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Star Trek Picard, I loved the final episode
Season 3 of Star Trek Picard started tamely. I was disappointed to see Picard throwing everything he stood for by lying to Captain Shaw and sacrificing many for his son. However, Episode 9 titled Vox brought it all together nicely and made sense. The final episode was a treat for the fans as the writers did an excellent job of wrapping up the storylines. Instead of high adrenaline, nail-biting action sequences, we got a treatment that suited the age of the characters. It was a fitting end to the series, but I wish we got a glimpse of the earth below! Overall, Star Trek Picard season 3 was a great watch…
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Thank God (2022), a moral science film that entertains in parts
Thank God (2022) is about a greedy, selfish man in the afterlife made to play a game to win back his life. After the novelty wears off, the screenplay becomes a long string of incidents and the moral, the hero is made to learn from it. Had the film said anything new it could’ve been a lot more entertaining that did. It gets a Rotten rating and is available on Amazon Prime. The visuals of the game floor in the skies were stunning. Sidharth Malhotra played the protagonist, a black-and-white character well. As the Chitragupta, Ajay Devgn has got an easy role and he has done it effortlessly. Rakul Preet…
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Middle Class Melodies (2020), an underrated entertainer
Middle Class Melodies (2020) starring Anand Devarakonda (Vijay Devarakonda‘s brother) and Varsha Bollamma is a movie with a simple story and it was entertaining. I liked this feel-good movie, a genre which has become a rarity in recent times. Raghava, a graduate living in a small town dreaming of becoming big by cashing his culinary skills. Did he succeed by setting up a restaurant in the nearby city of Guntur and did he marry his sweetheart is the story? Director Vinod Anantoju has a done job in the casting. Every character including Chaitanya Garikipati as Gopal, Divya Sripada as Gauthami and Goparaju Ramana as Kondalrao were perfect for their roles. A…
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Sita Ramam (2022), a period love story of a soldier that was muddy
I have been hearing from a few friends about the recent period film Sita Ramam (2022), starring Dulquer Salmaan to be good. I caught up with the movie on Amazon Prime Video. This is a romantic suspense story that happens in two time periods 1965 & 1985 and mainly in two places Kashmir and Hyderabad. The art direction, cinematography and music were excellent, but the story and screenplay are convoluted lowering the entertainment quotient. It gets a Raw rating in our Mangoidiots scale. As a young Lieutenant Ram serving in the toughest conditions, Dulquer Salmaan has given a convincing performance. Following last year’s Kurup (2021) this is one more feather…
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Kadhal Kottai (1996)
தமிழ் சினிமாவில் மறக்க முடியாத ஓர் திரைப்படம் காதல் கோட்டை (1996). அஜீத்துக்கும், தேவயானிக்கும், இயக்குனர் அகத்தியனுக்கும் மிகப் பெரிய வெற்றியைத் தேடிக்கொடுத்தப் படமிது. இன்று சன் நியூஸ் பார்த்ததில் தெரிந்தது, படம் வந்து 25 ஆண்டுகள் ஆகிவிட்டதென்று. இந்தப் படத்தில் நாயகனும், நாயகியும் பார்க்காமலேயே படமுழுக்க காதலிப்பார்கள், தபால் வழிக் காதல். நம்ப முடியாத இந்த நிகழ்வை, நம்பும்படி தந்திருப்பது தான் படத்தின் வெற்றிக்கு காரணம்.அதோடு அஜீத், தேவயானி, ஹீரா அவர்களின் நல்ல நடிப்பும் சேர்ந்து நம்மை கவர்ந்துவிடுகிறது. இன்றும் படத்தில் வந்தப் பலக் காட்சிகள் எனக்கு நினைவில் இருக்கிறது. பெட்டிக்கடை நடத்தும் மணிவண்ணன் மற்றும் இரவில் குளித்து, இஸ்திரி செய்த துணிகளைப் உடுத்தி, மேக்கப் எல்லாம் போட்டுக் கொண்டு தூங்கப் போகும் பாண்டு கதாபாத்திரமாகட்டும் எல்லாம் பசுமையாக நினைவில் வருகிறது. பொதுவாக ஆங்கிலப் படங்களில் அல்லது வேறு நாட்டுப் படங்களில் இருந்து தழுவியக் கதைகள் தான் தமிழ் சினிமாவில் வருகிறது என்கிற குற்றச்சாற்றுக்கு மாறாக காதல் கோட்டைக் கதையைத் தழுவி, பின்னர் வந்த…
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Sarkaru Vaari Paata (2022), was disappointing
I like Mahesh Babu, I found his film Srimanthudu (2015) to be a total entertainer and I watched it a few times. So, I was curious with his latest film Sarkaru Vaari Paata (2022). Sadly, it offered an incohesive screenplay and a uninspired story. A good performance by Mahesh Babu and Keerthy Suresh couldn’t save the trainwreck. It gets a mangoidiots rating of Rotten. It seems the director Parasuram wanted to do a film around the plot of the infamous Vijay Mallya default case of Rs 9000 crores. Instead of going all-out on this and showing how the hero saves the Indian banks, we see a hotchpotch of events. Whatever the…
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Galwakdi (2022)
This Punjabi film, available on Amazon Prime Video is a prototypical romantic comedy. I noticed in the trailer, the story was in London and I started to watch it. Jagteshwar Singh is a librarian, a perfectionist who agonize over the small details in life. He gets drawn to a young lady, Amber, a guest in his house. The fun was the events that lead to the opposites getting attracted. Except for the drinking scenes, this is a family-friendly film. Had the climax been less cliché, Galwakdi (2022) would’ve got an higher rating than Raw from Mangoidiots. The opening sequences showing the regimented life that Jagteshwar follows, forces his parents and…
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Gehraiyaan (2022)
Not being truthful to the one who loves you and having an affair turns ugly always and the repercussions will be felt beyond those involved. This was the plot of Deepika Padukone starring Gehraiyaan (2022). Due to a confusing screenplay on what should’ve been an engaging romantic drama turns out to be boring. Even the good performances by Deepika and Ananya Pandey couldn’t save the film. The Alibaug beach house that was featured was stunning, and so was the luxury yacht – and the cinematographer has captured them beautifully. I liked the attempt to narrate the story from the female lead’s point of view and I wish this was explored…
