2024 - AnksReview - 96th Academy Award (Oscar) Prediction

 As I have been making Oscar Awards Prediction for quite some time, I am way too late this time where I am putting my precition right on the day when in a few hours final award show will commence.

This year it has been not that difficult to choose a winner as few movies completely stand out in their excellence. Here is my prediction for 2024 - 96th Academy Award.

Best Picture Nominees

1. Best Picture

Oppenheimer - {WINNER}

• American Fiction 
• Barbie
• Killers of the Flower Moon
• Maestro
• Oppenheimer
• Past Lives
• Poor Things
• The Zone of Interest

2. Best Director

Christopher Nolan – Oppenheimer - {WINNER}

• Justine Triet – Anatomy of a Fall
• Martin Scorsese – Killers of the Flower Moon
• Christopher Nolan – Oppenheimer
• Yorgos Lanthimos – Poor Things
• Jonathan Glazer – The Zone of Interest

3. Best Actor

Cillian Murphy – Oppenheimer - {WINNER}

• Bradley Cooper – Maestro
• Colman Domingo – Rustin
• Paul Giamatti – The Holdovers
• Cillian Murphy – Oppenheimer
• Jeffrey Wright – American Fiction

4. Best Actress

Emma Stone - Poor Things - {WINNER}

Lily Gladstone - Killers of the Flower Moon - {Alternate Choice}

• Annette Bening – Nyad 
• Lily Gladstone – Killers of the Flower Moon 
• Sandra Hüller – Anatomy of a Fall
• Carey Mulligan – Maestro
• Emma Stone – Poor Things

5. Best Supporting Actor

Robert Downey Jr. – Oppenheimer - {WINNER}

• Sterling K. Brown – American Fiction
• Robert De Niro – Killers of the Flower Moon
• Robert Downey Jr. – Oppenheimer
• Ryan Gosling – Barbie
• Mark Ruffalo – Poor Things

6. Best Supporting Actress

Emily Blunt - Oppenheimer - {WINNER}

Da'Vine Joy Randolph – The Holdovers - {Alternate Choice}

• Emily Blunt – Oppenheimer
• Danielle Brooks – The Color Purple
• America Ferrera – Barbie
• Da'Vine Joy Randolph – The Holdovers - {Alternate Choice}
• Jodie Foster – Nyad 

7. Best Original Screenplay

Anatomy of a Fall - {WINNER}

• Anatomy of a Fall
• The Holdovers
• Maestro
• May December
• Past Lives

8. Best Adapted Screenplay

Oppenheimer - {WINNER}

• American Fiction
• Barbie
• Oppenheimer
• Poor Things
• The Zone of Interest

9. Best Animated Feature

Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse - {WINNER}

• The Boy and the Heron
• Elemental
• Nimona
• Robot Dreams
• Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse

10. Best International Feature Film

The Zone of Interest (United Kingdom) - {WINNER}

• Io capitano (Italy)
• Perfect Days (Japan)
• Society of the Snow (Spain)
• The Teachers' Lounge (Germany)
• The Zone of Interest (United Kingdom)

11. Best Sound

Oppenheimer - {WINNER}

• The Creator
• Maestro
• Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One
• Oppenheimer
• The Zone of Interest

12. Best Production Design

Poor Things - {WINNER}

Barbie - {Alternate Choice}

• Barbie
• Killers of the Flower Moon
• Napoleon
• Oppenheimer
• Poor Things

13. Best Cinematography

Oppenheimer - {WINNER}

• El Conde
• Killers of the Flower Moon
• Maestro
• Oppenheimer
• Poor Things

14. Best Film Editing

Oppenheimer - {WINNER}

• Anatomy of a Fall
• The Holdovers
• Killers of the Flower Moon
• Oppenheimer
• Poor Things

15. Best Visual Effects

Godzilla Minus One - {WINNER}

• The Creator
• Godzilla Minus One
• Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3
• Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One
• Napoleon

These are my predictions of Oscar, do tell me what's yours?

