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Phir Aayi Hasseen Dillruba
(2024)
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Akhil Arora
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Taapsee Pannu and Vikrant Massey return in the first sequel to an Indian Netflix original movie that struggles to justify its existence.
Posted Aug 09, 2024
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The Instigators
(2024)
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Akhil Arora
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Thanks to the dynamic between its leads, the support work of a colourful extended cast, and the pacing maintained by directed by Doug Liman, The Instigators proves to be a very funny heist comedy.
Posted Aug 09, 2024
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Deadpool & Wolverine
(2024)
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Akhil Arora
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All the jokes about its new setting (in Marvel’s world) and the lovey-dovey X-Men fan service cannot overcome the fact that Ryan Reynolds and Hugh Jackman are hacking about without a solid purpose.
Posted Jul 25, 2024
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Wild Wild Punjab
(2024)
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Akhil Arora
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[No] matter what turns it takes, the Netflix movie is devoid of fun. Wild Wild Punjab is unable to juice out thrills from even the most basic ingredients, be it a car chase, a panicky shootout, or getting stuck on a railway track.
Posted Jul 10, 2024
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Maharaj
(2024)
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Akhil Arora
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Junaid Khan makes his debut in a Netflix movie that tackles blind faith and abuse of power. But what could’ve been a 19th-century #MeToo story is a typical Bollywood male saviour project.
Posted Jun 21, 2024
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Inside Out 2
(2024)
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Akhil Arora
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It’s growing up like its human protagonist. Thanks to Anxiety—the best new addition—Inside Out 2 leaves its old sense of self behind. But it’s an expansion, not an evolution. It knows it cannot top its predecessor.
Posted Jun 14, 2024
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Mad Max: Fury Road
(2015)
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Akhil Arora
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An all-action over-the-top blast from start to finish, be it the acting or action, Mad Max: Fury Road offers the briefest of quiet moments in between. Yet, it knows how to be both tender and epic. The finale is thrilling…
Posted May 31, 2024
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Mad Max
(1979)
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Akhil Arora
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At times more horror than action, the Mad Max movie that started it all is quite sinister. The editing style, the sound effects, the background score, and the shot composition are all testament to that.
Posted May 31, 2024
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Mad Max 2: The Road Warrior
(1981)
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Akhil Arora
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The worldbuilding is possibly its biggest accomplishment, as you can start to see the elements of the wasteland take shape.
Posted May 31, 2024
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Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome
(1985)
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Akhil Arora
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The second sequel—the third chapter overall—is a very different Mad Max movie than the first two. It’s kooky and a bit extra.
Posted May 31, 2024
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Star Wars: The Force Awakens
(2015)
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Akhil Arora
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Most importantly, it passes the baton to a new generation quite seamlessly, with its new cast of characters largely expanding rather than contracting.
Posted May 31, 2024
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Star Wars: Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back
(1980)
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Akhil Arora
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The second half is where the middle chapter of the original trilogy gets good.
Posted May 31, 2024
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Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope
(1977)
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Akhil Arora
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[There’s] a charm to the simplicity, be it the cantina, the low-IQ Stormtroopers, or the film’s structure itself.
Posted May 31, 2024
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Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith
(2005)
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Akhil Arora
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Hellbent on taking itself way too seriously, it’s less than the sum of its parts.
Posted May 31, 2024
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Star Wars: Episode VI - Return of the Jedi
(1983)
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Akhil Arora
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It takes 80 minutes for Return of the Jedi to kick in when Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill) and Darth Vader meet again.
Posted May 31, 2024
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Star Wars: Episode II - Attack of the Clones
(2002)
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Akhil Arora
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It’s also too wayward and listless—there’s little plot and the film waits to find plot elements. Despite a split narrative and promising political parallels (to the days of Caesar), it simply doesn’t have enough to grab your interest.
Posted May 31, 2024
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Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace
(1999)
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Akhil Arora
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The Phantom Menace fails on virtually every front. It features curiosities like Anakin’s implied virgin birth, [Liam] Neeson running around calling him “the chosen one”, and spouting nonsense about midi-chlorians (unnecessary exposition about the Force).
