IMRAN H HAQUE

Category: Entertainment

  • A Relationship of Unusual Craving—Fresh Movie Review

    A Relationship of Unusual Craving—Fresh Movie Review

    Not every love story starts with a bang! But this one did.

    The girl shyly starts a dating app. But she doesn’t like anyone, and has good reasons too. We see the few ridiculous number of texts that can turn any decent girl off and make us guys go “eww.”

    A guy approaches her at a usual grocery store (how cute!) and gets her number at the end. Then starts a conversation upon which the girl soon starts falling.

    She has a best friend Mollie, who does not like the idea of her going out with this man, especially to a place called ‘Cottage Grove.’

    Soon, what unfurls is nothing we anticipated before as the guy and the girl go through a journey of wits, play, suffering and whatnot.

    You’ll go through different emotions but it’s not for the faint of hearts. You need to watch it with some disclaimer upfront—thriller and moments of agony and pain of living through the characters as the scenes start to reveal more throughout the movie.

    What we have here is a crazy story that involves you and how your decisions have consequences. It helps you consider making decisions in life with a whole lot of thinking beforehand.

    So, what do you value in a relationship? And how do you earn someone’s trust? Exactly how long does it take to know a person? Questions that are left unanswered.

    I’m not gonna spoil stuff for you, but this movie is surely not what you’d expect on a regular drama movie.

    To watch Fresh (2022), please head over to Hulu today!

  • The Batman—A Detective-Noir Dark Tale [NO SPOILER]

    The Batman—A Detective-Noir Dark Tale [NO SPOILER]

    The Batman couldn’t be darker, at least that’s what I thought by the end of it. The caped crusader and Bruce Wayne’s epic donning in clothes could not have a thinner bridge between one and the other in regards to how it dawns upon us people to witness an epic opening of this new version of The Batman.

    Character

    Robert Pattinson surely nailed it as the World’s Greatest Detective, albeit with a slight sloppy here and there, which makes sense since he is still becoming and the journey has only begun.

    Catwoman stood the test of time as one of the best for taking the role with her both humane attitude and warrior-like appearance.

    The Batmobile chase sequence felt suspenseful at first and great seconds after with its fresh engine revs and a great take on a finely designed tank.

    Image Credit: Warner Brothers & IGN

    Robert Pattinson’s Bruce Wayne and the caped crusader had this dark appearance that made it look so gloomy yet real. The movie gave away a visual comic-like vibe. It felt more like Bruce and Batman were the same person with a costume in or out even though it was not supposed to be that obvious. When he donned in that suit, it made the scenes gritty and real. His voice was not unrealistic as Nolan’s Batman movies made them out to be but just a little low on the voice.

    Sound

    The sound effects during the few action scenes left me with an aura of invincibility and kept me hooked into the action as if Batman’s life depends on it. Every punch or kick in the various combat scenes made me think whether Batman would prevail or not—definitely making the dark knight a lot fresher into the world of vigilantism and vulnerable than he could ever be.

    Jeffrey Wright plays his wits as Gordon and decides with all the weight of carrying the law on his shoulders and accommodating the vigilante with everything he can.

    When I was going out, I noticed people humming silly vocal gestures comparing it with the action-induced Avengers. The thing is we are watching DC classics in a post-marvel world. What Avengers did was they brought out the Justice League thing before it even did in screen time.

    The weird thing is Colin Farrell was in the movie, and yet he wasn’t. Cause his face and voice were different, which begs the question that he was just cast for his acting and nothing else.

    Impression

    My impression may not be accurate as I missed the first half an hour of the movie. However, for now, my initial impression stands at a solid 9.0 for keeping up with the expectation and delivering yet an insightful and damaged Bruce Wayne and The Batman—perhaps, the perfect comic-based superhero movie that consists of reasonable action scenes leaving us with a dark and precious Gotham City that we all love.

  • A Touching but Clichéd Farewell to Craig’s Bond Series—No Time To Die Review

    A Touching but Clichéd Farewell to Craig’s Bond Series—No Time To Die Review

    When you try a Bond film, you know you’re in for some gun-blazing and car-chasing action, along with some witty remarks and dialogues between Bond and his co-workers and adversaries. What you don’t get are slices of drama since Daniel Craig’s version got a ton of them, indulging us with a different flair than what the 007 franchise was known for before Casino Royale made its debut, and certainly did not disappoint with its fifth installment—No Time To Die.