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OMG 2 - (4/5) - {Hindi}

 

OMG 2 - Devine Intervention

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OMG 2 is the next movie of OMG - Oh My God! 2012 directed by Amit Rai. The movie is set up in Ujjain, a pilgrim city of Lord Shiva's Mahakaal avatar. 

OMG 2 is the story of Kanti Sharan Mudgal (Pankaj Tripathi), a staunch devotee of Lord Shiva who is a simple family man living an ordinary life as a shopkeeper near Mahakaal temple. One day his son, is blamed for immoral sexual conduct and is rusticated from the school. His son goes into depression and even tries to commit suicide. While exploring the reason Kanti realises his son is a victim of misinformation and misguiding because of the lack of awareness of sexual education in society. with the intervention of Lord Shiva's messenger (Akshay Kumar), he decides to file a legal case against the school and everyone who misguided his son. The movie is about a one of it's kind court battle where Kanti blames school, self-certified doctor, chemist shop and himself for what his son has gone through without any of his faults.

OMG 2 takes its first past social messaging to the next level by focusing on the importance of sexual education in our society which is long ignored. The beauty of the movie it's amazing screenplay and direction by Amit Rai he makes sure that movie where it never loses track of what it wants to convey to the audience. It's a complicated subject that was handled beautifully with facts and argument which is part of our ancient culture.

Pankaj Tripathi stands out with one of his perfect performances of a naive father who argues his points to make his complex argument look simple. Yami Gautham as a defendant Lawyer has done a great job of putting strong arguments which was quite missing in OMG (2012). Akshay Kumar is simply amazing with his comic timing and the subtlety he brought in the character he plays which helped the story in crucial junctures. The movie has amazing humor moments around this serious topic like the court scene, the pun in our judicial systems which mostly talks in English, Kanti's innocent house wife and many more.

Overall OMG 2 is a great movie and put it message across beautifully to provoke thought among us for this important topic. A Must Watch!!

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KANTARA (5/5) - {Kannada}

 

KANTARA - The Legend of the Demigod

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Kantara is a 2022 Indian Kannada-language period action drama movie written and directed by Rishab Shetty and produced by Hombale Films. This is about the Legend of the Keraadi Forest area in Coastal Karnataka where a king in 1847 gives his land to Tribals in the Forrest Area in lieu of Demigod to gain peace and prosperity for himself and his family. The tribals have Guliga Deva (a demigod) who warns the King, that if he or his family will ever goes back on the word will face the wrath of the Deity.

Down the generations, the king's successors in 1970 demand the land back from the tribals during the Kola festival and warn about going to court but after a few months dies mysterious death as pronounced by Deva. The movie travels to 1990 when a Forest Department wants to make the place a Reserve Forest area and a village Kambala Champion Shiva (Rishabh Shetty) gets into loggerheads with DRFO officer, Murali (Kishore). The movie is about the conflict between Tribals, Royal Blood, and Forest Department while the folklore of Kola and Demigod is in the background. 

This movie is just fantastic in each frame from beginning to end. The movie is carried solely by Risabh Shetty who is not only in the lead role but also he is the one who has written as well as directed it. It's an amazing screenplay with perfect cinematography, a compelling background score, and flawless direction. The rawness of the jungle and village and the meticulously shot action sequence is the icing on the cake. Rishabh lives this role and looks so natural as tribal youth and what a performance by him in the climax which makes you speechless and awestruck. 

This is another gem from Kannada Film Industry, an Oscar Worthy movie and Must Watch in Theatre.

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Doctor G (4/5) - {Hindi}

 

Doctor G - Losing The Male Touch!

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Doctor G is a drama-comedy directed by Anubhuti Kashyap. The movie is about a PG Medical Student Uday played by Ayushmann Khurrana who was a lone student in the Gyenic department without his own wish. He struggles to come to terms with being a Male Gyenochologist and has a tough boss Dr. Nandini played by Shefali Shah. While the movie focuses on Uday's character however it also shows gray shades of him with male chauvinism around his family and friends.

