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Thank You Review

What's Behind

Naga Chaitanya is known for his youthful romantic entertainers. After scoring a hit with Love Story teaming with Sai Pallavi and Sekhar Kammula, he is coming to entertain movie lovers with Thank You. The film is directed by Vikram Kumar and the film's trailer and teaser generated interest. The film hit the screens on July 22, 2022, and let us see how Naga Chaitanya made movie lovers say Thank You with his entertaining moves.

Story Review

Abhi aka Abhiram (Naga Chaitanya) concentrates on making huge bucks as he underwent several hardships and sufferings during his childhood. In the process unknowingly he turns egocentric, egoistic and self-centered, and arrogant. How this affected his relationship with Priya (Raashi Khanna), Paaru aka Parvathi(Malavika Nair), and Chinnu (Avika Gor) and how Sarva (Sai Sushanth Reddy) is connected to the developments, enjoy Thank You on the silver screen.

Artists, Technicians Review

Director Vikram Kumar increased expectations when Naga Chaitanya teamed with him. He came up with a feel-good romantic entertainer to attract movie lovers and present a hit to Naga Chaitanya. Many expected Thank You to be completely novel but much to the surprise of all, the story turned out to be routine and predictable. The film's story is similar to the previous romantic entertainers. Vikram Kumar could have done wonders with his screenplay but even in that, he trod the familiar line.

Right from the first scene, the film turned out to be predictable and it, in turn, tested the patience of the viewers. Only Naga Chaitanya turned out to be the saving grace for this film to some extent. Vikram Kumar seems to have been inspired by Naga Chaitanya's earlier films Majili, Premam, and others. Vikram Kumar's brilliance and sparks are seen here and there but they disappear within seconds. After the first half ends on a predictable note, the second half goes into flashback mode and after a few convincing and many unconvincing scenes, the film enters the climax. One gets a feeling that the film ended in a hurry. Overall the narration turned out to be dismal and lackluster.

Naga Chaitanya performed well in the role of tailormade for him. He showed the right kind of emotions and expressions and tried to carry the film on his shoulders. However, his character is not eked out properly. He makes an impression on the viewers as he did such similar kind of roles earlier with ease.

Raashi Khanna impresses with her emotional performance. But her role also brings back memories of her previous films. Malavika Nair and Avika Gor looked cute and performed according to their roles. Malavika Nair's role looks normal except during the climax. She with her powerful expressions made an intense impact. She spoke many things through her eyes. Avika Gor got a different role to make her presence felt in the story. Sai Sushanth Reddy is ok in the role of the antagonist. Prakash Raj and Sampath Raj are good in small roles.

Thaman's music failed to connect chords with the viewers. None of the songs appealed to the music lovers. Even his background score had its ups and downs. This turned out to be a disappointing outing for Thaman's fans. The cinematography of PC. Sreeram is good and he beautified the film with his camera angles. Naveen Nooli's editing is fine considering the duration of the film. Production values are good.

Naga Chaitanya

Few emotions

Disadvantages

Routine, Predictable

Unconvincing scenes

Lack of novelty

Rating Analysis

Many expected Vikram Kumar and Naga Chaitanya to cast a magic spell with Thank You. But the duo disappoints in big time and the blame solely lies on Vikram Kumar. Despite the spirited performance from Naga Chaitanya, Thank You fails to make an impact as Vikram Kumar did not come with the novel storyline. He instead tested the patience of the viewers with the routine story, predictable screenplay, and direction. The only saving grace is a few emotions and a message but everything is lost due to lack of freshness. Considering all these aspects, CJ goes with a 1.75 rating for Thank You.

Cinejosh - A One Vision Technologies initiative, was founded in 2009 as a website for news, reviews and much more content for OTT, TV, Cinema for the Telugu population and later emerged as a one-stop destination with 24/7 updates.

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Maharshi - movie review.

Film: Maharshi Cast:  Mahesh Babu, Pooja Hegde, Allari Naresh, Jagapathi Babu, Prakash Raj, Rao Ramesh, Jhansi, Jaya Sudha and others Written by: Hari, Vamshi Paidipally, Solomon Additional dialogue : Bheem Srinivas Music : Devi Sri Prasad Lyrics : Shreemani Director of Photography: K.U. Mohanan Production Designer: Sunil Babu Editor: K. L. Praveen Action: Ram - Lakshman Banner: Vyjayanthi Movies, Sri Venkateswara Creations, PVP Cinema Produced by: Dil Raju, Ashwini Dutt, Pearl Potluri Directed by: Vamshi Paidipally CBFC Rating: UA Runtime: 178 mins

