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Code Name: Tiranga Movie Review : Parineeti Chopra packs a punch in this predictable action-thriller

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User s rao 2187 488 days ago

Worst movie. Why they want show a lady agent fall in love with pakistani, that too above country's interest. She ask to relieve her from duty to lead life with an idiot. If such junks are in our country security system, enemies are not required to damage our country. Character like in this move is enough to damage. <br/>Is it necessary to show cigarette smoking? What greatness will it project?<br/>This kind of movies are aimed to demoralize our country's security.<br/>None of the actors are good except Kelkar.

Lawrence Gomes 490 days ago

Zaroor dekhna par sar ki aur haazme ki dawai like jaana

Jaydev Varma 490 492 days ago

A very captivating movie with meticulous performance and execution.<br/>Ms Pariniti's performance is extraordinary.

Mehta 29186 526 days ago

may be good movie

MD Salman 11 544 days ago

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• Code Name: Tiranga
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Despite the story's lack of substance, Parineeti delivers a powerful performance in this predictable action thriller.

Code Name: Tiranga Movie Review: Parineeti Chopra packs a punch in this predictable action-thriller

• Times of India

Code Name: Tiranga - Official Teaser

Code Name: Tiranga - Official Trailer

Code Name: Tiranga | Song - Dumadum Mast Kalandar

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User s rao 2187 488 days ago

Worst movie. Why they want show a lady agent fall in love with pakistani, that too above country's interest. She ask to relieve her from duty to lead life with an idiot. If such junks are in our country security system, enemies are not required to damage our country. Character like in this move is enough to damage. <br/>Is it necessary to show cigarette smoking? What greatness will it project?<br/>This kind of movies are aimed to demoralize our country's security.<br/>None of the actors are good except Kelkar.

Lawrence Gomes 490 days ago

Zaroor dekhna par sar ki aur haazme ki dawai like jaana

Jaydev Varma 490 492 days ago

A very captivating movie with meticulous performance and execution.<br/>Ms Pariniti's performance is extraordinary.

Mehta 29186 526 days ago

may be good movie

MD Salman 11 544 days ago

Amruta Khanvilkar to Sayali Sanjeev; Marathi Actresses Who Stunned In Yellow Outfit

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​Actress Farina Azad stuns in her latest photoshoot​

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Priya Prakash Varrier's elegance in captivating captures!

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• This film marks the first collaboration of uncle-nephew duo Anil Kapoor and Arjun Kapoor. Arjun is the son of Anil’s brother Boney Kapoor. Share
• This film marks the first collaboration of uncle-nephew duo Anil Kapoor and Arjun Kapoor. Arjun is the son of Anil’s brother Boney Kapoor.
• This is the second time Arjun Kapoor is playing a double role, the first being Aurangzeb (2013).
• The song ‘Yamma yamma’ from ‘Shaan’ is sampled in the song ‘Partywali Night' for the film.

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Code Name Tiranga Review: Parineeti Chopra's Spy Thriller Is All Smoke No Fire

Code name tiranga review: harrdy sandhu, in the guise of a self-effacing, mild-mannered man, may seem like an ideal foil but he is hamstrung by sketchy characterisation..

Parineetii Chopra in Code Name Tiranga . (courtesy: YouTube )

Cast: Parineeti Chopra, Harrdy Sandhu, Sharad Kelkar, Rajit Kapur, Dibyendu Bhattacharya, Shishir Sharma, Sabyasachi Chakraborty and Deesh Mariwala

Director : Ribhu Dasgupta

Rating: One and a half stars (out of 5)

Faced with an especially challenging undercover mission aimed at taking out a terrorist hiding somewhere in Turkey, the Indian spy agency chief asserts that "we need our best man for the job". Turns out that "the best man for the job" is a woman, an elite secret agent with a track record to die for.

The gender twist at the heart of the Code Name Tiranga narrative is about the only facet of the movie that merits any serious attention. The rest of the blustery but sputtering spy thriller, for all its pyrotechnics, is all smoke and no fire.

Code Name Tiranga , directed by Ribhu Dasgupta, is a series of yawn-inducing gunfights interspersed with fleeting sequences in which the characters are given lines to speak. They deliver the banalities with all the zeal that they can muster before plunging with equal enthusiasm into the next action scene in which firearms and grenades do all the talking.

In an espionage thriller in which meaningful conversations and genuine dramatic moments are accorded secondary status, the heroine, after the globe-trotting hurly-burly is out of the way, makes light of a personal tragedy she has suffered because it for a patriotic spy it is nation first. Always.

She turns to the audience and asserts that her fight was not only to protect the country from harm but also to deliver a blow on behalf of all women. The undercover agent does not stop there. Every time the tiranga is in danger of being trifled with, a Durga - her name is Durga Singh and she is a Special Ops officer - will appear and eliminate the enemy, she adds.

This laboured sequence comes on the heels of a major showdown with the villain in which the infallible lady wields an automatic weapon to gun down the henchmen who guard the hideout but fall like nine pins as a remixed version of Vande Mataram blares away on the soundtrack. In her final assault on the terrorist, Durga Singh discards the gun and wields a knife. She, like the film, has run out of ammunition.

The man that Durga Singh (Parineeta Chopra, who collaborated with Ribhu Dasgupta on last year's just-as-forgettable The Girl On The Train ) has been deployed to smoke out is a key suspect in the 2001 Parliament attack (Bollywood's favourite flashpoint) - Khalid Omar (Sharad Kelkar, whose voice does its bit to offset the vacuity of the lines he spouts).

Durga Singh is a superspy in the classic mould - she is a sharpshooter, a hand-to-hand combat expert who no man can match, a highly skilled intelligence gatherer and, above all, a survivor blessed with uncanny bullet-dodging ability.

The first time we see and hear her, she is in bad physical shape having emerged from a violent skirmish that has left her bloodied. In an introductory voiceover, she says something about snatching life from the jaws of death. This sets the stage for what is to come.

Cut to a man who hails a taxi in Kabul. Durga jumps into the vehicle without so much as a by your leave. The surprised male passenger introduces himself as Dr. Mirza Ali (Harrdy Sandhu). The two converse first in Pashto, then in English and finally in Hindi. I am a half-Punjabi Turkish citizen, the man reveals.

Durga, in an abaya, says her name is Ismat and she is running away from a family that wants her to get married against her will. I do not like Punjabi men, she adds for effect. The doctor takes the barb in his stride. The next thing we know is that they are a couple.

Durga's real motive is revealed at a wedding that she attends in the company of Mirza with a plan to trap and kill a deadly terrorist. The mission fails. The Indian intelligence establishment sets another operation in motion and "the best man for the job" is pressed into service. Not that there are no men around the intrepid Durga Singh. Ajay Bakshi (Dibyendu Bhattacharya), a spy who his bosses believe has gone rogue and can no longer be trusted, pops up at regular intervals. Kabir Ali (Rajit Kapur), India's man for all seasons in the Middle East, is at hand to troubleshoot when danger lurks.

