Desi Bites - 26 Feb 2018

By Hamza Shafique (Instagram / Facebook)

In this week's Desi Bites we have trailer review of the two upcoming films from Pakistan Film Industry, a recap of PSL season 3 2018 opening ceremony in Dubai and a small tribute to the legendary actress Sridevi whose untimely departure left all of us in shock and disbelief.

Sonu Ke Titu Ki Sweety - Movie Review (1.5/5 Stars)

By Hamza Shafique (Instagram / Facebook)

Sonu Ke Titu Ki Sweety, is just like its name, a confusing mess. I usually don’t mind plot holes as long as the whole experience is entertaining but this Luv Ranjan directorial feels like a plane taxiing on run way ready to take off but never really does.
Plot is simple and has nothing new to offer, we have seen similar story lines multiple times before, where a protagonist is trying to break a marriage through simple situational manipulation and some of them are my favorite like “Dilwale Dulhanya Lay Jaengay” and “Mere Brother Ki Dulhan”.

Game Night - Movie Review (4/5 Stars)

By Hamza Shafique (Instagram / Facebook)

Earlier this month, when I reviewed Winchester I mentioned that the basic criteria to judge a horror film is the effectiveness of its horror quotient and same applies for a comedy film as well. This makes reviewing horror and comedy both a lot easier, so if you are laughing sidesplittingly along with the audience in the cinema then that means it’s a success story and with Game Night this is exactly what happened.

Desi Bites - Feb 2018

By Hamza Shafique (Instagram / Facebook)

For this week's Desi Bites I will discuss "Dar Si Jati Hai Sila " drama serial evolution, few words to honor the amazing work of veteran actor Qazi Wajid and overall review of multiple teasers and trailers released recently for Movies based on Comic Books.

Existence - A Short Story (Throwback Thursday)

By Hamza Shafique (written in 2009)
Edited by Adeena Mirza

Chapter 1 : Sun Light
My head was spinning; my eyes felt a little heavy. I felt like, I am waking up from a sleep of 16 hours.

Where was I?

As soon as I opened my eyes, the light came piercing so strong that my reflexes came in to action and my eye lids closed again. I moved my hand to cover my eyes but something was holding my hand back. I opened my eyes slowly this time, gave my eyes a little time to adjust with the light, which I realized was sun light coming from the front window.

But where was I?

Black Panther - Movie Review (3.5/5 Stars)



By Hamza Shafique (Instagram / Facebook)

Ryan Coogler’s Black Panther is exactly what Marvel Cinematic Universe needed, A new unique Super Hero. Black Panther is not like any other Super Hero we have in Marvel Universe, he is not a result of science experiment like Hulk, Captain America etc. neither he is millionaire technological marvel like Iron Man, Ant Man etc. nor he is a celestial magic being like Thor, Dr. Strange etc. In fact, he is a unique mixture of all three and his story set in Wakanda creates a very fascinating world of its own. Black Panther played by Chadwick Boseman was first introduced in Captain America Civil War in his prime form. In Civil War we got a ferocious beast fueled with vengeance but in this origin movie we view him as a complete person with all human and super human elements intact.

Pad Man - Movie Review (3/5 Stars)

By Hamza Shafique (Instagram / Facebook)

Every biographical film has certain fixed elements in a usual curve like motivation followed by obsession that makes protagonist being rejected by the society, after that we get a montage portraying protagonist perfecting his thing and finally getting the recognition with film ending with a big speech or narration. There is always occasional comedy along with moments of despair and tragedy set with in realistic surroundings. Presence of all of these mentioned elements along with a social message makes Pad Man a complete film.

Maan Jao Naa - Movie Review (3/5 Stars)

By: Aniq Arshad

February started with Maan Jao Naa, a romantic comedy written by “Khaani” famed Asma Nabeel and directed by Aabis Raza released by Hum TV. Maan Jao Naa looked like a colorful fun ride from the trailers and luckily it delivered just that. 

Winchester - Movie Review (2.5/5 Stars)

By Hamza Shafique (Instagram / Facebook)

The basic criteria to review a horror movie is, how scary the overall experience is and from that perspective Spierig Brothers’ Winchester has won. It has some well-placed scares (mostly jump scares) and the loud shrieks of ladies in the hall verified also that they work perfectly.

February - Playlist

By Hamza Shafique (Instagram / Facebook)

In February we have couple of interesting releases including one big Marvel super hero action-drama. Sadly there is no release from Pakistan film industry but two Bollywood releases are unique to cover the desi ground entirely. Dubai Desi Reviews movie recommendations for Feb are :

Maze Runner: The Death Cure - Movie Review (3/5 stars)

By Hamza Shafique (Instagram / Facebook)

Wes Ball's Maze Runner: The Death Cure is like a perfectly cooked food but the only problem is, it's not what I ordered. This is the third instalment in dystopian Young Adult Science Fiction trilogy based on the books of same name by James Dashner. It's a well-directed, action packed film with some great cast and acting. I loved the first Maze Runner and I still remember the details after a couple of years which is a sign of a great movie. Second one I am not sure if I have seen it or not, as I could recall it in bits in pieces but not entirely. So, when I was going for this one I had no idea what to expect or how the story has evolved from the first film but still expected it to be equally captivating as the first one.

Recalling Rohtas Fort - Throwback Thursday

By a much younger Hamza Shafique (Instagram / Facebook)

Originally posted in Feb 2010 based on the trip in Jan 2010 (all pictures were taken by my very first DSLR Nikon-D60). I have kept it in its original format as posted initially in 2010, so you can see my growth as a writer from 2010 as well (if there is any 😂 ) - Please forgive Wikipedia plagiarism, it was almost 8 years ago. So here we go.....

Rohtas Fort is one of my favorite sites since childhood. I still remember asking my parents numerous time to visit this place when I was very young. And then one fine day my Uncle (dad's elder brother) took us there and that day is still the most memorable day of my childhood, I still remember it vividly, which is amazing considering I was only 6 at that time.