Yearly Archives: 2015

Drama, Genre, Romance

O Kadhal Kanmani Review

O Kadhal Kanmani Review – O Kadhal Kanmani is a Tamil romantic drama released in 2015. Aditya and Thara move into a live-in relationship without any commitment to marriage. The plot revolves around their lives.

Director Maniratnam has yet again narrated a light hearted romantic tale in O Kadhal Kanmani. The movie has most of the Mani’s signature style shots like the lead pair cuddling near the door passage on the train, travelling in public bus, short and sweet dialogues. Yet the movie is fresh and sees the world through the eyes of the newer generation. The plot is not new as it has already been explored in Bollywood in movies like Love Aaj Kal and Shuddh Desi Romance. Maniratnam has his signature touch to the plot which makes it very enjoyable watch. If you are deeply looking for a very intense storyline then there is nothing much in this, but the movie is a mere exploration of love in the present era. Cinematographer PC Sreeram and Maniratnam can create magic on the screen. The visuals are stunning. Once the hero, a video game designer and the heroine, an architect are introduced; their first outing Mental Manadhil song is a motorbike ride across Mumbai going through all beautiful architectures across the city and the visuals are like that in a video game.  The treatment is absolutely stunning. The characters of Ganapathy sir and his wife Bhavani played by Prakash raj and Leela Samson adds a much interesting layer to the story. Within the walls of a small apartment in Mumbai, Maniratnam has painted the difference between the love of yesteryear and the love of the present times. The movie slows down a bit post the first half and then gets back on track during the climax. This is a point where the director seems to have struggled pushing the narration which is not based on a strong story line. Choice of Dulquer Salman and Nithya Menen is a good one. This would be a very memorable performance for Nithya as she has carried of the chirpy, bubbly character very well. Her mannerism for smiling for everything is a very intelligent representation of how she takes life casually.

High Points: Maniratnam’s direction, A R Rahman’s music, PC Sreeram’s cinematography, Casting of the characters.

Low Points: The movie does not have a strong plot, the use of disconnected narration to keep the element of surprise might not engage everyone

Overall O Kadhal Kanmani may not be the best of Maniratnam’s movies but still an enjoyable watch for the entertaining narration and stunning visuals.

Watchable

Drama, Genre, Must Watch, Rating, Thriller

Nightcrawler Review

Nightcrawler Review – Nightcrawler is an American neo-noir thriller film released in 2014.  A small time thief in Los Angeles finds a business opportunity in filming incidents to be sold to news channel.

The movie stays true to its neo-noir genre. It is dark and brings the dark side of human life which can go to any extent for caring for oneself. Most of the movie sequences too happen in the night and it throws a light on the unethical and unprofessional elements in the news industry where bad news sells. It always operates in a fine margin of selling bad news and almost creating it. Jake Gyllenhaal has given a very compelling performance in the lead role. His character arc through the movie is handled very well. From the point where he is negotiating the price of a stolen watch to the point where in he owns a top notch news business his transition is very well handled in the script.

Director Dan Gilory has made the script stay close to the main theme of the movie and has not tried to do anything dramatic. The scenes build up from one part to the other flows naturally. I would recommend this movie a notch higher than Gone Girl.

High Points: Jake Gyllenhaal’s performance, the scene in which he trades a bicycle for the video camera and police scanner, the way he goes about negotiating his terms with people is just brilliant, the climax chase sequence is shot very well.

Low Points: Not really a low point but you may not like this if you don’t like neo-noir movies.

Overall if you are fan of neo-noir films you should not miss this one. Even if you are not a fan of neo-noir films this one has much more to offer to keep you engaged.

Must Watch

Comedy, Genre, Heist, Rating, Reviews, Tamil Movies, Worth a Watch

Rajathanthiram Review

Rajathanthiram Review – Rajathanthiram is a Tamil heist movie released in 2015. 3 friends who do petty theft for a living plan on doing a larger heist from a rich jeweler.

