Reviews

The following is an excerpt from my review of Killing Eve - S4 which I wrote for EastMojo.

To read my complete review and support this small writer, please search "Killing Eve Season 4 EastMojo Dwijiri" ❤ thank you^^

Now back to the excerpt....

Unfortunately, Laura Neal and her team have let the KE fandom down. Badly.

Although Season 4 had its fair share of comic moments, intriguing situations, and incredible turns from the entire cast, the show was still not up to the mark, with especially the final episode being a crushing disappointment to fans.

--> The season faltered from its very first episode

The season falters majorly in its very first episode and scene, setting the tragic and steady descent of the rest of the season. Season 3 had ended on a poignant, heart-touching note which had Eve and Villanelle walk away from each other on a bridge. But they turned around to look at each other and their eyes met. The moment was cathartic, romantic and almost a game-changing moment in this slow-burning cat-and-mouse chase, as it gave the hint that the two women are finally going to get together. So it felt like a betrayal, like a "sike!" moment, when Season 4 began with the two women being more separated than ever before, and on completely different paths. Not only that, but the show jumps one year ahead. And Eve and Villanelle resent each other more than ever.

--> "The Villajesus subplot"

One year later, Villanelle has had a spiritual reckoning of sorts. Living with pastor Phil and his daughter May (Zindzi Hudson), the assassin has decided to put the killing shenanigans behind her and embrace Jesus Christ as her Lord and saviour. Once a cold-blooded killer, she now wears conservatively long dresses and quotes the Bible. She also sees visions of Jesus speaking to her, who oddly looks like Villanelle herself, but with a beard. Fans impressively call this figure Villajesus. This entire 'religious' scenario is supposed to be absurd, quirky and hilarious. But this 'Villajesus' subplot feels completely out of place in what is supposed to be a sleek and stylish British drama about a world-class assassin who loves dressing lavishly and hotel-hopping around the globe. Written by Laura Neal, the first few episodes have hints of the show 'Sex Education', with the saturated, pop colours in the clothes of Villanelle and May, as well as the subplot of young May feeling repressed and trying to come to terms with her sexuality, a theme much in common with 'Sex Education'.

What's worse is that this religious-themed out-of-place subplot, and Villanelle's spiritual inner monologue, are never visited again by the show. And that contributes to the tonally jarring mood of the entire show. This inconsistency is a clear example of clumsy screenwriting which is evident throughout the season.

End of excerpt.

Film critics love rule-breaking cinema. Fans love a provocative auteur. Godard is a provocative auteur who loves breaking the rules. That's great, right? Here is a recipe for a film to get praise and be re-released in cinema theatres even today. To get 5-star reviews. To be considered a Masterpiece. Ignore the haters, right? What do they know? They're just triggered snowflakes. This film was made to provoke people, the bourgeoisie especially. And because it has done that, does it matter that we should look beyond provocation? YES. Let Godard laugh till his 100th year. Everybody worships him and thinks he's the coolest. So what does it matter that he killed animals for this film? Humans are superior to pigs, chickens and rabbits, right? Anything for art. Godard exposed the female body (again and again he always had) in its nudity. Male characters, in the other hand, get to keep their clothes on. The female is always a quiet bystander in his movies. Godard never does stop announcing soliloquys and write-ups and manifetsos of men, read out by men, spoken by men. Godard's misogyny and ignorance have tainted each of his films. His own so-called genius and wordy eloquence push him up on a pedal so that he earns countless accolades and becomes labelled as Genius and Father of the New Wave, let's not even mention being called Influential.

What is a movie, if it contains animal cruelty, butchery, indifference, rape. Is it an exploitation film? Lol. No. It's Godard. And God knows if a film is a meta, self-refrential, self-deprectaing, nihilistic, angry, provocative film and is made by Godard, then it is a great masterpiece classic to be remembered till the end of time, right? Give it a hundred 10-star reviews. Godard is happy. Give it 1-star reviews. Godard is happy. His work is done. He has provoked a reaction. It does not matter that animals died for this film. It does not matter that sexualizing the female body has just made this film join the long ranks of countless sexist films. It does not matter that an influential, often referenced, widely watched film like Godard's Weekend will be seen all over and influence the world. The world will witness the cruelty. The world will witness females bodies. They will witness the cold-blooded murders. Godard doesn't care. He is happy to provoke people. This is the film that Godard totally lost his mind over. This proves that Godard's future films got weaker and poor. This is when Godard knew he was dying, so were his films. He wishes that Cinema died with him (it will not, it wull only morph). And cinema will grow on long after his death.

