Chandru2206J Reviews

Jack Reacher (2012)

It's a pretty good movie, but not perfect.

[7/10 · 21 May 2024]

The film undoubtedly presents a more compelling storyline than the Mission Impossible movies, even without the extravagant stunts and action sequences. It thoroughly captivated my attention. It's commendable that the film prioritized the story over unnecessary action sequences with over-the-top stunts and explosions. While the characters were decent, Rosamund Pike and Alexia Fast overacted, rendering their characters artificial and uneasy around Jack Reacher.

A significant flaw in the film is the scene where Jack Reacher is chased by the police. He abandons his car, which continues to run for a few meters, and attempts to blend in with the crowd at the bus stop. The bystanders merely watch the spectacle as if it were just another ordinary day, doing nothing as Jack evades the police. A stranger even offers Reacher his cap and covers him, despite not knowing whether he is innocent or a criminal.

Towards the climax of the movie, the true identity of the killer and his boss is revealed, and Jack takes matters into his own hands, eliminating them due to the lack of concrete evidence against the boss. However, the film fails to address the accountability of the construction company that hired the boss to orchestrate the chaos. They are conveniently left behind as they were not the reason for Jack's emergence from hiding for two years.

Despite its flaws, the film serves as a decent pastime. I did not read the book from which the movie was adapted. These are my thoughts just on the movie.

Ninja Kamui (2024– )

Undeniably interesting but gets boring at certain points

[7/10 · 18 May 2024]

This anime is about a Rogue Ninja who breaks his code for a simple family life, but his past catches up with him. This one line of the story may not look fascinating but the narration does.

The series kicked off as interesting as each episode progressed, but the middle episodes were getting boring, and the next episodes raised my interest and again it got down by the climax.

Emma Samanda's portrayal was pretty annoying initially, but her backstory was good for her present actions. Yet, her death was not that impactful to me. The bond between Zai and Hiden was built well enough, that it gave them a good arc as they became nemesis from being friends.

There is a dilemma in the series as sometimes the characters use their secret art ninja techniques to fight and sometimes they use exoskeleton suits. That felt like a contradiction to me.

They should have gone with the secret ninja art combat style alone, or with the futuristic ninjas who adopted exoskeleton suits for combat. In my opinion, combining both ideas was not a good approach.

Fight sequences were fast-paced but ended too fast too. The Animation was good except for the exoskeleton suits. The music was as intense and good as the scenes required.

In conclusion, if they worked on the story even more they could have avoided the slowdown in some episodes. Anyway, I enjoyed it at certain points. I would suggest to watch this anime.

Ahsoka (2023– )

Not exceptional, but it is engaging and considerable

[7/10 · 17 May 2024]

This series is about Ahsoka trying to locate and destroy a map which is key to finding where Imperial Admiral Thrawn has been banished and ensuring he doesn't return. Though it's not presented quite well, this is a good plot for a series.

Ahsoka pursues her quest with her ex-apprentice Sabine, whom she didn't get along with. This gives an opening to an arc between Ahsoka and Sabine which was not handle well in my opinion. They both need to talk more rather than stay awkwardly silent to each other.

Huyang, Ahsoka's assistant Robot often felt like an old guy preaching advice nonstop. In 2nd episode, the group of Imperial followers got arrested for plotting and working against the republic from the inside, but Senator Xiono was not convinced that imperial followers plotting to bring Thrawn back. That's not convincing.

I can not understand why Ezra refuses a weapon Sabine offers to fight a lot of Imperial soldiers but is ready to fight them with bare hands with the Jedi's force just because the weapons are not of his own. Later he fights with the light saber that he created on his own. What's the point they are trying to convince here?

What's the reason for trying to portray Anakin Skywalker as a good guy in some scenes of this show?

It is a decent Star Wars story, and the narrative was engaging as I binge-watched the whole season. It has some flaws and neglects some logic. But I anticipate the following season.

