Maranamass
Comedy, Drama (Malayalam)
Maranamass is the story of a serial killer similar to Ripper Chandran, who is terrorizing a city. But unexpectedly, the killer, the target, a girl, her lover and others end up in a night bus and dramatic events unfold leading (more…)
Good Bad Ugly
Action, Crime, Comedy (Tamil)
A once powerful gangster is forced to face his former enemies, when his son finds himself in danger. (more…)
Guild Reviews
Black Mirror S07
Sci-Fi & Fantasy, Drama, Mystery (English)
Twisted tales run wild in this mind-bending anthology series that reveals humanity's worst traits, greatest innovations and more.
Fri, April 18 2025
Government Cheese
Drama, Comedy (English)
When Hampton is released from prison, his long-awaited family reunion doesn't quite go as he hoped. In his absence, Hampton's wife and sons formed an unconventional family unit, and his return spins their world into chaos.
Cast:
David Oyelowo, Simone Missick, Jahi Di'Allo Winston, Evan Ellison, Bokeem Woodbine, Jeremy Bobb, Louis Cancelmi, Adam Beach, Mykelti Williamson
David Oyelowo Starrer Struggles To Maintain Narrative And Tone
Wed, April 16 2025
The new Apple TV+ series Government Cheese is billed as a family comedy but veers into deep drama at times as well. Set in 1960s California, the surreal comedy never seems too sure about its initial premise and veers all over the place. David Oyelowo is the cheerful protagonist and former felon who is ready to do everything to get things back to where they were with his family. However, his criminal past can never quite escape him. The meandering dramedy pushes off strong but loses itself as more characters are introduced. Oyelowo is Hampton Chambers, a check forger sentenced to the Chino State Prison, who is let out early with certain conditions. His family, wife Astoria (Simone Missick), and sons, Einstein (Evan Ellison) and Harrison (Jahi Di’Allo Winston), have all moved on in his absence, and Hampton struggles to form their bond again. Working to launch his new handyman invention and pay off the local crime family to whom he owes a debt, Hampton falls deeper into chaos.
Warfare
War, Action (English)
A platoon of American Navy SEALs in the home of an Iraqi family overwatches the movement of US forces through insurgent territory.
Cast:
D'Pharaoh Woon-A-Tai, Cosmo Jarvis, Will Poulter, Charles Melton, Joseph Quinn, Kit Connor, Taylor John Smith, Michael Gandolfini, Adain Bradley, Noah Centineo
Director:
Ray Mendoza, Alex Garland
Writer:
Alex Garland, Ray Mendoza
Feels Like a Sobering Admission of America’s Futile, Bloody Invasion of Iraq
Tue, April 15 2025
t’s curious how all the prestige around Hollywood war films – lucrative, quasi-recruitment videos and vanity projects for young actors – was punctured by one joke. More than a decade ago, comedian Frankie Boyle said in a set – “Not only will America go to your country and kill all your people – but what’s worse is, 20 years later, they’ll make a movie about how killing your people made their soldiers very sad.” It’s a stinging line that rightfully sullied the stock character of the haunted American war veteran. Especially, when such films didn’t show similar sensitivity towards the broad-stroked, faceless ‘jihadis’ and innocent civilians, whose lives are boiled down to just being ‘collateral damage’ before the eventual triumph of the American military. What was once a sure shot for an Oscar nomination – through films like Saving Private Ryan (1998), Black Hawk Down (2002), The Hurt Locker (2007) – has now become a relatively more introspective and self-reflective genre, with even filmmakers like Michael Bay making an effort to assess the problematic presence of America in a foreign land, without glorifying their soldiers.
Deeply unnerving and immersive, warfare is filmmaking at its finest
Sat, April 12 2025
After Adolescence’s single take technical brilliance, Warfare’s impeccable sound design, intense storytelling, cinematography and atmospherics will leave you shaken. There is no music, the enemies are barely shown and the entire film is shot at one location. This no-frills innovative approach creates a film so immersive, terrifying and gripping that you want to be evacuated, let alone have popcorn or coffee! Alex Garland’s spectacular war movie can be classified as horror for its edge of the seat, relentless and raw onslaught of terror. He leaves you no room to relax or catch a breath. It strips off the glamour and chest-thumping heroism of war films to give you the real picture. There’s also brotherhood and empathy, surfacing when there’s no expectation. Warfare is a technical masterpiece that never overlooks human emotion and horrors of war. This one’s bound to blow your mind.
