2.75/5 stars

Farzand beings handsomely but soon remains merely that - a handsome-looking film with a half-hearted endeavor at narrating the inspiring and gallant true story of its real-life characters. There's a lot of heroic talk, but not much actual heroism to back it up; a lot of planning, but precious little war scenes to make good on it all. Make no mistake, when the war scenes do occur, their choreography is pretty good, but they're too few and far between intermittent monologues of strategizing daredevilry, both of which don't do much too engross or enthuse you; quite unlike how these facets have been previously depicted in war and epic films past. This one thumps it's chest about Marathi ethos and Shivaji's erstwhile warriors, but barely scratched the surface of the honor, valiance, skills, and loyalty of those warriors.

2.65/5 stars

At the end of Padmaavat, you’re left feeling a tad underwhelmed by the overall impact, but also can’t help feeling in awe at its visual splendor and endearing performances, especially Ranveer’s. Thankfully, for our sake and Bhansali’s, Ranveer elevates everything that threatens to sink around him. His villainy is so vile and actions, so appalling, that you’re left simultaneously cheering and scorning everything he does. His words spew venom, his eyes invoke fear, his countenance deceives, and his body language is unpredictable at most times and petrifying at best; yet he unifies all these devious devices with a gleeful charm that only the best of cinematic villains and worst of real-life psychopaths hitherto have displayed. Ranveer Singh’s Alauddin Khilji is hands down one-of-the-greatest villains in the history of Indian cinema. It’s a pity that his act steadies a listing ship rather than zooming it ahead at full throttle.

Nevertheless, for all its shortcomings, Padmaavat still merits the big-screen experience just for the fact that never before or after Baahubali has an Indian film managed this sort of visual magnificence. It also merits the big-screen experience to deliver a silent slap on the visages of all those nefarious fringe elements who threaten the fabric of our dear democracy and the absolute power of our Supreme Court. As for the big controversies they were imagining; well, let’s just say that the only controversial thing here is Bhansali’s unwillingness to raise the pace of the film.

2.5/5 stars

2.5/5 stars

Baaghi 2 fails to be a sum of its parts even though some of the action sequences are a sight to behold. Lack of vision when it comes to the supporting cast and flimsy direction of a promising premise, leads to several missteps for a film that had every right to be way better than it ends up as. Tiger is the heart and soul of Baaghi 2, but he’s been greatly disservice by Ahmed Khan’s unimaginative direction. This one’s strictly for action fans and no one else.

2.5/5 stars

Mulk is well intentioned in its message, but too biased in its approach, and quite naive in its execution. The dialogues (some of which are actually clap-worthy) and performances keep you engaged, and the story is not without its merits, but you wish that writer-Director #AnubhavSinha wouldn't have seen such a topical subject with the same "prejudiced glasses" that he accuses some of his characters in the film of wearing. In the end, Mulk takes a preachy, lengthy, and lopsided view of a burning national issue, offering puerile answers for complex political situations, though it somehow gets salvaged by an extremely committed cast and a few rousing monologues during the denouement, which leave you on a sensational albeit empty high.

2.5/5 stars

In Fabric continues with plenty of witty dialogues, humorous situations, and some genuine scares till the halfway stage, making its abstract premise and truly unique concept (anything that can make a garment look creepy merits points in my book) a genuine first for a horror-comedy. However, thereon the film quickly shifts from abstract to absurd, with writer-Director Peter Strickland losing grip of both the wit and chill he was so deftly handling till then, which ultimately makes the narrative too obscure and weird for its own good. This one had a lot of potential, but ends up ripping a hole in its own fabric.

2.5/5 stars

The Equalizer 2 is nowhere near as raw, gritty, intense, or badass as the first film, even though it does feature some well-choreographed action sequences, coupled with another performance overflowing with conviction from one-of-my-favorite actors, Denzel Washington. The problem is that between those action shots, neither does the narrative move forward with the vigor needed to maintain the tempo required in this kind of film, nor does it offer anything novel in terms of concept or execution. Worse still, there are plot contrivances, loopholes, and loose-ends galore. Definitely not one of Denzel's better films, and a far cry from Director Antoine Fuqua's (one of the best action movie Directors IMO) masterpieces like Tears of the Sun, Training Day, Olympus has Fallen, Southpaw, Shooter, and the first Equalizer.

