The Couch Review

Mulan(2020)- Review Mulan is a 2020 fantasy action drama by Walt Disney Pictures. The movie is adapted from Walt Disney Animation Studios animation movie of the same name based Chinese folklore story, Ballad of Mulan. The movie centers around a young Chinese woman Mulan (Yifei Liu) living in Imperial China. With social stereotypes existing all girls are expected to be well-mannered and serve as a good wife. However, Mulan is nowhere near an ‘ideal girl’ let alone an ideal wife. She has always been the adventures type and is never shy in showing her physical prowess. Her father Hua Zhou (Tzi Ma) is one of the great war veteran having served the Emperor when the Imperial Empire was last attacked. Having two daughters and being the only man in the house, Zhou chooses to once again pick up his sword when the Emperor orders every family in the kingdom to volunteer a warrior. Knowing that her father won’t survive if he were to enter the battlefield, Mulan decides to take his place. Dece

The Man in the High Castle(2015–2019)- Review Have you ever wondered what might have been if something in history didn’t come to fruition; how the world would be different, how would people be, how different would you be. The Man in the High Castle is a series that does just that. It takes us through the ride through the world where the allies lost the second world war and the world is at the mercy of Nazi Germany and Japan. Based on the novel of the same name by Philip K. Dick , the story rotates around Juliana Crain (Alexa Davalos) a woman living in San Francisco, which is on the Japanese side of occupied America called Japanese Pacific States. Initially introduced to the possibility of a better world by her sister, Juliana gets involved in the mission to free this dystopian America; the mission run by someone that goes by the moniker of The Man In the High Castle. Throughout the series, we are acquainted with a dearth of characters on both sides of the divided America among who

I Care A Lot(2021)- Review   “Are you a lamb or a lion?” Most con movies are based on this simple principle of animals, eat or be eaten, showcasing the protagonist as a highly ambitious unempathetic person who will stop at no end to complete their con; to game the system, breaking rules and laws. While most of the general characteristics meet with the protagonist of I Care A Lot, Marla Grayson (Rosamund Pike), but she does her grifts in line with the system and the laws. The scam is simple yet brilliant. Marla finds naïve elderly clients who have considerable assets and wealth. After spotting these potential clients, she convinces the court to grant her guardianship of these elderly people, on the grounds that they cannot function well by themselves. After being appointed their guardian she racks up money by utilizing their assets. The business is going well and Marla is enjoying life with her girlfriend and business partner Fran (Eiza Gonzalez). But the story gets less colorful wh

Moxie(2021)- Review “In some ways, a lot has changed and, in some ways, nothing has changed at all.” Amy Poehler recently used this line while promoting the Netflix movie she has directed and starred in. The above line fits quite perfectly with the premise of the film. There is a high school that acknowledges and is aware of the wider societal issues but nonetheless does not fully understand or execute them. The students are rampant in carrying out activities they deem unharming, with ignorance running wide among teachers and the principal alike. In this backdrop, Vivian (Hadley Robinson) finds herself enraged and wanting to do something about the toxic and dilapidating culture at her school. After getting inspired by her mother, Lisa (Amy Poehler), and her rebellious past, the shy & quiet Vivian takes matters into her own hands initially starting a zine and ultimately driving a school-wide revolution. Surrendering to the sign of the times, with Moxie Netflix hopes to be at the

Scorpion(2014–2018)- Review “Not Good”- Happy Quinn, Scorpion (2014–2018) “Not Good” as Jadyn Wong’s character Happy Quinn would say almost every episode, the series too can be simply put under that category. The premise of the series is very simple; a group of ‘geniuses’ use their intelligence time and again to solve complex problems, usually problems that can’t be solved by anyone else. These high-intellect individuals work for Scorpion, lead & founded by Walter O’Brien (Elyes Gabel) whose IQ is the fourth-highest ever recorded. Walter is aided by Sylvester Dodd (Ari Stidham) a ‘human calculator’, Tobias Curtis (Eddie Kaye Thomas) a world-renowned behaviorist, and Happy Quinn (Jadyn Wong) ‘world’s best mechanic’. The team also houses a couple of ordinary people, Agent Cabe Gallo (Robert Patrick) a Homeland Agent working as the muscle of the team, and finally Paige Dineen (Katherine McPhee) who helps the geniuses interact with the world. Scorpion throughout the series takes on

The Trial of the Chicago 7(2020)- Review The Trial of the Chicago 7 is a courtroom drama entailing the events leading to and the aftermath of anti-Vietnam war protests which ended up in riots at the 1968 Democratic National Convention . The movie captures the court case that ensued on the Chicago 7 for inciting a riot. The movie starts with introducing each of the main characters with their backgrounds, their motives, etc. After the initial set of scenes, the movie kicks-off with the key protesters being accused of a Federal Crime. The movie then goes on to showcase the accurate story about the high-profile & historic case it ended up being with an outlandish judge Julius Hoffman (Frank Langella) presiding the trial and a young prosecutor Richard Schultz (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) making the case for the government. Firstly, the casting for the movie should be lauded for gathering an ensemble of actors that perfectly fit in the roles. Often at times, movies try to cast very big na

