Category Archives: Thriller

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

Masss or Massu engira Masilamani Review

Masss or Massu engira Masilamani Review – Masss is a Tamil supernatural thriller released in 2015. Masss alias Masilamani is a con man. While performing a con operation he and his friend meet with an accident and he starts seeing dead people from then on. He uses this to his benefit to perform more con operations.

It is an out and out Director Venkat Prabhu movie. I say this because post Saroja, Venkat Prabhu has been caught up with very stereotypical predictable, out and out masala movies that bank on the lead protagonist’s star value than any creativity in the story line. I still miss the engaging script, fresh creativity, comical timing he had created in Chennai 600028. Somewhere he has got into the mold of riding on the success of the jokes that had worked then. Excessive usage of same lines and comedy makes it just ordinary sequences. Also he would need to concentrate more on the dialogues. But for a few, most of the dialogues in the movie are very cliched. The only point in time I was very engaged with the script was during the interval block which had been executed well. Post that a lot of loop holes in the plot and continuity becomes a major distraction. A ghost is able to touch and move rods, wood but not able to touch money seems very odd. Many sequences in the movie would remind you of movies like Sixth Sense, Unbreakable, Apoorva Sagodharargal. The main theme of the movie where the protagonist is able to see ghosts is very different and interesting but soon it becomes a 80’s revenge saga script spoiling all the uniqueness it tend to exhibit.

High Points – Difference in the theme for Tamil Cinema, Suriya’s presence, Interval block

Low Points – Repetitive sequences, illogical continuity, below average special effects

If you do not worry about logic and just want to pass time then Masss would not bore you. It is a movie that you could watch on TV when you don’t have anything else to do. On a lighter note, believing in ghosts might be far more realistic than believing in Venkat Prabhu’s movies 🙂

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

Enakkul Oruvan Review

Enakkul Oruvan Review – Enakkul Oruvan is a Tamil psychological thriller released in 2015. Vicky is an insomniac, working as an Usher in a movie hall. Vicky comes across a drug dealer who sells him a new drug Lucia that would enable him to sleep with a caution that he would start living a double life in his dream. Vicky takes the drug and starts living the life of a celebrity in his dreams but soon things take unexpected turns.

This is the remake of the Kannada movie Lucia directed by Pawan Kumar. The Tamil version is directed by debutante Prasad Ramar. I haven’t seen the original which had a more of a new age film treatment while the Tamil version is bit more charismatic with actor Siddharth’s presence.  The movie kept me engaged right from the first scene. The screenplay is the king of the movie. Having most of the sequences of the movie in black and white is a huge risk but still it has worked beautifully here. As an audience you would be confused as the promos for those portions have been in color. The intertwining of the dream life and the real life is treated very well in the narration. Having character overlaps in the two worlds have also been brilliantly placed.  Siddharth has performed his role very well. His performance as an Usher is commendable. He has exhibited a great deal of difference in his body language to differentiate between the two characters.

High Points: Novelty of the plot, the screenplay, Siddarth’s performance, black and white treatment

Low Points: Challenge to stay upto the expectation of the original, audience had watched the original may not like this so much as it always happens with remakes.

Overall despite being a remake Enakkul Oruvan is still a brilliant movie that would stand out from the crowd. If you love movies then watch this one for sure.

Must Watch

 

Drama, Genre, Must Watch, Rating, Thriller

Nightcrawler Review

Nightcrawler Review – Nightcrawler is an American neo-noir thriller film released in 2014.  A small time thief in Los Angeles finds a business opportunity in filming incidents to be sold to news channel.

The movie stays true to its neo-noir genre. It is dark and brings the dark side of human life which can go to any extent for caring for oneself. Most of the movie sequences too happen in the night and it throws a light on the unethical and unprofessional elements in the news industry where bad news sells. It always operates in a fine margin of selling bad news and almost creating it. Jake Gyllenhaal has given a very compelling performance in the lead role. His character arc through the movie is handled very well. From the point where he is negotiating the price of a stolen watch to the point where in he owns a top notch news business his transition is very well handled in the script.

Director Dan Gilory has made the script stay close to the main theme of the movie and has not tried to do anything dramatic. The scenes build up from one part to the other flows naturally. I would recommend this movie a notch higher than Gone Girl.

High Points: Jake Gyllenhaal’s performance, the scene in which he trades a bicycle for the video camera and police scanner, the way he goes about negotiating his terms with people is just brilliant, the climax chase sequence is shot very well.

