Reviews

Hikaru no Go is a drama with a primary theme of passion for the game of Go. However it goes beyond your regular sports based story and explores important slice-of-life themes such as friendship, perseverance, teacher-student relationship, hardships faced while trying to achieve your dream, bi-directional family support (between children and parents) and many others.

Strengths of this drama:

• Fantastic screenplay (pulls you in from the first episode and keeps you engaged throughout its runtime)
• Enlightening short story arcs in the middle of the drama (drifting painter, temple monks)
• One of the best child actors i have ever seen (the kid who played ML was so charismatic)
• Support characters add such great depth to the story and each one contributes something significant to the main lead's journey
• Great bromance between the main leads (true to adage 'bringing out the best in each other')
• Peppy and 80s/90s nostalgic music is a bonus as well

It's a pity not many people know about this drama. It certainly gave me a warm and fuzzy feeling. You may not love it as much as I did but it definitely deserves a watch from anyone who is looking for something sweet and fulfilling.

This drama hits all the right notes. Folks who trivialize saying 'this is Moneyball version of K-drama' are grossly downplaying the depth of this show. There is so much happening in each episode. The first episode instantly sets-up an intriguing plot and every episode unravels something interesting or tackles a deep rooted issue.

Although its set against a Sports (Baseball) backdrop it isn't simply a Sports story. Please don't turn away thinking its a Sports drama. Infact there is hardly any on-field action through its 16 episodes length. It focuses more on the management side of the team and the problems that pop-up after years of under-performance. Along the way you may even pick up few useful tips on topics such as negotiation, presentation skills and general management.

What I loved:

• Great storyline
• Fantastic acting (Namkoong Min is a Korean treasure, however he was aptly supported by Eun-bin Park and others)
• Good explanation of important Baseball stats (on Viki) and not dumping lot of numbers on our face (easy to follow for a novice like me)

It's a pity so few people have watched this drama. It deserves much more recognition and love.

Go Dreams!

P.S. There is no romance in this drama. Just so you know ;) It also won the Baeksang Arts Awards for Best Drama for the year 2020

Simply speaking, 'Mother' is one of the best dramas out there!

This drama deep dives into sensitive topics such as physical abuse, motherhood and childhood trauma while never dragging any of these too long so as to lose interest. The plot instantly grabs your attention and first episode sets-up the story nicely. Not one minute is wasted with fillers or narrative that doesn't contribute to the plot. I was heavily invested in the lead characters and was crying my eyes out especially during final few episodes.

Testament to how good the story is: original Japanese drama has been remade in various languages such as Korean, Chinese and Thai.

I will remember:

• Top notch acting by the mother (Lee Bo Young) and the child (Heo Yool, this kid deservedly won the rookie award at Baeksang). Rest of the cast did great as well
• Evocative and engaging screenplay filled with heart-warming moments
• Beautiful portrayal of multifaceted mother-child relationship
• Satisfying ending

There is nothing to even nitpick, its an easy recommendation for anyone who is looking for an highly emotional drama with an engaging plot or people who are close to their mothers.

P.S. Keep a box of tissues with you if you decide to watch this :')

The reason you should give this a watch is for an outstanding female antagonist unlike anyone you have ever seen before. Song Yoon Ah who played Choi Yoo Jin is truly remarkable and her character has so much depth that she deservedly outshines everyone in this drama and beyond. I couldn't help but empathize with her throughout the story due to her emotive acting and was constantly rooting for her even though she was the main antagonist.

Things I liked:

• Best female antagonist (unbelievably, she wasn't even nominated for Best Actress at Baeksang Art Awards)
• Fast paced screenplay
• Good action choreography (over the top but enjoyable)

Things I didn't like:

• Quite a few implausible events in the plot

This drama had all the ingredients of a great show. However writing wasn't good enough and the script was especially disappointing towards the end. It is still a worthy watch for anyone who is interested in a drama about family and importance of daily life (living everyday to the fullest and without regrets). Beware: if you decide to watch this, keep a box of tissues with you.