Code Name Tiranga isn't about jung (war) alone. The film also has a substantial strand that hinges on pyaar (love). It involves the relationship between the heroine and Mirza, a UN functionary who returns to Turkey after completing his Kabul stint. Predictably, Durga and Mirza meet again but in altered circumstances.

Durga has two battles on her hands - one to prove her loyalty to the nation, the other to ensure that she does not lose the man she loves. But can she win on both fronts? That is the question Code Name Tiranga answers in the second half. The methods it employs are anything but gripping.

Halfway through the film, the intelligence agent ends up in the good doctor's clinic with bullet wounds. She is apologetic about the way she ditched him in Kabul. " Goli mujhe pehli baar nahi lagi hai par pehli baar dard ho raha hai. " That is the effect love has had on the otherwise steely Durga Singh.

The agony of losing the love of her life overshadows the pain caused by two bullets that pierce her during a solo raid on a terrorist's secret, heavily-guarded abode somewhere near the Turkey-Syria border.

In a film that is literally all over the place, the actors have their jobs cut out. They struggle to rise above the deafening din and be heard and understood. The script, credited to a quartet of writers that includes the director, rides on the most hackneyed of action movie conventions, leaving way too much for the cast to salvage.

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Code Name Tiranga gives Parineeti Chopra a role clearly outside her comfort zone. Her mission isn't exactly impossible, but she isn't an Atomic Blonde either. With a screenplay that is more action than talk, Chopra hits her straps only intermittently.

Harrdy Sandhu, in the guise of a self-effacing, mild-mannered man, may seem like an ideal foil to a girl of incessant action but he is hamstrung by sketchy characterisation. As for the other actors in the cast, Code Name Tiranga will certainly not go down as a memorable outing. The film waves a flag that flaps and flutters without much purpose.

Parineeti Chopra, Harrdy Sandhu, Sharad Kelkar, Rajit Kapur, Dibyendu Bhattacharya, Shishir Sharma, Sabyasachi Chakraborty and Deesh Mariwala

Ribhu Dasgupta

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Code Name Banshee 's assassin story lacks creative firepower

Jaime king and antonio banderas star in a rinse-and-repeat exercise in expended bullets.

If and when extraterrestrials ever conduct a full quantitative inventory and analysis of our filmed entertainment, assassins would definitely fall into the category of occupational statistical overrepresentation, and probably merit some red-flag questions about humankind’s cultural preoccupation.

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Decades ago, it was easy to view many films about assassins as chiefly an exploration of the taboo. Certainly, via the work of John Woo and others, assassin tales unpacked the notion of heroic bloodshed. Then such stories also became vehicles for flamboyant exhibitions of style. It could also be argued that in their most well-crafted incarnations, movies about assassins offered up a way to comment on the times.

Now, watching movies like Code Name Banshee , starring Jaime King and Antonio Banderas, it seems worth questioning whether our fascination is rooted in anything genuine, or simply a reflexive, held-at-gunpoint narrative template—the path of least resistance for a cobbled-together coalition of international financiers who see movies less as actual stories than 90-minute collections of filmed scenes in which people run around with guns.

Directed by Jon Keeyes, Code Name Banshee centers around Delilah (King), a contract killer whose professional moniker gives the movie its title. After an ill-conceived flashback cold opening which establishes several parties being framed by the CIA, Delilah arrives for a job only to find she’s been set-up by Anthony Greene (Tommy Flanagan), another killer with connections to her father’s years-ago disappearance and presumed death.

Anthony wants the location of Delilah’s old mentor Caleb Navvaro (Banderas), who has retired and gone off the grid. Delilah rejects his threatening offer, but Anthony flips her computer-hacking assistant, Kronos (Aleksander Vayshelboym), who clues Anthony and his roster of goons into Delilah’s (correct) belief that she might know where Caleb is. As Anthony closes in, this sets up a showdown involving Delilah, Caleb, and Caleb’s young adult daughter Hailey (Catherine Davis), who believes her father to simply be a construction worker who’s fallen into disfavor with the mob.

Keeyes, a prolific, independent-minded producer-director whose credits include a lot of modestly-budgeted genre efforts, seemingly aims here for “day-making” functionality, and the result is damaging. In both staging and overall pacing, he repeatedly rebuffs opportunities to give his film a sense of individual personality.

As scripted by Matthew Rogers, Code Name Banshee also struggles to carve out any genuine sense of differentiation for itself. The motivation and stakes are all two-dimensional, defined only by mortality and the pat designation of certain characters as good and others as bad. The flashback material, which attempts to create some mystery or intrigue about Delilah’s past, and her path to this line of work, doesn’t connect, and only creates more questions by way of a muddied timeline.

Further weighing the movie down is amateurish and utterly unappealing technical packaging. Benjamin Weinman’s score is both pounding and tired, timed to specific onscreen impacts. The action staging, with the arguable exception of a one-on-three confrontation at Caleb’s bar, is generic, leaving editor R.J. Cooper to try (and more often than not fail) to cut around problem areas. Worst of all is a misguided visual palette, from cinematographer Austin F. Schmidt, that leans into heavy shadow and attempts to impose a single aesthetic across several very different locations.

If there’s a pinch of counterbalancing quality, it’s arguably in the acting. Flanagan introduces his character with smartly calibrated flair, and makes him somewhat distinct without tipping over into rampant scenery-chewing. King, given the heaviest lift, plays things straight and square-jawed.

Banderas, meanwhile, locates slight notes of regret which make a viewer wish they could simply wander off with his character into a different film. Early in his career, Banderas leveraged and leaned into his raw charisma and physicality for roles. Since suffering a heart attack and undergoing surgery in 2017, he’s been open about the effects of those health struggles on his perspective on acting.

That shift, or maturation, has yielded rich new veins of comfortableness in his own skin, for in his slowly deployed smiles and other nonverbal cues there are thousands of different meanings. Code Name Banshee teases this pleasant depth, giving Banderas two good scenes, inclusive of a fireside catch-up with Delilah. Unfortunately, it also saddles him with some cringe-inducing dialogue (“There’s more to life than just contract killing”), and underutilizes him in general.

In the end, Code Name Banshee doesn’t have interesting ideas about who its characters are, or even wish to be. It’s a cliché-driven, rinse-and-repeat exercise in expended bullets, nothing more.

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Code Name Tiranga movie review: Parineeti Chopra’s spy thriller doesn’t offer a single moment of excitement

Code name tiranga movie review: can you swallow parineeti chopra as a deadly indian agent who is able to handle a dozen and more gun-laden terrorists and their mastermind on her own then this film is for you..

