Reviews
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Review: Nishabdham: Messed-up mystery
Nishabdham, a Telugu suspense flick, has been shot and released simultaneously in Tamil and English as Silence (there's a dubbed Malayalam version, too).
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Review: Khaali Peeli: Taxi misadventure taxes patience
Ishaan and Ananya clearly enjoy their all-out masala outing, almost oblivious to the cinematic mess they are thrown into. Despite the utterly formulaic spread, they look good as a ‘jodi' -- never mind that they struggle getting the Mumbaiyya lingo right.
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Review: Serious Men: Nawazuddin shines in engaging satire
In Serious Men, Sudhir Mishra casts Siddiqui as Ayyan Mani, a Dalit migrant from Tamil Nadu in Mumbai. He lives in a one-room chawl with wife and little son, and works as a personal assistant to an important man in an important organisation.
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Review: Kiss The Ground: Aggressive agro therapy for Earth
BY VINAYAK CHAKRAVORTY
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Review: The Comey Rules: Political drama lacks sorted storytelling
To wholly savour The Comey Rules, one would need a certain relish for contemporary American politics beyond the knowledge of news headlines -- particularly of certain controversies pertaining to the FBI and the election of Donald Trump as 45th President of the Unites States.
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Review: Utopia: Gruesome pandemic drama
Gone Girl author Gillian Flynn writes and executive-produces eight episodes of the nihilistic action drama Utopia, based on the cult British conspiracy thriller series of the same name that launched in 2013.
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Review: 'Crackdown' is an okay option for a binge
Special OPS, The Family Man and Bard Of Blood are a few random instances, of shows within the genre that have tried scoring off that advantage lately, with varying levels of success. It is Bollywood filmmaker Apoorva Lakhia's turn now, to tap the idea with his debut digital effort, Crackdown.
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Review: Dolly Kitty Aur Woh Chamakte Sitare is well-intentioned
BY VINAYAK CHAKRAVORTY
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Review: Knock Knock Knock: Unusual, unsettling
Brevity is not always an essential attribute in cinema, while setting up narrative and aesthetic brilliance. Which is what makes the short film an exciting challenge. The ability to create an entire fictional universe within minutes is a craft quite unlike any other format of cinematic storytelling.
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Review: Cargo: Lumbers along in infinite space
A giant spaceship, Pushpak 634-A, lumbers along in infinite space. In the ship a demon, or rakshas, named Prahastha receives deceased humans, heals them and recycles them for their next birth.
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Review: Atkan Chatkan: Struggles to find rhythm
This is the story of Guddu (Lydian Nadhaswaram), a boy of about 10 or 11, who works at a tea stall. Guddu has a passion for music, and is gifted too. He can strike up rhythm and create sounds out of nothing, and without an instrument.
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Review: V: Nani's film is formulaic fun for fans
The story starts Sudheer Babu's entry as dashing DCP Adithya, busting a dozen-odd goons with gusto amid a Muharram riot. It's all in a day's work for the hunk in uniform, who is as much a hero among the masses as he is a darling of the media.
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Review: The Boys season 2: Gloriously gory and witty as ever
Lots of insanity, lots of blood, a little politics and loads of quirks. Season two of The Boys is a continuing toast to irreverence, taking the brutally bizarre superhero universe of the franchise to a new high.
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Review: JL 50: 'Desi' sci-fi takes flight
JL 50 comes as a happy reminder of the fact that Indian OTT is moving into areas where our mainstream storytelling normally never ventured before. The series is positioned as a sci-fi thriller.
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Review: C U Soon: Experimental entertainer
C U Soon, new-age Malayalam maverick Mahesh Narayanan's second feature film, slots itself in the category. Shot entirely on an iPhone in 18 days during lockdown, the film is a thriller that works up the tension quietly but surely in 98 minutes.
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Review: Sadak 2: Road to nowhere
Sadak 2 comes with a throwback whiff, though not a happy one. It reminds you of a lot of the kitsch that summed up Hindi commercial cinema once upon a time, which you thought had left the Bollywood screen for good.
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Review: Ramsingh Charlie: Of dreams and despair
By Vinayak Chakravorty
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Review: Aashram: Skeletons in Godman's own country
Jha sets his story in Kashipur town, turf of the self-ordained godman Baba Nirala (Bobby Deol). He wields mass hysteria in and around the place, and enjoys the unconditional obeisance of locals.
