Drop

Vampire Owl: I remember that I once dropped bomb in the land of zombies during a lockdown.

Vampire Bat: It was a magical orb; you don’t call it a bomb.

Vampire Owl: In our worlds, the orbs replace the bombs.

Vampire Bat: We are no longer using that magic in our lives.

Vampire Owl: The dark magic has still spread enough in the realm.

Vampire Bat: Such evil has been limited to the lands of the northern witches.

Vampire Owl: Dr. Frankenstein had ended the witches by himself.

Vampire Bat: Mr. Frankenstein won no science vs magic battle.

Vampire Owl: Frankenstein will end all unnecessary magic with the use of science.

Vampire Bat: Now you know why Uncle Dracula banned him.

[Gets a sweet puffs and three cups of Kodaikanal tea].

What is the movie about? :: Violet (Meghann Fahy) had been suffering as she was unable to leave her alcoholic and abusive husband despite her being a therapist herself. But this had changed as the man committed suicide, but she was blamed for it, and people often told the stories about her killing her husband as she was unable to suffer his atrocities anymore, as even the neighbours could not stand the man. On an eventful day, after finishing daily work, she is startled by a metre reading man knocking on her window and she had guided him to the back of her home. Later, Violet decides to leave her young son Toby (Jacob Robinson) at home in the care of her younger sister Jen (Violett Beane) and go for her first date after the death of her husband. Jen makes sure that her sister wears the best clothes and manages to find her true love this time and get married to lead a good life. With everything set and with the best wishes of her sister, Violet reaches Palate, a grand restaurant at the top of a skyscraper for a date with a photographer named Henry (Brandon Sklenar), whom she has been messaging through a dating app.

So, what happens with the events here as we just keep looking? :: As Henry is late, she spends some time at the bar and meets Richard (Reed Diiamond), a little elderly man waiting on a blind date, Matt (Jeffery Self), a server on his first day at the restaurant, Cara (Gabrielle Ryan), the friendly bartender, Phil (Ed Weeks), the restaurant’s pianist, and Connor (Travis Nelson), a young man waiting for his sister. Henry reaches, and as they start their date, Violet begins receiving messages on her mobile phone through a short-rage texting system. These messages from this unknown user starts with memes which gradually become more threatening. Henry tells her that it could only be someone seated in their section of the restaurant as the range would only be that much. Despite Violet trying to ignore the drops, the crisis elevates as the unknown person asks her to check her home security cameras. As she checks for the same through camera, she finds Jen being knocked out by a masked man who locks Toby inside a room, and she is warned against telling everyone about it, as the boy would be killed if anyone comes to know about it.

And what more is to follow here as lives seem to be at stake with time running out? :: The messenger tells her that only by careful actions, her son will be saved, and warns her against leaving from the restaurant, as she is to continue her date. When she moves, it seems that the man knows, and as she moves into the toilet, she finds hidden cameras near the wash, and the same was also seen on the side of her table. She pretends to be scared of heights and ask for the table to be moved from their location with the city view to anywhere else. Henry manages to have the same done with the help of the staff, but she is forced to come back as the messenger asks her to return to the same seat or her child would die. They return to the same table, which the staff says was particularly chosen for them through a call, but both of them remember none of it. The messenger further instructs Violet to find a camera in Henry’s bag kept on a side and destroy its SD card. Violet manages to complete the job and finds out that Henry, who works for the city mayor, has photos which would serve as evidence against the man. But this would not be the last thing she will have to do to save her son. How long can she survive like this?

The defence of Drop :: The movie is powered by a fine performance from Meghann Fahy who drops the anchor with a performance that requires some fine skill, as she has to continue fighting against all odds with control over her actions as much as the emotions. Brandon Sklenar also provides some fine support here as he plays the next significant character. These characters are placed in a situation which does not go much about one and half hours, and with such a short run-time, the movie leaves one with no wasted time. There are some nice situations which feels more real than the others. The anxieties about digital life and surveillance feels very much real as we never really move away from the same, no matter how much we feel that this would not happen to us. The suspense and thrills we feel here are more like taken right out of a world that we know. There is also that emotional side related to the life of the main character. Then there is the stunning world of the restaurant with a view and the tension that something big is going to happen any time soon, and the audience are prepared for the same.