Debutant Director A.G Amid has chosen heist as the plot for his movie. Heist plots has the potential of creating a very interesting and engaging screenplay. However the element of surprise and twist should be placed very smartly enough for the audience to be enthralled as the movie ends. If this is not done well then any heist movie would fail badly. Rajathanthiram manages to keep the interest going on. Although the audience know there would be a twist in the end but still the script keeps you engaged with it as how it is done is kept as a well maintained secret in the film. The movie also works well in most of the parts in moving the pieces together. The acting levels of the lead actors are not of top notch as many of them are new. Still they put up a show that is decent enough to make it an entertaining watch. The comedy blends in well with the story and helps in moving the story ahead. Regina is underutilized and serves only as an eye candy in the film rather than how the promos of the movie had tried to portray her. The director should be appreciated for his sincere first attempt with a limited budget yet giving a decent output.

High Points: Heist plot, Comedy in the screenplay, the final heist sequence is entertaining to watch.

Low Points: Predictable plot line and novice acting skills

Overall Rajathanthiram may not be that brilliant heist movie that would blow your mind off but it is a movie that would definitely serve as a light hearted entertaining watch any time.

Watchable

Biopic, English Movies, Genre, Historic, Must Watch, Rating, Reviews, Thriller

The Imitation Game Review

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The Imitation Game Review – The Imitation Game is an English historical thriller movie released in 2014. The movie is based on the biography Alan Turing: The Enigma by Andrew Hodges. The movie covers the life of Alan Turing during the world war II and how he cracked the code of Enigma.

The movie has turned the biography into a very compelling visual format on the screen. The choice of Benedict Cumberbatch to play the role of Alan Turing fits very well with the movie and the character. The story follows a non-linear narration which keeps the interest going on. The characterization of Alan Turing as an out of the normal person whom his colleagues find to be very difficult work with has been done very well. Through the movie you would find yourself connecting to the growing obsession of Alan Turing to develop the machine to crack the code. The movie also touches upon the controversial side of Turing’s personal life. Other characters in the movie has played their part well to make the story flow.  The character of Keira Knightley has been used well in the screenplay to get the best out of Alan’s character. If not for this the movie could have been on a very monotonous tone.

High Points: The characterization of Alan Turing, the performance of Benedict Cumberbatch, very gripping screenplay, some of the dramatic scenes where in Alan writes to Churchill to get approval to override his Boss’s orders are very neatly done, The depiction of tension during world war II has been captured well

Low Points: The length of the movie could have been a bit shorter as in the middle portions there is a slight drag

Overall if you are interested in historical biopics you would love this one. You should watch this one for the brilliant performance by Benedict Cumberbatch.

Must Watch

Comedy, Drama, English Movies, Genre, Must Watch, Rating, Reviews

Birdman Review

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Birdman Review – Birdman  or The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance is a American Black comedy released in 2014. Riggan Thomson is a washed up Hollywood actor who is very famous for his role as a superhero by name Birdman. But he has given up the job of doing the role of a superhero and is giving everything into put up a show at the Broadway. The voice of Birdman constantly criticizes him for the decision he has taken.

The movie is constructed like a single shot for most part of the movie similar to the attempt Hitchcock had made in Rope. This treatment itself makes the movie special as it is not easy to put a continuous tone to such a complex screenplay. The performance of Michael Keaton is perfect and there is equally powerful performance by Edward Norton as a broadway actor who practices Method Acting.

Director Alejandro G. Iñárritu have taken the risk of keeping the climax open ended as according to them that would be the most powerful ending for the script rather than ending this in a logical way. Anything else I write here would be a spoiler.  You could watch this and draw your own interpretation.  There is a very interesting sequence in the movie where the lead actor is interacting with a famous critic and the dialogues have a very strong take against the stereotypical way a critic looks at creative work and they have nothing to lose.