I pray that with Godard's death, an old culture of Misogyny and male worship, dogmatic and nihilistic cinema will die with him. That is when we will be free to receive the blessings of a feminist cinema. A racially, ethnically diverse cinema which does not provoke for the sake of provocation, which thrives on people's love and questioning rather than on people's fear and disgust. A cinema that will spread love, peace and action rather than pain and despair and a feeling of failure.

This is not the end of Cinema.

This is the end of Godard.

I am not easily enraged and provoked. I love von Trier' s Nymphomaniac. I watch exploitation films too. But these films have their own place. Godard's misogynistic film, exuding with white, male privilege has no place in the pantheon of 'classic, influential, Greats'.

Goodbye Godard. Goodbye Misogyny. Goodbye despair. Goodbye sadism. Goodbye unnecessary provocation. Goodbye bombasticism. Goodbye melodrama.

You and millions of films and filmmakers like you don't deserve a place in 2018. Take off your self-worshing lenses. All you have done is add to your own legend. This is no improvement for cinema.

'Le amiche' is very funny at times (the humour is dry). This is the first movie i have seen so far of Antonioni and i am looking forward to his other films too. The characters are very well realized and have depth even though some of their personalities are shallow. The film is insightful in its observations of the different types of characters and they all seem very real-to-life. The film ends with Clelia leaving Turin to go back to Rome and her lover Carlo is seen standing at the train station and watching her leave. I feel like this film would have felt more present and in-the-moment if the last shot of the film was not of the train leaving (from Carlo's perspective) but the last shot should have been inside the train, being Clelia's perspectve. This way, it would seem that there is hope and a future for Clelia away from the shallow, bourgeois people of Turin. But that's just my opinion.

I am surprised to see how highly critics and audiences have rated this film. I find this movie visually spectacular with nice music and it started on an interesting note. The storytellers of this film are sincere with themes like depression, heartbreak and isolation. However, there is a list of things I would like to point to in which this film has fallen short: Firstly, the characters are not very relatable and in fact, even irritating. The boy as well as the deaf girl are unrelatable and difficult to root for. The deaf girl (Nishiyama), especially is hard to empathize with it because she is so emotionally weak and self-abhorring. The film treats her with so much admiration and respect when, honestly, I think there were other characters who I thought deserved more admiration and attention than her. 2) Also, I think that other characters like the dark-haired bully girl was more interesting because we could really have delved into the reasons of why she bullied Nishiyama, her insecurities. Howeve, the film mocks this character. Nishiyama, the deaf girl, on the other hand, is never criticized in that way for her self-pitying and her weakness but she is elevated. Perhaps, because they consider her sins to be a 'virtuous' kind whereas toher characters' sins are much heavier. This sort of discrimination seems unfair. Thirdly, the film felt overlong. I am okay with stories meandering a lot and exploring themes we do not expect, but this film stretches so much and SO MANY (god, so many) over-sentimental, melodramatic events occur (suicides, fights, crying) that by the time we have reached the end with the Ishida finally finding redemption, we don't care anymore. We are more relieved that the film is over than that he has become more open towards people in his school. I guess this is the fault with a lot of anime movies (like 'Your Name') that they are mushy and try to be too 'kawaii' (deaf, sweet girl meets her bully and changes his life, but she is stainless. She changes everyone's life, the girl is so cute with her signature smiles and pink hair). It is hard to take it seriously. I don't think stories of depressed teengaers with issues should be reduced to overly sentimental, cutes-y and cringey moments. Teenagers deserve a somber, more complex insight without promises of easy conclusions and redemption. Maybe I am being too hard on a movie that is obviously directed towards teens and pre-teens who love anime and enjoy kawaii moments with good-looking heroes and plainer side-kicks. If you love a good tear-jerker and love rom-com tropes this one is def for you. If you want a film that is more accurate about depression and isolation, and is dark and dry, instead of cliched, preachy and sentimental, STAY. AWAY.