GOOD VS EVIL ('Mankatha' movie analysis)

Stylish heist movies are quite prevalent in hollywood but its quite a rarity to find such themes in Kollywood. And that too a mass hero trying to do a heist with a small gang is indeed a rarity, as usually it would be a one man show like Kamal Hassan's 'Guru' or Arjun's 'Gentleman' or Ajith's own 'Villain' but in all these movies there is one more thing which is common, The protagonist will have a tragic backstory and a social responsibility behind his action. But the latest Venkat Prabhu directed flick – 'Mankatha' is here to change the game. Its different, the hero doesn't want to rob for society and he doesn't have a tragic backstory, he just loves money and wants to settle down rich, its as simple as that.

I have been thinking and thinking on how to look at this movie, its a below average film which tries too hard to be western by having too many twists and loose ends which gets filled up when the last twist is revealed. But in the process of making the movie loaded with plot twists the director and screenplay writer loose their focus in the first half only to redeem a wee bit in the second. The so called brilliant Heist itself looks too artificial and unbelievable(the right word would be Stupid, but I dont want to use such harsh words in this analysis, so...) , how come such a big crane and the switch of the container with a magnet (which is bound to make at-least a thud noise) go unnoticed by the transporters who are just a few steps away? Ok, people do tell me not to ask for logic in tamil movies, I just want to ask them – Why shouldn't I? There are few unbelievable moments in Ocean series heist too but they have researched with scientists and professionals to make sure the entire heist will make you sit up and clap for its brilliance. Come on Venkat, we do believe that you can do better than this.

Apart from the insignificant roles for Trisha, Lakshmi Rai and Anjali and no character sketch for any other character except Ajith and Premji, there is one more thing which I wanted to discuss about. Has the tamil movie viewers evolved this much for taking such a negative themed movie in the right spirit? That too when its acted by a mass hero like 'Ajith'? Ajith looks good, has acted brilliantly, has enjoyed his role but in the film his character is too grey to go unnoticed. Hero's have indeed showed grey shades before but in the end justice prevails or the good wins but Venkat Prabhu has made a movie where evil wins over good which is just like how bollywood's underrated remake of 'Face off' - 'Aks' ends. Aks did face huge controversy and went on to be banned in few places too. But Amitabh at that time had far less fan following and Manoj had almost to none. But Ajith is different, he is a phenomenon – he gets the best opening next only to Rajnikanth in Tamil Nadu. Ajith should be lauded for such an experiment but can a tamil hero who has such mad and blind following try to propagate crime? At-least if he falls at the end it would have been a little better but he doesn't.

Unfortunately in tamil cinema with such blind fans a mass hero just shouldn't experiment with good and evil this much. What do you think? Do comment...

SHOR IN THE CITY - MOVIE REVIEW BY HARISH V

The director duo Raj Nidimoru & Krishna Dk surprised me the first time with a timely '99' which became the only movie to survive during the distributor - multiplex battle which happened two years back. And now they have come up with another film which looked like a serious movie on Mumbai and its underbelly, But Raj and DK surprised me once again with a film which can easily be the most entertaining movie of this year(atleast till now).

The best form of entertainment is when you feel that you have seen a sensible movie and you thoroughly enjoy it too. And Shor does it both with elan.

Technically the movie is quite good with sensational music and bg, decent cinematography and natural art direction. The movie is a winner thanks mainly to the exciting and happening screenplay, stories which sees the irony in almost all walks of life and brilliant performances. The 'Heroes' fame Senthil, has indeed grown well as an actor as he emotes well and suits his character perfectly. Tushaar is believable (for once). Nikhil Dwivedi and Sundeep Kishan work through their characters with ease. Amit Mistry who was remarkable in the director duo's first work was excellent in this as well. But the honors for the acting department is snatched by a lesser known actor called Pitobash who steals the show in every single scene he comes in. An actor to look out for!!

Stop complaining about lack of good movies in bollywood and go watch this movie. A treat to all..

Stars - 4/5

Intelligent entertainment!