High Points: Single shot construction for the movie, The Birdman sequence in Times Square, the screenplay and the performance of Michael Keaton and Edward Norton, the dialogues are pretty interesting.

Low Points: Not many low points apart from the fact that there is a risk of the audience not entirely connecting to the plot

Overall Birdman is a brilliant piece of work that would be remembered for a long time and would act as an inspiration for many new wave film makers.

Must Watch

Genre, Romance, Thriller

Anegan Review

Anegan Review – Anegan is a Tamil romantic thriller released in 2015. Madhu has to undergo psychiatrist treatment as she gets the flashes of romantic episode from what she believes are her past life and her love partner is same throughout and they don’t get together for due to ill fate. Will she meet the love of her previous birth again, will it be a ill fate again is the plot of Anegan.

Director K.V Anand has tried to take the classic Nenjam Marapadhillai story and give it a modern twist to it. However he has added more twists in the tale to suit to the taste of modern day audience. The movie definitely works well to keep the audience entertained. Dhanush has performed well in his multi roles and out of all of them his role as Kaali stands out. The movie covers three stories mainly out of the many one in Burma, one in the present Chennai and one in Chennai in the 80s. Out of these the story set in the 80s is best of the lot and as it is kept post the interval block it serves as a great build up to the finish. Amyra Dastur looks cute in her role as Kalyani and the role she had taken up suits her acting abilities.

High Points: The visuals Burma, Character of Kaali and the story of Kali and Kalyani, Visual appeal of the movie, Casting of Karthik after a long time is a plus for the the movie

Low Points: Initial set of disconnected events not all come together as the suspense is broken, Out of ordinary climax looks cliched

Overall Anegan has more stories to tell to the audience with a connect with each other. It may not be an extra-ordinary product from K.V Anand but still manages to keep the audience engaged throughout. If you are able to with stand some cliched masala moments in the movie you will like this one.

Watchable

Comedy, Genre, Horror, Rating, Reviews, Tamil Movies, Worth a Watch

Darling Review

Darling Review – Darling is a Tamil horror comedy film released in 2015. Three youngsters decide to end their life in a guest house near the beach. But the beach house has more mystery in it than they had imagined.

Darling joins the recent list of horror comedy movies that had worked well in Tamil language. This is a remake of the Telugu movie Prem Katha Chitram. This is the first movie of G.V Prakash as an actor. He had taken a subject that is too light which is good. The best thing about the movie is the humor that had worked well. The horror part may not scare you like many other movies but the humor part would definitely make you laugh your heart out. The scene in which Rajendran appears as Ghost Gopal Varma is a laugh riot. Given that this is the first movie for GV as an actor we can forgive the nuances that he had missed. Nikki Garlani has also tried her best to act. Karunas and Bala Saravanan are a great addition to the cast and they steal the show in many places of the movie. Credit should be given to Director Sam Anton who in his debut film has given a very decent product.

High Points: The genre of horror comedy, Comedy scenes, The scenes in which Rajendran appears as Ghost Gopal Varma, Staying away close to the core plot

Low Points: Novice actors, if you miss the jokes then you may not like this one as many of the jokes are very much related to other Tamil Cinemas

Overall Darling will keep you entertained throughout and make you laugh your heart out if you care for the jokes. If you go with the expectation of getting chills and thrills then you would be disappointed. This is a good addition to the movies in horror comedy genre and definitely deserves a watch.

Watchable

Friday Fundas

Foley

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Foley

What if you are watching a movie and it is quiet but for the dialogues from the characters. It will seem odd right. What makes you immersed in a movie? It is the sound effects that are added to the movie to mimic a realistic situation you would encounter in life. In this week’s Friday Funda I would discuss a sound technique used in movies called as Foley.

