bharath-karthikeyan Reviews

Uncharted (2022)

My dad and I loved it!

[8/10 · 18 February 2022]

My dad and I have been going to movies for nearly 30 years now...The first 10 years he ended up choosing what movies we go to watch in Cinema and the ensuing years it comes to me in choosing the right one both of us can enjoy! So it has always been a little challenge to impress my dad on my choice of movies and to check with him if he enjoyed watching it.

After 2 years being away from cinema halls due to covid, we headed out to Uncharted - I did not tell him its a video game franchise. But boy he was excited by the end of the movie - He thoroughly enjoyed every moment of it and for me that in itself can be a recommendation to you! The movie has fine balance between character development and action set pieces!

For me as a fan of the franchise, having played every single game including the two on PS Vita...The game had tonnes of easter eggs which I wont spoil for you and also the tongue in cheek conversations between Sully and Drake. I can't wait to see where the franchise heads next (even-though the two end credits clips do tease them). I can say the movie is in safe hands with Playstation producing it. Would be nice if naughty dog also gets constantly consulted on character development. This could easily be a global phenomenon.

Go watch it!

Blush (II) (2021)

So beautiful it makes you blush!

[10/10 · 24 October 2021]

I teared up even before I came to the credits. It just blows my mind how the creators of shorts like these, just use 10 mins for to you start empathising and live among the characters they have created. Highly recommend!

Another Round (2020)

Well crafted and addictive

[9/10 · 13 May 2021]

I watched this on my 4 hour transit flight on emirates business sipping cognac. Every sip of the sweet french brandy fuelling each passing minute of the movie: A thought train running in my mind was - Is the movie trying to idealise alcohol consumption. Well, it doesn't but would I say it did tread on borderlines of embracing alcoholism as a medium for people to lose inhibitions and express themselves better - which is why and how the movie stands out from the crowd and transports viewers to the lives of the character and the world.

I enjoyed every bit of the movie, it was just like trying craft beers at a newly opened distillery - you don't know whats going to pop up next and when it does you are only pleasantly surprised and it raises your curiosity on whats going to come next.

Mads brings to screen an amazing performance, worthy of an oscar if only it was a mainstream Hollywood cinema. Mads' impromptu jazz ballet gave such a high and acts as a tribute to the ENTIRE team who made this movie possible.

Mycket kärlek från sverige! Druk och Skål!

News of the World (2020)

News of this movie's release dint reach all the worlds ends

[7/10 · 3 May 2021]

News of the world is a gem in the rough. Its a well made period drama of a new reader with a past who meets an native American girl who is left astray during the American revolutionary wars and purging of native Americans.

I only wish the movie was better promoted!

Tom hanks and Helena Zengel steal the show, both are adorable on screen and never break the façade. Many period elements are well captured but since its a novel adaptation - eventhough it introduced some fresh plot angles, it has myriad of clichés introduced to us through films in the past.

News of the world falls a little short in telling a more influential story to its audience. At the end of the movie I felt a need for a better closure than what the picture delivered for the lives of these two characters.

Its on Netflix, its better than 90% of the content offered by the provider. Definitely worth a watch if you like western drama and of course Tom hanks :)

Yesterday (III) (2019)

Entertaining and pretty engaging for most parts - Beatles save the yesterday!

[8/10 · 3 May 2021]

If you had seen the trailer or even heard of the plot before watching the movie, the plot might lose you in the opening parts as its pretty much goes by the same narrative. Its what follows after, which makes Yesterday's magic work!

The pivotal instrument in the movie is Himesh Patel. Its not everyday a movie comes with an actor of Indian assent leading with the legacy of Beatles. The narrative - perceiving the emotional range of such a lead has been superbly handcrafted and the magic works onscreen balanced by all the cast including Ed Sheeran!

Its not a masterpiece, but its definitely a landmark movie in this genre. Highly recommend!

Mank (2020)

Wish the screenplay had taken inspiration from Citizen Kane as well :)

[7/10 · 29 April 2021]

The movie definitely deserves a watch, more so if you enjoyed Citizen Kane as it delivers numerous homages and easter eggs.

IF you are someone who just wants to watch Mank for what it is, there are numerous elements captured well in the narrative - the great depression, worker unions, candid reflections on production studios, and most importantly character sketches which represent the period.