My oscar predictions

- Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role

An extremely difficult decision and a chance for a bit of oscar surprise is awaiting in this category. John Hawkes's performance in 'Winter's bone' has surely been overshadowed by the boxing and voice coaches but again surely a well deserved nomination. Jeremy Renner did give one of his best performance in 'The Town' and surely is a black horse in this category. Mark Ruffalo was overshadowed too by all the praises which his fellow actors are getting for the same film but still a performance which should not be taken lightly. Now lets discuss about the big wigs, Christian Bale and Geoffrey Rush. Both had given a spectacular performance and even though Geoffrey Rush was superlative as the voice coach of the King but the man who gave his heart, soul and hard work to his performance Christian Bale is definitely the strongest of the lot to win this coveted title. The way Bale has brought down his weight, his dialogue delivery and his eye expressions are something which has to be enjoyed. So,

My Pick - Christian Bale for The Fighter (2010)


- Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role

Somehow i guess there is no big surprise in this category, I guess it would be a showdown between Melissa Leo and Helena Bonham Carter. Melissa Leo's performance has more wider spectrum of emotion than Helena but somehow my heart goes for Carter's performance of a caring and loving wife and also showing the pride of a queen, spectacular performance indeed! (Havnt seen Animal Kingdom yet though)

My Pick - Helena Bonham Carter for The King's Speech (2010)


- Best Achievement in Directing

Well again its gonna be a major fight between just three(according to me), Tom Hooper, Darren Aronofsky and David Fincher. Tom Hooper may get a cold shoulder as the movie is a brit movie(a very weird theory but usually such movies do get nods only in the acting department). Darren did try something really out of the box with his Black Swan and David did showcase his complete control with the real life story(or, so they say!) of the creator of Facebook. And both being my favorites it took time for me to predict this one, and finally I decided its should be David Fincher who has a small edge over Darren for his realistic approach.

My Pick - David Fincher for The Social Network (2010)


- Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role

Well Javier Bardem was exceptional in Biutiful and James Franco was outstanding 127 Hours but can they win the oscar? or will it be the surprising brilliance shown by Jesse Eisenberg in Social networking? There can be only one king and this time its sure to go to Colin Firth who enacted the stammering king to perfection. A work which had got him all the major awards this season and the golden statue will also follow for sure. Sorry Jeff, not this time!

My Pick -Colin Firth for The King's Speech (2010)



- Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role

Again, a very difficult category to judge. Though Nicole, Jennifer and the supremely talented Michelle did impress there was always just two probables. Either it is Nataile Portman or Annette bening. Though Nataile was superb and everyone is expecting a easy win for her, to me the scene in 'The Kids Are All Right' where Annette cries out in the bedroom when she finds out that her spouse has cheated on her, is enough for me to hand that statue to Annette.

My Pick - Annette Bening for The Kids Are All Right (2010)



- Best Motion Picture of the Year

Well I so want to hand it out to Inception but i guess it would end up either with Black swan or social networking or The Kings speech makers. And i am gonna bet on Social networking.

My pick - The Social Network (2010): Scott Rudin, Dana Brunetti, Michael De Luca, Ceán Chaffin



- Best Writing, Screenplay Written Directly for the Screen

My pick - The King's Speech (2010): David Seidler

Can INCEPTION surprise the king?




- Best Writing, Screenplay Based on Material Previously Produced or Published


My pick - The Social Network (2010): Aaron Sorkin



- Best Animated Feature Film of the Year

Hands down

My pick - Toy Story 3 (2010): Lee Unkrich


- Best Foreign Language Film of the Year

My pick - Incendies (2010): Denis Villeneuve(Canada)




- Best Achievement in Cinematography


My Pick - Inception (2010): Wally Pfister



- Best Achievement in Editing

My pick - Black Swan (2010): Andrew Weisblum


- Best Achievement in Art Direction

Little too difficult to pick i guess

My pick - Alice in Wonderland (2010): Robert Stromberg, Karen O'Hara/
or Inception (2010): Guy Hendrix Dyas, Larry Dias, Douglas A. Mowat


- Best Achievement in Costume Design

My pick - The Tempest (2010/II): Sandy Powell



- Best Achievement in Makeup


My Pick - The Wolfman (2010): Rick Baker, Dave Elsey



- Best Achievement in Music Written for Motion Pictures, Original Score

My Pick - The Social Network (2010): Trent Reznor, Atticus Ross


- Best Achievement in Music Written for Motion Pictures, Original Song


My pick - Tangled (2010/I): Alan Menken, Glenn Slater("I See the Light")


- Best Achievement in Sound Mixing

My pick - Inception (2010): Lora Hirschberg, Gary Rizzo, Ed Novick


- Best Achievement in Sound Editing

My pick - Inception (2010): Richard King


- Best Achievement in Visual Effects

My pick - Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1 (2010): Tim Burke, John Richardson, Christian Manz, Nicolas Aithadi

The Kids Are All Right - Movie review

Lisa Cholodenko, a lesser known director has taken a simple What if?-scenario and made it into a 100 odd minutes of riveting family drama. But the movie reaches the level which it has reached thanks only to the stupendous performance by its lead artists. Annette Bening and Julianne Moore just shows us how its done and a small question arises, can the Oscar for the best performance – actress can be shared? (Havn’t seen Nataile Portman’s raved performance in ‘Black Swan’ yet though.) Mark Ruffalo plays his part exceptionally and the two kids Mia and Josh were mind-blowing as well.
The movie is slow especially in the middle portions which will surely make you yawn or even make you doze for few minutes but we all forget these petty things when Annette breaks down in the bedroom and Julianne tries hard to lie.

