Change Your Image
asardeshpande
Reviews
The Lost City (2022)
Really bad
1.) Very poor adventure - it can hardly be called an adventure film. Theres no treasure and no mystery whatsoever !!
2.) Not remotely funny - pls don't believe any of the reviews here that say it's funny - it's terribly written - looks very forced - like plucking leaches from someone's bare buttocks (yuck) or after Bradd Pitts brains are literally blown off, we see the lead pair mouthing some witty lines that's supposed to funny. It just doesn't work, sorry
3.) Why cast a 60 year Sandra Bullock in the lead role? She looks old, can early see her age despite the cosmetics done to her face. Sorry, it's just so painful to watch her play this damsel in distress.
4.) Danielle Radcliffe, Channing Tatum are bad and Sandra Bullock is just unwatchable. Only Brad Pitt's cameo was somewhat tolerable.
Gadar 2 (2023)
Gadar ek "Musical" - is total garbage
One star for Sunny Deol's vocal chords :)
One star for the legendary hand-pump :)
I can't believe I watched the whole movie and am also wasting time on writing the review ! It's shocking to see such this movie doing well in 2023. Something must be wrong with the people who are calling it a good movie, and most of the positive rating must be fake. It's a musical, by the way, and has more songs than dialogues !
Ameesha is unbearable. Action scenes are so damn silly and the forced patriotism is so laughable, that it suddenly turns into a full blown comedy movie. Towards the end, it says "to be continued...."
Can't wait !!!
Ragnarok (2020)
I feel cheated by S3 - Wish I had the hammer !!
The show starts off well in S1. Even though the action part in a Thor show is very less, it's set up pretty well in the beautiful Nordic village. S2 is a decent follow up on S1 and builds up a pretty solid premise for S3. But alas, after two years in the waiting, S3 comes off as one of the poorest shows you would ever get to watch !! Even with the lack of action you'd expect from a superhero show like Thor's, S1 and S2 had a strong story line and solid character development to keep you invested. But S3 is a disappointment of epic proportions and the ending is just pure garbage !!
Thor just loses it completely in the season and has just one expression throughout, Laurits and his monster story is left half baked. The giants are made to act like puppies and the other Gods are reduced to mere caricatures. Six episodes felt like an eternity as the story goes nowhere, and then that ridiculous ending ruins the somewhat good bits also.
What on earth were they thinking to give it such a psychological twist ?
Watch it only as a case study to see how overthinking (two years) can ruin a perfectly decent show.....
To the makers - "pls don't sell it as a superhero show" ! - what a shame!!
Carnival Row (2019)
Season1 was excellent, Season2 is dull and too long
After the brilliant season1, had very high hopes for the next one, but found it quite disappointing ! The story in itself is pretty good, but the amount of time spent on the main plot vs. The sub plots is very disproportionate.
I found myself fast forwarding a lot of scenes between the faun and his mistress as it took forever to build up. On the other hand the main plot about the Sparas killings and Tourmaline getting possessed were so under- developed and were so scarce that it really made it boring to watch. Also it's a very long series and instead of 10, they could have easily wrapped it up in 7 or 8 episodes. Nevertheless, it's definitely a one time watch, but season1 was so much better !!!
Vaalvi (2023)
Poetic justice - and how !! am stunned..
I can't believe what I just saw ! Hats off to the writer for even imagining such a script and then the director for pulling it off in such a brilliant manner. I have seen a lot of films/ series based on "dark humour", but the humour element here is blended in so naturally that you will end up in splits in the most impossible of situations ! Again credit to the writing and of course the actors who have done a wonderful job. The first half is an edge of the seat build up towards the plot and the second half is a mad road trip that follows, and I wasn't sure at first where it wud lead to, but the end so unexpected, it will hit you like a brick wall ! And then when the realisation of the subject and the subtle references towards it start sinking in, the respect for the writer / director grows even bigger !! Won't reveal much. Just go & watch this masterpiece !
Ancient Apocalypse (2022)
Thought provoking, but felt incomplete
I am a big follower of Graham Hancock and have seen a lot of his videos on Youtube and was therefore really excited for this new series on Netflix.
