Endhiran...

...one half of the movie is very good. The other half is as bad! Trimming about 20 mins would have made this a great tamil movie!

Inception...

...fucking mind-blowing!

Raavanan

This review is in reference to Raavanan and not Ravan.

If you are a Mani Ratnam fan and you step in to the movie theatre with that notion, you'll certainly not be disappointed. Though the movie begins slowly leaving the viewer not much of a choice but to wonder what the heck is going on, it picks up pace and before you realize, you reach the intermission. Then comes the real treat.

I liked the second half much much better than the first half. All references to Ramayana (either direct or indirect) make one realize only Maniratnam can pull such things off with his well thought out story line. I loved the way how the story showcases the incidents from Ramayana such as Surpanaga (Ravana's sister and as to how the whole story erupts from her incident), Vibheeshana being a slightly good/smarter guy in an otherwise 'Arakkar' clan, the 'hide and kill' Vaali episode (though indirect), most of the actions of Hanuman and of course the 'lie detector' usage against Sita.

Some of these references while being direct, some of the others were dragged into the story, but never did I think it did not make sense at any point. Though the story itself is a major success for the movie, the best part according to me is the location and the camera work. The amount of diligent thought and hard work that has gone into researching the location for every single scene becomes evident as one watches the movie.

The 'bridge' fight towards the end of the movie was breathtaking. I couldn't say if any technical assistance/graphics went into the contribution of the fight sequence here, but my eyes could detect none. I would rate that as one of the best fighting sequences made in any tamil movie (though not long enough!). Music by thala A R Rahman was pretty decent (I refer to BGM and not songs here).

Climax is a very important part of any movie as it creates the final impression with which the viewer walks out of the movie hall and just as in every one of his movies, Mani has created a climax that can't be more fitting than this. Though I could think of 3 to 4 different ways this movie could have ended, Mani definitely steered the movie to the best climax one could think of! I liked this movie more because of the climax than all the other aspects put together.

Through out the movie, there are multiple times when you think Prithviraj as the hero and Vikram as the villain and that sort of keeps alternating. The whole flow of emotions in the viewer's mind is well perceived by Mani. The topic of who ends up as the hero/villain is indeed debatable and as I walked out the theatre, I felt neither of them can be called as the hero nor the villain. I felt the characters had their own reasoning.

I give pretty much all the credit to Mani, but to be fair, Vikram, Prithviraj and Aiswarya have all done their role very well. Prabhu, Karthik and Priyamani were so-so (not that they had a strong role anyways!)

This movie simplistically explains how an epic can be delineated in today's world, that too in a different style. Overall, this movie is a definite watch once at least, if not more than once!

Karate kid...

The movie starts like the tamil movie Anjali, moves on slowly like Kung Fu panda and then creates a style of its own leaving the viewers excited most of the time. The movie has quite a lot of humorous moments (having Jackie Chan in the movie and well thought out scenes). Jackie chan has played a different role, commendably well done. It gave me a feeling as if he was looking to perform such a role for a long time now. Will Smith's son, I'm sure has a great acting career ahead of him. Just like in Pursuit of Happiness, he has the charm of fitting to any role he plays.

The movie showcases a lot of chinese culture and a lot of kung fu (both of which I attribute to the Jackie Chan effect). Like many sports movies, this one ends with a nicely sequenced Kung Fu tournament where our hero wins closely.

It is certainly one of the awesomest and 'feel good' movies I have seen in the recent times!

P.S: And if you see a black kid doing some kung fu moves on the streets, he probably watched this movie very recently!

Paiyya..

...it shouldn't have been just Paiyya.

Thu!

Angadi Theru...

...too much of reality.

I have never liked it in movies.

Vinnaithaandi Varuvaya

After watching the movie, I remember more lame scenes than sane ones. I remember more lame dialogues than good ones. Simbu absolutely lacked screen presence and his dialogue delivery is pathetic. Script/screenplay looked very 'ungowtham-Menon-like'. Such a 'beaten-to-death' story too. Only good thing about the movie is the music. Though I sort of liked the last 10 minuetes, to sit through 2 hours of what led to it is totally not worth it.

If gowtham menon thinks he is one of the great directors in tamil film industry, its time he rethinks that.

Shutter Island

The movie begins with thundering bgm giving a erie feeling to the whole initial thought process of the viewer. The lighting and the camera perspective adds to the effect of the island that has the facility for the criminally insane people.

Frame after frame, the movie keeps the viewer guessing and the momemtum continues till the very end. For some people, the guessing might continue even after the end.

A great fitting climax, suspenseful storyline, excellent characterization - all make it a fantastic movie. Go watch!

3 idiots

...bollywoodish.

