The Lone Survivor - Movie 2013

Rating: 7/10

Notable Star: Mark Wahlberg

Director: Peter Berg

The 2013 Hit Lone Survivor shows a typical love story between Navy Seals and Afghan Taliban. The story is not so special yet there was a distinct touch to it from the director of 35 movies.

Marcus Luttrel (Mark Wahlberg) and his team set out to kill or capture a notorious a Taliban named Ahmed Shah in a village of Afghanistan. The operation consisted of 4 senior Marines. Danny (Emile Hirsch), Murphy (Kitsch) and Axelson (Ben Foster) were the other three partners (or as they were all called Brothers) in this extremely dangerous mission.

The movie was a little lame in the starting but I guess it wasn't that bad because their actions of waiting and designing a plan to commence are justifiable. As the First hour past by, the exchange of fire and Brutal killings kicked off. The scenes felt so realistic yet so unrealistic at the same time. Hero kills so many Terrorists but Terrorists aren't able to bring down a single seal (Ladies and Gentlemen, the traditional fire exchange combat awakens in the midst of the Movie). Axelson receives a headshot without a helmet but still survives whereas Terrorists are awaiting a single headshot and before you know it, they fall upon their doom.

The rating of 7 are owed to Effects, Make Up and Acting. Though I was initially planning on giving it a 6 but the ending (ehm! Befitting ending) forced me to upgrade it a notch. Even though I don't regret watching this movie, it wouldn't be too bad to get my 2 hours back. 

The funniest part of the movie was, 'A single Rocket brought down the Helicopter but 10 couldn't bring down a SINGLE SEAL (That's right people)'

Batman v Superman : Dawn of Justice - Movie 2016

Batman v Superman : Dawn of Justice
By Zack Snyder
5.9/10

Well the movie is basically set 18 months after Superman's (Henry Cavill) destructive battle with General Zod after which Superman turns out to become a rather controversial figure than a Hero. Bruce Wayne (Ben Affleck) sees Superman as a threat to humanity and Superman is set on capturing the caped vigilante. While both these men are set to hunt down each other, meanwhile owner of LexCorp : Lex Luthor (Jesse Eisenberg) works with a Russian trafficker to import Kryptonite retrieved from the Indian Ocean as a precaution against Kryptonians. While Bruce Wayne tries to sabotage the LexCorp party and extract intel regarding the whereabouts of Kryptonite, he meets Diana Prince (Gal Gadot).
The Movie in general turned out to be a great disaster compared to the hype created for the past whole year. After releasing 3 trailers for one whole year before the movie makes people's expectations go really high and when the Movie was released it was a great disappointment.
I personally think that Ben Affleck couldn't quite fill Batman's shoes and throughout the movie he wasn't able to portray Batman's character and ideology properly, on the other hand Henry Cavill too didn't seem to display Superman's role perfectly. Gal Gadot seemed to do a good job and her chemistry with the character was good as well.
Jesse Eisenberg, well this guy never disappoints and he certainly saved the sinking ship over here with his exuberant acting and giving Luthor a unique touch never seen before. It is just because of him the movie gained some amount of respect.
Zack Snyder has done an extremely poor job with the whole film and somehow he couldn't pull of a stunner over here which was expected.
My favourite part of the movie was when Lex Luthor makes Superman submit to his will and says the following line, "Now God bends to my Will".

Reviewed by,
Moiz Khan.

The Hunger Games - Book Series 2008-2010

Titles: The Hunger Games #1
          Catching Fire #2
          Mockingjay #3
Author: Suzanne Collins
Genre: Dystopian, Science Fiction
Rating: 5/10