Posted May 31, 2024
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Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga
(2024)
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Akhil Arora
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The scene was filmed over 78 days—across a five-month period—and needed nearly 200 seconds-long shots. It’s the glorious pinnacle of Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga.
Posted May 23, 2024
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Atomic Blonde
(2017)
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Akhil Arora
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The fight on the staircase, a single take that lasts several minutes, is a particular highlight. It draws humour from the violence, too, and James McAvoy is having a ball as an unhinged operative.
Posted May 11, 2024
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John Wick
(2014)
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Akhil Arora
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Unrefined, stilted, and rough in places, the film’s leanness and coherent action can’t make up for the fact that Keanu Reeves is close to wooden and doesn’t offer much as an actor.
Posted May 11, 2024
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The Fall Guy
(2024)
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Akhil Arora
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Filmmaking can be incredibly complex but sometimes, all you need are two beautiful people who light up the screen together. Ryan Gosling and Emily Blunt are proof.
Posted May 02, 2024
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Challengers
(2024)
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Akhil Arora
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In what is easily his lightest and most accessible film yet, [Luca] Guadagnino takes primal human emotions—attraction, jealousy, failure, betrayal, despair, and sacrifice—and turns them into something endlessly fascinating. Game, set, match. Applause.
Posted Apr 27, 2024
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Rebel Moon: Part Two - The Scargiver
(2024)
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Akhil Arora
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The sequel … ought to benefit from a defined focus but mucks it up with frivolous scenes, the worst possible dialogue, and by routinely prioritising exposition over its horridly underdeveloped characters.
Posted Apr 19, 2024
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Amar Singh Chamkila
(2024)
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Akhil Arora
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Imtiaz Ali’s call for artistic freedom—and the price you must be willing to pay—doesn’t always have the power or focus it needs.
Posted Apr 12, 2024
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Damsel
(2024)
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Akhil Arora
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[This] … entirely self-serious tale—there isn’t a bone of humour in Damsel—has little to say and even less to show. I kept waiting for the film to kick in, to usher me into what it promised and wow me with its action, but that moment never arrived.
Posted Mar 08, 2024
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Bhakshak
(2024)
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Akhil Arora
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Unable (or unwilling) to craft scenes that could get their point across, [the writers] give into grandstanding, over and over. […] Bhakshak is packed with pithy virtue-signalling dialogues.
Posted Feb 09, 2024
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Kho Gaye Hum Kahan
(2023)
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Akhil Arora
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As much as I appreciate the existence of Kho Gaye Hum Kahan, given its authenticity and the rarity of films in the urban millennial milieu, it’s unfortunately half-baked and a disappointment.
Posted Dec 27, 2023
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The Archies
(2023)
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Akhil Arora
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The Archies is sugary and fluffy, just like cotton candy. Sure, it has a few bones to pick and some topics to tackle, but it has little interest in scratching below the surface. No wonder then that it loves pivoting to songs—there are 11 (!!) of them.
Posted Dec 07, 2023
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The Marvels
(2023)
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Akhil Arora
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Sure, there’s spurts of enjoyable banter between this new trio … but there’s alarmingly little dramatic material to make it a substantial film.
Posted Nov 11, 2023
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Against the Tide
(2023)
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Akhil Arora
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A poignant look at the struggle for a sea-based livelihood through the lens of those trying to uphold the traditional ways even as humanity plays havoc with nature. In contrast, others desperately embrace the future to not be left behind.
Posted Nov 04, 2023
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In the Rearview
(2023)
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Akhil Arora
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The camera is simply turned on the victims and passengers in the backseat, who attempt to process what the war means for them.
Posted Nov 04, 2023
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Fallen Leaves
(2023)
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Akhil Arora
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With deadpan humour, mundane setting, and idiosyncratic characters, we are presented with a gloomy view of life at the bottom in Finland, amidst the ominous news of warfare in a neighbouring country and feeling like you could be next at any moment.
Posted Nov 04, 2023
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Beyond Utopia
(2023)
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Akhil Arora
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A distressing showcase of the journey North Korean defectors must put up with, from surviving the horrors within to navigating the dangers outside before they can truly find their freedoms.
Posted Nov 04, 2023
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Our Body
(2023)
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Akhil Arora
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What begins as a no-holds-barred look at the myriad medical problems faced by women … turns into a sobering look at life itself, when the director becomes a part of the story.
