Ranking: 2.5/5
Cast: Arshad Warsi, John Abraham, a no-name-American, Hanif Hum Ghum, Salman Shahid
Director: Kabir Khan
Music:
So Jai (Arshad) a cameraman and Suhel (John) a reporter, are on their way to Kabul to get a documentary on Taliban. They are on a hunt to find a Talib in flesh and blood and are being assisted by Khyber (Hanif) who drives Kabul Express, a car. Khyber sets up a meeting with a Talib with the help of Pakistani soldiers but the Talib escapes from them and he sees Jai and Suhel.
He tracks them down and tries to use them to help his getaway into Pakistan which he claims is his homeland. Jai, Suhel, and Khyber are being terrorized by the talib who calls himself Imran Khan Afridi (Salman Shahid). Some funny moments arise when Jai and Imran discuss about cricket.
Enroute to Pakistan they are overcome by many hurdles. They are stopped by the Hazaras during which Imran escapes and laters rescues Jai, Suhel, and Khyber from them. There they also meet and save the American journalist (the no-name actress) and her driver who have been on Jai's and Suhel's tracks and were now imprisoned by the Hazaras.
They continue the journey together. They visit Imran's daughter's village, and go through many struggling moments before finally reaching Pakistani border but also being hunt down by the army...Does Imran make it to the other side of the border or not?...It is not a big surprise you will guess this part much before the director even brings the story to the end....
Anyways, the review...the movie is not worth wasting time on. John and Arshad are good but the movie is not convincing. The plot is not clear...the director tries to stay away from white and black areas and lingers around in gray areas. He is not clear if the Pakistani army is bad, or if he is trying to justify the Talib's feelings/life/existence, or if Americans are bad...What is the point? Is the point to let us know what Afghanistan has been reduced to by the Russians, Americans, Taliban, NA, and everyone else then this movie just came like a year or two too late. Because honestly, if you are the kind that reads, then you would know more than what the movie tells even before watching the movie. But I should not forget to appreciate the attempt because it is worth watching for the visuals. The story itself is reject quality.
I understand that Mr. Kabir Khan is a war journalist, maybe he should have stuck to it than moving into commercials. A documentary on this topic might be more interesting than the movie posing as a pseudo-documentary. Therefore, my advice is, if you have nothing better to do then you can waste your time on this fare.
Tuesday, December 26, 2006
Dhoom 2 (2006) - Hindi Movie Review
Ranking: 2.5/5
Cast: Hrithik, Ash, Bips, Abhi, Uday Chopra
Director: Sanjay Gadhvi
Music: Pritam
What the hell does the director think of movie goers? That we will take any trash that is dished out at us? That we are stupid people who cannot think and will watch with awe when he has made a fashion show and music videos and is selling it to us as a movie?! Seriously this trend has to stop, using multi-starer themes with absolutely no story in the movie whatsoever is not only ridiculous but also mocking the viewers sense! This is what I seriously think of this movie...Total bull crap.
Anyways now coming to the story. We all know that Jay (Abhi) is a serious cop who has Ali (Uday) as his right hand man who is a total fool. We wonder how a sensible cop can have an idiot for help. Anyhow, they are now trying to bust a new International thief that has been creating a sensation with his unique style of leaving an A behind at the crime scene. Of course, hot girl Shonali (Bipasha) has to be the strict gal officer who assists Jay and Ali to get Mr. A (Hrithik) behind bars!
Well they fail miserably in their first task and after that we are rid of Shonali because in comes Ms. Sunehri (Ash) who is hot on the tracks of Mr. A as she is enamored by his robbing tactics. We all get to know that she is Jay's informer. We don't know what crime she has committed that she is doing favors to Jay to get rid of prison sentence. Anyways, Sunehri has Mr. A well in her tracks. Hot dances and skin feast galore! Sunehri offers to become Mr. A's partner and Mr. A agrees and lets her know that his next destination is Brazil and so Jay and Ali pack their bags too.
The next thing we see is Ms. Monali (Bips again) in bikini posing around in Rio. Of course, you must have guessed that she is Shonali's twin sister who eventually falls in love with Ali! The climax will answer the following questions: Will Ash''s cover be exposed? What does Mr. A do about it? Does Jay get his guy? What happens to Ali or do we even care about him?
Like I said at the very beginning of the review. I am not very excited about this movie though I should agree that Hrithik is hot and even hotter than Ash and Bips. Seriously this is one instance when even guys felt that Hrithik was better than the girls in the movie! He really steals the show and we only catch glimpses of Abhi. Uday is extremely irritation and in spite of his good physique he still carries the annoying chipmunk face...So Uday choose another profession please!
Aishwarya should not be allowed to talk. She sounds stupid...you think she is hot in her entry scene and the minute she opens her mouth the bubble breaks! Also she should not attempt to do any type of dance other than desi folk and desi movie dance! Because she make western dance look like Barathanatyam! Gosh it is annoying! But in the case of Bipasha at least she is hot in spite of having only a bimbo's role in the movie!
Now it is your decision to watch or not to watch!
Cast: Hrithik, Ash, Bips, Abhi, Uday Chopra
Director: Sanjay Gadhvi
Music: Pritam
What the hell does the director think of movie goers? That we will take any trash that is dished out at us? That we are stupid people who cannot think and will watch with awe when he has made a fashion show and music videos and is selling it to us as a movie?! Seriously this trend has to stop, using multi-starer themes with absolutely no story in the movie whatsoever is not only ridiculous but also mocking the viewers sense! This is what I seriously think of this movie...Total bull crap.
Anyways now coming to the story. We all know that Jay (Abhi) is a serious cop who has Ali (Uday) as his right hand man who is a total fool. We wonder how a sensible cop can have an idiot for help. Anyhow, they are now trying to bust a new International thief that has been creating a sensation with his unique style of leaving an A behind at the crime scene. Of course, hot girl Shonali (Bipasha) has to be the strict gal officer who assists Jay and Ali to get Mr. A (Hrithik) behind bars!
Well they fail miserably in their first task and after that we are rid of Shonali because in comes Ms. Sunehri (Ash) who is hot on the tracks of Mr. A as she is enamored by his robbing tactics. We all get to know that she is Jay's informer. We don't know what crime she has committed that she is doing favors to Jay to get rid of prison sentence. Anyways, Sunehri has Mr. A well in her tracks. Hot dances and skin feast galore! Sunehri offers to become Mr. A's partner and Mr. A agrees and lets her know that his next destination is Brazil and so Jay and Ali pack their bags too.
The next thing we see is Ms. Monali (Bips again) in bikini posing around in Rio. Of course, you must have guessed that she is Shonali's twin sister who eventually falls in love with Ali! The climax will answer the following questions: Will Ash''s cover be exposed? What does Mr. A do about it? Does Jay get his guy? What happens to Ali or do we even care about him?
Like I said at the very beginning of the review. I am not very excited about this movie though I should agree that Hrithik is hot and even hotter than Ash and Bips. Seriously this is one instance when even guys felt that Hrithik was better than the girls in the movie! He really steals the show and we only catch glimpses of Abhi. Uday is extremely irritation and in spite of his good physique he still carries the annoying chipmunk face...So Uday choose another profession please!
Aishwarya should not be allowed to talk. She sounds stupid...you think she is hot in her entry scene and the minute she opens her mouth the bubble breaks! Also she should not attempt to do any type of dance other than desi folk and desi movie dance! Because she make western dance look like Barathanatyam! Gosh it is annoying! But in the case of Bipasha at least she is hot in spite of having only a bimbo's role in the movie!
Now it is your decision to watch or not to watch!
E! (2006) - Tamil Movie Review
Ranking: 4/5
Cast: Jeeva, Karunas, Nayanthara, Ashish Vidyarthi, Pasupathy
Director: SP Jananathan
Music: Srikanth Deva
E (Jeeva) and Tony (Karunas) are partners in crime in a slum area. They are known as con men and people avoid them at all costs. Jothy (Nayanthara) a bar dancer moves into the locality with her step family and is conned by E. In spite of E conning Jothy, she falls in love with him. She learns about him and tries her best to change his ways.
Dr. Ramakrishnan (Ashish) is the local doctor to whom all the poor people run to in case of emergencies. Up front he is a decent doctor trying to save the poor but behind curtains he is an evil doctor experimenting drugs on his unsuspecting patients. He tests some foriegn drugs on Indian patients to make a lot of money. On one such drug tests he enrolls E's adopted grandmother and Jothy's step sister neither of whom have any idea that they are being taken as guinea pigs.
E uses Jothy to make money while he is not even sure if he loves her or not. He is very practical and everything in life refers only to making money. He contracts with the doctor to kill Nellai Mani (Pasupathy) who is trying to kill the doctor. In one murder attempt by Nellai Mani, E rescues the doctor's life and hence the deal is struck.
E decides that if he kidnaps Nellai Mani and keeps him in his custody then he can milk the doctor for a lot of money. But his attempts to kidnap Nellai Mani fail until one day Nellai Mani hurt and wounded by cops falls into E's hands.
Does E kill Nellai Mani, what is Nellai Mani's motivation to kill the doctor? What does Jothy do to help or dissuade E from committing further crimes? You should watch the movie!!!!
First off, kudos to the director for delivering a current subject with so much effectiveness that it surely raises awareness among people. The casting is simply brilliant. Jeeva as E has amazing make up, perfect gait, mannerisms, and dialect that one cannot picture him removed from the slum. Even his teeth are yellowed with rotting marks on them. Karunas as Tony is brilliant as E's best friend.
Nayanthara can act! Yes! And she is pretty too. There is no two thoughts about that. She shines in the movie with her histrionic skills. She really needs some more slimming to do item numbers as she still reminds me of thunder-thighs-Anuradha from the 80's but she is better than what she was in Gajini.
Ashish Vidyarthi desperately needs to update his acting skills as it is getting pretty stale and repetitive. Pasupathy is as good as he has been in other movies but unfortunately for him he does not have much to do in this movie.
To conclude I would certainly say that this is a very good movie to watch but beware of many gory scenes, dead bodies in different state that you really don't want your eyes to look at and a few not so parliamentary dialogues. Certainly not for children but adults should be able to handle and digest the content of the movie. Interest theme and very decent music too. Thank God the director does not bore us with loads of unnecessary songs at wrong times. It is a movie with dark shades so be prepared!
Cast: Jeeva, Karunas, Nayanthara, Ashish Vidyarthi, Pasupathy
Director: SP Jananathan
Music: Srikanth Deva
E (Jeeva) and Tony (Karunas) are partners in crime in a slum area. They are known as con men and people avoid them at all costs. Jothy (Nayanthara) a bar dancer moves into the locality with her step family and is conned by E. In spite of E conning Jothy, she falls in love with him. She learns about him and tries her best to change his ways.
Dr. Ramakrishnan (Ashish) is the local doctor to whom all the poor people run to in case of emergencies. Up front he is a decent doctor trying to save the poor but behind curtains he is an evil doctor experimenting drugs on his unsuspecting patients. He tests some foriegn drugs on Indian patients to make a lot of money. On one such drug tests he enrolls E's adopted grandmother and Jothy's step sister neither of whom have any idea that they are being taken as guinea pigs.
E uses Jothy to make money while he is not even sure if he loves her or not. He is very practical and everything in life refers only to making money. He contracts with the doctor to kill Nellai Mani (Pasupathy) who is trying to kill the doctor. In one murder attempt by Nellai Mani, E rescues the doctor's life and hence the deal is struck.
E decides that if he kidnaps Nellai Mani and keeps him in his custody then he can milk the doctor for a lot of money. But his attempts to kidnap Nellai Mani fail until one day Nellai Mani hurt and wounded by cops falls into E's hands.
Does E kill Nellai Mani, what is Nellai Mani's motivation to kill the doctor? What does Jothy do to help or dissuade E from committing further crimes? You should watch the movie!!!!
First off, kudos to the director for delivering a current subject with so much effectiveness that it surely raises awareness among people. The casting is simply brilliant. Jeeva as E has amazing make up, perfect gait, mannerisms, and dialect that one cannot picture him removed from the slum. Even his teeth are yellowed with rotting marks on them. Karunas as Tony is brilliant as E's best friend.
Nayanthara can act! Yes! And she is pretty too. There is no two thoughts about that. She shines in the movie with her histrionic skills. She really needs some more slimming to do item numbers as she still reminds me of thunder-thighs-Anuradha from the 80's but she is better than what she was in Gajini.
Ashish Vidyarthi desperately needs to update his acting skills as it is getting pretty stale and repetitive. Pasupathy is as good as he has been in other movies but unfortunately for him he does not have much to do in this movie.
To conclude I would certainly say that this is a very good movie to watch but beware of many gory scenes, dead bodies in different state that you really don't want your eyes to look at and a few not so parliamentary dialogues. Certainly not for children but adults should be able to handle and digest the content of the movie. Interest theme and very decent music too. Thank God the director does not bore us with loads of unnecessary songs at wrong times. It is a movie with dark shades so be prepared!
Tuesday, November 21, 2006
Perarasu (2006) - Tamil Movie Review
Ranking: 2.5/5
Cast: Vijaykanth
Director:
Music:
I swear to god I saw this movie a day or two after Manathodu Mazhaikalam and Casino Royale and I am a little late (one month) in writing the reviews and I don't remember what Perarasu is all about. I am raking my head and I kinda sorta remember that it has something to do with double acting Vijaykanth.
I used to like this actor...once upon a time, when he did decent movies...but now...I am not even sure why I watch his movies. Here is what I remember from it:
1) The heroine was just a doll who would sing and dance. She had no role at all. Wonder why they even need a heroine...we know that Vijaykanth is not gay so they can spare the torture of making us watch him in songs!
2) The movie is all about him. His being a cop or something and how he is so righteous and smart and intelligent and cannot make mistakes and how he loves his people and so on and so forth...
3) Vijaykanth has a twin brother who actually kills all the bad guys and the blame falls on the othe rbrother who is the cop dude.
4) The murderous V.Kanth is killing because bad guys who are now popular politicians were responsibile for their honest father's death and for orphaning them.
5) End of Story!
Is it worth watching? NO!
Cast: Vijaykanth
Director:
Music:
I swear to god I saw this movie a day or two after Manathodu Mazhaikalam and Casino Royale and I am a little late (one month) in writing the reviews and I don't remember what Perarasu is all about. I am raking my head and I kinda sorta remember that it has something to do with double acting Vijaykanth.
I used to like this actor...once upon a time, when he did decent movies...but now...I am not even sure why I watch his movies. Here is what I remember from it:
1) The heroine was just a doll who would sing and dance. She had no role at all. Wonder why they even need a heroine...we know that Vijaykanth is not gay so they can spare the torture of making us watch him in songs!
2) The movie is all about him. His being a cop or something and how he is so righteous and smart and intelligent and cannot make mistakes and how he loves his people and so on and so forth...
3) Vijaykanth has a twin brother who actually kills all the bad guys and the blame falls on the othe rbrother who is the cop dude.
4) The murderous V.Kanth is killing because bad guys who are now popular politicians were responsibile for their honest father's death and for orphaning them.
5) End of Story!
Is it worth watching? NO!
Manathodu Mazhaikalam (2006) - Tamil Movie Review
Ranking: 3/5
Cast: Shaam, Nitya Das, Samiksha
Director: Arpudan
Music: Karthik Raja
The quality of the movie print, music, camera, etc are all just average. Nothing great shakes there. But the story is nice and so are the casting and acting. It is the story that defines that true friendship is beyond physical attraction and that a girl and a boy can share a platonic relationship.
Siva (Shaam), a very naughty college student makes friends with Sathya (Nithya), a level headed student. Siva and Sathya spend a lot of time together and hang out in college and outside all the time. This leads to a lot of people suspecting their platonic relationship as love. At the same time Shruthi (Samiksha), a fellow collegemate falls in love with Siva and openly expresses her love for him throughout the movie.
Farewell day comes and everyone moves on with their life and so does Shruthi. Siva and Sathya are in touch with each other and their parents assume that the two of them are ready to marry each other. When they propose the alliance hell breaks loose...What happens next is very predictable but nevertheless handled very beautifully.
Shaam as an old guy is not very convincing. He does not play it well and seems to be put on. But him as a college student is perfect and so is Nitya. I wish Samiksha could underplay her characters a little bit, over acting is not acting...
The movie can be described as a simple story narrated with ease. There are no high priced sets or extravagantly shot songs. In fact I can't even remember what the songs sounded like but the story still lingers in my mind. It is worth a watch with the entire family and certainly an eye opener for kids who think that a girl and boy cannot be friends.
Cast: Shaam, Nitya Das, Samiksha
Director: Arpudan
Music: Karthik Raja
The quality of the movie print, music, camera, etc are all just average. Nothing great shakes there. But the story is nice and so are the casting and acting. It is the story that defines that true friendship is beyond physical attraction and that a girl and a boy can share a platonic relationship.
Siva (Shaam), a very naughty college student makes friends with Sathya (Nithya), a level headed student. Siva and Sathya spend a lot of time together and hang out in college and outside all the time. This leads to a lot of people suspecting their platonic relationship as love. At the same time Shruthi (Samiksha), a fellow collegemate falls in love with Siva and openly expresses her love for him throughout the movie.
Farewell day comes and everyone moves on with their life and so does Shruthi. Siva and Sathya are in touch with each other and their parents assume that the two of them are ready to marry each other. When they propose the alliance hell breaks loose...What happens next is very predictable but nevertheless handled very beautifully.
