Category Archives: Action

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

Yaagavarayinum Naa Kaakka Review

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

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

How to Train Your Dragon 2 Review

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How to Train Your Dragon 2 Review – How to Train Your Dragon 2 is an American animation movie released in 2014. This is a sequel to the How to Train Your Dragon movie. After changing the culture of Berk to co-exist peacefully with the dragons Hiccup and Toothless are out on another adventure where they have to face a deadly villain called Drago.

The movie has capitalized on the success of the first part and has the necessary plot points to entice you one more time.  The movie majorly succeeds in maintaining the interest of the audience throughout but for few dragging sequences. If you were to compare this one with the first part then you might like the first installment better. But as it goes with any sequels it is not as fresh as the first one. Also many sequences would remind you of the first part. Leaving this aside if you watch this movie you would certainly enjoy many parts of this one.  The way they have ended this movie promises for yet another sequel.

The quality of animation is very good. There are also new types of dragons introduced in this one which makes it even more interesting. Toothless steals the show completely. The way the character of Toothless is shaping up would create a very memorable dragon character for the viewers.

High Points: Chemistry between Toothless and Hiccup,  The flying sequence between Toothless and Hiccup, The new game invented by the citizens of Berk, Some new kind of dragons

Low Points: Not great when compared to the first part, Few of the sequences seem bit repetitive and dragging.

Overall this one may not be as great as its predecessor but nevertheless a great watch. If you have kids do watch this one with them.

Watchable – for the Night Fury Toothless!

Related: How to Train Your Dragon

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

Lingaa Review

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Lingaa Review – Lingaa is a Tamil action drama released in 2014. The engineer inspecting Solaiyur dam is mysteriously murdered. Just before he dies he mentions that the village temple should be opened to save the village. The villagers have taken a vow that the temple should only be opened by the family member of Lingeswaran who had constructed the dam 75 years ago. Hence they go in search of the grandson of Lingeswaran. Who is this Lingeswaran and what has he done for the village is the plot of Lingaa.

Lingaa is a much awaited Rajinikanth movie after 4 long years. The expectations skyrocketed before the movie release and people thronged the theaters to catch the glimpse of their favorite hero performing in style. Well the movie is made with the objective to treat Rajinikanth’s fans thoroughly. The movie is fairly successful in its objective. Given that the movie was completed in six months period of time the output is definitely stunning and it should have taken a lot of coordination to get things right.

I watched the movie after the initial three days of comments and reviews. I went to the movie not expecting much from it. The initial forty five minutes of the movie was very dragging and slow, just when my hopes where dying the movie shifts to the past which is all about Lingeswaran. From that point on the movie grew on me and the magic of a Rajini movie came alive. The movie is very racy from this point till the customary climax involving some gravity defying stunts. Rajini movie would be incomplete without such a stunt :).

High points of the movie: Rajini’s presence, gripping story of Lingeswaran, Rajini’s acting as Lingeswaran, Stunt sequences which includes the train fight and the climax fight sequence, music in the second half, Cinematography involving the visuals of the dam

Low points of the movie: The jewelry exhibition sequence, lack of good comedy, substandard dialogues for the sequences in the present era

The climax fight sequence has got some mixed feedback. But given it is a Rajini movie the way they have imagined the climax sequence is pretty good. No other hero could pull it off. And worth noting is that they executed this in a very short period of time. Special kudos to Lee Whitaker for choreographing some fantastic stunt sequences in particular the train fight sequence.

The main story seems to be just of Lingeswaran set in the British ruled India. The modern period is bolt on to enthrall the first weekend crowd.

Overall Lingaa is an out and out Rajini movie and will enthrall all Rajini fans. If you are patient enough during the “Rajini fan only” sequences you would appreciate the main story which definitely has enough content to engage you well.

Watchable – for Lingeswaran

Action, Biopic, Genre, Must Watch, Other Languages, Rating, Reviews

Ip Man Review

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Ip Man Review – Ip Man is a semi biographical Hong Kong film released in 2008. The film is loosely based on the life of Yip Man a grand master of the martial art Wing Chun.  Yip Man also had been the mentor of the Kung Fu Legend Bruce Lee.

