The Couch Review

Late Night(2019)- Review Late Night is a comedy-drama about a late-night talk show hosted by Katherine Newbury (Emma Thompson), who is a celebrated comedian and has had an extensive career over the years. While she is considered a pioneer in comedy, she is seen as only that a veteran who paved way for the next generation, whose glory years are well past her. Lately, her show has seen a steady decline and a reduction in viewers, which is not appreciated by the network which telecasts her show. Once she was a generous artist working and bonding with people around her, but now people working for her neither like her nor come in too much contact with her. In order to revamp the show, there is an opening among the writing staff for a woman. Molly Patel (Mindy Kaling) is a secluded Indian-American woman who has an interest in comedy but has never had the opportunity to showcase her talent. After she gets to know that show is looking for a writer she tries to get that job. To her awe &

Ramprasad Ki Tehrvi(2021)- Review Ramprasad Ki Tehrvi is a drama-comedy directed by Seema Pahwa. It starts with Ramprasad’s (Naseeruddin Shah) demise and his family having to come and live under the same roof to perform all the Hindu rituals within the 13-day mandatory period that they need to stay for. Ramprasad & his wife (Supriya Pathak) have a big family with 6 children their spouses, their children, and a lot many close relatives. While the task of staying and showing their respect sounds simple enough the enormity of the family and the friction among some of the members, the task is going to be nowhere near easy. The movie tries to showcase the familial bonding that one share’s, even after having some dicey moments with their loved ones, and aims to do so with few comic scenes here and there. In the modern hustle & bustle of urban life modern families often share a not so great relationship with their family. While this has come to be in recent times it is nothing as

The White Tiger(2021)- Review The White Tiger is a drama film based on the book by Aravind Adiga of the same name. It is a story about Balram Halwai (Adarsh Gourav). Balram is born in a humble family with very few means or as stated in the movie in a ‘Lower-Caste’ family. Despite studying in a village he has quickly grasped the English language and envisions to study further and be a well-educated man unlike his family and this dream is further propelled when he is told he shall be given a scholarship to study in Delhi. But his fate had a different plan altogether. After his father’s untimely demise he is forced to leave school and start working to pay off his family’s debt. As time passes his dream of being educated stays a dream nowhere near his reality. Tired and fed up of his life in the village he wishes to step up the ladder by working in the city. The perfect opportunity comes along the way when he learns. Ashok (Rajkummar Rao the son of the village’s landlord is on the look

Newton(2017)- Review Newton is a black comedy film featuring Nutan "Newton" Kumar (Rajkummar Rao) who is a novice government official, currently serving as a reserve for election duty. Newton is a hardliner for rules and believes doing his duty truthfully & diligently. After a main officer assigned to a polling station bows out, Newton being the next reserve is called upon. He unquestioningly accepts his task and sets out for fulfilling his duty. The task however is not so straightforward, the area assigned to him is a naxal-controlled territory that too with very few registered voters. To safeguard him and his team a security force, led by Assistant Commandant Aatma Singh (Pankaj Tripathi), is assigned to be with him. Neither the security forces nor his colleagues take their task seriously but Newton being the honest man he is tries his very best to conduct free and fair polling despite there being a looming threat of possible attacks. The film simply depicts Newton’

The Big Sick is a romantic comedy written by Emily V. Gordon & Kumail Nanjiani. It is based on the real life love story of the two. Kumail is an Uber driver by day and a struggling stand-up comedian by night. While he has embraced the American lifestyle to the full, his family still live within the ideals & culture of their native Pakistan. Kumail not wanting to hurt his family’s feelings tries to keep up the ruse of being as devoted as they are. One fine day after a stand-up gig he meets Emily Gordon (Zoe Kazan), an American psychology student, they happen to like each other from the get go. Both acknowledge that their little rendezvous is nothing serious, but still keep on being around each other from time to time. Kumail’s parents, assuming he is single, start to set him up with Pakistani women for an arranged marriage. As time passes Kumail keeps on meeting women while Emily, safe to say now his girlfriend, isn’t aware of the dates he goes to. While everything is going stup

