Category Archives: Crime

Crime, Genre, Rating, Reviews, Romance, Tamil Movies, Thriller, Worth a Watch

Achcham Yenbadhu Madamaiyada Review

Achcham Yenbadhu Madamaiyada Review – Achcham Yenbadhu Madamaiyada is a romantic thriller released in 2016. Leela goes on a road trip on a bike with her friend’s brother. What begins to be a feel good romantic journey turns ugly when they meet with an accident.

The movie starts with a statement that it has been inspired by the scene in The Godfather. This scene should be where injured Michael plots revenge against the corrupt policeman. If you are expecting a VTV kind of a movie you would be in for a surprise as it is not a romantic drama. Only the first half of the movie is dedicated to romance and you would see all the songs appear in the first half of the movie itself. Then the second half is the inspiration part.

This is GVM’s way of movie making and story telling. You may like this or hate it but beyond everything you see a genuine sincerity in making what he believes in. There is a very casual approach in the first half as the scenes and the dialogues flow like they have been taken using a candid camera. There is also an element of surprise about the name of the lead protagonist. This is kept under wraps till the final sequence in the movie. He is passionate about riding his bullet and the initial scenes and dialogues would connect well with the biker community. Manjima Mohan is an eye candy who follows the tradition of a GVM’s heroine.

The second half of the movie is gritty and keeps you at the edge of the seat. A genre that I believe that GVM excels in. He can create a gruesome villain out of anyone. Baba Sehgal in this case.  The placement and creation of Thalli Pogathey song are beautiful and would be one of the high points in the movie. This kind of reminded me of a different opening by Myskkin in Pisasu. The hospital scene, the chase, and episode at the doctor’s house are the most engaging part of the movie. What happens to be a breezy ride on the tracks becomes a roller coaster ride. However, the big minus for the movie is the climax. When the suspense is unveiling, the story of movies Gangs of Wasseypur or RGV’s political crime drama is narrated with new characters so all the suspense built so far becomes for nothing. The non-linear editing with flashes of scenes, in the beginning, is the only knot that ties this. Still, this is not very effective. I only wished there was a foreshadowing done a bit earlier.

High Points: Thalli Pogathey song, Cinematography of the travel and the fight sequences, the hospital and final chase sequences. Picturization of the songs.

Low Points: The climax is the low point in the movie as the audience were not prepared for it.

Overall AYM is a movie which offers you many things you might like than hate. If you are able to withstand the disappointment in the climax you would be able to appreciate all other good things it offers.

For the sincere attempt and for Thalli Pogathey this one is

Worth a Watch

PS: A note to GVM and other Tamil directors, when you portray IPS officers please don’t let them sport a beard. Understand, undercover cops are allowed to have a beard, but when they take up normal duty and wear the uniform they are not allowed to have a beard.

Action, Crime, Drama, Genre, Rating, Reviews, Tamil Movies, Worth a Watch

Kabali Review

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Kabali Review – Kabali is a Tamil gangster drama released in 2016. Kabali a gangster leading the Tamil group in Malaysia is released from prison after 25 years due to a crime scene where he lost his pregnant wife. As he sets to seek revenge on his enemies he learns his wife might be still alive.

Probably this Rajnikanth movie had a much greater hype than any of his previous movies. I decided not to watch it on the first day for multiple reasons, one with so much of overhype I wasn’t sure if I could write a balanced review. The other reason was Ranjith and Rajini had mentioned this would not be a usual Rajini movie and the most recent posters depicting Rajini in an emotional avatar I did not want to miss out the intensity lost when I watch it as an ardent fan of Thalaivar.

As expected the movie is definitely apart from standard Rajini movies. Still they couldn’t do away with some of the scenes that happen to be typical template of a Rajini starrer. The first 20 minutes of the movie gives what the audience need at the same time helps in moving the plot forward. Rajini’s costume, the style of his walk, the swag has come out very well and there is plenty to cheer about. As the movie progresses the plot gets grim and eventually turns into an emotional drama till getting back to the Gangster life. I enjoyed the gangster part of the flick for many reasons. I felt there was a deep influence of Scarface and it could become a cult classic. I did not like the emotional journey of Kabali and felt it was added just as a filler and did not move the story forward infact the emotional journey made his purpose of revenge more weaker. If you have watched the movie you would understand.

Kudos to Ranjith and team for pulling out a movie which had more chance for Rajini as an actor.  Radhika Apte, Dhansika, Dinesh, Kishore have supported well.

High Points: Rajini’s acting, his Swag, intense drama in the screenplay, Background Score, Flashback portions, Malaysian culture has been depicted well.

Low Points: The emotional Journey of Kabali did not help the plot much, Songs could have been better.

