Sun, April 27 2025

Ground Zero is an action thriller about Indian Armed Forces’ hunt to eliminate the dreaded terrorist Ghazi Baba. Ghazi was responsible for not only ending dozens of innocent lives, but he also masterminded the outrageous terrorist attack on the Indian Parliament in 2001 that left multiple security personnel dead. Let’s dive into the ending of Ground Zero, which is explained here, its plot, cast, release date, and more. The movie stars Emraan Hashmi as a Border Security Force (BSF) officer Narendra Nath Dhar Dubey. A real person, Dubey was the man who led an anti-terror operation against Ghazi. The said operation ended with Ghazi and his associates’ deaths but also casualties on the BSF side.

Continue reading …

Sat, April 26 2025

‘Ground Zero’ is sober and sympathetic to a degree. But its view of Kashmir is ultimately blinkered and reductive

Narendra Dubey (Emraan Hashmi) is getting his daughter ready for school. She’s reluctant to go; the ‘gun waale bhaiyya’ on the bus is scary, she says. Who would you rather have on the bus, her father asks with a smile. Santa Claus, the girl immediately replies. Later, when Narendra, the BSF’s top man in Srinagar, is asked why he risks his life, he says he hopes to fulfil this wish of his daughter’s. Tejas Prabha Vijay Deoskar’s Ground Zero opens its eyes—but only a little. It recognises that a child heading out every day with an armed soldier is scarring. Fair enough. But that girl, young though she is, must have some idea that the gun is there for her protection. Similarly, there must be a child in her class who sees the same guns every day. Even if, in her short life, they haven’t been pointed at her, she must instinctively know that they might be one day. This child Ground Zero doesn’t want to contemplate.

Continue reading …

Sat, April 26 2025

It is impossible to watch this film set in Kashmir without keeping in the mind the tragedy that unfolded in Pahalgam, a couple of days ago. Ground Zero, which draws inspiration from the valor of BSF officer Narendra Nath Dhar Dubey, is set within the context of the Kashmir conflict, albeit during a different period.

Continue reading …

Sat, April 26 2025

Robots, Dinosaurs, its got it all

Crayon Shin-chan The Movie; Our Dinosaur Diary released in 2024 in Japan and became one of the highest grossing movies of the year. The film is all set to release in India on May 9 in several dubs including Hindi which essentially has been childhood for several generations. The film brings back every character imaginable from the series back to the big screen with Avengers like event, major villains, and emotional arc with a message for young audience. The film beings with Shin Chan getting ready to celebrate summer vacation, but Nohara family’s fans to go to the beach are cancelled. Shin Chan’s dad is called to office, and it leaves him with the option to go out and play with his friends. The family is seen going through its usual tasks, Shiro is seen taking care of himself, Mrs Nohara taking care of Shin Chan’s dad and Himawari. Shin Chan decides to step out with the gang and go to the park, meanwhile, the country is getting ready to welcome Dinosaurs back to civilization in an island park.

Continue reading …

Sat, April 26 2025

Jaaji gets married to Dushyanta, the youngest son in a joint family that’s guarding a mystery, in return for a 5-acre property. Right on the day she enters her in-laws’ house, her father-in-law is found dead. Her brother-in-law Mahesha has strange visions about his ex-wife Pushpavati. Over time, Jaaji realises that the house harbours secrets that could destroy her peace. The show largely rests on Kushee Ravi’s steady shoulders. She carries the drama with a convincing performance as a confused daughter-in-law trying to uncover the secrets of a strange and eerie family. It’s clear she has grown as an actor since her Dia days, and it’s heartening to see a new side to her talent. Manasi Sudhir also stands out, bringing strength and a strong screen presence to her role.

Continue reading …

Sat, April 26 2025

There are more than a few kinks that need to be straightened out, but full points to Sundar C for giving Tamil cinema its Vadivelu back.

