‘Cursed’ Netflix series: Analytical review

‘Cursed’ Netflix series: Analytical review

Netflix released its new Fantasy adventure drama ‘Cursed’ on 17 July 2020.It was one of the most hyped show from Netflix. Katherine Langford plays the lead role in the show along with Devon Terrell as Arthur, Gustaf Skarsgård as Merlin, Daniel Sharman as Weeping Monk/Lancelot, Sebastian Armesto as Uther Pendragon, Lily Newmark as Pym, Shalom Brune-Franklin as Igraine/Morgana, and Peter Mullan as Father Carden. The series portrays the medieval period, before King Arthur. It is an Arthurian tale which based on a sword which is considered the symbol for the power. It consists of ten episodes having a run time ranges between 40 to 60 minutes.

ABOUT

Feys are different creatures similar to humans. Nimue is a fey girl tries to run away from the village. Red palatins, the church army, tries to wipe out the feys and hold the supreme power by taking the sword in possession. Red palatins attacks Nimue’s village and kills people including her mother. As per her mother’s last wish Nimue escapes from the village to hand over the sword to a man called Merlin. The Iceland king and the king of pendragons are also trying to capture the sword.  During the journey, she had to face lots of challenges and overcomes different problems. Who is Merlin? Is Nimue able to hand over the sword to him? What were the problems she faced during travel? First season of cursed discusses all these questions. Watch and find out the answers.

POSITIVES

The base story of the show is an interesting factor. The show is already stated that it is an Arthurian story, before the king Arthur wielded the sword. And during the beginning it says before Arthur the king the power of sword chosen a queen. Cursed is trying to convey the story of that unknown woman called lady of the lake. Lots of TV shows are based on King Arthur, but it is a fresh one as it stated.

Medieval periodic dramas are always focused on a king or kingdom or the wars they led. But this one upholds a feministic nature by focusing on the evolution of an ordinary woman into the Queen. Even Game of thrones shows the story of Daenerys Targaryen it is not completely focused on that or never showed a feministic nature. This one makes a difference by considering the story of a Queen.

Cinematography and Visuals are the important factors to be mentioned. Even at some lagging portions, good visuals and cinematography helps to keep the viewer engaged. It has a good graphic novel style which makes it visually important.

NEGATIVES

The show is very slow at the beginning which had nothing interesting to convey. First few episodes are boring and lagging to a great extent. It kills the interest to watch the further and there are lots of unnecessary scenes which again make the show boring. Predictability is also a great problem which hinders the enjoyment. It offers no exciting twists or events.

VFX is an important thing for this kind of series. But here the VFX quality is not much great. There is a scene in which Nimue fights with wolves. We could feel lack of good visual effects clearly in this scene.

The fights are not much engaging and not well choreographed. Some fights are satisfying but most of them are not, especially, Katherine Langford’s fight scenes. She performs not too well in the fights.

For a woman oriented story a strong performance from the lead actress is the back bone. But Katherine fails in portraying a strong leading queen role. Her performance in emotional and romantic scenes was really good but couldn’t provide best as Fey Queen.

Other important characters are not explained well or didn’t get much space to exhibit them. This is a main drawback and affects in understanding and enjoying the whole story. Proper character explanation is needed to create an attachment with audience. This drawback pulls down the effect of show.

OVERALL VERDICT AND RATING (STRICTLY PERSONAL)

Those who are interested in fantasy-periodic dramas can try this one. It is enjoyable if you watch without any expectations. Even though it lags first becomes interesting after few episodes. It is a good story with some troubles in execution. Overall it is good but not great.

Rating: 6.5/10

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Breathe: into the shadows –Spoiler free Analytical Review

Breathe: into the shadows –Spoiler free Analytical Review

Breathe season 1 starring Madhavan and Amith sadh in lead roles was one of the well-known thriller series from Amazon prime. So expectations were high from the announcement of its second season. Season one ends with the completion of the story it showed. Season two is a new story with the same police officer in the main lead (Amith sadh).Breathe into the shadows is a crime thriller drama released in Amazon prime on July 10, 2020. Abhishek Bachan and Nithya Menen are the newly added lead actors in the renewed season. Amidh Sadh plays the role of the police officer role, Kabir sawant, same as in the first season. Abhishek Bachan acts as Dr. Avinash Sabharwal who also helps police in certain crucial cases. Nithya Menen plays the role of Abha Sabharwal, Wife of Avinash. The show is created and directed by Mayank Sharma and produced by Abundantia Entertainment. It consists of 12 episodes with running duration ranging between 40 to 60 minutes.

