[Movie] Vikramadityan...

Watched Vikramadityan few days ago with friends. We had been quite eager to watch the movie [us gals wanted to watch it for a whole different reason, it featured Dulquer Salman and well, for the boy I guess it was a new mallu movie that promised to be good]. Tickets were booked [at Inox, Chandra Metro Mall, Virugambakkam] and we were quite excited as we headed to the theater [ yes , the prospect of seeing Dulquer on screen once again was enough to have our adrenaline rushing]... 

Directed by Lal Jose

Produced by Lal Jose & Mohan Nambiar

Written by Iqbal Kuttipuram

Starring         Dulquer Salmaan, Namitha Pramod, Unni Mukundan

Music by         Bijibal

The movie is all about three people, two guys and a girl- all of who grew up together, were the best of friends and yet life took them in different directions... The two guys - one cop one crook, the girl head over heels in love with the crook but the cop has offered to give her a life/a future. The movie opens with Vikraman asking the Deepika to marry him. But she is pining for Adithyan and shoots out one last email. The day after there is a bit of commotion in town and she see Adhityan beating up a bunch of guys. Dressed in Sabarimalai attire [ black veshti and shirt] he carries nothing but a backpack and bunks with his friends [does not go home]. The entire movie plays out like a flashback... The plot unfolds with police constable Vasudev Shenoy (Anoop menon) talking to Lakshmi (Lena) who he loves about how his mother is against their marriage and will hopefully change her mind soon. But, before that can happen she meets conman Kunjunni (Santhosh Keezhattoor), who pretends to be a cop. Shenoy then marries a girl of his family's choice (Charmila) and gets on with life. Soon after both the couples are blessed with baby boys[ on the same day, minutes apart]. Shenoy names his son Vikraman (Unni Mukundan) and Kunjunni's son is called Adithyan (Dulquer Salmaan).

As the boys grow up, one day Kunjunni gets caught for robbing a jewellery store and is dragged out on the street by Shenoy. Adithyan is disappointed that his father who he looked up to turned out to be a crook and subsequently, the father committs suicide. The boys become teenagers and even though they are close friends, there is enemity between them,a  constant comparison and battle of who is better. Both the boys train to be cops, but Shenoy plays a mean game and convinces Lakshmi to keep Adithyan out of the game and that he had indeed tried to smuggle some narcotics [ which was actually done by a friend of his].. He gets angry at his mom and leaves home to return after years. His mother longs for the day when he will return and forgive her. 

Time flies, there are little battles between the boys, but it is Deepika's father who is a doctor who helps Adityan gain focus in life and change for the better. As the movie unfolds slowly, we watch the boys tussle, emotions run amock and typical family drama all over.... As the movie reaches the climax, it is time forVikraman to take charge as SI on the very day his father retires. There are top officials coming to congratulate them and one among them is the sub collector [ hold on to your seats... nivin pauly is the cutie pie].. Adithyan and his mother also come in a car to congratulate them. While Adithyan tries to have a word with Shenoy, he is kicked out and that is when we all learn the truth behind "what was Adithyan upto during the years he went missing" and that is the beauty of the movie... No,I shall not spoil it for you...

Review: I quite liked the movie, just wish it had been tad crisper... 

[Movie] Bangalore Days- Malayalam

Movie: Bangalore Days
Language: Malayalam
Director: Anjali menon
Cast: Dulquer Salmaan, Nazriya Nazim, Nivin Pauly, Fahadh Faasil, Parvathy menon....
Rating: 6/5

The colors as morning breaks come shining through a glass painting.... you have three best buddies.... An RJ who is always chirpy and positive on air every single day...A girl tries a ciggie, takes a puff for the first time just before her marriage because she is tensed about the whole shindig.... And then there are these good looking actors strutting about on the big screen.. Am sure this has got you feeling high enough.. So how can a movie with all these flavours be anything but amazing?! Well, that is Bangalore Days for you.

Das (Fahaad) prefers his little private space, Ajju (Dulquer) is a rebel, Kuttan (Nivin who doubles as a narrator) is  quite shy, Divya (Nazriya) is a simple fickle minded girl while Sarah(Parvathy) is quite independent with an attitude to boot. So, what is it they all have in common? Well, there are strings that connect them all beautifully. 
 

We have  Divya who learns about Das’s past which has her reaching out to help him... On the other hand we have Sarah who slowly but surely is attracted to Ajju, but her mom just kicks him to the curb with a few sharp questions.  And then you have Kuttan who realises his girlfriend is not too serious about their relationship, all he does is walks away. Each of these form such beautiful moments in the movie!

Sprinkle in some phenomenal music, choreography and editing, and you have a movie that has you engaged every single minute. None of the actors do over the top drama or have you tearing your hair out..  The nuances of relationships, human beings, personalities and life has been showcased so perfectly by Director Anjali menon.. Just pray this movie doesnt catch the eye of a director from another state and they get the urge to remake it... 

The wedding song...  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WS4Mev_vRAc

At the movies...

I have written about how people can be annoying in the movie theater- especially those who get on their phones and just don’t hang up. Today, I had a different kind of experience. There was a mom with her son and a daughter and her mom in the row behind mine. The movie began, the little one kept asking the mom in tamil what was happening and then the lights came on to indicate interval. I felt a jolt on my seat and turned back to see the kid jumping up and down near her mom. And then suddenly the boy sitting on the other side, few seats away from mine [behind my row] started throwing up. He threw up nonstop for a while. Instead of giving him water or something to drink, the mom kept shouting at him. And then she decided to take him to the loo, before which he threw up again down the aisle..

The grandmother swished her saree for a few mins in the air knocking off any vomit on her saree and sat back with the girl. The mom and son came back, the son sitting next to the gramma and no sooner had he sat down did she begin scolding him – Enna sapta, enna panina.. ippadiya panradhu, konjam kooda eppadi nadanthukkanum therila, naaye shaniyan [ what did you eat? What did you do? Is this how you behave, no manners at all.. curse words]… I was quite appalled.. The gramma kept at it… The child looked about 6-7yrs of age and ready to cry. Poor thing! The gramma then gave him a plastic bag and said he was to quietly vomit in that and not trouble them.

