Movie Reviews

A dream doesn't become reality through magic, it takes sweat, determination and hard work to make it come true. That's what Indian scientists at ISRO have gone through for the past five decades, leaving behind their personal lives, making their families second priority and propelling themselves into a pursuit of scientific achievement. One of the glorious chapters in their success story was the 2014 Mars Orbiter Mission (MOM), more popularly called the Mangalyaan Mission. Against all odds, India became the first country in the world to break many space and Earth barriers and reach the distant planet in its first attempt. 'Mission Mangal' is a film that dramatises and recreates this glorious chapter in Indian history. This deeply patriotic film takes a few cinematic liberties along the way, while doing that, it delves into the lives of the scientists who made this almost-impossible dream come true. The film throws light on how scientists who go through the humdr...

It's been a while since Tamil cinema has witnessed a court drama. Nerkonda Paarvai, the remake of Bollywood film, Pink, brings back the genre to Kollywood. With arresting performances of artistes and an engaging screenplay which touch upon a sensitive issue, H Vinoth manages to stay true to the original version.  From the time the project was announced, all eyes were on Ajith - how is he going to pull off the character which was effortlessly portrayed by Amitabh Bachchan was the big question. The actor has essayed the role of a lawyer, who takes up a sensitive case despite suffering from personal issues, in his own style.  The story begins with Meera, Famita and Andrea (Shraddha, Abhirami, Andrea) bumping into the gang of boys, Adhik, Venky and Viswa (Arjun, Aswin, Adhik) at a concert. The latter invite the former for dinner and a couple of drinks, and they all go to a resort to unwind. At a certain point, Adhik tries to molest Meera, and she attacks him with a bot...

Kathanam  is a film that tries oh-so-hard to not just be unique, but also intelligent and fast-paced, and yet it fails at it all. By the end of the film you wonder why some of the scenes are even placed in the film and come up short of a logical conclusion, just like the film. Director Rajesh Nadendla tries so hard to fool the audience and distract them from the ‘twist’ in hand; he ends up losing track of the story he wants to tell. Anu (Anasuya Bharadwaj) is an assistant director to Maruthi who is waiting for that big break in the film industry. Her best friend Dhana (Dhanraj) is also looking for an opportunity to play varied roles instead of the usual side roles he plays in films. But what happens when Anu pens a story for four old producers and realises that everything she has written is coming true, including the gruesome murders. Do Anu and the ACP (Ranadhir) she has teamed up with and who never questions her motives manage to save the day?  In the film there’s a ...

After watching  Evaru , all questions will be answered, Adivi Sesh told us in an intverview. And sure enough, while  Evaru  asks plenty of questions, it does give a resounding answer - that the film is indeed inspired by Spanish film,  The Invisible Guest . Why the makers kept that under a wraps remains a mystery, but Evaru is a thriller that keeps you hooked right till the end.  Sameera (Regina Cassandra) is accused of murdering a police officer who rapes her. Her lawyer (Vinay Varma) hires a corrupt police officer, Vikram (Adivi Sesh) to help crack the case and defend Sameera against the prosecution lawyer who has the entire department on his side. But an old case handled by Vikram enters the plot, making things seem more complicated than they actually are.  Make no mistake, it's not easy to pull off a thriller of this kind and keep the viewers glued and guessing, especially given how a genre like this isn't explored much in Telugu cinema, and fo...

Ranarangam  is a film that’s not hard to describe, plain and simple, it’s the story of a gangster who rises to power and ends up making numerous enemies along the way. The difficult part is when it comes to moving past all that mind-bending swag the film has on full-display and realising it’s nothing but the same old liquor in a shiny new bottle. This is not the kind of film you go to for its unique story that will surprise you with its twists and turns, it’s the kind of film that allows you to soak in its mindless beauty much before you realise it’s heading in a completely predictable direction. Deva (Sharwanand) is a rich man living in Spain, busy being a single father to a teen he dotes on. Despite keeping a promise he made years ago, he leaves some loose threads dangling and his past soon comes to haunt him.  Ranarangam  keeps switching between his past in Visakhapatnam and present, not always nailing the transition. Deva was once a black movie ticket seller...

