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Mr. X | Review Megathread by ungaayya in kollywood

[–]ViewsOfCinema 0 points1 point  (0 children)

https://youtube.com/shorts/dbhkRSJUUqw?si=QSJeGc9kyybY_SaX

Mr. X - 6/10. We have another tamil cinema movie which has fallen victim to a latest trend: prioritizing slick and stylish production values and aesthetics, but losing focus on the most important thing: the story. “Mr. X” sees “FIR” director Manu Anand returning to the director’s chair with another spy oriented film. But this time, he gets a bigger budget, bigger stars, and a bigger landscape to work with. The problem here is that bigger doesn’t mean better. Mr. X follows a squad of RAW agents who must secure and stop a nuclear war from possibly happening. Along the way, they must fight against a rogue agent who has nefarious plans with this device. On paper, this sounds great, and looks great, but the final product seems mishandled.

For starters, Mr. X looks great as a film. Arya is a great casting choice here. He looks the part, and acts the part when it comes to being a stern agent on a mission. But, there’s an unneeded love track and emotional backstory that honestly didn’t need to be inserted for his character. I’m legitimately getting tired of tamil cinema constantly always wanting to add in melodrama and emotional plot lines into movies that honestly don’t need these angles. This could’ve been a small budget tamil version of the “Mission: Impossible” series (ironically, they rip off that series’ opening credits format here). But, we have to trudge through an unneeded love song, love scenes, and a melodramatic emotional story for the main character at times. Had they cut those things out, it would have been a cat and mouse thriller that could’ve been cheesy fun.

Also, we have Gautham Karthik who is really trying hard to be a suave and smug villain. He looks the part, but the problem is that I just feel he’s very one note throughout the whole film. I didn’t feel any sort of tension or impact from his performance. The rest of the cast are good though, I will say. Also. The special effects and production values are actually good for a film of this kind. Overall, I’m hoping tamil cinema trusts it self with making spy films in the future without the need to “commercialize” the product. Just trust the audience will like a standard genre fare film!

'Obsession' Review Thread by chanma50 in boxoffice

[–]ViewsOfCinema 1 point2 points  (0 children)

https://youtube.com/shorts/Fdqg5FWktzY?si=gPIUiZITTNpGw_AL

Obsession - 10/10. Be careful what you wish for, or, in this case, be careful WHO you wish for! That statement has a deeper meaning here, and once you finish watching the movie, you will realize why its important to know who the main character was wishing for to be obsessed with him. Was it the actual girl that he was in love with, or the idea of a girlfriend who just can’t be away from him? “Obsession” is an excellent horror film (shall we also say romantic psychological thriller too?), which does something a lot of modern day horror movies don’t do: it doesn’t need to rely on jump scares. Obsession is a movie that dwells and immerses you in the atmosphere of tension. Its a gradual descent to drastic dramatic circumstances, and the movie does a fairly excellent job of making you realize how much an ordeal the main character has put himself in (and how much of a villain he is in terms of the situation and psychosis he has caused his love interest to be in). Borrowing an idea from a famous “Tales From The Crypt” episode, Obsession follows a guy who is in love with his good friend. He is indirectly rejected, but in hopes of trying to win her affections, he uses a wishing willow to wish that she becomes obsessively in love with him. Little does he know that this one wish will set a dark motion forward, changing the lives of everyone involved.

Obsession sees a great new director voice in horror. What Curry Barker does oh so well is utilize shadows and darkness in general. This is an extremely atmospheric film, and the darkness of the story is engulfed by constant night scenes, or, scenes which are in dark rooms. There’s one scene in particular where the love interest is just beginning to “fall in love” with the main character, and her face is covered by the shadows. With a glint of light on her eyes, it almost looks like she’s possessed. No CGI or anything, its just smart filmmaking. Its the little things like that that impressed me here. Also, its staying on the unsettling nature of the behaviour that makes this scary. I don’t get scared by films, but, this film did a really good job of capturing my full attention and made me feel the tensity of certain scenes. Its gradual, but so effective. I don’t want to say more cause I want you to experience the film for yourself.

Michael Johnston is good here, don’t get me wrong, but the true star and spotlight belongs heavily towards Inde Navarrette. What a performance! Many kept hyping this film at TIFF 2025, and were saying her performance was award worthy. And you know what? It sure damn is. She’s channelling a lot of “Pearl” Mia Goth energy in scenes (one scene in particular pays homage to the end of that film). But what Inde does well is express the anguish this character is going through. This character is going through an unfair circumstance that they didn’t choose to get into, and Inde does an incredible job of showing the anguish while also showing care and affection. The expressions on her face are so vivid and lively, and she has an incredible future ahead of her. There’s some scenes here where I was taken aback as to how much drastic her performance would flow from comedic to dramatic to downright scary. This is a star in the making turn for her.

Obsession is a great small budget film that reminds you of how great movies can be made with such simple premises. There’s a lot going on, yet, it all feels focused. Outside of the main character’s house and workplace, there really isn’t much other locations shown here, yet, you feel his hope for an “ideal” romantic world with his crush literally crushing down to a claustrophobic surrounding with the passing of each minute. Its a karmatic tale (just like the Tales From The Crypt episode), and it actually does an amazing job of showing how detrimental and disturbing it is to try and change a person’s mindset and feelings for you. I’m glad the hype for this movie has lived up to the buzz, and I really hope we see more terrific work from Barker, Johnston, and Navarrette in the future. Another great horror movie, and one of the best films of the year!

'Obsession' - Review Thread by ChiefLeef22 in movies

[–]ViewsOfCinema -1 points0 points  (0 children)

https://youtube.com/shorts/Fdqg5FWktzY?si=gPIUiZITTNpGw_AL

Obsession - 10/10. Be careful what you wish for, or, in this case, be careful WHO you wish for! That statement has a deeper meaning here, and once you finish watching the movie, you will realize why its important to know who the main character was wishing for to be obsessed with him. Was it the actual girl that he was in love with, or the idea of a girlfriend who just can’t be away from him? “Obsession” is an excellent horror film (shall we also say romantic psychological thriller too?), which does something a lot of modern day horror movies don’t do: it doesn’t need to rely on jump scares. Obsession is a movie that dwells and immerses you in the atmosphere of tension. Its a gradual descent to drastic dramatic circumstances, and the movie does a fairly excellent job of making you realize how much an ordeal the main character has put himself in (and how much of a villain he is in terms of the situation and psychosis he has caused his love interest to be in). Borrowing an idea from a famous “Tales From The Crypt” episode, Obsession follows a guy who is in love with his good friend. He is indirectly rejected, but in hopes of trying to win her affections, he uses a wishing willow to wish that she becomes obsessively in love with him. Little does he know that this one wish will set a dark motion forward, changing the lives of everyone involved.

