Movie Reviews
‘Holland’ Review: Nicole Kidman, Matthew Macfadyen and Gael Garcia Bernal in a Stylish Psychological Thriller That Doesn’t Pay Off
Nancy Vandergroot (Nicole Kidman), the dewy-eyed protagonist of Mimi Cave’s sophomore feature Holland, has a tendency to somersault to conclusions. At the start of this stylish but plodding film, which premiered at SXSW ahead of its March 27 release on Prime Video, the suburban mother loses a pearl earring. Her husband Fred (a chilling Matthew Macfadyen) suggests she check her junk drawer or the jars housing her craft supplies. Nancy, convinced of her own theories, accuses her son’s tutor, Candy (Rachel Sennott), of theft and promptly fires the befuddled high-school student.
This is a clever introduction to Nancy because later, when she conscripts her friend Dave (Gael García Bernal) to help her investigate whether or not Fred is having an affair, you can’t help but wonder if Nancy might be jumping to conclusions again. Of course anyone familiar with Cave, whose directorial debut Fresh established her as a filmmaker to watch, will know that Fred, the town’s ophthalmologist, is certainly hiding a secret. The real question is what kind.
Holland
The Bottom Line Lots of style, put to inconsistent use.
Venue: SXSW Film Festival (Headliner)
Release date: Thursday, March 27 (Prime Video)
Cast: Nicole Kidman, Matthew Macfadyen, Jude Hill, Gael García Bernal
Director: Mimi Cave
Screenwriter: Andrew Sodroski
Rated R,
1 hour 48 minutes
Working from a screenplay by Andrew Sodroski, Cave constructs a visually compelling answer to this question. Holland boasts striking advancements in the director’s style and committed performances from Kidman, Macfadyen and Bernal, but these qualities can’t quite save a narrative fundamentally confused about its purpose. Sodroski’s story hinges on a single, shocking twist that, once revealed (more than two-thirds of the way into the film), hampers instead of helps the third act. It squanders the deftly calibrated anxious suspense, turning Holland into a study of suburban paranoia and domestic isolation that slackens over time.
Before Nancy became suspicious of her husband, she lived contentedly as a home economics teacher and devoted wife in their small town. It’s sometime in the early aughts and Cave opens Holland with a charmed testimonial about the lakefront Michigan locale. Nancy, through voiceover, describes a harmonious existence characterized by her loving family, their stately white home and the annual tulip festival. Cave juxtaposes this supposed serenity with a technicolor aesthetic that establishes an uneasy surrealism. There’s a dreamy quality to each scene, which destabilizes confidence in what’s real.
Below the pristine surface of Nancy’s life, secrets fester. She suspects Fred’s infidelity after a series of small discoveries, and confides in Dave, a shop teacher at the high school where she works. He harbors a faint crush on her and, in an irrational and lovelorn frenzy, agrees to help her snoop.
The early parts of their adventure possess the feverish quality of new and illicit experiences. It also awakens Nancy from a life she likens to carbon monoxide poisoning — slow and comforting in its kill. This is not the first time Kidman has played a woman rebelling against the gilded confines of her existence, so the actress delivers a reliably fine performance. She vacillates frantically between Nancy’s public performance of innocence and a more subdued desire for risk, giving the character an enticing and unpredictable edge.
As Nancy and Dave continue to gather evidence, Nancy’s anxieties balloon. She has nightmares about her son Harry (Jude Hill) in danger and imagines herself as a stilted figurine in the intricate diorama her husband has been working on in the garage. She also starts sleeping with Dave and is plagued by complicated feelings around this affair.
The real star of Holland is Cave’s style, which builds a disturbing portrait of suburban unease. Partnering with Fresh cinematographer Pawel Pogorzelski again, the director renders that state as a fever dream defined by claustrophobic shots, frenetic crosscuts and dizzying tilts and pans. Composer Alex Somers (Nickel Boys) adds to this tension by punctuating the ethereal foundation of his score with foreboding elements. All of these choices root us in Nancy’s unsettled psyche, upending earlier assumptions about her personality.
Unfortunately, Cave’s uncanny portrayal of Nancy’s emotional and physical world struggles against the confusion of a scattered story. Bernal gives a strong turn as Dave, especially as the teacher’s determination to protect Nancy mutates into an excited obsession. There’s evidence early on that this character has moved to Holland for a fresh start, but the film never returns to that plot point. A similar fate befalls a thread that touches on the xenophobia suppurating right beneath the town’s genteel exterior and the significance of the tulip festival.