The Last of Us S02
Drama (English)
Twenty years after modern civilization has been destroyed, Joel, a hardened survivor, is hired to smuggle Ellie, a 14-year-old girl, out of an oppressive quarantine zone. What starts as a small job soon becomes a brutal, heartbreaking journey, as they both must traverse the United States and depend on each other for survival.
Cast:
Pedro Pascal, Bella Ramsey, Gabriel Luna, Isabela Merced, Young Mazino
Tue, April 15 2025
The post-apocalyptic drama The Last of Us instantly became a global hit after its release in 2023 on HBO. Based on the enormously popular game, which sees players take on character perspectives, the series returns with a darker tone and new conflicts. The first episode reintroduces viewers to the story while taking the story down a dangerous path that could expose several characters. Co-created by Craig Mazin and Neil Druckmann, The Last of Us Season 2 wastes no time in getting hooked in again. Returning with a five-year jump, the show picks up with an estranged Joel (Pedro Pascal) and Ellie (Bella Ramsey) adjusting to life in Jackson, Wyoming, and integrating within the community there. Within the safe haven, there are lots of little conflicts while other threats seem to be on the horizon. The premiere episode is set around New Year’s Eve 2029, which should indicate promise but instead holds foreboding for the residents of the tight-knit community seeking a peaceful life away from the pandemic and the zombie clickers infecting the rest of the world.
Maranamass
Comedy, Drama (Malayalam)
Maranamass is the story of a serial killer similar to Ripper Chandran, who is terrorizing a city. But unexpectedly, the killer, the target, a girl, her lover and others end up in a night bus and dramatic events unfold leading to the unique climax with many surprises
Cast:
Basil Joseph, Siju Sunny, Rajesh Madhavan, Suresh Krishna, Babu Antony, Anishma Anilkumar, Pooja Mohanraj, Joemon Jyothir, Jeo Baby, Puliyanam Poulose
Director:
Sivaprasad
Writer:
Siju Sunny, Sivaprasad
A few doses of ingenuity and a mix of idiosyncratic characters drive this film
Sun, April 13 2025
Cinema has for long provided an endless supply of content for social media memes, but the flow appears to have reversed in recent years. First came the influencers with their massive online reach, bagging noticeable roles. Now, viral online content has begun seeping into screenplays, to elicit easy applause. For instance, in debutant Sivaprasad’s Maranamass, co-written with Siju Sunny, Suresh Krishna’s recent online image as the “convincing star” is used to the hilt in one of the many humorous passages in the film. This “memeification” of screenplays is not necessarily a bad thing, especially in cases where it works like a charm. Incidentally, at the centre of Maranamass is Luke (Basil Joseph), a popular YouTuber and a self-proclaimed ‘sigma male,’ who has become a headache to the people in his neighbourhood owing to his public-spirited actions, like sticking wall posters of the panchayat president’s Internet search history or putting the local police station on sale to convey a point to the idle police officers. So it is not a surprise that when a series of killings of senior citizens takes place, the needle of suspicion points towards him.
Basil Joseph leads an effective ensemble in this dark comedy with both hits and misses
Sat, April 12 2025
Serial killer films are mosty about unmasking the killer and unravelling the reason behind the killings. And then there are films where you know the killer’s identity right from the first scene, and it is all about how they are brought to justice. And then there is Sivaprasad’s Maranamass which tells us about the killer, his modus operandi, and his targets. There is no ‘surprise’ in what happens in the life of this serial killer who has a method to his madness of stuffing a banana in the mouth of his victims. Of course, the identity of the serial killer, played to perfection by Rajesh Madhavan, is known to the audience, and yet… we are invested in what happens. Why? Because the makers of Maranamass fill the narrative with eclectic characters who have individual arcs, and quirks.
Basil Joseph's film is a treasure trove of absurd comedy
Fri, April 11 2025
Dark comedy is a tricky genre that could yield results both ways. The film can turn out insanely funny, or it can fall flat on its face. Of late, there are a lot of dark comedies coming from South. Director Sivaprasad’s ‘Maranamass’ is an addition to the dark comedy genre with Basil Joseph at its core. Basil, who is on a golden run with multiple hits to his credit, picks up Maranamass, elevates it and proves why he is the one to watch out for. A serial killer, known as the banana killer because of his signature move, has murdered three elderly men in a village in Kerala. The police are naturally inclined to suspect Luke PP (Basil Joseph) as the one, courtesy his off-beat character. From burning a school staff room to leaking the search history of a politician, he is the ‘destructive’ force in the village. Luke is in love with Jessie (Anishma Anikumar). But, Jessie is unimpressed with him and has broken up with him.
