Guild Reviews
Agatha All Along
Sci-Fi & Fantasy, Mystery (English)
Agatha Harkness gathers a coven of witches and sets off down, down, down The Witches' Road.
Cast:
Kathryn Hahn, Joe Locke, Sasheer Zamata, Ali Ahn, Debra Jo Rupp, Patti LuPone, Aubrey Plaza
Novelty max, Success not quite
Mon, October 14 2024
With WandaVision, creator Jac Schaeffer made it clear that she wasn’t interested in the standard approach to superhero fare. For most of its running, the Marvel TV show’s exploration of Wanda Maximoff’s grief over the loss of her partner Vision took the form of a sitcom spoof, one that barrelled through decades of the format—from black-and-white 4:3 aspect ratio to the meta recasting and costume choices—in an episodic fashion. Sure, Schaeffer struggled to usher her non-standard superhero show away from the climactic final-third tropes of the genre. But there was still a lot of fun to be had in WandaVision. It was the perfect possible start for Marvel’s new television-heavy era on Disney+ (though what has come after has been more miss than hit).
Love Sitara
Drama, Romance (Hindi)
Tara and Arjun travel to her hometown to work on their relationship before marriage. What happens when her family starts sharing their darkest secrets?
Cast:
Sobhita Dhulipala, Rajeev Siddhartha, Sonali Kulkarni, Virginia Rodriguez, Jayashree B., Rijul Ray, Tamara D'Souza, Ikhlaque Khan, Sanjay Bhutiani, Sudhanva Deshpande
Director:
Vandana Kataria
Pre-wedding blues with Sobhita Dhulipala
Mon, October 14 2024
Love, Sitara begins with a nod to Anna Karenina: “All happy families are alike; each unhappy family is unhappy in its own way,” says Sitara (Sobhita Dhulipala). Unlike Leo Tolstoy’s great novel — whose opening line these words are — the writing in Vandana Kataria’s film isn’t as quotable, though it tries hard. You can assemble a slim volume of pithy self-help slogans from Abbas and Hussain Dalal’s dialogue: “Happiness lies in honesty.” “Dysfunction means they are making an effort.” “I’ll fix myself, before I can fix my relationships.”
More Than Just Another Wedding Film?
Tue, October 1 2024
The Tribe
Reality (English)
The Tribe is a story of the young and unafraid who are chasing an epic dream. It revolves around the lives of a group of Indian influencers, who have been set up to crack global fame in Los Angeles and it is for the audience to find out whether they are brave or foolish.
Cast:
Alanna Panday, Aryaana Gandhi, Srushti Porey, Alaviaa Jaaferi, Hardik Zaveri, Alfia Jafry
Director:
Omkar Potdar
Sun, October 13 2024
Black
Mystery, Thriller (Tamil)
Vasanth and Aaranya, a couple move into a serene row house, eager for peace and privacy, but a violent storm leaves them trapped inside, unsettling supernatural disturbances threaten to unravel their marriage. Vasanth must uncover the truth behind these supernatural occurrences before everything falls apart.
Cast:
Jiiva, Priya Bhavani Shankar, Vivek Prasanna, Shah Ra, Swayam Siddha, Yog Jappie, Sindhoori, Raja Rudrakodi
Director:
Balasubramani KG
Writer:
Balasubramani KG
Jiiva, Priya Bhavanishankar shine in a gripping, intriguing melange of genres
Sun, October 13 2024
The best part of Black is how it reels you in right in the first ten minutes. The film starts in 1964. There is a couple eloping with the help of a friend (Vivek Prasanna). It is raining like crazy. Their journey is briefly interrupted by a vehicle in the ditch. This vehicle carries a marble statue of a guardian angel. There is thunder and lightning. Soon enough, this friend, who has sinister intentions, hears two gunshots. He rushes in to ask the couple what happened? Cut to black. Literally. The title credits pop up, and we are in 2024.
Citadel Diana
Action & Adventure, Drama (Italian)
Milan, 2030: Diana Cavalieri is a double agent for the secret syndicate Citadel, who infiltrated Manticore, the rival agency that destroyed Citadel eight years ago. Trapped behind enemy lines, Diana has a chance to leave the agency forever, but she has to decide whether to trust a surprising ally: the heir of Manticore Italy, Edo Zani.
Cast:
Matilda De Angelis, Lorenzo Cervasio, Maurizio Lombardi, Julia Piaton, Thekla Reuten, Giordana Faggiano, Daniele Paoloni, Jun Ichikawa, Filippo Nigro
A Slick Spy Thriller With a Gimmicky, Confounding Narrative
Sat, October 12 2024
Citadel, an independent spy agency, is wiped out by Manticore, a powerful syndicate that’s desperate to take charge of the world. Diana, an undercover Citadel agent, works as a mole in Manticore. She forges an unexpected rapport with Edo Zani (the heir of Manticore Italy), who is keen on taking the mantle from his father Ettore, grooming himself to be a capable leader.
Is It Better Than Priyanka Chopra's OG Show?