2.5/5 stars

What starts of as an exciting men-on-a-mission adventure similar to the likes of The Guns of Navarone, Where Eagles Dare, Kelly's Heroes, The Dirty Dozen, or even more recent fare like Inglorious Basterds, ends up largely as a moral discussion between a bunch of heroes and their villainous captive, without any real moral ambiguity been touched upon, thus dampening our expectations after raising the bar quite high in the beginning. The denouement kind of steadies things a bit, but barring that, a deceptively promising first quarter, and engrossing performances from Ben Kingsley and Oscar Issac, Operation Finale has little else of note.

2.5/5 stars

Sorry to Bother You presents some interesting, innovative ideas, and tries to be a stinging allegory on capitalism, greed, and the corrupting influences of materialism in today's world, but besides a handful of engaging scenes and some dark humor, its potentially crackerjack sci-fi/socialist premise gets heavily derailed by incoherent ramblings and a barrage of SJW metaphors that are knocked on your skull with a mallet rather than allowing the message to subtly reach the audience. Though not a bad watch, the movie screams hipster mentality when it has so much to offer for modern society.

2.5/5 stars

First things first, Thugs of Hindostan bears no resemblance to Pirates of the Carribean whatsoever, which was quite evident from the trailer itself. For the uninitiated, Bollywood has been making action films set on the high seas since the 50s; something Hollywood worshipers have no clue about. Now that that's out of the way, let's get back to how the film has turned out.

TOH is mounted on a lavish scale and is no doubt beautiful to look at, but, ultimately, it suffers from the curse of the second half. The first half is quite entertaining, boasts a couple of exciting action set-pieces, and even leaves you anticipating for what'll come after the intermission. But, thereon, the film gets progressively messy and is filled with loopholes, plot contrivances, and absurd sequences. Still, Aamir Khan constantly hovers to anchor this period warship with a one-man show. On the other hand, Amitabh Bachchan rocks his action scenes at his age, but is otherwise saddled with a flimsy character, Fatima Sana Shaikh finds it difficult to rise above a poorly written role, and Katrina Kaif has a mere cameo despite getting top billing. It would have also helped if the fights were better staged and the songs were more catchy.

Nevertheless, Thugs is an out-an-out Aamir show from beginning to the end, and the legend keeps the film afloat to the best of his abilities. Plus, the overall impact passes muster on account of the splendor and visual grandeur, which demands the big-screen experience at least once. (It may also be the only time we get to see Aamir and the Big B act together, and that's an opportunity not to be missed.)

2.5/5 stars

The proverbial franchise fatigue has set in with Insidious: The Last Key, and we should just be thankful that the ride lasted as well as it did for three films at least. The Last Key fails to unlock many scary or even intriguing doors, and if it wasn’t for Lin Shaye, the movie may have fallen completely flat. If you’re a huge fan of the franchise, then watch it only for her performance because this one barely scratches the surface of the 'insidious' depths of the first three chapters.

2/5 stars

Spanish horror film Errementari: The Blacksmith and the Devil is a confused new addition to Netflix. Its demons don't know how demonic they ought to be. Their motivations are skewed. The plot has several loose ends. And the rules established by writer-Director Paul Urkijo Alijo for aiding the protagonists in controlling the demons neither bear any conviction nor offer sound reasoning. That doesn't mean though that the film is a complete mess. The performances from the main cast members to the supporting players hold your attention. The narration does evoke a sense of dread. The set pieces create an eerie milieu. And the makeup and VFX are first rate. These redeeming aspects, however, barely manage to salvage the film from being a waste of your time.

2/5 stars

Finally saw the Marathi film, Naal, and I can't get what the fuss is all about. There's no novelty to the plot (Nagraj Manjule misses the bus this time), the screenplay meanders aimlessly, the narrative is stretched too thin, and the resolution occurs much later than required, post several scenes that hardly take the story forward and could have easily been done away with. Barring a few moments that leave a mark during the climax and denouement, and an ensemble cast in top form — not least of which is little Shrinivas Pokale, who plays the central protagonist, Chaitanya — the rest of the film is quite pointless, especially when we've watched similar stories in Indian cinema, with better emotional connect, unfold on screen in the past.