  There are a handful of murders in Kolaiyuthir Kaalam, and the life of its protagonist, Shruthi (Nayanthara) is in danger, but the film hardly makes us feel this threat.  The film fails right in its set-up. These initial portions, which should have made us care for Shruthi, are so badly directed, with terrible line readings that seem straight out of a dubbed film, that we lose interest right away. And the portions involving the slasher, too, are laughably executed that we neither feel horrified nor thrilled.  Even Nayanthara, the Lady Superstar, seems ordinary and cannot save it. If at all the film accomplishes something, it is making us appreciate Game Over, another recent slasher film that had a disabled protagonist, for its ambition and technique.  நாயகி நயன்தாரா சிறு வயதில் ஆசிரமத்தில் வளர்கிறார். இவரால் பேசவும், கேட்கவும் முடியாது. ஆனால், இவர் திறமையாக ஓவியம் வரையக்கூடியவர். ஆசிரமத்தின் உரிமையாளர் லண்டனில் இருந்து தமிழ்நாட்டிற்கு வர, அவரை இதுவரை ...

First things first - Comali is a comedy movie, which has several sequences which lack logic. But as the makers have billed it as a fun and 'no-brainer' movie, those sequences turn out to be harmless on screen. The film starts off with Ravi's (Jayam Ravi) voice over as his growth from a small school boy in 80s to a plus two student in late 90s, is presented in an engaging way, thank to his combination scenes with Yogi Babu.  Like most of the Tamil Film heroes, Ravi falls in love with his classmate Nikita (Samyuktha Hegde) at the very first sight. After a few days, he gifts her an idol which he considers close to his heart, following which, an incident occurs which leads him to coma stage for a decade-and-a-half. Ravi, who wakes up after these many years in 21st century, takes time to cop up with the reality and the slew of changes the world has been subjected to, during the course of time.  Ravi later becomes close to another girl (Kajal Aggarwal), from whom he gets t...

Kalki as per Hindu mythology is the final avatar of Lord Vishnu. He is known as a mighty warrior who will appear at the end of the Kali Yuga to destroy oppression and usher in a new yuga or era.  SI Vyshakan of Nanjankode commits suicide in the lock up after failing to control the law and order situation there. Nanjankode village has a terrible history. The people of the village were evacuated by the Dravida Yojana Party (DYP) led by Amarnath, played by Shivajith Padmanabhan. He has nurtured rowdies all over and people live in fear. The village is overrun by crime, weapons and violence. The police station is, according to the cops, the only peaceful spot there as nothing can be done by them.  The thrills begin when Inspector K (Tovino Thomas), the Kalki avatar of Nanjankode, walks in as a superhuman and brings alive the police station. Like Kalki, he is at war with the villains and is on a mission to cleanse the village.  The movie is Tovino through and through. H...

  The film, set in the lush green Kattappana, is about selflessness of the titular character, essayed by Soubin Shahir, and how he effortlessly spills his magical potions of love and compassion around him.  Ambili is not a loafer in any sense; he has his quirky hacks to make a living. There's nothing that Ambili cannot do, yet he is not 'normal' like other people. Being an ex-Army man’s son, he is treated well by the people in his village. Though many of them try to manipulate him to get things done, his innate goodness is something that they cannot deny.  He exudes a positive aura, because of which his childhood crush Tina, is still madly in love with him, though she is away in Delhi and in spite of 'civilised' society treating him like a bit of a misfit. Tina and her brother Bobby, a national-level cycling champion, have a lot of childhood memories involving Ambili. As Bobby's 'songs of innocence' give way to 'songs of experience', there...