Category Archives: Can Skip it

Bairavaa Review

Bairavaa Review – Bairavaa is a Tamil action movie released in 2017. Bairavaa , a collection agent for a bank falls in love with Malarvizhi. However, he has to fight against some deadly villains before he could marry her.

A hero who is invincible from the start solves people’s issues like his own is the basic requirement of a masala film. Bairavaa is one such movie. The makers have banked upon the star value of Vijay and created a feast that only his fans can enjoy. He fights against some deadly villains, dances to the catchy beats, delivers power-packed punches to the villains. Keerthy Suresh’s character is pivotal to the script to give a strong purpose for the hero. Satish, Motta Rajendran and Thambi Ramaiah handle the comedy department. Out of these the witty one-liners of Satish make you laugh. Jagapathi Babu and Daniel Balaji play the cruel villains. Daniel Balaji is definitely threatening as a villain and a good choice for the movie.

The minimum guarantee elements still don’t make the script cohesive. At no point in time, you get connected to the hero’s purpose as to start with it is not his purpose and also some very easy loopholes defy logic to insult your intelligence. If they have concentrated on getting the script tighter Bairavaa could have become a very promising entertainer.

Contrary to the popular belief it is difficult to create successful commercial entertainer.  Vijay might need to wait for his next movie to strike it right.

High Points: Vijay’s performance, The witty dialogues from Sathish, Performance of Daniel Balaji, Chase sequences.

Low Points: The flashback that doesn’t have a connect with Vijay,  Weak screenplay not able to connect to the audience.

Overall, you can skip Bairavaa unless you are a hardcore Vijay fan or plan to watch this one with a hall filled with Vijay fans where every punch from the hero is applauded.

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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.

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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.

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Inji Iduppazhagi Review

Inji Iduppazhagi Review – Inji Iduppazhagi is a Telugu and Tamil romantic comedy released in 2015. Sweety is a happy go lucky girl. Her mother is worried about her over-weight. When Sweety meets a handsome and health conscious documentary filmmaker Abhi as her wedding alliance she rejects the proposal before he rejects it but internally she hopes that he would fall in love with her.

The movie’s plot has a potential to be a wholesome entertainer. It opens very well where we are introduced to the sweetness in sweety’s life. She reminds of Amélie Poulain from the french movie Amélie in the way she views her life and wishes to bring happiness in people’s life. But soon the plot looses its track and gives into the temptation of commercial formula thereby giving way for cliches being introduced. There is a point in the film where Sweety tells Abhi that she is tired of being just a friend. Post this the movie does a nose dive and Sweety’s character becomes lost in translation.

Anushka has performed well for the most part. But the story couldn’t capitalize on her acting skills. Apart from her, Urvashi has a very enjoyable role. The character of Sweety’s  father, grandfather, mother and brother have been sketched well. In the end, you think they could have made a very good movie with the premise and the characters.

High Points: Initial setting up of the plot, Production quality, Anushka’s acting, Characterization of Anushka’s family.

Low Points: Lack of focus on the screenplay, commercial cliches, predictable and beaten to death sequences.

Overall this is an effort that has gone bad due to its lack of focus and substandard treatment of the plot. With a better screenplay, this team has a great potential to deliver an entertainer. Wish them luck for their next venture.

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10 Endrathukulla Review

10 Endrathukulla Review – 10 Endrathukulla is a Tamil action thriller released in 2015. A skillful car thief gets involved in the kidnapping of a woman without his knowledge. How he comes through the situation is the plot of 10 Endrathukulla.

Director Vijay Milton had aspirations of creating a racy movie with some high voltage action sequences. He has achieved the output he had expected but missed the story by a mile. The situations are very disconnected, this has been mainly due to the fact that the screenplay has been designed to maintain suspense till the end. This has not been successful as the movie does not connect with the audience at all as they fail to connect with the purpose of the protagonist.

Vikram’s performance could not save the engaging factor of the movie. There are enough heroes who are dependent on mass intro sequences, this is not needed for Vikram as he has extraordinary acting skills and dedication that would woo the audience. There is no strong villain in the movie, there are three of them who try to leave the responsibility to the other and in the end it is so fragmented. Retaining the suspense to the very end has caused the screenplay to slow down to a great extent and in many places they have used cliched double meaning dialogues to push it further. Samantha has some solid role to play during the last twenty minutes in the movie which she has done well.

High Points: The stunt sequences have been choreographed very well. There is nothing much  apart from this in the movie.

Low Points: The screenplay is predominantly not engaging. Absence of a strong villain.

Overall 10 Endrathukulla is like a sweet cherry fruit dipped in a spicy sambar. Cherry might be delicious but doesn’t go well with the combination. So is the brilliant action sequences built on a below average storyline.

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Vasuvum Saravananum Onna Padichavanga Review

Vasuvum Saravananum Onna Padichavanga Review – Vasuvum Saravananum Onna Padichavanga (VSOP) is a Tamil slapstick comedy drama released in 2015. Vasu and Saravanan are close friends but as women enter their life as their love interest and wife they should forgo their friendship to please them.

