Category Archives: Genre

Action, Comedy, Drama, Genre, Malayalam Movies, Must Watch, Rating, Reviews

Action Hero Biju Review

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Action Hero Biju Review – Action Hero Biju is a Malayalam drama film released in 2016. The story revolves around the daily life of a local town sub-inspector in Kerala.

The movies title and trailer are a bit misleading for it to be a typical commercial cop drama. However the tagline “A ride with a police officer” is a more apt title. Nivin Pauly had switched gears after the blockbuster Premam to do a realistic cop drama. The word realistic is key because the movie is very simple and revolves around the day to day life of a cop. After watching the movie for 140 minutes you get a feeling of having been a spectator in a police station. You see the police officer trying to resolve the cases, adamant to not to submit before power, deal with emotional situations with a straight face as it is a routine, enjoy the music played by a convict. The conflicts are not dramatic like any other movie. Barring the last fight sequence, the movie is a sincere attempt to pay tribute to the cops.

The best part of the movie is the screenplay. It is almost like a theater where the next set of characters arrive to perform on the stage once the previous ones are done. Here the police station is like a stage. You see a plethora of characters including a local drug dealer, a stalker, a nuisance creator in public, a separated couple, a human right activist, a spoilt rich man to mention a few. Each of the characters adds an interesting facet to the narration. In many parts, you see parallel tracks going on a different case and each of them gets a logical resolution. The start of the movie creates the necessary suspense needed to glue the audience to the seat.

High Points: A sincere screenplay without any frills, Nivin Pauly’s performance as sub-inspector Biju, character sketches in various cases.

Low Points: I want to leave this blank to laud the effort of an honest film.

Overall Action Hero Biju is a movie for all movie buffs. The makers have proved how you can make an interesting movie without falling into the fray of items forced in for commercial reasons. I would recommend this to be a Must watch for the sincere script.

Must Watch

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

Ko 2 Review

Ko 2 Review – Ko 2 is a Tamil political thriller released in 2016. Kumaran kidnaps the chief minister f the state. His demands are very peculiar in nature to begin with.

Making it a sequel to Ko seems to  be an after thought. They seem to have introduced some subtle references in the background. Apart from this there is absolutely no connect between the two. Bobby Simha has struggled to carry forward an already sluggish screenplay. Prakash raj and Nasser have very limited scope in the movie.

The serious scenes in the movie look comical while the comedy portions make you serious. The movie starts with an interesting premise but falls into the trap of creating a justification so strong to connect with the audience. The justification given is not connected to the initial premise of the movie and there is absolutely no foreshadowing on what the audience are supposed to expect. In the end, the movie that should have created a social impact ends up being a tale of personal vengeance.

The old Tamil movies Paalam starring Murali and Director Cheran’s Desiyageetham has been built on the same premise and were engaging throughout. The reason is their screenplay stayed core to the plot and the connect between the protagonists’ cause and the audience had been established well. Ko 2 fails to do that.

High points: The only high point of the movie has been the initial premise.

Low points: The screenplay is too loose and sways too much. Lack of utilization of Prakashraj and Nasser. Lack of proper research on the subject and no connect with the audience.

Overall I felt this might have been the movie Karthik (played by Siddarth) in Jigarthanda was making where Assault Kumar becomes Azhuguni Kumar.  Bobby Simha’s character’s demand to the abducted chief minister seems like “Teacher avan en pencila thirudeetaan” tone.

Can Skip it

 

Can Skip it, Comedy, Genre, Rating, Reviews, Romance, Tamil Movies

Idhu Namma Aalu Review

Idhu Namma Aalu Review – Idhu Namma Aalu is a Tamil romantic comedy released in 2016. Shiva falls in love with Myla at first sight when their parents arrange their meeting for prospective bride and groom. But Shiva has a past break up with Myla’s friend Priya. Will they be able to get together is the plot of Idhu Namma Aalu.

Finally, Idhu Namma Aalu sees the light after so many controversies and obstacles.  Any movie that is been in talks for so long diminishes in product value. Despite that Idhu Namma Aalu did fairly keep the interest with the movie lovers for the star cast it had. Bright and colorful visuals. STR and Nayantara coming together after Vallavan. Andrea playing the role of a third heroine. All these made it into an attractive package. The movie does score well in comedy thanks to Soori. Despite that, the screenplay lacks the punch for it to make a full-length movie. The lack of a proper core conflict makes one yawn through the proceedings.