The claws of flaw :: When we think deeply about the movie, we can’t help feeling that the villain’s plan depends on the near-impossible, requiring the best of timing and perfect surveillance that stretches the willing suspension of disbelief at times – this happens in such an area where immense possibilities are there, and just going for the same in the usual manner and then trying to hide the evidence would have been the better options however we look at it. The idea that the main character, despite being a person with skills related to the mind decides to stay with her abusive and alcoholic husband who does not have the right state of mind makes us wonder what kind of skills she has in her field of psychology. The flashback which goes there is not that much either, and we never really go that deep into past, and yet there is so much of talk about the same. Then the finish seems to be done in a hurry as the revealing is done and then the chase happens as if they were just put there to end the film as soon as possible.

How it finishes :: Drop takes advantage of the fear of being watched digitally with no idea of who is doing the same; it is indeed one of the scariest feelings that one could have, as this has become an inevitable part of our life in one way or the other. Meghann Fahy carries the same tension while not really out of the character’s long trauma right on her shoulders. Her performance that stands apart makes sure that the emotional stakes feel raw and very much human, even when the technology around her tries to take over. It is to be noted that all of these happens in the restricted space of the top floor of a skyscraper where the restaurant is situated. There, it expertly turns an everyday social setting into a terrifying nightmare, and for the same, it needs the applause, as some of us might think twice about talking to a digital stranger too. It could have still become something more, but it chooses not to, as the terror lies a little too much in the messages and a video cam rather than on the main location in real space, and we should have had a little bit more of the main character’s past and a less quick journey in the final stages. But we have everything that ends well, and we are left with messages, which is very much fine.

Release date: 11th April 2025
Running time: 95 minutes
Directed by: Christopher Landon
Starring: Meghann Fahy, Brandon Sklenar, Violett Beane, Jeffery Self, Ed Weeks

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Infinite Earths III

Vampire Owl: I am finally managing to find the meaning of infinite earths.

Vampire Bat: There is no true meaning of infinity.

Vampire Owl: There is no truth that infinities can bring.

Vampire Bat: I am sure that your infinity is different from that of others.

Vampire Owl: So, you believe in infinity in our realm too.

Vampire Bat: I believe in death and beyond as an infinite process.

Vampire Owl: So, immortality is the same as infinity?

Vampire Bat: The world is quickly traveling towards infinity.

Vampire Owl: So, you do not believe in end of the world.

Vampire Bat: The whole eternity is a platform to our inevitable end. We die and we continue to live forever as we watch and focus on the darkness of the nights.

[Gets a paneer dosa and three cups of Wayanad tea].

What is the movie about? :: When the Monitor (Jonathan Adams) died, the cosmic energy within him was unleashed and the same provided the superheroes with enough power to transport the surviving earths with their stars into a dimension between the universes referred only as the Bleed. This made sure that the earths existed safely, even though the place is not stable, with different laws of Physics and regular natural disasters – to add to the same people of past, present and future keeps appearing at the same time, draining resources, even putting a limit on the use of water. The humans in the planets are not happy, and survival would mean fighting creatures including dinosaurs, with the number of superheroes in the universe reaching an all-time low. They are still safe from the Anti-Monitor force and the annihilating tsunami waves, but it is to be seen for how long before they find the location of these planets from outside.

So, what happens with the events here as we just keep looking? :: The end of the world seems to be coming sooner or later, whether it is due to this unstable world going beyond the limits or due to the Anti-Monitor force and waves finding the location and coming through. Even though people believe that death is only the beginning, there might not be anything to follow death in this case. They are surprised by the visit of Lex Luthor (Zachary Quinto) who reveals that the Anti-Monitor has found the Bleed and has already forced its way inside. Soon, it destroys Earth-146 and Earth-2, but it is revealed that it was Luthor who revealed the location of these earths to the antagonist to save his own. Luthor and his team of villains had already concluded that life in the Bleed is unsustainable, but he also studies the Anti-Monitor’s weaknesses and kill it. For the same, he comes up with an idea of sacrifice which would suit the best to his biggest enemies. But one has to wonder if he is to be trusted, as he has been one of the smartest villains around. Now, what fate awaits them as the final dawn of battle against apocalypse approaches?

The defence of Justice League: Crisis on Infinite Earths Part Three :: The best part of the movie is the use of Constantine and his powers, and one should always consider him to be bigger than Doctor Strange due to those spells seemingly having a dark side as much as the classic one. The ending with him at the core nicely manages to get things done, and provides hope for a better and more effective world with hope that history would not repeat itself. The final look at the superheroes is something that we would remember for a long time, and the classic action coming in never gets old. Among the superheroes, there is always that childhood of ours that is reminded. The idea of multiverse getting the explanation also makes an impact, and so does the anti-monitor entering its existence. We also leave with the idea that Justice League never ends and we will always have some justice to be served in whatever is to come in a new world.

