rashid-popal Reviews

3 Body Problem (2024– )

great plot, BAD characters, rushed storyline, still watchable

[7/10 · 9 April 2024]

Just finished 4:I disliked the first episode, 2nd episode was good, 3rd got great, 4th makes me watch more.

Good: great Sci-FI plot. Good twists & turns, great CGI (when needed). Some senior characters are great.

Average: Pacing is very average. Things are rushed way too quickly.

Background score is average.

Purely bad: "Scientists" who make the main characters are very very bad. I just stopped pretending they are scientists. I look at them as teenage highschoolers now.

Character development is awful. I have seen many deaths and none of them made an impact.

I so wish the story was portrayed with more seriousness & casting of main scientists were different.

I would still finish it. But definitely a BIG missed opportunity.

Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning Part One (2023)

How was this mission impossible

[6/10 · 11 July 2023]

Am huge fan of MI franchise. The best part about all MI movies were how they plan and pull off an impossible mission. Thus I am quite disappointed on how this mission never seemed too difficult , let alone impossible.

Action was okay. Car chase was funny, but not exciting. Jumping off the cliff seemed forced to me. Why would you keep driving uphill when you can take short cuts to reach the train. It wasn't even a fast train. The key kept being stolen from pockets too many times which makes you wonder how lazy the scripting was. Kill old gf to make new gf was also lazy writing.

Unlike other MIs, Ethan had no single smart move or plan. It felt more like let's go and see what happens.

Am not sure how MI fans ignored all these weaknesses and gave this film 8+ rating.

AKA (2023)

Action, drama, thriller with fantastic performances

[9/10 · 30 April 2023]

The rating (6.7) doesn't justify this beautiful movie.

Take Jason Bourne and John wick and add alot of emotions and drama and realness.

The action is very raw, the suspense keeps you on the edge from start to finish, some twists here and there and the performances are the real treat here.

Specially from the main character. How he is Introduced and where he gets at the end of movie is understandable. Unlike many big action/thriller (big budget) movies, you actually understand every characters decision making. Even those who don't get much time for character development.

For a Netflix movie, it can't get much better. We need more of this Netflix. Budget well spent.

Brahmastra Part One: Shiva (2022)

a bold move by bollywood that needs encouragement

[8/10 · 10 September 2022]

First of all, ignore all the 1-2 star reviews. The reviewers have their own agenda against Ranbir, or Alia or Ayan or all of the above. It clearly has no relevance to the film.

Positive: the best visual effects bollywood has produced. Bahu bhali seems cartoonish compared to this.

The performances are good. Songs create a good vibe. Fight scenes are top notch.

Background music increases the emotions.

Negative: few characters are not polished, starts with a fight ends with a fight.

Alia's character is confusing, hopefully there is some reason behind her stupidity.

All in all, this is a great bollywood entertainer. Watch it with whole family. And for gods sake, ignore 1-2 starer reviewer.

The Boys: The Instant White-Hot Wild (2022) Season 3, Episode 8

loved the action, plotwise very little to offer

[6/10 · 14 July 2022]

Agree with most reviewers here.

Nothing major happened in the whole season other than soldier boy being found who can take your powers.

But wait, you can have them back by having V again.

The finale was confusing to say the least. None of the characters was in place.

Hughie decided to save himself and risk his GF.

Butcher, screaming for Homelanders deatch for the last 3 seasons, decides to fight the only person that can kill him, instead of just saving the kid and let big boys fight.

Maeve wants to stop soldier boy, then wants to kill homelander, then wants to save others, then?

People liked the boys cause it was different, but now even this has become a cash cow.

NOTE: hats off to Homelander. He is the hero of the show, for me.

Gehraiyaan (2022)

not for mass indian audience

[9/10 · 19 February 2022]

I saw the movie and directly came to IMDB to check the rating, surprise surprise, its. 6.4 with 22% giving it 1 star.

That just shows how numbers can be so meaningless sometimes.

This movie is everything it had promised, and more. I understood everyone's action, why they did what they did.

The story starts on a lighter note, but you do notice the uneasy atmosphere from the beginning. Dark colors & background music just gives you a feeling that something dark is coming, and something has already happened. The revelation of each secret is very well timed.

The performances are top notch. I found Ananya's character the most honest here. Didnt expect this from her at all, she was fantastic. Deepika of course had the biggest screen time so we could connect with her more. Siddahnt was above average. The intense scenes could have been better.

All in all, this movie has it all, love triange, family drama, suspense, thriller and every part is directed and portrayed exceptionally well.

And I agree with those 22% "this movie is not for indian Audience", they are better of with Salman khan movies. I am grateful this came to OTT.

The Matrix Resurrections (I) (2021)

how can you ask for a better "resurection"?

[8/10 · 31 December 2021]

I am hard Matrix fanboy. Have watched the original matrix 5 times at least. 2 and 3 at least 3 times.

So I couldnt wait to watch my favorite childhood characters on the big screen again.

The movie has a story, not as complex as the original, but honestly the 4th part of any movie just cant be more original than the original. The story was faily simple, though I did miss some points, such as the Doctors' intention behind all this.

The action was above average, expected a bit more from a movie like Matrix.

The new characters were great, but some didnt get enough time or background, I believe.

VFX is top notch, some scenes were just breathtaking.

