Review : 3 Idiots (2009)

From the creators of 'Munnabhai', comes yet another beautiful, comical, dramatic and inspiring movie. 3 Idiots is a visual treat, a laugh riot and also an eye-opener for many. The weak hearts might have to carry a full box of tissues because Rajkumar Hirani has carved out a stunner with more preference to his favourite genre - emotional drama.

3 Idiots is a must watch film for engineering students studying in hostels as well as their parents. Not necessary that only such people can watch but this movie might not amuse 'everyone' to that extent. The Story and Screenplay is just brilliant with ONLY an inspirational touch from Chetan Bhagat's 'Five Point Someone'. This is the way you make movies, read a book get inspired by the lives of engg students and create a story with your own imagination and not just rip-off the same dialogues and plot from the book bringing out something which the viewer had already seen.

The Casting is just brilliant with Aamir Khan at his incredible best. He understands and lives the character so well that he doesn't need to strain himself while acting it. Its just a child's play for him. Madhavan on the other hand looks too adult-ish for a college goer and his acting space is reserved to emotional and impressioned smiles. The third idiot, Sharman Joshi, is a budding actor and he has acted out his character brilliantly. Out of the 3 idiots, i don't think you can find faults with any and only that each of them is way beyond the comparison with others. Kareena Kapoor sheds her glamour image and fits the role perfectly. Last and certainly the best among the cast, Boman Irani, a gliterring gem which doesn't need any polish, has carved a niche for himself already with his awe-inspiring performances before and 3 Idiots is just a cake walk for him. He is a fine actor, finer than the big names in Bollywood. I'm sure he will win quite a few accolades for his 3 Idiots' performance.

Music by Shantanu Moitra is just scintillating. The songs had become chartbusters even before the movie got released. His background music is just wonderful and the bass pumps up the adrenaline in our system.

The other technical departments, Cinematography, make-up, dressing, sets, light, etc etc have done their parts exceptionally well making '3 Idiots' easily climb to the top spot in Bollywood's dry run of 2009.

Coming to the main hero of the film, the captain of the bandwagon, Mr.Rajkumar Hirani. I'm sure he doesn't need any introduction. His directional skill is top notch. Though the movie was pretty over-dramatic in places, it had its message conveyed with quite a fair amount of indefinite laughs throughout the film. Hope, he continues to give such comedy-cum-inspiring films.

I won't leak out the plot of the film because i want all of you to get to the theatres to watch it and I assure you that you are definitely in for a treat.

Rating : 3.5/5

Verdict : Though it is clichéd and has an overdose of drama, it is still a 'Masterpiece'!

Review : Vettaikaran (2009)

"Vijay is back with a bang!" , perhaps i could say this.....perhaps!!!

Anyways lets get to the reviewing....

The most awaited movie by all vijay fans 'Vettaikaran' is here. The whole of tinsel town and of course the rest of the world wondered 'Will this movie work for Vijay, atleast??' Well, all his movies work for him in terms of collections and grand openings but it doesn't seem to entertain everyone. Our Ilayathalapathy continued to sign commercial films one after another and never bothered about critics' comments on his movies. A new add to the same old stack is 'Vettaikaran' with much ado about nothing. I went into the cinema hall with least expectations because i knew that it is going to be the same old Vijay flick and fulfilling my preconception was the movie althought it did have a few changes. Is 'Vettaikaran' another 'Ghilli' or is it another 'Villu'? Has Vijay gained back his stardom on neutral viewers too? Read on to find out!!

Unlike his previous ventures, Vettaikaran opens up a step away, though its length is a few centimeters only. We are shown an IPS officer who is also an encounter specialist closing the doors for a famous goon. He is the one Ravi (Vijay) aspires to be like even though he's failed 4 times to surpass Class XII. We go on to discover that he is just following the footsteps of Devaraj IPS who had a similar school life as our very own protagonist or one might put it as Ravi is trying to emulate each and every step Devaraj took to become an IPS officer. The Plot of Vettaikaran is just a 'one-liner' , after all this worship and following, does Ravi become an IPS or not. Does he fulfill his dreams or not. For this, my review won't be a spoiler but you have to watch the movie to find out. Though the Real Digital eXperience of Sathyam Cinemas helped in entertaining me, I suggest a TC Rip from the internet might be good enough.