The only way you can wade through Code Name Tiranga is to swing between disbelief and boredom. But first, a question. Can you swallow Parineeti Chopra being the kind of deadly Indian agent who is able to handle a dozen and more gun-laden terrorists and their dangerous mastermind all on her ownsome? Like single-handedly? In that case, this film is for you.

If not, this is what you have to face. Chopra as Durga , valiant undercover spy, cosying up to handsome half-Indian half-Turkish doctor Mirza (Hardy Sandhu), somewhere in Afghanistan. Sharad Kelkar as the enemy number one, the dastard responsible for the attack on the Indian parliament, now hiding out in Turkey. Dibyendu Bhattacharya as Durga’s handler, speaking urgently into walky-talkies, and sneaking his way out of ambushes. Rajit Kapoor as a canny operative, diving into save brave ‘desis’ in foreign lands. And Shishir Sharma as a Pakistani agent, trying to be very smart.

Skilled female operatives are not new: only a few months ago, we had Kangana Ranaut as Agent Agni in ‘Dhaakad’. But even that film, which died for all the right reasons, had a few moments of interest. Here, everything looks as if it has been plucked out of similar spy flicks both in Hollywood and Bollywood. Middle-Eastern locations. Locals involved with the bad guys. A fortress-like hideout which has many rooms only for bad guys to tumble out of.

Watch Code Name Tiranga movie trailer:

The only time you watch is when Durga and Mirza murmur sweet nothings to each other. The rest is nothing but a rinse-and-repeat expanse. Not one moment of excitement. Not even when Chopra goes on a solo rampage, knocking off one terrorist after another in pursuit of the biggest of them all. Nope.

Code Name Tiranga movie cast: Parineeti Chopra , Harrdy Sandhu, Rajit Kapur, Sharad Kelkar, Shishir Sharma, Dibyendu Bhattacharya Code Name Tiranga movie director: Ribhu Dasgupta Code Name Tiranga movie rating: 1 star

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The FIDE Chess Candidates 2024 Round 14 is the final round of the intense three-week-long tournament. 17-year-old D Gukesh is leading by half a point, with three veterans close behind. Gukesh holds his fate in his hands as he faces Hikaru Nakamura, while Ian Nepomniachtchi and Fabiano Caruana play against each other. For live coverage and updates follow our liveblog.

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Code Name Banshee Review: A Confounding Girl Power Actioner

A contract killer (Jaime King) and her CIA mentor (Antonio Banderas) are hunted by an old adversary (Tommy Flanagan) in Code Name Banshee.

Jaime King unleashes a fusillade of bullets in a confounding, girl power actioner . Code Name Banshee has a former CIA assassin, her mentor, and his daughter ducking an acerbic old adversary with a legion of goons. The villain spends the film calling for cannon fodder reinforcements like ordering a pizza . Code Name Banshee plays fast and loose with timelines that make little sense. It also uses bizarre flashback cinematography that looks awful. The blood-splattering gunplay offers minor thrills. Violence abounds throughout as the female protagonists shred baddies.

We first meet Banshee (King) at a contentious CIA interrogation. Her father and his partner, Caleb (Antonio Banderas), both elite operatives, have been branded traitors after a botched mission. Banshee's father is assumed dead, but his body was never recovered. Caleb has vanished. The government puts a $10 million dollar bounty on his head. Banshee refuses to believe the agency's account.

Three years later, Banshee has become a contract killer . She uses a hacker called Kronos (Aleksander Vayshelboym) to facilitate her bloody business. Banshee pursues a target in an office building but gets an unwelcome surprise. A former colleague, Anthony Greene (Tommy Flanagan), lies in wait. He's got a score to settle with Caleb. Greene knows Caleb trained Banshee. A bullet ridden escape has Banshee revisiting old memories. What really happened to her father? She needs to find Caleb before Greene and uncover the truth.

A Muddy Plot

Code Name Banshee muddies the plot by not clearly stating when events took place. Dialogue between the characters reveal that Caleb has been hiding for five years. The time card after Banshee's briefing says three years. Maybe I missed something, but this threw me off from the beginning. It's hilarious that Caleb has successfully eluded the CIA and an army of enemies, then Banshee figures out his location in seconds from a past conversation. Inconsistencies in the script are painfully obvious and plague the narrative.

The film introduces another character that's nearly as lethal as Banshee. Caleb has a teenage daughter, Hailey (Catherine Davis), that apparently sprung from the womb with a sniper rifle. She has no knowledge of Caleb's espionage life, but has been instructed in the art of butt-kicking like his old protégé. Hailey and Banshee wrack up a body count that could fill a morgue. Their fighting scenes together are the best part of the film.

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Tommy Flanagan Steals the Show

Scottish actor Tommy Flanagan steals the show as Anthony Greene. He's the only character with any personality. Everyone else is subdued and dull. Flanagan chews up the screen berating lackeys with his thick accent. I laughed as he curses his henchmen's ineptitude for dying so easily, then gets seemingly endless refills from the bad guy store. Banshee would have run out ammo if he'd sent everyone at once.

Jaime King does earn action credit with her two guns blazing attacks. She's like a female version of Chow Yun-fat's The Killer . Code Name Banshee struggles to be cohesive from the start. The ending also leaves too many questions unanswered. I can't tell if this is by design for a sequel or just sloppy filmmaking.

Code Name Banshee is produced by Yale Productions, Banshee Productions, Bee-Hive Productions, and BondIt Media Capital. It will have a theatrical and VOD release on July 1st from Screen Media Films.

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Stream It Or Skip It: ‘Code Name: Emperor’ on Netflix, a Tangled Spanish Political Thriller Starring Luis Tosar as an Amoral Protagonist

Where to stream:.

• Code Name: Emperor

Stream It Or Skip It: 'The Grimm Variations' on Netflix, An Anime That Turns the Classic Grimms' Fairy Tales on Their Head

Stream it or skip it: 'baby reindeer' on netflix, where a struggling comedian deals with a very crafty stalker, stream it or skip it: 'anthracite' on netflix, about four people trying to solve a ritualistic murder in the french alps, stream it or skip it: 'the hijacking of flight 601' on netflix, a scripted retelling of one of the longest hijackings in history.

This week’s onslaught of new content from Netflix includes Code Name: Emperor , a perfectly capable Spanish thriller about a guy who’s sometimes good and sometimes bad and, for too long, hasn’t cared whether he’s either. Veteran actor Luis Tosar lends his exquisitely weathered visage to a character who’s like a spider in a web of political intrigue, except there are other spiders in the web that are bigger and more powerful than him. See, he didn’t spin the web, he’s just climbing nimbly through it – and possibly realizing it’s time to get out, maybe spin his own web, have his own little spider babies or something. I’m extrapolating here. The movie’s nicely suggestive in that way, as I’ll explain in further detail here.