The movie is beautifully written and touches on quite a few social issues in a funny yet hard-hitting way. It is a superb direction by Anubhuti Kashyap and Once again Ayushmann Khurrana nailed it with another movie on a social taboo subject. Shefali Shah is as usual flawless and so does Sheeba Chadha with such a strong grip on her character.

It's A Must Watch !!!

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My Top 25 Movies of Most Versatile Actor Amitabh Bachchan who is a Super Star Of Multiple Generations

Today is the 80th Birth Anniversary of Amitabh Bachchan, so I am trying to put my Top 25 Movies of a great artiste who has entertained us since 1969 and still going strong with his performances. He is indeed the finest Film Actor we have and a flawless person and a great human being. We all pray that he lives long and keeps entertaining us. This is quite difficult to pick the best movies these are my top favorites. 

1. Agneepath (1990)

2. Sholay (2016)

3. Pink (2016)

4. Black (2005)

5. Sarkar (2005)

6. Deewar (1975)

7. Shakti (1982)

8. Kaala Patthar (1979)

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Sita Ramam - (5/5) - {Telugu}

Sita Ramam - Soldier in Love

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Sita Ramam is an Indian Telugu-language period romantic drama written and directed by Hanu Raghavapudi. The movie is set in 1964 and travels between 1985 and 1964 as the story unfolds. The movie starts from the time of 1985, when a Pakistani National Afreen (Rashmika Mandhana) has to fulfill a condition written in her Grand Father's will to deliver a letter written by Ram (Dulquer Salmaan) to Sita (Mrunal Thakur) in Hyderabad, India. While she struggles to find Sita's whereabouts she discovers the story about Ram, who was a soldier serving at the Kashmir border, who gets anonymous love letters from Sita Mahalakshmi and how he finds Sita to propose his love and story thereafter. The story has so many twists and turns, thriller, and suspense, any more information can be a spoiler.

The main backbone of this movie is the very strong screenplay and direction which was superbly done by Hanu Raghavapudi. The Production Design, Background Music, Cinematography, and Handling of Narration were just perfect to make the entire movie interesting from beginning to end. It has all the ingredients for full entertainment be it the way they show characters falling in love, songs, the beautiful locations of Hyderabad and Kashmir in the 60s, sequences where you wonder what can happen next, it was simply a delight. All leading character Dulquer, Mrunal Thakur, and Rashmika has delivered their best performances. 

It's a pure Romantic Movie with the flavor of Patriotism, a little bit of Action, and lots of emotions. Another great one by Telugu Cinema, A MUST-WATCH!!!

#TeluguMovies #2022Movies #SitaRamam #Telugu #IndianMovies

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777 Charlie (5/5) - {Kannada}

Image Source: 777Charlie.com

777 Charlie: A Bond of Unconditional Love

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Streaming Platform: Voot

777 Charlie is a Kannada film about a friendship between a dog and a man, directed by Kiranraj K. 777 Charlie is a story about a Labrador Puppy who escapes from a breeder where many dogs are caged and tortured. He struggles to survive and lands up in a housing colony where Dharma (Rakshit Shetty) resides. Dharma is a loner who doesn't have any friends and is hated by everyone around him. After one incident the puppy sees Dharma as a savior and follows him to his house and takes shelter outside his house. One road accident makes Dharma take Charlie to a vet who without his wish has to keep the pup for a few days before the vet doctor finds any family who can adopt Charlie. It shows how it is difficult to keep a pup and at the same time how it develops a bond for life. The story is about how Charlie and Dharma develop bonds that completely change Dharma's life around him, till the time Dharma founds out that Charlie has terminal cancer. This news shooks Dharma and he starts a road trip with Charlie to show her snow in Himachal which Dharma thinks it's her last wish. 

This movie is perfect in all aspects and the most strong point of this movie is its screenplay and direction. In this one movie, the director covers all the issues regarding pet dogs such as Acceptability in Housing Colonies, Illegal Breeding, Impulsive Adoption, Dog Shows, Animal Activist, Army Dog, and how a Dog can change the life of a person with unconditional pure love. The emotions are high and handled in a perfect way without making them melodramatic and showed how a human and dogs understand each other with their emotional bond.

