action Archives – CULTURE MIX

Review: ‘Dilruba’ (2025), starring Kiran Abbavaram, Rukshar Dhillon, Kathy Davison and John Vijay

March 15, 2025

by Carla Hay

Rukshar Dhillon and Kiran Abbavaram in “Dilruba” (Photo courtesy of Sivam Celluloids and Yoodlee Films)

“Dilruba” (2025)

Directed by Viswa Karun

Telugu with subtitles

Culture Representation: Taking place in Mangalore City, India, the romantic comedy/actio film “Dilruba” features an all-Indian cast of characters representing the working-class, middle-class and wealthy.

Culture Clash: A former mechanical engineering student becomes a violent thug, as he gets caught up in a love triangle with his current love and his former childhood sweetheart.

Culture Audience: “Dilruba” will appeal mainly to people who are fans of the movie’s headliners and don’t mind watching a time-wasting movie that doesn’t have much to say.

Kathy Davison in “Dilruba” (Photo courtesy of Sivam Celluloids and Yoodlee Films)

As a romantic comedy, “Dilruba” is dull, derivative, and definitely not worth your time. It has an unimaginative plot about a love triangle that is stretched out to irritating levels in this overly long film that has mediocre-to-bad acting. This poorly written, 153-minute movie stumbles from scene to scene with a weak narrative that gets repetitive because the plot is so thin.

Written and directed by Viswa Karun, “Dilruba” is told in non-chronological order, with flashbacks taking up a great deal of the movie. The tone is very uneven in how comedy, action, and song-and-dance numbers are clumsily placed throughout the film. “Dilruba” (which is a Telugu-language term of endearment for females) is very forgettable because this type of story has been in too many other movies to count.

“Dilurba” begins with a quick montage and mishmash of voiceovers taking place from 2022 to 2025 to explain what went wrong in the romance between two people who are now in their 20s: Siddharth “Siddhu” Reddy (played by Kiran Abbavaram) and his childhood sweetheart Maggie (played by Kathy Davison) grew up together in India. They broke up in 2024, because Maggie moved to the United States.

Maggie was the one who dumped Siddhu. The movie later reveals that there was another reason why Maggie broke up with Siddhu. It has to do with a business deal gone bad between the fathers of Siddhu and Maggie. This led to a tragedy in one of the families that has caused Siddhu to be angry and bitter. Ever since this tragedy, Siddhu refuses to say the words “sorry” and “thank you.”

In 2025, Siddhu isn’t completely over Maggie, who lives in New York City. He still calls her and sends her text messages, even though Maggie is now married to a man named Prakash, and she’s pregnant with their first child. Siddhu has a pregnant wife named Anjali (played by Rukshar Dhillon), who knows about Maggie. The movie has many flashbacks showing the up-and-down romance of Siddhu and Anjali.

After Siddhu was jilted by Maggie, he was abusing alcohol and was directionless in his life. He eventually decided to have a responsible life and became a mechanical engineering student at a local university in Mangalore City, India. Siddhu met his best friend Balaram Viraj (played Satya) at this university because they were in the same mechanical engineering class together.

Siddhu met Anjali at a pub frequented by sex workers who are under the control of a domineering pimp named Vicky. When Siddhu first saw Anjali, she was sitting next to Vicky but seemed fearful of him. She made eye contact with Siddhu and made a silent signal for help with her hands. And quicker than you can say “idiotic movie,” Siddhu has broken a beer bottle on Vicky’s head, and the two men get into a violent brawl in the bar. Siddhu wins this fight, but Vicky confronts Siddhu later to get revenge.

Siddhu is shocked to find out that Anjali is not only a student at the same university where he is, but she’s also the only female student in one of his mechanical engineering classes. Anjali seems to have gotten an instant crush on Siddhu because of how he “rescued” her from Vicky. This infatuation leads to several tedious and awkward scenes of Anjali aggressively pursuing and stalking Siddhu to try to get him to date her.

Siddhu eventually gets worn down by Anjali’s peskiness, and they end up dating. Anajli is quick to experess her feelings of love for Siddhu, but he still has unresolved feelings for Maggie. In the movie’s jumbled timeline, Maggie ends up becoming a visiting lecturer in one of Siddhu’s classes, as already revealed in the “Dilruba” trailer. Predictably, Anjali gets jealous.

“Dilruba” is nothing but scene after scene of Anjali and Siddhu having a relationship that turns hot and cold repeatedly. In addition to Siddhu still having feelings for Maggie, the other major source of conflict between Anjali and Siddhu is that Siddhu has a tendency to get into violent fights because of his bad temper. Anjali’s widowed father Mahadev Prasad (played by Aadukalam Naren) is a police inspector who’s skeptical that Siddhu can be a good match for Anjali. The scene where Siddhu meets Mahadev for the first time is one of the worst in the movie because of how badly written it is.

Much of “Dilruba” involves a silly subplot about Siddhu and a crime boss named Machi, nicnkamed Joker (played by John Vijay), which just drags out this annoying movie even more. The present-day scenes show mopey Siddhu still pining over pregnant Maggie, while pregnant Anjali worries about how Siddu’s lovesick feelings toward Maggie will affect Anjali’s marriage to Siddhu. It all becomes so tedious to watch after a while.

Siddhu doesn’t deserve much sympathy because the movie goes to great lengths to portray him as an underdog hero, when in reality he’s just a selfish jerk. Anjali apparently has a thing for bad boys because she gives Siddhu the nickname Villain. Anjali, who is just as insufferable as Siddhu, should’ve known what she was getting into with Siddhu when he rudely told her early on in their relationship: “Don’t be too smart. You’ll regret it if someone actually gobbles you up.”

“Dilruba” is supposed to be a romantic story, but it has a very problematic way of depicting male/female romances. Anjali repeatedly makes a fool of herself for Siddhu, who often treats her like garbage, and the movie promotes a fantasy that this abuse is supposed to be real love. In a movie filled with unimpressive acting, Dhillon gives the worst performance, as she overexaggerates Anjali’s ditsy actions and words. By the end of “Dilruba,” you won’t care who ends up with whom, as long as you don’t have to see these aggravating characters again.

Sivam Celluloids and Yoodlee Films released “Dilruba” in select U.S. cinemas and in India on March 14, 2025.

Review: ‘Cleaner’ (2025), starring Daisy Ridley, Taz Skylar and Clive Owen

March 11, 2025

by Carla Hay

Daisy Ridley in “Cleaner” (Photo courtesy of Quiver Distribution)

“Cleaner” (2025)

Directed by Martin Campbell

Culture Representation: Taking place in London, the action film “Cleaner” features a predominantly white cast of characters (with a few black people, Latin people and Asians) representing the working-class, middle-class and wealthy.

Culture Clash: A window cleaner, who left the U.K. miltary in disgrace, becomes the main person who can stop a group of terrorists who have taken hostages at a corrupt corporation that is in the energy business.

Culture Audience: “Cleaner” will appeal mainly to people who are fans of stars Daisy Ridley and Clive Owen and don’t mind watching a silly and derivative action flick.

Taz Skylar and Clive Owen in “Cleaner” (Photo courtesy of Quiver Distribution)

“Cleaner” starts off as a promising thriller that’s obviously inspired by “Die Hard,” with a hero battling office-invading terrorists. But as the movie goes along, it becomes too ridiculous to take. Everything devolves into corny dreck with uneven acting.

Directed by Martin Campbell, “Cleaner” was written by Matthew Orton, Simon Uttley and Paul Andrew Williams. The movie, which takes place in London, has a story that happens over the course of a 24-hour period. (“Cleaner” was actually filmed in London and Malta.) The snappy dialogue that’s in the first 20 minutes of “Cleaner” all but disappears and is replaced by mind-numbing nonsense.