I did enjoy it, and Graham Hancock does blend in enough evidences to support his theories about the ancient past and the reset of the human civilization around 12,800 years ago.
However, having seen his works before on YouTube, I was really disappointed that Egypt was not touched upon at all. Also, there are ample evidences of ancient history & civilization in India and China with tonnes of ancient texts and scriptures that were not mentioned at all. These 8 episodes only referenced sites in America's and Europe were ancient history is not as profound as it is in India, China or Egypt... Neither were any biblical references made to the cataclysmic flood.
Hope the next season (if any) touches upon them !!!
Laal Singh Chaddha (2022)
Decent movie ruined by Aamirs' PK on extreme steroids
I have been a huge fan of Aamir Khan right from his first film and always thought he's one actor who's a class apart from the rest ! And if there was one Bollywood actor who could match Tom Hanks, it was Aamir !!!
..... And then I saw Laal Singh Chaddha, and am still wondering if this is the same Aamir Khan that we'd grown to respect so much.
The movie is a very respectable adaptation of the iconic Forrest Gump against an "Indian" context & social backdrop with the right amount of humour and emotion, while still retaining all the "essential" elements from the original film which made it so memorable in the first place.
So, what went so wrong ??
- Aamir's potrayal as Laal !! Aamir is so damn bad that he's single handedly ruined the entire film with his over the top "PK on extreme steroids" acting - Tom Hanks will be hugely insulted if he were to watch it ! Why Aamir, when you are copying all the good elements from the original, why not copy the best part also, which was Tom Hanks' potrayal of Forrest ? Forrest Gump was not stupid or a retard in any way, but just different from the rest ! Aamir's Laal is a complete joke on the other hand - even real mentally challenged people don't behave like that! The young kid who played Laal was more believable than Aamir ! Kareena is decent but looks way too old - nevertheless Aamir makes sure the little chemistry they have between them falls completely flat ! Laal + Rupa = thandaa where Forrest + Jenny hit it out of the park and is probably still one of the most likeable, caring and delicate relationships ever depicted on screen. The choice of name 'Rupa' and the reason behind it was cheap humour, but still forgivable compared to Aamir's acting.
All the other actors have done a good job though - especially Mona Singh and the woman opposite Aamir in the train. And the SRK pun was really funny!!
At the end of it though - If there was ever a movie destroyed by its lead actor, Laal Singh Chaddha would be right at the very top of that list, thanks to Aamir !!!
Gargi (2022)
Not Believable - ending added just for shock value
1. The 60 yr old father of two daughters who's shown to be very respectable and liked by all cannot rape a 9 year old who has already been raped and is lying in a pool of blood ! And then he himself carries her to her home and suggests taking her to the hospital.
And he also happens to be the watchman of the building which means the victim knows him well - and still he rapes her !!! This is not at all believable - This ending was added just for shock value as it has become customary nowadays to add some "twist" in the end.
2. I refuse to believe that a "gang" rape of a 9 year old could be "planned in advance". For an adult girl or woman, yes it can be, but for a 9 year old kid, NO ! At best, one person can plan raping a kid, but 5 suggests the society must be full of psychopaths !!
Such crimes are usually committed "on the spot" under the influence of drugs or alcohol.
Also doing that "on the stairs" of a building by 5 individuals is again not believable even though it's said the stairs are not frequented by many. One person can do it and get away, but 5 people doing it in broad daylight must need a tremendous amount of luck !!
So overall this movie just didn't work for me, despite the good acting and the good premise. Sorry the film makers must do some analysis into such crimes before putting up such stories. And that ridiculous twist at the end was completely unnecessary!
Karthikeya 2 (2022)
Half Baked film - needed more research
Don't fall for the high ratings here as they are just for Hinduism and Lord Krishna around which the story is built - I really hope film makers use make more movies around our rich mythology (or history if proven conclusively) and pick up lesser known stories and events like these from the Puraanas, Vedas, etc to build mystery & fantasy movies around it.