This is one of the kinds of movies that are rarely made in India and everyone MUST watch this. If you are a pet parent you will understand how one can go to any extent for them and the one who doesn't have a pet will learn how deep this bond could be. 777 Charlie may lack the finesse of top world-class movie-making however its screenplay has all the ingredients to qualify for the Film Festival and International Award circuit. 

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Anek - (2/5) - {Hindi}

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Top Gun: Maverick (5/5)

Top Gun: Maverick

Top Gun: Maverick -  Perfecting the Perfection

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Top Gun: Maverick is a 2022 American action drama film directed by Joseph Kosinski. It is the sequel to Classic Cult Top Gun (1986) film. The film stars Tom Cruise as Captain Pete "Maverick" Mitchell, a test pilot, alongside Miles Teller, Jennifer Connelly, Jon Hamm, Glen Powell, Lewis Pullman, Ed Harris, Monica Barbaro, and Val Kilmer. Set 36 years after its predecessor, the movie follows Maverick's return to the United States Navy Strike Fighter Tactics Instructor program (also known as "Top Gun") to train the best pilots for a very critical mission. While he prepares the pilots for the mission he must also confront his past as he trains a group of younger fighter pilots, among them the son of Maverick's best friend Goose.

This movie is more than a perfect one in all aspects, it has an amazing screenplay by Peter Craig and Justin Marks where they kept the soul of the classic hit and build an amazing story on that which itself is a great tribute to Top Gun of 1986. The movie is well directed and full of aerial encounters which are amazingly choreographed with perfect sound effects and cinematography. The camera work, aerial dogfights, and special effects keep you at the edge as if you are sitting behind cockpits.

This movie is all about Tom Cruise who defies the age and gravity by having a great time presenting the maverick in such an amazing way. It really takes quite a courage to build a sequel of such a cult, that too after 36 years and acing it up. 

This movie was one of my favorites as a teenager and it kept the swag of Maverick Characters with his wits, rebels, bike scene, aviator glass, and jacket. My full thumbs up for this, it is a must-watch and also to keep in your movie collection. 

Image Source: imdb.com

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RRR (5/5)

RRR - The Larger Than Life

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RRR is a Telugu-language epic period action drama film written and directed by S. S. Rajamouli of Baahubali fame. It is a fictional depiction of the true story of freedom fighters Sitarama Raju and Komaram Bheem played by Ram Charan and N.T. Rama Rao Jr. respectively.

The movie is set in the time of the Pre-Independence British era where a British Governor forcefully takes away a girl from a Gonda tribe for his wife's amusement. Bheem (N.T. Rama Rao Jr.) who is the protector of the tribe goes on a mission to rescue the girl and bring her home. Sitarama Raju (Ram Charan) is a British Police Officer who takes up a mission to capture Bheem to get a promotion. They both met accidentally and become friends and as the story progressed the rescue mission of the girl turned into a freedom fighting movement which was started by Sitarama's father Venkata Rama Raju (Ajay Devgun).

The story may look quite simple the way it was defined however the way it is presented by Rajamouli is simply make you awestruck. If you are impressed with Baahubali and its grandeur, then RRR will make Baahubali look pale. You will enjoy each frame of this movie from beginning to end with an amazing screenplay and superb execution of its storytelling in a grand way. This is world-class movie-making with its perfection which makes impossible action sequences quite believable with grace. Whether it's the cinematography, editing, background score, and acting performances- the movie is perfect in all aspects. It is full masala entertainment with the perfect finesse of movie-making art. RRR keep you engaged from beginning to end and makes you confused about which scene to mark most favorite among many if you have to choose one. 

A great performance by Ram Charan and N.T. Rama Rao Jr. and all key characters in the movie, however, this movie simply belong to Rajamouli's vision to portray his stories in larger than life. I was so awestruck that I am running out of adjectives. With movies like Baahubali, Pushpa, and now RRR it is certain that the Telugu film industry is way ahead of Bollywood and its peers and as competitive as any big-budget Hollywood movie.