What is wrong with people? The child’s eyes were red- he could have been running a temperature or had a bad stomach.. the Movie was more important than your child’s health? Amidst the children who scream and shout, this upset me the most~~ 

[Movie] Queen experience

Disclaimer- This is not exactly a review, but more of my experience while watching Queen... If you want a review, well you gonna have to purchase a ticket and go watch the movie~~! 

Sneak peek- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TFeV6VyVFmQ

There I was sitting with 2 friends on one side and a guy on the other side who'd come with his girfriend [ how do I know, cos she told someone on the phone that she was at the movie with her boyfriend, yes she spelt it out.. lol]...  Anyways, we had reached our seats just as the movie was beginning, and it was the Mehndi scene. London thumakda song was just starting as we got comfortable.... Rani's[Kangana] mind voice was running with various dialogues about "how pretty the sign that said Rani weds vijay was, and how her mom had said she was going to change into a saree but hadnt, and her brother Chintu had her phone to take pictures so she could upload them on facebook but he was missing and finally about how Vijay had changed since his London sojourn] And then as the movie progressed, the Cafe coffee day scene had the people on either side gasping and the guy on my right even uttered a swear word [ How the eff can he do that to her, he has changed but she hasnt he says.. bleddy @#%#% were his exact words before the girl shushed him]... 

As the movie progressed, I noticed most people in the theater were quite silent, either contemplating Rani move- whether she would go ahead with her Paris- Amsterdam trip or succumb and resume normal boring life... There were a few who clapped aloud when she announces at the dining table her decision to go on her honeymoon alone... There were about 3 elderly North indian women in the row behind who said "acchi baat hui" [this is a good thing] when she hops on the flight and zooms away to Paris.  

Later on, as Rani checks into her room, and hears a sudden sound, the guy next to me couldnt control his chuckles, and the girl chimed in as well.. And thn when Rani goes to the balcony and sees Vijayalakshmi (Lisa Haydon) was the 1st time, there was a gasp in the theater- mainly for what she was wearing... This very audience laughed their brains out when Rani makes those  kissy faces before kissing the hot Italian crush after the Sailing boat food challenge scene...

And when Vijay [Rajkummar Rao] is constantly calling her, telling her he loves her, one of the elderly women actually muttered " nahin jao, chod do use" [dont go, leave him]. Heck, I was amazed at the audiece and how involved they were with the movie. When in Amsterdam, Rani goes to the room and discovers 2 guys already there, the guy next to me "woah, is that what a hostel is like?" and another lady behind me said "haan, my son no told me this is how he stayed when he went to Europe for a holiday], the man next to her said "Amsterdam is such a beautiful country, mazaa aaya"... ;)  

Everytime Vijay made an attempt to reconnect with her, and the scene where she asks him to come to a cafe [after telling her roommate/friends that she cant make it to the concert], the entire hall was up in claps when the waiter brings her mint tea, addresses her by name and she swavely just shrugs off Vijay and heads off to the concert. My friends and the guy on other side commented [Vijay looks like a monkey, such a loser]  

The women laughed when Vijaylakshmi gave Rani a makeover,  including grabbing her boobs and her ass... The guys enjoyed the scene when they go to Sex store and Rani buys gifts for her families without realising what they were.  It was a howlarious moment when during the initial scenes Rani pours her heart out to everyone at the bar and then suddenly is alert on hearing a hindi tune.  

It was amazing to see the entire audience [ across ages] react, and be so completely tuned in to Rani and her actions~!! 

[Movie] Hasee Toh Phasee

The movie opens with a bunch of people screaming and trying to open a door in a Chawl in mumbai, and a man comes up the staircase and is told it is his daughter who did the prank. He calls her aside, doesnt chide or scold her but tells her to open the door and finish what she started and they high 5. On the other hand there is another family, the dad is a cop and his 2nd son Nikhil [Siddharth Malhotra] is a naughty kid- who they lock in a room and go to watch a movie, but he doesnt stay locked in, he is out and watching the movie from the other side of the screen in no time.

Producers: Vikas Bahl, Hiroo Johar, Anurag Kashyap, Karan Johar

Production companies: Dharma Productions, Phantom Productions

Cast: Parineeti Chopra,Sidharth Malhotra,Adah Sharma

Hasee Toh Phasee is quite the entertainer, it was such a feel good movie that we walked out of the theater smiling, recollecting the quirky moments.  Coming back to the movie, the 1st time Nikhil and Meetha [Parineeti Chopra] meet is when Nikhil is passing by a house when he spots a tomboyish girl trying to escape through the barbed wires. He helps her escape and as she is fleeing the place, she says "Socho, mein idea hoti aur tum technology, humari patang kya mast udti na?”   

Now, the main plot of the movie is not a new one, it is about a guy and girl all set to get married, when the guy falls in love with another girl in the process only to go after her on his wedding day. But the way it has been taken, the approach, the characters - that is what sets this movie apart.  

Meetha is a daddy's girl [daddy's role played by Manoj Joshi], a girl who runs away because she dint get what she wanted from her dad. Her uncle is constantly yelling at her [she has short hair, wears T-shirt and trousers, is spoilt, too independent, etc etc]. She hails from a traditional Gujarati family that doesnt understand her, nor do they encourage her brilliance.  She disappears on the eve of her oldest sister's marriage only to reappear after 7 years for her 2nd sister's wedding. Infact, Karishma (Adah Sharma), her sister invites her for the wedding  but introduces her as a guest to Nikhil. It is only later that he discovers the relation, the background and Meetha as a person. 

