gurunathankrishnan Reviews

Thadam (2019)

Classic, taut, mindblowing and outstanding supense thriller. Not to be missed!!!! Every chance of being remade in other languages if it gets due recognition

[9/10 · 3 March 2019]

Genre: Suspense crime thriller

No spoiler alerts Premise: In a murder case, police arrests civil engineer Ezhil (Arun Vijay) based on a photograph evidence. Twist comes when his look alike Kavin (again Arun Vijay), a petty but intelligent criminal, is also arrested. This makes the case stand still as there's no strong evidence against them and they don't have strong alibis. Who's the real culprit? Why do they look alike and why was the murder committed forms the plot What worked well? 1. Tight, screenplay and sharp editing: Screenplay has no loopholes- No unwanted songs, no lengthy romance sequence, no heroism, no unnecessary comedy (barring first few mins), no guns or gadgets. The director has stuck to basic discipline i.e. screenplay and story. Simply brilliant!!! 2. Twists and turns in the movie creates an interest and you will be glued to screen. None of them are unrealistic or predictable!!! 3. Performances: It made me wonder this is an usual run of the mill story when twins looked exactly the same but you will realize it's the actual strength in the movie and much warranted. Arun Vijay is the soul of the movie and he has fully used the opportunity and is at his best!!!! 4. Director: His earlier venture with Arun Vijay was a good one and his last venture was in the lines of Departed. Both didn't get it's due recognition. It's the best among his works!!!! (Trivia: Director gave voice for Anurag Kashyap in Imaikka Nodigal) 5. It's based on real events and they quote real life judgements at the end of the movie

What didn't work well? 1. BGM was good in parts but still could have been better. 2. There are some loophole and clues behind the suspense - trust me audiences won't even be able to think till the end of the movie

I hope audience appreciate this movie given Arun Vijay is popular now. Every chance of being remade in other language if it gets due recognition

Overall, a highly entertaining classic, taut , mindblowing and outstanding suspense thriller. Must watch and Not to be missed!!!!

Bodyguard (2018)

Sweet and short series - Fascinating and addictive thriller

[8/10 · 23 February 2019]

Plot:

David Budd, an army war veteran and current London Metropolitan Police Sergeant, is assigned duty to protect the Home Secretary Julia Montague. She wants to implement a stricter version of the Act involving surveillance and investigation thereby gaining hostility within the party as well as common public. They develop a clandestine affair and she gets eventually assassinated. David becomes a primary suspect - how he clears the name and finds the real assassin is the rest of the series.....

What makes it an edge of the seat thriller?

Interesting screenplay: There's never a dull moment in the series. right from the word Go, it's filled with intriguing, suspenseful and tantalizing episode. It allows the audience to speculate with it's twist and turn keeping you at the edge of the seat. It has it's nail biting moments along with amazing political conspiracy. Technically strong: The production values of the series is so good as if it's like a movie. Strong performances, good music, excellent cinematography accentuates the flow of the series. It happens in late October and the gloomy weather adds to the muddiness of the plot. It's power-packed with just 6 episodes of 60-70 mins each. One good thing, which might be critically panned by few, is that it never ventures or explores the depth of the characters and relies on viewer's intelligence to presume the intricacies of the lead characters It's a perfect action drama fit for a weekend or overnight watch and you will not be disappointed. It contains some matured content and hence not suitable for children!!!

Glass (2019)

A simple plot with a twisted climax. If you haven't watched "Unbreakable" or "Split", you will not understand the premise.

[7/10 · 23 February 2019]

Plot:

The movie is set around 2 weeks after "Beast" emerges (in Split movie). David (Bruce Wills), "Unbreakable" super hero who doesn't get hurt except through water, sets out to find him. He meets "Beast" but before he could finish him, they both are captured by a psychiatrist Dr. who puts them in a locked facility along with Elijah aka Mr Glass (Unbreakable villain) and tries to prove that they three are just normal humans with brain disorders. Why does she do that? Do they accept they are normal humans? What happens next is all the movie is about

What worked well?

