- I Want To Talk (English, Hindi) - Review
wogma rating: Add to that never-watched 'To Watch' list (?) quick review: Top-class performers trying their best to infuse life into dull lines given to weirdly-defined characters. Streaming Partner: Amazon Prime Review You know the film is going to have an October touch to it. You are looking forward to that with a dash of Piku on the side. And surely enough I Want To Talk starts out snappily. In fact, the first few minutes feel overbearing wit…
- 10 days ago 22 Nov 24, 5:57pm -
- Bhool Bhulaiyaa 3 - Review
wogma rating: Watch if you have nothing better to do (?) quick review: Better than one had braced oneself for. Even so, the horror is too silly to be taken seriously, and the good-natured humour for most parts too unengaging to spend 2.5+ hours on. Review Bhool Bhulaiyaa 3 actually has a reasonably coherent plot with far less time spent on totally out-of-context segues that we associate Anees Bazmee slapstick with. But then, that is only when com…
- 27 days ago 5 Nov 24, 6:29pm -
- Singham Again - Review
wogma rating: Switch channels if it's on cable (?) quick review: Gut-churning jingoism, which even the inclined could watch at minimum 4x speed. Not due to the story but because it feels like 90% of the film is in slo-mo. So, can make it 16x because the story is an insecure parallel of the Ramayana. Review See, no one is expecting subtlety here. Or even originality. So, when a “Grand” Ramayana show is presented as a ppt deck with a Wikipedia-…
- 28 days ago 4 Nov 24, 5:15pm -
- Stree 2 - Review
wogma rating: Watch if you have nothing better to do (?) quick review: “WHY SO LOUD?” Would’ve asked the question if I got a feeling that there’d be a well thought out reason for the decision or any film-making decision at all. That’s how haphazard it all is. (Streaming Partner: Amazon Prime) Review “Continue the story” or “Pass the story”, you might have heard of this game. You can see how it plays out as a movie if you end up…
- 16 Aug 24, 2:15pm -
- Phir Aayi Hasseen Dillruba - Review
wogma rating: Watch but no rush (?) quick review: Pulpy entertainment for the time it lasts. There’s not much beyond that. But, doesn’t look like the makers were shooting for more.(Available on Netflix) Review Phir Aayi Hasseen Dillruba is certainly much more engaging and even enjoyable than the first episode. It carries pulpy humour in the foreground and the background. The characters might be one-toned and their situation repetitive, but t…
- 14 Aug 24, 5:35pm -
- Sarfira - Review
wogma rating: Add to that never-watched 'To Watch' list (?) quick review: A story with so much heart told with such little spark. Instead, the telling is LOUD, s…l…o…w…and basically uninteresting. Review “Who are the rich to tell us what we should want!” A truer sentiment, there cannot be, right? And least expected, it was for me to hear that in a film. B-u-t, for a film that claims to be speaking for the masses, it’s sad that Sarfi…
- 12 Jul 24, 4:59pm -
- Kalki 2898 AD - Review
wogma rating: Watch if you have nothing better to do (?) quick review: 2898AD…when asking, ‘Why?’ seems to be the most illogical thing to do. Though, we as an audience are seasoned for that, right? But, 175/180 minutes of boredom! How are we to handle that? Review If you can believe that Tom Cruise defies death by jumping off high cliffs and tall buildings, what’s your problem with accepting Shah Rukh Khan doing it? If you can engage with…
- 27 Jun 24, 9:02pm -
- Ishq Vishk Rebound - Review
wogma rating: Watch if you have nothing better to do (?) quick review: The freshness wilts rather quickly as young adults go about sorting their lives and minds out. Their match-ups, break-ups, and patch-ups neither engage nor entertain. Review A love triangle has to be really really well-made for it to work well after 100 years of movies being made. A romantic film doesn’t have to answer “Why are they in love with each other?” But if the q…
- 21 Jun 24, 5:25pm -
- Mr. & Mrs. Mahi - Review
wogma rating: Add to 'must watch' list (?) quick review: The grey characters, the man-woman equation, the light yet philosophical touches make it a good watch. Wish it didn’t try so hard in the beginning and didn’t rush so badly to the climax. Review There are a lot many things going for Mr and Mrs Mahi, the film. A few are alright, no great shakes. Only two things against it—the way it starts and how it ends. The relationships, the philoso…
- 31 May 24, 4:52pm -
- Srikanth - Review
wogma rating: Add to 'must watch' list (?) quick review: An inspirational story, if there was one! And yet so, human. Well performed too. All good enough to overlook the episodic writing in the first half. Streaming partner: Netflix Review Accessibility, generally is a tough one. But it is a whole another level when it is denied to you at the very beginning. Imagine your community prefers to deny you access to life itself. For your sake. Then yo…