ABOUT

Dr. Avinash Sabharwal is a psychiatrist, who also helps police in investigations with his knowledge in psychology. Abha is his wife and a leading chef. Siya is their six year old daughter. Their happy life comes to a turn when siya is got kidnapped by an unknown man. After ten months, the kidnapper contacts them and insists to fulfill his conditions. Avinash had to commit crimes to protect his daughter. Things becomes more complicated when Kabir Sawant take over the crime cases. Who kidnapped siya? What are the crimes that the kidnapper made Avinash to commit? Did he able to protect siya? How Kabir deal with the case? The show explains the answers to these questions.

GOOD THINGS ABOUT THE SHOW

The story line of the series is good. Although it developed in a poor manner, the story that it intended to convey is good enough. The flash back, present and the story of Kabir all is connected in a good manner. It is the first good thing to mention.

The story is able to give a justification to the characters, especially villain and the crimes he committed. It is always a good factor that there is a reason behind all. In this season a well reason is given and it is showed well. Lack of a good justification is present in the last season for most of the characters.

The main twist of the show is interesting. And it has enough thrilling moments. But at some times it fails to keep the audience with the flow of story. It is less thrilling compared to the first season except the last few episodes. The Climax of this season is far better than the first one. Climax episodes are interesting and thrilling.

NEGATIVES OF THE SHOW

The development of the story is done in a poor manner. It is tagged as a crime thriller but the show follows a dramatic mood more. Dramatic moments are more compared to thrilling moments.

Lack of freshness and predictability are other problems with this show. There are lot of movies and series based on kidnapping child and forcing to do crimes. This one too follows the same pattern and almost predictable. An exception is the twist at the end of fifth episode.

Even though it had a good story with a twist, it didn’t portray well. The twist was interesting but they reveal it before the story progress. After that, there is nothing interesting to make the audience watch further. But somehow they managed to build a good and thrilling climax.

Unwanted scenes ruin the flow. Over promotion of brands and institutions were annoying. Certain restaurants, hotels, shops were highlighted more than actually it needed. It felt annoying when it is repeated. There are 12 episodes totally .It would be better if the episodes were reduced by eliminating the unnecessary scenes.

PERFORMANCE OF ACTORS

Amith sadh played his role well. His performance was not good enough in the last season. But in this season he nailed as Kabir. Abhishek Bachan tried well. His performance at the climax portions were really good even it was not much good at the beginning.Nithya Menen also done well as Abha. All the other characters played their roles neatly.

OVERALL VERDICT AND RATING (STRICTLY PERSONNEL)

Overall the show is just watchable. Thrilling moments are few compared to first season. And lot of predictability there. But have a good story and an interesting climax. Even though it becomes boring at some points, it is a one-time watchable series for all type of audience.

Rating: 6.5/10

 

 

 

ALL GOOD AND BAD WITH ‘BREATHE’: INDIAN SERIES SPOILER FREE ANALYTICAL REVIEW

ALL GOOD AND BAD WITH ‘BREATHE’: INDIAN SERIES SPOILER FREE ANALYTICAL REVIEW

Breathe is an Indian thriller series released in Amazon Prime on January 26, 2018.R.Madhavan,Amith Sadh, Sapna pabbi and Neena Kulkarni  plays the main roles. It is a crime thriller genre which depicts the adventures of a father to save his son from premature death. How much an innocent man can be cruel enough to save his loved one? This show is merely based on this question and the paths that the man takes for his aim. It shows a hero turning into villain situation where the audience is confused whether to consider him as a hero or villain. Madhavan plays the character Danny, the innocent and desperate father who turned evil for his son. Breathe is the second original series from Amazon prime whereas the first was ‘Inside edge’ released in 2017.The first season consists of eight episodes with a running time ranges between 30 to 40 minutes. First season ends with completion of the story. A second season for Breathe, with a new story and starring Abhishek Bachchan is all ready to release on July 10, 2020.