12 Angry Men(1957)- Review 12 Angry Men is a courtroom drama displaying deliberations, as its name suggests, by 12 men who are part of a jury and have to make a consensual decision about an 18 year old boy who has allegedly stabbed his father to death and faces a death penalty. The boy does not come from a glorious background and with his violent past everyone quickly forms a judgment of him. Initially seeming an open & shut case with all evidence pointing fingers to the boy, all jurors unhesitatingly vote guilty in a preliminary vote apart from one, Juror 8 (Henry Fonda). While he too doesn’t have very high regards for the boy, but believes the evidence collected can be questioned when thoroughly studied. With this he feels there is a reasonable doubt to the boy’s involvement to the horrendous act. Other jurors already having made a conclusion in their mind initially get agitated by Juror 8 who is taking an opposite position to the general public & all the jurors. Without

Section 375(2019)- Review Section 375 is a courtroom drama based on, as its name suggests, the section 375 of the Indian Penal Code. The film focuses on a well-known film director Rohan Khurana (Rahul Bhat) who comes to the infamous center stage when one of his subordinates Anjali Dangle (Meera Chopra), an assistant costume designer for his movies, accuses him of rape. Dejected and felling like a victim himself Khurana sees his reputation tarnished leading to a downfall in his personal & professional life while he is arrested and in jail. While in the court of public opinion he is already convicted, senior criminal barrister Tarun Saluja (Akshaye Khanna) still accepts to be his lawyer. Though his task won’t be easy with Hiral Gandhi (Richa Chadda), once his trainee, now the prosecutor and defence barrister of the claimed victim. The film takes us through the events of this case in and out of the courtroom with both counsellors trying their best to prove their client’s innocence

Inside Man(2006)- Review Inside Man is heist thriller movie by director Spike Lee. It takes us through the 24-hour heist  on a Wall Street bank. The mastermind and the executor of the heist Dalton Russell (Clive Owen) devises a plan for a “Perfect Bank Robbery” which includes taking control of the bank and in turn everyone inside the bank as hostages. Though it’s a minutely crafted strategy everything should go as planned to the letter, and the authorities need to be kept at bay. This won’t be the easiest thing with Detective Keith Frazier (Denzel Washington) assigned to negotiate. He is highly motivated official hoping to make Detective First Grade and to swipe the tarnish of his scandalous past. Arthur Case (Christopher Plummer) the chairman of the board of directors and founder of the fictional Manhattan Trust bank, has his own set of skeletons in the closet that he wishes were not revealed to the world. To make sure of this he hires Madeleine White (Jodie Foster) as a powerbro

Bazaar(2018)- Review Bazaar is a thriller drama film showcasing an Allahabad stock broker Rizwan Ahmed (Rohan Mehra) who   a spires to be in the big leagues of the Indian stock broking setting. With this in mind he comes to the financial capital of India, Mumbai with a barely filled wallet & a pocket full of dreams. He looks up to Shakun Kothari (Saif Ali Khan) a lauded businessman who has a reputation of making money whichever way he sees possible. Rizwan idolises Shakun and hopes to work with him some day. But that seems a tall order when he finds the reality of the city of dreams when he starts looking for work. With a lot of effort and determination he finally has his opportunity to shine. The quick learner he is, Rizwan quickly learns the tricks of the trade and is on the ladder of success. With his professional life buzzing it doesn’t take time for his personal one also to do so when he gets close to Priya Rai (Radhika Apte) his co-worker at the trading firm he works for.

