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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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Varisu (2023), an all-out Vijay film
Varisu (2023), is an all-out Tamil Nadu father-and-son sentiment film that has been made on a Bollywood film set background. Single-handedly Vijay entertains the audience for the three hours of running time. Director Vamshi Paidipally utilises the best of Vijay, which in my view is not his dance or action, but his comedy body language. In many cliche moments, which were countless, Vijay‘s happy-go-lucky style saves the audience. Mangoidiots’ rating for the film is Raw. I enjoyed Yogi Babu‘s comedy tracks, which were relevant and brief. As the family patriarchy, R Sarathkumar has played the role well. Joining him was veteran Jayasudha, in his wife’s character, as the mother to…
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Thunivu (2023), a bank heist starring Ajith
Director H Vinoth and Ajith Kumar have given a non-stop action movie from a simple plot of a bank heist. Bullets fly all the time, and my friend seated next to me even collected a few empty shells from the ground below. The first half of the film was fast-paced and engaging, which can’t be said for the second half. The film gets our mangoidiots rating of Raw. Seeing the trailer I was not sure how good the character of the white-flowing beard-sporting Ajith will be. Thankfully, the appearance was apt for the role and was convincing. In the gun firing sequences, Manju Warrier comes fast and daring. Prem Kumar impresses…
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Laththi (2022), a routine but action-packed police & criminal film
In Indian cinema, the hero if he is police gets shown as a super cop. It is mostly in comedy films, the hero comes as lower ranked police. Vishal in Laththi (2022) breaks this pattern, his character Muruga is a family man & a police constable. The first half was engaging in this police constable vs mafia, and the second half though having non-stop action was mixed-bag and long. The film gets a Mangoidiots Raw rating. Vishal has given one of his best performances in the action sequences. Sunaina has done her role as the wife and mother of an 8-year-old well. Ramana who produced the film has done a…
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Tamil Rockerz on Sony Liv, a familiar police-villain chase!
🎥தமிழ் ராக்கர்ஸ் (2022), சோனி லைவ் தொடர். நாயகன்: அருண் விஜய் . நாயகிகள்: ஐஸ்வர்யா மேனன், வாணி போஜன். 👮🏾தமிழ்ப் படங்களில் (தொடர்களில்) நாயகன் பெரிய காவல் அதிகாரியாக இருந்தால்: – அவருக்குக் காதல் கல்யாணம் தான் ஆகியிருக்க வேண்டும், – மனைவி கொஞ்சம் நாளிலேயே வில்லனால் (கடத்தி) கொல்லப்பட்டு விடுவார், – நாயகன் இறந்த மனைவியின் மேல் இருக்கும் காதலை நினைத்து நினைத்து குடிப்பார், ஆனாலும் மிக நல்லவர், நிலை தடுமாற மாட்டார் – அப்போ எதற்கு பாட்டில் பாட்டிலாகக் குடிக்கிறார்? – காதல் மனைவி நகைச்சுவையாக பேசுவார், எல்லோரிடமும் நன்றாக பழக கூடியவர், கருணையே வடிவானவர், – பல சமயங்களில் காதலை, காதலி தான் சொல்வார், – நாயகன் கடமையே கண்ணாக இருப்பார், இரவு பகல் பாராமல் உழைப்பார், – மனைவியை சினிமாவுக்கு அழைத்து சென்றால், கடமை அழைக்க பாதியில் மனைவியை அம்போ என்று விட்டுவிட்டு செல்வார், – நாயகன் எவ்வளவு பெரிய அதிகாரியாக இருந்தாலும் நாயகன் மற்றும் அவரின் மனைவிக்கு…
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Cobra (2022), a three-hour film that was tame
Seeing Cobra (2022), it was clear that like all his previous films, Chiyaan Vikram has worked super hard on this one too – in the various make-up, he was totally unrecognizable – excellent performance by him. The film is about a mercenary killer, whose identity is not known to anyone. The killer is chased by an Interpol officer (the cricketer Irfan Pathan) & by a world’s rich businessman. The film gets a Raw in mangoidiots scale. Starting with an engaging plot, the movie was enjoyable for the first hour, but then it loses its orientation and gets chaotic for no reason. The visuals and the overall arrangement of the scene…
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Viruman (2022), a formula village film!
If you go to a library on Tamil films, reach the rack on village stories, pick the first book covering father-son differences and go directly from there to the location for shooting, you will get Viruman (2022). The film gets a raw rating in the mangoidiots scale. Karthi has done well the role of the village hero who is honest to a fault, strong as hercules, yet crumbles on the first instance for love & family. Debutant Aditi (Director Shankar‘s daughter) fits the role of the rural girl, impresses with her natural appearance and unpretentious acting. Surprisingly, comedian Soori has underplayed and shouts less, making him tolerable. Manoj Bharathiraja comes…
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Kuruthi Aattam (2022), a timeworn gangster war & friendship
The film starring Atharvaa and Priya Bhavani Shankar has been aptly titled the Kuruthi Aattam. The two-and-half-hour film is a non-stop sequence of action, chases, fights, knives and blood. Add to this, the story is based in Madurai, the city that Kollywood loves to portray as the gangster capital of the state. Director Sri Ganesh keeps you engaged by the fast-paced screenplay, but the lack of a powerful story and absence of definitions for any of the characters including the protagonist makes the movie exhausting. We can’t wait for the bad guys to die and the hero to triumph so that we can leave. It gets a Mangoidiots Raw rating. Sakthivel…
