‘Stree’ review: A feminist tale of laughs and chills
Between scares, laughs and trying to be feminist, the film does tend to get unwieldy and spreads itself too thin. The three elements play out inconsistently. But on the good side, as in some of the recent Bollywood films, Stree has a quaint sense of place, eccentric characters, a few madcap sequences and some sharply written, consciously irreverent lines to keep one engaged.
'Imaikka Nodigal' review: The chase is on
The seed of Imaikka Nodigal is somewhere there, and to get there, we need to understand its lead characters. There’s CBI officer Anjali Vikramadityan (Nayanthara, in yet another memorable role) who is assigned to the mysterious case of a person who goes about kidnapping for seemingly no reason. The ransom is always the same, and the suspects are all high-profile. Who's behind it?
‘60 Vayathu Maaniram’ review: In pursuit of morality
Filmmaker Radha Mohan’s 60 Vayadhu Maaniram, starring Prakash Raj and Vikram Prabhu, is a film about a missing man at the surface level. But, what it really talks about is how the current generation, which forms the country’s young workforce, has lost all sense of decency because they pursue economic success over the need to care for the elderly in the society.
‘Annanukku Jai’ review: A passable political satire
Is there any other actor as underrated in our industry as Attakathi Dinesh? Why do we see so little of him? These are questions that kept popping up during Annanukku Jai, a political comedy, which few other actors in our industry could have pulled off.
‘@Nartanasala’ review: Humour lacks bite
Rom-coms have always thrived on insults; while obesity, physical and mental handicaps were made fun of earlier, ‘gay comedy’ is the new thing.
‘Yamla Pagla Deewana Phir Se’ review: A herb for all maladies
Far from being mad fun, YPD3 is dull and dreary. It bores one to death save one nice line, “Dar dar ke dhokle khana” (being forced to run from pillar to post). But the film is likely to have the boundless blessings of Baba Ramdev, Patanjali and Ministry of Ayush. Sadly, that's all the Deols seem to gunning for.
‘Papillon’ review: A long tiresome haul
Why try to fix something that is not broken? In this case, it’s Papillon starring Steve McQueen and Dustin Hoffman. The 1973 film is an autobiographical historical drama about French convict Henri Charrière, based on his memoirs. Decades later for some unknown reason, director Michael Noer decided to remake the hugely successful film while also adapting the same screenplay by Dalton Trumbo and Lorenzo Semple Jr.
‘Searching’ review: Old wine in a new digital flask
The film suffers from convenient story-telling. There are times when the film’s technique borders on being gimmicky and self-centred, but then Searching is not just an “emotional thriller” as its maker calls it, but it is a significant player in the early days of a new wave of cinema or a sub-genre.
‘Paper Boy’ review: lacks the spark
Paper Boy is a well-intended film but gets tiresome after a point. Director Jayashankarr and producer Sampath Nandi, who also shares the writing credits, take the time-tested storyline of a poor boy falling in love with a rich girl, both with hearts of gold of course, and try to infuse new life into it.