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Web series Breakdown: Netflix’s Sacred Games: Season-2

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As we discover the havoc & destructive notion planned by the mastermind of the whole game, Khanna Guruji throughout the season, while answering all the raised questions from the previous season, it again turns out to be a spectacular masterpiece made in India.

The second season opens up with Gaitonde floating in the middle of some ocean in a boat, as he starts explaining his story from where he left last. Half the time is left till the bigger catastrophe approaches Mumbai. Thus throughout the season, we see Sartaj & his fellow cops trying to find a solution, while sideways Gaitonde narrates his struggle & journey, as his story arc shifts across Kenya, Dubai & Mumbai.

We also discover the story arc of the mastermind behind the grand plan Guruji, played flawlessly by Pankaj Tripathi. His beliefs & ideologies that he glorifies & teaches to his disciples, as the story of arc shifts to the establishment of the ashram, back in time for the first time in Croatia.

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Gaitonde’s story arc & that of his people in the gang gets affected in certain ways, there is no more of a king left in Mumbai, while Isa, the arc nemesis has too left the country & has now established his empire in Dubai. As we see how Gaitonde’s life & will is manipulated & used up by others, while he can’t do much, rather than agreeing with what comes next.

As the narrative adds some new & strong characters in Batya Ableman(Kalki), the spiritual sidekick of Guruji, Anupriya as Megha, wife of Sartaj as we get to discover a lot more about her relationship with the lead protagonist. Terrorist Shahid Khan(Ranveer Shorey), from Lahore whose actions are driven by the hatered & rivalry between India & Pakistan. The fierce RAW agent Kusum Devi Yadav, a terrific performance from Amruta Subhash, as her character plays out damn well with Gaitonde, she is bold & dynamic woman.

Many old ones too perfectly reprise their roles again, Jatin & Shalini as the sassy Bunty & Kanta Bai. Elnaaz & Surveen also get more significant story arcs as Zoya, the famous Bollywood actress & Jojo, the manager kind of left with a brief introduction only in season-1, gets a whole lot of stuff to do this time around. Neeraj, Luke, Tripathi, Girish as DCP Parulkar, Malcolm, Trivedi & minister are all great to see again. We also get to discover more of Sartaj’s family line too.

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REVIEWER INSIGHT: Overall again it is a great season, as the makers understand the stakes raised in the previous one. Still, a lot of buzzes is going on about it’s ending. Ya if I have to explain it without spoilers, it is more of an end same as ‘Andhadhun’ & ‘Inception’, where the end outcome is left for you to think. The people that want a clear & straight end result were kind of pissed, so is the creepy & nasty kind of audience, that missed the adult content, as shown in the first season, while this season focuses more on the ashram & Guruji’s grand plan.

Each and every plot points are connected together in a synchronised way, that you start seeing the whole mysterious puzzle correctly till the very end of the season. While the climactic episode is made keeping in mind the stakes & the expectations. Teams, betrayal & motives change around. Still, overall a great season to watch, the performances & storyline are all of the top-notch.

Ratings: 🌟🌟🌟🌟

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Weekly Reviews: #3 Shazam!

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It is the story of Billy Batson(Asher Angel), a 14-year-old foster kid, running out mostly in hope to find out his lost mother. It is when he is taken up by Victor & Rosa, a couple that runs a foster home with 5 more children, namely Mary, Pedro, Eugene, Darla & Freddy, living in the same house. He meets his roommate Freddy(Jack Dylan Grazer) that collects & know a lot of information about superhero stuff. Although Billy is seen mostly resisting & adapting to this new world.

It is that one day, as he saves Freddy from bullies in the school & runs out to finally getaway in a train, only before he is transported & brought to a new realm, to the rock of eternity by the wizard named Shazam(Djimon Hounsou), that asks him to say his name, so his powers can be transferred to Billy, thus finally turning him into an adult superhero.

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As he discovers his new gained abilities with Freddy, it is before only he encounters the bad guy Dr Thaddeus Sivana(Mark), things start to change for him as Sivana needs Shazam’s powers to be the ultimate champion. To mention the villain here too has been given a proper storyline set in 1974 when he was a small kid. Being a part of a wealthy family, he was always considered as an outcast & disappointment. Thus has family issues and a character arc that justifies his powers & abilities.

The whole cast plays out their parts perfectly. Levi plays out the part of Shazam as a childish, comic character that the role demands from him. Asher portrays Billy with emotion & sincerity that the role needs, while Jack portrays Freddy as a fun, superhero nerd, that is always pleasant to see. Mark as Sivana is also entirely convincing. While it really felt cool to see Djimon after Captain Marvel as the ancient wizard Shazam.

