#CelluloidCritic

Critic - No.158 Director:  CS Amudhan Casts:  Shiva, Iswarya Menon, Sathish, Kalairani, Disha Pandey, Chetan, Kalairani, Santhana Bharathi, R Sundarajan, Manobala Language: Tamil Genre: Comedy Music: N. Kannan SYNOPSIS:   A stringent cop, Shiva tries all the possible ways to nab a dreaded don who poses a big threat to the society   A stringent cop tries all the possible ways to nab a dreaded don, ‘P’ (Sathish) who poses a big threat to the society. REVIEW: In 2010, CS Amudhan introduced the genre of spoof in Indian cinema through Tamizh Padam that was embraced with open arms by the audience. It turned out to be a blockbuster but there were no films that dared to follow the spoof genre. After 8 years, with updated content and some innovative techniques, CS Amudhan and Shiva are back with a bang! The most striking factor about the film is the well-structured story that flows from the start to an end. Unlike the first instalment, the film is...

Critic - No.157 Director: Anurag Kashyap, Zoya Akhtar, Dibakar Banerjee, Karan Johar Casts:  Radhika Apte, Bhumi Pednekar, Manisha Koirala, Kiara Advani, Neha Dhupia Language: Hindi Genre: Drama Lust Stories Official Netflix Link: https://www.netflix.com/title/80991033 SYNOPSIS: ‘Lust Stories’ presents four short films that explores love, sex and relationships in the evolving modern India. REVIEW: After the successful anthology ‘Bombay Talkies (2013)’ , the four talented directors have joined hands again for another thought provoking entertainer that is made for Netflix this time. ‘Lust Stories’ provides an insight of each of the directors’ interpretation on the subject of ‘lust’. Presented as a triumph of feminism in modern India, the film conveys its point without being too blatant in its voice. The film sets off with Anurag Kashyap’s story about Kalindi (Radhika Apte) who becomes infatuated with her student after a one night stand. As scan...

Critic - No.156 Director: Shyamprasad Casts:  Nivin Pauly, Trisha Kirshnan, Siddique, Vijay Menon, Neena Kurup Language: Malayalam Genre: Drama / Romance Music: Gopi Sundar, Rahul Raj, Ouseppachan, M.Jayachandran SYNOPSIS: Life takes a beautiful turn when a socially awkward, mathematic genius Jude (Nivin Pauly) and an extroverted talented singer Crystal (Trisha) become friends. REVIEW: The film starts off by a narration of how Jude explains that happiness is expressed by a smile. He conveys it like a theory and calculation. After the opening credits, we are pulled into the world of Jude, his fascination of oceanology, his rigid timetable routine and his OCD behaviours of how he wants his things to be. We get to see how socially awkward Jude is but also witness his tenderness through his passion towards mathematics. With a neat progressive sequences, we get to understand Jude’s family and each of their character very quickly. Shyamprasad’s writing brillian...

Critic - No.155 Director:  Shakthi Sounder Rajan Casts:  Jayam Ravi, Nivetha Pethuraj, Aaron Aziz, Ramesh Thilak, Jayaprakash, Vincent Asokan, Arjunan, Aarav Ravi Language: Tamil Genre: Action / Sci-Fi / Thriller Music: D Imman SYNOPSIS: The Defence Space Division in India, hires a skilful trickster (Jayam Ravi) and travels to space to stop a destructive asteroid from hitting the planet. REVIEW: Shakthi Sounder Rajan is one of the most underrated upcoming director who dares to venture out into outlandish themes that are influenced by Hollywood. Nanayam (bank heist), Naaigal Jaakirathai ( a thriller with a canine as a sidekick) and Miruthan (zombie) contained a definite drive to push the boundaries despite whether they are successful or not. In Tik Tik Tik , he literally attempts to soar higher, quite literally. The film starts off with a very template style of small catastrophe that strikes Chennai which moves on to establish the main threat that...

Critic - No.154 Director:  Pa. Ranjith Casts:  Rajinikanth, Nana Patekar, Huma Qureshi, Eswari Rao, Samuthirakani, Anjali Patil, Dileepan, Manikanden Language: Tamil Genre: Action / Drama Music: Santosh Narayanan SYNOPSIS: ‘Kaala’ (Rajinikanth) who is celebrated as the King of Dharavi, fights for keeping the land safe from mighty politician and the land mafia, Hari Dhadha (Nana Patekar). REVIEW: Even though ‘Kabali (2016)’ emerged as a blockbuster in the box office, both cinema fans and Rajini fans were mildly disappointed by the dullness and subtlety that worked against the film. The film was seen as an experimental film by Ranjith who attempted to force in a few commercialism that the story didn’t warrant. No one can deny the film’s genuine content but the execution left us half hearted. Whereas, ‘Kaala’ is different. Right from the marketing campaigns, the film looked and felt more local, raw and at the same time with Ranjith’s similar political i...

Critic - No.153 Director:  P.S.Mithran Casts:  Vishal, Arjun, Samantha, Robo Shankar, Dehli Ganesh Language: Tamil Genre: Action / Thriller Music: Yuvan Shankara Raja SYNOPSIS: A hot headed military officer, Kathiravan (Vishal) tries to expose the crime of data stealing and misuse of it to make money from innocent people by a master hacker, White Devil (Arjun). REVIEW: Cyber-crime is one of the prevalent topics worldwide, thanks to the immense growth of technology and the ease of data sharing it has facilitated. Even though in surface, the topic might look a bit straight forward, the complexity of these technology is limitless. Debutant director P.S.Mithran has researched deeply and has crafted a film that is intelligent, relatable and engaging. The film sets up with a strong tone by establishing the master hacker, White Devil who is working towards his ultimate goal of having every individual’s information and money in hand. On the other end, we ar...

Critic - No.152 Director:  Guillermo del Toro Casts:  Sally Hawkins, Richard Jenkins, Octavia Spencer, Michael Shannon, Doug Jones Language:  English Genre: Adventure / Drama / Fantasy SYNOPSIS: At a top secret research facility in the 1960s, a lonely janitor Elisa (Sally Hawkins) forms a unique relationship with an amphibious creature (Doug Jones) that is being held in captivity.  REVIEW: After ‘Hellboy II: The Golden Army (2008)’ , Guillermo del Toro had a brief hiatus of 5 years before he delivered ‘Pacific Rim (2013)’ and ‘Crimson Peak (2015)’. Neither of these follow ups felt justice to the amount of potential and unforgettable films he has given in his early career. However , ‘The Shape of Water’ leaves us with a feeling that this beloved visual master is back to form. The film feels perfect in terms of its balance between content and its presentation. In most of his films, the elaborate settings and costumes might look seemingly overpowerin...