Lokshahi #PicksAndPiques #JohnsonThomas

#PicksAndPiques #JohnsonThomas #FilmMovieDocumentaryOTTReviews #internationalfilmfestivalcircuit Film: Lokshahi (#Marathi) #UltraMediaAndEntertainmentGroup #RamKondilkarPR Cast: #MohanAgashe #SameerDharmadhikari #GirishOak #TejashriVPradhan #BhargaviChirmule #AmitRiyaan #AnkitMohan Director: #SanjayAmar Producer: #SushilKumarAgarwal Rating: * 1/2 Runtime: 128 min @everyone #everyone @everybody #everybody #followers @followers #SanjayRaji

This Marathi Multi starrer, a Political Thriller directed by Sanjay Amar plays out political machinations in chamber-drama-restricted flat TV episode style. The actors seem lost in their own individual worlds, and their performances are stagey and lean towards caricature. The thready sequences compiled mainly from their close-ups and profile takes, don’t feel feature-suited. Even the screenplay involving a powerful political family and the nihilistic dynamics involved in their power struggle fails to curry favor. The narrative lacks continuum and the editing fails to make sense of the political intrigue in play. The sheer waste of powerhouse talent (actors) is unforgivable.

Mr & Mrs Smith #PicksAndPiques #JohnsonThomas

#PicksAndPiques #JohnsonThomas #FilmMovieDocumentaryOTTReviews #internationalfilmfestivalcircuit Title: #MrandMrsSmith S1 ( 8 Episodes/ 40-60 min) Cast: #DonaldGlover #MayaErskine #PaulDano #DvaeAtell #BillyCampbell #JohnTurturro #UrsulaCorbero Director: #KarenaEvans #HiroMurai #AmySeimetz #DonaldGlover #ChristianSprenger Rating: * * 1/2 @SmithsOnPrime, @SmithsOnPrime, @PrimeVideo @everyone #everybody @everybody #everyone @followers #followers #AmazonPrime #PrimeVideo

Expanding on the #AnjelinaJolie #BradPitt starring movie, this series slow-burns through some uninteresting and tiresome segments before it can combust into some semblance of action. Lonely strangers John and Jane end up as spies masquerading as a married couple, navigating high-risk missions while also facing new relationship milestones. Unfortunately, this random coupling is not as interesting as that in #DougLiman’s film. The series is long-drawn, there’s not enough action, and lead stars fail to mark up the entertainment. This series takes way too long to work up steam or come good.

Karmma Calling #PicksAndPiques #JohnsonThomas

#PicksAndPiques #JohnsonThomas #internationalfilmfestivalcircuit #FilmMovieDocumentaryOTTReviews Title: #KarmmaCalling S1 (4 Episodes/30-50 min each) Cast: #RaveenaTandon #RohitRoy #GauravSharma #VarunSood #DevangshiSen #AmiAela #NamrataSheth #MasiWali #WaluschaDeSouza #RachitSingh #VikramjitVirk #VirafPatel #PiyushKhati #AlpanaBuch #ShatafFigar Director:#RuchiNarain Writer: #MikeKelley Based on series #Revenge Rating: * * #RatFilmProduction #HotstarSpecials #DisneyHotstar #ABCSignature #AshutoshShah #TaherShabbir @everyone #everybody #everyone #everybody #followers @followers

A revenge drama more interested in making its actors look glamorous than in pursuing logic, sense or being plausible. An upgraded ‘#Shanti’ where Wannabes, #Richandfamous types live in Alibaug and go through the motions of love, betrayal, scheming, scamming and revenge. It’s all a figment of a wild imagination. Looks good because of glossy production values. Could be instant gratification for those who got high on ‘#BoldandBeautiful’ and ‘#SantaBarbara.’

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!