Sachin Chatte

It may be a brand-new day in Spider-Man’s life, but he is still doing more or less what he has always done—swinging off buildings, fighting crime, nursing a broken heart and grappling with an identity crisis. The last two may be relatively new, but the core remains unchanged. Marvel Studios entrusted Destin Daniel Cretton, the director of the remarkable indie Short Term 12 (2013), with bringing a more human touch to the web-slinger, and that is perhaps the film’s only real novelty.

Jan Neta (originally Jan Nayagan in Tamil) is actor-turned-Chief Minister Vijay’s swan song. It’s journey to the screen has been almost as dramatic as the film itself, with controversies involving piracy, the censor board and even the courts. After prolonged delays, what is billed as Vijay’s farewell to cinema now that he has taken a full-time plunge into politics, has finally reached theatres. Leaving fandom aside, however, Jan Neta is an endurance test. Like many Indian mainstream entertainers, it desperately wants to be socially responsible while simultaneously allowing its hero to flatten several dozen villains—preferably in slow motion. Directed by H. Vinoth, the film demands unwavering devotion from Vijay fans. Everyone else may find themselves frequently checking their watches.

A Christopher Nolan film is always a reason for that extra excitement for any cinema buff. If Billy Wilder famously wondered, “How would Lubitsch do it?”, film lovers today often find themselves asking, “How would Nolan do it?” Whether it is space travel or a biopic about the scientist who created the most destructive weapon known to mankind, Nolan brings his own unique vision to storytelling. What makes his films special is the way he crafts them, using every cinematic tool at his disposal. In fact, he constantly pushes the boundaries of the medium.

The Dhamaal franchise is now almost twenty years old — which is quite an achievement for a series built on a storyline thinner than a Bollywood hero’s patience before the interval. The makers managed to squeeze out two films in the early years (2007 and 2011), but when fresh ideas became as rare as logic in a slapstick comedy, the obvious solution was simple: recycle the old ones.

The benchmark for the YRF Spy Universe isn’t particularly high, especially after the War films. So it comes as a pleasant surprise to find a taut, breezy action thriller that doesn’t waste time dwelling on unnecessary detours. For starters, this is a completely romance-free enterprise, and that itself is a rarity in mainstream Hindi cinema. There are no mandatory love songs shot in exotic locations or forced romantic subplots. In fact, there are only a couple of songs, and for the most part, the film moves at a brisk pace.

The third instalment in the Welcome franchise is called Welcome to the Jungle—but it is so mangled that it will make you yearn for some semblance of sanity. There is nothing wrong with lightweight, silly comedies, but there is a thin line between being delightfully goofy and descending into complete absurdity. Forget crossing that line—director Ahmed Khan’s film starts there, ends there, and keeps you trapped there for nearly three hours.

Few films are as devastating as Kaouther Ben Hania’s Oscar-nominated and highly acclaimed The Voice of Hind Rajab — and that is partly because few stories are as tragic and gut-wrenching as this one. The film was held up by India’s censor board before finally releasing here, despite containing no onscreen violence — zero, zilch.

There is no delicate way to put this: Cocktail 2 boasts one of the most ludicrous stories I have encountered in recent memory. A spiritual sequel to Cocktail (2012), the film ostensibly wants to discuss modern relationships, commitment issues and the institution of marriage. Unfortunately, it takes such a circuitous route to get there that it makes a GPS with no signal look reliable.