Action Hero Biju's title leads you to think that it's a cartoon type cop story, maybe something over the top like Singham. What it is, is really a surprise " a complex story of what it would really feel like to ride along with Sub-Inspector Biju Palouse throughout his day. From the rare exciting chase down of a criminal, to acting as a sort of family court judge in mundane every day issues. For the rest of my review here: https://moviemavengal.com/2016/08/28/action-hero-biju-nivin-pauly-is-excellent-in-a-complex-portrait-of-a-policeman/

How can a movie have a romance so swoon worthy and sublime, and then be so awful in the comedy bits? https://moviemavengal.com/2016/08/22/aiyyaa-how-can-a-movie-be-so-sublime-and-so-awful-all-at-the-same-time/

Rudhramadevi is currently on Netflix streaming in the US, unfortunately the original Telugu dubbed in Hindi. Anushka Shetty of Bahubali fame, plays queen Rudhramadevi. The coolest thing about this historical epic is that the main characters in this film are all based on real people. Rudhramadevi ruled in what is now Telegana, dying in 1295, and was one of the first reigning queens in India. Gona Gannareddy (Allu Arjun) truly was a Robin Hood like figure supporting Radhrumadevi's rule. [I read Mahesh Babu turned down the role.] For some bizarre reason, the filmmakers frame the film by having Marco Polo narrate the story " to show how women ruling is a good thing, I guess. But the CGI of those opening scenes and the sailing ship, is just horrendous. At other points they use very cool animation drawings and I wish they"d just used those throughout, or drawings of maps. Read the rest here: https://moviemavengal.com/2016/08/22/rudhramadevi-great-story-with-horrible-cgi/

Nearly two years is a long time to wait between Hrithik Roshan movies. My neighbor and I didn't care what the reviews said, or the mocking of her husband. We were bound and determined to spend two and half hours with Hrithik. My neighbor had no idea who the director was, but expectations naturally run high when Ashutosh Gowariker, whose works include Lagaan, Jodhaa Akbar and Swades returns to the helm after a six year absence. And therein lies the rub. The reviews have been harsh, because we expect so much, both from Gowariker and Hrithik. This film was a swing for the rafters and a big miss. The trepidation started with the trailer. That fight with the crocodile looked fake, and the story didn't seem very compelling. Annnd, my fears were born out. I think it was good that I had read a few reviews, and watched Anupama Chopra's disappointed savaging. I went last night knowing it would be a hot mess, and just went along for the ride. Read the rest of my review here: https://moviemavengal.com/2016/08/16/mohenjo-daro-a-somewhat-enjoyable-hot-mess/

was absolutely gobsmacked by the amazing performance of Prithviraj in the Malayalam crime mystery drama Mumbai Police. I had seen Prithviraj in a stellar if unflashy supporting role in the Hindi film Aurangzeb, also as a cop. Then I saw Classmates as I was told how influential it is in modern Malayalam cinema. He was very solid also in the romantic drama Ennu Ninte Moideen. I had been impressed by his body of work, but nothing prepared me for his incredible performance in Mumbai Police. Essentially, he's almost playing a double role. In the opening scene, Tony (Prithviraj) is driving down an empty street at night in his police jeep. He is speaking into a phone saying, "I have found the culprit." in Malayalam and then repeats it in English. Suddenly a refrigerator falls off a truck in front of him, and he swerves and the jeep rolls over. The next scene has a bewildered scarred Tony in a car with Farhan who tells Tony he is his best friend. Tony has lost all his memory, and this fellow cop friend and the doctor are the only people who know that. Tony was in the middle of the investigation of the murder of a fellow policeman and the political and press pressure is intense for the case to be solved. This film has become one of my all-time favorite Malayalam films! Read the rest of my review here: https://moviemavengal.com/2016/08/11/mumbai-police-prithvirajs-stunning-performance-in-this-film-gobsmacked-me/

