Toni Erdmann is your ‘need of the hour’ tale which uses madcap humour and deep philosophy to severely critique the urbanized world lacking in display of natural human emotions not wearing the make-up of a preacher but that of a Joker.
Jackie gives a brief insight on the immediate moments following JFK’s assassination. Sticking close to the original, Pablo Lorrain has hit jackpot in his debut English movie with Natalie Portman delivering a riveting performance as Jackie Kennedy.
Passengers is a great-looking film with an authentic idea, starts well, has amazing performances and visual effects but leads to a stereotyped ending. It may not be the best sci-fi flick of the year and perhaps not earth shatteringly brilliant, but worth getting some popcorn and relaxing down for a couple of hours.
Any film set in the 1960s featuring a colored person fighting the judiciary would scream “civil rights movement”, but ‘Loving’ is not any ordinary film for it is a brilliantly enacted personal account of an interracial couple that shows a lot of admirable restraint and remains resolute!
Hidden Figures pays a glorious tribute to its leads whose contributions mattered significantly in times when they were typically sidelined due to race & gender. It has all the ingredients that make stories of ‘odds defying’ characters succeed but the optimistic treatment prevents it from elevating to something special.
The Red Turtle takes you on a journey where even the desolate places and depressing circumstances are overcome by love in the most magical fashion possible. Studio Ghibli have lived up to the high standards once again with this thoroughly disarming fairy tale.
Disney goes all-in with ‘Moana’ to create a whole world of imaginary characters with great depth of character traits as well. When they spring to life backed by top-notch technical wizardry and brilliant songs, the movie is nothing short of a marvel!
In depicting the impact a man’s past and its crushing death could have on him, his outlook towards life & how thrusting it upon his family could become detrimental despite the respect and control he commands, Fences is a lesson on fragility for every household.
Moonlight takes you on a rare trip to the sub-conscience of its protagonist and has enough ammunition in terms of its story-telling, cast and crew to make you not only stay rooted there for its run-time but also to think about other layers the maker conveys as you get out of Little Black Chiron’s life as the end credits roll.
Hail, Caesar! is a technically rich film that is only sporadically funny. It sadly falls into the bracket of ‘all style and no substance’ in spite of the excellent cast and performances.
