My Lady Jane #PicksAndPiques #JohnsonThomas

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Title: #MyLadyJane Rating: * * * 1/2

Based on the revisionist YA novel by #CynthiaHand #BrodieAshton #JodiMeadows, this series set in an alt-universe upending tragic history of 1553, is a fast paced action comedy true love fantasy, a blithe quippy dramedy in snarky wicked mode, an unconventional, goofy irreverent romp through stuck-up Machiavelli Tudor times. A beautifully enacted rip-roaring legacy contorting bold female dominated adventure that is magical & thoroughly entertaining.

Cast: #EmilyBader #EdwardBluemel #JordanPeters #DominicCooper #AnnaChancellor #RobBrydon #JimBroadbent #KateOFlynn #AbbieHorn #IsabellaBrownson #RobynBetteridsge #HenryAshton
Directors: #JamieBabbit #StefanSchwartz
Runtime: 8 Episodes/ 50-60 min each
#GemmaBurgess #MeredithGlynn #SarahBradshaw #LaurieMacDonald #MoesArt #PrimeVideo #everyone #AmazonPrimeVideo #everyone

Kalki 2898 AD #PicksAndPiques #JohnsonThomas

#PicksAndPiques #JohnsonThomas #FilmMovieDocumentaryOTTReviews #internationalfilmfestivalcircuit

Film: #Kalki2898AD Rating: * *

this Ambitious Indian sci-fi mythology actioner is convoluted, incoherent & boring. Mix of ancient mythology & futuristic sci-fi needs a scale bigger, more creative, inspired& better than #NagAshwin can manage. VFX is patchy, Editing is poor & performances lack charisma. Plot is decadent, dialogues are lame & cameos fail to lend value. More likely to give you a headache with all the loud mouthed shenanigans & ludicrous action.

Cast: #Prabhas #AmitabhBachchan #KamalHassan #Shobhana #DeepikaPadukone #DishaPatani #RajendraPrasad #SaswataChatterjee #KeerthySuresh #AnnaBen
Director: #NagAshwin
Runtime: 181 min
#TreeshulMedia #VyjayanthiMovies #everyone

Rautu Ka Raaz #PicksAndPiques #JohnsonThomas

#PicksAndPiques #JohnsonThomas #internationalfilmfestivalcircuit #FilmMovieDocumentaryOTTReviews

Film: #RautuKaRaaz Rating: * * 1/2

Set in a sleepy town in Uttarakhand, this whodunit might have been more interesting if the tone was consistently serious & trivial pursuits kept to a minimum. But Alas, the inconsistent tone, silly asides, contrived buffoonery, slow pace and insipid dialogue puts paid to that expectation. It even goes to the xtent of justifying murder… which of course is unpardonable.

Cast: #NawazuddinSiddiqui #RajeshKumar #AtulTiwari #NarayaniShastri
Director: #AnandSurapur
Runtime: 113 min
#Zee5 #ZeeStudios #PhatphishRecords #ShariqPatel #ChintuSrivastava #everyone #AvianMedia #ThinkinkCommunications

Kooki #PicksAndPiques #JohnsonThomas

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Film: #Kooki Rating: * * * 1/2

#Nirbhaya set in Assam, this rape survivor story enunciates the living death that victims have to bear. It’s a heartrending portrayal of gang rape, its traumatic aftermath & opens our eyes to the hell that life after rape becomes. Realistic performances, effective writing & helming, lovely songs & music, great sound direction, editing & cinematography. This is a movie worth going miles to see.

Cast: #RitishaKhaund #RajeshTailang #DipannitaSharma #RituShivpuri #BodhisattvaSharma #DeboleenaBhattacharjee #PreetyKongana #AshaChothani #NancySingh
Director: #PranabJDeka
Runtime: 116min
#AltairMedia #JunmoniDeviKhaund #MrigendraNarayanKonwar #AmritPritamDutta #TapanJyotiDutta #SauravMahanta #PallabTalukdar #GyanGautam #JhulanKrishnaMahanta #everyone #NiriMediaOPC

Bad Cop #PicksAndPiques #JohnsonThomas

#PicksAndPiques #JohnsonThomas #internationalfilmfestivalcircuit #filmmoviedocumentaryOTTreviews

Title : #BadCop Rating: * * *

Breezy thriller framed around an outdated Bollywoodian ‘twins’ concept this not-so-original series is a massy entertainer & has its tense heart-in-your-mouth moments too.Action may not be edgy, VFX and CGI are shoddy, but there’s a dark, chill factor here not found in recent OTT series. #AdityaDatt infuses energy into this directorial, making the viewing experience quite worthy.#AnuragKashyap #GulshanDevaiah #HarleenSethi keep the faith.

