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james bond
Citadel, Review: When James meets, Jane it’s a Bond
Two franchises have set the benchmark as far as spy thrillers go. No marks for guessing that these are James Bond and Mission Impossible. It’s been a mind-boggling 61 years since the first James Bond film was released. Ethan Hunt, of Mission Impossible, first appeared on screen in 1996, 27 years ago. And neither seems to have called it a day. Both have a male protagonist, who performs mind-boggling stunts and survives against al...
Pathaan, Review: Exploits and exploitation
Encyclopedia Brittanica defines a pathan thus: Pashtun, also spelled Pushtun or Pakhtun, Hindustani Pathan, Persian Afghan, ethnolinguistic group residing primarily in the region that lies between the Hindu Kush in northeastern Afghanistan and the northern stretch of the Indus River in Pakistan. The Pashtun constitute the largest ethnic group of the population of Afghanistan and bore the exclusive name of Afghan before that name came to denote any na...
Spy thriller G2 launched in Mumbai, with Telugu superstar Adivi Sesh
In a significant move, a Telugu unit has launched a film in Mumbai, on January 9, 2022, at the PVR Multiplex, Citi Mall, Andheri. It is a spy thriller, starring Adivi Sesh, in continuation of the first instalment of the highly successful G series, Goodhachari (2018, co-written by Sesh), produced by T.G. Vishwa Prasad and Abhishek Agarwal and directed by Vinay Kumar Sirigineedi, who were all present on the occasion. No more ...
Bullet Train, Review: Brad luck Pitt
A Japanese book adapted into an American film, with Brad Pitt in the leading role, set on a high speed train, with armed and dangerous Mafia agents and gangsters on board, seems to be the menu for a high-octane entertainer. And for once, a film delivers most of what it promises. It is a quaint mix of mayhem, mirth and thrills. Bullet Train re-works the gangster genre with a twist that is so obvious that you wonder why did nobody think of it before. And tha...
Dhaakad trailer launch: Kangana Ranaut takes on the enemy, this time in the 21st century
After the period piece about a freedom fighter, Manikarnika, Kangana Ranaut doing an action film should not come as any surprise. Dhaakad (a forceful person to contend with; formidable) brings you a few centuries forward and places the action in a modern-day setting, with hi-octane action of the James Bond ilk. The trailer was screened recently for the media at the high-profile PVR Phoenix Mall auditorium...
IFFI 52, 05: Lifetime Achievement Award for Szabó, Scorsese; Saura’s The King of all the World, opening film
Legendary Hungarian film-maker István Szabó and veteran Hollywood figure Martin Scorsese will be honoured with the Satyajit Ray Lifetime Achievement award at IFFI 52. 83 year-old Szabó is a graduate of the Budapest Academy of Film Art, and is known for such classics as 25 Fireman Street, which was an IFFI favourite, Mephisto and his latest, Zár&...
The Courier, Review: Delivers on time
A spy story with no fights, no gadgets, agents who neither carry guns nor seduce each other, The Courier is a hark-back to the genre that can be traced at least to deglamourised espionage outings like The Ipcress File and Funeral in Berlin, way back in the 60s. It’s not positioned as a competitor for the James Bond or Mission Impossible series, or their spin-offs, and is, in fact, based on a true story. Unwavering focus on the plot, and all round co...
Spies in Disguise, Review: Walter, Pigeon and These Guys
You might say that being in disguise is an essential qualification of being spies, so why give your film an obvious title? There is a rhyme and reason. The spy in this film turns into a pigeon, no less, upon drinking a serum, invented by a teenager called Walter Beckett, and that is one hell of a disguise! Use of the plural is questionable, though, since there is only one spy in the picture, while the other guy in ‘disguise’...
Charlie’s Angels, Review: Bossy angels and Bosleys
A dozen or more women in breath-taking action is not a common feature on the Hollywood screen, or, for that matter, on any screen. Charlie’s Angels take on a charity thief and some invention grabbers in an adventure that takes them from Brazil to Hamburg to Turkey. Along the way, you discover that all the men in the film, bar two, are either evil or bumped off or both. There is an action overdose on occasions when it was not requi...
Gemini Man, Review: Clone arranger
Ang Lee directed this poor man’s James Bondage? The man who made Eat Drink Man Woman, Sense and Sensibility, Crouching Tiger--Hidden Dragon, Brokeback Mountain and Life of Pi? No, this is the Ang Lee who made Hulk, which earned twice its cost. A VFX delight, Gemini Man is about a clone on a mission to kill a man who is a professional killer, and is also the man he was cloned from. The movie disappoints, with a below par screenplay, and few impressive d...
By Quendrith Johnson, Los Angeles Correspondent
Well, it happens in April, but let's just pretend it is almost 2020, with maybe a hint of 007...
Curated by Screenmancer Staff - from MGM
LOS ANGELES, 8/20/2019: James Bond Producers, Michael G. Wilson and Barbara Broccoli today released the official title of the 25th James Bond adventure, No Time To Die.
The film, from Albert R. Broccoli’s EON Productions, Metro Goldwyn Mayer Studios (MGM), and Universal Pictures Internatio...
The Spy Who Dumped Me, Review: Jumped, Pumped, Slumped, Stumped
Pre-credit scenes à la James Bond, the JB theme variation in a couple of scenes and a title that is a clear Ian Fleming lift—remember The Spy Who Loved me? This one is an action comedy, with both components in equal measure. Action is fast and furious and the comedy punctuates the thrills, with the help of a comedians+mimics cast. The Spy Who Dumped Me is funny enough to make you chuckle and laugh at regular interval...
