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Fanney Khan
...none of these crucial issues are explored; after a cursory mention, the film gets lost in tired clichés.
Aug 2018
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Karwaan
...is aiming for an easy, offhand charm, and we get that only in bits and pieces, especially when Irrfan hits his stride on occasion, or when Dulquer proves just how good he can be...
Aug 2018
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Saheb Biwi Aur Gangster 3
Much more money has been spent in this part, to make it plusher. It’s shinier, sure, but much less on point. In the power-hungry, sexually charged games the trio and its hangers-on play, there’s a lot more that topples than towers.
Jul 2018
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Dhadak
Khatter has a mobile, expressive face. He is a natural. Kapoor, though, has a hard time emoting. On their own, they each have a couple of scenes which they work: together, there is no zing, no `zingaaat’.
Jul 2018
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Soorma
In choosing to show the personal side, the professional aspects get short shrift, and that’s where the film doesn’t score as well.
Jul 2018
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Sanju
...is mostly engaging, and some of it good enough to make you laugh out loud in pleasure, especially when Hirani is killing it. But you wonder too what the film chose to leave out, and you wonder if this would have been more of a film if those things had been in here.
Jun 2018
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Race 3
...is nothing but a recycled bin of too many car chases, explosions, buffed up characters strutting in slo-mo, and wilted lines.
Jun 2018
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Veere Di Wedding
...is a fun ride, which squeezes past its creaky tropes and partial squelchiness by some smart casting choices, and perky performances.
Jun 2018
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Bhavesh Joshi Superhero
There is a film in here. Or should I say, would have been, if Bhavesh Joshi Superhero had been less of a cobbled-together-from-many-influences overlong yarn. And fresher, sharper, clearer.
Jun 2018
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May 2018
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Parmanu
You will get the money shot of Abraham and co walking in slo-mo to swelling background music, enveloped in a comic book feel. You will not get crucial nuance and detail, essential requirements for a film to be to taken seriously.
May 2018
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Angrezi Mein Kehte Hain
...the film is plagued with some amount of staginess. Parts of it feel overstated, rather than subtly touched upon.
May 2018
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Daas Dev
The trouble with all these people (a fine ensemble cast), whose questionable actions underline the common belief that all politics is for personal gain and not for the greater good, is that they get shoehorned into an overwrought plot. And its all much too jerky and staccato, never really letting its good parts breathe.
Apr 2018
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Beyond The Clouds
...good-looking yet hollow, and leaves us wondering why, if Majidi did have to make a Hindi film, did he choose this subject? He’s clearly seeing it at second-remove.
Apr 2018
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Nanu Ki Jaanu
The film may have been a larky idea, but practically nothing rises above the execution.
Apr 2018
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Baaghi 2
The trouble with a full-on masala film going in search of a plot is evident in the way the film unspools.
Mar 2018
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Mar 2018
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Mar 2018
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Hate Story IV
The plot is a steady stream of hot bods. And acting, what’s that? The film has no ambitions that-a-way, so there.
Mar 2018
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3 Storeys
Even if not madly original, ensemble pieces can turn out interesting if consistently told. 3 Storeys comes off nice in bits but uneven overall...
Mar 2018
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Pari
...the film is so poorly-written, and so scatter-brained that nothing can rescue it, not even a leading lady who is determined to do something different with her producing heft.
Mar 2018
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Feb 2018
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Sonu Ke Titu Ki Sweety
...provides some laughs, some of which escape involuntarily. But it also leaves you wondering. Can Ranjan grow up his callow characters? Of course, he can, because he has the smarts (remember Pyar Ka Punchnama?). Does he really want to? I’m not sure. Sharp comedy of the sexes is the hard stuff. Cheap laughs are easy.
Feb 2018
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Pad Man
...is as worthy, but it isn’t a particularly enjoyable film. It has tonal problems, because it is trying to appeal to many constituencies at the same time.
Feb 2018
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Kuldip Patwal
...is a mess which never quite comes together, with both story and characters and dialogue meandering all over the place.
Feb 2018
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Padmaavat
You can easily delight in it while the going is good. But nearly three hours of it, and looping rhetoric around what constitutes Rajput valour can and does become tiresome.
Jan 2018
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My Birthday Song
The plotting and the treatment is far too inept to create a solid psychological thriller out of this looping-upon-itself story, whose big reveal is too brief, too late.
Jan 2018
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Vodka Diaries
...just why, with a notable exception or two, doesn’t Bollywood make any worthwhile thrillers? Sadly, the reliable Menon is wasted. So is our time.
Jan 2018
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Kaalakaandi
Kalaakaandi is a Marathi term for ‘mayhem’, but there’s not enough of it, resulting in the film being more a no-stakes stroll, rather than a breathless roller-coaster.
Jan 2018