Shaam as an old guy is not very convincing. He does not play it well and seems to be put on. But him as a college student is perfect and so is Nitya. I wish Samiksha could underplay her characters a little bit, over acting is not acting...
The movie can be described as a simple story narrated with ease. There are no high priced sets or extravagantly shot songs. In fact I can't even remember what the songs sounded like but the story still lingers in my mind. It is worth a watch with the entire family and certainly an eye opener for kids who think that a girl and boy cannot be friends.
Varalaru (2006) - Tamil Movie Review
Ranking: 3.5/5
Cast: Ajith, Ajith, Older Ajith, Asin, Kanika, Sujatha
Director: K.S. Ravikumar
Music: A.R. Rehman
Young Vishnu (Ajith) is a very pampered child of ShivaShankar (old Ajith). He is very careless and irresponsible. To teach him a lesson Shiva sends his son to Thothapuram to do some social service. He does no social service but falls in love with Divya (Asin). The circumstances he falls in love with her are unbelievable, but hey it is a Tamil movie so anything can happen!
Shiva has his son engaged to Divya easily but the events that follow has everyone confused. Vishnu seems to have a multiple personality. He does few things that he would not do usually. Like, for example, get drunk and go to Divya's house to abuse and beat up her parents, try to kill his father, etc. Under suspicious circumstances Vishnu is admitted in the hospital and is made to undergo shock treatment.
The second half of the story is interesting, if I tell more than what I have said above I might give away the suspense. The Old Ajith has a flashback and a few new characters are introduced in the story. The movie is very gripping right from the start. Ajith is very convincing as father and son. The father's character which is that of a Bharatanatyam dancer seems a little over done but nevertheless convincing. Since I have been learning Bharatanatyam myself I dont understand what category the dance Ajith does falls under. Seems like a fusion version.
The movie is a wholesome entertainment. It has mother sentiment, father sentiment, brother sentiment, girlfriend-boyfriend sentiment, angry, murder, love, romance, sadness, tears, etc. Very good for family viewing and the background score as well as the music is certainly very nicely chosen!
Cast: Ajith, Ajith, Older Ajith, Asin, Kanika, Sujatha
Director: K.S. Ravikumar
Music: A.R. Rehman
Young Vishnu (Ajith) is a very pampered child of ShivaShankar (old Ajith). He is very careless and irresponsible. To teach him a lesson Shiva sends his son to Thothapuram to do some social service. He does no social service but falls in love with Divya (Asin). The circumstances he falls in love with her are unbelievable, but hey it is a Tamil movie so anything can happen!
Shiva has his son engaged to Divya easily but the events that follow has everyone confused. Vishnu seems to have a multiple personality. He does few things that he would not do usually. Like, for example, get drunk and go to Divya's house to abuse and beat up her parents, try to kill his father, etc. Under suspicious circumstances Vishnu is admitted in the hospital and is made to undergo shock treatment.
The second half of the story is interesting, if I tell more than what I have said above I might give away the suspense. The Old Ajith has a flashback and a few new characters are introduced in the story. The movie is very gripping right from the start. Ajith is very convincing as father and son. The father's character which is that of a Bharatanatyam dancer seems a little over done but nevertheless convincing. Since I have been learning Bharatanatyam myself I dont understand what category the dance Ajith does falls under. Seems like a fusion version.
The movie is a wholesome entertainment. It has mother sentiment, father sentiment, brother sentiment, girlfriend-boyfriend sentiment, angry, murder, love, romance, sadness, tears, etc. Very good for family viewing and the background score as well as the music is certainly very nicely chosen!
Casino Royale (2006) - English Movie Review
Ranking: 3/5
We all expect a typical Bond movie to have loads of action...at least Mr. B should be smart and see beyond the girl he is in love with...After seeing so many Bond movies we seem to be more smarter than Mr. B himself. More than once in the movie I was able to solve the plot and I am sure most people around the world would have had the same feeling like me...Is the BOND a dumb blond?
So the story starts with some good action scenes that bought me to the edge of the chair because I knew more would follow as the movie proceeded, but to my luck as soon as the handsome hunk took the train to Casino Royale the action scenes ended and the dialog accompanied with a game of card that I did not understand started. Of course you know how that would end...Bond wins!
Bond was of course chasing the bad guy who was using the Queeny's stolen money to make more money by throwing out the big gambling challenge at the Casino Royale. Bond did have an American accomplice without which he might loose a few of his viewers. So he wins the money and survives getting poisoned by the villain due to the help of his beautiful accountant who of course is appointed by the British Empire to keep track of Bond's spendings in the gambling.
Of course he falls in love with the very ordinary looking heroine and becomes totally enamored by her after she saves his life. He tells her all his secrets and guess what...Surprise!!! She robs him naked...ya! now like you did not guess that to happen...
Well there are smaller plots in the story but the entire movie was just above average. Bond is pouting handsome and does his stare throughout the movie. The heroine is very ordinary. Despite the clothes she did not manage to catch my attention. No wonder Bond looked beyond her looks and fell in love with her heart!!!!
The movie was decent but it could have done with a lot more fun stuff like cigarettes that were bombs or watches with cameras!!! But there were no cheap thrills. It was more of a WYSIWYG kind of a movie. If you have a dull day then this will be a perfect movie to watch...a hot cup of tea on a rainy day!
We all expect a typical Bond movie to have loads of action...at least Mr. B should be smart and see beyond the girl he is in love with...After seeing so many Bond movies we seem to be more smarter than Mr. B himself. More than once in the movie I was able to solve the plot and I am sure most people around the world would have had the same feeling like me...Is the BOND a dumb blond?
So the story starts with some good action scenes that bought me to the edge of the chair because I knew more would follow as the movie proceeded, but to my luck as soon as the handsome hunk took the train to Casino Royale the action scenes ended and the dialog accompanied with a game of card that I did not understand started. Of course you know how that would end...Bond wins!
Bond was of course chasing the bad guy who was using the Queeny's stolen money to make more money by throwing out the big gambling challenge at the Casino Royale. Bond did have an American accomplice without which he might loose a few of his viewers. So he wins the money and survives getting poisoned by the villain due to the help of his beautiful accountant who of course is appointed by the British Empire to keep track of Bond's spendings in the gambling.
Of course he falls in love with the very ordinary looking heroine and becomes totally enamored by her after she saves his life. He tells her all his secrets and guess what...Surprise!!! She robs him naked...ya! now like you did not guess that to happen...
Well there are smaller plots in the story but the entire movie was just above average. Bond is pouting handsome and does his stare throughout the movie. The heroine is very ordinary. Despite the clothes she did not manage to catch my attention. No wonder Bond looked beyond her looks and fell in love with her heart!!!!
The movie was decent but it could have done with a lot more fun stuff like cigarettes that were bombs or watches with cameras!!! But there were no cheap thrills. It was more of a WYSIWYG kind of a movie. If you have a dull day then this will be a perfect movie to watch...a hot cup of tea on a rainy day!
Monday, November 13, 2006
The Protector (2006) - English Movie Review
Ranking: 3.5/5
Cast: Tony Jaa
Director: Prachya Pinkaew
I saw this movie quite some while ago and hence don't remember the character's of all the cast in the movie. So please bear with me. It is so much like a desi movie. I really liked it and enjoyed watching a Thai movie dubbed in English. It was a pleasure to see Tony Jaa's stunts which are done using no ropes or stunt doubles. He uses a Thai fighting technique called Muy Thai.
The story is about Kham (Jaa), a young boy growing up in Thailand under the influence of his grandfather's wisdom. Kham and his grandfather rear elephants and take great care of them (mom and son elephant). Kham also learns Muy Thai (Thai martial arts) from his grandfather. He enjoys nature and lives as one among it with his elephants.
Kham and his grandfather take their big elephant to display it to the King but they get duped and instead their big elephant is stolen from them for the tusks. When his grandfather questions the authority he gets shot and in the confusion Kham looses the baby elephant too to the bad people. Kham has lost everything he held close to himself in one single moment, his grandfather and two elephants.
Kham traces the bad guys to Australia where there is a whole group of people that eat elephant and other exotic meat and also trade women among many other bad things. Kham gets in the thick of the racket and with the help of a Thai policeman in Australia helps uncover the truth.
The ending is sad and disheartening and Jaa does a great job of showing emotion when he sees that his big elephant is no more and the stunt scene that follows it is simple breathtakingly bone breaking.
There is a lot of violence in this movie. It is like a typical Rajanikanth or Vijaykanth movie. The hero is uneducated but is in a different country trying to save his only known family. How many desi movies we have seen like this one! But the beauty of the movie lies in the fact that Jaa like J.Chan does his stunts himself...and with no rope or cinema tricks. So this movie is a fun watch for everyone who love great stunt scenes.
Cast: Tony Jaa
Director: Prachya Pinkaew
I saw this movie quite some while ago and hence don't remember the character's of all the cast in the movie. So please bear with me. It is so much like a desi movie. I really liked it and enjoyed watching a Thai movie dubbed in English. It was a pleasure to see Tony Jaa's stunts which are done using no ropes or stunt doubles. He uses a Thai fighting technique called Muy Thai.
The story is about Kham (Jaa), a young boy growing up in Thailand under the influence of his grandfather's wisdom. Kham and his grandfather rear elephants and take great care of them (mom and son elephant). Kham also learns Muy Thai (Thai martial arts) from his grandfather. He enjoys nature and lives as one among it with his elephants.
Kham and his grandfather take their big elephant to display it to the King but they get duped and instead their big elephant is stolen from them for the tusks. When his grandfather questions the authority he gets shot and in the confusion Kham looses the baby elephant too to the bad people. Kham has lost everything he held close to himself in one single moment, his grandfather and two elephants.
Kham traces the bad guys to Australia where there is a whole group of people that eat elephant and other exotic meat and also trade women among many other bad things. Kham gets in the thick of the racket and with the help of a Thai policeman in Australia helps uncover the truth.
The ending is sad and disheartening and Jaa does a great job of showing emotion when he sees that his big elephant is no more and the stunt scene that follows it is simple breathtakingly bone breaking.
There is a lot of violence in this movie. It is like a typical Rajanikanth or Vijaykanth movie. The hero is uneducated but is in a different country trying to save his only known family. How many desi movies we have seen like this one! But the beauty of the movie lies in the fact that Jaa like J.Chan does his stunts himself...and with no rope or cinema tricks. So this movie is a fun watch for everyone who love great stunt scenes.
Tuesday, November 07, 2006
Pokiri (2006) - Telugu Movie Review
Ranking: 3.5/5
Cast: Mahesh Babu, Illeana, Nazar, Prakash Rai, Sayaji Shinde, Ashish Vidyarthi
Director: Puri Jaganath
Music: Mani Sharma
There are four parts to the movie that come together towards the end. One with Mahesh Babu as Pandu, one with Sayaji Shinde as the Commissioner, one with Ashish Vidyarthi as the Sub-Inspector, and one with Prakash Rai as the villain. So let me explain the movie in parts!
Part Pandu: Pandu is a mercenary who is ready to kill for bills! He is a free agent and the whole movie he is killing hoards of people everywhere in Cyberabad! Pandu falls in love with Shruthi who is an aerobic instructor in his friends father's (Nazar's) school. Pandu and Shruthi lands up becoming friends because he keeps helping her out from all her male fans. Shruthi eventually falls in love with Pandu but she is not sure of his origins. So when she confronts him about it she is privy to a bloody battle between Pandu and his enemies where Pandu single handedly kills many people! Shruthi still goes ahead with her love for Pandu...
Part Ashish Vidyarthi: So AV is a bad cop. He goes around harassing all his constables and has ties with all underground war lords. He is a wheeler dealer and works with all the dons and hence has too much power in the society. His eyes fall on the beautiful Shruthi and he starts to harass her and her family. He wants to make her his keep and also sets up a fake rape scene near her house so that no one from around will marry her...Get the point? He is a BAD MAN!
Part Sayaji Shinde: A good cop. He is singlehandedly trying to fight the underworld dons in Cyberabad. Ever since he has taken charge the crime rate has completely reduced. But he has a weakness and that is his daughter who is in love with the son of a MLA.
Part Ali Bhai (Prakash Rai): Ali bhai is the all feared Don who lives around the globe and runs his operation from Hyderabad. He has about 100 goons who work under him and now he wants to employ Pandu in his team having heard about his killer instincts! This is where all the characters in the movie come together.
Ali bhai gets arrested by Sayaji and is kept in the lock up deprived of sleep. To get Ali bhai released the goons use Sayaji's daughter's boyfriend to make a porn video with Sayaji's daughter and get it published all over the internet. Sayaji releases Ali bhai but is dying to take revenge.
When Ali Bhai talks to Sayaji's daughter she tells him that there is a cop among Ali bhai's goons...in search of the goon Ali Bhai kills Nazar. What does Pandu do? What is Pandu's role in solving the crime? Does he punish the bad criminals? And if so what does he do? What happens to Shruthi? Wow so many questions! To get answers to them please watch the movie!
Mahesh Babu as Pandu shows two emotions, anger and not so angry! He poses most of the movie and keeps running in most scenes. Well, I guess this movie does not demand any more from him for the role I guess. He looks really good and he carries himself very cool in the movie.
Illeana as Shruthi looks pretty and acts well for what her role demands. She looks very young and one can wonder how her mother is staying home allowing her daughter to work while she herself is not all that old and can at least get the job of a receptionist or a secretary. Had they shown a mother who is disabled or sick or old the plot might have been more convincing.
Brahmanandam as the nosy software-engineer neighbor brings in the lighter moments of the film and surely is funny! He does get loud at some points but it is a welcome change from rowdies and gundas!
Prakash Rai is now a staple part of every Tamil and Telugu movies. He, I believe is getting repetitive. I can close my eyes and see how he would do a certain role, be it a brother, a father, an uncle, a villain, a doctor, or whatever he plays. It is now getting a little stereotypical plus he is getting over exposed. And as for Ashish Vidyarthi, he is a good villain and he does the same villain act in every movie...so again I would start searching for new villains.
The rest of the cast come and go and don't create so much of a stir to grab your attention. But on the whole the movie is a good effort at entertainment and is fun to watch. It feels like you are watching a remix of one of those popular late 80's and early 90's movie with Rajnikanth, Kamal movies. But it is fun nevertheless. The dialogues are funny, effective, and smartly written. A good movie to watch with friends and family alike.
Cast: Mahesh Babu, Illeana, Nazar, Prakash Rai, Sayaji Shinde, Ashish Vidyarthi
Director: Puri Jaganath
Music: Mani Sharma
There are four parts to the movie that come together towards the end. One with Mahesh Babu as Pandu, one with Sayaji Shinde as the Commissioner, one with Ashish Vidyarthi as the Sub-Inspector, and one with Prakash Rai as the villain. So let me explain the movie in parts!
Part Pandu: Pandu is a mercenary who is ready to kill for bills! He is a free agent and the whole movie he is killing hoards of people everywhere in Cyberabad! Pandu falls in love with Shruthi who is an aerobic instructor in his friends father's (Nazar's) school. Pandu and Shruthi lands up becoming friends because he keeps helping her out from all her male fans. Shruthi eventually falls in love with Pandu but she is not sure of his origins. So when she confronts him about it she is privy to a bloody battle between Pandu and his enemies where Pandu single handedly kills many people! Shruthi still goes ahead with her love for Pandu...
Part Ashish Vidyarthi: So AV is a bad cop. He goes around harassing all his constables and has ties with all underground war lords. He is a wheeler dealer and works with all the dons and hence has too much power in the society. His eyes fall on the beautiful Shruthi and he starts to harass her and her family. He wants to make her his keep and also sets up a fake rape scene near her house so that no one from around will marry her...Get the point? He is a BAD MAN!
Part Sayaji Shinde: A good cop. He is singlehandedly trying to fight the underworld dons in Cyberabad. Ever since he has taken charge the crime rate has completely reduced. But he has a weakness and that is his daughter who is in love with the son of a MLA.
Part Ali Bhai (Prakash Rai): Ali bhai is the all feared Don who lives around the globe and runs his operation from Hyderabad. He has about 100 goons who work under him and now he wants to employ Pandu in his team having heard about his killer instincts! This is where all the characters in the movie come together.
Ali bhai gets arrested by Sayaji and is kept in the lock up deprived of sleep. To get Ali bhai released the goons use Sayaji's daughter's boyfriend to make a porn video with Sayaji's daughter and get it published all over the internet. Sayaji releases Ali bhai but is dying to take revenge.
When Ali Bhai talks to Sayaji's daughter she tells him that there is a cop among Ali bhai's goons...in search of the goon Ali Bhai kills Nazar. What does Pandu do? What is Pandu's role in solving the crime? Does he punish the bad criminals? And if so what does he do? What happens to Shruthi? Wow so many questions! To get answers to them please watch the movie!
Mahesh Babu as Pandu shows two emotions, anger and not so angry! He poses most of the movie and keeps running in most scenes. Well, I guess this movie does not demand any more from him for the role I guess. He looks really good and he carries himself very cool in the movie.
Illeana as Shruthi looks pretty and acts well for what her role demands. She looks very young and one can wonder how her mother is staying home allowing her daughter to work while she herself is not all that old and can at least get the job of a receptionist or a secretary. Had they shown a mother who is disabled or sick or old the plot might have been more convincing.
Brahmanandam as the nosy software-engineer neighbor brings in the lighter moments of the film and surely is funny! He does get loud at some points but it is a welcome change from rowdies and gundas!