The sequence wherein the to be wed people speak over the phone for hours ignoring their friends is hilarious and does happen a lot in reality. But giving that more than 15 min screen time is a bit too dragging.

High Points: The star cast, comedy

Low Points: Lack of core conflict in the movie, Until the last twenty minutes there is nothing that would glue the audience to the seat.

Overall Idhu Namma Aalu does have its moments but very few to make it into a full-length feature film. But for the star cast, there is nothing much to look forward to.

Can Skip it

Drama, Genre, Guest Post, Hindi Movies, Rating, Reviews, Worth a Watch

Guest Post: Sarabjit Review

Guest Post: Sarabjit Review

Guest Post – This review is written by Ritu Verma working as part of SnapperBazaar

When the trailer of Sarbjit was released, people were really excited to know about the life of an unfortunate Punjabi who drunkenly ambled across his field to cross the Indo-Pak border which lead into his dreadful journey of torture and death. While the audience expected to see his ‘Jai Jai Shiv Shankar’ song transform into blood cuddling cries and whines, the movie showcased his sister’s character more often. Even the poster had Aishwarya Rai Bachchan in the lead and the expected main lead, Randeep Hooda, was shown in her shadows.

Sarbjit was ruthlessly beaten and tortured after being caught by the Pakistani police force who suspected him of being an Indian terrorist named Ranjit. He was drowned in water, left in a room full of rats who scrawled all over him, locked in a box and many more unspeakable acts of torture were done to him. While he was suffering in the prison, his sister Dalbir (Aishwarya) and wife Sukh (Richa Chaddha) struggled to get him back to India. Both of their efforts went in vain when officials of both countries did not pay much heed to their demands. The result being, an innocent Indian subjected to numerous mental and physical tortures and finally a merciless death.

Randeep’s performance is the sole thing that might make the movie ‘paisa vasool’. But less spotlight on him and more on Aish has lead into poor collections of the movie. The acting of the all the three leads is appreciable. The sorrow and pain in Sarbjit’s character was beautifully portrayed by Randeep and Aish and Sukh successfully managed to illustrate the pain of hopeful loved ones wishing to see their beloved brother and husband beautifully. The makeup and costumes were also up to the mark. The songs of the movie were soothing and appropriate for the storyline. Overall it is a good watch.

Worth a Watch

Genre, Rating, Reviews, SciFi, Tamil Movies, Thriller, Wait for DVD/TV

24 Review

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24 Review – 24 is a Tamil science fiction thriller released in 2016. A scientist named Sethuraman invents a time travel watch.  His twin brother Athreya after the watch and kills him. But before he dies Sethuraman sends  his infant son and the watch in a train.  Was Athreya able to get his watch back? what happened to Sethuraman’s son?… is the rest of the story.

The plot had a very interesting premise that has not been handled in Tamil cinema so much. The biggest positive of the movie is the plot and the belief of the makers in making this into a full-length movie. The production quality is very good. The visuals and frame construction are well done. The character of Athreya has come out well and Suriya has done it well. There are brilliant moments in the movie. The initial chase sequence, the interval block and the sequence in which Mani (Sethuraman’s son) learns the capabilities of the watch.

The biggest weak point in the movie is the screenplay. It is a big let down. But for 45 minutes the movie seizes to be a Sci-Fi thriller and sets its course to become a romantic comedy movie. I felt I was watching a totally different movie. The entire angle of Samantha and her family seem to be force fitted into the screenplay to let the movie go forward. An ensemble of actors in Samantha’s family was largely underutilized including Girish Karnad. The second weak point is the dialogue. Seems like the makers were too carried away to make Athreya’s dialogues perfect that they did not have time to polish other’s dialogues. There are a lot of sequences where the same dialogue is repeated too often and causes displeasure. In particular, the romance portion between Samantha and Suriya the dialogues are way too off.

High Points: The plot involving time travel, Production quality, costumes and Art design. The initial chase sequence. Suriya’s performance. The sequence where Suriya learns about the capabilities of the watch. A R Rahman’s score makes it very pleasant.

Low Points: Screenplay is a big let down. Repeated dialogues make it uninteresting. Weak characterization as only time has been spent on building Athreya’s character. Overload of characters without much screentime. Very less time spent on Sci-Fi genre.

Overall 24 ends up to be a wanna be Sci-Fi thriller that only entices in parts. If I had the watch I would go back in time and not book the tickets for the movie rather wait for it to be screened on TV.

