Hollywood Movies

Harsh Times Movie Review

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HARSH TIMES is an engaging little character study of what it means for an ex-soldier to live with post-traumatic stress, all wrapped up in a jazzy thriller package that recalls the ‘edgy’ likes of TRAINING DAY and NARC. Indeed, this is a film masquerading to be something it’s not, and I’ll be the first to admit I didn’t appreciate the ‘look’ of it very much: the supposedly realistic, gritty, on-the-street vibe has been done to death both in the movies and on TV and it’s something I’m frankly tired of. Drugs, casual violence, profanity; it’s all here and proving there’s nothing new under the sun.

The good thing about this movie is the quality of the cast, as headlined by Bale, Rodriguez, and Longoria. They’re excellent. Bale once again delivers the goods as a messed-up soldier haunted by his violent past, and he gets to do some great emotional meltdown scenes. A young, fresh Rodriguez is the perfect foil, while Longoria adds a bit of class to the proceedings. I found the film’s storyline to be somewhat meandering, and some scenes feel extraneous to the central plotting. But it all comes together in the last half-hour which proves to be gritty, edge-of-your-seat stuff; it really is impossible to predict what kind of catastrophe is going to happen. The emotional coda packs a real punch thanks to Bale’s heartfelt turn, making this film better than it has any right to be.

Review by Leofwine_draca

Kannada Movie

GARUDA GAMANA VRISHABHA VAHANA(KANNADA) – MOVIE REVIEW (ZEE5)

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GGVV is a crime thriller written and directed by Raj B Shetty, whose previous film was the fantastic “Ondu Motteya Kathe” that received critical acclaim all over. Produced by Paramvah Pictures, GGVV set up huge expectations and deservedly got a theatrical release before migrating to OTT(Zee5).

GGVV is a mutinous ode to the three titans Brahma, Vishnu, Maheshwara (creator, protector and the destroyer) and with these titular characters Raj B Shetty spins a newfangled tale of crime thriller that is riveting, fascinating and audacious. The subtle references to the Tridevs and their history cannot be missed as the creators etch out poetic narrative out of a ruthless crime story. GGVV is devoid of commercial elements like romance, comedy and even has just one woman in the entire film, but has blood and gore in abundance. Some scenes might look to be in a loop, there are some moments where the script is on a pause mode, but clever writing and brilliant filmmaking keeps the viewer engrossed throughout. The film does not glorify violence, but the rage is spellbinding until the end.

Raj B Shetty is phenomenal in his avatar as Shiv. Rishab B Shetty is the perfect foil as Hari. Gopal Krishna Deshpande shines as Brahmayya. The supporting cast hold fort.

Praveen Shriyan’s cinematography is captivating as it captures every small detail and as the editor he displays panache. Midhun Mukundan’s background score is redolent and impactful. Dialogues are neat and the direction is simply stunning.

GARUDA GAMANA VRISHABHA VAHANA is epic, bold and a must watch for film lovers.

GARUDA GAMANA VRISHABHA VAHANA – GET ONBOARD !!!!

3.75/5

B.U.Shreesha

Tamil Movies

THAEL – MOVIE REVIEW

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THAEL is an action thriller written and directed by Hari Kumar. The film opens up acknowledging the source of its idea to a South Korean film. THAEL is produced by Gnanavel Raja.

THAEL begins with a dead pan attitude, not because of the sleep walking hero who wakes up only after 30 minutes into the film, the screenplay in itself is flat. The comedy looks forced and doesn’t belong to the story. The song and dance look totally foreign to the plot. The twist is easily visible from a distance and hence robs viewers of the thrill to guess. There are many logical loopholes that can swallow a buffalo. The second half manages to build some pace after a crawling first half. Despite an absorbing plot the execution falters.

Prabhudeva seems to be on a comeback deluge, but has delivered an honest performance. Samyukta Hegde “pops” in and out. Eswari Rao has more to do and does well. Yogi babu is annoying.

Vignesh vasu’s cinematography is effective. C.Sathya’s background score is neat while the songs are forgettable. Praveen’s editing is good. Dialogues are OK while direction is decent.

THAEL has venom but moves at a snail’s pace.

THAEL – THEDAL !!

2.25/5

B.U.Shreesha

Tamil Movies

KOMBU VECHA SINGAMADA – MOVIE REVIEW

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KVS is an action drama film written and directed by S.R. Prabhakaran and produced by Redhan The Cinema People

It would not take much to guess the premise of the film when the names associated with the films are known for a particular cause. So we do have a series of lectures on what happened then and what ought to happen now. These unintelligible sermons with some silly romance and idiotic comedy make up most of the revenge drama that has some passable action. The writer has invested all his money on the only surprise in the film and left the rest to chance.

