207. Web-Series Reviews – 55

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Kota Factory – Kota Factory is TVF's latest original. India's first 'Black and White' show highlights the problems present day IIT-JEE aspirants face in their day-to-day lives.

Season 1 came in 2019 and Season 2 in 2021. Season 3 is also expected.

One of the reviews from IMDB...

I was in the middle of binge-watching all the web series on TVF Play when this came (I prefer calling shows like this web series and the ones on Netflix and Prime TV-shows). I was trying my best to finish Pitchers so that I could move on to this. I had seen too many memes and saw all my friends sharing the stories on WhatsApp about them watching the last episode. So finally, when I got the chance to watch this, I did it immediately. Kota Factory is probably the best web series that TVF has made so far, and that's saying something provided Yeh Meri Family also exists.

Kota Factory is a story set in Kota, where a number of students come every year to study for JEE Advanced. Everyone comes over there only with the hopes that they are going to become an IITian one day. As someone who also wanted to visit this city during my 11th class, I can very well understand what it feels like to be there. In the scene where Vaibhav is caught cheating from a book and Jeetu Bhaiya scolds him, I actually felt it right through my heart. I got an AIR 173 and got to DTU, so you can understand how much I had to struggle to get where I am, and hearing the things he said reminded me of my own days at the coaching centre.

There are so many things that feel really relatable in this web series. The way Vaibhav adjusts to the PG life, the entire character of Meena, the teachers at the coaching centre and how they try to look as enthusiastic as possible to keep the students engaged; it's all just like how we get to see people in 11th and 12th class. My school was one of the biggest schools of India, so students from all over the country used to come to study with us. When I look at Meena and Uday, it reminds me of them; the two kinds of students that used to be there.

The only problem I had with this series is how it was made in black and white. There's no problem with making a black and white show, but in this series, they just slapped a greyscale filter on this. There was no contrast, the camera quality was very bad and the certain areas that need to be given special application for greyscale effect was not done at all (if you've watched Logan: Noir or Zack Snyder's Justice League: Justice is Gray you'll know exactly what I'm talking about).

Kota Factory is a social commentary that belongs to something I like to call the 'era-defining entertainment', something that people from the future can watch to understand what life was like in our times, and the fact that we actually wanted to change them. I use this term to define films and shows like Toilet: Ek Prem Katha, Zootopia, Watchmen etc. I really appreciate the fact that TVF Play is a free streaming service, so this masterpiece will be available to everyone without having to spend money.

My Take – A wonderful series, not to be missed!

 

Nine Perfect Strangers – Could ten days at a health resort really change you forever? These nine perfect strangers are about to find out... Nine people gather at a remote health resort. Some are here to lose weight, some are here to get a reboot on life, some are here for reasons they can't even admit to themselves. Amidst all of the luxury and pampering, the mindfulness and meditation, they know these ten days might involve some real work. But none of them could imagine just how challenging the next ten days are going to be. Can you stand to be in a room with nine people you don't know?

Starring Nicole Kidman and Melissa McCarthy.  Came out in 2021.

One of the reviews from IMDB...

Four strangers, a family of three, and a couple come to an unconventional wellness center run by a Russian immigrant (Nicole Kidman). She asks them to surrender their phones and be open-minded to a variety of therapies, and as the series plays out, we find out they're dealing with a number of issues, including death, substance abuse, bad relationships, anger, and crippling self-doubt. Kidman's character herself has been traumatized and is on a journey of her own, but as a therapist some of the techniques she employs teeter on the edge of being unethical and possibly harmful to her clients, so that even as they make progress, it's a conflicting, somewhat scary ride.

At the heart of it for me, or at least what I thought was most successful, was the storyline revolving around the parents and their daughter who were trying to come to terms with the suicide of their son/brother. The feelings as they unraveled were truly touching, and the performances from Asher Keddie and Michael Shannon were excellent. Also wonderful were Melissa McCarthy and Bobby Cannavale who play an author and retired NFL athlete who start off detesting one another. It's a little predictable where their story is going, but it has nuance, humor, and a depth of feeling that kept it from becoming sappy.

Less successful was the subplot with the married couple who've lost their sizzle (Samara Weaving and Melvin Gregg). Her self-esteem issues were the most well developed and held some interest, but it just didn't seem like enough was done with this pair. The guests are rounded out with a mother whose husband left her for a younger woman (Regina Hall), and an uncover reporter (Luke Evans). Hall's performance stands out for its intensity, and how her story intersects the therapist's adds a nice little wrinkle.

Overall, it's a well-made production, with great cinematography, trippy effects, and nice soundtrack. The ending is overly rosy, but there was so much pain in the lives of these characters that I forgive the series (or the author) for that. It definitely held my interest and was fun to binge watch.

My Take – An OK series. 

 

Break Point – Break Point is a story of belief, hard work, ambitions and conflicts but above all it's a story of hope which keeps us moving despite all odds. Through Break Point we seek to show the incredible journey of India's biggest tennis heroes - Leander Paes and Mahesh Bhupathi - their meteoric rise and how they just couldn't hold on to it. It is a story that tells us all what happened, how it happened and why it happened. It is a story that will tell the world what goes into the making of world champions as Paes and Bhupathi get candid and honest about their story, along with scrumptious match footage, points of view of their families, friends, coaches, colleagues, rivals, experts and fans. Above all, it's a tale of two friends who had planned for success but not for life after success.

One of the reviews from IMDB...

Break point is a sports documentary on the lives of india's finest tennis duo Leander Paes and Mahesh Bhupathi!!

I think it is one of the finest documentaries in India. The episodes have been meticulously designed and u won't feel any boredom or unattachment. It is immersive and engaging. The theme music is wonderful. Towards the latter half u yourself would feel the same as the duo. The anger and frustration is real. Nitesh Tiwari and Ashwini Iyer Tiwari have created it with care and sincerity. U should and cannot miss this depiction of the poster boys of Indian tennis. Must watch!!

My Take – A worthwhile watch!

Cheers till next time😊

Daffy Definition

Optimist – A person who is as bald as a billiards ball but buys hair restorers that gives a comb with every bottle😊!