#CelluloidCritic

Critic - No.165 Director: Karthik Subburaj Casts:  Rajinikanth, Vjay Sethupathi, Nawazuddin Siddiqui, Simran, Trisha, Bobby Simha, Sanath, Mega Akash Language: Tamil Genre: Action / Drama Music: Anirudh SYNOPSIS: Kaali (Rajinikanth) joins a college as a hostel warden and sets things in order in his own playful way, from playing Cupid to a young couple (Megha Akash and Sanath), romancing the girl's mother (Simran) to putting the rowdy boys, headed by Michael (Bobby Simha) in their place. But there is more to him than meets the eye. REVIEW: Even though Rajini has been actively churning out movies in the past 2 to 3 years, one might miss the Superstar’s core style that is perceived to be his unique strength and the reason for dominating the industry for the past 40 years. But thanks to the die-hard fan turned director, Karthik Subburaj who fills the void by creating pure ‘mass’ film with Rajini’s style stamped over each frame. Karthik Subburaj, who is know...

Critic - No.164 Director:  Siva Casts:  Ajithkumar, Nayanthara, Anikha, Vivek, Jagupathi Language:  Tamil Genre:  Action / Drama Music:  D.Imman SYNOPSIS: Thookudurai (Ajith), a village ruffian, clashes with a big shot to protect his long separated family. REVIEW: After a dismal product like  Vivegam , many eyebrows were raised when director Siva signed Ajith for the fourth time. In my opinion, except, their first outing  Veeram  (2014), none of the others made a big emotional connection with the audience. However, after watching this film, we get a sense of how the team has applied all the lessons learned from their past fumbles. Siva is clearly more comfortable in rural subject and  Viswasam  oozes with that confidence right from the first frame where he opens with a series of Ariel shots of the village greenery. He takes a beaten to death story and has tried to treat it with energy from frame to frame. By focus sing...

In my opinion, 2018 was a healthier year than last year with increasing number of quality films that were delivered by young filmmakers who dared to explore with their content. We also saw experienced, proven filmmakers like Mani Ratnam, Shankar and A.R.Murgadoss churning out films from their hearts with the biggest actors of Kollywood. And here are my sincere thoughts on Kollywood 2018 as we wrap up the year. *Ranking are based on profits, critical acclaim and my overall opinions on the films 20) THAANA SERNTHA KOOTAM Consensus: Vignesh Sivan and Surya combo garnered lots of attention due to the former’s previous film, ‘Naanum Rowdy Thaan’ which elevated Vijay Sethupathi’s character. The film was entertaining and was a clear Pongal winner thrashing Sketch and Gulebagavali to emerge as a box office hit. The only problem I had with this film was the over use of commercial elements, especially the climax that diluted the original idea of Special 26. Nevertheless, ...