Rohitavra Majumdar

Years ago, I went to see a local stand-up event with a few of my friends. A lot of up and coming people were performing, before an established comedian – (I'm not) sorry, I forgot the name – took over the stage. After a while, he kind of targeted one of my friends and picked on him. My friend was gracious enough to be a good sport and take it as nicely as possible, but he was visibly uncomfortable. I, however, was on the verge of getting up and throwing a chair at the comedian. I ultimately didn't do that, but since that day, I've been against comedians who deliberately put an audience member in a spot to yield a few laughs. To me, that's a symptom of one's inability as a comedian. And no, while comedy should be boundless, this is not acceptable; the argument of roasting doesn't hold here, there's a particular set up for that. The reason I brought this up is because Chinese Australian comedian Aaron Chen appears to be the exact opposite of that, if I've to go by his Netflix comedy special, titled “Funny Garden.” Unlike the smug, unfunny comedians – this world has a lot of them, sadly – Chen is sort of awkward, a little bumbling, but his humor is spot on. While the set is not exactly laugh out loud every single minute, a chuckle's never far from your lips for the entire forty five minutes. Yes, Chen makes sure it is short, and doesn't overstay his welcome, which is a huge plus.

“Starbright,” directed by Francesco Lucente, has the kind of story someone like Steven Spielberg would probably have a field day with. Sadly, that's the only good thing I can think of to say about this movie, apart from the lead performance by Alexandra Dowling, who has tried her best to save a sinking ship. But the randomness of this movie is so off-putting that nothing could actually help it. The Spielberg influence is noticeable, but that's just about it; perhaps only the man himself directing it could have turned this into something magical. Anyway, without any further ado, let's just get into simplifying “Starbright.”

Trust the Koreans to always come up with hyper exciting, thrilling stories that make for great cinema! That said, “Project Y,” directed by Lee Hwan, is an unfortunate mess, execution wise. The central idea – of these two women trying to pull off this impossible win against this gangster – is cool enough to vibe with, and the two leads, played by Han So-hee and Jeon Jong-seo, have put their best foot forward for sure. But the film lacks in having a screenplay that makes sense, which is a must for a good thriller, and what further puts a hole in the ship is the shoddy editing. A lot of “Project Y” seems extra, and doesn't make much sense. In this article, I'm gonna do a dissection and clear your doubts about the ending, if you have any!

It takes a good ten minutes or so for you to grasp what's going on in Tony Schumacher's latest crime thriller miniseries, “The Cage,” but once that happens, you are rewarded with a magnificent, enthralling experience every single minute. The BBC series might seem a little trope-y initially, but its unbelievably emotional, rousing finale takes it to a whole other level for sure. I'm gonna dissect “The Cage” in this article, discussing the ending and the impact it had on its characters. If you've any doubts about the miniseries, then I'm hoping to clear that up too.

Has there been a better fairytale story than Leicester City's 2016 Premier League triumph in modern day football history? The clear answer here is “absolutely not”. And without the iconic rags to riches story of Jamie Vardy, it wouldn't have happened. The first chapter of Netflix's “Untold UK,” a three-part documentary series, puts the focus on Vardy's story and shows us the journey. The treatment is nothing new and it follows the set template of sports documentaries, but Vardy's story is so miraculous that you still enjoy watching it, or at least I did, as a football fan. If you're a non-football person then this might be quite a hard watch for you, but I also see no reason for you to even tune in. In this article, I'm gonna do a bit of introspection, while discussing “Untold: Jamie Vardy.”

Football is the greatest sport in the world, and France is beautiful, but in the year 2010, French football had to suffer one of the ugliest scandals in the history of the sport. What's even worse? The whole thing taking place during the football World Cup, known as the greatest show on earth to many. “The Bus: A French Football Mutiny” puts that event in the spotlight, and makes a pretty exciting documentary out of it. The reason it mainly works is because all the people associated with the matter are chipping in and going full introspection-mode, except Nicolas Anelka, of course. I'm kinda surprised that Netflix couldn't manage to convince him to be a part of the documentary. Anyway, it is what it is, and in this article we're gonna discuss what we saw in the documentary and put some light on both the what and why.

How much cheese is too much cheese? The right answer is “it's never too much”! That's certainly the case with Netflix's South-African rom-com “Bride of the Year,” it's exactly the kind of escapist cinema you seek out at times, and it only works for you if you have an extra sweet tooth. You're here after watching the movie, and I don't see any reason for you to really be confused over “Bride of the Year,” but if you have missed something, then this article ought to help.

What's the greatest football match of all time, and why is it the 2005 Uefa Champions League final? I mean, up until the 2022 Fifa World Cup final happened, that was the undisputed winner, and even now, the UCL final, between AC Milan and Liverpool, edges past for many, making the statement valid enough. Netflix's “Untold UK: Liverpool's Miracle of Istanbul” puts the spotlight on that game, obviously from Liverpool's POV, and traces the backstory behind it. Players Jamie Carragher, Steven Gerrard, Jerzy Dudek, Dietmar Hamann, and manager Rafael Benitez all appear as narrators, with names like Michael Owen and Xabi Alonso also chipping in. Instead of footballing tactics and technicalities, the documentary focuses mainly on what was going on inside the heads of the players (and their manager), which, in my humble opinion, makes it an exciting watch, overall.

After exploring Jamie Vardy 's incredible rags to riches story and Liverpool's 2005 Champions League miracle, “Untold UK” is back for its final

If there's one man all the Argentine supporters, including myself, should forever stay indebted to, it has to be Emiliano “Dibu” Martinez. I mean, there's no way I'm trying to take anything away from a certain someone called Leo Messi, but what Dibu Martinez did in the 123rd minute of the 2022 World Cup final is the sole reason the past four years have gone so well for us. Even Messi's reaction at that very moment clearly shows how important “that save” was – you can always go and check out the thousands of available videos to understand exactly what I'm talking about. Getting to write about a Dibu Martinez documentary produced by Netflix was always gonna be a fun assignment for me, and I'm glad that it's finally happening. “Emi Martinez: The Kid Who Stops Time” is no ordinary documentary though. Sure, it does follow the set template, but it also peppers the whole thing with this animated short film. The end result is a documentary which almost feels like you're watching a wholesome rom com; yes, Emi's romance with his wife, Mandinha, gets a lot of focus as well. Let's take a closer look.