Things I liked:

• Kim Tae-hee's work as Cha Yu-ri (wow, she nails this role. Hats off to her. Single reason to watch this show)
• Beautiful cinematography

Things I didn't like:

• Heartbreaking ending (one could think of multiple ways to end this better than how they did. Also the reason provided for this end isn't compelling or convincing enough - you will know what I mean once you reach the end)
• Quite a few scenes were repeated across two episodes
• Some filler moments were quite silly

Bonus:

• The main background score (the one that comes on when Yuri come back to life - this shot is lovely too) is fantastic

This was the first K-Drama that I ever watched. I highly recommend it to anyone who wants to begin exploring the world of Korean dramas. It has all the elements for an enjoyable viewing. It is a romantic drama at its core with a lot of action set-pieces and easy to follow story-line.

Things I liked:

• Beautiful chemistry between the leads (you will surely feel it, even the second pair is great)
• Cinematography is top-notch (some shots are absolutely dreamy)
• One of the best if not the best collection of OSTs in a Korean drama (almost every song is repeat-worthy and might find its way into your music library)
• Sweet story
• Great action sequences and high production value throughout the show

What are you waiting for, start watching now!

Don't be fooled by the promotional posters/images - this is not your average rich housewives drama. It tackles sensitive issues such as mental health, exam stress (education system), parental expectations and relationship within families. Characters are varied, unique and develop well through the course of the show. At its core, it is about how parents grow up to truly understand what is important in life. However there's a lot more to it.

Things I liked:

• Great storytelling
• Interesting main characters (along with stupendous acting) and fantastic synergy between all characters
• Moments of humor sprinkled throughout the show to counter-balance the serious moments
• Every episode ends with a cliffhanger that leaves you restless to see what happens next

Things I didn't like:

• Episode count could have been a bit lower (however this doesn't take anything away from the brilliant storytelling)

Start watching now and thank me later!

Let me begin by saying I was pleasantly surprised to see quite a bit of humor during the first half and it didn't feel forced. This movie will grab your attention from the introductory scene (goosebumps worthy) till almost the entire length of the film. It has a high energy throughout and a lot of credit for that goes to the grand visuals along with exceptional acting from all actors, especially Ramya as Shivagami and Prabhas as Amarendra Baahubali.

For me, the most powerful sequence comes in the middle of the movie, this is our GoT moment and this one sequence alone shows the potential of Indian Cinema, you will know what I am talking about once you watch the movie. Another amazing yet subtle thing to notice is how Prabhas has played two different characters, the calm, experienced demeanor of Amarendra Baahubali and the rough- edged, not-groomed persona of Mahendra Baahubali. Kudos to him.

You will notice some over the top action sequences where S. S. Rajamouli has taken liberty to show us fresh imaginative action which adds to the fun factor. The movie does die down towards the end, however that is bound to happen considering the fact that it was adrenaline-pumping for so long.

It takes great directorial vision and deep pockets of producers to make this happen and hopefully the success of this film triggers the rise of more such epics that we can enjoy. This is a must watch. Just the sheer scale of visual effects and production value is breath-taking, no one should miss this.

Got the privilege of watching the Indian premiere of Sucker Punch yesterday and my excitement was through the roof (afterall, this is the guy who gave us 300 and Watchmen). What made the screening even more special was it was on IMAX screen. Yesterday was the first time I have ever been to a film premiere and I will remember this for a long time. Zack has done justice to his reputation. You will find plenty of his trademark slow-mo fight scenes and close ups. I can't talk more about the fights without revealing more, but I'm positive the first fight scene will take your breath away. What made the experience jaw dropping was the "IMAX effect". Try and catch this film on IMAX if you can, and I'm sure it will have leave a different impression on your mind than a conventional theatre would. It features an ensemble female cast, Emily Browning(Babydoll), Jena Malone(Rocket) and Abbie Cornish(Swea Pea) played their part well whereas Vanessa Hudgens(Blondie) and Jamie Chung(Amber) were a distraction at times. But I wasn't impressed with Oscar Isaac as Blue, maybe he tried too hard to be a memorable villain. The core of the film however is the other(fictional) world (this is where we see Zack's imagination in full flight). The visuals are amazing, set-pieces are jaw dropping and epic in every sense. In short, Sucker Punch is visually enthralling action fantasy that will blow you away. Well done Zack!