Cast: #AnuragKashyap #GulshanDevaiah #HarleenSethi #AishwaryaSushmita #AnupamKSinha #DeepakKamboj #KeyaIngle #SaurabhSachdeva
Director: #AdityaDatt
Runtime: 8 episodes/23-35 min each
#DisneyHotstar #Freemantle #everyone #ThinkInkCommunications #FremantleIndiaTelevisionProductions #FremantleMedia

Hamare Baraah #PicksAndPiques #JohnsonThomas

#PicksAndPiques #JohnsonThomas #internationalfilmfestivalcircuit #filmmoviedocumentaryOTTreviews

Film:#HamareBaraah Rating: *

Yet another propaganda film with deleted scenes, disclaimer& blurred sound prompted by the Court and the censors, this film fails to sound legit because it is obviously targeting one community. Poor pacing, ridiculous sermonising & lack of craft serves it poorly. The premise had heft but the treatment and motivated storyline fails the integrity test.

Cast: #AnnuKapoor #ParitoshTripathi #AditiBhatpahari #IshlinPrasad #RahulBagga #HarishChabbra #AshwiniKalsekar #ManojJoshi #ParthSamthaan
Director: #KamalChandra
Runtime: 148 min
#SpicePR #SpiceBhasha #RajanAgarwal #everyone #RadhikaGFilms #NewtechMediaEntertainment

Jahangir National University #PicksAndPiques #JohnsonThomas

#PicksAndPiques #JohnsonThomas #internationalfilmfestivalcircuit #filmmoviedocumentaryOTTreviews
Film: #JahangirNationalUniversity (#JNU) Rating: *
A cringe-inducing, all-too-obvious attempt to malign the students of the most prestigious, internationally ranked university of the country, this film is utter trash. A politically motivated & biased storyline, poor performances, terribly inept direction plague this amateurishly filmed experience.

Cast: #UrvashiRautela #SiddharthBodke #RaviKishan #ShivjyotiRajput #KunjAnand #VijayRaaz #PiyushMishra #RashmiDesai #SonnalliSeygall #AshokKumarBeniwal
Writer/Director: #VinaySharma
Runtime: 150 min
#MahakaalMovies #everyone

Ishq Vishq Rebound #PicksAndPiques #JohnsonThomas

#PicksAndPiques #JohnsonThomas #internationalfilmfestivalcircuit #filmmoviedocumentaryOTTreviews

Film: #IshqVishqRebound Rating: * *

A triangular love story given the Insta treatment, this one has Gen Z echoing the instability that is its hallmark. Light-weight, silly & irritating, even decent songs fail to rev up the entertainment here. The actors look cute but their romancing, break ups , rebound & self discovery is a pain the audience might prefer not to go through - especially since there’s absolutely no attachment to be had here.

Cast: #JibraanKhan #PashminaRoshan #RohitSaraf #NailaGrrewal #SupriyaPilgoankar #SheebaChaddha #ShatafFigar #AnitaKulkarni #KushaKapila
Director: #NipunAvinashDharmadhikari
Runtime: 106 min
#VaishaliNaik #VinayChhawal #KetanPedgaonkar #AkarshKhurana #UniversalCommunications #everyone #TipsFilmsPvtLtd

Chandu Champion #PicksAndPiques #JohnsonThomas

#PicksAndPiques #JohnsonThomas #internationalfilmfestivalcircuit #FilmMovieDocumnetaryOTTReviews
Title: #ChanduChampion Rating: * *

A sports biopic on India’s first #Paralympic gold medallist #MurlikantPetkar this film fails to draw you in. Allowing saleability to determine casting choices proves detrimental for this film experience. #KarthikAaryan isn’t able to live the role, he is merely enacting it and therein lies the problem. Despite the against-all-odds storyline there’s very little grit to grab you here. It’s a formulaic take on a life filled with challenges.

