Yearly Archives: 2014

Friday Fundas

An affair to remember… Ninaithale Innikum!

An affair to remember… Ninaithale Innikum!

Every movie lover would have an artist behind to spark the love for movies. For me it is KB Sir.

Director K Balachander gave meaning to the title Iyakkunar Sigaram (Summit of Directors). He had learnt so many rules of making a good screenplay that he can break them with ease to stand apart from the crowd and be a trail blazer for the Tamil film Industry. Many say his loss is irreplaceable but I feel he is immortal and would live through his movies.

When the entire film industry was making stories on the Kings, the riches or about the people below poverty line KB Sir came in and created an exclusive identity for middle class in his movies. This might be one of the reasons for a wider appeal to his movies. The conflicts established by him in each of the stories were unique. He started with writing and directing stage plays. With a great reluctance he took the opportunity for writing screenplay for movies and later fell in love with it that he started to make his famous stage plays as movies. You would see this in his early movies like Neerkumizhi (water bubble) in 1965, Ethir Neechal 1968(Swim against the tide), Major Chandrakanth and so on. If you see most of these movies would be a single set movie with very few scenes shot elsewhere. As people started seeing these movies they felt it was way different than the movies they had been watching and they were slowly beginning to realize the role of a director in movies. Till then what seemed to be a MGR movie, Sivaji movie now there were new type of movies addressed as Director Balachander movies. He became the role model for many directors to come later.

One of the iconic movies directed by him is Aboorva Raagangal in 1975. The movie features Kamal Hassan and introduced a new actor Shivaji Rao rechristened as Rajinikanth. Both of them later went on to take the Indian film industry by storm. Aboorva Raagangal dealt with intergenerational romance between two families which was quite a controversial topic during that era. But it went on to win 3 National Awards. Post this KB sir had directed many movies with Kamal Hassan and Rajinikanth in the lead which included Avargal, Moondru Mudichu and Ninaithale Innikum.

Music used to play a significant role in his movies. Aboorva Raagangal was divided into chapters, which were named after a swara or raagam. Ninaithale Innikum was a full-fledged musical which also dealt with a genre of mystery and romance. You would see the prominence of music in his later movies like Sindhu Bhairavi, Unnal Mudiyum Thambi, Azhagan, Pudhu Pudhu Arthangal and many more. Music in most of his movies were composed by M.S Viswanathan. In Sindhu Bhairavi he joined with Ilayaraja. He had introduced A R Rahman in his production venture Roja directed by Maniratnam. A R Rahman also composed music for the movie Duet directed by KB sir.

KB sir emphasized on the empowerment of woman in most of his movies. His lead women characters right from Avargal, Arangetram, Sindhu Bhairavi, Achamillai Achamillai, Kalki were bold, forward looking and very powerful.

He used metaphors predominantly in his movies. These were fondly referred to a directorial touch in Tamil Cinema. There also used to be a character which is insignificant in the gamut of the plot but plays crucial role in emphasizing a point, mood or the gravity of a situation in his movies. Rajinikanth’s character in Aboorva Raagangal, Irumal Thaatha in Ethir Neechal, the dumb and deaf painter in Varumayin Niram Sigappu, Telephone in Azhagan, Chaplin uncle in Punnagai Mannan and many more are examples of this. He had also given some great comedy movies like Bhama Vijayam and Thillu Mullu in which he had experimented Rajinikanth playing a full-fledged comedy role. This had introduced a different dimension of Rajinikanth which is still exploited well by many directors.

KB sir had dealt with many genres of movies, his initial movies were centered around family drama, later he shifted to social drama which covered impact of society on people’s lives, he also has given some of the gems in romance genre which included Marocharitra in Telugu, Ek Dujhe Ke Liye in Hindi, Punnagai Mannan.
KB sir is a true king maker. He had not only made the two star waltzes Rajinikanth and Kamal Hassan but also had rediscovered Nagesh as a character artist, introduced Prakash Raj and many more. He is so spontaneous and appreciates good art in any form. Once he sees a good movie he took time to write an appreciation note to the director who had made the movie.

