HARISHANKAR S

#Thunivu takes off with a fantastic pace and is staged stylishly on the lines of Michael Bay’s action films. First half is predominantly filled with over the top stylish stunt sequences layered with humour. Second half is when the movie gets into a predictable dragging revenge/vigilante template before getting back into an unbelievably staged visually brilliant climax chase sequence. #AK is undoubtedly the torch bearer with #manjuwarrier and #samudrakani providing some decent support. #Johnkokken(after an impressive Vembuli in sarpatta) as the antagonist becomes a laughing stock in the end. #Hvinoth has chosen to bid farewell to this association with #AK by delivering a fan pleasing stylish action masala but fails yet again to bring back his #dheeran mojo. #Thunivu - A strict watch for #AK fanbase

Karthik Naren’s #maaran starring #dhanush is yet another disappointment from the young director who had a fantastic debut with #D16. The film is totally flat with an age old story and a predicable screenplay. Only saving grace of the film is the cinematography. #Maaran makes you feel #mafia was better.

#Jagamethandiram is an ambitious film that tries to resolve a significant global issue with a larger than life protagonist. The film is well backed by a fantastic background score by #SanthoshNarayanan and visually stunning cinematography by #ShreyasKrishna. Watch out for the interval block where these two try to outshine each other. Having said that the film turns out to be a run of the mill drama where logic takes a convenient route when situation demands. #karthiksubbaraj who is always known for his fabulous cohesive writing and screenplay is all over the place. The biggest drawback is the predictability of the narration. Scenes involving the gangster rivalry reminds you of Kabali and there is nothing novel. #Suruli's character lacks depth and is shown to be mercenary hired to settle an internal gang war based out of UK is too hard to digest. #Shivadoss and #Peter look menacing as the rival gangsters with #Sana's bgm adding the oomph factor whenever they are shown in screen. #AishwaryaLekshmi is decent in her role but her romantic portions involving Dhanush is half baked as their relationship. Karthik's Subbaraj's usual bunch of actors turn up in #JT as well but with very little scope to perform. Overall, #JT tries hard to be a social political drama with a gangster as its protagonist and fails miserably. An average one-time watch for its visual and musical brilliance.

#PuthamPudhuKaalai is an anthology of short films #IlamaiIdhoIdho by #Sudhakongara, #AvalumNaanumAvarumNaanum by #GVM , #Coffeenanyone by #SuhasiniManiratnam, #Reunion by #Rajivmenon and #Miracle by #KarthikSubbaraj. Core theme of the shorts(except for Miracle) is about relationships , lockdown and caring. All #Shorts are visually brilliant and music stands out. #KarthikSubbaraj stands different amongst all by choosing a common man backdrop while the rest dealt with elite class. However, the pick of all is #sudhakongara's old yet young at heart romance and is backed up by effortless and cute performances by #Jayaram #Urvashi #Kalidas #Kalyani and a soulful musical score. Amongst the rest, performances by #msbhaskar as #thatha and veteran #kaathadiramamoorthy are lovely. Overall, #Puthampudhukaalai starts off on a refreshing note but gets melodramatic half-way through and tries to regain its steam in the end.

#nishabhdham starring #madhavan and #anushka is a murder mystery thriller, a genre that is beaten to death in OTT. With a promising trailer , there was lot of hope with the film but unfortunately the movie is disappointing. The premise is quite familiar and if you are a regular watcher of murder mysteries then you will be able to predict the entire plot within the first 20 mins. Casting is bad and the performances are average. The movie is visually good(has been shot abroad, so naturally). Overall , a below average thriller.