Sasi Kumar looks decent except when he attempts to romance. Madonna Sebastian is the one to blame for his discomfort and she does just that in the film. Samudrakanni’s stiff necked perfomance is as usual. Soori is disappointing. Mahendran is neat.

Ekambaram’s cinematography is good. Thomas’s background score is below par and songs do not stick. Editing by Don Bosco is lethargic. Dialogues are bad and direction is shoddy.

KVS doesn’t disappoint in championing hypocrisy shamelessly while preaching social reforms.

KOMBU VECHA SINGAMADA – KODUMAI !

1.5/5

B.U.Shreesha

Hollywood Movies

The 355 Movie Review

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The 355 is modern commercialism. It has little to say and is painfully generic, but it plays up its female-centric cast, hoping to make up for its thin substance. Diverse representation is a positive, but when it’s solely a marketing gimmick for an underwhelming project, it’s tainted. In fact, The 355 is fairly insulting because female led movies often get these poor efforts. Specifically, the film is a collection of cliches. Stock characters, predictable heel turns, unrealistic MacGuffins, exaggerated stakes, and some deus ex machina for good measure. Plus, the acting is bland (outside of Nyong’o, who brings legitimate emotion).

Technically, the camerawork is excessively shaky and the editing is overcut, fruitlessly compensating for dull action. The production design is uninspired and limited. The audio design is involved but sometimes misuses action sounds. The music is forgettable and the effects are overly sanitized. Lastly, the direction lacks unity, creating a mundane and inconsistent experience. None of this is necessarily terrible, but The 355 just isn’t great. Overall, it feels like a halfhearted ploy that capitalizes on good-natured people who want to support minority empowerment. Unfortunately for those viewers, The 355 does very little for the female cause.

Writing: 4/10 Direction: 4/10 Cinematography: 5/10 Acting: 6/10 Editing: 5/10 Sound: 6/10 Score/Soundtrack: 5/10 Production Design: 4/10 Casting: 7/10 Effects: 6/10

Overall Score: 5.2/10.

Review by guskeller

Telugu Movies

Varudu Kaavalenu Movie Review

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Varudu kaavalenu review : Clean family entertainer.
My rating : 3/5
Performances :
Naga Shaurya is superb with his dressing style as carries the formal dresses in an impressive manner. He delivered an honest performance with ease. His screen presence and good variance in the acting brings depth to the proceedings.The way he showcases subtle emotions throughout the film is very good. Naga Shourya has a big role and brings a lot of depth to the film.

Ritu Varma performed well in the role of an authoritarian girl and she also reasoned it out well with powerful dialogue. In the second half, she transforms surprisingly all as a jovial girl but only for a few minutes.

Nadiya looked good as the mother of Ritu Varma and she made her presence felt with her dialogues, expressions, and emotions.

Murali Sharma got limited screen presence except for good and impactful dialogues in one particular scene.

Saptagiri and Vennela Kishore evoke decent fun in a few scenes.
Himaja is good in her role and so was Praveen.

Vaishnavi Chaitanya did a decent job in the given extended cameo role. Dethadi Harika is alright in her small cameo.

Jayaprakash is good as MD of Bhumi’s start-up and her well-wisher. All the cast have got good characterisations.

Technical values :
Director Lakshmi Sowjanya, she makes an impressive debut. Her writing, characters, and emotions are strong and hold the film together. She handles the love angle in a mature manner and narrates the film with a lot of class. Ganesh Ravuri who made his debut as a dialogue writer came with good impactful and thought-provoking dialogues. These dialogues elevated the scenes to make an impression on viewers.
Vishal Chandrasekhar’s music is good and all the songs are well shot. His BGM is in sync with the story.
Cinematography by Vamsi and Vishnu is rich as they had tried to present the film with good framing.
Editing by Naveen Nooli is alright. Production values are top class.

Highlights :
Naga shaurya and ritu varma screen presence and performances
Dialogues
Cinematography

Drawbacks :
Predictable story
Slow pace

Overall : Decent rom-com.

Review by Salana Ashok kumar

Tamil Movies

ENNA SOLLA POGIRAI – MOVIE REVIEW

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ENNA SOLLA POGIRAI is a romantic film written and directed by A. HariharanHariharan. The film is produced by A.Ravindran.

The film has a not very original or novel plot. Relationships are neatly worked out and with everything set the film then drags imminently. When predictability sets in and with nothing solid to offer the film loses steam and gets a bit tedious. The film is largely verbose and with many silent moments can be quite a test to please all. The comedy is pathetic.

