Review: Yennai Arindhaal (2015)

Have you ever heard or come across the term "Reusable modules"? Yennai Arindhaal is just that. Put all of Goutham Menon's scripts into a program and write a code to get the best possible output. Of all the outputs, the one with the greatest error term will be "Yennai Arindhaal".

What a waste of time..I really looked forward to this movie because I like some of GVM's way of storytelling and that coupled with a smart looking actor like Ajith was a perfect combination.

The movie's biggest positive point and the biggest failure is Goutham Menon himself. Too many redundant ideas spoilt the movie. Every scene, every dialogue seemed predictable (because it was inspired). You would have seen it somewhere.

Except for the "Yennai arindhaal" theme, even the background music by HJ was inspired majorly from Metallica and the OST of "Tron: Legacy".

Some solid performances from Ajith, Arun Vijay, Trisha and the small girl were commendable. The "Maya Bazaar" song idea/picturisation was unique for a Goutham film. I loved it. 

The story was simply copy-paste from his earlier scripts. No intelligence whatsoever (as some people think it is). Comparisons don't make sense here at all.

The dialogues were delivered in a very monotonous tone, typical of Goutham Menon breaking tamil sentences into "English" pieces.

Not worth 3 hours at all. Give it a miss or try at your own risk is what I would say.

Rating: 2/5

Yennai Arindhaal: "Re-used Module"

Review: I (2015)

Ever since this movie was announced of making, the expectations were soaring high. This director-actor's previous outing "Anniyan" turned out to be an epic success. They were joined by Kollywood's filthy rich producer. There was also news of Vikram shedding a lot of weight and doing different kinds of roles. When you hear and see all this, obviously, you have set yourself with an expectation. Now, when you reach the theatre, you would definitely not be happy if your expectations are not met. You might end up in this category of movie watchers. There are more kinds....

Another set of people are those who start to feel annoyed the way the first half progresses itself. You end up yawning, you ending hitting your forehead for another song 10 minutes post the previous, albeit with very classy and creative ideas.

Another set are those who are very intrigued by the end of the first half and are scratching their heads thinking, "What would have happened? Why did they show that scene?", etc. And as second half unfolds, they are like, "I hope what I'm watching is not a 200 crore budget movie".

There are, I'm sure, many more sets of people. What am I trying to say? - "I" is definitely a lot of money and effort gone waste, thanks to a wafer-thin and very predictable story line.

From another angle, you feel that "I" is a result of "Big budget announced-Budget gets over at 80% of the movie-Team resorting to complacency-Result: Incomplete!" You can guess this from looking at the title credits. Very simple "Microsoft Word" fonts used.

In the midst of all this, Vikram has done an impeccable job. What a man! The only reason people gave a standing ovation at the end of the movie is this guy. Complete dedication and immersion in the character, Vikram pulls out a stunner. If at all you will wish to watch "I" twice, it would be for him.

Songs were already reached a "divine" stage before the movie released. ARR gave us a very unique and young album this time. His background score is amazing in a lot of places but becomes repetitive too. In some areas, you feel that ARR has resorted to using "preset" tunes in many audio softwares. 

Stunts are way too mediocre. A lot of style statement wantedly enforced but has failed to live up.

Camera work was brilliant in a few places and shabby in others. Too much of unwanted movements, zoom ins.

Acting performances are very unrealistic (except for Vikram of course). Amy Jackson looks piping hot and everyone is sure to go gaga over her. She's done a good job at lip sync too. Some homework can be seen.

The movie is a simple revenge saga taken to an unnecessary high level by the team. 

But for Vikram's amazing efforts and Santhanam's deadly comedy till the last page of the screenplay, "I" is a failure. Period.

In most movies, you would wish the songs be cut out but in "I", song form the only innovative aspect in the movie.

With a lot more edits, faster dialogue delivery coupled with Vikram and Santhanam's existing performance, "I" would have been a much better movie and be likeable by all.

Rating: 2.5/5

I: Incomplete!

