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Reviews
Jigarthanda DoubleX (2023)
Karthik Subbraj apparently weaved 2 different scripts into 1
The movie 1st half, though not memorable, was laid out pretty well for a gangster movie. The first half has a similar premise to the first installment of the franchise - innocent protagonist, who dons the pretense of a movie director to dupe a dreadful gangster. The interval block sets the tone and expectations for a intense drama. Alas, the plot in the 2nd half seems to be taken totally from a different script as it treads into the genre of social drama - a genre that has churned out 1000s of boring movies in the last decade alone. It seems like Karthik Subbaraj has unrestrained urge to fit his political/social messaging into his films as we have seen how his movie Jagame Thandthiram faltered for the same reason. Even though the 2nd half is done better than most of the social drama movies, it seems deliberately mawkish and totally divorced from the original premise set in the 1st half.
SJ Surya though acted well,he doesn't manifest his unique blend of humor and notoriety in this character - partly because he plays the good guy here, and partly because his character is chiseled to be more serious and humorless. Raghava Lawrence has his intense moments but shows his limitations as an actor. None of the supporting characters have any memorable scene. Shine Tom Chacko, who is a much celebrated for his negative portrayals have been grossly underutilized here. Songs are forgettable and rather annoying. BGM work in some parts. The "mass scenes" are well-done and action scenes are choreographed neatly. You can skip this movie and wait for its debut on OTT or TV.
Oppenheimer (2023)
Finally a Nolan film which doesn't require a second viewing.
Like most of the Nolan's movies, this movie is fast paced . The non-linear storytelling, the detailed character arcs, and the non-stop dialogues keep you invested, in what would otherwise have been a dull biopic. While the non-stop dialogues , back and forth, keeps you engrossed, it becomes tiring at times and leaves you wanting a break. Performance wise, Robert Downey Jr. Stands out. All other actors have done good job. Music is atmospheric and blends well with the scenes, except for a few instances where it gets too loud and annoying. Nolan should make more movies which are character-driven like Oppenheimer and The Prestige, instead of making soulless sci-fi garbage like Interstellar.
Viduthalai Part 1 (2023)
Vetrimaran has proved why he is the best in the business
Vetri's hallmark has always been his ability to marry realism with commercial elements which he has shown it again. There are so many characters in the movie but none would qualify as a filler as each of them ,either play as one of the main characters ,that drive the movie's plot, or as a trigger to the events that unfold a new reality before the protagonist. Movie has a slow 30 minutes start but eventually manages to capture our unwavering attention.
I was bit skeptical how Soori would fit into a supposedly cop action/thriller but Vetri has chiseled a character of a naive but a man with morals, which fits like a hand in glove for the actor. . All other actors including Vijay Sethupathi have done job equally well. The movie's much talked opening long shot, which has one glaring error ( A passenger train with just 5 coaches? ) ,is worth all the accolades it deserves and easily one of the best opening shots in Indian cinema. The movie has graphic violent scenes which may be too violent for the taste of certain groups of movie goers. The love story , thankfully, doesn't coast runtime but actually is an important sub-plot that drives the main plot in one way. .
Overall, the movie does justice to the premise and the promise it had shown in the trailer. Despite all it's brilliance, it fails to evoke emotions to the level which Asuran and Visarnai did evoke to. This could be because of the fact that the theme of police brutality has already been explored ( Visarnai and Jai Bhim) and I as an audience is already desensitised to it.
Room (2015)
It becomes excruciating after a point
The movie had a strong premise which it abandons halfway from the film. The lead characters ( mother and her child) were good and relatable you root for them to escape out of hostage. However, their hostage ends abruptly halfway through movie without any explanation on the backdrop of kidnapping and the kidnapper. The movie quickly pivots from a crime thriller into family drama where the protagonist woman has troubled relationship with her parents and the little boy finds it difficult to adjust with the larger world as he spent all of his until then in hostage with little interaction to outside world. It become pretty stale and boring and even the little guy's terrific acting couldn't save the movie from there. Except for lead characters, all other characters lack depth and poorly written or explained.
The VVitch: A New-England Folktale (2015)
Technically strong but has an overindulgent silly plot
Summary : The movie is set in late mediaeval period in Europe and gives a glimpse on how religion and the poverty subsumed the lives of the people. The story revolves around a family, led by a man, which gets exiled by a church for a supposed misdemeanour of the man of the family, and is forced to live in a farm surrounded by a spooky forest. The trouble starts when the toddler Sam gets kidnapped and killed by a witch which causes distress in the family and eventually leads to a chain of events that causes further deaths , and paranoia among family members. The movie has a subtle theme of 7 deadly sins , which individuals commit and eventually pay the price with their lives as they supposedly failed to repent.
Pros : The visuals, camera work and the acting of the lead character
Cons : The plot is as simplistic as it gets and seem to be written just for the sake of the 7 deadly sins theme. I do agree jump scares are not needed for horror but plot even fails to render the atmospheric horror. The acting of the little guy, Caleb, was bad and unconvincing in the possession scene which would have turned out in a memorable one had the acting was better. Horror movies are expected to have "intense" scenes where you feel disturbed. But the movie has no such scenes. Except for the lead character, you don't feel sorry or root for anyone, as characters are out of depth. The ending was unexpected but fails to awe.
Sardar (2022)
Film with flaws but watchable
The movie reeks of convenient tropes of political action genre that we have seen umpteen times before - archetypal one-man powerful bureaucrat/capitalist as antagonist, and the usual preachy narration through manipulative emotional scenes involving deaths. But still the movie comes up as fresh and innovative attempt and ends up a good watch, primarily because of two reasons -one was Karthi's performance and the depth of his character, and the second was fast-paced screenplay . The screenplay isn't without logical inconsistencies but they can largely be ignored, if one is willing to appreciate the broader picture . The romantic scenes and misplaced 'meh' songs could have been avoided but they don't take more runtime than needed . Camera work was sloppy in the final sequence but otherwise it was consistently good in the rest of the movie
Overall, it is a movie worth watching even with glaring flaws.
El inocente (2021)
An overkill
The series should have ended with the bad cop's suicide. The last 2 episodes were clearly produced for the sake of it as those last 2 revenge sub-plots seems contrived out of unreasonable hate for the protagonist. Overall, it is a watchable series and worth your time.
Navarasa (2021)
Avoid the series
Giving 1 stars to balance out high rating spamming by Suriya fans.