Balaji's Thots

Reviews for Oru Kal Oru Kannaadi, Leelai, Vazhakku Enn 18/9, Kalakalappu, Manam Kothi Paravai, Thadaiyara Thaakka, Murattu Kaalai and Saguni are now online at the reviews site.

With 5 successive hits under his belt, Karthi is definitely one of the hottest young stars in Tamil cinema now. His latest film Saguni sees him as a wily young man who is forced to play politics to get what he wants. It had the potential to be another different film for the actor but [...]

After a slow start where not many big movies hit the screens, Tamil movie buffs have much to look forward to for the rest of the year with a number of important movies lined up for release. First out of the gate is Saguni which gets a solo release this Friday after a tense week [...]

Director Magilzh Thirumeni seems to be following his mentor Gautham Menon’s footsteps quite faithfully. Gautham started his career with an urban romance Minnale and then shifted tracks to make the thriller Kaakka Kaakka. Magilzh too, after debuting with the urban romance Mundhinam Paarthene, has opted to make an action film for his sophomore effort. Thadaiyara [...]

Over the Memorial Day weekend, we visited Bryce Canyon and Zion National Parks, 2 parks that have been on my must-see list for a long time now. Though the weather played spoilsport for a part of the trip, it was a nice trip that covered two beautiful, unique parks.
We took a break in the [...]

Director Ezhil, who started his career with a big hit in Thullaadha Manamum Thullum but had mixed success with his subsequent releases, returns to directing after a 5-year break(his last film was 2007’s Deepavali) with Manam Kothi Paravai. But he doesn’t seem to have realized that Tamil cinema has moved ahead in these 5 years [...]

Romance in Tamil cinema used to be limited to the villages but we’ve recently had a few films that tackled romance in an urban setting. Leelai is another addition to the list. The single-note storyline causes the film to sag in the middle but the believable characters and natural conversations make it quite engaging on [...]

After Mouna Raagam and Naayagan, Manirathnam was one of the most promising directors on the Tamil cinema landscape. But all his movies so far had dealt with serious drama with the only levity coming from their youthful romances. So Agni Natchathiram came as a complete surprise. At the film’s heart is still drama with two [...]