House of Cards: Season 3 Review

Note: This article was originally published on Express News blog-site on March 10th, 2015

http://blogs.tribune.com.pk/story/26579/house-of-cards-season-3-ends-not-with-a-whimper/

While the first season of House of Cards was about climbing and ascending the corridors of power and nullifying the enemies which Frank Underwood possessed, the second season was action-packed with simultaneous sub-plots reaching their logical conclusion.

(Spoiler Alert)

The third season, however, is all about endurance – now that Frank Underwood is the president of the United States, ultimately, he has managed to bring his dream of wielding absolute power to fruition, and he now wants to leave a legacy. Any other man would have been honoured just to serve his people in the highest office known to man, but as we all know, Frank is no ordinary man. He loathes the idea of being a one-term president or as he likes to put it “The Placeholder President”.

The third season predominately focuses upon the personal relationship of the First Couple – Frank and Claire Underwood. Claire isn’t content on having her role restricted to only the First Lady. She wants to be her own woman, and for that, she fiercely lobbies and fights to become US’s ambassador to the United Nation. After failing to get a confirmation by a Senate Committee, she urges Frank to use his executive powers to make her the ambassador – a move that further deteriorates their already complicated relationship. Nonetheless, he succumbs and appoints her as the US ambassador which draws major criticism from the public and political opponents.

Photo: House of Cards Facebook page

In further episodes, as the tension in the Middle Eastern region heightens, Frank finds himself cornered by his arch rival, Viktor Petrov (Lars Mikkelsen), the president of Russia who will remind the audience of Vladimir Putin, if not in looks at least in sheer mannerisms and political strategy. Unarguably, some of the highpoints of the third season are when Frank is hosting and entertaining him during his visit to Washington DC or when Frank is in Russia carving out a power deal with his counterpart.

Photo: Netflix

Mikkelsen is par excellence in his role and epitomises the post-communism Russian mind-set as President Petrov.  It’s sad to know that we do not get to see much of him as the story turns in a direction that will leave fans feeling very… polarised.

As previously mentioned, almost more than 70 % of the show focuses upon the personal relationship of the First Couple, so much so that it starts to feel antiquated and boring. Yes, I dare say boring because season three never reaches or surpasses the highs that we witnessed in previous seasons. Suffice it to say, it is but a subdued affair, hovering in the regions of mediocrity.

Photo: Netflix

Doug Stamper (Michael Kelly) who was left for dead in the finale of the last season is back. This time though, he has a different agenda altogether. Without giving too much away, he plays a crucial role throughout the season and rectifies his previous mistakes. He single-handedly ensures that the skeletons, literal or otherwise, in President Underwood’s closet remain out of sight and out of mind.

Photo: Netflix

Other actors like Remy Dalton (Mahershala Ali), Jackie Sharp (Molly Parker), and Kate Baldwin (Kim Dickens) all are adequate. Paul Sparks, on the other hand, in his character as Thomas Yates, a writer and breakout actor who is hired to write the president’s biography cum vision employment program (AmWorks = America Works). What is mind-boggling though, is the fact that Yates is discovered after Frank reads his Monument Valley videogame review. Advertisement or not, rumour has it that the sales of the said videogame skyrocketed after the show pushed it forward. No issues here really, but did the writers of show suddenly suffer from a lack of ideas?

Photo: Netflix

The feel of power that originates as soon as you hear the theme music at the start of an episode, and resonates throughout the last two seasons, is seen to be decaying in the third season. The show has become a tad Scandal-esque leading up to its final episode. This is not a bad thing, Scandal is a good show, but House of Cards, in terms of its story and plots, was in a league of its own, having being compared to shows like Mad Men, Game of Thrones, and Breaking Bad.

This feels like a downgrade.

Alas, the third season of House of Cards ends not with a bang but a whimper.

American Sniper, Movie Review

 Note: This article was originally published on ARY News blog-site on January 21st, 2015 and on Express Tribune's blog-site on  January 22nd, 2015.

http://blogs.tribune.com.pk/story/25833/american-sniper-another-hurt-locker/
http://blogs.arynews.tv/movie-review-american-sniper/

American Sniper tries to embody and exemplify Chris Kyle’s jingoistic patriotism albeit almost to a fault.