Truly KB Sir is a film maker that everyone would wannabe. His affair with cinema will always be sweet memories … taking with lyrics from one of his movies … it is An affair to remember … Ninaithale Innikum!

Action, Animation, English Movies, Genre, Rating, Reviews, Worth a Watch

How to Train Your Dragon 2 Review

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How to Train Your Dragon 2 Review – How to Train Your Dragon 2 is an American animation movie released in 2014. This is a sequel to the How to Train Your Dragon movie. After changing the culture of Berk to co-exist peacefully with the dragons Hiccup and Toothless are out on another adventure where they have to face a deadly villain called Drago.

The movie has capitalized on the success of the first part and has the necessary plot points to entice you one more time.  The movie majorly succeeds in maintaining the interest of the audience throughout but for few dragging sequences. If you were to compare this one with the first part then you might like the first installment better. But as it goes with any sequels it is not as fresh as the first one. Also many sequences would remind you of the first part. Leaving this aside if you watch this movie you would certainly enjoy many parts of this one.  The way they have ended this movie promises for yet another sequel.

The quality of animation is very good. There are also new types of dragons introduced in this one which makes it even more interesting. Toothless steals the show completely. The way the character of Toothless is shaping up would create a very memorable dragon character for the viewers.

High Points: Chemistry between Toothless and Hiccup,  The flying sequence between Toothless and Hiccup, The new game invented by the citizens of Berk, Some new kind of dragons

Low Points: Not great when compared to the first part, Few of the sequences seem bit repetitive and dragging.

Overall this one may not be as great as its predecessor but nevertheless a great watch. If you have kids do watch this one with them.

Watchable – for the Night Fury Toothless!

Related: How to Train Your Dragon

Drama, Genre, Rating, Reviews, Tamil Movies, Worth a Watch

Kaaviya Thalaivan Review

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Kaaviya Thalaivan Review – is a Tamil drama released in 2014. The movie is set in the era of British rule in India during which stage plays were very popular. The plot revolves around two upcoming stage artists Gomathi Nayagam Pillai and Kaliappa.  Although Gomathi Nayagam dedicates himself, works hard to reach to fame Kaliappa seems to get everything easily meaty roles for acting, praise from the master, women he loves. This sparks jealousy in Gomathi Nayagam. What happens is the story of Kaaviya Thalaivan.

First of all, kudos to Vasanthabalan for making this movie. As in any Vasanthabalan’s movie the story is very intense and gets on track right from the first shot. Although the plot of rivalry and jealousy has been used in many movies, the entire thing set in the era of stage plays is brilliant. Lot of research has gone into recreating the elements of a stage play. A R Rahman’s music is soul of the film. Siddharth, Prithviraj and Nasser have performed very well. During the second half of the movie the pace lags a bit and at times makes it feel lengthy. It is a neat idea to bring in the elements of patriotic plays in the movie. However the reason behind Siddharth’s patriotism is not manifested well in the plot. Hence his entire transformation into a patriotic stage actor doesn’t create an impact.

High Points: Stage play drama, Acting of Siddharth and Prithviraj, Strong story line

Low Points: Pace and length of the movie, Siddharth’s affinity towards patriotism, Unless you appreciate the era of stage plays you may not connect with the movie

Overall Kaaviya Thalaivan is a very sincere and laudable attempt in Tamil Cinema. It is no doubt the best of Vasanthabalan movies so far. You can watch it for some brilliant performances and a creative story line.

Watchable

Animation, Comedy, English Movies, Genre, Rating, Reviews, Worth a Watch

Penguins of Madagascar Review

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Penguins of Madagascar Review – Penguins of Madagascar is an English animation movie released in 2014. The penguins from the Madagascar franchise embark on a new adventure in which they face a fearsome villain from whom they would have to save the entire race of Penguins and the love of people for Penguins.