The protagonist in “Cleaner” is Joanna “Joey” Locke (played by Daisy Ridley), a feisty and foul-mouthed former U.K. Army soldier who now works as a skyscraper cleaner. Joey’s military career abruptly ended when she got into a fight that violated military rules. Depending on who you believe in the story, Joey either quit the military or she was dishonorably discharged.

Joey has a younger brother named Michael (played by Matthew Tuck), who has autism. Michael is a computer whiz who likes hacking into computers. (And you can bet these hacking skills will be used later in the movie.) In the beginning of the movie, Michael has been expelled from the home care facility where he was living because he’s the prime suspect in leaking confidential information about the home care facility to the media. Whoever leaked the information exposed some of the facility’s shady business practices.

Joey is seen storming into the home care office to pick up Michael after he’s been expelled. She gets angry at the on-duty administrator (played by Kate Nichols) by saying that the facility has no right to expel Michael without proof that he was the one who leaked the information. The administrator is unmoved and says Michael has to leave the property immediately. Later, Michael privately confesses to Joey that he did exactly what he was accused of doing.

Michael has nowhere else to go, and Joey is already running late for her job, so she reluctantly takes Michael with her to the high-rise building where she works. The building is the headquarters of a major corporation called Agnian Energy. On the way there, Joey and Michael race against time by going on a series of bus rides in a rather funny sequence where Michael tries and fails to get Joey to stop cursing so much.

Joey tells Michael that he can live with her until they can find a new place for him to live. Michael is thrilled about it, because he likes living with Joey. However, Joey doesn’t try to hide that she’s not keen on Michael living with her because of his high-maintenance needs. Joey flatly refuses Michael’s request to help him get the same job as a window cleaner. Joey tells Michael no because she says her boss Derek (played by Gavin Fleming) is a jerk.

It’s the late afternoon when Joey arrives at the Agnian Energy building. Joey tells Michael to wait for her in the building lobby until her work shift ends. She asks a lobby security guard named Big Ron (played by Russell De Rozario) to look after Joey, who doesn’t like feeling that someone has to babysit him. And as soon as Joey asks someone to look after Michael, you just know something is going to happen where Michael is going to slip out of the minder’s sight.

The two CEOs of Agnian Energy are brothers Gerald Milton (played by Lee Boardman) and Geoffrey Milton (played by Rufus Jones), who have opposite personalities. Older brother Gerald is a cocaine-snorting bully who cares more about being hedonistic on the job than actually doing the job. Geoffrey is the level-headed “brains” of the operation and does most of the real CEO work. Gerald and Geoffrey have opposite personalities, but they are both very corrupt.

How much of a nasty person is Gerald? Gerald, Joey and a pregnant housekeeper named Halina (played by Sol E. Romero) are all on a crowded elevator together. Gerald looks at Halina in disgust and tells her: “You better not fucking drop now. You should be at home.” Joey quips in response: “Maybe if you paid her proper maternity leave, she would be.” Gerald later asks a subordinate if Joey can be fired for being “lippy” to Gerald. Gerald is told no.

Agnian Energy is having a big corporate party in the building that evening. Several of the company’s investors and other business associates will be attending this party. Because Joey was late to work, Derek makes her work one hour past the end of her work shift, after it gets dark. And it’s here where the movie starts to fall off the rails because of how illogical it is to have a skyscraper window cleaner work outside at night when it’s too dark to see how clean the glass is.

Joey is outside on a platform and cleaning the building windows at night when she sees the masked terrorists who invade this office party. The six armed people who storm into the building are wearing green goblin masks and have an agenda: Take all the party attendees hostage and make them confess their business crimes on a livestream feed.

Who are these terrorists? They’re a radical group of environmentalists who think Agnian Energy is responsible for illegal pollution and other business crimes. The group is led by Marcus Blake (played by Clive Owen), who doesn’t want anyone killed during this office invasion.

Someone else in this group of terrorists has other ideas and gets in a power struggle with Marcus. This challenger is Noah Santos (played by Taz Skylar), a nihilist who says he hates all people and thinks the hostages at this party deserve to be murdered. Noah is very much a cartoonish villain, whose dialogue becomes more unhinged (and more cringeworthy) as the movie stumbles along from one stupid scene to the next.

If you know about “Die Hard” or other movies that are trying to be like “Die Hard,” then you can easily predict what will happen for the rest of “Cleaner,” which is a disappointing dud. The fight scenes are often ludicrous. And there’s even an idiotic scene where Joey is on her skyscraper platform outside while Noah forces her to shoot a gun at innocent bystanders below on the street.

The two main law enforcement officers on the scene are Detective Sergeant Claire Hume (played by Ruth Gemmell) and Detective Inspector Khan (played by Ray Fearon), who clash with each other over some decisions during this hostage crisis. Claire is the chief negotiator. Her colleague Khan doesn’t think she’s aggressive enough with the terrorists.

Ridley gives it her all to portray an action hero, but her acting efforts cannot overcome a terrible screenplay and sloppy direction. Owen (who is not in the movie for as much you might think) gives a mediocre performance, as do most of the other cast members. There isn’t one single plot development in “Cleaner” that is original or clever. Simply put: The filmmaking for “Cleaner” is as messy and unappealing as a muddy window.

Quiver Distribution released “Cleaner” in U.S. cinemas on February 21, 2025.

Review: ‘Novocaine” (2025), starring Jack Quaid, Amber Midthunder, Ray Nicholson, Betty Gabriel, Matt Walsh, Lou Beatty Jr., Van Hengst, Conrad Kemp and Jacob Batalon

March 8, 2025

by Carla Hay

Jack Quaid in “Novocaine” (Photo courtesy of Paramount Pictures)

“Novocaine” (2025)

Directed by Dan Berk and Robert Olsen

Culture Representation: Taking place in San Diego, the action film “Novocaine” features a predominantly white cast of characters (with a few African Americans and Asians and one Native American) representing the working-class and middle-class.

Culture Clash: An assistant bank manager, who has a rare medical condition where he cannot feel pain, turns into a vigilante who goes on a dangerous mission to rescue his co-worker/love interest, who was kidnapped by bank robbers.

Culture Audience: “Novocaine” will appeal mainly to people who are fans of the movie’s headliners and action movies where a “common man” turns into a brave vigilante.

Jack Quaid and Amber Midthunder in “Novocaine” (Photo courtesy of Paramount Pictures)

The likable action comedy “Novocaine” is anything but numbing. Jack Quaid delivers a knockout performance as a mild-mannered man, who can’t feel pain and who turns into a vigilante to save a kidnapped love interest. The movie’s breezy comedy is adeptly blended with its cartoonish violence.

Directed by Darn Berk and Robert Olsen and written by Lars Jacobson, “Novocaine” excels because of its talented cast, adrenaline-packed stunts and an uncomplicated story that doesn’t take itself too seriously. As ridiculous as many of the fight scenarios are, the characters in the movie remain believable, thanks to skilled acting from the “Novocaine” cast members.

In “Novocaine,” Quaid plays 30-year-old Nathan “Nate” Caine, a socially awkward nerd who works as an assistant manager at San Diego Trust Credit Union, a bank in San Diego. (“Novocaine” was actually filmed in Cape Town, South Africa.) It’s later revealed in the movie that when he was a student, people at Nate’s school gave Nate the unflattering nickname Novocaine because he was born with a rare medical condition that makes him immune to pain, much like the drug novocaine is used as a way to numb pain. Nate also can’t feel changes in temperature.