Prakash Rai is now a staple part of every Tamil and Telugu movies. He, I believe is getting repetitive. I can close my eyes and see how he would do a certain role, be it a brother, a father, an uncle, a villain, a doctor, or whatever he plays. It is now getting a little stereotypical plus he is getting over exposed. And as for Ashish Vidyarthi, he is a good villain and he does the same villain act in every movie...so again I would start searching for new villains.
The rest of the cast come and go and don't create so much of a stir to grab your attention. But on the whole the movie is a good effort at entertainment and is fun to watch. It feels like you are watching a remix of one of those popular late 80's and early 90's movie with Rajnikanth, Kamal movies. But it is fun nevertheless. The dialogues are funny, effective, and smartly written. A good movie to watch with friends and family alike.
Wednesday, November 01, 2006
Em Magan (2006) - Tamil Movie Review
Ranking: 4/5
Cast: Bharath, Nazar, Vadivelu, Gopika, Saranya, Gajjala
Director: Thirumurugan
Music: Vidyasagar
Krishnan (Bharath) is a college student who also works for his father's provision store. His father is nick named Emdan (Nazar) due to his ill-tempered nature. Krishnan's mom Kalyani (Saranya) is also afraid of her brother and so is her entire family. Every night Emdan finds a new reason to beat Krishnan up. The whole family is under constant terror from Emdan. Kalyani's younger brother Ayya Kannu (Vadivelu) who stays with Emdan and works with him keeps the humor in the film going at a constant pace as he gets beaten or verbally abused by Emdan.
Krishnan on the other hand is a soft natured boy who loves his family immensely and is putting up with all the torture by hearing the sweet words spoken by his childhood sweetheart in his mind every night before he sleeps.
Krishnan's grandfather (Kalyani's father) passes away and the entire family visits his maternal home for the funeral. There Krishnan gets to meet his childhood sweetheart Janani (Gopika) and their relationship blossoms into love. But this is not to be because their families do not get along and they are caught kissing by the entire family.
Emdan is mad at Krishna and his family drives back home only to find Janani in the trunk of the car. Emdan kicks both Janani and Krishna out of their house. Krishna goes to refuge at their family auditor's house who had previously offered help to Krishna to get a job as a poultry manager. The auditor's daughter Divya (Gajjala) had a soft corner for Krishna until he explained to her about Janani. Now both father and daughter along with Ayya Kannu help Krishna and Janani start a new life.
Does Krishna and Emdan ever patch up? What happens to Divya? What happens to the rest of Emdan's family? You know it! Just think it is an Indian movie after all!
The reason I have given this movie 4/5 is because of some brilliant performances from Bharath and Nazar. Saranya too has acted her role very well. The story is tight and the screenplay and script and good. The movie has a satirical comic sense and at the same time is packed with super pace. Can be seen with family and is surely a feel good movie.
I have to give a special mention to Vadivelu for bringing in the lighter moments in the movie as Ayya Kannu, Saranya's brother and Bharath's uncle. I am not a great fan of Vadivelu due to his loud voice and obnoxious humor but in this movie he is simply brilliant.
I strongly suggest everyone who love Tamil movies to watch this movie. It not only has great direction but also great performances and a very entertaining story.
Cast: Bharath, Nazar, Vadivelu, Gopika, Saranya, Gajjala
Director: Thirumurugan
Music: Vidyasagar
Krishnan (Bharath) is a college student who also works for his father's provision store. His father is nick named Emdan (Nazar) due to his ill-tempered nature. Krishnan's mom Kalyani (Saranya) is also afraid of her brother and so is her entire family. Every night Emdan finds a new reason to beat Krishnan up. The whole family is under constant terror from Emdan. Kalyani's younger brother Ayya Kannu (Vadivelu) who stays with Emdan and works with him keeps the humor in the film going at a constant pace as he gets beaten or verbally abused by Emdan.
Krishnan on the other hand is a soft natured boy who loves his family immensely and is putting up with all the torture by hearing the sweet words spoken by his childhood sweetheart in his mind every night before he sleeps.
Krishnan's grandfather (Kalyani's father) passes away and the entire family visits his maternal home for the funeral. There Krishnan gets to meet his childhood sweetheart Janani (Gopika) and their relationship blossoms into love. But this is not to be because their families do not get along and they are caught kissing by the entire family.
Emdan is mad at Krishna and his family drives back home only to find Janani in the trunk of the car. Emdan kicks both Janani and Krishna out of their house. Krishna goes to refuge at their family auditor's house who had previously offered help to Krishna to get a job as a poultry manager. The auditor's daughter Divya (Gajjala) had a soft corner for Krishna until he explained to her about Janani. Now both father and daughter along with Ayya Kannu help Krishna and Janani start a new life.
Does Krishna and Emdan ever patch up? What happens to Divya? What happens to the rest of Emdan's family? You know it! Just think it is an Indian movie after all!
The reason I have given this movie 4/5 is because of some brilliant performances from Bharath and Nazar. Saranya too has acted her role very well. The story is tight and the screenplay and script and good. The movie has a satirical comic sense and at the same time is packed with super pace. Can be seen with family and is surely a feel good movie.
I have to give a special mention to Vadivelu for bringing in the lighter moments in the movie as Ayya Kannu, Saranya's brother and Bharath's uncle. I am not a great fan of Vadivelu due to his loud voice and obnoxious humor but in this movie he is simply brilliant.
I strongly suggest everyone who love Tamil movies to watch this movie. It not only has great direction but also great performances and a very entertaining story.
Vallavan (2006) - Tamil Movie Review
Ranking: 3.5/5
Cast: Simbhu, Nayanthara, Reema Sen, Sandhya
Director: Simbhu
Music: Yuvan Shankar
Vallavan (Simbhu), Suchi (Sandhya) and a group of other friends go to the same college. Vallavan falls in love with Swapna (Nayanthara) at first sight later to learn that she is a lecturer in the same college where he is a student. To win her love Valla dresses up as Palla in an ugly get up (like Kalyana Raman Kamal) and woos her with songs and his love. Swapna eventually sucumbs and falls in love with the Palla. She is extremely surprised to see that her Palla is actually a handsome Valla. They are both happily in love until Swapna realizes that Valla is three years younger than her. She immediately kicks him out of her house and her life.
Valla is very upset and remembers his past affair with his school girlfriend Geeta (Reema Sen). Valla falls in love with her after bumping into her during school culturals and later she joins the same school as Valla and his friends. Valla realizes in time about her obsessive behavior and after a fight dumps her. Now she is back to take revenge on Valla for dumping her after giving some powerful punch lines!
Valla is now struggling to keep Geeta from spoiling his life and also trying to win back Swapna. What wrath does Geeta vent on Valla and Swapna? Does Swapna look beyond age? Yup...you need to watch the movie!
I feel that Simbu has controlled his performance to a very good level in this movie. As a director he has done a decent job although his story is not a complete success. He tends to loose the audience in more than one occasion. I have to say that I love the video for the song Loosu Penne and also the Aracha Maavu song. Simbu should stop idolising himself so much. He should first establish himself as a good actor before posing as a powerful person. He might be the self-proclaimed little Super Star but he by no means is an equal to Rajni and should stop giving the power-punch dialogues. Honestly look at him, his frame, he is so thin that Nayanthara can kick the daylight out of him. But in this movie he looks more decent than any of his previous movies and also he has restrained himself to a few scenes where he calls a girl "di."
Nayanthara on the other hand surprisingly looks gorgeous and not like a road roller at all. In every scene of the movie she is beautiful. She exposes but not using skimpy clothes but in the great sexy sari. Her histrionics can also be much appreciated in this movie.
Reema Sen cannot convince me as a school girl. She looks old, tired, and annoying. There is too much of over action and her whole character seems to be a add on to the story. It almost leads us astray from the main plot. Simbu could have made the movie shorter, simpler using just the age difference factor as the main plot instead of using the Reema Sen sub plot that only throws the viewer off the story.
The music by Yuvan Shankar Raja is surely very enjoyable and the videos do absolute justice to them. Also the camera man needs to be complimented on his wonderful camera work especially the Loosu Penne song.
This is a through and through entertainer. It has a few sexy scenes that might embarrass you should you watch it with family but other wise the first half of the movie is comedy packed and moves very swiftly. If you are not interested in logic and is sitting in a theater for pure entertainment then this is a good choice.
Cast: Simbhu, Nayanthara, Reema Sen, Sandhya
Director: Simbhu
Music: Yuvan Shankar
Vallavan (Simbhu), Suchi (Sandhya) and a group of other friends go to the same college. Vallavan falls in love with Swapna (Nayanthara) at first sight later to learn that she is a lecturer in the same college where he is a student. To win her love Valla dresses up as Palla in an ugly get up (like Kalyana Raman Kamal) and woos her with songs and his love. Swapna eventually sucumbs and falls in love with the Palla. She is extremely surprised to see that her Palla is actually a handsome Valla. They are both happily in love until Swapna realizes that Valla is three years younger than her. She immediately kicks him out of her house and her life.
Valla is very upset and remembers his past affair with his school girlfriend Geeta (Reema Sen). Valla falls in love with her after bumping into her during school culturals and later she joins the same school as Valla and his friends. Valla realizes in time about her obsessive behavior and after a fight dumps her. Now she is back to take revenge on Valla for dumping her after giving some powerful punch lines!
Valla is now struggling to keep Geeta from spoiling his life and also trying to win back Swapna. What wrath does Geeta vent on Valla and Swapna? Does Swapna look beyond age? Yup...you need to watch the movie!
I feel that Simbu has controlled his performance to a very good level in this movie. As a director he has done a decent job although his story is not a complete success. He tends to loose the audience in more than one occasion. I have to say that I love the video for the song Loosu Penne and also the Aracha Maavu song. Simbu should stop idolising himself so much. He should first establish himself as a good actor before posing as a powerful person. He might be the self-proclaimed little Super Star but he by no means is an equal to Rajni and should stop giving the power-punch dialogues. Honestly look at him, his frame, he is so thin that Nayanthara can kick the daylight out of him. But in this movie he looks more decent than any of his previous movies and also he has restrained himself to a few scenes where he calls a girl "di."
Nayanthara on the other hand surprisingly looks gorgeous and not like a road roller at all. In every scene of the movie she is beautiful. She exposes but not using skimpy clothes but in the great sexy sari. Her histrionics can also be much appreciated in this movie.
Reema Sen cannot convince me as a school girl. She looks old, tired, and annoying. There is too much of over action and her whole character seems to be a add on to the story. It almost leads us astray from the main plot. Simbu could have made the movie shorter, simpler using just the age difference factor as the main plot instead of using the Reema Sen sub plot that only throws the viewer off the story.
The music by Yuvan Shankar Raja is surely very enjoyable and the videos do absolute justice to them. Also the camera man needs to be complimented on his wonderful camera work especially the Loosu Penne song.
This is a through and through entertainer. It has a few sexy scenes that might embarrass you should you watch it with family but other wise the first half of the movie is comedy packed and moves very swiftly. If you are not interested in logic and is sitting in a theater for pure entertainment then this is a good choice.
Tuesday, October 24, 2006
Dor (2006) - Hindi Movie Review
Ranking: 4.9/5
Cast: Gul Panag, Ayesha Takia, Shreyas Talpade
Director: Nagesh Kukunoor
In simple words it is one of the most beautiful movies I have ever seen in my life. Tight script, a story that has no loose ends, immaculate direction, beautiful locales, simple dialogues, and to top it all off brilliant performances by the entire cast makes Dor a must watch. I have seen this movie once and will see it many more times in the future just to digest the small details that I might have missed during the first time around.
It is the story of love, loss, friendship, trust and above all honesty. It is the story about how two unrelated lives come together. Zeenat an independent girl lives in the hills of the beautiful Himalayas married to Amir and waiting his return from Saudi where he works as a truck driver. While Meera a naive village girl lives in a joint family married to Shankar also waiting for her husband to come back from Saudi where he is working to settle the family debt. But what they both receive is the twist in the story that brings them both together.
Shankar dies in an accident and Amir is facing death sentence being accused of Shankar's murder in Saudi. Zeenat has a mercy petition document in her hand that needs Meera's signature to relieve Amir from the death sentence, but she has no idea where or who Meera is. Boldly with just one photo of Shankar Zeenat leaves her hill country to the desserts of Rajasthan looking for Shankar's wife Meera. Meera on the other hand has lost all her rights and freedom that was hers once since her husband death. She is now living the life of a widow at a very young age banished from fun and frolic.
Zeenat with the help of a young impostor (Shreyas) hunts Meera's house down. On approaching Shankar's parents she gets spat on and kicked out of the house. Not giving up hope Zeenat befriends Meera by meeting her in the temple everyday...While Meera's father in law is trying to sell her to an out-of-town contractor for money...
Does Meera sign the papers when the truth is revealed? What happens to Meera's future? Please watch the movie and you will not be disappointed.
The casting for the movie is brilliant. Ayesha as the young widow with a big heart is portrayed so well by this young actress. Her acting prowess is exposed to the highest degree in this movie. I have seen her movies in Telugu and Hindi and this is her best till date. The innocence in her eyes, the sadness, the need, the love, everything is expressed in a very convincing way. Gul playing the role of Zeenat has provided us with some brilliant performance showing determination and poise while trying to give life to her husband who is sitting on death row.
Shreyas is a brilliant actor, nothing new about that but his role as the impostor brings in the lighter moments of the movie. He is spontaneous and very funny. Nagesh Kukunoor as the out-of-town contractor is very convincing as the bad guy as I was really mad at him for a long time after the movie. Girish Karnad as the father-in-law mad at his daughter-in-law is also portrayed very impressively.
In all this movie is a brilliant package with great acting, direction, stills, location, and above all an impressive story and this would most certainly be my pick for Oscar next year!
Cast: Gul Panag, Ayesha Takia, Shreyas Talpade
Director: Nagesh Kukunoor
In simple words it is one of the most beautiful movies I have ever seen in my life. Tight script, a story that has no loose ends, immaculate direction, beautiful locales, simple dialogues, and to top it all off brilliant performances by the entire cast makes Dor a must watch. I have seen this movie once and will see it many more times in the future just to digest the small details that I might have missed during the first time around.
It is the story of love, loss, friendship, trust and above all honesty. It is the story about how two unrelated lives come together. Zeenat an independent girl lives in the hills of the beautiful Himalayas married to Amir and waiting his return from Saudi where he works as a truck driver. While Meera a naive village girl lives in a joint family married to Shankar also waiting for her husband to come back from Saudi where he is working to settle the family debt. But what they both receive is the twist in the story that brings them both together.
Shankar dies in an accident and Amir is facing death sentence being accused of Shankar's murder in Saudi. Zeenat has a mercy petition document in her hand that needs Meera's signature to relieve Amir from the death sentence, but she has no idea where or who Meera is. Boldly with just one photo of Shankar Zeenat leaves her hill country to the desserts of Rajasthan looking for Shankar's wife Meera. Meera on the other hand has lost all her rights and freedom that was hers once since her husband death. She is now living the life of a widow at a very young age banished from fun and frolic.
Zeenat with the help of a young impostor (Shreyas) hunts Meera's house down. On approaching Shankar's parents she gets spat on and kicked out of the house. Not giving up hope Zeenat befriends Meera by meeting her in the temple everyday...While Meera's father in law is trying to sell her to an out-of-town contractor for money...
Does Meera sign the papers when the truth is revealed? What happens to Meera's future? Please watch the movie and you will not be disappointed.
The casting for the movie is brilliant. Ayesha as the young widow with a big heart is portrayed so well by this young actress. Her acting prowess is exposed to the highest degree in this movie. I have seen her movies in Telugu and Hindi and this is her best till date. The innocence in her eyes, the sadness, the need, the love, everything is expressed in a very convincing way. Gul playing the role of Zeenat has provided us with some brilliant performance showing determination and poise while trying to give life to her husband who is sitting on death row.
Shreyas is a brilliant actor, nothing new about that but his role as the impostor brings in the lighter moments of the movie. He is spontaneous and very funny. Nagesh Kukunoor as the out-of-town contractor is very convincing as the bad guy as I was really mad at him for a long time after the movie. Girish Karnad as the father-in-law mad at his daughter-in-law is also portrayed very impressively.
In all this movie is a brilliant package with great acting, direction, stills, location, and above all an impressive story and this would most certainly be my pick for Oscar next year!
Monday, October 23, 2006
Elavattam (2006) - Tamil Movie Review
Ranking: 2.5/5
Cast: Navdeep, Sheela, Suhasini, Vijaykumar, Shubalekha Sudhakar
Director: Raja Raajha
Music: Mani Sharma
The story is a rehash of what has been done in the past many times. This is my idea of what the director must have thought...To make a movie with lots of sex to sell the movie but then to get the attention of decent audience use the sex to teach a lesson to youngsters. Nice idea but the execution went sourly wrong. The story is banal and so is the screenplay and dialogues. The songs are also not so lingering and on the whole an average fare.
A college that had never had any gold medallist finally gets one in the form of Navdeep. Everyone wonders why Navdeep always received police security to college and he goes on to explain his flashback...
Navdeep and Sheela are in the same school and they are at loggerheads with each other. One rainy night Navdeep is exposed to the concept of sex and then he gets physically attracted to Sheela. Which of course turns into love in due time!
Sheela's is the daughter of a rich landlord (Vijaykumar). She has a sister who is married to Babloo (this is what he used to be called when he used to act in Tamil serials). Babloo is a rogue in the disguise of a nice guy. He is secretly planning to marry Sheela so that all the property owned by Vijaykumar comes under his control. When Vijaykumar discovers his plot Babloo kills Vijaykumar and dons the role of the head of the household.
