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    2021's Best in Review: Azor
    S.K. Chishty
    • Dec 22, 2021
    • 2 min

    2021'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...
    7 views0 comments
    Film Review: Demonic (2021)
    S.K. Chishty
    • Dec 6, 2021
    • 2 min

    Film 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...
    8 views0 comments
    Film Review: Old (2021)
    S.K. Chishty
    • Dec 6, 2021
    • 3 min

    Film Review: Old (2021)

    Interesting, but oddly uninvolving. During a tropical vacation, a family discovers themselves trapped on an 'exclusive' island where time...
    10 views0 comments
    Malignant (2021)
    S.K. Chishty
    • Sep 13, 2021
    • 3 min

    Malignant (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...
    159 views0 comments
    Brawl in Cell Block 99 (2017)
    S.K. Chishty
    • Jun 25, 2021
    • 3 min

    Brawl 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...
    33 views0 comments
    Pervyy uchitel (The First Teacher, 1965)
    S.K. Chishty
    • Jun 18, 2021
    • 2 min

    Pervyy 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...
    175 views0 comments
    Infinite
    S.K. Chishty
    • Jun 11, 2021
    • 2 min

    Infinite

    Fuqua goes for 'The Matrix' but delivers 'Jupiter Ascending'. Infinite's casually tossed flimsy opening exposition tells us that the...
    26 views0 comments
    Cruella (2021)
    S.K. Chishty
    • May 31, 2021
    • 3 min

    Cruella (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...
    254 views0 comments
    Seance (2021)
    S.K. Chishty
    • May 31, 2021
    • 3 min

    Seance (2021)

    Atmospheric and involving, yet oddly unsatisfying. After a prank that involves reconjuring the ghost of a girl who had killed herself on...
    14 views0 comments
    The Woman in the Window (2021)
    S.K. Chishty
    • May 16, 2021
    • 5 min

    The 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)...
    23 views0 comments
    Oxygene (French, 2021)
    S.K. Chishty
    • May 13, 2021
    • 2 min

    Oxygene (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...
    12 views0 comments
    Beast from Haunted Cave (1959)
    S.K. Chishty
    • May 13, 2021
    • 2 min

    Beast 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...
    35 views0 comments
    The Father (2021)
    S.K. Chishty
    • May 13, 2021
    • 3 min

    The 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...
    45 views0 comments
    Film Review: Witness to Murder (1954)
    S.K. Chishty
    • May 12, 2021
    • 1 min

    Film 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...
    8 views0 comments
    Film Reviews: My Name is Julia Ross (1945)
    S.K. Chishty
    • May 12, 2021
    • 2 min

    Film 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...
    6 views0 comments
    Film Review: A Lizard in a Woman's Skin (1971)
    S.K. Chishty
    • Apr 3, 2021
    • 3 min

    Film 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...
    15 views0 comments
    Mini-Review: Green Dolphin Street (1947)
    S.K. Chishty
    • Apr 1, 2021
    • 1 min

    Mini-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...
    21 views0 comments
    Film Review: Ucho (The Ear) (1970)
    S.K. Chishty
    • Apr 1, 2021
    • 3 min

    Film 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...
    16 views0 comments
    Film Review: Shin Godzilla (2016)
    S.K. Chishty
    • Feb 28, 2021
    • 4 min

    Film 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...
    3 views0 comments
    Film Review: Kajillionaire (2020)
    S.K. Chishty
    • Feb 28, 2021
    • 3 min

    Film Review: Kajillionaire (2020)

    Miranda July's movement towards more expansive pastures parallel her protagonist's. It is wonderfully bracing to see women directors...
    8 views0 comments
    Film Review: Palmer (2021)
    S.K. Chishty
    • Jan 30, 2021
    • 2 min

    Film Review: Palmer (2021)

    Palmer struggles against two sets of clichés - of its story and of its location. In the trailer review of Palmer, that Abha Dhyani wrote...
    3 views0 comments
    Film Review: Kris (Crisis, 1946)
    S.K. Chishty
    • Jan 27, 2021
    • 2 min

    Film Review: Kris (Crisis, 1946)

    The great Ingmar Bergman's debut is an uninteresting melodrama. Part of Early Bergman, #1 of Criterion Collection's Eclipse Series, a...
    28 views0 comments
    Film Review: PROMISING YOUNG WOMAN (2020)
    S.K. Chishty
    • Jan 26, 2021
    • 4 min