Watch it for Annette and Julianne

Stars - 3

Tangled - movie review

Now, this is what we have been waiting for from the Mouse House. After enticing us with enchanted and impressing us with ‘The Princess and the Frog’, the mouse house comes up with its (if I am not wrong) 4th 3D animated movie without the help of Pixar. And this is for sure its best 3D animated movie yet.

The age old tale of Rapunzel gets the usual Disney’s touch to become a magical ride for the kids and adults alike. With spectacular animation and exceptional characterization and brilliant voice overs this gets a big thumbs up from my end. A thoroughly enjoyable movie.

A Disney treat

Stars - 4

Megamind - Movie review

Mega mind was a mega let down as I expected something extraordinary from the company who are slowly getting better and better with their animated flicks (without counting the last of the Shrek series, of course). Dreamworks did get richer by a few hundred million due to this movie so I don’t think they will be complaining or hear our complaints, but seriously a substandard work taking the content into consideration. A predictable movie from start to finish which has the same Villain-turned hero story, which was quite cleverly put-forth in the recent Universal hit, ‘Despicable Me’.

Will Farrel is a big let down and why the hell did Brad Pitt even sign for this petty role? Jonah Hill’s voice suited the role perfectly though. Let me make this clear, the movie was not all that bad, a definite one time watch in your home theatre but all too predictable a fair which might be lapped up by the kids but not the adults. Kick-ass animation though.

A mega waste of time.

Stars – 2

Manmadhan Ambu - review

The long awaited movie of the Universal star - Kamal Hassan, has finally graced the cinema halls across the state. And as the story, screenplay and dialogues were penned by Kamal, everyone expected a rollicking joy-ride at the theaters. Everyone speculated that the movie was indeed a remake of Hitch and as I stepped inside the dark hall i was praying that it should probably be a rumor and I see an original Romantic comedy as its trailer promised. And at the end of the movie I was just thinking that if it had been a remake of Hitch it would have been much much better.

Kamal Hassan the dialogue and screenplay writer has indeed taken the audience for granted as the movie which promised to be a rom-com was neither romantic nor did it have any laugh-out-loud moments. There are several problems with this movie, be it the timeline problem(three years of bad relationship and she goes for a vocation now?) or for the very fact that we still don't know when Kamal and Trisha fell in love.

Its a plain mediocre script which has nothing new to offer to the audience and Crazy mohan was heavily missed in the dialogue department for a Kamal comedy. Cinematography was tacky most of the times, music was decent and the editing was lifeless. Neela Vaanam song was amazingly picturized. Kamal Hassan who has also penned the lyrics has indeed made a strong statement with his words- kudos.

Kamal Hassan, the actor has done a good job(as usual) and so has Madhavan. The pre-climax and climax sequences, Madhavan has outdone himself. Trisha was alright. Sangeetha was real good and the boy who played Sangeetha's son was adorable and funny. Oorvasi and Arvind were wasted in an insignificant roles.

Overall the movie lacked the punch and people who are expecting a MMKR or a Panchathanthiram or a P.K.S is sure to get hugely disappointed.

missing the CRAZY element

Stars - 1.5/5

U - TURN Short film review

U Turn

The title made me sit up, the innovative creatives made me long for it and by seeing my friends name appear on the credits my want became desire. Finally before anyone could see the movie I got a sneak peak of this 7 minute short about love at its innocent best.

U turn is about teen love, the problems and innocence associated with it. The best part of the movie is that, it never sets out to preach us or to shock us with a twist or make you sit up with a deadly climax, but instead it makes you lean back and relish love- simple, cute and above all – relatable.

Ramiez Raja the director of the movie have decided to take a simple theme, give a simple treatment and all it needed is a heart and Raja's film is filled with it. Its about a teen couple who decide to elope but a fight makes them change their mind and from then on its all about how the lovers get back together. The director has proved that two characters and a car is all it takes to showcase a cute love story.

Lakshay Gupta and Vahbiz Dorabjee's chemistry sparkles on screen, whether in the beach scene or the scene in the Dhaba they both have shown amazing character and are right-on natural. Vahbiz might have gone a little overboard in the Dhaba scene at first but the last shot of her giving a small sign of her love for Lakshay in the same scene makes up for the lost ground.

