nickshenoda Reviews

Justice League vs the Fatal Five (2019)

made me feel like a kid again. and I loved it

[9/10 · 13 April 2019]

This is a movie for the fans of the old school JLU.

the plot feels like a regular episode of the series. the pacing was flawless. the characters are tragic but not in a bring u down kind of way but in a more heroic manner. the villains feel like a genuine threat.

all in all, a great homage to one of the greatest animated series ever

Suicide Squad: Hell to Pay (2018 Video)

Solid

[8/10 · 29 March 2018]

Lately DC animated movies haven't been as good or as fun as they used to be. the last really good DC animated movie I remember watching was Gods and Monsters. that is until this movie. the strongest aspect of this movie is it's plot. it starts with a bomb action and from there on it's a thrilling experience throughout. I was taken from the very first minutes and this movie never lost my interest. the pacing is brilliant, spending just the right amount of time to establish back story and characters motivation. nothing more nothing less I see that DC keeps experimenting with it's art style, which is a welcome practice. and I hope that in the future they will refine it even further because stories this good deserve that. another little problem I had with it was it's sense of humor. they could have used better writing in that department. because mostly when it was trying to be funny, it just came off as cringy. and, in my opinion, harley quinn still remain under used. I feel DC never fully utilizes harley's fighting capabilities, instead opting to make her a purely comic relief character. and so it is hard to buy that she would actually be chosen as part of the suicide squad but all in all this is a great movie and a must watch for any and all DC fans

Annihilation (I) (2018)

too abstract to be a whole

[5/10 · 23 March 2018]

This movie could have gone the easy route. it could have been a body snatcher type flick with great visuals and an intriguing creature concept, not very original but still fascinating. throw in a twist at the end and you have an ok movie that people forget about after sometime. Instead it opted to go a more stimulating route and for attempting to do that I give this movie credit. having said that, it just failed to do so. too much time is spent on world building instead of character and for that this movie suffers because for what it was trying to do, it didn't lay the proper base. I couldn't connect with the characters. I didn't understand their drives. they were just thrown in a situation and you just see it unfold through out. the destructive notion that this movie was trying to play with didn't matter because the viewer simply couldn't care. and I don't understand why film makers think that ambiguity is a necessary part of any arty project. the final act is so all over the place that the ending just becomes annoying. learn your inception from your matrix people

The Vanishing of Sidney Hall (2017)

a little pretentious but still very strong

[7/10 · 18 March 2018]

The vanishing of sidney hall has a brilliant narrative. maybe it's because I don't watch alot such movies but I found the whole story of a lifetime thing very refreshing and original, or at least how it was made stood out. the idea of this movie has depth to it even though it's plagued by superficial dialogue at times.

logan lerman is brilliant in his portrayal of a depressed broken man. I know that mostly acting is considered reacting, but for a role like sidney hall u have to have stagnancy. u have to have a hollow resting face and logan pulls that off brilliantly. which is very hard to do, unless u r kristen stewart in which case it is both a blessing and a curse.

all in all it is a pretty good film. my only problem with it is the occasional hacky dialogue that don't do it's setting justice, and elle fanning. she may look the part but she can't act

The Disaster Artist (2017)

not engaging enough

[5/10 · 8 March 2018]

The idea of this movie is great. it had the potential to be so much. people were genuinely excited about it. it had james franco. yet still this movie kind of faltered after an interesting start. james franco's performace was a little too on the nose. it becomes really apparent when at the end they play side by side comparison shots. it was a little exagerated and though the physical resemblance was uncanny at times, it came off as trying to hard. while that's the problem with james, which is understandable because the movie was literally going for an element of comedy, the rest of the cast didn't seem to be invested enough in the film. no one else really resembled the people, physically or in mannerism, they were supposed to be playing. so the whole setting was weird where james was in too much character and no one else in enough. the room is the room mainly because of tommy but not just because of him, and that's the point I think they missed. casting dave franco was also a mistake in my opinion. I think zac efron, who has a cameo btw, should have played his role instead. he just brings that zest, even to a shy under-confident character, that dave failed to do. so all in all even though it's enjoyable, the disaster artist failed to TEAR ME APART with it's comedy and drama

The Love Witch (2016)

style over substance

[4/10 · 15 February 2018]

The love witch has feminist undertones. unfortunately what those tones are I never got to know because they were buried under the heavy powder and bright lighting. this movie wants to be so many things that it's hard not to get annoyed.

