#CelluloidCritic

Critic No. 260 Director: Wregas Bhanuteja Written by: Henricus Pria, Wregus Bhanuteja Produced by: Rekata Studio, Kaninga Pictures Casts : Shenina Syawalita Cinnamon, Chicco Kurniawan, Ltesha, Jerome Kurnia, Dea Panendra, Giulio Parengkuan Music: Yennu Ariendra Language: Indonesian Genre: Crime / Drama / Mystery SYNOPSIS:  After losing her school scholarship when photos of her at a party surfaced online, Suryani pairs with a photocopy worker to piece together what happened. REVIEW: This is the first feature from Jakarta-born Wregas Bhanuteja, following a series of critically acclaimed, award-winning short films, Lembusura (2015), Prenjak/In The Year Of Monkey (2016) and No One Is Crazy In This Town (2019). Photocopier is a powerful, thought-provoking debut that not only may connect best with audiences in the domestic market but also certainly promises to garner the interest of the festival circuit. The film kicks off with Sur (Shenina Syawalita Cinnamon), a first-year computing st

Critic No. 259 Director: Rahul Sadasivan Written by: Rahul Sadasivan Produced by: Teresa Rani, Sunila Habeeb Casts : Revathi, Shane Nigam, Saiju Kurup Music: Gopi Sundar (score), Shane Nigam (song) Language: Malayalam Genre: Drama, Horror, Mystery SYNOPSIS:  Following the death of a family member, a mother and son experience mysterious events which distort their sense of reality and make them question their sanity. REVIEW: Holding on to the core essence of the film and pacing it gradually in a horror film is an art and in Bhoothakaalam , I would say that director Rahul Sadasivan has honed it quite well. By creating a minimalist, eerie psychological horror that keeps you uneasy from the very first scene with flawed, affected characters, Sadasivan has patiently crafted a no nonsense realistic horror. A young graduate, Vinu who is on the lookout for a job, stays with his mom, Asha (Revathi) and grandmother, both of whom suffer from various ailments. The grandmother’s death further impa

Critic No. 258 Director: M. Night Shyamalan Written by: M. Night Shyamalan (Based on ‘Sandcastle’ by Pierre Oscar Levy, Frederik Peeters) Produced by: M. Night Shyamalan, Marc Bienstock, Ashwin Rajan Casts : Gael Garcia Bernal, Vicky Krieps, Rufus Sewell, Alex Wolff, Emun Elliot, Thomasin Mckenzie, Embeth Davidtz Language: English Genre: Drama, Horror, Mystery SYNOPSIS:  A vacationing family discovers that the secluded beach where they're relaxing for a few hours is somehow causing them to age rapidly, reducing their entire lives into a single day. REVIEW: M.Night Shyamalan is an unique storyteller and his thrillers have always intrigued us due to its unconventional treatment, eerie atmosphere and his masterful third act twist. Of course, in the latter part of his career, his films started to get mixed reviews while his fans still loved his craziness he brings to the table (excluding the dismal movies, The Last Airbender (2010) and After Earth (2013)). He made a good comeback

Critic No. 257 Director: Darbuka Siva Written by: Darbuka Siva Produced by: Sameer Bharat Ram Casts : Kishen Das, Meetha Raghunath, Harish Kumar, Amritha Mandarine, Varun Rajan, Darbuka Siva Language: Tamil Genre: Drama, Romance Music: Darbuka Siva SYNOPSIS:  ‘Mudhalum Nee Mudivum Nee’ is a tale about a bunch of high school students, their dreams, first love, music, guitar, football, video cassettes, and more that dwells into the sweet moments of the 90s.  REVIEW: High school love stories have been tried and tested in various forms in Indian cinema and only a few manage to get the essence of the moments without sounding too convoluted or melodramatic. Personally, I resonate with such campus stories and one such film was Gautham Menon’s ‘Neethane Pon Vasantham’ . Even this film feels like an inspiration of that film but MNMN widens its perspective by touching on various characters around the main lead pair. There have been also disasters we see every year who take on this high scho

Critic No. 256 Director: Sukumar Written by: Sukumar Produced by: Naveen Yerneni, Y. Ravi Shankar Casts : Allu Arjun, Fahadh Fazil, Rashmika Mandanna, Sunil Language: Telugu Genre: Action Music: Devi Sri Prasad SYNOPSIS:  Pushpa Raj (Allu Arjun) a coolie, volunteers to smuggle red sanders, a rare wood that only grows in Andhra, with the help of novel ideas to smuggle the red sanders. Pushpa quickly becomes the leader of the red sanders smuggling network. While Pushpa is at his prime, a ruthless police officer Bhanwar Singh Shekhawat (Fahadh Faasil) takes charge as SP and ridicules Pushpa for his lineage. REVIEW: After the much entertaining Ala Vaikunthapurramuloo, Allu Arjun is back with the contrasting Pushpa: The Rise , a larger-than-life, village-based action film. After a terrific show in Rangasthalam (2018), director Sukumar strikes back with an expensive pan Indian film that had stirred a great hype even before the release thanks to Devi Sri Prasad’s chartbuster album as well.