This movie tries to do that but fails - the story starts on a promising note, but falls apart very soon after - the mystery elements unfold far too easily, the villian and the doomsday theory is very flimsy and laughable. The 'telescope' thing had zero mystery. Anupam Khers cameo was pointless and does nothing to connect science and mythology. The acting overall is just about passable and the hero's ability to tame the snakes is not digestable - they do try to give some justification for it, but it's very half baked, just like the movie in general. I think some better reasearch would have done wonders to this film as both the mythology ('history') and the science angle fail to convince as there are no facts given and the audiences are just supposed to believe everything per se.
(The discovery of submerged Dwarka, archeological artefacts recovered from Mahabharat, etc could have been used to make it more convincing). The VFX is both good and bad, the landscapes are surprisingly good given the budget of this film but then u don't watch a film for the landscapes do you (watch discovery channel instead) !
Takes the mystery elements from Indiana Jones, National Treasure and Da Vinci Code which is not a bad thing (in this story context of course).
Very generous 5 stars from me for the 'concept' alone.
Bhool Bhulaiyaa 2 (2022)
Don't fall for the fake reviews
This is a BAD movie ! We fell prey to the ratings and the false reviews and wasted 2.5 hours on this dumb movie... 2 stars for the following -
1. The comedy scene where the deaf person starts hearing the minutest of things. Those 2 minutes were the only saving grace in this otherwise disaster.
2. The end twist is quite interesting (as a concept), but has been terribly executed.
A better director could have brought out so much more out it overall - but alas !!
Well, you have been WARNED :)
Superman & Lois (2021)
Good family watch
Enjoyed the series with my family. Has an interesting concept and is beautifully shot. The story is quite good and the pacing does hold your interest
The only things that stuck out were -
1. Superman is beaten by everybody
2. Lois' acting in the emotional scenes is bad.
3. Lois doesn't play as prominent a role as superman or her sons to justify her name in the title.
These are just nitpickings really and can be easily overlooked. It's a fun watch on the whole.
Welcome Home (2020)
India's Texas Chainsaw Massacre
Still can't believe what I just saw. Starts a bit slow but becomes relentless after that. Brilliant cinematography and bgm. And the actors just nailed it - being unknown also worked well.
One of the best films of the year so far...
Disclaimer - It's is not for the faint hearted !!
The end was a bit unreal, though justified.
Don't miss it.
Whitechapel (2009)
Brilliant, but too short
I really enjoyed watching the show and while the serial killer stories are really very interesting, the running time of each of those is too short. The details could have been elaborated more rather than just running through it, which made it a bit difficult to follow also. The series had all the ingredients to make it an epic, but each story should have had atleast 4 to 5 episodes to savour it fully.
Grahan (2021)
Who's giving such high ratings?
This is one terribly boring show which has been dragged on to death. It's so damn slow that it feels like happening in super slow mo. There is zero police investigation to hold on your interest. And the sad background music is so repetitive, it gets on your nerves.
Samantar (2020)
Unique story but handled too heavily
The series has a very interesting concept - very different. Kudos for that.
However the execution could have been better ,more sutle - it's all very hyper all the time unnecessarily, to a point where it feels forced. They could have toned it down a bit - kept it normal. Also, the dialogs (dubbing) could have been much better.
Looking forward to season two.
Aspirants (2021)
Real Masterpiece
This is the one of the very best shows you'll get to see - clean, to the point, and with the heart in the right place. The makers of TVF need bigger and better advertising - all their shows are brilliant, rich in content and much better than other platforms, but somehow they are not getting as much recognition as they deserve. Huge fan guys - hope u can keep up the good work.
Roohi (2021)
Can we have negative ratings pls?
Not worth writing anything else.
What were they even thinking?
..
Irada (2017)
Great plot - terrible execution
This could have been a such a good drama thriller... but the direction and screenplay is so damn poor, it leaves a bad taste. Actors are top grade, dialogues are also good but there is zero character build up and the scenes have no continuity whatsoever..u just don't care what's going on. In short it's good story but terrible story telling.. And what are songs doing in such a movie?
Drishyam 2 (2021)
Climax Exceeds Expectations- Brilliant!!
This has to be one of the best sequels to have come out - easily on par with Dark Knight and Godfather and it definitely deserves international acclaim !!
The original movie in itself, was completely satisfying & a rich experience, and one did not really expect any sequel for it. But boy, what we are treated with here actually elevates the original and the two movies together takes it to the next level.