I feel like drive (2011) maybe was an inspiration, but where as drive knew exactly what it was and kept things in just the right amount to be entertaining and well paced the love witch dragged for way too long and wanted to ad so much more that it just became a bore. there were continuity errors which was absurd for a movie that is so delicately crafted. I don't know, maybe that was supposd to be funny somehow but it didn't work for me.

the only thing that kept me from leaving it in the middle was samantha robinsons gorgeous face. seriously, MY GOD

so if you are looking just for eye candy this movie will work wonders but if you're in for anything more this is a huge let down

The Blackcoat's Daughter (I) (2015)

if you liked the witch. you will love this

[8/10 · 3 January 2018]

I'm a sucker for atmospheric horrors, that's why the witch is one of my favourite horror movies. the blackcoats daughter is one of them now.

it's a simple story, which i believe is a good thing for movies like this because convoluting the plot with too much context ruins the feeling, which movies like this are supposed to be about. there are paranormal aspects sure but the movie isn't about that, it's about the effect of those things on the people. it's about loneliness and how feeling alone can be as much, if not more, scary than having a demonic presence. and focusing on that rather than making things appear spooky makes the subject of (i.e people in) the story more relatable. it increases the tension which I believe modern horror films are lacking in abundance.

there are no jump scares which have plagued horror movies as of late and that is the main reason I liked this movie so much. the acting was really good and you could tell the actors really understood what the movie was about.

as a final note I just want to say that this movie is best watched alone because having company might distract from the atmosphere building which requires complete focus and is absolutely necessary to enjoy this tale of a cold February weekend

The Beguiled (2017)

the trailer is greatly misleading

[12 October 2017]

I saw the trailer for this movie and was excited. I was expecting something along the lines of I spit on your grave with the roles reversed. A thrilling experience with sexual tension, revenge and a little gore but with substance. I liked the casting. I loved that it was being directed by a coppola. unfortunately I was in for a huge disappointment. the story is painfully straightforward. there are no twists. no tense moments. the characters are very one dimensional. and there seriously is a problem with the lighting. I understand that it is supposed to be authentic and atmospheric but all that goes out the window when you cant see jack. but still my biggest problem with the film is that the highlight of the trailer i.e the line "what have you done to me you vengeful witches/bitches" isn't even delivered as a whole. it's broken down into two. what have you done to me *other_dialogue you vengeful witches/bitches is how it goes. that was the one line I was looking forward to and it didn't even happen

Death Note (I) (2017)

ghost in a shell looks much better now

[2/10 · 26 August 2017]

firstly with the good aspects of the movie. the acting isn't brilliant but it's still good. ryuk is more sinister than he is in the anime which is a plus for me. mia (misa originally) isn't annoying at all, in fact she is more light like than light himself i.e the anime's light. the movie progresses at an incredible pace which could be a good or bad thing depending on the viewer, I personally like it when movies move their plot quick. and finally there's an AHS reference in there so thats a big plus.

now. despite all the above mentioned things this movie fails so bad it's almost tragic. why? because the story is rubbish and there isn't nearly enough depth to the characters as there was in the show. there light had a god complex that was almost palpable. we saw the turmoil that light went through after claiming his first victims and his reasoning and justification of it to himself. and it is not a matter of time available. the show established all that in the very first episode, go watch it. but in the movie light is made into a victim with daddy issues. he kills because his mom was killed and he doesn't want others to be as helpless as he was. sure the line about giving people a god is thrown in there but u can never actually feel it. and there are many plot holes in the story. if mia wanted the death note to herself why did she give it back to light in the first place!?. why does L reveal his face to light? if watari is so close to L why isn't his true identity also a mystery like it was in the anime?, light literally learned about watari through the internet.

but the biggest flaw of this movie is that it fails to sell on the intelligence of both Light and L. it is very hard to believe L to be the best detective in the world if he couldn't even figure out that if watari is under kira's control and I've just revealed my face to him than he's probably using watari to learn my true name and hence watari has gone to my old orphanage. and light didn't think to hide death note despite knowing that he was a suspect. he was lucky mia sneaked it out when they searched his house. and seriously L didn't think to search his only suspects girlfriend while she was in the house. she could be sneaking out the very thing you are looking for. which she actually did.

