#CelluloidCritic

Critic - No.186 Director : Sudha Kongara, Vignesh Shivan, Gautham Vasudev Menon, Vetrimaaran Produced by:  RSVP Movies, Flying Unicorn Entertainment Casts:  Kalidas Jayaram, Shanthanu Bhahyaraj, Bhavani Sre, Anjali, Kalki Koechlin, Padam Kumar, Simran, Gautham Vasudev Menon, Adithya Bhaskar, Prakash Raj, Sai Pallavi, Hari Krishnan Language:  Tamil Music:  Justin Prabhakaran, Anirudh, Karthik, R Sivatmikha Genre:  Drama   SYNOPSIS:  At times dark, at times disturbing, four short films explore 4 stories of those who dare to dream and desire - and those determined to stand in their way.   REVIEW: Paava Kadhaigal , directed by Sudha Kongara, Gautham Vasudev Menon, Vignesh Shivan, and Vetri Maaran is an anthology of four stories that delve into the various facets of honour killing that is still quite prevalent in some parts of India. Shot before the Covid-19 pandemic, Paava Kadhaigal is the 2 nd Tamil anthology that is released this year that looks more confident, int

  Critic - No.185 Director : Yujiro Harumoto Produced by:  Toei Company, Ltd. Casts:   Kumi Takiuchi , Ken Mitsuishi, Masahiro Umeda Language:  Japanese Genre:  Drama   SYNOPSIS:  Documentary director Yuko (Kumi Takiuchi ) portrays a school violence incident from three years ago that resulted in suicides, while she was teaching classes at her father’s cram school. As her documentary project progresses, Yuko discovers a hidden truth and becomes deeply involved in the lives of the families pained by that secret truth.   REVIEW: The film starts off by portraying a fiery documentary filmmaker who demands impartiality and truth through her current scandalous case. The film then takes an interesting route when Yuko re-evaluates her lofty principles when she realises that a scandal is about to break much closer to home. Through a gripping subject matter and well-etched characters, A Balance  gives a revealing insight into Japan’s culture of shame, which spreads like a stai

  Critic - No.  184 Director : Charlène Favier Produced by:  The Party Film Sales Casts:  Noée Abita , Jérémie Renier, Marie Denarnaud Language:  French Genre:  Drama   SYNOPSIS:  Under the guidance of Fred, a strict ex-champion, a promising 15 year old girl, Lyz trains as a professional skiing star. Will she be able to endure the physical and emotional roadblocks along the way?   REVIEW:   For a debut feature, writer-director Charlène Favier comes up with a powerful coming-of-age sports drama that engrosses you into the whirlwind of emotions of a sexually abused, skiing star. Lyz Lopez gets accepted to a prestigious ski training academy in the French Alps. Isolated in a lily-white snow globe that plays out like a metaphorical symbol of her spiralling emotions, the academy trains the prodigies in hopes for the Olympic win of the country. In just the first 30 minutes, we kind of understand that Lyz is not just blinded by her own ambitions of alpine glory; she’s jus

Critic - No.  183 Director : Remi M. Sali Produced by:  Studio59 Concepts Casts:  Siti Mastura Alwi , Sarah Ariffin, Vincent Tee Language:  English, Malay Genre:  Comedy, Romance   SYNOPSIS:  Sarah, a Malay Muslim, is the daughter of a celebrity chef. In a bid to strike out on her own as a baker without living under her mother's fame, she engages Edwin to produce her baking vlogs. Despite the initial rocky encounters, they begin developing feelings for each other. But they face an awkward problem: Edwin's parents run a roast pork stall. How do the two families bridge this cultural gulf?     REVIEW:   As a multi-racial society, Singapore has a vast range of people coming from a different cultural backgrounds with a various belief systems. It is always interesting to listen to interracial couples on how they fall in love and eventually cross the bridge of marriage. In ‘Not My Mother’s Baking’ , Remi M.Sali takes an interesting angle on the interracial roma

