S.K. ChishtyDec 22, 20212 min2021's Best in Review: Azor A film of menacing subtlety. "We are at a purification phase... parasites must be eradicated" Private banker Ivan De Wiel (Fabrizio...
S.K. ChishtyDec 6, 20212 minFilm Review: Demonic (2021)Blomkamp's newfound 'neatness' is even worse than his messiness. Listless and dull, Demonic is a purported change of pace for the...
S.K. ChishtyDec 6, 20213 minFilm Review: Old (2021)Interesting, but oddly uninvolving. During a tropical vacation, a family discovers themselves trapped on an 'exclusive' island where time...
S.K. ChishtySep 13, 20213 minMalignant (2021)Visually uninspired wanna-be Giallo. Malignant is being touted by some as the film James Wan would have made much earlier in his career...
S.K. ChishtyJun 25, 20213 minBrawl in Cell Block 99 (2017)Zahler's film wears its blood-splattered grindhouse influences on its sleeves. Broken teeth, smashed-up faces, shattered limbs, and...
S.K. ChishtyJun 18, 20212 minPervyy uchitel (The First Teacher, 1965)Konchalovskiy's film admirably prefers nuance over propaganda. In 1924, a former Red Army soldier is sent to the remote village of...
S.K. ChishtyJun 11, 20212 minInfiniteFuqua goes for 'The Matrix' but delivers 'Jupiter Ascending'. Infinite's casually tossed flimsy opening exposition tells us that the...
S.K. ChishtyMay 31, 20213 minCruella (2021)Entertaining, yes. But also a cop-out. Agreed that Cruella DeVil is not exactly one of the great villains of children's fiction. But the...
S.K. ChishtyMay 31, 20213 minSeance (2021)Atmospheric and involving, yet oddly unsatisfying. After a prank that involves reconjuring the ghost of a girl who had killed herself on...
S.K. ChishtyMay 16, 20215 minThe Woman in the Window (2021)Joe Wright's foray into the noirish world is thin, unsatisfying, and very Netflix. Plot: An agoraphobic woman Anna Fox (Amy Adams)...
S.K. ChishtyMay 13, 20212 minOxygene (French, 2021)Mostly, a softening of Aja's chops as a genre director. Currently, for Indians, the word oxygen is loaded with heartbreak and anger. As I...
S.K. ChishtyMay 13, 20212 minBeast from Haunted Cave (1959)Thankfully, the film's economy is not confined to its budget. Released as a double-bill along with Roger Corman's The Wasp Woman, Beast...
S.K. ChishtyMay 13, 20213 minThe Father (2021) The film effectively plumbs down the depth of a mind losing its grip on reality. French playwright and novelist Florian Zeller makes his...
S.K. ChishtyMay 12, 20211 minFilm Review: Witness to Murder (1954)The unrealized subtext is more powerful than the film. Just like My Name is Julia Ross squanders its potential for commenting on class...
S.K. ChishtyMay 12, 20212 minFilm Reviews: My Name is Julia Ross (1945)An underseen & intriguing attempt at a Gothic thriller misses its mark. A down-on-her-luck Julia Ross (Nina Foch) recovering from an...
S.K. ChishtyApr 3, 20213 minFilm Review: A Lizard in a Woman's Skin (1971)A heady mix of trashy exploitation and undeniable artistry. Body horror fans expecting any gross out transformation scenes are bound to...
S.K. ChishtyApr 1, 20211 minMini-Review: Green Dolphin Street (1947)Handsome soap-opera! Two sisters, Marriane and Marguirette (Lana Turner and Donna Reed, respectively) compete for the attention of the...
S.K. ChishtyApr 1, 20213 minFilm Review: Ucho (The Ear) (1970)Chilling satire of state's invasion into the personal. In the late '60s, Czechoslovakia enjoyed a brief period of Liberalisation, known...
S.K. ChishtyFeb 28, 20214 minFilm Review: Shin Godzilla (2016)The Japanese still know how to do this right. Shin Godzilla is Toho Studio's 30th incarnation of Godzilla, making it the longest-running...
S.K. ChishtyFeb 28, 20213 minFilm Review: Kajillionaire (2020)Miranda July's movement towards more expansive pastures parallel her protagonist's. It is wonderfully bracing to see women directors...