Prey (2022)

STORY – 1
DIRECTOR – 1
ACTOR – 0
MUSIC – 0
CULT – 0

 

 

VERDICT – 2/5

 

 

PROS –
1) Adventure of an alien Predator in 1719 against a Comanche woman. The plot is intriguing as it gives more depth to the Predator mythology as they arrived on Earth in different timelines.
2) The massacre of French trappers.
3) The third-act where the Predator is eventually killed.

 

 

CONS –
1) The director made a wrong decision by letting the Comanche people speak in English. An Apocalypto (2006) like movie would’ve been much better. Dialogues are irrelevant when everything is explained with action.
2) The first half is a drag. Only the scenes involving the Predator are worth watching.

 

 

QUOTE –
Naru: I don’t know that this thing can be killed.
Taabe: If it bleeds… we can kill it.

Boss Level (2021)

STORY – 1
DIRECTOR – 1
ACTOR – 1
MUSIC – 0
CULT – 1

 

 

VERDICT – 4/5

 

 

PROS –
1) An ambitious ex-Colonel is working on a classified project called Osiris spindle which is a time-machine of sorts that can help the user relive time. His lead scientist on the project decides to foil his dangerous plan of controlling time by putting her estranged husband in the time-loop
2) It’s a time-loop action galore like Edge of Tomorrow (2014).
3) A fun sci-fi movie with lots of action and a tight 100-minute run time. Under-rated gem.
4) Ken Jeong & Michelle Yeoh in the supporting cast.
5) Selina Lo as Guan Yin will be remembered as the menacing swords-woman. Cult character.

 

 

CONS –
N/A

 

 

QUOTE –
There’s something I don’t like about him. He has that… trait. The overachiever who makes up for a lack of talent with hustle. The guy in the playground I grew up hating.

Future Man (Season 3)

STORY – 0
DIRECTOR – 1
ACTOR – 1
MUSIC – 0
CULT – 0

 

 

VERDICT – 2/5

 

 

PROS –
1) The time-travel adventures of Josh, Wolf, and Tiger continues.
2) Seth Rogen finally making an appearance.
3) Wild Sam Bladden

 

 

CONS –
1) The “Haven” plot was poorly written and dragged to its limit.
2) Lukewarm Y2K climax.

 

 

QUOTE –
Tiger: Boy! Why did you have to bring us to yet another time where women are treated like garbage?
Josh: Well I’m so sorry, it’s called ‘all of human history’.

Framing Britney Spears (2021)

STORY – 1
DIRECTOR – 0
MUSIC – 0
CULT – 1

 

 

VERDICT – 2/4

 

 

PROS –
1) Rise and fall of Britney Spears. And most importantly the conservatorship of the pop-star.
2) Nothing groundbreaking in this documentary but must give credit to The New York Times for raising an important issue.

 

 

CONS –
1) There are shorts available on YouTube about Britney Spears better than this documentary.

 

 

QUOTE –
OMG, my goodness, ew, Strong Britney!

Run (2020)

STORY – 1
DIRECTOR – 1
ACTOR – 1
MUSIC – 0
CULT – 0

 

 

VERDICT – 3/5

 

 

PROS –
1) A disabled teenage girl held captive by her obsessive psychopath mother. The mother’s intention was made clear in the opening sequences of the movie until it’s revealed that she’s not even her mother but someone who abducted her as an infant.
2) Sarah Paulson shines as the psychopathic antagonist.
3) Aneesh Chaganty is clearly the director to watch out for, after his previous thriller Searching (2018).
4) The climax was equally intriguing.

 

 

CONS –
N/A

 

 

QUOTE –
Chloe: You need me!

Palm Springs (2020)

STORY – 0
DIRECTOR – 0
ACTOR – 1
MUSIC – 0
CULT – 0

 

VERDICT – 1/5

 

 
PROS –
1) Andy Samberg’s trademark idiosyncrasies make it watchable.

 

 
CONS –
1) A time-loop fantasy rom-com with a plot extremely similar to Groundhog Day (1993), for the post-millennial audience who missed the 90s classic.
2) The whole “true-love” theme is now done to death.

 

 
QUOTE –
Roy: You gotta find your Irvine.
Nyles: I don’t have an Irvine.
Roy: We all have an Irvine.

“Into the Dark” – The Body (2018)

STORY – 0
DIRECTOR – 0
ACTOR – 0
MUSIC – 0
CULT – 0

 

VERDICT – 0/5

 
PROS –
N/A

 

CONS –
1) Neither horror nor funny. This is a formulaic slasher movie with a bad cast.
2) The entire movie appears like a parody of the slasher genre.

 

 

QUOTE –
Hell’s empty and all the devils are here.

Ramy (Season 1)

STORY – 1
DIRECTOR – 1
ACTOR – 1
MUSIC – 0
CULT – 0

 

VERDICT – 3/5

 
PROS –
1) I’ll rank this show almost equivalent to “Master of None”. And for the same reason, this series is redundant as Aziz Ansari already did it.
2) “Ne Me Quitte Pas” is the Emmy worth episode of this series.
3) Stephen Way as Stevie. The best thing in Hollywood for the disability community.

 
CONS –
1) Nothing new for the audiences of “Master of None” or even “Citizen Khan”.

 

QUOTE –
“Uncle Naseem: We protect women because we don’t trust men.”

Fyre Fraud (2019)

STORY – 1
DIRECTOR – 1
MUSIC – 0
CULT – 0

VERDICT – 2/4

 
PROS –
1) Ultimate millennials meltdown. Rich spoiled attention-seeking millennials cheated in broad daylight by their favorite medium – the social media. This Instagram armageddon is the exemplary example of blind consumerism in the era of so-called “social media influencers”.
2) Billy McFarland’s FYRE festival was a scam from the word go. The shocking thing is how the super investigative western media played along Billy and promoted this shitstorm without an iota of scrutiny.

 
CONS –
1) This documentary documents Billy’s history and the events run-up to the disastrous festival but not the actual chaos on the Bahamian island. Very little time is given to actual festival attendees.

 
QUOTE –
“a drunk mind speaks a sober tongue”

Future Man (Season 2)

STORY – 1
DIRECTOR – 1
ACTOR – 1
MUSIC – 0
CULT – 1

VERDICT – 4/5

 
PROS –
1) Wolf’s entire adventure in NAG was the best part of this season
2) An unpredictable surreal time-travel saga spanning different eras where the characters forget about the actual quest and are lost in their own petty errands.
3) The show is terribly under-rated. Just like the first season, it’s fast-paced, witty and full of pop culture references.
4) Stu & Tiger on MARS.
5) Seth Rogen’s cameo in the finale. The finale confirms that in a time-travel adventure, things will always go from bad to worst. And we are ready for more in the next season.

 
CONS –
N/A

 

QUOTE –
Wolf: In prison, he was my friend. He gave me a rock hammer and I used it to dig a hole, bit by bit every night, to make my escape.
Level: How did they not see the hole?
Wolf: Oh, well, that was the great part. He also gave me a sexy poster to hang on the wall to cover the hole.
Hatchet: They let you have a poster?
Lathe: That seems implausible.
Wolf: Well, I helped them out with their taxes. But [stammers], that’s not important.