Kantara: A Legend - Chapter 1
Action, Drama, Fantasy (Kannada)
During the Kadamba reign, King Vijayendra, the ruler of the fictional feudatory land of Bangra, meets his final fate while venturing into the mystical forest of Kantara. Witnessing this, his son Rajashekara seals the borders of their realm. Later, Prince (more…)
The Smashing Machine
History, Drama (English)
In the late 1990s, up-and-coming mixed martial artist Mark Kerr aspires to become the greatest fighter in the world. However, he must also battle his opiod dependence and a volatile relationship with his girlfriend Dawn. (more…)
Search: The Naina Murder Case
Crime, Mystery (Hindi)
A veteran cop gets mired in a high-profile murder case when a girl is found dead in a politician's car. With multiple suspects, how will she unmask the killer? (more…)
The Game You Never Play Alone
Crime, Mystery (Tamil)
A career-driven game developer fights back against misogynistic expectations after she becomes the target of brutal attacks online and in real life. (more…)
Guild Reviews by Film Page 50 of 112
The Smashing Machine
History, Drama (English)
In the late 1990s, up-and-coming mixed martial artist Mark Kerr aspires to become the greatest fighter in the world. However, he must also battle his opiod dependence and a volatile relationship with his girlfriend Dawn.
Cast:
Dwayne Johnson, Emily Blunt, Ryan Bader, Bas Rutten, Lyndsey Gavin, Zoe Kosovic, Oleksandr Usyk, Satoshi Ishii, James Moontasri, Yoko Hamamura
Director:
Benny Safdie
Sat, October 11 2025
Benny Safdie's ‘The Smashing Machine’ doesn't hit typical sports film beats, but doesn't offer anything that's new either
Don’t buy that bowl, I muttered, as Dwayne Johnson cradled it in his huge hands. It’s a Japanese bowl and will obviously break at some point, and will then be repaired by someone who can’t quite pronounce ‘kintsugi’ but says it anyway, upon which Oscar voters will have their minds blown by the realization that you’re a broken man who needs putting together.
Sat, October 11 2025
Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson finally plays the role he was born to play — that of a champion wrestler and near-invincible strongman — only to challenge his stardom with a painfully human(e) performance.
As an Indian critic pummelled into submission by the hagiographic reverence and sanitised beats of homegrown biopics over the years, a film like The Smashing Machine is always a bit of a culture shock. What do you mean the hero is not really a hero? What do you mean he’s willing to be emotionally naked, broken, vulnerable, ugly, difficult and unreasonable on screen? What do you mean he’s a victim of his own decisions and not wronged by the world? What do you mean he’s not an inspirational story with a message? Benny Safdie’s sports biopic has a mixed-martial-arts protagonist who’s a serial winner with a drug addiction problem, a mansplaining habit, a toxic relationship that weakens him, a punctured comeback arc, and, eventually, he’s barely even the protagonist. It has Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson finally playing the role he was born to play — that of a champion wrestler and near-invincible strongman — only to challenge his stardom with a painfully human(e) performance.
Sat, October 11 2025
The film’s greatest strength is its refusal to follow a traditional arc. The script resists dramatic exaggeration and leans into honesty.
The Smashing Machine subverts the typical sports film formula, delivering a raw, intimate portrayal of survival, addiction, and self-acceptance. Rather than glorifying the triumph of the human spirit, the film dares to explore the darker aftermath of defeat — the self-doubt, the self-loathing, and the slow, painful unraveling of a once-great champion. Benny Safdie’s docudrama, based on the true story of MMA fighter Mark Kerr, begins scattered and subdued. The first half drifts through Kerr’s daily life with an almost aimless, indie-film energy that feels too loose, even frustrating at times.
Tron: Ares
Science Fiction, Adventure, Action (English)
A highly sophisticated Program called Ares is sent from the digital world into the real world on a dangerous mission, marking humankind's first encounter with A.I. beings.
