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rishabanilkumar
Reviews
MH370: The Plane That Disappeared (2023)
Jeff Wise - Your most hated character from any show ever
Wow! The absurdity and just clear lack of sympathy for the families of the victims of this horrible tragedy is just astounding. I found Jeff Wise to be absolutely infuriating. The guy just needs to write murder mystery novels with his crazy thinking and leave actual reality for people with a sense of sanity. How the producers at Netflix found him tolerable, let alone lead pretty much most of the show is the real conspiracy. Russia anyone? Maybe trying to brain-dumb more Americans so they can eventually take over the world. In spite of all that, I really did feel for the victims of the tragedy. What they went through is absolutely horrific. May we all know what happened very soon.
The Batman (2022)
The BEST Batman EVER? Maybe not. ONE of the best? Certainly.
Robert Pattinson was a star as Batman. The depressed and slightly overwhelmed tone to his acting fit the Batman character perfectly (An ode to the Dark Knight Returns?). I also thought his Batman voice was good as compared to Bale's overdone and quite frankly, cringey attempt. Although not all people might like the dark and dreary setting of the movie, i thought it perfectly fits the idea of Batman. Why do you people expect a town in ruins, with crime and corruption all around, the people manically depressed to the point to insanity to be fun and joking? This I thought was a realistic portrayal of Gotham City and an accurate one of our own modern world (major cities).
Coming back to the movie itself, I thought it was gripping in parts and dull in others. The typical superhero corniness could have been minimized in the dialogue I thought ("I must push through", "I do this for others" - well not exactly this but something along these lines). Also what was up Zoe Kravitz 's "Rich white assholes" line? What was need for "white" there? Wouldn't "rich assholes" have sufficed? Woke Hollywood at it again. Especially considering that in the very movie, there was a black police chief (commissioner?) and a black woman elected as mayor, seemed pretty pointless to me.
Dano as the Riddler was good in parts but exaggerated and too over the too in others. Collin Farrell as the Penguin was great. So was the guy playing Falcone. Kravitz was decent in her role. Everyone did their part but some of the dialogue could have been more refined and some of the cliche action scenes (no matter how well done) could have been cut out (the car chase anyone? Like how many movies have seen this in). All in all a good movie but The best Batman ever? Close but not quite. Looking forward to the next one however. This was on the right track.
Dune (2021)
Fireworks Without Any Color
Have you ever eaten food that was so pleasing to the eye but was so bland on the tongue? Or inversely, had something that had no right to be on a plate but tasted heavenly?
Have you seen a guitarist with lightning fast fingers doing things that seemed impossible to the eye but was not very pleasant to listen to? You might prefer a BB King or a George Harrison playing simple yet delectably sweet melodies.
Some movies are not flashy at all, have low budgets and maybe poor in many of their aspects yet they are pleasant and enjoyable because their essence is soulful.
This movie was very flashy, was very impressive to the senses and yet failed to capture my heart.
South Park (1997)
One of the Greatest Shows Ever Produced by Mankind
What can I say about this show? Just the insane attention to detail, the genius layering of social satire. You can watch it a million times and it still wouldn't get old. Matt and Trey take a bow and thank you for working so hard to create one of the iconic shows of all time. Truly a gift from God.
Gone Baby Gone (2007)
An Infuriating End to An Otherwise Brilliant Movie
The pacing, the atmospheric tension, the way it captures the feeling of the setting was all brilliant. The ending was an almost perfect one, whats up with all the directors trying to avoid a happy ending - is that the hip thing to do these days? Minus 3 was the slightly implausible story and the suspension of belief needed but mostly for that sad ending.
Invincible (2021)
Didn't expect it to be this good!!
Having never heard of the comics or their assumed legendary status, I had no idea what to expect. Wasn't a big fan of the animation style initially (I'm used to watching high quality Japanese stuff and the Disney - Pixar kind) but boy was it to be trivial complaint lost in the depths of my mind. The story started off being foreign to me, like I said I didn't know what to expect, the heroes appeared to clear clichés or almost a straight rip-off the various Marvel, DC heroes so I thought I was heading for a major cringe filled disappointment but man the ending of that first episode caught me so off-guard and just basically set up the entire show for me. I haven't seen too many more thrilling things than this, it had me on the of my seat throughout. The comedy, the action, the suspense, all absolutely spot on!! I took off one star only because I wasn't a big fan of the Mars episode (seemed like a basic filler to me, i could be wrong though)
Trial by Fire (2018)
A devastating tragedy
A brilliantly tragic movie beautifully portrayed by Jack O'Donnel in particular. It left a bad taste in my mouth at the end there, probably because I was fighting back the tears.