The claws of flaw :: The subplots do suffer in this movie, and sometimes, the movie does not seem to feel the need to explain further. The non-linear feeling never really leaves us either, and there is juggling around, which never ceases to leave us. The makers needed to remember that this movie was made for the common people too, and not just the comic fans and the superhero admirers of all times. The Supergirl, even with the sacrificial actions, is once again wasted, and there is no emotional impact to whatever she does, after her actions in the previous movie. The movie also did not seem to have gained that much of an opinion, maybe the loyal audience wanted something else, and most of us have no idea what the comics about the same idea was dealing with. The character crowding continued even after some of them were dead already, and a feeling of repetition creeps in at times too.

Soul exploration :: The movie reminds us about the decisions which we take and the consequences that come with it. It tells us that the desire to change the past is one of the most futile ideas and could affect not just us, but also many others, coming to that point where the end of all humanity and life seems to be close enough. It reminds the viewers to be satisfied with what they have, and that losses are inevitable. Thinking about a terrible past and wondering if we could have changed that, would not be the right thing to do. The movie does feel that focusing on a present and not changing the timeline would have meant that life would not have been this complicated, and so many deaths could have been avoided. The number of losses only increased due to these actions, as it is shown. It is not the death of evil that mattered, as one has to vanquish that evil face to face – fighting evil with evil was never really the solution as reiterated here.

How it finishes :: Justice League: Crisis on Infinite Earths Part Three ends the series of three movies really well – the end is truly remarkable and we are happy with what we had, even though it takes some time to reach there. The feeling of some missing is there, and still, it manages to be here in the end, strong and capable. The emotional moments also manage to get to that end which also seems to have a better logic than some of the most realistic films around. There is also a lot of action that comes around here, and with the inevitable danger that is so huge, the fear element is also there along with this adventure that goes on. It does not focus that much on the subplots, and it is often a good thing and at other times, quite strange. One would now feel that this is the end, and the new beginning can suggest new possibilities – another movie would surely be required to know what a new world would be about. Who all will be missing and what all changes come to the new world is more interesting than any other.

Release date: 16th July 2024
Running time: 98 minutes
Directed by: Jeff Wamester
Starring: Matt Bomer, Jensen Ackles, Darren Criss, Meg Donnelly, Stana Katic, Corey Stoll

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The Woman in the Window

Vampire Owl: There is a vampire in the window if you look around from here.

Vampire Bat: It is only a picture of the vampire in that mansion.

Vampire Owl: Why would someone put a picture up like that?

Vampire Bat: Maybe it is someone who wishes to be popular.

Vampire Owl: I should put my picture on the window too.

Vampire Bat: We are not that kind of vampires.

Vampire Owl: We are still the kind vampires around here.

Vampire Bat: Why should vampires be kind?

Vampire Owl: Kindness is a quality which can be used to fool people easily.

Vampire Bat: Vampires do not fool people. Humans do. They lie, cheat, steal and murder all the time.

[Gets a vegetable puffs and three cups of white tea].

What is the movie about? :: Anna Fox (Amy Adams) lives alone in an apartment in Manhattan, New York after being separated from his husband Edward Fox (Anthony Mackie) and daughter Olivia Fox (Mariah Bozeman). She always try to cheer herself up despite the loneliness, and has good support through the phone. Anna suffers from agoraphobia, leading to a lot of anxiety about her surroundings and she observes her neighbors from a second-story window, and that includes the Russell family who recently moved in across the street. She has a large number of medications to take on a daily basis, and also goes on with a lot of alcohol consumption. David Winter (Wyatt Russell) is her tenant who lives in the basement area of her home, and often helps her with some househould work as well as repairs. She does feel lonely at times, and has talks with Ethan Russell (Fred Hechinger), the boy who lives as part of the Russell family, and is upset for some strange reasons – she tries to use her skills as a former child psychologist here.

So, what happens with the events here as we just keep looking? :: Anna continues to see the world around her in suspicion and feels that her neighbours are up to something all the time, and that Ethan suffers due to the same. Soon, she also comes across Ethan’s mother, Jane Russell (Julianne Moore), who has some good moments of talk with her, making her happy and relieved. This leads to her believing that Ethan has an abusive father. One night, Anna hears a scream from the Russell family home and then sees Jane being stabbed to death in the living room, but she is not able to find who exactly did that. She has a camera, but forgets to take a photo in panic. She contacts the police, but they do not believe her, and tells her that everyone in the family is just fine. At the same time, Alistair arrives at her home along with his wife, who is a different woman from the one she had met earlier. The police as well as the neighbours tell her that she is hallucinating and making up things, and David also has the same opinion. But she decides to keep spying on the Russells, but it won’t be an idea which will help her.

