Muran- sleek and smooth...

 

 

Genre: Thriller
Directed by:  Rajan Madhav 

Cast:  Cheran, Prasanna, Jayaprakash, Nikitha, Hari Priya, Suma

The story is fairly simple: it is about these 2 guys, who are poles apart in terms of their personalities and how fate brings them together, leaving one of them no choice but to follow suit... The 2 men are Nandha [Cheran] and Arjun[Prasanna] 

The movie opens with Cheran and some others sitting in a table having a drink while Prasanna is standing on the ledge asking a waiter to count to 3 so he can jump down and hopefully fall into the Swimming pool.. he is piss drunk and not in his senses, but hell bent on doing this feat...   

And the following day it so happens that Arjun gives Nandha a ride to Chennai when his car breaks down [no thanks to a bunch of drunk driving rash on the highway].. With time, they start sharing their life stories... As the flashback unfolds, Nandha passionate about music, plays the guitar talks about being married to  Indhu (Nikitha) who hates music, wont give him a divorce till she gets her hands on her father's possessions and is possibly having an extramarital affair. Nandha is vexed with his marriage, but then he smiles once again when he meets Lavanya (Hari Priya) with whom he develops a strong bond and possibly even love.

On the other hand, there is Arjun, son of a millionaire and, all he wants to do is party and blow money [kinda like Ranbir in Wake up Sid]. He talks about how his father Devarajan (Jayaprakash) has ruined his life, the love he had for Linda [who worked in his dad's office and who was forced to have sex with his dad during an official trip and thtereon committed suicide].. Arjun talks about how Nandha can move on with Lavanya if his wife was taken out of the equation and how his life would be better when his dad is removed from the picture.  

 

Arjun loves Thrills, while Nandha is a "play it safe" kinda guy. But Nandha realises Arjun is serious about this plan of his... But then, he walks away giving Arjun the number of a leading psychiatrist to seek out!!

This is where the movie takes quite a turn and twist.... One day, as Nandha goes about his routine he receives a call that his wife met with an accident and has died.. He is stumped and shocked.. That evening, he receives a surprise visitor... no prizes for guessing.. it is Arjun who comes to say "no need for Thank you" :-)

It is then that we feel chills down our spine, wondering what is Arjun really capable of! Arjun has actually put his words into action, proving he was serious and that he now expects Nandha to do the 2nd part of the deal- kill Devaraj.... Nandha does try, but fails and then calls it quits!
 

And as days go by.... he comes to know what Arjun is capable of , the extreme he goes to which leaves Nandha with no choice but to follow suit and go kill Devaraj based on the plan laid down by Arjun... What happens next is the grand climax and finale... let me not spoil it for you....

A friend mentioned that the movie was inspired by Hitchcock’s film, Strangers on a Train (1951).. Now since i have not seen this, i quite enjoyed it and felt the movie had a very Hollywoodish touch to it, the sleek neat way of execution, with each scene flowing smooth...  

Its a movie that will have you glued to your seats, wondering what next.. who will kill whom... if Nandha or Arjun will get caught.... 

The songs are ok, i dont really remember any of them...

Plot is good, the pace is maintained through the movie... 

Cheran and Prasanna have done an amazing job, doing justice to their roles to the dot.. Prasanna as a bad guy is quite a feat, it suits him!!

[Theater] 39 steps

Richard Hannay meets this gorgeous woman who out of nowhere pulls out a gun and shoots into the air during a theater performance. She then invites herself over to his house, following which she gets murdered. A murder that Richard is caught into for no fault of his, a series of chaos, clumsiness, and characters is what 39 steps is all about. 

Today, got an opportunity to watch the preview show of 39 steps by Evam and Radaan.  Dint have to do anything, dint have to pay anything, went watched gave my feedback and got back!!

Based on the movie 39 steps by Alfred hitchcock,  which was in turn loosely based on the adventure novel The Thirty-nine Steps by John Buchan.this play went on for over an hour and had us in splits, gaping, wondering and wondering how fine tuned the final show going to be. 

