Category: Movies

Super Deluxe – A Director’s cut that is a wholesome cinematic experience

[SPOILERS AHEAD…] Official Trailer: First things first, this kind of movie is a first for Kollywood. Last few years we have got new crop of promising directors like Manikandan, Lenin Bharathi, Karthik Subbaraj, Mysskin, Prem Kumar, Maari Selvaraj, Vijay Kumar, Nalan K, Lokesh (and few more) who have brought in new blood to Kollywood with their interesting stories and narrative style. Thiagarajan Kumararaja (TK) has raised the bar with his

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Fast Cuts – Nathicharami and Thimiru Pudichavan

Thimiru Pudichavan – a good time pass pulp masala movie where the director has a good handle on the genre and surprises the audience with an interesting take in few crucial scenes. This makes the movie work unlike movies like Tirupachi, Arul, or Tirupathi. Biriyani scene, encounter between Meesai Padma and Murugavel at the 5-star hotel, interaction between Murugavel and a father at the station with crow-water-stone story, worked so

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Short Takes – Thadam – a satisfying thriller

Official Trailer: Exiting the movie hall, you get the feel of having watched an engaging, satisfying thriller. You have nothing but appreciation for the director, Magizh Thirumeni. This is a director’s movie, and things fall in place with all others contributing to director’s vision. He does takes time to setup the premise, but post that director makes sure we play catch up with the him. Thrill of watching who-done-it thrillers

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Sarvam Taala Mayam – can beats break the barrier?

Official Trailer: Director follows the sports template, how an underdog breaks into the chosen field working against the odds with the help of a coach. Here we have an aspiring youth, Peter Johnson, from a family of mridangam makers, who wants to become a mridangam artist. Peter is not aware of the caste barriers; how Carnatic music has been dominated by Brahmins and other castes are not easily allowed in,

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Peranbu – a poignant story beautifully narrated

[SPOILERS AHEAD…] Official trailer: In Peranbu, we follow the coming of age of Amudhavan, father of spastic daughter, how he relearns the environment and world around him as he connects with his daughter. We get a peek into few incidents of Amudhavan’s life as chapters. I have nothing but great appreciation for Director Ram, for his vision, diving deep on the issue, boldness, and sensitive handling. When is the last

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Petta – A full length Rajni entertainer

[SPOILERS AHEAD…] Official trailer: It is a great fun to see vintage Rajni walk the screen with his signature swag, and hear his magnetic and mesmerizing voice and dialogue delivery. After a long gap, we get a Rajni who is fully relaxed and he rocks us with his mischievous streak. Add to this peppy BGM that elevates the mood of the film, the first half just zips through. Director Karthik

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25 Years of Amaidhipadai and Mahanadhi

If someone makes a list of top Tamil movies, I can tell you that high probability you will find both Amaidhipadai and Mahanadhi in that list. Both were released in 1994. Both have gone on to become movies we still remember and talk about irrespective how they did at BO when they got released. Both are in my favorite movies list. Amaidhipadai tracks the life of Amavasai who from being

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Movies I liked from 2018 watched list

It is always fun to look back on the year that has gone by and list the movies that made it to your top list from the movies you watched. My list includes not just the movies that got released in 2018 but also movies I caught up with from my watchlist, movies I missed from earlier years. I am not a fan of ranking the movies. So, the movies

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Merku Thodarchi Malai – Excellent Visual Show and Tell Cinema where the Tell is left to the audience

Official movie trailer: Since the movie never got a release in Bangalore, had to wait for it to show up in a streaming site. So, the delayed writeup – it showed up on Netflix, I guess beginning of this year. Considering the payoff, it is worth the wait. This is one of the best movies of 2018, along with Pariyerum Perumal these two movies stand way ahead of all other

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2.0 – an impressive 3D VFX spectacle that would have worked great with better writing

Official Trailer: It is a goosebumps moment as each letter of Super Star rolled in 3D in the title sequence. From the title sequence till the end, 3D worked with effective use of depth and I found 2.0 to be much better than many Hollywood 3D fares. After initial 3D euphoria, I switched to 2D version since with 3D I felt either lighting to be dull or subjects appear smaller

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