CODE NAME: EMPEROR : STREAM IT OR SKIP IT?

The Gist: MADRID. Wendy (Alexandra Masangkay) walks home alone at night. A van pulls up alongside her and two men jump out, grab her and force her into the back. The camera sticks with her point-of-view, goggling and shaking as a third person, a rescuer, fights off the kidnappers. That man is Juan (Luis Tosar), but when he introduces himself, he lies and says his name is Alex. He gives her a ride home, although it’s not her home; she works as a frock-and-apron housekeeper for a rich family. Alex-who-is-actually-Juan knows this. He staged Wendy’s mugging so he could gain entry to the house and surreptitiously hide spycams here and there. Not such a nice guy after all, is he? But there’s much more on the line here – the homeowners are smuggling radioactive cobalt to Neo-Nazi terrorist groups.

Juan works for an agency doing, well, whatever needs to be done within that amoral gray zone. You have to break some eggs in order etc. etc., and he’ll break ’em for you. I’d like to see his business card: Juan – Cleaner/Spy/Detective/Manipulator Supreme. Of course, he almost certainly doesn’t have a business card. Guys like him don’t really exist, or have feelings. We see him on concurrent gigs. In one, a soccer player assaulted his girlfriend and the cops are on the way; in order to make it look like a violent burglary attempt, Juan talks the poor woman out of going public, then makes sure her creep of a boyfriend ends up bloody and hospitalized too. Gotta be authentic. In others, Juan goes to Panama City and Budapest to meet with shady guys for this blackmail deal or that drug-related operation, which distract us from the more interesting stuff happening in the main plot.

Some of that stuff involves spying on a politician (Denis Gomez), hoping to get some dirt on the guy. When he turns up squeaky-clean, Juan’s boss, Galan (Miguel Rallan), instructs him to frame the poor guy. It’s just politics, and politics is war, and all’s fair, and all that. Maybe that’s starting to nag at Juan’s conscience. Just a little. Why is he suddenly developing ethical boundaries? Might have something to do with Wendy. Remember her? He meets up with her again. They go to a movie. They end up shtoinking in a hotel. They repeat the sequence of events a few times. That’s their thing. She doesn’t know he used her like a pawn in an ugly, ugly political chess game. She may just be a foreigner in the country without her papers in order, too. (Say it with me: I FEEL LIKE I’M SITTING ON AN ATOMIC BOMB, WAITING FOR IT TO GO OFF.) Maybe, just maybe, this job didn’t leach all of Juan’s humanity out of him and let it wash down the drain to drown in sewage.

What Movies Will It Remind You Of?: I’d love to eavesdrop on Juan and Michael Clayton sharing war stories over a leisurely bloody-mary brunch.

Performance Worth Watching: Tosar is rock-solid as a guy who does all manner of terrible things, but whose nonverbals tell us he’d maybe rather be a little less lonely.

Memorable Dialogue: Juan finds common ground between his empty life and Wendy’s transient one: “Everything in a suitcase.”

Sex and Skin: Three Stylized Non-Nude Sex Scenes, or SNNSSes – prounounced “snisses,” if you please.

Our Take: So did Juan’s emotional isolation make him good at his job, or did his demanding job make him emotionally isolated? That’s the dramatic crux of Code Name: Emperor , which is ever-so-slightly at war with itself, as the elements of a suspenseful political thriller bump up against those of a subtle character study. The thriller wins, but at least the character study gets the last word, so let’s call it a draw.

The overarching plot is formulaic enough that we never truly question whether Juan will decide it’s time to drop the “a” from his amoral existence. It’s the how that keeps us watching – he uses and exploits vulnerable people in the pursuit of an agenda that maybe, at one time, held the greater good in higher esteem. But it, and he, seem to have slipped into some ethically treacherous waters, surely to benefit a select powerful few. Corruption can really sneak up on a person, can’t it? And even though it’s not explicitly stated, it seems as if Juan realizes he’s being exploited too. It’s like the cycle of abuse.

So it’s the ideas at play in the movie that keep the plot churning, and drawing our interest. Director Jorge Coira competently handles a complex screenplay (by Jorge Guerricaecheverria) entangling moderately exciting action, moderately tender romance, moderately intriguing political drama and moderately tense close scrapes. It’s not exceptional, but it rests on a sturdy foundation. You’ll wish Coira had trimmed some extraneous scenes and made it a lean, mean 90 minutes; you’ll wish Wendy was more of a character and less of a calculated plot device written to be a catalyst for the protagonist’s change. But as it stands, there’s strong filmmaking here and plenty of thematic food for thought, something maybe half the films you’ll ever see can rightfully claim.

Will you stream or skip the Spanish political thriller #CodeNameEmperor on @netflix ? #SIOSI — Decider (@decider) August 31, 2022

Our Call: STREAM IT. Code Name: Emperor doesn’t challenge genre conventions, but it’s worth watching for making us wonder where politics and the human soul converge and diverge.

John Serba is a freelance writer and film critic based in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Read more of his work at johnserbaatlarge.com .

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Code name: emperor, common sense media reviewers.

Spanish spy drama has sex, violence, and drugs.

A Lot or a Little?

What you will—and won't—find in this movie.

Anyone can break if they're pushed too far. The en

Juan is an anti-hero, not easy to get to know or e

The cast all has light skin, playing Spanish chara

A woman is grabbed from behind and forced into a v

Several simulated sex scenes. No sensitive body pa

Translated from Spanish: "f--k," "s--t," "motherf-

A scene takes place in an abandoned building used

Parents need to know that Code Name: Emperor is a drama in Spanish (with subtitles available) about an intelligence agent investigating smugglers and trying to dig up dirt on a squeaky-clean politician at the same time. There are several simulated sex scenes that don't show sensitive body parts but clearly…

Positive Messages

Anyone can break if they're pushed too far. The ends do not justify the means.

Positive Role Models

Juan is an anti-hero, not easy to get to know or easy to like. He ruthlessly does whatever is necessary to get the job done, no matter the cost to himself or others. Wendy is a good model of perseverance for working hard to achieve her dreams. Other characters are either villains or aren't well developed.

Diverse Representations

The cast all has light skin, playing Spanish characters, except one important character is Filipina and offers glimpses of an immigrant's experience in Spain.

Did we miss something on diversity? Suggest an update.

Violence & Scariness

A woman is grabbed from behind and forced into a van; struggling and crying imply attempted rape. Small amounts of blood dripping are shown from a woman breaking her own nose on a bathroom sink, fighting with punching and choking, and shooting with hand guns.

