Reviews

Into the Spiderverse wrote a new paradigm of animation for Hollywood and many followed. In a true sense it was a milestone movie. Across the Spiderverse takes it even a notch higher.

With its spellbounding visuals, awe-inspiring animations and a mature and grounded storytelling this motion picture sets yet another yardstick for animated pictures.

The production design, the music, the characters are not just memorable but also aptly strikes a right chord for all comic book fans. The vision and storytelling is grand. Each frame crafted meticulously with care which only a true fan of the source material can do.

Across the Spiderverse is a once in a lifetime movie. And surely will be remembered for changing the world of animation forever.

Revolutionary Cinema.

Reptile is directorial debut of Singer. And just like one of those rookie cops in the movie he also deserves a pat in his back.

It is a mix of who-dunnit and a cop drama. Laced with a seemingly innocent husband, a cop dealing his personal demons and a murder to solve. But unlike all other movies this is a slow burner with lot of real estate (pun intended) to cover in its runtime.

And in its quest it missed to tie a few loose ends. The film seems like a great idea on paper but as it spreads its wings the vastness becomes its only ordeal. What starts as a humble murder story soon convolutes to a cop drama unearthing institutional corruption. And that becomes too big a task for Singer to handle. Cliched plot points are touched upon (perhaps to make the film look familiar to the audience) but never used beyond a lazy diversion technique.

Even with its numerous flaws this film deserves a watch at your own leisure.

Calling Dune Part 2 a masterpiece will be underselling the movie. Dune Part One establishes the world of Dune and its characters in a befitting manner. Part 2 carries all that built up tension and creates yet another magical experience that is perhaps the best adaptation of the book possible.

Denis Villeneuve is a magician. The way he brings the world to the screen is nothing short of magic. Each scene is a canvas. Each character chiseled with perfect craftsmanship. Each line of screenplay weaves the movie magic. Each action set piece deserves a standing ovation.

And the sound of Dune is an equal compatriot of the stunning visuals that this movie has. Each thumping noise to the whoosing noise of spice in the air bring Arrakis to life.

A movie adaptation that should be watched multiple times.

Dead Reckoning starts with the promise of being the smartest of the franchise and ends up being a very poorly made film laden with bad dialogues and cringeworthy character development.

The tone of the film is inconsistent. The visual effects poor. The stunt pieces are well choreographed but doesn't feel authentic because of heavy CGI. And with heavy heart I must say Cruise looked decent in half of the stunts in the movie which is considered a failure in any day.

The film lacked emotions and although the stakes were supposed to be the highest but the film didn't convince it even for a second.

KANK was way ahead of its time at the time of release. And the fact that we still having a discussion on this film makes it still ahead of its time in 2024.

The story delves on very touchy topics which are universally frowned upon. But more so in Indian context where marriage is sacrosanct. Coming up with a story like this needs guts. Kudos to Johar.

The strong reaction to the lead pair and the infidelity proves that the film actually worked. It successfully made the audience engage in the conversation.

The only side the film takes is of good and compelling storytelling that reflects the sad part of our lives. It takes a gamble. During a time when the leading characters are the symbol of righteousness it decides to introduce fatal flaws to the leading man of the story. And perhaps that's the reason some of the audience mistakes it for glorification. As the idea of the leading man being wrong is very alien to Hindi Cinema in general.

Leavethe World Behind is a stylised apocalyptic suspense drama that is simple to its core. It is long and slow drama mainly drawing its characters and shaping its narrative at a leisurely pace.

The performances are strong. Ali and Roberts show their metal in the first half but distinctly fades away in the later part of the movies.

The film often seemed unsure about what it wants to be. The film as a suspense drama tried to stretch its singular idea over the length of the movie by filling up with parts that didn't fit the narrative.

The first half of the movie seems entirely different from what the later half looked like. And that can be attributed to the deliberate attempt to hide the central plot which is paper thin with other elements.

I found the attempt overly simplistic. By the end the film doesn't achieve anything and leave you wondering that this whole film could well have been just a fifteen minutes short and made no difference at all.

The Archies is a special film undoubtedly. Rarely do we come across a movie from the Hindi film industry that is this warm, energetic and youthful. Zoya Akhtar takes us in an unique journey to a fictional world that most of us have imagined during our childhood.

Like the comics the film is a bright heaven of ideas where the young can breath, live and dream a life that they want. It's imperfect and far from truth but that's what Archies is. Akhtar goes all in without giving away an ounce of that in return for more grounded story. For which I am grateful.

