Patna Shukla #PicksAndPiques #JohnsonThomas

#PicksAndPiques #JohnsonThomas #FilmMovieDocumentaryOTTReview #internationalfilmfestivalcircuit Film: #PatnaShukla Rating: * * Better suited to be a ‘short’ this feature has a threadbare plot with no surprises in store. Even Raveena Tandon’s assured performance, Chandan Roy Sanyal’s canny flamboyance and Satish Kaushik’s compassionate magnanimity fail to overcome sloppy beginnings and poor craft.

Cast: #RaveenaTandon #ChandanRoySanyal #AnushkaKaushik #SatishKaushik #RajuKher #AmitGaur #JatinGoswami Director: #VivekBudakoti Runtime: 124 min #ThinkInkCommunications @DisneyPlusHotstar @RaveenaTandonOfficial #ArbaazKhan @staymanav @satishkaushik8034 @chandan.roysanyal @jatin.goswami.50 @reelanushkaofficial #AmitGaur @Rajukherofficial #ArbaazKhanProduction #VivekBudakoti @ajay.chabbria @Nehapartimatiyanidop #ShardaSingh @samuelakankshamusic #RedAmeise #VivekBudakoti @sammeer.arora #FaridKhan#AmitGaur #JatinGoswami Director: #VivekBudakoti Runtime: 124 min #ThinkInkCommunications @DisneyPlusHotstar @RaveenaTandonOfficial #ArbaazKhan @staymanav @satishkaushik8034 @chandan.roysanyal @jatin.goswami.50 @reelanushkaofficial #AmitGaur @Rajukherofficial #ArbaazKhanProduction #VivekBudakoti @ajay.chabbria @Nehapartimatiyanidop #ShardaSingh @samuelakankshamusic #RedAmeise #VivekBudakoti @sammeer.arora #FaridKhan

Yes Papa #PicksAndPiques #JohnsonThomas

#PicksAndPiques #JohnsonThomas #Internationalfilmfestivalcircuit #FilmMovieDocumentaryOTTReviews Film: #YesPapa Rating: * * A bare-bones production, largely in stark Black & White, with ‘incestuous child abuse’ as it’s cause, this underwhelming film that skirts around the issue, could have done with better treatment. It felt as though the ‘Stigma’ around the issue was preventing the filmmaker from portraying this ‘crusade’ in a more potent, cogent and elaborate manner.

Cast: #GeetikaTyagi #TejaswiniKolhapure #AnanthNarayanMahadevan #SaifHasan #DivyaSeth #NanditaPuri #SanjeevTyagi Director: #SaifHyderHasan Runtime: 120 min @everyone #everyone @everybody #everybody #followers @followers #AbhishekPillaiPR #AraadDreamsProduction

Aadujeevitham, The Goat Life #PicksAndPiques #JohnsonThomas

#PicksAndPiques #JohnsonThomas #internationalfilmfestivalcircuit #FilmMovieDocumentaryOTTReviews Film: #Aadujeevitham #TheGoatLife (#MoesArt) Rating: * * 1/2 A messily dubbed Hindi version, this overambitious saga of survival - kind of a ‘Castaway’ merged with a reverse ‘Dunki’ gets your ‘goat.’ Actors show the pain of surviving in the desert but there’s feeble attachment because of a ‘mirage’ like story, melodramatic treatment and an over indulgent runtime. Lustrous cinematography and actors’ rigor are pretty much wasted here. Rahman's music sounds passe. Better watch a subtitled version.

Cast: #PrithvirajSukumaran #JimmyJeanLouis #KRGokul #RikAby #AmalaPaul #Talib Director: #Blessy Runtime: 154 min #VisualRomanceAnimation #Benyamin #SunilKS #KUMohanan #ASreekarPrasad #ARRahman

Crew #PicksAndPiques #JohnsonThomas

#PicksAndPiques #JohnsonThomas #internationalfilmfestivalcircuit #FilmMovieDocumentaryOTTReviews Film: #Crew #SpicePR Rating: * * 1/2 Fasten your seatbelts for a bumpy, jerky, tackily serviced, airkissed ride. A dilettantish chick flick aiming to lure the audience in with a hackneyed storyline about 3 air hostesses seeking payback by pulling off a heist on their airline boss, is buttressed by double entendre dialogues, remixed Ila Arun numbers and dependable performances by an A list cast. This one is no showboat. It’s passably entertaining though.

