-infinity to +infinity

Review: Agneepath (2012)

2012-01-26T22:06:00.003+05:30

Agneepath... The one bollywood movie which I was waiting for ever since the trailers started airing. Remake of the 70s classic of the same name, Karan Johar's Agneepath (as it can be rightly called for the overdose of emotional drama present in the movie) is a good enough reason to pass time on a lazy day but not when you go in expecting a lot of action and vengeance.

The story is simple, its about Vijay Dinanath Chauhan's revenge on Kaancha for the latter's murder of the former's father in front of the public in a small island off the coast of Bombay (that's what they called in the movie). The story starts off in the year 1977 and travels 15 years hence when I'm not sure if Levi Strauss had introduced its jeans collection in India (the one which Hrithik wears all over the movie) and I'm not sure if there were digital projectors which projected without slides and also I'm not sure if flex banners were even made!

Anyways, putting aside these logical erroers (which was difficult to digest), Hrithik comes up with a stunning performance. His role is full of heroism and such a movie deserves to be in his filmography no doubt. Agneepath was way better than his previous commercial outings like Fiza, Krrish and to an extent Mission Kashmir (but MK was a very good movie). One can watch Agneepath for a sole reason, read Hrithik a.k.a Vijju a.k.a Vijay Dinanath Chauhan.

Songs by the marathi duo Ajay-Atul were kickass and awesome when we heard just the audio but when it came to the big screen, the visuals did not match up to it. The songs were extending the stretch of an already dragging flick.

Cinematography by Ravi K. Chandran and Kiran Deohans needs a mention here because giving different angles to an out and out commercial flick is a difficult thing to do and they do an awesome job here by providing interesting and stunning camera angles.

Sanjay Dutt plays Kaancha, the baddie who looks like a real scary baddie but doesn't score in acting much. His dialogue delivery were below par and did not have the punch that one was expecting. He basically failed to live up to the hype.

Director Karan Malhotra has extracted a lot of acting from Priyanka Chopra, Rishi Kapoor and Om Puri which you would have never seen before. Never expected Rishi Kapoor to pull off good stunt sequences. The other actors give their best shots only that the punch was lacking in the places and hence the dialogues do not register quite well on the viewer's mind.

Karan Johar has to be mentioned while reviewing Agneepath because one could see all the emotional drama and the tears pouring out of the screen (maybe the screen itself was crying). His impact on the visuals can be seen quite clearly by any ordinary person.

Katrina Kaif's Chikni Chameli doesn't stay in the mind for long. The song's magic was also lost. Other melodies like O Saiyyan (which I thought would be steamy and was no less steamy by making me sweat because of irritation) and Abhi Mujhme Kahin were pleasant to hear but not too good to watch.

Agneepath's second half is engaging but again the essence is lost towards by songs and stretch of simple sequences. The action scenes are the highlight and so is the macho man performing them.

Watch Agneepath if you are a die-hard Hrithik fan (which I am) and even if you want to re-live the classic in the new format but not if you are expecting a revenge powered kickass movie (it is no where close to it).

Rating: 2.5/5

Agneepath: Hrithik all the way!

Review: The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo (2011)

2012-01-26T08:01:00.005+05:30

Disclaimer: I haven’t read the book “The Girl With TheDragon Tattoo” by Steig Larsson so the following review of the movie will bepurely covering the technical and the entertainment aspects.

David Fincher, the man who weaved classics like Fight Club, Se7en,The Social Network and the creative – The Curious Case of Benjamin Button isback with something similar (read. almost a classic). The Girl With The DragonTattoo which is an adaptation of a novel of the same name, entertains and gripsthe viewer’s brain.

Every masterpiece needs good finishing and this has TrentRaznor’s music to support it. There are places where silence is the bestbackground score and there are places where music is needed to feel theemotions, the music composer has got it right and his scores score.

The film has been nominated for the Academy Awards in theBest Cinematography criteria and no wonder why, Jeff Cronenweth has done afantabulous job in capturing the best and worst of Sweden and other places.

The title role is played by Rooney Mara who characters therole of a computer hacker who shows us the features of a Macbook Pro and whouses SQL queries to get the required data. She is supposed to have photographicmemory. I don’t know what David Fincher saw in her but she is definitely notthe person that anyone would want to see cloth less. Nevertheless, the steamyscenes are crude (Spoiler!) and still nothing goes up.

Daniel Craig plays a journalist who is married and has acute daughter but still has “fun” with the hacker.

The movie runs a bit over 2 and a half hours. Frankly, youdon’t get bored but just as the magic of the brilliant premise captivates yourthoughts, the storyline thins a bit and ends in a bizzare way. Maybe it is thebook’s fault.

Christopher Plummer and Stellan Skarsgard come up withawesome performances as usual and show us why they are called legends.

I got a bit perplexed when I saw the timeline in my mediaplayer but then I was in for what was overall a very good cinema. Watch it andenjoy the suspense drama unfold.

Rating: 3/5

The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo: Over stretched suspense

Review: Nanban (2012)

2012-01-14T17:06:00.005+05:30

Playing with the plot of an original movie while attempting a remake often goes wrong. Shankar plays safe by making a scene-to-scene remake of perhaps one of the best movies of Bollywood this year - '3 Idiots'. He brings you Nanban, a feel good entertainer sure to bring smiles and adoration for the work of the cast and crew.

Grandeur - is one word to describe Shankar in what ever he does. Be it marketing his movie or creating a hype, making a name for himself or making the movie itself speak for itself - Shankar has the word 'legend' written all over him.

After you come out of the movie, if you are still wondering what is 'different' when compared to 3 Idiots, you haven't watched the movie properly. Doing all justice in terms of story screenplay to its original is Nanban and one cannot debate on this because when a remake is announced, it is going to be the same wine put in a bottle of the director's choice. Shankar has tweaked it so well that you don't need anything more to please you and you are satisfied with the output even if you know what is going to happen in the next scene.

Harris Jayaraj - the man known for looping his own tunes in many different ways in different songs comes up with a few catchy tunes and gosh, his background score in the movie was top class. I was surprised and asked my friend next to me - "Harris Jayaraj is the music director right?". Perhaps, the presence of Resul Pookutty in the sound department was an amazing thing to do because the most of the most intricate sounds in the environment can be heard. I watched the movie at Urvashi Cinemas, Bangalore which features the world's best sound system (Meyer Sound EXP) and screens Digital 4K Cinema and I was taken in for a cracker. Really enjoyed the movie watching experience.

Manoj Paramahamsa's camera captures the nature and the scene so well that you feel the third dimension without it actually being there.When the lead cast travels to Dhanushkodi to find Panchavan Parivendan (Vijay's character), you get awed by the visuals. He's captured India so well that you don't believe your own eyes.

The picturisation of the songs in the movie was a class apart. It was one area where 'Nanban' outshines the original. The songs have Shankar's mastercraft trademark stamped all over it. Except for the song 'Irukaana Illayaana..' which was totally out of place and unnecessary, other songs were a treat to watch. What was more unnecessary was bringing Farah Khan to choreograph that song. It had 'Shiela ki Jawaani''s drum ringing all the while.

The one negative that I didn't like in the movie was the fact every character in the movie (tried) imitated their counterparts from 3 Idiots. It was apt for the story in some places but most of the time it shuns your mood. Right from Vijay to Sathyaraj, everyone's dialogue delivery and body movements were similar to their characters from the original. That was one thing that could have changed. When remaking a movie, a director should also give thought to the fact that people who watched the original are also going to watch the remake and this is one area where going wrong would spoil the show.
Another mistake I found apart from seeing the camera and the whiteboard through the lead actor's sunglasses' reflection in songs (which has been present in Shankar films ever since Sivaji) was that Pari's (Vijay) name is spelled 'Panchavan Parivendhan' in the hostel allocation list and 'Panchavan Parivendan' in the result list. Possibly a slight error for a newbie but not for an established director.
Otherwise, the movie carried its own slight flaws just like 3 Idiots where Silencer's position in the frame changes when he challenges the lead trio on September 5 on the real date and his position is totally different in the first scene when he narrates the flashback. The intensity of the dialogue delivery also differ.

Vijay has donned a role which he has never done before and even if he tries to imitate Aamir Khan in places, he shows the world that he is a professional actor who doesn't need commercial cinema to live a life. He is an epitome of the subtlest of the subtle acting brilliance. Maybe it is the Shankar effect, but whatever be it, it answers his critics and shows his credibility. If you had doubts whether he would do justice to Rancho, he does and does it in his own style.

Sathyaraj comes up with a spectacular performance in his own style. Ileana is a booty sorry beauty to watch but again a mood spoiler when she starts talking in tamil (except for when she gets drunk and becomes a Muniyamma). Jeeva and Srikanth fit their roles well and so does the supporting cast. The presence of Sherwanis in a Tamil wedding is explained and so is every minute detail.

If you have watched 3 Idiots, watch Nanban for the subtle and amusing changes and enjoy and if you haven't, Don't ever miss Nanban.

To sum it all, A brilliant mix of colours supported with stunning background score makes 'Nanban' worth the money you spend on getting the ticket stub and not only are you assured for a jolly ride you are in for a visually powered comedy and emotional drama as well. Three cheers to 'Nanban' Team.

Rating: 3.5/5

Nanban - Aaaaaaal is well!

Review: Sherlock Holmes - A Game of Shadows

2012-01-01T20:36:00.002+05:30

The 'funny' and 'witty' Sherlock Holmes is back in by far the most entertaining screen adaptation of the cult classic. With 'zip-zap-zoom' director Guy Ritchie, you are assured every penny worth of the ticket stub.

Just walk into a screening of 'Sherlock Holmes - A Game of Shadows' and sit patiently as the director and the actors take you through at a slow and steady pace to what is called 'Sheer intelligence'.

There is drama, there is action and then you have Robert Downey Jr for the rest of it.

My friend living in Bombay called me up at 12 in the night to tell me - 'Varun, whatever happens; Do not miss this movie!'. And I went with great expectations only to be satiated by this masterpiece. I wouldn't want another sequel to this but this installment of Sherlock Holmes is far better than its prequel.

You see the mark of Guy Ritchie stamped in every frame of the movie.

Sherlock Holmes and his 'sidekick' Dr.Watson take on their arch-nemesis Dr.Stephen Moriarti in this game of shadows and why is it called a game of shadows... Well it is not so easy to answer.

Hans Zimmer has always been a talented composer and his tunes add the spices to this well baked masterpiece.

Watch it on screen to enjoy the intellectual brilliance in acting, movie-making and cinematography because this movie is not to be missed..

Rating: 3.5/5

Sherlock Holmes: Hats Off

Review: Don 2 (2011)

2011-12-24T22:40:00.003+05:30

No Marketing is the best marketing - Probably not quoted by any famous person but this is something I'm saying and something that the team of 'Don 2' partly believes in. After the infamous Ra.One debacle, SRK thought it is better to keep mum on his films and to everyone's surprise - it works, big time. Period.

Don 2 is a tribute to Hollywood's impact on the Indian audience. With every Hollywood action flick releasing, the average Indian viewer expects the same in Bollywood - None of the biggies were able to satiate their thirsts until one man a.k.a. Farhan Akthar brings about a powerful script coupled with power packed stunts with the Baadshah of Bollywood and hence Don 2 scores.

If only would have the music been a tad better, Don 2 would have been rated as a classic and a benchmark set for others to reach but it doesn't, the songs are bad and the only thing that keeps playing in the background is the cherishable 'Don' theme.

Watching a Bollywood movie in 3-D would have people laughing at you when announced but watching Don 2 in 3-D was absolutely awesome.The explosions, the stunts and SRK were absolutely kickass in 3-D.

Farhan Akthar is intelligent so is Don 2 just like his creator. (Except for one flaw which i found towards the climax)

Action. Thrill. Suspense. Drama and a sprinkle of romance pretty much sums up Don 2. And the credit goes majorly to Farhan Akthar for drafting a brilliant script to continue the 'Don' franchise. Hats off Farhan!

Boman Irani as Vardhan, Om Puri as Malik and Priyanka Chopra as Junglee Billi come up with passable performances.

SRK proves his haters as to why people call him the Baadshah aur Is Baadshah ko pakadna mushkil hi nahi naamumkin hai.....

Rating: 3.5/5

Don 2: A Class Apart!

Review: Mission:Impossible Ghost Protocol

2011-12-17T15:08:00.001+05:30

What can you expect when one of the most popular cult action series goes into the hands of a person who is known for directing animated flicks? Frankly, you wouldn't care who calls the shots because the 'Mission:Impossible' franchise is such that just Tom Cruise and his stunts would suffice for the movie to click. And though it doesn't click that well, it works..

This installment of MI is more comical than gripping. The makers decided to take tickle the funny bone more than pumping up the adrenaline because most of the action sequences(save one or two) just failed to impress.

Graphics is one department where the crew should have worked upon. It is simply just not Hollywood standards. The scenes where the sand storm hits Dubai are just mediocre and some places you feel you are watching a B grade movie.

Unlike most of the other MI movies, Ghost Protocol offers an engaging script rather than thrilling action sequences, although the one part where Ethan (Tom Cruise) does a stunt on the Burj Hotel, Dubai was kick ass.

People told me that the movie's first half was awesome and second half sucked but i don't quite agree with that. The first half is pretty boring and the second half is where you get the hold of the story.

Music by Micheal Giacchino could have been better. The visuals were so dull at places and the viewer is put to sleep - this is where the music should have worked.

Some things i couldn't digest in the movie -

They said Mumbai and they showed some posh palace which probably doesn't exist in that part of India.

Too many exotic cars on the Indian roads.

They showed Sun Networks and some tamil channels being played in a satellite TV station in Mumbai.

They showed some door with a caution sign and its translation written in Telugu.

They showed some exotic cars with left hand drive and with number plates which vehicle numbers in Indian format but written reversed.

Tom Cruise gets hit at sensitive areas too much but still gets up like a normal person.

Ideally what they have done is, they brought cameras to India, shot some scenes in Mumbai and then carried out rest of the shooting at Ramoji studios in Hyderabad. This is an area where the team should have worked a bit more.

Anil Kapoor comes as a playboy and just like every typical Indian, he falls for a mediocre sexy woman with saliva dripping out of his jaw dropping face.

Overall, Mission:Impossible Ghost Protocol is not such a great movie to look up to but it does entertain. Tom Cruise carries the movie throughout and keeps the audience engaged.

Hopefully, there is no further sequel to this series.

Rating: 3/5

Mission: Impossible Ghost Protocol - Timepass!

Review: The Dirty Picture (2011)

2011-12-03T19:32:00.001+05:30

Have you ever thought that Bollywood should also make movies in the likes of American Pie. Well, Bollywood has heard you - 'Soap queen' Ekta Kapoor and Director Milan Luthria bring you something better - The Dirty Picture (read. soft(er)core porn)

When you hear the first moans of the protagonist (Vidya Balan a.k.a. Silk), you start to wonder, what is Naseeruddin Shah doing. To an extent, 'Smooch Expert' Emran Hashmi's presence is justified but what the hell is 'Kid Face' Tushar Kapoor doing in the same flick. These thoughts bother you just for some time - just until silk scorches the screen and when it starts there is no stopping for entertainment. You keep wanting for more. And you get 'satisfied' until the interval.