This one is banking on the popularity Penguins have got with the Madagascar franchise. The movie has a plot that is focused on making the audience laugh and letting the Penguins do what they are best at. Although in parts the movie would resemble to the minions episode in Despicable Me 2. Still the movie would engage you throughout and make you laugh at many places. The quality of the animation is very good.

There are more characters in this other than the Penguins. The new characters have similar taste in adventure as the Penguins do. However they fail to fit in well as Alex and party in the Madagascar series.

High points: The scene in which the penguins fall off a plane is hilarious, their entire adventure in the streets of Shangai is good, The core focus being on the Penguins is a big plus for the movie considering how the last two movies from the Franchise have fared.

Low points: Similarity of the plot and sequences with  Despicable Me 2, The new spy characters did not fit in too well for the Madagascar franchise

Overall despite the short comings this one is a better movie compared to the last two Madagascar movies. If you are a fan of Madagascar Penguins don’t miss this one. Kids would enjoy this movie very much, so if you have kids do take them to watch the adventure of the Penguins.

Watchable

Friday Fundas

Rule of Thirds

Rule of Thirds

The movie screen space is a confined one compared to our real life vision. It gives the ability to take a limited view of the scenery and present it to the audience. What the audience view is what has been captured through the camera. The camera position, viewing angle and the position of the characters on screen all of these play a vital role in making the visual effective.  Many a times you see a homemade video and wonder that there is something that is not right. If you watch it close then it might be how and where the camera was placed. In order to make effective visuals there is basic grammar called the Rule of Thirds. Again as it goes with many other rules many of them have broken this rule as well, but not before understanding its purpose.

This week’s Friday fundas I would be talking about rule of thirds which deals with framing a visual. Often when you see people taking vacation photography they keep the object of focus in the center of the screen. Even the Horizon lies in the dead center of the screen. Next time you click a photograph try and adjust your camera to keep the object on the one third of your frame and see what effect it brings. This is what rule of thirds is all about. This applies to movies as well.

To understand the rule of third you would need to divide your frame into 3 equal halves both horizontally and vertically. The object of focus is placed along the one-third line. For example if you have a character speaking you place the character on the vertical one third line and the eyes or forehead of the character along the horizontal one third line on top. This eliminates the empty space over the head and to the side of the character and enhances the visual along with the surrounding.

Rule of Third - Positioning the character on one third of the frame
Rule of Third – Positioning the character on one third of the frame

The shot shown above is from the movie The Prestige. See how the character Christian Bale is placed on the one third of the line with a sharp focus.

Sometimes you would need to break this rule or rather I would say adjust this rule to have the character in the center of the screen to focus attention. Still keeping the top of the character to the one third of the screen is important to eliminate the empty space. Although this looks simple it is very important to remember to use this rule when capturing a shot.  As an experiment you can take the photographs you have shot and see how you have positioned the object of focus. Next time you take a photo try applying rule of thirds.

Related: Friday Funda Archives | Eyeline Match | 180 degree Rule

Action, Drama, Genre, Rating, Reviews, Tamil Movies, Worth a Watch

Lingaa Review

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Lingaa Review – Lingaa is a Tamil action drama released in 2014. The engineer inspecting Solaiyur dam is mysteriously murdered. Just before he dies he mentions that the village temple should be opened to save the village. The villagers have taken a vow that the temple should only be opened by the family member of Lingeswaran who had constructed the dam 75 years ago. Hence they go in search of the grandson of Lingeswaran. Who is this Lingeswaran and what has he done for the village is the plot of Lingaa.

Lingaa is a much awaited Rajinikanth movie after 4 long years. The expectations skyrocketed before the movie release and people thronged the theaters to catch the glimpse of their favorite hero performing in style. Well the movie is made with the objective to treat Rajinikanth’s fans thoroughly. The movie is fairly successful in its objective. Given that the movie was completed in six months period of time the output is definitely stunning and it should have taken a lot of coordination to get things right.

