Expats #PicksAndPiques #JohnsonThomas

#PicksAndPiques #JohnsonThomas #FilmMovieDocumentaryOTTReviews #internationalfilmfestivalcircuit Film: #EXPATS #TBCnetwork Cast: #SarayuBlue #NicoleKidman #JiyoungYoo #BrianTee #TianaGowen #BodhidelRosario #RubyRuiz #AmelynPardenilla #JackHuston Director: #LuluWang Writer: #AliceBell Rating: * * 1/2 Runtime: 6 Episodes/40-60 min each #AmazonPrime #everyone #everybody @everyone @everybody #followers @followers #BlossomFilms #LocalTime #Picrow #AmazonMGMStudios

Lulu Wang’s ‘Expats’ inspired by Janice Y.K. Lee's novel ‘The Expatriates,’ narrated across two timelines, is about the unraveling lives of three women and intimately explores feelings of isolation, grief, and regret, with loss and infidelity complicating matters further. It’s a lavish production set in Hong Kong but fails to bring home the true nature of the city. The book is not followed faithfully either. The story has enough intrigue and tension-inducing twists but the execution is pretty much sloppy. The build-up is also too slow to lure you in. The performances do not help garner interest either.

Hindutva #PicksAndPiques #JohnsonThomas

#PicksAndPiques #JohnsonThomas #FilmMovieDocumentaryOTTReviews #internationalfilmfestivalcircuit Film: #Hindutva Cast: #AashieshSharma #SonarikaBhadoria #AnkitRaj #AnupJalota #DeepikaChikhlia #GovindNamdev #Surmeet #AgastAnand #MukeshTyagi Director: #KaranRazdan Rating: * Runtime: 140 min #MaskTV #TagProductions #LordShivaCommunications #SanjayBhushanPatiyala #AnjuBhatt #ChiraneeviBhatt #MansieBhatt #everyone #everybody @everyone @everybody #followers @followers

A futile attempt to leverage legitimacy for a violent and fake ideology, this film contrives to elevate Hindutva to a higher form of Hinduism. Contrary posturing does not help the cause while the stereotypical construct of Hindu hero versus fundamentalist muslim villain feels too weather beaten to be of any purchase. The sappy narrative attempting to cash-in on the post Ram Mandir fervor ain’t much of a lure either. The three leads though, have solid screen presence and might make it through the long haul.

Fighter #PicksAndPiques #JohnsonThomas

#PicksAndPiques #JohnsonThomas #FilmMovieDocumentaryOTTReviews #internationalfilmfestivalcircuit Film: #Fighter Cast: #HrithikRoshan #DeepikaPadukone #AnilKapoor #KaranSinghGrover #AkshayOberoi Director: #SiddharthAnand Rating: * * Runtime: 160 min #everyone #everybody @everyone @everybody #followers @followers #JyotiDeshpande #RamonChibb #AjitAndhare #AnkuPande #KevinVaz #MamtaBhatia #Viacom18Studios

Siddharth Anand’s over-ambitious endeavour to become ‘#TopGun’ of Bollywood falls flat. Coming after the mega success of #Pathaan, this loose attempt to curry audience favor recants the Balakot air strikes in an in-your-face attempt to champion the valor of the Indian Air force while going full-throttle in vilifying Pakistan, has little other than distasteful, utterly boring jingoism and pop-patriotism going for it. The film doesn’t have much of a narrative, is too CGI heavy, and full of propaganda. The aerial scenes have little appeal as they play flat and uninteresting.The performances are not worth commenting about either.