Late Night(2019)- Review Late Night is a comedy-drama about a late-night talk show hosted by Katherine Newbury (Emma Thompson), who is a celebrated comedian and has had an extensive career over the years. While she is considered a pioneer in comedy, she is seen as only that a veteran who paved way for the next generation, whose glory years are well past her. Lately, her show has seen a steady decline and a reduction in viewers, which is not appreciated by the network which telecasts her show. Once she was a generous artist working and bonding with people around her, but now people working for her neither like her nor come in too much contact with her. In order to revamp the show, there is an opening among the writing staff for a woman. Molly Patel (Mindy Kaling) is a secluded Indian-American woman who has an interest in comedy but has never had the opportunity to showcase her talent. After she gets to know that show is looking for a writer she tries to get that job. To her awe &

The White Tiger(2021)- Review The White Tiger is a drama film based on the book by Aravind Adiga of the same name. It is a story about Balram Halwai (Adarsh Gourav). Balram is born in a humble family with very few means or as stated in the movie in a ‘Lower-Caste’ family. Despite studying in a village he has quickly grasped the English language and envisions to study further and be a well-educated man unlike his family and this dream is further propelled when he is told he shall be given a scholarship to study in Delhi. But his fate had a different plan altogether. After his father’s untimely demise he is forced to leave school and start working to pay off his family’s debt. As time passes his dream of being educated stays a dream nowhere near his reality. Tired and fed up of his life in the village he wishes to step up the ladder by working in the city. The perfect opportunity comes along the way when he learns. Ashok (Rajkummar Rao the son of the village’s landlord is on the look

The Big Sick is a romantic comedy written by Emily V. Gordon & Kumail Nanjiani. It is based on the real life love story of the two. Kumail is an Uber driver by day and a struggling stand-up comedian by night. While he has embraced the American lifestyle to the full, his family still live within the ideals & culture of their native Pakistan. Kumail not wanting to hurt his family’s feelings tries to keep up the ruse of being as devoted as they are. One fine day after a stand-up gig he meets Emily Gordon (Zoe Kazan), an American psychology student, they happen to like each other from the get go. Both acknowledge that their little rendezvous is nothing serious, but still keep on being around each other from time to time. Kumail’s parents, assuming he is single, start to set him up with Pakistani women for an arranged marriage. As time passes Kumail keeps on meeting women while Emily, safe to say now his girlfriend, isn’t aware of the dates he goes to. While everything is going stup

  Two and a Half Man is an American sitcom mainly about a Charlie Harper (Charlie Sheen) his brother Alan Harper (Jon Cryer) and his nephew Jake Harper (August T. Jones). Charlie a jingle writer with a playboy lifestyle and a care free attitude had never been one to be close to his family or the type of person to make one. The sitcom begins with Alan looking for a place to stay with his son, when his wife Judith (Marin Hinkle) decides to divorce him. With this he turns to his elder brother for a temporary place to crash. Charlie lets Alan and Jake stay at his Malibu beach house, after Alan pleads that it is going to be temporary. This simple story produces hilarious scenes with Charlie hoping to continue his lifestyle but being hindered by Alan who seems to have made his stay permeant and his 8 years old nephew always around. The story even at its basic level feels like an amazing plot for a sitcom which is made even better by Chuck Lorre. Chuck makes sure to keep the show humorous thr

12 Angry Men(1957)- Review 12 Angry Men is a courtroom drama displaying deliberations, as its name suggests, by 12 men who are part of a jury and have to make a consensual decision about an 18 year old boy who has allegedly stabbed his father to death and faces a death penalty. The boy does not come from a glorious background and with his violent past everyone quickly forms a judgment of him. Initially seeming an open & shut case with all evidence pointing fingers to the boy, all jurors unhesitatingly vote guilty in a preliminary vote apart from one, Juror 8 (Henry Fonda). While he too doesn’t have very high regards for the boy, but believes the evidence collected can be questioned when thoroughly studied. With this he feels there is a reasonable doubt to the boy’s involvement to the horrendous act. Other jurors already having made a conclusion in their mind initially get agitated by Juror 8 who is taking an opposite position to the general public & all the jurors. Without

Inside Man(2006)- Review Inside Man is heist thriller movie by director Spike Lee. It takes us through the 24-hour heist  on a Wall Street bank. The mastermind and the executor of the heist Dalton Russell (Clive Owen) devises a plan for a “Perfect Bank Robbery” which includes taking control of the bank and in turn everyone inside the bank as hostages. Though it’s a minutely crafted strategy everything should go as planned to the letter, and the authorities need to be kept at bay. This won’t be the easiest thing with Detective Keith Frazier (Denzel Washington) assigned to negotiate. He is highly motivated official hoping to make Detective First Grade and to swipe the tarnish of his scandalous past. Arthur Case (Christopher Plummer) the chairman of the board of directors and founder of the fictional Manhattan Trust bank, has his own set of skeletons in the closet that he wishes were not revealed to the world. To make sure of this he hires Madeleine White (Jodie Foster) as a powerbro

We can be Heroes(2020)- Review We can be Heroes is a superhero film, a standalone sequel to   The Adventures of Sharkboy and Lavagirl   (2005).   In a world that is protected by superheroes ‘Heroics Program’, Missy Moreno (YaYa Gosselin) is a quiet & introvert girl who likes to be in the shadows, her father Marcus Moreno (Pedro Pascal) once the leader of all the heroes, now stays low and away from being a hero as he has promised to Missy to do so. On a dreary morning earth is attacked by aliens much powerful than all the heroes combined. To fight them Marcus has to break his promise and pick up his sword once again. But to no avail he along with all the heroes are captured by the aliens. Meanwhile before Marcus goes to the battleground Missy is transported to the Heroics Headquarters where she is kept with children of other heroes, they are children but all with their own set of superpowers, unlike Missy who doesn’t have any. The Heroics program is headed by Ms. Granada (Priyan