Thupparivalan gains the advantage as a technically impressive Mysskin mystery film aided by competent acting from supporting characters, only to be squandered by a laundry list of glaring issues in the characterizations and screenplay that muddles the viewing experience to mediocrity.
Intelligent characterizations and a smart narrative elevate this presentation that involves performances of the highest quality as well. Despite minor pitfalls due to a little too much of inexplicable coincidences, Kurangu Bommai is a viewer’s delight for its sheer ability to keep the audience emotionally involved and engrossed in suspense till the very end!
Taramani is certainly a brave film that brings unconventional characters and relationships to the fore. But Ram does go overboard at times with his smart-aleck-ness and repetitive enforcing of the sexual angle that it brings down the impact of the film by a few notches.
‘Sangili Bungili Kadhava Thorae’ is yet another film from the horror comedy assembly line currently functioning in Tamizh cinema. While there are moments where the newbie director surprises with few newly handled set pieces the film overall tends to fall under the ‘average, can do better’ category than the ‘well done’ category.
Keeping up with A.R. Murugadoss’s trend of producing quality movies, SPYder turns to be yet another standout effort that thrills with élan. With a protagonist who can pull off roles with aplomb, along with an antagonist who takes the villain role to a whole new level and a fast-paced screenplay, SPYder could have been so much more had its sputtering moments in the second half been taken care of.
Just when we thought we had seen all there is to the Siva-Ajith combination, here comes 'Vivegam' - a gutsy attempt from the team to step out of their comfort zones. Despite an unimpressive storyline, Ajith’s maniacal commitment ensures an unabated action blast that sets the adrenaline pumping throughout to make the experience worth every penny spent!
In our part of the world where cop movies are either about machoism or the good prevailing over the bad, 'Vikram Vedha' remains refreshingly non-judgemental and evolves into a stunning psychological thriller that’s crafted exquisitely and executed to perfection by the charismatic lead cast!
With Dunkirk, Nolan takes himself, his crew and the viewers through uncharted waters and as we sail through the story, shows how war films could be handled extremely different from some of the most famous ones we may have seen and yet give an equally immersive experience as they all have done.
April started with a bang for Tamizh Cinema with opinions cluttering our social media feeds on Kaatru Veliyidai and 8 Thottakal being accepted almost unanimously for its daring content. With Kadamban being passable, it was Pa Paandi that became the talk of the town for its mature content and music, with the additional attraction of being Dhanush’s debut directorial venture. The magnificent Baahubali storm took hold of not just Kollywood but Indian cinema as a whole for a few weeks with only brave independent films like Lens managing to sustain despite releasing in its aftermath. Films like Saravanan Irukka Bayamaen and Yeidhavan (which was well-intentioned) could not break the spell of Baahubali which had audiences thronging the theatres for repeat viewing and multiplex programmers giving it the prime shows. The end of May saw some good efforts like Sangili Bungili Kadhave Thorae and Brindavanam get good response from the critics as well as the box office. Samuthrakani’s much-delayed Thondan was as usual panned by the critics for being preachy yet it managed to attract the masses. Oru Kidayin Karunai Manu, fresh from its premiere in 17th edition of The New York Indian Film Festival managed to get fantastic reviews from a majority of the critics but could not get widespread audience acceptance due to the lack of shows. Gautham Karthik’s much delayed Rangoon opened to excellent reviews with the debutant filmmaker Rajkumar Periasamy’s scripting and attention to detail being praised. Vikram Prabhu’s Sathriyan directed by S.R.Prabhakaran was disappointing while Peechankai was dismissed for not being able to achieve the quirkiness of Soodhu Kavvum in the Black Comedy genre in spite of the interesting knot. Uru suffered the same fate as Oru Kidayin Karunai Manu due to lack of shows and the reviews could not sustain the film long enough in the big screen. But one’s loss is another one’s gain as Maragadha Naanayam which released in the same week became one of those rare films that got critical and commercial acclaim. The fantasy storyline and the hilarious unravelling of the knot worked big time with the masses. Silambarasan’s much talked about Anbanavan Asaradhavan Adangadhavan [1D] opened to disastrous reviews which aided films like Maragadha Naanayam, Vanamagan and Ivan Thanthiran capture more screens. Vanamagan was praised for the monumental effort of the entire team in terms of performances and CG, it was however derided for being quite similar to Kadamban which released few months back. Ivan Thanthiran got some great comments from both the youth and the critics and it was two in a row for Gautham Karthik with Rangoon also doing well. However, due to the GST and local municipal tax issue and the theatre strike that followed, all the films releasing in June suffered in terms of collections. Overall we at PipingHotViews ended with the below 5 picks of the films that released in this quarter with films like Oru Kidayin Karunai Manu, Ivan Thanthiran, Brindavanam and Uru narrowly missing out.
8 Thottakkal is a film that could have been so much more, but loses steam in the second half in spite of a towering performance from M.S.Bhaskar. Too many stage-play-like dialogues and convenient coincidences bring down the engagement quotient. Still a good effort from a debutant filmmaker who places value on content over style.
