Sabha's Page

“The Descendants” is enjoyable all through the way...

2012-01-29T12:46:00.000+05:30

Watched the movie "The Descendants" yesterday. Pleasantly enjoyed it. It is a slow movie and the characters take their time to do and say things and if you are not hurried and let them do things their way, then you will enjoy this movie. This movie is not a RomCom movie but a movie in which we smile seeing the characters in grief. This movie also highlights the way that if one person who you hate is no more, then how bad life can screw you. The story happens fully in Hawaii and has that taste all throughout the movie. Even the music is tuned the Hawaiian way. George Clooney has lived this role to perfection and I personally enjoyed each and every emotion he exhibited. The second daughter of Clooney has acted very well emoting sadness once she knows that her mother won’t be waking up again.

The story is simple and the movie shows us a slice from the character’s life.

The scenes which I liked the most are the ones in which George Clooney runs to his neighbor’s place to know about his wife cheating on him and the scene where the family scatter the ashes of the mother in the ocean. But overall the movie has many little scenes which will stick to you even after you finish watching it.

I have not watched any other Oscar nominated movie but really want George Clooney to win one. Just for the charm and the way he ages gracefully.

My rating for this movie is 3.5/5* and go watch it if you like slow family movies with humor J

We feel like a stretched out rubber band after watching Don-2

2011-12-30T18:17:00.000+05:30

My Micro review of the movie Don-2.
Don-2 has more style for SRK and he carries it off well. But at the end we feel like a stretched out rubber band. The movie has a plot which is not believable. Even Don(hero) would have had many doubts about his plan. It is better called a STORY rather than plan. Priyanka Chopra has nothing to do. Except to be called by Don as Jangalee Bille & even Lara Datta has nothing except to dance and walk (which she does well). Om Puri also has nothing much, more over has become old for the character. Kunal Kapoor is fresh. Over all Don-2 has style. But no Story. These kinda movies cannot be enjoyed more than 90mins. And since it is long, we feel exhausted. Over all I truely accept RajeevMasand's rating for the movie and also feel 2/5* is what the movie deserves.
http://www.rajeevmasand.com/reviews/our-films/heist-makes-waste/

Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol ; Audience’s Mission accomplished

2011-12-18T11:30:00.000+05:30

Stunt Scene at Burj

The movie starts with a Jail break and Tom Cruise is given a stylish introduction. But a little before that we are shown a guy who shows us a dare devil stunt only to be killed in a short while. (Don’t miss it as this is the first scene even before they put the name of the movie). As usual the movie starts with the trademark Mission Impossible score with a bomb being lighted and the camera following the wick. Here they show all the places where the movie takes you.

Point Blank. This Mission Impossible has dare devil stunts mixed with humor. Yes. You read it right. It has HUMOR and that is what makes this Mission impossible movie different from the others. The way humor is interwoven with the movie simply makes the movie a delight to watch.

As all the Mission impossible movies the cast has a nearly impossible mission in their hand and they make the mission possible in the end. It has all the standard elements where a mission is sent and after the mission being played, the equipment self-destructs in 5 seconds. To just give a flavor of the humor, here it is a public telephone point where Tom cruise hears a mission where they have to inside Kremlin and steal a document. The funny part is after the usual self-destruct message the phone does not self-destruct. Tom Cruise gives a tap and then the phone destructs.

Not going into detail of the stunts. Almost all stunts are good. The Burj stunts were it gives vertigo to the audience is beautifully shot. Dangling 100 floors above makes you feel the height.

The story is written and edited in such a way some information is not told upfront and the audiences are made to understand the story as the movie progresses. So the way the story is written and edited is one big plus point.

One part of the story happens in India. Sad part is every one in India and people who have travelled to India will know that it is not happening in India. Had they shot the movie in India I feel the movie would be a compete 100 percent in all fronts. And our hero Anil Kapoor is given a role not more than what is given for a guest appearance. Simply we can say he has gone from a Hero in Bollywood to a Zero in Hollywood. Any Indian/Pakistani/Bangladeshi/ Srilankan would have suited to that role.

The movie is good and Tom Cruise spear heads it by giving equal chance to the other Cast. Humor and Action has added a new dimension. Editing and Cinematography is good. On a whole a complete entertainer.

My Rating – 4/5*

The Mission Impossible Score

15 Famous Sayings by Chanakya

2011-11-06T10:34:00.000+05:30

1) "Learn from the mistakes of others... you can't live long enough to make them all yourselves!!"
- Chanakya

2)"A person should not be too honest. Straight trees are cut first and Honest people are screwed first."
- Chanakya

3)"Even if a snake is not poisonous, it should pretend to be venomous."
Chanakya

4)"There is some self-interest behind every friendship. There is no friendship without self-interests. This is a bitter truth."
- Chanakya

5)" Before you start some work, always ask yourself three questions - Why am I doing it, What the results might be and Will I be successful. Only when you think deeply and find satisfactory answers to these questions, go ahead."
- Chanakya

6)"As soon as the fear approaches near, attack and destroy it."
- Chanakya

7)"The world's biggest power is the youth and beauty of a woman."
- Chanakya

8)"Once you start a working on something, don't be afraid of failure and don't abandon it. People who work sincerely are the happiest."
- Chanakya

9)"The fragrance of flowers spreads only in the direction of the wind. But the goodness of a person spreads in all direction."
- Chanakya

10)"God is not present in idols. Your feelings are your god. The soul is your temple."
- Chanakya

11) "A man is great by deeds, not by birth."
- Chanakya

12) "Never make friends with people who are above or below you in status. Such friendships will never give you any happiness."
- Chanakya

13) "Treat your kid like a darling for the first five years. For the next five years, scold them. By the time they turn sixteen, treat them like a friend. Your grown up children are your best friends."
- Chanakya

14) "Books are as useful to a stupid person as a mirror is useful to a blind person."
- Chanakya

15) "Education is the best friend. An educated person is respected everywhere. Education beats the beauty and the youth."
-Chanakya

Revolution 2020 – Does not create a revolution, but it gets your control.