The story is all about Nikhil and Karishma's wedding, the families preparing for it, Nikhil perpetually in need o money, Karishma constantly angry with him, and the rest of the family adding to the chaos in their own little way. Nikhil and Karishma have had a crazy relationship, she has threatened to break it off numerous times, but he holds on to the relationship saying "I know her, I love her, who is to say the next girl will be the perfect one?" 

Meetha is an oddball, she has the wildest twitches and habits, she speaks a million words a second, she drinks gallons of water and popped a dozen pills periodically. Nikhil ends up picking her up, finding her accomodation, retrieving her from the dump and putting her up at his house, driving her around, and various other adventures. During these times he learns about her, realises she is not a bad cookie, but just a misunderstood cookie. And as they discover each other, romance blossoms. On the evening of a family gathering, Meetha tags along with Nikhil for she wants to meet her dad [ hasnt seen him in 7yrs] but is told he is angry and might have another heart attack, and so he whisks her away. But then the car breaks down, and she instantly solves the issue. That evening, she shares her entire life story with Nikhil, showing off the ball that bounces like crazy, that could one day provide power for an entire apartment complex. 

Her stares, quirks, sharp dialogues, her twinkling eyes, sudden bursts of chinese, tooth paste eating, chocolate stealing habits are just amazing. Infact, she is the highlight of the movie and Parineeti has acted brilliantly, essaying the role to the dot.  Nikhil is so drawn to her that by the end of the movie he is all set to help her find the money she needs even though it is not the acceptable path. And as expected, the movie does end with a happy ending. 

It is a must watch for anyone who needs a good laugh, or wants to hold on to the belief that love does exist. Such a rib tickling, sweet, endearing, feel good, warm fuzzy movie that was.  And then ofcourse, Siddharth looks good, so does Parineeti [there is also certain cuteness in her]

Overal rating - 4.5/5 [ the .5 less because some scenes I felt were unnecessary, just as some characters were...]

[Movie] Saving Mr Banks

Cast: Emma Thompson, Tom Hanks, Paul Giamatti, Jason Schwartzmann, B.J. Novak, Colin Farrell, Bradley Whitford, Ruth Wilson

Direction: John Lee Hancock

Inspired by true events, this movie is almost like a behind the scenes look into how Walt Disney (Tom Hanks) managed to  convince the author P.L. Travers [Played by Emma Thompson] to visit USA and convert her book Mary Poppins into a feature film. 

The Trailer:

In short, the movie "supercalifragilisticexpialidocious"... haha.. I've always wanted to use that word in a sentence and here is my chance! I watched Mary Poppins movie as a little girl with a bunch of cousins and we ran around singing the songs from it "Spoonful of sugar" and "supercalifragilisticexpialidocious"... And so to watch a movie that shows how the movie got made was quite an exciting moment. 

Was at a friend's house and she showed a bunch of DVDs she had bought recently, and this is what both of  us picked. And what a right choice that was. The 2hours went by so fast, we went through several emotions through the movie- happy, excited, appaled, sentimental and finally a big fat grin on our face as the credits rolled by.   

The movie begins with Pamela Travers deciding to fly to America to meet with Walt Disney who hopes to convince her that they should convert her book into a movie [which is also a pomise he made his daughters]. But Pamela is not an easy woman to work with as you discover during the movie.  She has an opinion about everything, and quite the stiff upper lip as well. When people address her Pamela, she corrects them [every single time] that she is to be called "Mrs Travers". 

There is another story that runs in parallel, Pamela's childhood years set in 1901 in the Australian outback...She dotes on her father [Colin Farell] who loses his job in the Bank and decides to move to another town [moves his family on foot bags children and all]. But over years, he loses all his jobs and takes to drinking eventually succumbing. It is her mom [Ruth Wilson] who brings the children up single handedly. All that she went through as a child, the times spent with her dad gives us a sneak peek into her life and why she is the way she is. Infact, as the movie wears on, you discover the Mary Poppins story is her very own story.  

It is brilliant watching the scenes where Walt Disney tries to work his charm  on her, her small interactions with her driver and the way she finally melts.  

This is a movie that is good for people across ages, that will leave you feeling all warm and fuzzy by the end of it. 

Overall Rating- 5/5

[Movie] August: Osage County

There is a man sitting in a dark room saying “Life is very long,” and that it is taken from T.S. Eliot, which is why now when we say it ,we need to add the name after the phrase. that is Beverly [Sam Shepard] talking to the new girl he has hired to help around the house when his wife Violet [Meryl Streep] stumbles into the room mumbling something. The dialogue he says is almost like he is describing his life, for after this one scene he disappears from the house and from this world as well. 

Once their 3 daughters come to know of their dad's disappearance, they all come home to Osage Plains in north Oklahoma, and so does their Aunt Margo [Mattie Fae Aiken] with her husband Charlie[Chris Cooper]. Soon, they find Beverly's body, and this is where the actual movie begins.  

The 1st to come home is Ivy (Julianne Nicholson), a freckled girl who is still single, lives close by and who surprises her mom with her recently straightened hair. Even though she stayed back and took care of her parents, the other siblings dont really show any gratitude nor have they pitched in so far.  

Barbara (Julia Roberts) said to be her father’s favorite by Violet more than once comes with  her husband, Bill (Ewan McGregor) and her teenage daughter, Jean (Abigail Breslin). She is going through a struggling phase in her marriage, is seperated from Bill and is all set to take over her mom's life and control the same. 

And then there is the vivacious Karen (Juliette Lewis) who lives in Florida and is currently in town with her latest catch, her fiance Steve (Dermot Mulroney), who zooms in on his red Ferrari and has told her they are headed to Belize for their honeymoon right after the wedding on New Year's eve.. Even though Steve is nearly 50, he has his eyes on the young Jean who keeps brushing him off.

Once Beverly's funeral is over, all gather at home minus Little Charlie [ Violet's nephew played by Sherlock famed Benedict Cumberbatch]. There is constant bickering, fighting, arguments, words getting flung on each other during the meal till Violet makes an entry. Little Charles misses the  funeral because he forgets to set the alarm and comes home little later. He is constantly getting a earful from his mom about what a loser he is, but his dad keeps defending him and knows he is a good kid. The scene where he takes Ivy, plays a song for her on the piano is quite a moving scene.. 