Posted Nov 04, 2023
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Green Border
(2023)
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Akhil Arora
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A harrowing depiction of what refugees running from war and strife must put up with in so-called civilised and progressive Europe, with an epilogue laying bare the continent’s racist double standards.
Posted Nov 04, 2023
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Anatomy of a Fall
(2023)
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Akhil Arora
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An exploration of how isolated moments and other small things can stack up to present a warped view of reality.
Posted Nov 04, 2023
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Four Daughters
(2023)
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Akhil Arora
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As the actresses help recreate the life the family had, it turns into a sobering look at parenting, siblinghood, and ingrained patriarchy. Extremely powerful.
Posted Nov 04, 2023
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The Dark Knight
(2008)
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Akhil Arora
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It doesn’t matter how many superhero movies its crosstown rival makes; it’ll never match the brilliance that Nolan delivered the same year Marvel began its infinite project. Firing on all cylinders … this is the most complete film Nolan has ever made.
Posted Oct 17, 2023
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Memento
(2000)
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Akhil Arora
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Memento places you in the mind of the protagonist in a fascinating way—by running it in reverse, you only know as much as the protagonist remembers—and that constantly makes you question what you’ve been told and what you see next.
Posted Oct 17, 2023
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Inception
(2010)
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Akhil Arora
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There are thrillers, and then there are thrillers. Gripping every second and couching its pages of exposition in the smartest way possible, Inception is original filmmaking at its finest.
Posted Oct 17, 2023
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Batman Begins
(2005)
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Akhil Arora
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This is the moment Nolan began to establish his blockbuster tendencies: dynamic camera movement, rich cinematography, and heavy use of a majestic background score.
Posted Oct 17, 2023
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Dunkirk
(2017)
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Akhil Arora
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Immerses you in war because it’s so stripped down, with Nolan wanting you to feel what the British soldiers are going through.
Posted Oct 17, 2023
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The Prestige
(2006)
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Akhil Arora
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Nolan looks at how obsession can drive you beyond your limit and destroy everything, even when the simple answer is right in front of you. In the process, he … intentionally crafts an allegory of filmmaking itself.
Posted Oct 17, 2023
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Interstellar
(2014)
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Akhil Arora
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Humbling and epic in scope, designed and conceptualised brilliantly, but a tad too stand-off-ish emotionally. While the father-daughter dynamic works in parts, the Cooper–Brand relationship is never given the right treatment and collapses.
Posted Oct 17, 2023
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Insomnia
(2002)
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Akhil Arora
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The only remake Nolan has ever done and the only time he’s never written his own script—Insomnia was his first step in a studio system—this feels the least like a Nolan film, at least what we would come to expect of it based on what came after and before.
Posted Oct 17, 2023
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Tenet
(2020)
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Akhil Arora
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The most Nolan-y film yet, where he’s fixated entirely on the possibilities and wonder of his creation and entirely ignorant of the people involved in the events. […] It’s gripping but it’s also empty.
Posted Oct 17, 2023
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Following
(1998)
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Akhil Arora
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Somewhat meta in how a film writer voyeuristically finds his stories, and in some ways, you can see Nolan trying to find himself.
Posted Oct 17, 2023
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The Dark Knight Rises
(2012)
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Akhil Arora
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[The cap to Nolan’s Batman trilogy] briefly suggests deconstructing [the Dark Knight's] victories and of those around him, only to tilt all the way back. Ultimately betraying itself and its characters.
Posted Oct 17, 2023
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Khufiya
(2023)
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Akhil Arora
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Khufiya’s bigger, unforgivable crime is that it’s a slog to sit through. The chief component of a thriller movie is that it needs to be engaging […] [Vishal] Bhardwaj seems to have no idea how to sustain that—and he repeatedly undercuts himself.
Posted Oct 05, 2023
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Suspect X
(2023)
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Akhil Arora
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On Jaane Jaan, [Sujoy Ghosh is] working with the best material he’s ever had and two actors (in [Vijay] Varma and [Jaideep] Ahlawat) who can seem to do no wrong these days. ([Kareena] Kapoor Khan is solid too, but she’s not given enough sadly.)
Posted Sep 21, 2023
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