2011-11-06T10:03:00.000+05:30

Started to read on Karnataka Rajyotsava day cause of the holiday my office gave me. Once I started to read I was hooked to it. If some work comes by I did that in a hurry and tried to steal some time to read more pages. And yes I was able to turn pages quickly. Some novels are enjoyed reading them slow but this one was like a bullet train. I was reading and turning pages. The same thing happened with me for 5 point someone – What not to do at IIT.

I completed the novel on day 2 by somehow managing to come early from office. So it took me just 2 days to complete a little less than 300 pages.

Coming to the story it is just a triangular love story with Corruption and Revolution behind it. One person makes corruption the other tries to show it to the world and there is just one girl for both of them. The story happens mostly in Varnasi and one chapter in Kota. This novel also explains about the competitive exam coaching business and how parents spend their hard earned money in these coaching centers even without knowing if their children will ever clear the highly competitive exams.

That’s all I can tell about the story. Start reading, complete 20 pages and the book will take control of you and make you finish it.

In some reviews they say that Chetan has used the Anna Hazare’s anti-corruption campaign to boost his book sales. But according to me anything is fair for anti-corruption.

The only sad thing is Chetan could have told us a new way to fight corruption. Like Indian or Mudhalvan (Nayak) or Ramana (Tamil Movie) movies did. But Chetan takes the age old method of publishing the corruption in newspapers.

One extra thing I felt after reading this one is now Chetan wrote this book keeping in mind that someone will buy the rights and take the movie immediately. He has written is such a way that even the production costs will be very less. I think that’s a smart way to make more money from a book.

Overall I liked the ending which was touchy. I felt Chetan would have written multiple climaxes and asked people to read and would have taken their vote and analyzed. But overall the ending was good. It tries to give a lasting impression at least for an hour after finishing the book.

By Rating for this commercial stuff is 3/5*. If you are stuck with a slow moving book. Stop that book take this one complete it in a day and then you will start reading the other book faster now.

Enjoy reading.

Avan Ivan is Simple and humorous. Vishal – Jai Ho..

2011-06-18T00:45:00.000+05:30

Director Bala took two actors who have shown normal acting caliber so far and asked them to perform. Both the actors have put genuine try and have pleased us with their performances too. Especially Vishal!

The story is quite simple. Revenge is the main theme. But the extras, which the story throws at us, make it an interesting watch. The casting is good, right from the God fearing inspector to Vishal’s mother played by Ambika. The movie starts with a folk song in which Vishal is introduced and he dances with a punch. Soon a character by name “Highness” is introduced and how the entire cast cracks jokes forms the first half. We laugh, and laugh at some of the most unexpected moments. One coming to my mind now is the scene in which Vishal attends the party thrown by the inspector for the criminals. The movie goes on with humor during the first half. The humor is genuine and will be enjoyed although some will be cherished by adults more.

Vishal has gone for a full transformation. He has squint eyes and portrays female movements sometimes. Sports a new body language and has put in lot of efforts to this character. He literally surprises us which his performance. With this role he will be respected for his acting hereafter. Awards? Fingers crossed.

Arya has nothing much to do compared to Vishal. But supports the humor and has relied on body movements for humor. The movie has couple of heroines who form pairs to our heroes. But they don’t have screen time and also don’t stay in our minds too.

The BGM is good and I was surprised that a couple of songs which was in the Audio were not used in the movie! Suriya’s guest entry will promote this movie and his noble cause.

Only after the interval the villain emerges and soon after it the humor slowly dies down. Bala’s trade mark is to kill at least one character in his films. Here too “The Highness” is killed by the villain. Then it becomes a predictable revenge. The movie ends abruptly.

My rating for the movie would be a 3/5. Go to the movie for Vishal and the genuine comedy the movie throws at you. Enjoy J

“KO” – Is like a 6 lane silky smooth highway having some big bumps and potholes in the middle.

2011-04-27T01:49:00.002+05:30

My experience watching KO was very similar to this.

A group of friends get into a very cozy Innova with all the comforts. Then after going to about 40% of the distance, one of the tires gets punctured. Now it takes some time for the replacement. Then the group starts to cruise with all the comforts again. Then suddenly an engine problem comes at about 80% of the journey. Then somehow the group reaches the destination.

The performance by the leads are apt for this mass commercial flick.

Songs spring out at the most unexpected situation. (A duet song very soon after a friend is killed!! Of course it is a sad duet song shot in very beautiful snow)

Comedy less.

Story twists and turns but seems broken and not genuine.

Rating : 3.5/5 but is worth the money you spent.

This is said comparing the recent Tamil movies released.