Toy Story 3 is an adventure filled, entertaining and deeply emotional film for all ages.

Toy Story was the beginning of PIXAR's extraordinary journey and they have delivered with just about every film since. The only question in my mind before seeing this film was "Will it live up to the lofty standards of the first two films?". Toy Story and Toy Story 2 were great in their own right but this film outclassed them both.

The start was subtle, we see Andy playing with his toys as usual but something has changed. Then we embark on a journey with all the toys, again as usual. At this point the movie was only good but in the second half it just takes off. Can't say more without spoiling it. It has to be experienced. And the best part comes last, the ending of this movie gave me utmost satisfaction. What an end to the best trilogy of all time (atleast in my opinion) and Toy Story will remain the best trilogy unless Batman 3 proves otherwise.

This film will made me laugh, jump with excitement and cry...thats right, the last 5-7 minutes were so moving that I shed a few tears. If you are wondering how can adults cry over toys, go see this.

The wizards at PIXAR have delivered a masterpiece once again. The bar cannot be raised higher.

Toy Story 3 is now officially my favourite animated feature film along with 'Spirited Away'.

P.S. Kudos to PIXAR for 'Day & Night'(short film screened before Toy Story 3), it was simple yet amazing.

Saw the trailer a while back and thought it was cool. Watched the film today and it still is cool for a low budget Russian film.

The film lacks originality, look at it as Spiderman with a flying car(Volga to be specific) and a few bits of Iron Man action added towards the end. The story is pretty much Spiderman. But if you can look beyond those points it is enjoyable.

On the upside, all the unknowns did a good job especially the lead actor and the lovely leading lady. The CGI was above average taking into account the low budget of the film.

Overall it was cool to watch and enjoyable to a fair degree, had the story been more original I would've rated it higher.

6.4/10

Definitely not bad.

More than a decade after his record breaking blockbuster Titanic, James Cameroon is back with Avatar!

When I first saw the trailer, the name "James Cameroon"{after all he directed my favourite movie ever - Terminator 2} was enough for me to get excited and though the trailer was decent I was a bit skeptical regarding the acting of Zoe Saldana {she looked a little cocky in the trailer and the dialogue delivery seemed poor} but I'm glad the film turned out to be very good and most of the actors did a good job.

Avatar is not a film but a breath taking visual experience. The creative imagination of James Cameroon is so spectacular that it can't be described in words and would me more appropriate if you yourself experience the astonishing forests of Pandora. I expected to visualize a new world with extraordinary creatures {creatures of Pandora were truly amazing, some of them are etched in my memory}, new language and decent script. I got what I expected. The background music/sound effects are also pretty solid. 3D just adds to the viewing pleasure.

People may complain there was no character development, stereotyped characters, clichéd story, plot holes, weak dialogue{I agree with this up to a certain extent} etc. BUT I say just sit back, relax and let the director take you on an unforgettable journey.

Will it revolutionize cinema? Can't say,it probably won't but that doesn't take anything away from this masterpiece. Are the special effects worth the hype? You betcha, CGI is flat-out AMAZING. Is it worth the time and money? Yes, its worth every penny.

I saw this in 3D at Imax but 3D or 2D this film should not be missed.

I was drawn into this film right from the first scene where we see Lee Carter running with a camera. From that moment onwards there was never a dull moment and the film simply rocked, at least for QUITE SOMETIME. It was funny, charming and everything else you can ask from a British film.

Will Poulter played Lee Carter and he was simply special. Great acting, good humor timing and above all the way he portrayed his character was amazing. I couldn't imagine anyone else playing the role after that terrific performance.

He is well supported by Bill Milner as Will Proudfoot. They formed what I call, "the perfect partnership" that carried this film from the beginning. Great to watch! The only part where this movie slacked off a bit is the middle section, there is character of a French exchange student which is really not required. This part specifically almost ended my enthusiasm.