Review: Kaththi (2014)

Well, Let me get my thoughts straight on target. I'm a bit disappointed. It might sound weird coming from me, who people know as an ardent Vijay fan but yes, I'm not going to lie.

Kaththi is all about conveying a powerful social message. Let's just put it that if all of Murugadoss's brain cells were on "the same page", then the script and therefore the final output would have been totally different. Somewhere, something went wavering and the final result is somewhat of a let down albeit not totally.

There are some very strong and emotional sequences which make you ponder and even stop a trickle of tear from your eye from people noticing but they are very few. The message lies there bang on target in those scenes. The whole build up to that was somehow, in my opinion, not treated very well. The performances of Vijay(s), Satish and the oldie gang were brilliant, way more than anyone would have expected but, there is always a but...

Kaththi can be heavily boasted to be one of Vijay's best performances till date for years to come. The way he emotes in specific sequences would clearly shut a lot of his critics but certain dance movements, certain expressions could land directly to the meme pages.

Yes, Kaththi has Vijay in dual roles, and of course, the difference between the 2 characters is simple, one has a clean shave and other has a stubble. Can't expect more from him either.

Samantha, herself has agreed through her twitter handle, that she's finally given a commercial hit and needs to concentrate on good roles. I definitely agree to it. Most of the scenes in Kaththi shows Samantha as a mere mannequin with the same expression.

The villain, Neil Nitin Mukesh, who I thought dubbed his own voice from the trailer let me down. He definitely hasn't dubbed for himself. The other villain, I don't even know the name goes missing all of a sudden.

To me, if at all there should be one person who carried the movie throughout and made it watchable, would be, Not Vijay...Not Murugadoss. Yes, Anirudh. Whatte wow of a BGM! Take a Bow, Anirudh! Although, most of the BGMs sounded like inspirations but their tactical use and giving them a new "ring to it" make it amazing.

After all this, you would want to know if you could watch the movie or not. I'm coming to that....

Yes, Kaththi is definitely a must watch movie. If you do have the patience to sit through some illogical and unnecessary scenes coupled with some screenplay slips, you have an amazing ending in store. At the end of the movie, you tend to forget all the bullshit in the starting and applaud and emote yourself. I do agree that movies can't be bang on target. They do need build ups but strong ones not as weak as Kaththi. 

Kudos to Murugadoss in bringing to light a disturbing yet unsolved currently existing situation. Some of his ideas are really great.

Watch it and enjoy it. It is a very different Vijay movie, trust me. No intro song, no intro fight, no typical Vijay songs either. I was really surprised and heaved a sigh of relief when "Paalam" song was not part of the movie. If that was added, it would have led to further disappointment.

After reading through all this, you would be keen in knowing my final verdict...

Rating: 3/5

Kaththi - Definitely some more sharpening required!

P.S. You would totally disagree with my final rating after all the initial build up but all the points go to Anirudh, Vijay and the message, respectively!

Review: Jigarthanda (2014)

"Why this title for such a movie?" - You'll keep thinking throughout the movie until the climax and then you experience something which the namesake drink will not give you.

Karthik Subbaraj, a director who made Pizza and having immense experience from making short films, you would expect his next to be similar and probably fail but "Jigarthanda" could be easily called the better film because it not only entertains "the eccentric movie watcher" but also every other person in the theatre.

Lots of comedy and wit in dialogue, with scenes evolving straight out of the satirical mind, Jigarthanda is a complete film. It is long but it doesn't bore you a minute.

Siddharth has played one of his tamil career's best characters till date and he does so in style. Karunakaran, the budding comedian, I can't call him that, has given us his best yet again.

The movie is new, the screenplay is creative (not innovative) and the music is out of the world. Another feather in the cap for Santhosh Narayanan. More than actors, he is one guy who chooses his films very carefully as each of them strikes gold and wins hearts.

All in all, Jigarthanda is one awesome movie. Some may call it a Tarantino styled flick - the director accepts that and gives us a movie which follows a typical Tarantino screenplay but has put in his mind and heart into a story which is sure to entertain all.

Rating: 3.5/5

Jigarthanda: Better than the drink!