Post-interval, there are a few unwanted breaks(songs) which gets you frustrated. The story is purely about Silk and her rise to stardom and later. So there is no scope for any betterment on the story line. The writer has to be given a pat on the back for making a real life story gripping. Silk's life sure is one to ponder upon and get inspired but its adaptation on screen could have been 'finished' well.

You have double meaning dialogues all over the movie and they make you clap and laugh. Some of them so dirty that you first decide whether is it really something to laugh upon. "Hum tumhe aisi jagah pe maarenge ki tum confuse ho jaogi ki pant pehnna hai ya ghagra"

A disclaimer, I personally don't like Vidya Balan and I don't think she is anyway hot or seductive. I was wondering whether she would anyway resemble Silk but I had no idea how Silk looked either. Then my friend told me that she looked ugly and that answers my question and some of yours too.

In spite of all this, Vidya Balan created an impact on me and after 'The Dirty Picture', I respect her more for being so bold and choosing such a brave script. Hats off to her for doing justice to Silk.

Well she has her double meaning dialogues too - "Holi khelne me shauk hai magar pichkaari me dum nahi" - Tell me, when you have such dialogues spoken in a big screen and with mature audiences listening to it with you, Do you need Bollywood to be more transparent? Kamal Hassan once said in a press statement - ' I think it's high time to bring X-rated films on screen' and though not with full accordance but Milan Luthria and team have heard the master and they have tried 'obeying' him to their best.

That is all I have about 'The Dirty Picture' for you. I hope it triggers your senses to get triggered again while watching the movie. Enjoy!

Rating: 3/5

The Dirty Picture: DoubleX

P.S. You would never expect Nasseruddin Shah to star in such a movie! Let alone talking about his performance.

Review: Mayakkam Enna (2011)

2011-11-27T14:04:00.001+05:30

Just like each one of our lives, Selvaraghavan's 'Mayakkam Enna' has its own moments. It has its own slow and sweet way of growing into the viewer's thoughts and mind. It is no doubt an off beat flick. Please do not expect it to be a love story.

Sticking to the age old idiom - "Behind every successful man, there is a woman" and with Selva's classic narrative style topped with Dhanush's acting skills is Mayakkam Enna for you.

Richa Gangopadhyay would never in the rarest of imaginations would have thought of getting such a break. She had a upcoming legendary director and his National award winning brother as the co-star and on the contrary, when one wouldn't expect any role of hers, she stands tall, over performing every other character in the movie.

Dhanush plays a struggling photgrapher who finds it hard to get a break. The story is about how he shapes up his career.

G.V. Prakash's background music sure has got the class. Every frame is musical. You laugh when they laugh and you cry when they do so. That is what every cinema needs.

Cinematographer Ramji's breathtaking visuals are the key to Mayakkam Enna's success. Though, acting is what makes you love it, it is the camera which has to capture the emotions properly or else the work is undone.

Spearheading all these, Selvaraghavan's brilliant narrative, sluggish screenplay and awesome direction makes Mayakkam Enna 'click' with an bright white flash that you are taken to a different world where you start to worship the legend.

The first half is magical and when 'Intermission' pops out on the screen, you say 'Shit! I want more'. Just 10-15 minutes into the second half is when things go haywire. You start abusing. And just when you frustration level reaches its peak, Selva brings you back to his world - the land of magic.

You start to wonder - Is this the same guy who bored us with Aayirathil Oruvan? Although Aayirathil Oruvan was one brave attempt at 'different' cinema, it seriously was a waste of time.

Ever since 'Pudhupettai' - which can be rightly called as Selva's tribute to Godfather and Nayagan, I always knew he had the 'thing' in him. He could weave magic on screen and with Mayakkam Enna, he proves me right.

"Pain is the only thing that changes a man" - Anonymous

Watch Mayakkam Enna to get mesmerized. This is where Tamil Cinema still lives. Tamil Cinema is not just commercial cinema, when you have the likes of such directors, we carve a name for ourselves in this world.

Rating: 4/5

Mayakkam Enna - Perfecto!

Review: The Adventures of Tintin: The Secret of the Unicorn

2011-11-13T21:58:00.001+05:30

The biggest film making duo of all-time are here to treat us with a 3-D extravaganza. The Adventures of Tintin: The Secret of the Unicorn is pure magic. With Spielberg at the helm of affairs, you tend to expect a LOT and your quench for entertainment is thoroughly satiated.

Right from frame 1, the movie is one amazing ride. Animation at its best, cinematography at its peak and music in tune with visuals make this movie a masterpiece.

The plot is adventurous and it is properly adapted on screen. A real life Hollywood artist wouldn't have done justice to the role but motion capture and animation put together literally bring the comic book character alive on screen.

If you are a Tintin fan, you get what you deserve:
If you are a Spielberg fan, you get to praise him more:
Even if you do not fall into the above categories, you get to relish a visual feast of one of the awesomest animated movies ever.

I'm not going to describe anything more. Watch the movie in 3-D, watch it again if you have money or else wait for a Blu-ray rip to watch it the second time.

Rating: 4/5

Tintin - Sheer poetry!

Review: Velayudham (2011)

2011-10-26T19:25:00.006+05:30

Genre: Commercial

The stakes are high! Big banner, 'king of remakes' director, 'king of remakes' actor, peppy music director and well established men in the stunt, camera and editing departments. Also, Vijay's position in the industry was at stake prior Kaavalan but post it, he gained his position and 'Velayudham' had to live up to it and it does so..not with style but with 'mass' and a little bit of 'substance'.

'Jeyam' Raja spearheads this self proclaimed non-remake project of his in his own usual style and with great potential. Drawing inspiration from the telugu flick 'Azad', Raja has come up with a cracker of a movie this Diwali and Vijay fans are already roaring in happiness.

The film starts off with the central plot and you don't see the hero for quite some time and just as the viewer waits for the hero entrance, you see Vijay in his own usual running into the screen with his ayudham and then on it is one roller coaster ride with just 3 unnecessary breaks (as in songs though they were good to watch) till the interval. Post-interval, action takes the center stage and it starts turning into a drag when suddenly you turn towards the screen for more 'paisa vasool' entertainment.

Velayudham is no doubt a usual Vijay flick with not much of logic and gravity defying stunts but what makes it click is the protagonist himself. The way he stands tall yet gelling with the co-actors so well that you forget that he was once an actor who used to shoulder his movies all by himself.

Director Raja has given enough screen presence for the hundreds of popular actors he's casted in this flick. Frankly, for every face you see on the screen and you start wondering... "Oh! He's the guy who acted in that movie.." It is one unique ensemble of a cast that Raja has brought together and each of them have proven their capabilities.

Editing by VT Vijayan is just brilliant and with the racy first half, you keep wanting for more. Cinematography by Priyan brings magic to the screen and Vijay Antony supports it with his stunning background music.

With songs already becoming chartbusters within a day of the audio release, the only thing much needed was the visuals and 'Chillax' is definitely a once more song. Hansika looks deadly and add to it Vijay's stunning steps and amazing facial expressions.

Santhanam is the captain of the comedy department as he leads a cricket 'squad' towards nothing short of a world cup victory. Rib tickling and foot tapping comedy brought not just "LOL" but also tears of laughter. Definitely one of his best performances till date. Vijay acts as 'the wall' at the other end supporting Santhanam and the duo have a great future ahead. You never stop laughing.

Hansika and Genelia have equal screen space and Raja proves that he is a director who can think from all angles. Hansika fits the role and never gives a foreigner feel to the village girl look she portrays and Genelia drops her bubbly image and has a very serious role to play and both fit their respective roles to a tee.

Stunts, though gravity defying are stunning and have the punch. Although very few of them were really gory, the others were at a different level and Vijay beats up the baddies with so much energy that you feel the heat on screen.

You have action. You have sentiment. You have awesome comedy. You have 2 hot chicks. You have a message and you have a super(star)hero as the messiah and with Aascar Ravichandran as the producer, what more do you need. A huge budget flick well made and finished with the Midas (Vijay) touch. A blockbuster for sure. And that is Velayudham for you.

Velayudham is one of the best commercial movies of Vijay!

Don't forget to watch this massive and engrossing spectacle. Watch the fireworks explode on screen with Velayudham and celebrate an environment friendly Diwali!

Note: You WILL get bored with some of the action sequences and the way the plot evolves but keep hope because Vijay finishes it off in style.

Rating: 3/5

Velayudham: Impressive

Review: Mankatha (2011)

2011-09-03T17:18:00.003+05:30

"Thala" Ajith's 50th film was started with big fanfare and there was a lot of hype surrounding the final outcome - Mankatha - A Venkat Prabhu game they call it - is no where close to what seemed to have been promised. Mankatha is an out and out Ajith flick. Watch it for Thala and nothing else and you will not be disappointed. But, if you are planning to watch it for the director, please stop yourself and save some time.

The only 'good' thing about the movie, apart from Ajith, is the end credits - the bloopers. That is when i had my first smile and laugh. One could see a freaky and crazy Ajith. (PLUS)

The songs sucked big time and all of them were out of place. Most of them had half naked women shaking their legs. (MINUS)

Choreography was pathetic and given the dancing talents of Ajith, you had to get out of your seat and go buy some food. (MINUS)

Background music was 'okay' with the main Mankatha theme (alias 'Sakthi masala' remix tune) still in the minds of the viewers. (I think its a PLUS)

Dialogues were below par for such a hi-fi (they call it) movie. (MINUS)

The first half was an out and out 'mokkai' with the actors themselves accepting that after getting drunk, one cracks the ultiest of the PJs. (MINUS)

The actual brain and intelligence of the director starts creeping in from the interval. Although the storyline was wafer thin, it atleast engaged the viewers given an 'awesome' first half. (PLUS)

Premji (once a rib tickler) turns into an advertisement for aspirin. The guy's lost his charm. (MINUS)

'Action King' Arjun plays a very important role and has played his part well. (PLUS)

The ladies in the movie were used just for skin show and not in the right way too. (MINUS)

Visual effects were totally out of the picture in places (MINUS) but cinematography rocked in many other places. Hats off to the cameraman. (PLUS)

Venkat Prabhu, director of cult hits like Chennai 28, saroja and goa gives us an Ajith dominated flick. He has mixed up several hollywood films (read. Oceans, Italian Job, etc.) and added some kollywood ingredients to give us an 'okay'-ish movie called 'Mankatha'.

One goes into watching 'Mankatha' with sky high expectations and only half of it is delivered and all credit to 'Ultimate Star' Ajith and 'Action King' Arjun. Watch it for them. If you don't like either of them - Don't DARE watch it.

Rating: 2.5/5

Mankatha - A 'poor' Venkat Prabhu game!

Review: Pirates of the Caribbean - On Stranger Tides (2011)

2011-05-21T13:54:00.003+05:30

Jack Sparrow is back with the fourth installment of the famous pirates series. He is perhaps the only reason why POTC is still worth watching. Although this chapter is easier to understand, it lacks what the first 3 had to offer. Obviously - Orlando bloom and Kiera Knightley are missing and Penelope doesn't help soothe the eyes. The 'babe' factor is perhaps compensated by the addition of mermaids. Some of them are really cute.

Storywise, it is simple. Everyone is after the same destination - the fountain of youth. It is how each party reaches there and uses the resources that forms the crux of the script.

Jack Sparrow (Johnny Depp) is at his best and starts off the movie with his amusing heroics. He does his part well - keeping the viewer glued to the seats and sprouting a few laughs here and there. It’s the Depp factor that’s undoubtedly the biggest draw. His flamboyant turn as Captain Jack Sparrow transformed him to a blockbusting superstar.

Visual effects looked stunning in 3D - perhaps another reason to watch the movie - a good decision to shoot the movie in 3D.

Music by the legend Hans Zimmer was L-E-G-E-N-D-A-R-Y. It kept the viewer awake through the whole movie. Camera work was brilliant with some amazing shots with the locations ranging from dense forests to underwater.

The climax passes by without the viewer realizing it. That was one of the main negative points of the movie. When the film got exciting, it got too late.

So watch Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides for three reasons - 1) Jack Sparrow 2) 3D Experience and 3) Hans Zimmer but for them it is an average affair and worthy to be missed.

Rating: 2.5/5

POTC4-On Stranger Tides : Not 'tidy' enough!

Review: Dum Maaro Dum (2011)

2011-04-27T09:35:00.007+05:30

First, let me describe the situation. Our end semester (Read: Final exams of B.Tech life) exams are going on and we all plan to watch this movie on the eve of the last exam. We hop on our respective rides and race to the theatre in the outskirts of the city. Rest is history..

'Dum Maaro Dum' - Been waiting for this movie ever since the trailer was shown months back. And the wait has been fruitful..

Fox star studios in collaboration with Ramesh Sippy entertainment bring you a creative and stylish bollywood flick which is sure to be a trendsetter. The editing is slick, the camera work is godly and the dialogues even more brilliant.
Rohan Sippy has created a brand for himself and his crew Amit Roy (Camera) and Aarif Shaikh (Editing) have recreated his dream and have given 'life' to it.

Dum Maaro Dum is simply a 'tough cop catching the wrong doers' flick but told in a way that is sure to woo the audience. Its fast paced screenplay in the start pumps up the adrenaline and makes you crave for more just when it slows down drastically as though there is some fault with the engine. But the progresses with the same slow pace till the pre-climax when you are introduced to a staggering climax and the viewer is awestruck because all the guessing is termed wrong.

Acting wise, Abhishek Bachchan as Kamath stands apart. All others give a decent performance. Aditya Pancholi (as Biscuit) fails to impress as an antagonist. Rana Daggubati comes up with a pretty good performance and is sure to capture the hearts of girls who have the T-D-H syndrome.

Story by Shridhar Raghavan is wafer thin but the editing, screenplay and camera weave their magic to sustain the thrills and chills (Read: chillies, chicks, steam, super hot) on screen.

Songs are already chartbusters and thanks to the choreographers, they look good on the screen also. Pritam has done a decent job.
Background score by Midival Punditz is riveting at most places but is also monotonous at a few places.

On the whole, Rohan Sippy has come up with a cracker of a movie. It has its own flaws both in the story and in the technical aspects but Dum Maaro Dum is definitely 'not' to be missed.

Rating: 3.5/5

'Dum Maaro Dum' - Class Stuff!

(P.S. This review was written and posted hours before the final exam)

Review: Nadunisi Naaygal (2011)

2011-03-07T23:31:00.004+05:30

Gautham Vasudev Menon, the director who brought us breezy romantic entertainers like Minnale and Vinnaithaandi Varuvaya and also gave a new definition to tamil crime/thrillers with Kaakha Kaakha and Vettaiyaadu Vilaiyadu is back but this time around he gives us a dark thriller which tamil cinema or probably even Indian cinema has never experienced.

“Nadunisi Naaygal” is a movie about a normal boy who turns into a psychopath following a very disturbed childhood.

The movie doesn’t boast around with strong background music nor does it feature any songs to disrupt the pace of the movie. It gives the viewer a feeling of involvement as in the scenes happening in and around them. It throws to light a very important social phenomenon which often goes unattended.