During the dinner, Violet talks about how Beverly had meant to change the will to leave all the money to her but dint get around to it. After a whole host of screaming and swearing, the day wears on and at night, Ivy tells her sisters of her love for Little charles. The next morning Barbara discovers from her aunt that Little Charles is infact their half brother and not a cousin. She tries to get Ivy to break it off with him, but only ends up with her driving away from the house. That is when the girls discover their mom knew of their dads affair with their aunt. Violet repeats  “Nobody slips anything by me,” often and she is right. She has such a sharp tongue, that we are left wincing everytime she lashes out. Infact, when  she reveals others’ secrets, we cringe because we know she is deliberately stepping over the line to make the point that she is a know-it-all.

It is a movie that is well made, but then it reminded me of all the soap operas I have seen on TV, incl the likes of Brothers & sisters, where it is all about over the top drama. 

August: Osage County is a movie about a family, a dysfunctional one at that, one very similar to what we see around us. I just wished it had been crisper...  

Overall rate: 3/5 

[Movie] Goli Soda

There is this movie group I am a part of which gives me my dose of which movies to watch and which to skip. There are instances where we end up discussing a director or an actor for days to end. And that is where I heard of this new tamil movie that had released last week - Goli Soda. What a name,right? I wondered what it could be about. And again I relied on the group to throw some light. All that I read was rave reviews about the kids who had acted in the movie and the director who had taken on such a subject and executed it brilliantly. 

A friend said "it stars the same 4 boys who acted in Pasanga".. I met her reply with blank stare because I hadn't watched the movie. And thus was born an impromptu plan to watch the movie. We booked tickets at PVR and were at there on time. 

The movie opens at Koyembedu Market with a bunch of kids running around unloading trucks and catching up on some sleep at odd hours. They get paid by a lady they call "aachi" and sit in the terrace looking at the girls who walk by to school. They have fantasies of romancing girls, talk about dates and make big plans. They go by their daily routine, but the only thing that plagues them is the lack of "identity". They don't have a family, no education, no home and all they do is work in the market. The lady asks them what their future plans are and if they plan to keep doing what they do and be nobody? This is what triggers them off and that is where Goli soda takes off as well. 

Aachi (Sujatha Sivakumar) takes them to meet Naidu (Madhusudhan), the president of the Market Association, a man who is respected, but above that is feared.  He generously allows them the use of one of his shops at the market, which the boys convert to a small restaurant "Aachi mess" ubt then comes trouble in the form of Mayilu [Naidu's brother in law/ main man] who frequents the shop, starts drinking & smoking and goes all out one night by bringing in a woman there.  That is when the retaliation begins, the fights, the harassment, the chaos and then the climax of this movie.  

The four boys - Kishore, Sree Raam, Pandi and Murugesh, and the 2 girls  are the heroes of this movie!! Right down to the climax, the movie had us glued and wondering what is going to happen next..  It shows that strong dialogues or big lavish sets are not what makes a movie powerful, good dialogues and neat execution works magic!! 

The only drawback of the movie are the scenes with Powersta/Sam anderson and the background score... Wish the former had been done away with and the latter had been better...!! 

Kudos to Vijay Milton for taking on this subject and being true to the plot till the end..

Overall Rating- 4/5 

[Movie] Neelakasham Pachakadal Chuvanna Bhoomi

Last weekend I watched yet another Malayalam movie, this time a movie with a long title, but one that had a beautiful meaning. It was Neelakasham Pachakadal Chuvanna Bhoomi [English: Blue Skies, Green Waters, Red Earth]

Directed and co-produced by Sameer Thahir

Cast: Dulquer Salmaan, Sunny Wayne, Surja Bala Hijam,Ena Saha, Dhritiman Chatterjee,Joy Mathew,Pearle Maaney, Paloma Monappa and Avantika to name a few. But the main stars are Dulquer and Sunny 

Over the past few months, I must have seen close to 10 Malayalam movies and I have discovered they are quite good. Especially since I began understanding the language, I looked forward to watching more of these flicks. Sunday morning 10am show at PVR was what was on the agenda. I reached the theater around 9.45, grabbed a sandwich & cold coffee at CCD and got ready to watch the movie. 

The story is losely based on 2 college guys who head out on a road trip on their bikes. Destination: unkown. Along the journey, Kasi [Dulquer] decides to head over to Nagaland in search of the girl of his dreams, and Sunny joins him on the mission. At every stage, they meet interesting people, come across challenges, are helped by random strangers, leave with lessons learnt from people of small villages, and there is a spark every now and then with the girl in the town they camp in. There is quite a bit of drama, a tinge of humour and a lot of life's valuable lessons in this movie. It basically goes to show that everybody we meet has something to teach us. All we need is an open mind to absorb these points.. 

The one thing that captured my heart in this movie was the cinematography by Gireesh Gangadharan. SImply outstanding. Even though the movie feels long, he kept me glued in with the sights and sounds captured so beautifully. I have never seen our country look so gorgeous and it left me wanting to travel and explore all these places. From the beaches of Puri, to the hills of the North East, the wide highway in the middle of nowhere flanked by red mountains, the visual were breath taking to say the least.  How can i forget the scene where a group of riders help them and take them with the group to Puri. Oh what a sight. Men on bikes- heart stopping !! :D 

The songs and background score was lovely. It blended perfectly with the rhythm of the movie. The songs that stood out were Doore Doore and Thaazhvaaram. The Manipuri actress is so delicate, while Gauri from the small village near Calcutta comes across strong willed, and the surfer chick in Puri the caring one.  But the one who stole the show has to be Dulquer-  He moves between the various roles with ease and grace, be it the playful college kid, the SFI activist protesting against commercialization  the son , the uncle who dotes on his niece and above all, the confused youngster  in search of his goal... 

