Mugamoodi

My review : Mugamoodi

One can’t help but come out with a mixed feeling after watching Mysskin’s “Mugamoodi”. Mysskin has tried to present a super-hero movie in his style. Nothing wrong about it. The thing is he could have concentrated on the screenplay of the second half. Lacklustre second half ends up spoiling the movie after a promising & interesting first half.

10 minutes into the movie only one is dished out all the Mysskinisms including the low-angle shots, slow-motions , bar song , Mysskin movie specific character’s mannerisms & what not. Slowly movie builds up interest in the viewers with a fairly engrossing screenplay supported to a great deal by very good background score by K. There are couple of heart-thumping moments too in the first half. By the time movie breaks for intermission air is filled with anticipation for a rocking second half which should have belonged to the “super-hero”.

This time around Mysskin is not able to sustain the intensity in the second half. The pace is painfully slow with pretty much nothing happening in the story. Second half is actually nothing but a very prolonged build-up for the climax. After such a fairly long & tedious build-up the viewers would surely expect the movie to end with a bang with scenes that must have generated goose-flesh. But the ending is damp squib. And to make the matters worse the background score in the second half is pathetic & almost puts one to sleep. A good background score might have actually helped in creating “The” impact that a super-hero ought to have made but sadly here he turns up on screen every time with a whimper.

Inspite of a very poor second half what works in the movie is the action sequences. The movie is almost an ode to kung-fu. Jiiva has done the fights very well & authentic body language.

Jiiva has put in a lot of hard work into his character which shows on screen. He is almost flawless in his rendition of the kung-fu action sequences. If only he could have got some more help from his scriptwriter , this movie would have done wonders to his career. Narein is miscast in the role of the lead antagonist. He neither has the body language nor the demeanour to do a character of that sort. His performance is further confounded by his meek dialogue delivery. One could hear peels of laughter in the climax scene when Narein tries to play a sinister villain.   Pooja Hegde is pretty but her acting is plastic. Thankfully she doesn’t have much screen space. Nasser & Girish Karnad are good in their roles.

As mentioned earlier K’s background score is mixed bag. First half he is brilliant but in the second half he is pathetic. Sadly the best song in the album “Mayavi mayavi” is not there in the movie. Bar anthem & “Vaya moodi summa iruda” are hummable.

Sathya is the cinematographer & he has done a brilliant job. As usual vintage Misskin angles & shots do find their place in the narration. There are lots of camera movements & Satya has accomplished it without causing strain to the eyes of the viewers.

Gaugin is the editor who seems to have dozed off while editing the second half.

On the whole, “Mugamoodi” is yet another failed shot at a super-hero movie in Tamil mainly due the lack of imagination on the part of the writer Mysskin.

Personally this is the first Mysskin movie that is going to get a score of less than 4/5.

Bottomline : Sedative 

2.5/5

Etho Seithai Ennai

My review: Etho Seithai Ennai

"Etho Seithai ennai" (ESE) is yet another comeback movie for Sakthi who is still in search of his first hit. With this movie his search seems to continue. Written & directed by debutant Elvin Bosser , ESE has a very ordinary plot with a poor screenplay which is disjointed & contrived. 

ESE is a story of a happy-go-lucky engineering student & her haughty colleague who is incidentally niece of a dreaded don who in turn has a  soft feelings towards her. The first half happens mostly in college campus 

 focusing on the tit for tat game between the lead pair. Nothing novel or interesting happens in the first half. Second meanders towards love & gang war between two factions of dons , one being the heroine's uncle. All lead to a tedious climax & cliched ending.

Sakthi looks plumper than his previous flicks. He has given his sincere effort but there is nothing to rave about as far as his character is concerned. Liya is good looking & acts well too. Anand & Anand Babu are seen in banal characters as the two arch-rivals hell bent on killing one another. It is sad to look these talented actors restricted to such cardboardish characterization. Srinath does nothing to elicit laughter.

In Ganesh B Kumar's music only "Kadhil mattum inbama" is worth listening to.

Ezhil Arasan is the cinematographer & he has done adequately to capture the college campus & songs in foreign locales.

On the whole, "Etho Seithai Ennai" is a boring romantic actioner which may not get noticed in the box-office.