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Violence & Scariness in your kid's entertainment guide.

Sex, Romance & Nudity

Several simulated sex scenes. No sensitive body parts are shown except partial buttocks from behind, but thrusting, moaning, kissing, and caressing are shown with implied nudity. Several kisses. Mention of giving oral sex in the past.

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Sex, Romance & Nudity in your kid's entertainment guide.

Translated from Spanish: "f--k," "s--t," "motherf----rs," "ass," "bastard," "hell," "dammit," "busting my balls," and verbal hostility.

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Language in your kid's entertainment guide.

Drinking, Drugs & Smoking

A scene takes place in an abandoned building used as a drug den; people seen in background with pipes and lighters and background noises implying sex and violence. Several scenes take place in bars and nightclubs with background drinking. Adults and college-age young adults drink beer and wine while socializing. A character was addicted to drugs in the past. A minor plot point involves smuggling cocaine. Undercover agents pretend they want to buy speed as part of an operation. Adults seen smoking in the background; one minor character smokes.

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Drinking, Drugs & Smoking in your kid's entertainment guide.

Parents Need to Know

Parents need to know that Code Name: Emperor is a drama in Spanish (with subtitles available) about an intelligence agent investigating smugglers and trying to dig up dirt on a squeaky-clean politician at the same time. There are several simulated sex scenes that don't show sensitive body parts but clearly imply sex and nudity with thrusting, moaning, kissing, and caressing. Strong language translated into English includes "f--k," "s--t," and "motherf----r." An extended scene takes place in a drug den with background action that implies mostly smoking drugs; background noises implying sex and violence add tension and scariness. Other scenes take place in bars and nightclubs and show background drinking. College-age young adults drink from beer bottles at home. Violence includes grabbing a woman from behind and forcing her into a van; her struggling and crying imply attempted rape. Small amounts of blood dripping are shown from a woman deliberately breaking her own nose on a bathroom sink. There's fighting with punching and choking, and shooting with hand guns. A minor character smokes, and some background smoking is seen. To stay in the loop on more movies like this, you can sign up for weekly Family Movie Night emails .

Where to Watch

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What's the Story?

CODE NAME: EMPEROR is the story of intelligence agent Juan ( Luis Tosar ) at a time when he's got a lot on his plate. His boss wants him to dig up some dirt on a certain politician, and if he can't find any dirt, then make some. He's also working on taking down a smuggling operation and extricating a corrupt judge from a very dicey situation in Panama. Then there's his ex, a journalist who's pressuring Juan to give her a real scoop she can use. Oh yeah, and he's also falling in love with someone who makes him want to leave it all behind.

Is It Any Good?

This is a decent but flawed drama that feels like it was aiming for "thriller" but just didn't quite get there. There's a lot of tension, and the atmosphere is dark, but there are some plot holes and some motivations or reasons behind things that are never explained, which make some aspects more puzzling than thrilling.

Although star Luis Tosar turns in a good performance, it's not his best, and this vehicle doesn't dig deeply enough into the character, even one that's hard to get to know on purpose, for the movie to work as a character study. But it's not a bad choice if you're in the mood for something serious but not too intense.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

Families can talk about the sex scenes in Code Name: Emperor . Are they too much? Why do you think they're included?

What about the strong language? Is it too much? Is it realistic, and does it matter if it is?

Is the violence excessive? Is it realistic, and does it matter if it is?

Movie Details

• On DVD or streaming : August 12, 2022
• Cast : Luis Tosar , Alexandra Masangkay , Georgina Amoros
• Director : Jorge Coira
• Inclusion Information : Female actors
• Studio : Netflix
• Genre : Drama
• Run time : 106 minutes
• MPAA rating : NR
• Last updated : February 17, 2023

Did we miss something on diversity?

Research shows a connection between kids' healthy self-esteem and positive portrayals in media. That's why we've added a new "Diverse Representations" section to our reviews that will be rolling out on an ongoing basis. You can help us help kids by suggesting a diversity update.

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Code Name: Emperor review – lousy title, smart script

This review of the Netflix film Code Name: Emperor does not contain spoilers. 

A scene in the middle of Code Name: Emperor exemplifies the main character. He just saved the ass of a judge hanging out with an underaged boy in his hotel room while snorting coke off of the bathroom floor, for all we know. The judge knows he did it. The guy saving him from the Panama police force knows he did it. Yet, as he is driving him away in his rental car to the airport, the judge begins to throw a hissy fit to save face. He accuses our guy of setting him up. He adds that when he gets home, he will open an investigation. To add to that, if he had anything to do with it, and I mean anything, says the old man, he is going to hang him out to dry.

That’s when Juan (Luis Tozar) pulls over the car by making a sharp turn and screeching his vehicle to a stop. He grabs a set of pictures and holds them about one inch to his face, like Tony D’Amato in Any Given Sunday. Juan calls him on his bullshit. He tells him the 15-year-old had a seizure. Further, the judge didn’t want him found in his room, so he tossed him over the balcony. Now, how could the Agency set that up?

You must love a character like this. He’s your John McClane badass. A weathered soul always with a look of determination. Juan walks around with an eternal salt and pepper five o’clock shadow, a shaved head with a large landing strip for his receding hairline on that dome he calls a head. He also looks like, especially by the last frame, the second coming of Abe Vigoda. Except he makes up for that by walking around with a cool leather jacket and a Glock stuffed inside the backside of his belt. The type of guy a woman can talk herself into falling for. Why? Well, for one, he’s strong, stoic, and he has the crush your windpipe with your thumb in his arsenal. Number two, they all cannot look like Jude Law.

Juan runs an outfit for the social affairs agency that runs illegal activities to help defend friends of influential government figureheads. His bread and butter is what that judge was talking about. He runs the Robes control play like the back of his hand. Set up your target in a sensitive situation, make them think you saved them, and then you can control their every move. His boss has set up his next play. He wants him to find anything he can on a local politician named Angel (Denis Gomez).

The problem for Juan is he cannot find anything. Sure, a little mild porn now and then, but he loves his wife and family, and besides a fake social media account, he is straight as an arrow. There is another plot point where he seeks the help of Wendy (Alexandra Masangkay), a maid of a German couple who may be terrorists. She helps him unwittingly. The agent even uses a young woman, a former asset named Marta (Georgina Amoros), who sets up Angel. And his team of highly trained agents will track and record every move. They then wait for the most opportune time to use the evidence.

Directed by Jorge Coira ( Hierro ) and written by Jorge Guerricaechevarria ( The Oxford Murders) , Code Name: Emperor is a solid thriller. The script is full of intrigue, perfectly paced, and an intelligent spy film that keeps viewers’ attention without resorting to endless action scenes or explosions. From the expertly crafted opening sequence to the touching and surprising conclusion, there isn’t a false note because the plot is well composed and stoically put together. Much of the credit goes to Tosar’s Juan. He is a performer with whom the viewer identifies and can move the story with a single glance.