What’s it about! Rishi (Mahesh Babu), a techie who sees quick success and eventually becomes CEO of a large company in USA recollects his humble roots in India and what brought him to this place. He studied in a college in Vishakapatnam where he forms friendship with Pooja (Pooja Hegde), who eventually becomes his lover and Ravi (Allari Naresh). Ravi comes from a poor farmer’s family and they are going through major problems. A misunderstanding leads three friends’ to part ways and Rishi leaves for USA to earn money and settle in life. In all these years, he never tries to contact his friends. When his friends throw party celebrating his CEO position, Rishi comes to know what Ravi had done for him in his college days. Rishi now heads to India.   Analysis ‘Maharshi’ marks the 25th film for Mahesh Babu who began his career as lead star in K Raghavendra Rao directed ‘Rajakumarudu’ in 1999. As is the case with his recent films like ‘Srimanthudu’ and ‘Bharat Ane Nenu’, this latest one too has touched upon a socially relevant subject. ‘Maharshi’ deals about the topic of farmers losing lands for the sake of a big corporate project and this is narrated in commercial format. The film proclaims its theme as this: “Gelupu Tanikkoadide Aanukunte Manishi, Aa Gelupunu Padimandiki Panchite Maharshi” (One who shares fruits of his success to all is Maharshi). But this movie is more about a person undoing the mistake that he did in his past and starting new journey. How Rishi (a person who looked for material success), a character played by Mahesh Babu, became Maharshi (a great person) is narrated by Vamshi Paidipally in typical commercial movie format that has resemblance to many successful movies.   Director Vamshi Paidipally, who wrote the script along with Hari and Solomon, has begun the story in similar fashion of Raj Kumar Hirani’s ‘3 Idiots’ - establishing the college days of three friends, their bonding and problems. The first half of the movie is narrated in an interesting way. After the interval point, it is revealed that the film’s main theme is something else.   Vamshi Paidipally and his writers have picked up a relevant point but what they missed here is the beauty of brevity. The plot is slender, the narration is stout. If this film was narrated in quicker pace and finished under 2.30 hours, the case would have been different. Even after picking up right plot point for a big star, the movie gives dragged on feel as the scenes are quite predictable. The emotions don't stir require feelings.   178 minutes of runtime is totally unjustified for this simple plot.   In his 25-films career, Mahesh Babu has delivered some great performances, he does not need to prove his acting skills further. Interestingly, this landmark movie in his career has provided him a platform to showcase three shades, of a young student, a business tycoon and an activist.   Allari Naresh’s character is soul to this story and the comedy star brings emotional aspect with his stirring performance. Naresh’s presence in the film is well justified. Pooja Hegde as hero’s girlfriend does justice. Rao Ramesh and Prakash Raj (as Mahesh Babu’s father) have nothing new to add. Jagapathi Babu as main villain is weak. Barring wearing suits and giving frown looks, he doesn’t do anything. The film has many actors but none of them have impressive characters.   Devi Sri Prasad’s songs are not that appealing on audio tape but are effective on screen. “Choti Choti Baatien” and “Ide Kada Ide Katha” stand out in the film. Bollywood cinematographer K U Mohanan (Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam, Don and Talaash) has lent richness to the screen with his fantastic camera work. Production design is neat. The film is seething with rich look.   Vamshi Paidipally, who wowed us all by delivering a heart-warming film with Nagarjuna starrer ‘Oopiri’ has come up with predictable writing, lacks any shred of originality. Some dialogues are superb, and he has handled the village sequences and some scenes in second half well but his narration is totally uneven.   Bottom-line: ‘Maharshi’ is all about a techie realizing his roots and taking up plough and telling us the importance of saving farmers and caring for their problems. The slender plot is stretched into 3-hours runtime with many predictable moments. The second half leaves us totally unsatisfied. Emotional core is not convincing.

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Maharshi (2019)

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Maharshi movie review: The Mahesh Babu film is a crowd pleaser

Maharshi movie review: mahesh babu is convincing as rishi. while pooja hegde's role has nothing new to offer, allari naresh is the surprise package..

Maharshi movie cast: Mahesh Babu, Pooja Hegde, Allari Naresh, Jagapathi Babu, Prakash Raj, Jayasudha Maharshi movie director: Vamshi Paidipally

Rishi ( Mahesh Babu ) is the CEO of a multi-billion dollar US-based company. He is an example of success to the outside world. What makes him so successful is conveyed through three phases of Rishi’s life.

The movie begins with the complicated father-son relationship of Rishi and Sathya Narayana (Prakash Raj). Rishi considers his father a failure and vows to never become like him. His father acts as a catalyst for his thirst for success.

In the second phase set in a college, he meets Pooja (Pooja Hegde) and Ravi (Allari Naresh). Ravi is the son of a farmer from a village called Ramapuram. Later, Rishi, Pooja and Ravi party ways, paving the way for the third phase.

In the third phase of Maharshi, after many years, a successful Rishi visits Ramapuram village to meet his old friend Ravi. Ravi, however, is fighting corporates which are swallowing up farming lands. Rishi joins him in the fight. During his time at the village, Rishi understands the struggles of farmers and the faults in the agriculture sector. The ideas such as introducing farming as a lesson in the school curriculum, weekend farming and housing communities adopting villages for the sake of farmers really make the audience think twice about society before they leave the cinema hall.