The protagonist (Veera Bahu) suffers from schizophrenia and multiple personality disorder combined. After watching his performance, no one can actually believe that he is first timer. Such class and finesse!

Swapna Abraham as Meenakshi renders a spectular performance.

Sameera Reddy, Samantha, Ashwin Kakumanu and Deva come up with decent performances.

Editing by Antony is slick and cinematography by Manoj Paramahamsa is simply superb.

Gautham Menon has brought about a new genre in tamil cinema. The story telling is new, the story is new. Its crude (as in crude oil) and rude yet it shook me for it is a true story.

Go watch the movie. It is strictly for people who are bored from the clichéd commercial flicks. Now that Kollywood is changing colors through the recent thrillers from young guns, Gautham Menon’s ‘Nadunisi Naaygal’ raises the bar even higher. You start to wonder – where’d been such talent all this while!

Rating: 3/5

Nadunisi Naaygal - Goosebumps!

Review: Dhobi Ghat (2011)

2011-01-23T15:49:00.002+05:30

From the stable of 'Lagaan' and 'Peepli Live', comes 'Dhobi Ghat' (subtitled Mumbai Diaries). Writer-Direcor and wife of Aamir Khan, Kiran Rao takes bollywood for a spin churning out a subtle, urbane documentary of people entering Mumbai.

There is nothing much to look in for a particular storyline as the viewer is confused when the credits start rolling. 'That's all?' is the question that pops up.

Thanks to the internet, i got to watch the movie at home in my mini-home theatre.

Although, the movie lacked something right from the start, the 'just' sight of every frame creates ripples in the viewer's thoughts as they've been shot keeping the minute and intricate details in mind. There are no flaws whatsoever.

Kiran Rao has written the character's after a lot of research and nowhere can you find the stamp of an amateur. Kiran Rao's Dhobi Ghat is on par with the finest movies of bollywood, even India on the whole.

Prateik Babbar, Monica Dogra, Kriti Malhotra and Aamir Khan come up with 'gape open' and legendary performances that you start to wonder - India too has talent.

The background music is soft, never makes an attempt to shatter your ears. Most part of the movie has natural sounds. Editing is slick and Cinematography is still. Not much of movement but live scenes have been shot well.

Just like the movie, let the review be kept short. Dhobi Ghat is a movie that has stood apart from the bollywood trend and is a brave first attempt from Kiran Rao. Watch out for her future endeavours, she sure does have substance.

Though there is no satisfaction from the viewer's end, one must appreciate the work of this amateur.

Rating: 3/5

Dhobi Ghat: Not 'fully' washed!

Review: Kaavalan (2011)

2011-01-17T18:22:00.005+05:30

The 'Friends' trio is back with 'Kaavalan'. Only this time with more of rom-com and a tinge of commercial elements. Kaavalan is an emotional drama and is sure to keep vijay fans and the general movie goer alive and fresh.

The movie starts off on a letdown-ish note with some stupid fights and awkward dance steps for the folk song. The first 15-20 minutes resembles 'almost' previous vijay flicks. But as soon as these annoying minutes are over, the visuals are bang on target. Siddique has portrayed a 'different' vijay. A 'vijay' which we all would have seen a decade ago and forgotten but the only difference lies in his 'backward ageing' and his cool charisma which is sure to woo the lady folk and some men too. (:P)

I don't think i'll be letting off the story because of 2 reasons. One that there is nothing special and the other that there are pretty decent twists and turns.

Vijay is back in his chocolate boy image. The college lover. His comic timings are laughable and his stints with vadivelu sure sprouted both silent and gape open laughs.

Asin looks homely in most parts of the movie and super hot in the few other parts. Her over make-up sometimes spoils the mood. She has acted well and her performance otherwise is laudable.

The most talked about 'Vijay-Asin' chemistry was missing as quoted by many critics and viewers. But that is definitely not a negative point and its absence had a meaning. Watch the movie to know more.

Raj Kiran, Roja and Mithra Kurian do their parts well although i felt 'Nizhalgal' Ravi and 'Delhi' Ganesan were underplayed. But there is a reason for this, there was no space for too many characters. Siddique has given enough treatment to the story and it is Vijay who rules. His screen presence is just amazing.

The costumes department has surely made Vijay look a lot better than his previous flicks. He looks handsome and stunning.

The movie definitely needed lot many cuts. Too many unwanted scenes spoilt the actor's charisma. If Kaavalan went under proper scissors, the movie would easily be declared the 'Movie of the year' for it being a perfect recipie made out of specially treated ingredients.

Vidyasagar's music is simply mesmerizing. His melody tunes are simply superb. The background score in action sequences were noisy yet astounding.

Although there are a few loopholes in the story, the movie ends with an intriguing and emotionally gripping climax, one of the best in recent times. Hats off to the director.

Director Siddique has made an attempt to break free Vijay from the shackles of illogical and dumb commercial cinema and the attempt is 'near' perfect yet successful. There sure are a lot of changes in the actor and Kaavalan is definitely not a usual Vijay flick.

Watch it! Not for a different tamil film but for a different vijay film. Vijay is back to Acting. ( :) :D)

Rating: 3/5

Kaavalan - 'Some'thing Different!

Review: 127 Hours (2010)

2011-01-09T01:26:00.002+05:30

Here is my 60th post!

Academy Award Winner Danny Boyle's adaptation of Aron Ralston's real life story is 127 Hours. A truly inspirational and mesmerizing movie. Definitely not better than Inception but doesn't fail to raise awe either.

127 Hours is the true story of a canyoneer Aron Ralston's, brilliantly portrayed by James Franco, remarkable adventure in saving himself after he traps himself in an isolated canyon in Utah. The title signifies the amount of time he's been trapped in the canyon with his hand stuck under a boulder. Watch the movie to experience the adventure.

Danny Boyle has a vision, a wide 360 degree panoramic vision. Never seen any director give so much importance to minute details. 127 hours has a stylish narration, something totally different from what the oscar winner Slumdog Millionaire had to offer. Danny Boyle's style of story telling has changes. 127 hours is a complete new experience.

The movie is centrally based on a single character and the ways he takes to survive and save himself. Since the story is true, some of the methods adopted by the protagonist makes the viewer shed tears and literally feel the pain.

James Franco has done a fantastic job. Danny Boyle has the squeezed the acting out of him. But to such a story, one had to do justice and James Franco does it with ease.

Cinematography by Enrique Chediak and Anthony Dod Mantle is utter brilliance. Music by A.R.Rahman is divine and also gives an Indian touch to the movie in a few places.

Although i could find minor mistakes, especially with the shadows (they haven't been mastered properly in a few places) , 127 Hours is a dark and an emotional adventure brilliantly treated by Danny Boyle. Hope it wins him an oscar this time too. Kudos and All the best to him!

Rating: 3.5/5

127 Hours - Brilliance!

Review: Man-Madan-Ambu (2010)

2011-01-02T21:37:00.004+05:30

'Universal Hero' Kamal Hassan's short term flick Man-Madan-Ambu had arrived a week back and is here to stay in the viewer's minds. A heads up for all those who still haven't watched the movie, it is not a comedy movie and is nowhere close to 'Panchathantitram' in terms of comedy but equals 75% of its entertainment value.

Though drawing inspiration from 'Emotional Atyachaar' and other infidelity cases, Man-Madan-Ambu is a romantic drama set in lovely locations including venice, barcelona, kodaikanal to name a few. It thrills and chills with its subtle plot twists.

The movie starts off on a rather sober note with things going too slowly but as Kamal enters the frame, every moment is CLASS. He doesn't fail to entertain. He has his own comedy dialogues told in a way pertaining to the sadness of the character.

Trisha has acted so brilliantly and also dubbed her own voice. She looks stunning and her mere presence seems so suave.

Madhavan's character did not have any scope for acting but he does well. Sangeetha's local voice is sometimes cacophonous but her dialogues had some good comedy moments.

Oorvasi and Ramesh Arvind play touchy roles. Especially Ramesh Arvind, never seen him getting down to the skin of the character. Real class.

Kamal's screenplay was sluggish at places but later it compensated churning out a good movie although the plot was debatable.

My favourite song 'Neela Vaanam' was picturised beautifully. Something that was never seen before in Indian Cinema. A different choreography and camera work. Whose ever brainchild it was, kudos to you!

The movie makes you cry, LOL but definitely not ROFL like Kamal's earlier Panchathantiram, PKS and Vasoolraja did.

The quantities of romance, comedy and thrill was apt for a breezy entertainer.

All in all, Man-Madan-Ambu definitely deserves a one time watch. Do not miss it.

Rating: 3/5

Man-Madan-Ambu: Touchy and Classy!

Review: Mirch (2010)

2011-01-02T12:55:00.004+05:30

Writer-Director Vinay Shukla's Mirch is fascinating. The movie's pace is fast and it keeps you asking for more.

When i first watched the trailer, i gaped at the steamy scenes and was startled that such movies make it to the big screen. But when i sat to down to watch the movie, with all great expectations, i was in for a surprise. Of course, the scenes in the trailer were there in the movie, but that wasn't all. The viewer is taken on a ride with a good dose of thrills and chills.

The Indian film industry seems to be getting inspired from UTV Bindass' Emotional Atyachaar, a lot these days with many movies coming up on infidelity. Though Mirch is on the same lines, it is also slightly different.

It is definitely not an ordinary adult movie. It is just like those chicks you come across with both beauty and brain. An all in one stuff. A definite must watch.

Upcoming actor Arunoday Singh plays the protagonist and performs well. He is lucky to share the steamy screen space with two hot 'bong' chicks, viz. Konkana Sen Sharma and Raima Sen.

His acting is par excellence and the guy has some future in the industry.

Konkana Sen plays her usual best. She gets to the bottom of the character and plays it with ease. Raima Sen, on the other hand, has shown some grit and has come up with an laudable performance.

Boman Irani, the legend, does his part well. He will definitely remain one of my most unforgettable actors in India or say even the world.

Ila Arun, Prem Chopra and others come up with decent portrayals of their characters.

All-in-all, Vinay Shukla's Mirch is fantabulous and a movie to cherish. It was a thorough entertainer. On the personal side, i saw my future in Vinay Shukla. If, sometime in the future, i get to make a movie, it will definitely be in the lines of Mirch. Hats off, Vinay Shukla!

Rating: 3.5/5

Mirch : Spicy Hot!!!

Review: Raktacharitra (2010)

2010-10-25T00:09:00.005+05:30

Ram Gopal Varma's 'Raktacharitra' is an out and out gory and violent film. Seemingly better than his recent attempts, Rakthcharitra is spellbinding and exciting.

You see a vengeful and raging Prakash (Vivek Oberoi) growing into a hero of the masses. RGV shows you the politics, 'goonda raj' in a place called Anantapur in AP and also the many different ways a person can be killed using brain, brawn and other utensils.

The story starts cliched as one of the party members starts feeling jealous about another lower caste man who grows higher and faster in the party leader's eyes. Thus, he arouses a misunderstanding between them and that further leads to bloodshed and killing and finally ends with a personal vendetta coming out successfully.

RGV captures this thrilling drama in his trademark style, only that blood is given more importance. The background music does the trick, you feel the energy in every swoosh of the weapon, you get angry when something unlawful happens to the innocent and you feel extremely happy when the people get the treatment they need.

Raktacharitra's plot is not something new. It is the usual revenge but the portrayal of the revenge is shown in a never before seen way. Too much of blood is shed and the wounds are blatantly shown. Some might even puke watching them. As RGV rightly said, this movie is not for the faint hearted, it is not to be watched with family, it is not for the ladies and housewives, it is only for the true RGV fans and movie fanatics who don't mind outright gore and violence.

Yea, for people who have digested, Saw, Hostel and films of similar lines, RGV's Raktacharitra is a cakewalk but for people who didn't, please donot watch this flick.

Technically, there were a certain flaws in the action choreography. Most of the dialogues lacked the punch while some of them aroused a few laughs. There is hidden comedy between the frames.

The actors deliver their dialogues with a telugu accent which is apt for the plot's location. Kudos to RGV for keeping that in mind. Editing was good but not great. The way the suspense builds up, and paves a way for the sequel, RGV definitely needs a pat on the back.

RGV was quoted saying, “Raktacharitra is like a hardcore porn DVD. Some might hate it, some love it, some may be disgusted by it, but if it is there in the room, everyone wouldn't resist watching it” and Raktacharitra lives up to it.

Rating: 3/5

Raktacharitra – Gory and vengeful vendetta!

Review: Endhiran - The Robot (2010)

2010-10-02T22:21:00.014+05:30

Disclaimer: There are no spoilers. So, people who haven't watched the movie yet can also read. Enjoy.

Magnanimous, Grandiloquent, Pompous, Pontifical, Portentous, Awesome, Magniloquent, Gargantuan, My word web couldn't give me more words as i run out of them to describe the movie. The most awaited movie of the century, in kollywood, has arrived and is here to stay. Shankar and Sun Pictures' magnum opus 'Endhiran' has been under production for 2 years, and its worth the wait.

Rajinikanth grows younger and younger in his movies. This time he doesn't demand an introduction scene, neither does he dance to a self appraisal song nor does he fly in the air defying the laws of gravity, he opens up his screen presence in a subtle manner, as a scentist making his robot after continuous hard work for 10 years.
The first half is totally logical, you can see the protagonists introducing their characters slowly and maturely. There are enough comical sequences, enough songs for the first half. Director Shankar has given robotics a lot of research and one cannot find any flaw whatsoever. The viewer will enjoy the movie and go gaga over every scene until the climax. The first 30 mins of the second half is where things go wrong, the viewer gets vexed watching 3 songs in quick succession. Though the songs are awesome to watch on the big screen, they tend to plant an ache in the viewer's mind. Once the songs are over and the robot's character changes moods suddenly, the movie is back on track and you start enjoying again.

For people who argue that robots should follow Isaac Assimov's three principles, our protagonist has a proper reason as to why his creation wouldn't follow the rules. He makes the robots with an aim and he tries his best to put things in place but as usual they go wrong. What you can expect from this movie is that, even though you can predict the storyline, it doesn't fail to entertain you. The movie has its own crispy n crunchy twists. Watch it to experience it!

Ash, starts off showing her age in 'Kadal Anukkal', one can clearly note the aged look on her face. But as the movie progresses, she slowly becomes more beautiful scene by scene. You can easily make out the way, you know probably, has a hip size of X and finally ending up with a hip size of X-5. I personally don't like her much, but the way Shankar has shown Ash in this movie clearly makes me her fan. She is sexy, she is hot, she is beautiful, she is gorgeous in all her outfits, be it the casuals, be it the traditional saree or be it even the tribal kinda outfit in the song 'Kilimanjaaro'. She has rocked. There is enough screen presence. Shankar must be lauded for he gives all his heroines an equivalent screen presence. Her negatives in this movie include, no proper lip syncing in songs, sometimes she does it correctly, sometimes she blabbers, clearly visible.

Danny Denzongpa, of course dubbed by some other stylishly speaking dubbing artist, performs his part well as the ego centric mentor of Dr.Vaseegaran(Rajinikanth). He dies also quite quickly, because he isn't the villain of the movie anyway.

Santhanam and Karunas, are good comedians otherwise, but their performance in Endhiran is below average, they portray serious characters although their bullying of Chitti the Robot sure springs up some laughs.