James McAvoy: He charmed and terrorized through his performance in movie "Split" with his multiple personalities (24 personalities), the most dangerous being "Beast". He excels in these personalities namely as a 9 year old child (Hedwig), a sophisticated English woman(Patricia), professor, soft nature person (Kevin), tough young lad (Dennis) and of course "Beast" - with his body language, acting and just his eyes. You will be blown in a sequence where he changes to all these personalities in seconds!!! Mind blowing!!!! He shines amongst Bruce Willis or Samuel Jackson in this movie Theme of the movie: The movie is about Superheroes - Hold on!!! It's not about people wearing spandex costumes, flying all over the universe destroying half the world (especially America) in the name of saving the world, with mind blowing & rhetoric VFX and having melodramatic sacrificial theme at the end. NO!!! This movie is about people with superhuman abilities living among the general population. It touches humanity in a different angle - Yeah I liked it!!! (I was anyway fed up of weekly Marvel and DC releases with VFX like video games). I could find a sensibility in the approach. The whole movie revolves around a locked up mental facility trying to address the inner sensibilities Technically, the film is mind-blowing - what I mean is the camera work, BGM, dialogues etc. Twist: When you wonder what the director can offer, you will be startled with multiple twists at the end but have to agree that climax twist is a dud!!! Moreover, it keeps you guessing till the end though at times it tests the patience What didn't work well?

The movie starts off with a fantastic encounter between David and Beast - truly remarkable but suddenly gets a pause with a locked up facility. While the climax reveals it, we wonder till such time why the hell they have been locked up and what's the point in proving they are normal humans. James McAvoy shines - Others have lesser role or they get overshadowed in his presence. Wish I could see more of David (my favourite movie is "Unbreakable") Climax: I should admit it's slightly messed up (No spoilers) but then it ends with a possibility of a new genre of movies with a different super human capabilities!!! My favourites among M Night Shyamalan are "Unbreakable" and "Split". I couldn't resist watching when these two main characters reprise in a single plot. M Night Shyamalan also gave some of the most stupid movies after Unbreakable till Split. So, there's very few audience who would like to see the movie. Additionally, "Unbreakable" is a cult movie which wasn't appreciated in it's time.

"Glass" revolves around Comic books and how it has framed the world - with the current generation who doesn't read comic books and have only witnessed it through Marvel/DC movies, they may not be able to appreciate a different superhero theme!!!

In my view, if you haven't watched "Unbreakable" and "Split", don't go without watching those!!! If you haven't liked the earlier ones, you will certainly not like this one. In my view, this movie will also become a cult movie in the later years though it's being critically panned by most!!!

If you are tired of VFX and want some sensible movie (ofcourse barring the climax), go for it!! Though my views are also mixed, I would suggest watching it once!!!

Alita: Battle Angel (2019)

A mind-blowing action movie with a soul, loses track in between, leaves you wanting for more. You will neither get disappointed nor get over-excited. Waiting for the sequel!!!

[7/10 · 23 February 2019]

Premise:

It's year 2536. The whole population lives in two places: Zalem, assumed to be the developed city and scrapyard, a city living with ruined remains. People from scrapyard are not allowed to Zalem, an unwritten rule.

A cybersurgeon Doctor Ido discovers a disembodied cyborg (with brain intact) in the scrapyard, fixes the body designed for his dead daughter and names her Alita. Alita, an amnesiac cyborg, tries to recollect her past, falls in love with human Hugo, discovers her true self in the midst of motorball game and bounty hunters. Who is Alita and where is she from and what's her purpose of life is what the rest of the movie about?

What works well?

Visual/Special Effects: It's cyborgs in the midst of humans. While special effects is no more a surprise in Hollywood, the work in this movie is stunning. Particularly Alita (the cyborg) is a visual treat - Be it her curious look when she is in discovery made or her anger when she is in action mode, her curious and expressive eyes will steal the audience's attention (not surprised given that James Cameron is the producer). You will feel like the entire movie happening in the X box game mode but in the midst of normal people. Camera/Music: Both are a great plus to the movie. Such partially animated movies requires a great deal of camera work and it's mind-blowing. BGM will tune you to the mood of the movie Stunt/action choreography: Action sequences were amazing and spectacular especially the Motorball game and thereafter. Watching in 3D version will make it more appealing. Children will especially enjoy the Motorball game sequence What didn't work well?