Cinematography by Guruvyurappan is a treat to watch. Whether it was the dolly at the first or the long shot at the beach, its simply spell binding. Might be the best camera work I have seen for an Indian shot film. Ragavendra's music is another big plus for U Turn, brilliant work by the young musician. Novel, Varun and Shashank's editing is exceptional. Kudos to the trio.

If you are expecting high concept and lot of u turns in the plot, you will be disappointed with this U-Turn. But if you are looking out for a cute, romantic story turn no further, U – TURN is for you.

Stars – 3/5

MY OSCAR 2010 Predictions

TEN HOURS TO GO

And i reveal my Oscar predictions

My Best FIlm of the year- The Hurt Locker (2008): Kathryn Bigelow, Mark Boal, Nicolas Chartier, Greg Shapiro

But i am very sure Avtaar is going to get .


Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role - Jeff Bridges for Crazy Heart (2009) - Finally getting his due.


Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role - Sandra Bullock for The Blind Side (2009)
Brilliant performance


Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role -
Christoph Waltz for Inglourious Basterds (2009)

Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role-
Mo'Nique for Precious: Based on the Novel Push by Sapphire (2009)


Best Achievement in Directing
Kathryn Bigelow for The Hurt Locker (2008)

Best Writing, Screenplay Written Directly for the Screen
Inglourious Basterds (2009): Quentin Tarantino

Best Writing, Screenplay Based on Material Previously Produced or Published
Up in the Air (2009/I): Jason Reitman, Sheldon Turner

Best Achievement in Cinematography

Avatar (2009): Mauro Fiore

Best Achievement in Editing

Inglourious Basterds (2009): Sally Menke

Best Achievement in Art Direction

Avatar (2009): Rick Carter, Robert Stromberg, Kim Sinclair

Any doubts???




Best Achievement in Sound Mixing

Avatar (2009): Christopher Boyes, Gary Summers, Andy Nelson, Tony Johnson

Best Achievement in Sound Editing

Star Trek (2009): Mark P. Stoeckinger, Alan Rankin

Best Achievement in Visual Effects

Avatar (2009): Joe Letteri, Stephen Rosenbaum, Richard Baneham, Andy Jones

If it goes to anyone else its a SIN

Best Animated Feature Film of the Year
Up (2009): Pete Docter

Y do they even have other nominations when Pixar’s movie is up for contention.

Best Short Film, Animated

Wallace and Gromit in 'A Matter of Loaf and Death' (2008) (TV): Nick Park

Have no clue about the others but Wallace and Gromit have never ever lost out in an oscar race.. SO...


PLease feel free to post ur comments..

Road to Witch mountain- A Disney disaster

RWM is a movie which i expected to be a fun joy ride with enough laughs as i was quite impressed with the trailers. And as it is Disney's production i wanted this to work. It did get decent numbers in US which just increased the hype. But when i finally happened to see the 100 minutes i finally understood that with proper marketing and good trailer even a B grade no good movie can be pushed to the A segment. Dwayne Johnson was good and he acted much better than his previous attempts but he needs to work on the importance of reading the script and not just his dumb dialogues. The movie opened with a impressive title credits. But the very next second you will understand that the production company had to work with little funds as the sfx shots used was very cheesy and they tried not to use much of sfx footage. Maybe if the sfx is done properly the movie might have been much better movie but overall there was a lack of depth in the movie and it just was too plain for me to enjoy. I will advice you to skip this as this race is not worth taking.

A B-grade movie trying too hard to come as an A grader.

Stars - .5/5

Chills and thrills...

Its been quite a while since I sat down to write for this blog, as I am working in a website called behindwoods.com where i have taken the role of a movie critic for Hindi movies. You might think i am trying to sell my stuff, market the website but trust me in this world there is a need to market yourself, if not u will be left behind, far far behind.

Now back to serious stuff I happened to see three hindi films of varied genre, Stoneman murders, Mumbai mere jaan and Mithya. Two of which are real life incident based of which one is a thriller and another a drama, and the last is a dark thriller with a comedy undertone. Its really encouraging to see such diverse movies tried in bollywood now a days, and these three are examples of how bollywood has evolved over the years.

Stoneman murders which is based on the serial killings in Mumbai in the 1980s and the plight of a ex-policeman who wants to prove his worthiness by solving the case but in the process he becomes the bait of the killer and people start thinking him to be the one. Is he? well, suspense are better kept a secret. The director has made the script very tight much like a hollywood edge of the seat thriller.

Next up is Mumbai mere jaan which released a few months ago, it deals with the aftereffects of the Mumbai train blast on 6 different people. I happened to meet Nishikant kamat in the premiere of Yevano oruvan and i told him that the movie was a good one, if only i did see him this time around i would surely hug him and beg for an assistant's position. Loved the movie and loved the acting of everyone in the lead be it Kay kay, Irfan, Madhavan, Paresh or Soha, everyone were perfectly cast and were spectacular. Pls dont miss this movie, highly recommended.