Overall Kabali is charismatic to hold you to your seats and keep you intense till the end. The minor plot holes could be easily forgotten when seeing the entire package. Ghost of Baasha would always haunt Rajini and his directors and we can’t do much about it. Only way to break this is to create movies like Kabali and Endhiran to bring out the actor in Rajinikanth. Go and watch in the theaters.

Worth a Watch

Action, Crime, Genre, Rating, Reviews, Tamil Movies, Thriller, Worth a Watch

Thoongaa Vanam Review

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Thoongaa Vanam Review – Thoongaa Vanam is a Tamil action crime thriller released in 2015. This is an official remake of French movie Nuit Blanche. CK Diwakar an officer in Narcotics Control Bureau along with his colleague steal drugs from a smuggling gang to make some quick money. The boss of the smuggling gang kidnaps Diwakar’s son and demands him to return the stolen drug.

Kamal Hassan demands a greater deal of maturity from the viewers for he had taken a script and stuck to the core theme of the script. He hasn’t taken any time to explain what NCB is. Hasn’t wasted time in introduction scene, songs and comedy track. The movie gets on track right from the first frame which opens on a hazy windshield with the evergreen Chandrababu song “சிரிப்பு வருது சிரிப்பு வருது…” playing in the radio. Even the character background of Kamal is revealed only later in dialogues during his first interaction with Prakash Raj. Kudos to Kamal, Director Rajesh M Selva and team for taking a script and staying in the perimeter of its true essence.

The next biggest strength of the movie is its cast. Prakash Raj, Trisha, Sampath Raj, Yugi Sedhu and Kishore all of them fit their roles very well. Kamal has performed his role at ease. The chemistry between him and his son reminds us of Uttama Villain. The trademark Kamal’s humor sprinkled in the dialogues in many places of the movie.

High Points: A different attempt in Tamil Cinema breaking some of the commercial formula, casting, action sequences.

Low Points: The original script itself has been witnessed in many crime thrillers and it lacks pace in the first half.

Overall Thoongavanam is a much-needed break for Tamil Cinema. It doesn’t aspire to be a milestone in Indian Cinema but a sincere attempt to give a good cinema to the audience.

Worth a Watch

 

Crime, Genre, Korean Movies, Must Watch, Rating, Reviews, Thriller

Seven Days Review

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Seven Days Review – Seven Days is a South Korean crime thriller movie released in 2007. Yoo Ji-yeon is a successful lawyer. Her daughter is kidnapped and she has to win a case to release a convict with death sentence for a murder to save her daughter.

The movie is very slick and engaging throughout. The suspense of the plot is maintained throughout and keeps you guessing on what is going to happen next. Yunjin Kim has performed her role very well. She comes across very convincingly for a lawyer and a mother trying to save her daughter. The scene in which she is interacting with the criminal with utmost confidence and the scene in which she breaks down for her daughter there is a sharp contrast and powerful.

The script keeps building up well and knots tighten as they try to break it. In the end everything falls in place. The movie has a strong take on the moral values and the conflict between moral values versus the selfish benefit for one’s own family.

High Points: The script is very thrilling and engaging throughout, Yunjin Kim’s performance, suspense maintained throughout the movie.

Low Points: Not many for this movie.

This movie is remade in Bollywood as Jazbaa featuring Aishwarya Rai and Irrfan Khan. From the trailer it seems to be neatly done, maintaining some of the core essence of the movie. It definitely promises to be a good movie and has a very promising cast for the roles that had been in the original.

Overall Seven Days is a treat for crime thriller fans and it does go beyond dealing with emotional dilemma of ethics. If you love crime thrillers, this one is a must watch for you. This one has some explicit violence scenes and viewers discretion is required.

Must Watch

Crime, Drama, Genre, Korean Movies, Must Watch, Rating, Reviews, Suspense

Mother Review

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Mother Review – Mother aka Madeo is a South Korean crime mystery released in 2009. A mother has to find the killer of a girl murdered in the neighborhood to save her son from being convicted for the murder.

The premise is very interesting and is set in a small town in South Korea. Director Bong Joon-ho yet again comes up with a brilliant script with full of suspense and mystery around a crime after his Memories of Murder. A mother’s love towards her son is universal. How far a mother would go in order to save her son when all the odds are pointing against him is a very interesting plot line. The screenplay is very intense and starts getting gripping once the mother start her journey of finding the killer. The opening shot of the movie itself is a brilliant one and keeps you interested till the end. Kim Hye-ja has performed the role very well and is the backbone of the movie.

The scene in which she is trying to hide in one of the suspect’s house to take an evidence of crime and the attitude in her walks is simply amazing. The entire scene is very gripping. She can turn her expression from anger to guilt to love in seconds. The suspense is maintained till the end of the movie and the ending is just brilliant. I had a very long reflection process after watching this movie. It was quiet overwhelming for me to see the ending anything I speak about it I would give the movie away.