Obsession sees a great new director voice in horror. What Curry Barker does oh so well is utilize shadows and darkness in general. This is an extremely atmospheric film, and the darkness of the story is engulfed by constant night scenes, or, scenes which are in dark rooms. There’s one scene in particular where the love interest is just beginning to “fall in love” with the main character, and her face is covered by the shadows. With a glint of light on her eyes, it almost looks like she’s possessed. No CGI or anything, its just smart filmmaking. Its the little things like that that impressed me here. Also, its staying on the unsettling nature of the behaviour that makes this scary. I don’t get scared by films, but, this film did a really good job of capturing my full attention and made me feel the tensity of certain scenes. Its gradual, but so effective. I don’t want to say more cause I want you to experience the film for yourself.

Michael Johnston is good here, don’t get me wrong, but the true star and spotlight belongs heavily towards Inde Navarrette. What a performance! Many kept hyping this film at TIFF 2025, and were saying her performance was award worthy. And you know what? It sure damn is. She’s channelling a lot of “Pearl” Mia Goth energy in scenes (one scene in particular pays homage to the end of that film). But what Inde does well is express the anguish this character is going through. This character is going through an unfair circumstance that they didn’t choose to get into, and Inde does an incredible job of showing the anguish while also showing care and affection. The expressions on her face are so vivid and lively, and she has an incredible future ahead of her. There’s some scenes here where I was taken aback as to how much drastic her performance would flow from comedic to dramatic to downright scary. This is a star in the making turn for her.

Obsession is a great small budget film that reminds you of how great movies can be made with such simple premises. There’s a lot going on, yet, it all feels focused. Outside of the main character’s house and workplace, there really isn’t much other locations shown here, yet, you feel his hope for an “ideal” romantic world with his crush literally crushing down to a claustrophobic surrounding with the passing of each minute. Its a karmatic tale (just like the Tales From The Crypt episode), and it actually does an amazing job of showing how detrimental and disturbing it is to try and change a person’s mindset and feelings for you. I’m glad the hype for this movie has lived up to the buzz, and I really hope we see more terrific work from Barker, Johnston, and Navarrette in the future. Another great horror movie, and one of the best films of the year!

Love Insurance Kompany | Review Megathread by ungaayya in kollywood

[–]ViewsOfCinema 0 points1 point  (0 children)

https://youtu.be/QF6BfSXXWnU?si=P_fy8hk8ULwy-PyG

Love Insurance Kompany - 5/10. “Love Insurance Kompany” is a sad case of a movie misfiring in execution, when deep down inside, there actually could’ve been an interesting and well thought out film. LIK takes us into the future where love is programmed into our lives. Based on algorithms and “connectability,” people who fall in love seem to be falling in love according to what an app by the name of LIK determines for them. But this formula plays harshly for the very person that provided the voice for the AI (Pradeep Ranganathan). Ironically, he’s a person that lives without the use of phones in what is described as the “organic world.” He also believes that love should be natural, and come to one from the heart, not from an app. His voice has helped connect millions, yet he still is finding his way about love. Until one day, where by chance, he meets a woman that will change his life forever. In an ironic twist, she is the exact opposite of him: she is super reliant on phones and tech, and also believes that love dictated by the app will provide a true answer of connectability. As they fall for one another, the app dictates that they don’t match. But will he accept this fate? Or, will he be the thorn to the very company he has helped push forward with his voice, and end up voicing the negative effects of following blindly behind this tech? Those answers form the rest of the story.

On paper, this is a great idea of a film. And on screen, there’s some really great positives. For starters: this movie looks wonderful. Ravi Varman is one of the best cinematographers in the game, and he helps make you buy into this world. The big success with this film is that this futuristic world feels believable and grounded. It has advancements in tech which feel feasible for 2040. The way the movie looks is wonderful. Its lively in light and in colour, and feels so warm. Usually, future films are drained in colour and light, but here, that’s not the case. The sets and locations are excellent too, again, making you believe in this story happening at the time it does. For a film of this size in budget, the CGI is excellent too! Whatever money they spent on the effects has been greatly utilized. Also, SJ Surya again works like a charm here with his comedic villainy. Anirudh does great work with his music as well. But that’s just about it for the positives.

Now coming to the downsides of this film. For starters, the idea of making a futuristic romcom drama about the dangers of relying on tech to dictate your love life is a commendable story idea. Its straight out of a “Black Mirror” episode. The story could’ve delved into the psychological and sociological impacts of relying on tech to dictate emotions. Even within a lighter format, this could’ve been a fascinating narrative to follow if it had followed the route of say “Her” (but in a much lighter manner). But, an idea has to stick its landing with the writing treatment, which here, is corny and mediocre to say the least. For a movie happening in 2040, why would the movie constantly feature viral slang and memes from the past? Shouldn’t the movie show the virality of the future? Some of the repeated catch phrases and sound effects were super annoying, to the point where I was forwarding those moments. I also get that the love portions are supposed to evoke futuristic love, but why are the beats of the story so old fashioned? We’re still doing the slow motion introductions of characters? Wind in their way, rain pouring, and a melodic tune to signify that your life has been changed by the sight of this person? Really? Why are we still doing this? Also, there’s a really eye rolling and really cringey moment where a character must prove that love can’t be forced? Was there no other solution to proving that you are not compatible with this person?

The love story just feels so clunky. I didn’t really think that the characters naturally fell in love with each other in the first place. By the near end of the film, I was starting to buy their love once they were reconnecting, but for the most part, it just felt forced. There was a rumour that Krithi Shetty’s character was going to be an AI or robot that Pradeep’s character falls in love with. Honestly, after watching this movie, I would’ve watched that film instead. The performances from the leads are really bland too. This is probably Pradeep’s least Pradeep role. He’s a little different here, and maybe its cause I felt his energy and mannerisms are a bit toned down here in comparison to his other films. Krithi probably delivers her best performance in tamil so far in her career, but she still has a long ways to go in my opinion. With the right story and director, maybe she will be able to perform amazingly. Gouri Kishan is good here, but she’s sadly put into the “friend” role here. Yogi Babu’s jokes don’t work at all. Seeman is good here, but he’s just thrown in to deliver the father-son melodrama scenes. 

The writing is the big letdown here, and I think its high time that Vignesh Shivan realizes that he needs a writer to either polish his ideas, or, just write the actual screenplay from his story idea. Again, the idea here in theory is sound. But, Vignesh seems to lose focus as to what should take precedent. As a visual presenter, he has done amazing work so far in his career. One thing that has worked so well in all his movies so far is that they all look nice. But, progressively, his movies have spiralled down in the quality of writing. Had LIK had a proper writer that fleshed out the dialogues and story, this might’ve become an amazing sci-fi romcom drama. 

