Shape of Momo
Drama, Family (Nepali)
Bishnu returns to her Himalayan village after quitting her job, only to face mounting family pressures and societal expectations. As tensions rise with her pregnant sister's arrival and a budding relationship with a "suitable" boy from her community, Bishnu must (more…)
Drishyam 3
Crime, Drama, Thriller (Malayalam)
To protect his family and their dark secret, Georgekutty faces an organized new threat. As walls close in and cracks widen, how much more is he willing to sacrifice ? (more…)
Guild Reviews
Obsession
Horror (English)
After breaking the mysterious "One Wish Willow" to win his crush's heart, a hopeless romantic finds himself getting exactly what he asked for but soon discovers that some desires come at a dark, sinister price.
Cast:
Michael Johnston, Inde Navarrette, Cooper Tomlinson, Megan Lawless, Andy Richter, Haley Fitzgerald, Darin Toonder, Anthony Pavone, Justice, Anthony Casabianca
Director:
Curry Barker
Writer:
Curry Barker
Tue, June 2 2026
At the heart of Curry Barker’s Obsession lies a simple, contained but brilliant premise: what if your dreams come true; but those dreams turn out to be your worst nightmare. Starting out writing comedy sketches under “That’s a Bad Idea”, this is only the writer-director’s second feature. Maximising the thin conceit and wringing the idea for social commentary, Obsession keeps the audience unsettled, as Barker takes the narrative to ludicrous and shocking heights. Bear (Michael Johnston), a young introverted man, probably in his 20s, is hopelessly in love with friend Nikki (Inde Navarrette). They work together in a music store, living a harmless life in American suburbia: going to trivia nights, taking turns at the karaoke, hopping between bars and house parties. When she puts in her two-weeks notice at the workplace, he must hurry and tell her how he feels. He buys a ‘one-wish willow’ (a bark that is supposed to be split into two after one makes a wish) as her going-away present. Too shy to give it to her after he drops her home, Bear, without thinking too much, wishes ‘Nikki would love me more than anyone in the world’ and then breaks it. Much to Bear’s shock, his wish is granted, as Nikki turns around from near her door-step, walks towards his car, and insists if she can sleep at his house.
Fri, May 29 2026
Boy likes girl. What next? A lot of possible romances end right here. But what happens when the shy boy gets one miracle wish that can turn romance into a love story. A YouTuber on the road to fame after Obsession wowed audiences at Toronto International Film Festival, and got horror impresario Jason Blum onboard as executive producer, director Curry Barker is all of 26. He is also the writer of this tragi-comic horror film, with Cooper Tomlinson who plays one of the key characters, his long-time collaborator. Barker taps right into Gen Z’s au courant crisis and places Obsession in the irresolute territory where love is an all-consuming but never-consummate emotion. Relationships are situationships, and situations are at the mercy of just too many things. Commitment is a word – and world – too long.
Blast
Action, Drama, Family (Tamil)
Follows a family trained to protect the powerless who become the most dangerous obstacle of all.
Cast:
Arjun Sarja, Abhirami, Preity Mukhundhan, Vivek Prasanna, John Kokken, Arjun Chidambaram, Pawan, Dhileban, Vinod Sagar, Bala Hasan
Director:
Subash K Raj
Writer:
Subash K Raj
Mon, June 1 2026
Choices. A lot about a person can be known by the choices they make. The same holds true for a filmmaker, whose decisions on camera angles, narrative detours, character depth, use of musical cues, and the scenes chosen and left at the editing table prove their mettle. The same holds true for an actor, whose decisions on whether they accept to do a full-fledged role, or a glorified cameo, or an important yet minuscule part, appear in a ‘special’ dance number, or a ‘friendly appearance,’ or play a role that doesn’t add anything anywhere except to the bank balance, decide their worth. But what happens when the Yhprum’s Law is in full force, and almost every choice, despite a few hurdles, ends up for the greater good? You get Subash K Raj’s debut film, Blast, starring Arjun, Abhirami, and Preity Mukhundhan.