Screenplay: Though it's a 2 hour movie, romantic elements between Hugo and Alita drags the flow of the movie. The purpose of the movie is to set the stage for the sequel. Sequel: I was not familiar with the manga comics based on which movie has been made but I was surprised that the film ends with a premise for sequel leaving you wanting for more!!! infact this movie sets the premise for the next action block and. This will be a let down for many movie goers Overall a movie with a soul with spectacular visuals, in the midst of mindless comic action movie, gets lost in between for a bigger agenda in sequel!!! I loved her characterisation and the plot. It's worth watching once in theatres!!!

Destroyer (2018)

The movie is so slow that it can destroy your will to stay awake!!!

[5/10 · 23 February 2019]

Premise:

A beaten, tired and self destroying cop ,who was part of the failed undercover operation 17 years ago, realises that past is back to haunt her. She tries to find Silas (Head of Crime in which she was an undercover operation) to ensure that things are put to end once in for and all. In the meantime, she also have to take care of her teen daughter who's involved with wrong company.... The climax comes with a wonderful twist!!!

What works well?

Nicole Kidman: Particularly Nicole Kidman. You will find it pretty difficult to realise that it's Nicole Kidman in the opening scene. Her disheveled, tired, beaten, self destructive look steals the show along with an excellent performance - Infact, it's her career best performance and I wouldn't be surprised if she wins award. She's young, energetic in her younger self (in the flash back) and an exhausted cop at present. Mind blowing performance. She's the focus in every frame and she doesn't disappoint us What did not work well?

Slow, dragging, sleepy screenplay coupled with non-linear narration. It leaps between past and present but there's no distinction in dressing sense or camera (except for character appearances). Infact, I almost fell asleep before an action scene in 50th minute. They tried to follow the Sicario's screenplay style but I should admit it didn't fit/work well. Logically, why should Silas take 17 years to get back to her and he's not shown as a dreadful gangster to worry about!!! There's a wonderful twist in the climax but that the movie, which runs for 2 hours, doesn't engage the audience to enjoy the twist. Overall, it's a slow-paced wonderful movie for those learning the art. For a general audience who demands entertainment, it's not worth it!!! (I have seen critics lauding the movie but my view is purely from entertainment point of view)

If you are interested in slow-paced, raw and performance-oriented movie, watch it in Netflix or Amazon Prime or when it comes in TV.

Cold Pursuit (2019)

Don't pursue this movie as it will leave you cold. Disappointing except for comedy in few places. Just skip it!!!

[4/10 · 23 February 2019]

Premise:

Nelson Coxman, a citizen of the year, is living peacefully with a wife and son. His son is killed but closed as drug overdose. Coxman finds the culprits behind his death and starts killing one by one suspecting Viking, the drug lord, behind his son's death. Viking kills son of Whitebull, rival don, suspecting the death of his men. Finally, all three meet each other and what happens is the rest of the plot....

What worked well?

Comedy: The movie is actually a dark comedy - humour through characters (especially villain), dialogues etc. Thankfully, this helps to sail through the otherwise dull and blunt movie What didn't work well?

Too many subplots irrelevant to the movie and characters without any purpose. There's a nosy cop trying to find out the truth behind murders but do not have an ending. A well taken care son of villain - not sure why he is not close to father. Nelson's wife leaves him but he doesn't seem to care where she went, unnecessary characters in the villain group just to evoke humour but not related to the plot. Too slow : Nelson starts to kill the villains in the first 15 mins. After that, it goes on it's own flow with various sub-plots and loses it's momentum. A damn bad screenplay!!!! It's almost 2 hours and I was eagerly waiting for the climax to end my torturous journey. It might be a small town where cop may not interfere much but he kills the baddies in such a gory fashion that atleast they should have some suspicions for the mess he leaves!! No, cops don't even visit the place. Come on, audience are not idiots. Liam Neeson tried to deviate from his usual "Saviour of the day" stereotyped character but signed up for much worse!!! It's not his cup of tea and ultimately tastes worse! Though I noticed IMDB and other critics praising the movie in Tarantino style, it's not an entertainer except for humour in certain places. This movie is neither a comedy nor action movie (though there's lot of blood). It's worth skipping it!!!