Art director Sabu Cyril has erected some wonderful sets, especially where the song 'Arima Arima' has been picturised are astounding and you literally gape over his work. He has also made a cameo in the film. Hope everyone figures out.

Cinematography by R.Rathnavelu, an upcoming technician, has captured the moments well and is sure to grab a lot of projects in the future. His way of picturising the 'Kilimanjaro' song in the heights of Machu Pichu is highly laudable and a commendable effort overall.

Dialogues by Sujatha, Shankar and Karky are wonderful. They amuse us as well as makes us think in a specific direction towards certain situations.

P.S. There is a hidden social message towards the end of the film.

Music by A.R.Rahman is outstanding. Brilliant background music. Even the firing of the bullets, the sounds made by robots, the carnatic touch, everything shows that only ARR can give so much detail into the background score. Two thumbs up to him.

Special Effects, is par excellence for a tamil film, although the viewer could make out easily the graphic sequences in many places. But the climax robot formations are awesome and never before seen even in hollywood. I think Shankar has taken Tamil cinema to a new level where most of the hollywood movies would hav difficulty in catching up with.

Last but not the least, the man who wielded the megaphone, the man behind the movie, Director Shankar, has his basics of robotics right but he too falters in many places. Like the locations are ambiguous, he shifts from Chennai, Mumbai, Vellore quite fast and in fact he shows all of the above as existent in Chennai only. He should have given more importance to it. Anyways, Rajini overshadows everything. He has brought out the 'actor' in Rajini after a long time. No director could do that in recent times. I hope people can understand what i'm trying to convey because you don't see the commerical stylish Rajini in this film, you can only see the intellectual sober Rajini, who doesn't know how to fight, how to dance, how to even crack jokes. Although, Rajini in the robot form is all powerful. So his fans don't lose anything. Shankar has tried at a different genre. You can't call it pure sci-fi. Its something else. Something bigger and better. Although, there are some scenes lifted straight out of the Will Smith starrer 'I-Robot', including the general look of the robot, this movie is something new to Indian Cinema and people must appreciate it. Kudos to Shankar.

So, i end my review here. I didn't want to write much but i ended up with more than i expected just like you would walk out of the movie with just two words, 'Exceeded Expectations'.

The movie has flaws, i don't want to go into it, but yeah i'm sure people can digest it. They are small and do not affect much as movies are made just for entertainment.
So watch it for Rajini, watch it for shankar, and watch it for Ash. And you sure are in for a treat and full paisa Vasool. Here's your movie critic signing off. Please do NOT miss Endhiran.

Rating: 3.5/5

Endhiran - Masala Sci-Fi

Review : Inception (2010)

2010-09-21T18:29:00.000+05:30

Whoa! The motion picture of the decade is here. From the director, who brought you ‘The Dark Night’ which is currently is in the 11^th position of all time-best movies, Christopher Nolan, comes a masterpiece which is par excellence and brought out of sheer creativity. Inception, the movie sticks on to your head and even one flicker in your eye might change your discernment.

Christopher Nolan could righteously be called the ‘living legend’, for he has brought us THE motion picture of a lifetime. Perhaps, one must be blessed to have born in the era of Christopher Nolan.

I normally say, watch it for this, watch it for that, but for Inception, i would rather say watch it for everything. The Director has made the impossible possible, he has shown all elements of art in this flick. One of the first movies, where the viewer is literally in the edge of the seat but still tightly glued so as not to fall. In Inception, Nolan does the unthinkable : He folds a mirror version of Paris back upon itself; he stages a fight sequence in a gravity-free hotel room; he sends a train plowing through a busy city street. Whatever you can dream, Nolan does it in Inception. Then he nestles those little dreams into even bigger dreams, and those bigger dreams into gargantuan dreams, going on into infinity, cubed. He stretches the boundaries of filmmaking.

Inception is, by itself, a dream. No human would have ever attempted to think of such a script. Such a subject which is sure to woo even the worst of the movie-haters. Dreams, ever thought the physics of it? Inception shows you the most advanced of the physics but just like how you fail to remember the start of a dream, the movie fails to show the basics of Inception.

Inception is about stealing your secrets when you are in the dream state and when the mark wakes up, he/she has no idea of what happened.

Talking about the technicalities, all are perfect, the visuals, the sound, the editing, the costumes, the sets, the cgi, the camera, one word for all of them, STUNNING! Hans Zimmer has rocked the sound department, Cinematography by Wally Pfister and Editing by Lee Smith (of ‘The Dark Night’ and ‘The Prestige’ fame) is stupendous, no further words to describe their work. Nolan has this specific crew with him in most of his movies and no wonder that they are a part of what they turn out to be, AWESOME.

Coming to the protagonist, Leonardo Dicaprio, the man has been choosy in the selection of his films’ script and director, for he has always worked for the best in business and he delivers, he delivers in a way that you start to adore him for his natural acting. Hats off, Caprio. You are on my all time favourite list.

Christopher Nolan, the first of his kind, eccentric, crazy yet a winner all by himself. I always wondered that someone should come up with a movie about dreams, for dreams have been my forte and from now i will continue to dream to explore Nolan’s cognitive skills unless someone wakes me up with a ‘KICK’.

Rating: 4.5/5 (The highest rating that i have ever awarded a movie)

Inception – Movie of the century.

Review: Boss engira Baskaran (2010)

2010-09-19T17:51:00.005+05:30

'Boss engira Baskaran', directed by M.Rajesh of 'Siva Manasula Sakthi' doesn't fail to disappoint this time although the storyline is nothing new. Arya, Nayantara and Comedy king Santhanam play lead roles in this comical entertainer.

The story is about Baskaran (Arya), a lousy wanderer, who isn't interested in studies or work. All in all he is totally jobless a.k.a. vetti. He meets Chandrika (Nayantara), who is a professor. What follows is total roll on the floor entertainment. Amazing performance by Santhanam. He literally carries the whole movie in his shoulders. His comical one-liners, as usual, rock and has the viewer in splits.

Music by Yuvan Shankar Raja is just spellbinding. 'Yaar Andha Pendhaan' is already a chartbuster and the visuals too sing in unison with the tune's magic. The song may seem cliched, but come on, this is what one should expect from the future, the music directors and composers have run out of tunes. There is nothing new to offer. All other songs are good and Yuvan proves it once again that he is the lone leader of tamil cinema music, of course in ARR's absence.

Other technical aspects, like cinematography, stunts, editing, costumes, etc. need no mention as they are usual and nothing about them is strikingly different from the usual.

Acting wise, no one deserves a special mention except, Santhanam, who emerges out of nowhere to save this film. Because, storywise, screenplay wise, and even acting wise, there is nothing innovative in this movie, the only thing to watch out for is Santhanam's comedy.

Let me keep this review short. The only reason for that is, i have nothing else to praise about in this movie except Santhanam and nothing to criticize negatively about because everyone have put in their best and their best doesn't amuse us much.

On a closing note, Santhanam has proved his mettle. 'Nanbaen da' is sure to be the dialogue of the month, until Superstar's 'Endhiran' overshadows it soon.

Rating: 2.5/5

Boss (e) Baskaran : Comic Caper!

Review: Dabangg (2010)

2010-09-11T14:00:00.004+05:30

'Hud Hud Dabangg...Dabangg...'
Oh, i shouldn't be singing, it's review time and i'm back with the most sought after movie in recent times.
Abhinav Singh Kashyap's 'Dabangg' is nothing new. Its the same old masala story and in the same old illogical screenplay. But there sure are some important things to watch out for. The first and foremost is Salman (Sallu Bhai), I wasn't his die hard fan but now i am. Sallu Bhai Rocks!
The next is the background score and the songs. Gosh! The stunts, the dialogues and the protagonist's mannerisms all dance in unison to the background score.
The last but not the least is Sonakshi Sinha. She looks gorgeous, not at all amateurish. She does it in flamboyant style. Hats off to her!

Above all, the credit must go to the dialogue writers, Jalees Sherwani-Faaiz Anwar-Lalit Pandit. I mean, each sentence spoken by even the junior most actor is both comical and apt to the story-screenplay. One would wonder where these people were till now. Salman's each dialogue was what a south indian would call a 'punch dialogue'.

Oh, the story, Forgot about it totally. Its nothing, there is this eccentric police officer (Chulbul Pandey) and the movie is about his chronicles in his era in that area. There is nothing much to worry about the story because it is totally garbled. Leave your brains at home or at your workplace and watch this movie to relieve off all your stress. No further arguments.

Dance directors and choreographers need a special mention here. The whole world knows Sallu Bhai cannot do complicated steps, so they have given him funny and cranky steps which will literally make you roll on the floor and laugh.

Munni (Malaika Arora Khan), one might question as to why she was the item girl here even after having 2 kids. Well, i donot have an answer to that and i object her casting but yeah she does have the 'pivotless' hip shake which is sure to make your heads bang and jaws drop.

Stunts by S.Vijayan (probably 'FEFSI Vijayan' of kollywood) is damn amazing. Each stunt perfectly choreographed and acted out. Really deserves a special appraisal.

Cinematography by Mahesh Limaye (of 'Fashion' and 'C U at 9' fame) deserves special mention for his brilliant and artistic work. The combined effort of the editor and cinematographer adds up magic pixels on to the already glowing Sallu Bhai studded screen. Kudos!

All in all, Dabangg is wholesome entertainment, an adrenalin rush, an amalgam of all south indian commercial entertainers. Something which Bollywood lacked in a long time. Don't miss it. Watch it for Salman and the dialogues. 'Hum tumme itne ched karenge ki conphuse ho jaaoge ki saans kahaan se laen aur....... hehehehe.....'

PS: Please throw out all false allegations that Dabangg will only be enjoyed by Sallu Bhai's fans. It is completely wrong. Anyone with a decent comic sense should like the movie throwing all illogical mistakes out. Otherwise, the better option for the dislikers is to go create a world of their own and let live others in peace. And Dabangg means 'fearless' for people who don't know.

Rating: 3.5/5

Dabangg - Kick ass Jhakaas!

Review: Naan Mahaan Alla (2010)

2010-08-24T19:02:00.005+05:30

From the director of ‘Vennila Kabadi Kuzhu’, comes yet another master flick. ‘Naan Mahaan Alla’, the title might raise some eyebrows once the end credits start rolling. But the title is justified and apt. Never before would you have seen such a justification. I couldn’t infer it at first but a little thought into it and some inputs from my friend made me succumb to the fact that director Suseendran is a ‘genius’.

Naan Mahaan Alla was one of the most awaited movies of the year for me. Why? Not for Karthi, Not for Suseendran and definitely not for Yuvan or Studio Green K.E. Gnanavel Raja. It was for Kajal, the hot and happening chick in south Indian tinsel town. Ever since Magadheera, I’ve been mesmerized by her. Kajal looks ravishing and her every move is certain to move you. The Scenes between Karthi and Kajal in the first half is quite popular these days and sometimes it does give you goosebumps. (What if i had such a life and such a girl? :P )

Start watching this movie without any expectations, because its not a romantic movie that couples would enjoy watching together, it is a fast paced logical thriller with few social issues to ponder about.

Suseendran has aptly chosen his cast, giving perfect roles to the perfect artistes. None in the movie are well known stars, they are just soap opera famous faces and a bunch of young blood from Suseendran’s previous flick. But no one gives you the amateurish feeling.

Karthi has been doing the same, there is not much scope for acting here but his voice doesn’t seem to modulate from movie to movie. It sounds to be the same. He plays a chocolate boy kinda role in the first half and a ruffian in the second. Good character transition. His first punch comes in the last quarter of the movie which is good and a welcome change in today’s Tamil masala movies.

Yuvan Shankar Raja’s background music tingles the senses and at the same time grips us on to the seats. Songs are minimal and are placed beautifully in the movie. Thanks to the editor.

Cinematography by Mathi is sheer brilliance. The Slow motion and certain gravity defying sequences are shot wonderfully. Stunts by Anal Arasu are par the usual masala standards, you tend to almost feel each thud or punch, just like in the case of Lingusamy movies.

An average movie goer would come out of the movie in ebullience and director Suseendran deserves all the credit. Mr.Suseendran, Where were you all this while? Kollywood needs you badly.

Yuvan used the pitchblende artfully in ‘Iragai Pole’ traversing from crest to trough and back, Director Suseendran uses the same but only that it never reaches the trough, it takes a U-turn from the zero axis only. You end up getting goosebumps and the movie makes your brain think in a specific direction. Such is the after effect.

For all the revenge lovers out there, ‘Naan Mahaan Alla’ is specially dedicated to you. Do not Miss it!

Rating: 3.5/5

Entertainment Guaranteed!

(Tit-Bit) Review: Raavanan (2010)

2010-06-23T07:31:00.003+05:30

I see no big difference between the two versions except for Vikram who did it a tad better, but that ain't a masterpiece either nor is it a highly commendable for an actor of his stature. His accent sure is laudable.

Prithviraj gets away with an average easily forgettable performance just like Vikram did in the hindi version.

Ash keeps screaming in this too and her voice seems ordinary without any 'feel'.

Karthik again is forgettable, Govinda was much better and funny too.

Prabhu's presence adds on weight on our head and Ravi Kishen was much better.

Camera work and music remain the same. They are the only things to watch out for.

Overall its nothing special, Raavanan is 'lackadaisical' and so is Raavan. Forget both of them and have a peaceful summer.

Rating: 1/5

Review: Raavan (2010)

2010-06-22T22:41:00.004+05:30

The much awaited movie of the year, Raavan finally hit the screens on 18th June. When bollywood slowly veered into releasing senseful movies, Does Raavan continue the legacy? Has Mani Ratnam proved himself once again? Read on to find out...

Raavan, starring celebrity couple Ash-Abhi and Tamil hero Vikram, is a typical adaptation of the Ramayana but it doesn't quite live up to the epic's magic. Mani Ratnam is a fine director, he totally loses it right from the start.

Anyways, here is the story, Dev (Vikram) is supposed to be a police officer who, along with his wife Ragini (Ash) moves into a village (Don't quite remember the name) where Beera (Abhishek) is a big shot. Then its Blah! Blah! Blah! - Beera kidnaps Ragini - Blah! Blah! Blah! - Dev hunts for them - Blah! Blah! Blah! - emotional flashbacks - Blah! Blah! Blah! - Killings, Violence, Explosions - Blah! Blah! Blah! - Ram captures Raavan! And that is it..

So complex a story right? Even super computers wouldn't be able to decipher it.
The movie was a fultoo waste of time, energy and money (if you are watching it in the theatres).

Mani Ratnam , known for his brilliant flicks like Roja, Thalapathi and Guru, miserable fails to create an impression. Even if one let goes the story, detailing and logic part, the trademark style of Mani Ratnam is missing. He has let it loose totally and it goes all wrong. Totally wrong. In fact its a blunder!

While its Ash who keeps screaming in the first half, its her real life spouse who keeps screaming in the second half. Overall its cacophonous to hear. Its ironic when the movie ends with Ash whispering.....Beera!

The Acting of any particular character isn't special and doesn't deserve a mention. Abhishek has done a pretty decent job portraying Beera but nothing so commendable. Neither does the potential Vikram. His is similar to the 'Saami' character. Ash screams, weeps, screams and she screams all the way.

