#CelluloidCritic

  Critic No. 269 Director: Prasanth Padiyaraj Written by: Prasanth Padiyaraj Produced by: Zee5 Casts :  Vemal, Bala Saravanan, Ineya, Munishkanth, RNR Manohar, Ravi, Reshma Pasupuleti Music: Ajesh Language: Tamil Genre: Drama / Mystery / Thriller SYNOPSIS:  Paridhi (Vemal), an honest cop, must race against time to solve a mysterious crime case and nab the dangerous serial killer who has baffled the police department. REVIEW: There are many series that have emerged in the recent years especially during the pandemic period where even fairly popular stars are exploring the arena to give their career a fresh reboot. ‘Vilangu’ has an interesting team with director Prasanth (the director of the disastrous, Bruce Lee (2017)), Vemal (once a decent star who has made some disappointing movies in the recent years), Ineya (an actress who had made a sparkling start but faded off), Bala Saravanan (another fading off comedian) and Ajesh (winner of Super Singer, an underrated comp...

Critic No. 268 Director: Matt Reeves Written by: Matt Reeves, Peter Craig Produced by: DC Films, 6th & Idaho, Dylan Clark Productions Casts :  Robert Pattinson, Zoë Kravitz, Paul Dano, Jeffrey Wright, John Turturro, Peter Sarsgaard, Andy Serkis, Colin Farrell Music: Michael Giacchino Language: English Genre: Action / Crime / Drama SYNOPSIS:  When the Riddler (Paul Dano), a sadistic serial killer, begins murdering key political figures in Gotham, Batman (Robert Pattinson) is forced to investigate the city's hidden corruption and question his family's involvement. REVIEW: Director and co-writer Matt Reeves’ has given some smart works in both of his blockbusters, Dawn of the Planet of the Apes (2014) and War for the Planet of the Apes (2017), sparking a very welcoming new treatment to the beloved franchise. This time he uses all of his filmmaking arsenal to bring Gotham City to life in a dark, gritty, and authentic manner. We have seen many impressive takes on the dark...

Critic No. 267 Director: H. Vinoth Written by: H. Vinoth Produced by: Zee Studios, Bayview Projects LLP Casts :  Ajith Kumar, Kartikeya Gummakonda , Huma Qureshi , Gurbani Judge, Sumithra, Raj Ayyappa Music: Yuvan Shankar Raja (songs), Ghibran (score) Language: Tamil Genre: Action / Crime / Thriller SYNOPSIS:  Arjun (Ajith Kumar), a police officer, sets out on a mission to hunt down a group of violent bikers after they're involved in a theft and murder. REVIEW: With Nerkonda Parvai (2019), H.Vinoth proved that big heroes have the power to bring out important messages as such to a big crowd and paved the way for more stars to choose such films. Jai Bhim (2021) was another example of how a big hero makes small films to reach the masses with relevant messages. However, Valimai was marketed as more of a commercial flick in contrast to the duo’s previous outing and the 3 years wait finally ends here. We also know how the team staggered their production over the span of 3 yea...

Critic No. 266 Director: Kenneth Branagh Written by: Kenneth Branagh Produced by: Northern Ireland Screen, TKBC Casts : Caitríona Balfe, Judi Dench , Jamie Dornan , Ciarán Hinds , Colin Morgan , Josie Walker , Jude Hill Music: Van Morrison Language: English Genre: Biography, Drama SYNOPSIS:  ‘Belfast’ chronicles the life of a working-class Ulster Protestant family from the perspective of their 9-year-old son Buddy (Jude Hill) during The Troubles in Belfast , Northern Ireland. His stable and loving community and everything he thought he understood about life is changed forever but joy, laughter, music and the formative magic of the movies remain. REVIEW: I am still blown away by Branagh’s Hamlet (1996) which was for me, the most best adapted film from a Shakesphere’s work. In Belfast , Kenneth Branagh’s semi-autobiographical take on growing up in Northern Ireland’s capital during the tumultuous ’60s, ends with a dedication for the ones who stayed, left and were lost. This ...

Critic No. 265 Director: Ryusuke Hamaguchi Written by: Ryusuke Hamaguchi, Takamasa Oe Produced by: C&I Entertainment , Culture Entertainment, Bitters End, Nekojarashi, Quaras, Nippon Shuppan Hanbai, Bungeishunjū, L'Espace Vision, The Asahi Shimbun Company Casts : Hidetoshi Nishijima, Tōko Miura, Reika Kirishima, Masaki Okada Music: Eiko Ishibashi Language: Japanese Genre: Drama SYNOPSIS:  After his wife's unexpected death, Yusuke Kafuku, a renowned stage actor and director, receives an offer to direct a production of Uncle Vanya in Hiroshima. There, he begins to face the haunting mysteries his wife left behind. REVIEW: Drive My Car has won a bucketload of awards since its debut in competition at Cannes last year. It might have lost to Titane , but picked up the award for best screenplay. It has topped many lists of the best films of 2021, going on to be nominated for the 94th Academy Awards for Best Picture, Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Director (first for a Japanese f...

Director: Felicity Morris Produced by: Raw TV Casts : Kristoffer Kumar , Cecilie Fjellhøy, Pernilla Sjöholm , Ayleen Charlotte , Erlend Ofte Arntsen , Natalie Remøe Hansen Language: English Genre: Documentary SYNOPSIS:  Posing as a wealthy, jet-setting diamond mogul, he wooed women online then conned them out of millions of dollars. Now some victims plan for payback. REVIEW: Starting from the idea that finding love by using a dating app is the new normal, ‘The Tinder Swindler’ recounts a story that feels like a Fairy Tale gone wrong with an intelligent, charismatic yet monstrous villain. Writer-director Felicity Morris assembles women's firsthand accounts into a narrative that takes jaw-dropping twists unveiling the deep, ugly route that social apps can lead you to.  The film starts off with the jumpy, bubbly Cecilie, a Norwegian residing in London who always dreamed of finding her prince charming on Tinder. After 7 years of being in the app, she matched with Simon, the ha...