'Parmanu' review: Billowing plume of jingoistic smoke
Even if you look at Parmanu strictly as a spy/war thriller, it is simplistic, which paradoxically makes it engaging. Its efforts at building up a momentum of suspense is periodically successful, but impeded by faux sincerity that all actors project.
‘Solo: A Star Wars Story’ review - runs very low on humour
Try as it might, the film’s straight-arrow narrative cannot be redeemed by the slickest of action sequences. This is only exacerbated when experiencing the film’s bleak first half that’s shrouded in inexplicably dim cinematography. Solo would fare much better had it focused on something other than simply joining unnecessary dots.
Check out Deborah Cornelious' review
‘Bioscopewala’ review: in the footsteps of Tagore
Deb Medhekar’s contemporary spin on the story packs in many more layers and sub-layers (for the lack of a better word) to it. Some of them are thoughtfully handled, others leave you asking for more. Laudably, the essential humanism of Tagore’s writing, stays. More than nationalism, Bioscopewala is about a civil war-torn Afghanistan and the growing bigotry.
‘Semma’ review: An frivolous comedy lit up by supporting actors
Call it an acquired taste or the body’s immune system kicking in, but G.V. Prakash has finally managed to look relaxed and comfortable on screen. And that goes a long way in making Semma , a frivolous comedy, watchable.
‘Bucket List’ review: Madhuri’s happy Marathi debut
The 51-year-old actor is in almost every frame as the mother of two, who undergoes a heart transplant surgery, and seeks to fulfil the desires of her deceased donor. It’s a premise appropriate for both sweetness and melancholy, but not without an imminent threat of being saccharine and mawkish.
‘Book Club’ review: Lonely lives of rich old white women
It would be unfair to expect groundbreaking novelty — both in narrative and form — from a light-hearted romantic comedy, but seeing a group of seasoned actors struggling to evoke sentiments in overtly mushy situations is certainly disappointing. Book Club is at its best when the leading ladies congregate.
Check out Kennith Rosario's review
‘Kaalakkoothu’ review: reducing Madurai to knives and violent uncles
Set in Madurai, the film features every kind of sequence that have been recycled in Tamil cinema: paedophile politician harassing young school girls, thick friends drink like a fish, smoke like a chimney and die together, and young women, whose life choices are dictated by their politically influential and violent uncles.
‘Oru Kuppai Kadhai’ review: would have made a better book than a film
The storyline is certainly not a “ kuppai kadhai ”, but the execution is, at times. The staging of a few scenes, especially those set in the urban upper-class milieu, lacks fizz and comes across like one of those serials in television. The dialogues also put you off (which husband tells his wife: “ Unakku Theeratha Thunbam Kuduthuten ”?) most of the time.
