saving – Movies of the Soul

Vampire Owl: We have always been referred to as night runners by humans.

Vampire Bat: That is a title reserved for the creatures of spirit world.

Vampire Owl: I have heard humans calling us by that name.

Vampire Bat: It is because you haunted houses like evil ghosts.

Vampire Owl: That was like a few hundred years ago.

Vampire Bat: You should have known that they write it down in detail.

Vampire Owl: Well, humans no longer read or write anything by themselves these days.

Vampire Bat: They will still get the details from their own Artificial Intelligence.

Vampire Owl: Dr. Frankenstein has said that Artificial Intelligence was transferred from shadow world to humans.

Vampire Bat: Mr. Frankenstein knows no shadow. I have heard that he is even writing a book named “Frank’s Shadow’s of Infinity”.

[Gets a sambar vada and three cups of Vagamon tea].

What is the movie about? :: Maia (Gal Gadot) is a prosecutor who deals with some of the most sensational cases, thus becoming almost a celebrity in the same. She also serves as single mother to her diabetic son Noah (Rory Wilmot) as they live in London going through a happy life. On the day she is supposed to appear in court for the trial of a notorious crime boss, the health and figure conscious Maia goes for a run after dropping off her son in the school campus, not walking him to the building. As she keeps running, she receives a call coming from Noah’s phone from an anonymous person who declares himself as an employee of the dreaded crime lord. He tells her that Noah is with him, and orders her to go according to his instructions so that the boy does not succumb to his diabetes-related problems. He also lets her know that he has hacked her phone, revealing details of her hidden folders and her semi-naked private pictures which she found there to make her believe – he tracks her each step as she is supposed to keep the mobile phone with her, which leaves her unable to call or talk to others for help.

So, what happens with the events here as we just keep looking? :: The Caller (Damian Lewis) shows her a trashcan from where she is able to find a gun which she is to use to murder the key witness in the case of the crime lord. As the witness is under police guard, only she can have access to the man in him room which is at an undisclosed hotel set in an area which only a few people know about. Facing the death of his son in one hour and with the Caller having not only her semi-nude private photos, but also other private details from a complicated troublesome past which could destroy her reputation, she has to act and run fast as she can, as there could be restrictions on her path ahead during the busy hours. As she tries to contact Ted (Alfred Enoch) who works with her and has shown a certain romantic interest in her after snatching someone else’s phone, he reveals that he had hacked his phone too, and she understands that she is helpless and completely in control of the unknown man who holds her hostage while her son has gone into coma and faces death with only a few minutes remaining.

And what more can happen here with a child’s life and a woman’s reputation at stake? :: The Caller intends to take the easiest path to murder the man in safe security and at the same time also destroy the life and reputation of the woman who played a major role in having the crime lord in peril. It is revealed that he had hacked the two mobile phones a long time ago, and has this one perfectly planned leading to a perfect murder, knowing Maia’s history of being orphaned and divorced, as well as her mental problems and medicines which she has been taking for mental health. With her mother murdering her father, he considers her to be someone who has a history of violence and brutality in blood along with that mental illness, making her the perfect choice to commit this murder. As she is disturbed by him talking about her disturbed past, mental problems and semi-naked private photos, she is struck by a car on the road, and awakens some minutes later in an ambulance, understanding that she is a lot behind with time. Now, she has to run faster than ever by taking the best shortcuts in the city to even stand a chance to make it – she is not supposed to use any transportation, talk to anyone or draw attention to herself. Can she race against all odds with the injury and reach the location to murder the man?

