#CelluloidCritic

Critic No. 310 Director: Martin McDonagh Written by: Martin McDonagh Produced by: Film4 Productions, Blueprint Pictures Casts : Colin Farrell, Brendan Gleeson, Kerry Condon, Barry Keoghan Music: Carter Burwell Language: English Genre: Comedy, Drama SYNOPSIS:  Two lifelong friends find themselves at an impasse when one abruptly ends their relationship, with alarming consequences for both of them. REVIEW: Thinking about Martin’s Academy Award-winning Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri , still gives me goosebumps for the amount of intensity the film possesses despite its beautiful stillness. In ‘The Banshees of Inisherin’ , McDonagh creates a visually dazzling film that on the surface talks about a complex relationship between two men but dives deeper with its symbolic social commentary on war, peace, and sorrow. I loved the way how the genre shifts from comedy to drama sharply but makes us feel bad to laugh at some tragic but outright funny sequences. As much as we connect wit

Critic No. 309 Director: Park Chan-wook Written by: Park Chan-wook, Jeong Seo-kyeong Produced by: Moho Films Casts : Wei Tang, Park Hae-il, Lee Jung-hyun, Go Kyung-Pyo Music: Jo Yeong-wook Language: Korean Genre: Crime, Drama, Mystery SYNOPSIS:  From a mountain peak in South Korea, a man plummets to his death. Did he jump, or was he pushed? When detective Hae-joon (Park Hai-il) arrives on the scene, he begins to suspect the dead man's wife Seo-rae (Wei Tang). But as he digs deeper into the investigation, he finds himself trapped in a web of deception and desire. REVIEW: From a director who is known for his shocking ideas and challenging ideas, Park has evolved into more of an artist who has a passionate eye over exploring the undercurrent of desire and the questionable actions of flawed human beings. In ‘ Decision to Leave ’ Park reinvents those Hitchcokian tropes of neo-noir into something more delicate and lyrical.  Though some might find it burning a little slow, I found the

Critic No. 308 Director: Maria Schrader Written by: Rebecca Lenkiewicz Produced by: Annapurna Pictures, Plan B Entertainment Casts : Carey Mulligan, Zoe Kazan, Patricia Clarkson, Andre Bracugher Music: Nicholas Braier Language: English Genre: Drama, History SYNOPSIS:  New York Times reporters Megan Twohey and Jodi Kantor break one of the most important stories in a generation - a story that helped ignite a movement and shattered decades of silence around the subject of sexual assault in Hollywood. REVIEW: The fight against the patriarchy, and the long-standing structures that created and enabled the pain inflicted by Harvey Weinstein’s darkest assaults, is hardly over. The New York Times reporters Jodi Kantor (Zoe Kazan) and Megan Twohey (Carey Mulligan) is a truly historical moment worth celebrating and showcasing, and “She Said,” based on Kantor and Twohey’s book about their investigation, is more than just facts and figures. Maria Schrader expresses the painful journey in an up

Critic No 307 Director: Mark Mylod Written by: Will Tracy, Seth Reiss Produced by: Hyperobject Industries, Gary Sanchez Productions Casts : Ralph Fiennes, Anya Taylor-Joy, Nicholas Hoult, Hong Chau Music: Colin Stetson Language: English Genre: Comedy, Horror, Thriller SYNOPSIS:  A young couple travels to a remote island to eat at an exclusive restaurant where the chef has prepared a lavish menu with shocking surprises. REVIEW: The film centers around the aforementioned exclusive dining experience, which sees Tyler and Margot joining 10 other extremely rich guests to travel by boat to a private island. Waiting on that island is the enigmatic Chef Slowik (Ralph Fiennes) and his blank-faced, highly trained team, who operate more like an army unit than kitchen staff as they serve the guests a series of incredibly pretentious (and increasingly odd) courses. Things get more and more creepy as the pretentious course comes with a shocking surprise.  The film did remind me of Luis Brunel’s

