#CelluloidCritic

Critic No. 255 Director: Banjong Pisanthanakun Written by: Chantavit Dhanasevi, Na Hong-jin, Choi Cha-won Produced by: GDH 559, Showbox, Northern Cross Casts :Narilya Gulmongkolpech, Sawanee Utoomma, Sirani Yankittikan, Yasaka Chaisorn  Language: Thai Genre: Horror SYNOPSIS:  In a clash of superstition and rationalism, a shaman priestess, Nim (Sawanee Utoomm), goes home to the Thai countryside, only to witness her niece, Mink (Narilya Gulmongkolpech) succumb to demonic possession.  REVIEW: In 2004, Banjong Pisanthanakun and then-collaborator Parkpoom Wongpoom kickstarted their directorial careers with Shutter (2004) a supernatural thriller that kind of flipped the industry a little and was so effective till it’s been remade three times to date. Marking his return to straight horror after a few very successful romance flicks and one more comedically slanted genre film, Pee Mak (2013), this demonic possession mockumentary is a thoroughly affecting horror film that sets out to voice ou

Critic No. 254 Director: Anand L.Rai Written by: Himanshu Sharma Produced by: T-Series, Colour Yellow Productions, Cape of Good Films Casts: Dhanush, Sara Ali Khan, Akshay Kumar Music: A.R.Rahman Language: Hindi Genre: Comedy, Drama, Romance SYNOPSIS:  Rinku (Sara Ali Khan) who attempts to run away with her lover multiple times gets caught and forcefully married to Vishnu (Dhanush) who has been already engaged back in his hometown. The love triangle intensifies when Rinku’s lover Sajjad (Akshay Kumar) shows up. REVIEW: From the day go, Atrangi Re has been on the news with great hype especially with a winning combo Dhanush-Anand L Rai-A.R.Rahman behind the blockbuster Raanjhanaa (2013) returning back again for film. The album of Atrangi Re has become a chartbuster and the interesting cast ensemble has also garnered lots of interest in the film. Will the magic og Raanjhanaa repeat again? The film takes off with a quick start with the feisty, bold Rinku on the run to elope with

Critic No 253 Director: Basil Joseph Written by: Arun Anirudhan, Justin Mathew Produced by: Weekend Blockbusters Casts: Tovino Thomas, Guru Somasundaram, Aju Varghese, Bajju, Harisree Ashokan, Femina George Music: Sushin Shyam, Shaan Rahman Language: Malayalam Genre: Action, Adventure, Comedy SYNOPSIS:  Jaison (Tovino Thomas), a tailor in a small village gains special powers after being struck by lightning, but must take down an unexpected foe if he is to become the superhero his hometown needs. REVIEW: Superhero films are generally quite rare in Indian cinema and the existing ones have all succumbed to either overloading hero glorification or suffered with underdeveloped characters and lack of focus in narration. When ‘Minnal Murali’ was first announced, honestly I really felt that this was probably going to join the short list of underwhelming Indian superhero films. Little did I know that I was in for a stunner.  Jaison (Tovino Thomas) is just another boy-next-door with big dre

Critic No. 252 Director: Jon Watts Written by: Chris McKenna, Erik Sommers Produced by: Columbia Pictures, Marvel Studios, Pascal Pictures Casts : Tom Holland, Zendaya, Benedict Cumberbatch, Jacob Batalon, Jon Favreu, Marisa Tomei, Willem Dafoe, Alfred Molina Language: English Genre: Action / Adventure / Fantasy SYNOPSIS:  With Spider-Man's identity now revealed, Peter (Tom Holland) asks Doctor Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch) for help. When a spell goes wrong, dangerous foes from other worlds start to appear, forcing Peter to discover what it truly means to be Spider-Man. REVIEW: The story starts immediately after the events at the conclusion of 2019’s Spider-Man: Far from Home ; the dying Mysterio has leaked the identity of the boy beneath the lycra. Devastated by the impact that the revelation of his identity has had on his girlfriend MJ and best friend Ned and, specifically, their chances to get into their first choice college, Peter Parker enlists the help of Dr. Strange (Be

Critic No. 251 Director: Vasanth Written by: Vasanth Produced by: Hamsa Productions Casts: Lakshmi Priyaa Chandramouli, Pravathy Thiruvothu, Kalieswari Sreenivasan, Karunakaran, Sunder Ramu, Karthick Krishna Music: Ilaiyaraja Language: Tamil Genre: Drama SYNOPSIS:  Sivaranjiniyum Innum Sila Pengalum is an anthology involving three stories about three women from different time periods whose lives are controlled by their marriage. REVIEW: Sivaranjiniyum Innum Sila Pengalum , an adaptation of three short stories by Asokamitran, Jeyamohan and Aadhavan paints a poignant picture of the expectations that women have thrust upon them when they are married. This film, though released in festivals in 2018, reminded me of The Great Indian Kitchen (2021) , which also shows the mirror to the patriarchy that has seeped into our everyday lives and what that has meant for women. In Sivaranjiniyum Innum Sila Pengalum, the three stories happen in three different eras — Saraswathi in the 1980s, Devak

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