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REVIEWER INSIGHT: It is a classic comic-book origin story, that is full of plenty of laughs out moments. While the first half is full of it, the second half feels a bit stretched and tiring in some instances, only till they bring your focus back in before climax. The code here is focused on family, while as the old wizard says ‘a person of pure heart’ can only be the champion of eternity. As our hero fights Sivana & his companions, the seven deadly sins, namely ‘Pride, Greed, Lust, Envy, Gluttony, Wraith & Sloth’, each presented as CGI monsters, identical in terms of representation. Specially to mention of Envy as a dark force that stays inside a being, thus corrupting anyone’s inner soul. We are taught to remain away from these & stay grounded with a good heart. It may not be as spectacular as the previous DC movies in terms of action, but it has it’s own uniqueness & balanced treatment & sometimes a little less is also enough to enjoy.

Ratings: 3.5/5

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Weekly Reviews: #2 Kesari

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The film opens up in 1897 at the Samana Range, where the British Sikh Regiment was posted, not unintentionally, as British did it with purpose knowing that it was the brave & fearless Sikh community, that under the leadership of Maharaja Ranjit Singh Ji, was the only group that earlier too defeated Afghans & Mughals. So they need Sikh soldiers guarding these specific consecutive 3 posts, while Saragarhi being the centre communication link between both the Gullistan & Lockhardt posts. India is completely taken over by the British.

Akshay Kumar as Havildar Ishar Singh, a person that exhibits skills like bravery, compassion, leadership and humanity. He is a true devotee of Sikh religion and follows & implements Guru’s instincts & teachings seriously. Even in his opening scene, he is shown protecting an Afghan woman from her unwise execution by Islamic sociopaths. He is a farmer by roots, helps build a mosque in the village, asks the cook to provide water to even to the enemy when wounded. When due to a disobey of an order, he is posted to Saragarhi post, which he earlier retaliates to join, but reluctantly joins later after. While he finds the Sikh soldiers over there undisciplined, where he shows his excellent leadership skills to get them back in order and unite them to stay & fight for freedom.

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The rest of the star cast portraying the rest of the Sikh Regiment soldiers has done an excellent job, to mention the youngest 19-year-old Gurmukh Singh played by Summit Singh, showed the behaviour of brave upbringing. Parineeti Chopra has some special appearances as Ishar Singh’s wife in some imaginary conversations, thanks to creative liberties, but it works with the flow of the narrative. The problem starts to arrive, as when an Islamic leader, who by manipulating the mountains tribes of Afridi & Orakzai leads around an army of 6000-10000 Afghans towards Saragarhi post, as they think it will be easier to attain this post, thus destroying the Saragarhi communication link, but they misunderstood the potential of their enemy.

As the British officer tells Ishar to be cowards & slaves by birth & nature, it really affects Ishar to ask himself who they really want to fight for. A while before going for the death-defying battle, he asks his brave unit that whom are they gonna give their lives for, is it the British or the salary they receive. As Ishar motivates them to fight for freedom, with Kesari (Saffron) being their code of courage & valour.

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REVIEWER INSIGHT: The battle scenes are shoot excellently, showing the brave courage of these 21 Sikh soldiers. It is reported that these soldiers on a collective effort were able to kill around 600 Afghans. They were awarded the Indian Order of Merit, equivalent to the Victoria Cross provided by the British government for their exceptional bravery & courage. Corrupting the minds of people in the name of religion is a sin, that has been practised even today. While war can never bring peace, but it definitely promises destruction. It feels bad that this brave incident was forgotten earlier in history, even after some specific proofs available from the battle. You should definitely go for it, the story of these brave Sikh martyrs deserve a watch.

Ratings:🌟🌟🌟🌟

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Random Reviews: #5 Crazy Rich Asians
What would be your reaction when you find out that the guy you have been dating for the last year, is the crown prince & heir of a greater money pinching family.

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It is the story of Rachel Chu(Constance Wu), that lives in New York with her mother and is the youngest Econ professor at the NYU. We also discover that although her father is dead, yet she is an independent, kind & quite good at her job. She is dating Nick Young(Henry Golding), the charming guy for the last year. It is when Nick asks her to take a trip to the east, for Hong Kong to Nick’s home in Singapore for the wedding of his best friend Colin’s(Chris) wedding with Arminta(Sonoya), as he is the chosen best man for the groom.