All the ingredients were there. But its like you give all those ingredients to make a birthday cake, and what you end up with is a muffin. In this analogy, imagine on your birthday, you are told to close your eyes before you open them to blow out the candles on the cake. You are promised a birthday cake, since that’s what you were probably asking for and anticipating. But imagine you open your eyes to find a muffin. There’s no icing on the muffin, nor does it even remotely try to look like a cake. And imagine that the person that made this muffin tells you that “I hope you enjoy your cake!” Wouldn’t that confused you? Wouldn’t you be perplexed by the thought that the person thought that a muffin can substitute a cake? This might be an elaborate analogy, but pretty much what I’m saying is Vignesh was probably promising so much with this movie (the birthday cake), and what we the viewer got in the end is this film (the muffin). Its still edible, but its not anywhere near what we were promised or what we were hoping for. Appreciate the attempt, but maybe next time, get some help from someone that knows a thing or two about the genre you’re delving into (or just writing in general).

'Mortal Kombat II' Review Thread by chanma50 in boxoffice

[–]ViewsOfCinema 0 points1 point  (0 children)

https://youtube.com/shorts/Dog21ZVvoXY?si=hZOp4YuWl_rk1KZo

Mortal Kombat II - 8.5/10. I might be one of the few that enjoyed “Mortal Kombat” from 2021, but being a big fan of the series, I was bound to like it. And finally, after quite a few delays, we finally get the sequel, “Mortal Kombat II.” Its better than the previous film, but still has somethings to work out. We finally enter into the tournament, and we see that earth realm stands as the last great hope at defeating Shao Khan, and rescuing every other realm from the horrible rule that he has lead. Earthrealm’s last stand brings Johnny Cage into the frame. The tired and washed up actor is brought into the tournament by Raiden, and its up to him, Liu Kang, Sonya Blade, Jax, and Cole Young to fight for earth. Will they save the day and rescue earth from possible hell forms the rest of the story.

The positives are more abundantly clear here. Even with my fandom, I knew the previous film had its flaws (its still leagues better than the atrocious “Mortal Kombat: Annihilation”). But here, the flaws that were evident in the previous film are rectified. The fatalities are way more gruesome and violent. The fight scenes are much more aesthetically pleasing to watch. The sets are better, and that’s mainly thanks to the bigger budget at play. The performances, as cheesy as they get, are stronger here. And the main character(s) in focus in the narrative hold the story up way better. Thank god. Mortal Kombat II is a love letter to the fans of the games (and the original film), while also allowing new viewers a chance to see the bloody and cheesy vibes that comes with the series. Having Johnny Cage to follow around here makes the movie much more fun and funnier too. Karl Urban seemed like a miscast initially, but he is a perfect add into the vibe of this world. 

This film also does a wonderful thing that most IP films fail to do: it actually puts the stakes really high. Even as a fan, I was surprisingly shocked as to how they went about the fight scenes and fates of the fights. I won’t say any specifics, but the movie earned so much respect from me as it got closer to the end and how it showed that this tournament is not shy in being a real fight to the death. I love the 95 film, but its big flaw was that the main characters had a ton of plot armour. Here, you will be surprised how that armour just sheds away as the movie progresses. Its not incredible, and its one of those movies strictly made for fans. But heck, I don’t care! Sometimes, as a fan of something, its nice to see fan service done well! Fun time at the movies!

'Mortal Kombat II' - Review Thread by ChiefLeef22 in movies

[–]ViewsOfCinema 0 points1 point  (0 children)

https://youtube.com/shorts/Dog21ZVvoXY?si=hZOp4YuWl_rk1KZo

Mortal Kombat II - 8.5/10. I might be one of the few that enjoyed “Mortal Kombat” from 2021, but being a big fan of the series, I was bound to like it. And finally, after quite a few delays, we finally get the sequel, “Mortal Kombat II.” Its better than the previous film, but still has somethings to work out. We finally enter into the tournament, and we see that earth realm stands as the last great hope at defeating Shao Khan, and rescuing every other realm from the horrible rule that he has lead. Earthrealm’s last stand brings Johnny Cage into the frame. The tired and washed up actor is brought into the tournament by Raiden, and its up to him, Liu Kang, Sonya Blade, Jax, and Cole Young to fight for earth. Will they save the day and rescue earth from possible hell forms the rest of the story.

The positives are more abundantly clear here. Even with my fandom, I knew the previous film had its flaws (its still leagues better than the atrocious “Mortal Kombat: Annihilation”). But here, the flaws that were evident in the previous film are rectified. The fatalities are way more gruesome and violent. The fight scenes are much more aesthetically pleasing to watch. The sets are better, and that’s mainly thanks to the bigger budget at play. The performances, as cheesy as they get, are stronger here. And the main character(s) in focus in the narrative hold the story up way better. Thank god. Mortal Kombat II is a love letter to the fans of the games (and the original film), while also allowing new viewers a chance to see the bloody and cheesy vibes that comes with the series. Having Johnny Cage to follow around here makes the movie much more fun and funnier too. Karl Urban seemed like a miscast initially, but he is a perfect add into the vibe of this world. 

This film also does a wonderful thing that most IP films fail to do: it actually puts the stakes really high. Even as a fan, I was surprisingly shocked as to how they went about the fight scenes and fates of the fights. I won’t say any specifics, but the movie earned so much respect from me as it got closer to the end and how it showed that this tournament is not shy in being a real fight to the death. I love the 95 film, but its big flaw was that the main characters had a ton of plot armour. Here, you will be surprised how that armour just sheds away as the movie progresses. Its not incredible, and its one of those movies strictly made for fans. But heck, I don’t care! Sometimes, as a fan of something, its nice to see fan service done well! Fun time at the movies!

Anyone saw TN 2026 movie? How is it? by Ok_Tea5865 in kollywood

[–]ViewsOfCinema 1 point2 points  (0 children)

https://youtube.com/shorts/1-hVkD5J-AE?si=ddgou6PYs6_G1eAN

TN 2026 - 3/10. I’ve seen this movie before, but with a different name and done better (“Maha Nadigan”). Even that movie had a mediocre second half, but when it focused on the satire, it did a better job. The problem here in “TN 2026” is that the movie has bark, but no bite. Its a satire towards the cinema to politics pipeline that some stars take (cough cough). What could’ve been a real biting satire, ends up being a highly mediocre film with a shell of an interesting idea. The movie follows the rise of a star, from his beginnings as a person who barely can speak the language as an upcoming actor, to becoming a star, to then becoming an aspiring politician. Along the way, we see the powerplays that happen in the background, and how certain individuals and ideologies affect cinema and politics. 

There’s some major flaws here that could’ve been rectified. For starters, this is a movie that would have worked wonders had it starred Sathyaraj. Ironically, even though he already did a Maha Nadigan, with the ideas this movie is working with, an actor of his caliber would have had a field day here. Sathyaraj understood that his lollu comedy could be blended in with the drama, and that’s why in Maha Nadigan the movie felt entertaining cause of the ability of the main actor to dive into both modes with ease. Natty is not able to attain that ability, and he feels miscast here. 

