ash-35524

IMDb member since July 2017
    Lifetime Total
    5+
    IMDb Member
    6 years

Reviews

Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham...
(2001)

Nothing Special
Only got through a third of the movie, but I think I've seen enough. K3G's got nothing special to offer to the table content wise. It's simply another regressive emotional potboiler with a dreary excess of "feel-good" songs sprinkled in between. A strong emphasis on family values is placed, but it feels too forced and didactic, which will easily bore the audience. SRK and Kajol overact as usual, and the rest of the actors are strictly average. The cinematography is impressive, but that's gonna be a given since Karan Johar is at the helm. The movie drags at a snail's pace, and I simply could not absorb the fakeness and disconnectedness that this movie possessed from reality. I understand that these kinds of movies are supposed to serve as "escapes", but I'm pretty sure that the same core message this movie harps about could easily be conveyed within a more realistically shot and scripted movie. I may have lost a few brain cells watching this movie, but at least I know to avoid such sorts of emotional potboilers in the future.

Mudhalvan
(1999)

Good Intentions, But Executed Haphazardly
Mudhalvan, directed by the renowned S.Shankar and with a background score composed by A.R. Rahman, would appear to be an awesome movie on paper. After watching it, I can say that Shankar had good intentions to crudely showcase the level of corruption + prejudice present within South Indian cities and communities at the time. However, the movie did not meet my expectations. So, what was good and what derailed this film?

Pros:

Performances: Arjun performs aptly, displaying the perfect "no- nonsense" attitude when dealing with the issues present at hand and also subtly handling his relationship with Thenmozhi. Raghuvaran is decent as the villain in the movie, delivering his lines with a pinch of harshness and irritation.

Songs/BGM: Songs are hella nice. Kudos to A.R. Rahman for crafting such a nice background score.

Cons:

Performances: Koirala is wasted. The romance angle is completely unnecessary, as she doesn't really play a super substantial role in the film after her introduction (which is very good btw). Vadivelu is annoying as hell. I don't understand what Shankar was thinking when crafting this character. Everyone else was strictly average.

Screenplay/Story: Solid message, but haphazard screenplay. Too many songs coupled with the "superhero" abilities of Arjun in this film, which takes away some of the realism that Shankar was trying to shoot for. The second half is a drag, as it is basically a useless fight between the corrupt politicians and Arjun. But that's a fairly standard feature in Tamil films, so I can't blame Shankar too much for falling into that trap.

Cinematography/Editing: Action scenes + special effects were generic (to be expected from that time). Some scenes in the beginning went by too fast. As stated earlier, scenes dragged on in the second half. The movie needed to be shot crisper and tighter.

Overall: 5.5/10. Watch it for its message and Arjun's performance.

Vikram Vedha
(2017)

One of the most Riveting Tamil Movies I've Seen in a While
Vikram Vedha isn't your typical "run-of-the-mill" movie. If you'd seen the trailer beforehand, you would've realized this immediately. After watching the movie, however, I was in complete awe. With this movie, I really had to pay attention to each individual detail, as I probably would've missed out on a lot of key developments had I been even slightly distracted. Anyway, here's a breakdown of what worked in this movie and what didn't (hint: very little).

Pros:

Performances: Vijay Sethupathi doesn't just "act out" his role; he lives it. There's nothing more gratifying than watching Sethupathi coolly manipulate and transform Madhavan through his blend of sarcastic humor and sheer earnestness. His dialogue delivery is as smooth as it gets, and his mannerisms are as natural as it. One of the best embodiments of a "gangster villain" that I've seen in a long time. Madhavan, while not as natural, gives a dignified, no-nonsense performance as Vikram. The one-track mindset that Vikram possesses in the movie is well displayed by Mahdavan, and his one-liners are also a nice source of comic relief. Mahdavan's interactions with the criminals and gangsters in the movie evokes the genuine cold- bloodedness that encounter cops possess, and he portrays his emotional transformation well. The supporting actors all have decent roles, and they all excel in them. Srinath does well as Madhavan's wife and "foe", and Sarathkumar portrays the desperateness that Chandra possesses quite well. Others, such as Kathir and Peradi, give dignified performances as well.

Soundtrack/BGM: Karuppu Vellai. Black White. Enough said. Sam C S drives the black/white divide extremely well through this hard- hitting composition, which plays throughout the movie. You'll leave the theater with this song completely stuck in your head. The other prominent songs, Yaanji and Tasukku Tasukku, are good. However, one could question the importance of having them incorporated into the movie, as they are really not relevant whatsoever. However, they're still amazing songs.

Screenplay/Cinematography: Based on the classic Indian tale between King Vikram and the Vedhalam, directors Pushkar and Gayatri craft a simple yet complex story that is executed perfectly. Like I stated earlier, each scene is important in understanding the big message/picture that this movie is trying to convey. The cinematography is just outstanding. Each scene is shot so cleanly and crisply. You could that the cinematographer took his/her time when shooting these scenes.