Overall rating: 4.75/5 [had it been half hour shorter, would have been crisper]  

[Movie] Chennaiyil Oru Naal

Director:  Shaheed Kader
Production: Listin Stephen, Raadhika Sarathkumar
Cast: Sarath Kumar, Cheran, Prakash Raj, Jayaprakash, Prasanna, Malika, Radhika, Lakshmy Menon, Parvathy
Avg user rating: 4/5

So, a few weeks ago a friend called and asked if i wanted to do a movie. Scouted around the Sathyam site and found tickets for Chennaiyil Oru Naal. It looked like an interesting movie, had quite a star cast. Only when we reached the theater did I discover it was a remake of a Malayalam movie called Traffic which is based on a true story [ one that took place right here in Chennai back in 2008]. As the movie began, I got engrossed and by the end was quite floored. Subsequently I got home, dug up the internet, read about the incident and must say quite impressed with the people who came together to help a little girl get a new lease on life.

So, what is the movie about? Well, it is all about saving a life and tough decisions that need to be taken.

The Chennai city police commissioner [Sarath Kumar], has to make this operation a success. It is his duty to ensure the heart makes the journey from Chennai Global hospital to CMC in Vellore. The police constable Sathyamoorthy [Cheran] volunteers to drive the car carrying the heart to redeem his lost reputation, and takes on the challenge to cover the distance of 170 kilometres in 90 minutes to save the life of a young girl who is the daughter of a superstar Gautham Krishna (Prakash Raj) and Radhika. All of this takes place on a single day, Sep 16th!

How it all begins is two friends, Ajmal and Karthik (Sachin) are on their bike heading towards Karthik's office where he is all set for his 1st interview with the superstar, Gautham Krishna  for the television channel. But on the way, he meets with an accident and is the twist in the tale.His body is gone, his brain is gone, he is on a machine and so the doctors suggest they pull the plug on him so they can use his heart on the little girl who needs it all the way across in Vellore.

To add to the drama, there is the story of Dr Robin [Prasanna], his wife and friend that kind of distracts us from the main story. but thankfully, that is only for a few minutes and the movie gets back on track. The final stretch of the drive through the small town was the highlight of the movie for me.How the entire town comes together, clears the path so the car can go with no hiccups, the cameo role by Surya who encourages people to help the mission succeed and the final note from Surya about organ donation was a tad over the top, but what the heck, it adds to the jazz of the movie... 

Quite an inspiring movie, offbeat, no song and dance, quite real. Do watch if you want to see one where so many people come together for a purpose. 

Movie Review: Naduvula Konjam Pakkatha Kaanom

A movie that had me rethinking the future of tamil movie..

A movie that had me in splits through the hours... 

A movie that gave me hope that small movies were here to stay...

. 

Am talking about "Naduvula Konjam Pakkatha Kaanom [NKPK]" . I had heard of this few months ago when my friend announced that her student was doing the music. Few days later, i got to hear the songs in her CD and fell in love with them instantly. The lyrics, the style and the tunes were all so catchy. Esp the Oh Crazy minnal song by Andrea. 

And finally, the movie had hit the theaters and was getting good reviews. The only thing that stuck in my head was that none of the reviews mentioned the music, the songs... Anyways, paying no head, few weeks ago, I booked 2 tickets, dragged mom and went for the movie [ we watched it in Sangam cinemas, PH Road]. 

NKPK is a story about Prem Kumar (Vijay Sethupathi) who has a small accident while playing cricket with his friends Bagavathy aka Bugs (Bagavathi himself), Saras (Vigneshwaran) and Bajji aka Balaji (Raj Kumar) and loses his memory[the last one year] 

Enna achchu? Oh, namma cricket vilayidinom..

Nee ball potta 

Nee thaane bat panina?

Naa pidikka ponein.. 

Oh.. vitutena??

Kal thavari keezha vizhundutein.. 

Inga thaan adi padiduchu.. anga thaan medula oblongeta irukku

Shockla short term memory loss aayirukum

its ok, athuva sariya poyidum..
Watch: Trailer

This is a dialogue you will hear atleast a million times, well, i exaggerate, but atleast 30-40times through the movie. But, you are not wondering why they are saying the same thing!! You are completely tuned in gasping and watching intently.

 Vijay Sethupathi [Prem] is brilliant throughout. But his three friends have acted just as well, they have kept the plot going, had us all guessing what is going to happen next...   The brilliant casting and acting is the highlight of this movie. Agreed, some scenes seemed weak, but they all tie together beautifully. We were in splits through the movie, we understood why the dialogues were repeated, and we wondered what will happen to Prem and his wedding, will he be able to go through with it? Oh and this is the 2nd most amazing scene in the movie- the wedding scene...Vigneswaran [Saras] simply rocked.... The entire theater was howling with laughter and it dint stop till the very end...

Another amazing dialogue -
avan kulla irutha suppression, depression, uppression, fobia, anxiety, disorder, complex, kastam, nastam, soham, bayam... ellam pidingitu velia vandirchi...

 

Even though i missed the Oh Crazy minnal song, it made sense to have kept it off, the movie dint need songs at all.. The 4 guys stole the show.... Naduvula Konjam Pakkatha Kaanom was a pleasant surprise, and it is a huge success, even though none of the cast are popular, nor did it have any item numbers or masala. Shows that different genres also work, especially when directed well..  

A must watch for tamil movie fans.... 

I would rate it 4.9/5 :-)

Movie review: The Magic of Belle Isle

Every now and then comes a movie that makes you cry; feel so warm and smile.. One such movie is the new Morgan Freeman starrer "The Magic of Belle Isle".

A movie about a writer who had put his pen away and about a woman with 3girls stuck in a messy divorce in a small obscure town in the middle of nowhere..

When Monty(Morgan freeman) is dropped off at the old rickety house an told this is where he'll be spending his summer in and that he'll have to dog air he is none too happy! Armed with an endless supply of Scotch and sharp tongue he goes about the day..