4 actors play more than 10 characters.. switching between roles in seconds, alternating between being a man and a woman, moving the furniture on the stage around... 

Agreed, there were a few things that could be tweaked, could have been made better, but the team has over 2weeks to fine tune and am sure by the time they perform to the audience, it will be near perfect!! 

For information about the play and tickets, click here and here is Evam's Blog 

Need more reason to believe Hitchcock is hilarious?
29th October- 7:30 PM
30th October- 3:30 PM and 7:30 PM
31st October- 3:30 PM and 7:30 PM
Tickets available at all Landmark outlets. Online booking at http://www.indianstage.in/EventDetails.do?eventId=1140.
 
Contact 9840444916, 9840612333 for more details!

Bookworm Rampage

I go through these phases... Am sure all of you also do!!  There are days when i do nothing but work, and then those when fun plays a bit part of my day... The latter is what i enjoy, cos it gives me a sense of calm at the end of it all... The past couple of weeks have been such - maybe cos workload isnt that much or i've just made a subconscious choice to include plenty of fun during my busy daily routines - outing with friends, just chilling out at home with an interesting book, grooving to music on my iTouch , watching a movie or jus about anything that i am upto !!

Books have been a part of my life for as long as i can remember.. Even when we were living in Tirunelveli, i used to pick up books from chennai, people who visited us brought me books - Enid blyton, Mystery of five find outers, Naughtiest girl in school, Archie comics, Chanda mama, Sense &Sensibility and what not!!  .. This awesome habit has stuck with me, infact mom keeps saying- its because of this reading[err, reading in the dark, with improper light] that you wear glasses.. Heck, it doesnt matter~!! :) Infact its thanks to family that i got into music as well - specifically english music....

Couple of weeks,or a month ago, Apar gave me a whole load of books.. What joy i felt cant be expressed in words.. A colleague was leaving the city, and left behind all his books for grabs!  Amazing right?!! There were plenty by 2 of our favorite authors - Lee Child &  James Patterson. [here's a whole list of James Patterson's books]

Was introduced to James Patterson last Jan, during the ride to Pondy with friends! Murder mystery, cop, thriller kinda writer who has me going till i finish the last word on the last page.. Infact same holds for Lee Child, who was introduced to me by another friend... :-)

Here is a collage of all the books by these authors that i have read till date.... !! each of them are fabulous, atleast i enjoyed them thoroughly... !! :)

Another author I've been reading a lot is Jodi Picoult... Every visit to the library, will have me clutching a book by this amazing author!! Waiting to watch My Sister's keeper movie to see if its just as the book or altered... But most of her books are about kids, parents, and health related issues... !!

and before you ask.... Yes, i've read 'em all .... hahaha~!! Reading some more, but that shall come in another post...!! 

[Movie] Prey

I'd been wanting to watch this movie, Prey for some time. and finally it got released in Sathyam cinemas, alas i knew no one would want to come with me for this gory gruesome movie.. SO, went and bought the dvd and watched it last night.. One hellova movie!!!

Directed by: Darrell Roodt
Written by: Darrell Roodt, Beau Bauman and Jeff Wadlow

Starring:
Bridget Moynahan -Amy Newman
Peter Welleras -Tom Newman
Carly Schroeder - Jessica Newman
Conner Dowds - David Newman

Jamie Bartlett - Crawford

Rating  ****1/2

The movie opens with a herd of female lions hunting in the dead of the night and scavenging on zebras and deers... The Newman family come to in Africa; Tom is there on work, and so rest of them decide to take a relaxing safari to see some of the wild animals. Unfortunately, the minute their guide/driver takes them "off the beaten track" do their troubles begin. David wants to take a leak, and the driver accompanies him out when they are attacked by a couple of hungry lions. David manages to rush into the car, while the driver is chewed up..Amy and the kids are now stranded, surrounded by these lions,who see them nothing more than a meal wrapped in a Jeep. As Tom returns, he finds his family missing, and the rangers talking about going for rescue operation in the morning only. He then takes it upon himself to contact this Mr Crawford who's supposedly the only man for the job, convincing him to help out...