The defence of The Runner :: The movie lasts for less than one and half hours which makes this one a perfect quick journey through a classic run through London. The charm of the visuals of one of the classic combinations of the ancient and modern has us interested as much as the thrills of the terror with a terrifying killer knowing everything about you while keeping your most loved one hostage – the running is nicely managed throughout the movie which is all about the same and happening within the Aristotelian classical unities. As this follows one main storyline and action, with no subplot, with everything taking place within a single 24-hour day and confined to a single physical location of London city, this is a classic journey which is past-paced while moving through a single small world. The feelings of the protagonist is nicely felt, and Gal Gadot is a perfect choice for this role, as she delivers another thriller outside the big action thrillers like Red Notice and Fast and Furious series or the Wonder Woman and the rest of the Justice League world. Gal Gadot running through a city with unparalleled determination is a sight that we will remember for long.

The claws of flaw :: The movie does not hesitate to show itself as a cliché or a deviation from previous movies at times. Gal Gadot who handles the physically demanding nature of this sprint could have also had some big stylish sequences at high pace which would be above the ordinary, but we see it kept ordinary and simple, below the huge situation that we have around here with a high-profile case and a dreaded crime lord involved. There could have also been more life-threatening moments to go with the same with the protagonist taking so many more unexpected risks. Some of the effects used to make the running feel tiring, hectic and tensed do not work that well, as camera focusing on her from different angles including bird’s eye, from the floor and third-person chasing her would have been stylish – maybe the protagonist could have jumped on the roofs, gone through windows, taking some strange paths through less taken paths; all of these could have been added here and there. The final moments are not that strong too, and the solution here seems rather easy and quickly achieved without that huge tension in the end which we had awaited.

How it finishes :: The film’s biggest asset is its pace going under that one and half hour of time which is often a minimum for most movies, and it goes through a fast and furious journey through the streets and transit systems of London despite the struggle that comes by the end. Gal Gadot brings some classic physical stamina to a role that requires continuous sprinting and some near-perfect movies along with those emotions that need to be displayed in between. It is more or less like an adrenaline-fueled workout run that can keep one extra-healthy if done every day without failure or those injuries. The movie’s inability to bring that tension in the end and the easy solutions are not what we had in mind considering lives and privacy at sake. As the final act abandons its gained momentum for those strange twist revelations, what it had accumulated do not stand that strong. But we enjoy the tension, and the short run-time has us always in focus. As this released directly to Amazon Prime Video, this makes a fine weekend watch on the OTT with the entertainment going at the right pace.

Release date: 2 September 2026
Running time: 84 minutes
Directed by: Kevin Macdonald
Starring: Gal Gadot, Damian Lewis, Rory Wilmot, Alfred Enoch

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@ Cemetery Watch
✠ The Vampire Bat.

Vampire Owl: This reminds me to show you my new pet.

Vampire Bat: I don’t think that this is that kind of a movie related to the real pets.

Vampire Owl: You mean to say that there is no live-action version of The Secret Life of Pets.

Vampire Bat: Not at all.

Vampire Owl: And there will be nothing The Street Cat Named Bob?

Vampire Bat: Absolutely not.

Vampire Owl: So, we are after the wrong kind of pet here.

Vampire Bat: This is supposed to be a thriller; so you know the kind of pet.

Vampire Owl: The psychological kind.

Vampire Bat: Yes, and you know more psychos than I ever will in this life and the next.

[Gets three cups of masala tea with gobi paratha].

What is the movie about? :: Seth (Dominic Monaghan) works at the local Animal Control Department, and as a shy person doesn’t talk to many people, and has not many friends. Even those who works with him hopes not to get to talk much to him. One day he comes across Holly (Ksenia Solo) who is supposed to be someone he knew a long time ago, but she doesn’t remember him at all. After their meeting in the bus, he becomes more and more obsessed with her, and feels the need to get noticed more. But she doesn’t even remember meeting him for the second time in the bus, as he visits the restaurant that she works in. He tries to seem confident after looking for her interests on her social media profiles, as he asks her for dinner, but that doesn’t come out right, and she clearly shows her lack of interest in him. He is disappointed, but doesn’t give up.