Overall, I couldnt have asked for a better "resurrection" of the Matrix, came out of the theater with smile in my face.

Not really sure where the bad reviews come from, but if you are a matrix fan, just go and have fun. You wont regret it, mark my word.

You're Next (2011)

stupid Characters = Lazy Writing

[5/10 · 15 January 2021]

Postivies: the lead is the strongest character here for sure, and she does have some satisfying moments. Some good horror scenes. satisfying deaths. good twist. Negative: Lazy Writing: I just couldnt ignore the laziness of the writing. Imagine this one example: a family is being attacked in their from outside, they have no idea who or how many the attackers outside are. what they do? ohh let us send a woman outside to run and call for help, IN THE MIDDLE OF THE JUNGLE. stupid characters: beside the lead, every single person is plain stupid. they shouldnt be, they were introduced pretty seriuosly. so their decisions make no sense. cheap Scare tactics, not so original Not sure how this has 6.7 rating. Doesnt deserve more than 5.

Sweet Home (2020– )

Okay Drama, Poor Horror, Ok Story. in Short nothing special

[5/10 · 14 January 2021]

The first 2 Episodes were fun, getting to know the characters was great. Action with the Monsters also great. after that the show fell flat. Horror got lesser so did the action. Drama was tried, but since not much is happening it got boring pretty quickly. The characters remain the same throughout the whole show (apart from 1 bad ass which is actually the most intersting character). So if you know them in the first episode, you know them until the last episode. Pace is the greatest disapointment here. Story was okay, there was enough suspense. but not enough for 10 Episodes. should had been 6 Episodes ideally. Last episode, was the worst. Nothing was revealed, viewers waited 9 episodes to get at least some answers. but in greed for the next season, they revealed nothing. In summary: I regret watching all the 10 episodes, hoping that something might happen in the next episode. and I wont make the same mistake, IF, season 2 came.

Betaal (2020– )

great start, average in middle, disasterous End!

[6/10 · 25 May 2020]

First episode was great, plausible plot, interesting characters, great cinematogrophy. 2nd Episode did pretty well, great horror scenes, fast paced, not knowing what the next minute will reveal. 3rd Episode was lazy, Soldiers being stuck in a building & doing nothing but wait, with no real plan. let alone plan B or C. The actions of the soldiers made no sense, 90% of action is you watching rifles being fired. Nothing else. 4th Episode was disasterous. No surprises, nothing interesting happens. Actors just look lazy and not interested in trying, again no real plan. the final "plan" on how to end all this was a "chutiyan" plan, in one of the soldiers' own word.

Cinematography was pretty good for the indian standard. Acting was bad. Even Viineet Kumar, (whom I personally admire , he is a fantastic actor) was just clueless 80% of the show.

Hope there is no more seasons, or at least not with the same writer & director. Disappointed.

Leila (2019– )

DO NOT trust the review score. all from Hindu extremists

[8/10 · 5 July 2019]

Ok , I dont write reviews, but for this I HAD to. the Series is not Brilliant, but defintely worth watch. the 4.3 Review score is because of thousands of hindu extremist giving this 1 Star. Story is quite relevant to current situation in India. It has great story, great acting, suspense and drama. Give it a try, you will be surprised. I feel bad for the series to be so bombed by Hindus who cant take critic of their own society.

Ravenous (2017)

Nothing new, a dumb zombie movie with no entertainment value.

[4/10 · 10 March 2018]

Ok, first things first. I am not a critic. I am just a normal audience watching 1 movie a day. I hadnt seen the trailer, so I had no idea what I was expecting. the Genre "drama & horror", is given to the movie. Where there is some drama, the horror part is no where to be seen. Positive: great landscapes. I guess the first zombie movie with such scenery. some effective humor here and there. Negative: It is DULL: very slow pacing, camera focus on a character for 30 secs, without anything happening. no expressions, no message. just dullness. It is Dumb: the characters do not live in real world. OR they all are in total shock (which is hard to beleive since it has been weeks and months they have been living like this). The decisions made make no sense. for example in an important scene a group of people while realising they have been ambushed, live the house on foot (there are cars around which they can use). but they dont. No idea why. Zombies are like ghosts, they appear out of no where. In one shot a character is alert holiding a gun in open, next shot she is bitten by a single zombie. why didnt she shoot her, how did she not see her coming? not answered. I like when a director leaves a hint and let the audience use his/ her imagination but in this case my imagination couldnt catch up. I was left clueless. Verdict: if you are looking for a zombie horror movie, skip this. you will be disappointed.

The Terror Live (2013)

Starts great, ends mediocre.

[5/10 · 28 May 2016]

The movie starts with a good note and develop its main Character very well. Someone wants to be heard and will do anything to do so.

The middle also continues with the suspense. However, its here when things get unreal and ridiculous. For example, the way the Police Commissioner handles the situation is very unreal and comically dramatic.

My major disappointment with the movie though was the ending. With all the built up suspense, the ending left me unsatisfied. I was waiting for something big. Something that could have justified the action of the protagonist. but it didn't.

I waited and waited for the plot twist, but never got it. Even with the director intended to, it was pretty obvious for me.

Great potential, but rather turned out to be another predictable drama then a thriller with a message. 1 time watch if you have nothing else to do and have seen all the other great Korean thrillers twice. :)