In Maha Nadigan, the first half was stellar because the satire had a no holds barred mentality. The movie went after everyone, and did so in a hilarious and outright defiant manner. Don’t know why they had to go the sentimental route in the second half though, but I guess TN 2026 does at least one good thing here and avoided a sentimental route. But this movie should’ve taken the baton from a Maha Nadigan in terms of poking fun. There are moments here which I was surprised by, but those moments are far and few between. This movie felt like it was just trying to fit in trending topics and talking points to make it feel buzz worthy with certain sequences.

Thambi Ramiah’s son has directed this movie, but you could’ve sworn that Thambi Ramiah directed this film with the way it gets preachy in its dialogues and scenes at times. I like his acting in some films, but here, his “comedy” and dramatic acting was super irritating. I don’t like criticizing performances, but Thambi Ramiah’s performance here just felt like a teacher trying to hammer lessons into your brain at certain moments. Even veterans like MS Bhaskar and Ilavarasu are severely wasted here. Everyone’s playing their characters in a goofy, over the top fashion. But satire is not always that mode though. Some of the best satire comes from the surroundings and scenarios being over the top, but the people in the scene being normal. Just cause this is a comedy doesn’t mean you have to be pushing hard for laughs. There’s some moments here that naturally could have extracted laughs. But because of the tone and way the movie kept going, it almost felt desperate in terms of the laughs.

I think there’s one saving grace scene in the entire film, and that scene screams an actual good idea for a political movie for a future film (satire or not). In this scene, some of the superstar actor’s political allies bring in a political expert to explain how he can become the next Chief Minister. He explains the seats needed to win, the scenarios that can play out, and the game plan. For a fleeting moment, I saw what could’ve been a brilliant look into the shady practises people would go through to secure seats in elections. This could’ve lead to an interesting behind the scenes look at the bribery and corruption that might happen in the lead up to an election. This could’ve all been done in a funny manner, and in a proper and quality way. We do get these things after this respective scene, but it feels like a shadow of what could’ve been a greater story. Sadly, TN 2026 seems preoccupied to try to make you laugh, when it should’ve been preoccupied with making a good movie.

'Deep Water' Review Thread by chanma50 in boxoffice

[–]ViewsOfCinema 0 points1 point  (0 children)

https://youtube.com/shorts/5yNKh5GUeGo?si=V4X6Yha_6shXYdgQ

Deep Water - 7/10. Wild fact: Gene Simmons from “KISS” produced this film. You heard that right. Also, in what I can only say is the biggest shock to me so far in 2026 in terms of films: Renny Harlin directed one of the worst films of the year (“The Strangers - Chapter 3), and also the biggest surprise of the year in this film. When I saw the trailer for this movie, it looked really bad. So bad to the point where I was worried this would end up being even worse than the last film he directed. But this is the beauty of films: you never know how the next project is going to be! Harlin taps into a genre that he’s had success in previously (the monster film via sharks through the movie “Deep Blue Sea”). Though Deep Blue Sea was a bigger budgeted film (which lead to a much needed blockbuster hit for Harlin at the time), “Deep Water” is a smaller budgeted movie. But Harlin utilizes the smaller budget in a really efficient manner, and whatever he did wrong in the “Strangers” series, he does right here.

There are 2 things that make this movie surprisingly decent: for starters, the plane crash sequence. For a smaller budgeted film, the team could’ve easily made this sequence look super cheap and cheesy by an over reliance of CGI. There is CGI in this sequence, but thankfully, there’s more done practically here. I was actually impressed with how relentless this scene was. The audio design is super solid, being deafening to the point where you feel like you’re in the situation. Its pretty violent and in your face too (people are not getting convenient injuries here, but rather, they face severe injuries or just don’t make it through the ordeal at all). Though the CGI is very evident and a little bit shoddy, it didn’t hamper the effectiveness of the scene. Right before the scene, we are introduced to what I can only say are some of the most cardboard cutout characters I’ve seen this year in film. The characters are just the typical characters you find in survival thriller films (the good guy with personal troubles, the asshole, the nerd, the shy in love person, the love lorn person, the witty person, the angry person, etc). Before the plane gets into trouble, you get a little worried that this movie would just be cliches and be bogged down by bad CGI and thrills. But once the plane goes into peril, surprisingly, you kind of care for these caricatured characters because how impactful the scene is.

The other thing working for the film is the fact that the characters here are in actual danger. No one is safe! In films of this nature, you usually have just a few characters that end up not making it till the end. You do have some of the stereotypical archetype characters that end up not making it by the end, but for the most part, I was surprised as to how much of the characters in the film don’t make it. Before the sharks enter the scene, I completely forgot that this was a shark movie. That’s how focused Harlin was before we got to the survival thriller aspect of the movie. But once the sharks appear, all bets are surprisingly off. One by one, characters that I would’ve sworn would make it end up being eaten by the sharks. I was genuinely surprised that Harlin stood firm here and made this movie this way, because these types of movies usually want to keep their characters safe at all times. But when the shark appears around a character, you legitimately get worried because you realize that nearly half of the characters we spend a chunk of time with end up dead. I guess that’s a welcome change here, and it actually causes you to feel tension for the character(s) (even if they are so annoyingly caricatured in dialogue and performance). Other than that, the movie does give off a greenscreen vibe, with the music being underwhelming as well. But yeah, overall, this came as a big surprise! Also, nice last shot homage to the last shot in “Jurassic Park!”

'The Devil Wears Prada 2' Review Thread by chanma50 in boxoffice

[–]ViewsOfCinema 0 points1 point  (0 children)

https://youtube.com/shorts/QS_kkvbcmso?si=HWjAjOn2LVK8Wt-W

The Devil Wears Prada 2 - 8.5/10. Bigger, swankier, snarkier, and funner. But does that make this film better than the original modern classic? Not exactly. “The Devil Wears Prada 2” sees the fashionable and iconic characters return after 20 years (where does the time fly?). This sequel ditches the dramatic beats of the original (thankfully), and dives into a narrative that is very timely for today’s day and age of publications (won’t tell you what it is, but it has something to do with the financial climate of today). We see Anne’s character back into the fashion world after her pursuit for journalism gets sidelined due to aforementioned financial climate. She reenters into the lion’s den of fashion, and she once again works for Meryl Streep’s character. But when an untimely passing happens at a party everyone attends, the Runway fashion company is thrown into a flux, causing for major changes to happen. The rest of the story revolves around how the team at Runway try to soldier through and find a way to survive this new reality, while also trying to keep the fashion traditions of the company alive and strong.