Things change when his neighbors recognise him, and a little 9yr old comes to him with $34.18cents asking him to teach her to bring out her imagination..

This is an endearing movie-
Showcases the battles of the mother Mrs O'Neil (Madison) with 3girls, includes a teenager who resents her and thinks the mom is the reason for the divorce

A writer who is inspired by a tiny toy and the mom to write once again, who falls in love with the town, and it's people, even the dog.

It's about reinventing oneself.. Rekindling what you once had..

As always, Morgan Freeman blows you away with his acting, especially the scenes where he tries to teach the dog to fetch; shoots his revolver when Twed the clown yells at Carl and his way of tellin Fannigan that if he ever had a little girl, she'd be just like Fannigan..

Do watch or let me know and I shall loan he DVD..

Starring - Morgan Freeman, Virginia Madsen and Emma Fuhrmann. Directed by Rob Reiner

Tenacious D - The Pick of Destiny

Woah, was randomly flipping through videos on youtube when i stumbled upon this fun piece.. Wonder how i missed the movie, esp since it stars Jack Black and has Music... Am talking about Tenacious D- In the pick of Destiny [The TV show, which was also made into a movie]

Watch this to see what i mean-






Kickapoo

Paan Singh Tomar - Athlete To Dacoit

It had been over 10days since the movie had released, and i had been wanting to watch, but tickets, timing just wasnt working out. A friend and i kept chatting about the movie, we looked at tickets, we discussed with others, until finally one morning we decided "Lets go for the movie tonight" and the friend said he'd drop me home.. 
 

We were off to watch Paan Singh Tomar, one of the lesser known unsung heroes of our country. It is the story of how an Athlete became a dacoit and met his end...

Starring: Irrfan Khan, Mahie Gill, Vipin Sharma, Rajendra Gupta, Zakir Hussain,Khan Jahangir Khan and many others...

Paan Singh Tomar (Irrfan Khan) is a village lad who joins the army, and is eager to eat as much as he can.When one day his commanding officer stops him from taking another roti, saying "go join the athletes, they get unlimited food", Paan Singh takes his word and joins the team. He sure can run, endlessly without tiring and once he finishes the race, he heads towards the food cart.. He excels in the Steeplechase race bringing glory to the Indian Army and the country. Infact, at the race, he wears shoes like others, but finds it difficult to run, and takes them off to go on and win the race.. Such sweet heart felt moments!!

There is one scene that stood out, where one of his officers dares him to take a block of ice cream, deliver it at home to his wife without the ice cream melting... And Paan Singh does accomplish the task within no time! :)

He marries, has a child and returns to the army. But when on a visit home, one of his cousins plays dirty and beats up his son mercilessly. The police officers refuse to lodge any sort of complaint against the cousin. To make matters worse, when Paan Singh shows off his medals and service, he is mocked by the police. He gets angry and vows to take revenge, taking matters into his own hands. Things turn ugly, and one day the cousin breaks into his house, kills his mom and is after Paan Singh. He sends his wife and daughter away, and decides to fight the battle, killing his cousin in the process. 

With a group of friends & relatives, he forms a gang, and transforms into the Dacoit of the Chambal valley. The police  hot on his trail of Paan Singh Tomar. He finds it ironic that no one cared about him when he won alll those races and brought glory, but today when he is in hiding, and has become a dacoit the whole world seems to be after him. 

One of the members in his gang brings them to a town to stay at an old man's place when Paan Singh realises he has been trapped by one of his own. The police circle the area leaving them with no escape route. Their drink has been poisoned, leaving them weak and helpless. The battle rages on till finally Paan Singh falls prey to one of the bullets... 

The film kinda grows on you, and we were left talking about what a great person he must have been and how nobody even knows of Paan Singh Tomar today... There were quite a few moments in the movie where our hearts tug for Paan Singh, wishing we could help him and feeling his pain, and agony.... 

The entire movie is narrated by Paan Singh Tomar in an interview to a journalist in a small town....

In the end , just before the credits, a list of all the national players who died penniless or are in a sad state scrolls on the screen, making us realise what we saw was just a drop in the ocean.  

I sure hope more such Paan Singh s are discovered and brought to visiblity by directors like Tigmanshu Dhulia through articles/news clippings [like how he stumbled upon Paan Singh Tomar ]

Rating : 4/5

Direction: 4/5

Acting: Irrfan Khan- 6/5

Safe House

Director: Daniel Espinosa
Writer: David Guggenheim
Starring: Denzel Washington, Ryan Reynolds and Robert Patrick

After much talk about Safe House movie, i finally went to watch it on Sunday. Well, Safe House is a 2 hour ride that was packed with action but thats about it.. Like many others, i saw the trailer, heard the leading stars names and decided i want to watch it. 

 The story opens with Matt Weston (Ryan Reynolds) who is a a housekeeper at CIA's Safe House in South Africa. Weston's is clearly frustrated that he has seen no promotion and his boss keeps promising him the clouds and stars, but nothing has changed. He bids adieu to his French girlfriend [who's a student at the local hospital] and assumes his place at the Safe house. Life for him changes with the entry of the fugitive Tobin Frost (Denzel Washington). Frost,a former CIA operative went rogue and was last heard to have sold classified information to the highest bidder and gone off the radar nearly 9years ago. 

After years of eluding the CIA, Frost walks straight into the Consulate one morning and there begins the twist in the tale. Heavily armed CIA men take him to the Safe House, but there is a breach and the place is raided, with Weston escaping with Frost on toe. Weston, being duty conscious decides to look for another Safe house to take Frost to, during the course of which he battles quite a bit for Frost's safety. The dialogues between Frost and Weston as they are weaving through the narrow lanes of South Africa are worth a watch. How Frost judges and assess Weston, talks to him about the filth within CIA and so on.... The scene in the stadium where Frost flips and makes it look like Weston was kidnapping so he could escape is quite ingenious. Quite a bit of blood is shed, and fights rage on through the movie. As much as it is to watch the action, it kinda strays away from the main plot and the audience is left wondering "where the hell are they going with this"

It was a thrill to watch Weston, a rookie fight, all the time keeping his eyes on Frost. But it was sad to see the same old pattern of the big guns in the CIA being involved in the sham, and out to get their own, to save their asses.  Denzel with his suave character, quite demeanor steals the show as well. He fits well in the role of Frost.  The movie is all about the slogan "no one is safe", it should also be "trust no one". 