The film covers the events of Yip Man’s life between 1930 and 1940. This was the period of the Sino Japanese war and China was undergoing a major struggle. Donnie Yen has performed brilliantly as Ip Man. His stunt moves are great watch. Overall the stunt choreography of the film is done very well. If you are a fan of martial arts movies you would love this. The story has given more importance to martial arts and how it was perceived by many after the era of Shaolin temples. The art was fading away and people knowing only the art were still not seen as responsible compared to a business man. This is seen in many occasions in the film where one of his friend says he had been thinking for what use is the martial arts and also at one point Ip Man himself says he just know martial arts and no work. The film also glorifies Chinese martial arts which teach compassion and not punishing people unduly. The first half of the film deals with the culture of the city of Foshan which is a martial arts hub in Southern China. The second half has a strong contrast where in life becomes difficult after the invasion of the Japanese. The characterization and buildup of Ip Man is done very well and your respect and awe for him grows as the movie progresses. The scene in which he enters the martial arts training ring of Japanese soldiers and tells he would fight ten people is a high point in the movie. Credit goes to Director Wilson Yip for creating a story that is compelling. Lot of creative liberties has been taken to make the movie dramatic and it has worked well.

Overall if you love martial arts movies this one is a must watch for you.

Must Watch – for all martial arts fans

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

Oru Oorla Rendu Raja Review

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

Thirudan Police Review

Thirudan Police Review – Thirudan Police is a Tamil action comedy film released in 2014. Vishwa gets his father’s job as a constable after his father’s death during an encounter. He doesn’t have any hard feelings as his father always has been strict with him. But as he learns the kind of difficulties a constable has to go through in his job he develops respect towards his father.

Thirudan Police is the first directorial venture for Caarthick Raju. He has taken up direction after working for creating visual effects for several movies. Given this is a first movie the end product has definitely turned out to be very decent. The first half of the movie is very engaging and revolves around the life in police quarters and the kind of life the lower grade officers go through which includes losing their self-respect on many occasions. All these are conveyed in a humorous tone which proves effective. The scene in which he has to buy fruits from a roadside vendor for free for the assistant commissioner’s family and in the end he fights with his conscience and pays out of his own pocket is a good one. There are many such scenes which make the movie stand apart from the rest. Till the complex knot is built and he realizes the sacrifice of his father the movie is very engaging but post that it slows down a bit. Although the director had a good plot built up he did not want to take the usual route of ending the climax in a dramatic fight rather he had chosen to stay different which may not appeal to many sect of the audience.

Attakathi Dinesh has performed his role well and this is a role that suits him well. Iyshwarya Rajesh does not have much role in the movie.

Overall Thirudan Police is more about police rather than the thief. Apart from minor glitches and the songs for the sake of songs Thirudan Police is definitely deserves a watch when you are at leisure.

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

Big Hero 6 Review

Big Hero 6 Review – Big Hero 6 is an American animated superhero movie released in 2014. This movie is based on the Marvel Comics of the same name. A 14 year old genius and robotic expert Hiro Hamada has to form a super hero team to fight a villain who is suspected to have played a role in his brother’s death.

If you have read the comics you might already know what you would need to expect from the movie. However if you haven’t then one of the things you might need to know is this is not yet another animation movie that targets kids with a good moral message like Wall E, UP, Frozen, Brave and so on. There is no such thing this Big Hero 6 conveys. The movie is more of a super hero movie than that of a kid’s animation movie. During the break one of the kid exclaimed to her mom that she couldn’t understand the movie. If we are looking this more from a superhero movie angle then it has all the ingredients that would entice you. The animation is of great quality and the characters are all sketched very well. The health care robot Baymax is very cute and the scenes involving the interactions between Hiro and Baymax are funny and would make you laugh. The initial portions of the movie are more enjoyable than the climax itself. The climax is large and involves destruction on a large scale and reminded me of the Avengers and Man of Steel climax. This large scale destruction has now become a trademark for superhero movies. The movie revolves more around Hiro and Baymax. There is little space for the other four characters which I believe would be more prominent in the upcoming editions. The movie does have a post credit sequence which promises a premise for the next edition. So don’t leave the theater before the end of credits.

Overall Big Hero 6 has all the elements to entertain you and keep you engaged for 100 minutes. If you are a fan of Superhero and animation movies then don’t miss this one.

Watchable