Reviews
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Review: IANS REVIEW: 'The Kissing Booth 3': A shallow rom-com with a wafer-thin plot
A teen rom-com, 'The Kissing Booth 3' is supposed to be the epic love story of Elle and Noah. Instead, this third edition is a weird sappy romance about the duo being best friends forever.
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IANS Review: 'Dial 100' is mishmash of two genres, dilutes impact
The name ‘Dial 100' conjures up an image of a nail-biting crime thriller, but director Rensil D'Silva's version is a far cry from it.
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Review: 'Promising Young Woman': Astutely, uniquely crafted revenge drama
The film begins at a nondescript pop-fuelled party with men dancing and drinking. The camera zooms to a corner where Cassie (Carey Mulligan), not in her senses, is slumped because of an overdose of alcohol. Few guys who are drinking at the bar eye her with glee, deciding as to who would prey on her.
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Review: 'The Courier' - Riveting espionage drama set in Cold War era
Based on true events, the film unspools the story of how London-based Greville Wynne (Benedict Cumberbatch), who claims to be just a "salesman" is recruited by two secret agents, one from the CIA and the other from MI6, to be a part of a dangerous undercover mission on Russian territory.
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Review: Toofaan: Far from the storm the hype promised
You know something's wrong with a film when you've figured out the whole story from a few minutes of trailer. For a film that runs over 160-odd minutes, more so.
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Review: Malik: Fahadh Faasil's godfather turn
Fahadh Faasil's new film is his most ambitious yet. Helmed by Mahesh Narayanan, who earlier directed the actor in acclaimed efforts as "C U Soon" and "Take Off", "Malik" sets up a sweeping saga that literally puts Fahadh on the pedestal of godfather.
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Review: Collar Bomb: Passable fare
A cop runs against time to stop a suicide bomber who holds a group of children hostage in a school. The bomber forces the cop to commit certain unlawful acts, if he must see the children alive and, of course, there is a twist in all this.
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Review: 'State Of Siege: Temple Attack' is a wasted opportunity
The problem with "State Of Siege: Temple Attack" is the film simply cannot rise above hackneyed mediocrity.
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Review: Haseen Dillruba: Wild, wicked but with warts
Kanika Dhillon's writing is as much the 'hero' of "Haseen Dillruba" as Taapsee Pannu, who breathes life into the titular protagonist with trademark relish, or Vikrant Massey -- just give the guy a meaty role and watch him go. That's not to say there are no rough edges in the script, you'll spot plenty of loopholes here.
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Review: The Tomorrow War: Sloppy sci-fi
BY VINAYAK CHAKRAVORTY
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Review: Samantar 2: Should keep season one fans happy
The Marathi thriller series "Samantar" gave an absorbing spin to the mystery genre in its first season last year, and the hype was naturally high when season two dropped this weekend.
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Review: June: Hard as nails yet sensitive
Suhrud Godbole and Vaibhav Khisti's coming-of-age film is hard as nails while conveying its message, yet sensitive while driving home the point. The script focuses on issues such as bullying, teenage confusion, self-harm and suicide, and also touches upon wider issues as sexism and generation gap.
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Review: Ray: Uneven but worth a binge
It's compulsively dark for most parts, often strangely so, the way Satyajit Ray's oeuvre rarely was. Ray had a way of serving the sombre in layers, with simplistic emotions often acting as mask for deeper subtexts.
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Review: Luca: Talks of inclusion with cute relish
"Luca" talks of inclusion, and the importance of accepting those that are perceived as different by society. Like all Pixar productions, the film serves its message in a goodlooking package that brims with feel-good verve, and animation that is as striking as you'd expect from the banner.
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Review: Sherni: Slow-burn impact
"Sherni" tackles several diverse issues. The film is as much about sexism in the 'sarkari' workplace offices as it is about rapid erosion of forest land and the threat to wildlife in the name of development.
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Review: Shaadisthan: Shoddy storytelling
Sometimes, the best intentions are lost in inadequate execution. "Shaadisthan" is a film that talks of women's empowerment, but the effort is burdened by shoddy storytelling that simply fails to hold your attention.
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Review: Sunflower: Quirky but lacks focus
"Sunflower" keeps you guessing all the way, all right -- but that's because the show tries to do too many things, diluting the impact of the dark comedy thrills it should have stuck to. It's starts on a different sort of a high as a murder mystery, showing you the murder (and murderer) right at the start.
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Review: Dom: Gripping saga
The father is a cop, the son is a criminal, and the show is a suspense drama woven around familial conflict. Bollywood masala, anyone? Well, "Dom" is based on a true story that happened in Brazil, the pre-credits announce. Truth can be stranger than fiction.