I watched the movie after the initial three days of comments and reviews. I went to the movie not expecting much from it. The initial forty five minutes of the movie was very dragging and slow, just when my hopes where dying the movie shifts to the past which is all about Lingeswaran. From that point on the movie grew on me and the magic of a Rajini movie came alive. The movie is very racy from this point till the customary climax involving some gravity defying stunts. Rajini movie would be incomplete without such a stunt :).

High points of the movie: Rajini’s presence, gripping story of Lingeswaran, Rajini’s acting as Lingeswaran, Stunt sequences which includes the train fight and the climax fight sequence, music in the second half, Cinematography involving the visuals of the dam

Low points of the movie: The jewelry exhibition sequence, lack of good comedy, substandard dialogues for the sequences in the present era

The climax fight sequence has got some mixed feedback. But given it is a Rajini movie the way they have imagined the climax sequence is pretty good. No other hero could pull it off. And worth noting is that they executed this in a very short period of time. Special kudos to Lee Whitaker for choreographing some fantastic stunt sequences in particular the train fight sequence.

The main story seems to be just of Lingeswaran set in the British ruled India. The modern period is bolt on to enthrall the first weekend crowd.

Overall Lingaa is an out and out Rajini movie and will enthrall all Rajini fans. If you are patient enough during the “Rajini fan only” sequences you would appreciate the main story which definitely has enough content to engage you well.

Watchable – for Lingeswaran

Genre, Must Watch, Rating, Romance, Short Films

Unakae Uyiraanaen Short Film Review

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Unakae Uyiraanaen Short Film Review – Unakae Uyiraanen is a Tamil Short film directed by Surrya M. Narayanan released in 2014. Krishnan and Diana at their 60 recollect the sweet memories of their deep love.

The film is an emotional essay of true love through the lives of Krishnan and Diana. Love is immortal is a message that had been dealt in movies for many years. The situation, characters and the treatment makes it special. Director Surrya and his team have conveyed this through the memoirs of Krishnan and Diana at their advanced years. Usually old age is considered to be the one where self-actualization occurs. There are many things that might have changed but love remains unchanged.

Delhi Ganesh is a good choice to play the character of Krishnan. It is completely his show as he effortlessly slips into any emotional state and adapt his body language accordingly. Patricia Tanner too fits in the role well.

The high point of the short film is that it is just made with two characters and no others. Symbolizes the fact that for two people emotionally connected by love the world is almost non-existent. It is very effective. There are good punches in certain portions of the dialogues that would connect well with the audience. The cinematography and the background score is a big plus for the film.

If at all I have to pick an area where there is room for improvement is on lengthier dialogues which drags a bit on occasions. Compared to the whole output this is very minor.

Overall Unnakae Uyiraanaen is a refreshing short film that will emotionally connect with you and make you fall in love all over again. My hearty congratulations to Surrya and his team for making a short and sweet episode of love and wish them luck for their future projects.

You could watch the full movie in the video link below.

 

Must Watch – Watch this now

 

 

Friday Fundas

Character Arc

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Character Arc

A gruesome villain who has been torturing people all throughout changes his mind and seeks apology just before the curtain falls. Well this might be a scene that you might have seen in many movies. Few of them would have been convincing and few other leave you wondering what changed his mind. Well the various phases a character traverses through in a movie is called a Character Arc. In this week’s Friday Fundas we will understand Character Arc.

In the movie “As good as it gets” the character played by Jack Nicholson is that of a man with obsessive compulsion disorder. As the movie traverses his character undergoes modification and reaches a point where he would have to overcome his fear to get the love of his life. In the early scenes of the movie you see him walking on the platform without placing foot on the joining lines of the tile and in the climax scene you see him walking normally with his girlfriend. The Character Arc of the character traverses from a man deeply troubled with OCD symptoms to a changed man who overcomes his inhibitions. There are various points in the narrative which consists of incidents or turning points that impacts the nature of the character. How well these incidents are placed and convincing would also convince the audience about the transformation to the character and also makes them glued to the character.

