one time wanderer

This was such a delightful film to watch. I went in with an open mind, but not really expecting much, and I am so happy that it turned out the way that it did. Everyone is really good, but special mention to Neena Gupta and Gajraj Rao, who made the movie lovelier with their beautiful chemistry. Oh, and Surekha Sikri rocked it, but that must always be expected. I love how I started off being thankful that there's no chance my mother can get pregnant again, but ended up longing for a baby to love and care for. And I am usually not very receptive towards the idea of babies, so that's a huge thing, I must clarify. The songs were a bit meh, honestly, but overall, this can easily be categorised as one of the best Hindi films to have come out in the last 5 years. Hopefully the "spiritual sequel" starring Rajkummar Rao and Bhumi Pednekar lives up to the standards set by this one.  PS- I still can't stop laughing thinking about how hilarious (but not over-the-top) everyone...

Sridevi was cute, but at what cost? My last remaining braincell? The entire feel of this movie was literally like those insane conspiracy theories that certain political parties, etc. make about anti-nationalism in India, and I won't be surprised if you told me that this movie is where they get all their inspiration from. It was so bad, but just shy of being bad enough that it was good. Poor Jaya Prada had literally nothing to do, which is very ironic considering where she is at right now, politics-wise. The only cool thing I noticed was how Rajinikanth's too-long name also contained his real name, Shivaji Rao Gaekwad. Dharmendra and Vinod Khanna were super disgusting and made me want to vomit, especially because of the revolting dialogues they were saying.  I'm just thankful that I zoned out for a major portion of this. That's all. 

Only my second Sibi Malayil film, and I am already in awe of how he manages to fully me draw me into the universe that he creates. It's difficult to not be impressed by his attention to detail, and how every character feels fleshed out enough for you to feel that they do belong in this landscape. This is why I enjoyed His Highness Abdullah  as much as I did- I feel like the big plot twist was a bit too convenient, but everything else that had been happening till that point just made it fit so well in the greater scheme of things. But mostly, it was the songs. I loved how they had their own designated place in the narrative, and how so much of the main story was about the love and devotion for music. It's always a win for me to discover a great album through a movie that I liked, and even if you don't end up watching this movie, I'd recommend just zoning out to the album one afternoon. Just thinking about that scenario is getting me excited, to be honest. I didn't li...

There is that point in almost every sports drama where I zone out because of all the sports-related details that take centre-stage, and I almost always never want to zone back in. While the first part of the statement was true for Jersey , it's the way all the performances kept me engaged and invested, and most of all, the way the relationships in this movie felt real and heart-warming, that made me want to concentrate on what was happening even as I was zoned out. The father-son trajectory was beautiful of course, but even Arjun's (Nani, in one of the best performances ever) relationship with his coach Murthy (Sathyaraj) touched me a lot. I don't think I even have the words to express how brilliant I found the depiction of the marriage between Arjun and Sarah (Shraddha Srinath), the nuances of their relationship, and the love they shared and nurtured. That's the thing about Jersey - it works so well as a parent-child drama, a romantic drama, a teacher-student drama, an...

I tried really hard, but I ended up skip-watching this just to see Shobana's portions, and I do not have a single regret. What I did see in the first thirty minutes and then through the massive forwarding bored and exhausted me. The movie is badly shot, extremely misogynistic and thoroughly entertaining. Not a single redeeming factor (yes, my love Shobana couldn't save it either).  However, I will say that Vignesh defined the phrase "glow-up" by directing Naanum Rowdy Dhaan (2015) after this. I love and respect that movie even more now, after (partially) witnessing this debacle. And Thaana Serndha Koottam (2018), of course. 

I don't think I will ever get over the sheer absurdity of the film's producers claiming that Parasite (2019) was influenced by this movie. They really thought that theory would fly, huh. Parasite but make it 90s Kollywood. Tchah. Stop being such an embarrazzment saar! Apart from that though, I actually enjoyed this movie, especially the second half. Yes, we know that my taste is trash and biased in favour of the glorious 90s (the messier, the better), and honestly, I love that for myself. The racism, sexism, and fat-shaming make me cringe, but the over-the-top romance sequences and excellent songs make up for them, kinda sorta. Also, go listen to Un Per Solla immediately!!! It is such a beautiful song, and not even gonna lie, I loved how the entire narrative was lowkey wrapped around it. It's things like these that get to me.  Vijay romancing his lead actresses in scenic locations, though- an entire movie genre in itself. No one does it like my emotional support dilf, and t...

This was such a treat for Thalapathy stans, even to baby ones like me. He is in full form, and there's hardly a dull moment when he's on screen, and since he is after all, the one and only Thalapathy doing a TRIPLE ROLE, he is almost always on screen. The run time feels a little too long in places, but his fantastic screen presence, dancing, acting, everything more than makes up for it. Plus the story is as engaging and convoluted as you want a mass movie to be, so you're invested till the very end- and WHAT AN END IT IS. I watched his climax monologue at least 6 times, and god knows how many more times I'll revisit it. He's the OG woke bae, as we are all too aware.  Kajal and Samantha didn't really have much to do, but Nithya Menen really holds her own here. As good as she was though, I couldn't help but remember that Jyothika was supposed to do her role and it made me long for a VJ-Jyo reunion yet again. Someone get those two back together asap!! Also, my ...