Rick and Morty (2013– )

Good animated show

[8/10 · 15 May 2024]

It is an excellent adult animated show. The characters, Rick and Morty are impressively well-developed, and the show's sci-fi comedy presentation is absolutely fantastic.

The crazy other dimensions and universe are brilliantly set up to tell incredibly interesting and fun stories. The animation is truly unique and top-notch. I thoroughly enjoyed the first three seasons, but as the fourth season progressed, the content quality noticeably decreased, and some episodes felt disappointingly flat, especially the ones where Rick didn't have his portal gun.

However, some episodes were outstanding and mind-blowing. Other characters were also impressively well-written, with flaws and strengths that added depth to the stories. I binge-watched this show, and it was undeniably worth it.

Kung Fu Panda 4 (2024)

it's decent, but not quite what I was expecting

[6/10 · 6 May 2024]

This movie is about the Dragon warrior seeking his new successor. However, in my opinion, Po didn't even attain Shifu's wisdom, but expecting him to attain Master Oogway's wisdom as a spiritual leader, felt too soon.

Tai Lung's return creates a mystery, and it could have been an epic rematch, but the mystery was broken in the first 20 minutes. When Zhen says that she's the only person who can lead Po to the Chameleon, it gives away that she is on the Chameleon's side.

The bond between Po and Zhen was not built enough to feel her betrayal. Zhen has been working for The Chameleon, and she would have seen or known how much worse the Chameleon would be with her enemies or targets. But suddenly, she sympathizes with Po, and changing her heart and helping him is not well enough (at least for me).

The Chameleon must be well-developed like Lord Shen, but unfortunately, she lacks backstory unlike him. She steals powers from kung fu warriors like General Kai from the previous movie, but the motivation is different. I would say the Chameleon is the villain portrayed weakly in this franchise.

Shifu was not used much like in previous movies, and the absence of the Furious Five in the story is a huge drawback. For me, some of the humor scenes were flat, especially with the Chameleon.

The characters were poorly developed, and the animation was great. Still, it's a decent movie, but not what I expected.

Apocalypto (2006)

Good Movie

[8/10 · 3 May 2024]

Apocalypto(2006)This movie is about slavery and human sacrifice that occurred in Mesoamerica ages ago. Guess what? The same thing happened in many regions around the world throughout history. I've read some reviews and can't understand why people criticized this movie.

In the past, some idiots believed in superstitions and killed people in the name of sacrifice to God or to avoid an omen or for speaking against their beliefs, but these kinds of idiots existed in every culture or religion around the world in the past.

Regarding the movie, it is good and engaging from start to finish. The conflicts faced by Jaguar Paw were built up well and kept me wondering how he would overcome them.

The foreshadowing of what was going to happen to the slavers and seeing it unfold was well done. The portrayal of the villain and his goons made me feel when the retaliation would happen. That's how a villain should be portrayed, and that's what I miss in some recent movies.

The cinematography and music were excellent. The humor in the beginning was also good. In the climax, when Jaguar Paw reached the beach and saw the ocean, I guessed that he would see the invaders there, likewise, Spaniards were reaching the shore in boats from their ships.

In conclusion, I enjoyed this movie very much and I recommend everyone to watch it. Some reviews mentioned that this movie is too brutal, but trust me, I have watched some brutal and violent movies, and in comparison, this movie has nothing.

The Girl in the Spider's Web (2018)

A Decent Action Movie

[6/10 · 2 May 2024]

This movie is about two daughters, Lisbeth and Camilla, of a mob boss who is an abusive father and a pervert. While Lisbeth escapes, Camilla decides to stay with her father.

Lisbeth becomes a vigilante hacker who saves innocent women from their abusive husbands. She receives a job from a guy who invented the software to hack missiles online and decides to prevent it from the wrong hands.

Hacking the U. S. government server from another continent is how the movie portrays Lisbeth as a great hacker, by showing how bad the government's security is. But when she saves a woman from her husband, she doesn't cover her tracks and the media telecasts her real name. In one scene, she is stupid enough to blow her cover and in the next scene, she is great enough to hack any country server from her home. That's not impressive at all.

