Ip Man 3 - Grand Finish to a Great Franchise

It is the final movie in the Ip Man franchise and gives the best ending to the series that only few manage to achieve. The movie begins with Ip Man being approached by Bruce Lee to teach him Wing Chun. What follows is a mind blowing sequence where Ip tests Lee 's speed with cigarettes and water. The movie features 3 sub plots. First one is Mike Tyson and his gang trying to get their hands on a school regarding his business. Second is Ip' s wife suffering from cancer. The third and main plot involves a fellow practioner played by Max Zhang who defeats all the existing masters and challenges Ip. Whether Ip Man defeats all his enemies forms the rest of the plot.

 Donnie Yen as Ip Man has delivered a superb performance. Max Zhang comes a close second with his intense moves. Rest of the cast is a mere caricature. However the true hero of the movie is stunt director Woo-Ping Yuen. The major highlight of the movie is the stunt sequences. The movie consists of 4 superb action blocks. The first one is a shipping yard sequence where Donnie Yen and Max Zhang take on Tyson 's thugs. This scene pays rich homage to the Neo vs Smiths fight in the Matrix Reloaded.

The second sequence is a fight sequence in a hospital elevator where Donnie Yen takes on an assasin.The third sequence is the much hyped clash between Donnie Yen and Tyson. It features mind blowing stunt choreography which has to be seen to be believed. The last and final sequence involves sticks, switch blades, lots of fists and two people. We get to see Donnie Yen and Max Zhang take on each other in a terrific sequence which even rivals the Raid 2 climax. Only minus point would be the melodrama. Overall Ip Man 3 is a superb send off to the titular character.

Verdict 

Ip Man 3 is the best action movie so far this year. Although fans would be sad with this being the last entry, they've already got replacements like John Wick 2 and Raid 3 to fill the void.

Kaadhalum Kadandhu Pogum - An extremely entertaining version of an erstwhile "Cliched" Story

Some people evolve with each and every role they perform. Vijay Sethupathy belongs to this category and is fastly moving towards the mass audience. KaKaPo follows the beautiful relationship between a thug and an unemployed graduate. Yaazhini (Madonna Sebastien) wants to work in a chennai-based IT company and so she runs away from her home in Villupuram. At first things go well and she comfortably settles down at a friend's apartment. But trouble strikes, as the company she works for is shutdown. Yaazhini is forced to move out of her friend's place and eventually finds out a place in a housing-board locality, where her neighbour is the ex-con Kathir (Vijay Sethupath). Over a period of time they become good friends and how their friendship leads to Yaazhini getting a job forms the rest of the movie's plot.

Vijay Sethupathi can be considered as the man with the Midas Touch. His movies have had successful runs in the box-office lately. This is mainly due to his appeal among all classes of audience, along with a really humorous body language. This film is no different, featuring the funniest bar and interview sequences ever. In fact the movie is the most fun one can have in the theaters in recent times. Sethupathi scores big here and his combo scenes with Madonna are a riot especially the saraku sequence. Madonna is another major asset in this movie and she gives a superb tamil debut.Credit goes to the Cinematographer Dinesh Krishnan for thinking out-of-the box and creating visual content that is very very engaging. Santhosh Narayan's quirky music adds a feisty element to the movie and keeps audiences entertained.

Although the story is ordinary Nalan makes it extraordinary with his unique screen play and narration. Much was expected from him after "Soodhu Kavvum" and it is safe to say that he has given yet another interesting movie. In the climax portion VS shows the true range of his acting and the ending justifies the title big time.

Overall KaKaPo is a laugh riot with shades of heavy emotions. 

Verdict :
Kadhalum Kadanthu Pogum Avalavu sikkiram nam manadhai vittu pogathu.

Pichaikaaran – Another Unprecedented hit for Vijay Antony

Vijay Antony is taking giant steps in Kollywood. He has been around for a long time, 
scoring music and singing songs. Over the past 5 years his passion for acting has driven him to give movies such as Naan, Salim, India Pakistan etc. Pichaikaaran is his latest offering and it is a safe bet to say that the movie is a good watch.

The basic plot of the movie revolves around the rich but ailing female industrialist Bhuvaneshwari, whose son is Arul (Vijay Antony). Bhuvaneshwari’s medical conditions get serious and she slips into a coma. Arul loses hope and that’s when a spiritual guru asks him to live the next 48 days as a beggar. On his advice, Arul leaves everything back home at Coimbatore and flies to Chennai. The issues which Arul faces in Chennai over the course of the next 48 days for the rest of the story.

Firstly, it takes a great deal of commitment to portray oneself as a beggar on screen and kudos to Vijay Antony for doing that. There was however one little problem in his performance – his inability to add influence and power to “Punch Dialogues”.

Satna Titus as Magizhini gives a good debut performance. Her role is pretty much the standard “do-gooder lady” and gets enough screen time to showcase her potential. She is someone to look out for in the future. Vijay Antony himself has scored the music for the movie and the songs have some out pretty well.

Situational comedy and one-liners based on begging and beggars make the movie highly entertaining. Director Sasi has blended masala elements very well to the life of a person who sacrifices 48 days of his luxurious life to save his mother. Certain “Mass Moments” in the movie have worked out big-time for Vijay Antony, thanks to the director. On the whole Pichaikaaran is a movie worth watching this weekend.