Posts

Showing posts from November, 2023

Film Critic Johnson Thomas homes in on debutant director Nina Ognjanović's 'Where the Road Leads' screened at JioMAMI2023

Image
2023 Jio MAMI Mumbai Film Festival Film: Where The Road Leads Rating: * * * 1/2 Nina Ognjanović's debut feature 'Where The Road Leads' was screened at Jio MAMI 2023. A graduation feature of the fresh graduate of Faculty of Dramatic Arts in Belgrade, the film won the Audience Award for Best Narrative Feature and Grand Jury Honorable Mention (for Best Narrative Feature) at The Slamdance Film Festival 2023. The film which is produced by David Jovanović, a fellow graduate, and has semi-professional and professionals from the school, playing important roles on the technical and acting side, has also won the Grand Jury Award for Best International Narrative at the Mammoth Lakes Film Festival – California and Jury Award for Best Director at Ravno Selo Film Festival – Serbia. It's quite a remarkable slew of awards for a fledgling director who is now basking in the acquired glory of festival plaudits. An intriguing drama that leans towards an escapist agenda,

Kautik Film Festival - A tranquil change from the hurly-burly festival circuit

Image
International Film Festival on the Banks of the Ganges in the Himalayas Rishikesh, Uttarakhand, Nov 28, 2023. The tranquil banks of the Ganges will come alive with cinematic brilliance as Uttarakhand proudly presents the 7th Kautik International Film Festival, December 2 to 4, 2023, at Parmarth Niketan Ashram, Rishikesh. Kautik is a local gem that has grown into a global phenomenon. The first two editions were hosted in association with Kumaun University, Nainital, and primarily showcased the creative talents of student filmmakers. Subsequent editions took place in partnership with the District Magistrate of Marchula, at the serene outskirts of the Jim Corbett National Park, infusing an atmosphere of energy, adventure, and excitement. Marking a major milestone, this year, Kautik journeys to the Himalayas. For, “spirituality is the utmost necessity of our present time,” says festival director Rajesh ‘Kaku’ Shah, the focus puller of hit films such as Johnny Gaddar, 3 Idiots, and L

Farrey #PicksAndPiques #JohnsonThomas

Image
#PicksAndPiques #JohnsonThomas #internationalfilmfestivalcircuit #FilmMovieDocumentaryOTTReviews Film: #Farrey #CommuniquePR Cast: #Alizeh #PrassanaBisht #ZeynShaw #SahilMehta #JuhiBabbar #RonitRoy Director: #SoumendraPadhi. Rating: * * * Runtime: 114 mins #SalmanKhanFilms #ReelLifeProductions #MCStan #SachinJigar #MaanuniDesai #AlviraAgnihotri #AtulAgnihotri #NikhilNamit #NaveenYerneni #YRaviShankar #SunirKheterpal @everyone #everyone @everybody #everybody #followers @followers A hip,youthfully charged, tense, thrill-a-minute exercise on the cheat code, this film centred on young aspirants from across the great economic divide, aiming for higher education abroad (STIC), is well-made, superbly acted and sharply executed. The omissions and commissions in the scripting notwithstanding, there’s a wellspring of talent here that should not be overlooked. #Alizeh lends steely resolve to Niyati’s raw culpability while #PrasannaBisht shows off Chhavi’s sophisticated meanness to great c

Khichdi2 : Mission Paanthukistan #PicksAndPiques #JohnsonThomas

Image
#PicksAndPiques #JohnsonThomas #internationalfilmfestivalcircuit #FilmMovieDocumentaryOTTReviews Film: #Khichdi2MissionPaanthukistan Cast: #SupriyaPathakKapur #FloraSaini #JamnadasMajethia #KritiKulhari #VandanaPathak #FarahKhan #RajeevMehta #AnandDesai #AnantVidhaatSharma #PratikGandhi #PareshGanatra Director: #AatishKapadia Rating: * 1/2 Runtime: 121 min #UniversalCommunications #ZeeStudios #ChirantanBhatt #RajuSingh #HatsOffProductions #everyone #everybody @everyone @everybody @followers #followers Desperately seeking comedy in stilted unbecoming form, this one is a disaster for the big screen. Baffling storyline, amateurishly put together sequences, comedy routines that fail to click, lacklustre random storyline, utterly lacking in logic, creativity and coherence. This sort of nonsense is better suited for the Idiot Box.

Tiger 3 #PicksAndPiques #JohnsonThomas

Image
#PicksAndPiques #JohnsonThomas #internationalfilmfestivalcircuit #FilmMovieDocumentaryOTTReviews Film: #Tiger3 #YashrajFilms Cast: #SalmanKhan #KatrinaKaif #EmraanHashmi #Revathi #RanvirShorey #AamirBashir Director: #ManeeshSharma Rating: * * Runtime: 160 min #AdityaChopra #everyone #everybody @everyone @everybody @followers #followers #YRFSpyUniverse has lost its way. Cliched and problematic, this sequel to #TigerZindaHai, 5th instalment of ‘Tiger’ super spy series creates a fissure between #India #Pakistan (#RAW #ISI) but fails to find stable ground to whet the audience’ appetite. Action feels toonish, nothing fresh here - with predictably boring diplomatic fracas and some stale family histrionics.

