Reviews

Maharaja (2024) Tamil movie Review: All I knew was that this movie is from the director of "Kurangu Bommai" that had been released in 2017, though it was a good thriller it didn't do that well. This is Nithilan Swaminathan's second movie after a gap of seven years. However, you get a feeling that this 50th movie or so of this already veteran director. Also, this one is in fact 50th movie of Vijay Sethupathi whose fan I had become after watching his initial movies starting from "Pizza". This one should be a case study of how screen play of movie should be written taking simplest of stories and how characters should be developed in the script. Any movie would be great if it doesn't allow you to guess what is going to happen next? The suspense should not only be edge of the seat, but it should have many wow moments that is beyond audience's wildest imagination. Also, it should be more than engrossing and not just that, it should take you along as the story unfolds on the screen. In such a way that you end up feeling that you are part of what is happening. Finally, it should make you think long after you return home. Maharaja does all that and becomes one of the best Tamil movies of this year and the best 50th movie for Vijay Sethupathi. Take a bow to the director Nithilan Swaminathan for creating magic with amazing screen play from a simple story. You will think it is just another simple story only when you get to decipher the complete plot of this amazing movie. And you may have to see this movie more than once to get everything that you witnessed in the first view. I am really glad that this movie just came when everyone thought Malayalam movies are doing great even with Tamil audience and everyone started asking, what had happened to Tamil movie makers as they couldn't cater to the requirement of Tamil speaking audience? So much was the impact that old movies were re-released in the theaters due to lack of any good new movies to compete with Malayalam to Tamil dubbed movies. Technically this movie is brilliant in all ways. The major technical success is the wonderful BGM by Ajaneesh Loknath of KGF fame. I always associate him with loud BGM that not only vibrates chairs of theater also makes you buy a bottle of Amurthanjan/Headache balm. However, this one is an exception and crisp editing by Philomin Raj. Coming to performances, Vijay Sethupathi stands out both playing the younger version (Whom I like most) and the older version with good make up and even mannerism. You will feel nostalgic about his character in the movie "naduvula konjam pakkatha kaanom". It is nice to see Anurag Kashyap's amazing performance though there is no lip sync at many places. That is just a minor glitch as you can't think of anyone else in that role. However, taking a comedian and make him play one of the lead bad guys speaks volumes about the director. Singampuli is just amazing, and you start hating him to the core. I can't take all the names as it would make this review still longer one. Yes, you can't forget the girl who plays Vijay Sethupathi's daughter in this movie. This one is one amazing movie of this year and perfect choice for Vijay Sethupathi's 50th movie. Very Highly recommended. Every Cinephile should watch this one.

My rating is solid 10/10.

One humble request :- Please don't reveal about the plot to anyone. Let everyone watch it and experience it themselves!

Cha wu Ci xin ( The Abandoned) (2022) Taiwan movie review : THE ABANDONED on Netflix is a crime thriller from Taiwan (org. Title: Cha wu ci xin). This movie is a serial killer mystery and it is well made. I had seen it in original language with English subtitles. It is definitely worth to remake in other languages as it is character driven story of a police officer Wu Jie who is about to end her life on the New Year's eve, but is distracted in the last moment when the body of Thai woman is discovered by her with missing ring finger and heart. Wu Jie goes after the serial killer to live another day and thus finding her purpose to live. The movie held my interest from start to finish. Her newly assigned subordinate is a quick learner and does her bit quite well. Wu Jie reminded me my favourite character D. I. Kim Stone from Angela Morsons crime series, I need to get back to reading those books. In the end, one gets all the answers and a feeling of watching a good thriller. Janine Chun-Ning Chang is perfect playing the part of investigating officer who has been through personal trauma and pain, she is well supported by her subordinate Ca Wie-Shan played by bubbly Chloe Xiang. What I liked in end was Wu Jie gets to keep the dog of the bad guy. A dog is a dog, no matter what his owner is or was, right? I ended up liking this I had watched on the New Year's eve. My rating is 10/10. It has nudity as we Wu Jie has to deal with bodies and post morten. Highly recommended.

Sewu Dino (2023) Thousand Days Indonesian Movie Review : It is best Indonesian Horror movie adapted from real life incident. The grand daughter of Karsa Atmojo (Karina Suwandi), who is unconscious because of Sewu Dino's (A Thousand Days) witchcraft curse. Sri (Mikha Tambayong) who is badly in need of money agrees to work for the Atmojo family for large amount along with Erna (Givina Lukita Dewi) and Dini (Agla Artalidia), they are taken to a hidden hut in the middle of the forest. In the hut, Sri, Erna and Dini have to take turns of washing Dela Atmojo (Gisellma Firmansyah) who is possessed with evil spirit. However, they strictly have to follow a process for doing the same. The instructions are recorded on an audio cassette that needs to be played on a tape recorder. The setting and atmosphere is well done. The cinematography takes one to a different atmosphere all together. Performances by all the three girls and one who is possessed by evil spirit is good. However, CGI isn't perfect or upto the mark, but it is okay as the plot and screenplay is done well. The movie has some jump scares here and there. Also it is creepy at times something like insidious concept. It is good one time watch. The movie is bit slow paced, but it is engrossing from start to end. My rating is 8/10. Recommended.