Review: Velai Illa Pattathari (2014)

The trailer of Christopher Nolan's "Interstellar" shows us earth some time in the future and says "We did not run out of engineers..We ran out of food". You might be wondering why I'm quoting that dialogue in this post. Actually, that had something to do with Velai Illa Pattathai (VIP). There are so many engineers that India creates every year and a major chunk of them do not have a job. VIP rests and builds on this premise.

While VIP's major portion is of commercial nature, there is this small portion where the director has subtly put a thought provoking social message.The protagonist says that we have so many engineering colleges and yet very few end up with paid jobs, leave high paying jobs. Most of the people study something in their college and go work in some other totally irrelevant field.

The first half of Dhanush's 25th film is full of comedy and drama brilliantly carried out by Dhanush. We can see him singing in more than one song. Good part is that most of the songs get over in the first half and go with the flow of the movie. The second half on the other hand is full of action and revenge and a game of cat and mouse. I wouldn't call it a letdown but there was nothing much to appreciate about.

Anirudh's songs and score was just too brilliant and we can see a big man in the making. Cinematography was too good, the way certain slow motion scenes are captured are just amazing. The dialogues are witty and funny. It also marks the comeback of Vivek as a part-time comedian. His presence is felt. Amala is as beautiful as ever. Saranya's pulls out another emotional and strong character in the story. Director Samuthirakani (after his Nimirnthu Nil debacle) has played his part well.

All in all, Dhanush's 25th is a winner and certain to entertain you. Watch it as soon as possible and I promise a treat is awaiting you.

Rating: 2.5/5

VIP: Very Interesting Picture! 

Review: Dawn of the Planet of the Apes (2014)

Dawn of the planet of the apes is a fitting sequel to "Rise of the planet of the apes" which released 3 years back. There is a very small chunk of movies whose sequels have been made better and also have performed better. Dawn.. is most likely to fall into that chunk. I mean how often do you see directors/writers screw up sequels (primary reason for screw ups is the awesomeness of the prequel itself).

So what is so nice about this movie?

Dawn... is Hollywood's example to show the world the advancement in movie making technology. Seeing a one minute sequence of 100 apes together wow us but just imagine how much work goes into making each one of them real, showing expression on their face. Each frame of Dawn.. consists of such imagery.

It is just not technology. There is emotion, there is drama and there is a lot of intelligence. You laugh and you cry with them. The advancement is story writing too has reached an all new level. 

Watch Dawn... to experience one of the coolest movies YTD and for the months to come.

Rating: 3.5/5

Dawn of the planet of the apes: Super cool!

Review: Edge of Tomorrow (2014)

Watching a movie alone is something which has become very common nowadays. I used to be called "crazy" back then when I was doing it very frequently. Today, I wanted to do that again but this time I traveled almost 20kms (one way) to watch this movie in IMAX. And was it worth it? Yes, every paisa!

Edge of Tomorrow is a video game with a story only that you're asked to watch how the game is to be completed. 

For people who've watched Groundhog day, you would have got to know what this movie is based on right from the trailer. For those who don't know about that movie and for those who haven't watched the movie, the director sets takes some time to make you understand what's happening.

Want to keep this post very very short so here it is:

Edge of Tomorrow is brilliant, adrenaline pumping and has good elements of humor. This one line will make you feel that I've watched an Indian commercial movie but no! Tom Cruise plays a brilliant character and shows us why he's still in the business. Emily Blunt plays this stylish and suave soldier and does so in her own way. Surprisingly and thankfully there wasn't much of romance or love, there was more of an emotional bonding showed in a very good way.

Watch Edge of Tomorrow (don't know why that name was chosen) for all the adrenaline rush and some intelligent action with a racy narrative and good eye for detail.

Edge of Darkness: Awesome!

Rating: 3.5/5

Review: Kochadaiyaan (2014)

Watching Kochadaiyaan was an experience. Not the movie, the way I reached the theatre. Zooming past peak Bangalore traffic is a thrill in itself and more so if you want to watch a Rajini movie. If a Rajini movie is to be watched in Bangalore, it has to be in Urvashi Theatre and nowhere else. What an electrifying atmosphere. Even people watching the IPL final in the stadium would make so much noise. That's the experience I'm talking about,.