Low Points: Not really a low point but you may not like this if you don’t like neo-noir movies.

Overall if you are fan of neo-noir films you should not miss this one. Even if you are not a fan of neo-noir films this one has much more to offer to keep you engaged.

Must Watch

Biopic, English Movies, Genre, Historic, Must Watch, Rating, Reviews, Thriller

The Imitation Game Review

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The Imitation Game Review – The Imitation Game is an English historical thriller movie released in 2014. The movie is based on the biography Alan Turing: The Enigma by Andrew Hodges. The movie covers the life of Alan Turing during the world war II and how he cracked the code of Enigma.

The movie has turned the biography into a very compelling visual format on the screen. The choice of Benedict Cumberbatch to play the role of Alan Turing fits very well with the movie and the character. The story follows a non-linear narration which keeps the interest going on. The characterization of Alan Turing as an out of the normal person whom his colleagues find to be very difficult work with has been done very well. Through the movie you would find yourself connecting to the growing obsession of Alan Turing to develop the machine to crack the code. The movie also touches upon the controversial side of Turing’s personal life. Other characters in the movie has played their part well to make the story flow.  The character of Keira Knightley has been used well in the screenplay to get the best out of Alan’s character. If not for this the movie could have been on a very monotonous tone.

High Points: The characterization of Alan Turing, the performance of Benedict Cumberbatch, very gripping screenplay, some of the dramatic scenes where in Alan writes to Churchill to get approval to override his Boss’s orders are very neatly done, The depiction of tension during world war II has been captured well

Low Points: The length of the movie could have been a bit shorter as in the middle portions there is a slight drag

Overall if you are interested in historical biopics you would love this one. You should watch this one for the brilliant performance by Benedict Cumberbatch.

Must Watch

Genre, Romance, Thriller

Anegan Review

Anegan Review – Anegan is a Tamil romantic thriller released in 2015. Madhu has to undergo psychiatrist treatment as she gets the flashes of romantic episode from what she believes are her past life and her love partner is same throughout and they don’t get together for due to ill fate. Will she meet the love of her previous birth again, will it be a ill fate again is the plot of Anegan.

Director K.V Anand has tried to take the classic Nenjam Marapadhillai story and give it a modern twist to it. However he has added more twists in the tale to suit to the taste of modern day audience. The movie definitely works well to keep the audience entertained. Dhanush has performed well in his multi roles and out of all of them his role as Kaali stands out. The movie covers three stories mainly out of the many one in Burma, one in the present Chennai and one in Chennai in the 80s. Out of these the story set in the 80s is best of the lot and as it is kept post the interval block it serves as a great build up to the finish. Amyra Dastur looks cute in her role as Kalyani and the role she had taken up suits her acting abilities.

High Points: The visuals Burma, Character of Kaali and the story of Kali and Kalyani, Visual appeal of the movie, Casting of Karthik after a long time is a plus for the the movie

Low Points: Initial set of disconnected events not all come together as the suspense is broken, Out of ordinary climax looks cliched

Overall Anegan has more stories to tell to the audience with a connect with each other. It may not be an extra-ordinary product from K.V Anand but still manages to keep the audience engaged throughout. If you are able to with stand some cliched masala moments in the movie you will like this one.

Watchable

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

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

Meaghamann Review

Meaghamann Review – Meaghamann is a Tamil action thriller released in 2014. Arul and Karthik are undercover cops working for two major drug lords in the Mumbai and Goa area. They want to bring the ghost drug lord Jothi out and arrest him but it is not easy as Jothi leaves no trace even for his gang to find him

Director Magizh Thirumeni has given an action thriller in Meaghamann (Captain of the ship). The script is an out and out action movie that revolves around the gangsters and drug lords in the backdrop of Goa. There are moments in the movie which are very brilliantly constructed. In particular the scene in which Arya plays card game in the cold storage along with the gang without being aware of the lurking danger is brilliantly done. Asutosh Rana’s characterization is done well. However the director has not been able to successfully maintain the thrills throughout the movie. The movie has too many characters which might make it complicated for the common audience to follow it. The script is gripping overall, but takes a dip with the love interest angle for Arya which seems to be force fitted into the movie. Another point which is missing is the ability for the audience to connect with the purpose of the protagonist. The buildup phase although builds the audiences up for the thrills but fails in establishing the emotional connect. Hence the climax lacks the vigor it had to be established with.

High Points: Action sequences, Performance of Asutosh Rana

Low Points: Too many characters, Love interest for the protagonist, Lack of emotional connect

Overall Meaghamann is a decent gangster movie which could have been done much better. Still there are elements in it which will keep you interested in this captain.