Sun, May 31 2026
A middle-class family full of Karate fighters. A Rs 7,000 crore mining project on the line. A corporate villain. And his assassin to get things done for him. When all these collide,you get a script with ample scope for a wild ride. Director Subash K Raj attempts an action-heavy thriller about a happy family that just wants to mind its own business. Blast, at a runtime of nearly two hours and 30 minutes, is a blend of multiple genres. At one point, it is about a middle-class family fighting to protect their peace. When Nila (Preity Mukundhan) is young, her father (Arjun Sarja) teaches her the most important lesson in life: stand up for the victim, even if they are not related to you. This, along with karate training from her father, makes her impossible to dislike.
Fri, May 29 2026
Subhash K Raj’s Blast is a movie that’s written for and around its high moments. It’s almost like Subhash knows how these moments will be received in the theatre, and he also understands the careful plotting and planning that’s required for them to land, once he allows them to. For this, he has figured out his own method to create a reasonably engaging action comedy around an idea that may have been too small, even for a short film.
Shape of Momo
Drama, Family (Nepali)
Bishnu returns to her Himalayan village after quitting her job, only to face mounting family pressures and societal expectations. As tensions rise with her pregnant sister's arrival and a budding relationship with a "suitable" boy from her community, Bishnu must choose between conforming to tradition or claiming her independence.
Cast:
Gaumaya Gurung, Pashupati Rai, Shyama Shree Sherpa, Rahul Nawach Mukhia, Janaki Kadayat, Sonam Bomzon, Bhanu Maya Rai
Director:
Tribeny Rai
Writer:
Kislay Kislay, Tribeny Rai
Sun, May 31 2026
Why would anyone name a cat Azaadi? Perhaps every time you call your companion animal by that name, you give voice to an ache to break free. At the heart of the Nepali-language film Shape of Momo is Bishnu’s (Gaumaya Gurung) tabby cat, named exactly that. Aazadi isn’t an animal protagonist so much as a metaphor for the film’s politics of gender. The family rues that they should have liked a tomcat instead because a female cat would keep having litters. While it’s a perfectly practical concern in a domestic setting, Tribeny Rai’s debut feature is also about a generational belief that a family is somehow incomplete without a son.
Sun, May 31 2026
Shape of Momo (Nepali title: Chhora Jastai), directed by Tribeny Rai, emerges as one of the most compelling independent films of the year. Set in the picturesque landscapes of Sikkim, this intimate coming-of-age drama explores themes of womanhood, identity, migration, family expectations, and personal freedom. In this review, critic Saibal Chatterjee examines how Rai crafts a powerful narrative about a young woman’s struggle to reconcile her evolving sense of self with the expectations of the community she once called home. First-time director Tribeny Rai’s Nepali-language Shape of Momo starts with a poem that the protagonist, a young woman who has quit her job in Delhi and retreated to her family home in Sikkim, recites, intoning each word with intent and clarity.
Sat, May 30 2026
The title of Tribeny Rai’s debut is a mild criticism. Bishnu (Gaumaya Gurung) can make momos, they even taste fine—but they look weird. It’s a running joke in the family. “No one would believe you’re from Sikkim,” her sister, Junu (Shyama Shree Sherpa), teases her. This doesn’t seem to bother Bishnu as much as what perfectly shaped momos symbolise for her—another annoying standard that women are supposed to live up to. As though in solidarity, the film around Bishnu is misshapen too. I don’t mean this in a negative sense. Most films aim for defined shapes of exposition, character motivation, narrative structure because it’s expected and safe. Shape of Momo has a looser, more introspective progression, which seems more representative of life in this quiet Sikkim village and the limbo Bishnu finds herself in.
The Mummy
Horror, Mystery (English)
The young daughter of a journalist disappears into the desert without a trace—eight years later, the broken family is shocked when she is returned to them, as what should be a joyful reunion turns into a living nightmare.
