Ever since the trailer dropped for this movie, I knew that it was going to be pretty bad. But I still went in expecting to roll in laughter at a movie that is so bad that it becomes Comedy Gold. But when the film ended all I experienced was intense frustration for sitting through this disaster of a movie.

I would have been very happy with an awful movie, but Thugs of Hindustan turned out to be so boring. The film is packed with cheap action scenes and setpieces, none of which really excite the audience. I know comparing it to the Pirates of the Caribbean would not be totally fair considering the massive budget of the Hollywood extravaganza, yet Thugs of Hindustan cannot even justify whatever the budget it was made on. The ships look very fake and the action scenes involve sloppy rope work, undone by excessive slow motion.

The first time team up of Aamir and Amitabh was expected to set the screens on fire, but all we get is weak, over the top performances by the two seasoned performers. The women fare no better with neither Katrina nor Fatima getting anything substantial to do. The plot is paper thin and mostly juvenile. For a movie about outcastes fighting for freedom against an empire, the movie manages to be so boring that two hours into the movie, you just hope for the movie to just end. The nonsensical plot is interspersed with a number of songs and item numbers that do nothing to advance the plot, they just add more screen time for Katrina, who otherwise is almost invisible for the rest of the movie.

Thugs of Hindustan didn't really have anything to keep the viewers interested. The story line is bland, riddled with clichés, the performances are tired and the visuals look gaudy and poorly animated. Absolutely bad!

The world was introduced to an extraordinary creature through 1987's landmark action film Predator. The eponymous Predator was an unknown, stealthy, intelligent monster equipped with high-tech gadgets that would one by one hunt down a pack of soldiers in a thick forest. Since then we've had many movies featuring the Predator, yet none were able to capture the same magic as the original movie.

2018 brings yet another reboot for the franchise after the previous reboot failed to take off in 2010. This time it was Shane Black's (who incidentally had a small role in the original movie) chance to turn the fate of the waning franchise around. But unfortunately despite having a highly acclaimed director and a bunch of talented actors, the movie fails to stand out from the usual generic creature flick. There is no flair, the tension or the self awareness of the 1987 original.

The movie is less of a Predator movie and more of a Suicide Squad clone which isn't a compliment at this point. The movie ditches the survival horror genre of the original to go the other way by being an all out action comedy hybrid about predators and humans fighting for survival. The movie tries to keep things jovial and moving through witty banter and humour that has been a staple of Shane Black's movies. Sometimes the gags are extremely funny, sometimes the jokes don't land, but half way into the movie the humour starts getting irritating l in your nerves.

The action is a mixture of cgi gore and practical effects that are just serviceable, nothing extraordinary about it. The Predator Vs an even bigger Predator wasn't as exciting on screen as the prospect of it was on paper. The cast consisting of big names like Boyd Holbrook, Keegan-Michael Key, etc does its best to keep you entertained but they are no match to the charisma and grandeur of the iconic Arnold Schwarzenegger. The plot is a mess that waste ideas with great potential, and was clearly written with sequels in mind.

Watch this movie only if you are in the mood for a dumb mindless flick that has action and humour, but is ultimately flimsy and forgettable.

Amidst all the big budget superhero movies releasing one after another all summer, Upgrade was an indie gem that mostly went unnoticed. But if you are in the mood for a tightly scripted riveting and gory action romp, then Upgrade is the perfect movie for you. Coming from BlumHouse studios that brought last year's genre-bending breakout hit Get Out, Upgrade is another victory for the studio house that specialises in low budget horror flicks.

Set in the future, Grey Trace is a mechanic who prefers to work with his hands rather than let machines do the job for him. After a freak accident, Grey and his wife are assaulted by unnamed goons who kill his wife and leave him paralyzed below his neck. Eron is an ultra rich technological wizard who invents a powerful chip called STEM that can basically do any task assigned to it. Grey gets STEM implanted in his body and he is immediately turned into an agile being with superhuman strength due to the chip's control over his nervous system.

The catch in the story is that the chip has a mind of its own and it starts talking to Grey. Together they set out to trace his wife's murderers and get revenge. The premise is very similar to the upcoming movie Venom. The premise isn't new but it has been efficiently utilised in Upgrade. The twist in the ending is something to look forward to. The futuristic world is intriguing, further made interesting with the inclusion of other biomechanical humans.

Upgrade is not for the squeamish. The movie is extremely gory and has elements of body horror. Violence though minimally used, when happens explodes with highly choreographed action sequences with plenty of blood and mutilations that can make you squirm. The cinematography is top notch and the music is effective. The acting is good, especially the lead actor Marshall-Green is terrific. So if you are bored of pg-13 action movies, watch this R-Rated sci-fi action romp that is intriguing and entertaining at the same time.

Baseball is a sport foreign to most of Indians, but is a big deal in America. The equivalent of that sport in India is Cricket which is a different game but with some common features. Million Dollar Arm captures the culture shock and struggles of a bunch of Indian youngsters who are recruited to play baseball in India.

The premise of the movie is an interesting one and the movie certainly lives up to our expectations. The first half of the movie chronicles the journey of Bernstein (played by Jon Hamm) who is a baseball agent on a trip to India in search of local talent. There are hilarious moments of Bernstein trying to adjust to the Indian ways and trying to teach the people a sport that they have never heard of. The interaction of the western and eastern culture is an engaging watch.