On discovering Sheela and Navdeep on the bed in their house he gets mad and tries to kill Navdeep. The district collector Suhasini with whom Navdeep is already acquainted helps get Babloo arrested and thrown into Jail. She also gets a promise from both Navdeep and Sheela that they will both study and pursue a career before giving in to physical attraction which may also be infactuation at such a young age.
Honestly I don't see why Navdeep receives police protection every single day of his college life when the bad guy Babloo is behind bars! The whole story is under a wrong premise. I am not sure I even remotely enjoyed the movie. It is very sensual in parts and certainly not for family viewing...trust me when I say this as I saw it with my mother and it was thoroughly uncomfortable! Even if the story is not new a lot of movies have something different that makes the movie interesting (for example the movie Run) but this is plain boring! So avoid it if you have anything better to do. But I must give credit to both Navdeep and Sheela for very decent acting. I honestly believe it was not their fault for choosing to act in a below average movie!
Cast: Navdeep, Sheela, Suhasini, Vijaykumar, Shubalekha Sudhakar
Director: Raja Raajha
Music: Mani Sharma
The story is a rehash of what has been done in the past many times. This is my idea of what the director must have thought...To make a movie with lots of sex to sell the movie but then to get the attention of decent audience use the sex to teach a lesson to youngsters. Nice idea but the execution went sourly wrong. The story is banal and so is the screenplay and dialogues. The songs are also not so lingering and on the whole an average fare.
A college that had never had any gold medallist finally gets one in the form of Navdeep. Everyone wonders why Navdeep always received police security to college and he goes on to explain his flashback...
Navdeep and Sheela are in the same school and they are at loggerheads with each other. One rainy night Navdeep is exposed to the concept of sex and then he gets physically attracted to Sheela. Which of course turns into love in due time!
Sheela's is the daughter of a rich landlord (Vijaykumar). She has a sister who is married to Babloo (this is what he used to be called when he used to act in Tamil serials). Babloo is a rogue in the disguise of a nice guy. He is secretly planning to marry Sheela so that all the property owned by Vijaykumar comes under his control. When Vijaykumar discovers his plot Babloo kills Vijaykumar and dons the role of the head of the household.
On discovering Sheela and Navdeep on the bed in their house he gets mad and tries to kill Navdeep. The district collector Suhasini with whom Navdeep is already acquainted helps get Babloo arrested and thrown into Jail. She also gets a promise from both Navdeep and Sheela that they will both study and pursue a career before giving in to physical attraction which may also be infactuation at such a young age.
Honestly I don't see why Navdeep receives police protection every single day of his college life when the bad guy Babloo is behind bars! The whole story is under a wrong premise. I am not sure I even remotely enjoyed the movie. It is very sensual in parts and certainly not for family viewing...trust me when I say this as I saw it with my mother and it was thoroughly uncomfortable! Even if the story is not new a lot of movies have something different that makes the movie interesting (for example the movie Run) but this is plain boring! So avoid it if you have anything better to do. But I must give credit to both Navdeep and Sheela for very decent acting. I honestly believe it was not their fault for choosing to act in a below average movie!
Friday, October 06, 2006
Godavari (2006) - Telugu Movie Review
Ranking : 4/5
Cast: Kamalinee Mukherjee as Sita Mahalakshmi, Sumanth as Sriram and Neetu Chandra as Raji
Director: Shekar Kammula
Music: K. M. Radha Krishnan
Cinema can be two things. It can either be a fantasy portrayed on screen or can be reality bought to light. A director should be clear about what he wants. If he is confused then the final outcome is also not great. But if the director knows that he wants to direct a fantasy movie and goes about doing it with great screenplay, setting, story, camera, music, etc then the movie is beautiful. Godavari is a fantastic fantasy. Beautiful scenery, some great acting, and a very simple story backed with a good screenplay and dialogues. The music is also soothing but the background score reminds you sometimes of AR Rehman's Thiruda Thiruda or his older movies. In other words I liked this movie and would strongly recommend others to watch it. Family viewing should bring no embarrassment to anyone.
Sita is a very pampered and spoilt child who wants to achieve something on her own in her lifetime. She is a free spirited independent girl raised to live her life in her own way. Due to pressure she agrees to marry a guy her parents had chosen for her but gets frustrated to realize that the guy had rejected her. So in anger she packs her bags and leave to see Sita-Ram marriage in Badrachalam on a house boat called Godavari on the river Godavari.
Sriram is an US-return software guy who wants to do something for the people of India and hence comes back to India to join politics. He wants to marry his cousin Raji who is also his best friend but her father thinks otherwise and gets her engaged to an IPS officer and the marriage is scheduled to take place in Badrachalam. The entire wedding party is booked to travel on the house Boat too.
Sita and Ram meet in the boat. Sparks fly but nothing is uttered. Before it is uttered there are small confusions and tensions and the story takes a small twist and eventually ends in a happy note. Sorry for giving away the ending. Like you anticipated anything different. It is a Golti movie for the love of GOD! and that too a romantic one!
So in conclusion, a simple predictable love story that is done very nicely. Kamalinee Mukherjee to me seemed to have matured as a Telugu actress in this movie from her performance in Anand. She is cute and adorable and portrays her character to perfection. Sushanth on the other hand seems to lack energy but maybe that is his role in this movie. He can try and do better in his next movie. Neetu as the confused cousin of Sushanth has done a great job too. Her confusion is portrayed very aptly. And last but not the least, the animated talking dog Kotigadu is simply the BEST! He is cute, adorable and funny and not overdone one bit also.
Go and watch the movie if you have not done so yet!
Cast: Kamalinee Mukherjee as Sita Mahalakshmi, Sumanth as Sriram and Neetu Chandra as Raji
Director: Shekar Kammula
Music: K. M. Radha Krishnan
Cinema can be two things. It can either be a fantasy portrayed on screen or can be reality bought to light. A director should be clear about what he wants. If he is confused then the final outcome is also not great. But if the director knows that he wants to direct a fantasy movie and goes about doing it with great screenplay, setting, story, camera, music, etc then the movie is beautiful. Godavari is a fantastic fantasy. Beautiful scenery, some great acting, and a very simple story backed with a good screenplay and dialogues. The music is also soothing but the background score reminds you sometimes of AR Rehman's Thiruda Thiruda or his older movies. In other words I liked this movie and would strongly recommend others to watch it. Family viewing should bring no embarrassment to anyone.
Sita is a very pampered and spoilt child who wants to achieve something on her own in her lifetime. She is a free spirited independent girl raised to live her life in her own way. Due to pressure she agrees to marry a guy her parents had chosen for her but gets frustrated to realize that the guy had rejected her. So in anger she packs her bags and leave to see Sita-Ram marriage in Badrachalam on a house boat called Godavari on the river Godavari.
Sriram is an US-return software guy who wants to do something for the people of India and hence comes back to India to join politics. He wants to marry his cousin Raji who is also his best friend but her father thinks otherwise and gets her engaged to an IPS officer and the marriage is scheduled to take place in Badrachalam. The entire wedding party is booked to travel on the house Boat too.
Sita and Ram meet in the boat. Sparks fly but nothing is uttered. Before it is uttered there are small confusions and tensions and the story takes a small twist and eventually ends in a happy note. Sorry for giving away the ending. Like you anticipated anything different. It is a Golti movie for the love of GOD! and that too a romantic one!
So in conclusion, a simple predictable love story that is done very nicely. Kamalinee Mukherjee to me seemed to have matured as a Telugu actress in this movie from her performance in Anand. She is cute and adorable and portrays her character to perfection. Sushanth on the other hand seems to lack energy but maybe that is his role in this movie. He can try and do better in his next movie. Neetu as the confused cousin of Sushanth has done a great job too. Her confusion is portrayed very aptly. And last but not the least, the animated talking dog Kotigadu is simply the BEST! He is cute, adorable and funny and not overdone one bit also.
Go and watch the movie if you have not done so yet!
Wednesday, September 13, 2006
Nuvve Nuvve (2003) - Telugu Movie Review
Ranking: 2/5
Cast: Tarun, Shriya Saran, Prakash Rai
Director: Trivikram Srinivas
Music: Koti
It is most common story one would have ever seen...Middle class hero, a very rich heroine, a doting father who opposes their love. Nothing new and the movie is not even refreshing. The music is a rehash of many popular English songs and Tarun is just not fresh any more. Shriya is beautiful and can surely act but she needs to get to be more lively and less somber. If you are looking for a mindless run-of-the mill story then this is one of them...
Hero Tarun is a loafer who attends college and takes advantage of his parents and spends their money. While Prakash Rai a self made millionaire dotes on his daughter and makes sure all her wishes comes true even at the cost of belittling his own son. Shriya goes to the same college of Tarun and eventually they both fall in love.
On hearing about this Prakash Rai tries to curb their love in many ways for which Tarun puts up a fight valiantly until Prakash Rai obviously gives up in the end...
Like I said...it is a very simple, rehashed, formula-based, Telugu movie...do not expect anything new or any sudden twists either...
Cast: Tarun, Shriya Saran, Prakash Rai
Director: Trivikram Srinivas
Music: Koti
It is most common story one would have ever seen...Middle class hero, a very rich heroine, a doting father who opposes their love. Nothing new and the movie is not even refreshing. The music is a rehash of many popular English songs and Tarun is just not fresh any more. Shriya is beautiful and can surely act but she needs to get to be more lively and less somber. If you are looking for a mindless run-of-the mill story then this is one of them...
Hero Tarun is a loafer who attends college and takes advantage of his parents and spends their money. While Prakash Rai a self made millionaire dotes on his daughter and makes sure all her wishes comes true even at the cost of belittling his own son. Shriya goes to the same college of Tarun and eventually they both fall in love.
On hearing about this Prakash Rai tries to curb their love in many ways for which Tarun puts up a fight valiantly until Prakash Rai obviously gives up in the end...
Like I said...it is a very simple, rehashed, formula-based, Telugu movie...do not expect anything new or any sudden twists either...
Jillendru Oru Kadhal (2006) - Tamil Movie Review
Ranking: 3.5/5
Cast: Surya, Jyothika, Bhoomika Chawla
Director: Krishna
Music: AR Rehman
My husband and some friends went to watch Kabhi Alvida Na Kehna in the theater's this week but when I saw that they were also screening Jillendru... I changed my mind and went alone to watch this film. Since my husband does not understand or appreciate Tamil movies much I usually land up watching most of them alone... Almost 60 movies in close to 9 months...Not bad right? So I will give you the review of JOK and then continue to talk briefly of the 40 mins of KANK I saw...
Gautham (Surya) and Kundavi (J0) go through the many year old tradition of arranged marriage and move to Bombay. Initially both of them do not seem happy but when the frame changes and they are six years into their wedding they are a small happy family with a little daughter Aishwarya. As busy as they are being working parents, they also spend a good lot of time together being a family. In short they are a model happy nuclear family living in a big city.
Gautham gets a chance to go to USA for a presentation. Everyone is happy and all of Kundavi's family comes from the village to send him off. While doing some work around the house for Aishwarya Kundavi chances upon Gautham's old diary and she sits down to read a past that she had never known in the last six years.
The diary is written by Gautham who tells about a marriage to a girl named Aishwarya (Bhoomika) whom he had loved a lot but right after their marriage Aishwarya's father separates them. It was also written in the diary how Gautham would have been happy had he at least spent a day with Aishwarya...
Kundavi is very unhappy but does not show it out to Gautham explicitly. She spends time to find out the whereabouts of Aishwarya and then one day when Gautham opens the door it is Aishwarya standing...He is shocked and confused and watches silently as Kundavi leaves the house with their daughter telling him that he can have his one day with his first wife...
What happens next is pretty predictable, if anything happened otherwise then the public will either be confused or not accept it...This is a simple story. What I did not like is the little girl of Gautham and Kundavi who talks beyond her age...At most she would be five and five year old kids should not talk so much. The movie is directed like a Malayalam movie. Very simple and very few add on matters...And what is sad is that the songs are not very catchy and so irritated me and kept me looking for the "forward" button in the theater...
So when I walked out of the theater I felt that it was a decent movie that one can certainly watch with kids and entire family...Simple story and decent direction and screenplay compared to movies like Aran...Also sorry Gautham Menon, your assistant seemed to have learnt a thing or two from you unlike you who seems to have lost it! I could not believe the music is ARR's...maybe I should listen to them a few more times before I like them...
Now that my movie was over I had to wait for my husband's to get over...So I joined him and his friends in the theater screening KANK...another 40 mins was remaining...the final scenes where all 's well that ends well part was coming on...and by god I swear that it was the most boring ending. I started reflecting on JOK and I realized that that movie was way better than KANK and the director knew how to handle the climax without too much drama. I wish Hindi movie directors soon realize that making a movie with all super stars does not essentially mean that the movie has any masala! Also the 40 minutes I saw was enough to give me an idea of what the whole story might have been like...it felt like a MEGA SERIAL! Please watch KANK only if you have absolutely nothing to do or you have 3.25 hours to while away...Else just watch Jillendru Oru Kadhal...it is Cool ma!
Cast: Surya, Jyothika, Bhoomika Chawla
Director: Krishna
Music: AR Rehman
My husband and some friends went to watch Kabhi Alvida Na Kehna in the theater's this week but when I saw that they were also screening Jillendru... I changed my mind and went alone to watch this film. Since my husband does not understand or appreciate Tamil movies much I usually land up watching most of them alone... Almost 60 movies in close to 9 months...Not bad right? So I will give you the review of JOK and then continue to talk briefly of the 40 mins of KANK I saw...
Gautham (Surya) and Kundavi (J0) go through the many year old tradition of arranged marriage and move to Bombay. Initially both of them do not seem happy but when the frame changes and they are six years into their wedding they are a small happy family with a little daughter Aishwarya. As busy as they are being working parents, they also spend a good lot of time together being a family. In short they are a model happy nuclear family living in a big city.
Gautham gets a chance to go to USA for a presentation. Everyone is happy and all of Kundavi's family comes from the village to send him off. While doing some work around the house for Aishwarya Kundavi chances upon Gautham's old diary and she sits down to read a past that she had never known in the last six years.
The diary is written by Gautham who tells about a marriage to a girl named Aishwarya (Bhoomika) whom he had loved a lot but right after their marriage Aishwarya's father separates them. It was also written in the diary how Gautham would have been happy had he at least spent a day with Aishwarya...
Kundavi is very unhappy but does not show it out to Gautham explicitly. She spends time to find out the whereabouts of Aishwarya and then one day when Gautham opens the door it is Aishwarya standing...He is shocked and confused and watches silently as Kundavi leaves the house with their daughter telling him that he can have his one day with his first wife...
What happens next is pretty predictable, if anything happened otherwise then the public will either be confused or not accept it...This is a simple story. What I did not like is the little girl of Gautham and Kundavi who talks beyond her age...At most she would be five and five year old kids should not talk so much. The movie is directed like a Malayalam movie. Very simple and very few add on matters...And what is sad is that the songs are not very catchy and so irritated me and kept me looking for the "forward" button in the theater...
So when I walked out of the theater I felt that it was a decent movie that one can certainly watch with kids and entire family...Simple story and decent direction and screenplay compared to movies like Aran...Also sorry Gautham Menon, your assistant seemed to have learnt a thing or two from you unlike you who seems to have lost it! I could not believe the music is ARR's...maybe I should listen to them a few more times before I like them...
Now that my movie was over I had to wait for my husband's to get over...So I joined him and his friends in the theater screening KANK...another 40 mins was remaining...the final scenes where all 's well that ends well part was coming on...and by god I swear that it was the most boring ending. I started reflecting on JOK and I realized that that movie was way better than KANK and the director knew how to handle the climax without too much drama. I wish Hindi movie directors soon realize that making a movie with all super stars does not essentially mean that the movie has any masala! Also the 40 minutes I saw was enough to give me an idea of what the whole story might have been like...it felt like a MEGA SERIAL! Please watch KANK only if you have absolutely nothing to do or you have 3.25 hours to while away...Else just watch Jillendru Oru Kadhal...it is Cool ma!
Tuesday, September 12, 2006
Aran (2006) - Tamil Movie Review
Ranking: 1.5/5
Cast: Mohan Lal, Jeeva
Director: Major Ravi
Music:
I liked Jeeva in Ram. I really felt that he had matured as an actor...But choosing to do a movie like Aran just did not work in his favor. I cannot imagine Mohan Lal agreeing to do a film that is so poorly written, directed, dubbed, acted, scripted, etc...It is probably one of the worst movies I have seen. The director was surely trying to bank on the fact that he was in the Kargil War and on the over exposed Indo-Pak hatred. Sorry nothing worked in your favor Major Ravi.
The story is about Major Mahadevan (Mohan Lal) and Hawaldar Ravi (Jeeva) fighting against terrorist activities in Kashmir. We know who the villain is, we know that Ravi is dead, and we also know that India is going to come out shining at the very beginning of the movie. The story is simple, a terrorist cell in Pakistan that has infiltrated into India is going to bomb the Hazratbal mosque. The major gets a tip off and he along with his strong commando's go and stop the operation.
I am not going to elaborate any more...But here is a list of things I did not like in the movie:
1) There is no continuity between scenes.
2) Poorly written dialogues. Cliched and corny.
3) Badly written English dialogues and bad pronunciations.
4) The person who dubbed for the villain calling "jihad" as "jigad" is very annoying.
5) The gang rape scene which is shown very crudely could have been avoided. People get the picture if you just show a sketchy idea of rape...