Because of this medical condition, Nate’s overprotective parents (who are now deceased) raised him to be a very sheltered child. For years, Nate was told that he couldn’t eat solid food, in order to prevent him from accidentally biting his tongue off while eating. He was also taught to stay indoors as much as possible, which has caused Nate to be a loner as an adult.

At home, Jacob spends most of his free time playing online video games. His closest “friend” is someone he hasn’t met in person yet: another avid online video gamer named Roscoe (played by Jacob Batalon), who is as confident as Nate is insecure. Nate also has a friendly acquaintance (in person) with a local hardware store owner named Earl (played by Lou Beatty Jr.), an elderly man who gets help from Nate when Earl’s store is close to getting out of business.

Most of the story takes place during the late December holiday season. Nate is feeling lonely because he has no family members or friends to be with for the holidays. Because of his extremely sheltered upbringing, Nate is inexperienced in dating. Fairly early on in the movie, it becomes obvious that Nate is a virgin who’s never had a steady girlfriend.

That doesn’t mean that Nate is asexual. He’s attracted to a co-worker named Sherry (played by Amber Midthunder), who works as a bank teller at San Diego Trust Credit Union. Sherry, who is an aspiring painter artist, knows that Nate has a crush on her, so she’s the one who approaches him and asks him out on a date.

Nate and Sherry’s first date is at local diner, where Nate tells Sherry about his medical condition. Sherry convinces Nate to eat some of the pie that she has ordered. Nate overcomes his fear of eating solid food, eats some of the pie, and finds out to his delight that the pie tastes great, and nothing bad happened to him when he ate the pie.

This pie experience is the icebreaker that brings Sherry and Nate closer together on this date. Sherry (who is originally from Tucson, Arizona) opens up to Nate about her troubled past: She spent much of her childhood in foster homes until she was adopted into an abusive home. Amber tells Nate up front that she’s in therapy. It’s later revealed that Amber is in recovery for being a self-harming cutter.

Nate and Sherry continue their date at a local bar, where an unnamed bully (played by Tristan de Beer) from Nate’s past approaches Nate and teases him about being nicknamed Novocaine. Nate is embarrassed but tries not to let it show to Sherry. When the bully starts to flirt with Sherry, something happens that proves Sherry is not interested in this jerk. Sherry assertively tells Nate that she wants to spend the night with Nate.

The day after their sleepover date is Christmas Eve. Sherry and Nate (who has already fallen hard for Sherry) both have to work that day, which turns into a nightmare. Three armed bank robbers, who are all disguised as Santa Claus, storm into the bank. They don’t just want the cash that’s in the registers were the bank tellers are. The robbers want whatever is in the bank vault that’s locked in the back.

The leader of the robbers is Simon (played by Ray Nicholson), a sadistic psychopath who doesn’t hesitate to shoot and kill. Simon’s accomplices are two brothers: Andre (played by Conrad Kemp) and Ben (played by Evan Hengst), who is the younger brother. Ben is the lookout and getaway driver.

Things go horribly wrong during the robbery. Bank manager Nigel (played by Craig Jackson) sees what Simon’s face looks like without the disguise. And you can easily guess what happens to Nigel. Nate is then forced to open the bank vault because he’s the only other person in the bank who knows how to unlock the vault.

Police arrive, and there’s a massive shootout that leaves several people wounded and a few people dead. Before the robbers make their getaway, they take Sherry as a hostage. Nate impulsively takes the gun and police car of a wounded cop (played by Keeno Lee Hector), so that Nate can chase after the kidnappers/robbers because he wants to rescue Sherry. Nate thinks that the police won’t act fast enough.

The two police detectives in charge of the investigation are Barbara Mincy (played by Betty Gabriel) and her cop partner Detective Coltraine (played by Matt Walsh), who soon arrive at this crime scene. Barbara immediately suspects that Nate is in cahoots with the kidnappers/robbers. Detective Coltraine is a little more willing to give Nate the benefit of the doubt.

The rest of “Novocaine” is about Nate haphazard rescue attempt, as Nate is being hunted by police. The movie gets repetitive in showing how many painful injuries that Nate sustains, but the scenes have so much playfully intense energy, these scenes don’t really drag. Each injury sems to make Nate emotionally stronger, if not more confident, as he shows an unrelenting determination to save the person he believes could be the love of his life.

“Novocaine” has above-average stunt work and makeup design (for the fight injuries) that give some realistic-looking aspects of an intentionally absurd film. Much of the comedy comes from Nate getting himself in situations where he has no idea what he’s doing, but he has to make quick-thinking decisions along the way. Some of these decisions turn out to be mistakes, so Nate has to find a way to get out of any mess that he created.

The appeal of “Novocaine” is centered mainly on Quaid’s dynamic performance as Nate, who evolves from being timid to being courageous, while still remaining a “nice guy.” “Novocaine” has a lot of brutal violence, but the heart of the movie is really mushy sentimentality about the extremes that people will go to for love. Somehow, that mushiness works well because it’s wrapped up in a movie that expertly mixes engaging action with charismatic comedy.

Paramount Pictures will release “Novocaine” in U.S. cinemas on March 14, 2025, with sneak previews on March 3 and March 8, 2025.

Review: ‘Chhaava,’ starring Vicky Kaushal, Rashmika Mandanna and Akshaye Khanna

February 26, 2025

by Carla Hay

“Chhaava”

Directed by Laxman Utekar

Hindi with subtitles

Culture Representation: Taking place in India (mostly in the Delhi area) in 1680, the action film “Chhaava” (based on the novel of the same name) features an all-Asian cast of characters representing the working-class, middle-class and wealthy.

Culture Clash: Sambhaji Maharaj, the second ruler of the Maratha Empire, battles against, the Mughal Emperor.

Culture Audience: “Chhaava” will appeal mainly to people who want to see an extremely violent, obnoxiously loud and mindless film.

Akshaye Khanna in “Chhaava” (Photo courtesy of Yash Raj Films)

“Chhaava” is an epic war film in all the wrong ways. This turgid 161-minute film has exploitative displays of epic ultra-violence. The movie’s screenplay and performances are epic disappointments. And this entire misguided film is an epic repetitive bore.

Directed by Laxman Utekar, “Chhaava” (which means “lion cub” in Hindi) was co-written by Utekar, Rishi Virmani, Kaustubh Savarkar, Unman Bankar and Omkar Mahajan. It’s usually not a good sign when a movie has at least five credited screenwriters. “Chhaava” looks like it was written by a committee that couldn’t come up with any original ideas or interesting dialogue. It’s just scene after scene of stereotypes showing gory violent fights and a “hero” who’s battling an evil “oppressor.”

The characters in “Chhaava” (which takes place in India in 1680, mostly in the Delhi area) are based on real historical people, but the movie makes them look like cartoonish characters. This movie has a simple plot that is dragged out with too many unnecessary scenes that are loud, soulless spectacles. The movie is more interested in showing how gory it can get in scenes showing murders and toture than it’s interested in telling a good story,

The essential story is a power struggle between two groups of people: (1) supporters of the Mughal Empire, the oppressive establishment in control, and (2) supporters of the Maratha resistance movement. Emperor Aurangzeb (played by Akshaye Khanna) of the Mughal Empire wants to destroy his biggest enemy: Sambhaji Maharaj (played by Vicky Kaushal), who has inherited the role of leader of the Maratha resistance after the death of Sambhaji’s father Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj.

Within these two groups are other power struggles. Some people in the Maratha resistance would rather have Sambhaji’s stepbrother Chhatrapati Rajaram Maharaj (played by Varun Buddhadev) as the leader. Meanwhile, Emperor Aurangzeb has a rebellious prince son named Mirza Muhammad Akbar (played by Neil Bhoopalam), who might or might not defect to the enemy’s side. Sambhaji’s wife Yesubai Bhonsale (played by Rashmika Mandanna) has a predictable “worried wife at home” role.