Stylistically this film is a work of art. Every frame is beautifully justified of that dreamt land. It is in a lot of sense a true musical. All the song set pieces are uniquely extravagant.

This whole film is an evidence of Akhtar's mastery behind cameras.

One of the few aspects that bogged down the film was the performance by the leading cast. The "gang" barring few members lacked chemistry.

Nanda's performance as Archie is strangely unidimensional. He feels emotionally distant from his character. Khusi Kapoor's performance is good but alas she doesn't get time to shine. Surprisingly though the rest of the gang had fared a bit better. Suhana Khan's Veronica is impactful. Whereas Dot played her part exceptionally well.

This is a really good movie for all those Archies fans who want to visit the world through a unique lens of Hindi cinema. You don't get opportunities like this too many times.

RW&RB was an immediate hit for me when the book came out. A classic story about FSOTUS and the Prince Charming of Great Britain, what's not to love about it. Not only that the book very meticulously crafts all the characters and builds the romance and also the coming of age of Alex, but there are also so many layers of storytelling and character development in the book. The acceptance of sexuality, the changing dynamics of American politics and of course the hot dynamic of the young love and companionship. I am sorry but none of that came across in the movie.

It is true that adapting a novel to a movie is tough and sure needs some reimagining and of course recalibration and hence the book and film should be judged on different pedestals. But reimagination and recalibration were the exact things missing. Instead we just got a fast paced version of the book where scenes were randomly cherrypicked to create this concoction. The book had a lot, but the film in its aim to be very loyal doesn't add nothing to the story (and mind you with all the removed charm and storytime it ended up a mere shadow of the book). Every adaptation while enjoying the benefits of the medium in which it is telling its tale should also add something new to the experience and try not to remove the important plot points.

I am not blaming the length of the movie. I am blaming the writing and direction. There are definitely more creative ways to tell this extravagant story. The lack of depth in characters, the poor and cheap looking (excuse me for my language) production, the hurried screenplay doesn't help either.

This isn't a bad film. Because no matter how hard you try you can't not make RW&RB adaptation work. That's how beautiful the original material is. Even the bits and pieces of the book works its charm. But a story like this deserved a better adaptation.

Coming to notable changes that didn't work for me. Thurman's performance was at best forgettable. Henry's character is diluted to the level of cringe. Often it becomes hard to decipher the difference between Alex and Henry in scenes. As they are both monotonous deep voiced caricatures of their counterparts. In book, whereas both of them enjoy some unique characteristics that made them lovable and their chemistry more fruitful. The lack of the White House Trio kills a lot of the dynamic that defines Alex's coming of age and growth as a human being. I can go on and on.

I think there are better ways to adapt the novel in an two hour long movie than to just randomly flip pages in the book and picking up scenes and dialogues. It is just lazy creativity that wants to hitch a ride over the fanfare of the book.

Oppenheimer is Nolan's latest period drama. In a sense it does connect Nolan's previous films in an interesting arch. Oppenheimer was the person who wrote a paper on Black Hole, which incidentally is the central premise of Interstellar (and quite famously so). Nolan's previous film Dunkirk also is based on World War II which it shares with Oppenheimer as well. I feel there is a connection in the sense that perhaps Nolan got inspired to tell the stories from each other as if his whole slate of films culminated in him making this movie.

Oppenheimer is not just one of the finest cinemas of the year but is also Nolan's most mature and tame movie in terms of storytelling. My only grievance with Nolan was his over-stylistic approach towards mundane story materials. But with Oppenheimer he has redeamed himself quite a lot.

This movie is not only an excellent character study (which again is what I felt was missing from his earlier movies) but at the same time a quintessential Nolan-esque drama. The storytelling is non-linear as you would expect it from Nolan's movie but at no point it seems gimmicky or just a means to create drama out of mundane screenplay. The non-linearity creates drama it enhances storytelling and in fact helps the character development further. The visual style adds thrill and rhythm to what could have been a boring history lesson. The performances are powerful overboard. Murphy's charming and flamboyant performance of Oppenheimer is never a caricature but a character which has its own life. He doesn't imitate Oppenheimer yet he brings all those subtle nuances to that big IMAX screen that you find yourself deeply submerged in his performance.

This movie is surely going to create buzz around the awards season. But even if it doesn't win it surely is going to be remembered forever for being the movie that cemented Nolan's posi8in cinema history as not just the guy known for big budget mind bending blockbusters but perhaps one of the most iconic storytellers.

Go watch it if you haven't yet.

Greta Gerwig's Barbie is perhaps one of the most ambitious film in recent history. The fact that a filmmaker decides to make a film on such an idea which is equally popular and problematic is brave.

