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Movie Reviews

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

Ivan Veramathiri

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Ivan Veramathiri – is a Tamil action thriller released in 2013. A city suffers from the atrocities created by the local politician and his brother. While everyone remains silent Gunasekaran takes it on him to give the politician and his brother the taste of their own medicine by captivating the politician’s brother in a dark chamber in a building under construction for many days. Now the goons are out to get Gunasekaran. Whether Gunasekaran was successful in averting the danger is the plot of Ivan Veramathiri.

True to its title the protagonist takes a different approach in bringing the wrong – doers to light. If you have been watching world movies then the imprisonment in a dark room might resemble to the Korean movie Old Boy. Nevertheless it is a good attempt and the screenplay is successful in keeping the audience engaged with the movie plot. The only drag factor is the romance between the lead pairs and the chemistry doesn’t work out so well. You might find the movie to be slow during the second half. However the climax sequence is done well to bring back the lost interest. Director Saravanan has taken a different genre after his first movie Engeyum Eppodhum and has delivered on the script. The romance sequences in the movie might remind you of many of the sequences from his previous movie. Vikram Prabhu does well in the action sequences, his height and physique is very apt for the movie. Overall Ivan Veramathiri is different and is watchable.

Watchable

 

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

Thegidi

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Thegidi – is a Tamil suspense thriller released in 2014. An amateur detective is assigned the job to do background verification of people. He falls in love with one of the girl for whom he is doing background verification. Soon he finds people whom he had verified die mysteriously in accidents. Thegidi is a journey of unraveling this mystery.

Thegidi means dice. A good name for a suspense thriller as you never knows what is going to happen next. Director P.Ramesh has tried his best to keep the screenplay that way. One of the downfalls of the movie is the utilization of it characters. With the intention of the not revealing the mystery earlier he has struggled to use many of his characters. This would make you feel monotonous in parts of the movie. Given this is a debut venture it is not a bad script either.  Overall Thegidi would not disappoint you and deserves a watch for the plot.

Watchable

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.

Must Watch

 

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.

Must Watch

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

Memories

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Memories – is a Malayalam suspense thriller released in 2013.  A police officer is on long leave due to depression caused by killing of his wife and kid due to vengeance. He is summoned to pick up a difficult and challenging case involving serial murders. Was he able to pick it up, was he able to track the killer is the plot of memories.

Director Jeethu Joseph proves to be a great story teller. He has weaved the events very well and has unfolded the mystery very aptly. At the end you would walk out with a satisfaction of watching a nice movie. Prithviraj shines in the role of a depressed cop. Sujith Vassudev’s work on cinematography is a great plus for the movie. He has captured the essence of the narration brilliantly. Overall the movie keeps you guessing till the end and leaves you with good memories. If you are fan of suspense thrillers you will love this one.

Must Watch

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

Aaranya Kaandam

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Aaranya Kaandam – is a Tamil neo noir released in 2011. The plot has different angles which come together at the end of the movie. A local don is in his old age is trying to cope up with the end of his golden era. One of his men is trying to take things on his own by getting the drug deal which their rivalry group is dealing with against the will of the don. The don is trying to divert his rival group onto this guy. A young girl in the captive of the don wants to flee from his captivity along with a worker in don’s house. A poor drunkard man and his young son chance upon the drugs for which the rivalry groups are fighting for. How all this come together is the plot of Aaranya Kaandam.

Director Thiagarajan Kumararaja has dealt with a very complex subject and a genre less used in Tamil movies in his first film. He has done well for a first timer. The movie acquired a cult status much later since it had been released. The casting of the movie has been done well. Jackie Shroff is a perfect choice for the role. Sampath Raj has equally done his role well. As the movie progresses the plot thickens, keeping you engaged with the narration and the ending unties all the knots leaving you convinced. The name is apt for the movie which means Jungle Chapter and the movie revolves around the gang wars in the city. If you are a fan of black action films then you would like Aaranya Kaandam. The movie is not suitable for kids.