Many plot points are being juggled here, and it is surprising how understated the result is. Admittedly this could have had a bigger payoff than such foreign crime films. However, Code Name: Emperor is not the sprawling crime saga like a Suburrra . But Coira’s film has a combined plot of a terrific political thriller and the blue shades of a bittersweet ending. Don’t let the lousy title fool you. This is a film worth streaming.

What do you think of the Netflix film Code Name: Emperor? Comment below.

You can watch this film with a subscription to Netflix.

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Code Name: Tiranga movie review – Ek Thi Tiger and she is wasted in a thrill-less spy ‘thriller’

Parineeti Chopra plays a spy out to double cross a double agent in this inexorably dull, unrelentingly unimaginative espionage drama.

Language: Hindi

Cast: Parineeti Chopra, Harrdy Sandhu, Sharad Kelkar, Dibyendu Bhattacharya, Rajit Kapur  

Director: Ribhu Dasgupta

Star rating: 0.5/5

Writing a woman as the lead in an actioner is the only good idea to be found in the entire length and breadth of this thrill-less espionage ‘thriller’. Note: it is just an idea. Having cast Parineeti Chopra as an undercover agent working for India’s Research and Analysis Wing (R&AW), the makers of Code Name: Tiranga shoot her so poorly that there is not enough evidence by the end of this inexorably dull, unrelentingly unimaginative spy drama that she is indeed capable of action and that she did not have a stunt double standing in for her for the most part.

Parineeti always looks spunky and gives off the air of someone who could probably wallop a bunch of bad people in the way male stars routinely do. But the camera angles chosen to shoot her in Code Name: Tiranga are so mindless that this film fails to serve as a showreel for other interested producers. Taapsee Pannu’s fighting skills were showcased better in a teeny role in Baby , than Parineeti’s have been through the approximately 138 minutes of this film.

There are not enough central characters for women actors in Hindi cinema, and even less in action dramas, which means every opportunity is precious and every opportunity lost a cause for mourning. Code Name: Tiranga drove me to tears for this reason and because it is one of the most boring movies I have seen in what ranks as one of the worst years that Bollywood has ever had.

Parineeti plays Durga Singh in Code Name: Tiranga , a spy on an assignment to finish off a mole that R&AW recently detected. Along the way she makes shocking discoveries that could shake the very foundation of the Indian intelligence establishment.

How do you double cross a double agent? This is the question before Durga and her colleagues. Slowing her down on this latest mission is her fear and tension regarding the man she loves, a Turkey-based doctor of part-Indian origin called Mirza Ali ( Harrdy Sandhu ).

Hold on…Durga Singh and Mirza Ali? Down the decades, in Hindi films that have been touted as liberal for featuring inter-community romances, the man in the relationship has been Hindu and the Muslim or Christian partner has been the woman in most cases. This cannot have been a coincidence, considering that in patriarchy’s view, women are the property of the community they were born into and are later lost to them as ownership passes to the community of the person they marry. Rajkumar Hirani’s PK (2014) earned the wrath of majoritarian fundamentalists because it defied this safe formula by having an Indian Hindu woman fall in love with a Pakistani Muslim man. In such a context, it is heartening to see a Hindu woman in love with a Muslim man in Code Name: Tiranga too, and this writing decision is nothing short of courageous in the present political scenario. Sadly, that courage does not give birth to a quality script.

Code Name: Tiranga is so generic in terms of its storytelling style and story that recounting the plot feels like a waste of time. Money has been spent on shooting in picturesque locations across Afghanistan and Turkey in addition to India, but the far more important investment of time in the writing process appears to have been bypassed.

Disappointingly, this film is written and directed by Ribhu Dasgupta whose credits include the thoughtful 2016 Hindi film Te3n starring Amitabh Bachchan, Nawazuddin Siddiqui and Vidya Balan. The rest of his body of work does not match up to Te3n , but Code Name: Tiranga is definitely the low point of the lot.

In these dismal circumstances, Parineeti tries to look earnest, but can only try. Ditto Harrdy Sandhu who was good playing Madan Lal in Kabir Khan’s 83 just months back. On the other hand, Rajit Kapur as Durga’s colleague looks aloof and out of place.

A somewhat memorable passage in Code Name: Tiranga comes early when Mirza learns the truth about Durga while he is on stage singing Dama dam mast qalandar . Frenzied action in the background while overwhelming music plays in the foreground is a formula used in popular action flicks across the world, not just in India. It is therefore not a great innovation, but the singing here is powerful, the beloved song rejigged well, the editing brisk and the emotions stirring enough to make it an impactful scene.

It’s all downhill from there. It reflects poorly on our times that “not fully invested in hate or hyper-nationalism” has become a compliment, but so it is. Therefore it is to be noted that in a decade when several Hindi films have sought to cash in on what appears to be the dominant mood in India by peddling anti-Muslim, anti-minorities sentiments and screaming deshbhakti , Code Name: Tiranga has boarded that bandwagon but its heart is not in it despite the extended revisitation of Vande Mataram , the hyperbolic portrayal of the dushman desh ’s evil designs, the closing credits with saffron, white and green lettering and sundry clichés. This is, after all, a film about the love between a Durga and a Mirza. And that’s the best thing that can be said about it.

Twice in the final half hour I thought the film was over, but as I readied to leave, another yawn-worthy stretch rolled out. As if anxious to drive a nail deep into the coffin of Hindi cinema and bury it, in the absolute end, the heroine is made to spout some awfully hackneyed lines about how Durga is the form that every woman takes to right wrongs blah blah blah and that every time the Tiranga is under threat, she will take that form again. Aiyyo ! Spare us!

Tiger is not the only one who is zinda , dear Bollywood. Sherni zinda hai too and she is waiting for a well-written, well-produced, fun action flick where she gets to bludgeon evil with the same elan as men do. Code Name: Tiranga is a disaster. The wait continues.

Rating: 0.5 (out of 5 stars)  

This review was first published in October 2022 when Code Name: Tiranga was released in theatres. The film is now streaming on Netflix.

Anna M.M. Vetticad is an award-winning journalist and author of The Adventures of an Intrepid Film Critic. She specialises in the intersection of cinema with feminist and other socio-political concerns. Twitter: @annavetticad, Instagram: @annammvetticad, Facebook: AnnaMMVetticadOfficial

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Spy x Family Code: White

After receiving an order to be replaced in Operation Strix, Loid decides to help Anya win a cooking competition at Eden Academy, by making the director's favorite meal in order to prevent hi... Read all After receiving an order to be replaced in Operation Strix, Loid decides to help Anya win a cooking competition at Eden Academy, by making the director's favorite meal in order to prevent his replacement. After receiving an order to be replaced in Operation Strix, Loid decides to help Anya win a cooking competition at Eden Academy, by making the director's favorite meal in order to prevent his replacement.

