Sex Lies And Stories #PicksAndPiques #FilmMovieDocumentaryReviews #JohnsonThomas #internationalfilmfestivalCircuit #IndianShortFilmReview

#PicksAndPiques #FilmMovieDocumentaryReviews #JohnsonThomas #internationalfilmfestivalCircuit #IndianShortFilmReview Film: #SexLiesAndStories Cast: #AbhishekBanerjee #MokshdaJailkhani #ShruthyMenon Writer/Director: #KeithGomes Rating: * * * Runtime: 12 mins #Everyone @everyone #EverymediaTechnologiesPvtLtd @nowitsabhi @shruthymenon #MokshdaJailkhani @keithgomes.w @resulp @talwar_bobby #DhruvJagasia @SandeepKamal @TapanBasu #HuzefaLokhandwala @suresh.selvarajan @GeeSees @ClintonCerejo #HemantSuthar @rshbaraina @karanfoley_mpse #PrabirSomeshwar #JagdishNachnekar @mandarvparelkar #GoldaSellam @shrisriram @tinu4444 #RebellionManagement #VineeshVijayan @apple @GautamBThakker @Every_Media

This short film Shot on iPhone, with Abhishek Banerjee as one of its leads is about being consumed by social media. Edgy, scary, and mimicking the times, this psychological thriller, a showdown between reel and reality, is bound to shock you out of your complacency. It begs the question: Are you the consumer or are you getting consumed? Social media obsession can be detrimental to your well-being as it puts you at risk both psychologically and physically. Economically conceptualized and directed by Keith Gomes (better known for the Oscar-eligible short #Shameless), this film shows you how… It’s a scary movie and only those who have the stomach for horror should watch it! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8af-30D2wsk

Crackdown 2 #PicksAndPiques #FilmMovieDocumentaryReviews #JohnsonThomas #internationalfilmfestivalCircuit #IndianOTTseriesReview

#PicksAndPiques #FilmMovieDocumentaryReviews #JohnsonThomas #internationalfilmfestivalCircuit #IndianOTTseriesReview Title: #Crackdown #Season2 #viacom18 #JioCinema Cast: #SaquibSalim #IqbalKhan #WaluschaDesousa #ShriyaPilgaonkar #SonaliKulkarni #FreddyDaruwala #AnkurBhatia #RamMenon #RashmiAgdekar #HemantKher #EishaAChopra #RahulChaudhary #HarshMody Director: #ApoorvaLakhia Producer: #JessuGeorge Rating: * *1/2 Runtime: 8 Episodes / 30-45 mins each #PRPundit #everyone @everyone

Yet another Indian espionage series, this one highlights the Indo-Pak face-off between RAW and ISI which eventually leads to a joint operation that successfully manages to rescue 80 Indian passengers and the plane they were traveling in, from Afghanistan. There are more than one storylines meshing together here. The writing is a little loose, and the dialogues don’t sound natural but given the background of Indo-Pak hostilities and the jingoism that heralds any such depiction, this one manages to be interesting and intriguing enough even though the direction lacks tension and the performances take a little getting used to. The lead characters tend to go out of control every so often even though they are supposed to be highly trained RAW agents. The inter-relational complexities make this effort a fresher take even though much of the pair-ups and subsequent flare-ups feel implausible. The background score hypes up the mood in an obvious fashion. The heroics and villainy are very filmy in nature.

Citadel Season 1 Episode 6 #PicksAndPiques #JohnsonThomas #internationalfilmfestivalCircuit #InternationalOTTseriesReview

#PicksAndPiques #FilmMovieDocumentaryReviews #JohnsonThomas #internationalfilmfestivalCircuit #InternationalOTTseriesReview Title: #Citadel #Season1Episode6 Episode Title: “Secrets In Night Need Early Rains” #AmazonPrimeVideo #MoesArt @everyone #everyone Cast: #PriyankaChopraJonas #RichardMadden #StanleyTucci #LesleyManville #AshleighCummings #MoiraKelly #RolandMøller #OsyIkhile #CaoilinnSpringall Director: #AnthonyRusso, #JoeRusso Rating: * * * Runtime: 48 mins #MikeLarocca #AngelaRussoOtstot #ScottNemes #AGBO #DavidWeil #JoshAppelbaum #AndréNemec #JeffPinkner #ScottRosenberg #MidnightRadio #NewtonThomasSigel #PatrickMoran @CitadelOnPrime