- 10 May 24, 6:18pm -
- Love Sex Aur Dhokha 2 - Review
wogma rating: Add to that never-watched 'To Watch' list (?) quick review: Experimental, it is. But not an experiment that I enjoyed. It could be a me thing, though. The film’s subject matter is stuff that I actively avoid in real life. To top it off, my mind couldn’t keep up with the chaos + frenzied presentation. Streaming Partner: Netflix Review I am actually tired. My brain feels worn out. No, it is not because this is the second film I w…
- 19 Apr 24, 6:49pm -
- Do Aur Do Pyaar - Review
wogma rating: Add to that never-watched 'To Watch' list (?) quick review: The film is a metaphor for its subject matter—relationships. It starts with excitement and freshness, goes through a phase where the effort shows, and moves into a plainness, that’s simple but boring. Review Do aur Do Pyaar’s first half is so refreshing and pleasant that the second half, especially the last forty-five minutes or so made me sad. The charm and joy left…
- 19 Apr 24, 5:28pm -
- Amar Singh Chamkila - Review
wogma rating: Add to 'must watch' list (?) quick review: Ali injects a touch of experimentation with youthful vigor. Rehman pulsates. Dosanjh and Chopra embody innocence & liveliness. Kamil's lyrics enhance the narrative's depth. Together, they weave a compelling narrative. Review Intriguing, pulsating, convincing, important, Chamkila leaves you thirsty for more. 14th April 2024: Two unidentified men open fire outside Salman Khan's Mumbai residen…
- 16 Apr 24, 4:09pm -
- Bade Miyan Chote Miyan - Review
wogma rating: Watch if you have nothing better to do (?) quick review: It’s not the worst thing you will see. Only because Bade Miyan Chote Miya starring Amitabh Bachchan and Govinda exists. The action is crores combusting into prime meaninglessness. My cousin who is a PJ star cracks better PJs, just please don’t tell him. Review What do I feel more sorry for? My ₹400 and 3+ hours or crores blasting into flames scene after scene after scene…
- 12 Apr 24, 6:52pm -
- Maidaan - Review
wogma rating: Watch but no rush (?) quick review: A quiet, calm film with rushes that a football match can give to fans. Football enthusiast or not, the real-life story makes you clap for its hero. Watch it for the coach of the Indian football team of the 50s and early 60s, S A Rahim. Review Even before it was put on paper, Maidaan had the remarkable true-life story on its side. Its hero’s fortitude defies what you believe a human being can do.…
- 12 Apr 24, 5:38pm -
- Crew - Review
wogma rating: Add to that never-watched 'To Watch' list (?) quick review: Torn between shouting out ‘three cheers to a proper women-in-the-lead film and demanding a better-written film for the women in the lead. (Streaming Partner: Netlfix) Review The trailer itself grabs your attention with three ladies who don’t look like they have any intention of being anywhere except at the center of the stage. Through. The. Film. And it delivers on tha…
- 5 Apr 24, 4:47pm -
- Yodha - Review
wogma rating: Add to that never-watched 'To Watch' list (?) quick review: Slick action, decent story with adequate twists and turns. But falls into the usual problematic trope of glamourising an insubordinate know-it-all. That along with the jingoism makes a lot of Yodha an exasperating watch rather than an enjoyable one.(Streaming Partner: Prime Video) Review It is a tricky one, right? A system exists so that people cannot behave willy-nilly. T…
- 21 Mar 24, 5:25pm -
- Shaitaan - Review
wogma rating: Watch but no rush (?) - Disclaimer: Horror—having my gut knotted for 2+ hours—is not my idea of fun. quick review: This is some well-made horror. You relate, you clutch your heart, your tummy carries a vacuum. But, it certainly should have been crisper and the verbosity in the climax takes away from the impact.Streaming Partner: Netflix Review If you have a pit in your stomach, if your intestines feel squeezed, if the hair at t…
- 8 Mar 24, 3:59pm -
- Teri Baaton Mein Aisa Uljha Jiya - Review
wogma rating: Add to 'must watch' list (?) quick review: Easy-going situational fun with a conscience. Doesn’t diss on anything while passing a message as subtly as it can. Well and warmly written characters, situations, and a story. Review You know how you have a feeling that you are highly unlikely to like a film? And you start with confirmation bias looking for things to not like. Teri Baaton Mein Aisa Uljha Jiya’s title itself tested my b…
- 9 Feb 24, 5:22pm -
- Fighter - Review
wogma rating: Watch if you have nothing better to do (?) quick review: Shallow, hollow, soulless imitation of a certain ‘Air Force’ film. Old bottle old wine, unimaginative, stale repetition of the India-Pakistan-war genre. Lazy, unambitious, opportunistic picking of the lowest-hanging fruit of nationalism. Review Performative—that’s the word that won’t leave me ever since I left the movie hall. The banter, the camaraderie, the romance,…
- 25 Jan 24, 5:48pm -