Hoddler-in-chief’s note: Your hoddler-in-chief is currently travelling and unable to provide timely football links. Please enjoy the non-essential links in the meantime.
—-
Good morning, everyone, and welcome to another edition of Fitzie’s Film and TV Reviews, where your hoddler-in-chief reviews some of the things he’s seen on screens big and small. We’re still in the market for a new cinema, so in the meantime are enjoying what Netflix and Britbox have to offer.
Murder Mubarak: An Indian murder-mystery
film that’s quite fun and takes obvious inspiration from Agatha Christie’s Poirot chronicles. Christie’s novels often deal with more universal subjects like love and jealousy, but I appreciate how this one tackles class divisions within India while also inspecting some of these more universal themes.
I enjoyed Pankaj Tripathi as the lead detective, which is your classic eccentric detective. However, I felt the film at times leant too heavily into the cliches, which I’m no fan of. The murder reveal also didn’t make a tonne of sense. And that’s the theme today, I guess. What makes a good mystery is that the author leaves enough clues for the reader to identify and solve themselves.
3 out of 5 Fitzies
Ludwig: David Mitchell’s 2024 mystery-cop series is a lot of fun. Mitchell stars as a puzzle master who has to impersonate his twin brother, a Cambridge cop who went into hiding over some sort of case.
There are a couple problems I have with the show: The first is that it’s a bit formulaic in that we’ve got murder open, then the case, then the resolution between David Mitchell character’s and the wife. Second is similar to Murder Mubarak in that the director keeps most of the clues to themselves, which doesn’t make for the best mystery.
But the payoff in Episode 6 is huge, and worth the entire show. Plus, David Mitchell is good in just about everything he’s in.
4 out of 5 Fitzies
Fitzie’s track of the day: We See, by Thelonious Monk
And now for your links:
NPR: “’Ludwig’ captivates with a light-hearted story about a missing identical twin”
TV Insider: “‘Ludwig’ Season 2 Begins Filming: When Does It Premiere in the US?”
Indian Express: “Nadaaniyan viewership on Netflix: Ibrahim Ali Khan’s debut falls short of Junaid Khan’s Maharaj in the first week, but beats sister Sara Ali Khan’s Murder Mubarak”