But not to worry...the film ends well and overall I give it a Thumbs Up!

Is this a good day or what, got the pleasure of seeing two science fiction films today and both are superb. First Serenity and now this.

Ridley Scott has done an amazing job here. To follow 'Alien' with 'Blade Runner' is almost too good. I instantly became the fan of 'Alien' and the way the future is shown there. 'Blade Runner' gives a human touch to the future {not the same one, obviously}.

Harrison Ford prospered in the character of Deckard. The entire ambiance is shown well, Kudos to everyone involved...wouldn't be easy to do that in 1982. I doubt if this film will stand the test of time though!

"Sean Young almost too beautiful to believe in this...", some one said this and rightly so. One thing that I disliked was the ending or to be precise...the last few scenes, they appeared ODD to me, can't exactly tell why but certainly weird.

A unique visual experience that brings science fiction to life. Cinematography is applaudable. I enjoyed this.

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8.1/10

I saw a comment just a few seconds ago, where the author said newbies will enjoy this. Well rightly said. I'm a newbie and I thoroughly enjoyed this movie. I haven't seen Firefly at all but after this I'm surely lining up for the Firefly dose.

Well made, nicely executed script, good CGI and nicely acted by most of them. Couldn't ask for anything more.

Captain Malcolm Reynolds was played nicely by Nathan Fillion and his character was peppered by some good humor. His crew, Zoe, Hoban and Jayne {seen him in Chuck before} all played their parts well. Dr. Simon played by Sean Maher was patchy in his performance but wasn't bad by any means. Summer Glau as River Tam is the center of the story and does a decent job, funny though her performance reminded me of her character in Terminator series.

Jewel Staite was absolutely fabulous. She was so good in portraying Kaylee that she left me gasping for more. Talent here!

Morena Baccarin as Inara Serra is one of the most beautiful ladies I've ever seen on screen. She was unbelievably beautiful in this film and that had a lot to do with her wardrobe{the first scene itself made me drool..:) }, she was aesthetically pleasing. I checked her profile and shouldn't take anything away from her, she is naturally beautiful. Beauty at its best!

Aah, I've only described the cast, the film is pleasing on so many levels that it would take a while to finish the review. So lets stop by saying the film is a delight and I recommend it to all of you, especially the Star Wars, Star Trek, etc fans. Enjoy, a well made film!

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9.1/10

"The name's Bobby Funke...I write for the paper" as soon as this dialogue came up in the opening few minutes, I thought hmm...maybe this film would be interesting. As it turned out, after about 90 minutes from that time, I think it was an interesting film but not entirely. As ambiguous as this sounds, the film almost entirely was carried off by the good performance from its lead Reece Thompson. He was just about perfect for the role of Funke.

The pace of the film is very nice and the story{mystery} unveils nicely. Though predictable at times, the screenplay never gave up all its cards before the climax. The music was well suited and the side characters did their job well except for a few.

Now the biggest culprit is Mischa Barton. For some reason she was never convincing enough and always appeared very phony. Least to say she didn't immerse herself into the character. Though we all know she is not famous for her acting skills, she didn't put her 100% behind the role. For all her fans there is some good news...she shows off her boobs in this film.

Now, this film is no Oscar winner or a GEM or one of the best ever and I'm positive the film-maker never intended it to be BUT its quite enjoyable if you can look beyond Mischa Barton and to a small extent the predictability of the plot. I must add, it has quite a few funny moments. The dialogue is good at some instants and horrible at others.

Notable points were: 1) Joanna Garcia... This is the first time I've seen her and she surely can turn heads around. Very eye-catching and the bitchy role suited her well. She did a good job.

2) For a TV film, it was decent quality...Cant expect much more than what it delivered for a TV film.

3) The campus scenes and the college backdrop was really nice and spectacular. Whoever decided the filming locations gets a Thumbs Up!

4) I've seen Mika Boorem before in Smile and thought she was fabulous in that film, here she is OK.

5) Summer Glau was below average here...she looked a little mechanical like her character from Terminator...

