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seemajbhatt
Reviews
Accused (2023)
Shallow and unrealistic
There is so much well-done, layered content out there currently that this show just paled in comparison.
Each episode tells the story of a sympathetic defendant accused of a crime, and shows you how they ended up in those circumstances. The show doesnt work for me because the length of one episode is insufficient to both explain what happened and give you a real sense for why the crime was committed without coming off unrealistic and rushed. Plus the acting is pretty horrible in the second episode. Because it's one story per episode, there's not much incentive to keep watching either.
I only got to episode 2 and called it quits. There are way better shows out there.
Wednesday (2022)
Teeny bopperish
I started this show thinking it may be for adults. Despite the fact that I realized pretty quickly it seemed to be for teens, this 37-year-old grown ass woman kept watching, because, well, I was semi-invested and the mystery genre is kind of my thing.
That doesn't change the fact that the show seemed to be made for teens, parts of the story didn't make a whole lot of sense, probably doesn't stay incredibly true to the original Wednesday character, and the "reveal" at the end was pretty predictable.
Still, it's not the worst, and I was kind of hooked to see what happened next.
So if you go into it knowing it's not the most sophisticated show you will watch, you may enjoy it. I guess I'm ashamed to say I kind of did.
Shantaram (2022)
Felt flat (non book reader here)
I have not read the book and I think that may have influenced my experience of the show. Perhaps some enjoyed the show because they got to see a beloved book depicted on screen- but without the context of the book, this show fell flat for me.
The characters seemed very one-dimensional- the main character is too good of a good guy and it almost felt like a show for kids (not that I recommend kids watch). The story seems long and drawn out and I didn't really get the point of the story (it's a little all over the place).
As an Indian-American, I did enjoy the depictions of Mumbai but as someone who has visited Mumbai multiple times, I felt the depiction of Indians to be inauthentic (After learning that most of the actors are not native Indians, this makes sense). Perhaps to non-Indians, this won't be as jarring.
I had way higher expectations given the good reviews and the fact that it was produced by Apple (which, in my opinion produces a lot of quality content). For example, Severance is my favorite Apple show to date. Five episodes in, I gave up on this (there are way too many good shows nowadays for me to waste time seeing this through- plus I heard it's been cancelled before being completed).
In summary, I guess I just expected more, but maybe if you read the book, you will have a different experience.
Cinderella (2021)
Bye bye Cinderella
The classic Cinderella story is so tired. A poor beautiful girl who is harassed by purely evil stepsisters and a stepmother and is saved from her life of poverty and exploitation by a rich powerful prince seems so yesterday.
Maybe the story of a woman being able to transcend her class by marriage was powerful during its time, but I don't think it's so for the time we are in now.
This movie took the heart of the Cinderella story and changed as many of the old tropes as they could to incorporate the messages of today - no one's purely evil (ie the stepmother) and most importantly, a woman don't need no man to save her!
Above all, the movie was fun - the covers of 80's songs, dance numbers, rapping marching band, James Gorden!!,Camilla Cabello bringing her spunky personality to the character, a fabulous male fairy godmother!!, Pierce Brosnan!! And more. Probably the biggest disappointment was casting for the prince: can't really say he added anything different to the movie. If you're looking for historical accuracy and staying true to the Cinderella story, you will be sorely disappointed. This is a new, fresh take and I thought it hit the mark. Bye bye old Cinderella. Welcome self-empowered female entrepreneur Ella.
Skater Girl (2021)
Great movie for the family
Netflix strikes again with another great Indian movie. It's becoming more and more difficult for me to sit through over-dramatic Bollywood movies but this has just the right amount of realism and feel-goodness. I highly recommend!
Eat Wheaties! (2020)
Beautiful, funny, feel-good movie
I'm surprised this movie only has a 5.6 overall rating. If you like feel-good movies, this one is for you. Guy from Arrested Development (don't know his name) does an amazing job and so do the side characters. Watch this movie!
#BlackAF (2020)
Hilarious.
I randomly came upon this show and was pleasantly surprised. Someone who said Kenya is like the black Larry David is spot on. And who doesn't love Rashida!? The kids are better actors than on Blackish and the humor seems more layered - not a lot of cheap laughs. I'm a huge fan of the Office, Parks and Rec, etc and I would say this kind of fits in that genre.
What Happened to Monday (2017)
Meh- wouldn't recommend
I love action movies and enjoy the occasional sci-fi but this one was just too unbelievable for me. There were too many plot holes and I never got invested in any one character because, well, there were 7 main characters so it was pretty hard to build character depth.
Just for context, I don't hate everything. In fact, some of my favorite action movies are Liam Neeson and James Bond movies so my dislike for this movie isn't the result of highly refined taste or anything.
At the end of the day, the movie wasn't awful but I would have rather spent my time watching something else. This was also the day after I watched "Bad Education" which I thought was a fabulous movie (though different genre) so maybe I had high expectations after that.
Fabulous Lives of Bollywood Wives (2020)
It's called Bollywood Wives...what do people expect!?
I'm really surprised by the barrage of 1 star reviews. Is it a show about wealthy people flaunting their wealth and doing superficial things? YES. But it's called Bollywood Wives- what in the world did people expect!?!
I am an Indian-American and it was entertaining for me to see all that elite Mumbai culture in all its glory and catch a glimpse of Bollywood adjacent actors and see what their personalities are like.
I also thought the women were way less catty and backstabbing than in the American housewives equivalent. And I actually thought the show was pretty funny. You're supposed to laugh along. It's not some prolific documentary about, I dunno, climate change. It's a show about Bollywood Wives. Again, what were you expecting?
I See You (2019)
Amazing thriller!
I don't like horror movies so I was worried based on the movie's genre classification but I would characterize it as more of a psychological thriller. There is a lot of suspense that makes it mildly scary at parts and it does make you a little jumpy but the thriller part was so worth it.
Run All Night (2015)
Great action movie
If you're looking for a good action movie and enjoy Liam Neeson's other action movies, look no farther. This has all the ingredients of a good action flick and will keep you entertained till the end.
Brittany Runs a Marathon (2019)
Thoroughly enjoyed it.
Funny. Heartfelt. Great message.
IMDB won't just let you type out 3 words in a review so at the risk of giving away more than I usually like to read about a movie before watching it (but I'm also the kind of person that thinks movie trailers give away too much) here's a more in-depth review:
This is not your typical romantic comedy (and not even labeled as a rom-com) unless a romantic comedy can include a movie about falling in love with yourself. Brittany is overweight, insecure, and unmotivated. She does have her humor going for her and she defines herself by it since she doesn't much like other parts of herself. From a comedy aspect, her awkward, dark, and often self-deprecating humor is just what I love and the movie nailed it for me as a comedy. But the movie is much more than a comedy. Through Brittany's commitment to running a marathon, she goes down a path of taking ownership of her life in all aspects: career, love, and friendships, and we get to watch the whole, sometimes messy, ride. Yes, Brittany can be really harsh and down-right mean at times to people who she thinks pity her but I think that almost unlikeable quality just lends more realism to the movie and her character. Overweight or not, if you've ever felt like your insecurities and fear of failing kept you from taking ownership of your life, you'll relate to this movie.