Cast:
Jack Reynor, Laia Costa, May Calamawy, Natalie Grace, Shylo Molina, Billie Roy, Veronica Falcón, Hayat Kamille, May Elghety, Emily Mitchell
Director:
Lee Cronin
Writer:
Lee Cronin
Sat, May 30 2026
எகிப்தின் கைரோவில் டிவி நிருபராக பணியாற்றுகிறார் சார்லி கேனன் (ஜேக் ரெய்னோர்). மனைவி லரிசா (லையா கோஸ்டா), மகள் மற்றும் மகனுடன் வாழ்ந்து வருகிறார். இதனிடையே ஒருநாள் வீட்டுத் தோட்டத்தில் விளையாடிக்கொண்டிருந்த மகள் கேட்டி காணாமல் போகிறாள். எங்குத் தேடியும் கிடைக்காத நிலையில், சார்லியின் குடும்பம் மெக்ஸிக்கோவுக்கு மாற்றலாகிறது. எட்டு வருடங்களுக்குப் பிறகு கேட்டி கிடைத்துவிட்டாள் என்ற செய்தி எகிப்திலிருந்து வருகிறது. ஆனால் இப்போதிருக்கும் கேட்டி சுயநினைவின்றி மனநலச் சிக்கலோடு இருக்கிறாள். உண்மையில் கேட்டிக்கு என்ன நடந்தது, அவளால் வரும் ஆபத்துகள் என்ன என்பதை ஹாரர் விருந்தாக முன்வைக்கிறது படம்.
The Great Grand Superhero: Aliens Ka Aagaman
Comedy, Family, Drama (Hindi)
Cast:
Jackie Shroff, Prateik Smita Patil, Bhagyashree, Mihir Godbole, Durgesh Kumar, Saharsh Kumar Shukla, Kumar Saurabh, Sharat Saxena, Tiger Shroff, Upendra Limaye
Director:
Manish Saini
Writer:
Manish Saini
All FCG reviews of The Great Grand Superhero: Aliens Ka Aagaman
Sat, May 30 2026
The greatest superpower of cinema is the ability to make us believe again. Jackie Shroff’s little summer adventure, The Great Grand Superhero: Aliens Ka Aagman doesn’t just ask us to believe in flying grandfathers or marauding aliens, it invites us to believe in something far more radical in these times of attention and trust deficit. The film tells us that a wrinkled, mischievous Dadaji can still be the mightiest hero in a child’s universe, and that childhood imagination isn’t childish — it’s the original superpower. Intelligent, imaginative, but lonely, young Dipu (Mihir Godbole is pitch-perfect) fabricates grand stories to win over new friends in new schools and new towns where his father gets transferred. In his script, his grandfather (Jackie Shroff) is a superhero who fights aliens. The tone is secretive, and Dipu limits the age group to under-18 because he perhaps knows his adventure will not pass the adult scrutiny.
Fri, May 29 2026
There’s a scene in The Great Grand Superhero: Aliens Ka Aagman where Jagdish alias Dadaji (Jackie Shroff) narrates what must be a superhero origin story. Dipu (Mihir Godbole), his grandson, is visibly appalled that the tale, however preposterous it may sound, contains no bombs, explosions, or gunfire. Of all things, it has orange candy. How ridiculous is that, asks the sharp kid, staring at his grandfather like a man completely out of touch with the times. The moment is amusing, but it also defines the spirit of Manish Saini’s film. In an era where children’s cinema has almost disappeared from theatres, replaced either by loud spectacle or violent and jingoistic content, The Great Grand Superhero arrives like a relic from another time. And yet, to call it “small” would be inaccurate.
Fri, May 29 2026
The Great Grand Superhero has one of the most charming setups in recent memory. The first half is funny, poignant, satirical and very inventive. It also has the best child actors since Stanley Ka Dabba, a film it shares an editor (Deepa Bhatia) and narrative spirit with. There’s a new mid-term admission in a small-town school; his name is Deepu (a pitch-perfect Mihir Godbole). Deepu is a clever student; he knows all the answers to all the teachers’ toughest questions. The other kids envy him and find him strange. He confesses to one of them that he’s “different” because his grandfather (Jackie Shroff) is — suspenseful drum beat — a superhero. It’s a secret, he says, that only kids below the age of 18 can know, otherwise the grand old man will lose his superpowers.