6) Fight scenes are not even entertaining.
7) Romance between Jeeva and Gopika is boring.
8) Director should have taken some lessons before trying his hand out!
On the whole...I just would not waste time on this movie because even the music is not memorable!
Cast: Mohan Lal, Jeeva
Director: Major Ravi
Music:
I liked Jeeva in Ram. I really felt that he had matured as an actor...But choosing to do a movie like Aran just did not work in his favor. I cannot imagine Mohan Lal agreeing to do a film that is so poorly written, directed, dubbed, acted, scripted, etc...It is probably one of the worst movies I have seen. The director was surely trying to bank on the fact that he was in the Kargil War and on the over exposed Indo-Pak hatred. Sorry nothing worked in your favor Major Ravi.
The story is about Major Mahadevan (Mohan Lal) and Hawaldar Ravi (Jeeva) fighting against terrorist activities in Kashmir. We know who the villain is, we know that Ravi is dead, and we also know that India is going to come out shining at the very beginning of the movie. The story is simple, a terrorist cell in Pakistan that has infiltrated into India is going to bomb the Hazratbal mosque. The major gets a tip off and he along with his strong commando's go and stop the operation.
I am not going to elaborate any more...But here is a list of things I did not like in the movie:
1) There is no continuity between scenes.
2) Poorly written dialogues. Cliched and corny.
3) Badly written English dialogues and bad pronunciations.
4) The person who dubbed for the villain calling "jihad" as "jigad" is very annoying.
5) The gang rape scene which is shown very crudely could have been avoided. People get the picture if you just show a sketchy idea of rape...
6) Fight scenes are not even entertaining.
7) Romance between Jeeva and Gopika is boring.
8) Director should have taken some lessons before trying his hand out!
On the whole...I just would not waste time on this movie because even the music is not memorable!
Vettaiyadu Vilayadu (2006) - Tamil Movie Review
Ranking: 2.5/5
Cast: Kamal Hassan, Jyothika, Kamilini Mukherjee, Daniel Balaji, Prakash Raj, etc.
Director: Gautham Menon
Music: Harris Jeyaraj
Major expectations, a Gautham Menon movie featuring Kamal Hassan...That is an awesome combination. But this movie did not keep up to it...I was being reminded of Khaka Khaka (KK) at every nook and corner of this movie. There were literally no twists, climax so predictable, and so was the story. Surya should be proud, everything Kamal tried to do reminded me of Surya in KK. I somehow feel that he fitted the bill of a Cop better than Kamal did in VV.
Kamal rushes to the side of Prakash Raj whose daughter was kidnapped and her finger was severed and tied on a rope on his doorstep. Kamal who used to report to Prakash Raj helps uncover the body of his daughter and promises that he will find the culprit/culprits. Prakash Raj and his wife who leave India to US to stay with a relative to forget their loss are also murdered. Kamal is asked to go and do the final rites for Prakash and his wife and also help the American police in the investigation. So Kamal boards his flight to the US of A.
On his way to NY Kamal thinks about his wife Kamalinee Mukherjee who was no more...Very predictable part and felt like watching KK ending. Kamalinee appears exactly for two minutes in the whole movie...Now that Kamal is in NY and has checked into Renaissance he meets his next door neighbor, Jo, also a Tamilian (of course) trying to commit suicide over a failed marriage. Now you know where this story is going...
Kamal meets up with NYPD and officer Anderson drives him around until Kamal solves the crime and narrows it down to two medical college students in NY from Tamilnadu. They were the two students who would have been beaten by Prakash Raj for eveteasing his daughter. They are psychopath killers on loose. Kamal is beaten up when these kids escape from right under his nose and also from Indian Police when they re-enter India.
Kamal comes back to Chennai, and so does Jo. They are now in love and the villains get to know about this...How else can this movie proceed? If you have already seen KK...Then this mystery must be a piece of cake to solve....
Why I did not like this movie:
1) Kamal overacting.
2) Feels like watching KK all over again with a semi-new cast.
3) I don't know they had to include Kamalinee Mukherjee in the script at all. Was it to show that Kamal was an avengeful cop? Or was it to show that he was bitter against gundas because of what had happened to his wife? Why? Waste of a song and take a ten minute detour in the movie.
4) Why are villains always stupid to confess to a cop? And how come they are always sure the cop will die and not check on him if he is dead or not?
5) How come the American cop is running around to Kamal's orders? Does he not have enough stuff to worry about considering the fact that he works with NYPD?
6) Kamal and his smart ass dialogues, "Gut feeling = Raghavan instinct."
7) Why and why and for the millionth time why can't a director make a movie that has minimal shades of his past successful movie?
8) Why does Kamal talk in a guttural voice? Very annoying.
9) Why does Kamal always include at least one scene in his movie where he speaks Madras Baashai? We all know he can do it...there is no need to do repeat it.
10) The first stunt/fight scene Kamal has with some no-name villain was a waste of time...my gut feeling is that Kamal forced the director to include it to present a macho image.
In simple words I think KK was a far more better fare than VV and Gautham has to really do something better than that and not similar to that to make me like his movies in the future...Do not watch this movie with children as it has graphic images...
About music...Harris Jeyaraj is brilliant...But why does VV songs give you the feel of "engayo ketta maadhiri irukku?" and also I like B. Jayashree's voice...But singing the same type of songs is just getting a little too tiring for me...
See the movie as most people who have reviewed it elsewhere on the net seem to have liked it but if you are anything like me then I am sure you would not enjoy it too...I hate too much on screen violence and graphic images! They don't give me a very good after taste of the film.
Cast: Kamal Hassan, Jyothika, Kamilini Mukherjee, Daniel Balaji, Prakash Raj, etc.
Director: Gautham Menon
Music: Harris Jeyaraj
Major expectations, a Gautham Menon movie featuring Kamal Hassan...That is an awesome combination. But this movie did not keep up to it...I was being reminded of Khaka Khaka (KK) at every nook and corner of this movie. There were literally no twists, climax so predictable, and so was the story. Surya should be proud, everything Kamal tried to do reminded me of Surya in KK. I somehow feel that he fitted the bill of a Cop better than Kamal did in VV.
Kamal rushes to the side of Prakash Raj whose daughter was kidnapped and her finger was severed and tied on a rope on his doorstep. Kamal who used to report to Prakash Raj helps uncover the body of his daughter and promises that he will find the culprit/culprits. Prakash Raj and his wife who leave India to US to stay with a relative to forget their loss are also murdered. Kamal is asked to go and do the final rites for Prakash and his wife and also help the American police in the investigation. So Kamal boards his flight to the US of A.
On his way to NY Kamal thinks about his wife Kamalinee Mukherjee who was no more...Very predictable part and felt like watching KK ending. Kamalinee appears exactly for two minutes in the whole movie...Now that Kamal is in NY and has checked into Renaissance he meets his next door neighbor, Jo, also a Tamilian (of course) trying to commit suicide over a failed marriage. Now you know where this story is going...
Kamal meets up with NYPD and officer Anderson drives him around until Kamal solves the crime and narrows it down to two medical college students in NY from Tamilnadu. They were the two students who would have been beaten by Prakash Raj for eveteasing his daughter. They are psychopath killers on loose. Kamal is beaten up when these kids escape from right under his nose and also from Indian Police when they re-enter India.
Kamal comes back to Chennai, and so does Jo. They are now in love and the villains get to know about this...How else can this movie proceed? If you have already seen KK...Then this mystery must be a piece of cake to solve....
Why I did not like this movie:
1) Kamal overacting.
2) Feels like watching KK all over again with a semi-new cast.
3) I don't know they had to include Kamalinee Mukherjee in the script at all. Was it to show that Kamal was an avengeful cop? Or was it to show that he was bitter against gundas because of what had happened to his wife? Why? Waste of a song and take a ten minute detour in the movie.
4) Why are villains always stupid to confess to a cop? And how come they are always sure the cop will die and not check on him if he is dead or not?
5) How come the American cop is running around to Kamal's orders? Does he not have enough stuff to worry about considering the fact that he works with NYPD?
6) Kamal and his smart ass dialogues, "Gut feeling = Raghavan instinct."
7) Why and why and for the millionth time why can't a director make a movie that has minimal shades of his past successful movie?
8) Why does Kamal talk in a guttural voice? Very annoying.
9) Why does Kamal always include at least one scene in his movie where he speaks Madras Baashai? We all know he can do it...there is no need to do repeat it.
10) The first stunt/fight scene Kamal has with some no-name villain was a waste of time...my gut feeling is that Kamal forced the director to include it to present a macho image.
In simple words I think KK was a far more better fare than VV and Gautham has to really do something better than that and not similar to that to make me like his movies in the future...Do not watch this movie with children as it has graphic images...
About music...Harris Jeyaraj is brilliant...But why does VV songs give you the feel of "engayo ketta maadhiri irukku?" and also I like B. Jayashree's voice...But singing the same type of songs is just getting a little too tiring for me...
See the movie as most people who have reviewed it elsewhere on the net seem to have liked it but if you are anything like me then I am sure you would not enjoy it too...I hate too much on screen violence and graphic images! They don't give me a very good after taste of the film.
Kalyug (2005) - Hindi Movie Review
Ranking: 3.5/5
Cast: Kunal Khemu, Amrita Singh, Emraan Hashmi, Deepal Shah, Smilie, Ashutosh Rana
Director: Mohit Suri
Music: Annu Mallik
I just got to see this movie. Maybe because there are so many crappy movies being released I actually liked this movie. Would not recommend it for children and certainly not a family watch but a good movie nevertheless with great music too...
It is about Kunal (Kunal Khemu) a refugee in his own country moves from Kashmir to Mumbai as a kid with his father, a social worker. He sees struggle and violence all his life and one day hears the news that his father has passed away. An orphan now, he leads a quiet life until Smilie comes into his life. A girl from Kashmir whom his father had been supporting comes to Mumbai in search of a job. Kunal and Smilie fall in love with each other and soon get married.
One of their friends gifts them a few nights stay in a hotel for their honey moon. The young and unsuspecting couple take up the gift and drive down to this hotel where they are met with Ashutosh Rana (with an evil wicked smile) offers the couple a special honey moon suite. Still not sure what is happening the couple spend their time there and return home. Things are back to normal until one night when the cops come in and arrest both the husband and wife and keep them under lock up over night.
The next morning they come to hear that their lovemaking was caught on tape and now everywhere on the internet in a popular desi porn site. Both of them are beaten to confess the crime. Smilie confused if her husband framed her commits suicide. Kunal comes out on bail and then starts tracking the ring behind the death of his wife and the one behind putting them all over the internet.
He gets on to a fast lead on the whereabouts of Ashutosh Rana but realizes that he needs to travel to Europe to get to the heart of the issue. He does so and meets Emraan Hashmi, a local, who is working in a sex toy store and employs his services to help him out in finding people. This sort of a thing is not easy and of course Kunal goes through a lot of Hardship and does he close the porn shop? This forms the rest of the story.
Kunal Khemu, is a good actor, shows anger and his good physique in most of the movie. Smilie, plays dumb, Ashutosh Rana is scary and he really scares the crap out of me everytime I see him, even if he is doing a decent role. The music is really good, I love the Atif Aslam Sound track and the "Jiya dhadak dhadak..." number too...
Good movie, not for kids and will most certainly give you a sad feeling after the movie ends...
Cast: Kunal Khemu, Amrita Singh, Emraan Hashmi, Deepal Shah, Smilie, Ashutosh Rana
Director: Mohit Suri
Music: Annu Mallik
I just got to see this movie. Maybe because there are so many crappy movies being released I actually liked this movie. Would not recommend it for children and certainly not a family watch but a good movie nevertheless with great music too...
It is about Kunal (Kunal Khemu) a refugee in his own country moves from Kashmir to Mumbai as a kid with his father, a social worker. He sees struggle and violence all his life and one day hears the news that his father has passed away. An orphan now, he leads a quiet life until Smilie comes into his life. A girl from Kashmir whom his father had been supporting comes to Mumbai in search of a job. Kunal and Smilie fall in love with each other and soon get married.
One of their friends gifts them a few nights stay in a hotel for their honey moon. The young and unsuspecting couple take up the gift and drive down to this hotel where they are met with Ashutosh Rana (with an evil wicked smile) offers the couple a special honey moon suite. Still not sure what is happening the couple spend their time there and return home. Things are back to normal until one night when the cops come in and arrest both the husband and wife and keep them under lock up over night.
The next morning they come to hear that their lovemaking was caught on tape and now everywhere on the internet in a popular desi porn site. Both of them are beaten to confess the crime. Smilie confused if her husband framed her commits suicide. Kunal comes out on bail and then starts tracking the ring behind the death of his wife and the one behind putting them all over the internet.
He gets on to a fast lead on the whereabouts of Ashutosh Rana but realizes that he needs to travel to Europe to get to the heart of the issue. He does so and meets Emraan Hashmi, a local, who is working in a sex toy store and employs his services to help him out in finding people. This sort of a thing is not easy and of course Kunal goes through a lot of Hardship and does he close the porn shop? This forms the rest of the story.
Kunal Khemu, is a good actor, shows anger and his good physique in most of the movie. Smilie, plays dumb, Ashutosh Rana is scary and he really scares the crap out of me everytime I see him, even if he is doing a decent role. The music is really good, I love the Atif Aslam Sound track and the "Jiya dhadak dhadak..." number too...
Good movie, not for kids and will most certainly give you a sad feeling after the movie ends...
Thursday, September 07, 2006
Lage Raho Munnabhai (2006) - Hindi Movies
Ranking: 4.8/5
Cast: Sanjay Dutt, Arshad Warsi, Bomman Irani, Vidya Balan
Director: Rajkumar Hirani
Music: Shantanu Moitra
Munnabhai has a new adventure this time around. A new girl to woo and a new don to tackle. Although the cast is pretty much the same but for Vidya Balan replacing Gracie Singh from Part I, the story has no relationship to Munnabhai MBBS! It is much more hilarious, original, and extremely entertaining with catchy music!
Jhanvi (Vidya Balan) hosts a radio show in Bombay and Prof. Murali Prasad Sharma aka Munnabhai is her biggest fan who never misses a single episode. He has not seen her yet but has fallen in love with her. Munna prepares very hard with the help of Circuit (Arshad Warsi) to win a quiz on Gandhi hosted by the radio station so he can meet her in flesh and blood. Munna of course wins it and now he is sitting in front of his dream girl who not only has a pretty voice but is also very beautiful. Tongue tied Munna tells her that he is a professor and specializes in Gandhian study! Jhanvi impressed with Munnabhai invites him home so that he can chat with her extended family about his extensive knowledge on Gandhian principles and Munna promptly agrees.
Not to sound ignorant Munna goes to the Gandhi library and starts reading about Bapu with no food or water and eventually Bapu appears in front of him. This just opens up the story for some fine hilarious moments between Munna/Circuit/and Bapu. Also the BGM for Bapu is real cool, "Bandhe me tha dhum, bandey mataram..." So now Munna has pataofied his girl with a lie and every time he tries to tell her the truth something comes up.
On the other hand Lucky Singh (Bomman), a developer wants to get his daughter married to the son of another rich developer in town who believes in astrology for everything he does. This developer's astrologer tells him that he needs to own a certain piece of land in Mumbai for prosperity. But he is unable to get his hands on it and Bomman promises to get him the same in dowry. He hires Munna and Circuit to get the tenants vacated from the house. But upon realizing that the house belongs to Jhanvi, Lucky manipulates Munna and sends him with Jhanvi and her extended adopted family for a vacation to Goa full fare paid.
Only after returning does Munna realize that Lucky had used him and had Circuit empty the house while Munna was having fun in Goa. Munna strikes back...But this time with Gandhian principles of ahimsa. On realizing who Munna really is Jhanvi leaves him and Munna is grief stricken but does not slack on his determination to get Jhanvi her house back...Does Munna get the house back? Does he win Jhanvi's heart back? Are there more funny moments and surprises waiting around the corner?
Can't tell you...gotta watch the movie for that eh? It is a family movie, fun, and fultu time pass! Circuit has a lot more coverage in this movie and to be honest and fair Munnabhai cannot exist without Circuit...They are fun together! I wonder why Circuit is still single and has never had any love interest yet! These guys make even sentimental scenes funny! Kudos to the director and the entire team for making a wholesome entertainer!
Cast: Sanjay Dutt, Arshad Warsi, Bomman Irani, Vidya Balan
Director: Rajkumar Hirani
Music: Shantanu Moitra
Munnabhai has a new adventure this time around. A new girl to woo and a new don to tackle. Although the cast is pretty much the same but for Vidya Balan replacing Gracie Singh from Part I, the story has no relationship to Munnabhai MBBS! It is much more hilarious, original, and extremely entertaining with catchy music!
Jhanvi (Vidya Balan) hosts a radio show in Bombay and Prof. Murali Prasad Sharma aka Munnabhai is her biggest fan who never misses a single episode. He has not seen her yet but has fallen in love with her. Munna prepares very hard with the help of Circuit (Arshad Warsi) to win a quiz on Gandhi hosted by the radio station so he can meet her in flesh and blood. Munna of course wins it and now he is sitting in front of his dream girl who not only has a pretty voice but is also very beautiful. Tongue tied Munna tells her that he is a professor and specializes in Gandhian study! Jhanvi impressed with Munnabhai invites him home so that he can chat with her extended family about his extensive knowledge on Gandhian principles and Munna promptly agrees.
