A fictional film is the setting – and the excuse -for cult director Tarantino to direct his ninth feature film. Leonardo DiCaprio as past-his-prime Hollywood actor of the 50s and early 60s Rick Dalton, and Brad Pitt as Dalton’s stunt body double, chauffeur and handyman Cliff Booth come together for the first time in the…
Genre: Animation, Fantasy 101 minutes Rating: 4/5 Director: Wes Anderson BFF, not so long ago, signified something else: it meant the friendly and loyal dog. Writer/producer/director Wes Anderson (Fantastic Mr. Fox, The Grand Budapest Hotel) takes us through a story of exile and reinforces our belief, though circumlocutorily, that BFF is still the canine. Orphaned…
Genre: Thriller, Crime Rating: 2.5/5 125 minutes Director: Stefano Sollima Political connotations abound in the sequel to ‘Sicario’ (2015) as the US government machinery is let loose to battle the forces which smuggle in illegal immigrants from the porous US-Mexican border. Alongside battling the exterior forces, a few scenes in the beginning seem to suggest…
Genre: Thriller, Mystery, Drama Rating: 2.5/5 121 minutes Director: Mukul Abhyankar ‘An Over-Cooked Plot’ During the investigations, Mauritius top cop Buddhu (Annu Kapoor) pensively remarks to his investigating officers “Bahut saare loopholes hain”. The viewer is left wondering whether the words refer to the case or the script. A couple, Sushant (Manoj Bajpayee) and Aparna…
Genre: Horror, Thriller, Sci-fi Rating: 3.5/5 90 minutes Director: John Krasinski ‘The Eerie Sounds of Silence’ While the title ‘A Quiet Place’ could be a misnomer; it’s definitely an understatement of sorts. The premise begs the question: “What if – – -?” “What if aliens take over the world, as Hollywood has been threatening…
The political predicament in the Middle East has been at the forefront of humanity since the past several decades, exacerbated by the Munich Olympics massacre in 1972, followed by the evacuation of hostages at Entebbe, Uganda on 4 July 1976. Within a year of the latter, three films were made on the Entebbe incident —…
Come Oscar time, and the best that Hollywood has to offer is on display. After ‘There Will Be Blood’ (2007), Phantom Thread reunites director Paul Thomas Anderson and the hugely talented Daniel Day-Lewis.Confirmed bachelor Reynolds Woodcock (DDL) is a scrupulously painstaking and perfectionist couturier – sewing handmade garments for royalty, millionaires and socialites. He hires models…
Films of this genre normally start off sedately – the protagonist (being an ex-cop helps) working hard for a living, usually with a spouse and child (comes in handy as hostages), and losing his job – wondering how to break the news at home. So, in The Commuter we have Michael MacCauley (Liam Neeson), an…
It’s the impertinent versus the imperturbable – the cocky versus the cool as cucumber. The 100 minute film braces us for the tennis match of the century – the thrilling five-setter of the 1980 Wimbledon finals in which the upcoming superbrat had threatened to halt the champion’s march to a fifth consecutive title. Shia LaBeouf portrays…
A single clue is what is proffered in the middle of the film, based on the enigmatic maestro Agatha Christie’s 1934 novel by the same name. The self-proclaimed ‘greatest detective in the world’ – the fastidious and mustachioed Belgian Hercule Poirot (played by director Branagh himself) – is bound for London aboard the famed Orient…
For the fans of sci-fi and fantasy films, this one particularly could be a must-watch. For the skeptics of this genre (this critic included), however, a word of advice for potential viewers-go see this one with an open mind. Even for those familiar with the 1982 ‘Blade Runner’ (set in 2019), this film is sure…