It is that on this trip she finds out that his boyfriend is the most awaited Asian Bachelor & the heir to a crazy rich family. As on the flight Nick tells Rachel about his Cousins, particularly Alister(Remy), works in show business & dating an actress Kitty Pong, Eddie(Ronny) on other hand is a finance guy in Hong Kong & a perfect family man and finally sister Astrid (Gemma Chan), the glamorous princess, yet grounded person with a good heart, leaves a lasting impression. While we finally meets his Aa Ma(Lisa Wu) & mother Eleanor Young(Michelle Yeoh), that portrays a concerned yet a typical women & mother of Nick, dislikes Rachel. Also there is a character named Oliver, the rainbow sheep of Young family as he says, is perfectly portrayed by Nico Santos.

As she meets her best friend Peik Lin (Awkwafina), before going to Nick’s house. We discover their friendship and the cool rocker personality of Peik Lin, which is one of the best characters in the movie. As Peik Lin preps Rachel to face the wolves, it is in the end upto Rachel to showcase herself and get the consent from Nick’s family.

But as the tagline says families are more of a complication sometimes than even money itself, as mother and all the people around Rachel try to bring her down, will Rachel finally be able to crack this or lose Nick for good is left as a quest for viewers.

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REVIEWER INSIGHT: Could say the movie has a whole bunch of a starcast, but all of them delivers their roles adequately. Wu brings a sincerity & grounded nature that Rachel demands. Henry as Nick imprints the kind of perfect rich guy that tries to balance out things. Also Michelle shines as the concerned, yet egoist mother of Nick. Ya money is a major necessity in life, but we should not forget that it is for all the materialistic needs that we aspire & there is no end to desires. Stay grounded, have a good heart and make the right call. It could be another Rom-com about rich and poor families, but it’s execution is what makes it an entertaining fun ride.

Ratings:🌟🌟🌟🌟

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SPOILER ALERT! – This is a spoiler discussion and review for flash episode no.17, ‘Timebomb’. Don’t read it if you haven’t watched the episode yet, don’t want to spoil it for you.

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In timebomb as we see in the last episode, Grace Gibbons from future comes back to the present. Busts out team Flash, destroys star labs & takes her uncle Orlin, who was going through the procedure for the meta-human cure in order to be normal again. But as the future Grace won’t let his uncle have the cure, meanwhile she also kills Dr.Amber, as she blames her for helping team Flash in curing her uncle.

As Nora approachs Eobard Thawne for help with the new Cicada, Thawne being helpless in this situation, asks Nora to tell her father everything. Meanwhile team Flash also discovers a time sphere of Wells aka Eobard Thawne, from where they understand that future Grace used it for time travel.As Grace, with more of a hatred and rage, wants to kill the meta that was responsible for the death of her parents. As she chases the meta, team Flash has to now do save them for good.

While meanwhile the Sherlock Wells also figures out the secrets of Nora. Major but mostly predictable twist of Grace killing his uncle happens, as Orlin tries to confront her to stop hurting Flash and the meta. As she understands that her uncle is more of liability, she kills him. In end as Cecil and Sherloque uncovers Nora’s secret in front of team Flash, Barry feeling betrayed, locks Nora up in the meta-human cell.

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REVIEWER INSIGHT: The events in this episode takes in major dramatic changes in the narrative. But it feels fascinating for Flash to finally face a proper female villian. The hatred and rage described by this new Cicada, truely depicts insights of a true villian we have never seen before. Also a relationship advancements of Cisco & Kamelia, alongwith Ralph’s interference brings some lighter tone to narrative. Also change of heart of Orlin again proves that you can turn people towards good, there is always hope for a change. Although I still feel like there could be a hidden conspiracy of Thawne in this, which even Nora could be unaware of, although events don’t turned in her favour in the end. So we have to wait and see where the narrative moves in ‘Godspeed’ in the next episode.

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Random Reviews: #4 Isn’t It Romantic

How would you feel as one day you wake up in bed and find out that your average life has turned into a rom-com.

Set in 1990’s, as we first see a young Natalie, watching a famous rom-com on tv, it’s only a matter of time that she is interrupted by her mother, as she is told that people like them are not supposed to have happy endings. The child’s spirits are broken. The narrative then moves forward 25 years later, the young Natalie(Rebel Wilson) is now an architect in New York City. Although not treated in a better manner by her fellow employees, often more treats her like a servant. Her oversized belly and disliking for rom-coms gets in way of her love life. The childhood dielemma keeps on provoking her present life’s relational and life decisions.

Things change as one day on her way back home, as a mugger tries to rob her, the encounter between the two, results in Natalie hitting her head in a pole. It is that the next day as she wakes up in bed, she soon starts to realise that things around her has changed, life is no more a sucking venture anymore and it’s only a matter of time, that she realises that she is the lead protagonist of a rom-com, to figure her way out of this new realm, she has to act accordingly, fall in love, stop a wedding and find her right guy. All this appears hard to believe, but it is really happening, you need to be patient to know what story unfolds as.