Sundar C is a rather enigmatic filmmaker who understands the kind of nuanced conversations around cinema on social media, and still makes a film that would invariably be contentious in such a space. In fact, in a recent interview, Sundar C said that his films don’t have a lot of bloodshed, voyeuristic camera angles, double-meaning dialogues, and glamour for the sake of it. But then, Gangers is like an antithesis to his belief system as the film has bloodshed, voyeuristic camera angles, double-meaning dialogues, glamour for the sake of it, and… oodles of humour that salvages the film whenever it dips into unsavoury territories.

Continue reading …

Fri, April 25 2025

With only sporadic laughs, Gangers is a predictable and dull affair as Sundar C and Vadivelu fail to reclaim their old glory.

There’s an explanation for the weird title Gangers when a character wonders isn’t ‘Gangster’ the right term to use. Vadivelu as Singaram goes, “That’s an old term. This is for a change." Thus, the title ends up being the unique thing about Gangers, which is a reiteration of many such comedy dramas of Tamil. It isn’t unusual that Sundar C has stuck to a template yet again with Gangers. But the problem here is that the film has nothing else going for itself other than the template. Scenes cruise through checking all the usual boxes, following all the cliches with complete nonchalance, revealing a half-hearted effort in the writing and direction. The expectations, if any, about the collaboration of the hit duo Sundar C and Vadivelu after years, quickly turn into disappointments as the duo fails to recreate their past glory.

Continue reading …

Fri, April 25 2025

The veteran comedian Vadivelu returns to form in Sundar C’s heist comedy that fails to play to its strengths and suffers from an identity crisis

Two clips from recent promotional interviews went viral for the most ironic reasons. A Telugu producer asserted that there’s no nepotism in their film industry, and closer home, Sundar C, while promoting his movie Gangers, said his films never have double-meaning dialogues or suggestive sequences. Of course, netizens called it out and had a field day on social media. In fact, that is one of a few more concerns that plague Gangers, a rudimentary heist comedy almost rescued by the back-in-form legendary comedian Vadivelu. Veteran filmmaker Sundar C’s films are known for their simple plots, and Gangers is no different. The film is a mishmash of several ideas and templates we have gotten accustomed to — some from the director’s yesteryear hits. When a schoolgirl goes missing, her teacher, Sujitha (Catherine Tresa), takes it up and gets an undercover cop to serve as a teacher. Meanwhile, Saravanan (Sundar C) lands up in town as the new PET teacher for a school where Singaram (Vadivelu) holds the same position and has an eye for Sujitha. Is Saravanan the appointed cop? What’s the correlation between the teachers and the local gangsters masquerading as bigwigs? What are the films these plot points remind you of?…

Continue reading …

Sat, April 26 2025

With the strength of the film seemingly lying in comedy, the detours into emotional zones, and some serious zones are distracting at best, and infuriating at their worst.

The first time you meet Yoshinori Tashiro in Shiva’s latest film, Sumo, he is wearing a mawashi, the outfit worn by Sumo wrestlers. Apparently, he washed up the shores of Chennai, and has the mental makeup of a 1.5-year-old child. And somehow, that means, the wrestler’s only focus is to satiate his tremendous appetite. He finds an immediate connection with Shiva (Shiva) because… well, you need a reason for the movie to move on, and they didn’t find anything else to do. Willing suspension of disbelief, anyone? After this point, we are asked to willingly suspend our disbelief on multiple occasions, and we would have done exactly that if the film didn’t abruptly shift tones in every second scene to thrust a sense of reality in the world of absurdity.

Continue reading …

Sat, April 26 2025

After making three franchise films in a row, Ryan Coogler sinks his teeth into weighty themes with his gloriously vengeful vampire thriller.

