Category Archives: Drama

Drama, Genre, Malayalam Movies, Must Watch, Rating, Reviews, Romance

Thattathin Marayathu

Thattathin Marayathu – is a Malayalam romance drama released in 2012. A Hindu boy living in Kerala falls in love with a Muslim girl. Were they able to get together in life is the plot of Thattathin Marayathu.

Thattathin Marayathu means “behind the veil”. A very apt title for the movie as it is related to the beauty of the lady behind the veil. A very well-known plot of an Indian romance movie, yet the movie is enjoyable for the way it has been presented, the characters are sketched and the sequences are tied together. The nativity of Malabar area is captured well and people from that area would be able to relate to the movie and its location better. Nivin Pauly and Aju Varghese have delivered a very convincing performance for director Vineeth Srinivasan. One of the big positives for the movie is that the scenes are very realistic and sketched with a feel good factor in it. If you are a fan of feel good romantic entertainers this one is a must watch for you.

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Action, Drama, Genre, Rating, Reviews, Tamil Movies, Wait for DVD/TV

Nimirndhu Nil

Nimirndhu Nil – is a Tamil action drama released in 2014. Aravind grows up in an Ashram and wishes to lead life based on all moral values he has learnt. But he is in for a shock when he comes out of the ashram and starts working. He stands against all immoral values only to find himself get blamed for. Instead of giving into it he decides to connect people across the city who believes in moral values to fight against corruption. Was he successful in his attempt is the plot for Nimirndhu Nil.

Director Samuthirakani has created a brand for himself for making movies with strong social message. Nimirndhu Nil is yet another movie in this genre. The first half of the movie travels around the protagonist identifying various immoral deeds in the society which all of us have taken for granted and are part of it. The approach he takes to bring the wrong doers to light connects with audience well and sets the expectation for a treat as they had seen in movies like Anniyan, Shivaji and so on. However the movie falters in the second half where the screenplay has struggled to untangle the knots it has set in the first half and in the end turns out to be an average flair and the intensity of the message does not have an impact. Overall this is not a bad watch and you might enjoy watching it on TV or DVD.

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Comedy, Drama, Genre, Must Watch, Rating, Reviews, Tamil Movies

Pannaiyarum Padminiyum

Pannaiyarum Padminiyum – is a Tamil Comedy Drama released in 2014. A village head man falls in love with the Fiat Premier Padmini car left behind by his friend for few days. The car soon becomes a integral part of the family and the village. The film narrates a deep love between man and machine in a native backdrop.

Naalaya Iyakunar reality show has produced some gem of directors for Tamil Cinema. Director Arun Kumar joins the elite list. He has taken a simple joy of life and created a feel good entertainer. Right from the start of the movie you would find yourself laughing, smiling and connecting to many portions of the movie. Jayakumar and Thulasi are perfect fit for their roles. Vijay Sethupathi and Bala Saravanan have performed their part well. Tale of love between man and car has always been a successful formula like the Herbie series, Padikathavan (1985), Transporter, Ferrari Ki Sawari. Pannaiyarum Padminiyum recreates the magic once again in a different style and in a different backdrop. Watch the movie to feel good and come out with a smile.

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Drama, Genre, Hindi Movies, Must Watch, Rating, Reviews, Uncategorized

Queen

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Queen – is a Hindi coming of age drama released in 2014. Rani’s wedding is cancelled by her fiancée on the eve of her wedding date. To overcome the depression she decides to travel to their planned honeymoon destination Paris and Amsterdam all by herself. Queen follows her journey where she rediscovers herself.

Queen is the first outing for Vikas Bahl to direct a movie all by himself post working as a co-director for Chillar Party. He has completely relied on Kangana Ranaut to carry the story on her shoulders and she has done a brilliant job. The movie has a sarcastic take on the society which dominates women. The scene where she tells that all her life she has always followed someone else’s order and never led a life as she had wanted to – says it all. Amit Trivedi’s music is very pleasant. Overall Queen is bold and beautiful. As Rani says “My sense of humor is good but you would take some time to understand” you would come out of the hall with a smile on your face.