The Movie does have quite a number of flaws but there is no use in speaking about them. Let me first let you know that there are totally say 3-4 fight sequences ONLY for Vijay which is quite a change coz all other work is done by people standing behind his back or by just the press of a button. All this is quite normal for such commercial movies though.

Vettaikaran is a 100% entertainer until the 'Chinna Thaamarai' song after which the screenplay and story seem to go out of control. Mr.Babu Sivan (Story-Screenplay-Dialogue-Direction) has got his basics right. He doesn't seem amateurish at all. The logic part falls perfectly well and gels with the screenplay but a tissue paper (which is thinner than a wafer) thin storyline, poor background music and even poorer song picturisation are the main reasons why 'Vettaikaran' is not a movie which would make Vijay say ''I'm back" although he seems fresh and energetic in this movie.

'Ilayathalapathy' Vijay is the name which comes on the screen after the Sun Pictures bit which made the crowd jump from their seats. Such star power this man has and the way he puts in his 100% renders the flick as an out and out 'Vijay' flick and not some AVM or Sun Pictures flick.

Vijay has carried the film entirely on his back and it only because of him that you can sit through the entire movie. Be it his rib-tickling comic sense, his powerful (at places) punch dialogues, his breathtaking stunts, Vijay has proved that he is THE next superstar. His acting has improved to a great extent from the irritating last movie of his. (What was it....i forgot...oh yeah...Villu - awefullu).

Comedy has been given the top priority by the director and it is definitely better than having a special comedy track by some popular comedian. The Dialogues are very good and they evoke a bit of laughter as well as something to ponder upon. For this the debutante wielding the megaphone needs a pat on the back.

Stunt director 'Kanal' Kannan fails to deliver his potential. He is perhaps too inspired by the ropes. All the stunts seem to be hanging mid way in the air and although the stunts were better and done with expertise when compared to other Vijay flicks, it is not what one would expect out of the stunt master. The Scene where the protagonist jumps from the waterfall has been shot masterfully creating lesser doubts on the viewer's mind.

Songs by Vijay Antony were really peppy and foot tapping but the picturisation spoiled the whole build-up with 'Naan Adicha' song being an exception. Background music seems to be a rip off from Superstar's Sivaji with the same instruments and same sounds used. The only bit which would probably be liked by the fans would be that which goes like 'thalapathy.....thalapathy' in the first half. 'Naan Adicha' has cute casting of Sanjay (Vijay's son) who dances gracefully just like his dad. 'Puli Urumudhu' is sure to please all Vijay fans but has too much of Rajini feel to it infact the whole movie has Vijay with a 'Rajini' touch.

Casting of Anushka and Sanjitha Padukone were of minimal need and either someone else should have been cast or their screen space should have been increased. Anushka who actually looked ravishing in tollywood and otherwise looks pretty aweful with layers of make up clearly visible on her face.The bollywood baddie Saleem Ghose who dons the role of villain Vedanayagam in this movie has done an outstanding job both by acting wonderfully and by dubbing his own voice in a near-perfect tamil accent. Devaraj IPS's role was well portrayed by the actor with perfect muscle formation and moustache which suited the character.

Techinical departments need no special honor although the director of photography has provided notable, slick and clichéd action sequences. Editing was no good and so were the costumes, make up, etc etc.

Let me briefly ennumerate the + and - of this flick for those who don't like reading big reviews :

Minuses : Song picturisation (except for 'Naan Adicha' and to an extent 'Puli Urumuthu' , Anushka, Overdosed and clichéd violence, predictable plot, Vijay's getup in 'Chinna Thaamarai'.

Pluses : Vijay as 'comedian' (don't take it the other way, the movie seriously has good comedy) , Vijay fighting, Vijay walking, Vijay Talking, Vijay dancing to normal dance steps and ofcourse the villain Saleem Ghouse.

