The movie follows Gabriel (a low ranking angel) who observes Arj (a gig economy worker) and recognises him as a "lost soul" and decides to intervene. 

With a strong cast which includes Aziz Ansari who wrote, directed and stars in the film, along with Seth Rogen, Keanu Reeves, Keke Palmer and Sandra Oh, we were strapped in for strong performances and not only did we get strong performances, we also got one of the best comedy movies of 2025.  

In 2025, when we look around, we realise that everyone in the world is struggling (emotionally, financially and more) while the ones who are rich are getting richer. When I am scrolling through my social media apps, I see another person getting laid off, while simultaneously reading about a millionaire becoming a billionaire. In this current environment, Good Fortune talks about the gig economy in an extremely realistic and tender manner. 

Arj (Aziz Ansari) is a gig economy worker who finds it hard to make ends meet and is perpetually broke. Gabriel (Keanu Reeves) observes Arj's plight and decides to help him by teaching him an age old lesson - "money doesn't solve life's problems" by swapping his life with another (Jeff played by Seth Rogen). Arj, Gabrriel and Jeff learn a lot about each other while they dispel their beliefs and collect new experiences along the way. 

Keanu Reeves has given one of his most charming comedy performances. His Gabriel is confused, innocent and a bit slow. His discoveries (cheeseburgers, taco, smoking, alcohol) and his remarkable bewilderment gives the movie a lot of heart. 

Aziz Ansari has done it again! He is a brilliant writer (if anyone has seen Master of None then you know what I mean) and in this movie he has been able to capture the soul crushing reality of the gig economy. Arj's character does not just struggle, he is living in his car and donating his plasma for cash. The film explores app based work not just as a plot device but as a modern form of exploitation (remember Amazon delivery staff's 14 hour work day with no pee break?) 

Ansari has been able to make the film reflect about poverty in a funny way while making you simultaneously angry for these circumstances. Ansari's chemistry with Reeves makes you believe that the characters have genuinely changed each other's perspectives by the end of the movie. 

Ansari as a director has captured LA in a way where we can see the neighborhoods where people work in impossible jobs and sleep in cars while also following the lives of the ultra rich who have soo much money that they spend a day running between their hot sauna and their cold plunge bath because of "health benefits". 

Seth Rogen's character Jeff is not portrayed as a cartoonish villain, instead he is shown as a product of his circumstances and privilege that have kept him insulated. When he learns about the hardships, we end up laughing with him and there are moments where we feel bad for whoever is on the receiving end of the cruelty of living pay cheque to pay cheque. 

Here's What I Liked about Good Fortune:

If you are looking for a film to entertain you on your day-off, then this one isn't it.

Better Days destroyed me completely. It has been months since I watched it, and I haven't been able to talk to anyone about it at all.



To be frank, I started watching it expecting a social drama about bullying and a bit of romance. What I got was a story that cracked me wide open, wrung me out, and left me crying for days after. This is a movie that doesn’t just tell a story, it changes the way you look at people.

The story follows Chen Nian (Zhou Dongyu), a high school girl crushed under the weight of absentee parents, and the rigorous exam system. Things only get worse when she finds herself the target of the school bully. One day she crosses paths with Xiao Bei (Jackson Yee), a small-time street thug with more scars than swagger. When she sees him getting beat up, she tries calling the police to help, instead gets caught by the thugs. One thing leads to other, and Chen Nian ends up asking Xiao Bei for protection from bullies outside school. Together, they form a fragile alliance, not quite romance, not quite survival pact; but something raw and real that makes your chest ache.

The performances are so good that you believe in the characters and forget that these are just actors playing a role. Zhou Dongyu's performance gives Chen Nian's character a quiet sort of strength that makes you want to shield her from the world and cheer her defiance in the same breath. Jackson Yee, in his first major film role, is shockingly good. He is a small-time street thug, trying to survive on his own and at times we forget how young Xiao Bei is. Behind the rough edges, there’s a vulnerability that makes his bond with Chen Nian extremely tender. Their chemistry isn’t romanticized; it is survival, intimacy forged in fire.

What makes Better Days extraordinary is how it threads tenderness through brutality. The bullying scenes are unbearable. I wanted to skip them, yet sat through them anyway. They are filmed with an unflinching honesty that puts the spotlight on not just cruel classmates but the entire system that lets cruelty fester. And in the middle of all that pain, the film dares to show us love. Pure love. Love as defiance, love as shelter, love as a reminder that even in rubble, something fragile and beautiful can grow.

Cinematically, it is a world of muted grays and dirty streets, a realism that mirrors the suffocating weight on its characters. But it’s in that bleak palette that the smallest gestures - a glance, a touch, and a shared silence shine through like stolen sunlight.

Better Days isn’t an easy watch. It’s brutal, it’s devastating, and it will leave you gutted. But it is also a movie that everyone MUST WATCH. This is a story about youth, cruelty, and survival that refuses to be sanitized, even under censorship pressures. It’s the kind of film that makes you cry not just for the characters but for every young person who has been failed by the world meant to protect them.

The Life of a Showgirl might be a LOT of things, but the life of a swiftie is never dull.

As a Bengali, I was already in a festive mood with Durga Puja shenanigans right before the album release. But I would not deny the fact that I was more excited for the album than I was for Durga Puja this year.

First of all, when the tracks were declared and the fifth track of the album stared at me, I could almost hear it say, “It’s me. Hi! I’m the problem, it’s me.”

Taylor Swift admitted to placing her most “vulnerable, personal, honest, emotional” song as Track 5 on her albums in 2019 when the fans spotted that pattern. Of course, I was eagerly waiting to be wrecked by a song. Again.

In India, the album was released at 9:30 in the morning and I only got out of bed after listening to all the songs. With TLOAS being the shortest TS album till date, it took me just an hour to go through them all (yes, I might’ve listened to a few of them multiple times). I loved some songs immediately and others might’ve taken some time to gel with. After that 31-songs double album which was heavier than expected, I was relieved that The Life of a Showgirl is full of upbeat and lighter songs (except maybe two).