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Drama, Genre, Rating, Reviews, Romance, Tamil Movies, Wait for DVD/TV

Endrendrum Punnagai

Endrendrum Punnagai – is a Tamil romantic drama released in 2013. Gautam hates women since his mother left his father and him in his childhood. He and his two close friends since high school take a vow that they would lead a life without getting committed to a woman. However things turn topsy-turvy when his friends decide to get married and settled down in life. Did this bring a change in Gautam is the plot of the movie.

Director I M Ahmed has taken the right plot for the season. He has worked on the characterization of Gautam very well and Jiva has essayed the character as the director has created it. However he hasn’t spent too much time on building out the other characters in the movie. They all seem to be wrong as seen by Gautam and also easily give up even though they get hurt deeply by Gautam’s behavior. The movie might remind you of the I Hate Luv story but this one is on a more serious note and the protagonist is a male chauvinistic person. The screenplay gets weak when the other characters easily give up justifying the actions of Gautam. If there has been more time spent in building out strong characters of his friends and Priya (character essayed by Trisha), the movie might have been an interesting watch. Overall you wouldn’t get bored by watching this movie but it is not more than a forgettable affair.

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Drama, Genre, Hindi Movies, Rating, Reviews, Romance, Wait for DVD/TV

Hasee Toh Phasee

Hasee Toh Phasee – is a Hindi romance drama released in 2014. Nikhil wants to a lead a life with guarantee from his job, to the house and his girlfriend. During the preparation for his wedding he gets in touch with the sister of his fiancee who is a drug addict and chooses to live life spontaneously. Does this change his life is the rest of the plot.

Karan Johar and Anurag Kashyap producing a movie jointly raised some interesting questions if it is going to be a fun fair with song and dance or some serious dark drama. It was more of the former. This is one of the movies which has not been positioned very well. The title and promos had set the expectations for a romantic comedy but it ends up being a bit of satire on Indian wedding, bit of old school romantic drama in the end leaves you a bit confused as are the lead characters in the movie. There are parts of the movie which are interesting including the performance of Parineeti Chopra, the chemistry between the lead pair. But this isn’t sufficient to make it a overall exciting package. You might consider to watch it once when played on TV.

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Action, Can Skip it, Drama, Genre, Rating, Reviews, Tamil Movies

Jilla

Jilla – is a Tamil action drama released in 2013. Don Siva adopts the son of his driver after Sakthi and his father save don’s family in a fight. From then on Sakthi becomes the soul of Siva’s life and naturally evolves as a successor for Siva. Circumstances leads to a point were in Siva and Sakthi has to act against each other. Who wins remains the plot of Jilla.

The star cast has been the highlight of Jilla. Mohanlal and Vijay carry the story on their shoulders. Apart from the star cast there is nothing much left in the movie. The story feels very disconnected in the first half and the majority of the screenplay is written to please the fan following of Vijay and Mohanlal. In the effort of doing that there has not been any effort in building up for the plot. Director R T Neason did have some interesting screenplay at the end but he couldn’t build up the story towards it. You wait for almost 2 hours and 15 minutes before the climax sequence begins which has some interesting moments. You end up feeling so much for so less. Characters played by Kajal Agarwal, Poornima Jayaram seemed to be disconnected from the movie throughout. The menu of this pongal feast had been an interesting one but in the end you end up having below average taste in the main course till a delicious dessert is served in limited quantity. Many people might end up skipping the dessert.

What you would like: The star cast, climax sequence

What you would dislike: Length of the movie, unfitting songs, characters and sequences

Overall, Jilla is yet another forgettable mass masala movie from Vijay.

Can skip it

Action, Can Skip it, Drama, Genre, Rating, Reviews, Tamil Movies

Veeram

Veeram – is a Tamil Action Drama released in 2013. Vinayagam is a village don who lives with his five brothers. Together they stand for truce and believe in violence to bring about justice. Vinayagam falls in love with a girl whose father is also a head of a village but believes in non-violence as a mode for seeking justice. How does this conflict resolve, Did Vinayagam marry the girl he loves forms the plot of Veeram.