Mahesh Babu is convincing as Rishi. While Pooja Hegde’s role has nothing new to offer, Allari Naresh is the surprise package. Jagapathi Babu as the antagonist delivers the goods.

Vamshi Paidipally handles an emotionally intense subject well. But, the director could have paid more attention to Maharshi’s run-time. He could have chopped two masala songs which act as speed bumps. Overall, Maharshi is a crowd pleaser.

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Acharya Movie Review

Article by Suman M Published by GulteDesk --> Published on: 4:48 am, 29 April 2022

2 Hr 16 Mins   |   Action - Drama   |   April 29, 2022

Cast - Chiranjeevi, Ram Charan, Pooja Hegde, Sonu Sood, Jishu Sen Gupta and Others

Director - Koratala Siva

Producer - Niranjan Reddy, Ram Charan

Banner - Matinee Entertainments, Konidela Production Company

Music - Manisharma

Megastar Chiranjeevi is coming back to the theaters with his Acharya directed by Koratala Siva. Chiru’s last outing was in 2019 with Sye Raa. Acharya is one of the most awaited movies due to the presence of Chiranjeevi of course, but also Ram Charan plays a crucial and lengthy role in the movie. The trailer appears to serve mostly commercial elements with two superstars in it becoming the saviors of a temple town. The movie was finally released today and here is the review from the US Premieres.

What Is It About?

A temple town Dharmasthali loses its glory after Basava (Sonu Sood) takes it into his clutches. Acharya (Chiranjeevi) enters Dharmasthali and starts reforming it slowly with his silent yet violent acts. Acharya had to come to save Dharmasthali for a reason and that is Siddha (Ram Charan). Who is Siddha and how he is related to Acharya? What is Acharya’s background and how did he solve the problem of Dharmasthali? Acharya’s story answers all these questions.

Performances

Chiranjeevi is good as Acharya, but his story fails to create much impact and depth. Neither his character gets a strong presentation in Dharmasthali. Two fights where he becomes a vigilante trying to elevate but ends up in vain. His dances are still great to watch and that is the saving part of almost all the songs. Chiranjeevi’s role is monotonous and the Megastar gets nothing much really to perform here.

Ram Charan’s role is much hyped right from the first half but his role too is extremely formulaic and mostly predictable. The actor must have gone by the direction, but his role could not entertain much. With slow and predictable narration, both the Mega heroes’ roles look dull and routine Both their characters lack a strong emotional connection with Dharmasthali/Paadaghattam sentiments.

The graceful dances of both Chiru and Charan in the Bhale Banjara song remain a treat to watch. The song looks interesting and attractive just because they both dance in perfect sync.

Pooja Hegde has got a minuscule role and she mostly appears as a guest. With Chiru having no heroine, Pooja Hegde is there just to fill the gap as Charan’s love interest.

Sonu Sood, Jishu Sen Gupta, Tanikella Bharani, and others are fine, though they are all given the same old roles they have played umpteen times. Satya Dev appears in a guest role and he is alright.

Technicalities

Acharya is a routine plot with weak narration. The flow of scenes could be predicted by their most old-fashioned ways.

The graphics work in the movie is not great and could have been a lot better with the star cast like Chiranjeevi and Ram Charan in it. The screenplay is outdated.  

The background music is alright and the songs are good to watch mostly due to Chiru and Charan in them. The dialogues are ordinary.

Chiru & Charan’s Dance

Thumbs Down

Weak Plot Poor formulaic narration Routine Characterizations

The senior heroes like Chiranjeevi have reached a point where they are becoming very protective of themselves during the story selection and often coming up with the same ‘safe’ stories with so-called commercial elements included. Acharya ends up as one of the routine storylines with predictable scenes all along.

The director gives a new backdrop with terms like Dharmasthali, and Paadaghattam and introduces the savior of them, Acharya to us. But took no time to fall back into the regular routine masala formula of a commercially viable movie.

The first half starts at a slow pace with an Intriguing voiceover by Mahesh Babu, but the pace doesn’t pick up even after Chiranjeevi enters. The most needed highlights and highs with his entry thereafter go missing. The scenes can be easily predictable. Though Chiru’s dance is good to watch, the songs Laahe Laahe and Saana Kashtam appear obviously forced.

With Chiru giving hints about his mission in Dharmasthali and about Siddha, it is clearly evident that the second half is all about Siddha. While the most hyped Siddha too goes in a vintage narrative of a rescuer or a savior. Ram Charan and Pooja Hegde’s love story and the song followed by those scenes are extremely boring.

The villains Sonu Sood, Jishu Sen Gupta, and his brother are just the same villains we have watched in many films who worry mainly about mining and encroaching. At least the villain’s methods of troubling the good folks don’t change here, like adulterating the medicines of Paadaghattam people, etc. On top of that, the three villains sound the same, maybe due to the usage of the same dubbing voice for all Bollywood villains.

There are many other outdated scenes like punishing a rapist, saving a girl from bad youngsters, saving the young boys from the quarry work and these come as a part of elevating the heroism. The scenes like Basava brutally killing a sincere officer, backstabbing Siddha, and supplying the drugs for the youth, are as old as mountains.