It is both a celebration as well as a quip on the Barbie world. Barbie deals with the modern day gender issues and how Barbie (the company) stands as a symbol of all those issues. At the same time it cleverly portrays the emotions involved of all those who love and admire this pop symbol.

Margot Robbie is excellent as Barbie. Her performance range is phenomenal. Gerwig uses her aptly. Gosling is cute and is being judiciously used for his charm and handsome vulnerability that he brings. All the supporting casts (most of them are from just one show hence the title of this review) have done their job well. Can't say I am particularly impressed by any one though as there isn't much for them to do. Although Will Ferrel and America Ferrera are an exception as they shines in their limited appearance and steal the show.

The music, production design and direction along with Baumbach's writing is outrageously entertaining and often funny as well. The bizarre world of Barbie will be loved not just by the ones who carry a nostalgic baggage of playing with one in their childhood but also to those who have never ever heard about it. Such is the charm of this movie.

The Whale is Aronofsky's latest film and is perhaps the most visually unappealing of his whole career. After watching the movie I had mixed feelings. I wanted to applaud this movie but somehow I felt it lacked that merit. Fractured writing and uninitiated characters make this film mundane.

Fraser's performance is indeed the standout here as he takes the centrestage in this drama. Apart from that no performance stood out for me. All of them felt mechanical somehow filled with bits and pieces which would look good in the awards shows' nomination montage but doesn't do anything positive for the movie or the cast.

Among all its department the writing was visibly the most flawed one. The pacing and dialogues were not only over-dramatic but also at times unbearably amateur. The movie was long compared to what it was trying to tell. After a while you just pretend to not wait for the end to come sooner.

This is a mediocre cinema at best.

The Romantics is a tribute to Yash Chopra's magical world of cinema but also an outright advertisement of the Yash Raj Films' slate of cinema. The later becomes pretty obvious during the second half of the show.

It is an entertaining journey along memory lanes if you ignore the layer of self-promotion. There are some anecdotes which are very interesting specially the first couple of episodes when it talks primarily about Yash Chopra's magic and romanticism (justifying the title). Some sublime and emotional moments when actors share their experiences about working on a set with him. But as the show progresses and it dives into the more commercial side of the production house itself the show for me starts to get boring.

After a while it becomes very hard to ignore the fact that this show is just bankrolled by this producer family to boast about their own successful films and how that makes them geniuses.

For me the show would have worked better if it had sticked to Yash Chopra and his craft and magic or, as the name suggest, to his "Romantic" world.

Bullet Train is a mindless action slasher comedy by Brad Pitt and host of other actors portraying some of the heavily stylised but hollow characters.

This film has "style over substance" written all over it right from the first scene. The heavily stylised action pieces and premise seems intriguing for a brief while but as the film progressed the mindlessly whimsical plot starts to become tiresome.

This kind of story works when it is edited sharply and is fast paced. When the dialogues are not only funny but are measured against the time. And they are getting delivered crisply. Unfortunately none of that happens in Bullet Train. In its middle portion the film looses grip on the pacing and starts meandering in the realm of total nonchalance. That doesn't help.

Some characters are funny and some are not. Some set pieces are worth gushing over but some are just plain old cliched stuff that we have seen before. The action is funky but not breathtaking. The acting is "okayish" and not something to be proud of. The music pallete ranging from over-dramatic howls to funky dance numbers is at best ordinary.

But the worst of all is writing. No matter how silly and unconventional film you are making, the characters needs to be backed by good writing. Editing needs to be crisp and intelligent. And that was clearly missing. Repetitive plot points and lack of genuinely funny characters didn't help this film any more.

Overall it may be a fun watch for the fans of all the actors involved (and there are quite many of them) but apart from the handful "cool" action sequences and occasionally funny one liners there is nothing more to get entertained.

Cinema... Marte Dum Tak, as publicised, is a reincarnation of Indian Pulp. Will it be successful in reincarnating the genre in itself? I am not sure but this has surely started a conversation and personally for me turned out to be a surprisingly informative documentary. A well researched one which is also witty and entertaining.

Going into the show I had very low expectations as is the case generally with other Indian documentaries. The general idea in my head was that the quality tends to be inferior when it comes to Indian Docu-series compared to the western counterparts. I was pleasantly surprised to find out that this well maid. Not only it feels natural and not-forced but it also portrays the viewpoints of these four directors involved, sincerely and honestly.