The finale of the season picks up speed as Kyle, Nadia and Carter risk everything to save one of their own and later, thwart Manticore’s plans to acquire nuclear weapons. There are quite a few revelations unearthed too. Kyle regains his memories, finds out he is the Father of Nadia’s daughter and we also get to know the real connection between Manticore and Citadel. The series continues to throw up curve balls at the audience, reverse-spinning some new truth every time you begin to think you’ve figured out the reality behind what is happening. It’s both an advantage and a disadvantage because by the 6th episode, instead of surprising us, we’ve begun to expect it. This episode goes back and forth in time( 8 years) so many times that you get confused about what's happening and when. Nevertheless, there’s far more tension and engagement here than in the earlier episodes because Leslie Manville gets center stage and she shows her formidable talents to spine-chilling effect. Tucci is forgotten but Priyanka and Madden continue to show off their espionage action skills. Madden’s woodenness continues to be the weak link in this series. Hopefully, Season 2 will have something better on offer.

Aazam #PicksAndPiques #FilmMovieDocumentaryReviews #JohnsonThomas #internationalfilmfestivalCircuit

#PicksAndPiques #FilmMovieDocumentaryReviews #JohnsonThomas #internationalfilmfestivalCircuit Film: #Aazam Cast: #JimmySherigill #AbhimanyuSingh #IndraneilSengupta #VivekGhamande #RazaMurad #SayajiRaoShinde #AliKhan #AnangDesai #MustaqKhan #GovindNamdeo Director: #ShravanTiwari #AshwaniShukla #AltairMedia #BMXMotionPictures #everyone @everyone Rating: * * * Runtime: 128 mins Producer: #TBPatel Music: #DurgaNatraj

A deadly game of one-upmanship ensues within the Mumbai underworld when its unquestioned leader, Don Nawab Khan is diagnosed with cancer and has been given just a few months to live. Every prominent member of the gang wants to fill the void and even cops and ministers are involved in deciding who should be the next king. But no one reckoned for the dying Don’s illegitimate son Javed, to mastermind his claim with great stealth and precise logistical planning. While there’s not much action or firepower in the narrative, it still is deadly. The narrative is tense, thrilling, and engaging even though much of it is dialogue, contrivance, and all too conveniently achieved. The actors do well to lend seriousness to this effort. Jimmy Shergill’s cold and steely determination shines the brightest though!

NRI Wives Grey Stories of Love Vs Desires #PicksAndPiques #FilmMovieDocumentaryReviews #JohnsonThomas #internationalfilmfestivalCircuit

#PicksAndPiques #FilmMovieDocumentaryReviews #JohnsonThomas #internationalfilmfestivalCircuit Film: #NRIWivesGreyStoriesofLoveVsDesires Cast: #SamirSoni #JugalHansraj #RaimaSen #HitenTejwani #Bhagyashree #KikuSharda #GauravGera #SadiyaSiddiqui #GunjanKuthiala #SamikshaOswal #JavedPathan #AditiGovitrikar #OliviaMalhotra #KapilArora #VidhiDalla Actor, Writer & Producer: #GunjanKuthiala Directors: #VibhuKashyap #RayKhan #GunjanKuthiala #QaeedKuwajerwala Rating: * * 1/2 Runtime: 145 mins #PictureNKraft #ParulChawla #NRILifeProductions #everyone @everyone

The narrative contains 4 taboo, void, old secrets, and bold stories about unfulfilled desires involving NRI’s but in terms of visuals, there’s nothing risque, carnal, or sexual here. It’s all about emotions and the former journalist turned actor-writer-filmmaker Gunjan Kuthiala has handled them with sensitivity and confidence. The treatment of each story is rather sterile and asexual even though each story is about unfulfilled sexual desires. It’s quite a naive and unconventionally old- (today, when everything is so graphic) way to film such taboo subjects but the actors do a fairly good job and the camerawork and production values look spiffy enough. The first story is well told, the other three though, needed some more work in terms of script and dialogue. Nevertheless, this film does have its engaging moments and a couple of really melodious songs giving it the necessary boost!