Fri, October 11 2024
Citadel Diana is one of the many spin-offs set around the American Citadel led by Priyanka Chopra. The series explores the world of a covet organisation across the globe trying to take down the world’s most evil organisation Manticore. While Citadel carried the story more straightforward, Citadel vs Manticore, we get to see a different side in Diana. The Italian show led by Matilda De Angelis, Lorenzo Cervasio and Maurizio Lombardi explores more on the side of how things are done at Manticore. Released in Italian, with few dialogues in English, the show is expected to have a stronger opening than Citadel.
Janaka Aithe Ganaka
Comedy (Telugu)
When his wife announces a surprise pregnancy, a man decides to sue the condom company he deems responsible.
Cast:
Suhas, Sangeerthana Vipin, Vennela Kishore, Goparaju Ramana, Vijaya Lakshmi, V. S. Roopa Lakshmi, Rajendra Prasad, Prabhas Sreenu, Murali Sharma, Srikanth Goggi
Director:
Sandeep Reddy Bandla
The courtroom drama is a missed opportunity
Sat, October 12 2024
Telugu cinema has consistently portrayed stories where protagonists embody middle-class values — from Needi Naadi Oke Katha and Middle Class Melodies to Middle Class Abbayi (MCA) and The Family Star. Interestingly, Dil Raju, the producer behind two of these films, also backs Janaka Aithe Ganaka this week. The Sandeep Reddy Bandla directorial, starring Suhas, aims to acknowledge and appreciate the bread-winners of middle-class households, in the guise of a courtroom drama.
Lonely Planet
Romance, Drama (English)
At an idyllic writers retreat in Morocco, a newly single novelist finds an unexpected connection with a younger man who's reevaluating his life choices.
Cast:
Laura Dern, Liam Hemsworth, Diana Silvers, Bellina Logan, Sami Fekkak, Gustav Dyekjær Giese, Rachida Brakni, Younès Boucif, Francesco Martino, Ben Youcef
Director:
Susannah Grant
Writer:
Susannah Grant
Laura Dern, Liam Hemsworth's Aimless Romance Is A Waste Of Time
Fri, October 11 2024
A foreign locale, two individuals at a crossroads… on the surface, the Netflix film Lonely Planet had the right ingredients. But the Susannah Grant film does nothing with it. Starring Laura Dern as an established writer and Liam Hemsworth as a finance guy who meet at a retreat in Morocco, the film wastes our time with their ineffectual romance. It ends up being a tourism guide for the country.
Abbot Elementary S04
Comedy (English)
In this workplace comedy, a group of dedicated, passionate teachers — and a slightly tone-deaf principal — are brought together in a Philadelphia public school where, despite the odds stacked against them, they are determined to help their students succeed in life. Though these incredible public servants may be outnumbered and underfunded, they love what they do — even if they don’t love the school district’s less-than-stellar attitude toward educating children.
Cast:
Quinta Brunson, Tyler James Williams, Sheryl Lee Ralph, Lisa Ann Walter, Chris Perfetti, Janelle James, William Stanford Davis
Quinta Brunson's School Comedy Is Still Endearingly Awkward And Funny As Ever
Fri, October 11 2024
After a shortened season earlier this year due to the Hollywood strikes, Abbott Elementary is back on schedule with a full season. This time, the teachers’ gang at the Philadelphia school convene for a new school year with plenty of hijinks. The biggest change this season is that the perennial will-they, won’t-they couple Janine (Quinta Brunson) and Gregory (Tyler James Williams) have made it official. But what does this mean for the rest of the season? Let’s find out!
Disclaimer
Drama, Mystery (English)
When an intriguing novel appears at the bedside of a journalist whose career has been built on revealing transgressions, she is horrified to realize she's a key character in a long-buried story—one that exposes her darkest secret.
Cast:
Cate Blanchett, Kevin Kline, Sacha Baron Cohen, Lesley Manville, Louis Partridge, Leila George, Indira Varma, Kodi Smit-McPhee, Christiane Amanpour
Alfonso Cuaron's Devastating Thriller Series Looks At Truth And Memory From All Angles
Fri, October 11 2024
Gravity and Roma director Alfonso Cuarón’s latest project, Disclaimer, is a fascinating and at times uncomfortable drama about a woman accused of being heartless in her past. Oscar winning actress Cate Blanchett steps up to play the aloof Catherine Ravenscroft who finds her perfect life falling apart with the publication of a book. Kevin Kline plays a former teacher who relishes the chance to teach her a lesson. The Apple TV+ series is a riveting story that unfolds chapter by chapter, like a novel.
CTRL
Thriller, Drama (Hindi)
Nella and Joe are the perfect influencer couple. But when he cheats on her, she turns to an AI app to erase him from her life — until it takes control.
Cast:
Ananya Panday, Vihaan Samat, Devika Vatsa, Kamakshi Bhat, Suchita Trivedi, Samit Gambhir, Ravish Desai, Aparshakti Khurana, Tanmay Bhat, Rohan Joshi
Director:
Vikramaditya Motwane
Ananya Panday plays the world’s most clueless social media influencer in Vikramaditya Motwane’s wildly uneven Netflix movie
Fri, October 11 2024
Normally, one of the most frustrating things that a movie can do is to abandon its characters and become too consumed by the plot. Our mainstream cinema has always struggled with this, and things have only become worse in the streaming era. It is said that show runners, in particular, can get away with anything on digital platforms as long as there is a murder in the first episode. Well, someone most certainly dies at the end of the first act in CTRL, the new film from Vikramaditya Motwane — his first feature since AK vs AK in 2020.