Passenger
Horror, Thriller (English)
After a young couple witnesses a gruesome highway accident, they soon realize they did not leave the crash scene alone, as a demonic presence called the Passenger that won't stop until it claims them both turns their van life adventure into a nightmare.
Cast:
Lou Llobell, Jacob Scipio, Melissa Leo, Joseph Lopez, Tony Doupe, Bonni Dichone, Devielle Johnson, Jessica Cruz, Miles Fowler, Alan Trong
Director:
André Øvredal
Writer:
T. W. Burgess, Zachary Donohue
Fri, May 29 2026
The wise woman Diane (Melissa Leo) who knows all about the things that can go wrong on the road advises Maddie (Lou Llobell) seriously: “People don’t take trips. Trips take people.” That’s just her way of saying that please avoid lonely, dark roads at night, and should you have to, never, ever stop. But by then, the road trip of Maddie and Tyler (Jacob Scipio) has put them in the path of a demonic being that is mythically known as Passenger (Joseph Lopez). Once he has latched on to you, for whatever reason, he travels with you, so to speak.
Kattalan
Action, Thriller (Malayalam)
Power-hungry forces clash in the Ivory cartel war-a fierce story of control, vengeance, and survival where compassion vanishes and only the ruthless endure.
Cast:
Antony Varghese, Sunil Varma, Dushara Vijayan, Jagadish, Kabir Duhan Singh, Parth Tiwari, Raj Tirandasu, Siddique, Anson Paul, Hanan Shaah
Director:
Paul George
Writer:
Paul George, Jero Jacob, Joby Varghese
Fri, May 29 2026
One can sit through something as intolerable as Kattalan only if one can invent some distraction. A possible diversion could be to keep a count of the humans and elephants killed during the film’s two-hour duration. But halfway through, you are bound to lose track as the killings are just too many, even in a single sequence, to get an accurate number. In the end, one realises that the biggest casualty of this relentless assault on the senses is neither humans nor elephants, but cinema itself. The dishonesty of it all is evident in how it treats its characters. To fill the emotional void at the centre of the film, one or two characters, like a physically challenged young girl, are introduced randomly and immediately turned into victims of some violent act, which would then set off some pathos-inducing background score. The writers are clearly not interested in these characters. They are deliberately using them for the film’s emotional impact and to underscore the need for revenge.
Fri, May 29 2026
First-time director Paul George’s Kattalan is what one may call a graphic novel movie. Almost all of its dialogues can be fit into two sides of an A4-sized page, and the effort that’s gone into it is only to re-create a storyboard that was made as a part of the film’s “writing”. As a film that follows the hyper-violent Marco in the same cinematic universe, Kattalan is a film that feels like it was forced to be made into a pan-Indian title. Apart from a handful of leads, almost the entire supporting cast is imported from all the other film industries of the country. Dialogues switch between Malayalam, broken Malayalam, Tamil, and English, and none of them delivers the impact it is meant to. And when they are not conveying plot points or exposition, Kattalan becomes home to some of the most pompous punchlines in all of our cinema.
Spider Noir
Action & Adventure, Crime, Mystery (English)
Ben Reilly, an aging and down on his luck private investigator in 1930s New York, is forced to grapple with his past life as the city's one and only superhero.
Cast:
Nicolas Cage, Lamorne Morris, Li Jun Li, Karen Rodriguez, Abraham Popoola, Jack Huston, Brendan Gleeson
Wed, May 27 2026
After voicing Spider-Man Noir in the Sony animated film Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse (2018), Nicolas Cage brings a version of the character to the small screen with Amazon Prime Video’s Spider-Noir. The Marvel and Sony co-production is part superhero saga and part classic noir. Interestingly, Spider Noir gives viewers the chance to see the show both in colour and black and white, which can also change perspective on the story. Developed by Oren Uziel, Spider Noir is a character portrait of a broken-down man named Ben Reilly who rises to the occasion when really required. The ongoing mystery woven in the narrative also keeps audiences engaged.
Tuner
Crime, Thriller (English)
A talented piano tuner's life is turned upside down when he discovers that his meticulous skills for tuning pianos can equally be applied to cracking safes.