Written by the best selling author of The Underland Chronicles. The Hunger Games is an abysmal read at best.
It takes place in a dystopian world where a tyrannical regime has taken over post-war America. The land has been divided into 12 districts, each with a different social class.
Every district is required by law to provide one male and one female every year to act as tributes, in a competition knows as The Hunger Games.
These "Tributes" would then duke it out, Gladiator style for the pleasure of the masses.
Just like the Colosseum in Rome, The contestants would fight to the death in arenas made especially for this purpose.
Our primary protagonist Katniss Everdeen of district 12, Along with Peeta Mellark  are one of the few unlucky people chosen to participate in the 74th Hunger Games. Peeta and Katniss are forced to work together to survive in the arena and this cultivates into something else really.
For Katniss this book starts with her fighting in an arena and ends with her leading a revolution.
These Books could have been the stepping stone to something great but as is the case with most book series, The story starts to rapidly decay. For me the first book was like a breeze of fresh air, The second book was like rain, A little annoying but nevertheless pleasant, And the third book was like.....well to put it in simpler terms, It was shit. But what really bugs me about this series is that it fails to explain how the world got so messed up in the first place. What little attention it had in the second book was completely lost in the third, not only that but the movie adaptations of this series are an eyesore. I fail to understand why people still like this series as it doesnt have any intersting characters, it has an extremely boring pace and in the end all it crumbles down to is whether Katniss will choose Gale as her boy toy or Peeta, Yes, My friends just like Twilight.
For those people who are fans of dystopian fiction, this realy is one of the only series you might hear about so be smart and read something else.
What little attention it did catch was that the premise of this series was very interesting but sadly it was wasted on a pointless love story.

REVIEWED BY:
Yasir Zafar
First of His Name
       

Code Geass - Anime 2007-08

Rating: 9/10
Seasons: 2
Genre: Super Natural Drama
Writer: Ichiro Okouchi

The Stir in the Anime World took place when Death Note (Otaku Greatness) was released and little did Fans know what secrets the package carried. After Death note effectively ended in 2006, Code Geass was the magnificent savior in the uncharted territory for the Fans (Otakus!)

So the greatness unveils itself through the creativity of the manga artist in the form of Geass. Geass is a supernatural power that has different uses and it depends upon the user, however he/she wishes to wield it.

The story in the beginning is concerned with the Britain establishing itself as a dominant military nation and starting with the conquest of Japan. Lelouch Lamperouge (Not to mention, he is the greatest Chess Master in the Anime World), exiled prince of Britannia, unfortunately finds himself caught in a crossfire between the nations' armed forces. He is able to escape, however, thanks to the timely appearance of a mysterious girl named C.C., who bestows upon him the Power Of Kings. Under the mask of a vigilante named Zero, he embarks on a Journey to take revenge and close this chapter of Britannia once and for all.

The first season is the block by block construction of the story that is delicately handled and is superbly done. What follows in Season 2 is Greatness and Class at its best. This is the ONLY Anime I have witnessed that surpassed its own standards set in Season 1. The comparison with Death Note is rightly done and I can undoubtedly judge that Death Note and these two Seasons stand on Equal Footing (That's right people).The last episode's concluding 10 minutes are what made this Anime so special and made me regard it equal to Death Note because with Lelouch you never know what will happen next. And the quote that steals the spot light in the last scene

"I AM UNDER A GEASS CALLED PEOPLE'S WISH" (Yes you proved it Lelouch)

How I Met Your Mother - TV Series 2005-2014

Title: How I Met Your Mother (HIMYM)
Rating: 8/10
No.of Seasons: 9
Status: Complete

 HIMYM is a show which tells the story of a group of friends living in urban New York(sound familiar?).
It is narrated by the primary protagonist Ted Mosby (Josh Radnor) an architect who is telling his children the story of how he met their mother.
What follows is 90 hours of one of the most funniest TV shows you will ever watch, with one liners and jokes that will make you laugh till your stomach hurts.
Accompanying Ted in this ballad are his friends Marshall Erickson (Jason Segel) a lawyer with dreams of becoming a judge, Lily Aldrin (Alyson Hannigan) a kindergarten teacher and also Marshall's girlfriend, Robin Scherbatsky (Cobie Smulders) a news reporter stuck in a dead-end job and last but not the least Barney Stinson (Neil Patrick Harris) a playboy who has nothing better to do except lie to women to hook up with them.

