Editor's Reviews
In-depth reviews by our experts 🔮
Black Mirror: Bête Noire
"Creates a whole new frontier on the definition of gaslighting and uses it to launch a missile from the silo of sweet old school revenge. Of course, it's not that straightforward as it's a personalized psych warfare than the routinely conventional boring ones. Except it was going so incredibly well that it made me question whether it's going on a little too incredibly well. Right up until the end when it chooses to become the conventional too elaborate and designed right to a tee, it lost me. That was so by the book. I started imagining it to be voodoo or something ancient. But, given it's Black Mirror, it sure does try to push the frontier of sci-fi but for some reason that's not enough of a shocking experience for me which is what this show's secret sauce used to be. It's good enough though."
The Death of Robin Hood
"More tranquil than Sandor Clegane's second chance and equally more savage than the return to the life of the Hound.... Legend is a legend for it passes many tongues in the vast expanse of time. Adding embellishments and subtracting the impertinent so as to make heroes out of troglodytes. Hugh Jackman's fresh albeit grimdark addition which can be considered as one of the formidable roles of his career since Bad Education (seven years too late) spins one such legend to shatter the much accustomed version of an all time legend. I can see why so much of murmurings happened with this being a parallel to Egger's The Northman and the darkness, the senseless brutality, cutthroat tribalism and a violent purpose and many other aspects here sure resemble that blood-soaked Viking tale even though for a fraction of that story but there is a stillness, a sense of haven and peace that runs for a large section of runtime here which makes it diametrically different. Plus the bloodletting, minus the amount of snow and half naked men wrestling around a bonfire. Redemption wasn't anywhere near the sight of The Northman, rather revenge was whereas it is the lifeline of The Death of Robin Hood. Amidst all the cutting, clubbing stabbing, tearing and squelching of flesh and bones, blood gargling inside the throat and getting dragged through the muck as well as the stark gloomy atmosphere, rays of humanity appears in this even within the most irredeemable soul although fleeting, flickering and however much susceptible to the randomness of ebb and flow, back and forth. The serenity and the gnarly. As the movie mentions, the balance. After a while, it becomes transparent as everything that's been laid out sort of start fitting a pattern and that's the chink in the armor. That and the gratuitous nature of intense score here and there. If the many worlds theory has any leg, The Death of Robin Hood must be the Robin Hood version Ridley Scott would have made somewhere in the eternal inflationary universe. Plus the English and Scottish songs in the background. Anyway, whatever hole in the legacy of Scott that's since the reach of 2008 appeared, Michael Sarnoski is here to fill that and intends to carry on that legacy. There is even the similar usage of dull bleak colors of blueish hue and amber as it has been the trademarks of one director once majored in movies often portraying medieval wars comprising heroes of sprawling empires. And of course, effects-heavy battles consist of cavalry which is not this film's style."
Drag Me to Hell
"I don't get all the hype and jacked up ratings, is it the wind carrying the fallen leaves or is it the flying woman or the fissures on the ground or is it just Justin Lang himself? I forgot how outrageously blatant Drag Me To Hell was. I sorta liked it in my teenage years. Gee!! Have we come a long way when it comes particularly to the horror genre. Come to think of it, even the performances seem a little off. A bit green. The dreadful ways the demonic spirit supposed to haunt were more Scooby Doo style cartoonish caricature than what should have induced dread and hair raising scares. It's one disgusting magic trick after another. The whole thing felt like Sam Raimi was playing a prank. It played with a vibe of one of those campy 80s B-grade Bollywood horror films. P.S.- The goat had more intelligence than the seer who shouted at the possessed- "Away, you unclean spirit." My favorite moment was when she murdered the handkerchief of death."
Evil Dead Burn
"Jeez! Where do they find these models/actors! I mean what rundown talent agency is so desperate and how do Warner Bros. Discovery ends up hiring them, that might be a better horror story. Way better than whatever this was. Evil Dead Burn, at first glance plays like a spoof on YouTube short film format. Gradually it becomes a brief commentary about the sham that are the performative so-called family values which is just a euphemism for dysfunctional abusive toxic relationships all around. But, it's just overcompensating for what it truly is- a front for a snuff film. That family shouldn't be near so many sharp objects to begin with. This movie is not terrible. I mean it's not Silent Hill Origins terrible but that's not much of a glowing criteria for a comparative benchmark. At least the final thirty minutes were quite an improvement."