ABOUT

Denzil "Danny" Mascarenhas, A football coach, is struggling to keep his son Josh alive from Lung disorder. Aruna is the doctor of Josh, and Danny’s girlfriend. She informs that Josh is fourth on the lung recipient list and there is maximum six months for josh to get saved. Since his blood group is a rare one, it is a tough task to reach the first position. Danny decides to save josh at any cost which turned him into a serial killer who murders the organ donors with that blood group. In parallel, story of Kabir Sawant a depressed and alcoholic a police officer is also shown. He lost his daughter due to his own mistakes, which he thinks, and this turned him an alcoholic. When he was on the verge of divorce he had to take over the case and which ultimately lead to a cat and mouse game between Danny and Kabir. Watch the series to know what happened next and how it ended.

POSITIVES OF THE SHOW

It is an engaging thriller. That is the prime factor to watch the show. There is lot of thrilling, nail-biting, seat edge moments in the show which makes you enthralled throughout. It can be said as a spine chiller with necessary elements to engage a thriller fan.

The tension buildup and the twists included in the show are best ones to be mentioned (some twists are predictable too).As it is a crime thriller there is something which triggers you to watch the show. Some methods chosen by Danny to eliminate his victims are shocking and breathtaking. This keeps you glued to the seat until the show is over.

Technical aspects are good. The direction, cinematography and especially the intriguing back ground music helped to raise the show to a technically good one.

It conveys a social message about the need and importance of organ donation. It implicitly criticizes the people those who are reluctant to donate organs on the basis of some religious believe. The team deserves real appreciation for talking about this problem.

NEGATIVES OF THE SHOW

The story is basically a mix of some other movies which we have seen many times. This drawback increases the predictability of the show to a great extent. Even the climax twist became predictable.  Almost all the events, except the killing methods, felt seen somewhere. The character of Kabir Sawant, a depressed alcoholic police officer is the iconic symbol of all the thrillers nowadays. It is sad that the same pattern is followed here. The show becomes failure in presenting freshness in its events and characters.

Logical mistakes are the main things that can’t be avoided from a movie or series recently. Even though it doesn’t kill the entertainment or eagerness to watch the show, it is a mentionable one if we think more about the story.

The last episode destroyed the chance for the series to become a great thriller. It has a good story buildup which made us watch till the last episode. But the finale had nothing to offer other than a predictable cliché climax.

About the performance of cast:

Madhavan had done a great job. It was him who holds the life of the show. He deserves a good appreciation. The performances, other than Madhavan and Neena kulkarni, were not much impressive. Amith sadh failed to create an emotional feeling with his depression, which he was supposed to be. Sapna pabbi’s over dramatic acting some time felt like a mega serial-wife character. But the kid as Josh had done an outstanding performance compared to those main stream actors.

OVERALL VERDICT AND RATING

It will be a good one time experience for a thriller fan, without any expectation. It may be disappoint you with the climax and the predictable events but can be watch for a good thrilling experience.

Rating: 7/10

*Above opinions are strictly personal. Do watch and enjoy the show*

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Five must watch classic thrillers from Alfred Hitchcock, The master of suspense

Five must watch classic thrillers from Alfred Hitchcock, The master of suspense

Alfred Hitchcock, known as the master of suspense was an eminent director and producer in the English film industry. His creativity in film making made him a director who surpassed the time. His works are still well accepted and even modern film makers are considering many of Hitchcock’s works as references. Thriller mystery suspense films were his Masterpieces. During the time span of 60 years of career as a film maker he had created over fifty films most of which were thrillers. Hitchcock was the director who introduced a new way of thriller mystery movies through his own unique making style. This unique making style and artistic nature in his works resulted in the creation of numerous classic thrillers. Several thrillers nowadays are slightly or mostly adapted from his classic movies. There is also a term called Hitchcockian style in the film making, representing his way of film making. Eight of his movies were selected to keep in U.S National Film Registry. Acclaimed top five movies from his career are discussing here which we recommend to all thriller fans to watch at least one time to experience the style and method of the legendary director.

1) PSYCHO (1960)

It is now considered as one of the best Psychological horror thriller from Alfred Hitchcock by International film critics and scholars and also complimented as a prominent work of cinematic art. It is a Masterpiece from Hitchcock. Marion crane, a real estate secretary elude from his boss with a handful of money. During her travel, she had to stay in a motel named ‘Bates motel’ for one night. The motel was run by a simple young man called Norman Bates. Having good terms with Norman, she came to know about his mentally ill mother, who reluctant to welcome stranger ladies to her house. And later unexpected events were happened and that night became the last night of Marion. What happened to her? What happened to Norman and mother? Watch the film for answers. Don’t miss this classic thriller. It is a complete package of horror thriller and suspense. The movies were released as sequel to Psycho after Hitchcock’s death. A remake was released in 1998 and a TV series was released in 2013 as a prequel set in 2010’s.