The second half of the movie is situated in America where the newly recruited boys are put to the test in trails for various teams. Million Dollar Baby is a small feel-good film that is entertaining, fun and uplifting. Our hearts soar with the fortunes of the two Indian baseball pitchers who are trying to make their mark in America. Jon Hamm acts great like his usual self, while the young Indian actors Suraj Sharma and Madhur Mittal bring youthful energy and spark to the movie. A R Rahman's score is brilliant as it was always expected it to be. This is a light, funny and fun sports drama best enjoyed in a group.

Captain Fantastic is a movie that will be best loved by those who liked Into The Wild. It is a story about a couple who decide to raise their kids in the wilderness away from civilisation. But when the mother loses her life to a fatal disease the whole family is thrown into a turmoil. They are now forced to engage with the society from which they had so long been fiercely shielded.

Captain Fantastic is a satire that shows a mirror to the society and calls out the numerous wrongs prevalent in the society, yet at the same time affirms the need for a society, a community to exist within. Viggo Mortenson, who we all know from the Lord of the Rings series, plays the patriarch of the family and delivers a powerful performance. The child actors playing his children too deliver splendid performances to match the adults. The cinematography is great and the costumes are note worthy for all the bright and outlandish dashes of colours giving the characters a unique look that visually separates them from the usual mundane society. Music too has been well utilised and the cover of Sweet Child-o-mine in the end of the movie is a cherry on a delicious cake.

Old age has never looked this bleak and yet so humorous in a long long time. Nebraska is a black and white indie movie about an old man who mistakenly assumes that he has won a lottery and is adamant on claiming his prize. The man's sons try telling him the truth but he doesn't listen, and so he sets out on his journey to claim the prize with his son.

Nebraska is a mixture of a road movie and a deeply contemplative human drama. Bruce Dern delivers a stunning performance as the central character Woody Grant who is hard of hearing and is slow to understand things in his senile years. On his way to claiming the prize he stops by his old town and meets his old friends and families.

The movie is a slow paced drama about old age, yet it maintains a consistent tone of black humour and wit even in the most serious situations. The soundtrack consisting of calming guitar tunes is a great addition to the movie, it puts the viewers in a calm reflective movie June Squibb takes the cake with her bold, quick-talking snappy lady character who doesn't care about what others say about her. The ending is one of the sweetest things that I've seen recently. This is a movie that stays with you long after its over.

Il Postino is an Italian movie about poetry and the way poetry pervades all facets of our life. Il Postino (The Postman) is the fictional story of an unlikely friendship that blooms between a common postman and the real life legendary Chilean poet Pablo Neruda while he is in exile in Italy.

Pablo Neruda is in exile from Chile due to threats from the fascist Government and he finds a safe refuge on a small island in Italy. A postman delivers all the letters that Neruda receives from all his admirers. During the course of the movie we see the poet and the postman bond over love poems. The Postman yearns to write and appreciate love poetry and Neruda helps him in revealing the true beauty present in poetry. The movie is presented in gorgeous shots. The steep cliffs, the wind blown fields, the raging ocean all become an intrinsic part of the movie.

At its core Il Postino is a sweet love story, and makes the viewers appreciate some sweet love poems full of tender and sweet emotions. It is a must watch for any admirers of literature and poetry.

Underdog is about a SUPERHERO DOG. If the first sentence perks your interest then you might enjoy this small silly film. Underdog isn't really a well made movie or all that good but it sure is entertaining, mainly because of the mere absurdity of watching a super powered dog flying wearing a red sweater and a blue cape.

The human characters in this movie are all very shallow and poorly written and none of them really stay in your head the moment the film ends. It's just the adorable beagle as the caped crusader who manages to brighten things up in this otherwise unremarkable movie. Underdog is a peculiar watch just for the absurd premise itself, but unfortunately it squanders its potential to truly make something great. Children might enjoy the silly campy action of the movie but it starts to get on your nerves very soon. Watch it only if you have loads of time in your hand and want to watch something weird.

Angamaly Diaries is essentially a gangster flick on paper which depicts the stories of various small town gangs operating in and around the town of Angamaly. But the movie packs a lot of elements and does justice to all of it. Lijo Jose Pellisery's Angamaly Diaries follows the director's earlier trend of setting up movies in a very Christian world of churches, church festivals and Christian households.

Pepe is a fiery youngster brimming with anger that erupts at the slightest provocation. Not just Pepe, but most of the characters in this movie are firecrackers waiting to blow up at any moment, and that is best demonstrated by the character Appani Ravi. The movie does not shy itself from the ugly side of gang wars. A lot of the violence is suggested through sequences of partially hidden pig slaughter that may make some of the viewers queasy. Pig rearing is an important plot element of the story.

The movie has a cast of 86 debut actors who all do such a marvelous job, that it makes you feel like they were professional actors all their life. The music is firmly grounded in the local folk songs of the area and all the songs have a rustic feel to them. The most remarkable aspect of the movie however is its technical brilliance which culminates in a 15 minute long single-take shot involving over a 1000 extras that forms the climax. It is truly a masterfully made film.

The Song of the Sparrows is a slice of life drama by the famous Iranian director Majid Majidi. Majidi is best known for his 2003 movie Children of Heaven which narrowly lost the Oscar for Best Foreign Film to Roberto Beningni's La Vita Bella.

The Song of the Sparrows is about Karim, an employee on an ostrich farm who gets fired when one of the ostriches escapes from the farm. From there on what ensues is a wild journey through the city of Tehran and the suburbs where the fortune of Karim rises and falls like a heartbeat. the main storyline is supported by equally poignant side plots involving his children who along with their friends try to set up their little business of small fishes. There are moments of hilarious comedy and equally heart-breaking tragedy all wrapped in Majidi's signature style of beautiful shots and realistic dialogues.