Chhorii 2
Horror, Drama (Hindi)
Sakshi must rescue her seven year old daughter from being sacrificed by an evil cult to satisfy their resident leader, while fighting societal superstitions and the horror that continues to haunt her and young women around her.
Cast:
Nushrratt Bharuccha, Soha Ali Khan, Pallavi Patil, Saurabh Goyal, Shyam Gopal, Kuldeep Sareen, Hardika Sharma
Director:
Vishal Furia
Writer:
Ajit Jagtap, Vishal Furia, Divya Prakash Dubey
A Painfully Literal Take On Feminism
Sat, April 12 2025
If there is a perfect audience for a horror film, I’d like to believe it is me. This is not false bravado but an honest confession. Bring in someone with green eyes, throw in a jump scare, pull someone from under the bed, and you will see me scream my lungs out. I am always scared and always jumpy. I am the reason that other people, those not scared in the least, are rattled because I make my fear everyone’s business. And yet, Vishal Furia’s Chhorii 2, Vishal Furia’s sequel to his 2021 film, left me disinterested, unscared and, worse, bored. In the last couple of years, there has been a resurgence of the horror genre, except that the effect is softened by comedy. Horror comedy, the consequent hybrid result, has in turn evolved into a commercial goldmine. The context is important because Furia does not give in despite obvious temptations. He remains admirably focused and crafts Chhorii 2 in the same world as Chhorii. Except even the latter, a remake of his 2017 Marathi film Lapachhapi, was not effective to begin with.
Sat, April 12 2025
What happens to Sakshi in the final scene?
Sat, April 12 2025
When Chhorii 2 begins, it doesn’t just pick up where the original story left off. It drags us deeper into a mythology soaked in fear, grief, and generational trauma. Seven years have passed since Sakshi escaped that cursed village. She’s now a mother and someone who’s tried very hard to build a life from the wreckage of what she survived. But as fate would have it, she gets dragged back, literally in one sense, to the village. Here is all you need to know about Chhorii 2, its plot, ending analysis, release date, cast, reviews, where to watch, and more. Sakshi is now raising her daughter, Ishani, a quiet child with a mysterious condition — her skin burns in sunlight. It’s not fully explained, but it seems to be photosensitivity. It reminds one of the Nicole Kidman-starrer psychological horror movie The Others (2002). Except instead of a Victorian mansion, this one is set against the backdrop of rural superstitions and unresolved trauma.
Good Bad Ugly
Action, Crime, Comedy (Tamil)
A once powerful gangster is forced to face his former enemies, when his son finds himself in danger.
Cast:
Ajith Kumar, Trisha Krishnan, Arjun Das, Sunil Varma, Prabhu, Prasanna, Jackie Shroff, Karthikeya Dev, Priya Prakash Varrier, Simran
Director:
Adhik Ravichandran
Writer:
Adhik Ravichandran
Sat, April 12 2025
A fever-dream of homages and hero worship
Fri, April 11 2025
Adhik Ravichandran’s cinema is a genre unto itself—it’s not so much a film as a rave party. And like all parties, some are more intoxicated than others. It’s not a space for nuanced conversations or emotional coherence. At any given moment, someone’s dying in slow motion, as we laugh and cheer or both. A moment later, the protagonist (AK, played by—you know who) is making soft, sorrowful eyes, while his wife makes the strange transitions between gratitude and anger. This isn’t a flaw with the film; this is its mood. Loud music, neon lights, stylised violence, dancing, homages—everyone’s high on one thing: stardom. Specifically, Ajith Kumar’s. If you should not really be one with the crowd, well, GBU, maamey.
(Writing for OTT Play)
Parody Disguised As Fan Service
Fri, April 11 2025
Here’s a social experiment. Pick someone who is unaware of the beats of the hero worship and masala film in Indian cinema. Scratch that. Let’s pick Tamil cinema because the beast is almost unrecognisable at this point as the concept of stardom is nearing, if not an end, at least a lull. Ageing male stars fall back on their history, and idolising filmmakers lean on intertextuality to create hysterical theatrical moments. Show them Adhik Ravichandran’s new film with Ajith Kumar, Good Bad Ugly, and ask if there is any possibility that this is a spoof or a parody. They will most likely answer in the affirmative. To the innocent bystander, Good Bad Ugly comes across as a spoof, as if CS Amudhan made another Thamizh Padam (2010) solely focusing on Ajith and his career. The greatest trick Adhik ever pulled is convincing Ajith and maybe the audience that he is making a fan service film. What he’s really done instead is lampoon the star for two hours and twenty minutes. But again, it really depends on who you ask.