The Acharya himself stays mostly as a spectator in the second half just to watch Siddha take over, again with the same vintage formulaic scenes and elevations. Some combination scenes between Charan and Chiru turned out just okay, while their comedy at the quarry fails miserably. The climax fight is red and violent with Acharya in destruction mode, which might enthrall some action fans.

Having said that, Acharya is an outdated drama with some enjoyable dances and many predictable scenes. The presence of Mega heroes Chiru and Charan may not be able to help the movie, as the story and the narrative are much bigger villains here.  

Bottomline: A Boring Class From Acharya

Rating: 2/5

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Saindhav Review: Underwhelming And Amateurish

Movie: Saindhav Rating: 2/5 Banner: Niharika Entertainment Cast: Venkatesh, Shraddha Srinath, Ruhani Sharma, Nawazuddin Siddique, Arya, Andrea Jeremiah, Mukesh Rishi, Jisshu Sengupta, Baby Ssara Palekar, JP, Getup Srinu and others Music: Santosh Narayan Cinematographer: S.Manikandan Editing: Garry Bh Art: Avinash Kolla Producers: Venkat Boyanapalli Written and Directed by: Sailesh Kolanu Release Date: Jan 13, 2023

"Saindhav" is Venkatesh's 75th film, and much promotion has been done.

Let's see if director Sailesh Kolanu's film truly stands out in Venky's career.

Story: Saindhav Koneru (Venkatesh) lives in the Chandraprastha port city along with his daughter Gayatri. Mano (Sraddha Sreenath), a neighbor who is living independently following her separation from her husband (Getup Seenu), has a close connection with Saindhav's daughter as well as with Saindhav himself.

Saindhav formerly served as a member of a drug cartel, but he has since transitioned into the role of a crane operator and is now living a life distanced from his previous crime activity.

Upon learning that his daughter has been diagnosed with the rare disease SMA and the medical treatment costs Rs 17 crore, he seeks assistance from his former employer. In response, his boss instructs him to eliminate Vikas (Nawazuddin Siddique), the current leader of the cartel.

Saindhav is faced with the dual challenge of saving his daughter and eradicating the cartel operations in Chandraprastha.

Artistes’ Performances: Venkatesh plays a character that requires him to exhibit aggression. Although it is commendable that he is portraying a character that suits his age, the character he played lacks a distinct quality. It is a routine action role.

Nawazuddin Siddique attempts as an idiosyncratic antagonist. But he too irritates with his Hindi-Telugu mix dialogue delivery and overdosed histrionics. 

Shraddha Srinath, Ruhani Sharma, and JP have regular roles in the film.

Actors such as Arya, Jisshu Senugupta, and Andrea impose a financial strain on production costs and they contribute little value to the narrative.

Technical Excellence: The music composed by Santosh Narayan is underwhelming, with both the songs. But the background score is noteworthy.

The cinematography by Manikandan is commendable as he effectively sustains a somber ambiance throughout the film. Similar to the writing, the editing is devoid of rapid tempo.

Highlights: BGM

Drawback: Boring narration Lousy screenplay Predictable proceedings No thrilling action episodes Superficial emotions

Analysis One would expect a popular actor like Venkatesh to sign a landmark film (his 75th) with a solid story. It's disappointing to see Venkatesh approve this plot that has nothing to root for. Why on earth would Venkatesh agree to make another action film after scoring duds earlier?

After watching this till the end, one wonders how director Sailesh Kolanu ("Hit") wrote this script and also thought it would merit a sequel (there is a hint of a sequel at the end of the film).

The story is set in the imaginary city of Chandraprastha. And the city has over 300 children with this rare condition, each of whom need an injection worth Rs 17 crore. But the government does nothing. A mafia runs the so-called pharmaceutical company that manufactures vials. Really? How could Venkatesh have agreed to this ridiculous story?

The film starts out slowly. The film is tedious for more than 40 minutes in the first half. It only becomes interesting toward the intermission. However, once the main conflict is created, it slips and becomes uninteresting again.

Why did Arya enter the story? We don't know. JP is the grandfather of Venkatesh’s daughter, but he is unaware of this. Shraddha Srinath's character is no better. There are numerous actors that do nothing except be there. The film has the sense of being just another rehash action drama in the style of some duds from 10 or 15 years ago.

In his promotional materials, the filmmaker stated that the final 20 minutes of the film will deliver a one-of-a-kind cinematic experience because Venkatesh's performance will leave us speechless. In reality, the climax feels stretched out, and the acting is nothing spectacular.

Overall, "Saindhav" is a huge letdown. Nothing except boredom is provided by this action drama. The film has no redeeming qualities at all. The incessant flow of action episodes makes no sense, and the audience gets perplexed as to why so many violent action scenes come one after the other. This film is a perfect 'no' for entertainment seekers, and even the action film lovers find it abhorring and taxing to the mind, as there is no emotional part to connect with what is happening on the screen. This is a big shock of how Venkatesh agreed to this script for his milestone 75th film.

