Movie Reviews

Just Mercy Story:   Based on the true story of activist lawyer Bryan Stevenson (Michael B. Jordan) who defends the wrongly condemned, while challenging prejudice against the poor. Just Mercy Review:   Bryan Stevenson (Michael B. Jordan), an attorney in Alabama, specialises in defending falsely accused inmates. Under the non-profit Equal Justice Initiative, Stevenson identifies convicts on death row who have not received proper representation during their trials either due to their race, or social status. Along with his Operations Director Eva Ansley (Brie Larson), Bryan takes up such cases when he comes across an inmate Walter McMillian (Jamie Foxx), facing execution for a murder he did not commit. Bryan quickly realises he must save Walter from the electric chair. Although the screenplay depicts Bryan Stevenson as a one-dimensional crusader of justice and equality, Michael B. Jordan continues to be a reliable actor, quickly getting the audience on-board with Stevenson...

Street Dancer 3D Story:   Arch rivals Inayat (Shraddha Kapoor) and Sahej (Varun Dhawan) are the captains of two powerhouse dance teams – Rule Breakers and Street Dancers, respectively. In order to prove their supremacy over one another, both the gangs lock horns in a top-notch dance competition. But, their individual outlook towards life undergoes a drastic change as they tread along. Street Dancer 3D Review:   Adorably pompous by nature, Inayat knows she’s got them both – killer looks and impressive dance moves to ‘kuch alag karne ka’ – and has no qualms about using these innate weapons to rub her age-old foe up the wrong way; the ultimate softie and cut-throat competitor, Sahej. Although they have a respectable fan-base on the streets of London, the duo, not-so-secretly, has always wanted to beat each other in the art-form they are truly passionate about – dancing. What starts off as a harmless tiff between two opponents, takes the form of something bigger than themselve...

Story:   When Jaya’s passion for kabaddi is reignited, she decides to make a comeback to the sport, at the age of 32. But will it be an easy ride back into the national team, now that she is riddled with domestic responsibilities as a mother and wife. Review:   Jaya Nigam’s (Kangana Ranaut) life is steeped in domesticity – motherhood and a job at the railways – when somehow a passion she had laid to rest years back, catches up with her. At one time, the captain of the national kabaddi team, she now juggles life between her seven-year-old son, Adi (Yagya Bhasin), household chores and her humdrum job. And amidst all this, she barely manages time for herself even though her husband, Prashant (Jassie Gill) is supportive enough and they share a wonderful relationship. Moreover, Jaya is the all-out doting mother, extra cautious and always anxious. So when Adi stumbles upon the fact that she used to be a star player and wishes to see her play again, she decides to oblige, even...

Story:   Vasu (Ravi Teja) goes missing and his family is worried for him. He’s said to have been found frozen in Ladakh by a team of scientists running Relive Biolab, who want to pioneer in reviving dead people. Disco Raj (Ravi Teja) is a music-loving gangster who has made some enemies in his time with his past hot on his heels. How do all these stories connect? Review:   Vi Anand tries to do a lot to mask the fact that   Disco Raja,   when stripped down to the bare minimum, is nothing but a good ol’ gangster drama. He begins the tale with a massive dose of melodrama to make you think this will be a heart-wrenching film. Then he shifts gears to Sci-Fi to make you think he has finally gotten to the point. There are also two love stories thrown in for good measure before the film gets down to the nitty gritty, the gangster drama it aims to tell. But by then, you’re beyond trying to understand what he’s trying to do. Sure, when thought about, the film falls und...

Taana Movie Synopsis:   A youngster who suffers from a peculiar voice disorder becomes a cop after which he takes on a gang of scamsters. Taana Movie Review:   Looks like there will be no dearth of stories in Kollywood as long as filmmakers come up with a plot around one or the other disorders. Vaibhav had played a civil engineer who deals with night blindness in his previous outing, Sixer. This time, his character (Sakthi) seems to be suffering from a weird voice disorder, which is referred to as puberphonia – his voice transforms to that of a woman’s whenever he becomes nervous. Sakthi hails from a family of cops – his father (Pandirajan), who also served in the department, wants him to don the khakhi, but the former is reluctant due to his voice disorder. But an unexpected incident changes his mind. He becomes a cop and takes on a gang of fraudsters who took a woman’s life. But little did he knew that a big shot was behind the gang. How he deals with them forms the...

Psycho Movie Synopsis:   A visually challenged man has to save his lover from a psychopath who has kidnapped her. Psycho Movie Review:   Mysskin’s Psycho begins with Albert Maslov’s quote: We are simultaneously gods and worms. And that is what his antagonist – his psycho – Angulimala is – a God, albeit a ruthless one, in front of his victims, and a worm, in the presence of the person who has turned him into this version of himself. Anguli hacks his victims – always female – and collects their heads as trophies. And that is why he kidnaps Dakini (Aditi Rao Hydari, who brings the right amount of vulnerability and tenacity), a radio jockey, who is about to accept the love of Gautham (Udhayanidhi Stalin, OK-ish), a visually challenged man, whom she had initially turned down for stalking her. But he is unable to kill Dakini, whose calmness while facing her death unsettles him. And when she tells him that Gautham will find him, even if she dies, he takes it as a challenge th...

Rajavukku Check Movie Synopsis:   Four criminals use the teenaged daughter of a cop to get back at him for having put them in prison. With his every action being watched, can he rescue her while being confined in his house? Rajavukku Check Movie Review:   The first time we see Raja Senthoor Pandian, he is lying sprawled in his bed. His phone rings, but rather than pick it up, he picks up a liquor bottle. We have had cops who down idlis with beer in Tamil cinema, but what still makes this scene a surprise is that Raja is played by Cheran, who is the last actor you expect in the role of an alcoholic cop. This casting is both a plus and a minus. While Cheran makes us empathise with his character’s misfortune as a father, it is difficult to take him as a cop. And to top up this alcoholism, Raja also suffers from Kleine–Levin syndrome or Sleeping Beauty Syndrome, which makes him sleep for long periods — even weeks! This unstable condition of his is what has led to his wif...