Bodies
"If scientific advancements reach its pinnacle, Bodies won't be a fiction anymore and Curtis Yarvin might play Stephen Graham to perfection. Bodies shines in the long queue of this modern established trope of the future state depending entirely on the mental health of one very powerful and/or smart person. Just like- Legion, Dark, Thunderbolts etc. Difference is here in this case, the show makes it point to underline the consequential outcome by the clever addition of a principle- the sheer number of misery is not worth it just to satiate one person's grievances or to balance out his pain by punishing hundreds of thousands of people. But, then it tries to appease this particular issue in the very last episode putting forth the idea that maybe it's worth it after all the time hopping shenanigans if things can just be course- corrected. Four distinct parts to the story all connecting via the thread of causing immense anguish to a one party is quite a challenging ordeal, yet Bodies does it smoothly without letting the trophy out of its sight. In the final episodes, it picks up its pace and it gets a little too predictable like many other such similar projects that have come before, but nevertheless the miniseries is very much bingeable. Some of the casting choices could have been better but nothing to be concerned about. From the period setting all the way to the present and the future, it doesn't overdo it betraying practicality and keeps it grounded and manageable. The redemptive arc comes at the very last moment and doesn't take a bit too much of the show's time which was refreshing. Bodies is a thoroughly enjoyable show with enough segments and machinery in the plot as well as intrigue constantly moving so as to keep you guessing for a couple of episodes and then it lays bare the whole mechanics without feeling two ways about it."
BEEF
"Season 2The first season of Beef was remarkable with its ambition and underlying themes. Is the second season as good in all the same metrics? Not quite. But, it is its own thing. While, the first season was very much strategic to create and contain its chaos, the second season takes its time to be all that mentioned above. Mean, petty, duplicitous and insanely vengeful. It wanted to convey pure meanness on a new level of how far down in competition two characters being at each other's throats can go and of course, the topical idea of income inequality. While The White Lotus kept churning out more and more seasons on the exact same topics, there is a separate exclusive kind of bankruptcy of human values that fuels the engines of Beef created by Lee Sung Jin. The second season excels at utilizing both the newcomers and seasoned actors and actresses and all of them rise to the occasion on an expected yet remarkable pedestal. The later episodes get a little bit wobbly by letting it lose into an unbelievably almost fantastical territory but the perspective of the winner-takes-all in a dog eat dog world has to go over to the top of the chain and this season doesn't hesitate to highlight that. I particularly love the way it ends this time which feels very practical since it wants to make a point about the results and bargains of a post-capitalist society."
Maniac
"Maniac is what David Mitchell's Cloud Atlas would be if instead of Mitchell, it was created by PKD or William Gibson. It strips away the gobbledygook wooey mystic aspect of reincarnation or even the exotic unbelievable scenarios of however many possible dimensions and instead remains grounded in science fiction but keeps it layered and hard-concept-oriented stretching it between simulations, lucid dream and human experiences of trauma as well as the technologically diagnostic side of ailments along with value-based traits. A real good sci-fi show that started real complex, yet after four to five episodes later, it kinda loses its elusive mysterious nature as things start to fall into predictable places. The performances were very at par with the level of excellence as expected from the cast. I like how this show takes a long warranted break from Hollywood's fascination with the Jungian-style psychoanalysis and the shadow self as well as mirror consciousness and leans into the Freudian concepts and thereby addresses the stigma around mental illness, causes and treatment approaches vis-a-vis substance abuse as a manner of escape from reality. Maniac also underlines the significance of human connection and all things humane itself being existent upon that social connection. Given the finale, with the advantage of hindsight I find it pretty ironic that both Cary Joji Fukunaga and Jonah Hill were at the helm of this show."
Dublin Murders
"This murder mystery whodunnit keeps on spinning its yearns with saturated overcooked backstories, time jumps, repressed memories, multiple branches, personal shenanigans and abrupt loose ends until you start asking yourself when is it gonna stop because of a splitting headache it induces. Both Sarah Greene and Killian Scott did their best as per the requirements of the Tana French novels. Couldn't care for the forced side quest of the inquiry nor its past trauma ridden attitude towards other people, especially women. Apart from that the atmospheric setting of rural Ireland, the woody landscape and gloomy overcast as well as eerie night time designs of the show seem like a waste of opportunity given all the unnecessary red herrings Dublin Murders throws at you. If not for the reveals at the climax and the intent of the gruesome act, most of the episodes contribute nothing fresh to the investigative murder mystery genre."
Mayday
"The first twenty minutes of Mayday is the usual routine of Hollywood flexing its glutes plus the Reynolds trademark of snappy reparate which to be honest has gone stale since past ten years. Then Kenneth Branagh appears and breathes life into whatever that's been going on by converting this behind-enemy-line plot into a lighthearted Hunt For The Red October minus the ocean and the submarine. Rather a better fit would be to draw parallels of it to The Unbearable Weightness of Massive Talents. The final half an hour is stupid with two giant Os. If they had put that in a Fast and Furious movie, it would have still been insane."
