Aparita Bhandari

The bond between Barney and Ron is clearly the reason this movie works.

The Addams Family 2 allowed me a couple of nostalgic chuckles, while the kids were entertained by the antics. It wasn’t entirely a snooze, but I can’t say it was particularly memorable for either of us.

On the one hand, you gotta give it to the man. He’s got grit. But surely, there are other cowboys whose stories are just as worth telling.

Drive My Car is a beautiful and mellow ride, although you’ll need to stretch your legs after it ends.

Although the film doesn’t fully deliver on the political-thriller element, it asks some powerful questions: How does violence become intimate, blurring the line of morals and ethics?

Russia’s stark landscape makes for breathtaking and sometimes comical scenes. This is a trip well worth taking.

Dug Dug is cleverly crafted, with its sharp edits and evocative sound design lending some bite to the satire. When the truth is revealed at the end, it’s stranger than fiction.

Just like a jazz tune, the film establishes an image, elaborates on it and brings it back to a more-or-less satisfying close.

Aloners manages to delicately infuse what otherwise seems like a slice-of-life drama with shots of mystery that keep us invested in Yu Jin’s otherwise humdrum life.

Right from its opening frame, there’s a lyrical, dreamlike quality to Payal Kapadia’s debut feature.

Within India’s multilingual cinematic universe, Malayalam cinema has long established its own narrative. Despite its occasional disjointedness, Nithin Lukose’s debut feature is a worthy addition to that tradition.

A quiet study of its characters, Ali & Ava is a fresh take on otherwise well-worn rom-com narratives.

The film manages to showcase Scarborough’s beauty, even when things look bleak.

Filmed in Nova Scotia and featuring both English and Mi’kmaw, Wildhood beautifully captures the beauty of the landscape and its community as well as moments of humour, even as it treads some bleak spaces.

To use the parlance of young people these days, Quickening is a mood.

Using Toba Tek Singh as a recurring narrative device is sublime, for those who understand the reference and the burden it carries.

The movie is basically a sumptuous almost two-hour long music video/musical. And as we wind down the summer – looking ahead to yet more uncertainty in the fall (Variants! Elections! Just Life In General!) – it’s delightful to indulge in a flight of fantasy.

It’s glorious in some parts, stretches out your willingness to suspend disbelief in others. Nevertheless, a movie that leaves you with a Missy Elliott style grrrl power anthem as an earworm is totally worth a lazy summer afternoon sprawled in front of your TV – as you make mental notes to sign up your kids for musical theatre classes the minute you’re allowed.

The challenge of watching Fatherhood is that it’s tough to make out what sort of a narrative it’s trying to tell.

As you get immersed in the story, you’re also entranced by a lovely escape to a nostalgic Italian summer that’s inspired by visits to real-life places and rendered in a style akin to that distinctive Miyazaki aesthetic. I also want to get my hands on the original score – the music soars gorgeously.

Despite the predictable plot, there are moments of genuine delight – and they all come from the fresh talent.

As the central characters, Helms and Harrison play their parts with empathy.

Ultimately, Yes Day doesn’t commit to either being a full-out family fun movie or a family drama.

It’s tricky to give such a layered glimpse of high school in a movie that keeps its pace at a decent click. And while Moxie is just a small snapshot of those weird and wonderful years, it gives viewers a decent lesson in how to be an ally, without being preachy about it.

Any excuse to tune out the real world and escape into a fantasy land is welcome – especially through a film that’s about trust and the loving bond between family and friends, and also manages to deliver a couple of solid laughs in between.

The film forms a kind of origin story, giving voice to the often silent experiences of a particular immigrant community in the 80s. Lachlan Milne’s cinematography veers from prosaic to evocative to breathtaking, depending on the scene.

There is a mesmerizing quality to the movie.

If you’re after an action-packed adventure film set against turn-of-the-century Canadian wilderness, you’ll likely come away disappointed. If you’re looking for a good ol’ yarn – the kind where bad guys sneer, good guys sigh and a big dog rescues everyone and finds its true self in the process? Jackpot!