The first half takes a bit of time to build up and just when u start thinking 'is anything ever going to happen', it suddenly goes into such an over-drive that you just can't relax for moment. That's when u realise that the slow build-up was deliberate and designed to connect all the dots in the latter half - very clever !
And then comes the climax, and WHAT A CLIMAX IT IS- just when u start to think the story is coming to a well deserved and a logical end, it suddenly goes one level above and while u r still deciphering that brilliance, it again goes up a notch. So, it not just exceeds your expectations, it goes over & beyond that.
While the acting and direction is right from the top drawer, it's the 'writing' (story) that takes the cake. You will be left in sheer disbelief, that's how good it is - Hats off to it !!
Am still in awe !!!
Tandav (2021)
Worth a watch 🙂
Can't understand why so many negative reviews.. the show is quite interesting and keeps you hooked on right till the end. All the twists and turns are well thought of and the acting is pretty solid. Can't wait for S2.
On the negative side, the background score cud have been toned down - it's unnecessarily high intensity every scene.
And the dialogues could have been more civilized - Dimple (PM) mouthing cuss words like chu___ sounds outright disgusting.
JL50 (2020)
Good concept - shoddy execution
It's actually a very low budget 'movie' which for some reason has been broken down into 4 parts as a web series - don't know why it wasn't released as a movie instead.
Anyways, the premise is very interesting and a better screen play would have done wonders.
Instead what we get is a slow, half baked story that never really takes off. Acting is ok, but apart from Abhay, others have hardly any screen time.. the story demanded a little more scientific background, a little more drama, a better climax, slicker screen-play and a bit of situational humour. The concept was brilliant but it needed someone of the calibre of a Speilberg or Nolan to pull it off. I understand they were working on a low budget, but they cud have done so much more even within that.
Bandish Bandits (2020)
Brilliant show
This is a brilliant show that has been centred around music. Hats off to the creators.
The music is top notch and the actors have done complete justice to the script by bringing it to life.
The screen play is excellent too and doesn't let off at any time. And the visual backdrop is just perfect.
Wished the Sangeet samrat competition in the end lasted a bit longer. It reminded me of the brilliant Marathi movie 'Katyaar Kalijat Ghusli'
Also, another minor gripe is that in a show like this, the profanity level could have kept down or avoided completely and it wouldn't have diluted the impact at all. Anyways, it's become a trend nowadays (just like the mandatory dance item number in films). Hmm. Unfortunate!
Anyways, really looking forward for Season2.
(Though S1 doesn't leave many loose ends)
Lootcase (2020)
Dark comedy - Right up there
This is easily the best movie I have seen for a while. The story isn't something we haven't seen before, but the execution is absolutely brilliant. The screenplay is fantastic and the actors take it to the next level - absolutely loved Vijay Raaz and Gajraj Rao's acting and dialogs.
Only thing that bothered me was the casting of Kunal Khemu - don't get me wrong, he's done a great job, done everything asked of him, but the character demanded someone more ordinary & confused looking I thought. It took a while to see past Khemu and into the actual character - all others just fitted in naturally.
Great movie overall - not to be missed
Samantar (2020)
Unique story but handled too heavily
The series has a very interesting concept - very different. Kudos for that.
However the execution could have been better ,more sutle - it's all very hyper all the time unnecessarily, to a point where it feels forced. They could have toned it down a bit - kept it normal. Also, the dialogs (dubbing) could have been much better.
Looking forward to season two.
Asur: Welcome to Your Dark Side (2020)
Felt half baked
It starts of brilliantly, has an overall interesting premise and story.
But many significant things get left answered and overlooked. CBI could have been depicted better -
1.) In the first 5 mins itself when the first murder happens we see the severed finger in the culprit's hands. How on earth did the CBI miss that in establishing the identity of the killer?
2.) The significance of the mask is unexplained
3.) The killer's motive doesn't come off strongly - fast tracking Kaliyug's end by bring on Kalika. what is that exactly? The mythology angle should have been explained better so that we can understand his mind which we are told is extra ordinary. But how exactly? Also how does he get so many followers to believe in it?
Oh..it feels such a missed opportunity - they should have added a couple of more episodes as it all felt wrapped up hastitly...