Joker

The world of comics be it Marvel or DC Comics have come out from the pages of comics onto the screens of theaters long time back.

Marvel hit its big time gold with the MCU movies, while DC was not left far behind albeit with less number of characters with the likes of Batman & Superman  making most out of it.

By far, the most remakes that has been made from the DC comics stable has been of Batman and Superman. The Dark Knight series surely one of the finest series that has made its mark with the audiences.

We have always seen movies made on the comic books hero, went on from being an ordinary person to becoming the super hero meant to be. How many of them you remember have been made on the villains?

The numbers can be counted on the finger tips.

When a movie like Joker is released, it offers us the rare glimpse on the other side of a person on earth who have decided to make it their hell. We have seen Gotham's cape crusaders now its time for the enemy to steal the limelight.

The movie gives us a peek into the journey of  Arthur Fleck from being the clown to becoming the Joker, Gotham's dreaded criminal.

When we talk about the character of Joker, Heath Ledger names pops up and his performance certainly makes an uphill task for anyone trying to fill his shoes. Jared Leto did played the Joker's character in a minuscule role in Suicide Squad movie.

However, for this movie it was actor Joaquin Phoenix who essayed the character's transition from happy face to clown face.

Arthur Fleck the clown tries to put on a happy face. Trying to make the world smile around him even when he his not. His inner demons getting the better of him, but he is trying to come on top of it by ensuring that he takes his medications, has a job and takes care of his loving mother.

The movie gives a glimpse of his struggles to lead a normal life, his dreams, desires.

However all he got was despair and setbacks one after another leading him to take matter in his own hands to decide the outcome of his fate.

The movie pace has been a bit slow through out even though it did manage to create an excitement in the climax but could not deliver. In a way, the movie is very understated.

The whole movie is about Arthur's transformation into Joker in its various phases. The story appears weak  as it only revolves around the Arthur's character and Joaquin acting prowess has been the only saving grace.

The tempo of the movie never picked up even in the climax when there was a blip.

The direction of the movie Todd Philips keeps you on a leash but the story does not. This could have been great if it was written with a tight story.

The only thing going for the movie is Joaquin Phoneix

Towards the end of the movie, we could see Arthur becoming the Joker but it never evokes any response as a viewer. We knew it was going to happen but the treatment given to the movie left one yearning for more.

When one looks at the earlier representation of the Joker's character played on the screen, one can see it witty even when running amok. This one leaves you in a gloomy state of mind.

Watch it only for Joaquin acting abilities.

Its a one time watch.

Bard of Blood (Netflix Web Series)

The Bard of Blood web series has been released on Netflix. Espionage seems to be the theme these days for web series. Recently we saw the Family Man web series on Amazon Prime on similar lines.

Before reviewing the web series, would like to add that the web series on Netflix, Amazon Prime, Hotstar, etc are considered to be a niche segment for an audience who have moved away from the idiot box (television shows). 

The segment is still in an infancy stage, given that the number of Hindi web series is yet to hit good numbers compared to the English ones running across all the platforms. The makers need to realize that the Indian audiences have really matured up and knows the difference between a good and bad web series especially the nitty gritty of the story plots. We can see through that. Since we are still growing, expect that the makers start doing a good job on it.

Coming to the Bard of Blood, given the India Pakistan simmering tensions currently going on, the series seems to hit the right areas.

The series is based on the book by the same name written by Bilal Siddiqi in the year 2015 and also credited as writer for the series.

This is a 7 episode series starring Emraan Hashmi as the lead actor playing the role of Kabir Anand who has been dismissed from the agency and now being contacted by his ex boss Sadiq Sheikh (Rajit Kapur) to go on off the book mission to rescue four Indian agents trapped in Pakistan as they have got hold of secrets useful to India.

Before the mission could even begin, Sadiq is found dead and then began a game of cat and mouse.

One of the good thing of this web series is the way they have been able to maintain the continuity and keep you engaged. Every episode ends with you wondering what will happen next?

The focus on keeping it minimalistic, having only one plot and no subplots worked out great. Everything is weaved well within the series.

However, there are some very glaring loopholes/gaps in the plot that is hard to miss.

Isha Khanna's (Sobhita Dhulipala) disappearance. Seriously if you are working in an intel agency and don't turn up at your work, is that not noticeable? They way it has been depicted is really poor.

On top of it, there is no action on part of the Head of the agency when he comes to know she is in Balochistan in an off record mission. He knows nothing about it and does not even attempts to know, implying that he assumed its a rescue mission for the agents captured. No explanations asked for!!

The best part was the connectivity of the data card in the remote areas of Balochistan using a stolen laptop. if they can get such good connectivity then why did the four agents visited a cyber cafe to upload data? They could have done the same thing and not get caught.

The Agency Head seemed completely clueless about his role. His second in command is dead, comes to know Kabir and Isha are in pakistan and does nothing. I am not sure if the writers gave a thought to his character which they should have, given head of the agency.

The funniest scene was perhaps when they were at the oil pump station surrounded by pakistan forces and Isha was taking cover behind a metal crisscross fences. She along with Veer (Vineet Kumar Singh) were also taking their shots through them. This was so genius that reminded me of the South movies scenes or should I say Mithun Chakraborty scene taking cover behind a cycle. I hope the makers were not paying a tribute!!

The chase of Isha behind the Taliban's leader convoy has to be the dumbest scene to be scripted. You are in middle of a desert chasing a convoy and she gets caught, seriously!! If she maintained a distance of a mile too she would have know where they were going. There were no other cars in between...

Kabir finding the Royal Enfield Himalayan in the midst of the desert takes the cake.

The good part of the series is its ability to keep attention of its viewers on the screen. The climax of the season one was somewhat of an anticlimax. There was no mention of agents captured revealing the secrets for which the mission took place. On top of it information of attack finds them instead other way round, does not makes the agency look good. The ending was predictable.

Emraan Hashmi had the same expression throughout the series, not sure if that's a good thing or bad. Rajit Kapoor was impactful in a small but meaty role. Kirti Kulhari also did a good job. Sobhita Dhulipala could not do justice to her role. Sahiba Bali stood out in her minuscule role. Vineet Kumar Singh, Jaideep Ahlawat & Abhishek Khan did justice to their respective roles.

Despite the flaws in the series, one can navigate through them through a tight direction from Ribhu Dasgupta. The writers surely could have done a better job by getting hold of the loop holes/gaps which could have made these 7 episode series more fine.

Bard of Blood is recommended as as a watch as mentioned for its hold to maintain his narrative, continuity and yes the suspense throughout the series.

Do watch it.