KO Update:

I saw the movie “State of Play” after a friend’s recommendation. He told that it is similar to KO.

The Similarity - Both movies have one main politician and one main reporter. And they are friends.

The base plot may have been taken from it. But after seeing that movie some scenes in KO was very amateurishly written.

Reporting can be a challenging and tough. (I did know that. But felt it after this movie)

Watch “State of play” also. The BGM is good and so does the movie.

Rating: State of play – 4/5

127 Hours shows the power of Human Will

2011-01-15T13:20:00.000+05:30

A true event which is very interesting to hear can never be very easy to film. And that is what Danny Boyle has achieved from 127 Hours. More importantly he makes us watch the movie with interest even after many know about the entire incident.

Just to give an idea of how much 127 Hours is.

127 Hours = 5 days and 7 hours. Staying in a confined room for 5 days can give shivers to some. But imagine staying in a rock crevice for 127 hours knowing that you will loose your right hand and coming out alive is simply simply great and it shows the distance to which a human mind can go if you are challenged, and that too, with your life.

James Franco and Aron Ralston

Now I will call the hero as Aron Ralston because no matter what, he is “THE HERO”. And James Franco who plays Aron Ralston has made us believe he is Aron Ralston.

Nature and Aron Ralston play hero and villain and change their roles somewhere in the middle.

Aron who loves hiking in mountains especially in Canyonlands National Park Utah goes on a weekend hike without telling his friends or his parents. He meets a couple of girls and help them as they are lost and he continues, when he is trying to maneuver his way out of a crevice a boulder which he tests before, comes loose and crushes his right hand. Now he is not able to move and the movie which was just moving very fast on screen comes to a halt inside the crevice and we are just with our hero Aron for the next 75 minutes. What he thinks, hallucinates and how he tries to survive for the next 5 days. The incident also shows us the importance of food and water which we usually take for granted.

Aron has a cheap multi use tool which has a blunt knife. Why he has it because he was in a hurry and was not able to take his Swiss knife which was just inches away from his reach. After 5 days of trying many things and when his resources are over he thinks the inevitable, to cut off his right arm with the blunt knife. The scene where he is trying to cut the veins is simply so natural that we can feel his pain in our brains. Just watch that scene and I am sure you will wink voluntarily.

Once Aron is free he walks away after giving a glance to his remaining portion of his stuck arm and comes out of the crevice and enjoys his new found freedom and rappels down 65 feet to a small pool of water and after having his fill walks for 8 miles before being spotted by tourists and then he is rescued. The movie ends as he is airlifted in a helicopter. The end scenes or climax where simply very touching with pulsating music. They made my heart heavy.

Music gives soul to many scenes. A R Rahman has done his part even songs from other composers which comes in the beginning matches perfectly to the mood of the movie. Cinematography is great and the acting from the lead is awesome. Let’s see how many Oscars this movie is going to win.

This is a must watch and it is releasing in India on January 28^th 2010. It will give you, your newly found inner strength.

My Rating: 4.5/5 Stars

Links which you may be interested

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/127_Hours

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aron_Ralston

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/127_Hours_(soundtrack)

http://www.flipkart.com/127-hours-audio-music-avmcuh4gznwzs57y

http://www.flipkart.com/127-hours-aron-ralston-between-book-1451617704

http://www.foxsearchlight.com/127hours/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/I_Shouldn't_Be_Alive - "Trapped Under a Boulder"

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Man_vs._Wild

“E” For Entertainment has become “E” For Enthiran

2010-11-10T22:37:00.000+05:30

So far I have seen this movie 2 times and even ready to see it for the third time. I am not bored at all. In fact I am amazed by the logic with which it is taken. Of course it is still fiction. I feel many would have seen the movie and by this time know the story. So I am not concentrating on the story in this review. Just writing on what impressed me more from the many things which impressed me.

The movie has some smart witty dialogues. Like the one in which Robo (Chiti) is asked if God is there. And the reply is just very blunt but it clearly conveys the meaning. The other example would be where people use to scold others by saying “ Pethangala Senchangala” Where in the Chiti gives the reply “Senchanga!!”. Another interesting dialogue was when Vasi goes to a salon with Robo for a haircut and the Barber asks if the Robo needs a haircut and the Robot says that it is a wig. This one thing simply differentiates Rajini with other actors.

Rajini’s Intro is silent. But I felt the Chiti’s introduction where the Robo is put its Rajini Face mask and the Pudiya Manidha Song kicks in. Wow that scene is to be enjoyed in a cinema hall.

The First half runs with Chiti being the good person. And shows us what it can do. It is thoroughly enjoyable. It saves our heroine Sana (Aishwarya) from being raped and helps her in passing her exams. Aishwarya is beautiful. But she has a respect in the Indian film industry since she is also a bahu of the Bachchan Family. But she is clearly shown as a “Tamanna Material”.

The song Kadhal Annukal and Kilimangaro are captured in the most beautiful locations available in the planet. Irumbile Oru Idhaiyam has a very new start where the silicon chips are converted into flowers and butterflies. Arima arima song has its own Goose bump moments. The songs are to be enjoyed both visually and lyrically. The song just says the entire story. But you will understand that once you see the movie. Rahman may not have given the best. But has given the songs which a commercial Sankar flick needs. The Background score in where our Rahman excels even more. The score used when Rajini starts shooting from a moving truck is simply very fresh.