Music and Cinematography were the only aspects laudable in this flick. Even they faltered at places. The camera kept moving unwantedly but it did picture the exotic places ecstatically.

Few unanswered questions:

1) If Ragini was ready to sacrifice her life, why had she to follow Abhishek all the way. (They are a married couple. But Still! )
2) Dev, inspite of spending 14 days in the jungle, ends up wearing clean dresses. How? (He has a portable washing machine or what? )
3) How does Dev end up climbing up from the wrong side of the cliff after his mysterious fall in the other side.
4) the locations are confusing. Nowhere is the police station shown and nowhere does the village has any relation with the forests and hills.
5) How does Ragini know how to reach Beera even when she's blindfolded all the way when she is kidnapped?

Positives: Music and Cinematography.

Negatives: Everything else!

Rating: 1/5

Raavan - A total misfire!

Review: The Karate Kid (2010)

2010-06-12T11:49:00.007+05:30

Jackie Chan turns master in this flick, 'The Karate Kid'. Is it worth the watch? Is it the usual Jackie Chan flick? Find out the answer below.

Harald Zwart, the director who made average flick 'The Pink Panther 2' and 'Agent Cody Banks' is back with 'The Karate Kid', which seems to be an above average flick carved out with a huge budget and a protagonist duo of Legend Jackie Chan and a budding legend Jaden Smith but the latter takes much of the screen space and literally steals the thunder but he does it with stupendous awe. This movie takes him to high altitudes in terms of his acting skills and the little chap needs serious 'pats on the back' for his brilliant performance in 'The Karate Kid'.

The movie on the whole is a huge drag, runs for over 2 hrs. It could have been loved even more if the drags were dropped but the director thinks this serene version of the classic would work. Seriously, it works wonders.

PLOT:
12- year old Dre parker moves to Beijing owing to his mom's sudden transfer of work.And then there is the usual, He totally hates the place, he meets a cute girl, he gets bullied by her admirants (:P) and then it turns out to be a one-on-one encounter between the kids. They choose a kung-fu tournament to display their wits.

Such is the story of The Karate Kid. Doesn't it seem to be 'Kollywoodish'. Yes, it does and the stunts and drama make it similar to one South-Indian flick.

But what makes it click in the viewers' mind is the style, the charisma, the stunts of young lad Jaden Smith and of course the mesmerizing music of James Horner coupled with some really awe-inspiring cinematographic shots by Roger Pratt (of Troy and Harry Potter 2 & 4 fame).

Jaden finds love, Jaden finds kung-fu, Jaden finds acting, Jaden conquers it all. Will Smith's magnetism is felt all over Jaden's expression. He certainly has made his dad real proud. You've done it, Jaden. Keep up the good work going. His mere screen presence and eloquent dialogue delivery shows his panache and his apprehension of cinema in such a young age.Hats off to you!

Jackie Chan, probably for the first time in his life doesn't beat up anybody and neither does his funny bone (Screen presence in itself) tickle ours. He surprisingly plays a serious teacher without any fuss. At the end of the movie, you just take him as a ordinary character in the movie and the only reason for this is Jaden Smith's ecstatic and powerful performance.

Music by James Horner (of Avatar fame) is simply spellbinding, hypnotic and soulful. It simply boosts up your energy and deviates it to your heart and mind only to LOVE the movie even more.

Cinematographer Roger Pratt adds life to the existing beauty of the exotic locales of China. It looks like as if you are watching discovery or national geographic channel (It wasn't an offense of any sort. I meant only the scenery to resemble those coming in the mentioned channels and nothing else. :) )

The stunts were stunning with the average viewer wanting more of it.

All in all, The Karate Kid gets a two thumbs up from me. Watch it in the theatres to get engraved in Harold Zwart's The Karate Kid.

Negatives: A little stretched, less of stunts, little over dramatic.

Positives: Music. Camera. Screenplay. Dialogues. Depth in storyline. Sticking to the classic story. and Jaden Smith's screen presence all the way.

Watch it for the soulful music, Watch it for the magical imagery.Watch it for Jackie Chan's sombre yet inspiring avatar. Watch it for Jaden Smith's amazing and charismatic performace.
If not for all these, Watch it for the entertaining summer movie experience.

Rating: 3.5/5

The Karate Kid : Magical, Soulful, Inspiring and of course Entertaining!

Review: Raajneeti (2010)

2010-06-06T17:57:00.008+05:30

From the maker of dark flicks like 'Apaharan' and 'Gangaajal', here comes his straight take on politics - Raajneeti!

Raajneeti shows the darker side of politics blended with an over dramatic and a lengthy family feud. But the fact is that these things do not fail to entertain nor do they deviate from the premise. There is an equal amount of everything. So is Raajneeti a must watch? Does Prakash Jha keep up his name? Read on to find out....

The movie centers on a political family and things which happen inside it when the head of the family dies. The family on the whole gave me a striking resemblance to the current scenario in Tamil Nadu but all that kept aside, Raajneeti is a neat, dark, filmy yet real (at places) take on politics.

Starting with the cast, its huge. With people like Naseeruddin Shah, Nana Patekar, Ajay Devgan, Arjun Rampal, Ranbir Kapoor and Katrina Kaif, what would one expect? An ardent movie goer would definitely feel that - " Oh! there are so many people in the movie? Then it wouldn't be worth watching. It would definitely be a boring movie." But Raajneeti isn't. All of them have the necessary screen space but the only one sad thing about it is that an actor like Naseeruddin Shah is completely wasted. Anyone could have fit in his role.
Anyways, the story is simple or one can say there is nothing so different about it.

The movie is lengthy and could have been shortened but there wasn't a time when you actually looked at the time! It was gripping on the whole with few lackadaisical hence unwanted drags here and there.

The music by Wayne Sharpe is laudable and the central theme is one of the factors which made the movie likeable and watchable.

There wasn't much scope in editing and neither were there any songs which would have possibly made the viewer exit the theatre.

Ranbir Kapoor and Katrina Kaif were surprise packages. I never knew that they had the acting potential. Nana Patekar and Ajay Devgan do their parts well with their trademark stamp embossed on every scene of theirs.

Too many kissing scenes for a movie of this genre. (Spoiler: Naseeruddin Shah also has a smooching scene, :) )

Prakash Jha, the man from 'my state' : Jharkhand-Bihar, definitely needs a pat on the back for bringing this huge cast together and making a sensible movie and a movie which will attempt to veer the existing Bollywood trend of continuous non-sense into something which will bring back the magic which existed once upon a time.

So all in all, Raajneeti is a mix masala of Godfather, Sarkar and Mahabharata. Watch it for Prakash Jha's take on politics and also for your knowledge refreshment on the crude truth in today's political world.

Rating: 3/5

Politics is esoteric, Raajneeti throws light on it!

Review : Prince of Persia - Sands of Time (2010)

2010-05-29T13:09:00.011+05:30

From the producer of 'Pirates of Caribbean' and the director of 'Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire' comes a true roller coaster ride, 'POP: Sands of time' scores high on the entertainment quota but fails big time on the logic and the much expected CGI areas.

Jake Gyllenhaal plays 'Dastan', character etched out of the video game series by just giving it a name. Well, Dastan is an orphan who is adopted by the king of persia seeing his brave acts. The story goes like this, Dastan and his two foster brothers decide to invade the holy city of Alimut on the say of Nizam (Ben Kingsley) which is against the king's wishes. But Dastan goes on to find Nizam's secret interests during his pursuit of the city and there starts the twists and turns and some high action adrenaline here and there.

Dastan goes on to meet Princess Tamina (Gemma Arterton) who rules the holy city and they join hands to save the kingdom.

Everyone seems to accept the fact that has been going around in the ears of persia that Princess Tamina is the most beautiful ruler ever. (But i seriously don't accept it at all! )

The main weapon that everyone is after in this movie is the dagger. Whoever releases the sand turns back time and that person can do whatever he/she wants. The logic for all this can be exempted but there are a few places where no one would attempt to digest.

For example, the usage of the word 'entrepreneur' by Alfred Molina (The famous Doc-Oc from Spiderman 2), I seriously doubt such words were used in those times.
Even after digesting the fact that people in persia could speak fluent english, one definitely cannot digest the dialogues they spoke which consisted of advanced english verbose.

The CGI fails to raise the 'oohs! and aaws!' as one would have expected fresh after seeing the trailers. Given the money, i think they could definitely have worked more on that.

The music by Harry Gregson-Williams reminds us of the inevitable 'Pirates of Caribbean' in a lot of places but he does deserve credit for other pieces which seemed original.

Cinematography by John Seale was brilliant although there were a few scenes which were shown particularly for showing his presence as a crew member.

The Stunts were breathtaking and the recent trend of movies banking on parkour stunts might prove to be entertaining for a while but that will need some innovation in the near future too.

The Screenplay was slick at places and pretty awkward and illogical at many other places.

The Plot cannot be criticized because its video game adaptation and leaves much less scope for innovation but the producer and director should be lauded for bringing out a decent summer entertainer.

A viewer can completely enjoy the movie if he/she totally forgets the logic part.
The main negative of the movie comes in bad CGI in a lot of places (brought the memories of S.S.Rajamouli's Magadheera) and extremely wonderful CGI in a lot other places.

On the whole the movie is a mixture of both positives and negatives and though the percentage of the latter is more, the movie leaves a 'feel-good' impression at the end.

Rating: 3/5

POP: Sands of time - Entertaining!

Review: Kites (2010)

2010-05-23T09:31:00.006+05:30

'Kites' - the much hyped movie finally hits the screens after a lot of string stretching. Does it fly high in the air making astonishing moves in the sky? Is it worth watching?
Read on to find out!

The movie starts off with 2 kites flying in the air with Jai (Hrithik) narrating with his comical hindi accent as to how he reached his present 'beggar-like' situation. And then the usual, the camera shifts back and forth from past to present and vice versa.

SPOILER:
The Story is basically about Jai who takes salsa classes in Vegas and marries different different girls on the say of his friend for green card purposes and earns a lot from it. One day, Gina (Kangana Ranaut), his student, expresses her love towards him and Jai refuses at first. But after seeing that Gina is the daughter of a rich casino owner Bob (Kabir Bedi), he quickly falls in love with Gina (though just for the sake of money). And, after the usual interactions of Jai with Gina's family brings out Natasha (Barbara Mori) who is Tony's fiance. Then, its love at first sight for Jai-Natasha and they elope...

Such is the story of this film. Would you dare watching it? I mean when you have such a huge budget, better make a decent film and give the rest of the money to charity rather than spending it on useless stunts and candy floss.

Kangana Ranaut is at her devilish and slutty best whereas Barbara Mori who promised a lot for the 'youth' from the trailers looks stunning and hot but is no way near to the perfect 'diva' yet.

Hrithik Roshan is absolutely scintillating, he is the person to watch this movie for and nothing else. The man definitely has got both style and substance.

Rajesh Roshan's background score is awesome and songs are pretty decent enough except for few background score reminiscences here and there of 'Kaho na Pyaar Hai' and 'Koi Mil Gaya'.

Editing is slick but doesn't seem to raise any 'Ooh!s and Aaw!s'. Screenplay is the usual 'copied from Hollywood' style.

Story - I don't think i have to comment on this anymore. The chase scenes are pretty bad for this big budget and there are timely references to flicks such as 'Bunty aur Babli', 'Catch me if you can' and the usual Hide and seek films.

Anurag Basu's 'Life in a Metro' was a brilliant flick after which he made it to the list of promising directors of Bollywood. But his Kites is definitely a 'Kati Patang' in his career.

Rakesh Roshan - Man, if you do have so much money, please give it to me, there are many other people who are in dire need of it.

On the whole, Kites doesn't even make an attempt to fly 2ft high in the air and is a big miss well away from the target.

'KITES' - A big mistake!

Rating: 1.5/5

Continuing the bollywood trend of 'sick' movies in recent times is Anurag Basu's 'Kites', lets see if Mani Ratnam's 'Raavan' clears the air.

Review : Karthik Calling Karthik (2010)

2010-03-01T15:58:00.003+05:30

Although exploring diseases has been the Bollywood trend in recent times, Writer-Director Vijay Lalwani's Karthik Calling Karthik is definitely a commendable effort. I wouldn't give the viewer any more a hint because it would surely disturb the movie watching experience.

A distant inspiration from the hollywood flick 'Mr.Brooks', Karthik Calling Karthik is genred as a comedy/thriller, i have no idea of the former but it is definitely a middle of the seat thriller.Farhan Akthar has always been 'perfect' either be his direction or his new found love - acting. I wouldn't say that he has carried the movie all by himself but his contribution can be equalled to the plot in the success of this movie.

Karthik (Farhan Akthar) plays a usual intovert, who gets scolded by others, solitarily confined in life until one day when he gets a call from a stranger....which changes his life as he'd dreamed.

Deepika Padukone is ravishing and is in her best looks ever in the foot-tapping number 'Uff..teri adaa' with some brilliant choregraphy (not in foot movements but in gestures and expressions - a definite must watch video)

The technical aspects of the movie were par excellence and i couldn't find any significant flaws in them except for the fact that Deepika's ex and her work in the same office and don't see each other even though they are just few foot steps away.

Background score by midival punditz was catchy and music by Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy was melodious as well as enjoyable. Two thumbs up to both the bands.

All-in-all, Karthik Calling Karthik is a gripping movie bringing to light, a common phenomena which is kept out of vision by many.

Rating: 3/5

Watch it for Farhan and of course how the plot unfolds!

Review : Sherlock Holmes (2010)(India)

2010-01-15T00:31:00.005+05:30

Seems like Hollywood is getting inspired by Tamil commercial cinema these days. From the biggest blockbuster Avatar to this most awaited movie by Guy Ritchie, a lot of masala is visible. By masala, I mean introduction, action, romance, comedy and climax fight. Guy Ritchie incorporates all of this with finesse and of course giving it his trademark story-telling style.

Sherlock Holmes is just a wonderful start to the New Year, with brilliant adaption of the renowned fictional detective. The story is simple, just like normal Sherlock Holmes stuff but the wonderful portrayal by Robert Downey Jr. with an even marvellous portrayal of his sidekick Dr. Watson by Jude Law makes the movie worth watching in the big screen. The duo did a lot of flirting and their combined action sequences coupled up with Guy Ritchie’s zip-zap-zoom screenplay makes the viewer literally gaze at the screen with awe.

The movie starts with the simultaneous introduction of the antagonist and the protagonist with the latter getting a part similar to a mass-hero introduction in Tamil cinema. The antagonist, Lord Blackwood practises Black Magic and is hanged after conviction in court. Things seem to go normally when suddenly this guy pops up from the grave and takes on the government. It is the duty of our dear detective Holmes to solve the case. Obviously like all movies, the hero does solve the problem but how does he do it and whether Holmes uses his conventional orthodox style in solving forms the rest of the plot.

Sherlock Holmes is short, sweet and definitely hilarious. Probably, people expecting a serious detective story would be in for a surprise, a surprise both creative and entertaining. And also people expecting a Guy Ritchie style film are no doubt in for a treat. He has stuck to his usual as well as founded new ideas to carve his niche in the movie watcher’s minds.