Once Again (2018)

A beautiful and simple matured love story. A little slow though

[8/10 · 6 January 2019]

Plot: Romance springs between Tara, a widow restaurateur, and a divorced actor Amar. Tara supplies food to to Amar, they talk over the phone and almost after an year of just talking, they decide to meet. Their romances uncovers and is not taken well by Dev, Tara's son and to top it, Amar is not ready to get into relationship. How the story unfolds is the rest of the story about...

What worked well? 1. Lead actors: Shefali Shah as Tara and Neeraj Kabi as Amar have literally lived the characters. They are so seasoned actors that you can only expect magic from them. The film shows how Shefali Shah as an actress has been under-rated. Her eyes speaks the dialogue and some of the scenes gets a lift just because of her performance. She is amazing!!! 2. The film doesn't have music all the time and largely relies on the silence. Similarly it heavily relies on actor's expression than dialogues. Both have worked well. BGM, wherever used, is excellent and will make you hum even after watching the movie 3. Excellent camera work: Mumbai nights have been beautifully captured What didn't work well? 1. It takes time and is very slow. Though it's just 1 hr and 45 mins, you will feel it's more than that. 2. This film is to be seen in a very calm and serene mood. You will either like it completely or dislike it completely.

I can say it's technically an another scenario of movie "The Lunchbox" where lead characters meet.

A must watch for drama lovers. It's a performance packed mature romance drama and a very feel good film albeit a bit

Kabali (2016)

Kabali - Rajini all the way but lost the path somewhere

[6/10 · 22 July 2016]

The most awaited movie of the year. I want to make 2 things clear before the review:

1. I am a hardcore Rajini fan for his on screen persona. Not fanatic. So the expectation is to see his style and charm 2. The teaser gave an impression of ageing don coming back to take revenge

The movie starts off with a great tone with Rajini walking out of prison with style immediately following with his punch dialogue and fights. Then who vows to conquer back what he lost. Then the movie also loses this plot and goes in search of his wife and daughter. The new dons ruling Malaysia tries to kill him and he kills them in climax. Of course I am not expecting logical and brilliant screenplay. I in fact don't mind predictability but it should be pursued through style if you have actor like Rajini

Plus 1. Out and out Rajini. He carries the burden of the whole film 2. Initial few scenes giving a different impression of the movie 3. Background score. I am sure that this title music is the best after Annamalai

Negative 1. Movie going into emotional tone losing the plot. Bit dragging 2. Songs - forgettable except Neruppuda 3. Lack of Rajini scenes 4. Failed to capitalise the flash back scenes with Rajini's character

Overall, if you are non Rajini fan, you may like the movie. If you are a Rajni mass lover, you will definitely miss something in the movie

In short, if you want the same impact as that of the teaser of the film, watch the first 15 minutes and last 15 minutes of the movie

Magizhchi

Silent Witness (2013)

Matured court drama with twists

[8/10 · 10 July 2016]

It starts with a court room scene of a 20 year old girl having murdered her fathers girlfriend and the arguments in favour and against it. The father is a multi billionaire who goes to do anything to save his child and Prosecutor is a enemy of the father having tried various times in the past to lock him up but fails

It's one of the most matured court drama thriller of recent times with fantastic performances from the lead cast. It's narrated from each characters perspective revealing the truth slowly and more gracefully. The plot is intense with a logical and gripping screenplay enacted by lead actors so beautifully that it turns out to be an excellent masterpiece. The suspense gets revealed at each twists but still holds the audience at the edge of the seat with some twists which are unpredictable. The final revelation is master stroke and brilliant and also brings out the emotional quotient. Kudos

It's a must watch for extra ordinary screenplay and performances

Asesinos inocentes (2015)

Brilliant Beginning and excellent ending but something missing

[7/10 · 22 June 2016]

The movie starts off excellently and grasps your attention. Professor who wants to kill himself but couldn't and assigns the task of killing him to a student for clearing his grades. It has some wonderful scenes explaining how the professor could not kill himself and has some excellent thoughts on life and death through his dialogues. This caught the attention immediately and kept me on the edge of the seat. It goes slow thereafter bringing various twists and turns during the course of the story. A greedy and mafia money lender, a brilliant but unemployed friend, mechanic friend and girlfriend. It gives various dimension to the story. But these dimensions and twists/turns makes the movie a little slow and slightly lengthy. The casting was wonderful and has some excellent dialogue (I took help of subtitle). The ending too has a sweet twist. Overall great performances, casting, music, screenplay. You will not regret seeing once.

