#CelluloidCritic

Critic No. 250 Director: Venkat Prabhu Written by: Venkat Prabhu Produced by: V House Productions Casts: Silambarasan, S.J.Suryah, Kalyani Priyadarshan, Y.G,Mahendran, Chandrasekar, Premji Amaren, Karunakaran, Manoj Bharathiraja, S.A.Chandrasekar Music: Yuvan Shankar Raja Language: Tamil Genre: Action, Sci-Fi, Thriller SYNOPSIS:  During a flight trip to a friend’s wedding, Abdul Khaliq (Silambarasan) soon is caught in a time loop that serves as a significant chance for him to stop a political assassination and a racial riot. REVIEW: After a flying start with Chennai 600028 (2007), Venkat Prabhu was touted to be an important director to change the dynamics of Tamil cinema back then. However, after a series of unique films till Mankatha (2011), he dropped in form and couldn’t manage to rise up for almost a decade. Similarly, Silambarasan also gave a series of thoroughly disappointing back to back flops for the recent years and ‘Eswaran’ that was released this year not only gave a g

Critic No. 249 Director: Karthik Swaminathan Written by: Karthik Swaminathan Produced by: Vijay Sethupathi Productions Casts: Vijay Sethupathi, Regina Cassandra, Shreeja Vijay Sethupathi Music: Revaa Language: Tamil Genre: Drama SYNOPSIS:  To help his daughter (Shreeja) with a fear of dogs, a father (Vijay Sethupathi) brings home a pup. But when tragedy strikes, the whole family must learn to overcome grief together. REVIEW: Vijay Sethupathi is one fine actor in Indian cinema that loves to experiment. He has never shied away from trying something new even if it has a limited audience attached to it. ‘Mugizh’ is one fine example of how he embraces innovation and wants to make films that add value to the ecosystem of Tamil cinema.  ‘Mugizh’ focuses on a family of three, Kavya (Shreeja), and her parents, Radhika (Regina Cassandra), Vijay (Vijay Sethupathi). In order to help Kavya overcome her fear of dogs, Vijay brings home a beagle pup, and they name him Scooby. Kavya learns to love

Critic No. 248 Director: Anand Shankar Written by: Anand Shankar Produced by: Mini Studios Casts: Vishal, Aarya, Thambi Ramaiah, Mamta Mohandas, Mirnalini Ravi, Prakash Raj, Karunakaran Music: S Thaman (songs), Sam C.S (score) Language: Tamil Genre: Action, Thriller SYNOPSIS:  Chozhan (Vishal) crosses path with his long lost childhood friend (Aarya) when the investigation on the bombings happen in the locality where he loses few of his loved ones. Will he be able to stop his long lost friend who has now turned into a deadly enemy? REVIEW: Anand Shankar has always focused on giving the audience action driven thrillers in the span of 3 films in his career. While Arima Nambi worked wonders as a good debut, Iru Mugan has tons of commercial liberties though the film ended up as a blockbuster. With 2 strong actors in hand with a juicy plot this time, will Anand Shankar manage to give a more focused film with Enemy ?  The film starts off with an epilogue showing an ex-CBI officer, Paari

Critic No. 247 Director: T.J Gnanvel Written by: T.J Gnanvel Produced by: 2D Entertainment  Casts: Suriya, Lijomol Jose, K.Mainkanden, Rajisha Vijayan, Prakash Raj, Guru Somasundram, Thamizh Music: Sean Roldan Language: Tamil Genre: Drama, Thriller SYNOPSIS:  Sengeni (Lijomol Jose), a pregnant woman from a primitive tribal community, searches desperately for her husband (K.Manikanden), who is missing from police custody. So as to find her husband and seek justice for them, as their voice, a High Court advocate, Chandru (Suriya) rises in support. REVIEW: From the first few scenes, you will sense that the film is going into the route of recent Tamil films about caste oppression and police brutality like, Visaranai (2015), Pariyerum Perumal (2018), Kavalthurai Ungal Nanban (2020) and Karnan (2021). However, Jai Bhim throws us a few surprises and takes us closer to the oppressed community through an intense, investigative thriller that layers its mystery quite effectively.  The plo

Critic No. 246 Director: Siva Written by: Siva, Savari Muthu, Antony Bhagyaraj, Chandran Pachaimuthu Produced by: Sun Pictures Casts: Rajinikanth, Keerthy Suresh, Khushbu, Meena, Soori, Jagapahti Babu, Abhimanyu Singh, Prakash Raj Music: D Imman Language: Tamil Genre: Action, Drama SYNOPSIS:  Kaalaiyan’s (Rajinikanth) beloved sister, Thanagameenakshi (Keerthy Suresh) returns to her village after her studies and soon the family arranges for her grand marriage. Fate strikes with a different plan when circumstances lead Thangam to get into a web of trouble and Kaalaiyan has to save her before it's too late.  REVIEW: After giving a blockbuster emotional film like ‘Viswasam’ , all eyes were on ‘Annatthe’ as it marks Rajinikanth’s return to a village space drama after a very long time. Known to balance melodrama with the right mix of ‘masala’ ingredients, on paper Siva really looked like a perfect fit to shape a vintage Rajini film. So did ‘Annatthe’ crackle as expected?’ ‘Annatthe’