Gulaebaghavali: Started Pongal with an unplanned decision to watch this movie first. After a very long time, I went into a movie without even watching the teaser and trailer. So, it kinda worked in its favor, since I went in without any expectations and not knowing anything about the story helps too.
Surya was having fun after his Singam. He even gets a scene to mock his height. Ramya Krishnan for Anupam Kher's character was one casting idea I liked. And, Suresh Menon with Gautam Menon's voice didn't work for me at all. Gautam's voice is very well known so it was little out of sync. Too much of build up for Karthik who did nothing at the end. Senthil with petromax light was a good touch, but he overdoes it too.
The dialogues were good and he conveniently mocks current situation in a period movie. Anirudh's Sodakku was good, the visuals looked colorful, which completely ruined the period setup. You can't show "MOUNTROAD 1987" to make us believe it is 1987.
Since I loved the original, he didn't fix the only problem the original had with the heroine character, added too many back stories and completely ruined the ending with adding some fights and the way he escapes was just too much and I really missed that Manoj Bajpayee's laugh at the end.
I am not sure whether Vignesh ShivN did all these changes on his own or he thought Surya won't accept the original. But, he sure makes things funny and colorful, which could have worked for the people who haven't seen the original.
Why fix something which ain't broke?
Sketch: One movie you still wonder how does this combination actually happen? Vikram with a director of Vaalu? You read these rumors before the movie starts, but it wasn't a rumor and this really happened. So, obviously, I had zero expectations with this combo since I hated Vaalu.
I made up my mind even before entering that this is gonna be a hell of a film because of the buzz in social media. And, almost the whole first half, except for the last 15 mins was so bad. Towards the interval, with Vikram finally putting a Sketch the movie picks some momentum. The second half was not bad either, batting the cliched romance portions with Tamannah. And, the climax twist was good, but the message at the end was too much, suddenly the director wants to convey something to the society it seems.
The story is about four cons tries to pull off a heist, a "puthaiyal", from a village and it is told with a lot of comedians and less comedy. I was expecting a ghost to jump out at any moment, but thank god there isn't any ghost here.
I really liked Revathi's character, it was a surprise to see her in this kind of a role. And, also loved the "Arengetra Velai" connect. There was her retro pic and also VK Ramaswamy's in her place. Among others Munishkanth, who kinda did more talking than the hero Prabhu Deva himself. And, he kinda looked uninterested, the usual charming was missing.
The songs were real drag should have skipped them and the visuals didn't help either, though he dances brilliantly. And, the romance between Prabhu Deva and Hanshika was worse than romances in recent ARM movies. But, at least the heroine is not a loose ponnu here. And, enough of Motta Rajendran doing dubsmash for some popular songs. I really wish he isn't part of every movie.
Overall it was just watchable since the stakes were really low and Revathi's character was a surprise which made me make it through the movie.
Neither funny nor a thriller.
Neither funny nor a thriller.
Thaanaa Serndha Koottam: Special 26 was one of my favorite of Neeraj Pandey's movies. When I heard this is a remake I was excited, but the director kept denying the rumors. When the teaser released it was finally out that they have "adapted" the same for Tamil Cinema.
The problem with this "adapting" are they completely ruined some of the best moments in Special 26. Special 26, has a perfect screenplay, except the heroine portions, with enough twists and a fantastic climax. Vignesh ShivN added more comedians, songs, etc and the movie doesn't even look like a period film at all. Failed. When the heroine was introduced as a part of their gang, I thought Vignesh ShivN fixed the only problem Special 26 had, but he didn't. Again, she gets a separate track with some unwanted songs and who knows what happened to her at the end. Failed again.
Surya was having fun after his Singam. He even gets a scene to mock his height. Ramya Krishnan for Anupam Kher's character was one casting idea I liked. And, Suresh Menon with Gautam Menon's voice didn't work for me at all. Gautam's voice is very well known so it was little out of sync. Too much of build up for Karthik who did nothing at the end. Senthil with petromax light was a good touch, but he overdoes it too.
The dialogues were good and he conveniently mocks current situation in a period movie. Anirudh's Sodakku was good, the visuals looked colorful, which completely ruined the period setup. You can't show "MOUNTROAD 1987" to make us believe it is 1987.
Since I loved the original, he didn't fix the only problem the original had with the heroine character, added too many back stories and completely ruined the ending with adding some fights and the way he escapes was just too much and I really missed that Manoj Bajpayee's laugh at the end.
I am not sure whether Vignesh ShivN did all these changes on his own or he thought Surya won't accept the original. But, he sure makes things funny and colorful, which could have worked for the people who haven't seen the original.
Why fix something which ain't broke?
Sketch: One movie you still wonder how does this combination actually happen? Vikram with a director of Vaalu? You read these rumors before the movie starts, but it wasn't a rumor and this really happened. So, obviously, I had zero expectations with this combo since I hated Vaalu.
I made up my mind even before entering that this is gonna be a hell of a film because of the buzz in social media. And, almost the whole first half, except for the last 15 mins was so bad. Towards the interval, with Vikram finally putting a Sketch the movie picks some momentum. The second half was not bad either, batting the cliched romance portions with Tamannah. And, the climax twist was good, but the message at the end was too much, suddenly the director wants to convey something to the society it seems.
Thaman's BGM was a real plus, except someone shouting "sketch potta, sketch potta" in the middle. And, Vikram's screen presence was a real plus. Really liked him in this character, but still, his age is very evident, he is getting too old for the romance. He doesn't have to do anything special here after a long time.
I want to know, who wrote the punch dialogue, "Sketchu sketch potta sketch miss eh aagathu", I can understand this line and it sounds like a punch dialogue. But, the next line is "apdi miss aachuna sollu pisire illama senju mudipen". Is this even a punch, why would you miss your sketch and why would redo it if someone points out that you failed. So, will you put a "sketch" without failing or not?
I don't know what made Vikram accept this at this time, maybe he thought it is time to do a quickie. I really think if he doesn't want any experiment like I or IruMugan, he should try his hand with a bunch of newcomers like Logesh Kanagaraj, etc. I am sure they can do a quickie with a meaningful script.
Offers nothing new and didn't even try either.
My final ratings and best to worst, so it is evident that I enjoy watching Vikram more than Surya.
I want to know, who wrote the punch dialogue, "Sketchu sketch potta sketch miss eh aagathu", I can understand this line and it sounds like a punch dialogue. But, the next line is "apdi miss aachuna sollu pisire illama senju mudipen". Is this even a punch, why would you miss your sketch and why would redo it if someone points out that you failed. So, will you put a "sketch" without failing or not?
I don't know what made Vikram accept this at this time, maybe he thought it is time to do a quickie. I really think if he doesn't want any experiment like I or IruMugan, he should try his hand with a bunch of newcomers like Logesh Kanagaraj, etc. I am sure they can do a quickie with a meaningful script.
Offers nothing new and didn't even try either.
My final ratings and best to worst, so it is evident that I enjoy watching Vikram more than Surya.
- Sketch - 2.5/5.0.
- Thaanaa Serndha Koottam - 2.5/5.0.
- Gulaebhagavali - 2.0/5.0