Some areas I felt which could have been written better is Mank's character itself - he is either glorified or always paid attention to - which made it difficult for me to accept the characterisation in its full sense of a writer behind Citizen Kane.

Garry Oldman fits in the role effortlessly but his characterisation left more to be desired.

I also wished the movie was shot in letterbox 4:3 as Citizen Kane instead of widescreen...somehow dint fit in well atleast for me!

The Trial of the Chicago 7 (2020)

Intensely edited political drama - huge credits to Alan Baumgarten

[9/10 · 29 April 2021]

The actors, the direction, soundtrack and many of these elements have been uplifted through an amazing editing process and ultimately we have a racey political drama which clearly demarcates what movies stand for and what they can achieve in 2 hours which a tv series can't.

Eventhough I can't corroborate the facts nor any favouritism towards actual events and characters depicted, it was a 100% enjoyable watch :)

Long Shot (2019)

Strong cast, weak plot but overall a fun watch!

[7/10 · 13 March 2021]

Long shot takes the usual romcom route and there are numerous movies I to quit watching in the first 20 minutes because of a completely absurd plot and witless characters, but I am happy I gave this movie a shot beyond that 20 minutes - mainly for Seth and Charlize - their chemistry surprisingly works! While the plot is weak, the pacing is steady and thats what makes this movie work - Highly recommended for a good weekend watch!

The Morning Show (I) (2019– )

Great characters and excellent acting, makes appletv+ worth it

[8/10 · 4 October 2020]

I will admit that this was the first series on appletv+ that I watched to completion, the leads casted were too difficult to pass and I was not wrong! Great performances by everybody including the supporting cast. Whenever somebody feels #metoo is having difficulties staying afloat in a field which has many trending hashtags in 2020, this series will just reassure to make it still relevant.

This is a must watch, not because it depicts gender bias but rather takes the viewers through the fine silver thread of what is moral and what is not. Jennifer Aniston, as one reviewer mentioned that her talent was wasted in Friends for so many years - I couldn't agree more! I don't say FRIENDS was bad, its still a series I binge watch once in a while but I sincerely think she has lots of scope to try various genres and excel in them. Read the plot from the summary, if you are interested in the setting I can assure you its a real fun watch!

Superman: Man of Tomorrow (2020 Video)

An origin story Metropolis deserves, but not the one the fans need it now!

[7/10 · 24 August 2020]

I have not read the original comic from which the movie is adapted from. But this looks like a movie which was stored somewhere in the vault by DC, but just released today owing to lack of new content owing to Covid. It is a fun adaptation overall, it has its moments and the origins part hardly spans for 10 minutes with his parents and then 10 minutes with the obvious Ms.Lane but rest all are relatively new content focussing around Lobo, J'onn and Lex.

We have seen the origin stories a countless times but I think the fans have to just accept that movies like these will keep coming out as franchises like DC and Marvel will continuously want to attract newer generations. For example, cartoons and comics did not have characters using mobile phones and internet - so when this movie had it - The above thought is the exact thing which came to my mind(JUST AN EXAMPLE). So yes, may be the origins story need to be constantly updated for the younger audience, so probably the choice to release the movie.

Worth a watch on weekday evening after work.

The Lift Boy (2019)

Well made movie but a little more tight writing would have made it phenomenal!

[7/10 · 5 May 2020]

I loved the characterisations of every character in the movie and all the actors have performed seamlessly helping viewers easily understand the plight of each character. Excellent direction and screenplay, well researched cinematography, audio mixing, lighting in the apartment hall areas, at Raju's neighbourhood - all of these add to the overall quality of the movie and makes it more approachable to the audience.

I felt there could have been a little tight writing at certain scenes as few scenes kept hitting the cliche notes very hard. Definitely a movie worth your time.

Mortal Kombat Legends: Scorpion's Revenge (2020)

Scorpion's revenge is victorious but does not finish with a fatality

[7/10 · 5 May 2020]

Scorpion is an excellent choice to begin the narrative and the movie opens up to a good premise. Patrick Seitz voice as Scorpion, the quality of animation and the entire presentation comes up as a very interesting package.

The problem of the movie is that its too short, it introduces almost all the important characters of the MK universe but ends with a fizzle as the finale loses in proper execution as its obviously a short animated feature and cannot fully represent all the characters. Its just the problem that the ending was too obvious and probably thats the root of the disappointment for me to bring the score down.