The Movie has a very entertaining first half and a huge letdown second half. It is a pure Vijay flick with nothing much different to offer. The 'adithadi' (violence) could have been minimal. The last dialogue of Vijay "Everyone should have a police in their self" is very inspiring. This dialogue which the directed wanted to convey could have been done differently rather than the way it was handled churning 'Vettaikaran' to be abysmal commercial flick not quite in accordance to the current political and cinema world scenario of the state.

Rating : 2/5

A little better and quite bearable than his previous flicks, Vettaikaran is almost 'Ota-autokaaran'!!

Let us just hope and keep on hoping and wait and watch if 'Sura' which is touted to be a comedy flick and which is also Vijay's 50th film has a different Vijay to offer.

Review : Avatar (2009)

James Cameron is back with a bang with Avatar, the biggest CGI,animation and graphical extravaganza of the year. In this beautiful movie, Sam Worthington plays a US mariner who is sent to a planet called pandora after his scientist twin brother dies. He goes on to replace him in this mission which focusses on a matrix type man-remote-controlling-another-living creatures called avatars. They are made taking the same DNA of its controller but look like the inhabitants of the planet. These avatars are sent for the expedition team to gather information about their race and also a desire to carve out a special mineral which might prove useful to them.

The Story is a fine blend of all the action/adventure hollywood movies in the past and is to some extent analogous to the Tamil commercial cinema with equal proportions of comedy, drama, actions, emotions and of course the romance too. One might hate the movie miserably if he/she doesn't get to watch it with good sound and picture clarity. Speaking of picture, Hollywood has kept up with the ever increasing zenith of CGI and animated magic. It is a wonderful piece of art and the whole visual effects team has to be lauded in a huge extent.

The Director,  the guy who brought us terminator series and also the disaster epic Titanic, needs no introduction. All his films have been trendsetters in hollywood. He has used the same visual effects as anyother in the cinema world but in an extent which is sure to captivate the sight of millions. I was just 'wow' over and over again for the visually soothing as well as rich imagery which was shown. His creatuvity has no match and will definitely win laurels for him.

Acting wise, Sam Worthington definitely needs a pat on the back and so does the whole visual effects team again because every pixel of emotion on the avatars' face was so real and beautiful that one has no words to describe.

The music (James Horner) and the special effects department have put in their best. You won't believe but the number of people who worked in the special effects department is more than all others put together. (Leaving the ones who were seen on the screen ofcourse)

All in all, this movie definitely gets a two thumbs up from me and it is my sincere request for everyone to watch this movie specially in the 3D version and not anywhere else because watching it elsewhere is sure to spoil the magic.

Rating : 3.5/5

Poetry! It is truly an intelligent, thrilling, emotional yet mesmerizing poetry!

Review : Paa (2009)

After a series of crappy movies in bollywood with just one exception in the middle (in the form of Wake Up Sid) , I sat down to watch another movie to find Director R.Balki delivering a suave entertainer called 'Paa'.

I heard that 'Paa' was a remake of the oscar nominee 'The Curious Case of Benjamin Button' , when the filming started but once the movie released and i saw it , i was pretty shocked not only by the fact that it was a beautiful adaptation of the disease Progeria but also that Amitabh Bachchan (AB) lived it like real.

The plot is about a boy who suffers from this rare disease which makes his body age faster and his incidents and also about a small emotional drama which i won't reveal.I mean , someone in bollywood attempting to portray such a character, is really innovative but one also has to live up to it and AB does it beautifully well.

The top technical posts of this movie were handled by acers in the field. P.C.Sreeram holding the camera and Ilayaraja composing the music. What else can a star ask for!

Cinematography was brilliant and so was the background music. Though, the music was a mix of classical music , it gelled properly with the scenes and shows that even though the music maestro has nothing new to deliver he does understand cinema better than anyone.

On the whole , i would say , the movie lacked something....something which would make me give it a maximum rating.It seemed amateurish and naive.....the screenplay , the story telling.

Hence i end up giving a ,

Rating : 3/5

with 2.5 dedicated to AB alone and the rest .5 for the other actors , camera and music.

Verdict :  AB is legen -wait for it - dary!