2) REAR WINDOW (1954)

It is 1954 released mystery thriller film starring James Stewart and Grace Kelly. It is considered as one of the greatest films ever made. It depicts the story through the views of a photographer who is resting in his apartment due to broken leg. It is a film which proves the Hitchcock’s the different style of making. Jeff, a professional photographer got his leg broken and confined to a wheel chair. Getting bored, he starts to observe his neighbors through his rear window. Some sights strike his mind and he doubt one of his neighbor as murderer. The story progress as he tries to confirm his doubts with the help of his lover and friends. This one is a best thriller and it offers a good cinematic experience.

3) DIAL M FOR MURDER (1954)

It is the best crime mystery thriller from Alfred Hitchcock. It tells the story of a professional tennis player, Tony Wendice who is planning to kill his wealthy wife Margot and thereby taking possession of all her assets. He assigns his acquaintance Charles for the murder by blackmailing him with his criminal activities. Charles agrees to that and Tony clearly describes the entire brilliant plan. But unexpected things were happened which ruined his entire plan and made the scene more complicated. What was Tony’s plan?  What happened? Did Charles kill Margot? How things get turned? Watch this classic thriller for the answers. It has a very engaging screenplay and has a lot of nail biting moments. Go for this without a second thought.

4) VERTIGO (1958)

Detective john retires from his service due to his fear of heights and vertigo. He tries to overcome his problems but friend advice that another emotional shock is the only cure. Later, an old friend approaches him and seeks help to follow his wife because she is suffering from a behavior disorder. He accepts his requests and starts to follow her. This leads him to more complicated problems and to some hidden truths. What happened to his friend’s wife? What were the truths he found out? Watch this thriller movie for the answers.

5) ROPE (1948)

It is the first Technicolor film from Hitchcock and based on a stage play in the same name. He used long takes in the movie all along to edit as to appear like a single shot film. The movie is well received and acclaimed mainly due to this technique of making. Two youngsters murder their friend by strangling with a rope; in order to prove that they are highly intelligent enough to commit a perfect crime without getting caught. For the same reason they host a dinner party, in which they invited Rupert Cadell, their former school master, from whom they got the idea that a perfect crime is an intellectual and superiority over others. They hid the body in a wooden chest and served food above that. Did anyone identify their plan? Were they able to escape from the crime? Was it a perfect murder? Was Rupert correct? The movie answers this entire question. Watch this masterpiece crime thriller. It will be a great experience.

Catch up all these ones. It will be a great loss for thriller lovers, if you miss them

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Best Five Thriller movies to watch if you loved ‘Knives out’

Best Five Thriller movies to watch if you loved ‘Knives out’

‘Knives out’ is an American movie released in the year of 2019. It is categorized as a mystery thriller. It is written and directed by Rian Johnson, a well-known American filmmaker and starring Daniel Craig, Chris Evans, and Ana de Armas in the lead roles. It was released on November 27, 2019, and well received by the critics and audience. Lionsgate, the distribution company, also hints about a sequel in the discussion, which is awaited to announce officially. This movie deals with the death of a Famous writer on the night after a family party in his own house and the proceeding investigation. It is a pure mixture of drama and thriller which gives the audience a chill. There are a few movies that can be included in that kind of theme. The best five movies which, we think, you may like are discussed below.

1) Clue (1985)

Clue, released in the year of 1985 is the best one to include first in the list. It is a black comedy, mystery thriller movie. It mixes thrills mystery and humor in the exact proportions. Six strangers are gathered together in a mysterious bungalow, invited by an unknown man for a party. A Butler, a cook, and a maid were present in the bungalow other than the guests. Eventually, hidden truths were unveiled and people start getting killed, one by one. Who is the murderer? Is the murderer is hiding between them? If the logical mistakes are left behind this hilarious thriller is much engaging and funny to watch.

Rating: 7.5 /10 

2) Crooked House (2017)

A famous British business tycoon is found dead in his mansion. And his granddaughter, Sophie requests her ex-lover, detective Charles to enquire about the death. Death was caused by a heart attack due to the mix of eserine, from eye drops with his insulin injection. She believed it is intentional and was done by one among the family members. Charles visits the house and starts to investigate by observing the members. Each has different behavior and has a definite motto to do it. Charles gets confused and things become more complicated when other mysterious incidents began to occur. Even though it is a slow-paced one it keeps the viewers engaged.

