Entertainment
‘Downsizing’ is worse than bad, it’s bland (Review)
By Subhash K. Jha
Film: “Downsizing”; Director: Alexander Payne; Cast: Matt Damon, Hong Chau and Christopher Waltz; Rating: **
It is heartbreaking to see so much earnestness being squandered away in inertia. “Downsizing” is a well-meaning jibe at global devastation done in a tone so steeped in righteous indignation, I thought I was watching an evangelical propaganda film with angels and fairies flapping their invisible wings into the fuzzy camera lenses.
Director Alexander Payne, no stranger to tall tales about short-term beneficiaries messing up with their game plans, here goes for the whole mood of ecological regret with a heartbreaking earnestness. As a piece of propaganda on how we can save civilization, “Downsizing” has an in-eradicable cuteness at its heart which is borderline annoying.
The plot is constantly cloying, as our protagonist Paul (Matt Damon, looking so detached from the goings-on, he could be the most reluctant inaction hero in the history of cinema) decides to go for a ‘downsizing’ procedure that would reduce him and his wife (Kristen Wiig) to 20 times smaller than their normal size.
The benefits of downsizing are explained in what could easily have been devilish digs at governmental control of our destiny (we all know what that feels like). But no. Director Alexander Payne, so inured in enchanting ambiguities in his 2005 film “Sideways”, means every word his characters utter. They are good people caught in a catastrophic situation.
We get that.
This is a work filled wth invisible conffetti dropping from heaven in every frame. The only time it gets close to being remotely mischievous is when Damon’s wife chickens out of the downsizing procedure at the last minute leaving him fuming and desolate in a la-la land where 5-inch human beings live in 5-star luxury.
The etherized environment halts only when a Vietnamese downsized refugee played by Hong Chau, with the most grating singsong South Asian accent ever heard in cinema, joins hands with Damon to help, nurse and feed the poor. Hong Chau orders Damon around as if she was taking revenge on all the wrongs that Harvey Weinstein had done to all the women in the entertainment business.
All through this dreadfully self-righteous film, I felt there was a catch somewhere. Maybe I was missing the point? But then with a jolt of awakening, I realized the whole point of the shrinking exercize is to spotlight man-made catastrophes as weighed against cinema’s ability to alchemize and assuage the pain of everyday existence.
“Downsizing” tries to elevate the process of shrinking human beings by imbuing a moral edification to the process of shrinking humans physically. Sorry, I saw no joy in becoming smaller to save humanity. How about saving us from having to watch such joyless excursions into la la land?
–IANS
skj/rb
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.
Content provided by Adverloom
Foodman Vishal Singh Honored for Hunger Free World Mission in Bangkok
Dr. Abhishek Verma Dedicates a Shelter in Memory of His Mother, Veena Verma, at KGMU; Inaugurated by Daughter Nicolle Verma
Cheers and Cheers: Barzilla’s Joyful Ode to Inclusivity and Celebration
Casino Days Reveal Internal Data on Most Popular Smartphones
Meghalaya Reserves Legalized Gambling and Sports Betting for Tourists
IPL 20202 UPDATE: KXIP vs MI IPL Dream11 Team Prediction for Today Match, Update Point Table of all Team.
In a Live debate AAP leader Syed Asad Abbas hurls abuses to BJP spokesperson Nupur Sharma.
‘India’s Most Wanted’ trailer out Arjun Kapoor on hunt of Osama-Bin-Laden
Time to move on: Sonakshi on Shatrughan’s joining Congress