Not to sound ignorant Munna goes to the Gandhi library and starts reading about Bapu with no food or water and eventually Bapu appears in front of him. This just opens up the story for some fine hilarious moments between Munna/Circuit/and Bapu. Also the BGM for Bapu is real cool, "Bandhe me tha dhum, bandey mataram..." So now Munna has pataofied his girl with a lie and every time he tries to tell her the truth something comes up.
On the other hand Lucky Singh (Bomman), a developer wants to get his daughter married to the son of another rich developer in town who believes in astrology for everything he does. This developer's astrologer tells him that he needs to own a certain piece of land in Mumbai for prosperity. But he is unable to get his hands on it and Bomman promises to get him the same in dowry. He hires Munna and Circuit to get the tenants vacated from the house. But upon realizing that the house belongs to Jhanvi, Lucky manipulates Munna and sends him with Jhanvi and her extended adopted family for a vacation to Goa full fare paid.
Only after returning does Munna realize that Lucky had used him and had Circuit empty the house while Munna was having fun in Goa. Munna strikes back...But this time with Gandhian principles of ahimsa. On realizing who Munna really is Jhanvi leaves him and Munna is grief stricken but does not slack on his determination to get Jhanvi her house back...Does Munna get the house back? Does he win Jhanvi's heart back? Are there more funny moments and surprises waiting around the corner?
Can't tell you...gotta watch the movie for that eh? It is a family movie, fun, and fultu time pass! Circuit has a lot more coverage in this movie and to be honest and fair Munnabhai cannot exist without Circuit...They are fun together! I wonder why Circuit is still single and has never had any love interest yet! These guys make even sentimental scenes funny! Kudos to the director and the entire team for making a wholesome entertainer!
Wednesday, August 16, 2006
Uyir (2006) - Tamil Movie Review
Ranking: 2.5/5
Cast: Srikanth, Sangeetha, Samvritha
Director: Samy
Music: Joshua Sridhar
Have you seen Aasai? Remember that Ajith (young and handsome) and Suvalakshmi movie that introduced Prakash Raj as an amazing villain? With beautiful music (lifted of course) by Deva? Remember all that? Then do not waste time watching this movie...Because this is nothing but an x-ray image of Aasai...
Sundar moves in with his brother's family that comprises of his brother, sister-in-law Arundathi (Sangeetha) and their little daughter. Sundar is very close to all three of them. Although Sundar reveres Arundathi a lot, Arundathi lusts for Sundar who is unaware of it.
Sundar drops his niece at school everyday and he meets his girlfriend Anandi (Samvritha) there. When his brother gets to know about their relationship he is very excited about the same. But his brother commits suicide soon afterward due to some problems at work. Now Sundar is tied to taking care of his brother's family as Arundathi and her daughter have nowhere to go.
Arundathi keeps Anandi at bay by doing everything possible from her side. She tries her best to break Sundar's relationship with Anandi while subtly hinting to Sundar about her love for him. Anandi warns Sundar about his conniving Sister-in-Law but nothing comes out of it.
What happens to Sundar and Anandi? Does Arundathi succeed in foiling their love? All the questions form the rest of the story.
I like Srikanth. I think he is a bundle of talent and energy although he does not get good roles to play. All the movies he has chosen in the last year have been just passable. This one is no exception. I sometimes wish he would not jump around too much...
Samvritha...She is not heroine material. All you can notice is that she is not pretty and has a huge squint! Which does not add to screen presence at all. She should seriously consider applying for other jobs.
Sangeetha...She made a point about her acting in Pithamagan...She is good. But some of the expressions she makes in the movie look funny...She needs to check on a mirror before getting them on the role. Also she needs to loose weight else she will be shelved for roles like anni or akka only.
On the whole the movie is watchable but Aasai was way more gripping and believable than this movie. Lot of things Arudathi tries to do are plain stupid. I am sure a smart person can come up with real workable ideas to break up a couple...But watch it once when you have run out of all your "fun" options!
Cast: Srikanth, Sangeetha, Samvritha
Director: Samy
Music: Joshua Sridhar
Have you seen Aasai? Remember that Ajith (young and handsome) and Suvalakshmi movie that introduced Prakash Raj as an amazing villain? With beautiful music (lifted of course) by Deva? Remember all that? Then do not waste time watching this movie...Because this is nothing but an x-ray image of Aasai...
Sundar moves in with his brother's family that comprises of his brother, sister-in-law Arundathi (Sangeetha) and their little daughter. Sundar is very close to all three of them. Although Sundar reveres Arundathi a lot, Arundathi lusts for Sundar who is unaware of it.
Sundar drops his niece at school everyday and he meets his girlfriend Anandi (Samvritha) there. When his brother gets to know about their relationship he is very excited about the same. But his brother commits suicide soon afterward due to some problems at work. Now Sundar is tied to taking care of his brother's family as Arundathi and her daughter have nowhere to go.
Arundathi keeps Anandi at bay by doing everything possible from her side. She tries her best to break Sundar's relationship with Anandi while subtly hinting to Sundar about her love for him. Anandi warns Sundar about his conniving Sister-in-Law but nothing comes out of it.
What happens to Sundar and Anandi? Does Arundathi succeed in foiling their love? All the questions form the rest of the story.
I like Srikanth. I think he is a bundle of talent and energy although he does not get good roles to play. All the movies he has chosen in the last year have been just passable. This one is no exception. I sometimes wish he would not jump around too much...
Samvritha...She is not heroine material. All you can notice is that she is not pretty and has a huge squint! Which does not add to screen presence at all. She should seriously consider applying for other jobs.
Sangeetha...She made a point about her acting in Pithamagan...She is good. But some of the expressions she makes in the movie look funny...She needs to check on a mirror before getting them on the role. Also she needs to loose weight else she will be shelved for roles like anni or akka only.
On the whole the movie is watchable but Aasai was way more gripping and believable than this movie. Lot of things Arudathi tries to do are plain stupid. I am sure a smart person can come up with real workable ideas to break up a couple...But watch it once when you have run out of all your "fun" options!
Wednesday, August 02, 2006
Omkara (2006) - Hindi Movie Review
Ranking: 3.5/5
Cast: Ajay Devgan, Saif, Vivek Oberoi, Kareena Kapoor, Konkona Sen Sharma, Bipasha Basu
Director: Vishal Baradhwaj
Music: Vishal Baradhwaj
Yes it is an adaptation of Othello by Shakespeare. Did I enjoy the movie? I am not too sure...I cannot explain why but I surely had a bad after taste after I walked out of the theater. Let me explain the story and then let me see if I can try and explain why I did not enjoy the movie.
Omkara (Othello) - played by Ajay Devgan is a leader of a gang in a town in UP/Bihar. As much of a leader that he is he is also led easily by his gang members conniving plans easily. He can be a romantic lover and suspicious husband too. He lacks trust in anyone which leads to his own downfall.
Ajay D is always serious. Can he be a comedian? Not very convincingly. Having played so many serious roles the role of Omkara must have been a piece of cake! I did not think that his acting as Omkara was any better than what he did in his previous movies...But yes the casting was right and he was good at the job!
Tyagi (Iago) - On the other hand is an integral part of Omkara's gang. He is smart, intelligent, conniving, and can be cunning. He gets filled with contempt for Omkara after having been passed over the position of General in the gang to a younger unsuspecting Kesu. Tyagi slowly plots his revenge against Om and Kesu.
This role is beautifully portrayed by Saif. The transition from the suave chef in Salam Namaste to Langda Tyagi in Omkara is remarkable! I could never imagine Saif speaking the dialect and he did have me convinced because I always thought that Saif could only play "the rich kid" roles.
Kesu (Cassio) - Is a lad who can speak English, university educated but is also a part of the Omkara gang. He becomes the general of the gang but is at the receiving end of Tyagi's revenge. Kesu lands up becoming a pawn in the elaborate game that Tyagi plans! A loverboy at heart he has his eyes set on Billo, a dancer!
Vivek Oberoi as Kesu is not bad. I will not say he was great but he acted to the full capacity of what is required for the role. If he had done anything more it would have become gaudy. Yes he stood "there" most of the time, but that's what his role demanded. He cannot be written off (like he has been in Rediff.com) for that. In fact he did justice to Kesu.
Dolly (Desdemona) - Is the beautiful girl who elopes from her house to marry Omkara against the wishes of her parents. Dolly is in the center of the big revenge plotted by Tyagi. An innocent girl who is in total submission to Omkara realizes in the end that her lover did not trust her...
I like Kareena. She is a very beautiful actor and can surely dance to the beats but she is not the correct person for the role. She sticks out as a sore thumb in the landscape of UP/Bihar. For this I will not blame her because her acting was not the one in question here but I will blame the casting manager!
Billo - Bips plays this role of the girl who charms our young and handsome newly appointed General Kesu and also falls for his marriage promise. In the end also forms an integral part of Tyagi's plan!
Bips cannot look anything but stylish. Even though people in villages and small towns use cell phone now, they do not get their make up done like an actress in Bollywood. She seemed too conscious to do the item numbers and in spite of her dusky complexion seemed out of place as Billo! Again bad casting!
Indu (Emilia) - is the wife of Tyagi and the one who tells Omkara the truth. Konkona who acted this part was the only lead lady who did not look out of place in her surroundings, and what more can I say about her acting. She the fit the role like a glove on a hand!
The reasons I did enjoy the movie:
1) The pace of the movie was very slow. It might have been okay with Shakesphere wrote Othello but in 21st century we are used to speed and somehow could not enjoy it.
2) Even if the pace was slow had the screenplay been a little more interesting it would have been better.
3) I did not think they did a good job with the casting of Kareena and Bips!
4) The item numbers did not make a difference to the story.
5) Murder of Dolly was not visualized well. I really did not have to see her body jolt and shudder when she died.
6) What difference does adding a love scene to a movie make other than getting more front benchers in? It spoils the look of the movie if you put in a love-making scene just for the sake of it. I strongly believe that the love making scene of KK and AD was not necessary. Just showing his love for her is enough to convince me of the fact that he loves her deeply.
7) The movie gave me a headache. It is not that I do not like sad/slow/tragic movies because I have seen Pithamagan, Sethu, Thavamai Thavamirundhu, etc and I did not have this feeling about any of them. So there is something wrong in the movie only!
I usually ruminate over a movie I see for a couple of weeks before I finally come to a decision that I like it or not. And hopefully in the next couple of weeks I don't add a few more points to my above list of "Why I don't like this movie." Having written the stuff I did not like I must also write what I liked...So here goes:
1) A great adaptation of the original story. Conscious effort has also been made to keep the names of the lead protagonists similar to the original story.
2) The location where the movie has been shot is really impressive and shows a different part of India if you are not from around there.
3) Dialogues, although I did not understand most of them (Subtitles Zindabad!) was in local dialect and effort from each actor is noteworthy.
4) Costumes too are very impressive.
That's all I can think for now. Nevertheless the movie is worth watching once to form your own opinion. This movie certainly did not fall into my "please do not watch for your own safety" category but does fall into my "avoid watching with your family" category! Feedbacks and healthy discussions are always welcome!
Cast: Ajay Devgan, Saif, Vivek Oberoi, Kareena Kapoor, Konkona Sen Sharma, Bipasha Basu
Director: Vishal Baradhwaj
Music: Vishal Baradhwaj
Yes it is an adaptation of Othello by Shakespeare. Did I enjoy the movie? I am not too sure...I cannot explain why but I surely had a bad after taste after I walked out of the theater. Let me explain the story and then let me see if I can try and explain why I did not enjoy the movie.
Omkara (Othello) - played by Ajay Devgan is a leader of a gang in a town in UP/Bihar. As much of a leader that he is he is also led easily by his gang members conniving plans easily. He can be a romantic lover and suspicious husband too. He lacks trust in anyone which leads to his own downfall.
Ajay D is always serious. Can he be a comedian? Not very convincingly. Having played so many serious roles the role of Omkara must have been a piece of cake! I did not think that his acting as Omkara was any better than what he did in his previous movies...But yes the casting was right and he was good at the job!
Tyagi (Iago) - On the other hand is an integral part of Omkara's gang. He is smart, intelligent, conniving, and can be cunning. He gets filled with contempt for Omkara after having been passed over the position of General in the gang to a younger unsuspecting Kesu. Tyagi slowly plots his revenge against Om and Kesu.
This role is beautifully portrayed by Saif. The transition from the suave chef in Salam Namaste to Langda Tyagi in Omkara is remarkable! I could never imagine Saif speaking the dialect and he did have me convinced because I always thought that Saif could only play "the rich kid" roles.
Kesu (Cassio) - Is a lad who can speak English, university educated but is also a part of the Omkara gang. He becomes the general of the gang but is at the receiving end of Tyagi's revenge. Kesu lands up becoming a pawn in the elaborate game that Tyagi plans! A loverboy at heart he has his eyes set on Billo, a dancer!
Vivek Oberoi as Kesu is not bad. I will not say he was great but he acted to the full capacity of what is required for the role. If he had done anything more it would have become gaudy. Yes he stood "there" most of the time, but that's what his role demanded. He cannot be written off (like he has been in Rediff.com) for that. In fact he did justice to Kesu.
Dolly (Desdemona) - Is the beautiful girl who elopes from her house to marry Omkara against the wishes of her parents. Dolly is in the center of the big revenge plotted by Tyagi. An innocent girl who is in total submission to Omkara realizes in the end that her lover did not trust her...
I like Kareena. She is a very beautiful actor and can surely dance to the beats but she is not the correct person for the role. She sticks out as a sore thumb in the landscape of UP/Bihar. For this I will not blame her because her acting was not the one in question here but I will blame the casting manager!
Billo - Bips plays this role of the girl who charms our young and handsome newly appointed General Kesu and also falls for his marriage promise. In the end also forms an integral part of Tyagi's plan!
Bips cannot look anything but stylish. Even though people in villages and small towns use cell phone now, they do not get their make up done like an actress in Bollywood. She seemed too conscious to do the item numbers and in spite of her dusky complexion seemed out of place as Billo! Again bad casting!
Indu (Emilia) - is the wife of Tyagi and the one who tells Omkara the truth. Konkona who acted this part was the only lead lady who did not look out of place in her surroundings, and what more can I say about her acting. She the fit the role like a glove on a hand!
The reasons I did enjoy the movie:
1) The pace of the movie was very slow. It might have been okay with Shakesphere wrote Othello but in 21st century we are used to speed and somehow could not enjoy it.
2) Even if the pace was slow had the screenplay been a little more interesting it would have been better.
3) I did not think they did a good job with the casting of Kareena and Bips!
4) The item numbers did not make a difference to the story.
5) Murder of Dolly was not visualized well. I really did not have to see her body jolt and shudder when she died.
6) What difference does adding a love scene to a movie make other than getting more front benchers in? It spoils the look of the movie if you put in a love-making scene just for the sake of it. I strongly believe that the love making scene of KK and AD was not necessary. Just showing his love for her is enough to convince me of the fact that he loves her deeply.
7) The movie gave me a headache. It is not that I do not like sad/slow/tragic movies because I have seen Pithamagan, Sethu, Thavamai Thavamirundhu, etc and I did not have this feeling about any of them. So there is something wrong in the movie only!
I usually ruminate over a movie I see for a couple of weeks before I finally come to a decision that I like it or not. And hopefully in the next couple of weeks I don't add a few more points to my above list of "Why I don't like this movie." Having written the stuff I did not like I must also write what I liked...So here goes:
1) A great adaptation of the original story. Conscious effort has also been made to keep the names of the lead protagonists similar to the original story.
2) The location where the movie has been shot is really impressive and shows a different part of India if you are not from around there.
3) Dialogues, although I did not understand most of them (Subtitles Zindabad!) was in local dialect and effort from each actor is noteworthy.
4) Costumes too are very impressive.
That's all I can think for now. Nevertheless the movie is worth watching once to form your own opinion. This movie certainly did not fall into my "please do not watch for your own safety" category but does fall into my "avoid watching with your family" category! Feedbacks and healthy discussions are always welcome!
Monday, July 31, 2006
Manmadhudu (2002) - Telugu Movie Review
Ranking: 3.5/5
Cast: Nagarjuna, Sonali Bendre, Anshu
Director: Vijaya Bhaskar
Music: Devi Sri Prasad
One Line Review: A very clean family entertainer
Abhi (Nag) a very rich kid owns an ad agency hates women. He goes to his colleagues/friends weddings and sings songs that say "don't marry." Harika (Sonali Bendre) joins the same ad agency and they both do not get along at all. They keep fighting and Abhi also goes to the extent of installing a mike under her desk. He steals her concepts and presents them as his own in meetings and her keeps picking on her. Enraged Harika hands her resignation letter to her boss who is also Abhi's uncle. Abhi's uncle explains Abhi's flashback to her...
Abhi a fun loving guy falls head over heels in love with the daughter of one of his grandfather's employees. Before Abhi and Mahi (Anshu) could talk about their love to Abhi's family Mahi's uncle takes her away to get her engaged to someone else. Abhi hearing of this takes Mahi away from her uncle and drives towards his house in a slightly inebriated state and they meet with an accident. When Abhi recovers he is told that Mahi has married the guy she was going to engaged to and she is living away from him. Which turns Abhi to hate all women and also makes him hate marriage.
Harika starts feeling a softness for Abhi. They become friends on their trip to Paris and their friendship blossoms into love towards the end of their trip when Abhi realizes that Harika is engaged to be married soon. He once again goes into a slump...Does he recover? Does he marry Harika? Watch the feel-good movie ;)
Yes, this movie is clean and decent, songs are just amazing and the movie is also funny with Brahmanandam and Sunil. If you have not seen it in the last four years then please watch it now!