There is drama, comedy and yes boldness which are the necessary ingredients for an entertaining show but this show shines the brightest when it is at its rawest form. When people share their deepest insecurities and failures with camera or when they just throw a witty one liner directed towards one of the crews extemporarily, that's when this show achieves its goals for me.

Speaking of the content, we all perhaps know that this world existed and what ultimately happened to it but I don't think so anyone would have tried to think about the ordeals one might had to go through to be part of this industry. This show initiates that conversation. And for that this show should be commended and celebrated.

Hopefully the makers continue this job and bring more such documentaries which reveal seemingly quirky but also beautifully ordinary human stories to us.

This show is a must watch.

Glass Onion is yet another murder mystery continuing with Benoit Blanc's story. To be honest, this isn't Knives Out and every hardcore mystery fan who loved Knives Out will surely miss the beat of the previous film.

For Knives Out's review I mentioned how it reminded me of old mystery classics but unfortunately Glass Onion is not able to strike that emotion in me. This film is not not fun. It has murder, mystery and stellar star cast what it doesn't have is an intriguing plot to keep you at your toes. The premise is tacky, the characters shallow and the murders uninteresting which makes this film a mere shadow of its predecessor.

Having said that, the comedy keeps the film from getting boring and makes the watch interesting. It is just not for the murder mystery fans.

Avatar was always going to be a visual spectacle since the point Cameron announced the movie and there is no doubt that he had succeeded tremendously in his endeavour.

Avatar the First was a benchmark film not only in terms of the visual effects but also how a big ticket movie should be in terms of innovation. Avatar 2, thanks to the development of technology and experience, takes the franchise one step ahead and sets yet another benchmark. But it is not the visuals that I am most impressed off. It is the narrative. When the film released and first reviews started coming in it was more of how I expected the film to be received. As "Chosen One" narratives usually tend to be, I assumed this film was going to be inferior than its predecessor. My expectations with audience reaction was that it will be considered as "beautiful visual but weak story" film but when I saw it I was surprised that its story is solid, perhaps even better than the First in certain aspects .

The First was about Sully, the origin of the Hero. It was a classic "chosen one" story which is perhaps humanity's greatest story trope when it comes to storytelling albeit most used too. My apprehension with that trope is it doesn't have longevity.

With the Second, Cameron very bravely gives us the other take of the "chosen one" narrative. Sort of the aftermath. How one can't always be the hero and how one cannot always be the one sacrificing unconditionally. That change in narrative not only brings layer to Sully and Neytiri but is also a breath of fresh air in terms of how Chosen One stories go.

The Second one also brings half a dozen new characters and their dynamics into it. It brings more human ideas like family and friendship which were not there as prominent as this one in the First. This is also a positive change in my opinion. It not only increases the stakes but also invests the audience into the characters more which in turn brings much required longevity.

Finally, this time Cameron goes further deep into his idea of nature's war with human. And how humans are, in their quest to "develop", the harbinger of destruction as he brings Pandora into life more intelligently than before.

Overall, I can safely say all that hype is not misplaced with this movie and this is easily one of the best films ever made.

Nope is Peele's latest of horrors. It is yet another uniquely placed film which carve its niche.

With Kaluuya returning this surely brings a good memory of their last film together. But Nope isn't Get Out. It neither have the emotional depth not have the deep emotional story line. Instead Nope cruises somewhere above and around superficiality.

Though the story is intriguing enough to make you glued to your seats but once the film is over it doesn't leave much for one to carry with them. Some might like the "message" they can discover from the movie but the truth is one will have to very generous and keen minded to be moved by that message.

All the character portrayals leave much to be desired and are best forgettable. Although visually it does look good and Peele's direction keeps you always at the edge of your seats but the film's out of depth storyline leaves you unsatisfied.

Overall this is surely a fun film but definitely not close to what Peele can deliver.

Vasan Bala with his debut feature made ripples. And I was waiting for his next and this film doesn't disappoint. His overly stylised filmmaking with retro funk brings a breath of fresh air in Hindi film industry.

Loaded with absolute beast of characters and a fun writing gives this film an edge. Rao's funny charm suits the character. And Apte's brief but effective performance brings the nuisance that she is capable of bringing on the table. The background soundtrack is an ode to the retro scores of Bollywood and builds the mood for the film.

Overall this is one fun ride that shouldn't be missed. Looking forward to Bala's next.

For someone who hasn't watched the movie I can only review the movie in its own existence.

DoBaara is a convoluted tale of mystery and drama which transcends time. Having a simple plot like this works both for and against the movie. The simple story doesn't make the audience's job of understanding the movie any harder while the bland and superficial writing also leaves the viewers wanting for more.

