‘Bhool Bhulaiyaa 3’ is a maze of missed opportunities
The most positive aspect of “Bhool Bhulaiyaa 3” (2024) is its unpredictability. While the climactic twist is audacious and unique, the film suffers from clumsy execution, falling short of evoking the intended emotions. It's a fine thought, albeit underwritten, and it deserved a bit more complexity than the film's chaotic momentum allows. Nonetheless, I have to say that I did not see it coming.
1w ago
‘Call Me Bae’: Funny and endearing Ananya excels in this heiress-to-hustler story
“Call Me Bae," created by Ishita Moitra with co-writers Samina Motlekar and Rohit Nair, follows the story of poor little rich girl Bella Chowdhary, affectionately known as Bae, played by Ananya Panday. For those who may not be familiar with generational slang, 'Bae' is a term of endearment used to refer to someone's sweetheart.
2m ago
How long can Emily possibly stay in Paris?
The success of “Emily in Paris” reveals that there's room for both highbrow, thought-provoking TV and light, unchallenging fare. While there are plenty of complex, intellectually stimulating shows, there are times when we just want something easy and predictable—shows like “Suits”, “The Office”, and “Friends” continue to top streaming charts long after their original air dates for precisely this reason. There's comfort in knowing what to expect and in watching a storyline wrap up neatly within 30 minutes.
2m ago
‘My Lady Jane’ shakes up British history with unapologetic romance and whimsy
With the guidance of writer and showrunner Gemma Burgess, "My Lady Jane" translates well into an eight-episode Prime Video series that confirms that history is a lot more fun and watchable when approached with an unapologetically tongue-in-cheek attitude.
4m ago
Evil never looked this good
Even without a full-blown sympathetic backstory, a villain’s motivations can be complex.
6m ago
‘Crew’ flies high with the delightful chemistry of its cast
“Crew” serves as a great example of how a light-hearted comedy can successfully blend entertainment with relevance by maintaining an air of levity while addressing timely topics.
7m ago
Percy Jackson finally gets the adaptation he deserves
The 2010 and 2013 Percy Jackson films, despite Logan Lerman's charismatic lead performance, fell short of expectations, drawing criticism for creative decisions like omitting significant book sequences and ageing Percy prematurely to 16.
10m ago
‘Dunki’ takes a heartfelt but bumpy road with illegal migrants
“Dunki” is about the shocking ways in which people try to illegally migrate to the UK or any other developed Western country. Called the ‘donkey route’, it involves unscrupulous agents, tough border controls, corrupt officials, and lots of money.
11m ago
October 17, 2022
Hulu’s ‘Rosaline’ is a witty, predictable parody of ‘Romeo and Juliet’
The movie tells the classic love story from the perspective of Juliet's cousin Rosaline, who happens to be Romeo's recent ex-girlfriend. Crushed when Romeo meets Juliet and begins to pursue her, Rosaline schemes to foil the famous romance and reclaim her man.
October 16, 2022
How ‘The Picture of Dorian Gray’ mirrors the social media age
To me, Wilde’s novel articulates the deepest anxieties of the late Victorians and continues to offer us ways to interpret our own experiences.
September 22, 2022
Of diverse princesses and demigods: Is racebending in fantasy adaptations enough?
Progress is underway, but some studios are still hiding behind the curtain of racebending as if it will solve all of the problems of race innate to cinema itself. Nonetheless, all of it matters—Ariel and Annabeth being portrayed by young Black women—because what we read and watch feeds our imagination.
September 14, 2022
The Little Mermaid: Has Disney sanitised our expectations from fairytales?
Thanks to 2023's The Little Mermaid, Black and brown girls can finally see themselves as princesses in a film where the protagonist's skin colour is not as instrumental to the story as the princesses' heritage was in Aladdin, Mulan, and The Princess and the Frog.
September 11, 2022
Anyone can be a hero: Why I love ‘Percy Jackson & The Olympians’
From mental health struggles to characters with different racial and LGBTQ+ backgrounds, the series shines a light on people—and heroes—of diverse identities.
August 26, 2022
Two upcoming Pinocchio films—why does he still resonate?
Zemeckis' version will likely be a comforting trip into nostalgia and sentiment, an ode to the power of the human heart to do the right thing despite life's many temptations. At the same time, del Toro's will be a dark fairytale with troubling implications, examining how we puppets can learn to think for ourselves.
August 20, 2022
‘Emily’ and creative freedom in literary biopics
It got me thinking that we are fascinated by the behind-the-scenes lives of our cultural obsessions, and the personal lives of authors can come to feel like public possessions just as much as their works. It is this sense of ownership that can risk conflict over films about literary icons.
August 12, 2022
International Youth Day: Why I enjoy reading YA books as an adult
We are drawn to stories about first experiences, and YA literature is rich with it. First experiences draw us in because they are the crucible for change.
August 3, 2022
How BookTok motivated me to read again
It has made literary criticism—often regarded highbrow or excessively academic—feel accessible.
July 28, 2022
‘Persuasion’, ‘Bridgerton’, ‘Emma.’ What’s missing from these quirky period dramas?
Studios seem to think female characters need to be glossed with a “zany” and “feisty” persona in order to be relevant.
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