Wait for DVD/TV

Comedy, Drama, Genre, Malayalam Movies, Rating, Reviews, Worth a Watch

Jacobinte Swargarajyam Review

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Jacobinte Swargarajyam Review – Jacobinte Swargarajyam is Malayalam family drama released in 2016. Jacob lives a very happy life with his family in Dubai. But as one of his business partner cheats him he has to flee to Liberia to avoid getting arrested and his son Jerry has to step in to pull the family out of crisis.

The movie is based on a true story. Director Vineeth Sreenivasan has attempted honestly to portray this as a family entertainer on screen. His effort needs to be lauded. The movie begins with sequences that are loaded with too many positives that it starts to become a cloying in some time. However once the characters are faced with the core problem it becomes very engaging.

Off late there are very less number of movies based on core family values are getting released. It was once very popular in the South film industry when likes of director Visu and V.Shekhar were making movies. It is definitely refreshing to see a movie built on family values after a long time. And to everyone’s surprise, it still works well with the audience.

The first half of the movie belongs to Renji Panicker and his character is built very well in front of the audience. Nivin Pauly has a lot of scope in the second half. This movie is in quiet contrast to Premam for Nivin Pauly, where he has to underplay for his character and does not bring out his heroism. Even in the scene where he and his brother pick a fight with the neighbor Nivin stays at the side to watch it. This is so true to the definition of the Jerry’s character being played. Nivin, stay like this forever and don’t fall into the fray of becoming a mass hero who is only destined to bash bad guys. Lakshmi Ramakrishnan has a very powerful role to play in the movie as well. She is the portrayal of woman power in the movie.

High Points: The movie based on a true incident, a plot revolving around core family values, Performance from Renji Panicker.

Low Points: Cloying screenplay at the first 20 minutes or so.

There are lot of positives in Jacob’s kingdom of heaven. Go with your family and you would enjoy this one more.

Worth a Watch

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

Theri Review

Theri Review – Theri is a Tamil action film released in 2016. Joseph Kuruvilla lives with his daughter in a remote Kerala Village. He always stays away from fights or disputes. But circumstances lead him to pick up a tiff with the local don and in the course his original identity Vijaykumar, Deputy Commissioner of Police  is exposed.

Vijay has gone back to his comfort zone after his experimentation with fantasy adventure Puli. This time, he has joined hands with director Atlee after his successful first venture Raja Rani. When a successful filmmaker gets to direct a successful mass hero there is a huge burden to please the fans of the star. Only a few directors like Shankar, Mani Ratnam have been able to stay focused on the script and deliver an appealing product both to the fans and general audience. Atlee doesn’t fall into that category. He has struggled to find his story in the commercial entertainer. In the end, it happens to be an out and out Vijay’s mass masala movie which has all the minimum guarantee elements for success but would be a forgettable one in the long run.

The movie reminds one of many blockbusters in Kollywood and Hollywood. It has influence from Baasha. Baasha seems to be a milestone for Kollywood like how The Godfather is for Hollywood. It is still inspiring movie makers. Then there are influences from Yennai Arindhal and the directors own Raja Rani and finally, there are glimpses of The Dark Knight Trilogy. In the scenes which mimic the dark knight movies, you will find Vijay modulating his voice as well like Batman :). If you have seen all these movies and is not a Vijay fan then you won’t find anything appealing in the movie.  If you are an ardent Vijay fan then there are more opportunities for you to whistle throughout.

For me, the best part of the movie is the romance portion between Vijay and Samantha. It does bring a different face of Vijay which we don’t get to see much. He tries to be a hero who can also cry just out of emotion. That’s new for a mass hero movie. The comedy during these portions has also turned out well. Where he describes the outcome of the fight before fighting is definitely enjoyable. Atlee’s core strength is in this area which he had utilized well in Raja Rani. Mottai Rajendran has a new role of being a sidekick to the heroes previously in Vedalam and now in Theri. I personally would like to see him as a fearsome Villain or in comic roles like Ghost Gopal Varma than seeing him flattering the hero. The biggest surprise of the movie is Director Mahendran donning the role of the Villain. Years of experience is seen in his acting. I would have loved a build-up portion for the villain rather than him just jumping in and only targeting Vijay.

High Points: The romance portion between Vijay and Samantha, Visuals and production quality, Comedy sequences in the flashback, Director Mahendran playing Villain.

Low Points: The overall movie might only appeal to hardcore Vijay fans as they have been generous in creating masala elements.