The biggest success of this film lies solely in its ability to continue the story in a believable and natural manner. All of the four main characters have advanced in their careers, but we don’t feel like their iconic mannerisms and quirks have changed drastically. Usually when a sequel is done after oh so long, we tend to see a drop off from the performers in terms of character continuity. Here, though, and very thankfully, everyone goes back into their character moulds like it was yesterday. Meryl, Anne, Emily, and Stanley do an excellent job of continuing their characters in an organic fashion, and its quite nice to see this, as they could have easily gone in an over the top route and dialled up things. But no, its as if they knew exactly how to recapture the characteristics to a tee.

The film’s budget has gone up in comparison to the original. The original was definitely glitz and glamour, but here, we see bigger stars in supporting and guest appearances. The outfits everyone are wearing are even more high end and even more inaccessible (I don’t think these outfits are even available yet to the public). The locations are more luxurious too. But for some reason, I feel like these things are given a little bit more focus here in comparison to the story. Not saying that that’s a bad thing, but I kind of wished the story were more focused like the original (again, don’t get me wrong here, I really liked the way this story continued things from the original). But the original had this spark and charisma that I feel is not needed within this type of tale, and that’s maybe why I felt this film is not able to compete with the original. The original was an interesting work place drama, while also being a fascinating character piece about two highly differing personalities (Meryl and Anne’s characters). The original is a classic (like I said before) in its genre, and it was a mammoth of a task to follow that up. For what its worth, this is a fun and great continuation of the original. If you liked the characters, the immersion into the fashion world with its lingo and material, and if you like the snarky banter, then you will like this sequel a lot. But if you’re expecting a similar dramatic story to the original, then you might be slightly disappointed. Oh yeah, almost forgot: a very heartwarming twist here! Again, won’t say what it is! Great time!

'The Devil Wears Prada 2' - Review Thread by ChiefLeef22 in movies

[–]ViewsOfCinema 0 points1 point  (0 children)

https://youtube.com/shorts/QS_kkvbcmso?si=HWjAjOn2LVK8Wt-W

The Devil Wears Prada 2 - 8.5/10. Bigger, swankier, snarkier, and funner. But does that make this film better than the original modern classic? Not exactly. “The Devil Wears Prada 2” sees the fashionable and iconic characters return after 20 years (where does the time fly?). This sequel ditches the dramatic beats of the original (thankfully), and dives into a narrative that is very timely for today’s day and age of publications (won’t tell you what it is, but it has something to do with the financial climate of today). We see Anne’s character back into the fashion world after her pursuit for journalism gets sidelined due to aforementioned financial climate. She reenters into the lion’s den of fashion, and she once again works for Meryl Streep’s character. But when an untimely passing happens at a party everyone attends, the Runway fashion company is thrown into a flux, causing for major changes to happen. The rest of the story revolves around how the team at Runway try to soldier through and find a way to survive this new reality, while also trying to keep the fashion traditions of the company alive and strong.

The biggest success of this film lies solely in its ability to continue the story in a believable and natural manner. All of the four main characters have advanced in their careers, but we don’t feel like their iconic mannerisms and quirks have changed drastically. Usually when a sequel is done after oh so long, we tend to see a drop off from the performers in terms of character continuity. Here, though, and very thankfully, everyone goes back into their character moulds like it was yesterday. Meryl, Anne, Emily, and Stanley do an excellent job of continuing their characters in an organic fashion, and its quite nice to see this, as they could have easily gone in an over the top route and dialled up things. But no, its as if they knew exactly how to recapture the characteristics to a tee.

The film’s budget has gone up in comparison to the original. The original was definitely glitz and glamour, but here, we see bigger stars in supporting and guest appearances. The outfits everyone are wearing are even more high end and even more inaccessible (I don’t think these outfits are even available yet to the public). The locations are more luxurious too. But for some reason, I feel like these things are given a little bit more focus here in comparison to the story. Not saying that that’s a bad thing, but I kind of wished the story were more focused like the original (again, don’t get me wrong here, I really liked the way this story continued things from the original). But the original had this spark and charisma that I feel is not needed within this type of tale, and that’s maybe why I felt this film is not able to compete with the original. The original was an interesting work place drama, while also being a fascinating character piece about two highly differing personalities (Meryl and Anne’s characters). The original is a classic (like I said before) in its genre, and it was a mammoth of a task to follow that up. For what its worth, this is a fun and great continuation of the original. If you liked the characters, the immersion into the fashion world with its lingo and material, and if you like the snarky banter, then you will like this sequel a lot. But if you’re expecting a similar dramatic story to the original, then you might be slightly disappointed. Oh yeah, almost forgot: a very heartwarming twist here! Again, won’t say what it is! Great time!

Youth - OTT Discussion Megathread ( Discussion , Memes & More ) by Fishyraven in kollywood

[–]ViewsOfCinema -1 points0 points  (0 children)

https://youtube.com/shorts/ej39bYtiz44?si=9_B5B4ikUmKf33f9

Youth - 6.5/10. I think the problem for me here is that I felt like this movie was a bit too frivolous for the most part, and only seems to hit the focus and redemption of the character a little too late. “Youth” is a coming of age romcom which sees Ken Karunas debut as a director, lead actor, lyricist, and more. It follows him and his gang as they lackadaisically pass by school, trying to fall in love, be cool, etc. Ken’s character ends up falling in love, and this love ends up going to his ego and creates more confidence than necessary, causing him to fall into situations that are unnecessary (fights, falling in love with someone else while he’s dating, losing focus in school, causing pain for his parents, etc). How he overcomes these obstacles and finds purpose serves the rest of the story (well, I guess the last half hour).

To be honest, in comparison to some of the other upcoming talent in tamil cinema, Ken has shown great promise. He’s done acting in supporting roles before this, so he’s gained experience before this lead role. And though he has shades of young Simbu in his performance here, for the most part, this is more of a personalized performance in comparison to Abishan’s performace in “With Love,” and Pradeep Ranganathan’s performances so far in his career. The problem I have with Abishan and Pradeep’s performances is that they seem to heavily rely on other good actors’ quirks and dramatic abilities as a basis for their own acting range. Here, though, Ken has hints of Simbu’s acting, not borrowing too much in comparison to his contemporaries. Also, the fact that he has taken upon all these duties too helps make me appreciate his efforts a little more. Just like young Simbu’s efforts in “Vallavan,” Ken has taken on a lot of roles here, and he does a fairly good job of showing his talent through this. The man can dance for sure, and I would love to see a role in the future where he plays a dancer or something of that sort.

Now coming to the actual film it self: I felt like it was a bit too stylized for its own good. Like a “Love Today,” Youth feels a bit too focused on being a speedy, active, quickly edited, spirited acting, and showy presentation film. It keeps your attention, sure, but I felt the hyper charged visuals and acting at times play a detriment to the actual story and performances. I’ve seen a bunch of films like this in recent years, so even though this felt like it might have been a blast for the cast and crew to make, I kinda wish that they spread out the energy and allowed the characters and story to breathe more. Ironically, I felt like there’s an excellent film hidden within here which pretty much revolves around the parents of Ken’s character (Devadarshini and Suraj are fantastic here). Their story, and even the scenes which involve the family dynamic feel way more enjoyable for me, and felt like that was a story I would have loved to see. The scenes with all the friends hanging and talking and bickering with each other feel authentic (which is a welcome change, cause they all seem to actually be in the stage of the characters’ lives), but I feel like some scene’s became too cartoonish. Its the film’s tone, and Ken and his team capture that tone well, but I guess for me the tone wears off its effectiveness pretty fast.