Bottom line: What a Mess!

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Jake Gyllenhaal is a former UFC star who becomes a bouncer in Road House. Laura Radford/Prime Video hide caption

Jake Gyllenhaal is a former UFC star who becomes a bouncer in Road House.

There's been so much conflict behind the scenes of the new Road House remake that the fighting on-screen almost pales by comparison. Last month, R. Lance Hill, a writer on the original 1989 film, filed a copyright infringement lawsuit against the companies behind the remake, MGM Studios and its parent, Amazon Studios. Meanwhile, Doug Liman, the director of the remake, has publicly blasted Amazon for bypassing theaters and giving the movie a streaming-only release.

I can't help but empathize with Liman. His Road House isn't a great movie by any stretch, but what pleasures it has are best experienced on a big screen in a packed house. The original Road House did decent theatrical business back in 1989, before becoming a cult classic on home video. Watching it today, you can see why: It's dumb and satisfying, a straight-no-chaser shot of sex and violence. And Patrick Swayze remains irresistible as Dalton, a strong, silent, frequently bare-chested bar bouncer who gets sucked into a crowd-pleasing maelstrom of small-town mayhem.

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Jake gyllenhaal on throwing (and taking) punches: 'it's very primal'.

The remake, written by Anthony Bagarozzi and Charles Mondry, mostly sticks to the original template. In this version of the story, Dalton, played by Jake Gyllenhaal , is a former Ultimate Fighting Championship star who's fallen on tough times. He's run out of options when he's offered a job cooling down the riff-raff at a roadhouse in the Florida Keys. When he shows up, he teaches the other bouncers to de-escalate the violence that flares up night after night among the bar's very mean, very drunk patrons.

Even so, Gyllenhaal's Dalton feels like less of a pacifist than Swayze's, and he's not afraid to stir up trouble. At one point, a nasty biker gang shows up and starts wreaking havoc inside the roadhouse. Dalton lures them outside and gives them the chance to walk away. They mock him, clearly not knowing what they're dealing with.

This isn't the first time Gyllenhaal has played an ultra-shredded fighter, as he did in the 2015 boxing melodrama Southpaw . His Dalton is a pretty standard-issue protagonist, complete with a troubled past that haunts his dreams. But Gyllenhaal, who's always brought a touch of wild energy even to his good-guy roles, makes those demons more convincing than you'd expect.

None of the other actors are especially persuasive, except Jessica Williams as the roadhouse's tough-minded owner. As a snarling hit man who tries to take Dalton down, the Irish professional fighter Conor McGregor does make an impression, in the same way a wrecking ball makes an impression.

Probably my favorite performance is given by a hungry crocodile who makes short work of one of the more annoying members of the cast and gives the movie some authentic Florida flavor. Most of the other key characters have been recycled from the first film, from the flirty doctor who gives Dalton more than strictly medical attention to the wealthy villain who has his own designs on the roadhouse.

But for all its attempts to recapture the B-movie spirit of the original, this Road House winds up stuck somewhere in the middle, caught between unironic '80s homage and a more wised-up contemporary sensibility. In the first Road House , there was nearly as much free-flowing sex as there was violence; here, the violence has been amped up to even more bone-crunching extremes, while the sole instance of nudity is played strictly for laughs. And some of the dialogue feels too arch and knowing, like when a friendly local compares Dalton to a character in a Western.

As we've seen from his earlier movies, the best of which include The Bourne Identity and Edge of Tomorrow , Liman is a more-than-capable director of action. The bar brawls here are well choreographed and cleanly shot, and the fighting encompasses everything from intimate fisticuffs to grander-scale set-pieces.

But there's something too artificial about the action, with its often distractingly obvious CGI touch-ups. I saw Road House at a screening in a theater, and it's possible the technical flaws were magnified on the big screen in a way that they won't be on your TV. Even so, it's too bad that audiences won't get a chance to decide for themselves.

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Josh O’Connor’s Latest Film Is a Gorgeous Italian Delight

“The Crown” Emmy-winner stars in “La Chimera,” a darling of last year’s film festivals that now finally has a U.S. release.

Nick Schager

Entertainment Critic

Couretsy of Cannes

Like Federico Fellini, whose spirit hovers over her latest, Italian director Alice Rohrwacher has a genuine appreciation for faces, and she seizes upon a fine one in Josh O’Connor, whose alternately pleasant and surly countenance conceals as much as it expresses in La Chimera .

As an English expat traipsing about 1980s Tuscany in search of precious and elusive objects of desire, The Crown alum vacillates between pensive and impulsive, despairing and determined, his shifts in thought, demeanor, and perspective written intriguingly on his scruffy and sweaty visage. As a man with “the gift of finding lost things,” he’s the beguiling center of Rohrwacher’s attention, and his superb performance is the engine that drives this enchanting import about life and death, yesterday and today, and magic and realism.