Safe House is a one time watch if you a die hard Denzel or Reynolds fan and enjoy non stop action. When the movie ended and credits rolled, all i can say is "so, what else is new?" Looks like Hollywood story tellers are fast running out of plots, and story lines. The movie had me thinking of Mission Impossible, Bourne Identity series and every other cop-criminal based movie that had ever been made across the world. The ending of the movie left a bad taste in my mouth, couldnt the director have come up with something bit more original? Why did he have to rip off the end from MI4 to the T ? sad....  And well, i am glad they dint go and make this movie in 3D.. would have been painful to watch,albeit for the fight and chase sequences.

My Rating: 2.5/5

The Oscars 2012

They walked the red carpet

They wore designer clothes

and designer shoes

They cheered, they smiled and they thanked..

Well, the Oscars 2012 was no less a grand affair than what i saw in 2011 or the year before... 

Some of the winners were deserving

While some others i felt "hmm, really?"

But there was one movie that stood out among them all... That is the point of this post..

For those who love animation

For those who live breath eat sleep Books

This is the movie they must watch..

This is a movie that truly deserves...

The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore (2011) written by William Joyce..

Enjoy the movie....

Here is William Joyce and Brandon Oldenburg wins the Best Animated Short Film 2012 Oscar Award

Sherlock Holmes: A Game Of Shadows

My  review of Sherlock Holmes: A Game Of Shadows shall follow, but for now want to leave you with this awesome quote from the movie-

Mounaguru

Directed by Santha Kumar and produced by M. K. Thamizharasu, this movie is quite offbeat amongst the run of the mill, romance, villain strewn movies churned out by the Tamil Film Industry... 

I was sceptical when i heard it starred Arulnithi, but with names such as John Vijay, Iniya, and Uma Riyaz Khan, and a few good reviews from friends, i told myself it will be worth a watch!

Last night, marched into PVR and got set to watch this "Crime thriller" as many had labelled it... From the beginning to the end, the movie was well chalked out and i was quite impressed with Arulnidhi's acting....

it is the story of a college student Karunakaran[Arulnidhi] who is a good student, but gets into trouble often. Due to this, his mom moves bag and baggage to Chennai where her Older son gets admission for Karunakaran at Aruldoss college, with accomodation in the hostel. His wife's sister Aarthi [Iniya] is living with them and so their apartment is quite crowded. What starts off as initial teething trouble soon becomes a nightmare and Karunakaran is caught up in a scam for no fault of his.

4 policemen - Assistant Commissioner Marimuthu (John Vijay), Inspector Rajendran (Madhu), Sub-Inspector Selvam (Balakrishnan) and junior policeman Perumalsamy (Krishnamurthy) are crooks down to the T. when they stumble upon a car crash, they open the boot to discover a bag filled with money, decide to loot it, and even go to the extent of killing the driver who is still alive...

From there on, begins a snowball effect, to hide their actions, they keep passing the blame onto others. One lady the AC has sexual connections with records his actions in her bedroom in an attempt to blackmail him and get rid of him. But this proves fatal for her, and she ends up losing the camera and her life.

Amidst all this drama, love blossoms between Karunakaran and Aarthi... but that is known only to his mom.. One day, during the holidays when Karuna returns to the hostel [ he is alone as others have gone off home], he finds a bag outside his room, pours out its contents and while wondering whose bag it is, is caught by the 4 crooked cops.. They were infact waiting to see who the student was who had called and blackmailed them about the murder and money... 

One thing leads to another, and finally karuna ends up in a mental asylum. Cops and the psychiatrist convince Karuna's family that he has lost his mind.  The twist comes in the form of Pazhaniammal [Uma Riyaz] who is investigating the murder and stumbles upon the truth. And finally, just when they have everyone caught and guilty, she is given orders to let them go as the murder could lead to issues between the 2 states.

karuna then takes matters into his own hands, kills all the cops and then gives in and goes into the mental asylum....

The movie is well paced and quite well scripted. There are no cliched scenes in the crime or the romance, just subtle nuances. But, i did think the end was going to be different... Wonder why the director chose this path!!! ... All in all, its a good watch... And one more grouse i have with movie theaters- We dont need intervals in all movies, especially English, Animated and Such thrillers... it just cuts into the flow of the movie!!

Overall Rating - 4/5

Rajapattai- Old wine old bottle new shelf & packaging..

A friend and i were spending time catching up and as we headed out of Amethyst, she asked "do you think we'll get movie tickets? any movie??" Taking a chance we headed over to Satyam cinemas, and lo behold got tickets for Rajapattai... There were no other shows at that time... Crossing our fingers, hoping the movie is bearable, we located our seats and got comfortable....

I had seen the Madan's show on TV the previous day where he interviewed Rajeevan, the Art Director and Susindran, the Director...  Crossing our fingers, hoping the movie is bearable, we located our seats and got comfortable....

... Vikram is back , unfortunately with no bang.. it is only a Crash boom bang, painful landing, all thanks to a weak plot .. He has acted well, essayed off the various roles well, looks good in the fights and the awkward romance scenes!! I have become wary of his movies, not including Deivathirumagal .. Since Kanthasamy, he seems to be taking on the wrong kind of movies, that do nothing for him as an actor and the versatile actor he is known to be!

