Zindagi Shatranj Hai #picksandpiques #FilmMovieDocumentaryReviews #JohnsonThomas #internationalfilmfestivalcircuit

#picksandpiques #FilmMovieDocumentaryReviews #JohnsonThomas #internationalfilmfestivalcircuit Film: #ZindagiShatranjHai #AltairMedia #AshwaniShukla Cast: #HitenTewani #HemantPandey #ShawarAli #EktaJain #PankajBerry #AshutoshKaushik #BrunaAbdullah @everyone Director: #DushyantPratapSingh Writer: #MSalim Producers: #MrinaliniSingh #AnandPrakash #FahimRQureshi Runtime: 85 mins Rating: *

Yeh ‘Maamla Gadbad Hai’ as the post-credit #DalerMehndi song insert suggests. There’s really nothing of value here to watch out for. Terrible performances, contrary plotting, a hackneyed unaccomplished narrative and songs/item number that appear to have sprung out from cold storage.It’s trashy and unpardonable if you ask me!

Cinema Marte Dum Tak #picksandpiques #FilmMovieDocumentaryReviews #JohnsonThomas #internationalfilmfestivalcircuit

#picksandpiques #FilmMovieDocumentaryReviews #JohnsonThomas #internationalfilmfestivalcircuit OTT Series/Documentary Title: #CinemaMarteDumTak Review of first 2 Episodes /35 mins each (Total : 6 eps) #AmazonPrimeVideo @everyone #MoesArt Cast: #JaspalNeelam #KishanShah #DilipGulati #VinodTalwar Director: #VasanBala Rating: * *

The researchers must have ferreted them out from under the woodwork but the presence of the so-called C-grade fab-four makers of shady, cringe-inducing films in this salacious attempt to eulogize trashy pulp cinema of the ’90s by referencing it as ‘daring,’ is definitely not worth the trouble. As lewd, crass, and revealing as their combined oeuvre (and the explicit posters that exposed their strip-happy content), this documentary basically glosses over hearsay regarding the money spinners these thoroughly inept directors churned out. The first 2 episodes of this documentary fail to put out facts and figures and don’t even have worthy experts to corroborate the claims. They were full of claims, airy talk by the likes of #RakhiSawant , and auditions that expose the prevalent objectified sexism of that era and have zero substance. This project is aimed at giving these 4 directors a chance at making their kind of trashy cinema within mini budgets - eventually combining them to form this documentary. The rest of the episodes would be just that, I expect, and frankly, I for one am not going to be sorry I missed them!

Murder at Koh-E-Fiza #PicksAndPiques #JohnsonThomas #filmmoviedoumentaryreviews #internationalfilmfestivalcircuit

#PicksAndPiques #JohnsonThomas #filmmoviedoumentaryreviews #internationalfilmfestivalcircuit Film: #MurderAtKohEFiza Cast: #ShreyaNarayan #AkramKhan #Amitryaan #SunnyChouhan #RashidKhan #MaqboolRizvi #Swati #AdityaSingh Director: #DivakerNaik Runtime: 101 mins Rating:* * #ShemarooMeOTT #AltairMedia #ManojNandwana #JaiViratraEntertainment #JaiViratraEntertainmentLimited @everyone

An undulating investigative crime thriller with an interesting storyline about a white-collar crime combined with murder, this one has a rather unremarkable and plebeian narrative, studded with stray intriguing moments because of its twisted plot. The white-collar serial murderer/criminal without conscience or remorse is an under-exposed theme in Hindi cinema so this film could have generated some interest if only it had some fancy editing to cover up its unvarnished gaucheness. A more skillful director might have been able to paper over the medical, investigative, and scientific gaffes here. The unsophisticated treatment and lack of panache in storytelling craft don’t allow for many effects even though the actors do a decent enough job.

Ajay Wardhan #PicksAndPiques #JohnsonThomas #filmmoviedoumentaryreviews #internationalfilmfestivalcircuit

#PicksAndPiques #JohnsonThomas #filmmoviedoumentaryreviews #internationalfilmfestivalcircuit Film: #AjayWardhan Cast: #RomilChoudhary #PihuSharna #KshitiPatwardhan #AbhimanyuAryan #YogeshVatts Director: #PragatiAgarwal #PrasidhEklavayaEntertainment @everyone #AltairMedia Runtime: 96 mins Rating: *

A pointless biopic about a supposedly impoverished farm boy becoming a reputed dentist by dint of hard work and perseverance, the narrative of this film fails to highlight the grit and gumption high-points of that yeoman effort and instead wallows in a ridiculous love story with an #ArjunReddy like aside. This is a rather indistinct, routine and lacklustre telling.