Incredible. Cant believe they made this film with a budget of $30 million. The entire backdrop and the CGI effects were simply unbelievable.

This film is shot like a documentary. Big thumbs-up to Neill Blomkamp, he really put in a lot of efforts in this and it was quite visible.

This film also shows some very gross looking aliens{never before seen design of the aliens}, who are stranded at Jo'burg of all places{finally we have a movie where the action isn't in the USA, GLAD} for 20 yrs because of some difficulties{I don't want to give away spoilers}.

The film revolves around the alien habitation called District 9 and the subject of the film, Wikus van de Merwe. The film also shows some pretty brutal violence and it can make a few sick. For most of the time I was awestruck at the believable plot, characters and the high intensity of action. Superb directing and a great piece of story which I think can actually happen. I recommend this to everyone who can handle brutal violence. You have to enjoy this yourself.

9.5/10

This film has its own pace and the greatness of this film lies in the fact that it has one of the simplest plots yet the story telling is magical.

Its about 4 close friends Chris, Vern, Teddy and Gordie who adventure out one day for an event they considered very important and life changing for themselves. During this adventure there are quite a few priceless moments that they share but few of them are pure GOLD like the camp-fire scene.

It also has a great scene towards the end between young Gordie and Chris, which I absolutely loved. That brings me to the brotherhood Chris and Gordie shared, special mention of River Pheonix here, he played Chris and was truly amazing. Chris' character was the best according to me and the special relationship he shared with Gordie is very pleasing and heart melting to see. Almost everyone had friends like these when they were young {may not be exactly 12 years old} BUT thats not the point, We all had our special few before adulthood. Those days were really something else...All the irrelevant things now were very important then. Life was full of fun and carelessness.

One point that instantly put this film on my favourites list is its ending. There are usually two kinds of ends to a film, one the satisfying/predictable and the other is shocking/unexpected. But this film has what I call the perfect ending. The last monologue was so true that I was amazed at its truth value...You will understand what I'm talking about once you see it {I don't want to spoil it for you}. Quite astonishing end and one I'll remember for a long time.

Great, and a classic coming of age film that everyone will enjoy. If it had not shown young characters smoking I would've given it 10. But that doesn't take anything away from the film, its just that I didn't enjoy watching them smoke {I hate people who smoke...I know they probably faked it but the scene was not required IMO}.

I give this a 9.2/10

If I had to select one film to represent Hindi Cinema, it would be Kal Ho Naa Ho. I don't really care if people say this is not the most influential or historically significant film.

Kal Ho Naa Ho is the best Hindi Cinema has offered me. I have a special connection with this film and its believable characters especially Aman{SRK}. I regard this as his best role. Aman is the greatest character in the history of Bollywood. The main reason for it is the way he played with my emotions was unbelievable, he made me laugh out loud initially and during the climax he melted my heart and I cried with him. I've never seen and maybe will never see another more vibrant and colorful character. Kudos!

The background score is also tremendously strong and emotional. Excellent score by SEL. The music/songs were awesome. My favourite of the lot was the title track sung by Sonu Nigam, which instantly became my all time favourite song before I even saw the film, just listen to its lyrics...Again PERFECT!

The story is relatively very simple but the film does a superb job in showing it. People may say the last part of the film is too emotional and not required but I strongly disagree. This film gave me exactly what I wanted...Complete satisfaction. Perfect acting {by all}, Perfect music, Perfect story.

In all, A Gem of Indian Cinema IMO and my one and only favourite Hindi film of all time. Enough said!

Rating: 10/10

Couple of things I want to mention before I reason out why this is a great film. First, the soundtrack of this film is amazing and very well suited to the film, its rare to hear the background music and feel the emotions that the director is trying hard to convey but this film perfectly executes that part.{It didn't win Oscar for the best original score, that to me indicates the winner must have a hell of a score to beat this} Second, I liked the poster of the film. It clearly shows the distinguishable personalities both the character have. Nice Work!