Fun and entertaining, but as against the whole 'Five point someone' controversy, I hardly saw the movie made out of the book. A few scenes here and there, but overall the movie is quite different from the book. Chetan Bhagat by the way...ok, why mention it.

Few thoughts:

1. Aamir khan is very good, he sure can pull off any role with ease.

2. Madhavan, in his right senses, should never accept a college student role. Not even after he loses 20 pounds.

3. Second half of the movie was better than the first half.

4. Kareena Kapoor's sister is very good looking. Sure, better than Kareena.

5. I made myself a promise to visit Ladakh once in life.

Up in the air..

...makes one wonder if people do such things in life. George Clooney is a professional hired to fire people. He travels around the country visiting companies that are downsizing people. He travels way too much (about 300 days in a year) and his sole aim is to get 10 million frequent flier miles. The movie revolves around his lifestyle, his relationships and philosophies in life. Barring a few scenes that are slightly humorous, the movie makes the audience wait for something eventful to happen in the movie, which indeed does not.

I should call such movies 'straight-line' ones.

[P.S: Unless you visit the theatre to watch a movie you want to watch and that movie is booked and you dont have another choice, dont choose this movie!]

Avatar...

...makes me wonder how far one's imagination could go! James Cameroon has done a splendid job in writing such a creative story line. Apparently, he had this idea about 10 years ago and worked on this movie for 4 years before it released yesterday. The computer graphics are spell-binding and makes one completely forget that most of the movie is done through animation in the first place. Smallest details in the movie amazed me the most.

The movie starts grandly, becomes a little slow in the second half and later picks up pace/interest towards the end. If you have the opportunity, watch the movie in an IMAX. Or a 3D IMAX would even be better.

Bottom line: Fucking Awesome.

P.S: I hate to be one of those sky-people. But sadly, I am!

Invictus!

If one has not seen Nelson Mandela's photographs before, one could easily beleive Mr.Mandela is a hollywood actor. None could have performed the role of Nelson Mandela better than Morgan Freeman. Sports movies are typically inspirational, this one beats them all. The movie does scream Clint Eastwood's style in every scene.

Invictus - a fine movie!

P.S Did I say I'm a new fan of Matt Damon? And did I say my movie days are back? And did I say I've booked for Avatar IMAX 3D show for tonight? That's right!

Zombieland..

...As I was driving out of the movie theatre parking lot, I felt like pressing the gas pedal and killing some zombies. That's how high one's spirit goes after watching the movie. On a serious note, if there was a movie one can laugh looking at disgusting blood-spewing zombies, this is it!

A definite entertainer!

Couples Retreat...

"I peed", says a kid in the very first scene and the movie begins. One thinks the movie might be fun. In about 15 minutes, one starts to yawn and realizes the first dialogue was the only 'fun' part in it. Except for some occasional humor, the movie is fucking boring.

Also, I haven't seen a movie where A R Rahman's re-recording is so poorly utilized.

Thu!

Extract

If you want to watch a movie, which does not have huge up's and down's, yet trying to keep your attention in its own steady pace, maintaining the subtle day-today humour continuously and a fucking hilarious 1-minute climax, Extract is the movie you should watch!

P.S: I so am attracted towards owning a 5-series BMW and be the owner of a factory (in India).

Inglorious Basterds

First 10 minutes of the movie were like reading a good novel, delineating the strength and the smallest intricacies of the scene like nothing else! And the movie kept the pace and the rhythm moving tight till the very climax which was a fitting end to the movie in itself!

Brad pitt was awesome with his southern accent and Christoph Waltz rocked in his own style too!

There are not many movies where every scene makes you expectantly wait for the next. This one does for sure!

Kandasamy...

... Dhandasamy. Worst screenplay I have ever seen in the recent times. Pathetic storyline, poor scene selection, unnecessary song sequences and stupid characterisation.Thu!

On a lighter note, I would have been happier if Vijay was the hero of this movie. With his experience, he would have added to the 'screw up' so professionally. And I take an oath not to see another tamil movie in theatres, unless its Mani Ratnam/Shankar's movie or the movie receives rave reviews.

State of Play

...a movie which keeps one up through-out, even during a back to back movie session (after watching this) and the show timing being 12 am. Ben Affleck was naturally good, Russel Crowe seemed being at his coolest best, and Rachel McAdams as cute as ever! A good movie.

17 Again...

Yawn.

Fast and Furious...

...is extremely fast most of the time and soporifically slow at others.

You would like this movie, if you are one who likes drooling at nice looking cars, not knowing that they would be destroyed to pieces in the very next scene; and also, if you are not aware that there are winding tunnels under the mountains on the US-Mexico border.