Ludo(2020)- Review Ludo is an anthology film created by Anurag Basu and distributed by Netflix. It showcases a series o f   characters playing out different storylines. First is Akash Chauhan (Aditya Roy Kapur) who finds out there is a sextape uploaded online of him and his ex-girlfriend Shruti Choksi (Sanya Malhotra) who is to be married in a few days. He wishes to find out the culprit who uploaded it and to remove it from the internet. Then comes Alok “Alu” Kumar Gupta (Rajkumar Rao), he has been in love with Pinky (Fatima Sana Shaikh) since they were children. Even after she is married to someone else Alu still can’t forget her and jumps to be a part of her life once again, when she comes hoping for his help. Next comes Bittu (Abhishekh Bachchan) originally a right-hand to a gangster, after falling in love lets go of that life style, but his past comes back biting and he is jailed for 6 years. Now after serving his sentence Bittu finds himself alone and without his wife & ch

We can be Heroes(2020)- Review We can be Heroes is a superhero film, a standalone sequel to   The Adventures of Sharkboy and Lavagirl   (2005).   In a world that is protected by superheroes ‘Heroics Program’, Missy Moreno (YaYa Gosselin) is a quiet & introvert girl who likes to be in the shadows, her father Marcus Moreno (Pedro Pascal) once the leader of all the heroes, now stays low and away from being a hero as he has promised to Missy to do so. On a dreary morning earth is attacked by aliens much powerful than all the heroes combined. To fight them Marcus has to break his promise and pick up his sword once again. But to no avail he along with all the heroes are captured by the aliens. Meanwhile before Marcus goes to the battleground Missy is transported to the Heroics Headquarters where she is kept with children of other heroes, they are children but all with their own set of superpowers, unlike Missy who doesn’t have any. The Heroics program is headed by Ms. Granada (Priyan

Rush(2013)- Review Rush is a biographical sports film focusing on the 1976 Formula 1 Season and James Hunt & Nikki Laud a   in particular. Hunt (Chris Hemsworth) is a hot headed, buoyant, playboy British driver, while Lauda (Daniel Brühl) is a calm, intellectual, meticulous Austrian. The two initially cross paths in the formative years of their driving careers, in Formula 3. A minor incident during the London race of the 1970 Formula 3 season depicts the beginning of the fierce rivalry that was going to culminate in the coming years. Having gained experience in the lower tier of the motor sport, both the drivers wish to be in a Formula 1 car and on the top step of the podium. But this isn’t an easy task and will require getting rid of multiple speed breakers along the way. Both the drivers overcome their individual challenges and start their journey in F1. The 1976 season starts and the two are pegged to be the only major title contenders. The film then showcases the build-up t

Queen(2013)- Review Queen is a comedy drama film starring Kangana Ranaut as the lead, who plays the role of Rani Mehra.   R ani is a timid & shy girl living in Delhi with her parents. During her college days she falls in love with Vijay (Rajkummar Rao) and is to marry him in a big Indian wedding. The story kicks off when Vijay, on the eve of their wedding day, informs Rani that he has had a change of heart and thinks they are not right for each other. Dejected and heartbroken Rani feels she should build up the courage to be independent and bold rather than being helpless and reliant. With this epiphany she asks her parents to let her go by herself on the pre-planned honeymoon she was supposed to go with Vijay. Hesitant & scared her parents allow her to go. Rani starts her journey in Paris where she meets Vijayalakshmi (Lisa Haydon) a free spirited single mother. Alien to the European ethos initially she gets astounded by the city and its culture, but with a few passing days

AK vs AK(2020)- Review AK vs AK is a Netflix film starring Anil Kapoor and Anurag Kashyap, playing themselves as the title  c haracters. The film begins with displaying a celebrity feud between the two “AK’s” that has been boiling for years. The story then kicks in when Kashyap develops an idea for a film/documentary where Kapoor’s daughter Sonam Kapoor Ahuja, needless to say played by herself, is kidnapped on his birthday and he needs to find her before the sunrise of the coming morning. Kapoor’s quest to find his kidnapped daughter will be filmed by Kashyap, and he’ll need to follow a few instructions as laid out by Kashyap. The film runs through Kapoor’s attempts & pursuit trying to fulfil the story/film as devised by Kashyap. But it won’t be a cakewalk as planned with a few surprise curveballs & speed breakers that come along the way. The story seems rudimentary with a simple kidnapping story unravelling, but it quite far from being a simple kidnaping movie. The movie b