root99 Reviews

The Wheel of Time (2021– )

First season review

[4/10 · 24 December 2021]

I waited to see the whole 8 episodes of the first season before writing this review because I wanted to see where this was going and to give it a fair chance.

The books had their flaws and I was excited to see an on screen adaptation. But seeing this hot mess has made me quite distressed, it adds nothing to the story for new viewers and takes away the very soul of Jordan's story.

Rosamund Pike is a great Moiraine and Josha Stradowski is a great Rand, but like all characters they're both let down by the screenplay.

There are a lot of visually appealing scenes, you can't go wrong with Czechia on that front.

I don't know anything about making TV, but I'd wager if you spent a good deal of money and went begging to Sanderson he might be able to fix this mess.

I know nothing. And I'm sad.

Wonder Woman 1984 (2020)

Don't be put off by the negative reviews

[8/10 · 30 August 2021]

I was surprised by how entertaining this movie was, I've been putting off seeing it for a long while due to the relatively low ratings and negative reviews. While I don't know anything about the character or the lore surrounding them, I found this 2.5 hour movie to be very entertaining, I wasn't bored for a second.

Edge of the World (2021)

Solid jungle adventure flick

[8/10 · 5 June 2021]

I loved the atmosphere of the trailer and wasn't disappointed by the movie. The subject it tackles is vast and cannot be packed into less than 2 hours.

I cannot attest to the historical accuracy of the movie though it's based on true characters and events.

The film captures the mood of the jungle and a man running away from himself perfectly.

The cinematography and soundtrack were brilliant. Where it stumbles a bit, rather than fall is the screenplay, the native people's portrayal was a bit too one dimensional as is the relationship with the lead character's love. I would've loved the film to explore it more. There is enough material in the story to have made a full season TV show.

Overall an 8/10 movie by me and a solid jungle adventure flick, 2 stars less for not fleshing out the other characters which could've made the movie brilliant.

Who (I) (2018)

Pretentious parody of a thought provoking movie

[2/10 · 3 November 2018]

You've probably heard this movie compared to western scifis like Inception but it is not that.

This movie is not about dreams. This movie is not about time travel. This movie is not even a psychological thriller.

This movie is what you get when a director (Ajay Devaloka) has a few brilliant ideas and tries to make a movie out of it. It is a showpiece for his cinematography and editing skills. 2 stars for the effort but unfortunately it falls far far short of hitting the mark.

King Arthur: Legend of the Sword (2017)

Guy Ritchie & team at their best!!

[10/10 · 13 June 2017]

Let me begin by saying that this is a phenomenally entertaining movie. The kind that gets you right into the story and tells it in Guy Ritchie's signature style. Its his own take on the popular Arthurian legends focusing on character, a single continuous plot line/origin story (without any cheesy romantic fillers), great soundtrack, production quality and ensemble.

I definitely hope to re-watch this and hope it gets a sequel or two in time. Finally a summer movie worth your time and money.

Last Knights (2015)

Pretty good medieval action drama flick

[8/10 · 3 April 2015]

I am compelled to write my first review after 4 years on IMDb due to the bad reviews by critics. First off, I completely enjoyed this movie. I loved the initial setting which took about an hour which others complained to be too long but I felt that laid a good foundation for the plot to continue.

The second half could've been better but I'm not complaining. This was much better than Ridley Scott's Robin Hood when compared to a medieval story. What lacked in this movie was more character development and overall depth to both the story and characters. The details of storming the castle are also just gone through quickly without any importance. I feel like this could've been a 3 hour saga of excellent medieval story had the director gone with it. A fully developed story with multidimensional characters would've been perfect. Both Clive Owen and Morgan Freeman gave wonderful performances and as someone who loves their movies I felt satisfied just to see them in these particular roles.

Overall, don't miss this one just because of some harsh critic ratings. I felt entertained and this is one movie which did not let me down at all when compared with other medieval stories of the past few years.