The defence of The Woman in the Window :: Here, we do have a murder happening, without the surety that it is real, and one would wait for the twist which is to happen at some point of time, as there is the feeling that something is not right, throughout the movie. It puts almost everyone in the line of doubt, and one keep guessing, only to find out that there are not enough clues to completely focus on one suspect. The movie does mix agoraphobia well with the happenings, and we know that it is something that needs serious attention. It is the kind of thing that many of us do feel, and while reading about the same, I have felt that I did have similar problems on many occasions too. I have felt my world to be unsafe with no escape, and had continuous fear and discomfort with regular nightmares for months, as I kept at home for a very long time, and very rarely, I did go out, and that too only with people by my side. Therefore, I was able to connect to this lady very well, and there are moments which make us believe that one of them could be speaking the truth, but that person actually changes as movie progresses.

The claws of flaw :: The Woman in the Window is quite a slow movie, and that is indeed strange, because there were so many occasions here where some more material could have been added to strengthen it further. It could have also focused completely on agoraphobia, and also divide the world into reality and hallucination – it instead focuses on dialogues and what the main character is doing without focusing on the relevant. The time that it takes to start moving is also a little too much, and the revelations could have been made in a more powerful manner, for here we just have it done quickly. It could have also speeded up things at least during those moments which are rather thrilling. The focus on the killer is also a little too less, and we end up not watching enough of his actions of terror and the murders also stay a little too much outside focus. The whole movie focuses on one place with one type of action being focused, thus maintaining the unity of action and the unity of place among the three classical unities talked about by Aristotle, but by doing the same, this movie doesn’t really focus that well on both to elevate the movie, and thus rather brings it down.

The performers of the soul :: If there is a movie starring Amy Adams, I would rarely choose not to watch it, and a thriller does suit her as much as the many genres which she has explored in the past in her career. Nocturnal Animals and Arrival had some fine work being done by her, and both of them were movies which were slow enough too, and you do remember her as a Disney princess too. The superhero movies fans would recognize her more from Man of Steel, Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice and Justice League – well, she is a well-known actress in this part of the world too, and she surely deserved a quicker movie rather than this one. Gary Oldman plays the man who seems to be full of mysteries, and also the one the protagonist feels, is a murderer. He surely has his secrets, and the role is played with a certain amount of class being added there. Julianne Moore seems to be there more as playing a guest role rather than anything else, but we remember her for that scene. Fred Hechinger plays the boy well enough, while Wyatt Russell has his moments. Brian Tyree Henry has memorable times as the detective too.

How it finishes :: The Woman in the Window is the slow thriller that just manages to keep you interested by throwing something in here and there, serving well as the psychological thriller that it is. You do have the doubt about whom you should doubt, even though there is no specific assertion on where you should concentrate that particular feeling. My first thought was that this could be a movie like The Voyeurs, but that is not the case – being a psychological thriller, that path could have also been taken, but The Woman in the Window takes the safe one, lacking in courage and thus being not ready to take the tougher step. But it is nice to see that it still works, and has enough steam to keep it going – the usage of the word “steam” is more relevant than it seems, as it is not innovative or better equipped as some of those newer films are. Well, it can always do better, and if you are standing at the window, witnessing something terrifying, this won’t be the rest during most of the times. The Woman in the Window doesn’t seem to think that further on the same.

Release date: 14th May 2021 (Netflix)
Running time: 100 minutes
Directed by: Joe Wright
Starring: Amy Adams, Gary Oldman, Anthony Mackie, Fred Hechinger, Wyatt Russell, Brian Tyree Henry, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Julianne Moore

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The Voyeurs

Vampire Owl: Do you think that life means anything?

Vampire Bat: It doesn’t matter for humans at all. Then why should it matter for us?

Vampire Owl: I am sure that it would matter to us more.

Vampire Bat: I would never understand why humans are like this.

Vampire Owl: Humans need their lives to keep lying.

Vampire Bat: Yes, it is the only thing that they do throughout their lives.

Vampire Owl: I had trusted three humans last year, and I would never do that again.

Vampire Bat: Humans are all about cheating others, and nothing more.

Vampire Owl: I would trust the demons of hell over these people.

Vampire Bat: Let us not blame the zombies for eating their brains then, and go home.

[Gets a strawberry cake and three cups of black tea].