Jagame Thandhiram (2021)
Absolute cringefest
This movie was unbearable to watch....in fact I found it so painful I ended up watching only 20 minutes of it.....I'm only here to warn you guys and pay my dues to mankind.
Wild Card (2015)
My brain is confused
That was either the best bad movie I've ever seen or the worst good movie.
Ma (2019)
Could have been great
Is it predictable? Yes.
Are the characters cliché? Yes.
Is it entertaining? Yes.
Mandela (2021)
Yogibabu and the rest of the cast steal the show!!
While the premise and plot may have been slightly clichéd and predictable, the execution was anything but. The action was wonderful, especially Mr. Yogibabu fit the role so perfectly and carried it brilliantly. The setting, the music, the humor was all spot on. India needs to make more movies like this!!
Lupin (2021)
Mindless Entertainment
It was entertaining but plotholes galore, along with implausible story telling. You really have to turn off your brain and then you might be pleasantly surprised with the entertainment.
Watchmen (2009)
The Visuals are Wow, the Story is somewhat a Drag
Zack Snyders main strength, which is his visual story telling really shines through. All his movies seemingly have this signature of his and at times he'll have gasping in awe and wonder at what your eyes are witnessing. But to repeat the many criticisms of Zack Snyder's movies (take BvS for example), the editing and the sequencing of the story line seemed confusing at times and boring when at its worst. I felt lost in places when instead I was praying to be submerged in the movie.
Some of the drama like the one between the Owl man and Dr. Manhattan's girlfriend could really have been avoided. In the background of impending nuclear war, human extinction, global cataclysm, we're expected to be invested in this lovey-dovey crap. For a seemingly all-knowing God-like being (Dr. Manhattan), he sure was attracted to the wrong girl. Her lack of understanding and her apparent dismissals of the experience of such a complex and intelligent being annoyed me to no end. Take the Mars scene for example, when Dr. Manhattan tells her that she'd be crying by the end of their conversation (because he can see the goddamn future). She insists on questioning him and even dares to tell him he's wrong (when she's been with him for god knows how long and has seem him demonstrate his incredible powers several times previously). I don't know if it was the way the character was written or if it was the way she was portrayed by the actor but I did not enjoy her presence or her story line very much.
Rorschach was another character I did not enjoy very much. The voice was uber corny and pretentious.
If Christian Bale's voice in the Batman movies was laugh inducing, this was very much along the same lines. I also found it laughable how at the end we were expected to feel emotional over his sacrifice. All this character showed was callous disregard for everyone around him. Not once did he show any semblance of love or care (apart from maybe one or two instances) that would have made us invest emotionally in him. I get that that's the way the character was written but don't fish for cheap cries if you don't equally make an investment in a proper portrayal of the character that would elicit the response you're asking for.
All in all, this was good movie, a visual treat but the drama was overdone and corny. Maybe the comics would have been better served if this was a two part movie instead and the we could've gotten a more detailed background into the Watchmen and individuals that make up the parts but all we got was very vague backstories (apart from Dr. Manhattan's, which I found thoroughly enjoyable and immersive) and a story that moved far too fast and interspecked with vague drama.
Unhinged (2020)
Predictable but Entertaining
This movie definitely requires some suspension of disbelief to find enjoyable in anyway. The lead character (Caren Pisotorius) I thought was a let down in parts that required her to express strong emotionality. She was mostly decent however (and very pretty I have to add) but was let down by a very predictable script. All in all, it was entertaining but not particularly intelligible or enlightening as it might have tried to have been, in a way similar to the Joker (highlighting mental illness and the repercussionsions it can have in the collective), although well falling short of that mark.