Background score by Hans Zimmer, the god of BGMs, was intriguing and pleasant to hear. The visual effects are par excellence with a masterful creation of London Bridge under construction. But the only technical aspect that slightly overshadows the others is the stunts. The stunts coupled up with the visual effects easily steal the show, if they weren’t present, the movie would have failed miserably.

Guy Ritchie’s previous flicks include Snatch, Lock, Stock & Two Smoking Barrels and of course the best of the lot, Rock n Rolla. One more feather in his cap is definitely Sherlock Holmes because he has portrayed Holmes in an entirely eccentric way with the same amount of intellect.

So, I suggest that you people watch this movie on the big screen for that Guy Ritchie’s Sherlock Holmes is an out-an-out entertainer and a perfect start for 2010. Hollywood does reach an altogether new level with every releasing movie.

Rating: 3.5/5

Brilliant!

Incredulous yet incredible!

2010-01-15T00:14:00.002+05:30

Travelling four hours on a winter day just to watch a movie seems unbelievable. I actually thought which idiot will do that. Spending 500+ bucks in a day only for entertainment might seem normal to some, but for a college goer staying in hostel far away from home, it isn’t.

We planned to travel all the way to Kolkata just to watch a movie. Initially there were 6 of us, out of which one of them had cancelled his participation the previous night and we had to leave the other because he couldn’t get up.

I kept my alarm at 4.15am and finally after 2-3 snoozes woke up at 4.30. Quickly finishing off my daily chores, I got ready and went up to the hostel where the auto was called. We boarded the auto and went to pick up another guy who delayed our departure. Finally, after he made his way out of his room, we raced to the station. A college friend was already in queue for getting his ticket done; we paid him our share (Rs.73 each) and got our tickets without any hassle.

We got comfortable seats and as we journeyed along, we had interesting discussions, we slept and we ate.

The train finally reached Howrah and we quickly caught a pre-paid taxi (Rs.110) to the Forum at Elgin Road. After traversing through 4-5 escalators, INOX booking centre became visible and we ran to get the tickets(Rs.160 each). Now that our tension was over, we decided to eat. Two of my friends who visited Kolkata few days ago knew the place properly and suggested a south Indian eatery at chandni chowk. We had to catch a local bus from Elgin Road to Park Street from where we had to travel through India’s first metro to reach Chandni Chowk to finally arrive at a Madras Restaurant which was established in 1939 and provided authentic Chennai food (Rs.80 for sumptuous lunch). After hogging nicely, we checked our watches. Having very little time for metro+bus travel, we caught a taxi and reached the Forum.

The Movie was scheduled to start at 2.05. We reached before time. We bought some snacks (Rs.50 each) to eat inside. The movie ‘Sherlock Holmes’ (whose review is my next post) was a visual treat. Our return train was scheduled at 5.15 and our show got over by 4.15. We still had to get the general tickets, so we caught yet another yellow cab (Rs.120) to Howrah. We got the tickets, and the train arrived at the platform a few minutes after we reached there. People were putting whatever they had in their hands through the windows to secure their seats. We too ran from one bogie to another to find four continuous seats. We found them quite easily. As we journeyed back to Tatanagar, we had a storyboard discussion for our short film which we are planning to make this year, coming out with amusing and innovative ideas. Hope we shoot the film as planned.

This wonderful day got over by 11 as we reached out respective hostels.

Now, as I look back the last 17 hours, it was a roller coaster ride with few sights soothing to the eye and mind (; )) I mean people would laugh at you when you say to them that you are going to watch a movie in a city which is 4 hours away from college. Even I didn’t have the mood to go and i never believed that I would get into this, but once I was into it, this day turned out to be one exciting day worth the money spent and truly incredible.

Special Appreciation : Siddarth and Harish for bringing out such a wonderful idea and taking me along! Thanks a lot!

Review : 3 Idiots (2009)

2009-12-28T11:32:00.004+05:30

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)

2009-12-23T14:47:00.008+05:30

"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)

2009-12-18T16:24:00.003+05:30

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)

2009-12-13T11:54:00.006+05:30

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!

The Other Girl!

2009-11-19T21:27:00.008+05:30

Here is my attempt to short story writing after my dad urged me to do so.
This is what i could come up with , Dad!

Disclaimer : This is a work of pure fiction and creativity , although it might be possible that such could happen in real life , it wasn't intended to harm anyone or induce any new thoughts into anyone.
This story contains some content for the 18+ categories and i hope the parents would understand that youth in the present age is aware of "EVERYTHING".

So here it goes ,

On a rainy evening , sitting beside the small portico which stood on 4 logs of wood and in the abyss of darkness , was an 18 year old girl , Akanksha her name. The only source of illumination was in the form of a candle. These frequent power cuts in her community was common , only that an hour of continuous electricity was seen as a gift which their god had given them after continuous goodwill. This was the scenario. Born in the village , her parents couldn’t provide her with the basic amenities , the reason , them being uneducated. But they did their best to send her to the city to make her study in an English medium school. She stuttered at start but she did cope up with the language and almost made it to the top 5 in her class , though never first. She was quite elder to her fellow classmates as she was joined to the school 2 years later than usual.
It was winter vacation for the 11th grade and of course the whole school in this small hill station called Darjeeling. Ever since her childhood , Akanksha used to spend her time gazing into the darkness dreaming about various things. The only time she used up in studying was during class hours and after school she used sit for hours together till the sun went down because after sunset , the whole village was in darkness.
One fine day, a team of teachers from Kolkata visited the school in search of budding talents , and they conducted tests and interviews out of which Akanksha was selected. The team visited her home the same evening asking her parents for their permission to allow her to study in Kolkata. Foreseeing the bright future shown to them, they agreed and she packed her bags and left after the usual emotional drama expected out of a normal Indian family.
St.Louis Convent Girl’s School, the board read atop the gate in front of which Akanksha stood pondering about what this has in store for her. Shy in nature, she never used to speak up herself unless questioned. Her luggage was safely kept in the hostel and she was introduced to her roommate.
Her roommate, Sophie, was the daughter of the rich NRI parents who strayed her into this school and went back to their foreign land. Both of them, who never used to talked to anyone properly, never had a relationship with anyone ,now gelled pretty well and became the best of friends. They went out together, studied together, etc, etc. It was time for the 11th grade annual exams or the board exams and studies started in full swing and the exams went by quite quickly.
Now that summer time arrived, the time for enjoyment in the hostel, no one desired to go home, not even akanksha who’d completely forgotten about her parents, who sacrificed so much to make her study , but they too didn’t bother much , thought not to disturb her studies.
So , one evening , as Sophie was browsing the internet in her laptop gifted by her parents , she stumbled upon something ,something that was different , never seen before , and she called upon her roomie to see it too. As they gazed on to the screen with total interest and without any clue on what it was, their hormones started generating fluids which induced extra “unexplainable” feelings and they shut the laptop unable to bear this sudden rift in their thought process and went to bed.
Both of them, as usual, started dreaming as to what it was, and made crazy assumptions. The next morning, they woke up and opened the laptop, the page was still there. They tried imitating the same thing and the feeling was ecstatic. They used their fingers to do marvels onto each other.
This legacy continued for subsequent nights and became a habit and a secret that they shared, what they didn’t know was that they were distinct from the usual people. Now that the vacation got over and the all important 12th grade started and even though their normal routine of studies continued, they still imbibed this into it. As they stepped out of their hostel every Saturday night , they moved together , went into bars and restaurants and behaved so closely that everyone had their eyes on them , and the pleasure that they derived from looking at these angels was something indescribable.
One day, two guys in a restaurant went up to them and started talking normally, they became friends and asked them whether they could drop them back at their hostels and since these girls were fresh and tender in meeting people, they quickly agreed thinking that these were nice people what they didn’t know was that they were falling into one terrible trap.
As the boys took them in their posh, stylish and effulgent SUV, they first went into their homes and the girls followed. They treated the girls with drinks and snacks and showed them the house. When they reached the bedroom, one of the guys locked the door from behind and pushed them onto the bed. The other said, “Now let’s see what you girls do every day!” Thinking that it was what normal people do, the girls did their normal and this time they were at their best. Seduced by just seeing this, the guys couldn’t bear and undressed themselves and went down on them. The girl felt pain at first but after that it was “ecstasy”. The guys had the whole thing recorded and their new video update for their site was done for the week.
One sudden day , in the newspaper , Akanksha read the headline “ Two guys found brutally murdered” with the photo of the guys whom they had met the other night. She showed it to Sophie and both of them gazed at each other’s face , not knowing what happened. Unlike Sophie , her roommate was in shock and the trepidation dehydrated her.
Sophie, on the other hand was browsing something important on her laptop , it was a stylish macbook , the computer everyone wants to possess. She comes across another new hangout opened in Kolkata and she takes Akanksha to the place to cool her off. This time, as they ate , a man came across their table and asked permission to dine with them , though Akanksha was in no mood to speak to another stranger , Sophie welcomed him onto the table. They had a nice chat and he offered to walk them to their hostel. In the interim, they found a park and they decided to have a stroll. As they reached the corner most place, where no movement was there, the man decides to force him into Sophie and unable neither to digest the news nor the beautiful Sophie in front of her , Akanksha decides to join the duo. After they were done, the girls returned back to their hostels. Two days later , Akanksha finds the photo of the same man they were with the other night all covered with blood in the newspaper. Now , that things started to get suspicious , Akanksha started doubting her roomie , as she is the only person to have known the people apart from her and it is always she who allowed others to mingle with them and she who took the first step.
So , one day when Sophie had gone out , Akanksha sneaked into her laptop to find all the plots and ways to kill people without fingerprints and all the other stuff. All this baffled Akanksha as her eyes popped out almost , she shut it down and went to the window sill , reminiscent of her childhood , pondering over why she was doing this.
One night , after their usual routine stuff , Sophie shares something that happened in her childhood and that added to already increasing worry stuff on Akanksha’s head. She was sexually abused by her father and his friends when she was young and her mother had died. Hence , her belief on all guys was lifted off. She went on to kill her dad in what seemed like a suicide and further went on to join this school after the pitiful sight seen by the headmistress.
But what had this got to do with , her killing of the people who provided her with pleasure. This was what Akanksha had wondered her whole sleepless night. She then decided to stop all this by killing Sophie , the next time they made out. And so , that is what happened , when Sophie seemed to enjoy her reaching the zenith , Akanksha quickly stabbed a knife in between her legs and after that , Sophie breathed her last.
The next morning , the headmistress found the dead Sophie in a red coloured mattress artistically painted with her blood and no clue of where Akanksha was.
But , there was this another girl , who was having her laugh , the murderer , the secret admirer of Akanksha , the one who was smitten by her looks , who couldn’t resist the seduction , it was she who killed the 3 guys where Sophie had nothing to do with it. As the search continued for the fled Akanksha, this girl knew exactly where she was going and wouldn’t mind being her next partner.

About Me!

2009-11-19T12:51:00.000+05:30

On 28^th September , 1989 in the far reaches of Jabalpur (Madhya Pradesh) , a child was born to a wonderful couple but none of them would have , in their rarest of rare imaginations , predicted that boy to have become a lousy freak.

Hello to the very few “about me” readers , that boy is me , basically an introvert-trying-to-be-an-extro enjoying life to the “three-quarter”est and currently pursuing Civil Engineering (I myself don’t know why?) in a college nothing greater than a perfect example for a govt. Office.

I am a self-proclaimed genius-cum-lousy wanderer , with no clue of how my future is going to be though my every ‘next’ hour is well-planned (desired). I prefer to be lonely , so that i can do my stuff and that frequent friendly visits do amuse me.

I love watching movies and could comfortably boast about watching around 1000+ movies till date without even remembering the name,story,cast-crew of each one of them. Ain’t that an achievement!!

I dream of writing movie scripts myself but never narrated them to anyone except for a ‘personal’ few. My favourite hobbies include movie watching, movie reviewing and listening to background music of films and songs.

I’m NOT at all complex , i always wonder why people misuse this word explaining about their character , i mean everyone is unique in their own way and stating a person as complex means that he/she has some rare disease , atleast in my opinion.

I love imagining things , creating my own way of explaining the wonders of life and also at times the basic concepts of science though it may seem totally absurd.

And yeah , i’m pretty emotionally sensitive , any touching (i mean heart touching!) live scene or in the movies could make me cry , though not outwardly!

So , nothing more interesting in my life , if you people have some things to share , i’m always open , no matter whoever it is because i love meeting ‘other’ people in my life. So lets be friends and get to know more about each other....:))

Review : Inglourious Basterds (2009)

2009-11-19T00:02:00.005+05:30

Tarantino's Greatest!

Rating : 4/5

Genre : Drama | War

From the director of classics such as “Reservoir Dogs” , “Pulp Fiction” , “Kill Bill” , etc etc comes yet another masterpiece far better than the previouses , “Inglourious Basterds” is legend Quentin Tarantino’s brilliant creation of WWII. It is a movie worth every penny of your ticket or every tick-tock of the clock taken for downloading this amusing flick.

The story is set in Nazi-occupied France during WWII where a group of Jewish-American soldiers called as “The Basterds” by the Germans go on a spree killing Nazi’s and executing a plot to kill the third reich.

Though all that which is shown is not true and only fiction , one might start to wonder if all this could be true and if it was , then the world which we are living might be completely different and might have been better.

Quentin Tarantino is known for his eccentric way of movie making , rather story telling , making the viewer feel like reading a book with chapters one after another. He does stick to that in this – his best film yet. Everything , be it the camera work , the background music , the stunts , the fires , the explosions , the expressions of the cast in the out-focus , Tarantino conquers it all and my personal feeling is that , there is no one born yet to surpass the amount of entertainment that he provides.

The most important spoiler is that Brad Pitt is NOT the hero of the movie , i mean he does have a major role to play , the genius of acting is seen in a guy named Christoph Waltz who plays the character of “The Jew Hunter” deserves an accolade or maybe an Oscar too.

So , please do watch this movie as it is one of Tarantino’s finest and most entertaining movies.

Quentin Tarantino – Legend - wait for it - dary!!

Friday the 13th!

2009-11-13T23:53:00.002+05:30

Perhaps this would be my first ever friday being the thirteenth month of the day , atleast first i have noticed.
Anyways people consider this as a very bad day and that was how it turned out to be for a bunch of guys of NIT Jamshedpur (incl. me).
The day started normally with me getting up at 7 am and brushing and doing 'the' stuff and washing clothes and taking bath.I had woken up surprisingly ,feeling much better than the past one week as i had been suffering from throat infection and running nose , but to a very hot and sultry day.It was one of the hottest of the 'so-called' ongoing winter days here.
The day just went by and 4 hours of class got over and we had come back to the hostel when suddenly i got a call from one of my friends enquiring about another guy who had supposedly met with an accident.I was in total shock and didn't believe at first but then i came to know that there was an accident no doubt but the person seriously injured was a small girl whom my friend had hit , i hope not wantedly , with the bike.She is currently in T.M.H (A Tata hospital) having a small clot in the head which is going to be supervised for the next 3 days.
Though this is over , the head trauma of the girl is over , what isn't is the trauma of my most intelligent friend.He still isn't able to digest a single drop of water without feeling about what he did , we did out best in sympathizing but then , some incidents are never forgotten and this one is one.
Now that this was first of the bad things that happened , the next is quite normal and funny.There is this girl in my college i have a crush on and had been trying to talk to her since long , say first year.I did my research on her and found that she had a boyfriend in some college far off from here but my heart wouldn't believe that until i heard that from her.So, this too had to come today , while we were chatting , i got to know of this heart-breaking thing which proved all what i heard true.Though i was sad from my inside , i ended up pacifying myself and doing merely a 'siddharth' ever since.One thing to note is that , my stint is over and am back to normal once again.
All the rushing to the AD building to do a work of a passout which was although secondary made our primary aim of catching a glimpse of someone and my first ever face-to-face with the person futile.
The next thing was regarding the preponement of the exam.I had gone to talk to the concerned professor and he rendered it impossible to change the dates.So there went another bad news , now that i have to reschedule my ticket back home which will leave me reach home 2 days later.

