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Avsar (Hindi) [Opportunity]

This Hindi movie is a pretty straightforward slice-of-life story that tries to give a modern look at what it's like to be a single, professional gay man. It dives into how he understands who he is, the chances he missed out on, and the personal choices he’s made along the way. The director used three parallel timelines to tell the story, which honestly didn't make much sense to me. While the core idea was actually pretty interesting, I really feel like this would have worked way better as a short film considering the point it was trying to make. Still, it wasn't a bad watch. The plot centers on Rachit, a city professional, and his friend Shikhar as they hang out for an evening. Rachit is a polished, urban guy, while Shikhar has more of a "small-town" rustic vibe, and you can really see the contrast between them when they talk. As the night goes on, Rachit starts thinking back to some old memories from a long time ago. He remembers being an intern after college in ...

Pushing Dead

This film is so much more than what the summary of the film suggests. I think the summary covers only about 15% of what this film is trying to be. I am not saying that its a good thing, but I have a problem, when the makers try to promote their film as something which its not. Being promoted as a film about a man who suddenly has his medical insurance suspended and has to struggle for his HOV meds is talked about at a ,maximum 20% of the film. There is so much more happening here.

Dan, has been HIV positive for over 22 years, but still finds a stigma attached to it and is very uncomfortable talking about this to anyone at all. When he deposits a $100 birthday check from his mom, it pushes him out of his low income bracket and he is subsequently pushed out of his healthcare plan. His medicines are now going to cost him thousands of dollars. We meet Dan's roommate, a girl who is his best friend and has always been supportive of him in every step of the way. We also meetDan's boss Bob, who has been kicked out of home by his wife and who has been getting a lot of emotional support by Dan. Dan also meets a nice guy at the doctors office. They talk and meet a few times and finally Dan feels that he may have a chance at love once again, but eventually they backs out. 

I am just not sure what was this film trying to be. A dark comedy, a statement on the US health system, story of people living with HIV, friendship or something else? The script is neither serious nor funny and the script is very fragmented and all over the place. The only reason anyone can sit through this film is because of a very good performance by Dan and his charm. He is lonely and isolated but also has a charming support system of his best friend and a boss who cares for him. The biggest culprit here is story and how it all connects together. It drags on and on from time to time and you keep wondering where this is headed. His medical insurance issues gets magically resolved without him having to do much. Overall a disappointment. (3.5/10)

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