The American, Needham from whom Lisbeth stole the software comes alone to Sweden to retrieve what he lost. Why he didn't bring any crew or squad? Even though he says he came on a vacation visa, why can't he bring a crew on a vacation visa and do a secret operation? And he gets arrested by the Sweden government and needs to be saved by Lisbeth, whom he chases. I mean what kind of portrayal is this?

Sweden's government wants to get hold of the software because they are peaceful people and don't have any intention of going to war, unlike the U. S. government. But they are stupid enough to hire the mobsters called the Spiders to do the job, who have intentions of mass destruction.

The plot twist reveals that the boss of these mobsters is Lisbeth's sister, Camilla, who wants to claim the software for herself instead of respecting the deal with the Swedish government, just as I expected.

When Lisbeth finally confronts Camilla, Camilla accuses Lisbeth of saving innocent women but leaving her with their abusive father and never coming back for her. But here's the problem: when Lisbeth left, she asked Camilla to come with her. However, Camilla chose their abusive father over Lisbeth. Camilla accuses her sister of her own stupid decision and expects Lisbeth to feel guilty about it.

The characters were developed poorly. The cinematography was good and the music was decent.

Overall, you can still watch this movie to pass the time by ignoring its logical mistakes and crappy scenes. I know nothing about the book; these are just my thoughts on the movie.

The Silence of the Lambs (1991)

Excellent Thriller Movie

[8/10 · 30 April 2024]

The story revolves around an FBI Trainee who is in pursuit of finding a Serial Killer with the help of another convicted Serial Killer.

This movie is engaging scene by scene. I didn't get bored in any of the scenes. It is good that this movie holds my attention and builds suspense throughout.

The actors did a good job, nothing more or less than required. Especially Anthony Hopkins did great in his role. Terror built on the villain was enough to know he was notorious. Some scenes gave the feel of watching a horror movie, especially in the climax.

I enjoyed this movie. It is a must-watch psycho-thriller movie.

Rebel Moon - Part Two: The Scargiver (2024)

It's a good movie, better than the first one.

[8/10 · 27 April 2024]

As a Synder fan, I wasn't satisfied with Rebel Moon Part 1. However, this sequel has more than made up for its predecessor's shortcomings, and I enjoyed it immensely. Instead of two separate films, Zack should have made a 3+ hours-long movie.

Despite the predictable story, it still manages to captivate me. The characters' backstories are well-developed, giving them a strong motivation to fight for Veldt. However, the robot "James" lacks any meaningful arc explaining his peculiar attire. Nonetheless, his presence as a spectator over the village reminded me of Ephialtes from 300 and as a superhero during the battle.

Zack's slow-motion effects may be slightly overused and the cinematography is decent in comparison to his other works.

In my opinion, if Lucasfilm had allowed Zack to make these films under the Star Wars franchise, they would have been better spin-offs. There would have been no need to waste time creating worlds and cultures for this story to be made as films.

Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed this movie and would recommend it without hesitation. I'm eagerly anticipating seeing it become a franchise.

Ratings for this movie seems unfair.

Baby Driver (2017)

Decent heist movie

[7/10 · 14 April 2024]

The story is about Miles who drives for robberies. It is revealed that he owes a debt to a man who plans robberies, but this backstory is not good enough to connect with.

The protagonist is portrayed as hyperactive but not very talkative, which creates a contradiction and makes it difficult to relate to him. Despite this, the other characters in the movie are decently presented. The love scenes are enjoyable but also a bit absurd. Debra, who is madly in love with Miles, is willing to risk everything for him after only going on a date and two diner meetings, even after witnessing him commit a murder.

The boss, who initially wants to exploit Miles even after he pays what he owes, suddenly has a change of heart and decides to save the lovebirds from a rival gang just because it reminds him of his own past love. This sudden shift in character motivation is a bit hard to believe.

Overall, the movie is decent but has some stupid scenes and absurdity. It's worth watching once.