A must-watch and that too on a big IMAX screen if you really want to enjoy the real essence of it's grandeur. This movie will create a historical landmark in the Indian Film Industry.

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AnksReview - Top 10 Hindi Films of 2020

I know I am a little late on putting this in as I was watching and finishing a few notable movies of 2020. So here is my list of Top 20 Movies of the unique year 2020.

1. Thappad

Thappad is a family drama set up in Delhi where a wife played by Tapsee Punnu got slapped by her husband during one incident.  The complex subject is being portrayed by great simplicity and with amazing performance. The movie makes you think about how we take big things for granted and forgiven in our society. This is by far the best movie of 2020 and kudos goes to Anubhav Sinha for great direction.

2. Serious Men

Serious Men is a comedy satire that questions how our society blindly follows intelligence without knowing the depth of it. It's a story about a father who always wanted his son to be the brightest by tricking the world as he knows it. Amazing movie and great performance by Nawazuddin.

3. Raat Akeli Hai

Raat Akeli is a Crime Thriller about a murder investigation of a famous family by a cop played by Nazazuddin Siddiqui. The movie is gripping, has its own speed, and surprises you in the climax and not to mention another great performance by Nawzuddin. 

4. Ludo

Ludo is an ensemble action-comedy with a common thread among four characters which is played by Pankaj Tripathi. It's witty, funny, shocking, and keeps you on the edge. A great watch

5. Panga

Panga is a sports-drama based on the story of a Kabaddi Player who makes comes back to the world championship in her mid-thirties and her struggle towards it. The movie was quite well made and an amazing performance by Kangra,

6. Unpaused

Unpaused is a movie made of short stories with Pandemic Lockdown as a backdrop on how the Pandemic affected the life of people from various walks of life. The beauty here is the simplicity of stories and great performance backed by superb direction.

7. Kaamyab

Kaamyab is a drama based on the retired character artiste from the Hindi Film industry whose rolls were famous but never recognized in the mainstream. It's a movie amount about their struggle to survive and keep artists among them alive and also their personal lives.

8. Shubh Mangal Zyada Saawdhaan

Shubh Mangal Zyada .... is a slapstick comedy by Ayishmann Khurana on Gay Relationship and it's acceptance by a traditional middle-class family. It's a good light watch not as good as its first franchise.

9. Chintu Ka Birthday

Chintu Ka Birthday is a comedy-drop setup in the backdrop of Iraq's crisis where a normal Indian father wants to celebrate the birthday of his son. It's a very simple movie but has a deep message and beautifully made. Vinay Pathak is simply a delight to watch with his performance.

10. Lootcase

Lootcase is a movie on the comedy of errors where normal printing press workers find Rs 10 crore of a politician and how he gets into trouble with a series of funny events after that. The good part of the movie is its plot and comic timing which keeps you interested.

I hope you all like the selection and please let me know about any movies which I missed.

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My pick of Top 15 TV Series

Well, I got multiple requests to list out my review about TV Series which are available on multiple platforms, so I thought to list out some of those which I have enjoyed watching in recent times of 5-6 years. There are a lot of them which might have missed as it takes me a lot of effort to start any new series and once I start it I make it to the point to finish it fully. I have not included old sitcoms, comedy, series which runs in a loop and mostly focussed on ones which came in recent time in form of OTT and Web series in multiple platforms.

1. Breaking Bad

Breaking Bad is undoubtedly the best of all. An action-packed thriller about a Chemistry professor who decides to manufacture drugs when he discovers that he got Stage 3 cancer and has only two years to live. The beauty of this series is in its writing, its characters, the performance by all actors, and the perfect ending. This is a must-watch for everyone.

2. Dark

Dark is a German TV Series from Netflix is about a missing child that set four families from a small town in Germany to unlock the mystery which unfolds in three generations. This is a sci-fi based thriller that has taken the concept of time travel to a different level. The uniqueness of this series is its flawless presentation of such a complex story with perfect execution to make you believe the unbelievable in its every sequence.