Code Geass (2006–2008)

the perfect example of pretend smart

[4/10 · 26 August 2017]

the animation is beautiful. there are mecha fights although that doesn't tickle my fancy but still people seem to like it, so yeah.

unfortunately these are the only things this show has going for it.

the characters are extremely one dimensional with a singular exception of lelouch. seriously, almost every other character is so painstakingly annoying that you can't help but root for lelouch even when he's supposedly in the wrong. maybe that was the writers plan all along. there are some thrills here and there when the protagonist is in a difficult situation but all that tension is wasted away with impossible ex machinas. but the worst of all is the reasoning presented behind the actions of the characters. it is beyond stupid, it is painful. everyone is a hypocrite and somehow we are supposed to root for them

Rogue One: A Star Wars Story (2016)

on par with the first two

[9/10 · 29 March 2017]

this is by far the best star wars movie since the empire strikes back. why? because even though being very different from the main stream star wars narrative it pays homage to the one quality of the original star wars movies that we know and love them for i.e originality. this is more of a war movie than a sci fi. and granted there are some war movie clichés, never have I seen a more rooted in reality space wars film. you can really feel the WARS in star wars, even more than you can in the first two films dare I say. I can understand why die hard star wars fans don't like it, because it takes a leave from focusing too much on the defining traits introduced in the original movies e.g light saber fights and jedis using the force but the prequel trilogy was all about that and remember how it turned out. instead rogue one takes a different approach and focuses more on the struggles of the characters to survive in this brutal rule of the empire. unlike previous films, nothing is easy in this one. you can really feel the tension and danger and lives are lost in the struggles. plus I loved how the characters were very different from the original trio unlike those of the force awakens which should be a defining quality of the new characters since they are by definition NEW characters. also the character building of cassian was very good, in the start you see him murder someone because he will be a burden and I thought wow, what a jerk. but by the end you see him risking his life for jyn and nothing seems out of place

Nocturnal Animals (2016)

engaging and stylish but unfulfilling

[5/10 · 18 February 2017]

this is my first ever review. I am writing this not because I particularly and/or excessively liked or hated anything about it, but because there is this aesthetic aura about this movie that piqued my interest more than any other movie I've seen lately.

so, starting with the merits of the movie. it has style. this may sound very simple and mediocre but to keep up a classy theme in a movie, especially one that is supposed to communicate with the audiences on a subliminal level, is a hard thing. u can't depend on the costumes and the settings too much because that would make it pretentious and unfeeling. u have to create an air that is posh and appealing and also very human so that the audience feel an attraction and this movie does all that beautifully. the music also helps a lot.

the acting is very strong. the aforementioned style is completely embodied by amy adams who shines in this movie. her character is very pragmatic and yet very emotional at the same time, which seems like a completely contradictory blend of traits but she delivers it masterfully, and is a treat to watch.

and the flow of the movie. I call it flow because I can't tell where one act ends and the other begins, assuming there are any acts. the movie is very engaging from the start and it is not slow but it is also not fast paced. it just takes you in and you return to the real world only when its finished.

now even with all those qualities when the movie finally finishes, you can't help but feel a void. like the story isn't complete. this movie is a revenge tale so naturally you feel approaching towards a climax by the end, but unfortunately it fails to deliver that. while watching it the subtitles suddenly stopped and I found it very odd because that usually happens by the end. so I thought maybe something drastic will happen in these final moments that wouldn't require any dialogues and I was waiting for it when suddenly the screen blacked out. and then the credits rolled. and I felt a little disappointed.

the ending sequence is also a bit confusing. I had to read an explanation on the internet to understand what those final moments meant, and I understood it and it even changed the outlook of the entire movie for me. but it still wasn't good enough.