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The Mission review – a surgeon saves lives in war-torn Gaza in a visceral portrait of human endurance

Mohammad Tahir and his colleagues operate through bombing and blackouts in barely functional hospitals – but there are moments of relief amid the documentary’s tragedy and gore What this documentary might lack in film-making finesse it makes up for with sheer visceral and emotional impact. British nerve surgeon Mohammad Tahir and his colleagues, who also work the cameras, toil in Gaza’s barely operational hospitals during some of the worst days and nights of the war in the winter of 2024-25. Supported by US-based charity FAJR Global , who provide medical care to the world’s most in need, Tahir operates through bombings and blackouts with a bare minimum of medical supplies, sometimes treating patients lying on the floor in puddles of blood because there are no gurneys. This is often hard to watch, and not just because of all the gore; many of the victims are children, out of whom Tahir and the others dig bullets as well as tiny tungsten cubes, new-fangled shrapnel designed to cause maxi...

Ramayana makers revive plans for grand Dubai premiere: Report

Director Nitesh Tiwari's much-awaited film Ramayana may have a grand international premiere in Dubai if ongoing plans materialise. According to a report by Mid-Day, the makers have resumed discussions about hosting the film's premiere in the UAE after earlier putting the idea on hold. The event is reportedly being planned for October 28 and is internally being referred to as the "Desert Premiere." Ramayana premiere plans revived after earlier pause As per the report, director Nitesh Tiwari and producer Namit Malhotra had initially considered Dubai as the venue for the film's premiere. However, those plans were paused earlier this year due to the conflict in West Asia. The report states that discussions have now resumed following the easing of the regional situation, with the team once again exploring the feasibility of hosting the event in Dubai. Location scouting reportedly underway According to Mid-Day, preliminary groundwork has already begun, with location sc...

Jacqueline Fernandez withdraws Supreme Court plea in Rs 200 crore money laundering case linked to Sukesh Chandrashekhar

Actor Jacqueline Fernandez has withdrawn her special leave petition before the Supreme Court that challenged proceedings initiated against her in the Enforcement Directorate's (ED) Rs 200 crore money laundering case linked to alleged conman Sukesh Chandrashekhar. As per an IANS report, a Bench comprising Justices B.V. Nagarathna and Joymalya Bagchi on Thursday allowed the actor to withdraw her petition after the matter was taken up for hearing. Petition challenged Delhi High Court and trial court orders Jacqueline had approached the Supreme Court after the Delhi High Court refused to quash the ED's prosecution complaint and the trial court's order framing charges against her under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA). With the withdrawal of the petition, the legal proceedings against the actor will continue before the trial court. Matter was reassigned after judge recused himself The case was initially listed before a Bench of Justices Prashant Kumar Mishra and A...

Bello! Why gen Alpha subconsciously speaks the language of the Minions

From global loanwords and garbled Italian, the slang of the children of millennials doesn’t just share elements with Minionese – it may have absorbed it I was four years old when Despicable Me was released in cinemas and the banana-coloured, overall-clad Minions took the world by storm. By the time I was seven, my siblings and I were using The Official Minion Manual to teach ourselves Minionese. Minionese is, of course, the made-up language spoken by Kevin, Stuart, Bob and company, which consists of a combination of melodic gibberish and variations on genuine vocabulary from a diverse array of world languages . When the Minions shout “kanpai” (“cheers” in Japanese) or “para tú!” ( a variation on the Spanish “para ti” ), it might remind you of how gen Alpha slang, which primarily consists of nonsensical words such as “cap” and “mogging”, also draws on world languages. Consider the Bulgarian scat origins of “skibidi”, for example. Continue reading... from Film | The Guardian https...

The Furious review – dial-shifting dadsploitation mayhem as father goes in search of kidnapped daughter

There’s more than a whiff of Taken in Kenji Tanigaki’s exhilarating martial-arts movie, in which a handyman goes after some evil people traffickers It keeps happening: every few years, usually during a run of lethargic Hollywood spectacles, the Overton window of screen violence gets recalibrated by a muscular wonder from the east. Thundering along in the bloody footsteps of the Raid films and the Hindi punch-’em-up Kill, this martial-arts showcase from Japanese-born, Hong Kong-based director Kenji Tanigaki opens in generic dadsploitation territory. “Somewhere in Southeast Asia”, as a caption has it, mute Chinese handyman Wang Wei (Miao Xie) tears off after the traffickers who have nabbed his daughter (Enyou Yang). Having Hulk-smashed its way out of the Taken box, though, The Furious starts to crank it up. Boy, does it crank it up; the closing half-hour achieves a pummelling intensity unlikely to be matched by any other release this year. There are one or two plot developments. Cribbing...