Mithya, its been a year since it released and i feel so ashamed of callin myself a movie buff and seeing this movie so late. Rajat kapoor has made a movie which can be compared to none other we have seen in Indian cinema as he has mixed - realism, black humour and violence so effortlessly into the script that we are left wondering how simple and at the same time complex a movie can be.

Except for Mithya both the movies fared badly at the ticket counters But such movies have really made bollywood look cool. Of your foreign frnds are askin you a list of movies these three should surely be included.

TAKEN - Liam neeson Vs Obama

An English movie has defied the usual norms of contemporary cinema. This hollywood flick which has an age old story about a girl getting kidnapped and how her father, an ex-government spy saves her, took almost 1 year to reach the US theatres after releasing in all the major countries like France, China, South korea and even United Kingdom. its getting a release almost 2 to 3 months after pirated DVDs was made available and the best print was available in torrents too. And to top it all there are no major boxoffice draw except for the always dependable Liam neeson. Would you be interested in going to the theaters to see this movie?

The movie which was expected to rake in almost $20 million on its first weekend and the final estimate of $40 to 45 million, projected by all the major box office analysts went on to gross $100 million so far and when the movie finishes its stint at the theaters it might well have reached something close to $130 million in US alone. Thrice the predicted final gross.

How did this happen? There are many analysts trying to reason the surprise performance of this action flick. The simplest analysis being that the US audience were hungry for an action thriller for a long time as the oscar probable dramas ruled the theatres for more than two months. But the most interesting one was that the audience paralleled the movie to to present US. The daughter being the country, who is helpless and is going down the drains thanks to the recession and her father, the president, Obama would risk anything to save her. At the end of all its just a movie about hope, something which the Americans need a lot now. The same factor which was instrumental in the tremendous response of 'Slumdog millionaire' which also broke the $100 million mark last week.

Whether Obama delivers or not, Liam neeson sure does and with style. And Taken is getting richer by the second and will also get itself a sequel in 2010. If the last analysis is to be believed then the producers of Taken would just love the recession to continue till then. Unless the father of US has something else in mind.

AND THE OSCAR GOES TO..... Part 2

Welcome back everyone for the next round up for this years oscar's. Feeling that two movies wont be enough to catch up to the oscars this time we are going to analyze three probables and as usual one goof up and one Razzie favorite.

Lets get on with it (exams are nearing so all of you gets pardoned from all the superficial things which i would have written in the name of introduction)

OSCAR PREDICTION

Rachel getting married

The man who gave us the heart wrenching Philadelphia and the spine chilling Silence of the lambs, Jonathan Demme has come up with this movie. "Rachel Getting Married" is a drama with an aggressive sense of humor about the return of an estranged daughter to the family home for her sister's wedding. Kym's arrival brings lot of chaos in the family but the return of this dysfunctional kid from Rehabilitation would not just teach Kym about the importance of family but the whole family about family values. This trip is sure to bring in a smile on your face. The movie has a shot in the best original screenplay, Best director and Best Film but what seems to be a sure shot is the statue for the Princess herself, Anne Hathaway. She has already bagged the best actress in the National board of Review awards and with the Golden globe right around the corner there is a possibility she can sweep all the Awards. All the very best Anne.

Oscar Chance – 75%

Watch the trailer here

http://in.youtube.com/watch?v=1wDDgSwEo1s&feature=related


The Dark Knight

This Christopher Nolen directed masterpiece is no ordinary tale of a masked vigilante but the movie which showed how a blockbuster movie should look like. The darkest Batman movie ever not only collected a record 158 million dollars in the first weekend which led to the staggering figure of 530 million in US alone (and counting) but reaped in 460 million worldwide to bring it in inching distance from the one billion mark. The summer blockbuster brought in the oscar buzz even before the movie released, for the late Heath ledger's portrayal of the deadly Joker. The buzz indeed proved worthy as the Heath ledger's version of Joker has gone down in the books as one of the all time best performance by an individual donning a negative role. But the movie is not gonna stop at that, but this masterpiece of a movie by the classy Christopher Nolen is sure to get a few other nods too, which includes Best sound editing, Best sound mixing, Best Film, Best director, Best editing and Best cinematography. If anyone has not seen the movie yet, please do yourself a favor and go rent the dvd in a shop near you as its one of the best movies of 2008 and hands down the best super movie of all-time.