Other characters in the story are Rajaram’s mother/Sambhaji’s stepmother Soyarabai (played by Divya Dutta), who is loyal to her son; Zinat-un-Nissa Begum (played by Diana Penty), the estranged sister of Mirza Akbar; Kavi Kalash (played by Vineet Kumar Singh), who is Aurangzeb’s trusted advisor; and Santaji Ghorpade (played by Ankit Anil Sharma) and Dhanaji Jadhav (played by Shubhankar Ekbote), who are loyal fighters for Sambhaji. There are double-crosses and dirty dealers between nearly all of these characters.

Even though “Chhaava” benefits from having above-average cinematography, production design and costume design, the movie’s fight scenes become tedious to watch after a while. And although Kaushal puts in an effort to show relatable human emotions as Sambhaji, “Chhaava” doesn’t let the characters in the movie really be fully relatable human beings. They are written more like video game characters in service of gruesome and excessive violence. Violence is expected in movies about war, but the way the violence is staged in this bombastic movie is just annoying to watch when the characters have hollow personalities.

Yash Raj Films released “Chhaava” in U.S. cinemas on February 14, 2025, the same day that the movie was released in India.

Review: ‘A Knight’s War,’ starring Jeremy Ninaber, Kristen Kaster, Matthew Ninaber, Kristen MacCulloch and Shane Nicely

February 23, 2025

by Carla Hay

“A Knight’s War”

Directed by Matthew Ninaber

Culture Representation: Taking place in an unnamed fantasy world, the action film “A Knight’s War” features a predominantly white cast of characters (with one black person) representing royalty, common people and beings with supernatural abilities.

Culture Clash: A knight must go through a dangerous journey to save the corrupted soul of a “chosen one.”

Culture Audience: “A Knight’s War” will appeal mainly to people who like fantasy video games and don’t mind terrible acting.

Kristen Kaster in “A Knight’s War” (Photo courtesy of Dread)

“A Knight’s War” might satisfy viewers who like playing generic fantasy video games. Cinematically, the movie falls very short. The visuals are impressive for this low-budget film, but the performances and dialogue are flat and soulless. Everything about the plot is recycled from much better movies and video games.

Written and directed by Matthew Ninaber, “A Knight’s War” takes place in an unnamed time period in an unnamed land. (The movie was actually filmed in Conestogo, Ontario.) “A Knight’s War” has a lot of unanswered questions about the world in which this story takes place because the plot is so flimsy.

A narrated introduction explains the gist of the story: “Long ago, a prophecy foretold the rise of a chosen one: a woman with fiery red hair who would reshape the world. But the gods, fearing her power, whispered into the hearts of men, urging them to bury any child who ft the prophecy. And so, innocence was lost as the innocent were consumed by the flames of fear.”

In other words, women and girls with red hair are being burned at the stake like witches. That’s what happened to the mother of Avalon (played by Kristen Kaster), who as a child was tied to a stake with her mother, who died in the fire, but Avalon survived. A knight named Bhodie (played by Jeremy Ninaber) has been having nightmarish dreams about Avalon and even had a vision where he saw himself rescuing Avalon while she was still tied to the stake with her mother’s burned remains nearby.

Get used to seeing Bhodie waking up from these bad dreams, because the movie is filled with these repetitive scenarios. Several witches, led by the demonic Lord of the Woods (played by Kristen MacCulloch), have been dragging people into a hellish realm to take the victims’ souls. Avalon and Bhodie (who are both strong-willed and opinionated) are among these people and must find a way out of the realm after collecting three mystical stones.

Before this happens, Bhodie meets an unnamed imprisoned man (played by Shane Nicely), who says he’s the keeper of the realm. He gives Bhodie a lighted talisman necklace that allows the person in possession of the talisman to die 100 deaths and get revived, as long as the light in the necklace remains on. And so, the movie has repeated scenes of Bhodie dying and getting revived while fighting the witches and other villains.

“A Knight’s War” writer/director Matthew Ninaber portrays Bhodie’s older half-brother William, who appears mainly in the beginning and the end of the movie. The end of the movie hints that there could be a sequel, but it’s doubtful that there will be much demand for a continuation of “A Knight’s War,” which is completely derivative and has too many cringeworthy characteristics to be thoroughly enjoyable.

Dread released “A Knight’s War” in select U.S. cinemas on February 7, 2025. The movie was released on digital and VOD on February 11, 2025.

Review: ‘Vidaamuyarchi,’ starring Ajith Kumar, Arjun Sarja, Trisha Krishnan, Regina Cassandra and Arav

February 13, 2025

by Carla Hay

“Vidaamuyarchi”

Directed by Magizh Thirumeni

Tamil and Azerb with subtitles

Culture Representation: Taking place in Azerbaijan and in Tbilisi, Georgia, the action film “Vidaamuyarchi” (a remake of the 1997 American film “Breakdown”) features an all-Asian cast of characters representing the working-class, middle-class and wealthy.

Culture Clash: A man becomes a vigilante after his wife is kidnapped during their road trip.

Culture Audience: “Vidaamuyarchi” will appeal mainly to people who are fans of the movie’s headliners and superhero movies that are utterly formulaic.

Arjun Sarja in “Vidaamuyarchi” (Photo courtesy of Red Giant Movies)

“Vidaamuyarchi” is like a vehicle stuck in the mud and spinning its wheels. This bloated 150-minute action flick (about a vigilante looking for his kidnapped wife) has choppy editing, hokey acting and phony-looking fight scenes. If you want to watch a movie that thinks “loud and messy” means “suspenseful and compelling,” then “Vidaamuyarchi” is the movie for you. Everyone else should steer clear.

Written and directed by Magizh Thirumeni, “Vidaamuyarchi” is a remake of the 1997 American film “Breakdown,” starring Kurt Russell, J.T. Walsh and Kathleen Quinlan. “Vidaamuyarchi” (which means “perseverance” in Tamil) is unnecessarily in non-chronological order, which makes the timeline more jumbled than it needed to be. A lot of superfluous flashbacks detour the basic gist of the story.

In “Vidaamuyarchi,” wealthy businessman Arjun (played by Ajith Kumar) and his wife
Kayal (played by Trisha Krishnan) are a Tamil-speaking Indian couple who have been married for 12 years when she asks for a divorce. Flashbacks show how Arjun and Kayal met while they were both at a vacation resort in Tbilisi, Georgia, which is Kayal’s hometown. There was an immediate attraction between Arjun and Kayal.

Shortly after Arjun and Kayal met, his job transferred him to Baku, Azerbaijan. Arjun and Kayal continued to keep in touch and had a long-distance relationship. When he proposed marriage to her, she immediately accepted and moved to Baku after they got married. Their courtship is as corny as it can be, like a poorly written romance novel.

In an early flashback scene in the movie, not long after Arjun and Kayal met at the vacation resort, Arjun climbs up a resort building to get to the high-rise balcony attached to the room where Kayal is staying. Arjun makes this unannounced visit at approximately 2 a.m. (Can you say “stalker”?)

When Kayal asks Arjun why he didn’t just take an elevator, he says he wanted to impress her by climbing up to the balcony. He then proposes marriage to her and gives her an engagement ring. Arjun and Kayal have a lavish wedding attended by family members and friends.

Another flashback shows that about three years into their marriage, Kayal had a miscarriage and found out she could no longer conceive children. This infertility issue puts a strain on her marriage to Arjun because Kayal becomes more emotionally distant from him. Shortly before she asks for the divorce, Kayal confesses to Arjun that she had an affair with another man, but the affair is over.