    Film Review: PROMISING YOUNG WOMAN (2020)

    A powerful, stylish takedown of toxic masculinity. Set to throbbing all-women, pop soundtrack, Promising Young Woman is a powerful and...
    15 views0 comments
    Film Review: Anatomy of a Murder (1959)
    S.K. Chishty
    • Dec 30, 2020
    • 3 min

    Film Review: Anatomy of a Murder (1959)

    A rare courtroom drama that puts the audience into the position of a jury. What do you think when you think of courtroom dramas? Blazing...
    203 views0 comments
    Film Review: The Devils (1971)
    S.K. Chishty
    • Dec 5, 2020
    • 4 min

    Film Review: The Devils (1971)

    Ken Russell's one-of-a-kind attack on conformity still has the power to shock. In "De Palma", a documentary on Brian DePalma, the...
    115 views0 comments
    La Vérité (The Truth) (France, 1960)
    S.K. Chishty
    • Nov 30, 2020
    • 4 min

    La Vérité (The Truth) (France, 1960)

    Criterion's blu-ray does justice with late-career Clouzot triumph starring a great Brigette Bardot. Sometimes while watching a film the...
    14 views0 comments
    Film Review: The Dark and the Wicked (2020),
    S.K. Chishty
    • Nov 19, 2020
    • 2 min

    Film Review: The Dark and the Wicked (2020),

    Bleak and atmospheric, Bertino knows what he's aiming for. The family has been an important component of horror cinema. Most horror...
    92 views0 comments
    Halloween Month Review: Antebellum (2020)
    S.K. Chishty
    • Oct 24, 2020
    • 5 min

    Halloween Month Review: Antebellum (2020)

    I propose that Veronica/Eden is actually a white person who happens to be Black.
    5 views0 comments
    Bed and Sofa (1927, Russia)
    S.K. Chishty
    • Oct 21, 2020
    • 4 min

    Bed and Sofa (1927, Russia)

    Tretya meshchanskaya is a mysteriously lesser-known masterpiece of silent cinema. Made allegedly in support of the state-sponsored...
    29 views0 comments
    Halloween Month Review: Hubie Halloween (2020)
    Aabha Dhyaani
    • Oct 20, 2020
    • 2 min

    Halloween Month Review: Hubie Halloween (2020)

    Adam Sandler reprises his man-child act for the umpteenth time with surprising results. If you have taken time out to watch an Adam...
    7 views0 comments
    Halloween Month Review: The Wretched (2020)
    S.K. Chishty
    • Oct 19, 2020
    • 2 min

    Halloween Month Review: The Wretched (2020)

    This is homage without feeling... but you can do a lot worse with your night. A troubled teenager Ben (John-Paul Howard) comes to stay...
    2 views0 comments
    Halloween Month Review: The Lodge (2020)
    S.K. Chishty
    • Oct 16, 2020
    • 3 min

    Halloween Month Review: The Lodge (2020)

    The film's style has more heft than the content. One of the main problems I had with 2018's critical darling Hereditary was that its...
    4 views0 comments
    Halloween Month Review: La Llorona (2019)
    S.K. Chishty
    • Oct 16, 2020
    • 3 min

    Halloween Month Review: La Llorona (2019)

    For better or for worse, this is one of the most overtly political horror films you'll see. Also known as "The Weeping Woman", this film...
    12 views0 comments
    Halloween Month Review: The Watcher in the Woods (1980)
    Aabha Dhyaani
    • Oct 14, 2020
    • 3 min

    Halloween Month Review: The Watcher in the Woods (1980)

    Disney's scariest film? The horror scene changed considerably since the release of The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (1974). It brought forth...
    9 views0 comments
    Film Review: A film called 'Film' by Samuel Beckett
    S.K. Chishty
    • Sep 20, 2020
    • 4 min

    Film Review: A film called 'Film' by Samuel Beckett

    Today, Beckett's film can be deciphered as a warning against Social Media excesses and surveillance. Samuel Beckett wrote only one...
    25 views0 comments
    Film Review: i'm thinking of ending things
    S.K. Chishty
    • Sep 13, 2020
    • 5 min