#Marriagestory is a well made drama that takes you through the rough tides a couple have to sail through along with their son when they head towards divorce. Lead couple #AdamDriver and #scarletjohannson have done so well and have literally lived as Charlie and Nicole. There is a Brilliant scene where they try to work out an off court settlement that is staged so well. It makes you to love and at the same time hate the couple. Overall , brilliant performances and a no nonsense narration makes this an emotional roller coaster ride. A must watch especially if you respect relationships 😍😍😍

#EnaiNokiPayumThotta is easily #GVM's worst work till date and is what you get when a film maker takes his fan base for granted. With the teaser and songs creating lot of hype around the movie, #GVM could have capitalized on it with a solid and sensible story/screenplay. Instead, all we get is a dull, dragging romantic action drama. #Dhanush and #MeghaAkash love portions are good just that they are artificial and you hardly feel for them. The brother bonding backstory also lacks an emotional connect and #Sasikumar is a total misfit for the gangster/cop role. Just because it is a #GVM film, he is even forced to converse in English. #GVM's obsession with Police continues and luckily there is no #RajnikanthMuralidharan kind of absurdity in this(Don't worry there are much more). #Voiceover takes a new level in this and goes overboard to an extent that you can hear #Dhanush speaking even after leaving the cinema hall. Only consolation in the whole movie was Mr.X(Darbuka Siva) whose music and background score was solid. Watchout for #Maruvaarthai picturisation. Overall, #GVM does to his fanbase what Lekha does to Kuberan in the movie. #EnaiNokiPayumthota is #audienceai noki paayum bata and #maruvaarthai pesaadhae madi meedhu nee thoongidu is probably what GVM wanted us to do while watching #enpt.

#Kaappaan is yet another wasted opportunity for the director #kvanand and the actor #suriya, who is desperate for a box office hit to restore his star value. A movie on #NSG and #SPG is an interesting premise that could have been used to write a much better content instead of an age old assassination plot. #suriya as usual has given his 100%. However, he still continues his baffling preferences on the number of makeovers he gets to don instead of the depth and sense in his character. He resumes the organic farming he left halfway in #NGK and also delivers lectures in silos on various social issues. #sayyesha and #arya just exist for glamour and humour respectively. #mohanlal as the sincere and honest politician is strictly out to deliver his one-liners on various social issues. You don’t need him for that any other actor would suffice. Other support cast is mostly the usual bunch of actors from the directors acting school. #harris music is below average and background score is strictly okay. The movie talks about lot of stuffs that needs attention but the problem is they are all over the place and the treatment is so bad that they don’t really want you to take them on a serious note. Overall , the #kvanand #suriya combo fails to revive their #ayan magic and instead give us a #maatraan with this #kaappaan 👍👍👎👎👎

#kadaramkondaan delivers what it promised in the trailer a stunning #Vikram , brilliant visuals , high speed chase sequences and intriguing background score. But these alone cannot really hold you unless there is a compelling story telling. The first few mins of the movie kind of sets the pace in which the movie is going to travel. Despite a 2 hour run time , the movie appears too long. #chiyaanvikram like every other Movie has given his heart and soul for the role and is the only saving grace of the movie. It was good to see a number of new faces in the supporting cast. Lack of a strong antagonist is a big minus. Overall , #KK is a better product compared to the previous #chiyaan films #10endradhukkulla #irumugan and #sketch but a strictly okayish film. Fingers crossed for #dhruvanatchatram.

#SUPER30- #Super30 is based on the talented mathematician #AnandKumar who runs an #IITJEE free training centre for under-privileged kids in #bihar. The movie scores majorly well and is an amalgamation of facts and fiction. You cannot call it a biopic as there are quite a few overdramatic and theatric moments. But you can afford to ignore them as the message conveyed in the end is quite important and the right way to move forward too . #Hrithik has probably delivered his career’s most convincing performance since #jodhaakbar. His makeover and accent is little artificial to deal with initially and inconsistent at times but you get over it once you get into that character. Super30 kids are just awesome and have been rightly cast.#pankajtripathi is solid with his usual sense of humour and other supporting cast rightly fit. Overall, a good one-time watch 👏🏽👏🏽👏🏽