This show has countless funny moments and it would be impossible to name them all. The best thing about this show is Barney Stinson, Truly Neil Patrick Harris did a flawless job playing this character and it remains one of the best on screen performances I have ever seen.
 However the biggest flaw in this show is that after Season 7 it becomes a stretch although still maintaining its humour.
The ending remains one of the worst endings thoughout TV show history with the creators of this show Carter Bays and Craig Thomas even receiving threats due to the disappointing ending.
However the biggest eyeopener of this show is the fact that it shows a very uncanny resemblance to the famous sitcom Friends (1994-2004). With both shows having in their group a nerdy professor, a couple who eventually get married, a womaniser and the girl whose career matters to her a lot. I will leave it up to you to decide who is who. Also both shows have a specific place they hangout at, in the case of HIMYM a bar and in the case of Friends a coffeehouse.
Even with these flaws the show is very fun to watch and it will make you laugh in your worst moments. A must watch for fans of the TV show Friends.

REVIEWED BY:
Yasir Zafar
First of His Name

The Racketeer - Novel 2012

The Racketeer
By John Grisham
4.0/5

The Novel is a legal thriller portraying the story of Malcolm Bannister (African-American) who is currently serving jail time. Bannister used to serve in the US Marines but then became an Attorney in a small law firm in Virginia, He was caught up in the scandal of a house where corrupt Congressmen used to spend their time under the influence of drugs and underage girls, The FBI had caught Malcolm along with many other people and had charged him under the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organisations Act (RICO) where he was convicted, disbarred and sentenced for 10 years. The book starts with Malcolm halfway through his sentence when a Federal Judge, Judge Facett is found dead, the FBI's investigation goes nowhere and this is where Malcolm takes his chance as he knows the killer's identity, motive to kill and the Judge's hidden secrets. He then trades in this information in return for immediate release and protection.
As the story proceeds Bannister completely plays out the FBI and sets the greatest ploy to spin them off, while he himself goes under the radar and contacts an old cellmate.
Malcolm Bannister in the book is a normal looking person on the outside but has a very good knack for playing games and tricking people.
Well The Racketeer is without a doubt Grisham's best works, as it was one of the best selling books of 2012. The plot created by Grisham over here was very well planned and set as many writers get entangled amongst their own mysteries and loose track in the middle. Well Grisham has probably given this book his unique touch of thrill and mystery, and the other characters in the book were also very carefully placed.
My favourite part in the book was the interrogation of Quinn Rucker by the Feds.

Reviewed by,
Moiz Khan.

Breaking Bad - TV Show 2008-2013

Rating: 9.5/10
Director: Vince Gilligan

A true masterpiece by Vince Gilligan that unfortunately ended in 2013 was something the world would remember. The Walter White (Bryan Cranston) and Jesse Pinkman (Aaron Paul) led show is the most intriguing fiction story available on the American TV.
The show has won 2 Golden Globes and other 137 wins. The show is Top rated #3 (Though 1st won't have been too bad considering the intense excitement the show stirred in the World).
Source:IMDB. This series is widely acclaimed to be the best TV Series ever and as a fan myself, this is rightly so.

The series kicks off with Walter White being a victim of terminal disease (lung cancer) and the odds of his death being high. He is a high school chemistry teacher and to ensure his family's future, he turns to drugs (methamphetamine to be specific) for money. As he is a chemistry teacher, the cooking part is handled by him pretty professionally and he partners up with none other than Jesse Pinkman for the business.