Ashwin Kumar, despite his controversial statement off the screen has delivered a confident and mature performance. If he can watch out his mouth he is someone to watch out for. Teju Ashwini is equal to the task and is neat. Avantika looks miscast despite being okay. Pugazh is lame and boring.

Richard Nathan’s cinematography is good. Vivek Merwin’s music is adequate but lacks the magic required for a romantic drama. Durairaj’ editing is lazy. Dialogues are average and direction okay.

ENNA SOLLA POGIRAI ends up flat despite convincing performances.

ENNA SOLLA POGIRAI – ENNAMO !!

2.25/5

B.U.Shreesha

Tamil Movies

NAAI SEKAR – MOVIE REVIEW

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Naai Sekar is a comedy film written and directed by debutant Kishore Rajkumar and produced by Kalpathi S. Aghoram under the banner AGS Entertainment.

The film starts off by requesting viewers to mute their logic and reasoning arguments. A supposedly fantasy comedy that the makers call this film, the film is a 2 hours ridiculous attempt at entertainment based on a template that would not have pleased even the kids of the 70s. The plot can be forgiven for being outrageously silly but the execution is abmysal. The climax manages to bring some long awaited smiles.

Satish has worked hard and it shows. Especially in the song and dance sequence. Pavithra Lakshmi is found wanting in a small role. Shankar Ganesh is good. The rest are loud as you can expect in such films.

Praveen Balu’s cinematography is average. Ajesh music is normal. Dialogues are standard. Direction is plain.

NAAI SEKAR is a character made very popular by Vadivelu. This film just managed to corrupt it.

NAAI SEKAR – NASAM !

1.75/5

B.U.Shreesha

Tamil Movies

CARBON – MOVIE REVIEW

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Carbon is a thriller written and directed by Sreenivasan. The feature film is produced by A Bhagyalakshmi, Jothi Murugan and Sreenivasan.

CARBON starts off curiously like a decent thriller would do. The screenplay is engaging almost through out the 115 minutes that the film runs except the songs that act like a speed breaker. Despite a decent script the execution lacks finesse and whenever the logical loopholes and inconsistencies appear it looks prominent because of the film’s very basic presentation.

Vidharth does well as you would expect. Dhanya stands out with a very good performance. Munnar Ramesh and Marimuthu do well.

Vivekananda Santhosham’s cinematography is neat. Sam CS music is okay despite some deja vu. Praveen K ‘s editing saves this film. Dialogues are average and direction good.

CARBON could have been much better than what it turned out to be

CARBON – KARMEGAM !!

2.5/5

B.U.Shreesha

Malayalam Movies

Madhuram(2021) Malayalam Movie Review

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I have had a lifelong fear of hospitals and have always thought of them as giving off negative energy and a sense of dread. It is within those confines however, that director Ahammed Khabeer delivers one of the most heartwarming, feel-good stories in Malayalam this year in the simple but profound ‘Madhuram’.

Weaving its story around a group of bystanders who find camaraderie in a government hospital, the director introduces us to myriad characters, each with their own joys and pain. Indrans is captivating as a retired postman, finding solace in the romance him and his ailing wife of 40 years share.

Joju George has a uncanny ability to make the audience feel and empathize with almost every expression he goes through on screen and the National Award winner revels as ‘Sabu’, a happy-go-lucky chef looking after his sick wife. His chemistry with Shruti Ramachandran is electric and is the best part of the movie.

Arjun Asokan picks up a brave role, a far cry from the usual characters he plays. Understated, diminutive and even submissive, ‘Kevin’ may frustrate you at times but his character development through the movie was a joy to watch.

Veterans Lal and Jagadeesh are both is terrific in short cameos while Navas Vallikkunnu keeps showing us he deserves full-length character roles, packing a punch with his presence in just 2-3 scenes. Jaffer Idukki continues to grow from strength to strength and is at his nuanced best as ‘Kunjikka’.

The music of the movie contributes majorly in amplifying the experience and the emotions, especially the sensational ‘Gaaname’ , that will surely stay with you long after the movie ends. Hats off to Hesham Abdul Wahab for a fantastic new set of compositions after he enthralled us with ‘Darshana’.

This does not mean the movie didn’t have its downsides. Nikhila Vimal was given precious little screen time and dialogues to work with and her character comes across as one dimensional. Fahim Samar was inept as ‘Thaju’ and one cant help but think a better actor could have made that role more impactful and endearing.

Ultimately Madhuram’ is a simple, heartwarming tale of coming to terms with what life throws at you, no matter how dire or seemingly unsurmountable the challenges may be. This, along with the delightful #Home (2021) is what feel-good movies should aspire to be rather than the preachy, melodramatic, template messes makers like Jis Joy keep putting out.

Recommended!

Review by nidhunmoviebuff

Short Movie Reviews