Cast: #KareenaKapoorKhan #Tabu #KritiSanon #SaswataMuherjee #RajeshSharma #KulbhushanKharbanda #DiljitDosanjh #KapilSharma Director: #rajeshakrishnan Runtime: 124 mins #EktaKapoor #AnilKapoorFilmCompany #Balajifilms #RheaKapoor #ShobhaKapoor #NidhiMehra #MehulSuri #everyone @everyone #everybody @everybody #followers @followers

Madgaon Express #PicksAndPiques #JohnsonThomas

#PicksAndPiques #JohnsonThomas #FilmMovieDocumentaryOTTReviews #internationalfilmfestivalcircuit Film: #MadgoanExpress Cast: #DivyenduSharma #PratikGandhi #AvinashTiwary #NoraFatehi #UpendraLimaye #ChhayaKadam #VipulDeshpande #YashBhojwani #Remo #ManojJoshi #KunalKhemu Director: #KunalKhemu Rating: * * Runtime: 140 min #ExcelEntertainment #SpicePR #everyone @everyone #everybody @everybody #foloowers @followers

Mad-cap slapstick comedy attempt manages to score a few laughs but it’s mostly hare-brained tom-foolery around druggies paradise Goa & by concentrating on skimpy clothes & spaced-out antics, it makes a mockery of the talent it wields. We’ve seen better from #KunalKhemu and team. Can't blame him for hoping to get a 'Hit' from sheer nonsense.

Ae Watan Mere Watan #PicksAndPiques #JohnsonThomas

#PicksAndPiques #JohnsonThomas #FilmMovieDocumentaryOTTReviews #internationalfilmfestivalcircuit Film: #AeWatanMereWatan Cast: #SaraAliKhan #AlexxONeill #EmraanHashmi #AbhayVerma #SachinKhedekar #SparshSrivastav Director: #KannanIyer Rating: * * Runtime: 133 min #DarabFarooqui #DharmaticEntertainment #AmazonPrime #KaranJohar #everyone @everyone #everybody @everybody #followers @followers

A worthy Pre-1947 resistance story lost in insipid creative choices. Unsung hero #UshaMehta’s singular contribution using underground radio #CongressRadio as an instrument of rebellion in aid of #MKGandhi’s #DoOrDie call is brought to the screen - but without much potency or heft. Flat & uninteresting studio look mars the experience, camerawork is dull & bland, dialogues sound dispirited, performances lack intensity & bite. Fails to evoke nostalgia, emotion, patriotic fervor or sentiment.

Lootere #PicksAndPiques #JohnsonThomas

#PicksAndPiques #JohnsonThomas #internationalfilmfestovalcircuit #FilmMovieDocumentaryOTTReviews Title : #Lootere Cast: #RajatKapoor #VivekGomber #AmrutaKhanvilkar #ChandanRoySanyal #AamirAli #AnantNarayanMahadevan #MauriceCarpede #LesleyMaasdorp #SiyabongaXaba #AbhishekKhan #AvinashPandey #GeetanjaliGill #KhemchandVerma #KrishnenduChakraborty #MayankGarg #PawanSingh #SonamStobgais #GauravKSharma Director: #JaiMehta Rating: * * * Runtime: 35-50 mins/Eps(8 Episodes) #KarmaMediaAndEntertainment #HansalMehta #SuparnVerma #DisneyHotstar #ThinkInkCommunications #ShaaileshRSingh #AchintThakkar #everyone @everyone #everybody @everybody #followers @followers

A mid-sea hijack thriller, this series goes from sedentary to thrilling within a few episodes. The weak dialogue & sometimes iffy score notwithstanding, Surprising Twists & turns, blistering action, gritty performances hightail this thrilling world where survival means navigating a deadly web of crimes. The African actors do a great job to make this compelling.