Streaming on Amazon Prime.

Kho Ghaye Hum Kahan (2023) Hindi movie review : Where did we lose ourselves? Thanks Anirudh Shetty for making me complete watching this unfinished movie. The last 20 minutes changed my thoughts on this movie. It was very intense and made the three friends to know what is true and what matters the most in the present society that is so much immersed into their God damn mobile phones and online apps including Instagram, etc. It gives a false illusion that that is life. Whereas, true life is outside the mobile screen and all those apps. Yes, we need them to connect with people staying in distance, but can't or shouldn't ignore the people staying near to us. Thank you Arjun Varian Singh for passing on this much needed message and also bringing up the topic of child molestation in the fag end of the movie. Siddhant just nailed it with his stunning performance. It just turned around the movie from what seemed to be about spoilt people with fake emotions when it started, but the last 20 minutes or 30% of the movie is what my good friend Anirudh mentioned flipped the movie just like Indian cricket team winning the crucial match in the last few overs left, when cricket lovers lose hope and many even gave up watching the match. The three friends were brilliant in the last few moments of the movie, they stand for each other when it was much needed. Please stick on till the end and you will end up liking this modern day toast of life. Siddhant, Adarsh and Ananya have given wonderful performances and their chemistry is a major plus point. Songs and music felt good towards the end as the movie picked up its momentum. It is Arun's directorial debut and he did commendable job with the script by Zoya Akhthar, Arun and Reema. This movie might not be engrossing from start, but it surely picks up in the second half and becomes best. I was under impression that bowls are for food, now one can rest their bosy mobile phones there as well. Highly recommended. My rating is 8.5/10.

Streaming on Netflix.

Maggie : This isn't a kind of movie you would expect Arnold to star in. I have grown up watching Arnie's action movies and it all had started with The Terminator. Never even thought in my wildest dreams that Arnie would star in a zombie movie like this one. The story is fairly simple, a young girl is infected with a disease that is slowly turning her into a zombie and she spends he final weeks with her father and her step mother. However, it isn't as simple when it becomes an emotional tale of a father and daughter trying to cope with a difficult situation. I never even thought that they could make a touching tale with zombie, with all the kill zombie action - horror movies I have seen so far. Arnold Schwarzenegger ends up playing a role that tugs at your heart strings. Yes, he excels in a drama for the first time! Abigail Breslin as the daughter is perfect for the role! Hats off to John Scott 3 the writer of this movie and the director Henry Hobson for bringing out something unexpected! My rating is 4.5/5. One of the best movies of this year and maybe a zombie movie for the Oscar nominees!

I knew something about the plot and thought that it may not be anything more than what I knew. But I was wrong! I was amazed at how Nolan unwrapped one surprise after another and by the time the movie completed and end credits started to roll, I was left speechless for 10 minutes or so. Some of the audience started clapping when the movie ended…some just sat on their chairs dumbstruck! Outside, people were busy discussing the movie that they have just seen…it is a rare sight! I was trying to analyse and understand what I just saw.

I need to see it another two times at least to understand this amazing movie better! I need to understand the science the movie has spoken about before I can try to understand it! Nolan has gone a step beyond what we have expected out of him with this movie. I am amazed at how he can reinvent himself every time! Unlike other Nolan movies, this one is strong on emotions as well..at the core it is father - daughter relationship. We had seen only a glimpse of father -son relationship in 'Inception'…this one could bring tears to your eyes seeing the performance of the actors. I don't like to give away much… Some pointers by me..

You need to brush up science and know at least the basics like time, black holes, relativity, gravity, etc to understand the science part of this movie.

Do not spread spoilers on this movie…let everyone go into the theater with no knowledge of this movie to be amazed like me! Watch it 3 times or more times to understand it better!

This is my first review on IMDb and have chosen this brilliant movie for the same.I have grown up reading superman comics and watching superman movies. I had been a die hard superman fan since my childhood days. After watching Zack Synder's Man of Steel, I can say that this the superman of my imagination.

The visuals were breathtakingly amazing! Henry Cavill is the superman after Christopher Reeve. He successfully made me to erase previous superman memories. The battle between Superman and Gen. Zod is epic! It is much more better and grand than Avengers. The back ground score by Hans Zimmer is perfect. The cast of the movie is excellent. Russell Crowe was too good. So were Kevin Costner and Diane Lane. Michael Shannon as Zod was terrific. Better watch the movie in 2-D.

My rating is 9/10.