with_blackstars Reviews

Rain Dogs (2023– )

Starts and ends with many unanswered questions!

[4/10 · 22 June 2023]

As a fan of both Daisy May Cooper and Jack Farthing, I was really looking forward to this show. The premise seemed interesting and the trailer made it look promising. There are multiple issues with this show, it starts with many unanswered questions, especially the origin and current state of relationship between the main characters among others, one hopes that they will be answered by the end of the show and it'll all make sense, but that wasn't the case here. The questions only increase in number going forward. We get a sense of why things are the way they are, but never get concrete answers. This makes it quite a frustrating watch.

I don't think the makers of this show quite knew what it was supposed to be. I approached it as a dark comedy, but only laughed maybe three times in all of the episodes. It isn't a full on drama either. By episode 4, I was just done with it and only kept on watching in hopes that it gets better - it doesn't!

The only redeeming qualities are the acting and the original music. Skip this one.

Black Mirror: Mazey Day (2023) Season 6, Episode 4

Just Meh!

[5/10 · 17 June 2023]

This episode is now the lowest rated of the entire series and for good reason. The central theme of the episode - paparazzi and the ends they go to do what they do - is not a novel idea or something which hasn't been explored many times before. It wasn't presented in this episode in any thought-provoking manner for which Black Mirror has been loved for.

It is a very simple story with no usual Black Mirror twists or turns which come from the dark side of technology. Instead, we get a mild attempt at horror which is frankly laughable they way it was executed. This episode might easily have been from any other series but Black Mirror, that's how far it is from the central theme of the series.

Uncharted (2022)

Just an average action/adventure flick, nothing special

[5/10 · 10 February 2022]

Went into it hoping to watch something exciting, came out of it feeling bored and sleepy.

This is just another run of the mill action movie of which there have been tons of in the past few years. Nothing stands out. While the acting from Tom Holland, Tati Gabrielle and Antonio Banderas is quite good, Mark Wahlberg was a really bad choice for the role of Sully. Most of the action scenes have way too many chops and cuts, leaving the viewer nauseated watching them. The story works great for the game, but for a movie, even at 2 hours feel incomplete and has multiple plot holes. The dialogue is subpar at best.

The music is great however and some of the cinematography is top notch as well. Apart from the opening action scene which we get to watch in full towards the end, nothing is extraordinary here. Watch it if you have some time to kill and haven't been to the cinema in a while, else, I'd skip this or play it in the background while making dinner.

The Little Things (2021)

Underwhelming! Don't waste your time!

[3/10 · 30 January 2021]

This is the first movie I watched in theaters since the pandemic shut them down. And it was totally not worth it!

Below average dialogue and an uncooked plot which progresses at the pace of a turtle make this a very tedious watch. Direction is basic with overdrawn scenes but the acting was ok. The movie is a major 'meh'. Really underwhelming on almost every aspect. Don't watch it.

3 stars is very generous but still, 1 for cinematography and 1 for acting, and 1 for overall production.

Run (I) (2020)

Good premise but horrible execution

[3/10 · 26 May 2020]

The shows started strong with a good pilot, which makes one want to continue. But as the episodes go on, it gets ever more dull.

The premise is good, but the overall execution is horrible. Character development lacks immensely, storyline unfolds at a bad pace, sometimes fast and at others very slowly.

The only redeeming qualities are the acting from the leads - Glesson and Weever, good music selection and good direction. Rest all is very MEH. By the time one finishes the finale, they are left with the feeling, "Really?! What/Why the hell did I watch this?". The shows is simply incomplete on so many levels. It tries to be a dramedy but fails miserably. Don't recommend it at all.

3/10.

Us (II) (2019)

Complete Nonsensical Garbage

[1/10 · 12 October 2019]

This movie is miles and miles away from Jordan Peele's directorial debut - 'Get Out', in every aspect. So much so that one can question if it is actually the same person who wrote both.

The story is so juvenile and over-stretched to the point that it just becomes tiresome and annoying to watch. It overflows with illogical chasms - not gaps, but chasms from the beginning to that laughable idiotic end which erases whatever was trying to be build up in the last 2 hours.