Jogira Sara Ra Ra #PicksAndPiques #FilmMovieDocumentaryReviews #JohnsonThomas #internationalfilmfestivalCircuit

#PicksAndPiques #FilmMovieDocumentaryReviews #JohnsonThomas #internationalfilmfestivalCircuit Film: #JogiraSaraRaRa Cast: #NawazuddinSiddiqui #MahaakshayChakraborty #NehaSharma #SanjayMishra #ZarinaWahab #VishalAnand Director: #KushanNandy Writer: #GhalibAsadBhopali Rating: * * 1/2 Runtime: 121 mins #1HMedia #PritishNandyCommunications #Everyone @everyone

A dehati wedding planner is enticed into helping break up a potential marriage and in the process gets forced into marrying the girl. For a wedding planner to be breaking up a marriage is a stupid idea - much like ‘Tu Jhoothi Main Makkar’ did. This is a typical Kushan(#BaabumoshayBandookbaaz ) Nandy film with his bankable star (Nawazuddin) taking on the herculean task of making this loud, annoying, and ridiculous match-up look favorable. It's like mixing chalk and cheese and a more unlikely pairing you may never find. In the small-town setting, Sanjay Mishra as the impoverished leader of a famous kidnapping gang, Mimoh as the dull, boring bridegroom, literally and figuratively a Lallu, and Vishal Anand as the friend, prove gritty enough. Unfortunately, this film was labeled as a romcom but there’s really not much to be amused about. The performances are largely over-the-top, exaggerated to the umpteenth level, the music is boring and the dialogues just grate on your nerves. This could mean entertainment for a narrow-minded audience though.

Nacho #PicksAndPiques #InternationalOTTSeriesReview #InternationalFilmFestivalCircuit #JohnsonThomas

#PicksAndPiques #FilmMovieDocumentaryReviews #InternationalOTTSeriesReview #InternationalFilmFestivalCircuit #JohnsonThomas Title : #Nacho (Strictly Adult Series) Spanish /dubbed in English Runtime: Season 1: 8 Episodes 35-45 mins each #BambuProductions #LionsgatePlay Cast: #MartinoRivas #MariaDeNati #AndresVelencoso #PepaCharro #EduSoto #MarinaGatell #PenélopeGuerrero #JuanCarlosVellido #RubénJiménez #NanchoNovo #MontseGuallar #PaolaBotempi #MiriamGiovanelli Directors: #DavidPinillos (4 episodes) #EduardoCasanova (2 episodes) #BeatrizSanchís (2 Episodes) Creators: #TeresaFernándezValdés #GemaRNeira #DiegoSotelo Rating: * * 1/2

The story of Nacho Vidal the Spanish porn superstar who rose to unprecedented heights in the Spanish porn industry is one of ‘S’excess and more. A fictionalized account based on true events, this bio-pic of sorts, highlights Nacho Vidal, the legendary Spanish star's rise to international adult film stardom in the 1990s. The narrative basically amounts to a sex-fueled romp through the life and times of the Spanish porn star and could therefore be attractive to many. This series is semi-porn in nature with its graphic displays of sexual content combined with fairly intense and intriguing drama. It exposes the underbelly of the porn industry including rivalries, sabotage, drugs, sex, sex, and more sex, and a bevy of nude women in its efforts to explore Spain’s adult industry and the masterminds behind it. The production values are fairly good and Nacho’s rise and fall and rise again through the years makes for engaging entertainment. It's certain you wouldn’t be paying attention to the acting (even though it's pretty good) when there’s so much sexplicit action happening all through the series runtime!