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Genre, Must Watch, Rating, Reviews, Romance, Tamil Movies, Thriller

I Review

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I Review – I is a Tamil romantic thriller released in 2015. A deformed, ugly looking man kidnaps a top advertising model on her wedding day and keeps her as a hostage in an unknown location. To her surprise he gets her favorite food and favorite clothes. Who is he why has he kidnapped her is the plot of I.

I is a show that is dominated heavily by Vikram’s brilliant performance and Shankar’s imagination. It is not a usual Shankar’s movie you would see. It has a different treatment than rest of his films. The first half in particular is more on the romance side and the second half is a thriller. Vikram has completely transformed himself for the three different phases of the movie. He has given his heart and soul for the movie. Be it the happy go lucky body builder, the remo-ish looking model or the hunch pack character he has fit in the bill of all these with ease and you would enjoy his performance throughout. Amy Jackson looks so beautiful in every frame and of course she has tried acting. The length of the movie is 189 minutes long which is definitely a negative point for the movie. The sequences in China in particular are very dragging and monotonous. Apart from PC Sreeram’s camera capturing the beauty of China there is nothing much to look forward to in this part. Probably this where Shankar might have missed Sujata to a great extent, the duo had created so many entertaining first halves. Around the interval phase the movie picks up momentum and from here on it transforms itself into what we call a Shankar’s movie. You would understand this once you see the movie.

High Points: Vikram’s performance and the struggle he had gone through in shaping himself for the roles is commendable and as he transforms there is a huge applause from the audience, Shankar’s imagination is outstanding the way he has structured the scenes, visuals and emotions are brilliant. He has literally taken a character that everyone would hate for its look and transformed into something the audience would cheer for, Songs are pleasant to watch with Ennodu Nee Irundhaal being the epitome of all of them, Stunt choreography is done very well as with any other Shankar’s movies. A R Rahman’s score fits well for the story.

Low Points: The length of the movie, the drag in the portions shot in China

Overall I may not be a path breaker in Indian Cinema but an effort that would be laudable for the performance, direction and visual effects. If you go with an very open mind you would enjoy it. I is beauty in acting, beauty in direction, beauty in visuals, beauty in music and a beauty in films.

Must Watch –Go for it

 

Action, English Movies, Genre, Rating, Reviews, Thriller, Wait for DVD/TV

Taken 3 Review

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Taken 3 Review – Taken 3 is an American action thriller released in 2015. This is the last of the Taken series featuring an ex CIA agent Bryan Mills played by Liam Neeson. Bryan Mills wife is murdered under mysterious circumstances at his home.  Police suspect Bryan for the murder. He has to go all out to find the true killer of his wife and bring him to justice.

Bryan Mills wooed us in the previous Taken series with his specialized skills that he had learnt from his past job. In both the previous occasions he had a strong motive to save his family members his daughter and his wife. I believe the makers wanted to have one last go with this character that had captured the hearts of the audience. However they have failed to establish a strong motive to drive Bryan Mills in that. Even though the motive is not so strong Liam Neeson as Bryan Mills tries everything he would do if he had one to run from the police, track down the villains in uncanny ways, beat the bad guys. The action part of the movie definitely has been done well but in the larger scheme of things if you think as to why all of this is happening you would struggle getting convinced about this one.

High Points: Liam Neeson, few punch dialogues like the one he says “Don’t try anything funny they would kill you… even if they don’t I will…” are enjoyable. Action sequences

Low Points: As his wife is already dead the movie ends up being an average murder mystery and fugitive story, the location was missing in this one the first one had Paris, the next one had Istanbul but nothing special here.

Overall if you have loved the Taken franchise you would not get bored with this one. But still on a comparative scale you would end up wanting the previous ones. You would enjoy it more sitting on your couch with a cup of coffee or popcorn.

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Drama, Genre, Thriller

Gone Girl Review

Gone Girl Review  – is an American thriller social drama released in 2014. Nick returns home on his fifth wedding anniversary to find his wife missing from home with broken furniture and covered up blood stains in the house. As the police starts investigation the mystery deepens and the plot thickens as the suspicion turns towards Nick.

Gone Girl is not just a mystery thriller but more of a social drama which hits hard on the various aspects of the society such as media frenzy public, effect of recession on marriage, dishonesty in strained relationships, upbringing of a child and so on. This one is based on the book with the same name written by Gillian Flynn.