Cast: Nagarjuna, Sonali Bendre, Anshu
Director: Vijaya Bhaskar
Music: Devi Sri Prasad
One Line Review: A very clean family entertainer
Abhi (Nag) a very rich kid owns an ad agency hates women. He goes to his colleagues/friends weddings and sings songs that say "don't marry." Harika (Sonali Bendre) joins the same ad agency and they both do not get along at all. They keep fighting and Abhi also goes to the extent of installing a mike under her desk. He steals her concepts and presents them as his own in meetings and her keeps picking on her. Enraged Harika hands her resignation letter to her boss who is also Abhi's uncle. Abhi's uncle explains Abhi's flashback to her...
Abhi a fun loving guy falls head over heels in love with the daughter of one of his grandfather's employees. Before Abhi and Mahi (Anshu) could talk about their love to Abhi's family Mahi's uncle takes her away to get her engaged to someone else. Abhi hearing of this takes Mahi away from her uncle and drives towards his house in a slightly inebriated state and they meet with an accident. When Abhi recovers he is told that Mahi has married the guy she was going to engaged to and she is living away from him. Which turns Abhi to hate all women and also makes him hate marriage.
Harika starts feeling a softness for Abhi. They become friends on their trip to Paris and their friendship blossoms into love towards the end of their trip when Abhi realizes that Harika is engaged to be married soon. He once again goes into a slump...Does he recover? Does he marry Harika? Watch the feel-good movie ;)
Yes, this movie is clean and decent, songs are just amazing and the movie is also funny with Brahmanandam and Sunil. If you have not seen it in the last four years then please watch it now!
Devil Wears Prada (2006) - English Movie Review
Ranking: 2.5/5
Cast: Meryl Streep, Anne Hathway, Stanley Tucci, Adrian Greenier
Director: David Frankel
This movie falls into the category of "Cheesy English Movie." It is neither super romantic nor makes an interesting watch. If at all it surely puts you to sleep in many occasions. The movie albeit it's boring story has made a lot of money and has awesome reviews in rottentomatoes.com and I wonder why? May be all those chic New York execs wearing Prada's and Gucci's write those reviews or pay to watch this movie.
My friend and I were intrigued by the preview we saw of this movie and decided we had to see it. After reading positive reviews we were only more convinced to watch it. So off we went to the theaters...
The story is about a girl, Andy Sachs (Anne Hathway) who is supposedly fat, ugly, and has no sense of dressing but is very smart and intelligent who starts working for Miranda Priestly (Meryl Streep) who is the Chief editor for a very popular fashion magazine called Runway. Miranda is a tyrant and pushes her employees to the very edge before accepting them. She is a workaholic and a perfectionist. Andy who has no idea of what Runway magazine does is challenged to take up this job and struggles everyday with her not-so-co-operating colleagues. Nigel (Stanley Tucci), a designer in the same office is her only friend.
On one hand she has her tyrannical boss who calls her and asks her to be on call 24 hours a day and on the other her boyfriend Nate (Adrian Greenier) who also demands attention. Andy is torn between the two and for sometime is convinced that she should follow her career. She travels with Meryl Streep to Paris, has a brief affair with another writer, and suddenly she realizes how bizarre her life actually is. She is not sure if this is what she wants and she quits her job to get back to New York and to continue her life with Nate.
I wonder if she ever told Nate about her one-night-stand! Anyway the story is boring. I felt so bored even writing the review. It is not like there is anything novel about this story at all! Seriously think how many English movies have released with similar themes? I am sorry, I tried to like this movie and just could not.
But the movie is certainly worth watching with friends and family. It is clean for most part and it can be a very cute movie for girly and women who wear Pink!
Cast: Meryl Streep, Anne Hathway, Stanley Tucci, Adrian Greenier
Director: David Frankel
This movie falls into the category of "Cheesy English Movie." It is neither super romantic nor makes an interesting watch. If at all it surely puts you to sleep in many occasions. The movie albeit it's boring story has made a lot of money and has awesome reviews in rottentomatoes.com and I wonder why? May be all those chic New York execs wearing Prada's and Gucci's write those reviews or pay to watch this movie.
My friend and I were intrigued by the preview we saw of this movie and decided we had to see it. After reading positive reviews we were only more convinced to watch it. So off we went to the theaters...
The story is about a girl, Andy Sachs (Anne Hathway) who is supposedly fat, ugly, and has no sense of dressing but is very smart and intelligent who starts working for Miranda Priestly (Meryl Streep) who is the Chief editor for a very popular fashion magazine called Runway. Miranda is a tyrant and pushes her employees to the very edge before accepting them. She is a workaholic and a perfectionist. Andy who has no idea of what Runway magazine does is challenged to take up this job and struggles everyday with her not-so-co-operating colleagues. Nigel (Stanley Tucci), a designer in the same office is her only friend.
On one hand she has her tyrannical boss who calls her and asks her to be on call 24 hours a day and on the other her boyfriend Nate (Adrian Greenier) who also demands attention. Andy is torn between the two and for sometime is convinced that she should follow her career. She travels with Meryl Streep to Paris, has a brief affair with another writer, and suddenly she realizes how bizarre her life actually is. She is not sure if this is what she wants and she quits her job to get back to New York and to continue her life with Nate.
I wonder if she ever told Nate about her one-night-stand! Anyway the story is boring. I felt so bored even writing the review. It is not like there is anything novel about this story at all! Seriously think how many English movies have released with similar themes? I am sorry, I tried to like this movie and just could not.
But the movie is certainly worth watching with friends and family. It is clean for most part and it can be a very cute movie for girly and women who wear Pink!
Thursday, July 27, 2006
Golmal (2006) - Hindi Movie Review
Ranking: 4/5
One line review: Movie is total timepass!
Cast: Sharmaan Joshi, Ajay Devgan, Arshad Warsi, Tushar Kapoor, Paresh Rawal, etc.
Director: Rohit Shetty
Music: Vishal Dadlani and Shekar Ravjiani
This is a Malyalam movie remade into Tamil and Telugu before making its way into Bollywood. For most people Malyalam movies fall into the Serious Movie category but truly you will be surprised to see how many comedy movies they make every year. But one thing is for sure Malyalam comedy is subtle and not always as loud of Tamil, Telugu, or Hindi movies. And also most serious movie also has a touch of comedy entwined in them. And yes Golmal is a funny movie and can be enjoyed to full extent. I am not sure if it will be worth watching it again but it surely is a decent movie for one-time-viewing.
The story is about Sharmaan Joshi and college going lad and three of his friends who take advantage of his innocent character due to which he eventually gets kicked out of college. Nowhere to go and chased by debtors the four of them take refuge in the house of a blind couple. Of course the blind couple is expecting their grandson from America and one of the dudes becomes the imposter.
The twist in the story is that Sharmaan becomes the grandson and Ajay becomes the voice of the grandson. And another sub-plot is that of a gangster team who are trying to steal a box which presumably has money in it. Unfortunately for the gangster team they get beaten up by Sharmaan and his friends unintentionally. Of course there is a heroine which Sharmaan, Arshad, and Ajay are pining for and Tushar plays a mute guy.
The story is predictable but still brings a lot of laughter although like I mentioned earlier don't know if it will funny when I see it again. Tushar as the mute guy is very very hilarious. Sharmaan as the innocent college student is also very funny and he surely keeps us at the edge of the seat. Ajay as the serious but funny guy who lands everyone in trouble is also funny at times but otherwise is just okay. Arshad, needs to loose some weight. Being how tall he is, he just looks like a jadi (you know the one in which they store pickles) or stocky! But he is funny at times too. Most of the movie it is Sharmaan or Tushar who make you laugh the most.
I would surely recommend this movie to be seen if you can understand Hindi else a lot of things will be lost in translation. When you have nothing much to do and want to chillout without getting too tensed...Golmal will be your perfect companion!
One line review: Movie is total timepass!
Cast: Sharmaan Joshi, Ajay Devgan, Arshad Warsi, Tushar Kapoor, Paresh Rawal, etc.
Director: Rohit Shetty
Music: Vishal Dadlani and Shekar Ravjiani
This is a Malyalam movie remade into Tamil and Telugu before making its way into Bollywood. For most people Malyalam movies fall into the Serious Movie category but truly you will be surprised to see how many comedy movies they make every year. But one thing is for sure Malyalam comedy is subtle and not always as loud of Tamil, Telugu, or Hindi movies. And also most serious movie also has a touch of comedy entwined in them. And yes Golmal is a funny movie and can be enjoyed to full extent. I am not sure if it will be worth watching it again but it surely is a decent movie for one-time-viewing.
The story is about Sharmaan Joshi and college going lad and three of his friends who take advantage of his innocent character due to which he eventually gets kicked out of college. Nowhere to go and chased by debtors the four of them take refuge in the house of a blind couple. Of course the blind couple is expecting their grandson from America and one of the dudes becomes the imposter.
The twist in the story is that Sharmaan becomes the grandson and Ajay becomes the voice of the grandson. And another sub-plot is that of a gangster team who are trying to steal a box which presumably has money in it. Unfortunately for the gangster team they get beaten up by Sharmaan and his friends unintentionally. Of course there is a heroine which Sharmaan, Arshad, and Ajay are pining for and Tushar plays a mute guy.
The story is predictable but still brings a lot of laughter although like I mentioned earlier don't know if it will funny when I see it again. Tushar as the mute guy is very very hilarious. Sharmaan as the innocent college student is also very funny and he surely keeps us at the edge of the seat. Ajay as the serious but funny guy who lands everyone in trouble is also funny at times but otherwise is just okay. Arshad, needs to loose some weight. Being how tall he is, he just looks like a jadi (you know the one in which they store pickles) or stocky! But he is funny at times too. Most of the movie it is Sharmaan or Tushar who make you laugh the most.
I would surely recommend this movie to be seen if you can understand Hindi else a lot of things will be lost in translation. When you have nothing much to do and want to chillout without getting too tensed...Golmal will be your perfect companion!
Tuesday, July 25, 2006
Pudupettai (2006) - Tamil Movie Review
Ranking: It is either 2/5 or 4/5 depending on who is watching the movie
Cast: Dhanush, Sneha, Soniya Agarwal
Director: Selvaraghavan
Music: Yuvan Shankar Raja
Before the movie released it was commonly assumed that the story line will be similar to Pattiyal as the word was out on the street that both of them were gangster stories. Pattiyal released and went on to become a hit and Selvaraghavan smartly moved the release date of his movie to a later date. This not only helped people to get over the Pattiyal hangover but also helped give Pudupettai its due. It is now a huge hit and there is no denying it.
The story is set in the slums of Chennai where a high school kid Kokki Kumar sees his mom dead after he comes back from watching a movie. His father the murderer is also planning to kill his son Kumar also. Kumar sensing danger runs away from home. Homeless and with no food Kumar resorts to begging until he is wrongly arrested while standing by and watching a commotion on the street. In jail he befriends handymen of a local goon who take Kumar with them and give him petty jobs to do. In a confrontation with goons of another gang Kumar kills the brother of his enemy gang thus earning the respect of his gang and making enemies for himself.
Kumar falls in love with a prostitute Krishnaveni and she moves in with him. Kumar requests his boss who is also Krishnaveni's boss freedom from being a prostitute but he refuses. In a fit of rage Kumar kills his own boss thus becoming the gang leader himself. He helps a lot of politicians during election times and becomes popular in the underworld circle.
He also meets Soniya Agarwal on the eve of her wedding and falls in love with her and marries her forcibly during her wedding ceremony. Soniya is the sister of his favorite henchman who also becomes his enemy and joins the enemy gang. Slowly Kumar starts accumulating enemies and eventually everyone start targeting Kumar's head. Does Kumar survive the wrath of his enemies? forms the rest of the story.
What I did not like about the movie is the violence and bloody gore. I do not need to see so much graphic detail to understand the life of the goons. Really! This movie is more of a hit with predominantly front benchers because of the amount of violence. Had the director done some editing it might helped the movie some more.
The story is nothing we have not heard of before. But it feels very natural. The hero though exhibits superhero qualities in a few instances is not a superhero. He is vulnerable. There are no power dialogues. The hero's thought process suits his level of education and lifestyle. He is not shown wearing boot cut jeans and Nike shoes. His costumes are very apt. The dialogues are also well penned. Dialogue delivery, characterization, casting, music, direction, lighting are all very well done.
In all I would say watch the movie but not with parents or other elders. Also watch it on a DVD so you can forward scenes that might be too visually offensive.
Cast: Dhanush, Sneha, Soniya Agarwal
Director: Selvaraghavan
Music: Yuvan Shankar Raja
Before the movie released it was commonly assumed that the story line will be similar to Pattiyal as the word was out on the street that both of them were gangster stories. Pattiyal released and went on to become a hit and Selvaraghavan smartly moved the release date of his movie to a later date. This not only helped people to get over the Pattiyal hangover but also helped give Pudupettai its due. It is now a huge hit and there is no denying it.
The story is set in the slums of Chennai where a high school kid Kokki Kumar sees his mom dead after he comes back from watching a movie. His father the murderer is also planning to kill his son Kumar also. Kumar sensing danger runs away from home. Homeless and with no food Kumar resorts to begging until he is wrongly arrested while standing by and watching a commotion on the street. In jail he befriends handymen of a local goon who take Kumar with them and give him petty jobs to do. In a confrontation with goons of another gang Kumar kills the brother of his enemy gang thus earning the respect of his gang and making enemies for himself.
Kumar falls in love with a prostitute Krishnaveni and she moves in with him. Kumar requests his boss who is also Krishnaveni's boss freedom from being a prostitute but he refuses. In a fit of rage Kumar kills his own boss thus becoming the gang leader himself. He helps a lot of politicians during election times and becomes popular in the underworld circle.
He also meets Soniya Agarwal on the eve of her wedding and falls in love with her and marries her forcibly during her wedding ceremony. Soniya is the sister of his favorite henchman who also becomes his enemy and joins the enemy gang. Slowly Kumar starts accumulating enemies and eventually everyone start targeting Kumar's head. Does Kumar survive the wrath of his enemies? forms the rest of the story.
What I did not like about the movie is the violence and bloody gore. I do not need to see so much graphic detail to understand the life of the goons. Really! This movie is more of a hit with predominantly front benchers because of the amount of violence. Had the director done some editing it might helped the movie some more.
The story is nothing we have not heard of before. But it feels very natural. The hero though exhibits superhero qualities in a few instances is not a superhero. He is vulnerable. There are no power dialogues. The hero's thought process suits his level of education and lifestyle. He is not shown wearing boot cut jeans and Nike shoes. His costumes are very apt. The dialogues are also well penned. Dialogue delivery, characterization, casting, music, direction, lighting are all very well done.
In all I would say watch the movie but not with parents or other elders. Also watch it on a DVD so you can forward scenes that might be too visually offensive.
Monday, July 17, 2006
Pokkiri Raja (1982) - Tamil Movie Review
Ranking: 3.5/5
Cast: Rajnikanth, Sridevi, Manorama, Muthuraman, Y.G. Mahendran, Radhika
Director: S.P. Muthuraman
Music: M.S. Vishwanathan
Stereotypical movie from the 80's. When you see them now you feel like you have seen it a hundred times before...But these were the movies that laid foundation to many modern stories on the silver screen.
The story is simple, Rajnikanth starts managing the office of an industrialist who strongly suspects his relatives to be looting him. Rajni finds the culprit and keeps a tight leash on everything happening in the office thereby earning the wrath of the bad relatives. Rajni and Sridevi (industrialist's daughter) who were at loggerheads initially also fall in love soon. The industrialist is happy about this development until he sees Rajni cheating on his daughter. He fires Rajni the very same day.
The industrialist is murdered and Sridevi also sees Rajni in her house that same night. Rajni is dragged to court and is shortly framed for murdering the industrialist. Sridevi is upset and the ill-intentioned relatives start closing their reign around her forcing her to marry Y.G. Mahendran (the son of Muthuraman and Manorama who are the industrialist's relatives).
In the meantime griefstricken Rajni in jail meets another person who looks exactly like him (Rajni 2). Together Rajni 1 and Rajni 2 plan to punish the culprits and set the records straight...A little confusion, fun, and a happy ending...I am sure everyone can guess how that might happen!
Very simple movie, slow at times but still entertaining. You can see all the components of acting that make the term "Rajni Style" and also Rajni at his peak. Sridevi acts really well as the daughter of the industrialist and so does Radhika as the girlfriend of the second Rajni. In other words a total time pass movie and worth watching with your whole family!
Cast: Rajnikanth, Sridevi, Manorama, Muthuraman, Y.G. Mahendran, Radhika
Director: S.P. Muthuraman
Music: M.S. Vishwanathan
Stereotypical movie from the 80's. When you see them now you feel like you have seen it a hundred times before...But these were the movies that laid foundation to many modern stories on the silver screen.
The story is simple, Rajnikanth starts managing the office of an industrialist who strongly suspects his relatives to be looting him. Rajni finds the culprit and keeps a tight leash on everything happening in the office thereby earning the wrath of the bad relatives. Rajni and Sridevi (industrialist's daughter) who were at loggerheads initially also fall in love soon. The industrialist is happy about this development until he sees Rajni cheating on his daughter. He fires Rajni the very same day.
The industrialist is murdered and Sridevi also sees Rajni in her house that same night. Rajni is dragged to court and is shortly framed for murdering the industrialist. Sridevi is upset and the ill-intentioned relatives start closing their reign around her forcing her to marry Y.G. Mahendran (the son of Muthuraman and Manorama who are the industrialist's relatives).