Premiering in U.S. cinemas on March 29 following acclaimed showings at last year’s Cannes , Toronto , and New York film festivals, La Chimera fluidly intermingles its own dreams (of cinema’s past) with those of its protagonist Arthur (O’Connor), who’s introduced sleeping in a train car, his slumbering reveries—depicted as 16mm home movies—fixated on Beniamina (Yile Vianello), who in intimate close-up asks him, “Have you noticed the sun is following us?”

She’s referring to the star in the sky as well as the one tattooed on her shoulder, and while her comment’s full meaning won’t be clear until the story’s conclusion, it suggests ideas—of pursuit, and searching—that course through the film’s veins. Upon waking, Arthur charmingly tells one of his cabin’s female occupants that she has an “ancient” profile. Then he abruptly switches gears when a perfume salesman mocks his stench and he lashes out at the huckster, thereby emptying his quarters.

Josh O’Connor

Courtesy of Lincoln Center

Arthur’s sour mood continues when he fails to avoid being picked up by his old friend Pirro (Vincenzo Nemolato) at the station and is taken to the town square where other acquaintances want to celebrate his return. Instead, he storms off to his home, a decrepit shack that’s held up by wooden posts, boasts a roof of corrugated metal, and sits against a stone wall on the edge of a hill. This messy abode is a perfect reflection of Arthur, whose cream-colored linen suit looks like it hasn’t been washed in forever (which may be true), whose socks are as ratty as his sandals, and whose cheeks are smudged and, as time goes on, covered in scraggly hair.

He’s far from put-together, although he’s nonetheless a welcome sight to Flora ( Isabella Rossellini ), who now gets around her crumbling house in a wheelchair and with the aid of Italia (Carol Duarte), to whom she gives singing lessons, and who in turn functions as her de facto servant. Flora tells Arthur not to abandon hope about Beniamina’s forthcoming return, and she’s then joined by her daughters and granddaughters, who fuss and flitter about like clucking chickens, criticizing both their matriarch and Italia.

La Chimera is filled with gaggles of distinctive individuals chatting and carousing in a boisterous, jubilant, boozy, messy manner that recalls Fellini and Pier Paolo Pasolini, and yet Rohrwacher is far from a simple imitator. Instead, she casts her own idiosyncratic spell via a collection of self-conscious touches—compositions that rotate to gaze at Arthur upside-down, and one instance in which a character turns to the camera, mid-sentence, to finish her comment—that draw us deeper into the action.

Coughing from an illness that’s not helped by his dwelling, which he heats with a paltry propane tank, Arthur is a man floating through a sea of colorful men and women. When he gazes at a string fluttering in the wind, it’s not just a sight related to Beniamina; it’s also an evocation of his own unmoored circumstances, this despite the fact that, as is soon revealed, he’s the leader of a most unusual gang.

Teasing its details in order to heighten engagement with its plot, La Chimera eventually outs Arthur as a wayward archaeologist who’s recently been released from prison, and who has remarkable divination powers that he uses to locate buried Etruscan artifacts which he sells to the mysterious Spartaco (Alba Rohrwacher). The actual location of these objects, however, are tombs, making Arthur a “tombarolo” (i.e. a grave robber), and therefore a person on the police’s perpetual radar.

This is far from a noble calling, and while it serves as fodder for a folk song performed during one of the criminals’ post-heist celebrations, it interferes with his budding relationship with Italia, an independent spirit who’s secretly housing her two children in Flora’s home. Tensions between what’s on the surface and what lurks below (and who owns what) are mirrored by Arthur’s yearning to reclaim that which is interred and then, once acquired, to sell it off—a love-hate dynamic that complicates any easy understanding of his heart and mind.

Josh O’Connor and Carol Duarte

Sparta says that her job is "to estimate the inestimable,” and a sense of the obscure and ephemeral is everywhere in La Chimera . Rohrwacher suggests rather than explains, and her material moves at a shuffling, raggedy gait that echoes Arthur’s stumbling journey through the world. At the same time, though, it exudes a lively spirit of criminal adventure whenever Arthur and his crooked compatriots embark on hunts for loot—expeditions that peak with their discovery of an enormous crypt housing a priceless statue of an animal goddess.

In this figure’s face, Arthur sees the two women he covets, and instigates a temporary change of heart that alienates him from most of his clan. Still, the pleasures of the straight-and-narrow can’t compete with the lure of the illicit life, just as the warmth of those he can hold can’t overpower his desire to reconnect with the love he’s lost. The film thus swings and sways about on its march to a resolution of poignant poeticism in which communion is both a triumph and a tragedy.

Composed to seem at once off-the-cuff and mannered (replete with varying film stocks), La Chimera blends sweetness, sorrow, and silliness with a lyrical touch. Moreover, via O’Connor’s troubled, haggard eyes—and Arthur’s occasional use of sign language to communicate with Italia—it conveys its own complicated feelings about the tangible and intangible without uttering a word.

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‘The Listener’ Review: The Side Effects of Pandemic Living

Tessa Thompson’s still and luminous performance makes this post-Covid drama about loneliness, directed by Steve Buscemi, worth watching.