Sacred Games (2018–2019)

Sartaj's incompetence and too much of Gaitonde

[5/10 · 14 April 2024]

This show must be named "Gaitonde" because it clings more to the storyline of how Gaitonde evolved from a poor boy into a gangster and later became a puppet for others.

Gaitonde doesn't need that much of a story and character build. The villain and reason behind destroying Mumbai was only revealed in 2nd season. Then what's the point of 1st season at all?

I feel this story doesn't need 2 seasons in the first place instead it can be shortened and build suspense enough.

After watching 1st season, I lost interest and watched it just to finish the show. The subplots were not treated well.

The Sartaj is not capable of handling anything, everything he is involved in goes haywire. He failed the actress who spied for him, katekar' wife who asked him to talk sense to her son, and didn't bring any criminals to justice other than killing them in a subplot in where Katekar died.

At least Sartaj should have dismantled the bomb, I would be glad finally he did one good job in the series instead the makers decided to give an open-ended. "Waare waah!" What a climax! The whole plot of the series is about stopping the destruction, how it can be left open-ended? I think it's a bad choice of setting the climax.

Some characters are there just for sex scenes (which is too much and unnecessary) and the makers tried to portray them like they are required to give some plot twist and emotional impact on Gaitonde which felt like nothing to me while watching.

The villain doing massive destruction just because his father thought, believed, and raised him that he is some God's avatar (like all the gurus who fool the people in reality) who guides his followers through the apocalypse to reach a new world. For me, this motive is not enough for a villain.

The series is full of flaws and could have been better. Not up to the hype built on this show.

The Dictator (2012)

One of the funniest I have seen

[8/10 · 10 April 2024]

I found the movie to be an excellent portrayal of a dictator in a humorous manner, and I thoroughly enjoyed it from beginning to end. Despite the outdated plot, the film was still presented in an enjoyable fashion.

The actors performed exceptionally well, and the jokes were hilarious. Though some may find them offensive, every scene was built up perfectly. However, there were not enough conflicts for the protagonist to overcome and regain his position, which left me feeling dissatisfied.

Furthermore, the climax of the movie was abrupt and could have been better. It lacked the necessary madness, chaos, and excitement that would have made it more memorable.

The movie's runtime was perfect, not too long or too short, and overall, I thoroughly enjoyed it and highly recommend it.

Spiderhead (2022)

Could have been better

[6/10 · 24 March 2024]

The plot of a pharmaceutical company testing its new experiment on prisoners sounded great, but the movie failed to deliver. Despite the actors' excellent performance, especially Chris Hemsworth's role outside of action movies, the film lacked conflict and failed to build tension between the prisoners and the company.

The security measures in the facility were inadequate, as evidenced by the two prisoners' effortless escape. The villain was not menacing in the slightest and was easily overpowered by the hero. The climax of the movie was underwhelming, lacking any real obstacles for the hero to overcome.

The characters were poorly designed, with no depth or development. While the movie was not boring throughout, there were certainly moments where it dragged.

Overall, the movie is only worth watching once to pass the time.

Berlin (2023– )

Nothing like Money Heist

[6/10 · 24 March 2024]

This series was a huge letdown, as it lacked the thrill and action of Money Heist or any other heist movies or shows. Despite my expectations, it was just a mundane love drama with a heist theme.

Berlin, the unpredictable and unforgiving character in Money Heist, was reduced to a mere puppet of his lover in this series, making it an utter failure as a spin-off of the original show.

The team members' problematic love life, which only created obstacles in their mission, made the series even more uninteresting to me.

In conclusion, this series is a complete disappointment, and I would not recommend it to anyone looking for an exciting heist series.

Psycho-Pass: Providence (2023)

Nothing different from previous movies

[7/10 · 23 March 2024]

The movie was a mere replica of its previous movies and shows. The villains' motives were the same as always, aiming to construct a better world and surpass the Sibyl system.

The protagonist, as usual, came in and saved the day. It was nothing more than a typical story that had already been told in earlier movies.