Oscar chance – 70%

http://in.youtube.com/watch?v=6UBP2nXtRRo

Curious case of Benjamin Button

Now for the biggie, a sure shot to the Oscar this year. A fantasy movie by a director who has made name for f directing thrillers. Imagine David Fincher the man who gave us Seven, Fight club and Zodiac coming up with a movie like Benjamin which looks more like a movie which would interest Tim Burton. But the oscar buzz is over the roof, the trailer looks damn interesting and the people who had the opportunity to get a sneak peak cant stop talking about this sensation of a movie. The movie has already been selected as the top ten films of 2008 by the National Board of Review apart from winning the Best director and Best adapted screenplay awards. The movie can expect the record number of nods but are favorite to win the Best film, Best director and Best make-up.

Oscar chance – 100%

Watch the trailer

http://in.youtube.com/watch?v=UsJXFRsmPa8



OSCAR GOOF UPs

Oscar has taken many unpredictable decisions and one of the many blunders came in the year 2001 when one worked for more than a year to act in a role which got him all the awards in the book and was so certain to win the Oscars too. But Tom hanks and his mono act in Cast away was beaten by Russel crowe for his grim performance in Gladiator. The role as the Gladiator didnt expect much from the actor as he just have to look stern and do cry in one scene when compared to Tom hanks where he has to redefine all the emotions written in the book to act as the Fed Ex supervisor and a good friend to a basketball. But the very next year Russel Crowe did understand the pain Tom hanks went thru the previous year which will be discussed next time.


RAZZIE FAVOURITE

Beverly Hills Chihuahua

Raja Gosnel does it again, making dogs talk, making a pathetic movie and still making it a hit. Kudos. But making it gross 92 million dollors in US itself doesnt give it respite from the critical eyes of the Razzie masterminds. The movie is considered the worst and by getting a meagre 2.3 rating in the IMDB list it places itself in the 95th position in the all time worst movies which is good enough for this year's worst director and worst movie awards. After the Scooby doo series and its stint at the razzies I am quite startled at how Raja got Disney to nod for this pathetic movie. Disney might have got more than what they have invested but its reputation has definitely gone for a toss.

See the trailer here

http://in.youtube.com/watch?v=K7tleFb6TlI


Coming soon – Part 3

Dasvidaniya - Movie review

Vinay Pathak is back on the screen with his new Dramedy Dasvidaniya. The movie directed by debutante Shashant Shah was not marketed well, and even the production value looked tacky which was clearly shown in the not so impressive trailers but there were positive buzz for the movie and with zilch expectation did we sit to watch the movie? And what a nice little surprise it turned out to be.

The story of a man who is facing death, we are not talking about the glossy Kal ho na ho or the Classy Aanand but the story of a simple middle class man who has never tried to do anything out of the ordinary decides to live the last few days of his life to the fullest by writing a wish list. Yes! the movie is inspired from the Jack Nicolson and Morgan freeman's movie Bucket list, but quite cutely desified.

The movie is about Amar(Vinay Pathak) a 37 year old accounts manager who leads a less than ordinary life, but never complained. But when he finds out that he is having stomach cancer and has only three months to live with the help of his alter ego decides to write the ten things he wants to do before his death. This wish-list includes the average aspirations of almost every common man from owning a car, learning to play guitar, getting to hit back at his boss, finding his first crush (Neha Dhupia), going on a foreign trip, meeting his long-lost school friend (Rajat Kapoor), finding love in life, patching up with his younger brother (Gaurav Gera) and things alike. Whether he achieves those ten to-do things is what the story is all about.

The wish list looks so easy and normal but that is what Amar is all about, he has never achieved even the normal stuffs in life. As he says in life Life is his problem, but at the end of it we do feel happy for him which is all the film set out to achieve.

Shashant Shah has impressed with his very first movie and from now on if he just improves, he is sure to go places. The scripting by Arshad Syed is decent but the pace does drop thanks to some unwanted scenes. The cinematography by Arun Varma is functional. The scene where Vinay tries to become the Boss ka boss looks so amateurishly done, it could have been much better portrayed if they had thought it out imaginatively. The dialogues at many instances are inventive and intelligent. Kailash Kher has not just scored the music but also written the lyrics which does go hand in hand with the overall mood of the movie, kudos!!

The movie is all about Vinay pathak and the performance he has given is sure to be lauded by one and all. Watch out for the scene where he expresses his love to Neha Dhupia through dumb charades or the time when he shares a tender moment with his estranged brother, just brilliant. Everyone in the supporting cast from Sarita Joshi, Gaurav Gera, Neha Dhupia, Rajat Kapoor, Saurabh Shukla and Joy Fernandes play their parts to perfection.

Overall, a movie which can make your handkerchief wet and bring out a smile on your face at the same time. The people who loved Hrishikesh Mukherjee's kind of movies would love this fare.