This has been such a disappointing summer for movies. I'm not the only one to say so, but add my voice to the chorus. Too many sequels for the sake of sequels and the big money of international audiences. Meeting release dates just because a franchise movie has to be in that slot. Blech. I had high hopes for Suicide Squad. It looked irreverent and cool like Deadpool. I'm not a comics reader so I have no idea what is canon or what the original origin stories are for these characters. A team of bad guys turned into heroes? Guardians of the Galaxy, anyone? After all the missteps with all these enormous ensemble character movies, I have gained new depths of respect for Joss Whedon, James Gunn and J. J. Abrams. It is damn hard to introduce us to a bunch of characters, give us their background, create chemistry between them all, and insert some witty cool banter. Damn hard. And if you try too hard to look cool and sound cool, you end up with something like Suicide Squad. This movie is a mess. It needed some more script polishing or something. It's just meh. It's not the worst movie I'veever seen, but it's not good either. Read the rest of my review here: https://moviemavengal.com/2016/08/12/suicide-squad-well-margot-robbie-was-good-and-viola-davis-is-terrifying/

Kabali is my second Rajnikanth Tamil film. I previously watched Enthiran (Robot) which I really enjoyed. You can tell right away that Rajnikanth is a Star with a capital "S". My South Indian neighbor told me that Rajnikanth modeled himself on Clint Eastwood. He wants that kind of "Make My Day" iconic style. It has been two years since the last Rajnikanth film, and since 1994's Baasha that he has played a Don role. If you have any doubt what an event a Rajnikanth film is, they marketed Kabali by painting a plane! saw Kabali twice this week. The first time was a late night show that didn"t get out until 1:30 a.m. I was tired going in and bleary which wasn"t good. And I didn"t have the raucous whistling crowd that I hear is more typical for a Rajnikanth film experience. I thought it was a decent gangster don comeback story, and appreciated Rajnikanth's style and flair. But I didn"t really get what the movie was trying to show me until I read Margaret Redlich's analysis and review on Don"t Call It Bollywood. I knew zero about the Tamil community in Malayasia, the setting for the film and their history of oppression. What Margaret pointed out is that this film is telling you a story of an oppressed people between the lines, skirting the censors (in Malayasia they were required to add a crime doesn"t pay disclaimer.) On the surface, this is a story like many we'veseen before. A gangster Don is released from prison after 25 years, and takes revenge on the rival gang that killed his pregnant wife and his mentor, and who framed him for fomenting a massacre. Read the rest of my review here: https://moviemavengal.com/2016/08/05/kabali-theres-more-depth-to-this-rajnikanth-gangster-flick-than-i-first-thought/

I'm a huge Matt Damon fan. Have been since Good Will Hunting. I've seen all the Bourne films, and Jason Bourne is a decent sequel. I even have a family connection to Jason Bourne -- the character is supposed to have been born in Nixa, Missouri which is my dad's hometown. Matt Damon wouldn't return to the franchise unless director Paul Greengrass also returned. It's just fun to see their partnership again. The first film was so groundbreaking with the shaky handheld camera visceral action scenes. Read the rest of my review here: https://moviemavengal.com/2016/08/08/jason-bourne-an-enjoyable-timepass/

Pokiri (Rogue) is simply a fantastic Mahesh Babu action romance flick directed and written by Puri Jagannadh. I enjoyed it so much. Pokiri is from 2006 and was filmed with a very modest budget of 12 crore. The director wrote a great script and was really inventive in his shots. The editing really enhances and propels the pace of the action. I had rented the DVD through Netflix, but the DVD crapped out on me half way through. I kept trying to make it work again because the movie is so delicious, but then realized I was watching a Telugu movie. Of course, the whole thing is on Youtube with subtitles. (Yay Chromecast!) Read my whole review here: https://moviemavengal.com/2016/08/09/pokiri-fantastic-mahesh-babu-flick-by-puri-jagannadh/

A friend organized a group outing to see Bad Moms at our local theater with waiters to take food orders (and alcohol!). The waitress told me there were 150 women and ONE man in the audience. One poor husband had come along (and he was in line behind us!). It was raucous. I laughed SO HARD partly because I was in an audience full of moms. I'm not sure the movie will be nearly as funny to wider audiences. And Mila Kunis is the lead (supposedly she got pregnant in the film at 20.) Interesting that the film was written and directed by two men. The end credits showed each actress with their own real mom, talking about embarrassing bad mom moments. It's a silly movie but was absolutely hilarious. Not sure it will appeal to younger audiences, but it was nice to have a comedy movie for a little bit older adult viewers. That drunk supermarket scene will be one I think of and laugh about for a long time.