“Telugu films r best agree or die (sic)”, someone told me early last month, promptly ending that tweet with a skull emoji.
Continue readingPonmagal Vandhal movie review: Jyotika doesn’t punch hard but sincerely delivers clarion call to believe women’s stories
In a sense, Ponmagal Vandhal fits perfectly into Jyotika’s pursuit: Every film is a milestone in her single-minded journey of women’s empowerment.
Continue readingKilling time: A murder mystery, a society on the brink — Death in Buenos Aires is Natalia Meta’s commentary on ’80s Argentina
What I love about Natalia Meta’s Death In Buenos Aires is how clever the writing and filmmaking is, even if the mystery itself is pretty straightforward.
Continue readingSerial chiller: Mr Family Man — Praveen Kumar’s comedy show is uncompelling, except for a short burst of multilingual wordplay
Praveen Kumar, whose Tamil stand-up comedy show titled Mr Family Man dropped on Amazon Prime last Friday, begins with his central argument: That a family man is an unsung superhero. He promises to demonstrate, through personal experience, why a he thinks so. Except, he doesn’t.
Continue readingKilling time: In 2011’s Baishe Srabon, literal proof that a satisfying detective story is always about the poetry of pursuit
Of all its pleasures, the one thing that makes the film linger in my mind is its almost naive-idealist approach to police procedure.
Continue readingSerial Chiller: Kannamoochi Review — An indifferent web series where the horror isn’t scary and the thriller has no mystery
In five episodes of about 25 minutes each, Kannamoochi is harried. The game of hide-and-seek as a thematic undercurrent is flimsy. Overall, it ends up being an indifferent effort devoted neither to the craft or the cause.
Continue readingSusi Ganesan’s Cross-Examination In His ‘MeToo’ Defamation Case Against Leena Manimekalai; Notes From The Court Room
Serial chiller: Topless Review — This absurdist action-drama is certainly not for everyone.
At a run-time of over 140 minutes, Topless is not an easy watch if you’re not a fan of the absurdist action genre.
Continue readingSillu Karupatti: An unsatisfying, even if noteworthy, collection of stories about love.
Sillu Karupatti, isn’t a bad anthology. It’s ambitious in form, style and content. But it is so restrained, that it ends up being unsatisfactory.
Continue readingSerial Chiller: Queen review — Slow and brooding, Ramya Krishnan stars in a craftily made, J Jayalalithaa-inspired hagiography
With over ten hours of content, Queen is certainly not for binge-watching. In that, it’s slow and brooding, making you invest more of yourself in it. It invites you to sit down and feel for the Shakti. “Oh, poor girl,” the show wants us to think, and condemn the injustices of her past.
Continue readingSerial Chiller: Karoline Kamakshi review — Meena, and Tamil audiences, deserve better than this hotchpotch of ineptitude
A reckless French intelligence agent in Pondicherry. A lazy disrespected CBI agent in Chennai. A missing treasure named Virgin Mary. Gruesome smugglers. International incidents. A looming war. What could possibly go wrong in this time-tested premise? Everything apparently.
Continue readingSerial Chiller: Police Diary 2.0 — Without skill or sense, the show is a mishmash of unnecessary sex, institutional violence and machoism
As institutional violence and police brutality rise at alarming rates in this country, I place Police Diary 2.0 within the context of Tamilnadu’s law enforcement history. And lament how creative folks repeatedly align themselves with the casteist, patriarchal, oppressing establishment.
Continue readingSaavat Review: Could have been a brilliant novel, makes for a terrible film
Language: Marathi | Genre: Crime fiction, Supernatural thriller | Streaming on: Netflix After a short prologue, Saurabh Sinha’s Saavat (2019) begins with a woman “penning […]
Continue readingKaithi review: A near-perfect thriller with phenomenal performances, but something still nags me about it
In spite all the brilliance I saw on screen, there is something that still nags me: Lokesh Kanagaraj is building the quintessential man’s world. While he acknowledges the existence of women and has even developed an eye for their experiences, he’s involuntarily erasing their existence by making them the emotional anchor.
Continue readingDubbing, subtitles and clever casting: Is the web really creating pan-India content?
Kaappaan review: Dei!
On a scale of 1-10, Kaappaan is a minus 22. If you can laugh at it, you might be able to score a few points back. Otherwise, it’s truly unsahikkable.
Continue readingSerial Chiller: Zee5’s Fingertip is a highly relatable, acutely watchable series about modern Tamil lives
Ms. En Scene: Call Me A Hypocrite, But Jyotika Should Do ‘Mass’ And Ajith Should Stop
Ajith-Shraddha Srinath’s ‘Nerkonda Paarvai’ Wins Big By Focusing On Consent
How Vadivelu’s comedy gave Tamil people a language of mockery and memes
Serial Chiller: Marmadesam—Tamil’s truly captivating nostalgia TV is coming episode-by-episode to YouTube
Aadai review: Dear male filmmakers, please don’t misuse your freedom to make feminist films.
‘Aadai’ begins 200 years ago, with the story of Nangeli and her fight to wear what she wants. After the animated prologue and the moral […]
Continue reading‘Kadaram Kondan’ Review: Vikram Holds Up This Plain Yet Fairly Engrossing Film
Ms. En Scene: When Seven Tamil Cinema Women Turn Superheroes
Raatchasi review: A watchable message-padam
An invincible hero, easily solvable problems, short lectures and people with heart of gold make Raatchasi a watchable, if not enjoyable film.
Continue readingSerial chiller: Tamizha Tamizha—A comfortably centrist talk show where the personal doesn’t get political enough
Vellai Pookal review: A good enough mystery for Sunday home video.
Rudhran has a (not-so) unique investigation technique. He stands in the crime scene, plays the possibilities back in his mind and deducts/detects the crime. When […]
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