Main Atal Hoon #PicksAndPiques #JohnsonThomas

#PicksAndPiques #JohnsonThomas #internationalfilmfestivalcircuit #FilmMovieDocumentaryOTTReviews Film: #MainAtalHoon #UniversalCommunications Cast: #PankajTripathi #RajaRameshkumarSevak #EktaKaul #DayaShamkarPandey #PiyushMishra #PramodPathak #GauriSukhtanker #YogendraPatwal Director: #RaviJadhav Rating: * * Runtime: 139 mins @everyone #everyone @everybody #everybody #followers @followers #VinodBhanushali #PayalBhanushali #SandipSingh #PenStudios

Paying homage to the ‘Mask’ and not the ‘man,’ Ravi Jadhav’s attempt at biopic on former PM #AtalBihariVajpayee falls flat and feels retrospectively predicative. Papering over his warts and trying to make his less than admirable qualities look venerable, the screenplay gives Vajpayee a makeover that even he may not recognise as himself. The only thing this attempt at biopic gets right are his oratory and poetry. The rest is all mired in a miasma so thick with melodramatic music and a half-hearted romance that it all looks patently false. Even Pankaj Tripathi fails to make this believable. Really, There’s nothing ‘Atal’ about this!

Merry Christmas #PicksAndPiques #JohnsonThomas

#PicksAndPiques #JohnsonThomas #FilmMovieDocumentaryOTTseriesReviews #InternationalFilmFestivalCircuit Film: #MerryChristmas #Hindi (#UniversalCommunications) Cast: #KatrinaKaif #VijaySethupathi #SanjayKapoor #VinayPathak #AshwiniKalsekar #TinnuAnand #LukeKenny #RadhikaApte Director: #SriramRaghavan Rating: * * 1/2 Runtime: 144 min. #everyone @everyone #everybody @everybody #followers @followers #TIPSfilms #MatchboxPictures

A slow-mo thriller dedicated to Shakti Samanta, this contrivance in search of an alibi, adapted from a French novel fails to sustain conviction. The thanda chemistry between the leads, lazy performances, unprepossessing, laid-back tempo fail to cut ice in a narrative with a typical neo-noir moody look, having sporadic flashbacks, film references, and twists that appear hokey and illogical. The background score is vibrant but there’s neither tension nor edge-of-the-seat thrills to keep you interested. Other than the belated Christmas festive look and the deeply saturated cinematography there’s nothing much here for you to engage with.

Aattam #PicksAndPiques #JohnsonThomas #Malayalam

#PicksAndPiques #JohnsonThomas #FilmMovieDocumentaryOTTseriesReviews #InternationalFilmFestivalCircuit Title: #Aattam #RelianceEntertainmentStudios #Malayalam Cast: #ZarinShihab #VinayForrt #KalabhavanShajohn #NandhanUnni Director: #AnandEkarshi Rating: * * * * Runtime: 139 min #everyone @everyone #everybody @everybody #followers @followers #FatemaNagree

Debutante director/writer Anand Ekarshi’s gem is a thrilling reflection of human behavior. Modeled on 12 angry men, the arguments centre around what action needs to be taken regarding a molestation that is claimed by the sole female member of the drama troupe. The intricate storytelling, the character revealing dialogues, layered and nuanced disputations and the finesse in the telling keeps you glued for all of its runtime. A wonderful screenplay, superlative direction, great casting and relatable performances are the hallmark of this small film that serves as an indictment against self-serving decision making.

Killer Soup #PicksAndPiques #JohnsonThomas #FilmMovieDocumentaryOTTseriesReviews

#PicksAndPiques #JohnsonThomas #FilmMovieDocumentaryOTTseriesReviews #InternationalFilmFestivalCircuit Title: #KillerSoup Cast: #ManojBajpayee #KonkanaSenSharma #SayajiShinde #Nassar #AnbuThasan #KaniKusruti #AnulaNavlekar Director/co-writer/co-creator: #AbhishekChaubey Rating: * * * Runtime: 45-60 mins/Episode (6 Eps) #Netflix #JioMamiYRP #PRPunditHavasRed #everyone @everyone #everybody @everybody #followers @followers

The first two episodes of Netflix crime thriller cum dark comedy is promising enough to garner a great deal of interest. The wicked tone, crazy responses, the self-aware absurdity of the characters, the sharp performances, the absorbing tenor, the growing body count, the saturated color palette, the amazing cinematography and the rich production value lends this tantalising killer-black-comedy a potent winning edge.

