Tag: PRIME

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‘Reacher’: A gritty, action thriller package

But when Chief Detective Oscar Finlay (Malcolm Goodwill) and the young police officer Roscoe Conklin (Willa Fitzgerald) investigate the situation, they exonerate Reacher…writes Troy Rebeiro

Series: ‘Reacher’ (Streaming on Amazon Prime); Duration: Average 48 minutes per episode, Directors: Norberto Barba, M. J. Bassett, Sam Hill, Omar Madha, Christine Moore, Lin Oeding, Stephen Surjik, Thomas Vincent, Cast: Alan Ritchson, Malcolm Goodwin, Willa Fitzgerald, Hugh Thompson, Chris Webster, Bruce McGill, Maxwell Jenkins, Gavin White, Leslie Fray, Jonathan Koensgen, Willie C. Carpenter (Rating: ***1/2)



This eight-episode series is based on author Lee Child’s 1997 published first novel ‘Killing Ground’. It introduces us to its eponymous, superhuman hero with all sincerity.

Like the novel, the series too starts with Jack Reacher, a veteran-military police investigator, with the barest of essentials, stepping off a bus in the small town of Margrave, Georgia. As he settles in a restaurant, and before he could taste the restaurant’s “finest” peach pie or even sip his coffee, he is arrested and accused of something he hasn’t done.

Incidentally, a man was murdered in a field just outside town, on the night Reacher was travelling into Margrave. Everyone thinks Reacher is responsible for the killing, given his past reputation- and this being the town’s first homicide in 20 years. The situation gets complicated when an accountant called Paul Hubble confesses to the murder. He is put in the same detention room, along with Reacher, where an attempt is made on their lives.

But when Chief Detective Oscar Finlay (Malcolm Goodwill) and the young police officer Roscoe Conklin (Willa Fitzgerald) investigate the situation, they exonerate Reacher.

Given Reacher’s background, he soon allies with them to prove his innocence. Together the three of them visit the morgue, and on realising whose body is lying there, Reacher makes it his agenda to unravel the deep-seated conspiracy that’s plaguing the town.

With the increasing number of people getting killed, the plot and the pacing of the series are taut and intense. Narrated in a non-linear manner, it’s an investigation you’d not want to miss witnessing. The dialogues are crisp to the point and intelligently shrewd. But then there are a few moments when Reacher reveals some unplausible expositions with precision. The justification given then is lame and dismissible, given this is an exceptional heroic series.

There are several dramatic as well as action sequences that are astutely designed and delicately handled. Some of the murder scenes and bone-breaking acts are gruesome but not over-the-top.

On the performance front, every actor is natural and at ease with the characters they play. Topping the list is Alan Ritchson. He essays- Jack Reacher’s confidence and presence, to perfection, with his big, well-chiselled frame. When his mother Josephine (Leslie Fray) says: “Reacher has the strength of three men,” you believe her, given his over-powering screen presence and formidable demeanour.

Ritchson is aptly supported by; the swift and agile Willa Fitzgerald as Roscoe Conklin – his colleague and love interest in the series, Malcolm Goodwin, who essays the strong-minded and defensive by the books-Chief Detective Oscar Finlay, together the trio make a formidable team, difficult to defeat.

Technically, the series is mounted with good production values. The cinematography adds to the intrigue value of the narrative. It captures the setting and the performances of its talented cast with precision.

Overall, the series is a gritty, action thriller worthy for binge-watching.

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‘Putham Pudhu Kaalai Vidiyaadhaa’ to release on January 14 on OTT

The new five-episode series will feature stories of hope, determination, and personal discovery, as told through the unique perspectives of five different directors…reports Asian Lite News

Tamil anthology ‘Putham Pudhu Kaalai Vidiyaadhaa’ will release on Prime Video on January 14, 2022, its makers announced on Thursday.

‘Putham Pudhu Kaalai Vidiyaadhaa’ is the second instalment of the Tamil anthology ‘Putham Pudhu Kaalai’, which was received quite well.

The new five-episode series will feature stories of hope, determination, and personal discovery, as told through the unique perspectives of five different directors.

Reflecting on the second lockdown of the COVID pandemic that shook India, the anthology is focused on a message of hope and love amidst despair.

The second instalment of the Tamil anthology will feature director Balaji Mohan’s ‘Mugakavasa Mutham’, featuring actors Gouri Kishan and TeeJay Arunasalam, director Halitha Shameem’s ‘Loners’, featuring actors Lijomol Jose and Arjun Das, director Madhumita’s ‘Mouname Paarvayaai’, featuring actress Nadiya Moidu and actor Joju George, director Richard Anthony’s ‘Nizhal Tharum Idham’,featuring Aishwarya Lekshmi and Nirmal Pillai and Surya Krishna’s ‘The Mask’, featuring Sananth and Dhilip Subbarayan.

Aparna Purohit, Head of India Originals, Amazon Prime Video India, remarked, “The overwhelming response that we received to our first anthology encouraged us to continue creating narratives of resilience, hope, love, and above all, showcase how humanity came together to battle the crisis. We are happy to present ‘Putham Pudhu Kaalai Vidiyaadhaa’, featuring independent, cinematic voices from the Tamil industry, and are confident that the series will infuse viewers with hope and faith as we step foot in the new year.”

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Amazon Prime hits 200Mn users

Bezos said that Amazon has created $1.6 trillion of wealth for share owners…reports Asian Lite News.