Cast: #KartikAaryan #VijayRaaz #BhuvanArora #YashpalSharma #RajpalYadav #ShreyasTalpade #SonaliKulkarni
Writer/Director: #KabirKhan
#SajidNadiadwala #NadiadwalaGrandsonEntertainment #SudeepChatterjee #NitinBaid #SumitArora #SudiptoSarkar #RohitShukre #everyone #SpicePR #SpiceBhasha

House of The Dragon Season 2 #PicksAndPiques #JohnsonThomas

#PicksAndPiques #JohnsonThomas #internationalfilmfestivalcircuit #FilmMovieDocumnetaryOTTReviews
Title:#HouseOfTheDragon2 Rating: * * * #SneakPreveiw

The darkly savage, sweeping saga of revenge & retribution while angling for the throne continues on unabated with a new generation of Tagaryens falling prey to devious minds & vicious goals. The first episode, a fire-starter for the new season feels like deja vu. There’s nothing new here - bloody murders, table-top scheming, ancient rituals with a dragon or two showing up to keep the faith. The pace is slow yet the drama is compelling. Its gonna be darker, deeper, bigger & bloodier with war on the horizon & desolation, destruction & death, I guess!

Cast: #OliviaCooke #EmmaDArcy #RhysIfans #MattSmith #EveBest #SteveToussaint #MillyAlcock #EmilyCarey #EwanMitchell #TomGlynnCarney #PhiaSaban #HarryCollett #BethanyAntonia #SonoyaMizuno #PaddyConsidine

Director: #RyanCondal #ClareKilner #GeetaVasantPatel #AlanTaylor

Runtime: 1 Eps/58 min

#PRPunditHavas #JioCinema #HBO #GeorgeRRMartin #Viacom18 #HOTDS2OnJioCinema #JioCinemaPremium @officialjiocinema

Munjya #PicksAndPiques #JohnsonThomas

#PicksandPiques #JohnsonThomas #filmmoviedocumentaryOTTreviews #internationalfilmfestivalcircuit
Film: #Munjya
Rating: * *

This intriguing folklore set in the Konkan had the makings of a horror worthy story but the writing & treatment were so devoid of scares that it all falls rather flat & uninteresting. Too mild to be creepy, there’s not much humour to tag this a horror-comedy either. The meagre budget might stand it in good stead at the box-office though.

Cast: #AbhayVerma #SharvariWagh #SuhasJoshi #MonaSingh #RichardJohnLovatt #ReemaChaudhary #AnayKamat #Sathyaraj
Director: #AdityaSarpotdar >\

Runtime: 123 min

#MaddockPictures #HYPEPR #everyone #DineshVijan #AmarKaushik #PenMarudharEntertainmnet #SachinJigar

Malhar #PicksAndPiques #JohnsonThomas

#PicksandPiques #JohnsonThomas #filmmoviedocumentaryOTTreviews #internationalfilmfestivalcircuit
Film: #Malhar

Rating: * * *

A poignant merge of three stories set in a remote barren village of Kutch, this one exposes the faultlines of religious prejudice, gender bias & patriarchal mindset balanced by the effervescence of indefatigable young friendship. Immersive, engaging & absorbing the film manages to give the audience a realistic picture of life in a not-so-easily accessible corner of the country. The setting, scripting, dialogue, music, cinematography and performances combine well to create an inviting picture.

Cast: #AnjaliPatil #ShrinivasPokale #VinayakPotdar #ShaaribHaashmi #RishiSaxena #RaviJhankal #BhupeshSingh #ShrutiGholap #ImranRashid #MohammadSamad #AkshataAcharya

Director: #VishalKumbhar

Runitme: 101 min

#VMotionPictures #AshwaniShukla #AltairMedia #everyone

The Legend Of Hanuman Season 4 #PicksAndPiques #JohnsonThomas

#PicksAndPiques #JohnsonThomas #internationalfilmfestivalcircuit #filmmoviedocumentaryOTTreviews

Title: #TheLegendOfHanumanS4

Rating: * * * 1/2

Stunning visual clarity, powerful voicing & mythology that captures your imagination make season4 of this epic animated series pitting #Hanuman in direct confrontation with an imposing #Raavan, #Kumbhakaran #Ahiravan & #Indrajit, an avid watch. Compelling visual craft, vivid graphic art, and visual action spectacle compel the viewer to overlook the clunky movement of old-fashioned animation techniques.

Cast: #DamandeepSinghBaggan #SharadKelkar #SanketMhatre #AmitDeondi #KrishnaKumar #VikrantChaturvedi

#SharadDevarajan #JeevanJKang #CharuviAgrawal #everyone

#DisneyHotstar #GraphicIndia #thinkinkcommunications Runtime: (7 episodes 20-30 mins each)

Chhota Bheem And The Curse of the Damyaan #PicksAndPiques #JohnsonThomas

#PicksAndPiques #JohnsonThomas #internationalfilmfestivalcircuit #FilmMovieDocumentaryOTTReviews Film: #ChhotaBheemAndTheCurseOfTheDamyaan Rating: * 1/2

A confusing tortuous narrative going back and forth in time, with precious few fun elements & unnecessary songs make this lengthy, long-winding kiddie adventure (supposedly), a nonviable watch even for kids.

