The final quarter of the year started off with the much-expected experimental Vijay film Puli which tamed timidly. A flurry of small releases over the next few weeks meant the weekend that saw the release of Naanum Rowdydhaan & 10 Endrathukulla a prominent one. While NRD got a positive verdict, the Vikram starrer failed to arouse the Box office. Then came the traditional Deepavali festival weekend which saw Kamal‘s Thoonga Vanam & Ajith‘s Vedalam release both catering to its own set of target audiences. Towards the end of the year, the films that created the buzz were small ones big in heart and ambition – 3 of which make it to our picks for the quarter. The year ended though with the jaded and uninventive Thanga Magan, an unpleasant reminder that Tamil Films have not completely come of age. Let’s look forward to a nice 2016.
Naanum Rowdydhaan (October 21, 2015)
139 min
- U/A Rated
- Directed by Vignesh Shivan
- Music by Anirudh Ravichander
- Shot by George C. Williams
- Edited by A. Sreekar Prasad
Full Review
Naanum Rowdydhaan
On face value, NRD looks like a lazily made film where the emotions are not given prime importance. However what makes it rare is that it traverses multiple genres so casually without deviating from the prime plot of revenge. Also, the way the songs & lyrics flow fabulously in line with the film needs to be praised. Such intelligent films deserve recognition & hence is a part of our picks of this quarter.
Full ReviewThoongaa Vanam (November 10, 2015)
Full Review
Thoongaa Vanam
That Thoongaa Vanam might not be Kamal’s best release this year is something that everyone agrees but at the same time it is not right to out rightly dismiss this film, because its novelty lies in the fact that it does not fit into any of the templates that we associate with police drama thrillers in Tamizh cinema. While it might not have any takeaways once the film is over, this is certainly one movie that you won’t regret watching. This unconventional, slickly packaged, aural delight certainly warrants a place among our picks of this quarter.
Full Review127 min
- U/A Rated
- Directed by Rajesh M. Selva
- Music by M. Ghibran
- Shot by Sanu Varghese
- Edited by Shan Mohammed
Vedalam (November 10, 2015)
152 min
- U Rated
- Directed by Sivakumar Jayakumar
- Music by Anirudh Ravichander
- Shot by Vetri
- Edited by Antony L Ruben
Full Review
Vedalam
Ajith's second release of the year & his second outing with Siva turned out to be a huge commercial success, garnering the biggest opening ever recorded for a Tamil film. What makes it tick are its unpretentious treatment that sticks to the masala template never going to irksome levels & the small shuffles in body language that Ajith shows with the 2 shades of the character he plays. It has its own share of flaws but still has enough in it to make it to our list.
Full Review144 (November 27, 2015)
Full Review
144
Clean comedy entertainers never run out of fuel in Cinema and 144 stood as living proof with some hilarious fun interspersed at right moments for the entire duration of the film. Though the 'Soodhu Kavvum meets Mundasuppatti' tagline seemed an exaggeration, it had the right content by virtue of adept characterizations by the director. The movie was definitely a stress buster to sink into for a couple of hours, making it a worthy entry to our pick of the best this quarter!
Full Review133 min
- U Rated
- Directed by G. Manikandan
- Music by Sean Roldan
- Shot by R. B. Gurudev
- Edited by Leo John Paul
Uppu Karuvadu (November 27, 2015)
144 min
- U Rated
- Directed by Radha Mohann
- Music by Steeve Vatz
- Shot by Mahesh Muthuswami
- Edited by T. S. Jay
Full Review
Uppu Karuvadu
Uppu Karuvadu bore the trademark of Radha Mohan's subtle humor, which evoked unparalleled fun when infused into the midst of a premise-conflict-resolution template movie. Karunakaran steps into a protagonists role with great command and is greatly aided by the character which is devoid of any heroics. Natural dialogues and the extremely funny scenes featuring Chaams, 'Doubt' Senthil and the lot, elevated Uppu Karuvadu to rise above the rest and land in this select list of impressive films of this final quarter of the year!
Full ReviewEetti (December 11, 2015)
Full Review
Eetti
Eetti is not the perfect commercial entertainer that it aspires to be. But the director Ravi Arasu has shown a lot of ambition in taking up an unorthodox knot and sculpting it pretty well in spite of liberally making use of cinematic liberties. The protagonist Atharva too brings his best to the table showing his conviction in the script.
Full Review144 min
- U Rated
- Directed by Ravi Arasu
- Music by G. V. Prakash Kumar
- Shot by Saravanan Abhimanyu
- Edited by Raja Mohammad
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