Dasvidaniya – An emotional cycle trip towards the horizon.

Ratings - 3/5

AND THE OSCAR GOES TO..........(Part 1)

What a month this is going to be for Hollywood? A December like none other, movies like you haven't imagined. Oscar race has never been this close (at-least to my knowledge). With the season for realistic movies surely gonna compete at this years academy let us discuss on some of the movies which are going to run the race. Academy time and again has proved to be biased but still we don't care, it is the golden statue for god sakes. And whether we are dissatisfied at the nominations by January end or the winners by March first week we do love this time of the year when quality products come in bunch to attract the critics and the viewers alike.

As this year we are talking about too many a probables for the coveted award I am going to write about two movies which are competing, One goof-up Oscar did in the past and One movie which is running for this year's Razzie (people have no clue of this term, shame on you!!) every two days, lets hope i catch up with all before the nominations are out :).



OSCAR PREDICTIONS

Slumdog Millionaire

The movie has already bagged the coveted British Independent award for Best film, Best director for Danny Boyle & best promising newcomer for Dev patel. National Board of Review award For Best Film, Best screenplay – Adapted and Best Breakthrough performance- male for Dev patel. along with the People's choice award & Audience award in the Toronto film festival and Austin film festival. The movie shot entirely in and around Mumbai is about a slum dweller Jawal malik(Dev Patel) who is about to get 20 million in a “Who wants to be a Millionaire” program but the host Prem Kumar(Anil Kapoor) hates him as he is so sure a slum dweller cant be knowing so much and he brings in an inspector Irfan khan but only when Irfan khan investigates does he come to know of the real reason why Jawal is participating in this show and how he came to know of all the answers to the questions so far. The movie is considered the best this year and the audience is lapping it up too, the movie which was released last month in limited release is expected to rake in almost 6 million by the end of its 4th weekend at the US box office alone, and throughout the award season the movie is sure to find legs and more screens which will sure to make it the surprise sleeper hit this season. The music for the movie is given by the Asian Mozart A.R.Rahman who is also up for an Oscar nomination. The movie can expect five odd nominations for best film, best director, best screenplay- adopted, best actor, and The best soundtrack for a motion picture.

Oscar chance- 88%

Watch the trailer
http://in.youtube.com/watch?v=AIzbwV7on6Q


Gran Torino

Disgruntled Korean War vet Walt Kowalski sets out to reform his neighbor, a young Hmong teenager, who tried to steal his prized possession a 1972 Gran Torino. But he should also keep this teenager and his family safe from a rogue gang, will the veteran be upto it? I guess? if not for the The good then who?. This Clint Eastwood directed and acted movie is releasing next weekend in the U.S. has already got some favorable reviews from people who have been lucky to get a sneek peak. Clint eastwood has already got the Best actor in the recently announced National Board of review awards. Expect the movie to get a nod in the Best actor category but other nods are a long shot, but he would be competing with Mickey Rourke who is the favourite for the time being to win this coveted prize for his WRESTLER. But as always we can never predict Oscars.

Oscar chance – 60%

Watch the Trailer

http://in.youtube.com/watch?v=9teLeXZ3XMU


OSCAR GOOF-UP

This is a story of an actor turned director Todd Field, who made a movie called “In the bedroom” in 2001 and the movie got nominated for Best actor, Best actress, Best Supporting actress, Best Screenplay and best film too but he didnt get the nod for Best director. But the nomination was given to big time directors like David lynch or Ridley Scott, whose movies didnt get a nod for the best picture category.. Surprising!!

RAZZIE PREDICTION

Love guru


The comedian par excellence, the man who made us laugh our pants out in Austin came up with this dud of a movie, Love guru. A movie where he teaches everyone how to love, did little for it to be loved by the audience. A comedy movie which lacked the most important thing, Comedy. After watching this movie we do feel Mike myers should probably give his voice to green ogres and never ever come on screen.




Razzie preciction – Worst film, Worst actor, Worst screenplay and Worst actress (maybe the award would go to her but for some other movie, lets see)

Watch the trailer here

http://in.youtube.com/watch?v=mVdD0ZxPq_g


Part two – Coming soon

Kanchivaram (Tamil) - movie review

Priyadarshan, the badshah of illogical comedies trying art house cinema? I was shocked too, but Priyadarshan has made many pathbreaking, award worthy creations which is just overshadowed by the comedy blockbusters he churned up the past few years. But will his magic still work? It does! and how?

The only word which does succeed to come out of your mouth after seeing this masterpiece is 'WOW'. and I should thank Priyadarshan as i saw this movie on my birthday, what a birthday present he has blessed me with! "The best one ever!"