So, what happens next? :: Holly goes on to meet her ex-boyfriend Eric (Nathan Parsons), but Seth continues to follow her, and in the process, gets beaten up by Eric. Despite being bloodied, Seth does manage to steal her diary which has all intimate details of her past. But as he keeps on reading the same, something takes a drastic change. He spends his time setting up a cage in an abandoned side of the animal shelter, and even as it affects his work, make sure that he could create something different and strange at that side to which nobody makes a visit. There seemed to be something in that diary that motivated him so much to finally kidnap her, and get her to that cage. But after kidnapping, he reveals to her that his wish is to save her, and this is all part of his secret plan for the same, much to the surprise of Molly who sees no way to escape from the steel cage.

So, how does the big mystery reveal with its twists? :: Soon, she finds out that Seth knows all her secrets which were written in the diary, and there are no longer secrets between them. There is a big secret that involves her best friend Claire (Jennette McCurdy), and Seth tells her that he loves her, and understands that there is not just one side to Holly. He tells her that it is only him that can help her, and asks for nothing in return as he is her one true love, and not Eric. It is then that the security guard of the animal shelter, Nate (Da’Vone McDonald) grows more and more suspicious of him due to his absence from work, and his roaming into those less explored areas. He makes his own way through those abandoned areas, and is shocked to find the young girl locked up inside cage in her underwear. Now, Holly tries to manipulate him into murdering the guard, and soon the question evolves into who the crazier one is, and also about who the real psychopath is.

The defence of Pet :: There is certainly something different with Pet, as one had already noticed with the posters and the trailer itself. This one emerges and becomes more than just having a girl in captivity by a stalker. There is that madness in this movie that only gets stronger as the movie progresses. Pet had so many opportunities here to become just the usual tale of a “damsel in distress” captured by the man who has been stalking her for long, but surely adds enough in there for the divergence. It is Ksenia Solo who impresses at moments with the way her character approaches everything, and Dominic Monaghan also leaves a good effect on this one, even though more situations could have been added to bring even more of these characters outside rather than leaving too much to be guessed. There is a lot of manipulation going on in this particular flick, and the twist is ready to get to you.

The Claws of flaw :: More was certainly possible with Pet, and surely a better finish was expected, considering how things were made stronger with the progress. You will also feel that there is a little bit too much of repetition with the talks that go on between the two protagonists, and we also see that the cage is also less used as the property, and there are moments when the leading lady does act so less like the character that she is – maybe, it is also part of the character, but that leaves the audience rather confused. The whole manipulation thing could have also used a little more drama rather than keeping the captive without much of emotions – it is something that will go as a negative mark in the performances. The lady also doesn’t get even a real cut on her, and will also get to be out of the cage without any trace of being a captive, and that also adds no positive to the genre. There is also that slowness in the middle, which is not converted to anything interesting.

How it finishes :: Pet‘s divergence is not something that we can question. But its leading lady character might be one for many. There is also a little bit of predictability that comes in, and that is also due to the lady protagonist, and by the end, people are just going to guess that final twist, considering how the so called stalker was proceeding with the things. You are going to wish that this movie was something more, but the variety in treatment that this movie brings will also be catching your attention – there are two sides to this movie, and thanks to its leading performers living up-to the expectations whenever there is the need, we have Pet as a movie that can be watched for not being like the others of its kind. In a movie which has no real hero or heroine, how much you can like the flick is dependent on what you want – a very high rating will be difficult, but liking this movie is not. The best thing about this movie is that it does take off the masks of some people who pretends to be good and nice to others, but being close to be good or in control is not what that particular person is all about, even when in a cage.

PS: For the lighter minds, there are reviews on movies like Kubo and the Two Strings and Kung Fu Panda 3.

Release date: 2nd December 2016
Running time: 94 minutes
Directed by: Carles Torrens
Starring: Dominic Monaghan, Ksenia Solo, Jennette McCurdy, Nathan Parsons, Da’Vone McDonald, Denise Garcia, Janet Song, Alasdair Martin, Gary J. Tunnicliffe