It is yet another movie that is written banking on the star value of Ajith. Director Siva known for his commercial masala pot boiler has not deviated from his comfort zone. The plot would remind of you of umpteen movies you had already seen in the past. Murattu Kaalai, Vaanathai pola, the recent remake of Murattu Kaalai. There is nothing new in this one either. At one point of time you feel the movie is heading towards the conflict between violence and non-violence to win a war. But it does nothing and has tried to bank on the commercial elements. On the whole Veeram is much of a forgettable affair. You wouldn’t miss much.

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

Prisoners

Prisoners – is an American thriller released in 2013. Two young kids go missing from the neighborhood on Thanksgiving Day. The only clue is that there was an RV stationed outside their house before they went missing. What happened to the kids, did their parents able to locate them remains the plot of the movie.

The movie sets on its in main story line right from the beginning and you try to learn about the characters as it progresses. The sequences are taken on gloomy winter afternoons which make the visual convey the depressing tone of the movie. As and when the plot reaches the point of unsolvable mystery some unexpected incident happens which would keep you engaged. Director Denis Villeneuve has crafted a slow but very gripping thriller plot. Hugh Jackman had portrayed the role of a father whose daughter has gone missing very well and has performed very well. The movie is a must watch for all thriller drama lovers.

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

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.

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Drama, Genre, Malayalam Movies, Must Watch, Rating, Reviews, Thriller

Drishyam

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Drishyam – is a Malayalam drama and thriller released in 2013. The movie revolves around the middle class family of Georgekutty, his wife Rani and their two daughters. They lead a typical life that has both happy as well as challenging moments around petty things. Overnight they go through a situation that threatens to change their lives forever. What was the situation and did they manage to overcome it is the plot of Drishyam.

Director Jeethu Joseph has created a very engaging thriller in Drishyam. The movie starts on a slow note revolving around the family going about their routine life. One might start having a feeling of watching a TV serial during this portion. However once the problem is manifested everything falls in place and keeps you engaged throughout. You would leave the hall with a very satisfied feeling. Mohanlal’s acting is laudable and is very convincing. The other characters Meena, Kalabhavan Shajon has done a very good job in their roles as well. The screenplay and the shots layout has been the soul for the movie which slowly unfolds and keeps the audience guessing till the end. But for the length of the movie you would not find many shortcomings. Overall the movie is a must watch in the theaters.

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

Gravity (IMAX 3D)

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Gravity (IMAX 3D) – is a thriller and drama released in 2013.  Dr. Ryan Stone is on her first space shuttle mission with veteran Matt Kowalski to service the Hubble Space Telescope. They get warned by the Mission Control in Houston to abort the mission to escape from the debris of a Russian satellite, however before they escape their space craft is destroyed by debris and Ryan Stone drifts away. The rest of the movie is about did Stone find her crew back and did she reach earth safely?

When I saw the trailer of the movie I wondered how such a plot could have been developed to make an engaging movie. I had to change my opinion after seeing it. Director Alfonso Cuarón has narrated a story of hope and survival when everything seems gloomy. The movie’s plot is not merely a science fiction rather has parallel themes of self-belief, soul searching, meaning of life. Cuarón has done a brilliant work of using the silent and eerie but beautiful space as the background for the conveying the theme. The visual effects are stunning and you have a feel for space exploration and admire the beauty of earth from space. The movie is completely set in space and catches your attention right from the first frame where there is absolute silence. The film covers space exploration in great detail and accuracy barring a few sequences used for creative liberty.  Sandra Bullock has performed very well and this would be one among her best works. Steven Price’s background score takes the audience through an emotional ride in otherwise silent space. Overall, if you are a fan of movies like Cast Away, Life of Pi which is not merely an adventure tale but deals with hope, survival and soul searching then Gravity is a Must Watch. If you don’t connect to the philosophical theme of the plot then you would feel this is nothing more than a IMAX show of space exploration.

Must Watch – for lovers of space movies and survival stories!