Cast:
Jared Leto, Greta Lee, Evan Peters, Gillian Anderson, Jodie Turner-Smith, Jeff Bridges, Hasan Minhaj, Arturo Castro, Cameron Monaghan, Sarah Desjardins
Director:
Joachim Rønning
Sat, October 11 2025
The second sequel in the Tron franchise picks up with a new cast and story but some familiar themes.
Like most projects in Hollywood these days, the new film in the Tron franchise, Tron: Ares, asks if Artificial Intelligence (AI) can be used for good. Joachim Rønning’s feature brings forth some new characters wrestling with the idea of big tech harnessing AI for their own benefits. The franchise also returns back to the grid in both nostalgic and futuristic ways. The sequel sits on the fence, making its narrative appealing for fans and newcomers looking for an entertaining watch in theatres.
Sat, October 11 2025
AI के मानव जीवन में दखल के बाद के खतरों पर लगातार चर्चा जारी है। अब AI और इंसानों के उसी मुठभेड़ को पर्दे पर शानदार तरीके से लेकर आई है, साइंस फिक्शन फिल्म Tron: Ares, जो ‘ट्रॉन’ (1982) और ‘ट्रॉन लिगेसी’ (2010) के बाद इस सुपरहिट फ्रेंचाइजी की तीसरी कड़ी है। विजुअल अपील के मामले में यह यह बेहद शानदार फिल्म है, लेकिन कहानी के स्तर पर खोखली साबित होती है।
Last Breath
Thriller, Drama (English)
Seasoned deep-sea divers battle the raging elements to rescue their crewmate trapped hundreds of feet below the ocean's surface.
Cast:
Woody Harrelson, Simu Liu, Finn Cole, Cliff Curtis, Mark Bonnar, MyAnna Buring, Josef Altin, Bobby Rainsbury, Connor Reed, Nick Biadon
Director:
Alex Parkinson
Writer:
Mitchell LaFortune, Alex Parkinson, David Brooks
Sat, October 11 2025
A low-frills survival thriller with the drama ratcheted up to a level optimum enough to keep audiences on the edge of their seats is hard to come by. Last Breath gets quite a bit of that tricky formula right, even as it serves up an astounding story of resilience based on a true account. Directed by Alex Parkinson and released in select markets earlier this year, Last Breath is a feature film remake of the 2019 documentary that Parkinson co-directed with Richard da Costa. It follows the remarkable real-life story of a group of deep-sea divers who race against time to rescue a stranded teammate after an accident.
Search: The Naina Murder Case
Crime, Mystery (Hindi)
A veteran cop gets mired in a high-profile murder case when a girl is found dead in a politician's car. With multiple suspects, how will she unmask the killer?
Cast:
Konkona Sen Sharma, Surya Sharma, Shiv Panditt, Dhruv Sehgal, Shraddha Das, Chaandsi, Sagar Deshmukh, Iravati Harshe
Sat, October 11 2025
Director Rohan Sippy proves his mettle in transposing the original material to an Indian setting
It’s just another whodunit on the face of it, but packs pertinent points as it unfolds. The title itself is a giveaway. The very first scene shows flashes of a brutal killing. Here onwards, we come to the heart of the series: Konkona Sen Sharma. She is ACP (Crime Branch) Sanyukta Das, who is about to leave Mumbai to join her husband (a credible special appearance by Mukul Chadda) in Ahmedabad.
Sat, October 11 2025
‘क्रिमिनल जस्टिस’, ‘मिथ्या’, ‘दुरंगा’, क्या आप जानते हैं कि रोहन सिप्पी के डायरेक्शन में बनीं इन सभी वेब सीरीज में एक कॉमन बात क्या है? ये सब किसी न किसी चर्चित वेब सीरीज का अडैप्टेशन हैं। अब इसी सिलसिले को आगे बढ़ाते हुए वह अपनी नई क्राइम थ्रिलर सीरीज ‘सर्च: द नैना मर्डर केस’ लेकर आए हैं। यह साल 2007 में आए मशहूर डैनिश शो ‘द किलिंग’ का इंडियन रीमेक है। यह सीरीज एक लड़की नैना के रेप और मर्डर की गुत्थी सुलझाने पर आधारित है।
Sat, October 11 2025
Homebound
Drama (Hindi)
Two childhood friends from a small North Indian village chase a police job that promises them the dignity they’ve long been denied. But as they inch closer to their dream, mounting desperation threatens the bond that holds them together.