Monster Hunt 2, Review: Monstrous, preposterous, Wubastrous
Three years ago, a HongKong-Chinese dubbed animation firm in 3D captured the imagination of audiences worldwide. In a mythical land where monsters and humans co-exist, a royal baby born to a mortal father and monster mother became the centre of an epic adventure. It is important to realise that the baby was carried in his ‘womb’ by his father, not his mother. In 2018, when the original is now a Netflix ‘Original&rsq...
IFFI Goa 2017, X: Big names, big awards
Two days before the curtain opens on the International Film Festival of India (IFFI), the Press Information Bureau (PIB) has issued a release listing the highlights of the annual festival.
Here’s lowdown: 195 films from over 82 countries will be shown, of which there will be 10 World Premierès, 10 Asian and International premierès and over 64 Indian premierès as part of the Official programme.
It was also announced that whil...
Atomic Blonde, Review by Siraj Syed: Blonde, Lorraine Blonde
“Bond, James Bond” is the most famous self-introduction in spy movie history, courtesy Sean Connery playing Ian Fleming’s Cold War time British secret agent 007. Fifty-five years on, Charlize Theron has picked a graphic novel by Anthony Johnston to invent herself as Lorraine (blonde) Broughton, the present day ‘equivalent’ of not only Bond, but John Wick and Jason Bourne, with a dash of Mad Max, severel...
The Boss Baby review by Siraj Syed: These guys sure have bawls!
Cutie cutie. Coochie coochie. Cooey cooey. Too muchy muchy! Fun, funny. Listen, honey, it’s ‘Big brother’ v/s Baby brother. Baby Corp v/s Puppy Corp. It’s a gooey gooey, gagaey gagaey mess of gawpaw, but so adorable, aw. Aw-struck. Amazing animation. Hilarious declamation. A good outing for the vacation.
Calling all babies, baby brothers and sisters, parents, baby-sitters, corporate ladder-climbers, carto...
Siraj Syed reviews John Wick-Chapter 2: His WICked WICKed ways
First tell me, do you have problems with one man shooting down one two hundred, over five encounters, forty each per encounter? Is it fine with you that every time Wick shoots, it’s bull’s eye, while all the shots fired by the Wicked men and women miss the target, and when they do hit pay-dirt, they bounce off his armour? Fine? No problems? Welcome to John Wick 2, a treat for you.
This is Chapter 2, so you must recal...
The Magnificent Seven, Review by Siraj Syed: Rogue Bogue’s Epilogue
You might say that The Magnificent Seven is not as iconic a Western as some others in the genre, like Stagecoach, Gunfight at the O.K. Corral, Last Train from Gun Hill, Annie Get Your Gun, Billy the Kid, Shane, the Sergio Leone trilogy, The Alamo, True Grit, MacKenna’s Gold or Cat Ballou. But it is not very far either. For one, it has spawned several remakes, sequels and bootleg versions (including a few Hindi fil...
Shaandaar, Review: Insomniacs, maniacs, megalomaniacs and necrophiliacs
It’s a Shaandaar combination. Producers of this eagerly-awaited film include the Dharma banner owner Karan Johar (Kuch Kuch Hota Hai, My Name is Khan, Student of the Year; also director), Vikramaditya Motwane (director of the mini-classic, Udaan, and co-owner of the production house, Phantom Films, with Shaandaar director Vikas Bahl, Anurag Kashyap, and Madhu Mantena) and Anurag Kashyap himself, the director of such...
Mission: Impossible-Rogue Nation, Review: Bond-Bourne amalgamation
You couldn’t escape noticing that the Mumbai press preview of Mission: Impossible-Rogue Nation was being held at the renovated Fun Republic. Two hours and eleven minutes later, you found out that the film was not about a 'nation', but about international rogues. That stated, for once, the expectations, unconsciously raised by a trivial similarity in the names of the venue and the film, were met.
Inspiration for...
Spy, Review: Mel iss a delight
Spy thrillers have spawned spoofs by the dozen, ever since James Bond’s maiden foray, Dr. No. (We can discount the earlier Casino Royale). Almost all of them were done in the farce/slapstick style. Here comes one that is part satire, part tribute, but laced with original entertaining punches. In spite of a protagonist who is a literal heavy-weight, and some off-colour jokes, writer-director Paul Feig succeeds in making the audience root for her, like a reg...
The November Man: Bond meets Bourne meets John Le Carré
Four times James Bonder Pierce Brosnan and the franchise parted company about a dozen years ago. Shortly after that, he started making plans to film a spy novel quite different from Bond sagas. It took ten years to materialise, but materialise it did. So,...
The great ones seem to know it at an early age. With many of the world’s most talented people there seems to be a moment, a turning point when they clearly understand their destiny and commit themselves to a single-minded pursuit of their career goals.
That’s what happened to Julia Lukas. The talented young actress, photographing as a young Julia Roberts, has had a series of images, and visions, which led her to believe, and believe very strongly, that after numerous...
by Marc Halperin
The USC School of Cinematic Arts and
Visions and Voices and The USC Arts & Humanities Initiative in conjunction with Danjaq and Eon Productions presented a special program taking us behind the scenes of the world’s most well known secret agent on the 6 through the 8th of November, 2009. Nine of the popular films were shown during three days and two panel discussions were presented with stars and members of the production team. This was a tribute to th...
James Bond Machinima Spoof produced on Second Life.
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