It is messy undoubtedly. Whether intensionally or unintentionally but Do Baara does occupy that sweet spot between a good and a bad movie.

The theme of the film dilly-dallies between thriller and comedy and suspense which is perhaps the new up and coming popular genre in cinema around the world. But certain weak and incoherent moments and unexplained loose ends does make you uncomfortable.

Performance wise there is nothing special. Taapsee being the lead can't create a long lasting magic. And Gulati's performance at best could be defined as forgettable.

Overall this is an interesting one time watch but it does leave you somewhat unsatisfied.

The Batman is the latest edition of perhaps the greatest comic book character ever. It tells the story of an young Gotham Prince who is yet learning the craft and is yet to become the Dark Knight of the Gotham City.

As everyone said thematically it's very different from last Batman of Nolan. This is more emotional, melancholy and gritty. This is cinematically more pure and not as much stylised as a traditional comic book movie. Although it is much closer to original comic books.

The two thirds of the movie is excellent where it delves into the thrill and suspense part. It delves deep into the characters. Perhaps for the first time in the history of Batman movies the story explores the psych of the Bruce Wayne and his interaction with his surroundings. Especially the bond of the Bat and the Cat. It is only at the last part that the movie takes a turn into this quintessential "superhero" movie climax. And that's where it feels low as this is clearly not that movie. This isn't a Hero save the day movie and hence it is somewhat strange that the makers decided to take this route for the climax.

Anyway, this is a great movie. It sets up the world nicely. The music is fresh and something new from the electronic thumping beats of other movies. The cinematography is gritty and brave. The action and drama are enchanting. The performances by both Pattinson and Kravitz are breathtaking.

I am looking for to the next edition when we might see the other greatest comic book character ever written.

41 mins. That's how long it took for opening credit.

Drive My Car is an elegant poetry about death, loss and infidelity among many other concoction of emotions. Long intricate dialogues and drawn out emotional drama is what you see in this movie.

I enjoyed this movie but alas in not one sitting (that's how long and draining it was). But that is not necessarily a bad thing. Long, slow and drawn out cinema is a rarity.

Although did feel some scenes could have been cut but that is a creative choice and I respect that.

Modern Love: Mumbai is a retelling of the NYT's original Modern Love which is based on modern love stories based in New York. This is in fact more than just a retelling. It is an Indianised (and also Mumbaiya) version which not only delve deeper into the romance aspects but also the human and family emotions which Indian stories are known for.

The stories range from subtle new age romance in 'I Love Thane' to the gullible extravaganza of 'Raat Rani'. On one hand we have these taboo breaking yet already heavily experimented love stories in 'Baai' and 'My Beautiful Wrinkles' while on the other hand we have totally refreshing and unique storytelling like 'Mumbai Dragon'.

This series not only celebrates the new age romance but also portrays the repurcussions that love can have when that love is set in a cosmopolitan setup like Mumbai.

My absolute favourites are 'I Love Thane' for its simplistic approach to love, it is a signature Dhruv Sehgal romance, and Vishal Bharadwaj's 'Mumbai Dragon' for telling such a different story from the rest.

Del Toro's Nightmare Alley reminds you of his previous films and yet it looks fresh. The stellar performance and Del Toro's magical stylism brings a certain smartness and elegance.

The movie has an intriguing first half. It is slow. But it picks pace in the second half. And in that process it loses some of its intrigue. The film becomes predictable and even incoherent.

But with the end the film redeems itself.

Midsommar is bizarre tale of cult horror. It has some moments of pun while carrying this sinister suspense.

The first half of the movie is decent. Almost all of my rating belongs to the first half. But then the second half is a totally different film. There is no connect between the two. You can separate one part from another and yet the half will stand in its own merit. That's not at all a good thing for two and half hour long movie.

Second half is in your face bizzare. It is not just weird but also mindless. I saw the ending from miles away but yet when the film's end actually came i was surprised at how badly the film actually reaches the point. The plot doesn't make any sense after that. And on top of that it is very slow.

For someone who hasn't seen any of this director's work, it was a new experience but not sure would love to see anything like this ever again.

This Horror Story takes a lot of time to get to the point. At first the suspense was intriguing but soon you realise that the first hour is totally pointless. That could have been cut short to fifteen minutes and still had been enough.

The two part series portrays the life of Seville not in great detail. Almost looks like a fan service. With no victim accounts. Instead we get a senseless tirade from people once knew him. Until the very end when we finally understand the true "horrors" and the motive behind this show.

Overall It is a pretty Ordinary documentary.