From LA to Mars

Once upon a time… 

The ninth instalment in Quentin Tarantino’s filmography is a love letter to ‘60s LA and centres around the life of a has-been TV star living in Hollywood Hills. Featuring a large ensemble cast led by Leonardo DiCaprio, Brad Pitt, Margot Robbie, and Margaret Qualley, Once upon a time… also follows other storylines set in a time leading up to the end of the ‘golden age of Hollywood’. 

A masterpiece

It was a wonderful piece of work, a complete cinematic experience in itself. The setting and camerawork, the cast, dialogue, costumes, and the sets were all pitch perfect. Tarantino’s experience as a filmmaker shows in the film which really comes together on screen. 

— Varun Batra, student, PU

A mild entertainer

The film starts off slow with the main narrative. The pace picks up in the second half with a few fresh characters and storylines being introduced, but Tarantino hardly does justice to any of them. It is a technical wonder as one would expect from Tarantino, but with its scattered narrative it’s a mid entertainer at best. 

— Kavya Kamal, journalism student

Mission Mangal

The feature film based on Indian Space Research Organisation’s first interplanetary orbiter mission also hit the theatre screens this week. It marked the directorial debut for Jagan Shakti and features Akshay Kumar, Vidya Balan, and Taapsee Pannu.

Vidya’s film

The highlight of the film has to be Vidya Balan’s performance. She is effortless in bringing out the ambitions and vulnerabilities of her character. 

— Neelam and Babita, school educators

A thrilling finish

The film follows the extraordinary journey of the ISRO scientists, but settles for easy answers for most parts. The stakes never seem too high until the very end where the action really feels earned. 

 — Varun Jha, professional photographer

Too melodramatic

The film rarely ever does justice to the incredible story that it is based on. The work of the scientists really takes the backstage to the more melodramatic elements of the story. 

— Anubhav Preet Kaur and Jaskaran Nirankari, research students, IISER Mohali

(As told to Vedant Chandel)