Bazooka
Action, Thriller, Crime (Malayalam)
A cop and a businessman team up on a mission to capture a serial killer, using a series of elaborate games to track him down.
Cast:
Mammootty, Gautham Vasudev Menon, Shine Tom Chacko, Sidharth Bharathan, Gayathri Iyer, Bhama Arun, Babu Antony, Iswarya Menon, Hakkim Shajahan, Joemon Jyothir
Director:
Deeno Dennis
Writer:
Deeno Dennis
Sat, April 12 2025
Mammootty’s Heist Film Mistakes Affectation For Style
Sat, April 12 2025
The impact of Bryan Singer’s The Usual Suspects is so enormous and timeless that even after three decades, filmmakers are unable to escape its influence on heist thrillers. Bazooka is another attempt at creating an elusive character like Keyser Soze. The catch is that such an attempt requires several things to fall into place, including clever casting that throws the audience off track and creates red herrings. Director Deeno Dennis misses out on this, leading to a predictable twist that’s visible from the get-go. The genius of The Usual Suspects lies in how the characters become real—everyone involved in the heist has something at stake, making their downfall feel impactful. Bazooka, on the other hand, lacks any real conflict. By the end of the film, when the motive behind the gamer villain is revealed, it feels like we’ve been played by the makers.
Mammootty’s gaming thriller is a dull, patchily-written film
Fri, April 11 2025
A few late flourishes can sometimes redeem a film even though it might be hurtling downhill till that point. But, in Deeno Dennis’s directorial debut Bazooka, that supposed redemption arc comes way beyond a point where most of us would have stopped caring for the characters or the plot. It comes almost like a dessert that arrives after a tasteless main course that made your stomach feel queasy. As for the dessert, beyond the dressing on top, it turns out to be the same old under it. In Bazooka, hardly a moment passes without a background score. In a film tailor-made for the superstar’s fans, a good part of this score is dedicated to accentuating his every random movement. It begins right from the moment we see John Caesar (Mammootty) at a bus stop, reading a self-help book and waiting for a bus — inside which a good part of the film takes place. But then, ACP Benjamin Joshua (Gautham Vasudev Menon) also gets the same treatment when we first see him getting out of his car to carry out a routine vehicle check. This is not surprising in a film which survives mostly on its cosmetics.
G20
Action, Mystery, Drama (English)
After the G20 Summit is overtaken by terrorists, President Danielle Sutton must bring all her statecraft and military experience to defend her family and her fellow leaders.
Cast:
Viola Davis, Anthony Anderson, Ramón Rodríguez, Marsai Martin, Antony Starr, Douglas Hodge, Elizabeth Marvel, Christopher Farrar, Sabrina Impacciatore, MeeWha Alana Lee
Director:
Patricia Riggen
Viola Davis is wasted in Hollywood’s version of a Sunny Deol potboiler; laughably loud, chaotically clumsy
Sat, April 12 2025
Viola Davis is an EGOT. She’s one of only 20 people in history — fewer, when you consider persons of colour — to have won at least one Emmy, Grammy, Oscar, and Tony. She’s done August Wilson on the stage and screen; she went to Juilliard, like Jessica Chastain and Adam Driver. For her to star in a movie like G20 — think Air Force One, but worse — isn’t unlike Javed Akhtar waking up one morning, slipping into a crisp kurta, and deciding to script one of KRK’s rant videos. Released on Prime Video, G20 is a glorified bargain bin movie — the kind of movie for which Amazon should be paying you, and not the other way around. Davis plays POTUS Danielle Sutton, an Iraq War veteran who became famous after being photographed carrying a baby out of a bombed building. The movie doesn’t show us what happened next, but you could easily imagine Danielle being deified in the press, buying into her own myth, and deciding to run for president. America loves its celebrities, and electing Danielle into office is exactly what you’d expect from the folks who’ve voted Ronald Reagan and Donald Trump into power. We first meet Danielle as she’s disciplining her teenage daughter for giving the secret service the slip, and partying with her friends at a local bar.
Viola Davis, Antony Starr Face Off In Standard Action Thriller
Thu, April 10 2025
In the new Amazon Prime Video action film, Viola Davis checked off two items in her career that most of her male contemporaries have probably done several times over theirs. G20 sees the Oscar winner as American President Danielle Sutton, who is heading an important international summit when it is hijacked by terrorists. The action thriller, directed by Patricia Riggen, doesn’t have anything new to offer. Although Davis gets the chance to save the day over and over again. Before heading to South Africa for the G20 summit, President Sutton has a mini crisis to deal with at home after her teenage daughter Serena (Marsai Martin) is caught at a party after she snuck out without her security detail. Soon, the Sutton family has bigger problems to contend with. The hotel where the G20 summit is held is taken over by terrorists who oppose the world leaders plans to end world hunger through cryptocurrency. Neither side’s plans are explained properly. Luckily, Sutton and a handful of leaders manage to escape, and soon it is a game of cat and mouse.
