Abhisek Kundu (abhisekkundu)

"Mrs." insists the viewer to do a parallel activity like cooking, office work, washing clothes or cleaning the house while watching the movie. Seriously, even if you step out for half of the screentime, you won't miss out on anything important. The movie starts off with a compelling premise - the overarching patriarchy prevalent in many Indian families which forces the ladies of the house to be at constant service of their husbands & fathers. However, that's pretty much 95% of film. The movie puts all it's energy on the struggles of a lady married to a patriarchial household, which means the female lead is constantly cooking, cleaning, folding clothes and depressed about her life. Sanya is a good actress here, so she does a pretty good job portraying the character. After a while, you would expect her to snap, get angry, scream and leave the toxic household - because that's the standard trajectory of a movie. She does lose her cool and splash a bucket of water on her husband's face, exactly 10 minutes before the movie ends. AND THAT IS IT. The next shot is of a distant future where she has left the household to pursue her passion, and the closing credits roll in. At the end of the movie, you realise that after spending 90+ minutes on a build-up, the climactic moment never arrived. It's like Fast & Furious except, it is not fast & definitely not furious. If you're a corporate guy, then nothing new for you. You will step out of the movie thinking, even this was a meeting that could have been an e-mail.

KILL is pure gold for people seeking pure adrenaline-fueled action sequences. With almost the entire movie set inside a moving train, this is a raw action thriller taking major inspirations from the likes of John Wick, Extraction, Daredevil and Punisher (Netflix series). The USP of this movie lies in the excellent fight choreography, delivering accurate and fast-paced combat sequences throughout. No doubt, this is a VERY VIOLENT movie with lots of blood spattering everywhere, so better avoid if you are faint of heart. The casting is on point, with both Lakshya and Raghav showing off their excellent acting chops throughout the movie. His transformation from a tactful commando to a berserker killing machine is a joy to watch. Tanya's lead character is basically a "damsel in distress", hence not much to talk about. My biggest concern is that the movie focuses so much on the fights, that the storyline takes a back seat. It feels like an extended action sequence in the backdrop of a train robbery. Significantly repetitive at times, with the extent of violence feeling mindless. The story doesn't evolve as such. They could have increased the scale to include more outdoor sequences as well. Adding some interlaced, parallel arcs would have elevated the experience. I'm glad the creators did not "over-bollywoodize" the movie to include unnecessary melodrama and useless flashbacks, and indeed it is a crisp movie with its share of ambitious highs. But eventually, it is strictly a one-time watch.

The series started with immense potential through the brilliant cast & vast scope of stories to tell. But the creators instead chose to focus on Jen (the lead character) forcefully breaking the fourth wall, pointless feminism in dialogues, literally no villain, poorly executed comedy and useless character cameos (Wong is good though). The entire cast's amazing acting skills were completely overshadowed by poor storytelling, zero focus on superhero action and pretty bad CGI. Jameela Jamil was awesome (+beautiful) as Titania. Nikki, Mallory, Pug were amazing. Tatiana Maslany tried the best with her brilliant acting, but eventually her superhero persona is just a tall, muscular, green lady who does ordinary things like an ordinary person. To top it off, Daredevil's character arc was a horrible mess I wish I hadn't seen. TL;DR : Better avoid the first season. It's boring and inconsequential.

Before we run to the details, it's important to keep in mind that essentially, Bulbbul is not a typical horror movie. It is a gripping contemporary thriller with a backdrop of crime and supernatural undertones, set in the late 1800s in Bengal. Add 90 minutes of brilliant acting to the mix. Sheer brilliance! The story revolves around Bulbbul, a little girl who was married to a way older "Indranil Thakur" (Rahul Bose) in a palatial mansion. Throughout her journey to adulthood and beyond, the movie brilliantly manages to reflect on the patriarchal nature of the household - in the many ways she gets wronged, saddened and shunned. This is where the supernatural elements arrive. News emerge of a "chudail" (witch) leaving behind a trail of dead bodies of men, sending Satya (the brother-in-law) and Sudip (the doctor) on her trail. You can easily guess where the movie is going. But more than the crimes, motivations and predictable final outcomes of the movie, what keeps you hooked is the way these revelations are made. Throughout you will find horror styled music and tonal changes to invoke the supernatural vibe. And it works really, really well. Tripti Dimri is exceptional as Bulbbul, portraying the strongest and the most vulnerable junctures with pure elegance. Avinash Tiwari as Satya is easily one of the most lovable charcters. Paoli Dam (as Binodini), Rahul Bose (double role as Indranil & twin brother Mahendra) and Parambrata Chatterjee (as Dr. Sudip) play their roles with utter perfection. Watch out for the mind-blowing character dynamics between Bulbbul & Satya, Satya & Sudip and Binodini & Bulbbul. The way it's story develops is sheer brilliance. Worth a mention is the feel-good effect it has on the audience. In the end, you'll definitely agree : Chudail nahi, woh devi hai. (She's not a demon witch, she's a goddess.)

The biggest reason behind my thumbs up for Venom is the beast of an actor, Tom Hardy, under the hood of the titular character, Eddie Brock. As evident from the very first trailer, Brock is a reporter who delves really deep into his journalism work. He soon crosses paths with Carlton Drake (played by the brilliant Riz Ahmed), a powerful scientist who successfully brought alien symbiotes to Earth through his space program. Brock tries to corner Drake in an interview, thereby losing his job, making his fiancee, Anna (played by Michelle Williams) lose her job and consequently, them breaking out of the relationship. (Whoo!) [ For those of you who aren't familiar with Marvel comics, symbiotes are gooey, slimy, alien creatures who need to bond with human hosts in order to survive on Earth. More on that later.] With the intention of bringing upon an union between man and symbiote, to save the "dying world", Drake begins testing this symbiosis on humans which (as expected) kills most of the subjects. Simultaneously, as Brock gets in to investigate, he gets infected with Venom, the symbiote with a huge appetite and an eccentric sense of humor. Somewhere in between, Drake also gets infected with a more powerful symbiote called Riot, and in a matter of minutes Venom and Riot develop a bickering, hand-to-hand fight with the latter turning his limbs into any weapon he wanted to. Venom, though visibly overpowered, eventually wins by lighting up its adversary in flames. Like my superfast description of the climactic fight scene, the movie rushes through its scenes and downs its curtains just as you're getting comfortable with the plot. My reaction when the movie ended was, "Wait a second, the movie ended before it even began!" The CGI is better than expected, though the movie could have definitely put in a few memorable scenes, better character development and a more intense plot. The stakes seemed way too low. Somewhere it felt less of a superhero movie and more of Venom's personal movie desperately trying to create a "world is on fire" superhero storyline. Acting from Hardy, Michelle and Ahmed are spot on - AWESOME. A better direction and a tighter script could have done justice to their performances, for you'll leave the cinema (or switch off your video player) desperately craving for more. I'd recommend this movie as a fan of superhero movies, but honestly there's nothing about Venom which could initiate intricate discussions in public forums after maybe two-three months post its theatrical run.