Safed #PicksAndPiques #JohnsonThomas

#PicksAndPiques #JohnsonThomas #internationalfilmfestivalcircuit #FilmMovieDocumentaryOTTReviews Film: #Safed Cast: #AbhayVerma #MeeraChopra #BarkhaBisht #ChhayaKadam #JameelKhan Director: #SanjaySingh Rating: * 1/2 Runtime: 122 min.

A directorial debut, Safed, showcasing the plight of a marginalised group is strident, over-the-top, facile and copiously melodramatic. The subject matter is treated in a formulaic and loud manner. Inept performances, unrealistic dialogues and poor production values add to the misery. The music though is the one bright spot here. #everyone @everyone #everybody @everybody #followers @followers #Zee5 #LegendStudios #KeeratPublicity #AnandPanditMotionPictures

Kho Gaye Hum Kahan #PicksAndPiques #JohnsonThomas

#PicksAndPiques #JohnsonThomas #internationalfilmfestivalcircuit #FilmMovieDocumentaryOTTReviews Film: #KhoGayeHumKahan Cast: #SiddhantChaturvedi #AnayaPandey #SuchitraPillai #AdarshGourav #KalkiKoechlin #DivyaJagdale #MalaikaArora #FarhanAkhtar #RohanGurbaxani Director: #ArjunVarainSingh Rating: * * * Runtime: 134 mins

A #DilChahtaHai revision for #GenZ this coming-of-age story delineating romance, ambition and heartbreak for 3 twenty-something-friends within the public domain of social media, treads a familiar path yet is entertaining. Tight direction, endearing gritty performances and original age-appropriate music lend strength to this telling. #everyone @everyone #everybody @everybody #followers @followers #Netflix #SpicePR #ExcelEntertainment #ReiteshSidhwani #ReemaKagti #ZoyaAkhtar #TigerBabyFilms #ZeeCinema #ZeeMusicCoLtd

Salaar Part 1 : Ceasefire #PicksAndPiques #JohnsonThomas

#PicksAndPiques #JohnsonThomas #internationalfilmfestivalcircuit #FilmMovieDocumentaryOTTReviews Film: #SalaarPart1CeaseFire Cast: #Prabhas #MeenakshiChaudhary #ShrutiHaasan #PrithvirajSukumaran #SaranShakthi #JagapathiBabu #RamchandraRaju #TinnuAnand Director: #PrashanthNeel Rating:* * Runtime: 172 min. @everyone #everyone @everybody #everybody @followers #followers #ChaluveGowda #VijayKiragandur #KVRamaRao #FridayEntertainment #MythriMovieMakers #PharsFilm #RedGiantMovies #NetflixIndia

An overdone action dump, it’s difficult to empathise with this film headlining criminals seeking vengeance for a criminal act. For action riders, the adrenaline pumping #KGF style tale might bring some recompense but for the more demanding, it’s a headache inducing bore.

Hey Kameeni Girl Gone Badass #PicksAndPiques #JohnsonThomas

#PicksAndPiques #JohnsonThomas #internationalfilmfestivalcircuit #FilmMovieDocumentaryOTTReviews Film: #HeyKameeniGirlgonebadass Cast: #AnjaliJoshi #AasheemaVardaan #DrishikaChander #BhuvanKaila Director: #ManiShankar Rating: * * Runtime: 122 mins #JioCinema #everyone #everybody @everyone @everybody #followers @followers #PictureNKraft #ParulChawla #BhairavFilms

Its hard to get around this story of opportunism, family corp intrigue and instant gratification. The best that can be said about it is that its different. Amusing for a bit and then the lack of substance makes it tedious.