Sankar has kept scenes for everyone. Targeting middle aged women is tough for today’s cinema. Particularly the middle aged women who are hooked to soaps like the scene where Rajini delivers a child.

In the second half where the Robot is given human feelings. It falls for Aishwarya’s beauty and then slowly becomes the villain. After inserting the Red chip it just breaks loose and becomes the evil Chiti. The style which Rajini portrays is the one which he has portrayed as Alex Pandiyan. The way he laughs in that scene simply makes me to imitate it. Just love it. Can’t forget the Black Sheep Scene too. You would not have seen Rajini crying for his life and will never see too. But you can see one such scene where the Robo Rajini is broken by our scientist Rajini Vasi. Rajini’s acting is awesome in that.

The scenes where many Robots form many formations simply new to world cinema. The movie ends with a sentiment scene and that is written well.

On a whole it is surely worth more than what you have spent for the ticket. So Enjoy the movie. And keep watching Rajini as hero, villain, Comedian, Robot etc etc.

My Rating for this movie is 4.5/5

Just finished watching “The Making of Enthiran” and what is clearly seen is the amount of Hardwork put in making each and every shot in the movie. Rajini has given his best and there are many people’s hardwork put into it. Of course they have gone to the best technicians available in the world. But pitcurising what is inside Sankar’s Mind would still have been a challenge for them.

Hats off to the team. You people rocked.

My Marriage Invitation...

2010-08-20T11:57:00.000+05:30

The bonds of matrimony are like any other bonds - they mature slowly. ~ Peter De Vries

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A happy marriage is the union of two good forgivers ~ Ruth Bell Graham

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By this time you would have known why I am sending these beautiful quotes along.

Yes.. I am getting married to Priyamvada on 22^nd Aug 2010 (Sunday) at Mysore.Stop thinking about any excuses and ensure your presence with your family.

With Warm Regards,

Sabharatnam

Ph: 9916909469

"A man's wife has more power over him than the state has." ~ Ralph Waldo Emerson

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Raavanan is in Heavy Green. But gives colourblindness to some.

2010-06-21T23:33:00.000+05:30

Let me start it straight.

After reading so many negative reviews and after hearing many say that the film is not good. I basically went to the theatre thinking the movie is bad. But to my surprise Maniratnam did not let down the trust I had on him. I liked the movie from the start till the end. And did not feel bored at all.

Although the story is very predictable. I enjoyed the characters and also cherished the on screen similarity between the real Ramaya and Mani’s Raavana. It is always difficult to modernize any epic. And Maniratnam has faithfully stuck to the old Ramaya’s story line. The screen play runs at a moderate speed with Mani’s trademark dialogues and scene shuffling coming in here and there.

Vikram has done a neat job as rustic Veera. And Aishwarya Rai is so beautiful that you can capture her on any shot of the movie and put that picture, as such on a Post card. The only issue I had with Aishwarya was her voice which was irritating at the beginning but became used to towards the end. But she has braved the difficult locations which the story throws at her. Pritiviraj looked super smart and I thought he was working hard on his muscles for this movie. But there weren’t any scene where he flaunts his body. Now I am thinking why he developed that extra toned body. Karthik and Prabhu were good. Others have very small roles.

Cinematography:

You will be amazed by the number of green shades the camera lens has captured. Water as mist, rain, and river just entice your eyes.

Music:

Amazing work by A R Rahman. The background score gels with the story and the scenes where Dev and Verra meet, the score just electrifies. “Usure Poguthey” and “Kattu Sirukki” are my favorites.

Song Picturisation:

I was disappointed here. Mani who simply captures the raw beauty which even Shankar’s 10,000 dancers or Rs. 100 Crore set can’t capture. That raw but simple beauty which is Mani’s distinct talent is not shown in this movie.

Art:

Broken Statue in the middle of the river. Living colonies in the middle of jungle are some of the achievements from the art department. Art department should have done many many things which will go unnoticed because of its closeness to nature. That is Awesome.

Directors' touch:

Mani teases us with violent scenes without really showing us violence. And the slow change which Raagini (Aishwarya) has towards Veera is dealt with finesse. Of course it’s what the director’s eyes see, which is captured with extra beauty on Camera.

One negative point about the movie is the graphics which Mani has used to capture Aishwarya’s fall in the beginning. This scene clearly shows the trick which they have used.

The movie ends with good prevailing over evil. But we are left with a dilema “Is Rama really a good person? Or is Ravana really a bad person?

My rating for this movie is a 4/5 and watch this movie in a theatre irrespective of what you see in reviews or hear from your friends. Because chances are that you may not be colourblind.

Tomorrow, planning to see Raavan in Hindi. Will update this blog and try to make interesting comparisons.

The Karate Kid is an enjoyable commercial flick with an Attitude ;-)

2010-06-15T08:27:00.003+05:30

             Story is the simplest. A guy comes to a new place and befriends a girl and because of that he has to fight off the bad guys. He gets beaten up in the process and with vengeance he trains hard and at the last beats the bad guys up.

               Seems like you have seen the same story many times? Yes this story is very similar to the many Indian flicks.. And the difference comes in the form of Jaden Smith (11) and Jackie Chan (56).