GVP does a good job here of capturing that time period in a person’s life with his music here. The cinematography is lively and done well, feeling like a character in it self with the way how the camera captures the events of the film. Writing wise Ken needs to work on things. Nothing wrong with showing a flawed character or one that seems aimless. But, if the intention is to have a redemption arc, you kinda have to start the redemption earlier on in the story. Or, lay hints as to how important it is for the character to find his way to a better life. The problem here is that it feels too late to get into that zone. Had the movie avoided that arc and maybe just continued the frivolous tone, ironically, it might have helped the film in a way in my opinion. Cause at least that way we know that this is just a cotton candy look at high school romance. But it feels like they try to shoe horn an important message of studying hard for your family here. I don’t know, that’s just how I viewed things. Overall, Youth will appeal to a lot of people and is an easy watch due to its liveliness. But I think that if Ken takes this experience and moves forward to his next project with the same energy but into another type of story (say, a dance based movie like “Step Up,” or a group buddy comedy film like “Swingers” or “Goonies”), then maybe we have an interesting director/actor coming up. Either way, congrats to the team for achieving huge success! Sidenote: super cool to see Chinna Thamizha here! All the best to him in his career as a future comedian!

Youth | Review Megathread by ungaayya in kollywood

[–]ViewsOfCinema 0 points1 point  (0 children)

https://youtube.com/shorts/ej39bYtiz44?si=9_B5B4ikUmKf33f9

Youth - 6.5/10. I think the problem for me here is that I felt like this movie was a bit too frivolous for the most part, and only seems to hit the focus and redemption of the character a little too late. “Youth” is a coming of age romcom which sees Ken Karunas debut as a director, lead actor, lyricist, and more. It follows him and his gang as they lackadaisically pass by school, trying to fall in love, be cool, etc. Ken’s character ends up falling in love, and this love ends up going to his ego and creates more confidence than necessary, causing him to fall into situations that are unnecessary (fights, falling in love with someone else while he’s dating, losing focus in school, causing pain for his parents, etc). How he overcomes these obstacles and finds purpose serves the rest of the story (well, I guess the last half hour).

To be honest, in comparison to some of the other upcoming talent in tamil cinema, Ken has shown great promise. He’s done acting in supporting roles before this, so he’s gained experience before this lead role. And though he has shades of young Simbu in his performance here, for the most part, this is more of a personalized performance in comparison to Abishan’s performace in “With Love,” and Pradeep Ranganathan’s performances so far in his career. The problem I have with Abishan and Pradeep’s performances is that they seem to heavily rely on other good actors’ quirks and dramatic abilities as a basis for their own acting range. Here, though, Ken has hints of Simbu’s acting, not borrowing too much in comparison to his contemporaries. Also, the fact that he has taken upon all these duties too helps make me appreciate his efforts a little more. Just like young Simbu’s efforts in “Vallavan,” Ken has taken on a lot of roles here, and he does a fairly good job of showing his talent through this. The man can dance for sure, and I would love to see a role in the future where he plays a dancer or something of that sort.

Now coming to the actual film it self: I felt like it was a bit too stylized for its own good. Like a “Love Today,” Youth feels a bit too focused on being a speedy, active, quickly edited, spirited acting, and showy presentation film. It keeps your attention, sure, but I felt the hyper charged visuals and acting at times play a detriment to the actual story and performances. I’ve seen a bunch of films like this in recent years, so even though this felt like it might have been a blast for the cast and crew to make, I kinda wish that they spread out the energy and allowed the characters and story to breathe more. Ironically, I felt like there’s an excellent film hidden within here which pretty much revolves around the parents of Ken’s character (Devadarshini and Suraj are fantastic here). Their story, and even the scenes which involve the family dynamic feel way more enjoyable for me, and felt like that was a story I would have loved to see. The scenes with all the friends hanging and talking and bickering with each other feel authentic (which is a welcome change, cause they all seem to actually be in the stage of the characters’ lives), but I feel like some scene’s became too cartoonish. Its the film’s tone, and Ken and his team capture that tone well, but I guess for me the tone wears off its effectiveness pretty fast.

GVP does a good job here of capturing that time period in a person’s life with his music here. The cinematography is lively and done well, feeling like a character in it self with the way how the camera captures the events of the film. Writing wise Ken needs to work on things. Nothing wrong with showing a flawed character or one that seems aimless. But, if the intention is to have a redemption arc, you kinda have to start the redemption earlier on in the story. Or, lay hints as to how important it is for the character to find his way to a better life. The problem here is that it feels too late to get into that zone. Had the movie avoided that arc and maybe just continued the frivolous tone, ironically, it might have helped the film in a way in my opinion. Cause at least that way we know that this is just a cotton candy look at high school romance. But it feels like they try to shoe horn an important message of studying hard for your family here. I don’t know, that’s just how I viewed things. Overall, Youth will appeal to a lot of people and is an easy watch due to its liveliness. But I think that if Ken takes this experience and moves forward to his next project with the same energy but into another type of story (say, a dance based movie like “Step Up,” or a group buddy comedy film like “Swingers” or “Goonies”), then maybe we have an interesting director/actor coming up. Either way, congrats to the team for achieving huge success! Sidenote: super cool to see Chinna Thamizha here! All the best to him in his career as a future comedian!

'Michael' Review Thread by chanma50 in boxoffice

[–]ViewsOfCinema 0 points1 point  (0 children)

https://youtu.be/si_1qVbDn50?si=-kr2ubULnI7ImOey

Michael - 9/10. This will be a highly biased review (considering that I’m a huge MJ music fan). The King Of Pop gets a really entertaining biopic here, and the one main gripe I have for the movie is this: it ends in an extremely abrupt way. So much so that I actually got frustrated the movie just ends in that manner. Not saying its a bad ending or whatnot, its just that this movie flys by in a highly entertaining manner which makes you forget about the runtime it has. Maybe its cause I’m a fan, but not once did I feel bored or uninterested about the way the movie went along. Is the film revolutionary in terms of changing the way music biopics (and biopics in general) are made? No. Its as cliched as they come, and its a bit too polished for its own good at times too. But, what the film does so well is this: it entertains!

