nihalbhat2 Reviews

Acapulco (2021– )

Take these broken wings

[10/10 · 10 April 2023]

The best coming of age TV Show hands down! Great comedy. Mystery, drama, romance everything. I found it really relatable, from my own experiences in my early 20s as well - bittersweet is the main theme here.

They got the balance and nostalgia absolutely perfect.

Each episode is about 30 mins, but packs an emotional punch,and i was able to binge watch the entire first season in about a week.

I dont want to spoil the plot, but its a rags to riches story thats narrated in flashback to his nephew, depicting the 80s period in a popular fictional Mexico hotel for rich celebrities. The supporting actors do a good job here also with some of their own emotional sub plots. It also has a nostalgic/bittersweet type romance that is the center of the plot. It is excellent as i could relate to everything the main character Maximo went through in his 20s.

10/10.

The Last of Us (2023– )

Best TV show- EVER!

[10/10 · 20 January 2023]

I have only watched one episode. But in terms of filmaking, this is sheer genius. One of the best adaptations ever, and one of the best tv shows ever. HBO simply do not disappoint. Pedro pascal is wonderfully cast as the lead protagonist in a post apocalyptic dystopia, urban wasteland.

The first episode contains a lot of surprises and plot twists. Pascal's character struggles to come to grips with loss and the new framework of society after a zombie apocalypse rips thru the heart of America. He meets a young girl, who may hold the key to human's salvation...

In terms of runtime, fantastic value, the pilot is well over an hour long. May it continue.

The Capture (2019– )

Solid 8 out of 10 with some shocking twists

[9/10 · 7 November 2022]

Really enjoyed season 1. It was well filmed and the lead actress Ms Grainger gives a good performance as the lead detective. She emotes well with her eyes. Season 1 also has some very surprising action moments as well. Dont want to spoil the plot, but this is one of the better british espionage thriller shows. The other one is 'bodyguard' which only had 1 season.

Season 2, just started, is simply even better, its excellent. Its a continuation of the first season, only the stakes are higher. Show does take a bit of time to understand, as a lot of sudden plot twists to wrap your head around. The themes are relevant right to the current day e.g. Espionage, China, surveilance, all that. Sort of like 'Enemy of the state' but a bit more sophisticated now.

Better Call Saul (2015–2022)

Best crime drama EVER put to film

[10/10 · 14 August 2022]

Almost every scene makes you smile. The performances by the two leads- bob odenkirk and rhea seehorn are magnificent. The plot is excellent- (continuing on from 'breaking bad' - albeit a prequel with some minor contrivances like the actors appearing 7 years older in a prequel) and the universe building is extremely rich.

I doubt this and breaking bad will ever be topped. The top 2 greatest tv shows in this genre.

Black Bird (2022)

Brilliant. Taron Egerton channels Brando

[10/10 · 9 August 2022]

The lead actor is simply brilliant. He channels his own version of Brando with a commanding screen presence. He even looks like him. The support actor who plays the villain(Paul Walter Hauser) the supposed serial killer is also subtle. The rest of the cast great too. It has great character and plot development.

24 (2001–2010)

Review for Season 3- jack bauer TV greatest action hero

[9/10 · 29 April 2022]

Season 3 is excellent. Gripping, a lot of plot twists, and non stop action and tension make for compelling viewing. The villain is also excellent. There are shades of bond, die hard and the best of other franchises. The stakes are high. Sutherland gives one of his best performances in season 3 and there is no better modern day action hero in TV. Still to this date- 2022, 24 season 3 is ahead of its time.

The supporting cast is excellent as well- led by Dennis haysbert as President Palmer, Carlos bernard as Almeida, and even DB woodside- the president's brother who is introduced as his new chief of staff.

The political subplots add drama and intrigue to the overall final product.

24 (2001–2010)

Rating for Season 5 only-

[9/10 · 23 March 2022]

Season 5 remains one of the best individual seasons in the history of tv. Sort of like breaking bad season 4 or so.