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REVIEWER INSIGHT: Liam Hemsworth as Blake, a billionaire, Priyanka Chopra as Isabella, a super model and yoga ambassador, Adam Devine and Petty as bestie’s Josh and Stifney, they have all portrayed their parts adequately, while Rebel Wilson as Natalie, does complete justice to the character, while adding a sincerity that Natalie requires. In order to love someone in life, you first need to love your very own self first. Discover and respect your physical as well as inner attributes and then you will definitely make the right call. People and life cannot always be perfect, but if you have an optimistic soul, you can turn any tables around.

Ratings: 3.5/5

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Random Reviews : #3 Spiderman Into The Spider-Verse

The 2018 computer animated movie is more of a Miles Morales origin story as spiderman. Miles an ordinary teenager, aspires spiderman and is trying to find a way to live-up to the expectations of his Cop father that hates spiderman and doctor mother. To say that both parents are emotionally attached with their son. After school he also secretly visits his Uncle Aaron, which is more of a fun time for him.

Things start to change, as it happens in every usual spider guy story, Miles is bitten by a radioactive spider that grants him extraordinary abilities, mainly spider sense alongwith invisibility and electric shock generation. It’s just he is trying to adjust to it, that a event happens that causes the multiverses to seize, causing a discontinuity in the space-time realm, thus causing some heavy casualties, while it is now upto Miles only to protect the city, but he needs a teacher to guide him through his new abilities.

It’s this cumbersome situation, that he gets in touch with the rest of the spider-guys that travelled to this reality, namely Peter B Parker, Gwen Stacy, Spiderman Noir, Peni Parker & Spiderham. They all decide to go to Aunt May, which is in more of a rocking aunt mode & helps them out with spidey gears, as she takes them all to the secret spider cave(not as same as the batcave 😂).

But these dimension traveller spider guys are also facing cell deterioration and glitching, and thus need to go back to their own respective dimensions. Thus it is now upto Miles to let his spider friends make their way home & finally defeat Kingpin, who is behind all the menace, as he is trying to find out his lost wife and son from the other dimensions of multiverse. So will Miles be able to live upto the legacy of Spiderman or will fail desperately and learn another lesson is shown further in the movie.

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REVIEWER INSIGHT: Understanding our skillset & passion in life could be quite a tricky thing, while it’s said that a person that understands his passion, will never have to work & also heed either success or money in life. So sit, think and ask yourself what could you really do better as a person, are you willing to make a name for yourself or just want to read others. Each one of us has been given special gifts, it’s the self-exploration, that is what needed. Movie is both hilarious & has an intriguing plot. The unique comic- anime representation of characters is what makes it a whole new experience for viewers.

Ratings:🌟🌟🌟🌟

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Random Reviews: #2 Netflix’s – Rajma Chawal

There are pros & cons to social networking, can it become the medium for restoring the distressed relationship of a father & son?
And also what would happen when a father decides to make a fake woman account on Facebook to communicate with his son?

It is the story of Kabir Mathur(Anirudh) & his father Raj Mathur(Rishi Kapoor) who in the opening is shown shifting their home from New Delhi home to back to the Old Delhi house. While Kabir is not happy about this as it sacrificed him his band, music, friends & dreams. Regular fights and communication gap makes a barrier between both the father and son. Thus to win back his son, father on suggestion and help from beeji(Nirmal Rishi) decides to make a fake fb account as ‘Tara’ to communicate with his son, as further aided in this process by fellow neighbours cum friends for life.

Things start to change after father’s move as both start sharing their feelings & life. It brings a positive change in Kabir’s attitude, as he recreates his band, starts a new life for himself. But trouble also starts when real persona of Tara aka Sehar(Amyra Dastur) is discovered by Kabir. So the father now has to discover Sehar first, before his son and make necessary arrangements. Sehar on the other part works at a salon, mostly in need of money & has her own backstory that turned her rogue.

What father is hiding about Kabir’s mother’s death & his personal life failures. How the mess would finally resolve is left as a quest for viewers.

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REVIEWER INSIGHT: Thus meanwhile we are also shown the rich cultural diversity of India and specifically Old Delhi. All the actors have given strong performances while Leena Yadav’s vision is clear and she cleverly turns a common story of a father & son into an intriguing one, a story we can relate in one way or the other. It emphasizes on the fact that how Indian parents are attached with their children both emotionally and physically, but we have to respect each other’s personal space and life. Family members should stay truthful with each other. Children should respect and love their parents and learn from their experiences, while parents should also take an open-approach, by allowing their wards to discover their full potentials. You will definitely not regret giving it a try.