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By Lisa Kennedy

“The Listener” — directed by Steve Buscemi — opens with the sound of an unanswered phone and the thrum of a city before turning its lens on Tessa Thompson’s character, who lies in bed, staring upward, before beginning her late shift as the crisis helpline volunteer “Beth.” Written by Alessandro Camon and shot in 2021, this hushed drama takes on a pandemic many Americans experienced and continue to, even post-quarantine: loneliness.

During the shift, callers we never see engage or push against Beth’s patient if practiced prompts. Even amid distress, the callers tend to maintain a frayed, respectful civility. An exception comes in the form of a guy one might call-tag as an incel if insults didn’t feel so at odds with a movie rife with compassion.

While some of the characters sound too much like avatars of a cultural moment, there are memorable exchanges: Alia Shawkat voicing a woman whose anguish soars and plunges with a slam poetry lyricism and Jamie Hector portraying a veteran struggling with a recurring nightmare. For their part, Buscemi and Thompson utilize the complementary power of stillness and the close-up to create a portrait of a woman who hears so much and divulges so little.

The actor Rebecca Hall brings withering and wry certainty as a college professor working through the philosophical logic and practical logistics of suicide. In a twist, she doesn’t begin with a monologue of despair but with a question that cracks open a mystery that has hung over “The Listener” from the start.

The Listener Not rated. Running time: 1 hour 36 minutes. In theaters and available to rent or buy on most major platforms .

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Prime Video's Road House Review: Jake Gyllenhaal And Conor McGregor Are Magnificent In This Funny And Brutal Remake

Super violent and super funny..

If I’m challenged to pick my favorite filmmakers, Shane Black will forever be in my Top 5. With a resume that includes titles like Lethal Weapon , The Last Boy Scout , Kiss Kiss Bang Bang , and The Nice Guys , Black is a genius when it comes to crafting tight, pulp mysteries with “buddy” leads who always deliver banter and comebacks that are the perfect blend of badass and smartass. His movies play in the muck – chock full of bloody violence and foul language – but there is also a deep well of effortless wit.

Release Date:  March 21, 2024 Directed By:  Doug Liman Written By:  Anthony Bagarozzi & Charles Mondry Starring:  Jake Gyllenhaal, Daniela Melchior, Billy Magnussen, Jessica Williams, Joaquim de Almeida, Austin Post, Conor McGregor Rating:  R for violence throughout, pervasive language and some nudity. Runtime:  121 minutes

This is admittedly a strange way to start my review of director Doug Liman ’s Road House , because as far as I know, Black had absolutely nothing to do with the feature. But as a fan who annually celebrates Shane Black Christmas , I am well-tuned into his voice, and the new remake of the Patrick Swayze-led cult classic very much sings with it. A glance at the credits help this make sense – as Joel Silver is a producer (having previously produced all four movies mentioned in the previous paragraph), and the script is co-written by Anthony Bagarozzi (the co-writer of The Nice Guys ) and Chuck Mondry (who has been working with Black for years on a developing Doc Savage adaptation). But beyond that minutia/logic, what’s most important is that the familiar voice a terrific choice for the material, as the film is ultimately a super successful blend of kick-ass and hilarious.

Skirting around some of the weirdness in the plot of the original (I'm still not clear on how a bouncer gets famous for being a good bouncer), the remake re-envisions the Road House protagonist as Jake Gyllenhaal ’s Elwood Dalton – an ex-UFC fighter who has a hustle going using his notorious reputation to scare off would-be challengers at underground competitions and rake in prize money without lifting a finger. It’s an act that catches the attention of Florida bar owner Frankie (Jessica Williams), who offers him a job at her out-of-control establishment. He initially says no, but he reconsiders when thinks the job may give his life some purpose.

Dalton’s calm demeanor, in combination with his vicious punches and kicks, quickly gets people talking in the small town of Glass Key, and patrons of the Road House start to behave – but it is success that also earns ire. Ben Brandt (Billy Magnussen), the son of an imprisoned-but-still-powerful local kingpin, has a vested interest in the bar’s failure and sale in order to complete a massive land development deal. All stops are pulled out when our hero gets in his way, and when the villains take things too far, sending in a mercenary maniac named Knox ( Conor McGregor ) to ruin the establishment for good, Dalton decides that he needs to burn Brandt’s world down.

Road House is a smart remake with a properly displayed respect for the original.

As a remake, Road House is smartly constructed, as fealty isn’t paid to the 1989 version by having the story play out exactly the same beat-for-beat. The two films share the same vaguely worded logline, but the 2024 movie puts a new spin on the story while not feeling obligated to introduce a new version of Sam Elliott ’s character or have throat-ripping being the center stage move for the action (and don’t let that last bit worry you: there are plenty of other examples of special signature violence). It’s the kind of remake you can double-feature with the original and not feel like you’re getting the exact same cinematic experience.

