IRANDAAM ULAGAPORIN KADAISI GUNDU (aka THE LAST BOMB OF SECOND WORLD WAR) (TAMIL) (2019)

An unexploded bomb from second world war washes ashore near the coast of Mahabalipuram, a historic town in Tamil Nadu. If it detonates, it could cause widespread destruction wiping out everything in a large radius. It slips through the hands of cops who seize it initially and begins a perilous journey from one scrapyard to another where it is seen as just another piece of rusting metal. Meanwhile, the cops and their masters are desperate to retrieve it as its discovery could open a can of worms that they seek to conceal.

Our protagonist Selvam (Dinesh), a truck driver, is unwittingly assigned the task of transporting the bomb along with a load of sundry metal scrap. Selvam has a running feud with the owner of the scrapyard for insulting him as well as his general attitude towards the workers of the yard. He is secretly working on his ambition to own a truck through his savings and quit the job in the scrapyard. Selvam is also in love with Chitra (Anandhi), a trained teacher from his village. However, her family which is steeped in patriarchy is vehemently opposed to their marriage as they are unwilling to accept a match from a lower class. She escapes her family and joins Selvam mid-way through his trip when he is transporting the cargo from Chennai to Pondicherry. Meanwhile, Tanya (Riythvika, in an impressive cameo), an activist cum investigative journalist is struggling to unearth the truth behind the bomb. The rest of the narrative sees the journey of the bomb with Selvam and their path crisscrossing with Chitra, Chitra's family as well as the cops and Tanya who are chasing the bomb for their own respective reasons.

Debutante director Athiran Athirai has cooked up a raw, genre-jumping recipe that blends elements of a tense thriller, road movie, love story, message movie on class/caste struggle garnished with a generous helping of humour. While some of the elements might feel generic and formulaic, it is to the credit of the director that and the sincerity he infuses into the project that most of the elements work to deliver the desired effect.

Dinesh fits the role of the truck driver Selvam effortlessly and handles the whole range of emotions convincingly. Anandhi provides an ideal foil and turns in a neat performance in the role of Chitra, which resonates quite a bit with her role in Pariyerum Perumal. Muneeshkanth is in fine form and spot on with his comic timing in the role of Puncture.  Debutante composer Tenma has turned out a stand-out score and an earthy soundtrack which adds to the allure of the movie.

Through his production house - Neelam Productions, Director Pa Ranjith is on a mission to support movies that extol the plight of those at the bottom of the caste/class pyramid. Last year, he had introduced Mari Selvaraj who made a stellar directorial debut through Pariyerum Perumal - the best Tamil movie of 2018. Continuing on his mission, Pa Ranjith acquits himself as a producer who has a keen eye for the craft and has picked another exceptional talent to watch for in Athiyan Athirai.

Athiyan has the rare skill to beautifully blend the multiple ingredients of his narrative recipe without losing focus on the fate of the bomb and those around it. He keeps the tension real and combines it effectively with regular doses of humour as well as the underlying message of all humans being the same irrespective of our apparent differences and how all of us are equally vulnerable when confronted with certain challenges. The fact that the ideology and message delivered through his characters come across as neither preachy nor phony is testimony to his skills in crafting a sincere narrative populated with characters that we could relate to.

While it may not be as hard-hitting as Pariyerum Perumal in its tonality, IUKG is equally effective in its layered narrative with a rich subtext of socio-economic commentary through multiple metaphors including the use of the scrapyard as a backdrop, the bomb washing ashore along the coast of a historic town, the use of colours, the manifestation of the bomb itself which heralds the repetition of history which sees the odds steeped against the oppressed.

A POTENT DEBUT ! A MUST WATCH !!

RATING - 3.5/5

THE IRISHMAN (ENGLISH) (2019)

The Irishman sees veteran Scorsese (now, in his 70s) returning to a genre that he had redefined with his early works .. a genre that brought him widespread critical as well as commercial acclaim and made him what he turned out to be. 

And.. he returns with a power packed cast that is headlined by Robert de Niro (a frequent collaborator), Al Pacino and Joe Pesci (all three, now in their 70s) and many more stars in juicy cameos.

The Irishman is adapted from a novel - "I Heard You Paint Houses" by Charles Brandt. It is set in the period from 1950s to 1980s and narrates the story of Frank Sheeran - a war veteran, truck driver who gets associated with the underworld crime families, becomes a mob hitman and how his life intersects with trade union leader, Jimmy Hoffa. 

The movie which runs for a whopping 209 minutes demands - nay, commands - a patient viewing and rewards the viewers with superlative performances by Al Pacino, Joe Pesci and De Niro at the heart of the narrative filling almost every frame besides excellence in almost every technical aspect of filmmaking - be it the brilliant staging, fluid cinematography, pitch perfect score.

De Niro is a class act in the role of Frank Sheeran - a stoic mobster of few words and fewer emotions. Pesci gives great company in his own version of stolid mentor for Sheeran while good old Al Pacino more than makes up for the lack of words and emotions of the these two in an energetic performace where he explodes in almost every frame.

What we might miss in terms of pace is more than made up by the quality of performances and the craft of a master who shows that even the oldest genre tropes, if handled right, could work like magic.

While the CGI assisted de-aging of the leads is not perfect yet, it is nevertheless unobtrusive and heralds exciting augurings for the future of movies.