Cast:
Ishaan Khatter, Vishal Jethwa, Janhvi Kapoor
Director:
Neeraj Ghaywan
Sat, October 11 2025
Homebound, Neeraj Ghaywan’s second feature film in a decade, is well worth the wait. Already selected as India’s official entry for the 2026 Oscars, Homebound is just as moving as Ghaywan’s widely admired debut film, Masaan. We discuss its poetic storytelling, deeply empathetic eye, and the fabulous central performances of Vishal Jethwa and Ishaan Khatter. We also talk about its daring, humanist approach to spotlighting minority communities, and how a tragedy like the COVID-19 pandemic affected them. Later in the episode, we discuss the film’s chances at the Oscars.
Mon, September 29 2025
Homebound is a story of two best friends from the less fortunate backgrounds and what all they go through because of their identities. Mohammed Shoaib Ali (Ishaan Khatter) and Chandan Kumar (Vishal Jethwa) hail from a small town in India. The families of both lead a life of poverty. But that’s not all. Shoaib and Chandan also regularly face discrimination on the basis of their religion and caste respectively.
Sun, September 28 2025
The marginalised have never had it easy—but in our own fractured land, their journey is not just arduous, it is often soul-scarring, as Neeraj Ghaywan’s Homebound reveals.
Homebound, directed by Neeraj Ghaywan and written with Varun Grover, Shreedhar Dubey, and Sumit Roy, is a poignant exploration of caste, faith, friendship, and survival in contemporary India. The marginalised have never had it easy—but in our own fractured land, their journey is not just arduous, it is often soul-scarring, as Neeraj Ghaywan’s Homebound reveals. Arnab Banerjee’s review of the film. With unforgettable performances, sharp social commentary, and emotional depth, Homebound stands as an unflinching cinematic mirror to caste oppression, religious prejudice, and human dignity in India today.
Hallow Road
Thriller, Mystery, Horror (English)
Two parents enter a race against time when they receive a distressing late-night phone call from their daughter after she caused a tragic car accident.
Cast:
Rosamund Pike, Matthew Rhys, Megan McDonnell, Tadhg Murphy, Stephen Jones, Paul Tylak
Director:
Babak Anvari
Writer:
William Gillies
Thu, October 9 2025
Every parent’s worst nightmare comes scarily alive in Hallow Road, a smartly mounted and slickly directed thriller that is packed as much with chills as it is laden with metaphor. Hallow Road is directed by British-Iranian filmmaker Babak Anvari, who has earned his stripes in the horror genre with a few memorable titles, including the 2019 film Wounds, starring Armie Hammer, Dakota Johnson and Zazie Beetz. In his latest turn, he takes his craft a notch higher with a single vehicle-two people story that takes place within the course of a few hours one night.
Kantara: A Legend - Chapter 1
Action, Drama, Fantasy (Kannada)
During the Kadamba reign, King Vijayendra, the ruler of the fictional feudatory land of Bangra, meets his final fate while venturing into the mystical forest of Kantara. Witnessing this, his son Rajashekara seals the borders of their realm. Later, Prince Kulashekara reopens them through a brutal massacre. The protagonist, Berme, in search of prosperity, crosses the divide and ignites a conflict of faith, power, and destiny between the Kingdom and Nature.
Cast:
Rishab Shetty, Rukmini Vasanth, Jayaram, Gulshan Devaiah, Ramitha Shailendra, Pramod Shetty, Naveen D. Padil, Rakesh Poojari, Prakash Thuminad, Deepak Rai Panaje
Director:
Rishab Shetty
Writer:
Rishab Shetty, Anirudh Mahesh, Shanil Gowtham
Tue, October 7 2025
The second instalment of Rishab Shetty's blockbuster franchise aspires to do too much more but fails to match the authenticity of his 2022 opus.