The events follow with as accuracy and Precision as one can possibly expect from a man made TV Series. The Story is regarded as flawless except one thing that bugged me alot in this show up till season 3 was that even though the story was beautifully crafted but the 'flow was a little slow'. The episode of Fly (Season 3 Episode 10) is like the limit of proportionality of patience. But to be very honest, the following Seasons made up to the mark. Season 4 and 5 are probably the Best 29 episodes one can see in his/her life. Other than story, acting was marvellous which indeed had its part in the TV Show's success. Bryan Cranston was generosly rewarded for his portrayal of the character by Four consecutive Outstanding Lead Actor in A Drama Series Emmy awards. I am a little rating conscious, so my sole reason of starting to watch this show was its rating on IMDB and after witnessing this masterpiece I feel that 9.5/10 (0.5 lost due to slow 3 seasons) is absolutely worth it and I would recommend it to every single soul on Planet Earth to Watch it. The show is undoubtedly an unforgettable one and to top it all off by putting the cherry on the cake:

                    
                        Walter "SAY MY NAME" 
                        Declan "HEISENBERG"
        Walter "YOU ARE GODDAMN RIGHT"

The Devil's Double - Movie 2011

The Devil's Double
by Lee Tamahori
8.4/10

The Movie is based on a true story during the Iran-Iraq war where Latif Yahya (Dominic Cooper), an Iraqi Soldier who is called upon by Saddam Hussein's (Iraqi President) playboy son Uday Hussein (also by Dominic Cooper) in order to become his Fedai (Body Double) who were classmates in school and have great resemblance to each other. At first Latif is reluctant to work for Uday as he is the eldest son of his father and has plans to takeover the family business after him but working for Uday would mean that he leave everything behind and become dead to the rest of the world. Since Uday is a spoiled man who gets whatever he wants, doesn't let go of Latif that easily and makes him work for him rather forcefully. Latif then becomes Uday's brother and carries his place as the double.
Later in the movie Latif working side by side with Uday discovers the dark secrets laying within power and lust, and gets to know the true disgusting nature of Uday. Latif also starts to fall for Uday's paramour Sarrab (Ludivine Sagnier) but tries to refrain from her as she is the only one he can't pursue.
Dominic Cooper really outdid himself in this one and handled both the characters very exquisitely with Latif being the sober gentleman and Uday the arrogant and careless person, managing two roles with such different personalities is a pretty complicated task and Dominic has truly displayed his best.
Ludivine Sagnier also did a good job portraying the delicate role as Uday's personal prostitute and some what girlfriend without whom Uday is incomplete and needs her no matter with how many girls he spends time.
The overall direction of the movie was quiet good but the ending looked like it was wrapped up in some kind of haste but this wasn't completely the fault of direction as a big timeline was tried to fit in a span of appox. 2 hrs.
I think the best part of the Movie was Uday's Birthday Party and the events following it.

Reviewed by,
Moiz Khan

Saving Private Ryan - Movie 1998

Title: Saving Private Ryan
Rating: 9/10
Director: Steven Spielberg

Saving Private Ryan takes place during World War 2 in the early days of  D-Day. Captain John Miller (Tom Hanks) of the United States Army leads his men Sergeant Horvath (Tom Sizemore), Private Reiben (Edward Burns), Private Jackson (Barry Pepper), Private Mellish (Adam Goldberg), Private Caparzo (Vin Diesel), Wade (Giovanni Ribisi) and new recruit Corporal Upham (Jeremy Davies) on a mission behind enemy lines to recover Private James Francis Ryan (Matt Damon) a marine who loses all three of his brothers to the war.
This movie directed by Spielberg will never cease to surprise you no matter how many times you watch it. The special effects and well choreographed battles will send shivers down your spine. Spiced with the excellent acting skills of Tom Hanks playing the lead role, this movie really shows a bond being developed between the soldiers as they cope up with the horrors of war all the while struggling to maintain their own sanity.
The Omaha beach landing scene at the beginning will surely give you goosebumps as you will struggle to prevent your head from exploding with the awesomeness of that scene. Along with a comical sight of a soldier picking up his severed arm.
My favourite moment, Among a few is when Sergeant Horvath faces a german and they both are out of bullets so they throw their helmets at each other.
A truly epic movie that everyone should definetly watch, This movie deserves the highest praise for balancing the brutality of war with the lives of the soldiers.

10/10 would watch again.