American Sniper is a biopic action-drama picture directed by, the accomplished spaghetti western cowboy hero turned director, Clint Eastwood. It is inspired from the autobiography and real life memoirs of Chris Kyle  titled,American Sniper: The Autobiography of the Most Lethal Sniper in US Military History.

On the celluloid format of the cinema, Bradley Copper plays the protagonist and puts himself in the shoes of the larger-than-life persona of Kyle and does full justice to his role in the process.

Photo: IMDb

To the uninitiated and those lacking insight into who Kyle was, he was considered as one of the most lethal and deadly snipers in American military history, with well over 160 confirmed kills to his credit. He was able to amass this huge tally during the duration of his four tours of duty in Iraq from 2003 to 2009 due to his excellent proficiency, dexterity and prowess with the long barrel rifle. He belonged to the elite Navy SEALs division of the United States Military.

American Sniper tries to embody and exemplify Kyle’s jingoistic patriotism albeit almost to a fault. Kudos to Cooper for emulating Kyle’s character on the big screen with tactful nuance – from copying his Texan accent and mannerisms with such exactitude, to putting on 40 pounds of additional weight to look the part on screen. Having said that, Eastwood, in his pursuit to give Kyle a befitting hero’s tribute, sometimes goes a tad beyond the realm of belief. He tries to focus more on the myth that enveloped him rather than the real man – a man who was heroic and courageous but not devoid of personal shortcomings.

Photo: IMDb

Digressing from that, holistically, the movie is more about the depiction of a soldier coping with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and how he struggles to adapt to the normal life back home, away from the ravages and horrors of war in the war torn Iraq. It depicts how combat impacts a person and the emotional toll it can take on him; how, apart from the obvious physical harm inflicted, it can suck the vitality out of him. To that degree, the director has somewhat succeeded, but the heart and life of the movie remains in those tense, adrenaline-filled action sequences that have been masterfully crafted. In these instances, Eastwood comes into his own but they are few and far between.

Although, in my opinion, there is a dearth of action sequences in the movie, when they do appear, they complement the gritty narrative of the movie brilliantly. It will be a delight for action enthusiasts. Among such action scenes is the pursuit of, self-proclaimed, Butcher of Fallujah and the hunt for the Mustafa (Sammy Sheik), a Syrian-born Iraqi insurgent sniper whose sniping skills challenge and rival those of Kyle’s. Although there is no clear antagonist or villain in the movie, the Iraqi sniper comes close to being Kyle’s nemesis.

Photo: IMDb

The movie is not seething with violence as that aspect has been kept to a minimum, but it is a visceral experience nonetheless, with adequate but restrained blood, gore and death. The only difference is that these graphic scenes aid the overall progress of the movie story-line and are not present for the sake of an action sequence.

The highpoint of the movie is set in the backdrop of a rooftop battle and an impending sandstorm in which Kyle manages to eliminate the Iraqi sniper. This particular scene, however, is not a figment of the director’s creative imagination but inspired from a real life event in which Kyle eliminated an Iraqi insurgent in Sadr City.

Photo: IMDb

Sienna Miller (Taya Renae Kyle) portrays Kyle’s initial love interest and eventually becomes his wife. I don’t think her true acting potential was tapped into in this movie and is mediocre at best. She is either shown crying, worrying or being tormented by her husband’s presence in the unrestrained death trap that is Iraq. One might say that it is perfectly understandable, as logic dictates that a wife probably garners these sentiments when one’s husband is serving in such a hostile place, but the audience will notice that after seeing the quality of acting being displayed by Cooper, anything that precedes it, in terms of acting, is equivalent to being white noise.

Photo: IMDb

Another overbearing feeling one will experience when watching the movie is the stark familiarity with the film The Hurt Locker. One can’t help but draw an outright parallel between these two as both are set in Iraq and portray characters from American military armed forces. However, the action drama interspersed with emotional depth of character(s) is explored more efficaciously in the latter. It is rather sad that a director of Eastwood’s calibre wasn’t able to truly elevate this movie like he did with other works like Million Dollar Baby,Gran Torino or Unforgiven.

