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Member Reviews

No good movie is too long and no bad movie is short enough. Your intellect may be confused, but your emotions will never lie to you.

You can also browse reviews using our alphabetical index of films reviewed

Films reviewed on this Page

Saripodhaa Sanivaaram (1)
Minmini (1)
Kaantaye Kaantaye (1)
Vaazhai (1)
Kottukkaali (1)
Vedaa (1)
Thangalaan (1)
Raghu Thatha (1)
Khel Khel Mein (1)
Parineeta (1)

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Saripodhaa Sanivaaram
Janani K
India Today
Nani-SJ Suryah elevate Vivek Athreya's clever writing

Director Vivek Athreya's film starring Nani, SJ Suryah and Priyanka Mohan, is a tastefully done commercial cinema. Clever writing and brilliant performances are its strongest points.

Watching a neatly woven commercial cinema is therapeutic in every sense. And when it is headlined by powerhouse performers, Nani and SJ Suryah, you know you’re in for a treat. ‘Saripodhaa Sanivaaram’ marks Nani and director Vivek Athreya’s second collaboration after ‘Ante Sundaraniki’. While ‘Ante Sundariniki’ was a cute rom-com, Nani and Vivek went all out for ‘Saripodhaa Sanivaaram’ by picking a masala entertainer with a family backdrop. Surya (Nani) is a loved elder child to his parents (Abhirami and Sai Kumar). But, his anger is his problem. His mother, who is counting her days, teaches him a unique way to keep his anger in check and let it out only on Saturdays. Surya makes note of people who wronged him on the rest of the days and gets time to process his anger till Saturday. And when he feels his anger is justified, he thrashes the people who angered him.

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Minmini
Srinivasa Ramanujam
The Hindu
Halitha Shameem’s Himalayan outing leaves you cold

Starring Esther Anil and Praveen Kishore in the lead, this coming-of-age drama needed more drama

Early in Minmini, inside a school during a chilly evening at Ooty, a candle goes off. A student offers to light it up with his candle. “When one candle lights up another, there’s no loss,” someone remarks.

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Kaantaye Kaantaye
Shamayita Chakraborty
Deutsche Welle
Saswata Chatterjee’s web series is too long

Kaantaye Kaantaye is a one-time watch for those who don’t know the story. You can give it a miss if you are an Agatha Christie fan

After their daughter died in a car crash, advocate PK Basu (Saswata Chatterjee) and his wife Rani (Ananya Chatterjee) go to North Bengal to recover from their grief. They visit their family friends Sujata (Ayoshi Talukdar) and Kaushik (Somraj Maity) who open a homestay there. A series of murders take place in Kolkata and North Bengal. As a number of characters get stranded in the homestay, PK Basu catches the culprit.

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Vaazhai
Janani K
India Today
Mari Selvaraj's career-best film will make you speechless

Director Mari Selvaraj's film, starring Ponvel, Kalaiyarasan and Dhivya Duraisamy, is a heart-wrenching tale. The film explores the sufferings of daily labourers and bloodthirsty owners, says our review.

Director Mari Selvaraj, on several occasions, called ‘Vaazhai’ his best film. He stated that it was the film he wanted to make first, before ‘Pariyerum Perumal’, ‘Karnan’ and ‘Maamannan’. ‘Vaazhai’ is a biographical film that explores a significant incident that changed Mari’s life. Mari is absolutely right, as ‘Vaazhai’ is his career-best film and a perfect answer to the trolls that targeted him. Sivanaindhan (Ponvel), with his charismatic and innocent smile, lives with his mother (Janaki) and elder sister Vembu (Dhivya Duraisamy). Sivanaindhan juggles between school and working at a banana plantation over weekends to make ends meet. He excels at school, consistently achieving first rank, but he does not enjoy working at the plantation for obvious reasons. The strenuous labour and the way he’s ripped off of his childish joys take a toll on him. But, Sivanaindhan understands.

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Kottukkaali
Janani K
India Today
PS Vinothraj, Anna Ben, Soori's film is evocative and arresting

Director PS Vinothraj's film starring Anna Ben and Soori is an immersive film that raises pertinent questions. The film deals with superstition, patriarchy and chauvinism.

Director PS Vinothraj announced his arrival in Tamil cinema with ‘Koozhangal’, a film which won the coveted Tiger Award at the 50th International Film Festival Rotterdam. His second film, ‘Kottukkaali’, brings together Anna Ben and Soori for the first time and has already garnered appreciation in the international market. Now, Kottukkaali is set to make its mark in the Indian market. Meena (Anna Ben) is confined to her home, with everyone around her speaking in hushed tones. She refuses to speak and appears distressed. Her relatives claim that she is possessed by a spirit. Meena, her mother, her fiance Pandi (Soori), and others embark on a journey to a temple to ward off the evil.