Arjun doesn’t want to get divorced because he still loves Kayal, but she’s made up her mind to divorce Arjun because she says she’s no longer happy in the marriage. Kayal tells Arjun that she is going to temporarily live with her parents in Tbilisi. Arjun offers to drive her there. The drive from Baku to Tibilisi is about 356 miles or 574 kilometers. It would take about seven hours to get there by car.

Most of “Vidaamuyarchi” takes place on a remote desert expressway in Azerbaijan. The first indication that this will be a hellish road trip is when a Hummer nearly drives Arjun nd Kayal off of the road. The Hummer’s driver is a stranger in his late 20s or early 30s named Michael (played by Arav), who gives Arju and Kayal a creepy grin, flips his middle finger at the couple, and drives away. There are no other vehicles on the road during this near-collision.

At a gas station convenience store, Kayal meets a seemingly friendly married Indian couple named Rakshith (played by Arjun Sarja) and Deepika (played by Regina Cassandra), who both strike up a conversation with Kayal because they all speak Tamil. Deepika says that Rakshith is an architect who used to work for the financial company Morgan Stanley. Arjun is outside getting gas for the car when Michael and his Hummer drive up to the gas station. This time, Michael has about four male companions with him.

Michael and Arjun have a verbal confrontation. It looks like it will turn into a physical brawl until one of Michael’s friends tells Michael that they need to leave. Michael and his pals drive off in the Hummer. But will this be the last time that they’re seen in the movie? Of course not.

Not long after this conflict, there’s another problem: Arjun’s car breaks down on the road. Michael and his hoodlum cronies come back in the Hummer. Michael throws a beer bottle near the couple. It looks like another confrontation is going to happen.

But guess who comes to the “rescue”: Rakshith and Deepika, who are in a large freight truck. Rakshith and Deepika show up while Arjun and Kayal are stranded with these thugs, who quickly drive away when they see that help has arrived.

Why would an architect need to be driving a freight truck? It’s a question that a trusting Arjun and Kayal don’t bother ask. The immediate trust that Arjun and Kayal give to these two strangers will turn out to be a dangerous mistake.

Arjun and Kayal don’t know the area very well. Rakshith and Deepika say that the nearest mechanic is about 60 miles (96 kilometers) away. Their cell phones can’t get any signals, so Rakshith and Deepika offer to take Kayal to a restaurant/bar called Jabbar’s Cafe, which has a landline phone that they can use to call to get the car towed. It’s an offer that Arjun and Kayal eagerly accept.

Arjun and Kayal don’t ask for details, such as the name or address of the mechanic. The plan is for Arjun to stay with the car and wait for it to be towed. After the car is towed, the plan is for Rakshith and Deepika to give Arjun a ride to Jabbar’s Cafe, where Kayal is supposed to be waiting for him. Things don’t go according to this plan.

After Rakshith and Deepika and Kayal leave, Arjun is able to start his car. He still waits for Rakshith and Deepika. Even if his cell phone got a signal. Arju foolishly never asked for Rakshith’s or Deepika’s phone number. After waiting for quite some time, Arjun doesn’t see a tow truck, Rakshith or Deepika. Arjun figures out that something is very wrong.

Arjun frantically drives around until he finds his way to Jabbar’s Cafe and doesn’t see Kayal anywhere in or near the place. Arjun begs Jabbar the owner/manager (played by Kazim Abdullayev) to ask the customers if they have seen Kayal. (Arjun has a photo of her on his phone.) No one claims to have seen Kayal, except for a drunk woman at the bar, who says, “Your wife eloped with a truck driver.”

Most of the rest of the movie is about Arjun trying to find Kayal. Arjun has contact with local law enforcement to report the kidnapping and to seek help for Arjun with his search. But for reasons what won’t be revealed in this review, things go horribly wrong for Arjun. He has a misunderstanding encounter with a police officer (played by Javanshir Hadiyev), who ends up thinking that Arju is a mentally ill liar.

Michael and his thug pals come back into the picture, of course. Rakshith and Deepika are also seen again. It’s eventually revealed what happened to Kayal. “Vidaamuyarchi” has such an incoherent and idiotic way of getting to the story’s conclusion (none of it is believable), the only good thing that will result from reaching the end of this movie is that your senses will no longer have to endure this onslaught of annoying cinematic garbage.

Red Giant Movies released “Vidaamuyarchi” in select U.S. cinemas and in India on February 6, 2025.

Review: ‘Captain America: Brave New World,’ starring Anthony Mackie, Danny Ramirez, Shira Haas, Carl Lumbly, Xosha Roquemore, Giancarlo Esposito, Liv Tyler, Tim Blake Nelson and Harrison Ford

February 12, 2025

by Carla Hay

“Captain America: Brave New World”

Directed by Julius Onah

Culture Representation: Taking place in the Washington, D.C. area (and briefly in Mexico), the sci-fi/action film “Captain America: Brave New World” (based on Marvel Comics characters) features a racially diverse cast of characters (African American, Latin, Asian and white) representing the working-class, middle-class and wealthy.

Culture Clash: Sam Wilson (also known as Captain America) and his allies get into conflicts with new opponents who are on quest for world domination, including the monster Red Hulk.

Culture Audience: “Captain America: Brave New World” will appeal mainly to people who are fans of the movie’s headliners and superhero movies that are utterly formulaic.

Red Hulk (played by Harrison Ford) in “Captain America: Brave New World” (Photo by Eli Adé/Marvel Studios)

It’s almost obscene that so much money was spent on “Captain America: Brave New World” and yet this superhero sequel has so little innovation, wit or visual style. The characters are bland in this underwhelming story. “Captain America: Brave New World” (which had a reported $180 production budget) might have been impressive in 2008, when the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) launched with 2008’s “Iron Man.” However, there have been so many great advancements in the MCU since then, “Captain America: Brave New World” is most definitely a stumble backwards.

Directed by Julius Onah, “Captain America: Brave New World” has five credited screenwriters: Onah, Rob Edwards, Malcolm Spellman, Dalan Musson and Peter Glanz. It seems to be a case of “too many cooks in the kitchen,” based on the results in this substandard screenplay. The film editing is choppy, which means the filmmakers didn’t know how to make this meandering story any better.

The good news for people who’ve grown tired of trying to keep up with all of the MCU spinoff series on the Disney+ streaming service: You don’t really to see the Disney+ limited series “The Falcon and the Winter Soldier” to understand what’s going on in “Captain America: Brave New World.” As already shown in 2019’s blockbuster MCU movie “Avengers: Endgame,” Steve Rogers (played by Chris Evans) retired and passed on the Captain America title and shield to a reluctant Sam Wilson (played by Anthony Mackie), also known as superhero Falcon.

In “The Falcon and the Winter Soldier,” Sam mentored Joaquin Torres (played by Danny Ramirez), a U.S. Air Force first lieutenant who is an eager young protégé to Sam. After Sam officially became the next Captain America, Joaquin got the title of being the new Falcon. “Captain America: Brave New World” shows Joaquin as the Falcon. “Captain America: Brave New World” co-screenwriter Spellman was the showrunner for “The Falcon and the Winter Soldier.”

In the beginning of “Captain America: Brave New World,” Thaddeus “Thunderbolt” Ross (played by Harrison Ford) is an elderly former U.S. Army general who has recently been elected President of the United States. In 2008’s “The Incredible Hulk” (the second MCU movie), the role of Thaddeus Ross was previously played by William Hurt, who died in 2022. Thaddeus is a widower and a warmonger who is estranged from his daughter Dr. Betty Ross (played by Liv Tyler) because Thaddeus became an enemy of Betty’s then-boyfriend Dr. Bruce Banner, also known as the Incredible Hulk, a giant green monster superhero.