    Are you watching this for the first time though? No worries. You can try it, even though this is a sequel to Casino Royale and Spectre. Regardless, the movie does explain tidbits, enough to get you along with the story’s nuance if you decide to hop into the movie theater with no time for the previous ones.

    Looking back to the days of Sean Connery’s version, this series played an important role in showing the human side of James—a unique approach, something that is unprecedented. Perhaps the critique it received from doing so makes sense since Bond should feel invincible according to how the world around 007 used to be back in the days.

    However, Craig did a fantastic job portraying the brutal emotions while keeping his conversations piquant enough that got the story going. We have seen Bond exercising his license to kill in one scene while letting out a witty remark in the next. However, Craig plays out his stoniness on his enemies, showing he’s Bond, while when the lights are off him, he goes back to being the heartbroken and frustrated human being that got sick of all the lying and bullshit he has been under while protecting his country at the most dangerous level.

    Interesting is seeing Bond breaking down while keeping his guard on and off, composure as quieted down while thinking about his past choices. After all, James Bond, with all his talent and sophistication, is a human. You can relate to some of it – which is crazy enough to make you think that it is happening to James Bond.

    Perhaps, as brutish as Craig appears, he also showed a remarkable amount of how a 00 agent can go through when battling with arrays of betrayal from people whom he trusts the most.

    It shows that an agent can hardly have a peaceful life with everything they go through. Even after retirement, peace is a rare commodity.

    Although Rami Malek’s character ‘Safin’ puts his genius on the surface, the antagonist lacked depth and sounded relatively soft, especially when compared to how villains in typical Bond films appear. Also, that this is the last movie of this series, it could have done better.

    Impression

    Although not a regular premiere watcher myself, and preferred the comfort of my home, I could not resist but to chance to see this out in the theaters. You’ll find a drama-induced action film, which is natural considering you saw the other ones.

    I was going through a web of different scenarios this film could have finished with instead of how cliched it ended up being. Perhaps it would have had more grace. Despite all that, this movie is surely an 8/10 for taking on the challenging task of showing a machine that can also be human.

    Image Credit: Nicola Dove/MGM
  • How this Crazy Doctor Inspires Everyone—The Good Doctor Review

    How this Crazy Doctor Inspires Everyone—The Good Doctor Review

    Freddie Highmore nails it as surgeon Dr. Shaun Murphy in The Good Doctor, but here is the catch–he is autistic and a savant. So, how did he end up in a prestigious hospital in California?

    The episode includes a debate going on between the President of the San Jose St. Bonaventure Hospital and the board members on why he is so keen on hiring Dr. Murphy despite his lack of being just another qualified individual or so the board desires. The thing is the President knew Dr. Murphy from when he was young and watched him in his grooming.

    Background

    Growing up with a troublesome father, Shaun and his brother decided to desert their home and live on their own, which was aggravated by the latest encounter with his father who threw their pet rabbit towards the wall that led to its death. That frightening incident started because of Shaun’s inability to last in multiple schools like a normal person, which made his father lost his cool. The brothers decided it was enough for them to not live in that house anymore.

    However, Shaun’s brother fell from the top one day and breathe his last, leaving Shaun all alone, except for Dr. Glassman, the president of the prestigious hospital who had Dr. Murphy in his lens during his upbringing and was confident enough to believe that he can make a difference in the future.

    The Introduction

    Shaun was sitting in the debate room where one of the board members asked him why he wanted to be a doctor.

    Shaun stared blankly, thinking of his why… Dr. Glassman was waiting for a concrete reason to come out from Shaun’s mouth. Shaun paused so much that the annoyed became too confident that he would fail to give anything concrete. And then, Dr. Murphy came up with the story about how horrible he felt seeing his brother’s soul leaving his innocent body, which gave him the reason why he wants others to live by being a surgeon. And that, he wants to create an impact.

    It was a pretty solid reason or so it felt to many across the board.

    Impression

    Many episodes had moments that gave me some fresh perspectives about life while some had me laugh. Either Dr. Murphy’s weird questions he posed to Dr. Melendez during an OT, or his pursuit of trying out new lines to explore communication skills. All roads kind of strengthened my belief that life is indeed a place for everyone to live.

    Perhaps, people with conditions that are apparent can do things normal people cannot. It is perhaps, a matter of time for them to show it once they are given a chance. Maybe, every one of us has a gift we must try to discover.

    The Good Doctor is a feel-good show. And this is my impression of it so far.

    Try it on either abc or Netflix!

    Here’s the trailer to the show:

    Hope you enjoy it!