Foley in short is the reproduction of everyday sound effects to be added to the movies. Let us consider a cop walking up down a corridor with floored with vitrified tiles. The sound of the footsteps is recreated by Foley artists. They have various types of shoes and floors with them to recreate the most appropriate sound effect.
Foley art is normally broken down into 3 categories

Feet – This involves the sound of the footsteps. Based on the shoe and landscape the character is walking an appropriate sound is reproduced.

Cloth – This involves reproducing the sound of clothes. These are more subtle sound but add a lot of realism to the scene. For instance when a character is walking the rubbing of cloth on the thighs creates a sound which is reproduced.

Props – These are sound from other items that are needed for a scene. These include sounds like doors closing, door bell ringing, car horn, train siren and so on. However these are usually picked up from the repository of sounds by the sound editors.

Adding Foley sound to the movie after it is filmed gives the flexibility of adjusting it suitably to mix well with the scene. Sometimes a reverb or echo is added to the Foley sound based on the surroundings.

Next time you watch a movie pay close watch to the various Foley sounds added to the movie.

Action, Crime, Genre, Thriller

Yennai Arindhaal Review

Yennai Arindhaal Review – Yennai Arindhaal is a Tamil crime thriller released in 2015. Thenmozhi a quality lead in a software company on her flight back to India meets a handsome man Satyadev and develops interest in him. Once she reaches India she tries to meet him without being aware of the danger lurking over her.

Director Gautham Vasudev Menon has gone back to handling cop story and he says this one completes his cop film trilogy. There has been a huge expectation surrounding the movie particularly Ajith getting on the project and also the director’s previous cop movie outings with Kaakha Kaakha and Vetaiyaadu Vilayadu being successful ones. The final output has turned out to be a crime drama rather than a cop story. This one would be rated the least compared to the previous two movies. The movie’s script misses establishing of the core conflict strongly. The movie rides on the ego clash between the two characters which doesn’t occur for major part of the movie. Also there are certain elements of Gautham menon’s cop stories that repeat here as well.

Ajith looks very smart and fits into the character very well. Arun Vijay’s has a great scope and this performance is his best performance so far. The action sequences in the movie have been done well. Vivek’s comedy sequences has worked well. Anushka has a very limited scope. Trisha steals the attention in the scenes which she appears.

High Points – Ajith’s star value, Not falling into the trap of creating mass introduction scene for Ajith, Ajith’s performance, Arun Vijay’s performance, Action sequences, Vivek’s comedy, Trisha’s visual appeal

Low Points – Weak conflict in the movie, too many loop holes in the plot, Only Ajith seems to be the able police officer who carries guns but none of the others seem to be and also they wait for Ajith to do the action which seems so unreal

Overall as Ajith says there is a thin line between the good and the bad… Yennai Arindhaal has just managed to walk on the thin line without getting on either side. So depends upon which side of the line you are seeing it from you might enjoy or hate the movie.

Watchable – only for crime thriller fans

Friday Fundas

Money Shot

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Money Shot

In this week’s Friday Fundas I chose to discuss an interesting part in a movie or something the producers look for in a script. This is called Money shot or a Payoff shot.

Originally the money shot was a term referred to the shots for which maximum money was spent. This term was mainly used in the pornographic movies. However later this term was used for mainstream genre of movies and also changed its meaning to relate to the shot in a movie which had the most commercial value of the movie. This is the shot after seeing which the audience says “Paisa vasool” (worth the money spent). This has also become a standard practice when reviewing a script the producers look for the money shot which usually is the most dramatic part of the movie. This need not be restricted to the shots with the greatest special effects. Also this shot need not occur in the climax of the movie.

Jake jumps on to Toruk and connects his mind to it to become Toruk Makto
Jake jumps on to Toruk and connects his mind to it to become Toruk Makto

Let us look at some of the examples, in the English movie Avatar the sequence in which Jake connects his mind to the Toruk is the most high point of the entire narration and this would be the money shot of the movie in my opinion.