Watchable – for fans of black films

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.

Wait for TV/DVD

 

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.

Wait for TV/DVD

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

Om Shanthi Oshaana

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Om Shanthi Oshaana – is a Malayalam romantic comedy released in 2014. The story revolves around a girl who falls in love with a guy in her teens. The guy doesn’t accept her love as she is still a kid. She waits six long years till she is on her own and completes her degree. Was she able to get the guy of her dreams is the plot of Om Shanthi Oshaana.

The plot is a very old one and has been dealt in numerous movies. Certain plots are like a fresh coffee in the morning… no matter how many years you had been having it, the first sip in the morning always tastes fresh. Only thing to take care is to make the coffee right. Director Jude Anthany Joseph with his fresh screenplay has made a perfect blend. Being his first full length movie he hasn’t compromised on the elements of his plot. Nazriya is cute with her performance and the story sails around her. Nivin Pauly has given a much matured performance and the Neram pair strikes gold again with their onscreen chemistry. All the characters you meet are positive, “there is a cool breeze, general warmth and greenery” (you will understand this phrase once you see the movie) throughout the movie. It is one of the movies where even the sad scenes look beautiful. While people are struggling hard to make something big, innovative and out of the world love stories… this one comes with simple, beautiful and down to earth love story. If you are girl kid of the 90’s you will have more things to relate in the movie. The dialogues are witty and makes you laugh at many places. Overall the movie is right for the season  and it is a feel-good entertainer throughout.

Must Watch – for all rom-com lovers

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

Villa – Pizza II

Villa – Pizza II – is a Tamil horror thriller film released in 2013. Jebin is an aspiring novel writer who is struggling against odds for financial stability post the loss in his father’s business. Post his father’s death he discovers that there is a villa in his name in Pondicherry. He goes there only to discover that the villa is full of paintings done by his father. To his shock many of the paintings were predicting incidents that would occur to him in the future. What happens next in the Villa is the plot of the film.

Director Deepan Chakravathy has done a pretty neat job for a first timer. He has been able to give a script that definitely engages the audience throughout. There are not many thrilling sequences that you would find in a horror film but the subject of science behind superstition keeps one interested. The best part of the movie is its length. Kudos to the director for keeping the length of the script under 90 minutes. It is always difficult to find a balance between science and myth. Naturally the story struggles when it tries to draw line between the two. If you don’t look for a path breaking answer of finding scientific reasons for all the myths (which the movie initially sets the expectation to deliver) you would not get disappointed.  Overall the movie is a watchable one for its crisp story line and production quality with the given budget.

Watchable

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

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

Biriyani

Biriyani – is a Tamil thriller released in 2013. Sugan and Parasu stop at a road side restaurant to have biriyani. But they seldom realize this would put them into an unimaginable situation for being chased by police for a link to a murder and their family being targeted by goons. How they get involved in this situation and where they able to get out of it is the plot for the movie.

Director Venkat Prabhu known for coming up with some creative situations for Tamil movies has done it once again for biriyani. But it falls short of being as tasty as it claims to be. The screenplay is carved out the same template the director has done in his previous movies. There are – a group of friends, goons involved in heist, good cop and corrupt cops, business man wanting to more power, an item girl trying to woo the guys. A majority of the movie sails on the same lines. There is very little that can differentiate this from others. Karthi and Premji had tried hard to keep the audience engaged and have a hearty laugh… but their success is few and far between. Instead of falling into the trap of his previous plots if the director had spent efforts to perfect the script this biriyani would have been very yummy but it just ends up with more masala and less of taste.

What you would like: The visuals, the main plot, occasional thrills and laughter

What you may not like: Same old treatment of the screenplay, unrealistic and forced in sequences

Overall this dish might be enjoyed if you don’t crave for a biriyani and have it at home.

Watch on TV/DVD