With context to movies that are from the larger sniper-action genre, it fails to hold its own among films that have either a more intriguing story or action thrills. Movies like Enemy at the Gates, Shooter and Sniper fare far better in terms of delivering satisfying thrills. But then again, American Sniper tries to be more of an emotional drama coupled with little action. Unfortunately, while trying to portray this hybrid drama cum action film feature, Eastwood manages to construct a muddled affair that is neither a solid entertainer nor indulges those looking for some profound emotional gratification.

Photo: IMDb

It also does not portray how Kyle actually died in real life. Instead of dying on the battlefield, he was killed in cold blood and rather unceremoniously by a 25-year- old Marine Corps veteran Eddie Ray Routh at a shooting range in his home state of Texas.    

To explain this movie in appropriate analogy, American Sniper is like a bullet projectile fired from a suppressed tactical rifle which fails to hits its mark, and we cannot see the mark, whilst also acting as a glorified eulogy for its subject, Kyle.

I would rate it a 3.5 out of 5.

The hand that keeps on giving: Abdul Sattar Edhi

Note: This article was originally published on ARY News blog-site on January 24th, 2015

http://blogs.arynews.tv/hand-keeps-giving-abdul-sattar-edhi/

At the frail age of 85, while most men of that fragile age and disposition are either bed ridden or enjoying retirement in relative peace and calm. Abdul Sattar Edhi defies odds, he refuses to say no and quit the welfare work which he is known to be synonymous for so many years. Some people call him a philanthropist, while other call him a social worker but most importantly he’s a humanitarian through and through. He serves the down trodden masses without any discrimination, without any linguistic, tribal, ethnic or religious bias and favoritism.

Edhi came from humble beginnings, born in the city of Bantva which is now Gujrat. Edhi was no stranger to human suffering as he encountered it first hand when his mother suffered from mental illness and physical paralysis. In 1947, he decided to relocate to Pakistan, Karachi, finding himself without any resources or a roof on his head in a new city, he started his journey to dedicate his life wholly towards the rehabilitation and welfare of the common people who lives in abject poverty.  It is astounding what he has achieved in a time of few decades (60 years). He single handedly via his Edhi foundation transformed the face of modern welfare in Pakistan.

Ever since its inception Edhi Foundation, headed by Abdul Sattar Edhi, his wife Bilquees Edhi and their sons are running the largest welfare organization in Pakistan, if not in the larger South Asian Sub-Continent.

The numbers, the mere facts and figures are of immense source of happiness for any Pakistani and to make them soar with pride to know that Edhi Foundation has rescued over 20,000 abandoned infants, rehabilitated over 50,000 orphans and has trained well over 40,000 nurses.  Not only that, Edhi Foundation  also has the distinction of raising one of the largest fleet of ambulances that is owned by a private welfare organization in the world.

But at its core, Edhi is a guardian angel of the poor and of those that don’t have anyone to look after them. Such is the character, honesty and the integrity of the man that people from all walks of life, handsomely and regularly donates to his charity organization without the fear or worry that their donation would go in vain and not to the right deserving people.

Edhi’s selfless dedication and service to Pakistan’s poor come from a belief which is deeply embodied in his Muslim faith but his motto in charity is not just for people from the Muslim faith. Edhi says “No religion is greater than humanity”.

Today, countless Karchi’ites and Pakistanis credit Edhi for their survival and yet the man’s character remains firmly grounded and humbled. Even though he has been recommended by the Nobel Peace Prize, he vows to keep his mission of serving; Quote “…God’s children without any personal self-interest or discrimination.” End quote.

Yet today, it is sad to know that Mr. Edhi struggles for his life, finally his old age has caught up with him yet his determination remains ever so strong in servicing Pakistan’s people. It is without a shadow of doubt that people like Edhi don’t come so often and every so often, when they do, they change things, they change the status quo. It doesn’t matter if you agree with them or not, you can’t help but to stop and take note of their accomplishments. Edhi sure is without any doubt, is a hand that keeps on giving! And as Pakistanis are proud of him and thankful at the same time.