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'Spy x Family: Code White' Review: The Beloved Anime Gets a Fun Movie

Anya, Twilight, and the Thorn Princess make their big screen debut!

The Big Picture

• Spy x Family: Code White is a standalone adventure suitable for new viewers, efficiently recapping the series' plot.
• The film balances all main characters effectively, with Anya being the driving force and Yor's role serving as comic relief.
• Code White offers great action sequences and animation but lacks new perspectives, making it more like an extended filler episode.

Of all the things that make Spy x Family so unique, the main element is that we instantly fell in love with the Forgers. Whether we’re following Twilight’s daring adventures, Yor’s intense battles, or Anya getting into hilarious situations, there’s never a dull moment for our favorite fake family. Spy x Family: Code White marks the series' first time on the big screen , and while it’s not without its faults, the film stays true to what makes Spy x Family such an exceptional anime.

Spy x Family Code: White

Spy x Family: Code White sees Anya and her parents go on a family road trip as they try to finish a school project . This reasonably simple premise allows the film to focus on the Forgers without diving deep into a massive villain plot or introducing a ton of exposition and unnecessary world-building. Instead, the film sticks to the basics, which is all it ever really needed to do.

'Spy x Family: Code White' is the Franchise at Its Best

Spy x Family: Code White is a standalone adventure that anyone can watch without seeing the anime’s previous two seasons. The film encourages new viewers to jump right in as it does a fantastic job efficiently recapping the show’s plot. When we meet the family in Code White , it’s very much a day in the life of the Forgers, making it easy for all viewers to get into.

The film is essentially a nostalgic journey through Spy x Family ’s greatest hits, as we see almost every major character appear, and the film doesn’t cover any themes not seen in the series. However, it’s still an entertaining watch. The film’s main storyline focuses on Anya accidentally getting mixed up in a villain plot while the Forgers are out on a family trip. Coinciding with Twilight also having to stop said villains, Yor gets suspicious of Loid’s behavior and suspects infidelity. These familiar themes, executed with precision, are what make the film stand out and evoke a sense of connection for returning fans.

One of the major struggles of Spy x Family has always been balancing the screen time between the three main characters. In Season 1, Yor was rarely the main focus, while in Season 2, Twilight’s role was significantly reduced. Code White does the incredible feat of keeping every character relevant to the plot and leaning into their strengths. Anya, like always, is the driving force of the film. She’s the only one consistently aware of what’s happening at all times, which always puts her at the center of events. Anya brings that sense of joy and childlike wonder as she gets into trouble. At the same time, Yor’s role in the film is much more subtle. She’s often used as comic relief, but her fears are real; losing this family can leave her with nothing, and we see that she legitimately cares for Anya and Loid. The threat of this family falling apart is again not entirely new to the series. Still, the execution is good enough to make it feel earned, especially when Twilight’s directives change throughout the film.

'Spy x Family: Code White' Might Not Be Best For Returning Fans

Unfortunately, Code White 's strengths are also a double-edged sword . The film, while entertaining, adds little for those familiar with the series. With little bearing on Operation S.T.R.I.X. , this entire mission can be viewed as an extended filler episode. We know Twilight and Yor stay together and that Anya’s safety is not in danger, which undercuts much of the dramatic tension the film hopes to create. With no real sense of urgency, Spy x Family: Code White feels like it can drag on a bit, especially in the second act. It also doesn't help that the film's main antagonist, Snidel, was not that interesting. He's a serviceable foil for Twilight and Anya, but he serves no purpose outside of being a bad guy who needs to be punched.

The film does have great action sequences , and the animation is some of the best we’ve seen in the franchise. The 1960s aesthetic aids the classic spy feel, making the art stand out. Twilight is in his James Bond bag as the spy antics are amped to a level we haven’t seen since Season 1, while Yor specifically has a highlight moment during her third-act battle with a new villain. Anya and Bond do their usual slapstick moments that are still cute but might overstay their welcome just a bit too long.

The film needed to take bigger swings to have a lasting impact. It keeps the status quo of the anime and doesn’t do anything to give a new perspective or spin on these characters. While the status quo is still the series that has become a cultural phenomenon, we can only look at Code White and wonder just how great it could’ve been if it had attempted something new.

Spy x Family: Code White is a fun adventure with the Forger family . However, it offers very little for those looking for a more character-driven story or even a threatening new antagonist to Twilight. Instead, they keep things consistent with the show so it's an easy entry for new viewers. If you’ve enjoyed the series up to this point, you’d have fun with the film. Just know that it’s not mandatory viewing. That said, a day in the life of the Forgers is still an outstanding time.

Spy x Family: Code White is a fun journey with the familiar characters of the series though doesn't add much of anything new.

• The film stays true to what made the anime series so great.
• All of the characters get the attention they deserve, ensuring the movie remains balanced.
• The animation is some of the best we've seen from the series, with great action sequences providing plenty of highlights.
• While consistent, there is still something lacking from the movie as it doesn't take that extra leap into something new.

Spy x Family: Code White is now in theaters in the U.S. in the original Japanese subtitles and English Dub. Click below for showtimes near you.

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Discover the Production Code Name for Godzilla’s 2014 Cinematic Return

T he anticipation for Godzilla’s return to the big screen in 2014 was palpable among fans of the iconic monster. The MonsterVerse, as we know it today, was still in its inception, and this movie marked a resurgence for the franchise after a lengthy hiatus. The last American-made film had been released in 1998, and the final entry in Toho’s Millennium series was in 2004. Despite the failed attempt to revive Godzilla with Yoshimitsu Banno’s planned IMAX project, the eagerness for new content among the audience was undeniable.

Although efforts were made to shield the film’s production through a clever code name, the secrecy ultimately had little impact on the preservation of the movie’s twists and surprises. Gareth Edwards’ version of Godzilla reaped a favorable reception and achieved a significant financial success by earning $529 million worldwide, setting the stage for the establishment of the MonsterVerse, now worth over $2 billion.

The production code name ‘Nautilus’, while initially used to deflect attention, has since been incorporated into the MonsterVerse lore. The graphic novel “Godzilla: Awakening” linked the code name to a historical event where the USS Nautilus, the first nuclear submarine, inadvertently disturbed Godzilla’s slumber in the ocean’s abyss, thus integrating the code name within the overarching narrative of the franchise.