Filmmaker-actor Rishab Shetty had set himself a lofty task after the unprecedented blockbuster success of Kantara (2022), particularly in its Hindi-dubbed version. Much like Prashanth Neel (KGF, 2018-22) and Sukumar (Pushpa, 2021-24), Shetty, too, expanded the universe of his pan-India franchise. Only instead of going forward, he chose to go back in time to establish the origins.
Tue, October 7 2025
तीन साल पहले कन्नड़ से हिन्दी में डब होकर आई थी ‘कांतारा’। एक लोक-कथा के मिश्रण में मूल निवासियों के जंगल पर अधिकार के संघर्ष, अमीर-गरीब और ऊंची-नीची जाति के भेदभाव और दैवीय न्याय को दिखाती वह फिल्म सीक्वेल की संभावना के साथ खत्म हुई थी। लेकिन जब इसके निर्देशक-अभिनेता ऋषभ शैट्टी ने ऐलान किया कि वह उसका सीक्वेल नहीं बल्कि प्रीक्वेल लाएंगे तो उत्सुकता और बढ़ गई थी। अब आई ‘कांतारा-चैप्टर 1’ उस बढ़ी हुई उत्सुकता को पूरी तरह से शांत करती है।
Mon, October 6 2025
Kantara: Chapter 1 ends in a divine showdown. It offers nexpected twists to hints of larger battles ahead, the finale sets the stage for an even bigger story to unfold.
There are films that end with closure, films that end with questions. And then there’s Kantara: Chapter 1, which ends with a divine tiger, a scheming princess, a possessed king, and Rishab Shetty turning into a ball of fire before shapeshifting into a goddess’s wrath. Yes, subtlety packed its bags early in this movie. And chances are you walked out of the theatre blinking and muttering, “Wait, what just happened?”
Sharp Corner
Thriller, Comedy (English)
A dedicated family man becomes obsessed with saving the lives of the car accident victims on the sharp corner in front of his house – an obsession that could cost him everything.
Cast:
Ben Foster, Cobie Smulders, William Kosovic, Gavin Drea, Emily Jewer, Susan Leblanc-Crawford, Sebastien Labelle, Rudy Harris, Isabelle MacNeil, Eugene Sampang
Director:
Jason Buxton
Writer:
Jason Buxton
Chainsaw Man - The Movie: Reze Arc
Animation, Action, Fantasy (Japanese)
In a brutal war between devils, hunters, and secret enemies, a mysterious girl named Reze has stepped into Denji's world, and he faces his deadliest battle yet, fueled by love in a world where survival knows no rules.
Cast:
Kikunosuke Toya, Reina Ueda, Shiori Izawa, Tomori Kusunoki, Shogo Sakata, Fairouz Ai, Karin Takahashi, Natsuki Hanae, Yuuya Uchida, Maaya Uchida
Director:
Tatsuya Yoshihara
Sun, October 5 2025
हॉलीवुड और साउथ की फिल्मों के बाद अब एक नए किस्म का सिनेमा बॉलीवुड को टक्कर देने सिनेमाघरों में दस्तक दे चुका है। यह नया फॉर्मेट है, जापान की धरती से पूरी दुनिया के Gen Z दर्शकों को अपने मोहपाश में बांधने वाला एनिमे। हाल ही आई एनिमे फिल्म ‘डेमन स्लेयर: इन्फिनिटी कैसल’ के बॉक्स ऑफिस पर धमाल मचाने के बाद अब इस शुक्रवार, एक नई एनिमे फिल्म ‘चेनसॉ मैन- द मूवी: रेज़े आर्क’ थिएटर में पहुंच चुकी है।
The Game You Never Play Alone
Crime, Mystery (Tamil)
A career-driven game developer fights back against misogynistic expectations after she becomes the target of brutal attacks online and in real life.