3. Game Of Thrones

I do not need to write about this series as this is the most-watched TV Series on the planet. Amazing story, great action, and above all awesome set of characters. The series which was loved by all thought had a quite disappointing final season but this is still one of the best series of all time.

4. Fargo

If you love Crime Drama and Thriller, Fargo is indeed the one. Inspired by Fargo movie of 1996 the series carries the theme of gruesome true crime incidents which have taken in a small town in Minnesota and around Fargo city. You will be amazed to understand that all such strange incidents really happened there. Amazing direction and great performance by everyone.

5. Westworld

Westworld is HBO Series created by Jonathan Nolan and Lisa Joy. It's a dystopian sci-fi series on 1973 Classic movie by the same name. Westworld story touches several key aspects such as Artificial Intelligence, Concept of God, Robotics, Big Data, Data Privacy with it's beautifully crafted concept of the different world created for rich and powerful which is served by Robotic Hosts. It's perfectly written with amazing characters. It is a complex story and you need to be patient enough to watch the first season carefully where they build the plot for series.

6. Peaky Blinders

Peaky Blinders is a British crime drama set in 1919 post the Word War I era. It's a story about the notorious Shelby Family from Birmingham and their pursuit to become the most powerful mafia gang of the UK. What makes this one unique is- its sheer swag, attitude, characters, and an amazing performance by all the actors.

7. Black Mirror

Black Mirror is a Netflix original series about a dystopian world influenced by artificial intelligence & technology and it's influence on humanity. It is a series with each episode is independent with each other and touches several aspects of how technology is changing our world. Although the series shows how humans will use technology in the future, however, it will make you think by relating it to what's happening around.

8. Homeland

Homeland is a spy thriller by Showtime. This is one of the best CIA drama which touches on literally all threats America facing from Russia, Iran, Iraq to Pakistan. It's dramatic and get sloppy in middle seasons but picks up well later. Watch it if you love spy and geopolitical thrillers.

 9. Better Call Saul

Better Call Saul is the spinoff story of Breaking Bad. Its a story about its most interesting character Saul Goodman, a notorious lawyer. You may find this a little drag at first and just like Breaking Bad it slowly builds up and now I came to know this will bring back some leading characters of Breaking Bad back again.

10. Watchmen

Watchmen is based on a famous DC Comics story about the masked vigilante. I was always fascinated by Watchmen characters when I saw the 2009 movie by the same name and this series continues from where the movie ended, so it is advisable to watch the movies first to understand the complexities this series will bring.

11. Narcos

Narcos is a story about the world's notorious cocaine druglords from South America and covered all the cartels from Colombia to Mexico. This series would have been in Top 10, but the last season was quite sloppy which pulled it to #11.

12. House of Cards

House of Cards is a Netflix political thriller that was set up in the backdrop of US Presidential politics. This was one of the best series among all however the last season really pulled it down by it's sudden and sloppy ending post, Kevin Spacey controversy. This is still one of the greatest political thrillers.

13. Mindhunters

Mindhunter is Netflix Series that is a crime thriller based on real incidents set up in the 70s when the FBI started its crime-psychology unit which monitors the patterns to catch serial killers. It's amazingly made series and depicts some of the popular serial killers of America.

14. Penny Dreadful

Penny Dreadful is a Horror Thriller set up in the era of Victorian London. I am not fond of horror however this one is really well made and they brought great characters like Dr. Frankenstein, Dorian Gray, and iconic figures from the novel Dracula.

15. True Detective

True Detective is an American crime drama series about some dark crime investigation by cops. The series has it's own pace at the same time quite gripping the way they define the depth of its every character. Season 1 was the best among all, do watch if you like crime investigation.

Some special mentions of Mini-Series that you must watch

Sherlock

Chernobyl

Unbelievable

DISCLAIMER: This blog is for information purposes. All Images are taken from the web through Google Image Search and sites like imbd.com and subject to copyright.

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