Arrival (2016)
Slightly overrated but still enjoyable
Arrival is a movie that really tries to blow your mind, delving into concepts such as time, the psychology of language, interactions with an alien species etc. In my opinion, It fell short of conveying this in a manner that seemed plausible, which I admit is a mighty difficult thing to accomplish. To me the clearly most bogus scene in the movie was the scene set in the future (18 months later) with General Shang where there's a clear time traveller's paradox. For one, how did Louise (Amy Adams) get the General's number in the first place? If the answer is, from her 'visions' of the future, how did she not remember it in THAT very same future scenario as shown in the movie (she clearly doesn't remember anything of the past and the good General constantly has to prod her on by reminding her of every little detail, basically narrating the entire event including the handover of the number and the dying words of his wife). Surely that Louise of the future would remember the major details of an event which seemingly changed the world and brought humanity closer than ever? At the very least I would have expected the movie of capturing and coveying this detail better than it did, instead of a completely clueless Louise seemingly suffering from amnesia.
There were a few other inconsistencies - how they managed to decipher such a seemingly incomprehensible and foreign (alien) language with nothing more initially than sign language and annoying demonstrations (Ian walks...really?) is hard to believe. Would not such a seemingly advanced race of beings in possession of technologies beyond human conception take the initiative in this regard instead allowing such a primitive race (in comparison) to do so. We were shown computers 'doing their thing' in so many scenes. Oh yes computers can do ANYTHING. But is that really going to be the solution every time the plot needs scientific detailing? "We just run it through computers and we can decipher a possibly ancient language of a far superior alien culture within weeks or days even" Sure it's possible, just saying it seems like a cop out where there's immense possibilities for creative expression.
All in all, I will say this was an enjoyable movie. Apart from these inconsistencies and moments where it suffered a brain fart, the movie did a good job of conveying the actual interaction itself, visually and cinematically. Those were clearly the best parts of the movie. The visuals as I mentioned and also the music score were stunning. You might even find yourself in a dream world where you start imagining these very same scenarios. The beauty and depth of language is underscored beautifully. Amy Adams and the acting crew were mostly terrific. A difficult movie and concept to pull off but a wonderfully admirable effort.
Army of the Dead (2021)
Really really bad...really
I'd written out a very long and detailed review which unfortunately didn't go through so instead of repeating myself I will say....watch this movie if you like gore and impressive visuals (in terms of screenplay and makeup?) but not much of anything else in terms of a sensible plot, good acting or characters that make you not want to rip your hair off.
Parched (2015)
Incredible piece of art
An absolute masterpiece that paints the true image of women in rural India. It wouldn't be an exaggeration to say its one of the best movies to come out of Bollywood in recent times. The fact that this movie has 7.8 rating (as of 7/1/2018) shows you where the standards of the Indian audience is. If more movies like Parched were commended, Bollywood might not come with the crap that kills our brain cells every time we watch it.
Superb Acting.
Superb Script.
And Brilliant direction.
Calibre (2018)
Solid. Gripping. Thriller.
Absolutely stunning piece of art. Keeps you glued to the screen for the first minute, from carefully building up the setting in a pretty isolated and gloomy village in surrounded by the woods to the life-changing decisions the main characters have to make which will have you contemplating each one of the butterfly effects. I saw the movie with two of my friends and each one of us had a different ending from each other, none of us could have really predicted what was going to happen.
Upgrade (2018)
Mind blowing, Brilliant, Complete!
I've never written a review before in my life, mainly because no movie has ever compelled me that strongly to write a review but Upgrade really deserves that honor. From start to finish I was fully glued to the screen. There are very few movies that don't bore you at least in a few of their parts but Upgrade is so well written that there's hardly any pointless fillers. The plot is absolutely its biggest strength with screenplay coming in a close second. There director has done a brilliant job in capturing the futuristic vibe of the story.
If I had any criticism, it would be that the actors didn't do complete justice to their roles. But they did well enough for it to be passable.
All in all, a brilliant movie that deserves to be recognized by the mainstream.
Sultan (2016)
Very predictable, poor plot line, too much fantasy and waste of time
For a movie that was hyped so much, Sultan was a terrible let down. From the start, the movie's plot line was shaky and just when Bollywood plot lines were starting to hit new heights with the likes of Waiting, Aligarh, Budda in A Traffic Jam, this movie just brought it all down again. The movie involved too much fantasy and wasn't real enough that a grown adult could relate to it. I would be entertaining to 10 year old kids maybe. Overall, I don't recommend on anyone watching this movie unless you are willing to waste 3 hours of your life on something as corny and predictable as Sultan. The one thing that stopped me from giving this movie a 1 star rating is the strong performance of a few actors like Anushka and Randeep Hooda. Salman Khan was typically very disappointing.