Trishala

I can honestly say that this is my favourite game ever and by far the best Pokemon release. I really hope future releases top this though. I cannot quantify the amount of joy this game has given me… honestly, it renewed my Pokemon obsession tenfold. Yes, I do know of the criticism surrounding this game, and while the lag occasionally makes gameplay feel less smooth - for people who prioritise storyline, character building, setting, immersion, replay ability, I couldn’t think of a better game honestly. Perhaps I was fortunate enough to not face any actual glitches or game breaking issues at all, but my experience was extremely pleasant and just monumentally fun! While I do wish certain features were added like being able to explore houses, being able to pet and somewhat communicate with your Pokemon like in Sword & Shield, design your dorm room and release Pokemon indoors like the other characters do, I still feel like this game improves vastly upon previous releases and is a great initiation to the open-world concept in Pokemon. I have been playing this game for a year, and I am marvelling at how I still chance upon new things to do. I hope Legends ZA follows this template more-so than Legends Arceus, because although I enjoyed that too, I feel story and immersion wise, it was lacking in comparison and started to get repetitive with the quests. Whereas Scarlet / Violet gives you the option to keep discovering new things, even if the storyline has been exhausted. Thank you Gamefreak! I’ll say it just in case those that want to drown out any positive feedback with blind rage and hatred, are hard to hear over. I honestly appreciate Gamefreak for keeping at it despite such a large part of the “fan”dom being absolutely excessive and borderline unhinged with the hatred since Sword & Shield. People who like the game online are bullied or are accused of being paid-off by Gamefreak (like people disagreeing with them is such an unfathomable concept). Dislike the game, sure… but don’t dictate how others should feel about it. I personally hope Gamefreak doesn’t switch things up entirely and overhaul their formula and try to play it safe in the future because of how people take criticism to the extent of straight up bullying. I love this game, and it has been one of highlights of my year.

Not many movies make me cry, this was was an exception. Now don’t assume the movie is a depressing one, because it’s quite the contrary. ‘102 Not Out’, is a charming celebration of life. I took away a lot from this movie, and I think people who pass their days waiting for happiness, or a fairy tale future instead of cherishing the now, (AKA me) can glean a lot from this poignant film. 102 Not Out, is a film that successfully inspires without ending up preachy. It starts off light hearted, transcends into heart-wrenching but always remains incredibly beautiful. I truly recommend this watch for people who take their parents for granted and for people who see their elderly parents as some sort of a burden. Most of our parents, irrespective of their age, will never cease to love us. They went through profound hardships, navigating the difficulties of raising a child in this cut-throat world and didn’t turn you away when you had your bouts of tantrums. I think for people that do see their parents as a burden, this movie is an eye-opener. A parent will look out for their progeny till their last breath if they are able, the next time you grumble about them, ask yourself if they’d care for you were you in a deteriorating state, and hopefully reflect. Life may not be as clear-cut as a Bollywood movie, but through this lovely film, you can see the purest form of love, the secret to happiness and learn a lot along the way. My highest recommendations!

A truly spectacular offering from the MCU. Possibly even my favourite. It hinges on a riveting, perfectly paced and strong storyline, which is bolstered by phenomenal acting, masterful storytelling and world building. It’s honestly the smartest, most streamlined and cleverly structured Marvel screen creation to date, and if the quality is anything to go by, I’m eagerly looking forward to future releases in the MCU. Special props to Elizabeth Olsen and Kathryn Hahn for truly breathing life into their characters. Olsen’s Maximoff manages to both pluck at the audience’s heartstrings and unsettle them at the same time. She plays the part (or her several parts) to nuanced and era appropriate perfection. Kathryn Hahn, is a breath of fresh air. A memeworthy and immensely entertaining character, whose whip smart, sassy one-liners, are a real gas. Paul Bettany, against all odds, forges on as Vision, and is decidedly likeable and charming in his role as Wanda’s dutiful cookie-cutter suburban husband, who in typical Vision fashion, is moving towards a philosophical, moral and intellectual awakening, with a side helping of robot shenanigans. Teyonah Parris, Kat Dennings and Randall Park’s impromptu injustice fighting trifecta, was also a welcome addition. Also love how complex themes like grief, free will, right and wrong, good and bad are explored and handled with elegant finesse. These themes, and lessons aren’t preachy or on the nose, and a lot of it is open to interpretation. Here you’re allowed to observe and process the materialisation and consequences of Wanda’s grief, and gauge for yourself, whether her actions are justified or not. You’re either allowed to empathise with her, or feel conflicted by the moral ambiguity of her actions. Your actions aren’t explicitly guided by the narrative choices of the show runners.. (Major Spoilers Ahead) ...That is until the very end, when Monica Rambeau delivers a line that seems to trivialise the pain and suffering incurred by the townspeople, and essentially instructs the viewer that they must immediately absolve Wanda of her wrongdoings because she’d eventually decided to do the right thing after all. Her telling Wanda that the townspeople would never understand “the sacrifice she made for them”, diminishes the fact that Wanda perpetuated an immense amount of pain unto them. And you know what? Perhaps they would’ve understood her sacrifice, had she deemed it appropriate to explain it to them, but she opts instead to apologise to Rambeau alone, and laments that the rest would just never understand. This is the show’s only failing, and seems out of character with the growth the character literally just made. Having her show remorse would’ve made more sense, given that she clearly felt an almost crippling amount of it a few moments earlier in the show. A sacrifice that undoes mistakes of her own making, isn’t sufficient apology to people that were stripped of their free will, infused with her despair and nightmares and separated from their families. Despite this minor failing at the end, I absolutely adored the show, and hopefully it will go down in history as a masterful and eclectic creation, that demonstrates kitschy vintage iconography and style at its finest. To summarise my exaltation: brilliant show, immensely imaginative and truly worth the watch! Oh! And just one more thing... Justice for Sparky, who deserved better.