Where one could clearly discern humor and horror in 'Get Out', it is not the case here. This movie comes across a failed attempt to mimic the magic Peele had achieved before. It tries to put on the comedy and horror hats but neither fit. The music although good barely matches what's going on the screen. The audience isn't really provided with any answers to what's the reason behind what's going on until the end, and man, it's really bad.

The whole storyline is just a half-baked idea which seem rushed, or as if from the imagination of a 10 year old.

The one star is only and ONLY for Lupita Nyong'o's effort.

Save yourselves from wasting two hours of your life. The critics praising this are just as absurd, do not believe them either.

Game of Thrones: The Iron Throne (2019) Season 8, Episode 6

Witness your favorite show burn to ashes like King's Landing

[1/10 · 20 May 2019]

This is an absolute waste of time for millions of fans around the globe who invested so much of their precious time into this show for all those years.

What a disappointment! Utter Garbage!

Forget the story-lines and all logic which came before this last season. This is simply a pathetic excuse for "writing". Nothing more. This finale will go down in history as one of the worst ever.

Avengers: Endgame (2019)

Illogical and Convoluted

[1/10 · 13 May 2019]

This is by far the worst MCU movie I've ever seen. Ever.

I was looking forward to it after last year's Infinity War, to see how they would bounce back from that Thanos snap. But boy, was I disappointed. The whole "time heist" plot is tortuously senseless, it lacks any form of intelligence from any aspect, be it scientific or imaginative. What kind of "writers" are responsible for this? Or what were they on while "writing" this? The quick one-liners, barbs and quips are cringe-worthy and so are the "comedic" situations.

One can objectively agree that the movie is way too long and boring for the first two hours, even my 11 yo super-fan brother thought so. It offers very little entertainment. The plot is too incoherent for any sensible adults and very complex to follow for the young ones so they just eagerly await the battle finale. Which does arrive at the end in the form of a badly choreographed CGI bukake scene with pyrotechnics and many, many cuts for anyone to follow what the heck is going on.

Massive, glaring plot-holes abound from start to finish which I bet are invisible to the throngs of fanboys all over the world over-hyping and claiming this piece of hot, leaky garbage to be the greatest movie ever made. Along with giving it over the top reviews and ratings.

Can't believe this is what sells to the masses and makes studios billions of dollars now. Makes me lose all hope in future superhero movies. I couldn't wait for it to get over and go home. A complete waste of time.

Sacred Games (2018–2019)

The show with the potential to herald a new age in Indian television

[9/10 · 19 July 2018]

Just eight episodes of a show have never been this concise and well-made in any of the popular shows on most (dare I say all?) Indian television channels. Not to mention the relevance of this, not only for Indian audiences but also the South Asian audiences of Pakistan and Bangladesh. The show is quite an accurate portrayal of crime and politics in these countries at its core. Topped with some great writing and artistic visions of Anurag Kashyap and Vikramaditya Motwani, this is certainly a must watch for anyone into crime series. The show makes one wonder about the nature of crime and power with a new perspective. For starters, one doesn't witness a hard mafia boss out for vengeance or money. But rather, we get to see a portrayal of a commoner whose life is intertwined with power struggle because of his circumstances and the company he is around, for good or bad. This journey of Ganesh Gaitonde, brilliantly portrayed by one of the finest actors in Indian cinema - Nawazuddin Siddiqui, is what gives this show an extra edge and sets it miles afar from the commercial Indian television. We also get to watch Saif Ali Khan at his career best performance as Sartaj Singh who is puzzled by Ganesh and what he does/says. This shows also makes some strong points on how politics can misuse religion to drive war among people and how governments manipulate their citizens.

I highly recommend this! Bravo! 10/10!

Winter's Tale (2014)

Miracles,Demons,Love and a Flying Horse!

[4/10 · 25 September 2014]

The title of this review shall indicate where I will be headed!

The movie starts with a female narrative of how magical this universe is and how each of us possess a "miracle" for "one and only one other human" followed by glimpses of three different eras, two of which have an identical man-Peter Lake (Colin Farrrell) and he is searching something around Grand Central Station. So you think, "alright...this shall be interesting".

