Movie Viewer

Ashley Madison: Sex, Lies & Scandal (English – 2024)

Documentary

Cast: Katie Bignell, Samuel Greco, Perry Mavrides
Director: Toby Paton

Ashley Madison: Sex, Lies & Scandal is a 2024 English language Documentary based on a dating site which was hacked & released on 15th May. You can watch this documentary on Netflix.

The person responsible for the creation of Ashley Madison’s transformation was its founder and CEO Noel Biderman.. The name comes from two popular female names in North America, “Ashley” and “Madison”.

An anonymous group called the Impact Team hacked Ashley Madison in 2015. The hackers had demanded that the website be shut down or else they would leak the information of more than 30 million users in 30 days.

By July 22, the first set of customer names was released by hackers, with all of the user data released on August 18, 2015. More data, including some of the CEO’s emails was released on August 20, 2015. The release included data from customers who had previously paid a $19 fee to Ashley Madison to supposedly have their data deleted.

The documentary splits in 3 episodes and shows us the rise of the adulterous affairs website. They even had a tagline which was quit catchy, “Life is short, Have an affair”. Continuing their journey with fake cyber security claims, creating fake female accounts & using bots.

While Ashley Madison has gone through a cultural reckoning because of the data breach and the ousting of its long-time CEO, Biderman, the site still exists. However, it has undergone a rebrand. The company was able to bounce back from the leak and continues to market itself as “the No. 1 married dating app.” Now, the brand markets itself to people looking for a “discreet” side relationship. In spring 2024, Ashley Madison claims to have more than 80 million global subscribers.

Overall it was interesting to know about Ashley Madison, and some stories were really interesting. But, it is still a secret who were the part of Impact team (Hackers). If that would have been revealed, i would have given this documentary more ratings.

Rating: 6/10

Bastar: The Naxal Story (Hindi – 2024)

Drama / Crime

Cast: Adah Sharma, Raima Sen, Yashpa Sharma
Director: Sudipto Sen

Bastar: The Naxal Story is a 2024 Hindi language Crime Drama & I would also say a political agenda movie released on 15th March with a budget of INR 15Cr.

The movie is based on Indian Maoists, also known as Naxals, who took thousands of lives in the Bastar, Chattisgarh, India.

This is not a real story as stated in the disclaimer. The story is poorly written just to spread hatred. Many scenes don’t make any sense and movies revolve around only 1 person against Naxals, politics, justice, and even media.
There are Naxals present in different states, as well as killings, are happening with political involvement as well. But this is the extreme showcase of that.

As for the movie, it lacks interest and I felt lots of reviews were fake just to support the political agenda. Even the acting is not as per the mark although the film has great actors.

The story could have been more interesting if they had used more facts and not gone to such an extreme.

Overall, the film was boring and I won’t recommend anyone to watch it even if you are bored and free.

Rating: 2/10

The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare (English – 2024)

Action – War (Based on True Story)

Cast: Henry Cavill, Eiza Gonzalez, Alan Ritchson
Director: Guy Ritchie

The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare is a 2024 English-language Action War movie based on a true story released on 13th April 2024 with a budget of $60 Million. The movie is also based on the 2014 book Churchill’s Secret Warriors: The Explosive True Story of the Special Forces Desperadoes of WWII.

In 1941, at the peak of World War II, Prime Minister Winston Churchill prepared to initiate Operation Postmaster, an off-the-books black-ops mission to sink the Italian supply ship Duchessa d’Aosta which was in control of Nazis.

Major Gus and his allies gather up to execute the plan. Now how will they do it & how will they plan to survive? For all that, you need to watch this film.

The film got mixed reviews and the critics also scored the film with around 50%.

Overall, I felt the movie was great, be it the action, acting, or direction. Some people may mark it as average but it is a fun watch. If you are free on weekends you can go for this film. The story is interesting, although a few scenes might feel boring but it catches up to you soon enough.

Rating: 7/10

Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes (English – 2024)

Action / Sci-fi

Cast: Owen Teague, Freya Allan, Kevin Durand
Director: Wes Ball

Kindaom of the Planet of the Apes is a 2024 English language Action, Sci-fi film released on 10th May 2024 with a budget of Aproxx $160 Million.