Critic No. 306 Director: Vamshi Paidipally Written by: Vamshi Paidipally, Hari, Ashishor Solomon, Vivek Produced by: Sri Venkateswara Creations, PVP Cinema Casts : Vijay, R Sarathkumar, Prakash Raj, Shaam, Srikanth, Yogi Babu, Rashmika Mandanna, Jayasudha, Sangeetha Krish, Samyuktha Music: Thaman S Language: Tamil Genre: Action, Drama SYNOPSIS:  The prodigal son (Vijay) of a business tycoon (R Sarathkumar) agrees to take over the reins of the business, but can he prove himself to be a worthy successor with danger and jealousy lurking around him? REVIEW: From the very first promotions of ‘Varisu’ many have guessed that the film will have familiar tropes of Telugu family dramas and even 90s Tamil films that audiences used to love for its portrayal of intricate family relationships. However, after the trailer was released, many were quite skeptical that the film might go into a heavy melodramatic region without a new treatment. However, for me, it was neither here nor there. And that

Critic No. 305 Director: H. Vinoth Written by: H. Vinoth Produced by: Bayview Projects LLP, Zee Studios Casts : Ajith Kumar, Manju Warrier, Samuthirakani, John Kokken, Pavani Reddy, Ciby, Bagavathi Perumal, Ajay, Prem Kumar, Amir Music: Ghibran Language: Tamil Genre: Action, Adventure, Thriller SYNOPSIS:  A mysterious mastermind (Ajith Kumar) and his team form a plan and commit bank heists across Chennai, but their motive of the heists remains mysterious. REVIEW: Contrary to many opinions, I felt that H.Vinoth and Ajith Kumar’s previous venture ‘Valimai’ had some layers of research but the true intention was destroyed by the unnecessary melodramatic family sentiments. In ‘Thunivu’ H.Vinoth gets to the story right in the first minute and till the end frame, there are no gaps moving at a super fast pace that keeps you guessing.  The film does full justice to its action genre and without suffocating, Vinoth moves the narrative with well balanced action set pieces that gradually becom

Critic No. 304 Director: Chella Ayyavu Written by: Chella Ayyavu Produced by: RT Team Works, VV Studioz Casts : Vishnu Vishal, Aishwarya Lekshmi, Karunas, Sreeja Ravi, Munishkanth, Kaali Venkat, Redin Kingsley Music: Justin Prabhakaran Language: Tamil Genre: Comedy, Drama SYNOPSIS:  When wrestling champ Keerthi (Aishwarya Lekshmi) enters an arranged marriage with a chauvinistic Veera (Vishnu Vishal), she scrambles to be a traditional wife while hiding her true self. REVIEW: The first thing the film stuck me with was its heavy flavor and tropes of 90s village dramas about a protagonist seeking his perfect partner who is homely and feminine. The male lead who is boosting is male ego by involving into ‘katta panchayat’ fights while killing his time riding his bike. There is the hero's mama who constantly reminds him that men are made to overpower women and a stock villain who struts around with his henchmen. We even have a first-night scene and a drinking scene where liquor is po

Critic No. 303 Director: Ra. Karthik Written by: Ra. Karthik Produced by: Viacom18 Studios, Rise East Entertainment Casts : Ashok Selvan, Ritu Varma, Aparna Balamurali, Sshivada, Shivathmika Rajasekar Language: Tamil Genre: Drama SYNOPSIS:  Veera (Ashok Selvan) who has OCD happens to read two real stories and goes in search of the endings that lead him to ultimately alter his view about life. REVIEW: What starts off as a typical tried and tested track in Kollywood is about a hero wallowing in bitterness because the bride his parents found for him breaks off the marriage, choosing her boyfriend instead. However, debutant director Karthik throws in a sweet surprise by turning the story into a quirky, moving tale about second chances.  To admit, the film does start a little shakily with Veera’s character coming off as a little too loud with the OCD nature (which conveniently disappears after a while) coming off as artificial. However,  as Veera starts to read the stories in the diary a