The Legend of Hanuman S06
Animation, Action & Adventure (Hindi)
When the power-hungry Ravan tore through the world to unleash evil, in his way stood a humble vaanar awoken to his divinity to become an immortal legend. The series follows Hanuman and his transformation from a mighty warrior to a god and how Hanuman became the beacon of hope amidst the harrowing darkness.
Cast:
Richard Joel, Daman Baggan
(Writing for M9 News)
Well-Written and Executed
Sat, April 12 2025
The Legend of Hanuman, which enters its sixth season this week, has consistently pushed the bar in retelling the Ramayana through animation on OTT across age groups, supplemented by its new-age visualisation, playful storytelling and impactful writing, exploring major events, the traits of each of its pivotal characters (apart from Hanuman too) with equal sincerity. The new season is about the fall of Ravan as much as the rise of Hanuman. Greed and ego get the better of Ravan. Emerging victorious over Ram is no longer his only priority, he wants the world for himself. While losing the support of Vibheeshan (and Mandodari partially), he misses being with his other brothers, sons (who’re no more) and hopes to meet them on the other side of the world.
The Amateur
Thriller, Action (English)
After his life is turned upside down when his wife is killed in a London terrorist attack, a brilliant but introverted CIA decoder takes matters into his own hands when his supervisors refuse to take action.
Cast:
Rami Malek, Michael Stuhlbarg, Laurence Fishburne, Rachel Brosnahan, Jon Bernthal, Holt McCallany, Julianne Nicholson, Evan Milton, Caitríona Balfe, Nick Mills
Director:
James Hawes
Spy Another Day
Sat, April 12 2025
Amateur, directed by James Hawes, is a contemporary adaptation of the novel of the same name, which was previously made into a film featuring John Savage and Christopher Plummer. This spy thriller, while not groundbreaking, delivers sufficient thrills. It could easily be likened to a Jason Bourne or Jack Reacher film, but instead, we follow Charlie, the titular Amateur. Unlike James Bond, who possesses a license to kill, Charlie holds a license as a cryptographer for the CIA. With an IQ exceeding 170, he adeptly gathers and synthesizes information from diverse sources, quickly proving his exceptional skills. It is also evident that he is deeply in love with his wife, Sarah (Rachel Brosnahan), and their affection is reciprocated. However, when Sarah embarks on a business rip to London, she never returns, having been taken hostage and subsequently killed.
Akaal
Action, History, Drama (Punjabi)
Set in 1840s Punjab, Sardar Akaal Singh and his village as they face a vengeful assault by Jangi Jahan and his forces after the death of Maharaja Ranjeet Singh. Amid broken truces and escalating tensions, the fearless Sardars must rise against overwhelming odds to protect their land. Will they prevail against this formidable foe?
Cast:
Apindereep Singh, Gippy Grewal, Nimrat Khaira, Nikitin Dheer, Gurpreet Ghuggi, Mita Vashisht, Prince Kanwaljit Singh, Shinda Grewal
Director:
Gippy Grewal
Writer:
Gippy Grewal
Gippy Grewal’s high-octane historical drama flickers but doesn’t burn
Fri, April 11 2025
Akaal movie review: Known for their bravery and courage despite all odds, the awe-inspiring legends of Sikh warriors have reverberated through the annals of history. Inspired by historical events, Gippy Grewal’s Akaal (2025), starring Grewal, Nimrat Khaira, Gurpreet Ghuggi, and Nikitin Dheer, is the story of a Sikh warrior who protects his village in the face of gruesome attacks by the enemy. With Bollywood embracing a wave of high-octane dramas inspired by mythology and history, it was only a matter of time before Punjabi cinema followed suit. Sharan Art’s Mastaney (2023), starring Tarsem Jassar, captivated audiences with its portrayal of Sikh valour in the face of invading forces in the 18th century, unfolding historical events against a visually captivating backdrop. Written and directed by Grewal, Akaal sets its sights further, which is reflected in the grand scale and detailed execution of the film. Released in Hindi and Punjabi, it also marks the foray of Karan Johar’s Dharma Productions into Punjabi cinema.
Thu, April 10 2025