The film is the sequel to War for the Planet of the Apes (2017), is the fourth installment in the Planet of the Apes reboot franchise, and the tenth film overall. The film takes place 300 years after the events of War and follows a young chimpanzee named Noa.

Centuries after Caesar’s death, the apes have established numerous clans, while humans have become feral, living in the wild and unable to speak. Noa, a chimpanzee of a falconry ape clan, encounters Nova, A human for the first time who is searching for food and follows her. Noa encounters a group of ape raiders using electric weapons. As he hides from them, the apes follow Noa’s horse to track down his clan. Upon returning home, Noa finds his village burning. Trying to fight and survive Noa falls down unconscious.

Upon awakening, he discovers his clan has been abducted and starts his journey to find his Clan & to save them.

The franchise is quite popular and a lot of people follow it. The concept is also good to watch where the world is in the hands of Apes. Also, we all love to watch a nice Sci-fi movie.

The response and reviews for this film are great and fans love it. Unfortunately, this was not the case with me. I felt the movie started a bit slow and caught its pace in between making us curious about what will happen next. But as soon things got to an interesting point, things fell flat. Proximus, the Villain has no character building and looks faded. Also, the story contradicts itself, when telling about how humans have changed over the years,

Overall it is a decent watch with great VFX. As a Sci-fi fan a theatrical experience will be great for such movie if you don’t give much attention to the details. I also hope the pothole in this movie will be filled in upcoming parts (If they plan to take the series forward).

Rating: 6/10

Darkness of Man (Hollywood – 2024)

Action – Thriller

Cast: Jean-Claude Van Damme
Director: James Cullen Bressack

Darkness of Man is a 2024 English language Action Thriller film. In many countries, the film will be released on 21st May 2024.

Russell Hatch (Van Damme) witnesses the death of an informant & also a friend when a raid goes wrong. Years later, as he promised, he finds himself protecting her son from a group of merciless gangs involved in an all-out turf war.

The plot and storyline of this film have nothing new that we haven’t heard or seen before. Also, it is not a top-notch action movie like John Wick or Nobody. But as a Van Damme fan, we can watch it, as it is still delightful to see him in action at this age.

Overall, the movie is just another action movie but you can still watch it if you don’t have much to do.

Rating: 5/10

Godzilla Minus One (Japanese – 2023)

Action / Sci-fi

Cast: Minami Hamabe, Noriko Oishi, Ryunosuke Kamiki, Koichi Shikishima & Godzilla
Director: Takashi Yamazaki

Godzilla Minus One is a 2023 Japanese Action Sci-fi film release on 18th Oct 2023 with a budget of $12 Million.

The film is based In 1945, near the end of World War II. A pilot lands his plane at the Japanese base on Odo Island. That night, Godzilla attacks the base. The pilot attempts to shoot the monster from his plane but freezes up and is knocked unconscious. A fallow soldier, the only other survivor of the attack, blames the pilot for failing to act.

We all love Godzilla and that’s the reason we love these movies. But not everyone is familiar with this concept of Godzilla.

In past few years we have seen Godzilla as a savior of the world who sometimes hold hand with the great gorilla KingKong to save the planet. He stays in deep sea and come out to kill the Kaijus who are harming the world. Once defeating the enemy, he goes back to deep ocean and disappears.

But this Godzilla is not the same as it appears in Japan time to time just for destruction & Japanese army wants to kill it.

Godzilla as a villain might be a new concept for a lot of people but it is still interesting to see it on screen & we all love a good Kaiju movie.

Overall Godzilla Minus One is a must watch movie with an interesting storyline & a fast pace plot. The film amazed us with its Visual effects within this budget made records on Box-office.

Godzilla Minus One made history at the 96th Academy Awards, securing the Academy Award for Best Visual Effects, a first-time win for the Godzilla franchise.

Rating: 8/10

8 A.M. Metro (Hindi – 2023)

Drama

Cast: Gulshan Devaiah, Saiyami Kher
Director: Raj Rachakonda

8 A.M. Metro is a Hindi language Drama film released on 19th May 2023 with a budget of INR 4Cr.

The film tells the story of two strangers who just bump into each other at the metro station and gradually develop an unlikely friendship bond between them.