Although the animation was impressive, and the background score was fantastic, there was nothing particularly noteworthy about this film compared to other movies in the Psycho-Pass series.

For those who are new to Psycho-Pass, it is crucial to watch the previous movies and shows to comprehend some of the characters, and you might find it to be a repetitive story, as I did.

To conclude, the movie provided a decent experience, but it lacked originality and depth. I would recommend watching it once but don't expect anything out of the ordinary from previous movies and series.

Seven Samurai (1954)

Not need to be that long

[6/10 · 14 March 2024]

The plot of the movie was perfect for setting action sequences. However, due to the time period the movie was made, I wasn't expecting it to be as stunning as later action movies.

The movie was slow and silent for most of its duration. It would have been better if they had trimmed many scenes, as the movie is 3 1/2 hours long. It's not worth watching a movie that has been stretched out for no reason.

The bandits didn't feel threatening enough because they were shown in the first scene and then not again until 2 1/2 hours later which has only the scenes of recruitment of the samurais and the villagers getting trained.

This movie might have been good for its intended audience and filmmakers at the time, but it's not relevant for this cinema era, or at least not for me.

Merry Christmas (2024)

Slow but good

[7/10 · 12 March 2024]

This movie starts as a romance and ends as a thriller. The story was good and the scenes too. The movie gets into the actual story after 45 minutes. The interaction between Albert and Maria was good, but it could have been shorter.

The movie was slow-paced but intriguing most of the time but tested me at some points. It would be wise to trim some scenes and make it 2 hrs film or build some suspense and story around the murder.

Vijay Sethupathi and Katrina Kaif did a great job on this film. I watched the Tamil version of the movie, Tamil casting was good too. The dubbing and dialogues are also impressive.

At some point, I think there was no clear explanation of Maria's reason of her action.

The ending of the movie was good too.

Anweshippin Kandethum (2024)

Good suspense thriller

[8/10 · 11 March 2024]

I highly recommend watching this movie as it surpassed my expectations. It consists of two episodes of murder mysteries, with the first story being decent, but the second one was truly intriguing. Every scene was engaging, and none of them felt unnecessary. The music was used only in the necessary parts of the film.

The twists and turns were executed brilliantly, but the only drawback in the first story was that the killer was introduced only when the hero finalized the suspect. It would have been better if the killer were introduced earlier, resulting in a massive revelation.

The actors did an excellent job, especially Tovino Thomas, who portrayed a subtle character, which is quite different from his usual cheerful and fun roles in his previous films I watched. Overall, I can assure you that this movie will not disappoint, and you should definitely give it a watch.

Obi-Wan Kenobi (2022)

Good and Entertaining

[8/10 · 11 March 2024]

The Obi-Wan Kenobi series turned out to be quite different from what I had expected. Instead of exploring Kenobi's other adventures during his time in hiding, the show focuses on how he tries to save Luke and Leia from the clutches of the Empire and Darth Vader.

However, the series fails to build up the suspense of "Will something happen to both of them" since we already know that they will grow up and fight the Empire. This makes me wonder why the producers didn't opt for a different storyline.

Despite this, I must say that I thoroughly enjoyed watching the show. I binge-watched it in a single sitting and found the VFX and cinematography to be quite impressive. The actors have done an excellent job as well.

Overall, I would highly recommend this series to anyone looking for a perfect time-killer.

Goodfellas (1990)

Typical gangster movie

[6/10 · 9 March 2024]

In my opinion, the movie lacked uniqueness and became tedious at certain points, as it seemed to be another typical gangster story - nothing out of the ordinary.

However, I did appreciate the decent cinematography and the actors' commendable performance.

As an avid watcher of gangster crime thrillers, I found this movie to be quite similar to others in the genre, with nothing exceptional or distinctive about it. Additionally, the slow pace of the film tested my patience, and the frequent voiceovers became quite irksome.