Cirkus #PicksAndPiques #JohnsonThomas #filmmoviedocumentaryreviews #internationalfilmfestivalcircuit

#PicksAndPiques #JohnsonThomas #filmmoviedocumentaryreviews #internationalfilmfestivalcircuit Film: #Cirkus #UniversalCommunicationsPR #RohitShettyPicturez #TseriesFilms #BhushanKumar #RelianceEntertainment Cast: #RanveerSingh #JacquelineFernandez #PoojaHegde #VarunSharma #SanjayMishra #JohnnyLever #SiddarthJadhav #VrajeshHirjee #SulbhaArya #MukeshTiwari #AshwiniKalsekar #MurliSharma #AnilParamjeett #DeepikaPadukone #SaurabhGokhale #BrijendraKala #VijayPatkar Writers #SanchitBedre(dialogue) #VidhiGhodgaonkar(dialogue) #YunusSajawal(screenplay) Cinematography: #JomonTJohn Editor #BuntyNagi Director: #RohitShetty @everyone Rating: * Runtime: 132 mins

This super-saturated candy-coloured offering, borrowing heavily from #ComedyOfErrors #Angoor #Hungama, etc is dangerous to your eyes and brain. Rohit Shetty has obviously run out of tricks as he continues to use the same old tired formula to woo the audience already beleaguered by thankless #Bollywood fare. To add to your woes Siddarth Jadhav’s facial contortions is the only acrobatic circus act you can get here. Ranveer Singh’s electric man persona is so lusterless that one wonders why anyone would pay money to watch the uninteresting act in a circus. It's better suited to a believe-it-or-not episode on TV. His attempt to channel his latent energy into a staid double act doesn’t add up either. Deepika Padukone’s item number does nothing to raise the bar on excitement here. The once-ever-dependable Sanjay Mishra gives his worst performance here and even Sulbha Arya and Johnny Lever look out of sorts. Pooja Hegde looks rather insipid and Jacqueline looks more cartoonish than real. It's pitiable that even Varun Sharma fails to get a laugh out of you. The writing, screenplay, direction, and comic timing are so woebegone that the film feels rather flat, forced, stilted, and passionless.

Blurr #PicksAndPiques #JohnsonThomas #filmmoviedocumentaryreviews #internationalfilmfestivalcircuit

#PicksAndPiques #JohnsonThomas #filmmoviedocumentaryreviews #internationalfilmfestivalcircuit Film: #Blurr Cast: #TapseePannu #GulshanDevaiah #KruttikaDesaiKhan #AbhilashThapliyal #SorabhChauhan #NityaMathur #SumitNijhawan #Zee5 #AvianWE #ZeeStudios #OutsidersFilms #EchelonProductions @everyone Director: #AjayBahl Writers : #AjayBahl #PawanSoni Runtime: 126 mins Rating: * 1/2

Taapsee Pannu's first project as a producer, a rather inept attempt at #horror #thriller, this official remake of the #Spanishfilm #JuliasEyes like the #Marathi remake #Adrushya that came a few months before it, fails to drum up interest mainly because both films miss out on integral - the psychological portrait of an ordinary Everyman serial killer that the original film managed to put forward so brilliantly. Multiple plot threads haphazardly put-together strain credulity to breaking point and Tapsee’s enunciation of the helpless betrayed woman who also happens to be losing her sight and is being terrorized by a serial killer isn’t convincing in the least. Mostly because her cultivated image doesn’t allow for such vulnerability. There are a few classy moments in the narrative and #SudhirKChaudhary’s cinematography is enabling enough but overall there’s far too much confusion in the telling for this to be an enjoyable outing!

Vadh #picksandpiques #internationalfilmfestivalcircuit #filmmoviedocumentaryreviews #JohnosnThomas

#PicksAndPiques #JohnsonThomas #filmmoviedocumentaryreviews #internationalfilmfestivalcircuit Film: #Vadh #SpicePR #LuvRanjanfilms Cast: #SanjayMishra #NeenaGupta #DiwakarKumar #AbhitoshSinghRajput #ManavVij #UmeshKaushik #TanyaLal #PranjalPateria #SaurabhSachdeva @everyone Directors/Writers : #JaspalSinghSandhu #RajeevBarnwal Runtime: 110 mins Rating: * * 1/2

Hindi cinema is now literally obsessing about the #Dexter ( International TV Series) way of disposing-off dead bodies and we see that translating in real life too (if newspaper reports are anything to go by) but are such macabre methods really required in a story where murder is an act of rage or accident? Well, Vadh ( translated as vanquishment/slaughter/Assassination of evil in cinema terms) would like you to believe it is…A crime thriller that borrows the #Drishyam construct rather simplistically, this one is about a geriatric brahmin couple, hapless and timid, who find themselves in the crosshairs of a vile villain out to extort a debt they are unable to repay. When he suggests that a young girl child they care for as their daughter be the repayment, the old man sees no way out … Up to that point, the narrative was believable. The aftermath of the murder though was unpalatable and rather implausible. The usual cliches of an ungrateful progeny, a corrupt cop, and a gypped criminal justice system come into play. The film literally loses heft on the way to an implausible, contrived ending. While this film does not work up steam as an edgy thriller it indirectly raises questions as to the bias of caste and religion by which we view crime and criminal culpability…