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Reviews
An Action Hero (2022)
Run of the mill movie that tries (unsuccessfully) to be smart.... 5.5/10
An actor (the eponymous Action Hero) commits an unintentional crime and then goes on the run, while being chased by a vengeful small time politician.
Ayushman Khurrana attempts a conventional Salman/Rajnikanth style action movie, but unfortunately his cultivated audience expects something smarter and well written. Even the recent, weak 'Doctor G' was a more enjoyable film. This movie, which inexplicably had a few good reviews, predictably flopped.
There are a few trying-to-be-smart quips and one-liners, that may have been funny in a better movie, but here feel forced. The movie ends up being a long, boring mess. It's neither a full blown action movie nor a comedy. The antagonist (a good actor) is wasted in a silly role.
Not worth your time!
Ponniyin Selvan: Part One (2022)
Fairly decent watch
Brief Review: The Chola empire, under an ailing King is under threat from forces within. The story is told through the travels of Vandiyathevan (Karthi), the crown prince's friend/messenger/ally. Historical fiction written in the 50s, PS is a decent screen adaptation.
For the inevitable comparisons with Bahubali, Mani Ratnam is definitely a better director but eschews grand settings for a more realistic drama.
Actors: Vikram hams a bit. Jayam Ravi, Trisha and Karthi are suitably restrained. An important character, played by Aishwarya Rai would have been a treat had it been played by a better actor (maybe Tabu or Kajol or even Kareena).
For those familiar with epics like GoT, LoTR expect a 6/10. For those not familiar with Hollywood epics, it may be 8/10.
Still, PS is never boring and the rather long runtime is quite packed with a fast moving story.
Minnal Murali (2021)
A low budget superhero movie in an ultra-local milieu
A village boy and the village outcast are struck by lightning on the same night to transform into a superhero and a super-anti-hero respectively.
The movie attempts a Shazam like comedic approach to an origin story, set in a rural Kerala village.
Pros: The super-villain. Guru Somasundaram, as Shibu, steals the show from an average Tovino Thomas. The movie tries to work around the small budget by setting itself in a rural setting, which is interesting initially.
Cons: At nearly 2 hours 40 mins, it's overlong and drags in places. The low budget shows. There is quite little in terms of actual superhero fun. It's bad tidings for such a movie when the superhero is actually much less interesting than the villain.
Finally - an interesting attempt but couldn't live upto its potential. If you want to waste your time on a low budget Indian superhero movie, you could watch this just for the performance of Guru Somasundaram.
Knives Out (2019)
An entertaining mystery. Fun watch.
Got to watch an entertaining and fun whodunnit after a long time.
Though lead by an ensemble cast, the individual actors stay low key throughout (except maybe Ana de Armas).
The visuals are rich and give a vintage Agatha Christie vibe to the whole movie.
Was really getting tired of the tortured/dysfunctional/moody detective trope.
Hope to get more of such detective movies instead.
Probably the only fault I could find (nitpicking here) is with Daniel Craig's unnecessary accent.
Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings (2021)
Chinese Wakanda.....beautiful....but boring!
A made-for-China marvel movie.
Hollywood sold its soul to China, a long time back. Laughably, the Russians are still the bad guys for Hollywood.
That said, the movie has great visuals, beautiful SFX, but is frankly dull and boring.
Akwafina provides the customary few laughs, but ended up as the one character I cared for.
Also the previous Marvel/Avenger movies were more in the realm of science fiction (with the exception of Thor)....but with this movie Marvel enters a full blown fantasy mode.
Sacred Games (2018)
Could have been better
An fair attempt at some original Indian noir...but falls short.
Well written (it's based on a popular, eponymous novel), but this screen adaptation is rather long drawn out (to the point of being boring at times) and rather pretentious in its approach.
Saif Ali Khan, as always, is a fine actor and Nawaz Siddiqui is quite the scene stealer.
Could have been something much finer in the hands of more capable creators.
I would suggest Paatal Lok as a much better alternative, if you're wondering whether to watch this.
Paatal Lok (2020)
Entertaining Indian noir
Well made Indian noir.....a crime/police procedural series....superior to the over-hyped Sacred Games (which was kind of pretentious and boring).
Well written and directed, the story oscillates between shiny urban politics and that of some rather lawless, deep, rural interiors and is fairly entertaining throughout.
Worth a watch, especially for fans of European noir.
Bellbottom (2021)
Poorly written
Poor Script, poor dialogues. Based on a true story of an Indian airline hijacking, the movie is a supposed to be a spy story.
There appears to be zero research done on the functioning of intelligence organisations.
The scenes with Indira Gandhi are especially cringeworthy, with the PM mouthing dialogues like "who took him in RAW" - appear to be written by an 8th grader.
Don't waste your time on this one.
Haseen Dillruba (2021)
Entertaining.....with a poor ending.
We'll acted, moderately entertaining with a bit of suspense thrown in.
Unfortunately, the last 10 mins is very unrealistic. The writers could have consulted a Forensic specialist for some advice on what is to be done.
Would have given it a 7/10, if not for the ridiculous ending.
I Care a Lot (2020)
Different, Interesting....and a bit unbelievable
A different and interesting story, well acted and visually good. The second half, though, is a bit unbelievable.
Peter Dinklage has nothing much to do, which is a pity. Rosamund Pike is very effective.
A good entertainer.
Perry Mason (2020)
Expected a suave, dapper Mason!
Warning: Review after only 1 episode.
Expected a suave, dapper Perry Mason. Rhys is a fine actor but puts on a scruffy look which would disappoint anyone who has read the books. Slow start but wouldn't judge till a few more episodes.
Amar Akbar Anthony (2015)
Pathetic
Single line movie review - A patchwork of unrelated (unfunny) jokes/skits. Terribly boring!