It is a period movie set in the pre independence era in a small town of Kanchivaram in Tamil nadu, the protagonist Prakash raj works as a silk weaver, may be the best in the town. He pledges that he would provide a silk saree for his daughter when she is getting married, which becomes the talk of the town as a weaver simply cant afford such a humoungous price. He does save up some money but his brother-in-law ruins his plans, so to attain the inevitable he starts stealing a single strand of silk from the workplace, every single day and secretly weaves a saree for his daughter for 19 long years. He is involved in communism and heads a strike against his owner who gives paltry amount to the weavers, which comes as a deter as his daughter's marriage nears and he has to finish the silk saree on time. What will Vengadam do now? find out yourself.

The screenplay is so artfully done, the movie goes back and forth the time line with consummate ease. The editing is superlative. The street- play in the second half looked forced and the movie could have been better without it. The cinematography by Thiru is of international standards, the color tone gives the right background palate for Priyadarshan-the artist to work on. And the production design by Sabu cyril just takes this art work to epic proportions.

M.G.Sreekumar the musician sways us with his titling music, especially the lori which is sung when Prakash raj and Shreya reddy's daughter is born which is reprised to melancholy effect during the tragic finale.

The acting is of high order, leading the spectacular array of performance is the lead man of the story Prakash raj, whose portayal of Vengadam can only be termed as spectacular if not sensational. But such a great actor to whom all the emotions in the book comes so naturally is still having some trouble with getting his laugh right, his laugh as always looks so forced and unnatural. Shreya reddy as Vengadam's innocent wife has given a blinder of a performance. She did impress in her villainous role in Thimiru but she bowls every one in the audience over by a performance which could even fetch her a national award. All the other actors does their job convincingly.

Overall this movie is a work of art, a beautiful sonnet, a beautiful painting. Priyadarshan in his latest interview told his anguish on the selection on Taare Zameen par over Kanchivaram, After seeing the movie, we do believe that this tale of Weavers would have been a better bet than the tale of the Dyslexia patient.

Kanchivaram – Kollywood's answer to Mona lisa

Stars- 4/5

Atayalangal(malayalam) - movie review

Atayalangal

A movie with a debutant is a tough sell and that too directed by a filmmaker who has a renowned name in the documentary film sector is really a tough sell. But Valluvanandhan movie's first production has got 5 state awards before it got released and it did quite decently in the theatrical release too. so with lot of expectation i sat down to watch the movie in IFFI as it is one of the movies selected in the Indian panorama section.

Did the movie live up to the expectation? i have to say it did. the movie being a biography of the renowned writer Nandanar (1926- 74). The movie follows the writer's early days on how he was involved in the war, his love, his pain, his family, and his problems. The protagonist, Gopi, 19 year old son of a Kathakali performer, happens to join the army for livelihood even though he hates war. He falls in love with a mysterious Meenakshikutty, who instills enough confidence in Gopi and motivates him.

The director proves that he is a documentary film-maker as the flow of events, scenes which is documented does make you feel that you are watching one. But Nandanar's life was exactly like a documentary, all he faced was defeat which led to the tragic end of his life but the director skipped his death scene which could have elevated the movie to new levels. Or maybe the director is thinking of making a sequel to Atayalangal? I definitely hope not. As any debutants work this movie too has its share of pluses and minuses, the main plus for the movie was M. G. Sasi's thought process, there are a few scenes which would evoke ghoosebumps, like the scene when the protagonist's dead father with his kathakali outfit grace Gopi to bless him. But most of the other sequences look too theatrical to be enjoyed fully. The Seductive scenes could have been much better portrayed on screen and the scenes of Baskara Kurup needed much more weight-age but it was sidelined.

The screenplay is made vulnerable thanks to the half baked direction of Sasi and quite low production values. Even the editing needed to be more crisper as the 93 minute movie seemed much longer than it is, many unwanted scenes spoilt the flow of the movie. The cinematography by M J Radhakrishnan is one of the highlight of the movie as it is pictured so artfully. The music by Vaidhyanathan is soulful but the back grounds score is quite unbearably loud at times.

Now coming to the Acting department, Soorya the debutant as Gopi, looks smart and does show Spark here and there but should definitely work on his emotions, if he did he can give a run for the money for most of the actors in the industry now. All the other from T G Ravi, Sathi, Sreeraman did their job with conviction. Jyothirmayi as the seductive Meenaxikutty was excellent, she oozed sexuality something which was needed from her.

Overall Atayalangal was a decent visual documentation of the life of Nandanar, but which had the potential to be a much better movie. The producers should be applauded for believing in such a art-house movie which had so less commercial value.

Atayalangal – A musical, theatrical documentary

Rating – 2/5