Reviews Reactor

Stranger Things is a Netflix original series about a disappearance of a boy in a small town, and the efforts of his family and friends in order to find him, in the midst of strange events. This show's popularity really blew up after its release this year. It was everywhere, and I finally got around to watching it, and to see what all the big fuss was about. And well, the hype is real. I'll be very honest, I don't think I have ever seen a show that got me hooked so badly, so quickly, and maintained that interest throughout with extreme consistency. I started it after midnight, with a plan of watching a couple of episodes that night (Working Day, had to get up early), and continuing the rest next day. But instead of that, I stayed up till morning and completed it in one go. It literally glued me to the TV. Now, the thing that was most prevalent in hooking me to this show, at least at the start anyway, was the setting. It hit all the right points for me considering...

Unknown is a mystery thriller about five guys who wake up in a warehouse without any memory, and they try to figure out who they are and what happened.  Now this movie does a good enough job of creating the suspense, the setting and the characters so that you are invested enough to be thrilled. You try to figure out who's right and who's wrong, who's good and who's bad, and stuff like that along with the characters, hooking you in the movie.  The acting was good enough to sell this premise. And just like the characters are doubting their-selves and each other, you start to do the same, which is a job well done for a movie like this.  The bulk of the movie takes place in the warehouse, but there are scenes of the law enforcement side, which aren't as interesting, and hence break the pacing a bit. Nothing too serious, but worth mentioning. Now, unfortunately, two things in particular ruined the movie for me. First, the ending. In hopes of trying t...

"See, you're done with the past, but the past is not done with you." The gift is a drama-mystery-thriller written, directed and acted by Joel Edgerton which acts as his first director debut. It also stars Jason Bateman and Rebecca Hall. The movie is about a couple, Bateman and Hall, who move to a new city and their lives are disrupted by Bateman's old friend played by Edgerton. This was a surprisingly well-made movie, especially considering it is Edgerton's first step into the Director realm. He was great in the movie as well. Jason Bateman and Rebecca Hall also were really great. This is only the second role where I've seen Bateman in a serious role and it confirms again that he definitely has talent for this and is not only a comedic actor. The movie plot progression is what really made me like it. I was constantly thinking about the plot and the movie kept throwing shifts at me, making me more involved in it. It was well shot too, with tons of static-s...

So the invitation is a thriller movie about a man who gets invited to his former home by his ex, along with their old common friends, for a dinner and he starts to suspect something is off there. The performances in the movie were all fine. I really liked the main guy played by Logan Marshal-Green. Have seen him in probably one or two other movies, but he was really good in his role and you could feel that he's not fine coming back here and you slowly learn why. This movie definitely knew how to use awkward dinner/gathering situation properly. I mean if any of you have ever been to a dinner/gathering, whether with friends or family, where there is some bad history among people, you'll know how awkward it can get and this movies uses that for its build up quite nicely I should say. It follows a very slow burn path but due to the situation at hand, the pacing never felt too slow or boring. I was interested in knowing what happened between them, and what's happening at th...

10 Cloverfield Lane is a psychological thriller and acts as a directorial debut for Dan Trachtenberg and produced by J.J Abrams. This movie was kept a secret till earlier this year when it was suddenly revealed so near its release date, which is a feat in itself. And since then, I really wanted to watch it, and it didn't disappoint. The movie is about a girl who finds herself in an underground bunker and the guy in-charge claiming that the world has ended and he has saved her. The whole movie follows this dynamic and goes back and forth between it, and creates this air of ambiguity. You are not sure whose right or what is really happening until the movie unfolds. And this premise adds a claustrophobic factor in the movie as well. Just like the characters, you feel trapped in the bunker with them, and I liked that. There are only three actors in the whole movie, and they gave great performances. Mary Elizabeth Winstead as the lead was great, and so was John Gallagher Jr., the o...

Green Room is a movie about a young small-time band getting a gig in some shady place and they find themselves in a sticky situation there after accidentally witnessing a murder. I thought this will be another run of the mill slasher gore-fest flick where stupid kids die one by one, but was pleasantly surprised to see the execution. I mean the story is what you'd expect from such film, and the basic formula is similar, but the way they presented and flowed it was somewhat refreshing. The flow of the movie was its defining part for me. It felt natural, giving the situation a realistic feel and creating an ever present feel of tension when things go down. The movie wasn't super violent or gore-y just for the sake of it either. It was a bit tamed, and the way violence was presented made you feel uneasy, like it should. And being named as 'Green Room', there was an overall green tint in the visuals, a nice touch. Some of the acting was really good, like from Anton Ye...