I consider this a great film because of the following reasons: 1. Dustin Hoffman played an autistic savant and I've seen comments from people saying the performance isn't Oscar worthy because he played a one-dimensional character BUT thats the point my friends, he played the character with such prolonged intensity and dedication that it was truly an Oscar worthy performance. 2. Please don't bash Tom Cruise for no reason. He did a good job and complimented Dustin's character well. Couldn't ask more from him {I'm not a Tom Cruise fan but he did his job here}. I liked Charlie's compatibility with Raymond. 3. The movie was nicely done, Kudos to the director and all the staff involved. I thoroughly enjoyed it. It was also quite witty and funny.

The only fault if I can say so was that I wanted to see the brothers' relationship get more evolved than the end showed, a little more!

This movie deserves to be in the Top 250...There are many unworthy candidates there who aren't as good as this movie in my opinion.

I give this a 8.8/10

Contents of BoB: 10 parts + Bonus episodes = Complete satisfaction.

BoB starts off with a bang with "Curahee" and continues its relentless pace of action throughout the majority of the series. It also has a few episodes where you have a chance to catch your breath like "Bastogne" and "Points". It has full action-packed episodes like "Day of Days", "Carentan", "The Breaking Point" and "The Last Patrol". The series really stuck a chord with me because of the realism and accuracy shown to the viewers. I really felt emotionally attached to the men of "Easy Company" and all the emotions that the soldiers felt was be sensed by me. The sets are perfect, the effects are remarkable {war visuals were the most stunning you will ever see}, and the background score connected well with the series. I'm not an American but all the Americans should be mighty proud of the sacrifices these Men made for today's generation. I felt inspired by these guys {just look at their faces...18-19 yr olds fighting a war so that others can sleep peacefully}. Not to forget the EDITING of the series. It was truly an outstanding idea to bring in the real War-Veterans on the show and add their interviews to it. Also, the idea of showing the significance of each part before the credits was fantastic.

Few of the lines in the series were truly remarkable and hair-raising like the following: "For he who today sheds his blood with me...shall be my brother" and many more to list down {basically, whatever the Veterans said touched me deeply}.

But my favourite conversation will always remain: ***

Do you remember the letter that Mike Ranney wrote me?

...You do?

Do you remember how he ended it?

''l cherish the memories of a question my grandson asked me the other day. . .when he said, 'Grandpa, were you a hero in the war?'

Grandpa said, 'No. . .but l served in a company of heroes.' ''

*** The above statements appear at the end of the 10th part and from the first time I heard till date, I always cry hard...Its the most touching line I've ever heard in a motion picture {there have been many great lines but this one comes straight from the bottom of the heart and pierces right through my soul}. Speechless!!!

Overall, this series is a great achievement in the history of Motion-Picture, according to me.

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There is always a small group of people who oppose to the widely accepted HIT movies or T.V.Shows. Currently BoB has 9.6/10 on the IMDb and I will never understand what is there not to like in BoB. I know its the matter of opinion and these things are always subjective BUT after reading a few HATE comments, I realised none of them had a SOLID point to dislike the series. Most of the comments were just repeating the "It was BORING" crap without giving one clear explanation of why they felt that way. I pity these people, who IMO were switched off while watching this series and that could've let them to hate it. All I can say is these people missed out on a very rare and special series and if they ever read my comment please for your own sake try to watch this again with more open mindness and maybe you will understand why its rated so highly.

BUY these DVDs and keep them with you for the rest of your life...I'm sure you will watch them 'N' number of times.

My rating: 9.9/10

A dark high school movie which showcases the struggle of Veronica {Winona Ryder...she looks gorgeous in this film} as she tries to free herself from the school's most famous clique "Heathers {3 girls and her hangout friends}". Enter JD {Christian Slater} who very quickly becomes her Boyfriend and then the dark fun begins. Seriously speaking I don't know if I liked the movie or not but it was quite good and Winona gave a splendid performance. Christian Slater fits well into his character and the movie is very well paced. The story was different from the usual high school movies and IF you want to see something refreshing, your search ends HERE...

Overall I give this movie a 7/10.

P.S. "Que sera, sera" is the tagline of the film which basically means "What will be, will be"