App (2013)

App - Good in phone and average in movie

[6/10 · 22 June 2016]

This is one of those movies which highlights the negative aspect of the modern dependency of people in technology. It's not an irony that the app in the move is named after "Siri".

The concept is wonderful. What will happen to you if the app controls you and decides your action on your day to day life. But again it only focuses on the partying, private life etc in the movie rather than an interesting crime plot. Nevertheless it's a good effort

The movie loses its focus when it starts killing people upon its own- does it have virtual memory or the artificial intelligence to decide how to kill and when to kill and what to use. How can a app know that it has to explode itself because someone is going to destroy the phone? It's bizarre. The movie is not predictable at the end but it's also not such a suspense that it can make people amaze. How can a doctor use such untested technology and ready to lose out patient and that too developed by a small street tech guy and not corporate giant?

But kudos to the effort of trying a different theme which can also make people think twice before getting addicted and opening their entire life in the virtual world. If you like a different movie and don't mind spending 90 mins, then it's OK to watch it

Thani Oruvan (2015)

Excellent screenplay supported by stellar performances

[8/10 · 22 June 2016]

Be it an epic or novel or movie, to make it interesting and entertaining, you need a powerful villain. What if he is also handsome and charming? That's exactly what Thani Oruvan offers. You can see one of the most handsome evil cold blooded villain of Tamil cinema.

It's a perfect cat and mouse thriller with some great background music( though it's inspired from lot of western music). The movie starts with an interesting scene with a twist and moves on with great pace. One of the movies which do not have any unnecessary scenes barring a duet. Jayam Ravi is very effective and intense as police officer while Aravind Swamy is a cool and sophisticated evil doctor. Some great humour is provided by Thambi Ramaiah during his conversation with Aravind Swamy without deviating/spoiling the pace or the intensity of the scene. Hats off to Jayam Ravi for choosing a role with a very powerful opponent which shows the craving for a good movie than heroism. Jayam Raja to be lauded for good directorial venture(taking off his remakes from his filmography). The movie also has some great theme connecting petty thefts to grand scams and how the two keeps crossing each other in their paths.

Good editing, great cinematography and excellent BGM with great dialogues and screenplay makes it worth watching for sure. Had the climax been little different, it would have been a classic.

It will be known as one of the successful movies for villains than the hero in the league of Mankatha, Jigardhanda etc

Go for it and you won't get disappointed!!!!

24 (I) (2016)

24 movie - Could be better

[6/10 · 22 June 2016]

Another time travel concept executed in Tamil cinema starring Surya and director Vikram Kumar (director of Manam and 13B).

The movie revolves around 3 Surya - scientist father, villain and Watchmaker son. A bit of too much to handle. Athreya(villain) kills scientist father for the time machine watch and gets into coma for 26 years. By this time, the watchmaker gets it and how the movie unfolds itself is the rest of the movie all about.

Honestly, there were too many comments about Athreya being menacing on screen. Trust me, Surya do not pull off the villain role as menacing and as brilliant as Rajni or Ajith can do. His acting is fine but somewhere there's an element of fake acting when it comes to romantic scenes.

Some of the scenes were good especially when younger Surya discovers the time machine and tries to experiment with it. There are some twists and turns which is not unpredictable but still interesting.

One interesting concept that I saw for the first time In time machine movie is that the person get younger while travelling backwards. I always thought (based on the movies I have seen) that you will find yourself along with the younger self. Maybe I need to check with my science student friends on how it actually works. This also poses a question - How will the younger self come back if he becomes a new born child when traveling to past ?

