Weapons terrifies, while Court Kacheri charms our critics.
Weapons: The Adolescence Of Horror
| Weapons appeals to our inherent quest for answers — for an endgame — from a horror film, and delights in the journey rather than the destination. Rahul Desai reviews.
| | | | | Cast: Julia Garner, Josh Brolin | | | | "ZACH CREGGER" just sounds like a horror movie name. Maybe because it has the phonetic ring of Freddy Krueger. And Zack Snyder (derogatory). Cregger’s latest, Weapons , is many things and nothing (complimentary) at once. It opens with a spooky shot: 17 children run out from their houses in the middle of the night and disappear into the darkness. We then see the aftermath unfold from the interconnected perspectives of a few small-town residents: the young teacher whose entire class of students (bar one) vanished, a troubled cop who is also this teacher’s ex, an obsessive father of a missing boy, a homeless junkie who stumbles upon a secret, a gay school principal struggling to handle the crisis, and last but not least, the one ‘survivor’ and his mysterious house situation. Your pop culture fix awaits on OTTplay, for only Rs 149 per month. Grab this limited-time offer now! Weapons opens and closes with a kid’s voiceover, but the anonymity of this narrator kind of ties into the film’s thematic fluidity. As viewers, we are simply wired to look for social cues, for hints and allegories. Weapons knows this and toys with our instincts. The meaning — or lack of it — lies in the eyes of the beholder. The horror in the film becomes anything we want it to be. For some, it could be a self-aware take on community trauma and urban isolation. For some, it could be a nifty riff on our biases about witchcraft and creepy relatives. For some, it could be a naughty satire on our perception of true-crime and supernatural stories. For some, it’s the wicked title, where the emotional ‘weaponisation’ of an entire town on edge prevents them from looking in the most obvious places. The twist — of a fragile outsider arriving to cast a voodoo over victims and turn them into literal weapons — is an entertaining rendition of this simple idea. | | | Court Kacheri: TVF's Gentle Reminder To Follow Your Heart
| Solid performances and an emotional core make Court Kacheri more than just another legal narrative, writes Arpita Sarkar .
| | | | | Cast: Pawan Malhotra, Ashish Verma | | | | ALMOST TVF SERIES slips in a life lesson or two. From Panchayat and Kota Factory to Tripling, Aspirants and Gullak, each has its own way of nudging you to rethink your choices. Court Kacheri is no different. Though framed as a courtroom drama, its heart lies in urging you to follow your own path.
The story begins with Param Mathur (Ashish Verma), son of Harish Mathur (Pavan Malhotra), the celebrated ‘god’ of Sarjanpur district court. Unlike his father, Param has no desire to practise law. But, as in many Indian households, the assumption runs that if the father is a doctor—or in this case, a lawyer—the son will be too. Param plays along, assisting his father with cases, but his resentment simmers. Harish is revered, sought out for his wisdom, and every budding lawyer dreams of working under him. For Param, though, his father’s stature only feels like a cage.
Dreaming of a very different life, Param sets his sights on Dubai and a career in hotel management. Lacking a degree, he forges a certificate—only to be swiftly caught. The tension between duty and desire recalls Abhishek (Jitendra Kumar) from Panchayat, who begrudgingly takes up the post of Sachiv Ji before finding his footing. Continue reading . | | | The one newsletter you need to decide what to watch on any given day. Our editors pick a show, movie, or theme for you from everything that’s streaming on OTT. | | Each week, our editors pick one long-form, writerly piece that they think is worthy of your attention, and dice it into easily digestible bits for you to mull over. | | In which we invite a scholar of cinema, devotee of the moving image, to write a prose poem dedicated to their poison of choice. Expect to spend an hour on this. | | | Hindustan Media Ventures Limited,
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