Worth a watch if you like cartoons Animated gore and a must watch if you MK excites you! FIGHT!

Sonic the Hedgehog (2020)

One of the better video game adaptions

[6/10 · 27 April 2020]

This movie would have been easily added into the trashpile of flop video game adaptions if not for Jim Carrey as Dr.Robot, period. I appreciate that the movie makers listened to critics and redrew Sonic the way fans wanted to see in the big screen, so some stars on my rating duly added for that fact.

I sincerely don't understand why a movie on Sonic a platformer video game really had to be made. We all know SEGA and SONIC are legendary but not every legendary character needs to be on the big screen unless there is this epic back story which needs to be told. Resident evil and silent hill had one, definitely not sonic.

My rating of 6 stars is totally justified for a story I actually forgot after I started writing this review for a movie I watched 2 days ago. Good couch popcorn material.

Spenser Confidential (2020)

Fun at most parts but easily forgettable plot and relies on cliches

[7/10 · 6 March 2020]

Good cop put in lock up for 5 years, comes out to witness foulplay with a police chief getting assassinated and an innocent cop getting framed. Mark wahlberg steps up and become spenser confidential.

Its not bad, its a fun ride. But you are not missing anything if you dont watch the movie. Capiche?

Kahaani (2012)

An 8 because 80% of the movie is crafted so well

[8/10 · 6 March 2020]

Let me get off with the thing which was a little sore, the ending is a little cliched. Of course reading this might put you off but I wont say its an obvious ending but just a cliched one. So its still definitely a wonderful movie until the end and keeps you hooked throughout.

So now lets get with the positives, the way the screenplay works is masterclass and some extremely opportunistic cinematography using Kolkata immerses the audience to the world the protagonist thrives in.

Vidya Balan plays a tamilian married to a bengali who has gone missing on his Indian visit from London. Both are software engineers/ethical hackers and implied that this commonality has brought them together. She is pregnant but comes to India in search of her husband. This is the premise and what follows is a showcase of excellent characterizations, drama and fine film making.

I thoroughly enjoyed the movie and is a shinning example of how female actors like Vidya balan, Alia bhatt,Kangana ranaut have helped save the bollywood industry.

Blended (2014)

Let it run at home and then cook or browse your laptop! Its still fun!

[6/10 · 25 February 2020]

Looking to get satisfaction of watching a movie while doing your routine work? Here is Blended. It is a fun movie and forgettable movie, Adam Sandler and Drew Barrymore work up a good chemistry and prove they are nothing short of veterans for genres like this. It is just that the over usage of feel goodness and non reality moments which just brought down the overall quality of content this movie could deliver. Just another romcom with some scenes probably shot in Africa where most of the comic relief happens. 10/10 I will forget the movie name the next month. Watched it on Netflix.

Terra (2015 TV Movie)

I wish more people watch and review documentaries like this!

[9/10 · 20 February 2020]

Opens your eyes and preaches you to treat every life on earth with respect, cause these organisms/animals helped homo-sapiens to evolve. It is time we realize and start being grateful and stop them devolve.

Available at 4K in Netflix. Watch it at your own pace and take sometime to reflect, it does not tell you what to do - be vegan or recycle properly or any of it. But it asks you to respect the ecosystem, which opens millions of ways we could give back to the home we call planet earth.

P.S. The reason behind my review heading - At the time of writing,there were 5 reviews for this documentary which was released in 2015! :/

Daughters of Destiny (2017– )

A well crafted documentary series but undeniably a cheap attempt to spread Christianity which could leave you sore :(

[5/10 · 30 September 2018]

The 5 stars is for how the documentary was made. I give it a 5/5. It is honest, down to the bones, extremely detailed and as a viewer was happy to see people helping their kind. It is definitely a positive documentary to follow, no doubt about it. The children have been very co-operative to the documentary makers and I hope they made it well to support their family and Shanti Bhavan.

Now here is the downside, I am not against Christianity or any religion for that matter. But what I don't believe in is inclining to one religion can offer them better redemption which is what this movie tries to tell you subtly. The primary students chosen for the film all are Christians (there are scenes of worship) and they are ultimately coached and sent to Christian institutions(Could also be because the institution offers scholarship because they are Christians, So not going to judge here).

