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Kannai Nambathey (2023), an average thriller
Udhayanidhi Stalin has proved again to be good in selecting the stories he acts with Kannai Nambathey (2023). A simple story of things going terribly wrong for two roommates and how did they handle it, was made engaging by director Mu Maran. Prasanna was the one who impresses us the most and holds the movie together in the first half, in the second half Srikanth and Bhumika join him. All others including the heroine Aathmika, Pala Karuppiah, Sathish have got forgettable roles. The film gets a Raw rating from Mangoidiots. The first one hour of the film goes brisk and keeps us hooked, unfortunately what should’ve been a gripping climax…
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Ghosty (2023), I am confused about this film
Tamil cinema loves the comedy horror genre but Ghosty (2023) starring Kajal Aggarwal is a confused mess. It hops from being a ghost film to a rowdy-police film and back many times that I lost count. The film gets a Rotten rating from Mangoidiots. The film by director Kalyaan features a dozen comedians including Yogi Babu, Redin Kingsley, Jagan, Manobala, Motta Rajendran, Mayilsamy (felt sad to see him onscreen), Devadarshini and more, but none of them get enough scope to impress you.
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Pallu Padama Paathuka (2023), disgusting & shabby
Some of the finest movies have been made in the zombie genre and others feature Adolf Hitler, it is a shame that Pallu Padama Paathuka (2023) uses both this shabbily. I can’t believe that a fine actor like Attakathi Dinesh after giving films like Cuckoo (2014) and Visaranai (2016) decided to act on this trash (forgive me, there is no nice way of saying this). Gets a mangoidiots rotten rating.
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Bagheera (2023), was misogynistic, insulting & tedious
Featuring a talented actor like Prabhu Deva and half a dozen actresses can’t save a poorly thought and shabbily made film like Bagheera (2023). For a thriller film, why should so much hatred, insults and abusive words against women everywhere be passed? The misogynistic comments featured throughout the film can’t be justified by a flimsy motive and a disgusting climax. I have no hesitancy to give a Rotten mangoidiots rating for the film. The dialogues were outright vulgar, even by adult comedy measures. A young lady’s mother is casually talking about her daughter booking an overnight room, and a group of fathers of girls are boosting how many boys were…
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Romancham (2023), a malayalam film featuring roommates
A group of seven roommates from Kerala are staying together in an independent house in Karnataka. The dynamics between them and their everyday life are narrated in an unusually relaxed way, seen only in Malayalam films. Director Jithu Madhavan and the actors Soubin Shahir, Sajin Gopu & others have made an ordinary film, a special one. Gets ripe on the mangoidiots scale. When you have seven characters, with no backstory for any of them, it is not easy to leave an impression about each of them on the audience, yet Romancham succeeds in that effortlessly. By just watching a few minutes of their walk or the few words they utter…
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Single Shankarum Smartphone Simranum (2023), watch it for Shiva
I appreciate the honesty of the director, Vignesh Sha. He announces in the opening credit roll, that the audience shouldn’t expect any logic or realism in the film. Single Shankarum Smartphone Simranum (2023), starring Shiva is a comedy version of the Oscar-winning Her (2013). The screenplay was mindless and if not for Shiva, the film would’ve been tougher to watch. There were many dull moments, yet I had fun watching the film. It gets a Raw rating on the mangoidiots scale. Megha Akash has done her role as the Artificial-Intelligence avatar well. Anju Kurian appears too young as the love interest for Shiva. Sha Ra & Bagavathi Perumal played important…
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Pathaan (2023), where thrill trumps sense!
What a movie this was! A thriller with non-stop action, Shah Rukh Khan with a muscular and sculpted physique, breathtaking Deepika Padukone, a ruthless villain in the form of a toned John Abraham and the entire screenplay happening in locations outside India. I appreciate the director Siddharth Anand and his crew for being unapologetic for the film not having a story or being original, yet producing a dazzling entertainer. The film has elevated Bollywood to Hollywood heights in terms of its filmmaking technology, it is not easy to shoot in so many locations and such complex stunt sequences. For these reasons, mangoidiots is giving a Ripe rating to Pathaan (2023).…
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Bakasuran (2023), a convoluted revenge story
Bakasuran (2023) will be remembered for director Selvaraghavan‘s breathtaking performance as an actor, he effortlessly switches between being a nomadic devotee and being a killing machine. The performance of Natty who works on resolving why the killings happen matched with the former, and the film would’ve impressed the audience. It didn’t and the prosy screenplay didn’t help either. The film gets a raw in mangoidiots scale. The film starts with a tragedy hitting the family of the character played by Natty, this gets forgotten soon after. From there, the story travels too far and wide for no obvious reason, as a result, we are unable to root for any of…