Cast:
Leo Woodall, Havana Rose Liu, Lior Raz, Tovah Feldshuh, Jean Reno, Dustin Hoffman, Jonnie Park, Jean Yoon, C.S. Lee, Gil Cohen
Director:
Daniel Roher
Mon, May 25 2026
Paraphrasing Billy Joel’s Piano Man, if you’all in the mood for a melody, this film has got you feelin’ alright. Seemingly discordant storylines are strung together into a pleasing whole by director-co-writer Daniel Roher (who won an Oscar for his Navalny documentary), largely due to the effortless charm of its cast. Leo Woodall is Niki, a piano prodigy who now tunes pianos for a living, having developed a hearing condition that has left him allergic to loud sounds. Two years of therapy, of being kept in a dark room, means he can just about get around the world of noise via ear plugs and noise-cutting headphones. Dustin Hoffman is Harry, a piano player of some repute and a friend of Niki’s late dad, who runs the piano tuning and fixing company where Niki works. The film begins with their effortless banter as Harry trades his wisdom and tricks with his beloved Niki, and tries to evade the sharp eyes of his wife Marla (the unmissable Tovah Feldshuh) who is worried for his failing health.
Drishyam 3
Crime, Drama, Thriller (Malayalam)
To protect his family and their dark secret, Georgekutty faces an organized new threat. As walls close in and cracks widen, how much more is he willing to sacrifice ?
Cast:
Mohanlal, Meena, Siddique, Asha Sarath, Murali Gopy, Ansiba Hassan, Esther Anil, Veena Nandakumar, K. B. Ganesh Kumar, Santhi Mayadevi
Director:
Jeethu Joseph
Mon, May 25 2026
“Everything is planned…” When Ajnabee had Bobby Deol exposing Akshay Kumar in a corny yet wildly entertaining climax, we watched with amusement while tapping our feet to an infectious Anu Malik tune. It was never meant to feel intelligent. The same planning by a sharp-minded person made the Malayalam film Drishyam a national sensation. Georgekutty (Mohanlal) put Malayalam cinema on the national movie map, perhaps for the first time in history. Shockingly enough, Drishyam 3, the sequel to Drishyam 2, finds its tension in spontaneity and unpredictability, not foolproof planning. The question is: are we ready for this version of Georgekutty?
Fri, May 22 2026
Fri, May 22 2026
System
Thriller (Hindi)
When Neha Rajvansh, a privileged public prosecutor, meets Sarika Rawat, a courtroom stenographer from a humble background, their lives are thrown into upheaval where power defines truth, blurring the system and raising a question of what justice truly means to them.
Cast:
Sonakshi Sinha, Jyothika, Ashutosh Gowariker, Adinath Kothare, Aashriya Mishra, Gaurav Pandey, Sayandeep Gupta, Preeti Agarwal Mehta, Vijayant Kohli, Diwanshu Gambhir
Director:
Ashwiny Iyer Tiwari
Writer:
Arun Sukumar, Harman Baweja, Ashwiny Iyer Tiwari, Tasneem Lokhandwala
Sat, May 23 2026
I was trying to keep an open mind about Ashwiny Iyer Tiwari’s System when Neha (Sonakshi Sinha) says, “Uski vibe hamesha off thhi par woh murderer type kabhi nahi laga.” And that was that. I don’t expect every lawyer to speak in iambic pentameter or quote Thomas Cromwell. I do, however, feel it’s not unreasonable to have a protagonist in a legal drama—one who’s trying hard to prove she’s not a lightweight—speak like a professional and not some millennial at brunch. Neha is a public prosecutor, though she’d rather not be. She doesn’t like the sweaty courts, the desperate cases, the grind, her boss. She’s also not particularly competent. The first time we see her in court, the judge explains that she needs to prove the accused actually committed the crime, not that he might have—and she looks shocked. So when her famous lawyer father, Ravi Rajvansh (Ashutosh Gowariker), makes her a deal—win 10 cases in a row and join my practice—it feels like a little exercise in humility, or humiliation.