Bottomline : Outdated

1.5/5

Pandi Oliperukki Nilayam

My review : Pandi Oliperukki Nilayam

Post "Mayaandi Kudumbathar" Rasu Madhuravan's movies are plagued by cliched storylines & uninteresting screenplay. As a result none of those movies create any impact in the box-office. His latest venture "Pandi Oliperukki Nilayam" (PON) is not different. Trying out a (?)"romantic" tale this time , the story is as old as hills that of a rich & pampered girl falling for a humble & gold-hearted boy. Okay that story is nothing new but he could still woven an interesting screenplay to salvage it. But he has failed in that count too. As a result one get to see a half-baked , boring & hackneyed tale of romance & revenge.

Touted to be a romantic movie , the lead upto the hero & heroine falling for each other in not that convincingly told.Since this basic premise itself is shaky the superstructure that the director tried to build upon is wafer thin & fails to create any impact. Screenplay is pathetic with inane so-called comical situations which has nothing to do with the story making the viewers squirm in their seats. Dialogues are stale & in many occasion cheesy & tasteless, especially in the initial encounters between the lead pair.

Sabarish is the protagonist who has a lot of work to do as far as acting is concerned. Even his dancing skills looks laboured. It is refreshing to Sunaina after a long gap. She does her bit to prop up a poor etched out role. At many places the costumes she wears look comical considering the ambiance & the backdrop of the story. Singam Puli , Karunas , Suri , Thambi Ramaiah & Vyapuri form the gang who tries to do something which the director wants the viewers to presume it to be comedy.

Kavi Periyathambi is the music director. None of the songs are worth hearing while background score is redundant.  U.K.Senthilkumar is the cinematographer who has nothing much to do other than present the happening as they occur.

Rasu Madhuravan should try to hone up his screenplay writing skills before he tries making his next movie to help viewers escape the banality he has been ditching out over the last couple of years.

On the whole, "Pandi Oliperukki Nilayam" is cliche-ridden , uninteresting & disjointed tale of a jilted lover.

Bottomline: Endless torture

1/5

18 Vayasu

My review: 18 Vayasu

"Renikunta" team is back with their second venture "18 Vayasu". Nothing wrong in trying out a story with a mentally ill person as a protagonist. But before that one wishes that the writer-director Paneerselvam could have done some background research rather than plunging into the project with the help of hearsay. Okay that can be excused , atleast he could have woven a screenplay that is interesting to sustain one's attention throughout the period of two and half hours.

The screenplay is very loose & disjointed with suddenly things happening according to the wishes of the writer rather following a natural course. One of the symptoms of the psychotic hero in mimicking the animals that he sees while distressed seem to have forced into the narrative. After a point that too fails to evoke any interest.

Dialogues are routine with few lines thrown into feed to the misogynists in the audience (who seems to form a sizable number,,!)

Jhonny fits into the role that he plays well though he must do a lot of work improving his emotive skills. He looks stiff in most of the scenes. In certain sequences he evokes unintended laughter from the viewers by trying to mimic animals. Debutante Gayatri is natural in her portrayal of the "damsel in distress " act. She looks pleasant to the eyes & emotes well too. Satyendran as "Jackie" (whom we have seen in lots of movies in brief roles) has got a plum role for the first time in his career & he has done justice to the opportunity.

In Charles Bosco's music "Enakkenave nee", "Unnai Onru " & "Entha Ulagil" are good melodious numbers while he needs to do a lot of learning to do as far as background score is concerned. Background score is  pretty amateurish.

Sakthi , the cinematographer has done a very good job capturing the emotions well. Technically movie is good & glossy.

On the whole, "18 Vayasu" has a good plot but poor screenplay ensures that one's patience is tested by the time movie reaches intermission. By the time movie ends one feels a great deal of relief.

Bottomline: Poverty of imagination.

2/5

Eppadi Manasukkul Vandhai

My review:Eppadi Manasukkul Vandhai

Ridiculous plot-line plagued further by poor execution has resulted in "Eppadi Manasukkul Vandhai" being very superficial unable to create any impact on the viewers. It is a strange coincidence that two movies of similar plot have gotten released within a gap of a week. "Naan" also has the similar plot but the difference between the two is really the screenplay & execution which is poor here when compared to "Naan".

               

P.V.Prasath who is the writer-director of the movie has rehashed many scenes from his previous feature film "Kadhalil Vizhundaen". Though the movie starts of on a promising note , once the story moves towards the hero joining the same college as that of heroine , it is all downhill. The viewers loose interest very rapidly & after intermission movie become unbearable. There are numerous ridiculous turns & twists all hackneyed & forced in according to the whims and fancies of the director.

Vishwa makes debut as the hero. He has acted well , has good foot work for dance as well as action. Tanvi Vyas is pleasant to the eyes & emotes well. Imran has got a good break & he has used it well. Ravi kale characterization is poor but he has tried his level best to keep it afloat.

