TRENDS
Animal review: Ranbir Kapoor is hypnotic in ultra-violent, jaw-dropping portrayal of a problematic anti-hero
Sandeep Reddy Vanga’s Animal goes where few films have, in an untethered concoction of blood, gore, violence and problematic tropes.
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Napoleon review: Ridley Scott and Joaquin Phoenix offer absurdism and spectacle in engrossing biopic
Napoleon is a perverted man-child in this compelling, off-handed portrayal of modern history’s most revised emperor figure.
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Farrey review: Young adult angst finds a voice in effective thriller
Produced by Salman Khan and led by his niece Alizeh, Farrey is an effective young adult story about class differences and the divergent moralities they give birth to.
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Netflix’s Squid Game is back as a reality show, and it's as entertaining as the original
Lives may not be at stake in this hyper-real version of the original K-drama Squid Game, but there is no dearth of nail-biting anxiety, thrill and unpredictability in a reality show designed and packaged so well, it cannot be switched off.
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Netflix’s The Railway Men review: Enthralling, thrilling, shattering
Driven by exceptional performances by R Madhavan, Kay Kay Menon, Divyenndu and Babil Khan, and a matter-of-fact tone that refuses to indulge the poetics of heroism, this limited series is the stuff that streaming was born for.
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ICC Men's Cricket World Cup advertising: 7 Hits and misses in 2023
Brands have splurged the cash in a World Cup tournament marked by a handful of hits, sans a standout timeless winner.
ENTERTAINMENT
The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes Ending Explained
Studious and patient, this prequel to The Hunger Games franchise is moody, visually exquisite full of political subtext.
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Tiger 3 review: Salman Khan and Katrina Kaif are likeable in a film rescued by a strong second half
Tiger 3 has scale, trots the globe with ease but can take itself far too seriously at times.
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With Tiger 3, Salman Khan could confirm the return of Hindi cinema’s Superstardom
Shah Rukh Khan has hinted at its return, but it will take more than one ‘star’ to align to confirm if superstardom is back. Can Salman Khan do what Aamir Khan couldn’t?
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The Marvels review: Iman Vellani shines in a film that signals Marvel Studios' ennui
The Marvels is predominantly and promisingly led by three women - Iman Vellani, Brie Larson and Teyonah Parris - who turn in decent performances. It’s also a film that fumbles in tone, and awkwardly merges entire worlds.
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Netflix’s The Killer review: David Fincher - Michael Fassbender thriller is familiar but watchable
Michael Fassbender is a principled hitman in this repackaging of genre material salvaged by his performance and the director shaping it.
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Amazon Prime’s Pippa review: Ishaan Khattar and Mrunal Thakur can’t save this middling war film
Despite having access to fairly promising source material, Pippa feels like a dishevelled jaunt through wartime anecdotes that fail to add up to anything moving, or even interesting.
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Love is Love in Prime Video’s life-affirming and hopeful Rainbow Rishta
After the low of being asked to appeal to the next booth for the right to marry, Rainbow Rishta serves as a calming, defiant and maybe necessary epilogue in LGBTQ+ rights in India.
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Netflix’s All The Light We Cannot See review: Trite adaptation of Pulitzer-winning classic is criminally simplistic
The much-awaited adaption of Anthony Doerr’s beloved book is puzzlingly thin and woefully corny.
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Taylor Swift’s The Eras Tour film is as exhilarating as anything you might see in a cinema this year
The concert film is second-hand smoke but it still takes you places maybe no other cinematic experience will this calendar year.
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Three of Us review: A beautiful ode to memory and preservation
Shefali Shah and Jaideep Ahlawat are exceptional in a sobering, slow-motion stroll through the past as embodied by a beautiful Konkan town.
TRENDS
Aarya Season 3 review: Sushmita Sen continues to dazzle in a show that shifts gears for good and bad
Sushmita Sen continues to be mesmerising in a series that though watchable, is beginning to show signs of fatigue.
ENTERTAINMENT
Leo review: Thalapathy Vijay is likeable in this Lokesh Kanagaraj film that flatters to deceive
Vijay is a likeable mix of modesty and menace in this Lokesh Cinematic Universe film which carries none of the deft writing or breezy rhythm of Vikram.
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Ganapath review: Tiger Shroff’s gliding, action-hero brilliance is the only saving grace
Set in a dystopic future, Ganapath will chisel at your patience before buttering it with Tiger Shroff's balletic action sequences.
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Netflix’s Kaala Paani review: An intriguing survival drama lifted by its setting
A disjointed but commendable series contextualizes the Andaman and Nicobar islands as a bureaucratic afterthought.
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Permanent Roommates Season 3 review: Sumeet Vyas and Sheeba Chaddha are terrific in the third coming of this slice of life show
Permanent Roommates, the old rom-com from TVF, still casts a spell. And though it carries the burden of nostalgia already, it makes amends by taping woke ideas to the show’s ageing world.
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National Film Awards 2023 | Waheeda Rehman: Hindi cinema’s all-weather queen
The Dadasaheb Phalke Award crowns a career that guided post-Independence India to artistic heights we may have never witnessed again.
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Twisted corporate thriller that might just end workplace romances
In Netflix’s Fair Play, love crashed against Wall Street ambition in a way that will exorcise any ghosts of a workplace affair you might have nurtured.
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Dhak Dhak review: An uneven but enjoyable joy ride towards fulfilment and freedom
Ratna Pathak Shah steals the show, as four distinctly troubled women take a road trip on bikes in this sweet, fuzzy, uneven but ultimately triumphant journey.