When Edgar Wright dropped out of directing the first Ant-Man movie for Marvel, pretty much everybody agreed that it was for the best. He ended up making the wholly original Baby Driver instead. Ditto for Ava DuVernay, who passed on directing Black Panther for the studio. They went with Ryan Coogler, who delivered a true cultural touchstone; Black Panther became the first superhero movie to earn a Best Picture nod at the Oscars and catapulted Coogler into a club normally restricted to white visionaries such as Steven Spielberg and Christopher Nolan. But it seems like Coogler always knew that the invite was conditional; while his white counterparts could go on to do whatever they wanted next, as a Black filmmaker with one blockbuster under his belt, he’d have to provide further proof of his capacity to comply — a guarantee, if you will, before he could be allowed to make something as audacious as his fifth feature, Sinners.

Continue reading …

Tue, April 22 2025

Coogler compresses centuries' worth of the Black experience into a beautifully pulpy and poignant 137-minute motion picture about one wild night at a barrelhouse, bloodthirsty vampires — and music.

SINNERS stars Michael B Jordan as identical Black twins Smoke and Stack, who return to their hometown in 1930s Mississippi. It’s been 7 years, and their loaded backstory — a troubled childhood with a violent father; a World War I stint and plenty of PTSD; a brief return only to have their lives upended by tragedy; an escape to big city Chicago and an entry into the Al Capone gangster universe — bleeds into this film. None of it is shown, but every moment bristles with the unresolved baggage of history. Smoke’s reunion with his estranged wife, and occult ritualist Annie. Stack’s reunion with his white ex-girlfriend Mary. The brothers using their Chicago “blood money” to buy an abandoned sawmill from a former Klansman; their ‘recruitment’ of old friends to turn the sawmill into a rocking juke joint. A fleeting argument where Stack accuses Smoke of letting Annie “again” come between the brothers.

Continue reading …

Sun, April 20 2025

Sat, April 26 2025

Its funny, scary and wholesome

The film begins with a flashback of a small lost bear who goes missing after chasing an orange and falling into a river. But the story begins with Paddington receiving his British passport. To celebrate, he writes a letter to his aunt Lucy about how the city and the Browns have changed since the last time they met. He talks about how the kids have grown up while the parents are hoping to spend more time with each other. Despite the changes and the world growing apart, Paddington still enjoys his life in London. He soon finds out that his aunt has been in bad health from the mother reverend at the home for retired bears. Worried for her, Paddington decides to go to Peri to check on her, and the family agrees to join him. With the new passport and Mr. Brown’s new boss urging him to take risks, the family takes the risk to spend more time together before the kids start their separate lives at college. The trip isn’t as easy as they expected it to be, as after landing in Peru, they find out Aunt Lucy has gone missing.

Continue reading …

Sat, April 26 2025

Star Wars for Adults

Andor returned for season 2 earlier this week with the bleak future for the Rebels and the Empire. The show explores the political implications of the war between the Empire and the Rebels as they struggle to take hold on the galaxy. Instead of the usual good verses evil, the series explores a more deeper look into what went down as we see the personal journey of some Rebels, different versions of Rebels as well as the proceedings of how the Empire began to take control of the senate. The season beings with one end goal in mind, aka the Battle of Yavin. Beginning 4 years before the battle, the show follows the course of actions that lead to the establishment of rebel forces on Yavin and the consequences of Empire’s growing power across the galaxy. While some Senators are seen fighting for the rights of the people, other are seen working with the Empire to save their backs. Meanwhile different wars brew across the galaxy, with rebels taking charge on different planets to fight against the Empire.

Continue reading …

Thu, April 24 2025

It’s not hyperbole to call Andor the best Star Wars series. Since the franchise has shifted to web series, Tony Gilroy’s prequel saga is the richest telling from the galaxy, as it explores themes and arcs that seem far, far away but are more timely than one can imagine. Led by a fantastic ensemble cast, Andor Season 2 is a wonderful return to form for the franchise as the series hurtles towards the events of the feature film Rogue One (2016). Picking up one year later, Bix (Adria Arjona) and Cassian (Diego Luna) have long left Ferrix, but there are new battles to fight. Senator Mon Mothma (Genevieve O’Reilly) prepares for the wedding of her teenage daughter while dealing with unexpected hitches in her secret fight against the Empire. Dedra (Denise Gough) and Syril (Kyle Soller) meet his mother, while Rogue One’s Orson Krennic (Ben Mendelsohn) presents a disturbing plan to a select few. There are several plots bubbling, and each one leads us to the inevitable mission from the film.

