pranayjalvi

A slow paced murder mystery thriller, Nine Puzzles is a smart concept with a very good execution, even though the pacing might be inconsistent for many.

The drama balances multiple layers of mystery, from cryptic puzzle pieces and reflection clues to complex interpersonal relationships that intertwines with the serial murders. The setting is tense, with every character under radar and suspicion falling all over everyone.

What begins as a whodunnit quickly evolves into something more thematic. The show explores the consequences of institutional failure and what happens when someone decides to punish those systems in the most literal way. But what keeps the show human is how it focuses on the fallout: guilt, loyalty, memory, and how trauma shapes who we become.

The cast, whether it be leads or the supporting, every character was portrayed as they should be. The fascinating aspect of the drama is it plays with the memory, like you will connect the dots towards the final episodes from your recollection of the initial episodes. Overall, the emotional layers to this murder mystery is well written, although the pacing was too sluggish and draggy. But nonetheless, it will keep you hooked until you know the perpetrator behind all of these.

My Rating : 3.5/5.

Introducing Ana De Armas into the unit, Ballerina is a worthy addition to the John Wick franchise, but with a weak storyline and heavy reliance on action.

Talking about the characters, they seem underdeveloped and thus looked bland on the screen. The protagonist doesn't get a good build up and the movie feels like emotionless revenge saga, at times. No proper backstory of the antagonist and the motive adds more pain to the wound.

Technically, Ballerina is very stylish and the action sequences are choreographed effectively. The cinematography and the editing could have been better and the final fight scene (with the flamethrower) was literally over the top for me.

Although there were some negative aspects, it was still fun to watch Ana De Armas punch, shoot, stab and blast everything and everyone on her way. A wick-edly entertaining addition to one of the best action franchise.

My Rating : 3/5.

Starring Rami Malek as Charlie Heller, The Amateur is a spy thriller about a CIA operative that goes on his own to seek revenge on those who killed her wife.

Starting with the story - it had a good build up after a slow start and the techniques and mechanisms used had me hooked. It mixes the throwback feel of an old-school spy story with an engaging scenario about a tech-savvy CIA analyst thrust into the field for decidedly dark reasons.

Visually, the film does a good job of expressing how haunted Heller is. Not only he is mourning his wife's death, but also focused and stern on taking revenge. Rami Malek does a fitting job of an operative driven by vengeance. The direction by James Hawes is noteworthy and displays the push and pull of technology vs old-school espionage effectively.

Overall, The Amateur reinvents nothing new in this genre, however keeps us hooked with Rami Malek's tech loaded take on adversaries that is both intelligent and gripping.

My Rating : 3.5/5.