Mathew Jacob

Caught between the dilemma of making either a subject-oriented film or a mass movie, director T. J. Gnanavel's Vettaiyan, starring superstar Rajinikanth, Amitabh Bachchan and Fahadh Faasil, ends up being a strictly mediocre film with a flat script.

Dulqueer Salman, albeit in Telugu, makes a commendable comeback after the King of Kotha debacle last year with the cleverly written, gallery-pleasing, and visually engaging period crime drama 'Lucky Baskhar', directed by Venky Atluri. Paisa vasool experience.

What truly made Amaran click for me is that Sivakarthikeyan, the star, was absent as he truly lived on-screen as Major Mukund Varadarajan. As a Malayalee, Sai Pallavi's rendering of Malayalam was a 50-50, however. Even so, Amaran is a recommended theatre watch 👌🏾

At a basic plot level, Golam is an exciting whodunit with an interesting motive. However, the excitement fades during the transition from a one-line plot to a two-hour film, partly due to poor casting and stiff performances and partly due to indigestible backstory.

With Asif Ali and Biju Menon in the lead, Director Jis Joy breaks his comfort zone of doing feel-good movies and attempts a crime thriller this time, and to a large extent, he succeeds in keeping you hooked, only to let you down with an unconvincing climax.

One-word review: Watchable Debutant Darwin Kuriakose's police procedural drama starring Tonvio is technically sound but suffers from a flat script. The visuals enthral you, but at no point are you invested in the happenings due to its weak script.

One-word review: unexciting Starring Althaf Salim and Anarkali Marikar, Mandakini is a prime example of what happens when you extend a wafer-thin plot apt for a 10-minute short film to a two-hour long movie. Jaffar Idukki delivers his career-worst performance.

One-word review: Average Director Jeethu Joseph's comedy of errors built upon a maze of lies starts off engaging but falls flat midway and stays there till the end. A timepass flick that you can watch at your sweet pace when you have nothing else.

One-word review: dud. Director Venkat Prabhu's latest outing, starring Vijay, is a ₹400 crore wet cracker that barely entertains. The songs, CGI and logic equally disappoint in this wannabe desi mission impossible.

If you keep your common sense at home, then this Luv Ranjan directorial is a watchable rom-com with an excellent Ranbir Kapoor.