Ratings:🌟🌟🌟🌟

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Web Series Breakdown: Tom Clancy’s – Jack Ryan

The Amazon Prime Video Series consists of a total of 8 episodes in it’s Season 1.

The series starts up by introducing us with the title character Dr.Jack Ryan(John Krasinski), CIA Analyst, member of the T-FAD group, analyses suspicious terrorist swift transactions in Yemen & suspects a terrorist swift transaction worth $9 million by certain individual accounts, redirecting to a name Suleiman, which Jack believes to be the targeted terrorist mastermind, that is planning to do something even bigger than the 9/11 attacks. Meanwhile he also meets Dr. Cathy Mueller(Abbie) at a birthday party, as they both start feeling something special about each other, although Cathy specialising in infectious disease turns out as Jack’s girlfriend. Things start to change as he is took over for an interrogation mission to Yemen alongwith his boss at T-FAD, James Greer (Pierce), as he gets involved into this terrorist mess.

Meanwhile we also discover the storyline of Hanin(Dina), wife of terrorist mastermind, Mousa Bin Suleiman(Ali), lives with her son and 2 daughters at their home turned terrorist base. As Hanin finds her husband’s ideologies conflicted, she decides to turn rebel & take necessary decisions to ensure safety of her children from her husband’s terrorist activities. Will she survive this fate of her decision is shown further, while storyline of upbringing of the terrorist mastermind and his brother is also shown as we keep on moving forward with the narrative.

Another storyline of Victor, a US drone pilot, set in Las Vegas is shown, looking for inner peace, as he considers himself guilty of killing an innocent person, which he earlier thought of being a terrorist. While John plays Jack as a more sincere, simplistic, but rather more brave and patriot guy, that just want to make the right calls. On the other side, Pierce as Greer has his own backstory, before getting posted as leader of the T-FAD, he was head of the Karachi CIA base in Pakistan, is now trying to find answers for inner peace and his ex-wife in Islam, but questions the very idea of it.

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REVIEWER INSIGHT: The storyline is designed smartly, the action thriller maintains the curiousity and suspense among the viewers in every single episode. While driving through different parts of world. All characters have been provided with perfect storylines, while the whole acting crew has done a great job. It emphasizes on the fact how intelligence can contribute to a nation’s or world’s peace and harmony. How the life’s of members of terrorist families get affected & their sufferings. While driving youth into terrorist activities by conflicting their ideologies in the name of religion is a sin. Ya the world could be cruel, disrespectful, but that doesn’t mean you have to turn your backs around, as mind could be a fragile thing, but think of something better and useful to the whole humanity, rather than being the reason for causing chaos and salvation. If you like spy and terrorist busting storylines, then this is definitely the stuff for you.

Ratings:🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟

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Random Reviews : #1 Tag

Why would a group of adults play a child’s game?

Based on a real life story published in ‘The Wall Street Journal’, it is the story about a group of adults that play the same game of tag every year for the complete month of May, irrespective of their situations. As you never know someone would pop up and tag you.

In the start we see Haoige(Ed Helms) trying to get a job at one of his CEO friend Bob Callahan’s(Jon) company in order to tag him. In similar manner they join forces with the rest of the guys namely Chilli(Jakeson), Sable(Hannibal) alongwith Haogie’s wife Anna(Fisher) and Rebecca(Annabella), ‘The Wall Street Journal’ journalist, that finds their story interesting.

While the major target being Jerry(Renner), which they address as the ‘Tag Virgin’, the best that ever played & never been tagged for the last 30 years and just want to retire with a perfect record at his wedding with Susan(Leslie) this time, proving all other fools. So they decide to go to all extent in order to tag Jerry finally before his wedding, but will they win this time or not is shown further in the movie.

Could say that some creative liberties were taken while designing the narrative & the tag sequences, but still it’s worth a watch, if you are looking for fun.

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REVIEWER INSIGHT: Whether it’s an game, event or an gathering, it’s soul purpose should be to give people a reason to be around each other, one way or the other, rather than creating differences or gaps. It explains the need of physical activities among adults, as even with growing age, you need to maintain your health. Don’t let the kid inside you die, as even in the most mature scenario’s, you sometimes just need so little to celebrate friendship & brotherhood, while competition spirit should be sustained in a balanced way. So do whatever play, just play it fair enough.

Ratings : 🌟🌟🌟🌟