Cast:
Shraddha Srinath, Santhosh Prathap, Viviya Santh, Syama Harini, Hema
Sat, October 4 2025
Shraddha Srinath and Santosh Prathap anchor a pulpy thriller about gamers and scammers
Cliffhangers are the hot sauce of series storytelling. They’re meant to make us drool, lean forward, smack our lips in anticipation. They are old spice, essential for closing out seasons but also necessary as episode-to-episode hooks. They fulfil an ajinomoto-like role in the cooking of compelling shows, and even the most prestigious chefs will cop to their use. The American television critic Emily Nussbaum is dead-on when she writes, “…cliffhangers are fake-outs. They reveal that a story is artificial, then dare you to keep believing.”
Fri, October 3 2025
The Game wants to comment on the internet, cybercrime, privacy laws, misogyny and sexism, but really knows nothing about any of them. Shoddy filmmaking and performances only make it worse.
THE GAME: YOU NEVER PLAY ALONE is ominous not only in its title but also in its inaugural stature as Netflix India’s first Tamil original of the year. So far, Netflix has mostly dabbled in anthologies in Tamil; web series are a rarity. The world of web series is slow to take off in South India owing to factors like budget constraints, the scepticism about streaming within the film industries, and operational reasons from writing to production. It’s still at a nascent stage, even as OTT platforms introduce new series in several south Indian languages, and streaming itself is undergoing a churn in how it is viewed and operated. At this time comes The Game, a Tamil series starring Shraddha Srinath and Santhosh Prathap, written by Deepthi Govindarajan and directed by Rajesh M Selva. It takes long form’s trusted entry-level genre — thriller — and encapsulates it within a game developer’s world where digital objects become as much of a minefield as real life.
Fri, October 3 2025
Steve
Drama, Comedy (English)
Over one intense day, the devoted head teacher of a last-chance reform school strives to keep his students in line while facing pressures of his own.
Cast:
Cillian Murphy, Tracey Ullman, Jay Lycurgo, Little Simz, Douggie McMeekin, Youssef Kerkour, Roger Allam, Emily Watson, Archie Fisher, Araloyin Oshunremi
Director:
Tim Mielants
Sat, October 4 2025
It’s an all-time performance by Murphy, who somehow stages Steve as both victim and survivor in a setting that democratises the nature of suffering.
STEVE opens with a 48-year-old man (Cillian Murphy) on his way to work. He’s full of nervous energy. The way he’s psyching himself up, you’d think he’s going to war. It’s going to be a long and complicated day. He knows it, not because the film revolves around this day, but because it’s just another day. The moment Steve reaches work, the war begins. As the headteacher of a school of reform for troubled boys, he is pulled into the quotidian mayhem of his ‘job’. The students of Stanton Wood are already at it: Jamie and Riley are fighting like animals again, Tarone is provoking everyone, Shy is brooding and simmering after a heartbreaking phone call with his mother. It’s 1996, and the heavy-metal emotions of youth clash with the hard-rock resilience of adulthood. Steve tries to calm them down, assuage them, warn them, banter with them; he’s everywhere and nowhere.
Cast:
Dhanush, Rajkiran, Arun Vijay, Nithya Menen, Sathyaraj, Shalini Pandey, Vadivukarasi, Samuthirakani, Ilavarasu, R. Parthiban
Director:
Dhanush
Writer:
Dhanush
Sat, October 4 2025
Sat, October 4 2025
Fri, October 3 2025
Dhanush’s 'Idli Kadai' swings between brilliance and banality, offering both tender, timeless moments and frustratingly overcooked clichés
It doesn’t take Dhanush more than five minutes to both frustrate and fascinate you with his filmmaking. In one scene, we see Murugan (Dhanush) on a video call with his fiancée Meera (Shalini Pandey) after returning to his village. Murugan is in Tamil Nadu and she’s in Bangkok; he is poor, and she is rich. But instead of using a line or a frame to underline this disparity, director Dhanush stages Meera outside her mansion, seated on the bonnet of a white Rolls Royce. The next time we see her, she FaceTimes Murugan with a champagne flute in hand, strutting around the deck of her yacht. And in a silly line, her wealthy father Vishnu Vardhan (Sathyaraj) explains to his spoiled son: “We millionaires don’t get to where we are in life just because of hard work and talent.”