The ordinary, drama-free, supportive family is a rarity in Tamil cinema — one that Velai Illa Pattadhaari does remarkably well.
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Tamilrockerz review: Story with potential beaten to death by clichés
It gets the absurdity and testosterone-heaviness of the film industry right. But as an investigation into an international crime syndicate, it offers nothing.
Continue readingSai Pallavi’s Gargi sets the records straight 28 years after Revathy’s Priyanka
Gargi is Priyanka’s do-over. Gargi bears in mind all the mistakes that Priyanka made and resists them.
Continue readingLike Rocketry, another Tamil biopic Iruvar stresses too much on personal than political
Yet, as an interpretation of the life and times of two of Tamil cinema’s most significant political figures, Iruvar returns empty, despite being one of the very few films exploring the era.
Continue readingLoved Urvashi in Veetla Vishesham? Watch another episode of elderly love in Pannaiyarum Padminiyum
What we see is really a couple who have grown old together, becoming almost the same person, as couples often do. There is a beautiful rhythm to their actions that is a delight to watch.
Continue readingSuzhal review: High-concept police procedural that’s cerebral, but also predictable
Writers Pushkar and Gayatri’s latest web series, is built on the same premise nearly every OTT police procedural is. Yet, it is rooted and original in its narrative and visual treatment, keeping the audience at least interested till the end.
Continue readingLooking for a Vikram-like Kamal Haasan tribute? Watch his 2015 film Uttama Villain
Ranjani scours the history of South cinema to recommend a companion piece to this week’s release.
Continue readingIrai On Aha Tamil: Sarathkumar Barely Rescues An Overlong Bore
It diligently follows the template for hill station noir to the point of being unimaginative.
Continue readingLol: Enga Siri Papom review — A drought of humour
Lol: Enga Siri Paapom is riding on very little creativity and riddled with body-shaming, classist, jokes. Skip this show and find something better to do with your time.
Continue readingNavarasa review: Netflix Tamil anthology is a mixed bag of few watchable, some problematic, mostly banal stories
From irritatingly self-referential and boringly stale shorts, unpleasant surprises to heartening narratives, Mani Ratnam’s Tamil anthology is a sum total of its disparate parts.
Continue readingNovember Story review: Tamannaah fails to hit the mark in Indhra Subramanian’s clever web series
November Story is an excellent entry into the pure-play murder mystery genre, but fails to deliver a satisfying pay-off.
Continue readingSerial Chiller: The Kid Detective, a murder mystery about adulting
The Kid Detective serves the horrors and mundaneness of everyday life in equal measure — it’s up to you what you’re drawn to.
Continue readingLive Telecast review: Disney+ Hotstar horror series is all Kajal Aggarwal’s plastic act, Venkat Prabhu’s stale humour
From workplace sexual harassment to the voyeurism of the TV viewing public, Live Telecast’s handling of important issues exposes its absolute lack of critical thought.
Continue readingTriples review: All of Tamil cinema can’t save this bummer of a web series
The biggest shame with Triples is that it had potential. A sharper commentary on the world and a cleverer dialogue writer could have made Triples an absolute delight of a show.
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 readingSerial 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 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.
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