MovieBuff02 Reviews

Avatar: The Last Airbender (2024– )

An insulting adaptation of the graphic novel and show

[4/10 · 29 February 2024]

So many things were wrong with this show but the CGI was good.

The casting, storyboarding, & acting were all wrong. They're compressed the story arcs and personality development arcs to comply with an 8 episode show and as a result, they have ruined the show. It's really sad to see that Aang didn't even firebend or earth bend and still somehow ends up facing his ultimate opponent - the Firelord.

The casting of Azula & her two friends was absolutely horrid. The jokes are missing and the actors lack the zest which was an important part of the tale of how Aang & his friends mature over time and finally learn what is important and gather the skills to set the balance of the world right. This is, definitely a badly made show.

SEAL Team (2017–2024)

Mixed opinion - amazing action but cringy in parts

[6/10 · 7 October 2023]

High production value and meticulous research has gone into show. The first two seasons are quite gripping even though it has some really random dramatic twists like the protagonist's wife dying. It was unnecessary and felt like a soap opera. The show does have its (good) moments but I find it quite cringe-worthy that the men at the so called 'tip of the spear' are perpetually acting juvenile and having bursts of anger by saying stupid things. The 3rd and 4th season is painful in parts with the emotional stories about their love lives being retold numerous times and their inability to act like mature adults who supposedly wield weapons.

Cannot watch more beyond season 3.

Chor Nikal Ke Bhaga (2023)

Best embodiment of a ridiculous plot which escalated quickly

[2/10 · 24 March 2023]

If ever there's a movie where I'd recommend the viewer to keep aside their logical reasoning before watching, it would be this one. What a ridiculous movie! Acting was OK but the plot was just insane. The movie starts off on a great note- the usual cliched Bollywood formula of 'man finds woman attractive and stalks her for a bit' until love materialises magically and then the movie quickly starts to go downhill. A diamond heist is a part of the movie but again, it was executed stupidly. The last part of the movie is where a suspense uravels with poor depiction. I am not sure what the makers of the movie were thinking.

I am unsure how any of the second half of the movie was conceived as a concept - it is just too stupid.

Alchemy of Souls (2022– )

Season one is great, season two isn't

[7/10 · 4 January 2023]

The first season had a great story arc I gave it a 9/10 for its direction (slow at times but that's K-drama for you), CGI, and patient character development. Season two is a hard 6/10.

Initially, I liked how the lead learns new skills through hardwork and good guidance. I didn't, however, like the dialogues - both seasons have the characters talking in riddles and not really getting to the crux of the discussion. This may just be how they "prolong" the series.

Season 2 started off well but episode 3 onwards, things get super confusing and unnecesaarily complex. I guess like most TV shows, the writers ran out of good ideas and started to just extend the series as much as possible.

Dsp (2022)

Botched up end to the movie

[2/10 · 4 January 2023]

The story is typical is that of a typical Tamil "masala" movie. Even though the story was nothing special - it had the potential to be entertaining in parts. The entire sequence about the lead actor's sister's wedding was totally unnecessary and they could have used some of that time to build the main character. The songs were also unnecessary. The worse thing was how they botched up the ending as though the director ran out of budget and time so tried to wrap it up hurriedly.

Nothing special about the casting - they cast characters without any screen presence and who cannot speak a smattering of the language. The voice overs are also badly done.

I would NOT recommend this movie.

The Flatshare (2022)

Quite a sweet story!

[7/10 · 2 January 2023]

I liked the acting. Jessica Brown Findlay plays a cute albeit a hassled woman looking for a budget apartment. Anthony Welsh is also in financial doldrums and leases out his flat at nights when he's at work.

The show was a bit slow sometimes but I couldn't get over how adorable Jessica is - she's precious! The manipulative exes bit was a bit anxeity inducing but it was also important to the plot. I haven't read the book but I just might give it a read. Also, a bulk of the story hinges upon misunderstandings and I found that a bit annoying and hard to believe. Come to think of it, I didn't quite understand why Jessica and Anthony didn't communicate via phone calls/ text messages!