Usually in a three act structure the character is established in the first act. The second act is divided into two parts. In the first part the villain or the situation that the hero is averse of chases to such an extent that the hero reaches a breaking point and starts changing. Now in the second part the hero chases the villain or the adverse situation. The plot deepens, gets complicated and reaches a point which seems to be a point of no return. At this juncture at the beginning of the last act the hero makes decision which transforms the character into a new self.

Character Arc showing transformation of Rajinikanth's character in Shivaji
Character Arc showing transformation of Rajinikanth’s character in Shivaji

Let us look at this with the help of an example. In the Tamil movie Shivaji the lead character played by Rajinikanth is a computer architect who returns to India for good. He wants to bring in positive change to the society by offering low cost education. However he is pushed down to the streets by the villain. In the mid-point which is the breaking point he tosses a coin to decide if he would have to fight against the situation or not. This is the first transformation of the character. In the second half he fights against the villain and reaches a point where his life is threatened. In the last act he comes in a new avatar and takes over the villain to establish truce.

A Character Arc can be either positive or negative. In the case of Shivaji the arc was positive as it resulted in the character emerging victorious at the end. In the case of Tamil movie Nanda the character dies at the end there by going through a negative arc.

Whichever way the character arc goes the transformation of the character should be in line with the events for it to be convincing. If not audience would be disconnected from the character.

Now if you can think of some of the characters you remember well in the movies you have watched you would notice that their character arc has been very well done.

Related: Friday Fundas Archive

Comedy, Genre, Rating, Reviews, SciFi, Tamil Movies, Wait for DVD/TV

Appuchi Gramam Review

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Appuchi Gramam Review – Appuchi Gramam is a Tamil science fiction comedy film released in 2014. Oblivious to the fact of a large meteorite that could potentially destroy a village, people in Appuchi Graamam go about their routine life where village heads fight against each other, young men stalk girls, drunkards flocking the wine shop and misers saving more money and wealth. What happens when they become aware of the fact that their life might end in a day is the plot of Appuchi Gramam.

Director Vi Anand has taken a genre that is not prevalent in Indian cinema for his debut film. This fact needs to be appreciated. All of us would have heard about incidents where people believed that the world is going to end and react to it. Appuchi Gramam is a snapshot of it. The movie is a symbolism of the self-centered and materialistic nature of humanity where there is no care for people. The way in which the movie traverses with its plot is definitely engaging for most parts. The high points of the movie are the following scenes

1. When Subramani is bought back to the village from Police station.
2. When the first meteor strikes the villagers think it is the goddess and start worshipping it.
3. The spat between the two step brothers in the village
4. Meteors striking the village

The major drawback of the movie is the cast. As most of them are new comers their acting is not as convincing in many places. Thanks to some of the veteran actors to make up for the short comings. Some more work on acting and the dialogue department could have worked well. Comedy works for most parts but in few places it drags a bit.

The production quality of the movie is decent enough for a low budget venture. The music and the background score are pleasant. The movie has just enough ingredients to keep you engaged. Also the short length of the movie is another plus point as there is not much in the story.

Overall Appuch Gramam would deserve a watch from you and you would enjoy it sitting on your couch.

Wait for DVD/TV

Friday Fundas

Eyeline Match

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Eyeline Match

In last week’s Friday fundas I had discussed about the 180 degree rule that is associated with the spatial relationship of the characters on screen. I had discussed about a scene in which two characters are talking to each other. Now consider the same scene is shot by alternating between the close up shots of each character as they talk. In reality this shot could be taken with covering all the dialogues of one person first and then covering the responses. During editing these are arranged in proper sequence. One of the items to take care when doing such a scene is Eyeline Match. In this week’s Friday fundas I would talk about Eyeline Match.