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The code name ‘Nautilus’ was more than just a smokescreen for Godzilla’s cinematic resurgence in 2014; it evolved to become part of the franchise’s rich tapestry of stories, as confirmed by the MonsterVerse’s own graphic novel. Despite the initial attempt to keep the movie’s developments under wraps, Godzilla 2014 played an integral role in reinvigorating the fan’s love for the iconic kaiju, and it set in motion the success of a sprawling cinematic universe that continues to thrill audiences worldwide.

The post Discover the Production Code Name for Godzilla’s 2014 Cinematic Return appeared first on Kevin Hearld .

Scream directors on new vampire horror movie's big Dracula Easter egg

Exclusive | Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett walk us through Abigail's opener and how it pays homage to Tod Browning's 1931 movie

Back in 1931, Tod Browning's beloved Universal adaptation of Bram Stoker's Dracula opened with a title card set to the main theme of Tchaikovsky's Swan Lake. Abigail , the latest horror movie from Scream directors Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett, opens in a similar way: with its titular character ballet-dancing to the orchestral tune. 

"That was on the page, in the first script," Bettinelli-Olpin tells GamesRadar+ . "It just said, 'Abigail, in a rehearsal studio, dancing to Swan Lake' and we just loved it, to tie-in with the original Dracula right off the bat." (We hope that pun was intended).  

"We're like, ‘Oh, cool. I know what this is. I know the movie's self aware and that it exists in a world with Dracula?' So then we just really steered into it," he continues, noting that the film references the likes of Twilight, True Blood, and Anne Rice novels. "I think for many of us who love the original Dracula, we think of Swan Lake as the theme right? I think we just took that and then decided that we would use it throughout the entire movie."

The music is used in the trailer, too, signposting an early "twist" that sets up Abigail's entire premise. Loosely based on Dracula's Daughter, it follows a motley crew of criminals – each with their own special skill, and Rat Pack-inspired codename – as they drug and kidnap a mysterious billionaire's kid. After bundling her in a bag and driving her out to a swanky country manor, the team are told to keep the youngster blindfolded and locked away, while the mission's mastermind negotiates a $50 million ransom from her father. Easy money, right? Well, it might have been, had Abigail ( Matilda 's Alisha Weir) not been a vampire...

"It was amazing," Weir says of making the fang-filled flick. "Getting to do everything I love in one film, and getting to do crazy things like stunts on wires. Getting to do flips, the fighting scenes as well, it was just so much fun all the time.

"When they told me about all these crazy things that Abigail gets to do, I was so excited and they asked me if I wanted to [do them myself] and I was like '100%'. I wanted to give it my best shot, to try it all. Learning how to go on pointe was so special. We had an amazing choreographer, Belinda Murphy, who was so helpful with that side of it and we had an amazing stunt team as well. It was just amazing."

Bettinelli-Olpin and Gillett are no strangers to iconic horror movie villains, having bossed several Ghostfaces about on the sets of Scream and Scream 6 . It's no surprise, then, that the duo, along with script writers Stephen Shields and Guy Busick, have ensured wild-eyed, spiky-teethed Abigail, with her bejeweled and bloodsoaked tutu, is set to join the pantheon of the genre's greatest antagonists. 

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"I remember the first day you showed up on set with the whole get-up," Joey actor Melissa Barrera recalls to her pint-sized co-star. "We were shooting another scene and they told us you were going to come in with the full look; the eyes, the teeth, the makeup, the dress, everything. I remember asking, 'Is she okay? Is she freaked out? I didn't know [Alisha] very well at the beginning and I didn't know if [she was] going to be comfortable or not. They were like, 'Yeah, she's a little spooked.'

"But as soon as she walked in, we were all like, 'Oh my god'. It was the coolest, and I think that helped her relax a little bit. Then she got used to [it] and was like, 'This is me'. It was an awesome look."

Abigail releases in cinemas on April 19. For more, check out our list of the  best horror movies  of all time, or our guide to the most exciting  upcoming horror movies  heading our way. 

I am an Entertainment Writer here at GamesRadar+, covering all things TV and film across our Total Film and SFX sections. Elsewhere, my words have been published by the likes of Digital Spy, SciFiNow, PinkNews, FANDOM, Radio Times, and Total Film magazine.

Daisy Ridley thinks filming her new Rey Star Wars movie will feel very weird: "I’m in a very different place"

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‘Furiosa’ Has a 15-Minute Action Scene That ‘Took Us 78 Days to Shoot’ and Required Nearly 200 Stunt Workers on Set Daily: ‘It Was Very Important’

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• Kit Harington Pushes Back Against Hero Roles After Jon Snow: ‘They’re Hard to Make Interesting’ and I’d Rather Play ‘F—ed Up People’ 2 days ago
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“Mad Max” fans know that topping “Fury Road” is most likely an impossible task, but it sounds like the upcoming prequel “ Furiosa ” has a few action-packed tricks up its sleeve to deliver the goods. Speaking to Total Film magazine , director George Miller’s longtime producing partner Doug Mitchell let it slip that “Furiosa” contains “one 15-minute sequence which took us 78 days to shoot” and required 200 stunt people on set daily. The code name for the sequence during production was “Stairway to Nowhere.”

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Both Taylor-Joy and Hemsworth recently popped up at CinemaCon earlier this month to tout “Furiosa” and preview explosive new footage from the action prequel.

“It’s a story of relentless hope,” Taylor-Joy told attendees. She also praised Miller’s production design, direction and VFX sensibilities as artful as he “painted every scene, and I mean he paints.”

From Variety’s report on the new footage shown: “The result was a sonic and visual onslaught of fire, metal, chainmail, war paint, crushed bones and bloodsoaked revenge. In other words, it played fucking awesome in the room. The overwhelming footage will likely be a sensation in the IMAX format, given the audience response.”

“Furiosa” will open in theaters May 24 from Warner Bros. after world premiering out of competition at the 2024 Cannes Film Festival.

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Code Name: Emperor Reviews

Jorge Coira competently handles a complex screenplay entangling moderately exciting action, moderately tender romance, moderately intriguing political drama and moderately tense close scrapes. It's not exceptional, but it rests on a sturdy foundation.

Full Review | Aug 29, 2022

Spanish spy drama has sex, violence, and drugs.

Full Review | Original Score: 2/5 | Aug 29, 2022

A high-speed, intense, and slickly packaged ride through the dark and nasty tunnels of state power, Jorge Coira's second feature Code Emperor is an all-too rare Spanish attempt to marry genre to real-life politics.

Full Review | Aug 22, 2022

A boring and uneventful watch with characters that aren’t engaging or developed in a way that makes them even slightly relatable.

Full Review | Original Score: 1.5/5 | Aug 16, 2022

From the expertly crafted opening sequence to the touching and surprising conclusion, there isn’t a false note because the plot is well composed and stoically put together.

Full Review | Original Score: 3.5/5 | Aug 13, 2022