Another pride for Jeff Bezos that Amazon Prime has reached a user base of 200 million, according to the outgoing CEO, which is an increase of over 50 million during the pandemic only.

In his final annual letter to Amazon’s shareholders on Thursday, Bezos who will be replaced by former AWS head Andy Jassy as Amazon CEO this year, said that customers have connected more than 100 million smart home devices to Alexa.

“Last year, we hired 500,000 employees and now directly employ 1.3 million people around the world. We have more than 200 million Prime members worldwide. More than 1.9 million small and medium-sized businesses sell in our store, and they make up close to 60 per cent of our retail sales,” Bezos informed.

“Customers have connected more than 100 million smart home devices to Alexa. Amazon Web Services serves millions of customers and ended 2020 with a $50 billion annualised run rate,” he added.

Bezos said that Amazon has created $1.6 trillion of wealth for share owners.

On the Cloud services vertical, Bezos said that across AWS’s entire 2020 revenue of $45 billion, “that 30 per cent would imply customer value creation of $19 billion (what would have cost them $64 billion on their own cost $45 billion from AWS).

“To be conservative here (and remembering we’re really only trying to get ballpark estimates), I’ll say it’s the same and call AWS customer value creation $38 billion in 2020. Adding AWS and consumer together gives us total customer value creation in 2020 of $164 billion,” he noted.

According to him, this value creation is not a zero-sum game.

“It is not just moving money from one pocket to another. Draw the box big around all of society, and you’ll find that invention is the root of all real value creation. And value created is best thought of as a metric for innovation,” Bezos stressed.

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Pothan’s Joji, a replica of Macbeth

Faasil’s Joji is clearly the weakest in every way among the three sons of a rich plantation owner, Kuttappan (Sunny PN). Screenwriter Syam Pushkaran draws up Joji, youngest of the brothers, as a loser…writes VINAYAK CHAKRAVORTY

Joji (film on Amazon Prime); Cast: Fahadh Faasil, Baburaj, Unnimaya Prasad, Joji Mundakayam, Sunny PN, Alister Alex; Direction: Dileesh Pothan; Rating: * * * and 1/2 (three and a half stars)

Just when you’d think another fresh take on William Shakespeare’s “Macbeth” couldn’t possibly be done, comes “Joji”. Fahadh Faasil’s new collaboration with director Dileesh Pothan retains the basic outline of human avarice and slant at violence, but sheds Shakespearean grandeur of the story in favour of restraint as it builds up the crime drama.

“Macbeth” and its innumerable retellings (including Vishal Bhardwaj’s magnificent “Maqbool”) have traditionally banked on a singular tragic flaw while spelling doom for the towering Shakespearean antihero — his ambition. Pothan’s film underplays that bit, and gives the titular protagonist (played by Faasil) the persona of a weakling, ridden by inferiority complex.

Faasil’s Joji is clearly the weakest in every way among the three sons of a rich plantation owner, Kuttappan (Sunny PN). Screenwriter Syam Pushkaran draws up Joji, youngest of the brothers, as a loser. He is an engineering dropout and while he dreams of being a wealthy NRI he has no clue how to go about it. Twist in the story comes when Kuttappan, on returning home after a stroke, clearly refuses to give Joji any inheritance whatsoever. Angered, Joji quietly changes his father’s medication, which leads to the latter’s death. As the narrative moves ahead, a paranoid Joji sets on a frantic bid to cover his tracks, only complicating his situation further.

Pothan and Pushkaran have tried interesting departures from what defines the “Macbeth” storyline. Among the most pertinent re-jigs is Lady Macbeth, imagined here as Bincy, played with cold precision by Unnimaya Prasad. Bincy, wife of the second son Jaison (Joji Mundakayam), is an accomplice of brother-in-law Joji more by chance than design. Her role is restricted to playing along, because she sees possible subsequent advantage that she could draw out of Joji’s nefarious plan of action.

Unlike “Macbeth” and almost all of its interpretations, the Lady Macbeth track here is restricted to greed. There is no sexual or marital subtext of any consequence in Bincy’s equation with Joji. The idea lets Pothan craft a narrative that stays singleminded in its focus on Joji’s mind games.

That sort of an approach is also the reason this film has done away with the symbolism that renders “Macbeth” much of its textual richness. Parallels to blood on the hands, supernatural apparitions, the Three Witches, or the Birnham Wood coming to Dunsinane are either negligibly touched upon or done away with, in sync with the frills-free cinematic treatment of “Joji”.

The biggest departure, of course, has to be Fahadh Faasil’s reorganised Macbeth. As the low-key Joji, he strikes an antithesis of the heartless killer the protagonist will eventually turn out to be, executing the role with impeccable restraint.

Faasil gets ample support from the prop cast. Baburaj as the eldest of the brothers, Jomon, an alcoholic divorcee and single father, is aptly cast, as is Joji Mundakayam as Jaison, the mild-mannered second brother.

“Joji” strikes subtly as it delivers impact, through Shyju Khalid’s impersonal cinematography that almost functions as a discreet onlooker in a household of disquiet, and through Justin Varghese’s soft background score that leaves a note of menace.

The film was shot in the Covid era, and Pothan has crafted an exquisite “Macbeth” in the time of wearing masks. The characters of “Joji” wear their masks not just literally but metaphorically, too.

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