My problem is I appreciate good documentaries and it pisses me off when platforms like these are used to spread religion. If they do want to attract donors who are Christians then the filmmakers could have openly added it on the disclaimer instead of saying that this documentary does not side with any religion, which is just on contrary.

The bottomline is Shanti Bhavan - 10, Christianity advert - 0.

What's Your Number? (2011)

Flick for a lazy Sunday afternoon!

[7/10 · 15 April 2018]

Just another Rom-Com, genuine and funny at most parts and of course ends like every movie of this genre ends(Not a spoiler!). Both the stars have played their parts well and overall a good entertainer with not so cringy one liners and stereotypes. There are some few peppy pop songs from the era the movie is from, but I wish there had been some complementing background score, which is more a miss than a hit. I wish the director had put some effort to go off the track in few parts of the movie but had decided to walk only in the path already taken, playing safe. Definitely a movie you would forget watching in 6 months, but well worthy of spending 2 hours on a lazy Sunday afternoon!

The Mummy (2017)

Hollywood please stahp!

[2/10 · 8 June 2017]

There are a few times, where I would want to rush out of the cinema hall to write a review to save the souls who might want to watch it and The Mummy provides a platform to me on that sense, I am honored. All hopes were lost when the trailer was out and what a wonderful movie it could have been! With two powerful actors Tom Cruise and Russell Crowe, this movie falls just short in being a sharknado without the intention on being one! I still had hopes during various parts of the movie. For instance the opening part when Cruise is seen running firing his SCAR rifle in a desert backdrop, could it be an Uncharted(Playstation) like adventure? - No! Okay then come the pyramids, yaaay...wait is that some bad CGI? I mean they are making a 'Mummy' Movie and cant they put together at least a proper pyramids setting?! Russel Crowe, Yay...Dr.Jekyll,Yay...but wait you swapped his role from being hideous with an overweight McDonalds customer asking to choose his happy meal toy!? The CGI was very impressive - all cast in the movie were CGI which looked sooooo real, the soundtrack reminded me of 1 million action movies which releases every year made in Hollywood for audiences abroad, Tom Cruise's acting moment was when he flies around inside a jet about to crash..it was more like an extended cut with CTRL+C and CTRL+V. I can say in a heartbeat that this is definitely my favorite movie this year, OK that was just gas on my chest...Nevermind - Don't you ever consider watching this, the movie will suck your happiness like a demontor with Tom Cruise like cute face.Annabelle wallis is cute, so 2 stars.

An American in Madras (2013)

Honored to write the first review of this wonderful documentary!

[10/10 · 23 May 2017]

There are 2 ways a documentary could fail! There are those which have a catchy title which drive down a sense on what the content it could offer, but not end up fulfilling those expectations and then there are those which have an obscure title and the documentary itself ends up being obscurer featuring a non-gripping narrative which loses its viewer half-way through. "An American in Madras" picks option 2, turns it a 180 and makes a victory run!

I am a late 80s born Tamilian and when I finished watching this documentary, I was left with a feeling of pride and also discontent - with my inferior knowledge on Tamil Cinema compared to what I had with those of Western Cinema. We need documentaries like these for all lost art forms(Movies from a bygone era) and Kiran Bali not only shows off his film making skills but also comes of as an historian of great credibility.

Moving onto the review - The documentary portrays the life and successes of Ellis Roderick Dungan in contributing to India/Predominantly Tamil Cinema direction. The story of an American who went globe trotting in his younger days and spent 15 solid years in Tamil Nadu and making a mark as a director at a time where Tamil culture, politics and freedom fights were at the peak is truly elevating to follow and has inspired this documentary.

The movie has lots of stock footage corroborated with references to those by technicians and artists who had worked along with Dungan, which by itself is a mammoth task to achieve and translate to HD! Many interviews have proper English speakers but at the same time Tamil audience can enjoy the remarks by Tamil conversationalists in between which keeps the flavor intact.

Last but very importantly, I would like to thank Netflix to feature this documentary which I mostly would have given a miss considering internet's influence in rather feeding us with cute cat and dog videos! Do check this one out!

The Lego Batman Movie (2017)

Batman steals the show, thank you LEGO!

