Cinema, Culture & More
There are several instances in Sam Hargrave’s ‘Extraction’ that remind you of a Bollywood gangster flick. For one, the backdrop is downright familiar in that it involves the kidnapping of Ovi Mahajan Jr., (Rudhraksh Jaiswal) son of dreaded Indian mafia kingpin Ovi Mahajan Sr. (Pankaj Tripathi) by Amir Asif (Priyanshu Painyuli), Mahajan’s arch rival in Bangladesh. Continue reading “Extraction (2020) English Movie Short Review”
The opening frames of Alberto Rodríguez’s ‘Marshland’ – ‘La isla mínima’ – are enough to have you instantly glued, and this Spanish film that was released in 2014, is a mesmerising succession of such spectacular shots that will enthral you. These bleak and yet stunningly exquisite portraits that the film employs remarkably gel with the grim theme that the film deals with, and the results are nothing short of a visual masterpiece. Continue reading “Marshland (2014) Spanish Movie Short Review”
Sadly another of Netflix horror flicks that simply didn’t work for me, Vincenzo Natali’s ‘In the Tall Grass’ had all the makings of a supernatural horror thriller, but fails to live up to the book that inspired it. It does start off interesting but the script gets increasingly weedy, as the leading pair ventures out into the grass land before them. Continue reading “In the Tall Grass (2019) English Movie Short Review”
Adam MacDonald’s ‘Backcountry’ rises well above the stature of a typical nature-survival horror film in that it employs several strategic ploys that would help maintain an atmosphere of terror. What is surprising is that the film has much less footage of the animal in action and yet emerges as one of the best films that has come out in the category. Continue reading “Backcountry (2014) English Movie Short Review”
I have been hearing a lot about the 2013 Korean film ‘Miracle in Cell No. 7’, but had never really got around to watching it. Which is why when Netlfix announced that they had the 2019 Turkish remake of the same, I jumped at it without a second thought, and yes, the efforts I should say have been nothing short of rewarding. Continue reading “Miracle in Cell No 7 (2019) Turkish Movie Short Review”
This cat and mouse tale directed by Jonás Cuarón, somehow reminded me of Spielberg’s ‘Duel’ (1971), and is a combo of some real mushy, basic survival tale and a primary social treatise of sorts. It does have its fair share of thriller moments, but somehow falls short of being that absolutely satisfying thrill fare that you expect it to be. Continue reading “Desierto (2015) Mexican Movie Short Review”
Happened to see this film on several Netflix lists for comedy lovers, and finally decided to give it a go. This Adam McKay directed flick that stars Will Ferrell and John C. Reilly as two oddball step brothers who are thrown together to live under a roof has some odd bits of laughter here and there, but hardly engage otherwise. Continue reading “Step Brothers (2008) English Movie Short Review”
How does it feel to have someone whom you hold close to your heart snatched away only to be brutally murdered? How does it feel to think of the pain that he must have possibly endured while being shot and struggling for life? How does life feel after he is gone, leaving behind an irrevocable vacuum, reminding you every day that life will never be the same again? Continue reading “Strong Island (2017) English Documentary Short Review”
The best thing about the lockdown has been the discovery of a series of documentary gems that are available all over the internet, and Netflix’s ‘Chasing Coral’ is the latest addition to my favourite list. Corals have always remained a fascinating subject not just to marine biologists and underwater photographers, but also to novices like me who had quit reading biology ever since high school. Continue reading “Chasing Coral (2017) English Documentary Short Review”
I do miss not having been able to watch tiny little gem in the theatres, despite quite a few friends suggesting that I do, when the film was released a couple of years back. For one, the temperament of ‘A Quiet Place’ is distinctly different, and the eerie silence that it so skilfully employs is what makes it a class apart. Continue reading “A Quiet Place (2018) English Movie Short Review”
Perugia, the quaint little Italian town, forms the setting as much for the film (directed by Rod Blackhurst and Brian McGinn) as it is for the ‘nightmare’ that Amanda Knox, in her own words endured in Italy, being a barely twenty year old young woman, who was convicted and later acquitted on charges of having allegedly murdered her roommate Meredith Ketcher. Continue reading “Amanda Knox (2016) English Documentary Short Review”