential and skills has mostly been reduced to playing supporting roles in her career, much of which were forgotten in the grand scheme of things. But in Darlings, she gets a strong character and ample screen time to display her skills. Together, the two ladies playing the mother-daughter duo take the story forward in a tight-kind screenplay that is predictable yet shocking at the same time. 

Vijay Verma, who shot to fame in Bollywood with the commercially successful “Gully Boy”, holds his grounds firmly against the ladies. Verma’s Hamza is a vindictive chauvinist, skilled at gaslighting. The actor manages to convince the audience how intrinsically flawed Hamza is and how much we can detest him.

The writing of Darlings gives it multi-layered depth while the direction captures the minute details of the characters’ life and surroundings. The cinematography and the background music need a special mention for not being outstanding. Yes, you heard that write. 

Anil Mehta’s cinematography and Prashant Pilla’s background score blend in with the characters and the settings. This creates a harmony between all things beautiful, despite the film’s darkness. 

Who should watch it?

Like I said, Darlings caters to a wide group of audiences—from thriller movie lovers to Alia Bhatt fans. It may not be one of the best Indian thrillers of all time but it is definitely top-notch. The way the film builds around the two central female characters is something unique and highly enjoyable too. 

Rating: 3.5 stars

Run time: 2hrs 13 mins

Genre: Thriller/drama

Actors: Alia Bhatt, Shefali Shah, Vijay Verma

Director: Jasmeet K. Reen

‘My Brilliant Friend’ is the first book in Elena Ferrante’s four-volume series spanning almost 60 years. The first part is set in the 1950s in a poor neighborhood on the outskirts of Naples. It follows two girls, Lila and Elena, through their school years and adolescence. The girls meet when they are each 10-year-old and develop a complex and conflicted friendship.

What I liked about My Brilliant Friend is that it’s an unsentimental portrait of friendship—with rivalry, jealousy, and the need to put oneself first. It chronicles the lives of young girls as they struggle to understand the world they live in and thus themselves. My Brilliant Friend, however, isn’t just a story of friendship. 

Ferrante also tells the story of a neighborhood and a city as it transforms over the years and how the events that occur shape the girl’s thought processes and lives. It’s a story about a community and how the lives of people are often interlinked. You could say it’s a coming-of-age novel of not just two girls but of a place as a whole. 

Themes like sexual jealousy, shame, rivalry are generally underexplored in fiction. My Brilliant Friend does a wonderful job of bringing these to the forefront and talking about things that we would rather not confront. It also feels like great character studies of different personalities. 

My only complaint with the narrative is that it’s a bit slow and events tend to drag on sometimes. If you can put up with that, and you definitely should, My Brilliant Friend, with its exploration of complicated issues like love, abandonment, the impact of violence can be just the contemplative read we all need in the extremely volatile time we are living in today.  

About the author

Elena Ferrante is a pseudonymous Italian novelist. She apparently refuses face to face interviews and has only given a few written ones. She makes no public appearances and once told her editor that she would not be promoting her books because, “she believed that books, once they are written, have no need of their authors. If they have something to say, they will sooner or later find readers; if not, they won’t.” 

Her works, originally published in Italian, have been translated into many languages. The four volumes known as the ‘Neapolitan quartet’ (‘My Brilliant Friend’, ‘The Story of a New Name’, ‘Those Who Leave’ and ‘Those Who Stay,’ and ‘The Story of the Lost Child’) were published by Europa Editions in English between 2012 and 2015. My Brilliant Friend, the HBO series directed by Saverio Costanzo, premiered in 2018. Time magazine in 2016 named Ferrante as one of the 100 most influential people.

Three stars

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/35036409-my-brilliant-friend 

Fiction

My Brilliant Friend

Elena Ferrante

Published: Europa Editions

Publisher: 2012

Pages: 331, Paperback