Keerthiswaran’s ‘Dude’ is a smart, funny, progressive comedy that shatters many Tamil cinema tropes
Pradeep Ranganathan and Mamitha Baiju are in top form in a relationship story that is chaotic in a good way. I can’t reveal much, but the film is […]
Tamil
Shanmugam Muthusamy’s ‘Diesel’ is a massy saviour story that runs out of fuel pretty quickly
Harish Kalyan plays a young man from a fishing community who has to battle many enemies, from an uncaring government to uncaring private enterprises. The film also wants
Mari Selvaraj’s ‘Bison’ is a powerful, beautifully told story of a sportsman and the violence around him
Dhruv plays a kabaddi player who faces hurdles not just due to caste but also due to the violence in the areas around his home. His long journey
Dhanush’s ‘Idli Kadai’ has great ideas, but they don’t come together satisfactorily
Dhanush plays a man who returns to his village after a stint abroad, and he wants to continue his father’s modest food business. He also wants to continue
Dhanush’s ‘Idli Kadai’ has great ideas, but they don’t come together satisfactorily Read More
Arun Prabu Purushothaman’s ‘Shakthi Thirumagan’ is a pacy vigilante thriller that slowly runs out of steam
Vijay Antony plays a mover-and-shaker who can get anything done for you at a cost. But when he gets caught, the film turns into a tired old vigilante
Athiyan Athirai’s ‘Thandakaaranyam’ has a powerful core that needed more convincing writing
Dinesh and Kalaiyarasan play siblings from a marginalised community. The crux of the film is from real life, an incident involving Naxals. But the screenplay bites off more
AR Murugadoss’s ‘Madharaasi’, with Sivakarthikeyan, is a generic, overlong action movie
There are some clever plot points. But these aren’t consistently integrated into the writing, and the film eventually turns into a numbing stretch of action. The rest of
AR Murugadoss’s ‘Madharaasi’, with Sivakarthikeyan, is a generic, overlong action movie Read More
Varsha Bharath’s ‘Bad Girl’ is a spirited deep-dive into the head of a woman who is stifled by society
Anjali Sivaraman plays a girl who is “different” from those around her, and the film doesn’t judge her or feel sorry for her or even explain her. We
Lokesh Kanagaraj’s ‘Coolie’, starring Rajinikanth, is the perfect 50th-anniversary present from the director to his star
Rajinikanth gets to play a dignified character in an action-drama that (mostly) hits the right notes. This is a star movie that respects the star, and does not
Gowtam Tinnanuri’s ‘Kingdom’ has Vijay Deverakonda carrying a story that needed more emotion
The cleanly written film is about a Chosen One. It is also a story about brothers, and a spy thriller. But these various strands don’t merge satisfactorily. The
Sudheesh Sankar’s ‘Maareesan’ (Vadivelu, Fahadh Faasil) has good ideas that don’t quite come together
The film is a road movie and a social-justice thriller. At a conceptual level, it’s certainly interesting. But the execution is a letdown. The rest of this review
Pandiraj’s ‘Thalaivan Thalaivii’ (Vijay Sethupathi, Nithya Menen) has a few laughs buried under a lot of loud drama
The film is about a husband and wife who love each other but also keep fighting. It’s vaguely watchable, but nothing more. The rest of this review may