Aarya Season 3 #PicksAndPiques #JohnsonThomas

Image
#PicksAndPiques #JohnsonThomas #FilmMovieDocumentaryOTTReview #internationalfilmfestivalcircuit Film: #Aarya #Season3 #DisneyHotstar #HotstarSpecials Cast: #SushmitaSen #IlaArun #SikandarKher #IndraneilSengupta #VikasKumar #MayaSarao #GeetanjaliKulkarni #ShwetaPasricha #VirenVazirani #PratyakshPanwar #AarushiBajaj #BhupendraJadawat #VishwajeetPradhan Directors: #RamMadhvani #KapilSharma #ShraddhaPasiJairath Co-Producers: #AmitaMadhavni #RamMadhvani #RamMadhvaniFilms #EndemolShineIndia Writers: #KhushbooRaj #AmitRaj Rating: * * Runtime: 35-46 mins/ Episode (4 episodes) #MoesArt #everyone @everyone #everybody @everybody #followers The #sherni epithet has been rendered flaky, the writing has lost its edge, and the series has lost its cool quotient. And what’s with the ‘Mother protecting her children’ by killing others and facilitating drug abuse, What part of women’s empowerment is this? The moral schema is threadbare and fanciful. #SushmitaSen looks ill and seems to be flying at h

Three of Us #PicksAndPiques #JohnsonThomas

Image
#PicksAndPiques #JohnsonThomas #FilmMovieDocumentaryOTTReview #internationalfilmfestivalcircuit Film: #ThreeOfUs Cast: #ShefaliShah #JaideepAhlawat #SwanandKirkire #KadambariKadam Director: #AvinashArun Rating: * * 1/2 Runtime: 98 mins #everyone @everyone #everybody @everybody #followers Stuttering and floundering in the wilderness of memories, this film fails to draw us in. A story about searching for closure leaves the viewer with flighty ponderous moments of ingratiation. It’s the actors who shine above the meandering plot and unevenly paced narrative.

Aankh Micholi #PicksAndPiques #JohnsonThomas

Image
#PicksAndPiques #JohnsonThomas #FilmMovieDocumentaryOTTReview #internationalfilmfestivalcircuit Film: #AankhMicholi #UniversalCommunications Cast: #PareshRawal #SharmanJoshi #AbhishekBanerjee #MrunalThakur #AbhimanyuDasani #DivyaDutta #VijayRaaz #DarshanJariwala #GrushaKapoor Director: #UmeshShukla Rating: * Runtime: 144 mins @everyone #everyone @everybody #everybody #followers A dumb, ineffective, sloppily executed and clueless, hopelessly mistimed attempt at slapstick comedy, this one is a complete no-brainer!

JioMAMI2023 Closing ceremony and Announcement of Winners of various awards

Image
Against the Tide by Sarvnik Kaur gets the prestigious Golden Gateway Award and Kanu Behl’s Agra receives the special jury Award at the closing ceremony of Jio MAMI Mumbai Film Festival After its spectacular opening and a staggering response by the audiences, filmmakers and the industry, Jio MAMI Mumbai film festival closing ceremony was attended by Janhvi Kapoor, Vishal Bhrdwaj, Manushi Chillar, Kiran Rao, Mira Nair and various other top talent from around the world Mumbai, November 4, 2023 Jio MAMI Mumbai Film Festival closed with a grand ceremony at the Nita Mukesh Ambani Cultural Centre (NMACC). One of the biggest film festivals in South Asia, Jio MAMI, this year has over 300 films in 70 languages from 70 different countries. Of these, a record number of 70 films are by female filmmakers. The festival also had 40 world premieres, 45 Asian premieres, and over 70 South Asian premieres. The festival is spread across 8 venues and 20 screens. While the closing ceremony too

MAC Cosmetics WOMEN CREATORS OF INDIA - THE ENDURING FEMALE FACTOR

Image
Jio MAMI (Mumbai Academy of Moving Images) Mumbai Film Festival 2023, conducted the ‘Women Creators of India’ panel powered by M.A.C. Cosmetics. The discussion brought together actors Maanvi Gagroo (Half Love Half Arranged, Four More Shots Please!), Rasika Dugal (Manto, Delhi Crime), actor and director Shriya Pilgaonkar (Ek Kulti Ek, Mirzapur), and Sayani Gupta (Article 15, Four More Shots Please!), for a conversation moderated by Rohini Ramnathan. Audiences had the opportunity to attend an insightful discussion about the role and importance of women creators at Jio MAMI (Mumbai Academy of Moving Images) Mumbai Film Festival 2023. Powered by M.A.C. Cosmetics, the ‘Women Creators of India’ panel discussion brought together actors Maanvi Gagroo (Half Love Half Arranged, Four More Shots Please!), Rasika Dugal (Manto, Delhi Crime), actor and director Shriya Pilgaonkar (Ek Kulti Ek, Mirzapur), and Sayani Gupta (Article 15, Four More Shots Please!), for a conversation moderated by Rohini Ra

Netflix’s ace filmmakers come together for Jio MAMI’s panel on Seminal Storytelling in Streaming 2023

Image
Netflix’s ace filmmakers come together for Jio MAMI’s panel on Seminal Storytelling in Streaming 2023 ~Apoorva Bakshi, Raj & DK, Sudip Sharma, Sujoy Ghosh and Vishal Bhardwaj come together for the Jio MAMI panel on seminal storytelling, moderated by RJ Rohini Ramanathan~ IMAGES Mumbai, 31st October, 2023 Netflix India in collaboration with Jio MAMI Mumbai Film Festival 2023, hosted a stimulating panel, ‘Seminal Storytellers in Streaming 2023’ with 5 influential filmmakers who have created some of the most celebrated content of the year in the world of streaming. The panel which was moderated by RJ Rohini Ramanathan, was brought to life by these filmmakers; Apoorva Bakshi for ‘The Hunt for Veerappan’, Raj & DK for ‘Guns and Gulaabs’, Sudip Sharma for ‘Kohraa’, Sujoy Ghosh for ‘Jaane Jaan’ and Vishal Bhardwaj for ‘Khufiya’. This panel discussion was a significant addition to the festival's lineup, further solidifying its commitment to exploring and celebrating the e