Overall, I felt that this movie was overhyped and did not live up to my expectations. It could have been more enjoyable if the screenplay was more interesting and the runtime was shorter.

Nightcrawler (2014)

A man's desire made him a sociopath

[8/10 · 8 March 2024]

This movie is about how far a man goes to attain his greed. The storyline is gripping and gets intense as goes.

The protagonist starts as a petty thief. When he tries to get a job, he finds a way to make money by freelancing.

He becomes a photographer who shoots car accidents, homicides, or any crime that can be sensational in the neighbourhood. He sells the footage to a news channel that seeks these types of sensational news.

As the protagonist starts to see profits, he becomes greedy to make more by covering even more gruesome crimes. He starts to tamper with the crime scenes to get footage of perfect framing for a hike.

The way he treats his assistant and his competitors makes him even more cold.

He shows up at the crime scene even before the police. He witnesses the murderers' shooting, waits for them to leave and goes to a crime scene to shoot the footage of the victims. He hides the footage of murderers from both the police and the news channel just so he can cover footage of murderers getting arrested in public and make a profit out of it. He even gets his assistant killed by one of the murderers because he asked for a proper share of the profit.

The cinematography, and editing both are good. The movie was engaging and I was intrigued by it.

I would highly recommend watching it but not for light-hearted.

The Peripheral (2022)

Did not meet my expectations

[7/10 · 7 March 2024]

Initially, the series caught my attention, but as I delved deeper into it, I found it to be quite tedious. The storyline is intriguing, but it would have been better suited for a movie rather than a series.

The character arcs are not well-developed enough to be relatable, and the story is needlessly stretched out to create suspense. Aelita's true intentions are only revealed in the final episode, which should have been done sooner to add depth to her character. The plot often deviates from its original course just to stretch out the episode's runtime.

To add insult to injury, the colour tone is unimpressive and does not add anything to the show. Overall, the series failed to meet my expectations.

The Fountain (2006)

Good and Intriguing

[8/10 · 5 March 2024]

This movie is an incredible blend of love, adventure, and mythology, with a well-developed and engaging storyline.

It follows the journey of three men from different eras, each on a mission to fulfil their loved ones' requests. The characters are strong, admirable, and well-executed, making them stand out in the movie.

The movie successfully blends a love story and mythology, making it an interesting and engaging watch.

The cinematography and VFX are remarkable, and the actors did an outstanding job of portraying the emotions of their characters.

The emotions were well-balanced and well-executed, preventing the characters from becoming cringe-worthy.

Overall, this movie is an excellent watch, and I highly recommend it. The perfect blend of love, mythology, and adventure makes it a must-watch for anyone who enjoys a good movie.

Berserk (1997–1998)

Intriguing but failed to deliver

[7/10 · 3 March 2024]

After watching the first episode, I was excited to see where the anime was going. However, as I continued watching, I found that the story was primarily about mercenaries fighting for a high-paying kingdom, with their leader aiming to marry the princess and become the next king. It wasn't until the last three episodes that the story returned to the intriguing elements teased in the first episode.

I had expected the anime to focus more on the demons, "Egg of the King", and the demon possession of humans. This was the storyline I was interested in, but unfortunately, the show instead focused on the fight for the kingdoms and Griffith's desire for the throne.

The pacing of the anime was slow, and I found myself getting bored. The animation was good for its time of release, and the show ended just as it was starting to get interesting. I wish the next season had been made so that the rest of the story could have been covered.

Spotlight (I) (2015)

Must Watch Film

[9/10 · 2 March 2024]

I highly recommend everyone to watch this movie as it is based on true events that were attempted to be concealed by even the common people living around the victims.

The movie sheds light on how the abusers prey on the victims in holy places, and how the organizations defend the abusers to save their reputations among the people.

The movie was gripping and intense, and the actors did an incredible job. It emphasizes the importance of being aware of the people around your children, as the movie discusses.

It also discusses how the victims are traumatized by the abuse, even after they get better and lead a good life.

In summary, this is an excellent movie that everyone should watch.