               Jackie Chan has moved to a mature role where in he does not do many stunts. But trains Jaden Smith (Parker) who instead does some good stunts. Parker moves into China because his mother has got a transfer. And right on day 1 he meets a girl and also gets trashed for it. Then he lives life hiding from the boys who hit him. He is saved by Jackie Chan (Han) when a group of boys attack Parker. That’s the only scene where u can see Jackie Chan in action. Then Han takes Parker to sign truce with the boys whom he tackled to save Parker. But they want a fight in return and promise that they won’t harm Parker till that day. Han now teaches Kung fu to Parker so that he can win the open tournament.

               Now the cinematic thing kicks in. People train years together to get their martial arts to perfection. But Parker is able to do it in some days or may be in a month or two.

               Another interesting thing shown in the film is some people learn martial arts to fight and some people for peace. The way they train and the place they train are certainly different. Han takes Parker to a mountain where people train Kung Fu and other martial arts in a more peaceful manner. There Parker gets fascinated by a person who controls the snakes’ movement standing precariously on a cliff. He uses this in the climax as well.

               The tournament comes and the inevitable happens, the hero wins. But if there is a match in the climax then people will sure enjoy it as if it is happening in live. And in the theatre where I watched people where clapping and whistling for every kick Parker gave. Which means the last fighting scene connects with the audience although the audience knows what is going to happen.

               Look out for the look which Han gives when Parker tries to control his opponents mind (learnt from the snakes’ movement control scene). I was literally laughing out loud. That scene was the best scene which conveyed many things. And no one other than Jackie Chan could have done that better. The Jacket removal scene where in just the removal and wearing of the Jacket can be Kung fu is also enjoyable. The BGM is good and China is also captured beautifully.

               The movie would rank a 3/5 rating and do watch it if you are a fan of Jackie Chan. The way he walks and the way he trains. You will surely enjoy. And invariably you will also become a fan of Jaden Smith.  If he can do this at 11. Then he can do very many things when he becomes big.

I have downloaded the original version of “The Karate Kid” which released in 1984. And I will tell how it was compared to the new flick.

Angadi Theru is touching and true…

2010-04-02T00:50:00.007+05:30

Angadi Theru Movie Review (4/5).

Angadi Theru means a Market.

And a heavily crowded market in Chennai means Ranganathan Street. And that’s where most of the movie unfolds. Many would have gone inside Saravana Stores. And how many of us would have thought about the uniformed sales people working there? Vasanthabalan just has not visited Ranganathan street. But paused and thought about it and made this touching script mixing some hard reality too.

The movie shows the lives of Kanni and Jothilingam for a period of roughly 1 year. And that happens to be the first year after they meet. They gain many things but loose many too.

There is no hard lined story in this film. This movie can be taken as a chapter in a very big novel. But this chapter seems to be the touching one in the whole novel.

Jothilangam a 12^th standard school topper from a village is forced to work for his family due to the sudden death of his father. He comes to Chennai and joins as a sales person at Senthil Muguran Store (S@r@v@n@ Stores). He meets Kanni who is also working there. What starts of as a fight soon turns into love due to trust which the pair develop on each other. But life is not easy. The hard reality is shown.. From the heavily crowded living area and the long and hard working hours to the strict, abusive and molesting floor supervisors. Although some things are over done in a cinematic way. Like the inhumane eating area where the workers have their lunch.

The movie progresses forward showing the lead pair’s lives, difficulties they face and then end with a real touching and inspirational climax. There is no big suspense, action or any commercial ingredient in the movie. It is just like traveling on smooth road without any speed breakers. But the road is also not so very smooth that we fall asleep. So the director has maintained that balance beautifully.

Realistically shot at the Ranganathan Street. Where even taking a picture in your cell phone would be a tough task during the peak time. The camera man does deserve a huge applause for showing Ranganathan Street as it is. Then comes the songs and BGM department. The songs are all very well written with real good lyrics. Vasanthabalan has picked the best from his 2 music directors.

“aval appadi ondrum alagillai

avalukku yaarum yinai illai

Aval appadi ondrum colour illai

Aanaal athu oru kurai illai

Aval perithaai ondrum padikka villai
Avalai paditheen mudikavillai
Aval uduthum udaigal pidikavillai

Irunthum gavanikka marukka villai”

Let’s talk about acting. The real appreciation would go to Anjali who portrays Kanni. She has done a superb job from the bubbly naughty girl to the face she portrays soon after getting trashed by the supervisor. She does a job which is very close to reality. And her acting is sure awarded with numerous future Tamil releases. The surprise package is Director A Venkatesh. Venkatesh hails from Tuticorin and his Tuticorin accent is quite authentic and sure his teeth and glasses make him a real frightening supervisor. He has done a good job and I think he would become a villain material in future movies. Mahesh as Jothilingam has done a decent job and supported Anjali throughout the film.

The editing could have been slightly better which would have increased the speed of the movie.

One interesting fact I noticed in the movie is it has quite a number of beating scenes where literally every character beat each other.

This movie is strictly for people who are against commercial ingredients and who really love good cinema. So if you are the kind of hard core Vijay fan then give this movie a miss. Other wise if you skip this then you miss out seeing a good movie.

My rating for this movie is a 4 out of 5. Vasanthabalan scores..