This movie is all about the good guy beating the bad guy, except here the good guys are all stunt men, and wanna be villain actors... While the bad guy, is a bad lady, something that seems to have become a trend from Swarna akka character [forgot the name of the movie she featured in] 

Vikram and his protege are all doing small stunt roles in movies when he chances upon an old man sitting alone in the temple. The Thatha's son wants him to write over the Orphanage he runs to the Bad lady, in return for which the son was promised a MP/MLA seat... The son is after the dad and the dad-Dakshinamoorthy [K Vishwanath] seeks refuge with Anal Murugan [Vikram]. The group who hangs around with Vikram are quite sweet, sometimes funny too.. infact, the movie wore on to a point where the Thatha was the entertainer and rest were just side kicks...

Oh, lets not forget the heroine, rather so called heroine of the movie- Pooja [Deeksha Seth], she cant act, she cant dance, well she pretty much cant do nothing... I think she was a model who accidently landed this role.. In the movie, she has probably 4-5 dialogues, in ALL!!

My friend who's worked with a leading name from the Ad industry has met most of the actors from north and south, she chimed "these stunt actors are so soft and sweet in person... they just seem scary because they are big/tall"

The 1st half was well paced and had us engaged, but post interval, the movie lost direction and went haywire.. They suddenly introduced a Character- Vapa, who was behind the bad lady... One fine day, vikram and his clowns track him down, plan to take him down right there outside the Mosque.... After a bit of struggle, they manage to kill him, only to arouse the bad lady's anger further....

There are a few comic scenes , and then the antics by Thatha to help Vikram land the woman he has been eyeing... But beyond that, the movie is passe.... Wait for it to be screened on TV!!

I liked the sets that had been created for the movie... esp the one with the small windmill with butterflies for the song.. Apart from that, nothing worth remembering or talking about! Susindran has taken on a challenge, but not sure if he has delivered through.... He had Vikram, wish the story was better thought out and made use of Vikram's versatility!!

Mayakkam Enna

So, it was weekend and we were looking at the movies that had been released to see what we could catch... Since my Saturday was packed, we decided to hunt for tickets for Mayakkam enna for sunday.... The only theater that had tickets was AGS, Navalur OMR.. "What the heck, lets go check it out" we said in unison and i went on to book the tickets!!

The ride from Nungambakkam to Navalur took about 40mins, the theater complex is beyond Sathyabama College and Asiana Hotel... It sits majestic but only on entering did we realise it was barren [ empty...] but for the 5th floor with movie screens and the floor below- meant for Food court with 3 outlets..! The theater was huge, but the crowd was a very local crowd.. Infact two guys who came and plonked in seats behind us were DRUNK and belting out all the choicest colourful Tamil swear words!!

We sat back, sipped on our drinks and hoped the movie was worth the drive.....

Starring: Dhanush, Richa, Sundar Ramu and a whole host of others i have never seen before!!
Director: Selvaraghavan

Selvaraghavan and Dhanush have come together to release a movie that is all about a young boy finding his dreams and the hurdles he has to overcome and the people who stand by him through the ardeous journey.... Just that i get the feel Selvaraghavan has this streak in him to mess with people's head along the story....

The Story-Karthik Swaminathan (Dhanush) is a young boy who is passionate about photography, living his life on his own terms.. His friends call him "genius" and pretty much all they did through the movie was sit around drinking and bad mouthing others.... The same happens when Sundar brings his new girlfriend Yamini [Richa] who is met with sneers and flurry of not so pleasing words!

Anyways, back to the plot, Karthik works hard, takes photographs of just about everything that catches his eye, but it fails to give him a break.. He works hard and wants to leave a mark as a photographer.  Though he does portfolio and weddings assignments, his passion is wildlife photography.

Even though their 1st meeting was bitter, for some reason Yamini is drawn to Karthik and tries getting close to him, going on to tell him she loves him and not Sunder..  After quite a bite of drama between the friends, Karthik & Yamini get married. Karthik one day goes to meet a renowned photographer Mathesh Krishnamoorthy [Ravi Prakash], who gives him a project to prove his worth.. Alas, Mathesh kicks Karthik out saying his photographs were crap, but then one day Yamini asks Karthik to pick up the National Geographic magazine in which his very photograph is published but with credit to Mathesh.. This drives Karthik over the edge, he falls down, and becomes mentally unstable- an angry violent drunk young man!!

Yamini sticks with him no matter what, sends out his photographs to every magazine and publication in hope of getting him a break.... Which eventually happens via the Kumudam magazine at an ad agency... 

In between, there is a lot of drama between the couple, the scenes that had me wondering what is up with Selvaraghavan, why does he want to mess with our heads like this? show some gruesome scenes[ a miscarriage, blood stains on the floor] and sights..... But i guess that is the turning point in the movie where even though there is a rift between the young couple, there is a breakthrough in Karthik's life and he goes on to reach great heights....

The movie is painfully slow, very dark [literally- no lighting] in many scenes and sometimes you wonder where the fastforward button is... But one thing for sure, the movie is packed with emotions and drama... 

I loved the locations and cinematography wherever there were scenes with Danush heading off for a photo shoot... The lighting, settings were lovely in those locations!!

But there were some scenes, little things that had me wondering "Why oh why... what do the directors think when they are making the movie...." Do all movie makers assume Audiences are stupid, or that they dont notice these small nuances?

• The maple leaves falling in the forest.... 
• A Cormorant posing for Danush in the middle of a forest 
• The mystery behind what happens to the cars? [in the scene where Danush goes to pick up Yamini who is stranded with a car breakdown in a bus stop and then he runs away the minute they kiss which is interruped by a call from Sundar]

Newcomer Richa has done a good job of being this "stiff upper lip, i have an attitude" kinda girl.... Danush has acted well, essayed the role to perfection i would say.... but this is not a movie for all...


If you enjoy movie about Friends
If you like Danush...
If you have been humming the songs from the movie..
If you enjoy watching people sit around drinking for hours
And if you are prepared for selvaraghavan's style... Go watch Mayakkam Enna!! else, give it a miss!!