Easy and breezy, it’s worth your time on a Sunday, or just about any given day.

Chef isn’t perfect; it lags in places, offers quick-fix solutions to characters’ problems, and feels wholly familiar. But at a little over two hours, it doesn’t ask much of you, and offers some pleasure in Saif Ali Khan’s return to form as an actor hard to look away from.

There’s no question that if there had to be a remake of Judwaa, it had to have Varun Dhawan. The more important question is – did there really have to be a remake of Judwaa in the first place?

I’m going with two out of five. I laughed a few times.

Newton is relevant and timely without being boring or inaccessible. You could say it lays on its message too thick in the end, or that the pace occasionally slips. But these are minor nigglings that never dent the impact of its thrust. I’m going with four out of five. It’s easily one of, if not the best Hindi film you’ll see this year. Make sure you make the time for it.

A better title for Lucknow Central might have been Boredom Central. At nearly 2 hours and 30 minutes, it’s far too long and far too dull to inspire any other response.

There’s ample meat in the story, yet the writing itself is weak. The film’s second half feels particularly sloppy, and don’t even get me started on the caricaturish villains. But it’s a testament to Kangana’s full-blooded performance that Simran works despite these complaints. She’s in excellent form, an artiste at the top of her game, as she gives us another indelible character in the perplexing Praful Patel.

Come to think of it, the movie’s no slog. Mehta keeps the pace going, and delivers some terrific moments that’ll make you smile.

In the end, there’s a lot to appreciate in Daddy, yet sadly it’s not enough. The craft is admirable and the big denouement is thought provoking, but pacing issues cripple the film to the extent that you’re exhausted by the time the lights come back on.

Shubh Mangal Saavdhan rises above its minor problems to deliver plenty laughs. It’s one of the year’s most enjoyable films. I recommend that you make the time for it.

My problem with this kind of film is the desensitizing effect it tends to have on us with regards to crime and killings. So many shootouts, such scant regard for consequence.

A Misguided Film That Offers Little Relief…