Cast: #AnupamKher #YagyaBhasin #KabirSajid #SumitKeshri #MakrandDeshpande #NavneetKaurDhillon Director: #RajivChilaka Runtime: 145 min #GreenGoldStudios #UniversalCommunications #everyone

Aranmanai 4 #PicksAndPiques #JohnsonThomas

#PicksAndPiques #JohnsonThomas #internationalfilmfestivalcircuit #FilmMovieDocumentaryOTTReviews Film: #Aranmanai4 (Hindi Dubbed) Rating: * 1/2

Old-fashioned south-side formula, this one has all the ingredients that might have made a hit film in the 80’s or 90’s. The comedy is stale, action is ridiculous, the lyrics don’t fit the music, the cut happy editing makes coherence difficult, horror elements linked to spiritualism & hocus-pocus are more effects oriented than credible. It’s a test of endurance.

Cast: #SundarC #TamannahBhatia #RashiiKhanna #RamachandraRaju #SanthoshPrathap #KovaiSarala #YogiBabu #VTVGanesh #DelhiGanesh Director: #SundarC Runtime: 149 min #1HMedia #everyone #AvniCinemax #KhusbooSundar #ACSArunKumar #BenzzMediaPLtd

House of Lies #PicksAndPiques #JohnsonThomas

#PicksAndPiques #JohnsonThomas #internationalfilmfestivalcircuit #FilmMovieDocumentaryOTTReviews Film: #HouseOfLies Rating: * 1/2 This uncovering of a white collar crime & murder (whodunit) fails to generate excitement with its uninteresting lacklustre cast who deliver dialogue like they’ve just woken up from slumber. Tediously tepid tempo, lack of tension make the twist at the end look superficial - put there for shock value rather than as part of organic storytelling.

Cast: #SanjayKapoor #SsmilleySuri #SimranKaurSuri #RiturajKSingh #GirishSharma #HitenPaintal #AjiteshGupta #MirSarwar Director: #SaumitraSingh Runtime: 81 min #KaliMovies #SebhariyaPictures #everyone #ChaseIndia

Savi #PicksAndPiques #JohnsonThomas

#PicksAndPiques #JohnsonThomas #internationalfilmfestivalcircuit #FilmMovieDocumentaryOTTReviews Film: #Savi Rating: * * This film has an interesting premise about a wife planning & executing a jailbreak for her incarcerated husband but the treatment is devoid of tension or thrills. The confused tone, unviable scripting, limpid uninteresting performances &Anil Kapoor’s buffooning as an ex-con abetting the escape, fail to cut ice. While the locations look good and the camerawork is inviting the half-baked literal storyline fails to invite interest. The allusion to Satyavan's 'Savitri' also doesn't stick.

Cast: #DivyaKhosslaKumar #AnilKapoor #HarshvardhanRane #Rageshwari Director: #AbhinayDeo #TSeries #VisheshEntertainment #CommuniquePR #everyone #BhushanKumar #mishtyproductions Runtime: 120 min

Mr & Mrs Mahi #PicksAndPiques #JohnsonThomas

#PicksAndPiques #JohnsonThomas #internationalfilmfestivalcircuit #FilmMovieDocumentaryOTTReviews Film: #MrAndMrsMahi Rating: * * Sweet but not compelling. The narrative marries sporting achievements with ‘#Abhimaan’ to create some drama but the story itself lacks the logic to make it work. A failed cricketer coaching his cricket-obsessed doctor wife - a childhood tennis ball cricketer to national-level cricketing glory in 6 months sounds too fantastic to make practical sense. #JahnviKapoor really needs to up her acting game. Her standard issue vulnerability & weak dialogue delivery makes every character she essays feel the same. #RajkumarRao does his best to shoulder the responsibility to garner audience affection but his role as a sulky, ego-centered failure is not one that will get the audience cheering for him.

Cast: #RajKumarRao #JahnviKapoor #ZarinaWahab #RajeshSharma #KumudMishra Director: #SharanSharma Runtime: 139 min #HypePR #DharmaProductions #everyone #ZeeStudios #NikhilMehrotra #MananSharma #amittrivedi