A Ghost Story
"Wowza!!! This Stephen King's nightmare of a film induces such melancholy on an existential level that shattered my previously upheld view that horror could either bring forth catharsis or go on a commentary/message slant. Couldn't be able to take my eyes off of it even for a second thanks to the magic the cinematographer and composer were sprinkling. I should have known better going in a David Lowery rabbit hole than to prematurely believe that I'd comprehend this fully. Then, they plastered that Virginia Woolf quote and I was like that'd be it, I am definitely not gonna understand this movie and as the camera lingers and overstays its welcome for more than the appropriate seconds, I was completely sure of this going over my head. That was until the subtitles started to appear. And then it took this loopy Terrence Malick path and things got really interesting. A Ghost Story is one of those study-in-grief type of project. And while everything Rooney Mara was going through, I couldn't help but wondering the one fundamental question- Did she get paid the same as Casey? Because that thing might as well be a rotating stick on wheels under that sheet, who knows!!! Whatever Ghostface's been up to these days has no contest to Casey Affleck under a white sheet with eyeholes cut into it. No. Not the pointy kind with the burning cross. It's not that kind of film. For real though, Scream franchise should seriously consider this art house style of spin given the state of their movies."
Bagman
"Like a fairytale but for the upside down. In this Stephen King's version of The Grabber, Sam Claflin tails a monster out of folklore to its den at the end of earth. Bagman has its moments, sure, but nothing out of the ordinary."
The Whisper Man
"Looks like we aren't even trying to create something even remotely close to Zodiac, instead going in the opposite direction. The Whisper Man is a whimpering fanfare with a banner displaying names of some of the most prominent Hollywood giants. This movie, it seems like, has a knack for showing who's stupider than whom!! The Whisper Man starts very bleak and atmospheric just like True Detective, unfortunately that is it for the resemblance which is ironic since it also has Michelle Monaghan, this time playing from the other side wearing the jacket. From the very first moments, it establishes that all the locations, contacts, the families and friends of the victims were cleared and accounted for. I guess, it means only for the victims, why would the cops even think of any family tree or bloodline of the suspects, let alone the original perp! Right? Secondly, kids are more resilient than Hollywood has been trying to make 'em out to be. Drugged and kidnapped might do for sure but whispers. Third and the most hilarious point. If privatization of the incarceration system in the US ultimately delivers this state of maximum security, then we are better off here with the jails and prisons in India. Apart from three to four genuine jump scares and tip top performances all across the board, as expected, given the roster, there was nothing much to be gained here. The way Adam Scott has been going on about since taking a detour from comedy, he is gonna lose his mind."
The Thing
"As a huge admirer of John Campbell's short story Who Goes There? which was a pioneering work on the horror and palpable dread of a groundbreaking concept in the history of Sci-Fi literature, I am a little bit disappointed given all the popularity behind this mid 80s John Carpenter adaptation. Carpenter does the most Carpenter thing and converts this science fiction story about a sort of shapeshifting otherworldly monster which excels at completely blending itself in into a body horror and in doing so, stripped the foundational traits of the supposed extraterrestrial entity. While in the source material, the threat was really subtle and it never beat one over the head by its terrifying presence nor did it lurk in shadows waiting to pounce rather the threat was invisible for the most part. It's only when the effects of its functionalities get shown, it crowns its head and eyes and tentacles and whatnot. If the monster had remained ever present on the pages, that essence of unknowing as well as the suspense around its host would have been left more to be desired. The Thing exactly goes on the opposite route by choosing a much sensational body horror style of subgenre. It becomes a zombie apocalypse survival movie where even the more analytic academic characters were turned into cowboys, let alone some of the absent ones. Despite the fact that the set designs, cinematography and the eerie yet loud music choice by Ennio Morricone tried to stretch the spirit of the film so as to maintain it as close to the original material, the principal element of the plot felt like it got tainted to a degree by leaning too much into a grotesque nature of survivability of the new species (or should I say the older one) against us humans by kickass weaponry and too much torching and explosions rather than what it should have gone for; an approach of designing terror by embracing the unknown and building suspense around it like a whodunit."
Midsommar
"Well, that's one way to battle bereavement.... Nine-day trippy festivities recipe for healing from grief. Midsommar is why Florence Pugh is where she is today. Even though I personally have an innate sense of aversion to anything ritualistic, Midsommar here was truly a jarring and hypnotic experience. Even the way the camera moved, it felt like it itself was on mushrooms. Also felt like Aster sprinkled clues, signs and symbols all around which I totally couldn't focus on due to the graphic depictions of the cult customs, the ambient sounds, the haunting background score and the sudden and abrupt noise bursts inducing my mind into trance and prying it out of it.Which is great because it means I can't wait for a rewatch. It's also amazingly funny how despite being very niche in themes and clues, this horror film stays true to the formula of characters vanishing after splitting one by one. Whether it was a parodied design or sincere, I don't know. But, at least picking apart the group with the instruments being their personal indulgences through customized weaponizing of their own issues/weaknesses was a nice touch. Overall, great potential avenues for fresh new unique nightmares in future. Midsommar makes The Lottery read like one of those feel-good hallmark Christmas romcom stories. Shirley Jackson would have been disturbed to watch the daring bold nature of this."
