The Critique

Dir: David Kerr Starring: Rowan Atkinson, Ben Miller, Olga Kurylenko Dur: 1 hr 29 mins Genre: Comedy Rating: 6/10 The Johnny English franchise hasn’t been of much interest to me except for two things: one, Rowan Atkinson stars in an actual film! and two, it is a pretty good parody of James Bond. When the film released, I wasn’t too excited about it. My interest in the film increased when I heard that some of my friends literally laughed at every scene in the film. This got me wondering about the comedic quality of the film and I finally brought myself round to seeing it. It starts off on a pretty interesting note, both by way of introducing the film and by re-introducing the titular character. The addition of Olga was a slick Bond-like move, and it had its desired effect. The film got the look and feel of a true spy story. The plot felt slightly better constructed than the previous one but I’m not in a position to make a sound judgment since the last film was release...

Dir: James Wan Starring: Jason Momoa, Amber Heard, Willem Dafoe, Patrick Wilson, Nicole Kidman Dur: 2 hrs 22 mins Genre: Superhero Rating: 9/10 This is something I never thought I would see for at least a little longer! No, it’s not the Aquaman film I’m talking about; it’s DC’s next big blockbuster! Over the years, DC has tried several times to come up with something fantastic, at least something that could match their rival, Marvel’s success. The closest they’ve come was The Dark Knight (2008) and The Dark Knight Rises (2012), both of which are in the top ten highest grossing superhero films. Not even the superhero ensemble film, Justice League (2017) or their epic, clash-of-the-titan, Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice (2016) could make the bill. In my opinion, Wonder Woman (2017) was their last great product. Although it sadly didn’t do as well as it perhaps should have, it served as a beacon of hope that finally, DC had pulled their act together and learnt to produ...

Dir: Eli Roth Starring: Jack Black, Cate Blanchett Dur: 1 hr 53 mins Genre: Adventure Rating: 6/10 With a trailer that promises a breathlessly exciting and thrilling adventure of magic, mystery and drama, the film set itself a high standard. Surprisingly, it managed to keep up to most of its promises. The film was thoroughly entertaining, both in terms of language and adventure. It wasted no time is establishing the setting or on developing the characters or the story line. It jumped straight into the thick of action — something I deeply appreciated and immensely enjoyed. However, what the film gained in skillful direction and animation it lost on a threadbare plot. A young boy, Lewis, who has tragically lost his parents is sent to live with his estranged uncle (question bells are already ringing in my head. Are they in yours too?) Slowly, he discovers that his uncle is a warlock and that the house he is living in is magically animated. In his attempt to live a ‘nor...

Dir: Shree Narayan Singh Starring: Shahid Kapoor, Shraddha Kapoor, Divyendu Sharma and Yami Gautam Dur: 2 hrs 41 mins Genre: Social Drama Rating: 7/10 The film’s title is quite revealing and its concept is interesting. I quite liked what the director did with the film, although I have my reservations. This could very well have been simply a great social drama film but thanks to the emphasis on romance, it has to settle for being just an average social drama. The film centres around three friends, two boys and a girl, who are quite inseparable until the girl decides to do the one thing that is sure to stir up trouble: date both of her best friends separately. Considering that this is set in the remote state of Uttarakhand, it is quite a bold move, and also quite an awful way of introducing drama. In between shots of friendship and romance, we are made aware of the sufferings of the locals with regard to power cuts. Against the social situation, one of the boys, Tripath...

Dir: Pierre Morel Starring: Jennifer Garner Dur: 1 hr 47 mins Genre: Action Rating: 5/10 I hadn’t heard about this film until the opportunity to watch it sprang up. It’s not until after I had seen at and even more, after I got round to writing this review, that I realized why. It’s simply not worth it! For a film whose poster boasted of having the same director of Taken , it was quite a let down. First off, there was absolutely no reason to market the film with the director’s credentials. Peppermint is quite unlike Taken . I understand that it is a market strategy but it didn’t work, at least in this case, and at least for me! From the very first scene, the film is shown to be a mindless, brutal and bloody action thriller. The thrills were missing but the other elements were all there. The film doesn’t really stand out in terms of action sequences, storyline, twists and build up. The best thing about this film is clearly Jennifer Garner. Her performance is fantastic....