Overall Theri is created to appeal to the Vijay fans worldwide. It just increases Vijay’s mass masala template movies by one rather than standing out. If you are not a Vijay fan then you can watch it when played on TV.

Wait for DVD/TV

 

 

Comedy, Drama, Genre, Rating, Reviews, Tamil Movies, Worth a Watch

Aviyal Review

Aviyal Review – Aviyal is a Tamil anthology film released in 2016. This movie is a bouquet of four Tamil short films directed by different directors.

Anthology films are a boon to the film industry for multiple reasons. It gives opportunities for new talents to work with well-established artists. It also gives opportunities for well-established artists to experiment something new with a lesser risk compared to a full-length feature film. Aviyal is one such movie. Although the plot lines are something we might have seen or heard before, the treatment is fresh. Each of the four stories engages well with the audience. And as a special treat, the last one is directed by Alphonse Putharen starring Nivin Pauly and Bobby Simha.  I couldn’t pinpoint one movie to be better than the other as all the stories were equally good.

Indian government should support such anthology films to help identify and nurture new talents. This also serves as a platform to test some new treatment and genres with the audience, which can go a long way in making the quality of films better and profitable.

High Points: Short and enjoyable tale with a good sense of humor, Good performances from some of the new-comers. The short film by Alphonse Putharen starring Nivin Pauly and Bobby Simha stands out due to the star cast and narrative style.

Low Points: The movie was promoted with Nivin Pauly and Bobby Simha so people coming in for them would be disappointed as they feature only in the last film. The length of the movies could have been maintained at 20 mins to make it more engaging.

Overall Aviyal is tasty with all vegetables cooked well to give some true flavours. It also stays true to its recipe by not including too much masala. Support good cinema and budding talents by watching this one.

Worth a Watch

Action, English Movies, Genre, Rating, Reviews, Superhero, Worth a Watch

Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice Review

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Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice Review – Batman v Superman is an American superhero movie released in 2016. The movie is based on superheroes from the DC Comics. Superman’s fight with Zod results in large scale massacre that destroys Bruce Wayne’s (Batman) office and casualties in his company. Batman decides to fight Superman to keep him in check while Lex Luthor adds fuel to their fire.

First of all, I would like mention that I am neither DC nor a Marvel fan. Rather I like all superheroes from both the universe. It helps to read this review in an unbiased fashion.

It has been a long due for the DC universe to bring their superheroes together. Thanks to Nolan’s Batman trilogy that had set up the foundation for the movies. Although Zack Snyder did not impress much with the Man of Steel he has definitely justified his efforts with the edition of Dawn of Justice. This may not be the epic start for the Justice League DC fans would have expected but nevertheless, it serves as a good appetizer for the upcoming main course.

The movie has a sluggish start and you tend to wait for those brilliant moments restlessly. Just when you feel that this might turn out to be a half-baked effort the movie picks up and keeps you engaged till the end. Ben Affleck is very convincing as Batman and definitely carries on the legacy putting the sarcastic comments on him to rest. His performance is a standout. The icing on the cake for the movie is Wonder woman. Her entry is the best part of the movie. Lex Luthor’s characterization is good and his dialog delivery reminds of Sharukh Khan. Some portions of the movie even look like the old school Bollywood movies and look like a decorated extravagant Karan Arjun 🙂

High Points: The fight night between superman and batman, Wonder woman’s entry, Lex Luthor’s characterization, Hans Zimmerman’s background score.

Low Points: Sluggish screenplay in the first half, some of the dialogues are cheesy and cliched takes away the impact of the good ones

Overall Zack Snyder doesn’t disappoint this time and in fact, has created a good start to the Justice League. Hope DC is able to be successful with the upcoming movies. If you love superhero movies don’t miss this one when it is in the theaters.

Worth a Watch

Comedy, Genre, Rating, Reviews, Tamil Movies, Worth a Watch

Jil Jung Juk Review

Jil Jung Juk Review – Jil Jung Juk is a Tamil slapstick comedy-drama released in 2016. Deivanayagam looses a lot of money as his drug trafficking business is raided by customs. He has to sell the last stock for good money to minimise the losses. He employs three people Jil (the talkative), Jung (the punctual) and Juk (the driver) to transport the drug.

If you are familiar with dystopian society and western cowboy movies then you would be able to understand this one better. Kudos to the team for breaking away from the norm and creating something new. The premise and the build up phase is very good and increases you interest to watch what is happening. The premise itself has a lot of scope for slapstick comedy. The scene in which the trio are getting to know each other from the achievements of their father has been crafted well and is a very novel way of introducing the characters.  The production value of the movie is also very good.