One of the thing that would starkly hit you when watching Gone Girl is that it is very slow paced and the lighting is gloomy throughout reflecting the mood and the theme of the movie. The movie doesn’t have many elements that you would expect in a suspense thriller and I believe Director David Fincher has done it deliberately to focus on the social issues.  A lawyer specializing in protecting husbands framed for wife’s murder, reality shows and interviews with emotional confessions are brilliantly woven into the movie. The dialogues like “Your parents have plagiarized your childhood”, “There is a always an idiot in a locality” are hard hitting on the issues the movie is dealing with.  Ben Affleck is in his usual self and the role kind of suits his style of acting as it did in Argo. Rosamund Pike has a meaty role to play in the movie and this would be one of her top Hollywood movies so far.

Overall if you enjoy watching movies that are slow and with multiple twists you would enjoy Gone Girl. Many of you would find the length to be longer and a bit dragging. If you are able to appreciate the movie much beyond the pure mystery thriller it deserves a watch.

Go for this Gone Girl she ought to be found!

Watchable

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

Kaththi Review

Kaththi Review – Kaththi is a Tamil action thriller released in 2014. Kathiresan escapes from Kolkata Jail and reaches Chennai. Circumstances lead him to rescue his look alike Jeevanandam who is fighting for his village farmers from corporate not taking possession of their lands. He double crosses and let Kolkata police arrest Jeevanandam and he takes his place to make some quick money.

Director A R Murugadoss has delivered a movie with a strong social message like he had done in his blockbuster Ramana. The film’s core part is the social issue of farmers losing land to corporate jungle. However the plot has been tailored for Vijay’s star value to make it look big. In the process the movie builds up Vijay’s star value more than the essence of the message itself. Vijay is in his comfort zone and has played his part well and this one is sure to entice not only Vijay fans but also other movie lovers as well. Vijay’s role as Jeevanandam is done well. He is composed and the scene where he breaks down for his villagers brings out the actor in him. Samantha is just there is in the movie as tick in the box for the leading lady. The first twenty minutes of the movie is made exclusively for Vijay fans and would make you feel bored with songs and not so witty screenplay. Once the story starts dealing with conflict it makes it a very engaging watch. Neil Nitin Mukesh has played the role of the baddie very well. Songs are just about average and are a distraction to the screenplay. Thanks for not including many of them in the second half which doesn’t spoil the pace of the movie. The movie suffers from cliches we had seen in 7am Arivu like repeating the problems and social message too many times. This also makes the movie lengthy and after a while you would feel ok got it… what’s next. If such minor glitches could have been avoided and the first 20 minutes of the movie had been reduced it would have made the script even racier.

Overall Kaththi has all the ingredients of a larger than life masala movie that also tries to highlight on a social issue but gets lost in the star worship. If you are able to ignore the shortcomings there is lot more to look forward in the movie, which definitely makes it watchable.

Watchable

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

Aal Review

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Aal Review – Aal is a Tamil action thriller released in 2014. This movie is an adaptation of the Hindi movie Aamir released in 2008. Amir is settled well in his life happily. But one day he finds his family held as a hostage and he would need to follow instructions from some unknown person on phone to save them.

The movie states itself to be an adaptation of the Bollywood movie which is good and if you have seen the original you know what to expect from this movie. However there have been some minor variations in this script. The plot of the movie itself would connect only to a niche audience. If you see from the plot perspective and how the movie is executed it has been done well. Debutant director Aanand Krishna has done a good job with the adaptation. The most striking feature of the movie is the environment in which it is shot. It covers many of the below poverty line locality where the meaning of life is much different than the one you see in the middle class or upper middle class locality. This is very apt to suit the mood of both the movie and the main protagonist who is a middle class person. The movie opens at Elephant Gate (Yaanai Kavuni) in Chennai where a chase sequence is shown. This is done very well. So is the entire Chennai portion of the movie which is covered in similar areas.

Vidharth has done justice to his character. He looks stylish in this movie and as the movie builds up his character transforms into a desperate, confused individual. Songs are few in this movie and good that they haven’t used it during the main portion of the movie which otherwise would have been a major distraction. The love angle to Vidharth doesn’t seem to fit very well and barely has a significant connect to the plot. The dialogues are just about average. For a script of this stature some powerful dialogues could have proved to be a plus point.

Overall Aal is a decent adaptation of its original. But for a few flaws the movie is definitely gripping and the way the environment itself is used as a character in the movie is very good. You can watch this one at home.

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