Eyeline Match is a movie editing technique. Whenever a character on screen is looking into the off screen space then audience would want to follow the gaze of the character. They would want to see the object, person or scene the character is looking at. Hence this is normally followed by a cut to the scene involving the object, scene or person the character is looking at. In our conversation scene character A is talking to character B. Now the shot involving character A talking is taken first. It is important to match the eyeline of character A such that it gives a feeling that the character is looking at B. Usually the actor playing character B is placed off camera for the character A to look at. Sometimes there is a mark placed off camera on which the character A focuses on while delivering the dialogue. The same technique is employed when taking the shot of character B responding to the conversation. In this case the camera is placed on the opposite direction. Now we know there is a 180 degree rule governing this. As we are going to focus on a different character there is no rule broken here. However in order to get the eyeline match right the same camera lens is maintained and also the camera is placed equidistant from the 180 degree axis as the previous shot. For instance if the camera has been placed 3 feet from character A then the same distance is maintained for character B during the next shot. Look at the following two shots from The Dark Knight movie where Batman interrogates Joker. The eyeline match makes it look they are looking at each other and talking.

Dark Knight - Batman interrogates Joker
Dark Knight – Batman interrogates Joker

At the editing table when the editor assembles these shots in order it appears to be a continuous flow of sequence for the audience. They feel that both characters are conversing with each other. However if these positions are not maintained correctly the characters would seem disconnected from each other and so would be the audience from the scene. Although this is a simple technique, when followed right it would create a pleasant visual.

You may also like: 180 degree rule | Creative Geography | Kuleshov Effect | Friday Fundas Archive

Trailers

Orange Mittai Trailer

Orange Mittai Trailer

Vijay Sethupathi’s next movie directed by Biju Viswanath Orange Mittai Trailer is released. The way the trailer is presented itself gives a taste of what to expect from the movie. This is expected to be a laugh riot on lines of Soodhu Kavvum. Watch the Trailer now.

Presenting a trailer without much glimpses from the movie is definitely innovative. Probably they did not want to give too much away. However the trailer reveals or hints on the following

1. The movie is of comedy genre

2. Vijay Sethupathi is playing the character of an old man

3. Three characters are travelling together in an ambulance

4. The film may not be just slap stick comedy but have mixed bag of comedy and emotions

5. The movie also stars Ramesh Thilak who had worked with Vijay Sethupathi in Soodhu Kavvum.

The trailer has definitely hyped up the expectations. Will have to wait and watch if it is able to stay up to the expectations it has set with the audience.

Genre, SciFi

Interstellar Review

Interstellar Review – Interstellar is an American science fiction film released in 2014. In the future Earth’s resources are depleted and run short of food. In order to offset the human race switch to an agrarian society and concentrate on farming. But the environment is becoming non-conducive for living. Former NASA pilot Cooper is into farming. He and his daughter chance upon a NASA project which is targeted to save the human race by finding an alternate suitable planet. Cooper gets on board the exploration much against the wish of his daughter. Will they succeed in the mission is the plot of Interstellar.

Director Christopher Nolan is a genius film maker who can think multi-dimensional and create complicated plots. He has done the same with Interstellar. The subject is complicated for a lay man who does not have the basics of space travel and theory of relativity. Although there are scenes which explain some of the concepts as it travels but still it demands some intelligent viewing. If you go into the hall expecting a Dark Knight or Inception then you would find this bit overwhelming. But if you go into the hall expecting a Memento or Prestige then you would enjoy this. The visuals are quite stunning. The movie is deeply emotional as it progresses. The background score by Hans Zimmer fits well. Certain high points that would enthrall you in the movie are

  • The scene in which they first launch into the space there is a loud noise inside the space craft and as the camera pans out there is absolute silence and this alternates.
  • The spectacular view of the wormhole
  • The scene in which they land on the Miller’s planet and what happens later
  • The entire climax sequence

Matthew McConaughey has delivered a good performance and is ably supported by all other cast as well. As you would see in all other Nolan movies, the dialogues are very powerful.

Overall if you are a fan of complicated science fiction movies then you would fall in love with Interstellar and it would be an experience to watch it.

Must Watch

You might also like: Gravity Review | Interstellar Guest Review