Brave, even if a bit burdensome A word I kept going back to again and again as I was watching Purampokku Engira Podhuvudamai was ‘interesting’. You can argue against many of the points the film subtly makes — and indeed you should — but Purampokku isn’t a lazily made film. Balu (Arya), a communist revolutionary…

All the world’s a joke The disappearance of Mr. Krabs’ (the owner of Krusty Krab) Krabby Patty recipe has caused pandemonium in Bikini Bottom, where our hero SpongeBob, a sea sponge, works as a cook. If you had to reread that, you are clearly unfamiliar with the SpongeBob franchise. As the adage goes, familiarity breeds…

Humour in a dated horror template When Kovai Sarala joins Lawrence in Kanchana-2 for her opening scene, I realised with mild consternation that I’d actually developed some fondness for the franchise. Their scenes — just like in Muni 2: Kanchana — border on the ridiculous, the impractical, but are funny nevertheless, or perhaps because of…

Outdated and obscene Everything about Thunai Mudhalvar — its plot, setting, pace and depiction of women — is dated. So long as you’re in the theatre watching the film, you can actually engage in an interesting thought experiment by pretending you’re in the 80s. This datedness is never more obvious than during a scene when…

A comedy that isn’t funny Nanbenda reeks of a certain uninspired quality — evident right at the beginning in the lacklustre background score that accompanies the title credits designed in an equally lacklustre fashion. You know it’s too early to come to conclusions, but the warning bells are already ringing. You hope that the film…