REVIEWED BY:
Yasir Zafar
First of His Name

The Last Kingdom - TV Series 2015

Title: The Last Kingdom
Rating: 9/10
No.of Seasons: 1
Status: Complete

The Last Kingdom is based on the novel, The Saxon Chronicles by Bernard Cornwell. Set in the ninth century in England when viking raids had become very common, It tells the story of Uthred son of a Northumbrian lord whose settlement is attacked by Danes and Uthred is captured. Raised as a slave in the Danish camp he is later adopted by the viking chief Earl Ragnar who raises him as his own son.
The show follows Uthred as he is torn apart between two worlds, On one side he is a Saxon born in England but on the other side he is a Dane raised among vikings.
The title is inspired by the fact that The Kingdom Of Wessex was the only kingdom which survived the viking invasion hence the name.
A very exciting show that will keep you on the edge of your seats till the very end. The Directors namely Peter Hoar, Ben Chanan and Nick Murphy truly did a spectacular job with this show. Originally made by BBC for historical purposes much like Da Vincis Demons this show focuses on the historical element of these stories with their main aim being to provide maximum entertainment, All the while keeping true to history.The battles in this show which are the most important thing in medieval shows are very good. The best part is the Battle of Edington which happens in the end and is bound to keep your hearts racing
Containing lots of dismemberment, fighting and my personal favourite Shieldwalls!
So for any history buds out there or any fans of the tv series Vikings, This show is a must watch.

REVIEWED BY:
Yasir Zafar
First of His Name

MOVIE

SUB: Conjuring 2
Rating: 9/10
Director: James Wan

James Wan really outdid himself and JUST redefined the field of horror in the modern era.
Ehm! so let me give a little back ground to justify my statement for the readers. Conjuring 2 is rightfully the best horror movie of 2016. Why? one might possibly wonder,
Ed (Patrick Wilson) and his wife Lorraine Warren (Vera Farmiga) are paranormal investigators who help the poor souls (target of unwanted evil spirits) through their gifted talents. Let me correct myself! HER gifted talents and indeed Ed (Patrick Wilson) knows how to improvise. Bill Wilkins (Bob Adrian) is a spirit who is not so evil visits his house but to find out that somebody else has taken refuge in it. He overwhelms Janet Hodgeson's (Madison Wolfe) body to communicate hence creating a ominous situation but truly 'Every action is judged by intentions'.
Fast forwarding, the family is scared to death and the three siblings are shifted to the neighbour's house for safety. The investigators are brought to find a solution to this prevailing insanity.

Ed and Lorraine don't want to get involved but the situation demands it.. Misbehavior of the girl leads the investigators to believe that it was all a lie. The Mother and hapless Daughter can't find a solution to this and  Lorraine is certainly adamant to leave. The couple later finds out that 'indeed there was a spirit and it was just trying to warn of a greater danger.'(a lil' spoiler).

To finish up, the marvellous acting by Patrick Wilson and Bob Adrian, how can I forget Madison Wolfe, takes the movie up a notch and really kick starts the campaign in bid to be the best HORROR FILM OF 2016.

Reviewed by
Najam

Death Note - Anime 2006-2007

Death Note

9.5/10

Death Note is a Mystery/Thriller Anime which has only one season. The show portrays a Realm of Shinigamis (Gods of Death) who posses a Death Note to Kill people in the real world, the Note has the power to kill a person whose name is written in it within 60 seconds with the writer keeping his victim's face in mind. A Shinigami named Ryuk somehow gets possession of another Death Note and drops it in the World, now this is where the Antagonist (soon-to-be) is introduced named Light Yagami who is an intelligent high-school going student, grabs hold of the Death Note. At first the simple boy does not know what to do with it but then he decides to test it on a criminal, after recognising the first hand effects of the Notebook he sets himself on a crusade to dispose off all the criminals in the world and make himself God of The New World free of evil men. Criminals worldwide start to die in huge numbers, after a large number of deaths government agencies all around the world are alerted and try to solve the mystery behind these deaths, this is where the Protagonist publicly known by the alias L comes in. L is a secretly working person who has helped solve many complicated cases in the past and is known as the best case solver.
As the story proceeds Light and L both race off to the finish line where Light seeing L as an immediate threat and needs to kill him and L fighting to bring Light to justice.The show is extremely brilliant with a very intense battle of two great minds.
The show overall is flawless but it starts to slack in the middle after a major turn of events but it picks up pace again after the advent of a new major character.
This anime is not only one of my best watched anime's but it also is one of my best watched TV show's and without a doubt is is the best ever.
My favourite part of the show is when Light gets the death note back in the helicopter and all his previous memories of it return to him.