Critic - No.  182 Director: RJ Balaji & N.J. Saravanan Producer: Ishari K Ganesh (Vels Film International) Casts:  RJ Balaji, Nayanthara, Urvashi Language: Tamil Genre: Comedy / Fantasy Music: Girishh G   SYNOPSIS: A small-time TV reporter Engels Ramasamy (RJ Balaji), who has been gathering evidence to expose a self-styled godman for years, gets help from his ancestral Goddess Mookuthi Amman (Nayanthara) who appears in front of him one day. How does he utilise the situation to bring down the godman before the public? REVIEW: RJ Balaji, the co-director and main cast of the film has always been interested in discussing sensitive social and political topics, both offscreen and onscreen. After delivering a sleeper hit, LKG, Balaji returns again to whip another religious-political satire with an interesting satirical twist. As the synopsis suggests, the film has a mix of fantasy, comedy and some spoof kid of Goddess film trademarks we have seen in Indian cinema in the past decades.

Critic - No. 181 Director: Sudha Kongara Producer: Surya (2D Entertainment), Guneert Monga (Sikhya Entertainment) Casts:  Surya, Paresh Rawal, Aparna Balamurali, Urvashi, Mohan Babu, Language: Tamil Genre: Drama Music: G.V. Prakash Kumar   SYNOPSIS: Nedumaaran Rajangam (Surya) a.k.a "Maara", sets out to make the common man fly and takes on the world's most capital-intensive industry with the help of his friends, family and sheer power. REVIEW: Based on Captain GR Gopinath's novel, Simply Fly and other 'stories from the aviation industry', Sudha Kongara's Soorarai Pottru is an inspiring film about a common man who had big ambition.   The film revolves around Nedumaaran Rajangam (Suriya), the son of a school teacher (Poo Ramu) in a Madurai village, who decides to start a low-cost airline for the less privileged. His aspiration is challenged in all directions by Paresh Goswami (Paresh Rawal), a leader in the aviation industry, who ensures that his drea

Critic - No.180 Director: Krishna Marimuthu Producer: Screen Scene Media Entertainment Pvt Ltd Casts:  Harish Kalyan, Vivekh, Tanya Hope Language: Tamil Genre: Comedy / Romance Music: Anirudh Ravichander, Sean Roldan, Vivek-Mervin, Inno Genga, Madley Blues, Bhrath Shankar (also BGM), Kaber Vasuki, Ooorka SYNOPSIS: A shrewd fertility clinic owner, Kannadasan (Vivekh) convinces an unemployed and happy-go-lucky guy, Prabhu (Harish) to become a sperm donor. But little did the latter know that it would land him in trouble with his love of his life, Nidhi (Tanya Hope). REVIEW: Not many films have succeeded into translating the essence of a Hindi film aptly into the South Indian flavour. A good example is Settai (remake of Delhi Belly ). Especially narrating a taboo issue like sperm donation to a relatively conservative South Indian audience is a challenge. But debut director, Krishna Marimuthu has done almost a perfect job in executing this up hill

My Predictions for 92nd Academy Awards WW = 'Will Win' DH = 'Dark Horse' Best Picture Ford v Ferrari  The Irishman  Jojo Rabbit  Joker  Little Women  Marriage Story  1917 (WW) Once upon a Time...in Hollywood Parasite  (DH) Best International Feature Corpus Christi  Honeyland  Les Misérables  Pain and Glory (DH) Parasite (WW) Best Animated Feature How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World  I Lost My Body  Klaus  Missing Link (DH) Toy Story 4 (WW) Best Documentary Feature American Factory (WW) The Cave  The Edge of Democracy  For Sama (DH) Honeyland  Best Director The Irishman  Joker  Sam Mendes, 1917 (WW) Once upon a Time...in Hollywood  Bong Joon-ho, Parasite (DH) Best Leading Actor Antonio Banderas, Pain and Glory  Leonardo DiCaprio, Once upon a Time...in Hollywood  Adam Driver, Marriage Story (DH) Joaquin Phoenix, Joker (WW) Jonathan Pryce, The Two Popes  Best Leading Actress