Too many of these instances weigh on Holland as it plods along, somewhat unsteadily, under the weight of abandoned storylines. The big reveal alleviates some of the pressure, but the shock of it comes a little too late, and what proceeds to unfold in the third act feels like a film disappointedly letting out almost all its air.
Movie Reviews
Sharwanand Biker Movie Review
39
Movie Name : Biker
Release Date : April 03, 2026
123telugu.com Rating : 3.25/5
Starring : Sharwanand, Dr Rajashekhar, Malvika Nair & Others.
Director : Abhilash Reddy
Producers : Vamsi Krishna Reddy, Pramodh Uppalapati
Music Director : Ghibran Vaibodha
Cinematographer : J Yuvraj
Editor : Anil Pasala
Related Links : Trailer
Sharwanand has now come up with the sports drama Biker. Directed by Abhilash Reddy, the movie stars Rajasekhar in a key role. Let’s see how the film is.
Story:
Vikas Narayan aka Vikky (Sharwanand) is a top-class motocross racer.. Since childhood, he is trained rigorously by his father Sunil Narayan (Rajasekhar). However, Vikky suddenly leaves the sport, putting his father in a tough spot.
Why did Vikky leave racing? How is he connected to Ananya (Malavika Nair)? What is her role in his life? What happened after Vikky left the sport? This forms the crux of the story.
Plus Points:
We have already seen multiple sports dramas in Tollywood, but motocross racing has never been explored before, and that becomes the USP of Biker. Even though a few moments appear familiar, the unexplored territory in Telugu cinema keeps the proceedings engaging, and credit where it’s due.
The sport sequences are superbly shot and choreographed. Some moments truly keep us on the edge of our seats. To make a film on a less popular sport in India by weaving emotional moments around it, the director does a pretty good job in helping the movie connect with the regular audience.
Sharwanand looks in his best shape, and it’s good to see him try his hand at multiple genres. He brings sincerity to his performance as a professional racer and is effective in the emotional segments as well. His scenes with Rajasekhar work well. With Biker, Rajasekhar (Angry Man) reaches a new level, playing his part with utmost dignity and elegance.
When veterans play their age and become an integral part of the story instead of trying to outshine others, it’s a pleasure to watch. From here on, Rajasekhar could become the go-to actor for character roles in Telugu cinema. The second half is comparatively more engaging with decent emotional depth. Malavika Nair is fine in her role.
Minus Points:
Biker plays it safe in key moments with familiar tropes, which prevents it from reaching the next level. The vulnerability of the protagonist should have been explored more during the actual racing portions to make it stand apart from regular sports dramas. Some elements feel too easy for the hero to achieve, which takes away from the realism.
Instead of external factors, if the hero had been troubled by his own internal thought process during the racing, the impact could have been much higher. The episodes involving the hero’s sponsorship needed better execution.
The racing scenes are no doubt solid, but the moments leading up to them could have been still better. The conflict point between the lead pair is meaningful, but it is underutilized. The first half is slow at times, and isn’t upto the mark on the whole.
Technical Aspects:
Ghibran’s background score is solid in the thrilling moments, and the sound design is excellent. Cinematographer Yuvraj does a fabulous job in picturizing the racing sequences. The editing is fine in the latter half, but needed improvement in the first half.
The production values are solid. Director Abhilash Reddy takes up a not-so-popular sport and delivers an engaging film with a fair number of good moments. Had he avoided a few clichés, the movie could have reached a whole new level.
Verdict:
On the whole, Biker is an engaging sports drama with a never-before-explored motocross racing backdrop and good performances. The racing scenes are brilliant, and the film is carried by Sharwanand and Rajasekhar with their impressive performances. The first half is slow, and there are a few convenient moments. The use of certain tropes could have been avoided for better impact. Nonetheless, if you enjoy sports dramas, Biker turns out to be a satisfactory watch.
123telugu.com Rating: 3.25/5
Reviewed by 123telugu Team
Movie Reviews
Vaazha 2 first half review: Hashir anchors a lively, chaos-filled teen tale
‘Vaazha’ found its footing in how sharply it reflected a certain kind of youth, boys dismissed as ‘vaazhas’, but carrying their own confusions and emotional weight. The second part returns to that space, again following a group of boys trying to figure themselves out.
Directed by Savin SA, the film tracks this gang through their higher secondary years, with Hashir and Alan among the central figures. It stays with them as they move through that in-between phase, dealing with early attraction, peer pressure and the pull of new experiences, the kind that often arrive before they fully understand them. The narrative is not built around a single arc, but around the shared rhythm of the group.