Reviewed by,

Moiz Khan

Doctor Strange - Movie 2016

Title: Doctor Strange
Rating: 8/10
Director:Scott Derrickson

An exciting journey of  two hours goes along splendidly in the first but shrinks to a drag along in the last.
Doctor Strange tells the story of  Sherlo...ahem Stephen Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch), A surgeon who undergoes an accident which leaves him crippled. To heal himself he visits a monastery which turns out to be the hideout of an ancient society of magicians protecting the earth from dangers (really?).
As every Sherlock has a Moriarty (see what I did there?), The Moriarty in this movie is Kaecilius (Mads Mikkelsen) a sorcerer who works for a cosmic entity by the name of Dormammu who is intent on destroying earth. Aiding Stephen in defeating Kaecilius is Mordo (Chiwetel Ejiofor), The Ancient One (Tilda Swinton) and Stephen's love interest Christine (Rachel Mcadams).
Hats off to the animation and special effects team for a very superb job, The fight and chase scenes are very well choreographed, Director Scott Derrickson really outdid himself with this one. One of the best scenes comes in the middle when Kaecilius chases Doctor Strange and Mordo.
However this movie has its flaws, In the last 45 minutes it starts to become more of a stretch with unnecessary scenes.Nearing the end it starts to feel like someone forced director Scott to end the movie which is possible since Marvel Studios is kind of prickly when it comes to films exceeding their budgets.
Like most Marvel movies this one too forgets to develop its villains. Someone with capabilities like Mads Mikkelsen is wasted on this movie since He plays a very undeveloped antagonist.
The saving grace of this movie is its humour which is the cornerstone of every Marvel movie, with jokes and funny moments which keep this movie from going down in flames.
I definitly recommend watching this movie since it has a very new feel to it, One might say that Doctor Strange delivers what it promises but nothing more.

REVIEWED BY:
Yasir Zafar
First of His Name

ANIME

SUB: Nisekoi
Rating: 8/10

Nisekoi is the Anime of Romance category. The anime consists of only 2 seasons whereas the manga is completed some time ago. This Anime is worth watching for fans of Romantic and Love Triangles. This anime does provide sufficient satisfaction for a fan such as myself with an interesting Story line and cutting edge animation. The basic plot revolves around a girls favorite boy Raku Ichigo and the fame he has among the group of girls. The writer Naoshi Komi had started the tale of a boy who had promised a girl in his childhood for marriage in the future.The girl has a KEY and he has the LOCKET. This is not as simple as it may sound because three girls are confused and are in bewilderment of who is the one because each of them has a key. The story begins after many years have past and the girl Chitoge and Raku meet in unforeseen circumstances and are forced to behave as a couple . The story advances as Raku is faced with three girls liking him whereas he likes the one named Onodera. The fake couple eventually develop feelings for each other as time flies by and in the end Raku has to choose THE one and unsurprisingly it is Chitoge. The Story had its fair share of twists and Fun but what it lacked was quality consistency throughout. The chapters regarded as fillers were not handled as the fans would have liked and the twists were unnecessarily too many which leaves the fans wondering that whether the manga artist was trying to stretch the otherwise good enough plot. Other than these minor flaws the Anime was addictive and adhered to the expectations from Fans. Lastly, this anime would be recommended by me to all those who want a little Slice of life, Romance and with a modicum of comedy.

Reviewed By
Najam