Arun Shaji Abraham

It is one of the best stand-alone books I have ever read. I usually read books that are part of a series, but I randomly picked up this book at my school library, and man, wasn't I impressed. This book feels less of a book and more of an action, romantic, comedy, and feel-good movie. It keeps you interested throughout all the pages and has remained my standard for standalone books for a long time now. It is a real thriller but wholesome with all the emotions. Don't skip this one. Atleast it would be entertaining.

Come with an open mind, not expecting a like-for-like adaptation and you will see an awesome series. So many plotholes or meh-looking motivations and watering down of serious issues in the original animation series have been fixed, and the motivations are a bit more serious, and the characters are actually trying to find ways to save the world and deal with their personal issues and not look like they are on vacation, like it's shown in the animated series. Good visuals and bending. Overall a good adaptation. Give it a watch, it will be worth it. ******Detailed Review (SPOILERS AHEAD)******* There is that childlike innocence for the Avatar but fear of not knowing how to do what he has to do but following his nature at the same time. The visual effects and bending are awesome. The design and the effects are superb. Some of the child actor's emotions can look a bit underwhelming at the beginning, but it gets better as the episodes go on and the child actors really pick up their emotional acting as we reach the last two episodes. But some of the acting was awesome especially the action of Dallas James Liu(as ZUKO), Paul Sun-Hyung Lee(as IROH), Elizabeth Yu(as AZULA) and Daniel Dae Kim(as FIRE LORD OZAI). The fear generated by the fire nation on others is shown really well. Azula's mind being pushed to the end of it's tether by her dad's mental games he plays with his children. It really sets us up for showing us why Azula is the way she is, and why she does the things she is going to do in the future seasons. It has a bit of exposition but even that is not given in a boring way or as just blatant narration, but engagingly following the show-not-tell motto. A lot of backstory that could have been narrated as exposition was shown in the form of reliving flashbacks as depressive memories, and hence conveyed emotions and plot and the character's mental state and how they think of those incidents without the need for any narration. So I really liked the way they dealt with exposition and did not find any problem with that. Overall, the series is not perfect, but unlike all the other reviews say, it's not a bad series or a bad adaptation. It stays true to the Core of The Avatar Series and is a good adaptation and a good web series as well. It is a serious version of the incidents and not as humour-centred as the Animated Version. But I think that was the right call as it deals with a lot of serious issues. It also has humour as well and Aang's childlike innocence, just not as much as it was there in the Animated Series. But I think every live-action version treats the serious issues with a little more care, and concern and gives it more screen time than the Animated series, which is usually meant for kids, and hence would have to stick to the humourous and funny side more often. So, I don't think that's a flaw of this Show. It's not perfect but it is a good adaptation. Give it a watch with an open heart, you won't be disappointed. Good job Netflix. Hopefully, the rest of the seasons will be as great as well. Looking forward to Season 2.....

The Good : A light-hearted, funny, self-discovery story with some really good well-written characters and a story with the right amount of goofiness and seriousness. The Bad : 1)Romance feels slightly out of place and the ml and fl don't have very good chemistry. The romance can feel annoying and forced at times. 2)The side characters and the actors who did their roles were really good. It's really sad and an absolute waste that they weren't explored a bit more. Long Review( **SPOILERS AHEAD***) As some others have said about this movie, it is light-hearted and easy to watch. The best part about this movie is that the side characters are not just for looking good or for filler scenes or dialogues. Every character has backstories, has emotions and some of them even have Redeeming arcs. But I just wish it focussed a little bit more on how she overcame her trauma and the reset she wanted in her life, instead of making it seem like it all happened because of love. The ml and fl had no chemistry until the last few minutes. He kept saying "She used to be fun", and that "She should not have been with him", even after knowing that she had just got out of a long-term relationship and that she was trying to move on, learn about herself, become a better person, want a new start to her life. I felt like he was too pushy even when she made clear boundaries. He was hung up on the old version of her that "used to be fun". We are all a product of the experiences of our lives, both good and bad, and like it or not, our experiences will change us. So, I just feel he should have been a bit more respectful and patient and helped her heal through her trauma and find herself during the hike, rather than try to make a move on her, or ask her to be like her old self, every single time. I know about his medical issues, and that kind of explains his impatience, their history and childhood crush might be a reason why he has opinions on her marriage and the kind of love she deserved and what she should have done. But none of these things are excuses for someone to be so overbearing and judgemental on someone else's life, especially when they are trying to find themselves after a messy hurtful relationship. If he really loved her, I felt that he should have let her heal, find herself and then maybe asked her how she felt about them together rather than try to turn her into the version of her that he liked and loved. Other than that as another reviewer "Pooja Singh" has said in these Google reviews, this must be the first rom-com where I felt the entire story without the Romantic Angle would have been much better. But it is still an okay watch for someone who wants something light and wants to see some people being brave and coming out of their comfort zone and facing their demons, as long as you can tolerate the slightly overbearing male lead and the slightly out-of-place romance with poor chemistry.

I never thought I would hate a rom-com, but you know what, I just did. Hollywood made a movie that had the worst comedy dialogues and cringe-filled moments, with the characters hating each other for almost the entire movie and then suddenly falling in love. Like when did it even happen. I have heard of slow burns, but what is this, a slow roast that was bland and tasteless that suddenly caught flame and burnt to a crisp and then supposedly had a great redemption and a happily ever after....?? Like what, are you kidding me.... The main lead characters were horrible, and they make you feel nothing for them. Like you literally don't care whether they get together or feel sad, cause you never felt they loved each other in the first place. They never make you care about literally any of the characters. I liked how the characters had flaws, so I thought they will keep real, so I pushed through, but nooooo, neither a blunt realistic rom-com, nor a fantasy rom-com, just a movie filled with supposed funny dialogues and barely available romance. Those are 104 minutes of my life that I am never getting back and I regret watching this from the very core of my being. Do not go expecting a Fake Lovers to True Love, Enemies to Lovers or a Christmas Romantic Story. Or you will have to regret watching this, like me. It's not even a decent comedy. Expect a movie that's trying really hard to be a rom-com but actually only has a lot of supposedly funny dialogues, with a hint of romance, bad acting and the absolute worst writing. I wish they had a better script for what they call a comedy but were 104 minutes of cringe-filled tragedy for me. Just my personal opinion. WATCH AT THE RISK OF GETTING SO FRUSTRATED AND HAVING A HIGH BLOOD PRESSURE, THAT YOU WANT TO PUNCH YOUR LAPTOP SCREEN AND TELL THE CHARACTERS TO SPEAK PROPERLY AND TO STOP ACTING LIKE LIFELESS DOLLS.😤😤😤