X Men '97 #PicksAndPiques #JohnsonThomas

#PicksAndPiques #JohnsonThomas #internationalfilmfestivalcircuit #FilmMovieDocumentaryOTTreviews Title: #XMen97 (#animation) Cast (voice): #JenniferHale #RayChase #ChrisBritton #GeorgeBuza #JPKarliak #CalDood #AlisonSealySmith #LenoreZann #IsaacRobinsonSmith #MathewWaterson #AJLoCascio #HollyChou #AdrianHough Director: #JakeCastorena #ChaseConley #EmiYonemura Rating: * * * 1/2 Runtime: 3 Episodes/30 min each (total 10 eps) #MarvelAnimation #WaltDisneyStudios #DisneyHotstar #MIRStudio #RuderFinn @everyone #everyone @everybody #everybody #Followers @followers

This sequel to #FoxKids #XMenTheAnimatedSeries of the 90’s, remixes &reintroduces classic storylines conveying the core ethos of #Marvel’s flagship, infused with an unforgettable theme song. In a direct continuation the series uses old-worldly, much cleaner animation driving home nostalgia and new age charm with equal effect.It plays out serious, funny, witty, & characters are drawn with distinct individualized personalities. Everything is better, even the action scenes looked good. A worthy sequel for sure!

Murder Mubarak #PicksAndPiques #JohnsonThomas

#PicksAndPiques #JohnsonThomas #internationalfilmfestivalcircuit #FilmMovieDocumentaryOTTReviews Film: #MurderMubarak Cast: #KarismaKapoor #SaraAliKhan #PankajTripathi #VijayVerma #DimpleKapadia #TiscaChopra #SanjayKapoor #AashimGulati #PriyankTiwari #BrijendraKala #DevenBhojani #VarunMitra Director: #HomiAdajania Rating: * Runtime: 141 min #AnujaChauhan #GazalDhaliwal #SuprotimSengupta #DineshVijan #Netflix #everyone @everyone #everybody @everybody #followers @followers

Loosely scripted, weakly plotted, badly edited, sloppily executed with inane dialogue and garbled performances, this whodunit- a Hercule Poirot wannabe, can really put you to sleep. There’s no tempo or tension. It’s neither whacky nor funny and the nuances are totally missing. This murder mystery is tedious, strange, absurd, disappointing, dull and boring right to its unsurprising end.

Yodha #PicksAndPiques #JohnsonThomas

#PicksAndPiques #JohnsonThomas #internationalfilmfestivalcircuit #FilmMovieDocumentaryOTTReviews Film: #Yodha Cast: #SidharthMalhotra #RaashiiKhanna #DishaPatani #TanujVirwani #RonitRoy #SunnyHinduja #MridulRajAnand #KritikaBharadwaj Directors: #SagarAmbre #PushkarOjha Rating: * * 1/2 Runtime: 133 min #HypePR #DharmaEntertainment #AAFilms #HirooJohar #ApoorvaMehta #Everyone @everyone #everybody @everybody #followers @followers

Implausible, rocky & bumpy ride through the skies, this film aims to fly high but barely makes it to a secure landing thanks to a chaotic, impractical script. The editor has done a great job splicing together two helmers’ seemingly contrary efforts, lending this scrappy hijack thriller a modicum of excitement and tension. Sidharth is earnest, robust and assured, Tanuj Virwani makes his presence count, Raashii manages to carve out an amiable space for herself while Disha Patani’s action effort looks fairly credible. The pop-patriotic elements are tedious, cliched & passe though.

Maharani Season 3 #PicksAndPiques #JohnsonThomas

#PicksAndPiques #JohnsonThomas #internationalfilmfestivalcircuit #FilmMoviesDocumentaryOTTreviews Title: #Maharani3 (8 eps) #AvianWE #SonyLIV Cast: #HumaQuereshi #AmitSial #PramodPathak #KaniKusruti #VineetKumar #AnujaSathe #DibyenduBhattacharya Created by #SubhashKapoor Director: #SaurabhBhave Rating: * * #everyone @everyone #everybody @everybody #followers @followers

3rd season of this revenge-drama digs deeper for comfort food midst the political landscape of Bihar continuing with its twists & turns with little respite.The pacing is uneven, the storyline feels stale, the political shenanigans seem obvious and the socio-political commentary is superficial given the convenient depictions of power and morality in a world of deception and betrayal. The performances are just about bearable.