Continue reading …

Sat, April 26 2025

Impressive plot and characters

One of the biggest releases in animation has reached the Indian shores. The film is the second installment in its series title Ne Zha. Set in a fantasy world, it follows a spirit core and demon core that have been born into children and have to go on long tendinous journey to discover themselves. The sequel explores their story as they have already been accepted by their surrounding but still have more inner acceptable to go through. Ne Zha 2 begins with both Ne Zha and Ao Bing getting their own bodies from the gifted seven coloured lotus. However, before Ao’s body is able to take full form he is forced to use his powers to defend Chentang Pass from his father’s wrath. Ne Zha promises to bring back an elixir to revive the lotus and make a new body for him. But his demon core would not let him enter the spirit world to win the elixir in a competition. Ne Zha and Ao Bing then decide to share their bodies to win the elixir.

Continue reading …

Sat, April 26 2025

Josh Hartnett stars as a mercenary tasked with tracking down a high-value target aboard a flight full of assassins, in a by-the-numbers action movie with a distinct 'Direct-to-DVD' vibe.

The thing about movies that are easy to pitch is that they’re also highly unoriginal. You could imagine the writers of Fight or Flight strolling into an executive’s office and giving them an animated breakdown of the story, describing it as ‘Speed meets Bullet Train’, and promptly being given a green light. Directed by James Madigan and starring Josh Hartnett, Fight or Flight borrows liberally from B-movies past, struggling and failing to come up with something novel. It isn’t a long movie, but it doesn’t feel as short as its 90-minute run-time might suggest either. Hartnett plays Lucas Reyes, a mercenary who is hiding out in Bangkok after a job gone wrong. He is awoken from a liquor-induced slumber one morning by his ex, who operates some sort of shady organisation dedicated to world peace or something. Lucas is instructed to hightail it to the airport and board a flight bound for San Francisco. Aboard the flight is a mysterious, high-value target known only as ‘The Ghost’. Needless to say, Lucas isn’t the only person after them.

Continue reading …

Fri, April 25 2025

Priyadarshi and Vennela Kishore shine in director Mohanakrishna Indraganti’s latest, an entertaining blend of social satire and screwball comedy

Oscar Wilde’s semi-comic tale Lord Arthur Savile’s Crime, published in 1891, follows an aristocrat’s absurd efforts to commit a murder before marrying his fiancée — purely because a palm reader foretells it as his destiny. Writer-director Mohanakrishna Indraganti reimagines this premise within the framework of a contemporary Telugu household, weaving in sharp social commentary, reflections on the film industry and social media culture, while also tipping his hat to the comedic sensibilities of Telugu and Tamil cinema greats like Jandhyala and ‘Crazy’ Mohan. It may sound like a lot to pack in — but Sarangapani Jathakam is a surprisingly smooth blend of social satire and screwball comedy, anchored by an excellent cast, particularly Priyadarshi Pulikonda and Vennela Kishore.

Continue reading …

Fri, April 25 2025

Unless you are fascinated by the time loop as a theme, you can afford to escape this one. It's campy and unscary.

A year after her sister Melanie goes missing under mysterious circumstances, Clover (Ella Rubin) and her friends decide to trace her journey. This leads them to an abandoned house in Glore valley, where an hourglass sand timer decides their fate. As the clock starts ticking, each one is haunted and slaughtered by a masked killer. However, as time passes, they are resurrected and made to relive the evening that seals their death. They are horrified to discover that they will be killed over and over again until they find a way to survive the night and escape this death loop.

Continue reading …