MeshTheMovieFreak

Murder in a Small Town piqued my interest due to Kristin Kreuk, and lo and behold, she is paired with another Sutherland lad. I love small-town settings, and a murder mystery makes for a great combination. The first episode started out nicely: there's a murder, and the next-door elderly neighbor seems to be the culprit, but how and why? I liked that they elaborated on the characters and gave them a good backstory. I also liked that the show doesn't feel like the usual flashy, slick murder-mystery theme. But what intrigued me the most is the chemistry of the two leads: two 40-somethings with past experiences and baggage, trying love for the second time. Kreuk's Cassandra is feisty and bubbly, while Sutherland's Karl is this two-shirt type of detective. Together, they turn this small-town mystery into a slow-burn romance that's worth every twist.

Pros: 1) Allu Arjun is a bonafide star. My first film of him and already a fan, esp in this antihero psychopath role.

2) The swag. Man, this film got style that no Mission Impossible can have.

3) The hyper-induced action choreo is out of this world. RRR, on par here, has a loud action scenes, I prefer Pushpa's action better.

Cons: 1) Sexist af lol. I hope Rashmika would stop playing damsel in distress and get her better non-regressive roles. Enough!

2) Fahadh Faasil as Singh feels disjointed. Cool intro but meh, he pales in comparison.

3) Toxic masculinity. As much as I like the swag of this film, perhaps South Indian filmmakers should upgrade their scriptwriting and charac dev skills. Leave the 90s behind, please.

I enjoyed the film thoroughly. Sanya and Abhimanyu light up the screen and they have good chemistry. I also enjoyed the Madurai setting and the South Indian family dynamic as we rarely seen that in Hindi film. However, does this bother anyone else that the lead casts themselves are not from South? It kinda irks me as why they couldn't cast someone hailed from the region instead? My other complains I guess would be the unrealistic love story between the two. They were barely stranger when they got married and they got into long distance relationship and the film built it as if they have been together forever. It's very unrealistic and I wished the film would end in a different note, perhaps showing that arrange marriage doesn't work as they both don't really know each other for a long time. But, I guess the illusion of Bollywood prevails.