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Vedaa
Suparna Sharma
Independent Film Critic
Caste vs the legend of John Abraham

Since it is a Nikkhil Advani film, it's politically sharp, gritty and mildly feminist

Vedaa is not a film about boxing, though its trailer seemed to suggest that. Director Nikkhil Advani’s film has a bit of boxing, of course, but its plot’s real drivers are caste and caste atrocities. However, Vedaa, starring John Abraham and Sharvari Wagh in the lead, is not a film about caste either. Vedaa is an action-thriller created to embellish and enhance the legend of John Abraham. In this enterprise, boxing is a tiny diversion and caste plays the same part that Islamic terrorism has often played in previous John Abraham-the-one-man-killer-machine films—It’s very bad and it must be annihilated. But since Vedaa is a Nikkhil Advani film, it’s politically sharp, gritty and mildly feminist. Written by Aseem Arora, Vedaa is set in Rajasthan, but its story really begins in Kashmir. Yep, that same-old scenic battleground Abraham keeps visiting, repeatedly, to save the nation from the Phiran-wearing, machine gun-carrying Islamic terrorists.

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Thangalaan
Janani K
India Today
Vikram-Pa Ranjith's film drowns due to convoluted storytelling

Pa Ranjith's film starring Chiyaan Vikram, Pa Ranjith and Parvathy Thiruvothu, is a fantasy drama about oppression and land rights. The film is too abstract for its own good.

Director Pa Ranjith is one filmmaker with a powerful voice in Tamil cinema. Whether one agrees or not, his voice is significant and cannot be ignored. When he announced his collaboration with actor Chiyaan Vikram in 2021, it excited many. And the excitement grew multifold over the years and became one of the most anticipated films of 2024. Did ‘Thangalaan’ manage to fulfil the expectations? Let’s find out! Thangalaan (Chiyaan Vikram), Gangamma (Parvathy Thiruvothu) and their five children live in North Arcot where they rely on agriculture. However, their land is grabbed by the upper-class landlord using deceitful tactics. In the 1800s, Lord Clement, a British General, expressed his desire to trace gold near their village. However, a local myth claims that the sorceress Aarathi (Malavika Mohanan), guards the area. Thangalaan and the rest of the villagers believe in the myth.

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Raghu Thatha
Janani K
India Today
Keerthy Suresh's film on Hindi imposition is superficial

Director Suman Kumar's film, starring Keerthy Suresh and Ravindra Vijay, is a satire on Hindi imposition and patriarchy. The sub-plots needed some in-depth storytelling.

When Keerthy Suresh’s teaser and trailer for Raghuthatha were released on social media, they generated a positive buzz around the film. The intriguingly cut trailer suggested that the film would address Hindi imposition in Tamil Nadu. Additionally, Kayavizhi’s (Keerthy Suresh) attempt to challenge patriarchy with her bold and upfront attitude piqued everyone’s interest. Did Suman Kumar manage to weave a successful story around these two sensitive topics? Let’s find out! Kayal (Keerthy Suresh) and her grandfather (MS Bhaskar) protest against Hindi imposition and are responsible for shutting down the Hindi organisation Ekta Sabha in their village, Valluvanpettai. She is a feminist who slams everyone who says, “ponna adaka odukama iru” (Be coy and obedient like a woman). One day, her grandfather’s cancer diagnosis and his three wishes push her towards marriage, which she has never been interested in.

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All 2 reviews of Raghu Thatha here

Khel Khel Mein
Bhawana Somaaya
92.7 Big FM
Is it another Blockbuster?

Parineeta
Shamayita Chakraborty
Deutsche Welle
Gourav Chakrabarty and Debchandrima Singha Roy present unadulterated old-school romance

Aditi Roy has created an engaging unadulterated love story with Gourav Chakrabarty and Debchandrima Singha Roy with Saratchandra Chattopadhyay’s Parineeta

Neighbour duo Lolita (Debchandrima Singha Roy) and Shekhar (Gourav Chakrabarty) have unending claim on each other. Despite a marriage in haste, they parted ways because of Shekhar’s prejudices and Lolita’s pride. In Parineeta, Saratchandra Chattopadhyay’s classic takes a makeover in Aditi Roy’s series on Hoichoi.

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