Story-wise, it loses a bit of steam toward the end of its second act, as new wrinkles are added into the narrative to bolster the stakes when the stakes are already clear, but it rediscovers its footing just in time for the launch of the explosive third act, which is a savage delight. The film is also never not compelling thanks to its rough charm, clever dialogue, and two brilliant performances from Jake Gyllenhaal and Conor McGregor (in a head-turning acting debut).

Jake Gyllenhaal does great things with an unexpected energy, and Conor McGregor delivers what will be remembered as one of the year's greatest breakout performances.

Road House is a movie that very much takes advantage of Gyllenhaal’s talent for intensity, as Dalton becomes a scary beast when he disappears into his own anger, but what makes the actor’s turn particularly great is confidence so powerful that it translates to a kind of silly/sociopathic nonchalance. He knows the power of his own rage, but he’s the ultimate bouncer who cools instead of escalates, and bringing that unflappable calmness into a showdown with a full crew of troublemakers is magnetic. Gyllenhaal finds the perfect level of cool.

McGregor, on the other hand, is on the complete opposite end of the energy spectrum, and it’s a phenomenal thing to witness. Knox is a character more aptly described as a chaos demon than a criminal enforcer, as he moves through the world violently opposing any interest than his own (his first scene has him strolling through Italy naked after exiting the window of a married lover and setting a massive fire amid his effort to acquire new clothes). It’s not exactly the most challenging part from a dramatic perspective, but McGregor has standout personality and presence that make the role shine, and he walks away from Road House as the most unforgettable aspect.

Road House never pulls its punches, and it's a brutal good time.

Of course, Conor McGregor’s history as a professional UFC fighter is also a big positive for the production, as the big third act fight between Knox and Dalton will likely be remembered as one of the best action-centric cinematic showdowns when we get to the end of 2024, but that’s just the cherry on the sundae. With a resume that includes The Bourne Identity and Edge Of Tomorrow , Doug Liman is a seasoned genre director, and he works magic with editor Doc Crotzer to craft sequences that are both ferocious and fun. Contrasting beautiful shots of beaches and blue ocean, there is a hefty dose of Florida slime and grime, with excellent injections of intensity delivered with smooth moves into first-person perspective camera work. Liman finds the sweet spot between brutal and awesome.

It’s a shame that Road House isn’t getting a theatrical release, as it’s a movie that would be best enjoyed amid a raucous, “into it” crowd – but that would just be a bonus, as this is a film that has the energy independently to bring that vibe to you even watching it alone in your living room. It’s a thrilling joy and one of the most straight-up enjoyable movies to be released so far in this young year.

Eric Eisenberg is the Assistant Managing Editor at CinemaBlend. After graduating Boston University and earning a bachelor’s degree in journalism, he took a part-time job as a staff writer for CinemaBlend, and after six months was offered the opportunity to move to Los Angeles and take on a newly created West Coast Editor position. Over a decade later, he's continuing to advance his interests and expertise. In addition to conducting filmmaker interviews and contributing to the news and feature content of the site, Eric also oversees the Movie Reviews section, writes the the weekend box office report (published Sundays), and is the site's resident Stephen King expert. He has two King-related columns.

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Kung Fu Panda 4 review – Jack Black and Awkwafina in hurricane of slapstick more miss than hit

The lead pair make a brilliant double act, but the franchise has run out of its signature sweetness and charm

T he cuddly kung fu master is back. Jack Black returns as dumpling-loving panda Po, the unlikeliest of lean, mean fightin’ machines. It’s been eight years since Kung Fu Panda 3, and on the evidence here, the delay can’t be put down to KFP4 being a labour of love, the product of animation studio DreamWorks’ A team pouring in enormous amounts of effort. It’s a hurricane of slapstick (some of it in fact very funny) and age-appropriate energetic fight scenes, but lacks the sweetness and charm of the franchise at its best. It failed the wriggle test on my seven-year-old cinema date, who was squirming in her seat around the hour mark.

The plot is a bit overfussy for its target audience of small kids, though the scriptwriters have been careful to make it work for newbies – no previous Kung Fu Panda experience necessary. It opens with Po being promoted from his role as Dragon Warrior to spiritual leader of the valley, taking over from his mentor Shifu (Dustin Hoffman – no expense has been spared on the vocal cast). But before he can appoint his successor, Po apprehends Zhen (Awkwafina), a streetwise thieving fox. The two of them make a brilliant double act: Black is adorable, Awkwafina terrific as the cynical wisecracker.

Zhen warns Po about a dangerous new villain, the sorceress Chameleon (Viola Davis), who turns out to be pretty unmemorable as far as the franchise’s baddies go (not a patch on Ian McShane or Gary Oldman in the earlier movies). The two biggest giggles in the cinema came from the grownups: first, in a hilarious scene involving bulls in a china shop; then some wry chuckling when Po tries to meditate – his thoughts quickly straying to his tummy: “Inner peace … inner peace … dinner please … dinner with peas.” But the seven-year-old shrugged and said, half heartedly: “The panda is … fun.”

• Animation in film
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• Viola Davis
• Dustin Hoffman

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