I'd recommend this show though!

Rizzoli & Isles (2010–2016)

(some) great episodes but very poor character dev through the season

[6/10 · 2 December 2022]

The TV show is refreshing in that it is about two female protagonists who are smart in their own ways...except until the writers ran out of interesting detective stories to narrate. Some of the detective and observation skills the show potrays are amazing!

I have no idea why the character developments of Jane Rizzoli and Maura Isles was so poor - through the seven seasons, they are the same with barely any growth or evolution. In some episodes, the melodrama is too cringe worthy!

Jane grows more annoying with each episode with her sarcasm and scathing insults about how Maura is a nerd and nearly always caught-up in her science. Jane's mother is another grating and super intrusive character which the audience would not have missed at all - she has nothing to contribute.

This could have been so much better with some of the melodrama and random character traits removed!

Krishna Vrinda Vihari (2022)

Cringe = max

[1/10 · 1 November 2022]

This movie serves as an example of the societal issues which plague India. If such movies have mass appeal, we're doomed for sure.

The ludicrous story reeks of sexism and desperation right from the start. The lead actor, who is rather conservative, joins a firm in the big city and immediately starts calling 'dibs' on women in the office like they're pieces of meat. As always, a fight between men who've called dibs on the same woman ensues and the hero wins. It gets worse after this. The lead actress rejects the lead actor supposedly citing no reason as such so he keeps pestering (read: stalking) her to give a reason and eventually she gives in. Her hesitation to not pursue anything serious is because she cannot have children. This is where the plot thickens - perhaps copied from "Ante Sundaraniki", the hero decides to tell his family that he's unable to have children.

This is a cringe worthy film with no real story or artistic value. Even the acting and background score is abysmally bad.

Descendants of the Sun (2016)

Weak plot and horrible acting

[5/10 · 1 November 2022]

I am unsure why this show has so many good reviews! The plot is weak at best with poor poor acting. The main lead actor barely emotes! The lead actor and actress dilly-dally between expressing their affection and then being downright curt. It's super confusing in terms of character development and story progression. The show does start off on an interesting note but then quickly digresses off on a tangent. It was annoying that they keep referring to everyone's "beauty" as a significant part of their character - as if everyone should be beautiful to be good humans or something. Dialogues are quite random.

Oh, the soundtrack is absolutely bad. This show is haphazard at best - I reckon they had a large budget and no good storyline to spend it on.

Inventing Anna (2022)

Unreal plot and bad acting by the lead actress

[2/10 · 25 July 2022]

The series is unreal and absolutely ridiculous! Julia Garner's weird accent and bad acting makes it intolerable.

Saving grace of the show is Anna Chlumsky. I liked her performance and screen presence!

Godse (2022)

Possibly the worst movie I have watched

[1/10 · 24 July 2022]

The movie starts off with a ridiculously written hostage negotiation scene. The hostage negotiator loses her composure and essentially causes killing of the hostages.

The same hostage negotiator becomes the centre of the rest of the movie wherein a disgruntled businessman turns into a rogue vigilante who has taken it upon himself to expose corrupt politicians - in a really odd manner.

The story doesn't make sense at any point.

All of this shot with no technical or background research, peppered with horrible acting and script writing. Satyadev Kancharana & Aishwarya Lekshmi cannot act to save their lives!

Veep (2012–2019)

Witty and biting humour

[9/10 · 15 July 2022]

I absolutely loved the writing in this show. The jokes are amazing and the actors have done a brilliant job!

Julia Louis-Dreyfus and Timothy Simons stand out with their acting. They act as though they lack awareness and sensitivity.

Some of the scenes in which Julia Louis-Dreyfus is being particularly harsh toward her daughter, (played by Sarah Sutherland) made me grimace and laugh! It's definitely a gem of a show!

Imaikkaa Nodigal (2018)

Bad casting with a worse story

[4/10 · 15 July 2022]

I have no idea why Tamil movies choose to cast folks who 1. Cannot speak the language 2. Cannot act to save their lives!