The bomb scene in the movie swordfish
The bomb scene in the movie swordfish

In the English movie swordfish the bomb blast scene is a very well shot scene and it is the money shot of the movie.

Skydiving scene in Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara
Skydiving scene in Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara

This also applies to Indian movies as well. In the Hindi movie Zindagi Naa Milegi Dobara the sky diving scene of the 3 friends is the money shot of the movie.

Baasha Medical College scene
Baasha Medical College scene

In the Tamil movie Baasha the medical college sequence is the money shot of the movie. This shot occurs in the first half of the movie. This does not have any great visual effects but the high point in utilizing the potential of the star value of Rajinikanth makes this one the money shot of the movie.

Identifying your money shot in the movie is very much important. Every successful movie has a money shot, but every movie with a money shot need not be successful as the success depends on the entire movie and the money shot being the highest point of the movie which elates the audience.

Can Skip it, Comedy, Genre, Rating, Reviews, Romance, Tamil Movies

Kappal Review

Kappal Review – Kappal is a Tamil romantic slapstick comedy released in 2014. Vasu and his friends make a promise to each other that they would not get married as it would distance them. But Vasu is interested in girls and he elopes to Chennai and falls in love with Deepika. When his friends come to know about it they try to separate them.

The movie’s expectation soared high with Shankar pitching in the last moment to pick up the production. The genre of the movie did not work for me at all. It is a romantic slap stick comedy which I am not a major fan of. It might work for folks who like movies of this genre. The plot is a very decent one and is different from many other movies. Usually friends help the lovers get together but in this they are the ones who oppose it. The production value of the movie is quite good. The songs shot also have a very fresh perspective. The comedy portion works in parts. For me the weak point was in the performance by Vaibhav and Sonam they had expressions between A and B. This kind of made it very monotonous. There is not character arc for the lead characters that take them through a transformation. They tend to remain the same till the end.

There are quite a heavy comedy department including Karunakaran, VTV Ganesh and their friends. They have tried hard to make people laugh which has worked in parts. As I had mentioned the comedy is for a segment of people and may not entice everyone. The length of the movie is also too long for the content it had.

High Points: Comedy, Freshness in the song sequences, Production quality, Plot

Low Points: Grossness in comedy, Romantic slap stick genre which did not work for me, Characterization and performance of the lead pair, length of the movie.

Journey on this Kappal (Ship) left me feeling tired by the end of it.

Can skip it

Action, Genre, Rating, Reviews, Tamil Movies, Thriller, Wait for DVD/TV

Meaghamann Review

Meaghamann Review – Meaghamann is a Tamil action thriller released in 2014. Arul and Karthik are undercover cops working for two major drug lords in the Mumbai and Goa area. They want to bring the ghost drug lord Jothi out and arrest him but it is not easy as Jothi leaves no trace even for his gang to find him

Director Magizh Thirumeni has given an action thriller in Meaghamann (Captain of the ship). The script is an out and out action movie that revolves around the gangsters and drug lords in the backdrop of Goa. There are moments in the movie which are very brilliantly constructed. In particular the scene in which Arya plays card game in the cold storage along with the gang without being aware of the lurking danger is brilliantly done. Asutosh Rana’s characterization is done well. However the director has not been able to successfully maintain the thrills throughout the movie. The movie has too many characters which might make it complicated for the common audience to follow it. The script is gripping overall, but takes a dip with the love interest angle for Arya which seems to be force fitted into the movie. Another point which is missing is the ability for the audience to connect with the purpose of the protagonist. The buildup phase although builds the audiences up for the thrills but fails in establishing the emotional connect. Hence the climax lacks the vigor it had to be established with.

High Points: Action sequences, Performance of Asutosh Rana

Low Points: Too many characters, Love interest for the protagonist, Lack of emotional connect

Overall Meaghamann is a decent gangster movie which could have been done much better. Still there are elements in it which will keep you interested in this captain.

Wait for TV/DVD