2/5 stars (of which 0.5 stars are for the terrific cast)

The biggest issue with Mercury is that it tries to be too many things without ever really deciding what it wants to say. There are several sub plots about industrial poisoning, its dreaded and permanent effects, the helplessness of the disabled in normal circumstances, the simple joys they derive pleasure from, and so on and so forth. Out of all this, a horror/thriller (we're even kept in the dark about the genre till the very end, and not in a satisfying way) screenplay is weaved that finds it understandably difficult to balance so many sub-tracks while also keeping us engrossed in a spooky milieu.

That's not to say that Mercury doesn't have its moments. There's plenty of thrills and tension in the second half and Prabhu Deva is chilling (in no small part due to his effective makeup) as a vicious attacker on the prowl of five simple, carefree youngsters (all of whom leave mark) caught up in a wrong place at the wrong time. Plus, there are three genuinely jolting twists during the climax, which finally, to a certain degree, put the point across of how the horrific effects of environmental hazards could lead to something much more 'horrific' in the future, where the actual culprits are almost never held accountable while the innocent victims get caught up in the mess.

However, it all comes a bit too late, and even when it's all realized, one has to strenuously ponder over the subtexts to get the point writer-Director Subbaraj is trying to make. This is one time you wish the makers had elaborated or at least simplified things rather than leaving so much to the audience's rationale. If only Mercury focused on its basic premise of the hunter vs. the hunted, against the backdrop of one major subplot rather than so many minor ones, it could have turned out to be a truly groundbreaking horror film.

2/5 stars

Pihu is the paradigm of a film that raises expectations by revealing all the good stuff in the trailer, with previous little left in the actual film to keep you engrossed. Barring a few tense moments — most of which were hinted at in the trailer — Pihu doesn't have much in the way of suspense to hold your attention despite a short runtime of 90 minutes, and as the scenes start dragging and getting repetitive from the first half itself, your focus, too, begins to waver. Running out of ideas, Director Vinod Kapri endeavors to switch to commentary on today's dysfunctional nuclear families and the damning effects they have on kids, but the underlying statements only manage to strike half a chord. Except for the kid, Myra Vishwakarma, who's as adorable as a button, and a handful of scenes that eke out a bit of suspense, Pihu will go down as a film that ultimately bit off way more than it could chew, especially when we've seen better solitary-character or kid-driven movies.

2/5 stars

Polish romantic film Cold War feels cold, dull, and bleak despite having just an 85-minute run time, primarily because of its insistence to focus too much on loss and too little on love. Joanna Kulig's performance is brilliant, the shot-taking is beautiful, the cinematography, arresting, the BGM, enchanting, and Director Paweł Pawlikowski's stylistic treatment grows on you. But, ultimately, it's his affinity for making his protagonists extremely despondent, coupled with the barrage of jarring cuts midday through a scene (both trappings that detailed his previous film, Ida, for me), which fail to draw your attention for any length of time.

2/5 stars

Kedarnath is saddled with a plot that's done to death, and what's worse is that Director Abhishek Kapoor (who's also one of the writers) and cowriter Kanika Dhillon seem to have adamantly refused to inject any novelty or semblance of uniqueness into the storytelling and presentation. Sushant Singh Rajput, too, fails to rise above a poorly written part. The stunning cinematography and visual effects (particularly in the last 20 minutes or so, in the case of the latter) barely manage to keep the film from washing away in a deluge of mediocrity, and it's left up to Sara Ali Khan, who sets the screen afire in her debut performance, to be the only saving grace. If you must watch Kedarnath, watch it only for Sara who's the complete package, inside-out, and appears to be born for the silver screen.

2/5 stars

Japanese film Shoplifters has an interesting premise, backed by a few good ideas, but an insistence on a pace so unbearably sluggish and narration so tediously dull eventually details what could have been a truly heartwarming film on a largely unexplored concept.

2/5 stars