Cast: Magesh as Jothilingam, Anjali as Kanni , Sneha (cameo), Block Pondy as Marimuthu, Director A.Venkatesh as Karungali

Director: G.Vasanthabalan
Producers: K.Karunamurthy & C.Arun Pandiyan
Music Director: Vijay Antony & G.V.Prakash Kumar
Cinematographer: Riched M.Nathan
Lyrics: Na. Muthukumar
Dialogue: Jayamohan
Editor: Srikar Prasad
Art: G.K T.Muhtukumar
Stunts: Selva
P.R.O. : Diamond Babu

I had posted the same review on Behindwoods.com website and this review has been published by Behind woods on its Visitors Column. The Link for it is
http://www.behindwoods.com/features/visitors-1/angadi-theru-anjali-vasanthabalan-03-04-10.html
Thanks Behindwoods.
Sabha
Update on 07th April 2010.

Invictus… Shows what a Game can do for a country.

2010-03-18T07:21:00.002+05:30

A leader who wants to give his country an image it deserves. A leader who wants to show the power of forgiveness. A leader who thinks a game can be a fast track route for removing racism. These are some of the ways in which Nelson Mandela ran his country. And these are rightly shown in the latest Clint Eastwood release Invictus.

Invictus is the name of a poem written by William Ernest Henley in 1875. And it was the poem which gave Nelson Mandela the strength he needed to stand when all he wanted was to lie down. Meaning, the poem gave him the strength to withstand his 27 years of Jail. The reason why this movie is named Invictus is, because this poem gave the captain of the South African rugby team the strength he needed to face the opponents when they where going through a bad patch.

Coming to the film, the film starts during the time when the blacks in

South Africa

where getting their rights back and Nelson Mandela, the hero in their hearts.

The date: 11^th Feb 1990.

And the film starts with the punch. Nelson Mandela’s Convoy is passing a road where whites are seen playing professional Rugby on one side and the blacks are playing casual football on the other side. The black people are seen yelling Mandela’s Name again and again as he passes. And a white Rugby coach is seen telling his players “It is that terrorist Madela. They let him out. Remember this day boys. This is the day our country went to the dogs.” This opening scene tells us the situation which prevailed in

South Africa

so clearly that even a 10 page write up wont do. This clearly shows Eastwood’s experience in cinema and the understanding he has on the audience.

“Take your knifes, and your guns, and your pangas and throw them into the sea”

Soon after assuming office as the president of South Africa Nelson Mandela is seen as a person who forgets and forgives the torture shown on him by the whites and focuses on building the nation. He also asks the people of

South Africa

to forget and forgive the whites. The people accept it, but with a bitter pill. Nelson Mandela does many things from appoints white body guards for self and prevents formation of a separate rugby team for the blacks and then comes the important part. He wants the

South Africa

rugby team to win the 1995 world cup and that year

South Africa

is at its worst. To add a pinch of salt to the wound.

South Africa

is the host nation for that years World cup (1995).

“Soccer—it’s a gentleman’s game played by hooligans. On the other hand , rugby is a hooligan’s game played by gentlemen”

Nelson Mandela shows more importance to Rugby than politics. May be the movie is about Rugby and that’s why we get that feeling. Then comes another important character François Pienaar who is the captain of the South African Rugby team played by Matt Damon. The real Pienaar is taller than Matt Damon.(see the pics).

Mandela wants the blacks to support the Springboks (South African team’s name) because usually the whites support Springboks and the blacks support the team playing against the Springboks. And Mandela also used to support the teams playing against the Springboks. Field trips by Springboks manage to create some love on the team. Watch out for that scene. A pleasing back ground score makes the scene a pleasure to watch.

“After all, if I cannot change when circumstances demand it. How can I expect others to?”

Matt Damon does a neat job. He underplays his role and very well eats lesser than what is served to him. And the film moves in this manner where slowly the springboks start winning and they are tested in the finals. There is a bullying TV commentator who comes through out the film. And his role is to defame Springboks when they play bad and praise them when they play good. Pure commercial and Practical Journalism.

Watch out for the scene where a black rag picking boy listens to the radio but pretends to pick rags around a police car where two white policemen are busy listening to the commentary of the finals. Then the last scene touches your heart. We are really made to feel that a game can create history and that too faster than any number of talks would have.

The background music is soothing and good. It made me download the OST and listen to it separately. The rugby matches are shot beautifully and are edited in such a manner that we are shown just the crisp highlights.

Invictus is a long film but it is worth a rating of 4 out of 5. Eastwood is great and so are Mandela and François Pienaar. It’s one of the very few movies which gave me some inspiration. I have put some of the best sentences I came across when I watched the movie. But there are many more. Find out when you watch the movie yourself. Sometimes knowing some unknown history brings great pleasure.

“I thank what ever gods may be, for my unconquerable soul, I am the master of my fate, I am the captain of my soul”

I dedicate this review to my good old school friend Hari (Twitter id - @harih2s) who inspired me to see it.

Vinnaithaandi Varuvaayaa – A Love Story which grows as time passes..

2010-02-27T20:36:00.001+05:30

All those men/boys out there. When you see a beautiful girl what all would you be doing?

Ok.. You have a crush on her. Then?

You would say to her that she looks beautiful. And you would say that you are crazy about her and then.

If you like the way she presents herself.

Yes.. at last you would say that you love her.

That’s what is happening in Vinnaithaandi Varuvaayaa (VTV).