Rating: 7.5/10

3) Murder on the Orient express (2017)

Eminent detective Hercule Poirot comes across a murder while traveling on the orient express. The victim was a businessman, Edward ratchet, who informed Poirot that his life is in danger, Hours before his death. Poirot forced to find the culprit and starts to investigate among the passengers. It leads him to so many hidden secrets. A good thriller to watch for all thriller fans.

Rating: 7/10

4) Deathtrap (1982)

A black comedy thriller mystery movie released in the year 1982. Sydney Bruhl, a famous playwright, now facing a hard time in career. When a young admirer sends him a masterpiece work, Sydney tries to kill him and steal the script with the help of his wife. Later the story took an unexpected change. Overall a good mystery thriller to watch

Rating: 7/10

5) Gosford Park (2001)

Sir William McCordle host a weekend shooting party at their estate, Gosford Park. The helpers of the guests have separate places with the servants of the mansion. Each guest has a secret agenda on their arrival. Things become complicated when Mr. William is found dead after dinner. Apart from the above-mentioned movies, this one is less thrilling. More than a thriller it follows a dramatic mood with some suspenseful and mysterious events. But it is a good entertainer to watch one time.

Rating: 6.75/10

Hope these movies may never disappoint you. Do watch and stay connected for more thriller updates.

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Best Five Thriller movies to watch if you loved ‘DARK’ series

Best Five Thriller movies to watch if you loved ‘DARK’ series 

Dark, the German sci-fi thriller series released in Netflix has now conquered the hearts of millions by its mind bending twists and story. Dark already completed two seasons, now getting ready to make its third and last season to the run. People are in quest of movies that should satisfy them as the DARK did. Dark delivers a complex story of time travel with unexpected episodes. Many movies are available in time travel genre which is more or less complex as Dark. Here we are mentioning five films, which we think, should be interesting to watch.

1) MIRAGE (2018)

It is a Spanish sci-fi thriller released on Netflix. In 1989, during an electric storm, a boy dies in a car accident while running away from a murder scene. In 2014 a similar electric storm occur and Vera, who is now living in that boy’s home, happened to contact with him in 1989 through TV, by a space-time continuum glitch. Does Vera able to save him? How does it affect rest of her life? Watch this sci-fi thriller for answers.

Our rating: 8/10

2) PREDESTINATION (2014)

It is a sci-fi thriller starring Ethan Hawke in the lead role. A Temporal agent is assigns to travel back 1975 to prevent a bomb attack in New York. While him working as a bartender in 1975, he comes across a customer, Jane. His friendship with Jane and the after events unwrap so many mysteries and brings unexpected twists. This is actually a mind blowing, complex time travel movie as Dark series. So those were not yet seen this film should have a try.

We rate it: 8/10

3) LOOPER (2012)

Looper tells the story of Joe, who works as a ‘looper’ for Kansas City crime syndicate in the year of 2044. Loopers are those who supposed to execute and dispose the victims sent from the future by the syndicate, Because the future didn’t have proper methods to dispose the body. The story changes when Joe finds his own future as a victim to execute. And he gets more trouble when his older self escapes from him. He has to find his older version and have to execute. The movie is about the chase led by Joe and the truths about his own future. The movie is an entertaining ride with thrills and action. It will be worth to watch if you love time travel movies.

Our rating: 8/10

4) TIMECRIMES (2007)

This 2007 Spanish movie is a low budget high impact sci-fi thriller. It only has a very few characters but are important and portrayed well. Hector, a family man, while resting at his front yard notices, a woman undressing in the nearby forest, through his binocular. As he reaches the forest, she was lying there unconsciously. And he gets attacked by a mysterious man whose face covered with bandages. Hector’s further run and investigation led him to unexpected happenings. This movie is a fast paced thriller and it is recommended for thriller, time travel movie fans.

We rate it: 8/10

5) DÉJÀ VU (2006)

This American sci-fi thriller is about the investigation carried out by Special Agent Douglas Carlin concerning a ferry explosion. He is introduced to a new system which enables to look into past. During the investigation with this system he came across different events that happened before the explosion. And his try to prevent  undesired occurrences leads him to another twist. This movie is also a recommended one for thriller fans.

We rate it: 7.5/10

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