What is the movie about? :: Pippa (Sydney Sweeney) and Thomas (Justice Smith), move into a new apartment in Montreal, Canada after a long time of spending time apart despite being in love for quite a long time. It seems to be the perfect place for them, and everything seems to work exactly according to the plans, which includes children, job and many more things. They soon find out that the windows of their apartment look across the street to another one, which has no curtains. They see and note these neighbours from the first night itself, and there is initially just some photography, but soon things get more intimate. Pippa doesn’t feel that it is okay to look into the lives of others. They even end up giving those people random names. Soon, they become more addicted in the life of people on the other side. Sebastian (Ben Hardy) and Sam (Cait Alexander) are the two people whom they end up seeing in action. Then there is also Julia (Natasha Liu Bordizzo) whom they see at the same apartment.

So, what happens with the events here as we just keep looking? :: They understand that Julia is the original wife, and Seb is cheating on her. Now, Pippa and Thomas are really interested, and wants to know what these people were talking to each other. For the same, they attend a Halloween Party in the apartment, and place a recording device in there. Julia who is supposed to be the real wife of Seb knows that he is cheating on her with some of the models whose photos he had taken. As more models including Mere (Blessing Adedijo) are added to the list, only Thomas and Pippa knows about the same as they watch from a distance. When Julia visits Pippa’s eye clinic, they become friends, and Pippa really wishes to talk to Julia about all the cheating that has been going on. But it seems that there is more to what they have been seeing around. The world has its secrets, and here once again, we have more than what meets the eye.

The defence of The Voyeurs :: The Voyeurs does have some moments of suspense, and it keeps us interested about what is to happen next, and twists as well as thrills do make the appearance. We have many unpredictable moments in here too, as one does feel that he or she never did see that coming. It is then that the mood of the movie suddenly changes without a warning, and there are those final moments when Sydney Sweeney scores above everyone else. All of a sudden, we have something to look out for. The pattern is also really good, and how it transcends the genre is a thing to look out for. The final moments of the film are among the best too, as the shock does get to everyone. We also have some fine visuals around here, and there is also the message given about not to believe what we see. Well, we just cannot believe the humans about almost anything, because humanity itself is built on the towers of lies and hatred for others.

The claws of flaw :: Even though The Voyeurs could have been a better film, there is no attempt here to rise above the limitations. There are lots of slow moments in here, and we are left with times when nothing much happens. The film also takes some time to bring its twists to the scene. People will find some parts of the movie strange too, and also related to how things change so fast. We also have times when things are not that perfect, and we do feel that some of these things could have been different. It also follows the usual formula for the is kind of film for most of the time too. It could have also focused more on human nature, and how it has led to all of these in a direct manner. The film could have also had its focus on evil rather than anything else, as well as some special tendencies which people have. It does have the strength up to an extent, and we are always looking for more as far as films like this one are concerned.

Performers of the soul :: Sydney Sweeney leads the cast, and things go pretty well with her work, and Justice Smith also comes up with a similar job. Sydney is indeed lovely in showing those emotions as things change so quickly. We can see that in the end, she raises the level so well. It is beautiful to watch her emotional side at work. The leading cast are pretty good together, as we look at them. Natasha Liu Bordizzo is very good with her work, even though it is Katharine King whom we notice before her. Natasha also has something special in store, and you can wait for that too. The other names including Katharine King are fine to watch on the screen, but quickly vanish without any trace of their former existence. Ben Hardy is more or less the character that seemed predictable earlier, but not so later. There are also a number of other characters who are not given that much focus, and we forget them too, as film comes to an end.

How it finishes :: The Voyeurs has its moments of suspense and thrills, along with the twists which keep us going. It is not just what it seems to be, but more, and also leaves hope for a possible sequel in an even stranger manner. The films like this can actually go a strange route, and can miss the mark easily, but this one holds on really well. It is nice to see that another interesting thriller has come out on Amazon Prime Video during these times when theatres still remain closed. There are surely more coming up, and for now, we have this one to be appreciated. The Voyeurs might not be watched by many as of now, but it will surely be a preference soon enough. So, all of you do stay safe during the time of COVID-19 pandemic, and watch more films from Amazon Prime Video. These might not be the best time, but at least we can watch some good movies.

Release date: 10th September 2021 (Amazon Prime Video)
Running time: 116 minutes
Directed by: Michael Mohan
Starring: Sydney Sweeney, Natasha Liu Bordizzo, Justice Smith, Ben Hardy, Katharine King, Cameo Adele, Jean Yoon, Blessing Adedijo

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✠ The Vampire Bat.