Meanwhile, a very early and messy scene in “Captain America: Brave New World” takes place in Oaxaca, Mexico, where Sam and Joaquin do an exposition-dump dialogue so they catch viewers up to speed about their respective new superhero roles. Sam mentions that his new Captain America suit was a gift from Wakanda. (For people who don’t know, Wakanda is the African birthplace of superhero Black Panther.)

In a poorly constructed fight scene, Sam and Joaquin save members of a Catholic church in Oaxaca. It’s where the heroes encounter the villain Seth Voelker, also known as Sidewinder (played by Giancarlo Esposito), who leads a mercenary group called Serpent. Some fighting ensues between the heroes and villains. Sidewinder appears and re-appears in different parts of the movie, which doesn’t really know what to do with Sidewinder.

Sam and Joaquin then go to Baltimore, Maryland, where they meet up with elderly widower Isaiah Bradley (played by Carl Lumbly), who is described as “the forgotten Captain America.” Isaiah is a bitter recluse, who tells Sam and Joaquin that the U.S. government imprisoned Isaiah for years and conducted illegal experiments on him. Sam and Joaquin have been invited to a gala event at the White House and invite a reluctant Isaiah to accompany them at this event, which has officials from various countries in attendance.

Sam shares Isaiah’s skepticism about governments and the belief that superheroes should not work for any government. However, Sam and Joaquin are admittedly star-struck and flattered that they are President Ross’ invited guests at this event. President Ross uses the event to show off that the U.S. has possession of Adamantium, which is described as “the world’s most versatile element.” The Adamantium, which looks like a slab of mineral rock, is in a glass display case.

During President Ross’ speech, Isaiah suddenly takes out a gun, shoots the glass display case, steals the Adamantium and shoots at the Secret Service agents who are trying to capture him. It doesn’t take long for Isaiah to be captured, but he insists he blacked out during the shooting and has no memory of knowledge of why he committed these crimes. Sam believes Isaiah and sets out to prove his innocence.

And there’s yet another villain in the story: Samuel Sterns (played by Tim Blake Nelson, reprising his role from “The Incredible Hulk), a disfigured scientist who holds the key to the story’s big mystery. Samuel’s role in this formulaic movie fails to be menacing enough to create an effective sense of danger. He mainly just sits around in a lab and occasionally goes on rants.

The rest of “Captain America: Brave New World” can be figured out from watching the trailer, which reveals too much. Although many viewers already know that Thaddeus is going to turn into the supervillain Red Hulk, other viewers won’t know that, but the movie’s trailer reveals it anyway. And because Tyler’s name is listed on the movie’s poster as one of the movie’s headliners, no one should be surprised to see the Betty Ross character in “Captain America: Brave New World,” even though her appearance is really just a brief cameo. Another character cameo appearance that should come as no surprise to anyone who knows about “The Falcon and the Winter Soldier.”

Mackie and Ramirez have a fairly convincing rapport as friends and work colleagues Sam and Joaquin, but the dialogue they’re given is so trite, it weakens the quality of the movie. Ford has played gruff and stern U.S. presidents in other movies, and he’s really just doing another version of those presidential characters in “Captain America: Brave New World.” The only difference is that his character turns into a CGI-created giant monster, with mediocre visual effects.

The female characters with the most screen time in the movie are secondary sidekicks. Ruth Bat-Seraph (played by Shira Haas) is an Israeli-born former Black Widow operative, who was trained in the notoriously brutal Red Room. Ruth, who is the top security advisor to President Ross, has only three facial expressions in the movie: scowling, pouting and emotionally disconnected. There are fight scenes where short and thin Ruth takes on several armed men at once who are twice her size. And even though Ruth doesn’t have superpowers, these ludicrous-looking fight scenes are all supposed to be believable.

Leila Taylor (played by Xosha Roquemore) is the leader of President Ross’ Secret Service detail. She’s given even less to do than Ruth. Leila mostly just stands around with worried expressions on her face. Her purpose in the movie is to warn President Ross not to do something that he’s going to do anyway. Leila is an example of how the movie squanders opportunities to make supporting characters more interesting.

“Captain America: Brave New World” might satisfy viewers who worship anything that Marvel puts out, but the consistent quality that Marvel movies and TV shows had in the 2010s has now become hit or miss in the 2020s. Even the “Captain America: Brave New World” end-credits scene is boring and not worth watching because it adds nothing important as a preview of what could happen in subsequent MCU stories. Captain America: Brave New World” isn’t an actively terrible movie, but it’s a terribly disappointing film on many levels.

To put it bluntly: “Captain America: Brave New World” will be remembered for being the movie that confirms what was already widely reported: Thaddeus Ross asks Sam to assemble an Avengers team, also known as the MCU’s real cash cow. In that sense, “Captain America: Brave New World” is just a placeholder movie and not an essential or noteworthy breakthrough for the MCU.

Walt Disney Pictures/Marvel Studios will release “Captain America: Brave New World” in U.S. cinemas on February 14, 2025.

Review: ‘Love Hurts’ (2025), starring Ke Huy Quan and Ariana DeBose

February 11, 2025

by Carla Hay

Ke Huy Quan and Ariana DeBose in “Love Hurts” (Photo by Allen Fraser/Universal Pictures)

“Love Hurts” (2025)

Directed by Jonathan Eusebio

Culture Representation: Taking place in Milwaukee, the action comedy film “Love Hurts” features a racially diverse cast of characters (Asian, African American and white) representing the working-class, middle-class and criminal underground.

Culture Clash: A seemingly mild-mannered real-estate agent has a criminal past that catches up to him when his female former partner in crime and his crime boss brother both seek revenge on him.

Culture Audience: “Love Hurts” will appeal mainly to people who are fans of the movie’s headliners and action flicks that care more about stunts than having a good story.

Lio Tipton, Ke Huy Quan and Mustafa Shakir in “Love Hurts” (Photo by Allen Fraser/Universal Pictures)

The only real pain in “Love Hurts” is watching Oscar winners Ke Huy Quan and Ariana DeBose stuck in this cinematic junk. This mindless action comedy about double-crossing crooks is plagued with horrible dialogue and repetitive fighting that looks too fake. It’s an insult to movie fans that “Love Hurts” was released in theaters because it’s not worth the price of movie ticket and isn’t even worth people’s time to watch it elsewhere.

Directed by Jonathan Eusebio, “Love Hurts” was written by Matthew Murray, Josh Stoddard and Luke Passmore. All that means is it took three people instead of one or two to come up with this garbage screenplay. “Love Hurts” is the feature-film directorial debut of Eusebio, who has a background in stunt coordination. It’s probably why the movie is so enamored with its fight scenes and doesn’t care that the screenplay is recycled trash.

“Love Hurts” takes place in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, but was actually filmed in the Canadian province of Manitoba. It’s a simple-minded plot that gets dragged out by fight scenes that become so mind-numbing, they actually make the movie very boring. Most of the cast members don’t even try to make the stupid dialogue sound convincing. “Love Hurts” is so lazy, all of the story’s ideas have been done before in other movies, but much better in most of these other films.

In “Love Hurts,” Marvin Gable (played by Quan, the Oscar-winning actor from 2022’s “Everything Everywhere All at Once”) is a mild-mannered, dorky real-estate agent who is a bachelor with no children. Marvin, who travels by bicycle, works for a company named Frontier Realty, which has ads with his photo in various places, such as bus stop benches. Marvin’s biggest rival is Jeff Zaks (played by Drew Scott of “Property Brothers” reality TV fame), who has a macho image in his ads.

