…barring an intriguing opening and a few nicely executed scenes in Italy, Inferno is a strained attempt to capitalise on Robert Langdon’s popularity and a far cry from the fast-paced and edge-of-the-seat stuff we have come to expect from the Brown-Howard-Hanks combine.

Mirzya is doomed by its inability to free itself from the weight of the original legend. A tragic romance that doubles up a cautionary tale about the consequences of rebellion gets the music video treatment. One song rolls out after another to suggest the heat of the heart, but the movie remains cold to its own possibilities.

The movie is less a study of psyche than of personality. But within its hagiographic constraints, Pandey and lead actor Sushant Singh Rajput assert themselves admirably.

Like ABCD, Banjo relies on a song dedicated to Ganesha to win audiences over in the climax. The track Om Ganapataye Namaha Deva is a doozy, but it proves yet again than a rousing prayer to the remover of obstacles is powerless in the face of limited imagination.

Yadav’s third film Parched presents gender issues in a fairy-tale setting, but retains enough head and heart to flip the gorgeous backdrops to reveal the violence, abuse and discrimination that characterise the lives of the three principal characters.

The gentle pace works well in the first hour, but Nair runs out of steam in depicting Ramakant’s struggle to deal with the truth about Udai. Ramakant’s bold romantic relationship with a woman beggars belief, as does the idea that under-educated villagers in the ‘70s and ’80s would dream of fleeing towards America. The real destination of an under-educated Indian immigrant might have been the Arab countries, but then “Dubai” cannot be mangled like “Umrika”.

The best thing about ‘Raaz Reboot’ is that it is the last one in the series…

The movie considerably enriches the screen treatment of sexual assault, but the moment for fewer lectures and greater observation is still some years away.

Eastwood’s plain and to-the-point filmmaking style syncs perfectly with Hanks’s marvellously underplayed and understated characterisation. Hanks’s Sully hits just the right notes of fear, frustration, ambivalence and pride. He is no ordinary hero, but he is not extraordinary either – I’m just doing my job, he shrugs. That sounds a lot like Eastwood.

Some of the one-liners land with the same force as Ali’s shots, but the cocktail of wacky humour, sentimental blather and tributes to God, Mom and the Neighbourhood has just too many elements to digest. Nawazuddin Siddiqui lives it up as the hero, churning out punchlines and playing the romantic lead in a creaky fantasy about bridging the gulf between the working class and a rich person’s game.