Music is forgettable and so is BGM. Samantha is forgettable. It's purely Surya and no one else. In short, if you really want to enjoy time travel movie, watch Indru Netru Naalai. This certainly doesn't match with the brilliance of Indru Netru Naalai. But you can watch this one for its grandeur and certain level of entertainment. It's lengthy but not too boring

The Jungle Book (2016)

Great movie - not to be missed

[8/10 · 22 June 2016]

The movie really brought out the childhood memories of Mougli, Sher Khan and Bageera. Wish I could watch this in Hindi as I still remember the dialogues and songs in Hindi.

The movie's visuals were spectacular and it was so real that it looked like a human was living in the midst of Animal Planet.

Sher Khan is waiting to get hold of Mougli, kills Akela(wolf father) and how Mougli gets back his revenge is all the movie is about. Well we all know the story but it was real fun watching it in the big screen of these favourite characters.

Though Mougli seems to be younger than television version, he's really enjoyable and fun. The missing element is the heroic Akela in the television series while he is brought to death in the movie without a fight as well as the love for Mougli by his wolf father. I also wonder what happened to the Boomerang which Mougli possessed in the televisions series. It retained the original essence otherwise. The movie has successfully brought the chemistry between Mougli, the ever guiding Bageera, friendly Baloo and most importantly the ferocious Sher Khan. Amazing scenes includes Sher Khan chasing Mougli and King Louie chasing Mougli etc.

90 minutes of movie was not enough for me and I would suggest go for it for reliving the memories as well as the stunning visuals of human and animals together.

Airlift (2016)

Great act portrayed through great performances

[8/10 · 22 June 2016]

One of the worlds largest aviation rescue mission till date gets carved in stone through a movie.

It goes back to 1990 when Iraq invaded Kuwait and 170000 Indians were stranded in Kuwait without job, safety, money or passports. The real life evacuation of these Indians have been conveyed through Ranjit Katiyal (Akshay Kumar) in the movie.

It's a two hour movie and it slowly moves into the plot where an Indian cynical business man slowly turns into a saviour of 170000 Indians. The characters have been established with some being interesting and some annoying, all essential for the story. The chemistry between Akshay and his wife slowly gets unraveled and that was heart warming.

The film relies heavily on Akshay Kumar who had been underplayed well without any heroism. The movie is more of an emotional drama which gives you a sense of satisfaction at the end of the movie more than entertainment. In fact, I saw that the entire theatre stayed till the credits to watch the actual pictures of the rescue mission. This is the actual success than amassing hundreds of crores. The movie also subtly highlighted the forgotten officials when the Minister takes the credit for the entire operation and the bureaucrat just smiles and goes back to work.

Special mention to Akshay, who according to me, is the versatile actor of this era for choosing subjects like Special 26, Baby, Airlift etc. He dares when these do not fetch money or awards.

But hatsoff to all the real heroes who made this happen. 488 trips by Air India for 59 days evacuating 170,000 people is no mean task

Wazir (I) (2016)

Wazir

[7/10 · 22 June 2016]

The movie starts unusually with a song starting with happiness and ending with grief conveying all those which normally takes 30/40 minutes of story telling. Kudos for that and the song was also mesmerizing

Its a mystery thriller (not sure how many people can't guess it!!!) involving an old disabled chess teacher who had lost his grown up daughter and grieving officer(who had lost his 7-8 yrs old daughter) and how they come together to overcome it. Hold on, it doesn't mean it's just an emotional drama. The story goes back and forth about the friendship and how their friendship is linked to the main thriller plot.

Crisp dialogue, excellent BGM and great cinematography and great performances from Amitabh and Farhan. But somewhere if you can guess the suspense, it becomes predictable and you may lose interest. If you can't, then you will really enjoy the film. )

Actually the climax monologue by Amitabh, if had been more effective (like Rajesh Khanna's in Anand) and who else can recreate the magic. An opportunity lost according to me.

Nevertheless, it's definitely a one time worth watch given it sticks exactly to the plot and it's just 100 minutes movie without much glamour (which is anyway not necessary). Go for it just for Amitabh and Farhan!!!!