Fast Cuts – The Beekeeper, The Equalizer 3

Official Trailer: The Beekeeper Official Trailer: The Equalizer 3 I am game for vigilante movies if they are well made and don’t get into right or wrong conflict. They give us an escapist avenue, a fantasy, where bad guys get their due punishment. We know in real world vigilante justice is incorrect, need to follow the law and only courts can decide on the guilt and quantum of punishment. Thanks

 

Fast Cuts – Vettaiyan – Misses the target

Official Trailer: You sit through perfunctory opening of hero intro fight, intro song, mixed with random video footages of boys from government schools misbehaving with teachers. These scenes move so quickly with no depth. I guess even the director wants to get through these mandatory superstar fan service fast. Our hero Athiyan, played by Rajinikanth, is an encounter specialist who believes in dispensing justice taking the law into his own

 

Fast Cuts – Kishkindha Kaandam – a satisfying mystery thriller

Official Trailer: Similar to Koozhangal, director Dinjith Ayyathan puts us in the middle of action. A couple is in registrar office to get their marriage registered. There is no introduction about the couples or the guy who stands outside the registrar office. Then the husband Ajay, played by Asif Ali, gets a call. It is election time and licensed holders have to surrender their guns. His father Appupillai, played by

 

Life of Ram – Song from movie 96

While we keep getting catchy tunes and interesting compositions, not all songs have appreciative lyrics. We like the songs for combination of things – music, orchestration, melody, singer’s voice, emotion, and lyrics. Rarely all these come together in a song. One such song, which I keep going back to, is Life of Ram from 96. Music, lyrics, emotion come together. For me it is the lyrics that stand out. They

 

Maharaja – A skillfully constructed revenge thriller

Official Trailer: [SPOILERS AHEAD…] The story is a simple, a father takes revenge on the guys who assaulted his daughter. What sets this movie apart is how the movie is built. It comes across as a picture puzzle where you have to put together the pieces to view the full picture. In Maharaja we get precision engineered segments like Lego blocks. They are given to us in a non-linear fashion.

 

Killers of the Flower Moon

Official Trailer: Martin Scorsese is tired. In 2013, he released The Wolf of Wall Street, a rambunctious and lewd biopic on notorious criminal and finance bro darling Jordan Belfort. Scorsese’s films are often characterized by their frenetic pace, incessant classic rock soundtracks, electric montages, and dark humor. Wolf takes it to an extreme, maintaining an unyielding intensity and energy throughout its entire three-hour runtime. Beneath the debauchery and excess, the

 

Uma Ramanan

When I heard the news about Uma Ramanan, the first song that popped out of my memory is Aananda Raagam from the movie Panneer Pushpangal. Then the other songs flooded out. Songs make us remember events from our life. Songs from late 70s and 80s always take me to my hostel days at Guindy engineering college and bus rides between Madurai – Virudhunagar and Madurai – Chinnamanur. Our mess eating

 

Brahmayugam – A solid psychological folklore horror

Official Trailer: Director Rahul Sadasivan in his debut movie Bhoothakalam made us sit up and take notice of him. Bhoothakalam is a well-made horror genre movie that kept us guessing whether the protagonists are hallucinating because of their state of mind or encountering supernatural powers. Rahul Sadavisan scores another ace with his second outing Brahmayugam. I would say he is one of the handful of directors from Kollywood and Mollywood

 

Manjummel Boys – A well-crafted survival thriller

Official Trailer: Malayalam film industry has kick started 2024 on a high. In span of two months, we have Malaikottai Vaaliban, Brahmayugam, and now Manjummel Boys. We can be lenient and add Kaathal – The Core (released November 2023) to the list. All different genre movies. What is common between them is the high confidence on the content, writing, and bold film making. Manjummel Boys is based on a true

 

Fast Cuts – Greatest night in pop, Devil in Ohio, The Sinner, Chestnut Man, Fool me Once

Greatest night in pop: Check your ego at the door For those who love the pop songs and the singers from the 80s, Greatest night in pop, the documentary is a great trip down the memory lane. Nostalgic and emotional. Around 40 pop icons getting together to record a song is something out of ordinary, once in a lifetime opportunity like celestial event. IIRC, this is the first-time famous singers