“Not again Director Rajesh”. That’s what I wanted to tell the director once I was 20 minutes into the movie. He has used this theme very consistently in many of his previous movies.

You can now try to narrate what would happen.

The friends would now start drinking more often and crack jokes about women….

Then?

They would try some foolish technique to fix the issues……

Then?

Not sure… think the drunken jokes and foolish attempts would make a good movie.

Rajesh has fallen into the trap here. He has an amazing sense of humor, which was well represented in Boss Engira Baskaran. But in all of his other movies this has started to nose-dive.

The cast for the movie is a big plus and would attract the audience but with a weak plot banking on only male chauvinistic jokes would appeal only to a certain segment of the audience. The script is so weak that at many dull situations Arya tells Santhanam “Ethavathu pannu machi…” They have also used the technique of characters in the movie mocking at a joke attempt to make the audience laugh which has worked in few instances. The other big disappointment is the songs. Not the tune per say but the choreography is of very low production quality and seems out of rhythm.

High Points: Very few high points, the casting of the movie is a strong point, few comedy scenes would make you laugh out loud, Costume design is good.

Low Points: Weak screenplay, poor choreography, repeated story plots and a weak conflict

Overall VSOP is a lackluster effort only banking on slapstick comedy that would work for a niche segment of audience.

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Yaagavarayinum Naa Kaakka Review

Yagavarayinum Naa Kaakka Review – Yagavarayinum Naa Kaakka is a Tamil action thriller released in 2015. Sagaa a young man from Chennai lands up in Mumbai under mysterious circumstances to take on a fearsome don. What lead him here, what happens after his encounter with the don is the story of Yagavarayinum Naa Kaakka.

The movie showed a lot of promise from the time the promotions started. The first half of the movie is fairly engaging and thrilling. The scenes flowed into each other very well and the non-linear narration was told very well. The interval block raises the expectation further. However post the interval block the screenplay was a let down and falls into the trap of commercial over action drama with some unwanted larger than life sequences making it long and uninteresting. The characterization of Mithun Chakraborthy was a let down. They could have utilized him much better. The same comment goes with some of the seasoned actors like Nasser and Pasupathy. Nikki Galrani has performed decently compared to her previous outings; still there is scope for improvement. The love portion between Nikki Galrani and Adi has been done based on Karthik and Revathy’s romance sequence in Mouna Raagam, the only difference being here the girl stalks the boy. This is definitely a very interesting treatment.

High Points – The overall plot and suspense in the movie, the engaging narration, the performance by Adi, Love angle of the lead pairs structured in resemblance to Mouna Raagam, The production quality of the movie has turned out really well.

Low Points – The second half and unwanted over the top action sequences, underutilization of the Mithunda, Nasser and Pasupathy.

Overall Yagavaraiyinum Naa Kaaka banks on a non-linear narration to convey a thriller but gets lost in thrusting in larger than life sequences. For the level of expectation I had on this one, I was disappointed.

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Kappal Review

Kappal Review – Kappal is a Tamil romantic slapstick comedy released in 2014. Vasu and his friends make a promise to each other that they would not get married as it would distance them. But Vasu is interested in girls and he elopes to Chennai and falls in love with Deepika. When his friends come to know about it they try to separate them.

The movie’s expectation soared high with Shankar pitching in the last moment to pick up the production. The genre of the movie did not work for me at all. It is a romantic slap stick comedy which I am not a major fan of. It might work for folks who like movies of this genre. The plot is a very decent one and is different from many other movies. Usually friends help the lovers get together but in this they are the ones who oppose it. The production value of the movie is quite good. The songs shot also have a very fresh perspective. The comedy portion works in parts. For me the weak point was in the performance by Vaibhav and Sonam they had expressions between A and B. This kind of made it very monotonous. There is not character arc for the lead characters that take them through a transformation. They tend to remain the same till the end.

There are quite a heavy comedy department including Karunakaran, VTV Ganesh and their friends. They have tried hard to make people laugh which has worked in parts. As I had mentioned the comedy is for a segment of people and may not entice everyone. The length of the movie is also too long for the content it had.

High Points: Comedy, Freshness in the song sequences, Production quality, Plot

Low Points: Grossness in comedy, Romantic slap stick genre which did not work for me, Characterization and performance of the lead pair, length of the movie.

Journey on this Kappal (Ship) left me feeling tired by the end of it.

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Aambala Review

Aambala Review – Aambala is a Tamil action movie released in 2015. Saravanan runs an organization responsible for gathering people for political meetings, party gatherings. He falls in love with Maya. He soon learns about his father and he has to go in search of him and his younger brother to reunite them back with his mother. The search lands him in a situation he hasn’t imagined.

Aambala is a run of the mill masala movie that has been done with only commercial intent in mind. Vishal fans would have moments to enjoy in the movie. Every scene from the movie is a minimum guarantee scene that would not bore the audience. There is a large ensemble of cast which will keep the screen occupied throughout. Right from the first scene you would feel the screen is crowded.

The plot of the movie is very age old and even the treatment is not anything new. The team has stuck to elements that would make the movie work. They have relied on the comedy elements to carry the movie forward. This is the only saving grace for the movie. But for this there is nothing new that you could expect here. As there are so many characters in the movie the villain himself does not have much screen time and looks weak in the plot.