The deliberate pacing by Scorsese allows us to soak in more of the unfolding events through the conversations, character arcs and gets us ever more invested in their predicaments. The narrative flows like a clear stream that is seamlessly punctuated by historic events (a la Forrest Gump) and sudden bursts of bloody violence. 

Overall, this movie feels like a sagely Scorsese in his Yoda mode meditating on a mobster life. 

The Irishman would certainly rank among Scorsese's finest and is certain to enjoy a brilliant run at the awards functions too.

A MASTERPIECE ! (if you can muster some patience to enjoy it.)

RATING - 4/5

PS - The Irishman is streaming on Netflix

KAITHI (TAMIL) (2019)

A truck load of drugs is seized by a crack team of cops in what appears to be the biggest drug bust ever. The desperate drug gang wants the consignment back at any cost. 

Thus begins a  narrative that is a thrill ride of events unfolding over a night with well placed moles on each side and safety of the cache as well as the lives of some top cops hanging by a slender thread resting on the shoulders of a recently released convict. 

Karthi brings a simmering intensity to the part of the protagonist, Dilli - both as a father yearning to see his daughter for the first time after spending a decade in prison as well as the titular macho convict rescuing the cops. Sam CS throttles the proceedings onwards with his pulsating score.

After a stellar debut with Maanagaram, director Lokesh Kanagaraj (LK) delivers an above average action flick that is fairly engaging and entertaining. 

Overall, while it may not match Maanagaram in its audacity, Kaithi, despite its flaws, is a neat action entertainer. 

A VERY GOOD WATCH !

RATING - 3/5

BIGIL (TAMIL) (2019)

It is third time lucky for us, the viewers, in case of this Vijay-Atlee combo.

Director Atlee presents a decent entertainer which mines the charisma of the star to a large extent.

Bigil also benefits from the fact that the entire movie and the semblance of a story is not entirely buried under the build-up for the star.

In Bigil, Atlee places his star Vijay shining bright at the center of the universe with the plot itself and the subplots merrily orbiting him as minor satellites.

Rahman delivers a rousing anthem and a good score. There is nothing - including the music or performances - that could be counted as superlative in any sense. Still, the entire movie works and doesn't feel like a tedium despite having a run-time of almost three hours.

The fact that this movie remains largely coherent on a whole does not make you cringe despite its run-time is no minor blessing.

A DECENT ENTERTAINER !

RATING - 3/5

JALLIKATTU (MALAYALAM) (2019)

In a village near Idukki, Kerala, at daybreak,  a buffalo which is about to be slaughtered escapes and runs amok creating sundry destruction.

Thus begins a 90 minute plunge into a seemingly absurd, yet absolutely riveting set of events.

Director Lijo Jose Pelissery, with his unique handling of this simple premise,  concocts a  visual and aural adventure that is a deeply visceral.

What appears, on the surface level, as a preposterous, albeit straightforward narrative of a communal chase behind a gentle bovine, there is a subtext of multiple layers which throw a light on toxic masculinity, strong undercurrent of animal spirit that lurks under the thin veneer of thousands of years of civilization and how it could be unleashed at the slightest of provocations, with vignettes of political and social landscape and a healthy sprinkling of dark humour.

Director Lijo Jose Pelissery has marshalled technically top notch talents in the form of cinematography by Girish Gangadharan,  Prashant Pillai's background score and crisp editing by Deepu Joseph to mount brilliant setpieces suffused with manic energy.

Kudos to the director that he could cook up a tense thriller, that is also an one of a kind immersive experience. 

AN INCREDIBLE  WATCH !! (perhaps not for all)

RATING - 3.5/5

PS - Best enjoyed on the big screen with excellent acoustics.

WAR (HINDI) (2019)

At long last ..

Desi Greek god with fab bod.. Hrithik Roshan gets a movie that befits his charisma ..

And.. in the process..

We get a paisa vasool action movie that is actually entertaining in every sense.. well, almost ..

Our very own version of Mission Impossible or Bourne flick..

Filled from frame to frame with exhilarating action set pieces in exotic locales ..

Both the leads - Hrithik as the charismatic tutor  and Tiger - a self confessed fanboy tyro, in more ways than one - share a crackling chemistry that works like magic for the movie.

Siddharth Anand has conjured up a veritable entertainer - a la John Woo - that is a perfect cocktail of just the right bit of stupid and right bit of stupendous, in a narrative that seldom sags.

A PHENOMENAL ACTION ENTERTAINER !

RATING - 3.5/5

VIRUS (MALAYALAM) (2019)

Director Ashiq Abu presents a gripping thriller inspired from events surrounding the Nipah virus outbreak in Calicut and Malappuram districts.

Abu has assembled an ensemble star cast and handles then brilliantly to serve the story he set out to narrate.

A narrative that is crafted with great care and balance without overdoing any of the several potential pitfalls that it skims over gracefully to retain a unitary focus on the events surrounding the outbreak and the collaborative efforts to control it.

Nevertheless, Abu maintains the emotional connect intact through several subtle instances that capture the myriad human emotions of loss, helplessness, love, grit and determination without exploiting them or escalating into weepy melodrama.

In all, this is a naattu (desi) companion piece to Soderbergh's Contagion and could rightly be reckoned as an unequivocal masterclass in every aspect of film-making.

A MASTERPIECE !

RATING - 4/5