Showtime #PicksAndPiques #JohnsonThomas

#PicksAndPiques #JohnsonThomas #internationalfilmfestivalcircuit #FilmMoviesDocumentaryOTTreviews Title: #Showtime (4 Eps) #DisneyHotstar #MoesArt Cast: #EmraanHashmi #MahimaMakwana #MouniRoy #RajeevKhandelwaal #ShriyaSaran #NaseeruddinShah Director: #SumitRoy Rating: * * #KaranJohar #Dharmatic #everyone @everyone #everybody @everybody #followers @followers

Vacuous, filmsy, cliched, stereotypical and unsurprising, this underdog story barely skims the surface of Bollywood’s internecine conflicts & face-offs with media - film critics in particular. ‘Posh’ ‘Poo’ aesthetics & libidinous entanglements fail to up the entertainment. Flighty characterizations, middling dramatics, profile posturing, filmy dialogue and poor writing mar the show. Actors are sincere and cinematography is lush but that effort is wasted here.

Shaitaan #PicksAndPiques #JohnsonThomas

#PicksAndPiques #JohnsonThomas #internationalfilmfestivalcircuit #FilmMovieDocumentaryOTTReviews Film: #Shaitaan #UniversalCommunications Cast: #AjayDevgn #RMadhavan #Jyotika #JankiBodiwala Director: #VikasBahl Rating: * * Runtime: 140 min #PanoramaStudios #AjayDevgnFFilms #JioStudios #everyone @everyone #everybody @everybody #followers @followers

Disappointing supernatural hocus-pocus thriller, this one has Devgn trying to do a #LiamNeeson & cute, polished #Madhavan ineffectually aiming a breakout for Satanic cult status. Both don’t manage anything beyond the rudimentary. The fairly crusty performances by #Jyotika and #JankiBodiwala are rendered ineffective by a moth-eaten script, stale cliched dialogue& an illogical narrative spiel.

Ram Janmabhoomi : Return of a Splendid Sun #PicksAndPiques #JohnsonThomas

#PicksAndPiques #JohnsonThomas #internationalfilmfestivalcircuit #filmmoviedocumentaryOTTreviews Title: #RamJanmabhoomiReturnOfASplendidSun Cast: #AmishTripathi Directors: #PranavPChaturvedi #NitishSharma Rating: * * Runtime: 74 min #DilipPiramal #JioCinema #MoesArt #AnirbanBhattacharya @everyone @everybody #everyone #everybody #followers @followers

Presented through the perspective of Amish Tripathi, Bestselling author of mythological fiction #RJROASS has more fiction, folklore, anecdotes, faith and religious sentiment driving it than ‘fact.’ Tripathi puts his avowed skills for myth-enhancement and fiction to great use by concocting this so-called documentary justifying the construction of the Temple. He glosses over incidents that led to the Babri demolition & subsequent construction of the temple but conveniently shies away from putting forward a negative view on the incidents that led to mass carnage.

Sunflower Season 2 #PicksAndPiques #JohnsonThomas

#PicksAndPiques #JohnsonThomas #internationalfilmfestivalcircuit #filmmoviedocumentaryOTTreviews Title: #SunflowerS2 (8 Eps/30- 50 mins each) Cast: #SunilGrover #RanvirShorey #GirishKulkarni #AdahSharma #AshishVidyarthi #SonalJha #RiaNalavde #MukulChadha #RadhaBhatt #ShonaliNagrani Director: #VikasBahl Rating: * * #Zee5 #ChaseIndia #everyone @everyone #everybody @everybody #followers @followers #Cinergy #AGoodCoProduction #RelianceEntertainment #NimishaPandey #AvianWE

A shabbily constructed whodunit, this series goes from bad to worse in no time. The characters drawn here owe their origins more to mainstream Bollywood cinema rather than the real world and the scripting and performances also tend that way. Nothing compelling about this.