High Points: The screenplay of the movie, acting performance by Kim Hye-ja, gripping moments, background score

Low Points: There are no much low points. I felt the script was bit longer for its content.

Overall the movie is brilliant and is very different from the movie you would have seen. Watch it for the unique script and power packed performance by Kim Hye-ja. This is a must watch for all suspense thriller fans.

Must Watch

Action, Crime, Genre, Thriller

Yennai Arindhaal Review

Yennai Arindhaal Review – Yennai Arindhaal is a Tamil crime thriller released in 2015. Thenmozhi a quality lead in a software company on her flight back to India meets a handsome man Satyadev and develops interest in him. Once she reaches India she tries to meet him without being aware of the danger lurking over her.

Director Gautham Vasudev Menon has gone back to handling cop story and he says this one completes his cop film trilogy. There has been a huge expectation surrounding the movie particularly Ajith getting on the project and also the director’s previous cop movie outings with Kaakha Kaakha and Vetaiyaadu Vilayadu being successful ones. The final output has turned out to be a crime drama rather than a cop story. This one would be rated the least compared to the previous two movies. The movie’s script misses establishing of the core conflict strongly. The movie rides on the ego clash between the two characters which doesn’t occur for major part of the movie. Also there are certain elements of Gautham menon’s cop stories that repeat here as well.

Ajith looks very smart and fits into the character very well. Arun Vijay’s has a great scope and this performance is his best performance so far. The action sequences in the movie have been done well. Vivek’s comedy sequences has worked well. Anushka has a very limited scope. Trisha steals the attention in the scenes which she appears.

High Points – Ajith’s star value, Not falling into the trap of creating mass introduction scene for Ajith, Ajith’s performance, Arun Vijay’s performance, Action sequences, Vivek’s comedy, Trisha’s visual appeal

Low Points – Weak conflict in the movie, too many loop holes in the plot, Only Ajith seems to be the able police officer who carries guns but none of the others seem to be and also they wait for Ajith to do the action which seems so unreal

Overall as Ajith says there is a thin line between the good and the bad… Yennai Arindhaal has just managed to walk on the thin line without getting on either side. So depends upon which side of the line you are seeing it from you might enjoy or hate the movie.

Watchable – only for crime thriller fans

Crime, Genre, Thriller

Nee Naan Nizhal Review

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Nee Naan Nizhal Review – Nee Naan Nizhal is a Tamil crime thriller released in 2014.  A serial killing of five Indian origin people in Malaysia starts of a investigation by the Malaysian police.  The five murdered individuals do not have anything in common but for a common facebook friend.

The movie definitely has a strong plot and an underlying social message around cyber-crime. This is the first movie for director John Robinson and kudos to him for taking up a good plot. The first half of the movie is very sluggish. The songs could have been avoided as they slow down the pace of the movie. The entire Coimbatore episode surrounding the five friends seems out of place for the movie.  The forced comedy sequences involving MS Bhaskar does not make you laugh. The director could have used this time and space to increase the complexity of the knot.  For any investigative thriller to be very effective it is very important to build knots and making the case look unsolvable leading up to the climax where the knot is removed and the surprise is revealed. Nee Naan Nizhal has missed out on this despite having a great potential for a gripping thriller. The story picks up from the interval block. Sarathkumar and Manoj K Jayan are good choice for the supporting roles. Again building on their characterization would have made it even more interesting. The use of comic style animation to narrate the flashback is very effective. This is now been adopted by many of the new age film makers. Given the restrictions of the Indian censor board this definitely is a very effective alternate medium for conveying the intensity of the problem.

If you are able to sit through the sluggish first half of the movie you might enjoy the second half which forms the meat of the story. Overall the movie is watchable at home for its plot.

Wait for DVD/TV – for its plot

Crime, Genre, Korean Movies, Rating, Reviews, Thriller, Worth a Watch

I Saw The Devil

I Saw The Devil – is a South Korean psychological thriller released in 2010. A psycho serial killer Kyung-chul kills the fiancé of a secret service agent Soo-hyun. Soo-hyun takes a painful revenge on Kyung-chul by injuring him and then let him get treated to get well and then again injuring him.

The film is strictly for those who can with stand gory movies and is not suitable for kids. The movie is shot boldly with very explicit violent scenes. Director Kim Jee-Woon has given a different genre of movie after his star studded The Good The Bad The Weird. Choi Min-sik has performed the role of a psycho killer very well and is very scary. Lee Byung-hun is very convincing as a secret agent out to take revenge. The scene where he sees the body of his fiancé and tries to control his emotion is a notable performance. He has maintained the mood throughout as he is on the run to chase the killer. He is good at playing negative shade character and as this character has the negative shade it had aptly fitted him very well.