Jacob Elordi, Jenna Ortega and Stephen Fry among new invited Oscar voters

Annual list of creatives invited to join the Academy also includes Josh O’Connor, Teyana Taylor and Jon Bernthal Jacob Elordi , Jenna Ortega and Stephen Fry are among the 529 creatives invited to join this year’s member class of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. “We are delighted to invite this remarkable group of film artists and professionals from around the world to join the Academy,” said CEO Bill Kramer and Academy president Lynette Howell Taylor in a statement. “Through their commitment to filmmaking, this year’s exceptionally talented class has made significant contributions to our global movie industry.” Continue reading... from Film | The Guardian https://ift.tt/YRBbmwh via IFTTT

EXCLUSIVE: Ali Fazal's fierce new poster from Mirzapur: The Movie raises anticipation ahead of teaser launch

Ahead of the teaser launch tomorrow, the makers have just dropped a striking new poster featuring Ali Fazal, from the much-awaited Mirzapur: The Movie, and it is everything fans have been waiting for. With the teaser set to drop tomorrow, the buzz around the film has officially hit fever pitch. The poster showcases Ali Fazal in his iconic avatar, radiating intensity and power. With a fierce expression and commanding presence, the character's look hints at the high-stakes drama, revenge, and power battles that have become synonymous with the Mirzapur franchise. While the poster offers no clues about the storyline, it successfully reignites excitement among fans eager to witness the return of one of the most loved characters from the Mirzapur universe. The visual serves as a reminder that the battle for power is far from over and that the world of Mirzapur is gearing up for an even grander cinematic experience. As excitement builds, all eyes are now on the teaser, which promises to ...

Deja viewing: the return of the cheapo compilation film

While movie mixtapes served a purpose in the pre-video era, Jackass, Demon Slayer, Peppa Pig and other theatrically released assemblages of old material risk looking like cynical cash grabs today Johnny Knoxville has declared that the fifth Jackass movie, Best and Last, will mark the end of the franchise, and the trailer suggests a victory lap celebrating 25 years of broken bones, injured genitals and general stupidity you shouldn’t try at home. There are new stunts, and conversations with the cast about growing old gracelessly as they enter their 50s, but the most striking thing is how much archive footage there is. And the cast have not been hiding in interviews that it will be heavy on scenes from prior movies. In other words, it’s the cinematic equivalent of a greatest hits album that has a couple of new songs tossed on to entice fans to part with their money. Or a clip show episode of a US sitcom which is based on flashbacks to older episodes, created so that overworked writers ca...

Hold the Fort review – gory goings-on at the neighbours association get-together

A couple move from the city to a seemingly clean-cut suburb in this enjoyable comedy-horror that breezes through the grisly deaths of characters you won’t care about In this short, sharp, comedy-horror-siege movie, youngish couple Jenny (Haley Leary) and Lucas (Chris Mayers) are the newcomers in a clean-cut – or is it? – suburban neighbourhood, having moved away from the big city. Lucas is a world-class red-flag-ignorer, while in contrast, Jenny is adept at spotting the signs that something is off. When the perky moustachioed head of the local homeowners’ association Jerry (Julian Smith) invites the pair to a party celebrating the equinox, he assures them “it’s to DIE for!” in the tone of voice Ned Flanders might use in a Simpsons Halloween special. Jenny immediately asks the reasonable question: “Why would you say it like that?” Roles are soon reversed at said homeowners’ association party, as an ample helping of the local moonshine blunts Jenny’s natural caution, leaving Lucas to not...

The Morrigan review – spirit of pagan demon queen unleashed in Irish burial chamber horror

Archaeologists blunder into an ancient and unwittingly release a vengeful monster – with predictable and conventional results In Irish folklore, the Morrígan is a powerful goddess of death and war. This horror movie imagines her as an actual historical figure: a pagan queen massacred with her followers by Christians. A quick scene at the start of the film shows the dirty deed. The Morrígan’s rage against misogyny has screamed down through the centuries – so it’s a shame the film frames her not as a feminist icon but a highly conventional horror movie nemesis; a malign vengeful female to be crushed and destroyed. There is nothing to punch the air about in the end. Saffron Burrows plays an archaeologist called Fiona who has been repeatedly passed over for tenure at her US university. When Fiona presents her radical theory that the myth of the Morrígan may have a basis in real life, her slippery colleague Jonathan (Jonathan Forbes) is made the lead on the dig. Fiona is forced to bring al...