Masterful Thriller
Sat, October 5 2024
Unsettling, isn’t it? Our most reliable source of information and communication can be programmed to keep tabs on our mind and movement across the multiple devices that have become indispensable crutches of modern living. But then the Internet has always been a seductive, if not secure, space where all its gifts come with its share of dangers.
A Digital Screen Thriller Is A Tepid Look at the Evils of Big Tech
Sat, October 5 2024
There’s one significant challenge to making ‘screen-life films’ (films that unfold almost entirely on digital screens). Once you commit to its visual grammar, you’re tied to them till there’s a good reason to break out of it. No matter what, all your exposition needs to happen on the small screen, key plot points need to be hashed out during video calls, and the filmmakers need to keep imagining newer screens – ranging from iPad, mobile phones, CCTVs, GoPros, webcams, paparazzi lenses, TV screens etc.
Joker
Crime, Thriller, Drama (English)
During the 1980s, a failed stand-up comedian is driven insane and turns to a life of crime and chaos in Gotham City while becoming an infamous psychopathic crime figure.
Cast:
Joaquin Phoenix, Robert De Niro, Zazie Beetz, Frances Conroy, Brett Cullen, Shea Whigham, Bill Camp, Glenn Fleshler, Leigh Gill, Josh Pais
Director:
Todd Phillips
Writer:
Todd Phillips, Scott Silver
Todd Phillips would rather set fire to his own franchise than let the wrong people take inspiration from it; is Vanga watching?
Fri, October 11 2024
You’d think that the world was a less paranoid place five years ago, when the collective trauma of the pandemic hadn’t clobbered us on the head with a comically large mallet. But remember when governments were put on high alert before the release of a comic book movie about a murderous clown? Prepared for the riots that the supposedly incendiary film might incite, teams of police were stationed outside certain screenings of Todd Phillips’ Joker — a movie that was viewed by alarmists as a sort of dog whistle for basement-dwelling incels.
Is Joaquin Phoenix and Lady Gaga's Film a Worthy Sequel?
Fri, October 11 2024
Lady Gaga is underutilised in a boring, uninspiring sequel
Fri, October 11 2024
There is a moment early in Todd Philips’ latest film Joker: Folie à Deux featuring the leads Joaquin Phoenix and Lady Gaga that summarises the film well. It is the first courtroom scene in the film and Phoenix’s Joker is desperately looking at the door waiting for Lee or Harley Quinn (Lady Gaga) to walk into the court. Joker or Arthur Flec is on trial for killing six people including a popular chat show host live on television. While the tension in the room is palpable, Arthur keeps looking at the door. Lee enters and the two lovers exchange a smile. As Lee settles in, Arthur looks at her and pretends to stifle a yawn- referring to how boring the legal proceedings and the room is. The moment accurately captures the mood of the film.
Manvat Murders
Crime, Drama (Marathi)
Seven murders; Unsolved for over one & half year. Will the ace cop from Mumbai, Ramakant Kulkarni be able to bring Justice?
Cast:
Ashutosh Gowariker, Sonali Kulkarni, Makarand Anaspure, Sai Tamhankar, Mayur Khandge, Kishore Kadam
Director:
Ashish Avinash Bende
Writer:
Girish Joshi
Promises a lot, delivers less
Fri, October 11 2024
In the early 1970s, a series of murders left the residents of Manvat terrorized, and people of Maharashtra in shock. A small town in Parbhani district, Manvat saw people, mostly women, being killed over a span of about two years with a black magic ritualistic motive, as the cops would later find out. Ashish Bende’s series attempts to take a deep dive into the case through the eyes of late cop Ramakant Kulkarni’s lens. Manvat Murders is based on Kulkarni’s book Footprints on the Sand of Time, which documented his high-profile cases, including the Manvat case which he was assigned.
A Bland Retelling of a Brutal True-crime Chapter
Fri, October 4 2024
Being a true-crime drama in the Indian streaming landscape is like being an aspiring batsman in India’s cramped bylanes and crowded fields. Everybody is one — and everybody is advised to be one. Consequently, it’s harder to stand out. The default level has to be high: an engrossing story, a solid cast, a sense of place and time, technical competence. Most shows opt for an atmospheric setting to conceal a convoluted plot; the logic is that a visually striking tone will compensate for pacing and structural issues. In other words, the style can distract from a lack of substance. But Manvat Murders, helmed by Aatmapamphlet (2023) director Ashish Avinash Bende, is a Marathi-language series that does the reverse.
Women & Crime — Raw, Real & Ruthless
Fri, October 4 2024
The ritualistic Manwat Murders which brutally claimed the lives of innocent children and women and shook Maharashtra in the 70s, does it again. Amol Palekar had already put it effectively on screen in Akriet (1981).