Somewhere from the midpoint, the movie tilts towards the side of good and drifts away from the dystopian culture. The saving grace is some of the comical sequences in the movie. The makers claim to have broken all the commercial formula but still couldn’t resist staying away from a bar song.

High Points: A new experimental venture, bringing a dystopian society for Indian cinema, comic sequences like the one in the petrol storage, first meeting Deivanayagam

Low Points: The movie may not be understood by many, the story gets lost into a slapstick genre rather than western comedy based in a dystopian society.

Overall if you are in a mood for a different kind of film that stays away from the norm then go and watch Jil Jung Juk. This movie deserves a watch for the daring effort by the team to break the stereotype.

Worth a Watch

 

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

Irudhi Suttru Review

Irudhi Suttru Review – Irudhi Suttru is a Tamil sports drama released in 2015. Prabhu Selvaraj is a failed boxer owing to the dirty politics in the sports. He spots a raw talent in a girl living in the slum of Chennai and puts effort to coach her to raise to the top in the sport. Did he succeed is the plot of Irudhi Suttru.

Very rarely sports drama becomes a hit in Indian cinema. Irudhi Suttru is one movie which has proven that wrong. There has been good research done before going in for the shoots. This acts as a strong point for the movie. Kudos to director Sudha Kongara to have believed in the script and bringing it to the screen. The core strength of the movie is the script and performance of Madhavan and Rithika Singh. We get to see a different dimension of Madhavan as witnessed in Aayudha Ezhuthu. He has worked hard to transform himself into the role very well.

The visuals and tone of the movie are very pleasing. Nasser has fit into the role of a lazy coach very well. His comic timing is a treat to watch. The songs fit into the energy and the tempo of the movie very well. This yet again joins the healthy trend of movies around 2 hour time period which is off late becoming hit in Tamil Cinema.

High Points: Engaging Screenplay, performances of Madhavan and Rithika Singh, songs by Santhosh narayanan, visuals.

Low Points: The climax is bit overdramatic for the tale but I believe that is warranted for commercial success.

Overall Irudhi Suttru is a sincere attempt in movie making. It engages with you very well and breaks the stereotypes of women- oriented subject seen as not being able to produce commercial success. Kudos to the team and expect a lot more such good movies from Sudha Kongara.

Must Watch

Comedy, Drama, Genre, Rating, Reviews, Tamil Movies, Worth a Watch

Kadhalum Kadanthu Pogum Review

Kadhalum Kadanthu Pogum Review – Kadhalum Kadanthu Pogum is a Tamil comedy-drama released in 2016. The movie is an official remake of the Korean movie My Dear Desperado. Yazhini a woman struggling to find an IT job has a  weird neighbour who is a gangster. The plot of the movie revolves around the two characters and an unexpected relationship that grows in between them.

Reputation from the previous movie and its associated expectation can spoil the fun. Many directors suffer from this and they tend to recreate a similar tale that had worked in the past. However, director Nalan Kumarasamy has moved away from a dark comedy to a breezy comedy-drama.  This is definitely in contrast to his previous outing. If you were to take away the expectation and don’t compare it to Soodhu Kavvum you would appreciate the movie.

There is a good 50 minute spent in building up the lead characters and one would experience a slight sluggishness in the proceedings. However, it eventually picks up and engages with the audience. The big plus for the movie is the contrasting behaviors of the lead pair. This hero doesn’t bend down and pick up the fallen items to help the heroine, he pays the bill in the restaurant but later gets the money for the items she had eaten. Such sequences make the movie stand out from the typical run of the mill romantic drama.

Vijay Sethupathi has performed well as usual. His character does bring in the shades from Naanum Rowdydhan in few instances. Madonna Sebastian is eye candy in the movie and she sure has created an impact in her entry into Kollywood.

High Points: The characterization of the lead pairs, No unnecessary frills attached in the screenplay, The sequence where the gangster ends up for an IT job interview. Vijay Sethupathi’s performance and Madonna Sebastian’s cuteness.

Low Points: Vijay Sethupathi’s character has shades from Naanum Rowdydhaan, Slow screenplay during the build up phase.

Overall Kadhalum Kadanthu Pogum is a feel good drama that might be slow to begin with but eventually would reach your heart.

Worth a Watch