But the movie turns into nothing but a huge disappointment as it leads on, we are met by a demon (Russell Crowe) trying to destroy Peter's love and hence destroying the miracle he possesses. Peter is helped by a flying horse who happens to be his spirit to guide him through all this, after a while and even an appearance by the Lucifer himself, the demon succeeds!! Flash forward, and Peter is seen in present day looking just like he was, realizing his miracle was never supposed to be for the love of his life but a young girl suffering from cancer. At this point, it just becomes too much and you may want to just break something. The flying horse comes in, the demon has to turn into a mortal being to truly destroy and kill Peter, both enter into a good ol' one-on-one combat, which the demon obviously fails and later turns into snow. The girl is saved and Peter rides into the sky on his flying horse to become a star and be united with his true love. Which leaves you saying, "WTF is this stupid movie?"

The End.

Just do not waste your time on this movie, please, there's absolutely no sense in the story, seems like a child's fantasy, the acting is just bad, direction is alright and that's about it. Pick something else.

Anna (VII) (2013)

What could have been...

[6/10 · 19 June 2014]

This movie has one of the best openings ever, thrilling,containing a lot of suspense and well directed, which could also be said about the movie as a whole. The lead actors were quite excellent as well. The movie effortlessly keeps you on the edge of your seat throughout...going into one dimension into another,demanding your focus and attention. So it isn't wishful thinking to expect a great ending leaving an impact on you, but I guess it was. The series of plots and twists in the movie can become a bit too much towards the middle,but it gets on its track later...only to fall over a cliff and crash into the ground at the end. Yep,that's how bad it gets!! Psychological thrillers require a bit of in-depth thinking and attention to enjoy and so does 'Anna'...a great ending could have made this movie a masterpiece but it wasn't meant to be. I would still recommend it if you are into psychological thrillers but do not have high expectations.

Plush (2013)

Too Much and Predictable!!

[5/10 · 19 June 2014]

Being a HUGE movie buff and having a soft side for Indie movies I was expecting a lot.Why? The banging trailer and Emily Browning made me anticipate the movie very much until I watched it and was disappointed to the maximum. Beginning with the direction style, the movie looked like a first-timer's project which they could care about less. The style isn't that bad actually, but its so many other factors that make this movie unbearable and a pain to watch. The intertwined and unrealistic plots are taxing on the mind and what's more,they are all PREDICTABLE. The acting is below average to say the least, apart from Emily Browning of course, who was very convincing in her role and the only thing that kept me from stopping the movie. The music used was quite good at times, IF you're into the Indie Electronic,Electronica etc..genres. Only watch this if you have lots of time on your hands.

Children of God (2010)

A Good One!

[8/10 · 29 August 2013]

In the category where almost every movie ends with a suicide or a killing (if its not a comedy),this movie is no different!But it however is a better one! The story revolves around a 20-something white Bahamian gay guy named Johnny (Johnny Ferro),who along with suffering from not being able to accept who he is also faces other problems,no acceptance from the society for instance.He is sent off to an island for an art project by his teacher who believes a journey can help improve his grades,and also help him,where he meets a cute guy named Romeo (Stephen Tyrone Williams),who wants to help him in his art project and after a rough start they finally hit off.After spending some intimate time together,it is revealed that Romeo is a closeted gay guy,and ends up insulting Johnny in front of his girlfriend bringing things to an end. Meanwhile,a hypocrite gay priest's wife,Lena,tries to pass a legislation in the parliament against gay rights,played by Margaret Laurena Kemp,who is also abused by her closeted husband. Further along the road,Romeo stands up for himself in front of his family and realizes he was wrong to Johnny.The story ends with the murder of Johnny,who is on his way to meet Romeo,by being stabbed by a bully.

The overall production is above average,and the only acting worth mentioning would be of Johnny Ferro's.The movie depicts what is going on in most parts of the world and how most of the times,the victims end up being losers.It does leave you thinking to say the least.The movie does get slow in between and you just want to get things going,but it does hold you at the same time.

I would recommend this!