Vishal is in his home turf and does the role with ease. Hansika is a mere eye candy. Music of Hip Hop Tamizha is different and fresh. The comedy elements are highlight of a Sundar C flick and it works in this with Santhanam and Sathish filling in for that role.

If you are a fan of run of the mill masala movies then give this is a shot or else you can skip this.

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Oru Oorla Rendu Raja Review

Oru Oorla Rendu Raja Review – Oru Oorla Rendu Raja is a Tamil action comedy released in 2014. Azhagu and Michael are jobless youths who meet doctor Priya on a train journey. Azhagu instantly falls in love with Priya.  When they become aware of the social cause Priya is fighting for and the danger lurking over her life they decide to go to any lengths to save her and help her succeed in her cause. Will they succeed is the plot of the movie.

Oru Oorla Rendu Raja has a social message in its core. It seems to be the trend of voicing against the corporate depleting the environment and causing hazard to lives of people. The social message is the only factor of appeal in the movie. Director R Kannan has relied on some average comedy sequences to move the screenplay in which the entire social message gets weak. The comedy is also very forgettable but for very few punches. Vimal and Soori has repeated their template style of movies. Soori has played a dominant role while Vimal has underplayed his role. He should start trying to come out of his template to explore other areas in acting. Priya Anand has a good role to play in the movie. Sundari Penne song has been shot very well. If the director had given more weightage to the social message he wanted to convey rather than fitting the story to the stars it had the potential to become an interesting watch. Also certain shots and the detailing of the shots are just below average.

Overall the movie has very few pluses in terms of its social message and songs. Apart from that the movie falls into the trap of average comedy sequences which you might get to see in 24 hour comedy channels.

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London Bridge Review

London Bridge Review – London Bridge is a Malayalam romance drama released in 2014. Vijay is a successful businessman settled down in London. He gets the chance of his life to become the son in law of another famous businessman CS Nambiar. But with a strange turn of events a girl who is the bread winner of a poor family gets hit by his car and her right hand is paralyzed which prevents her from taking up a job. What will Vijay do now is the story of London Bridge.

London bridge did not work for me. Other than the pleasant visuals of London and UK countryside there was nothing enjoyable in this tale of romance. Majority of the movie happens in UK barring a few scenes in India. Through the entire movie the lead pair looks jet lagged. Nandita Raj’s expression is between A and B. Most of the intense emotional sequences fall flat with her single expression face. Prithivraj has tried hard to act but the chemistry between the pair goes missing. The plot of the story is very unique where the conflict is between the romance and morality of self. However it takes a U turn trying when the transition in the hero almost happens very quickly and you would be able to guess the call he would take naturally in the end. The second half of the movie happens to be just a formality to witness the predictable eventuality. If the stress has been made more on the inner conflict of the hero and kept him strong till the end of the movie it would have made a very interesting tale.

Prathap Pothan and Andrea Jeremiah are a big plus for the movie. Although they don’t have much scenes but the sequences they are present are watchable. Another drawback in the movie is its length and pace. The pace is too slow.

Overall this is a forgettable movie for Prithivraj. It had the promises but has failed to deliver on it.

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Related Posts: Om Shanthi Oshaana Review | Thattathin Marayathu Review

Poojai Review

Poojai Review – is a Tamil action drama released in 2014.  Thandavam a finance company head runs a huge network for contract killers. He is growing into a unstoppable force in the city. Vasu a local money lender crosses the way of Thandavam while trying to save a honest cop from his men. The life of Vasu is not the same any more as Thandavam vows to Vasu and his dear ones. Will Vasu be able to save his dear ones is the plot of Poojai.

Director Hari is still within his safe perimeter for the story line. Villain gets up taking bath in a temple pond, hero has to save his family from the villain, everyone in the heroes family rely upon him as the savior and dare devil who can with stand any opposition than any other law and order force. Hari should realize that his perimeter is a small one and there is only so much you could do within it to make a new story. Just by changing the lead actors cannot guarantee you a new film.

For Poojai, I guess Hari had run out of steam very quickly. For me the movie ended much before the interval block. But he had created a entire big family for the hero to move the story past interval block and make it a very tiring long movie. The villain doesn’t look fearsome at all. The reason is that Vishal is able to knock him down anytime he wants. I still didn’t understand why he forgives him every time till the climax.

Vishal is pivotal to the movie and he is comfortable in his home ground. Sathyaraj has performed his role well and the way he walks around in the police costume is very commendable. But he is underutilized in the movie due to the ensemble of star cast. Shruthi Hasan is there just to decorate the screen. She has to improvise on her dialogue delivery.

Yuvanshankar Raja’s music is forgettable. Very few positives in the movie the comedy track by Soori and Paandi combo trying to do a spoof of Koundamni and Senthil is enjoyable in parts. The stunt choreography is definitely good as in other Hari’s movies.
Overall Poojai is a mixture of Saamy, Singam, Arul and few other movies directed by Hari. It has nothing new to offer and the story definitely seem to be decade old.

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