Amidst all these bad things , a couple of good ones also came through.We happened to get into a newly opened restaurant called 'The Blues' in sakchi and it turned out to be a very good one worth adding on to our 'Restaurants in Jamshedpur' list and the most important is the unforgettable 38 page sportstar edition with almost 30+ pages with Sachin Tendulkar's photo in it.

As this day comes to an end and i sit down almost completing my blog entry and my sportstar read-thru and although it was quite a tiresome day , but now i don't feel a thing coz spending the evening with your best pals can change your mood irrespective of however bad it might be.
If there was something that this college would have given me after 4 years , that should be the moments shared with these people whom i would never dare to forget for the rest of my life.

Thanks for reading through this entry which is quite different from my previous ones and here is a disclaimer : I mean each and every word of whatever you've been reading in this page till now.

S.S.Rajamouli - The Legend

2009-11-12T14:25:00.004+05:30

Commercial cinema ,at present , is known to people and atleast most of the kollywood film fraternity as mass-masala flick with a clichéd mix of an intro fight scene - opening song - hero meets heroine,falls in love - goes behind her trying to catch her attention - baddies enter - flashback - baddies kidnap heroine - hero saves - heroine also falls in love - THE END.
After getting tired of watching the same stuff repeatedly , i planned to switch to tollywood. Now watching a telugu movie without understanding the language is very difficult , atleast for tamilians , so i watched only those movies which had subtitles.There were hell loads of movies in the college LAN and i didn't know where to start from when suddenly my friend told me to watch this movie called chatrapathi.I found the subtitles for it and started watching.It was a commercial entertainer with equal proportions of everything,the movie neither did have a great story nor did it make any sense but even with such a script the movie was fast and one's adrenaline started punping even faster.All this was because of the genius intellect of one man - S.S.RAJAMOULI , a young fellow for directing standards but filled with creativity.

Every small aspect was perfect , be it the background music , fight sequences , emotional scenes , choreography , everything!
Then i googled him and found a wikipedia as well as an imdb page dedicated to him.

Here is some info copy pasted from there :
He is the son of popular tollywood story writer, Vijayendra Prasad. He was introduced as a director by K.Raghavendra Rao. Previously, Rajamouli directed teleserials under the guidance of his guru K.Raghavendra Rao. His first gig was Student No.1 , which he directed under K.Raghavendra Rao's supervision. He often collaborates with Vijayendra Prasad (Writer),who is also Rajamouli's father and M.M.Keeravani (Music director).

Filmography :

Magadheera(2009)(Super Hit)
Yamadonga(2007)(Super Hit)
Vikramarkudu(2006)(Super Hit)
Chatrapathi(2005) (Super Hit)
Sye(2004)(Super Hit)
Simhadri(2003)(Super Hit)
Student No.1(2002)(Super Hit)

As you see all his movies were super hits and hopefully his future ones would be too.
All i can say about him his , S.S.Rajamouli brilliantly concocts all the 'usual' commercial aspects and with a little bit of fantasy into one large piece of 'bangaram' which would be quite intimidating to possess because everyone would be after it.
If i do meet him in the future , i would fall at his feet begging him to come to Kollywood to 'just' direct one movie which would be a milestone in 'Ilayathalapathy' Vijay's career.
If i ever go into the direction field or even otherwise, i would proudly say that S.S.Rajamouli is my god and lets hope that the legend's legacy continues.

Note : I am quite serious and advise you all to watch his movies to get 100% entertainment which , nowadays is quite a rare thing to see in Indian Cinema!

Thank You for reading through , Happy Movie Watching !!

Review : Wake Up Sid (2009)

2009-11-08T23:40:00.003+05:30

A Feel-good entertainer!!

Rating : 3.5/5
Genre : Drama

I know that i'm pretty late in posting this review but i finally got to see it today after acquiring a decent rip from the college LAN.Anyways, let me get straight to reviewing.

After continuous flops and masala movies in bollywood, i almost thought to quit watching hindi movies.But suddenly out of nowhere , Dharma Productions , yes the Karan Johar Company , comes up with this beautiful movie portraying the 'common' youngster or college-goer of today.
This movie has Ranbir Kapoor in a different character , Konkana Sen Sharma at her usual best and one of the legends of bollywood Anupam Kher in an important role.
One has a feeling of seeing on screen , one's own story, coz most of today's youth don't seem to have anything about the future planned in their mind.This should be an eye-opener for some or say all of them.

Sid,sorry couldn't remember the full name, is a usual son of a rich family at present but one later gets to know that his dad had struggled hell loads and crossed barriers in earning all this.He attends college normally along with his friends but in the final exam,all but him pass and he gets dejected but still doesn't realize that he has failed on a larger scale.The story continues with he meeting the girl and she helping him to find his actual goal in life.

The music department has done its part well and Amit Trivedi's solo compostion 'Iktara' seems to have enlightened shankar-ehsaan-loy and made them sing the same song in the backoground.
There is nothing new in the cinematography as the camera stays stationary most of the time and the script doesn't provide any room for innovation in this area.

All in all , the movie has nothing 'that' special in it but the story is fresh and untouched till date.It ends up being an eye-opener but the movie ends in rather the usual 'senti'-ish way but all that is forgotten with the fact that 'Wake up Sid' is a sudden melodious sound in the cacophony of masala movies at the bollywood box-office.

So,cutting short my review which "atleast" would urge people to read it properly and fully!
Thanks for reading,will post soon if any movie really captures my heart or allows my mind to think laterally.

Review : The Hurt Locker (2008)

2009-11-05T22:48:00.006+05:30

Rating : 4/5
Genre : Action/Drama/Thriller/War

Though this movie is quite old but i am sure that most of you people would have missed it and the fact that such movies are available only on the internet for people in India makes it even rare to have watched this movie.

After my movie watching spree of a mix-masala of telugu-hindi-english movies , i finally found one of them worth spending every minute of it.

So,lets get it started.

The Hurt Locker is movie based on the chronicles of a small U.S. Army bomb squad in their year long stint at war-torn Iraq which is a place where everyone is a potential enemy and every object could be an explosive.

Leaving apart the forgettable storyline , technical brilliance and care for the minutest detail to be shown on the screen, makes the viewer literally fall for the beauty of the cinema.All aspects of film-making are top-notch, from the brilliantly subversive screenplay through vivid cinematography, masterful directing and perfectly paced editing.

The director blends a masterpiece of a film without tricks or gimmicks, at least none to be detected and that in itself is a triumph. Realistic yet poetic like the works of the great masters. It enters and fits a genre and at the same time is unique and unexpected.The story is deeply emotional, depicting a thoroughly disturbed individual's life in hell. Jeremy Renner gives an incredibly powerful performance as an EOD officer completely hooked on adrenaline stemming from his everyday close shaves with death.In its storytelling the filmmakers wisely break with traditional Hollywood narrative techniques. There is no clear antagonist, no rising action, no obvious character development and no climax. And yet the film manages to be more interesting, tense and suspenseful than any Hollywood action thriller I've seen.It is a powerful, yet subtle statement about the insane addiction called war. Kudos for everyone involved for making this film without compromising.

The movie might have some flaws regarding weapons and tactics but all that is definitely forgotten while one is caught in the eerie of tech brilliance.

It also shows how the U.S.Army works, how the soldiers are poor at sensing and emotionally attack-able just like any normal person except for the fact that they can shoot well.

The Casting and character portrayals are just perfect and no one ever shows off on screen. (Though the latter never happens in Hollywood)

And to top it all , the director is Kathryn Bigelow , a female. This is the first of such ones i've seen and i would definitely keep a close watch on her future projects as well and will certainly but obviously inform you if it is worth it.

So, i would request all of you to watch this movie (if possible in Hi-Def) some how coz it is one which cannot be missed especially for people desiring to watch quality flicks.

Thank You once again for reading through my review, will keep you posted.

So until next time , Happy Movie Watching!!

Review : Kandasamy (2009)

2009-08-30T09:55:00.005+05:30

MOKKASAMY!

Rating : 1/5
Genre : Action/Thriller

The year's most awaited flick is finally in the box office, but how good a movie is it? , seems to be the buzz all around.So , let me clear the air for those buffs out there waiting to know the review before watching the movie

Here is my succinct take on the movie because everything is running in fast-forward pace and 20-20 seems to be the latest adaptation.

Kandasamy is Susi Ganesan's saivitish product of 'Anniyan'.Right from the start , the viewer is taken through a spindle of clichés and one's interest in the movie is taken aback.
In such a high-budget and high-hyped film , poor casting was the last thing anyone would have expected.It contains a strikingly enough number of non-tamil speaking characters whose amateurish dubbing adds up to the slowly growing tumour.

Susi Ganesan's previous flick "Thiruttu Payale" was more than watchable but his latest one is rather a passer.This movie lacks innovation which is very much needed to clear up the drought in tamil cinema at present.

Vadivelu's comedy tracks could have easily been deleted by the editor as it had no link with the story and was rather sleazy.

Shriya is totally useless and her presence in the movie is of 'ZERO' value.

The only thing watchable in the movie is Vikram , who has got both style and substance.But there again , the director hasn't exploited his talents to the full and the protagonist is often seen with the same kind of expressions.

The Director has tried to make an intelligent movie but then he fails because he isn't aware of the fact that the viewers are more intelligent and they can foresee the twists and turns the director has in store.It is because the only sort of diligence in the script comes in the form of treachery and much expected plot twists.

There is no basic storyline , Kandasamy sticks to , and the wretched screen play is just a welcome disgust to the viewer.

So , poor graphics ,doggerel dialogues , lackadaisical choreography and stunt sequences , abysmal comedy track , anniyan nostalgia , unwanted and superfluous runtime and above all a 'suave' agonist make Susi Ganesan's "Kandasamy" a cacophony in the realm of Vikram's existence.
Everyone should rather hope that Vikram chooses a better script and a more proficient team of technicians in the future.

So, please stop watching tamil movies and step into hollywood because there is where the 'real cinema' is although certain marvels keep coming up in tamil cinema which i would bring to your notice now and then.Till then choose hollywood as your destination.

Thank You for reading through my review , i would be highly obliged if each one of you could drop in a comment as everytime someone does it, i get more interested to write the next one.

Forgetting English with CED!

2009-08-25T06:00:00.002+05:30

The following bit of confession might have most of you in astonishment.It is "nothing but" the fact that i have seriously started preparing for GRE.All thanks to my friend.

One might wonder what has that got to do with this article , well it sure has a lot to do with it.

First let me tell you where i study , i am currently pursuing B.Tech (Hons) in Civil Engg from National Institute of Technology ,Jamshedpur.Yeah, you got it right, the hub of english speaking indians.

So, here are a few interesting english sentences along with their pronounciation.

Firstly , most people from Bihar and Jharkhand , muddle up or rather purposefully pronounce 'B' instead of 'V'.

so

1) vertical is "BHERTICAL"
2) horizontal is "HORIJONTAL"
3) rivet is "RIBET"
4) upstream is "APASTREAM"
5) downstream is "DOWNASTREAM"
6) causes is "CAUJEJ"
7) shallow is "SALLO"
8) shake is "SAKE"
9) message is "MESSAZE"
10) draw is "DRAA"
11) zig-zag movement is "JIG-JAG MOVEMENT"
12) z-z plane is"JED-JED PLANE"
13) problem is "PROLOM"
14) wave pressure is "BABE PRESSURE"
15) Value is "BHALUE"
16) bridge is "BRIZZ"
17) books is "BUSS"
18) width is "BIDTH"
19) zero is "JEERO"
20) design is "DE-JINE"
21) resevoir is "RESERBHOIR"
22) figure is "PHIGAR"
23) village is "BHILLAGE"
24) dissolved is "DIJJOLBED"
25) vary is "BHARY"
26) zone is "JONE"
27) weir is "BIER"
28) shape is "SAPE"
29) should be is "SUD BE"
30) fail is "PHALE"
31) sloughing is "SLOUJING"
32) vehicle is "BEHKLE"
33) body is "BADI"
34) purposes is "PURPOSEJ"
35) size is "SHIZE"
36) ways is "BAJE"

and height of intelligence from an erudite persona is "DI-FARGE" instead of diaphragm

some very interesting sentences

1) All books are better
2) horizontal ones are columns and vertical ones are rows
3) I am agree
4) Center is at the middle

and the pick of the lot is "SAKE IT WITH THE SEKAR"

So, listening to such wonderful and innovative pronounciations will definitely help me clear GRE with a comfortable score of 1550+ and MIT would probably offer me a 100% fee waiver.

But not all people hailing from this state are the same ,there are a few exceptions just like some of the girls in my college, then a guy named Vikash Jha whom i seriously adore for his intellectual yet humorous thoughts and the way he brings it out of his mind.

Then came this guy from T.I.M.E , Mr.Sajal Mitra whose hometown is Ranchi.I happened to meet him at my first class for CAT '10 which i hope not to clear , and by the very few words he spoke before the class commenced made me just gaze at his proficiency in english.After 3 hours of class which passed without me getting bored and not checking the time, i didn't have any words to appreciate him satisfactorily.
He stands apart from the crowd and he will definitely have a place inside me in the years to come.I call him a 'living legend'.I mean,a person having completed CA, MA and MBA should have been somewhere building a new home just for keeping his money but he isn't there, he is now a course director in T.I.M.E Calcutta and a lecturer for verbal ability.
I'm very glad that i came to know him and hope that he takes classes frequently for us.

Thanks for reading through this article, this should probably be the 2nd one which is not movie-based , and feel free to pour in critical comments.

"Picks" and "Pricks" of the Summer '09 : A Special Report

2009-07-17T20:11:00.005+05:30

I and lot of you people would have expected this summer to be a great treat for movie lovers with a huge line up of releases.Now that the summer is almost over (atleast not in Chennai where summer is the only weather existent) , lets see how the movies have impacted me.

First let me give you the let downs , personally quoted as 'Pricks' of the summer :
(starting from 'OK' to 'WORSE')

5. New York (Rating : 2.5/5) : The only thing good about the movie was the story but for that everything else wasn't impactive.

4. Kambakkht Ishq (Rating : 2/5) : A serious waste of time and money, better to avoid.But one thing ,i felt this movie was better than PKS.