Sat, May 23 2026
Director Ashwini Iyer Tiwari has been making films for over a decade. And yet, nothing gives away her lack of assurance more than her choice of background score. Iyer Tiwari’s style is what I like to describe as having soap-opera coherence (my mother is a huge fan of these films, which are technically proficient, but ideologically axiomatic). If the choice was ever between thought-provoking and manipulating tears, she overwhelmingly leans towards the latter. Having made films with noble (sometimes, even sweet) through lines, like a mother re (Nil Battey Sannata), or a woman making a comeback to professional sports after a prolonged sabbatical (Panga) – Iyer Tiwari’s films often find its underdogs in women. But there’s also a lack of rigour in her ideas curdling the simple into gratingly simplistic.
Sat, May 23 2026
Another week, another commentary on uncomfortable societal truths packaged in the form of a mystery where solid performances and subtext are marred by predictable beats. At first glance, Ashwiny Iyer Tiwari’s System masquerades as a legal thriller, but beneath its polished exterior, it promises to lay bare the facade of institutional neutrality. It positions the courtroom not as a temple of justice, but as a theatre of social stratification where truth is a manufactured commodity. The narrative (penned by Arun Sukumar, Harman Baweja, and Akshat Ghildial) forces a meta-textual collision. Neha Rajvansh (Sonakshi Sinha), a public prosecutor fighting the suffocating shadow of her iconic legal patriarch (Ashutosh Gowarikar), is subtly challenged from the margins by Sarika (Jyotika), a humble yet resilient stenographer who weaponises the very bureaucratic machinery designed to keep her invisible.
Chand Mera Dil
Romance, Drama (Hindi)
Aarav and Chandni's passionate college romance is struck by adulthood far too soon, forcing the two young lovers to balance their ambitions with responsibility and realize the evolved meaning of love.
Cast:
Ananya Panday, Lakshya Lalwani, Aastha Singh, Elvis Jose, Paresh Pahuja, Manish Chaudhary, Iravati Harshe, Charu Shankar, Atul Kumar, Akhil Kaimal
Director:
Vivek Soni
Sat, May 23 2026
Aarav (Lakshya) and his wife, Chandni (Ananya Panday), are cracking under the strain of caring for a newborn. Their frustrations boil over into an ugly yelling match. Aarav grabs her face. He’s motionless for a few seconds, then backs away, mortified. She runs into the other room and balls up in a corner, shaking in shock as he begs her to open the door. The moment when Aarav grabs Chandni is in the film’s trailer. I think it’s there because Dharma doesn’t mind giving the impression that this will be an ‘intense’ love story in the key of Sandeep Vanga or the Anand L Rai/Dhanush collaborations. Yet, Chand Mera Dil is nothing like those films, treating the brief physical contact with utter seriousness. Aarav is immediately contrite, but it doesn’t matter. The entire story turns on this moment. PSA films like Thappad are lauded for presenting characters who won’t stand for any kind of abuse, but Chand Mera Dil is equally steadfast without resorting to moral grandstanding.
Sat, May 23 2026
When the end is obvious with a title that gives away where the hero is headed, writer-director Vivek Soni’s screenplay should’ve been dramatically different, offering an unseen experience at every major turn. Let’s check how he goes about it. It’s one long predictable flashback to Hyderabad where Chandni (Ananya Panday) and Aarav (Lakshya) are engineering students, both brilliant. There’s a fresh touch to the attraction where they twin every day, wearing the same colour, without a word exchanged between them. Until Chandni takes the first step. So far, rather nice. The good is that there is definite chemistry between Chandni and Aarav, leading to relatable intimacy.
Sat, May 23 2026
“The course of true love never did run smooth,” said William Shakespeare. And in an average Hindi film, it often is too tortuous, if not torturous. ‘Chand Mera Dil’, the title, promises a film high on the gossamer shades of romance. Only, as the film opens, for a long time, the only shades you see are the matching colours of our hero and heroine’s outfits. Love-struck Aarav (Lakshya Lalwani) starts twinning with Chandni (Ananya Panday). Obviously, his outfit shade card — ranging from neon and fluorescent yellow to pinks — not only matches her clothes but catches her attention too.