Entertainment
‘Downsizing’: A strangely complex masterpiece (IANS Review, Rating: ***1/2)
By Troy Ribeiro
Film: “Downsizing”; Director: Alexander Payne; Cast: Matt Damon, Kristen Wiig, Christoph Waltz, Hong Chau, Udo Keir, Rolf Lassgard, Ingrjerd Egeberg, Rune Temte, Margareta Pettersson, Soren Pilmark, Joaquim De Almeida, Jason Sudeikis, James Van Der Beek, Neil Patrick Harris, Laura Dern, Niec Niecy Nash, Margo Martindale; Rating: ***1/2
“Downsizing” is a strikingly intelligent concept film.
A romance and self-realisation tale wrapped in a sci-fi film that makes you aware of environmental issues is what definitely makes it unique fare. It is a social satire wrapped in a sci-fi movie that does not, for a second, look and feel like one.
Nevertheless, the film achieves a strange harmony from its assorted thematic ingredients and certainly produces unexpected and compelling surges of emotion at odd moments.
Dealing with the long-term viability of humanity’s existence on this planet, the scientists at Edwardsen Institute in Norway hit upon a perfect process of shrinking human beings to the height of 5 inches. According to them, these shrunken people need much fewer resources and would thus be able to save our planet’s resources.
Fifteen years after the invention which is an irreversible process, physiotherapist Paul Safranek (Matt Damon) and his wife Audrey, a struggling American couple unhappy with their financial status, during an alumni meet, get inspired by their classmates Dave and Carol Johnson, who have “downsized”.
Believing that their lives would be enhanced if they were to shrink themselves and be transferred to the new world call Leisureland, Paul and Audrey decide to take the plunge.
Of course, complications ensue, including marital strife and Paul’s discovery that all is not quite what is seems in his new environment.
Disappointed and dejected in Liesureland, Paul leads a staid life. So when Dusan (Christoph Waltz), his upstairs neighbour — an opportunist who, along with his friend Kondrad (Udo Kier) makes money by importing miniaturized versions of Cigars and other such luxury items — invites him to a house party, he reluctantly accepts the invitation.
After the party, Paul by chance meets a Vietnamese political activist named Ngoc Lan Tran (Hong Chau). Seeing her walk with a faulty prosthetic foot, he befriends her. He then gets fascinated with her struggle. How she then changes his entire life and worldview, forms the crux of the tale.
Despite its meandering pace and unassuming plot, the film at no specific point goes off the rails. The initial first hour definitely drags. Once the narrative picks up momentum in the second half, there is no looking back. You don’t expect the film to take a dramatic turn but it really will have you thinking hard about the world we live in.
The third act, though predictable and incredibly ambitious, is eye-opening and lands the film where it strives to be.
On many accounts, this is an impressive film. Among them is the astounding performance by Hong Chau. She comes in at the halfway mark and just takes over completely, single-handedly elevating the film with her tragic, comic, caustic and lovable character Ngoc.
At no point do you laugh at her status, ethnicity or broken English. Yet you laugh because she is a force of nature that blows away the pretensions of others — which she does with her straight yet unexpected nature and honest, cut-the-chase communication.
Matt Damon as the dull lead who goes on a journey of discovery is serviceable and the fault lies not with his performance. The problem is with the writing. Paul remains a bore from the beginning to the end.
Christoph Waltz does justice as the flamboyant Dusan. He is intriguing, but with a half-baked character, he is lost in the narrative.
From a technical standpoint, the film is almost flawless. The production and sound designs, costumes, visual effects, cinematography and editing are all immaculate.
Overall, “Downsizing” is a complex masterpiece which is convincing but not unfamiliar.
–IANS
troy/rb/sac
Entertainment
Casino Days Reveal Internal Data on Most Popular Smartphones
International online casino Casino Days has published a report sharing their internal data on what types and brands of devices are used to play on the platform by users from the South Asian region.
Such aggregate data analyses allow the operator to optimise their website for the brands and models of devices people are actually using.
The insights gained through the research also help Casino Days tailor their services based on the better understanding of their clients and their needs.
Desktops and Tablets Lose the Battle vs Mobile
The primary data samples analysed by Casino Days reveal that mobile connections dominate the market in South Asia and are responsible for a whopping 96.6% of gaming sessions, while computers and tablets have negligible shares of 2.9% and 0.5% respectively.
The authors of the study point out that historically, playing online casino was exclusively done on computers, and attribute thе major shift to mobile that has unfolded over time to the wide spread of cheaper smartphones and mobile data plans in South Asia.
“Some of the reasons behind this massive difference in device type are affordability, technical advantages, as well as cheaper and more obtainable internet plans for mobiles than those for computers,” the researchers comment.
Xiaomi and Vivo Outperform Samsung, Apple Way Down in Rankings
Chinese brands Xiaomi and Vivo were used by 21.9% and 20.79% of Casino Days players from South Asia respectively, and together with the positioned in third place with a 18.1% share South Korean brand Samsung dominate the market among real money gamers in the region.
Cupertino, California-based Apple is way down in seventh with a user share of just 2.29%, overshadowed by Chinese brands Realme (11.43%), OPPO (11.23%), and OnePlus (4.07%).
Huawei is at the very bottom of the chart with a tiny share just below the single percent mark, trailing behind mobile devices by Motorola, Google, and Infinix.
The data on actual phone usage provided by Casino Days, even though limited to the gaming parts of the population of South Asia, paints a different picture from global statistics on smartphone shipments by vendors.
Apple and Samsung have been sharing the worldwide lead for over a decade, while current regional leader Xiaomi secured their third position globally just a couple of years ago.
Striking Android Dominance among South Asian Real Money Gaming Communities
The shifted market share patterns of the world’s top smartphone brands in South Asia observed by the Casino Days research paper reveal a striking dominance of Android devices at the expense of iOS-powered phones.
On the global level, Android enjoys a comfortable lead with a sizable 68.79% share which grows to nearly 79% when we look at the whole continent of Asia. The data on South Asian real money gaming communities suggests that Android’s dominance grows even higher and is north of the 90% mark.
Among the major factors behind these figures, the authors of the study point to the relative affordability of and greater availability of Android devices in the region, especially when manufactured locally in countries like India and Vietnam.
“And, with influencers and tech reviews putting emphasis on Android devices, the choice of mobile phone brand and OS becomes easy; Android has a much wider range of products and caters to the Asian online casino market in ways that Apple can’t due to technical limitations,” the researchers add.
The far better integration achieved by Google Pay compared to its counterpart Apple Pay has also played a crucial role in shaping the existing smartphone market trends.
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