I'm sure that by now most of the reviews would have come out. Or people would be negligent towards reading any for spoilers sake. Anyways, I don't give out the story/plot in my reviews.

I so wished Kochadaiyaan was shot real-time. I'm damn sure it would have turned out to be one amazing movie. More so if a person like Shankar would have directed it.

But you've got to give it to the whole team for trying out something new. Bringing motion capture to Tamil cinema is indeed a welcome effort. But again, so much time and so much money was spent. Was it worth it? Simply put, No!

The animation is so below par that you feel that you're watching cartoon network. But (a lot of "buts" used till now), the very presence of Thalaivar (read. Rajini) is enough to keep you awake. What amazing rendering of dialogues! (far better rendering than the VFX technology used in the movie) His voice is so awesome that it gives you goosebumps. Kudos to the sound engineer for keeping Rajini's voice in tact.

It's a 2 hour movie and all the 7 songs get featured in it. Just imagine. "Medhuvaagathaan" was the only worthy motion capture song in the movie. Some of them could have played in the background instead of computer generated "Robots" dancing.

Overall, the Superstar and the background music from ARR save the day and make "Kochadaiyaan" a watchable fare. If not for them it would have been a disaster. The VFX was never in place. Either the detailing was too good that made you feel there was animation within animation or the background seemed like a picture making you feel like a 1st grade kid. No consistency in the work and the editing could have been improved a lot. The lip sync was never in sync, especially in the song. But (the last one), you can always watch it for the SUPERSTAR!

Rating: 2/5

Kochadaiyaan - An expected "EPIC" fail!

Review: Queen (2014)

Well, I know I'm late. This movie released 2 weeks back. I got to watch it just now and to put it simply, I loved it. 

Queen is another journey which invited me and it amazed me as to how maturely and differently people can think when they make cinema. Cinema was all about entertainment years back, now it still is but people expect more from it. They want to get attached to it and want to feel moved by it. Queen is such a movie. It entertains you, it pains you when it makes you step into the protagonist's shoes and let you think about living it. 

Having expectations is not always a great thing, furthermore having expectations about specific people could lead problems your way. Kangana is one such person whom you'd expect to not "act" but she lets you down for you thought and makes you go "Wow" at her after the movie. Such incredible performance, she's pulled off a very tough role. I mean, how can one act so innocent and yet be so genuine.

Hats off to the director and writer Vikas Bahl. With editing support from Anurag Kashyap, this movie lures you to think and makes you happy with the way it progresses and concludes. Amit Trivedi's music is as captivating as ever. Doesn't let you down at all.

Watch the movie and live it. Queen is definitely something which you shouldn't miss.

Rating: 3.5/5

Queen: Celebrate her womanhood!

Review: Highway (2014)

If you came out of highway and said this movie has a lot of flaws, then you'd be dumb. Not because there aren't any, only because the movie hasn't hit the right side of your head!

Highway is a journey you'd never want to end. You are so immersed in it that you totally hate the projector when the movie is about to end. It carries you in this wonderful path that makes you feel like the protagonist. 

Alia's performance in "Student of the year" left her hopeless in acting but she strikes hard in Highway, so hard that it touches your heart and rebounds leaving you awestruck. One of the performance she'll be remembered in the future. Her co-star Randeep Hooda comes back with a totally different role from where we saw him in Bombay Talkies. Alia wins hands down over anybody in the movie, acting wise.

Highway is a technically brilliant movie. With music from AR Rahman and sound engineering by Resul Pookutty, these two make sure that live sounds of the environment are captured and brought to our ears to make us feel as part of the movie itself. Cinematography is brilliant.

You might find Highway boring (if you like movies like R..Rajkumar and Gunday - just 2 random examples), but my respect is high for Imtiaz Ali for making this dark yet cheerful film which touched my heart and brought out tears. Hats off!

Rating: 3.5/5

Highway: Why did it have to end....