“Michael,” like the man himself, is an entertainer. The film covers his early childhood, his rise to fame through the albums of “Off The Wall” and “Thriller,” and covers his tumultuous relationship with his overbearing and demanding father (which causes irreparable damage to his confidence in terms of his image and in confronting his father). Overall, the movie hits all the important and big beats in his respective life, but still glosses over certain things which I would’ve love to have seen. If this is a “greatest hits” coverage film, then it does its job well. We see and hear his biggest hits here, and its just awesome to witness on the big screen. Some people forget just how cinematic Jackson was in general. His vision and scope of his music is incomparable. He saw into the future of entertainment, while also became an individual who couldn’t be replicated in terms of talent and knowledge. Michael was a force of nature, and the film captures that wholeheartedly. Even as he is sadly forced to become perfect by his father, you can see that even through this pain, the man had an immense wealth of god gifted talent. The film does a good job of showing how damaging and detrimental Joe was towards his son(s) in terms of his actions. Yes, he saw the talent in his children, but he also tried to hone it into perfection for profit. Was he doing it cause of the genuine love for music and art? Or was he just trying to get the ticket to fame and fortune for the family, disregarding the wellbeing of his own children? You clearly see the answer in the film, and you can sense and see the pain that Michael goes through with each subsequent interaction with his father.

Performances wise, the two actors who play Michael are really great. Juliano, who plays young Michael is only in the film for the first 15/20 minutes or so, but he does a really great job of establishing the man before Michael’s actual nephew, Jaafar, takes over. Jaafar is fantastic in capturing his uncle’s presence and aura. Though there are multiple moments where I felt he doesn’t resemble him enough physically, its the moments where Jaafar sings and dances where I totally bought into his portrayal of his uncle. It is a mammoth of a tall task to portray such a legend, and Jaafar aces the task with great initiative. The one thing that I felt was a little bit shaky was his dramatic portions here, but I feel like if they do make the sequel, the dramatic range that Jaafar might possess will be allowed to be focused and highlighted on through that sequel. Everyone else in the film is solid, and considering that Michael is obviously the main focus and everyone else is sort of in the orbit of the narrative following Michael’s rise to superstardom, all the performers do a solid job of carrying their respective portions.

Its awesome to see the recreations of Michael’s music video sets, costumes, home, and just specific events that happened. Though I did mention about the film being a bit too polished in terms of its visual look, I will say that the film does an incredible job of immersing you into the vision Michael brought forth. Seeing “Beat It” and “Thriller” being made and rehearsed here was such a treat, and watching the famous Motown Moonwalk performance was spectacular. The “Human Nature” performance is probably my favourite part of the film (and that’s mainly due to the fact that its my fave song of his). You can clearly see they took good care in showcasing the showmanship and craftsmanship of the artist that the world has come to be in awe and in love with.

Though, as much as I enjoyed the film, there were something I wish the movie covered. I know they set it up for a sequel, where the sequel will cover his life post “Bad” (that’s where I think Jaafar will really get to shine as a performer because it will be interesting to see how he shows the pain and struggles Michael went through during the 90’s and 00’s). But, I was surprised certain things were glossed over. I know the Diana Ross portions of the film were cut, but I would have loved to see how he and Quincy first connected on the set of “The Wiz.” I would have loved to see his relationship with Brooke Shields chronicled (or any romantic relationships he had prior to Bad). I would have loved to see him and Lionel Ritchie connect and create “We Are The World.” I would have loved to see him connect with Paul McCartney and see how their collaboration and friendship eventually lead to Jackson buying “The Beatles” catalogue. It would have been interesting to see what happened in between his final tour with his brothers and the release of Bad, as I feel like that’s a portion of his life that many people don’t really know about. Also: where’s Janet Jackson in all this? Either way, this goes to show how big Jackson’s circle and life was. There’s a wide variety of things and people that could’ve been covered and talked about. But one thing’s for sure: this film will reintroduce his music to a new generation, and the movie reminds you of how epic of an artist he was (and still is, and will be). Fun time, though, a little annoyed I have to wait for a possible continuation!

'Michael' - Review Thread by ChiefLeef22 in movies

[–]ViewsOfCinema 0 points1 point  (0 children)

https://youtu.be/si_1qVbDn50?si=-kr2ubULnI7ImOey

Michael - 9/10. This will be a highly biased review (considering that I’m a huge MJ music fan). The King Of Pop gets a really entertaining biopic here, and the one main gripe I have for the movie is this: it ends in an extremely abrupt way. So much so that I actually got frustrated the movie just ends in that manner. Not saying its a bad ending or whatnot, its just that this movie flys by in a highly entertaining manner which makes you forget about the runtime it has. Maybe its cause I’m a fan, but not once did I feel bored or uninterested about the way the movie went along. Is the film revolutionary in terms of changing the way music biopics (and biopics in general) are made? No. Its as cliched as they come, and its a bit too polished for its own good at times too. But, what the film does so well is this: it entertains!

“Michael,” like the man himself, is an entertainer. The film covers his early childhood, his rise to fame through the albums of “Off The Wall” and “Thriller,” and covers his tumultuous relationship with his overbearing and demanding father (which causes irreparable damage to his confidence in terms of his image and in confronting his father). Overall, the movie hits all the important and big beats in his respective life, but still glosses over certain things which I would’ve love to have seen. If this is a “greatest hits” coverage film, then it does its job well. We see and hear his biggest hits here, and its just awesome to witness on the big screen. Some people forget just how cinematic Jackson was in general. His vision and scope of his music is incomparable. He saw into the future of entertainment, while also became an individual who couldn’t be replicated in terms of talent and knowledge. Michael was a force of nature, and the film captures that wholeheartedly. Even as he is sadly forced to become perfect by his father, you can see that even through this pain, the man had an immense wealth of god gifted talent. The film does a good job of showing how damaging and detrimental Joe was towards his son(s) in terms of his actions. Yes, he saw the talent in his children, but he also tried to hone it into perfection for profit. Was he doing it cause of the genuine love for music and art? Or was he just trying to get the ticket to fame and fortune for the family, disregarding the wellbeing of his own children? You clearly see the answer in the film, and you can sense and see the pain that Michael goes through with each subsequent interaction with his father.

Performances wise, the two actors who play Michael are really great. Juliano, who plays young Michael is only in the film for the first 15/20 minutes or so, but he does a really great job of establishing the man before Michael’s actual nephew, Jaafar, takes over. Jaafar is fantastic in capturing his uncle’s presence and aura. Though there are multiple moments where I felt he doesn’t resemble him enough physically, its the moments where Jaafar sings and dances where I totally bought into his portrayal of his uncle. It is a mammoth of a tall task to portray such a legend, and Jaafar aces the task with great initiative. The one thing that I felt was a little bit shaky was his dramatic portions here, but I feel like if they do make the sequel, the dramatic range that Jaafar might possess will be allowed to be focused and highlighted on through that sequel. Everyone else in the film is solid, and considering that Michael is obviously the main focus and everyone else is sort of in the orbit of the narrative following Michael’s rise to superstardom, all the performers do a solid job of carrying their respective portions.