The first half is mounted as a high-energy stretch, driven by humour, action and a fast pace, with a background score that keeps it buoyant. The inclusion of contemporary content creators stands out here, and the response suggests it lands well with younger viewers, especially in the way the film taps into familiar emotions.
Vijay Babu, Aju Varghese and Sudheesh appear in key supporting roles, adding presence around the central group.
Where the first Vaazha had a more subdued, easygoing take on youth, the sequel is noticeably louder and more vibrant, holding on to the same core but pushing it with greater energy.
Movie Reviews
‘Are We Having Fun Yet?’
Photo: Universal/Everett Collection
Like being asphyxiated in a ball pit filled with candy, the experience of watching The Super Mario Galaxy Movie is at once kaleidoscopic and nerve-wracking. It pantomimes the hallmarks of a good time, with a fast, forced cheeriness; the flashing lights, bright colors, sparkly design, and subplot-happy narrative are there to hold our attention and charm us, but they accomplish the opposite, instead making us worry about what we’re missing. At one point there’s a throwaway bit involving a roller coaster that dives into a pit of lava, eventually emerging with all its passengers transformed into happy skeletons; maybe we are supposed to be those happy skeletons, drained of life and loving it. The good news (or is it the bad news?) is that this is a kids’ movie and nobody cares what “we” think. Its predecessor, 2023’s Super Mario Bros. Movie, made more than $1.3 billion worldwide, and no one should be surprised if this one does something similar.
That first movie wasn’t particularly accomplished either, but it had a slick simplicity that one could sort of lose oneself in and some clever bits involving our heroes, Brooklyn plumber brothers Mario (Chris Pratt) and Luigi (Charlie Day), as well as a lively turn by Jack Black as the bloviating turtle-demon Bowser. The sequel, by contrast, is turbo-loaded with character, incident, themes, never pausing to let us appreciate anything. Though directors Aaron Horvath and Michael Jelenic do apparently want us to care: The Super Mario Galaxy Movie centers around families destroyed and reclaimed, a sentence I can’t believe I just typed. The film’s chief villain, the spasmodic Bowser Jr. (voiced by Benny Safdie), seeks to save his father, the now-docile Bowser, from neutered captivity. As part of his devious plan (I think?), Junior kidnaps Princess Rosalina (Brie Larson) from her space-faring observatory dominion, where she plays mother to a race of puffy, colorful star children known as Lumas. Rosalina loves to read her kids heroic stories about Princess Peach (Anya Taylor-Joy), her long-lost sister, ruler of the Mushroom Kingdom and Mario’s main object of desire. Such attempts to infuse depth into the film’s carnivalesque cacophony could have been something, but corporate flatness consumes all. The ideas about family aren’t explored or developed, merely repeated.
But like I said, it’s a kids’ film, and younger children will be distracted by the aforementioned cute little star-baby things, by the cute little mushroom-head guys, by the frantic speed at which everything comes at us, and by the film’s vision of the universe as a series of amusement parks, with each world in this galaxy seemingly its own funfair. If only all this chaos didn’t feel so strained, so polished and programmed, so, so … unchaotic. The movie is also filled with Easter eggs from many decades’ worth of Mario video games, which will surely reassure devoted fans of those games that all is right with the world and someone loves them. (Full disclosure: I haven’t played any of them. Back when I was a kid and had to cold turkey myself from video games entirely, I’m pretty sure Donkey Kong was as far as I got in the incipient Mario universe.) The best of these aforementioned callouts is the appearance of the Han Solo–like Star Fox (voiced by Glen Powell), a character from a different set of Nintendo games, who arrives accompanied by his own hand-animated, hyper credit sequence. More of that, please.
Of the rest of the star-laden voice cast, Safdie and Black are the only others who make an impression. As before, Bowser has been realized with an eye (and an ear) for Black’s own grandiose, mock-operatic mannerisms, and Safdie seems to have appropriated them for the character’s offspring. Black, of course, was also the star of last year’s entertaining hit A Minecraft Movie, which got a ton of mileage out of the actor’s unique mix of irony and roaring sincerity, using him to hold together its ramshackle, faux-DIY vibe. That film was a good example of this type of material handled with something resembling charm. We could also point to something older like The LEGO Movie as a model of a brand-management enterprise that managed to be irreverent and thoughtful (and, indeed, brilliant) at the same time. All The Super Mario Galaxy Movie has, unfortunately, is the messianic fervor with which it throws everything at us. Well, that, and the mountains of money it will surely make. Me, I’ll take my travel stipend and go home.
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