Anurag Kashyap did a horrible job of acting and should not have been cast in this movie.

The story is weird at best with too many technical loopholes. Also, I am not sure what the point of the annoying talkative child was :)

Irumbu Thirai (2018)

Ridiculous plot

[3/10 · 4 July 2022]

Typical, blown-out-of-proportion story about how information can be stolen in the digital but the plot has too many holes and is downright silly.

Also, I do not like that the movie romanticizes and perpetuates the idea of paying a dowry and taking a loan to get married. Psychologists are not the same as a psychiatrist, the movie even got this wrong.

Gave 3/10 for the casting and acting.

Don (2022)

End was the movie's undoing

[6/10 · 17 June 2022]

The movie was slow in the beginning but quite funny too - rarely have I seen good (non-crass) jokes in Tamil movies and this movie delivered. I liked the movie right until the last 30 minutes or so - it got really dramatic and unnecessarily emotional. The end showcases the usual cinematic familial misunderstandings among families who have the emotional intelligence of a doorknob and refuse to talk to each other. Quite a random end to a rather fun movie. Disappointing!

Jana Gana Mana (2022)

Too many plot holes + an unrealistic & convoluted storyline

[4/10 · 4 June 2022]

The movie starts off on a high albeit confusing note. The start of the movie tries to strike a note with the viewer by making it look like a social issue drama but then agonizingly slowly takes a turn to a complicated conspiratorial-style plot which has just too many gaps. The story lacks in its research or was deliberately made so for the drama and mass appeal.

Possibly one of the worst legal/crime dramas I've watched this year!

Go Straight Take Left (2018 TV Movie)

Sukukhi is not funny

[2/10 · 29 May 2022]

Naveen's solo sketches are hilarious but I find Sumukhi's jokes corny and unfunny. This one was an ultra horrible sketch overall - none of the jokes were funny!

Guilty Minds (2022– )

An interesting but flawed Indian legal drama

[7/10 · 9 May 2022]

I liked the show for its raw and honest portrayal of the courtroom, the enormous effort in set design and extent of research done for the storyline (which is more than most Indian TV/movie content!). The first episode was peppered with bad acting and odd events but the show picks up after the second episode. Also, the lighting in the show/post-processing made the show unnecessarily dark and difficult to enjoy visually. I have noticed this with other Prime shows too - this might just be a coincidence but it is unpleasant nonetheless!

I would've liked it better if the story was better visualized - a little more detailed and the episodes were longer.

Etharkkum Thunindhavan (2022)

Melodramatic and overtly regressive plot

[1/10 · 9 April 2022]

The movie's plot is quite horrid. It pretends to be progressive and refers to women's rights while propagating sexist and divisive ideas.

Unnecessarily dramatic!

Jack Reacher (2012)

Horrible casting

[2/10 · 4 February 2022]

I don't know what the movie producers and casting directors were thinking. In the books, Jack Reacher is 6ft 5in tall with blonde hair who is cool and calculating. They instead cast this hot-headed melodramatic actor who ruins it all!

Mumbai Diaries (2021– )

Overdramatic rendition with bad direction

[2/10 · 23 September 2021]

The plot is based off of the true events which occurred during the attacks of 26/11 but it portrays an incredibly hyped up account of some of the incidents.

26/11 was painful enough without making fictitious additions to the incident, perhaps the intent was to pay tribute to the medical fraternity for all of their contributions during the pandemic but this feels downright distasteful!

Also, the direction and action sequences were horrible.

Boomika (2021)

Incoherent plot and acting leaves much to be desired

[1/10 · 12 September 2021]

The plot is badly written and the direction is that of a typical horror movie - jumpstart horror sequences. The movie tries to take a modern approach to environmental protection and mental health (?) not sure about the latter and it fails miserably :(

Thimmarusu: Assignment Vali (2021)

Cliched but decent plot

[6/10 · 12 September 2021]

The storyline is quite interesting in itself. The story needs thorough research though - the 'investigation' that the lawyers do during the movie is incredibly unrealistic and the twist at the end is just too random.