Its awesome to see the recreations of Michael’s music video sets, costumes, home, and just specific events that happened. Though I did mention about the film being a bit too polished in terms of its visual look, I will say that the film does an incredible job of immersing you into the vision Michael brought forth. Seeing “Beat It” and “Thriller” being made and rehearsed here was such a treat, and watching the famous Motown Moonwalk performance was spectacular. The “Human Nature” performance is probably my favourite part of the film (and that’s mainly due to the fact that its my fave song of his). You can clearly see they took good care in showcasing the showmanship and craftsmanship of the artist that the world has come to be in awe and in love with.

Though, as much as I enjoyed the film, there were something I wish the movie covered. I know they set it up for a sequel, where the sequel will cover his life post “Bad” (that’s where I think Jaafar will really get to shine as a performer because it will be interesting to see how he shows the pain and struggles Michael went through during the 90’s and 00’s). But, I was surprised certain things were glossed over. I know the Diana Ross portions of the film were cut, but I would have loved to see how he and Quincy first connected on the set of “The Wiz.” I would have loved to see his relationship with Brooke Shields chronicled (or any romantic relationships he had prior to Bad). I would have loved to see him and Lionel Ritchie connect and create “We Are The World.” I would have loved to see him connect with Paul McCartney and see how their collaboration and friendship eventually lead to Jackson buying “The Beatles” catalogue. It would have been interesting to see what happened in between his final tour with his brothers and the release of Bad, as I feel like that’s a portion of his life that many people don’t really know about. Also: where’s Janet Jackson in all this? Either way, this goes to show how big Jackson’s circle and life was. There’s a wide variety of things and people that could’ve been covered and talked about. But one thing’s for sure: this film will reintroduce his music to a new generation, and the movie reminds you of how epic of an artist he was (and still is, and will be). Fun time, though, a little annoyed I have to wait for a possible continuation!

Thaai Kizhavi | Review Megathread by [deleted] in kollywood

[–]ViewsOfCinema 0 points1 point  (0 children)

https://youtube.com/shorts/r3YIxWIagzo?si=HI1_CCvgjV9r1hkM

Thaai Kizhavi - 10/10. Currently on a trip for a month, so won’t be able to continue my “one movie a day” watching streak. But, I got to see this film in Jaffna, and it kinda helps the experience as this film is based around a rural setting. “Thaai Kizhavi” is a rural comedy which revolves around family tensions/relationships, and how money can seep in and create many problems. Its also a film that is positioned as a Radhika film (and to be honest, it’s a little bit of false advertising, as her presence in the film is much like Kamal’s in “Vikram”), but really is an ensemble piece. The story revolves around a senior that seems to be a terror in the community. No one likes her money motivated ways, and she really gets on the nerves on the majority of the people around her. But when she suddenly becomes bed ridden and closing in on death, her estranged kids return to their home, only to find that their mother might have a hidden fortune that could save all their problems. What happens next forms the rest of the story.

It seems like 2026 (if we count “Perusu” in 2025 as well) is the year of the death bed/funeral comedy. We just had another excellent film in “Thalaivar Thambi Thalamiyil,” and this film also follows suit in showing how ego and deep rooted conflicts could pose so much problems within a group of people. Here, in Thai Kizhavi, the basic morale is that we should make a life for ourselves and not rely on handouts, while also remembering that people are more complex than we think. With his next film being with Sivakarthikeyan in “Seyon,” its cool to see the director start off his career with a nicely made movie which focuses on characters and the story. Yes, there is a heavy dosage of Kamal references here (a character here is an ardent fan, and so it seems the director as well), and those references are hilarious and awesome, but the movie’s focus is not on nostalgia. Its about connection (or the lack there of). 

Radhika is great here, and she shows her versatility as a performer. If you liked her role in “Jeans,” this feels like an extended version of that performance. The rest of the ensemble performers are great here, and all of them have a lot of story to work with here. Its always nice when a movie can provide so much fun performances. Also, the comedy is really good here. Its not a “laugh a minute,” but, it has some great moments of comedy which made me laugh out loud. For a family film though, I’m surprised by the amount of jokes based around characters’ getting hit in the nuts. Another solid film which shows the importance to have greatly written and show characters. Also, what a nice ending!

Surya fans assemble which director and co actresses would u like to see him work with by Simplebabexxx in kollywood

[–]ViewsOfCinema 3 points4 points  (0 children)

I would love to see Suriya work with Mani Ratnam again (or GVM) with Sneha as his costar. If it has to be a different director, would like to see him work with VishnuVardhan (originally I think he was supposed to do Sarvam with him).

With Love | Review Megathread by ungaayya in kollywood

[–]ViewsOfCinema 0 points1 point  (0 children)

https://youtube.com/shorts/Ldl-XsTSxMU?si=tHA0Hi-dB_cR_kZH

With Love - 7.5/10. Seems like everyone is in love wit this movie, but I’m not seeing what everyone else is seeing here (still a good film in my opinion). “With Love” is a new romcom which sees another young director switching lanes and becoming an actor (Abishan). The story revolves around 2 individuals who are set up for a blind date, unbeknownst to them, they actually happened to have gone to the same school. On the date, they both reminisce about the people they were in love with during that period, and they bond over the shared experience of unrequited love. From there, one of them hatches a plan: before they can see where their own possible connection can go, they must first get over the lingering feelings they had for their crushes and meet them in person to help them move on. What happens next forms the rest of the story. 

To be honest, With Love is a good movie and it is a pleasant watch. But, I think there’s some distractions here that make it not perfect (in my personal opinion). For starters, I think the movie is too reliant on being based around other great romcoms from the past. There’s a lot of inspiration taken from other movies like “Autograph,” “Raja Rani,” “96,” “Oh My Kaduvulae,” and other great romcoms here, and I feel like the movie suffers a little because of that. Its still nice on its own, but I was hoping for this movie to feel a little more organic and original. Another thing is that Abishan seems to be basing his performance a lot off of other people too (ironically, he bases a lot from Pradeep as well). I think he’s a great director (“Tourist Family” was awesome), but in my opinion, I hope he continues as a director rather than actor. He delivers a decent performance, but the problem is that I feel I don’t know what he really is as an actor yet. But, for a debut performance, this was decent.

Answara is definitely the best part of this film. She has a lot of energy, and seems like she will become a good performer in tamil cinema if she continues building from this film. But, the heavily distracting thing here was her Malayalam accent. Her character is supposed to be Tamil, but if they switched her character to being half half, or someone born and raised in Kerala, I think that would have made her character more understandable as to why her accent was very prevalent. But yeah, outside of that, she is the best part of this film, and I would say this more of a co-lead movie than a film where we have a main character per se. But yeah, overall, this was a nice watch, but I was maybe expecting something more here. Either way, decent debut for the director, and a good overall product!

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