The story shows a beautiful bond between two strangers of opposite sex without any vulgarity or love between them. With a bond of respect and friendship they find some common likings in between and spend some time talking and sharing thoughts.

The film did great on Acting & direction part and a gem for people who love poetry and has a love for old school romantic drama.

But somehow the story seems a bit faded as there was nothing new we have seen in cinema before. The plot twist was expected & you will feel that you knew what’s gonna happen next in the film.

Overall is you like slow pace drama, you can go for this.

Rating: 5.5/10

Srikanth (Hindi – 2024)

Biography – Drama

Cast: Rajkummar Rao, Jyothika and Sharad Kelkar
Director: Tushar Hiranandani
Release Date: 10th May 2024

Srikanth is a 2024 Hindi language biographical drama film on the life of Srikanth Bolla, a visually-impaired industrialist and the founder of Bollant Industries. The budget of the film is between 40 to 50Cr.
The film tells the story of Srikanth Bolla, his struggles with the Indian education system & the society, also the challenges he faced during his life till date.

Srikanth’s story is known to a lot people & there is nothing must to talk about the plot of the movie as you need to watch it.

The story is motivating and an inspiration to all as well as Rajkummar Rao did justice to the role with his acting skills as well. The movie flow is good and wont let you bore.

But I personally feel that the story is very much linear and the struggling part is quite less in the movie. It seems things went really smooth and the hassle was negligible.

Overall the movie is a good watch with great acting and obviously a motivating & inspiring story.

Rating: 7/10

Murder in Mahim (Hindi Web-Series – 2024)

Murder Mystery

Cast: Vijay Raaz, Ashutosh Rana, Shivani Raghuvanshi
Director: Raj Acharya

Murder in Mahim is a 2024 Hindi language web-series based on a Book having the same name, which revolves around a series of murders & the mystery behind them.

After a Gay sex worker found murdered with a kidney missing at Mahim railway station, Police officer Shiva starts the investigation soon to be joined by a former friend & journalist Peter Fernandes.

The murder turned to a series of murders and the investigation turned to multiple folds, highlighting the situation and dilemma of LGBTQ+ community.

Who is the murderer & what’s the motive behind…?
What’s the mystery of Mahim Railway Station..?

To find out if the murders are for a revenge or it is just another Kidney stealing racket targeting Gay sex workers, watch this web-series on Jio Cinema.

The series has great actors & the chemistry between Ashutosh & Vijay Raj is amazing, displaying acting skills to its peek with a firm storyline.

Although the direction is great, Still the Series lack a lot points in the story. The story touches the difficult life of LGBTQ+ members but failed to show it in details. Also the ending fall flat with a lack of motivation behind the murders & a week display of negative character.

Overall, if you are free on weekend then you can watch this series.

Rating: 6/10

Aavesham (Malayalam – 2024)

Action – Comedy

Cast: Fahadh Faasil, Mithun Jai Shankar, Sajin Gopu,
Director: Jithu Madhavan

Aavesham is a 2024 Indian Malayalam-language action comedy film released on 11 April 2024 with a budget of INR 30Cr.

Three students arrive Bangalore from Kerala to study engineering . Encountering with seniors leads to a fight which ends up with getting them beaten up, hurting their ego. To get revenge, they started finding out a goon who can beat up their seniors.

Accidently they found Ranga The Don, in a bar, using whom they plan to execute their revenge taking plan. They soon found themselves entangled with those thugs, dealing with daily hassles and hearing tales of Ranga.

Will they be able to take their revenge….?
Or will be be stuck with Ranga forever….?

To find more, you’ll have to watch this brilliantly directed action comedy.

The move brings perfect comic timing with a dark humor as well but making sure you enjoy every shot of it. Fahadh Faasil as Ranga as always brought his best of skills with an amazing comic timing. Watching him with two different gimmicks and perfectly handling both was a fun watch.
Overall the movie was full entertaining and a must watch.
Try to watch the movie on a big screen to get an enhanced experience.