The story starts very smoothly. Smooth as silk. No big dialogues from Simbu. No Non stop dance from him. So you like his character by the name Karthik. Soon Jessica (Trisha) comes. And she is so mythical to you. She is 23 in the film and she wears sarees daily to work. Yes it is good to see, but that is not practical from a 23 year old who works in Polaris.

Jessica is one sort of girl, when you say once she would say a no then you say it twice and then she would say a yes. So say it twice to get a yes from her. This includes her acceptance of Karthik’s love to her getting married to an NRI in the second half. She is very unpredictable.

It’s a simple love story in the first half. So what all you predict will happen. You would enjoy the casting, the music, the camera, the colours, the comedy which is interwoven etc.

Then comes the second half where the story would take a jolt and slowly become a little boring. You are made to feel that the story is going to end happily but Gautham tricks the audience here. And the story ends on a sad note. Many things happen. From Karthik becoming a director to Jesse breaking their love etc etc. But these things are a little boring to see so I leave it there.

I am not going to give any interesting scenes. But watch the movie for.

The subtle style it has.

Casting (Every one is so Apt)

Silent Simbu.

Trisha – (Her costumes are so very good and she looks beautiful too)

The Songs and lyrics (ARR man)

The Colours and the Camera (handled by Manoj Paramahamsa)

Dialogues are also intelligent and real sometimes.

I would give an average rating of 3/5 and that’s the average of the below Chart. Do watch the film and give your comments

Tamil Padam.. Gives you only a few genuine Laughs.

2010-01-31T00:15:00.002+05:30

It’s been a very long time since I watched a movie first day first show. But got the opportunity for this movie after some quick planning. We decided around 3pm that we are going to the movie and then started from office at 5pm. Since it was Bangalore we where able to get the ticket for Tamil Padam very easily and to my surprise the theatre was not houseful too!!!

The movie started with the Spoof of Karuthamma. But here they are killing the boy babies instead of Girl. The reason? Because boys from that village (Cinemapatti) leave for Chennai and start acting as heros in Tamil Cinema and proclaim themselves with all names like Chinna Talabathi, Mini Super start etc and also disclose that they want to become the CM in the second year itself. But our hero (who is the baby) escapes the packed super Quality Kalli paal that is kept for killing him and heads to Chennai along with Paravai Muniyamma.

There are some punch dialogues which spoof Vijay and an opening song which comes similar to Vijay and Rajini films. So the movie goes like this. If I start explaining the scenes it will sound interesting to you but the genuine laughs which come out when seeing the movie is more important. To be frank it was much less than some episodes of Lollu Sabha.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lollu_Sabha

There is no story as such in this movie. May be that’s the reason why this movie fails to work out. Take an example of Scary Movie or any other English Spoof movie. There will be a basic story and the scenes will be spoofed with some major hits. But here the main story itself is a spoof of Tamil cinema. So that’s where this movie becomes a TV material rather than a material for big screen.

Siva has done justice to his role. As I saw in one of the promotions where the director was asked if Siva was not there whom he would have casted for the lead role? The director answered that the movie would not have been made then. Apart from Siva all others just share screen space with out much scope for acting. I promise no heroine who has acted in a movie before would have signed this film. Because there are scenes where her picture is shown as the symbol for women’s toilet!!! Of course it was done on the lighter mood. But I feel only a debutant can accept her role.

Direction has its flaws too. As the director was not able to extract the best performance from its cast. And some scenes are amateurish too. Hope Amudhan corrects this in his next film.

The movie has some big Mokkais too. Where in we start to scratch our head in despair and some real good scenes where we laugh till out stomach aches. But the stomach aching scenes are very few.

Things to watch out.

Watch out for the opening song “Pacha Mancha” and the duet “O maha Zeeya” and watch out for the expression which Siva gives when he is miming “Lalaku.. Lalaku.. Dol Dappi ma”
Watch out for the Hutch Dog scene and also the Vodapone Zoo Zoo Character in one of the fights. You will laugh a lot.
Watch out for when Siva Says “Sema adi vanga pora” I feel Only Siva can say the word “Sema” with so much fun in it.
Watch out for the song where the hero becomes a millionaire in just one song by doing all jobs from putting news paper to sharpening the knifes (Kathi Sanam) to picking the coin from the Drishti Pusanikkai. (Spoof of Suriyavamsam & Annamalai)

My rating for the movie would be a 2.9/5 as I cant give a 3 for this movie and I would recommend you to watch the movie as a TV program. Then may be you will enjoy more.

Have you seen the English Spoof movie Hot shots?

Do watch it. It is a laugh riot..

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hot_Shots!

3 idiots – Has a page or even a whole volume of your college life…. For sure…

2010-01-19T08:09:00.000+05:30

3 Idiots is a very well written movie. I felt that Rajkumar Hirani had written all the scenes once and then again spent more than the time he spent on writing it, to improve it. All the scenes are very well connected. And that connection is felt in every other scene as the movie progresses. For example you are very well told that ‘Silencer’ does not know Hindi that well in the very first ragging scene and a very good Balatkar Comedy which comes as a result of it follows later. Or the ViruS Inverter which Aamir builds that comes in aid during the delivery. Or even the scene where Madhavan comes into hostel and takes the picture of Pups which is connected to show Madhavan’s interest in wildlife photography. The result, no body in the theatre is left with even one unclear scene. The credit goes to Rajkumar Hirani and Abhijat Joshi for their excellent writing.