Vijay Milton has written the dialogues as well as handling the camera. Cinematography is adequate while dialogues are very routine. Technically the movie is good with good production values.

In A.J.Daniel's music couple of songs are good. "Uyir pogudhadi " & "En kadhal neethane " are good melodies. 

On the whole, "Eppadi Manasukkul Vandhai" is a shallow piece of work where everyone concerned seem to have lost interest after initial half hour including the viewers.

Bottomline: Shallow

2/5

Addhuri

My review : Addhuri

“Addhuri” is a romantic comedy which marks the debut for Dhruva Sarja . He has done pretty well for someone who has to carry the whole movie on his shoulders. Writer-Director A.P.Arjun has taken a routine story of misunderstanding between lovers spiced it up with a sub-plot of the hero trying to get back his love within a period of one week before she leaves for her hometown. Whole story is told in a light-hearted manner. Thankfully the melodrama in the end is a very brief.

Screenplay moves at a brisk pace without much space for boredom. The exchanges between the lead two replete with humour & casual day to day lingo makes up for an enjoyable viewing. Though Dhruva & Radhika Pandit who play the protagonists occupy most of the screen space one doesn’t get tired of seeing them onscreen. They have a good chemistry between them. The love-hate relationship between them is captured & enacted well by the director & the lead pair respectively.

Dhruva Sarja is a nice find. He has done exceedingly well for the first timer. He enacts well in almost all the sequences be it humour, romance, sentiments, dance or action. As said earlier he lights up the screen & makes a sparkling pair with Radhika. Touted to be one of the most talented actress in Kannada film industry in the recent times, Radhika lived up to the expectations. She does her part casually & effortlessly bringing about myriads of emotions & expressions without much strain. Considering that the movie almost focus entirely on the lead pair it is vital that their performances must be good enough to do justice to the script. And boy they have done precisely that.

Dialogues by Arjun form a pillar of strength for the movie. The casual language with adequate dose of contemporary usages of the youth form the bulk of the dialogues used. Good that he refrained from mushy romantic lines which may have looked artificial.

V.Harikrishna is the music director & surprisingly songs are not that good this time around. Background score is also average & mundane.

Soorya S Kiran is the cinematographer & he has captured the various emotions of the lead pair well. He shows his talents in the song & action sequences. Technically movie is just about average.

On the whole, “Addhuri” is light-hearted fun packaged with adequate doses of romance & humour.

Bottomline: Breezy romcom

3.5/5

Ek Tha Tiger

My review : Ek Tha Tiger

When one watches Salman Khan’s movies it is puerile to expect logic either in the story or screenplay or the action sequences. So when one is prepared oneself for the mayhem & madness , his latest venture “Ek Tha Tiger ” would be a nice time pass. If you want intelligent screenplay , subtle action sequences & artistic acting , then kindly skip it for it not for people like you.

“Ek Tha Tiger” is a romantic action movie dealing with the love story of a RAW agent & ISI agent. First half is action packed with quite a bit hilarious sequences. Second half gets tedious with one have to endure both Salman Khan & Katrina Kaif trying to “act”. It has been a long while since one has seen lovelorn act of Salman which is quite tedious to watch. Second half is replete with lots of unintended comical sequences which would put even the most hardcore Telugu action movies to shame.

Salman Khan is again an omnipotent, intelligent & brawny protagonist. He stops a speeding train just with his coat , gets in to a plane which has just taken off with a help of a bike, jumps around numerous buildings all across the globe..what not. Yet all in good fun. Katrina Kaif as said already has tried to “act” but ends up slackening the pace of the second half. She has tried her hands (or legs..!) on action this time & it has come out well. Ranvir Shorey lights up the screen with his funny one-liners. Girish Karnad is sincere as ever.

Background score is adequate for an action movie while songs are average. Music is by Sohai Sen , Back ground score is by Julius Packiam.

Movie is technically top-notch. Cinematography is by Aseem Mishra. He has captures most of the action sequences well.

Kabir Khan , after a good debut with “Kabul Express” & an average second one “Newyork” , has made it a point to entertain come what may with his third movie in “Ek Tha Tiger”. The storyline seems to have been inspired by “Mr & Mrs Smith” with actions sequences being grabbed from various Telugu movies.

On the whole, “Ek Tha Tiger” is strictly for those who want to relax & get away from the mundane. Yes there are huge logical loopholes , gravity deifying stunt sequences , average acting but who cares. It is after all a Salman Khan movie which would again rewrite the Box-office records.

Bottomline: Time-pass

3/5