The recent Bollywood movie Ek Villain is very similar to this plot. Although the makers have denied that it was adapted from this.  There are lot similarities between the two although the Bollywood version is a mellowed down version of this movie. The Bollywood version goes into giving a reason for the serial killing which is not there in this movie.

Watchable – for psychological thriller fans

Crime, Drama, English Movies, Genre, Must Watch, Rating, Reviews

Scarface

Scarface – is an American crime drama released in 1983. Tony Montana, a criminal in Cuba arrives to the United States along with the Cuban refugees. He becomes part of a criminal gang and rises to power due to his arrogant, aggressive and brutal attitude.

Although the movie has been shot in 1983 it is still one of the best gangster movies. Right from the start till the finish you see street fights, gang wars and shootouts. Al Pacino has set a great role model for any gangster role in movies that would be made. Many of Indian gangster movies have been influenced by this one. The recent one is Billa 2 starring Ajith. As the movie progresses you could see a remarkable transition in Al Pacino’s character, mannerisms and style. All these have become iconic now. If you love gangster movies this one is a must watch. Strictly not for kids for the violence it has.

Must Watch

Crime, Genre, Korean Movies, Must Watch, Rating, Reviews, Thriller

Memories of Murder

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Memories of Murder – is a South Korean crime thriller released in 2003. The movie is based on true incidents of serial killing that occurred between 1986 and 1991 in  Hwaseong, Gyeonggi Province in South Korea. In a small city, a woman is raped and murdered. Soon the detectives realize it is just one of the many serial killings that occur. A local detective and a detective from Seoul with conflicting personalities have to team up to track down the killer and stop future murders.

This movie is directed by Bong Joon-ho prior to The Host. If you are fan of crime thrillers and serial killings this would be a must watch for you. The story is so intriguing and plots open up with even more complicated knot as the movie progresses. You might have seen similar plots in many movies in the recent times (I will leave that for your guessing :)) . But still this one is class apart from all those I have seen. As you see in The Host even in this movie there are some strong social takes. Weaving the current state of affairs into a script is brilliance of Bong Joon-ho. The lead actors Song Kang-ho and Kim Sang-kyung have given very engaging performances and the transfer in their personalities as the movie progresses is brilliant. 

Overall this movie is one of the best movies made on serial killing. This one is a must watch for all movie buffs.

Must Watch

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A Dirty Carnival

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A Dirty Carnival – is a South Korean neo-noir film released in 2006. An upcoming film director Min Ho has to read a gangster’s life to create the script for his gangster movie. He follows and interviews his high school friend turned gangster Kim Byung-doo to understand the life of a gangster and make his movie. When the movie is released it is so close to the reality of the crime Byung-doo was involved in that he now has to kill Min Ho to save his secrets.

Sounds similar? Well this is the movie that many of the movie buffs have compared with Jigarthanda. Only the central plot is similar but the genre, treatment, the actual conflict and where the movie heads to is vastly different. They are two different movies with different story. So stop comparing the two movies.

A Dirty Carnival is a very serious gangster movie in itself. The movie is so realistic to the life of gangsters. You would see some realistic looking fights rather than the cinematic fights with visual effects. The movie right from the start follows Kim Byung-doo who is leading the life of a gangster and struggling to make his ends meet with an ailing mother, dependent brother and sister. The story is about his rise to power, his love for his childhood friend, his interactions with Min Ho for the movie script and the final conflict he gets into where he would have to kill his friend to live free. The story is very engaging right from the start. You would have the experience of looking into the life of a gangster. The performances, character buildup have been done very well. The editing of the movie is outstanding. If you are fan of gangster movies watch this one definitely.

Must Watch – for gangster fans

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American Hustle

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American Hustle – is a crime drama released in 2013. The movie is loosely based on the ABSCAM operation that had happened in the late 70’s in the United States. A FBI agent persuades two con artists to help him make some high profile arrests in return for not arresting them for their con. The operation leads them into a world of politicians and underworld mafias. What transcribes is the part of the story.

Director David O. Russell yet again pulls a very intriguing movie after Silver Linings Playbook. American Hustle is loaded with powerful star cast whose performance will impress you through the movie. The screenplay is witty and subtly touches on the ambiguities involved in the ABSCAM operation. Christian Bale, Amy Adams, Bradley Cooper, Jeremy Renner and Jennifer Lawrence have performed brilliantly and are very convincing of the characters they had portrayed. The movie is high in drama value and background knowledge of the ABSCAM operation would make it more interesting. Overall it is a must watch for all crime drama lovers.

Must Watch