It is simply epic- with a lot of high stakes plot twists and thrills. Kiefer sutherland plays the best action hero in the history of TV - even to date he hasnt been surpassed- reviewing this in 2022.

If you liked the movie 'die hard' then this easily tops it, as it has political intrigue, conspiracies and a bit of romance to boot.

Season 5 rating - a perfect score 10/10.

I have watched all the other seasons, but nothing comes close to season 5.

Severance (2022– )

Very good - similar to LOST

[9/10 · 20 March 2022]

I was hooked on lost- one of the great mystery shows of the modern TV and this is right up there with the great show. Lost lost its way in the final season with a strange ending and a cop out- hopefully here the writers have written a good ending 'plan' and will keep the seasons going for atleast 4-5 solid season before concluding it.

I'd rather not say any spoilers, but the mystery and the dystopian themes are highly addictive, and the serialised nature(appear weekly) make it even more so.

9 marks out of 10.

Scream (I) (2022)

No common sense

[2/10 · 12 March 2022]

So are we expected to believe there are no nurse staff on duty, no police, no detectives and the killer's are free to roam? Entire movie is a giant plot hole. A lot of cliches. Poor third act.

The Batman (2022)

Pattinson steals the show, but not without some nitpicks

[8/10 · 6 March 2022]

1) First of all, a shout out to Pattinson for a comic accurate performance as a very determined, detective type batman trying to solve a murder mystery ala the long halloween or hush. His eyes gave a lot of depth to his performance. He doesnt have too many lines, but he is in most of the scenes.

2) Some nitpicks. There are a lot of plot holes that take the audience for granted. These i deducted slightly. For example, batman crashes with his wingsuit, has an injury, but immediately recovers in the next scene. In the warehouse scene, penguin unloads an entire clip into batman with his submachine gun, and batman is lying on the ground. Yet a short moment later, he's in the batmobile 100metres away! This i found a bit too unbelievable. In the final scene, he is shot several times and is still conscious(barely). His armour is almost too good to be true.

3) mood, soundtrack, score was excellent. The grim mood, and each shot is very gorgeous, and has a number of emotional scenes namely with Bruce and alfred.

4) Not a lot of difference in the character of bruce wayne, but i guess they wanted to be different for this film compared to the others. It still worked.

Overall 8/10.

Ozark (2017–2022)

Simply brilliant - rating for season 3

[10/10 · 11 February 2022]

Im on season 3. Id give it a 10/10. This is one of the finest seasons of any TV show in modern TV history.

Season 1&2 had variable moments but were good too, all focussed on the build up to season 3 which is damn epic if you ask me. The characters, the plots , even the humour is incredible. Must see this crime epic. Its probably equivalent to a modern day godfather- absolute masterpiece of crime cinema.

Superman & Lois (2021–2024)

Best superhero TV show- ever!

[9/10 · 27 January 2022]

This goes down as the best superhero TV show ever - so far. The plot is interesting, the set pieces are action packed, and the stakes are exhilarating. There are a lot of plot twists, it keeps you guessing, and its highly addictive. The addition of the two sons of superman & lois is an interesting concept.

I am up to episode 3, and the plot is very edgy. Superman played by Tyler hoechlin, is the best iteration since christopher reeve.

The Sex Lives of College Girls (2021– )

like this show, was fun but a bit too short- 22mins per episode

[8/10 · 3 December 2021]

Liked the jokes and the chemistry. Id give it an 8 in terms of production quality. Was easily bingeable as only 22 mins per episode(from episode 2 onward) and theres end credits of a few mins giving 25 mins an episode. The pilot was longer at around 55 minutes.

The characters have great chemistry. Each character's lives is interesting. The structure is good. Its well filmed. High production quality. You are genuinely invested in the characters.