Most of “Love Hurts” takes place close to Valentine’s Day. Marvin is the type of real-estate agent who will give Valentine’s Day cookies to prospective clients when he shows them houses. During the movie, he gets a Regional Realtor of the Year plaque award from his boss/mentor Cliff Cussick (played by Sean Astin), in a role that reunites former “Goonies” stars Quan and Astin. Marvin’s assistant is a mopey bachelorette named Ashley (played by Lio Tipton), who is pessimistic about finding true love.

In the beginning of the movie, Marvin notices that someone has been defacing his real-estate ads by drawing a Hitler moustache on his face. At first, Marvin immediately suspects that his competitor Jeff is behind this insulting graffiti. But then, Marvin gets an ominous note in the mail indicating there’s someone else who has a grudge against him. The note says, “I’m Back!”

The movie then has very sloppy editing by showing Marvin getting knocked unconscious by someone who was in his office. Marvin wakes up to find that a knife has been plunged into his left hand. A thug named the Raven (played by Mustafa Shakir) is holding him hostage behind the closed office door because the Raven wants Marvin to tell the Raven where someone named Rose Carlisle (played by DeBose) is located. Marvin knows who Rose is but she says he doesn’t know where she is.

As already revealed in the “Love Hurts” trailer, it turns out that Rose was the one who sent that mysterious note to Marvin. She’s out for revenge because Marvin had a previous life as an assassin, Rose was his partner in crime, and he betrayed her on a job that they did together and left her for dead. Marvin then started a new life as a realtor. Marvin says early on in the movie that he’s in love with Rose.

The Raven works for Marvin’s crime boss brother Alvin “Knuckles” Gable (played by Daniel Wu), who wants to find Rose and who is also estranged from Marvin. Knuckles has also dispatched a goon named Renny Merlo (played by Cam Gigandet) to find Rose and tells Renny that Rose has to be brought back alive to Knuckles. Marvin is also on Knuckles’ target list because Knuckles hates that Marvin has rejected Knuckles and a life of crime.

Meanwhile, two dimwitted hoodlums named King (played by Marshawn “Beastmode” Lynch) and Otis (played by André Eriksen) do a home invasion on Marvin and beat him up because they’re looking for Rose too, and they think Marvin has the answer. Rose does some roughing up of her own when she captures a criminal associate named Kippy Betts (played by Rhys Darby), who is tied up and forced to make a confession. It should come as no surprise when secrets are revealed about who betrayed whom in this silly jumble of unlawful schemes and trickery.

All of these criminal characters are shallow, with nothing interesting revealed about them—unless you think it’s interesting that Otis tells King that Otis’ wife recently left Otis because she thinks Otis is “emotionally constipated,” which is an accurate way to describe this time-wasting movie. All of the performances are mediocre at best or unwatchable at worst. And none of the characters can be considered “compelling” or “impressive.”

When Rose inevitably shows up and sees Marvin again, it’s when they are both at a bar. Marvin asks her, “Why couldn’t you just stay dead?” Rose answers, “Because it’s humiliating.” Although it surely couldn’t be as humiliating as being an Oscar winner going from winning many awards for a Steven Spielberg movie (DeBose won an Academy Award for Spielberg’s 2021 remake of “West Side Story”) to the tacky depths of “Love Hurts,” which looks like it belongs on a low-tier, free streaming service.

“Love Hurts” shows people getting beaten, shot, kicked, stabbed or punched every 10 minutes, with moronic dialogue in between. After a while, it becomes tiresome to watch. Somehow, the Raven and Ashley end up spending time together in a subplot that is transparent about its intentions.

The “romance” between Marvin and Rose never looks convincing. And that’s not just because there’s an age gap that perpetuates the sexist stereotype of a middle-aged male star of an action film having a love interest who’s about 10 to 20 years younger. Quan (who was 53 when this movie was released) and DeBose (who was 34) have no real chemistry with each other.

Quan is very likable in other movies, but his “Love Hurts” performance is an awkward mix of portraying a cheerful nerd and a hardened fighter. The movie (which has obvious stunt doubles for the cast members) can never give a clear sense of who Marvin really is. “Love Hurts” depicts Marvin and everyone else as underdeveloped characters that you won’t care about by the end of this dreadful movie. And when “Love Hurts” tries to tack on sappy sentimentality at the end, after showing so much over-the-top violence, it’s about as satisfying as an empty box of Valentine’s Day candy.

Universal Pictures released “Love Hurts” in U.S. cinemas on February 7, 2025. The movie will be released on digital and VOD on February 25, 2025.

Review: ‘Sky Force’ (2025), starring Akshay Kumar, Veer Pahariya, Sara Ali Khan and Nimrat Kaur

February 9, 2025

by Carla Hay

Veer Pahariya and Akshay Kumar in “Sky Force” (Photo by PVR Inox Pictures)

“Sky Force” (2025)

Directed by Sandeep Kewlani and Abhishek Anil Kapur

Hindi with subtitles

Culture Representation: Taking place from 1965 to 1991, in India and in Pakistan, the action film “Sky Force” (based on a true story) features an Indian and Pakistani cast of characters representing the working-class and middle-class.

Culture Clash: A wing commander in the Indian Air Force is haunted by the disappearance of his close friend/protégé, who went missing during the Indo-Pakistani war of 1965.

Culture Audience: “Sky Force” will appeal mainly to people who are fans of the movie’s headliners and formulaic war movies.

Akshay Kumar in “Sky Force” (Photo by PVR Inox Pictures)

“Sky Force” has noble intentions to celebrate Indian Air Force heroes of the Indo-Pakistani war of 1965. However, this action flick (based on real events) is too routine and too bloated for a story that deserves a better movie. The acting and visual effects are very mediocre, considering the large budget for this film.

Directed by Sandeep Kewlani and Abhishek Anil Kapur, “Sky Force” (which takes place in India and Pakistan) was written by Kewlani, Aamil Keeyan Khan, Carl Austin and Niren Bhatt. The movie’s time period ranges from 1965 to 1991. “Sky Force” is based on the true story of Indian Air Force members Om Prakash Taneja and Ajjamada Boppayya Devayya.

In “Sky Force,” Wing Commander Kumar Om “K.O.” Ahuja (played by Akshay Kumar), who is this movie’s version of Taneja, is a respected leader in the Indian Air Force. K.O. is a mentor to T. Krishna Vijaya (played by Veer Pahariya), a rebellious younger pilot who reminds K.O. of Kumar’s deceased younger brother Monu. Krishna’s Air Force nickname is Tabby, which is the name he prefers to be called in his everyday life. Tabby is this movie’s version of Devayya.

K.O. and Tabby are both stationed at Adampur Air Force Station, where group captain David Lawrence (played by Manish Choudhary) is their supervisor. (David will later be promoted Air Commodore in the 1970s.) K.O.’s Air Force nickname is Tiger, which is also the name of the squad that he leads. David is strong-willed and considers himself to be ethical when it comes to war rules of engagement. Unfortunately, “Sky Force” makes the other Indian Air Force colleagues utterly generic.

The other members of the Tiger Squad of Air Force pilots (who all have animal nicknames) are Debashish “Cockroach” Chatterjee (played by Soham Majmudar), Prakash “Panther” Rajput (played by Ritik Ghanshani), Duck (played by Fayaz Khan), Goat (played by Karan Chaudhary), Rhino (played by Ramakrishna Dixit), Owl (played by Ankit Kaushik), Scorpio (played by Sagar Rana), Shark (played by Vishal Jinwal), Spider (played by Lakshay Chawla) and Fox (played by Abhishek Mahendra). Viewers won’t remember much about these supporting characters because they don’t have personalities that stand out from each other.