Favorite Scene: Introduction of Vedha. You'll get goosebumps.

Overall Rating: 9/10. Outstanding piece of work. Do yourself a favor and watch it as soon as you can.

Size Zero
(2015)

Anushka saves the movie..
Imma be real concise here. Size Zero is your stereotypical Indian movie. Only difference is the concept. Raising positive awareness of plus-sized women was a novel concept, but it was executed poorly in this movie. Anushka Shetty does her absolute best to portray herself as an overweight, confident woman. She handles herself with panache and flair even when the movie gets extremely melodramatic. Arya isn't amazing, but he does the job. Sonal Chauhan is an extra. Prakash Raj, with his limited screen time, is commendable. The plot of this movie is some straight elementary crap. The love triangle mess is so clichéd and annoying, and immersing that with the social message makes this movie a mess on display. Overall, watch it for Anushka's performance.

Bãhubali 2: The Conclusion
(2017)

A Decent-ish Conclusion, But Riddled With Flaws
I had high expectations for this film as I was thoroughly surprised by the sequence of events that took place in the first movie. After watching it, my expectations were not completely satisfied. Here are a list of pros and cons that I feel are worth mentioning about this film.

Pros:

Background Music/Songs: M.M. Keeravani does an excellent job composing the background score and music for the songs, crafting a beautiful, melodious composition in "Kanna Nee Thoongadaa" while offering a worthy tribute to Amarendra Baahubali in the riveting "Bale Bale Baahubali". The rest of the songs are aptly composed as well, and they don't significantly detract the overall progression of the film.

Special Effects: Rajamouli had a grand vision when designing this film, and it shows. The kingdoms are bigger, the songs are fancier, and the action is grander. It is really breathtaking in my opinion.

Acting: Prabhas is bold and effective in his two roles. The only flaw that I found within his performance was near the beginning of the film, which I will address more closely within the follies associated with the plot. Rana serves as a perfect foil against Prabhas i, emoting the necessary arrogance, built-up vengeance, and masculinity that the role requires of him. Anushka Shetty portrays Devasena very well, displaying her fiery independent thinking and provocativeness alongside Prabhas.

Cons:

Plot: The movie's story is obviously quite clichéd, but that is to be expected with a movie that is focused on showcasing its grand visuals and portraying the final encounter between Baahubali and Bhalladeva. However, the first half was dragged out tremendously. In particular, there is a long sequence involving Baahubali and Kattapa that will make you question what Rajamouli was thinking. Other important plot developments, such as the relationship between young Mahendra Baahubali, are not explored. Furthermore, Devasena's role in the second half of this movie will undoubtedly raise some eyebrows, as she is heavily underutilized while the melodrama starts to kick in.

Acting: Other than a few scenes of kicking ass, Tamannah is rendered useless. Sathyaraj, while a phenomenal actor, is grossly wasted in the first half of the film alongside Prabhas during that particular sequence of events.

Special Effects: The action scenes are yet again ridiculous, which I wasn't really expecting. Prabhas completing a 360 in the air was laughable. Soldiers being launched off catapults was quite interesting, but that's not going to cut it for the amount of money spent on VFX.

Overall, a decently satisfying movie in that it met my bare expectations. However, my loftier expectations were unfulfilled. Watch this movie once it pops up on Einthusan or a similar film streaming website. Don't try to pay money to watch this.

Overall Rating: 5.5/10

Eega
(2012)

Interesting Movie that Mostly Delivers Well on Multiple Facets
(Disclaimer: This is my first movie review!) After watching this movie, I must say that I was humbly impressed. What seemed like a childish premise turned out to be pretty damn well executed.

Plot: Your standard South Indian-revenge story, but the direction is excellent. The second half of this movie is far more riveting and involved than the first half. If the first half could have been tighter and more fluid (Nani's performance is mostly wasted), then I'd say that this was a perfectly executed film. The gradual degradation of Sudeep's character is portrayed well without many wavering distractions/diversions. Overall : 7/10

Acting: Sudeep is excellent. Handles himself with grit, emotion, and vigorous fury throughout the film. Samantha is strictly average. Nothing outstanding about her performance, but she doesn't mess up anywhere. Nani is wasted. His pathetic attempts to woe Samantha are straight up funny and very clichéd. The rest of the supporting cast is strictly average. Overall: 6/10

Music: Average. Nothing more, nothing less. 5/10

Cinematography/Special Effects: Outstanding in my opinion. The CGI is really impressive, and it is especially cool to observe the fly getting its upgrades with the micro scale goggles and protection. Overall: 9/10

From these brief evaluations, I'd give this movie a 7/10. Don't discard the initial incredulity this movie possesses. Watch it, you won't be very disappointed.

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