    Film Review: i'm thinking of ending things

    Kaufman's literal mindedness is at odds with his 'Lynchian' dream logic. The work of Charlie Kaufman has been nothing if not cerebral....
    24 views0 comments
    Film Review: Chess Fever (1925)
    S.K. Chishty
    • Sep 11, 2020
    • 2 min

    Film Review: Chess Fever (1925)

    Proof that silent Russian cinema is not only required viewing for serious film appreciation students. Thanks to their lofty presence in...
    36 views0 comments
    Film Review: La Cigarette (1919)
    S.K. Chishty
    • Sep 1, 2020
    • 2 min

    Film Review: La Cigarette (1919)

    Germaine Dulac's psychological drama pre-dates what came to be called 'Hitchcockian'. One of the first women director's working in the...
    155 views0 comments
    Film Review: Las niñas bien (The Good Girls) (Spanish, 2018)
    S.K. Chishty
    • Aug 24, 2020
    • 3 min

    Film Review: Las niñas bien (The Good Girls) (Spanish, 2018)

    Writer & Director Alejandra Márquez Abella skewers the Mexican high society against the backdrop of '82 financial crisis. In the '80's...
    52 views0 comments
    Film Review: Paris (French, 2008)
    S.K. Chishty
    • Aug 23, 2020
    • 2 min

    Film Review: Paris (French, 2008)

    A love letter to the iconic city goes nowhere. If interlocking multiple story lines a la Amores Perros or Love, Actually is not your...
    9 views0 comments
    Trailer Review: Rogue (2020)
    S.K. Chishty
    • Aug 3, 2020
    • 2 min

    Trailer Review: Rogue (2020)

    Megan Fox's attempt for an image change looks destined to meet the same fate as G.I.Jane.
    25 views0 comments
    Feature: Upcoming Blockbusters You Should Be Excited About!
    S.K. Chishty
    • Aug 2, 2020
    • 4 min

    Feature: Upcoming Blockbusters You Should Be Excited About!

    The time when families used to plan going out for an 'event' summer flick seems to be a thing of the past. The best they can do currently...
    13 views0 comments
    Your wait for 'Tenet' just increased...
    S.K. Chishty
    • Jul 31, 2020
    • 1 min

    Your wait for 'Tenet' just increased...

    The new Christopher Nolan film has been in news since its teaser arrived. Last year, Christopher Nolan fans got something to be really...
    7 views0 comments
    Review: In the Tall Grass (2020)
    S.K. Chishty
    • Jul 26, 2020
    • 3 min

    Review: In the Tall Grass (2020)

    Indistinct chanting. It is widely believed that there are two kinds of fiction writers: Plotters and Pantsers. Plotters, as the name...
    30 views0 comments
    Review: Godzilla: The King of Monsters (2019)
    S.K. Chishty
    • Jul 19, 2020
    • 3 min

    Review: Godzilla: The King of Monsters (2019)

    Spectacle without fun. Hollywood has always enjoyed and entertained its audiences by bringing humanity to the brink of destruction....
    5 views0 comments
    Review: 'Becky' (2020) is more 'Die Hard' than 'Home Alone'.
    S.K. Chishty
    • Jul 17, 2020
    • 2 min

    Review: 'Becky' (2020) is more 'Die Hard' than 'Home Alone'.

    “Home Alone on steroids”. You can almost hear the elevator pitch for this film. And no doubt, the producers will have a good reason to...
    1 view0 comments
    Review: Sátántangó (1994): A Rare Experience
    S.K. Chishty
    • Jul 2, 2020
    • 3 min

    Review: Sátántangó (1994): A Rare Experience

    A muddy field. Slowly, some cattle arrive and start to explore it. Most try to graze at the slim picking the ground has to offer, some...
    12 views0 comments
    Review: 'The Personal History of David Copperfield' is a Delightful Update
    S.K. Chishty
    • Jul 2, 2020
    • 2 min

    Review: 'The Personal History of David Copperfield' is a Delightful Update

    Despite its popularity, David Copperfield has been mostly ignored by filmmakers comparatively. As Armando Iannucci, the director of the...
    8 views0 comments
    Review: 'Meanstreets' plays like a Scorcese manifesto
    S.K. Chishty
    • Jul 2, 2020
    • 3 min

    Review: 'Meanstreets' plays like a Scorcese manifesto

    Though it was his teaming up with Thelma Schoonmaker that helped him hone his style to perfection, Martin Scorcese’s debut feature plays...
    1 view0 comments

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