Stranger Things 5: The Finale
"Review for the entirety of Season 5Apart from the paranoid critique clouded by the cataract-laden lenses of many by misguidedly considering this as some form of agitprop for queer social contagion which is insane just for me to even write those words, I think this final season was pretty good. I tried to hold off as long as I could given all the negative reviews when it got released but I found no such misgivings. I'm glad I finally watched it. Even with some of its flaws, Stranger Things still tried to tie all the strings into a cohesive premise while maintaining a blast of a swan song. Season 5 goes back to the drawing board multiple times and characters get separate and regroup in a quintessential manner reminding us in the form of call backs to the season 1 which is still the best in the entire series. The season also maintains every major character's side quests and how they are woven into the larger scheme of things doing their part. Some small, some formidable. The show pivots sometimes, works on hunches and coincidences. What did people expect!! It's a show for teenagers and grownups alike based on a composite of children's board game. It has a video game like structure. Not your jam, then go watch From. Even that show has some wacky supernatural wild choices. Granted this season didn't handle the slow transition phase well like other seasons when it used to gradually build up suspense by taking its sweet time like the first act of a horror movie until something crazy gets revealed. It felt as though there was a deadline set and the natural ways of story progression were obstructed and forced into a fast paced narrative. But, still for the most part, it has everything. Spectacle, action, horror, amazing single take shots, comedy banter, memories, catharsis, nostalgia, full circle moments, guest appearances, backstory, experiments, theories, nods to classic novels, 80s' props. And Linda Hamilton. Everything. It's not perfect like the first season. But, then, just a few handful of rare shows historically have succeeded at that. It's not perfect but it's not mediocre middling crap either. I have seen worse finales. Surely didn't need a 45-minute-long denouement. As far as the absence of packs of demogorgons in the final episode, it was a poor but strategically practical choice I think given the sheer power and force of those things against the teenage muscles and minds. But, still it requires quite a bit of convenient suspension of disbelief. But, all in all that alone couldn't dim the excitement and so much of commotion and happenings packed inside one single episode. In decades to come, Stranger Things will live on rent free especially inside the minds of board games and comic books loving nerds and Sci-Fi horror genre nuts. And of course, the fans of The Goonies."
Her Private Hell
"Even God wouldn't forgive this time...... I think the time has come for Nicolas Winding Refn to dial it way back down the neon bedazzling and the pretentious meta commentary as themes and go back to his Pusher-Bronson-Drive days starring brooding protagonists. I like my sci-fis hover between the spectrum of philosophy and mind-bending techy tech tech high-concept; between Kubrick and Tarkovsky style paintings and Nolan's puzzles. Between what and how, not this Von Trier style Jungian DMT-induced nightmarish netherworld as science fiction. And Sophie Thatcher should go beyond this weird traumatized girl syndrome in the speculative branch of make-believe."
Ghost in the Shell
"Mind-altering, imaginative high-tech sci-fi anime asks deep philosophical questions that've been beguiling philosophers, scientists and physicists. About the hard problem of consciousness, qualia, identity, memory, the idea of the self, simulation hypothesis and determinism. Sprawling, expansive visuals and indigenous contemplative music adding layers to the ideas and fundamental questions about the universe and sentient self-aware beings' place in it. A Da Vinci-scale work in science fiction. Ghost In The Shell is when untrammelled futuristic vision meets brilliant artistry. It doesn't follow the usual formula of neon-saturated dystopian atmosphere of a cyberpunk city rather sticks to the realistic although vibrant colors of a bustling Japan. It's the epitome of the expression- "How did they do that back then!!!!""
In the Mouth of Madness
"I didn't have the faintest that Stranger Than Fiction was already on screen years before Will Ferrell became a puppet and Emma Thompson was the intelligent designer. This one was way funnier than it was scary. If we put aside the terrible acting by Julie Carmen, I would say John Carpenter otherwise effectively succeeded to induce madness with this mid 90s horror. A pretty decent and underrated Lovecraftian horror under whose subgenre In The Mouth of Madness excels in bringing forth the cosmic vision of ushering in an dreadful apocalypse where the smartass character is full of himself as he thinks he has figured it all out yet by the end fails to convince the reality of what's happening to anyone and therefore, had to accept his written fate. Or, and this is what's been racking my brain. All of this was just an allegory of mass consumption of popular widely read or watched slops that seemed to have hypnotized much of the population!! Either way is fascinating. Sam Neill reigned over Hollywood in the 90s and this was another such feather in his cap."