Standout character is definitely the indian girl, Bela, played by Amrit kaur. She is funny and steals every scene. The character is basically a sex-addict ironically coming from a conservative indian background. Indian audiences in the west will find this funny.

Only Murders in the Building (2021– )

excellent! funny and all round cast.

[10/10 · 31 October 2021]

Only finished 1.5 episodes and this is one of my all time great shows. There are few pure mystery/comedy shows on TV. If you liked knives out you will very much like this classic whodunnit with satirical elements. The characters are also extremely likeable. Selena gomez is also a standout in her breakout role, and very attractive.

Ohm Shanthi Oshaana (2014)

classic malayalam film

[9/10 · 23 October 2021]

Splendid performances from nazriya and nivin. And the entire cast including the parents of nazriya. She gives an innocent performance. Nivin is also a gentle hearted character. I really enjoyed this film. Its a total classic malayalam movie. Definitely in the top 5 malayalam films of the decade in this romance genre(with bangalore days, premam which are just mind blowing as well)

Oh My Kadavule (2020)

Great fun film

[9/10 · 16 October 2021]

Great entertainment. Especially loved the cameos with vijay sethupathi. This is a fun fantasy film. And had some unpredictable twists. The two leads give fantastic performances. Ashok selvan and rithika Singh. They have great chemistry and the film works. Spoiler :Only drawback is some plot points I didn't like eg the stalking of meera and friends seemed awkward.

Love Mocktail (2020)

good not great but not enough character development

[7/10 · 10 October 2021]

We dont see the conversations of the main lovers. Its all glossed over and superficial. Perhaps that is the point. The actual dialogue and plot is fine though. The end where the better half gets cancer has been done many times before. The end left me empty. There apparently is a sequel so i will check that out.

Squid Game (2021– )

incredible and immersive!

[10/10 · 4 October 2021]

Simply immersive. Thats my general consensus. I am only up to episode 4?(i am binging it so lost track) but this is almost meditative - the scope of this. The filmaking is on another level. Its so revolutionary, everything in it. Dont want to spoil it. Must watch..

the acting is just superb and it will keep you guessing.

The genre not to spoil is mystery/dystopia.

Arjun Reddy (2017)

deverakonda brilliant!

[9/10 · 3 October 2021]

Just loved this film. Support cast- his best friend was excellent. Thats how a best friend should be.

Overall its a cult classic Just took 1 point off due to the love interest being more of a plot device, not much development of her.

But overall its a great film about caste barriers pulling lovers apart. Very emotional. Good acting from entire cast. And an anger/alcoholism/drugs spiral, of an angry young, albeit brilliant surgeon.

This is one of the finest Telugu movies ever to be made. I highly recommend this.

I liked the cameo of Jia Sharma. She's a very attractive lady.

The Hunt (2012)

one of the best foreign films ever.

[10/10 · 31 May 2021]

Intense, gripping, with wonderful performances from all the cast including mikkelsen. Its very realistic, how one lie could turn into more lies and lead into a nightmare for one person.

A man is falsely accused of sexual abuse, whilst he is a teacher at a nursery. There is no question of his innocence, that is not what the film is trying to convey, but rather how the lie grows out of proportion, and destroys his entire life.

Spoilers below:

His son is really the only one who believes him throughout, that was the best part of the movie.

Bosch (2014–2021)

Epic cop drama. Finest ever made

[10/10 · 2 August 2020]

Just binged 6 seasons of this show all in record time.

Titus welliver gives one of the best performances for modern day TV- as a battle hardened detective and also a War vet.

The rest of the cast is superb - Jamie hector as the partner and Madison Lintz as his daughter give sensitive, nuanced performances. Hector is Welliver's more quiet counterpart, subtle but calm and improves as the show goes on and is a standout in Season 6 where he is given a solid arc regarding his Haitan roots(Hector himself is Haitan).

All of the seasons are fantastic, lots of plot twists and sudden action scenes/horrifying scenes at times as well.