In the Indo-Pakistani air war of 1965, Pakistan attacks India in nighttime battles on Adampur Air Force Station and other Indian Air Force stations on September 6. It’s considered an unfair fight because Pakistan knew that India had outdated planes that were ill-equipped to do combat at night. Pakistan also had an advantage because the United States had recently gifted Pakistan with 12 Star Striker fighter planes.

K.O. had warned David that Pakistan would use this strategy, but David did not take K.O.’s advice to have India attack first. “We are a peace-loving country,” David tells K.O. when explaining that India will only attack in self-defense.

K.O. is put in charge of a mission for the self-defense attack on Sargodha, the most powerful military air base in Pakistan. The mission—set to take place on September 7, 1965—is called Sky Force. There’s some drama between Tabby and K.O. because Tabby objects to being put on standby for the Sky Force mission because Tabby is considered too much of an unpredictable loose cannon. It was David’s decision to put Tabby on standby, but K.O. refuses to tell Tabby who made the decision when Tabby asks K.O.

Tabby is eventually allowed to participate in air combat, but he goes missing during combat. K.O. feels tremendous guilt about it, and he vows to find out what happened to Tabby. Tabby’s wife Geeta Vijaya (played by Sara Ali Khan), who is pregnant with their daughter, bitterly blames K.O. for Tabby’s disappearance. Geeta decides to end her friendship with K.O. and K.O.’s wife Preeti Ahuja (played by Nimrat Kaur) and remains estranged from them for years.

Years later, in 1971, a Pakistani military plot named Ahmed Hussain (played by Sharad Kelkar) is captured by the Indian military. (Ahmed is this movie’s version of Amjad Hussain.) K.O. interrogates Ahmed and finds out that Ahmed was given an award for killing an Indian officer during the 1965 war. Ahmed has a story to tell that might have clues to the mystery of what happened to Tabby.

“Sky Force” lumbers along with typical combat scenes, which often don’t look believable because of the questionable visual effects. These action scenes also have numerous slow-motion shots that look very hokey. Highlights of the action are the aerial views, which are breathtaking but fleeting. The movie’s dialogue is average at best and silly at worst. And because the story is told in non-chronological order, some of the movie’s timeline is messy.

Worst of all, this 125-minute movie (which could have been at least 30 minutes shorter) wastes a lot of time on unnecessary scenes and then rushes through the storyline about what happened to Tabby. “Sky Force” isn’t overly jingoistic, but the main characters don’t have much depth beyond predictable stereotypes. “Sky Force” ultimately comes across like a big-budget video game instead of a meaningful cinematic event about Indian war history.

PVR Inox Pictures released “Sky Force” in U.S. cinemas and in India on January 24, 2025.

Review: ‘Alarum’ (2025), starring Scott Eastwood, Sylvester Stallone, Willa Fitzgerald, Mike Colter, Isis Valverde and Joel Cohen

February 1, 2025

by Carla Hay

Scott Eastwood and Sylvester Stallone in “Alarum” (Photo courtesy of Lionsgate)

“Alarum” (2024)

Directed by Michael Polish

Culture Representation: Taking place in Poland, Slovakia, and the Czech Republic, the action film “Alarum” features a predominantly white cast of characters (with a few black people) representing the working-class, middle-class and wealthy.

Culture Clash: Two married assassin spies, who used to be opponents, are targeted by an intelligence network of criminal anarchists, who want to gain possession of a valuable flash drive.

Culture Audience: “Alarum” will appeal mainly to fans of the movie’s headliners and people who don’t mind watching bottom-of-the-barrel action flicks.

Mike Colter in “Alarum” (Photo courtesy of Lionsgate)

Creatively bankrupt on every level, “Alarum” is a mindless mess of an action film that goes through the motions until its very lazy and abrupt ending. The performances are never believable in this moronic story about spies fighting over a flash drive. That’s essentially the entire limp plot of “Alarum,” which is time-wasting junk, even though some well-known actors are in the movie’s cast.

Directed by Michael Polish and written by Alexander Vesha, “Alarum” takes place mostly in Gdańsk, Poland, and briefly in Prague, Czech Republic, and in Prešov, Slovakia. The movie was actually filmed in Oxford, Ohio. “Alarum” has characters that you won’t care about because they are so hollow, and most of the acting in the film is terrible.

The protagonists of “Alarum” are two American spouses who are assassin spies: Joe Travers (played by Scott Eastwood) and Lara Travers (played by Willa Fitzgerald), whose maiden name was Larissa Moss. As shown in the movie’s opening scene, Joe and Lara met in Prague, in 2019, when she was assigned to kill him when he worked for the CIA. They crashed out of a high-rise hotel window during this life-or-death fight.

The movie then fast-forwards to 2024 in Gdańsk. Joe and Lara are now married. (Their courtship is never shown in the movie.) It’s soon revealed that Joe (whose code name was Archibald) went rogue and abandoned the CIA in 2019, which is why Joe and Lara have gone into hiding. It’s implied that Joe and Lara make money by being low-level con artists.

Joe and Lara are in a hotel room as they get ready for a dinner double date with a married couple named Roland Rousseau (played by Joel Cohen, who is one of the producers of “Alarum”) and Bridgette Rousseau (played by Isis Valverde), who don’t know that Joe and Lara are spies. Before going to this dinner at a restaurant, Joe and Lara are in their hotel room and have a petty disagreement over what lies they will tell the Rousseaus.

Joe wants Lara to pretend that she has obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD), while Lara wants Joe to be the one to pretend he has OCD. Lara agrees to be the one to pretend to have OCD, but then Lara blurts out during the dinner that Joe has OCD. Back in their hotel room, Joe tells Lara that he’s irritated that Lara didn’t go along with the original plan. It’s one of several pointless sequences in “Alarum.”

Not long after this awkward dinner, Joe and Bridgette are part of a tourist group that witnesses the crash of a small plane, which was shot down from behind by snipers in another plane. At the crash site, Joe sees that this plane (which has no survivors) is from the Drug Enforcement Agency. The only two people on the plane were the pilot and a co-worker passenger.

Joe somehow knows that he needs to get a flash drive (which he calls a “flight pill”) from the dead pilot’s stomach. Joe retrieves this flash drive in a gruesome manner. And somehow, there’s a secret surveillance device on the plane that picks up the sound of Joe talking and transmits this audio surveillance to the CIA. That’s how the CIA finds out that Joe is in Poland.

It’s later revealed that this flash drive has something to do with Alarum, a secretive group that “wants to tear down the tyranny” of the government intelligence network. Now that Joe has the flash drive, he and Lara are targets of people who want to kill Joe and Lara and get the flash drive. Various chase scenes and violent fights ensue. All of them look phony and badly choreographed, with tacky visual effects.

Other characters in this cinematic garbage dump are a corrupt operative named Orlin (played by Mike Colter, an American actor doing a terrible African accent), whose African nationality is vague and who has a team of henchman; CIA deputy director Roland Burbridge (played by D.W. Moffett), who just talks on a phone while he’s sitting at a desk; CIA agent Kirby (played Mark Polish), a generic subordinate who’s eager to impress Roland; and a rebellious mercenary named Chester (played by Sylvester Stallone), who is hired by the CIA to find and kill Joe because Roland thinks Joe has joined Alarum. Everything about “Alarum” is so mind-numbingly horrible, it’s an embarrassment for anyone involved in this junkpile film.

Lionsgate released “Alarum” in select U.S. cinemas, on digital and on VOD on January 17, 2025.