A movie that has blood and gruesome scenes around every corner.. With every step, you think "This is it", "Oh God No, what is she doing"... and are left biting your nails, chewing your fingers till the very end... 

Amazing locations... awesome cinematography had me glued to the screen, as i sat through it in the middle of the night...!!! Enjoyed it immensely... For those of you who like such movies, also watch Ghost and the darkness 

Remember... " Out here, you're the endangered species..."

[Movies] Offbeat

I buy dvd's, and yes, some are good, whilst others are bad!! I dont read ahead of the shopping expedition... Infact,very rarely do i know what i am going to Buy..

I BUY ---

If the name looks interesting

If the cover is appealing

If i like one of the actors

If i get a gut feel about the movie

If  its a movie someone has reccomended [ these are few and far between] :)

In the latest batch, i had bought this movie called Funny Games... and went on to watch the movie,..

 Director: Michael Haneke

Writer: Michael Haneke (written by)

Cast
    * Naomi Watts as Ann
    * Tim Roth as George
    * Michael Pitt as Paul
    * Brady Corbet as Peter
    * Devon Gearhart as Georgie
    * Boyd Gaines as Fred

 The movie opens with George, his wife Anna, their son Georgie and  dog Lucky arriving at their lake house. Their next-door neighbor pays a visit, accompanied by two young men, Peter and Paul, whom he introduces as friends. The two men begin imposing themselves by coming over asking for eggs, breaking batch after batch, eventually a frustrated Anna demands that the men leave, asking George to get them out. What happens next is what baffled me... Peter breaks George's leg with George's golf club and the two men take the family hostage. 

They force the family to participate in a number of ugly sadistic games in order to stay alive. When some of the other neighbors arrive for a visit, Anna passes the men off as friends until the visitors leave. How they torture the couple, playing mind games with them has us cringing, wondering what is going to happen next!!! One by one, they kill the members of the family, starting with the dog, the last victim being Anna!!! 

It's a thriller movie but very different from the run of the mill ones. Sort of satire, I think. If you're sick and tired of de'ja`vu film-making this one is just for you. 

 =================************* =================

The 2nd movie- Ghosts of Girlfriends Past we saw at my friend Anita's place post the yummy Potluck lunch.... 

Director: Mark Waters

Cast:
    * Matthew McConaughey as Connor Mead

    * Jennifer Garner as Jenny Perotti

    * Michael Douglas as Wayne Mead aka Uncle Wayne

    * Emma Stone as Allison Vandermeersh, the Ghost of Girlfriends Past

    * Daniel Sunjata as Brad

    * Noureen DeWulf as Melanie, the Ghost of Girlfriends Present and Connor's assistant

    * Breckin Meyer as Paul Mead
    * Lacey Chabert as Sandra Volkom
    * Anne Archer as Vonda Volkom

    * Amanda Walsh as Denice
    * Camille Guaty as Donna

I wouldnt call it a Chick flick.

Nor a romcom.. romantic comedy flick

hmmm.. what can we call it??? i dunno!!! 

Connor Mead, the playboy hops from one woman to the other, leaving behind quite a trail of unhappy women... The day he goes to attend his brother Paul's wedding rehearsal dinner , the complete world comes toppling down... Meeting Jenny [the one woman in his life who has always seemed immune to his considerable charm.] after all this time, trying to keep his lusting thots to himself, he finds he is given one last chance by his late Uncle Wayne [who tells him its not too late to change]... He meets one Ghost after another, who take him thru his life, starting with childhood to the future.... 

Through the journey, Connor realises this is the only chance he is going to get, and finally decides to confess his love to Jenny ... The world is then set right and all are happy!!! 

A movie that would have been fun had it not been stretched so much.. it just goes on and on and on and on............................ watch it if you have NOTHING else to do!!!  :)