[8/10 · 19 February 2017]

Yes am a batsy fanboy,but who isn't! This movie is not short of epicness and never goes through a slow pacing throughout its runtime .It does justice to batman fans with numerous references, and then they bring in the eye of mordor and Voldemort - well i'll come to that later. A little background before I get to this movie, Basically batman is a 75 year old character and there are references to pretty much most of the pivotal stunts batman and his gang pulled up all these years including the shark repellent. Also I haven't played LEGO's Batman Video game so am not really sure if the humor or references have been reused in this movie, so please excuse me if I am not able to call that out here in this review. LEGO pretty much owns licenses to all franchises the younger generation crowd has started to bet their money on;DC, marvel, LOTR, HP, STAR WARS to name a few. So they are now free to set the password to batcave as "Iron man sucks" or let godzilla and king kong run around Gotham. The fun in this movie is unlimited but my only qualm is the story was unoriginal and something which doesn't give reasons to be cherished. The film makers could have been bold and spinned off in a new direction but decided to bet on the good old superhero movie formula. A LEGO movie doesn't come out that very often and for this I need to keep back the two stars as the movie dint take the effort to go 'beyond'. Whinning aside, this movie is worth all your money and a must watch film this summer!

The Great Wall (I) (2016)

Brilliant art direction and blue armor clad women in a Soulless colossal movie!

[3/10 · 14 February 2017]

When I watch movies like Great wall, I set out with an open mind to accept the content and art style for what it is. There are B-grade action flicks, with horrible looking CGI which I still ended up liking because they did have this "Story" to tell, a world which the director/screenplay/editor had spent considerable time to craft within the movie. Hence movies like these not necessarily need to have deep budgets but definitely provide an experience which is well worth the viewers time, to give something to ponder once the credits roll.

You have no clue on why Matt Damon and William Dafoe signed up for this movie because they don't qualify to play any notable roles in the movie. This movie justify a need to have a protagonist, even though to an extent the Chinese General - she does a decent job. A Protagonist is as good only as to his enemy or the thing he/she is fighting against, which the movie fails miserably here due to the lack of one. I watched this in IMAX 3D and it did have some close moments like monsters jumping to the screen but none shot in 3D.

The set pieces where beautiful and so is the panoramic shots achieved in certain areas of the movie(air balloons) but overall still couldn't aid in providing the much needed soul to this movie. Soundtrack and mixing was commendable but again lost in translation because of the quality of the movie.

One other flaw was the movie opens with a massive battle in the first 15 mins, and whatever came next became shallow. This was something the director could have revisited. Can recommend a watch only on some home video streaming service. Cheers guys!

Pandorum (2009)

Very Novel and breaking clichés!

[8/10 · 10 February 2017]

The Novelty and cliché breaking concepts will be realized when the movie credits zoom out but it doesn't mean that this movie is out of clichés - because the concept as it is driven by a clichéd story formula. There has been numerous movies which had tried to replicate ALIEN but not even the sequels to ALIEN could justify the masterpiece. Pandorum is a clone of a zombie/aliens movie set in a space ship and hence even though it offers surprises, the audience have seen it all in many movies/series and hence eventually turn out to be the slower parts of this movie. The places where Pandorum shines are the editing, screenplay and casting. There are moments where CGI shows up B-grade quality but is amp-ed with the editing and screen presence of the actors and this definitely sets the bar high for this movie. I watched it on Netflix, years after its release and this movie definitely holds up well after 8 years! Therefore i give it an 8 out of a 10!

Underworld: Blood Wars (2016)

Content equivalent to a TV series and a plot terribly executed messes out what could have been a fun movie!

[6/10 · 15 December 2016]

When there is a mention of Underworld, it puts me back to the scene where Kate Beckinsale stands upon a ledge during a stormy night overlooking the streets...the movie had class, a unique world, a well represented story between Vampires and Lycans(please don't think of Twilight, this is not anywhere as bad as that abomination). The Sequels were quite a dud mainly due to any scene as memorable as the ones from the first, it became quite rinse after that. Blood wars is unfortunately,somewhere in those lines and does nothing to lift the series to any new heights. There are lots of action packed sequences and few twists but to what joy keeps hitting back the viewers and fans alike. The most poorest folks are the ones who haven't watched any of the films of the series that even with the 5 minute primer in the start of blood wars, cant actually relate to the "WAR" at hand. There has been a vast scope on how this movie could have been better - But probably the next sequel could address it(Yes, looks like there will be a sequel!) The movie released in 3D which obviously made the movie more darker, which was such a crazy conversion idea. This is a one time watch while you are playing candy crush or filling excel sheets.