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Recent Reviews by Shomini Sen
Wion

Shomini is an entertainment journalist for WION with over 14 years of experience in film writing. She has previously worked with News18.com and Zeenews.com . She reviews and writes about Hindi, English and Bengali films.

Films reviewed on this Page

Citadel: Honey Bunny
Singham Again
The Apprentice
Joker

Citadel: Honey Bunny
Varun Dhawan, Samantha Ruth Prabhu pack a punch or two in a middling series

Honey Bunny isnt Raj & DKs best work but it isnt the worst either. It gloriously presents Samantha and the actress delivers her part well. The thriller is inconsistent with its storytelling but still better than the terribly boring original serie

Is there something called an overdose of spyverse? If there is, I am one of the first victims of it. Too many spyverses are in play in pop culture and quite honestly none offer anything new. In Prime Video’s latest series Citadel: Honey Bunny – an Indian prequel to Russo Brothers’ Citadel featuring Priyanka Chopra – the action sequences are in plenty and almost relentless yet seem repetitive. Raj & DK have spoiled us with The Family Man, a sharp series where wit and action were quick on their heels. In Citadel: Honey Bunny – the lead pair Samantha Ruth Prabhu and Varun Dhawan give their all to the action sequences and perform some awe-inspiring stunts, yet the series lacks the thrills. Mostly.

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All 10 reviews of Citadel: Honey Bunny here

Singham Again
Rohit Shetty's refresher course on Ramayan takes you on a trip to Sri Lanka, Kashmir

In Rohit Shettys modern-day Ramayan, Ajay Devgn aka Singham is Ram and Kareena Kapoor Khan is Sita who is abducted by Arjun, the Raavan

Can we let the epics be? Rohit Shetty’s latest film Singham Again - a part of his elaborate cop universe essembles some of the biggest stars of Bollywood to narrate an unoriginal story and borrows the full plot from Hindu epic mythology Ramayan. But at a time when films like Adipurush and the anime Ramayan are already available in the digital space, how good an idea is it to again refurbish a known story and force-feed it through Shetty’s larger-than-life, over-the-top cop universe? Questions such as this and a few more remain unanswered throughout the runtime of the film.

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All 13 reviews of Singham Again here

The Apprentice
Jeremy Strong delivers stand out performance in Abbasi's film on Donald Trump

The Apprentice shows Trump (played stupendously well by Sebastian Stan) in his usual megalomaniac, ruthless avatar – an image that Trump has over the years created – painstakingly, if I may add so – but also humanises him to a certain extent.

Former United States president and presidential candidate Donald Trump went on a rant recently on filmmaker Ali Abbasi’s latest film The Apprentice, which narrates the Republican’s initial years as a real estate giant in New York and his relationship with attorney Roy Cohn. Perhaps, Trump’s reaction stems from information that is fed to him because had he watched the film, he may have only objected to certain aspects of Abbasi’s provocative film and not ranted about it in its entirety.

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All 2 reviews of The Apprentice here

Joker
Is Joaquin Phoenix and Lady Gaga's Film a Worthy Sequel?
All 4 reviews of Joker here

Joker
Lady Gaga is underutilised in a boring, uninspiring sequel

Written by Todd Philips and Scott Silver, Joker: Folie à Deux is a sequel to the 2019 film Joker. The American psychological musical drama has Joaquin Phoenix returning as the troubled DC villain Joker, a role that earned him an Oscar in 2019. Giving him company in part 2 is Lady Gaga as Harley Quinn, a fellow inmate that Arthur meets at the asylum and who matches his crazy with her set of crazy.

There is a moment early in Todd Philips’ latest film Joker: Folie à Deux featuring the leads Joaquin Phoenix and Lady Gaga that summarises the film well. It is the first courtroom scene in the film and Phoenix’s Joker is desperately looking at the door waiting for Lee or Harley Quinn (Lady Gaga) to walk into the court. Joker or Arthur Flec is on trial for killing six people including a popular chat show host live on television. While the tension in the room is palpable, Arthur keeps looking at the door. Lee enters and the two lovers exchange a smile. As Lee settles in, Arthur looks at her and pretends to stifle a yawn- referring to how boring the legal proceedings and the room is. The moment accurately captures the mood of the film.

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All 4 reviews of Joker here