3. Angels and Demons (Rating : 1/5) : The let-down of the year.Seriously disappointing.

2. The Hangover (Rating 1/5) : Though others liked it a lot , i thought it was crap.

1. ShortKut (Rating 0.5/5) : As a behindwoods reviewer perfectly quoted : 'Pick your shortcut out of theatres'

Ah, well now the let downs are finished , it is time for top 5 of the 'Good' Ones.
(Starting from 'OK' to 'BEST')

5. Terminator Salvation (Rating 2.5/5) : Though it had stunning special effects ,it failed to recreate the judgement day magic.

4. Ice Age 3 : Dawn of the Dinosaurs (Rating 2.5/5) : Nothing much except for childish comedy and the excellent 3-D experience.

3. Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince (Rating 2.5/5) : Masala and Magic in unequal proportions.

2. Transformers 2 : Revenge Of The Fallen (Rating 3.5/5) : Brilliant and Entertaining!

1. Star Trek (Rating 4/5) : Greatest space odyssey ever!

So , i hope most of you would agree with me on this.Anyways for people who don't drop in your comments and open up your thoughts.
As for now, my blog will be dormant for few months unless i watch a spectacular movie or there is some 'hot' topic that i feel free to write about.Till then keep giving me suggestions to improve or things to write on.

Thank You!
Happy Reading!

Review : Harry Potter And The Half Blood Prince (2009)

2009-07-17T18:19:00.006+05:30

MAGIC MASALA!

Rating: 2.5/5
Genre : Adventure / Mystery / Fantasy / Romance

Disclaimer : Before i start , i would want you people to know that i haven't read any of the books and i have been following only the movies.

So , does this movie satisfy a harry potter fan?
A little ,the reason being , the script 'almost' sticking to the book.This is quite because of the return of the screen-writer of the first 4 movies.
Though , there are parts which are deviated from the book and there are some omissions too.

Well , on the other hand , does this flick satisfy a regular movie goer?
Not much except for the special effects , the girls and the comic dialogues.

I would say that people who have been wanting to watch the movie after the book might be a bit disappointed.This might be attributed to the overdose of romance and comedy at the cost of deletion of important scenes especially the last fight scene which was omitted. (That is what i had learned about from my pal)

The Movie strikes a lower chord on the viewer's mind with too much of talking and less of action sequences but there are mind boggling scenes of quidditch and Dumbledore taking Harry to different places and also the scenes where Harry sees Tom Riddles past through safely collected memories by Dumbledore.It has its ups and downs and even though more of the former is prevalent , it fails to entertain on the whole.

There were people comparing this to the last week's summer bonanza 'Transformers 2' , i personally wouldn't want to compare both of them but still Micheal Bay did show us his 'magic'.

Acting , is one of the reason why this installment of Harry Potter is worth a watch.Everyone has developed their acting skills , the most significant improvement being seen in Daniel Radcliffe.He has totally churned himself into a fine actor and one can admire his casting on the film as the protagonist.
A Special note is to be given to the director for making the chicks (those portraying Hermione , Ginny , Luna Lovegood and some of the background stars) show their presence on screen and also to the cinematographer for the reason you people know.

Coming to the tech-aspects , CGI work is brilliant especially in the first scene where a bridge is destroyed by death eaters causing heart breaks in every architect and civil engineer's minds but nevertheless it was a visual treat.
Music was brilliant and the special effects were perfectly blended with the visuals though second half's audio was rather out of sync ,maybe because of some fault in the theatre although i watched it in sathyam RDX.

There are a lot of differences from the book , you can read them at :

Click here

There have been lot of comments on imdb ,rotten tomatoes and other famous websites about this being the worst adaptation ever and there were also people saying that this was the winner of the summer releases but all that ain't true, this movie is definitely worth watching in the theatres and it is truly not 'THE' movie of the summer.

So , wrapping it up , HBP is certainly a bit of a disappointment but it has its own relishable moments.

Thank you for reading!

I am sorry if i made people who've been waiting for this movie to sigh after reading but the fact remains told and precaution given.

Review : Transformers - Revenge Of The Fallen (2009)

2009-07-13T18:31:00.010+05:30

CGI Extravaganza!

Rating : 3.5/5
Genre : Action / Adventure / Sci-Fi

Ok , I have been reading a lot many reviews about this movie and i would like you people to throw them into crap.But in one way reading them really helps , it totally tells you that movie is shit and wants you to hate it but when the scenes roll in with the pace that would pump up your adrenaline , you will be liking the movie more than usual.

Personally , all the imdb users have gone mad , i mean where have they kept their brains.Do they think that they are some genius or what?When you know that you are watching a movie that is adapted from comics and cartoon , the IQ level of it would just be the same.One cannot expect a Godfather kind of story telling or say Shawshank redemption kind of acting.This is a fantasy movie for @%$'s sake and you WILL have to appreciate it the way it is.People acclaimed movies like "I am Legend" , "Sin City" etc. but they were all crap when seen on the whole , they simply had either a good story telling or story line.

So , people don't believe all this and go watch the movie.It is worth every penny and definitely on par with the first installment.
Micheal Bay hasn't kept his mind at bay, he has made sure that every part of the movie is according to fantasy logic and has added another blockbuster to his kitty.

Now, coming to the reviewing of the movie.This movie definitely has a plot though half way into the movie might give you a different perspective.So , here it goes , Sam Witwicky suddenly learns about the origin of the transformers and the decepticons return to earth to revive their old leader , the fallen.Meanwhile , Autobots which have kinda reproduced in number from the last movie try to protect Sam from them and whether the decepticons revive the fallen and destroy Earth or not forms the rest of the story.

The major part of the movie consists of pure action sequences with jaw dropping graphics and an awesome background score which makes you go gaga over and over again.

Shia Labeouf has done an amazing job and is carving a niche for himself in hollywood.He has matured in acting and his best is in the scene where he gets a mental breakdown in his astronomy class.

Megan Fox is just an eye candy, the sight of whom causes a lot of hormonal changes possibly withstandable.All credits to the cinematographer.

Coming to the autobots , they have definitely grown in number but not anywhere close to decepticons.With bumble-bee developing emotions , it is quite melodramatic in few scenes where you would just doze off but then you have a bigger amount of well-choreographed action sequences created using CGI.
A lot of detailing in the bots was needed because most of them are repeated ones from last movie and they need to be brought back with the same parts and for the new ones, for both autobots and decepticons , quite a huge amount of pre- and post- production work was required and all that hasn't gone in vain.You can watch the movie twice just for the sake of the CGI and the bots.

Now , just graphics won't do any good unless it is coupled with good music.So, Steve Jablonsky and his score producer Hans Zimmer have created new sounds with no cliche of any sort.Hats off to them.Also , in this context , Linkin Park's new solo "New Divide" needs to be talked about.It has amazing vocals and a rocking bgm which is sure to be played in every party or even at home.

The only flaw , sort of , came in when the decepticons started speaking english in their planet.But then you can bid all that goodbye and continue watching the movie BECAUSE it is a science-FICTION flick and not a realistic drama wherein all logic has to be there.

Michael Bay needs laurels and not the way critics have been treating him.He might be the most intelligent in directing action-thrillers but when it comes to a cartoon based fantasy , he deals it the way any talented director would and i take a bow at him.Bay has definitely shown the WAY it is done and i personally am looking forward to the next chronicle of transformers by counting every day till the release of it in 2012.Till then i would be watching both these movies again and again.

So, slamming imdb and all the other notable critics , i declare that the eye-popping CGI-action flick "Transformers :The Revenge Of The Fallen" is awesome and is sure to entertain you in every pixel of every scene of it.

Thank You for reading through the review.I hope you people like it and look forward to watching the movie.
Pour in your comments as i always say and only some people take pains to write 'em.

Coming Soon :

Review of the Harry Potter and half blood prince
and also top 5 movies this summer...

Review : Star Trek (2009)

2009-06-22T18:37:00.008+05:30

IMPECCABLE!

Rating : 4/5
Genre : Action | Advenure | Sci-Fi

After watching a lot of movies which released this year , I have finally found a movie worth reviewing and now after this decision my mind says i cannot possibly do justice.

So , does this movie need any viewing of the "Star Trek" TV series which came out in 1966 , the answer is NO.The movie makers have come out with a standalone product which proves to be euphoric and also making new star trek followers (including me,i personally thought all space war movies were bullshit but i was very much satisfied with this one).

The new film, which could rightly be categorized as a ’space opera’ makes effective use of time travel in flash backs and fast forwards, but the present time occupies the major share of the story. The film’s prologue briefly displays the birth of Captain James T. Kirk in a shuttle craft that narrowly escapes a doomed spaceship captained by his father.A Young Kirk then meets Captain Christopher Pike who is the present captain of USS Enterprise.Pike convinces the young Kirk to attend the Starfleet Academy but is quickly grounded from boarding the Enterprise cause of his supposed "cheating" in a training operation.
His first friend in the starfleet ,who later takes over as the head medical officer, then smuggles him into the ship and then the action-adventure begins coupled with a frequent dose of light hearted scenes from our protagonist himself.

The movie entertains the viewers and appeals to a mass audience even though there are some clichéd scenes.With state-of-the-art graphic sequences and intelligent script , which is perfectly stuck to , "Star Trek" proves to a ravishing entertainer and will definitely go into the logs for one the best films ever made.

Coming to the induvidual performances , Chris Pine (Capt. James T Kirk) is terrific on screen and full of energy.The "Heroes" star , Zachary Quinto , plays his part wonderfully with perfect dialogue delivery and conveys his moods perfectly even with a expressionless face.Eric Bana as Nero doesn't quite stay in the viewer's mind for his portrayal and the main cause for this would be his minimal dialogues which proves to be perfect for the script.The actor who plays the beloved starship engineer Scotty, the charismatic Simon Pegg, is hilarious.

The film’s composer, the talented Michael Giacchino (who has great movies like "Speed Racer" , "Up" , "MI 3" and a hell lot of FPS video games under his belt) contributes a rousing musical accompaniment that honors the broad adventurous canvas. Similarly, the cinematographer Dan Mindel supplies vibrancy to the "trek" as the story shifts from one location to another.The Captain of the movie , J.J Abrams , who also wrote the screenplay for the movie alongside wielding the megaphone , has made sure everyone put their contribution to this Blockbuster.But it all comes down to emotions , the sole reason why this new "STAR TREK" flick has captivated the audiences minds and urged them to love the movie.Abrams has succeeded in bringing together all that is available in big-screen epic science-fiction filmmaking and the most intimate and deeply-felt sentiments of the masses, and has given us one of the best science fiction dramas in recent times.This exquisite "Star Trek" takes movie goers to a place they have never gone to before.

The Only thing that was quite missing was the absence of any of the hollywood hotties but then you won't probably notice it while you experience this magnum opus.

So , get out there and catch this movie in the theatres especially in R|D|X for those living in Chennai before the movie is pulled out (I don't know for what reasons but this movie deserved a "4 shows a day" treatment at Satyam Cinemas).

I hope this review triggers every movie fanatic to go watch the movie because it is worth the money and I would probably want to watch it a second time too.

Thanks a lot for reading through and please feel free to pour in your comments as i have always accepted them with great respect.

Review : Villu (2009)

2009-01-23T02:42:00.005+05:30

Pathetic!

Rating : 0/5
Genre : Comedy (No Doubt , only in the sarcastic way)

People , I warn you all not to watch this movie , don't be amazed by such words coming from the likes of a Vijay Fan.I have seriously started considering my likeness of the actor.
I have never really given any movie a 'Zero' rating in my slowly building reviewing career.I could even probably watch movies such as 'I Am Legend' , 'Children Of Men' , etc maybe for a second or a third time also.

Coming to talking about the movie , I couldn't see any pluses at all till the end of the movie.Prabhu Deva should start thinking of continuing his career in direction or he has to choose a better script to remake with a better actor who doesn't demand any sort of superman sequences(But you know what ,even superman follows the principles of physics sometimes).If he would ever come in front of me , i wouldn't mind going to jail for killing Prabhu Deva.You must look at the hype that the director and the lead hero created "Villu is a stylish james bond like film" (CRAP) , "Villu is a straight Film" (BULLSHIT) , "Villu will take Nayantara to great heights" (Ya,it surely will,she will be taken to a height wherein she will fall down and die for her own good) and finally Ajith says "Vijay has done well in Villu" (Come on man,you don't need to return 'namesake' compliments just because you people are seen as rivals in the industry)

The Movie starts with a 'saliva spitting' intro scene (THOOO!!!!!) wherein the dupe of the hero (which is clearly identifiable) flies through the air and gets entangled with dupattas and then takes on a group of baddies.All stunt scenes in the movie are worth the dirt under your shoe and if given a chance i will personally visit theatres in Chennai and throw eggs and tomatoes at the screen for such illogical and dumb stunts which even a 1 year old child will question "How in the world is this possible?".I suppose even low budget 'Sam Anderson' flicks will have better logic and screenplay.Watch out 'Sam Anderson' , I'm your fan from now.

Prabhu Deva has tried to give a fast paced action flick (which turns out to be a f***ing flick) where the movie consists of bits and pieces joined together in the most pathetic way possible.

Vadivelu , another ingredient who adds up to the already growing tumour in the viewer's head.

Nayantara ,wasted to the core.I think the producers should have cast a local bar dancer for the skin show they wanted to put on screen.She would have done much better.They could have saved a lot of money , i guess.

All the others (including Prakash Raj) donot play their parts AT ALL.

The Cinematography doesn't deserve any mention and neither does the background music which is a mere collection of music from tv soaps and old movies.

The Songs are better of listening than watching because the dance masters have spoilt their own name for making Vijay dance unwanted and complicated steps for simple tunes.

Ayngaran owners can better join the league of "Satyam Infotech" if they continue to produce such movies.

Lastly but defnitely the least (for this movie) , "Varungaala Puratchi Thalaivar" Vijay.I add such a title because the actor is interested in following MGR's footsteps and news about plans to enter politics are also flying around.This is the 'worst' movie he has ever acted (Oh,sorry ,hmm......what do i say....casted or been) in.What a waste of time and money,i could better have watched an Ajith or a Simbu Movie which could have been better.

I Finished watching the movie with a severe headache,i hope i will get relieved from it only after i virtually kill Prabhu Deva and go narrate a story to Vijay written by me which will properly exploit his talents.Until then,i will need an hourly dose of aspirin.I won't mind even if i get addicted or my nervous system becomes weak.

After criticizing the movie so much,i don't think i've expressed myself fully.Instead let me give you a list of things which you can go, do and comeback and still you would understand the movie.
1) Listen to your most disliked teacher giving a lecture on the subject you hate the most.
2) Get slapped by a 100 girls
3) Dip your face into an uncleaned toilet
4) Sleep
5) Watch Aadhi ,Kuruvi and ATM on three screens simultaneously

Final Verdict : Commit Suicide!!Government is sure to give your family money which you wouldn't have even dreamt of.VILLU - AWEFULLU!!!!
Special Mention : I am grateful in announcing a third successful flop for Vijay after ATM and Kuruvi which atleast made me sit through the whole movie.This hattrick film has flopped in the most disastrous way as possible.

Thank You for reading through my review, and i was fine and not drunk while i wrote this review.Please feel free to add to the criticizm of this assfull (sorry aweful) movie.