Ramnath

In his sophomore directorial, Ashwath Marimuthu follows up his well written debut film Oh My Kadavule, with another terrifically penned and executed Dragon. The smartness did not just lie in the film, but also in the way it garnered the empty excitement around it. Ashwath Marimuthu, just like his first attempt takes his own sweet time to set things up, rig up the moments to blast out later and his writing surprises us in so many ways. He clearly gets the pulse of using trends, internet people, makes them meaningful and gives it a presence through his writing. The execution does falter at many places in the first half, owing to the surface level flow of scenes, but...with all the needed set-ups.  Dragon does stutter in its initial portions. For a film that's almost an anti-thesis to whatever it used for its projection, the film does make fun of the borderline worst actions of its protagonist. The initial choices made in these portions are a bit questionable for the terri...

True blue genre films are a rare commodity in our industry and big stars headlining such films are once in a blue moon. Vidamuyarchi, adapted from the Hollywood film 'Breakdown' attempts to walk this thin line and partially succeeds in the process. Magizh Thirumeni does a tremendous job in trimming down the fat out of a big star vehicle and in showcasing the star as a vulnerable protagonist rather than the supposed big hero. Ajith is vulnerable, he gets beaten up, he gets tricked, his anger feels quite palpable and it's such a refreshing choice to build the protagonist character in such ways. The idea to treat his character in a much more subtle manner allows for more palpable tension. The tension building in the first half is done well, with a slow burn approach that works in the film's favour. The geography of the film is beautifully handled, with the wide shots of the vast expanse areas, creating a sense of endless mystery. The visual treatment of the fil...