The summer quarter of 2016 has been refreshingly good for Kollywood, continuing the momentum that Q1’s top quality films provided. We had two star vehicles in form of Vijay‘s blockbuster hit Theri and Suriya’s experimental, yet wholesome 24. Those apart, the surprises came either through small films of smart film-makers whose films (Metro, Uriyadi etc.) garnered attention through word-of-mouth or through people with a repute changing paths in a way that pleases us – Udhayanidhi’s Manithan & Karthik Subbaraj’s women-centric Iraivi for instance. There were a number of ambitious and over-ambitious duds too, which made K-town hit the 100 mark a little earlier than previous years. Is that a good or bad sign? Trend will take care of giving us an answer to that. Before we get to our top picks, time to congratulate Vikram, Nayanthara, Mohan Raja, A. R Rahman & others on their Filmfare award wins!
Vetrivel (April 22, 2016)
141 min
- U Rated
- Directed by Vasantha Mani
- Music by D. Imman
- Shot by S. R. Kathir
- Edited by A. L. Ramesh
Full Review
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With another story set in the rural backdrop, Sasikumar has proved time and again where his strengths lie. The core love story surrounded and layered with sensitive topics like caste system, step-sibling rivalry, the inefficiencies of education system to name a few, the movie plays right into the heart of the audience with the family drama and emotional quotient staying at optimum levels at all times. The fact that seasoned actors like Prabhu, Ilavarasu and Viji Chandrasekhar are playing the matured roles cranks up the view-ability by a notch and make this movie eligible to feature on our picks this quarter.
Full ReviewManithan (April 29, 2016)
Full Review
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The fact that Udhayanidhi was playing lead in Jolly LLB's remake raised quite a few eye-brows but the way Ahmed & Udhay have gone about making it provides enough reasons for the eye-brows to get back to where they belong. Their restraint apart, Prakash Raj's emphatic Adhiseshan & Radharavi's ice-cool Judge Dhanapal give the film its moments. The sensitivity of the subject, given the number of hit-and-run incidents we read about, establishes the right connect and Santhosh Narayanan's wholesome melodies prove that his music is worthy enough to add muscle to commercial scripts as well.
Full Review150 min
- U Rated
- Directed by I. Ahmed
- Music by Santhosh Narayanan
- Shot by R. Madhi
- Edited by J. V. Manikanda Balaji
24 (May 6, 2016)
164 min
- U Rated
- Directed by Vikram Kumar
- Music by A. R. Rahman
- Shot by Tirru
- Edited by Prawin Pudi
Full Review
24
24 is one of those rare films that manages to successfully infuse Sci-Fi into a mainstream masala template while also dumbing it down enough so that it is not deemed alien or intellectual. It is the perfect Star vehicle for Suriya who is able to sail through both the roles with ease. The film is another feather in the cap of Vikram Kumar after Yavarum Nalam & Manam for being able to stay inventive & concept-oriented even in the mainstream format.
Full ReviewUriyadi (May 27, 2016)
Full Review
Uriyadi
Uriyadi turned out to be a one-of-a-kind movie that surprised everyone with its guts to depict the raw content. It managed to build intrigue and suspense through out its duration, aided by the versatile capabilities of the director Vijay Kumar who took the cake with a natural performance as the lead actor while providing a mature treatment to a sensitive subject. The most enjoyable aspect was probably the way the screenplay factored in the intelligence of the audience to correlate events shown and those not shown explicitly. We got to say it is an excellent stepping stone that will set expectations soaring on the next offering from the director!
Full Review126 min
- A Rated
- Directed by Vijay Kumar
- Music by Anthony Dasan, Masala Coffee,Vijay Kumar
- Shot by Paul Livingstone
- Edited by Abhinav Sunder Nayak
Iraivi (June 3, 2016)
160 min
- U/A Rated
- Directed by Karthik Subbaraj
- Music by Santhosh Narayanan
- Shot by Sivakumar Vijayan
- Edited by Vivek Harshan
Full Review
Iraivi
Iraivi, the 3rd feature film from Karthik Subbaraj certainly has its share of negatives. There is tonal inconsistency and there are casting issues. However, one cannot deny that Karthik Subbaraj has managed to instigate discussion among the public centred on themes such as feminism, violence, friendship, loyalty and a lot more through Iraivi. Technically too, the film scores big time with excellent work from the editing, cinematography and music direction departments. It is for this uniqueness that Iraivi finds space among our picks for the quarter.
Full ReviewMetro (June 24, 2016)
Full Review
Metro
Films that have crime as the background to necessitate a revenge-themed plot are common. Metro on the other hand focuses more the smuggling network that takes care of illegal gold obtained from various thefts in the city with particular emphasis on chain snatching. While the film could have generated more emotional attachment through better casting, it is certainly a film that we must support as it marries style with content brilliantly.
Full Review119 min
- A Rated
- Directed by Ananda Krishnan
- Music by Johan
- Shot by N. S. Uthaya Kumar
- Edited by M. Ramesh Baarathi
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