In the meantime griefstricken Rajni in jail meets another person who looks exactly like him (Rajni 2). Together Rajni 1 and Rajni 2 plan to punish the culprits and set the records straight...A little confusion, fun, and a happy ending...I am sure everyone can guess how that might happen!
Very simple movie, slow at times but still entertaining. You can see all the components of acting that make the term "Rajni Style" and also Rajni at his peak. Sridevi acts really well as the daughter of the industrialist and so does Radhika as the girlfriend of the second Rajni. In other words a total time pass movie and worth watching with your whole family!
Friday, June 30, 2006
Superman Returns (2006) - English Movie Review
I am not going to rank this movie, write the story or any of the conventional methods I have followed for other movies because this one is special - It is SUPERMAN!
The hero of all heroes, the man of steel, with a heart of gold, good looking and a great Krypton being, men want to be him and women would love to have him...In other words a fantasy icon of all realized through the media called cinema.
We went to the theater almost an hour before the show and we still got to sit at the second row only. It was sad but we were still excited that it was IMAX with 20 minutes of the movie in 3D! yay! And one thing is for sure that many of us will return to watch the movie in a decent seat next time. But inspite of the neck craning and moving head from corner to corner of the screen the movie was worth it. I still wonder if the 3D effects would have been better had we been slightly higher up.
It is kiddish, very similar to a Rajni or Vijaykanth movie...Hero protects all, is there at the nick of the moment, hears everyone's cry for help, loves his girlfriend immensely and better still CAN FLY...What more do you want other than to see a handsome hunk in blue and red fly over the skyline of Metropolis and into the universe...When he zooms close to you all you can think of is how handsome Brandon Routh really is...Clean shaven, blue eyes, perfect skin, tight clothes...Oops now I am making him sound gay (not that there is anything wrong with it) and that was not my intention...
The heroine, Lois Lane, of course was okay...But surely the two did have some good chemistry in the movie. I loved James Marsden in Notebook and only liked him better in this movie. In fact Kal Penn (Harold and Kumar go to White Castle) also makes appearance as one of Lux Luthor (Kevin Spacey's) sidekicks who has no dialogues...And need I say anything about Mr. Spacey's acting talents...
The movie is a fantastic watch...For a few moments it transports you to another world...And makes you really hope that there is Superman waiting outside the theater...It was very touching when a little kid sitting behind us screamed "Yay, Superman!" when he appeared on the screen...It made us realize that we were also clapping and cheering just like the kid but trying to act slightly matured!!! If this was a Desi theater then I would have made my friends whistle (because I don't know how to) and scream! I loved the movie...
Everyone did make comparisons of Brandon to Chris Reeve...It was omnipresent and to an extent spooky but only difference is that Brandon I assume has real muscles and no padding. But both of them aroused the same excitement among the viewers. Watch Superman and feel like a kid all over again!
The hero of all heroes, the man of steel, with a heart of gold, good looking and a great Krypton being, men want to be him and women would love to have him...In other words a fantasy icon of all realized through the media called cinema.
We went to the theater almost an hour before the show and we still got to sit at the second row only. It was sad but we were still excited that it was IMAX with 20 minutes of the movie in 3D! yay! And one thing is for sure that many of us will return to watch the movie in a decent seat next time. But inspite of the neck craning and moving head from corner to corner of the screen the movie was worth it. I still wonder if the 3D effects would have been better had we been slightly higher up.
It is kiddish, very similar to a Rajni or Vijaykanth movie...Hero protects all, is there at the nick of the moment, hears everyone's cry for help, loves his girlfriend immensely and better still CAN FLY...What more do you want other than to see a handsome hunk in blue and red fly over the skyline of Metropolis and into the universe...When he zooms close to you all you can think of is how handsome Brandon Routh really is...Clean shaven, blue eyes, perfect skin, tight clothes...Oops now I am making him sound gay (not that there is anything wrong with it) and that was not my intention...
The heroine, Lois Lane, of course was okay...But surely the two did have some good chemistry in the movie. I loved James Marsden in Notebook and only liked him better in this movie. In fact Kal Penn (Harold and Kumar go to White Castle) also makes appearance as one of Lux Luthor (Kevin Spacey's) sidekicks who has no dialogues...And need I say anything about Mr. Spacey's acting talents...
The movie is a fantastic watch...For a few moments it transports you to another world...And makes you really hope that there is Superman waiting outside the theater...It was very touching when a little kid sitting behind us screamed "Yay, Superman!" when he appeared on the screen...It made us realize that we were also clapping and cheering just like the kid but trying to act slightly matured!!! If this was a Desi theater then I would have made my friends whistle (because I don't know how to) and scream! I loved the movie...
Everyone did make comparisons of Brandon to Chris Reeve...It was omnipresent and to an extent spooky but only difference is that Brandon I assume has real muscles and no padding. But both of them aroused the same excitement among the viewers. Watch Superman and feel like a kid all over again!
Wednesday, June 28, 2006
Paarijatham (2006) - Tamil Movie Review
Ranking: 4/5
Cast: Prithviraj, Saranya, Seetha, Prakash Rai, Roja, Sarath Babu
Director: Bagyaraj
Music: Tharan
One Line Review: Worth watching it!
Fresh 80's touch. That does sound contradictory, but for a film industry which does has forgotten the beautiful language of film making this movie is fresh and yes it has the feel of the movies that were made in the 80's and early 90's. The cast could have been Suhasini and Mohan for all you cared...
Again a very simple story. Seetha moves to a big house across from the small house where Sarath Babu and his daughter Saranya lived. Saranya becomes Seetha's housekeeper while she waits for her husband and son to join her. During the brief period Seetha starts to like Saranya a lot and slowly develops the idea of marrying her son to Saranya.
Saranya narrates a story she was writing to get published to Seetha. It the story about how two people fall in love in the process of an arranged marriage but are unable to unite to the end...Seetha imagines this story in her mind with he images of Prithiviraj (Seetha's and Prakash Rai's son) and Saranya as the bride and groom of the story. Thus Seetha is now convinced that she was going to have Saranya marry her son and also tells her family about her decision. Although she does not give name or photo to her husband or son.
Seetha ofcourse dies in an unfortunate accident and her family is trying to locate the girl she had chosen for her son. A lot of people mislead them leading both father and son not to trust anyone. Finally Prakash Rai decides to marry his son to a friend's daughter and lie that she was the chosen girl...
Enter Bagyaraj...Confusion mounts and the rest of the movie discusses about the effort Bagyaraj puts into unite Saranya and Prithviraj.
The story is a simple but beautiful. The director should have cut short the last 30 minutes of the movie. It was crisp for three quarters of the movie...But still it was a welcome change from the violence and gore of the present day hits like Pattiyal and Pudupettai.
Saranya has performed really well for a debut. She is very natural and does not do any extra annoying histrionics. Her father has chosen a nice story for introducing his daughter...Albeit she might have to shed some baby fat. Prithviraj was handsome as a villain in the movie Kana Kanden...Clean shaven and well dressed. Somehow in this movie he comes across as being very sloppy with an unshaven face and bad dressing. He also does a little overaction in the part where he is a character in Saranya's story. Age and time have taken a toll on Bagyaraj...He looks old and his voice is all the more irritating. I guess he should stick to writing and directing henceforth.
On the whole the movie is worth watching with the whole family including grandparents. A healthy entertainer and is very fresh! So do watch it if you do not mind watching a slightly slow paced movie with loads of romance, emotions and sentiments!
Cast: Prithviraj, Saranya, Seetha, Prakash Rai, Roja, Sarath Babu
Director: Bagyaraj
Music: Tharan
One Line Review: Worth watching it!
Fresh 80's touch. That does sound contradictory, but for a film industry which does has forgotten the beautiful language of film making this movie is fresh and yes it has the feel of the movies that were made in the 80's and early 90's. The cast could have been Suhasini and Mohan for all you cared...
Again a very simple story. Seetha moves to a big house across from the small house where Sarath Babu and his daughter Saranya lived. Saranya becomes Seetha's housekeeper while she waits for her husband and son to join her. During the brief period Seetha starts to like Saranya a lot and slowly develops the idea of marrying her son to Saranya.
Saranya narrates a story she was writing to get published to Seetha. It the story about how two people fall in love in the process of an arranged marriage but are unable to unite to the end...Seetha imagines this story in her mind with he images of Prithiviraj (Seetha's and Prakash Rai's son) and Saranya as the bride and groom of the story. Thus Seetha is now convinced that she was going to have Saranya marry her son and also tells her family about her decision. Although she does not give name or photo to her husband or son.
Seetha ofcourse dies in an unfortunate accident and her family is trying to locate the girl she had chosen for her son. A lot of people mislead them leading both father and son not to trust anyone. Finally Prakash Rai decides to marry his son to a friend's daughter and lie that she was the chosen girl...
Enter Bagyaraj...Confusion mounts and the rest of the movie discusses about the effort Bagyaraj puts into unite Saranya and Prithviraj.
The story is a simple but beautiful. The director should have cut short the last 30 minutes of the movie. It was crisp for three quarters of the movie...But still it was a welcome change from the violence and gore of the present day hits like Pattiyal and Pudupettai.
Saranya has performed really well for a debut. She is very natural and does not do any extra annoying histrionics. Her father has chosen a nice story for introducing his daughter...Albeit she might have to shed some baby fat. Prithviraj was handsome as a villain in the movie Kana Kanden...Clean shaven and well dressed. Somehow in this movie he comes across as being very sloppy with an unshaven face and bad dressing. He also does a little overaction in the part where he is a character in Saranya's story. Age and time have taken a toll on Bagyaraj...He looks old and his voice is all the more irritating. I guess he should stick to writing and directing henceforth.
On the whole the movie is worth watching with the whole family including grandparents. A healthy entertainer and is very fresh! So do watch it if you do not mind watching a slightly slow paced movie with loads of romance, emotions and sentiments!
Tuesday, June 27, 2006
Style (2006) - Telugu Movie Review
Ranking: 2/5
Cast: Raghava Lawrence, Prabhu Deva, Charmee, Raja, Kamilini Mukherjee
Director: Raghava Lawrence
Music: Mani Sharma
The story is simple...Prabhu Deva is a dancer who wins a very big competition. He gives strong competition to the brother of a big villain. The villain initiates an accident and Prabhu looses his legs. Prabhu has a sister, Kamilini who takes care of him.
In the meantime Lawrence is a dancer who works in a dance school as cleaner with his friends. He is very skilled but cannot afford formal dance education. His icon is Prabhu Deva and models his dancing in the same style.
Charmee and Raja are students in the same school where Lawrence works. This is really a useless and side story. Charmee and Raja are in love with each other but do not tell it out explicitly...So Charmee uses Lawrence as a bait to make Raja jealous. The ploy works and Raja proposes to Charmee. But poor Lawrence unaware of Charmee's plot falls in love with her and is heartbroken.
In the meantime using Kamilini's idea Prabhu trains Lawrence to fight against the villain's brother in the dance competition. Lawrence trains hard and also gets people to sponsor him. Seeing him dance makes his competitor unsure of himself so he complains to his villain brother again who promptly kidnaps them.
The dance competition is on its way but these dancers are in the custody of the villain...So yes...Our very own Nagarjuna comes in to help them out. How? I don't know...These bloodied dancers make their appearance at the very last minute and make it to the finals. They win the competition and of course Chiru comes to give away their awards and talks highly about them...Yup that is the story...
Wonder why our directors cannot get more creative than this? The acting is okay, story is boring, dance moves are repetitive, I really do not know why people invest and waste time and money on such crappy stories.
It is okay to watch if you have nothing better to do and it is certainly good for watching it with family.
Cast: Raghava Lawrence, Prabhu Deva, Charmee, Raja, Kamilini Mukherjee
Director: Raghava Lawrence
Music: Mani Sharma
The story is simple...Prabhu Deva is a dancer who wins a very big competition. He gives strong competition to the brother of a big villain. The villain initiates an accident and Prabhu looses his legs. Prabhu has a sister, Kamilini who takes care of him.
In the meantime Lawrence is a dancer who works in a dance school as cleaner with his friends. He is very skilled but cannot afford formal dance education. His icon is Prabhu Deva and models his dancing in the same style.
Charmee and Raja are students in the same school where Lawrence works. This is really a useless and side story. Charmee and Raja are in love with each other but do not tell it out explicitly...So Charmee uses Lawrence as a bait to make Raja jealous. The ploy works and Raja proposes to Charmee. But poor Lawrence unaware of Charmee's plot falls in love with her and is heartbroken.
In the meantime using Kamilini's idea Prabhu trains Lawrence to fight against the villain's brother in the dance competition. Lawrence trains hard and also gets people to sponsor him. Seeing him dance makes his competitor unsure of himself so he complains to his villain brother again who promptly kidnaps them.
The dance competition is on its way but these dancers are in the custody of the villain...So yes...Our very own Nagarjuna comes in to help them out. How? I don't know...These bloodied dancers make their appearance at the very last minute and make it to the finals. They win the competition and of course Chiru comes to give away their awards and talks highly about them...Yup that is the story...
Wonder why our directors cannot get more creative than this? The acting is okay, story is boring, dance moves are repetitive, I really do not know why people invest and waste time and money on such crappy stories.
It is okay to watch if you have nothing better to do and it is certainly good for watching it with family.
Thursday, June 22, 2006
Jerry (2006) - Tamil Movie Review
Ranking: 2/5
Cast: Ramesh, Mumtaj, Meera Vasudevan, Shruthi, Balaji, Crazy Mohan
Director: S.P. Kandhan
Music: Ramesh Vinayagam
Some stories are best forgotten as you walk away from the from watching it and this certainly falls into that category. I will write what I barely remember but you do not have to read the review to avoid the movie. Don't waste time watching crappy movies like these.
Ramesh is a college student. He is a very determined person and will win any challenge he takes by hook or crook. So he challenges his friends that he will make three girls fall in love with him and his friends can choose the girls.
The first girl is Meera who is a cop. She is sad and upset that no one wants to marry her as she is a cop. Ramesh does a lot of romantic crap and makes her fall in love with him. Unless Ramesh was a PhD. Student the chances of Meera and him being the same age are slim...and the whole plot is not only corny but extremely cheesy.
Second girl is Mumtaz playing the role of a very popular actress. The whole plot is very annoying and Ramesh's looks very cheap in his acting skills...He has the most vulgar facial expressions and can irritate the crap out of you.
Third girl is Shruthi a goody-two-shoes from his college. She hates Ramesh and Ramesh follows her around to make her fall in love with him during which time he notices that Shruthi is the sweetest person he has met. So he proposes to her inside Foodworld locked in during the night. She is all angry and irritated with him until he burns a big candle over the cake and expresses his love for her. Immediately her demeanor changes and they are in love.
So the finale is with three of them coming to the wedding to marry the same guy...and Ramesh with his friends trying to confuse everyone of them...and towards the end some crappy justification and the stupid movie comes to an end.
Crazy Mohan repeats his usual annoying and redundant dialogues that we have heard before. There is nothing fresh about the story either. It defies logic from start to finish. Very bad casting, acting, music, directing, screenplay. Basically crappy movie. AVOID. I can pick out each and every stupid instance in the movie and dissect it but I want to spare time for you and me...So please do not see such movie and encourage such directors and actors.
Ramesh should be banned from acting in movies...Not only is he ugly but he looks vulgar and makes offensive facial expressions! Golly I must be really frustrated!
Cast: Ramesh, Mumtaj, Meera Vasudevan, Shruthi, Balaji, Crazy Mohan
Director: S.P. Kandhan
Music: Ramesh Vinayagam
Some stories are best forgotten as you walk away from the from watching it and this certainly falls into that category. I will write what I barely remember but you do not have to read the review to avoid the movie. Don't waste time watching crappy movies like these.
Ramesh is a college student. He is a very determined person and will win any challenge he takes by hook or crook. So he challenges his friends that he will make three girls fall in love with him and his friends can choose the girls.
The first girl is Meera who is a cop. She is sad and upset that no one wants to marry her as she is a cop. Ramesh does a lot of romantic crap and makes her fall in love with him. Unless Ramesh was a PhD. Student the chances of Meera and him being the same age are slim...and the whole plot is not only corny but extremely cheesy.
Second girl is Mumtaz playing the role of a very popular actress. The whole plot is very annoying and Ramesh's looks very cheap in his acting skills...He has the most vulgar facial expressions and can irritate the crap out of you.
Third girl is Shruthi a goody-two-shoes from his college. She hates Ramesh and Ramesh follows her around to make her fall in love with him during which time he notices that Shruthi is the sweetest person he has met. So he proposes to her inside Foodworld locked in during the night. She is all angry and irritated with him until he burns a big candle over the cake and expresses his love for her. Immediately her demeanor changes and they are in love.
So the finale is with three of them coming to the wedding to marry the same guy...and Ramesh with his friends trying to confuse everyone of them...and towards the end some crappy justification and the stupid movie comes to an end.
Crazy Mohan repeats his usual annoying and redundant dialogues that we have heard before. There is nothing fresh about the story either. It defies logic from start to finish. Very bad casting, acting, music, directing, screenplay. Basically crappy movie. AVOID. I can pick out each and every stupid instance in the movie and dissect it but I want to spare time for you and me...So please do not see such movie and encourage such directors and actors.
Ramesh should be banned from acting in movies...Not only is he ugly but he looks vulgar and makes offensive facial expressions! Golly I must be really frustrated!
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