The base story is very simple. It hits hard on the subject that students should study what they like and not study just for the marks or take education as a race and try to come first. Yes, in Indian education system, this is true. We would have completed our engineering without understanding many things fully. And how we passed? There’s where our Indian education system helped us. But it didn’t help us in anyway for applying what we learnt even once in our lives. Being a mechanical engineer I can’t repair my bike myself and should depend for a mechanic for the same. So I am also a victim of this system. Hope many are with me. Right?

Watch out for the song “Zoobi Doobi” I promise you will watch Aamir and have a smile flowing out your mouth even without your knowledge. Aamir has many funny scenes and he will put you through genuine smiles. Soon after Aamir, Boman Irani comes with a superb performance as ViruS (look out for the scene where he hits Aamir with his umbrella when he catches him after Aamir steals the Question paper) and then comes the character of Silencer played by Omi Vaidya (Balatkar Comedy). Of course Madhavan Sharman Joshi and Kareena Kapoor have also done their part with ease. So overall a good performance in the acting department.

3 Idiots has enough sentiment in it that all the male leads shed tears on screen. Aamir (more than once), Madhavan , Sharman Joshi all have tears flowing. Some scenes justify the tears but not all. Some scenes would have been better had they not used glycerin. After all we don’t cry in happiness every other day. It just happens very rarely.

The age of the cast also is visible in some scenes. But it is not very noticeable just because of their performance.

The Controversy

About the controversy between Vidhu Vinoth Chopra and Chetan Bhagat. What I felt after seeing the movie was the movie’s base was taken from the book “5 point someone” But it sure has many more things which are not in the book. But Chopra could have been graceful enough to put Chetan’s name in the front credit of the film, after Chetan had asked for it. But the cheap truth was that they wanted their businesses to grow. As a result of this controversy Vidhu Vinoth Chopra made a 300 Crores collection in just 19 days and Chetan Baghat’s now old “5 Point someone” sales also increased. So we where the fools to follow the controversy and also increase their Business.

Lessons learnt. Always think before following a controversy.

http://www.virsanghvi.com/vir-world-ArticleDetail.aspx?ID=415

http://www.chetanbhagat.com/blog/general/a-book-a-film-and-the-truth

My rating for the movie would be 4/5 and that would be credited for the acting of the lead Cast and also for the excellent clear writing the movie has. We have to thank Rajkumar Hirani for giving us films which depicts the hard truth of the society with a good mix of humor in it.

Go for it. It is a must watch for this season. For those who have not seen this movie yet. Now the tickets are easily available and the ticket rates are also lesser than what they were sold earlier. So don’t miss this one. For some this movie can become a close to the heart movie.

Lastly. Do listen to the song “Give me some sunshine” It has good simple lyrics and tune.

My next watch would be a Tamil movie “Aayirathil Oruvan” It has got Rave reviews. Have you watched it?

AVATAR – Starts like a holly film but ends like a bolly film

2010-01-07T00:46:00.000+05:30

Most of the reviews have given 5/5, and I had asked all those who have seen the movie and every one told that the movie is very good and it’s a must watch. Incase you have not seen this movie you can try asking the people who have seen it and I am sure they will be saying the same which I have heard.

Let me say, It’s a must watch in 3D @ theatres. In case the movie is not running in 3D at a place near you then I feel you can wait and catch it in DVD or TV.

My personal feeling watching this movie in 3D was like watching something real happening before my eyes. Initially when the movie started I was able to feel the 3D effect but slowly my eyes and brain got used to it and there wasn’t much of OOOMP factor after that.

Story:

Hope by this time you would have known the story of Avatar (from internet and asking Friends or by seeing it too). Yes.. in case you know it partially. Don’t worry it is the right one. The story of war between good and evil is not new for Indians. So predicting the story for us would be a piece of cake.

The story is quite simple and it has all the ingredients needed to make a very good Indian plot boiler. Except for some differences like

Usually the aliens will be villains. But in this movie humans are the villains
Usually the hero saves the heroine in the climax. But here the heroine saves the hero in the climax.
Usually humans of different Sex love each other. But here a human and a navi (alien) love each other.
Usually the fight happens at the villains place. But here it happens in a planet called Pandora which happens to the place of Navis who are innocent people.

The only thing which makes Avatar great is its DETAIL. James Cameron has captured the details of a highly fictious story as if it is happening in real. The movement of the eye ball pupil to the tail movement when the navis go to sleep to the facial movement of navis are all captured as if it is happening in real. Go to the movie just for the details. I bet. You can’t find a mistake in the details department.

The movie focuses on the human attitude of destruction. If you see the film you think about

Iraq

many times. Americans went into their homeland and attacked them. Here it is Navis and Pandora. May be in 2154 the power greedy Americans will attack another planet too. And it also shows how humans destruct nature. Where ever Humans go forests are going to disappear.

Technology at its peak.

The use of technology is great. I personally think that in some time directors will make a film with the help of just computers and a bunch of actors having sensors throughout the body acting in front of green screens. As literally Cameron has already used this for most of Avatar. Imagining Pandora in his head, he is brought it in reality in full colour and grandeur.

Just for your Info:

The language which Navis speak is a structured language which Cameron asked Paul Frommer to develop.
The Navi’s are 3 times taller than humans. And they can control their ear muscles just like our own pet dog does when it hears a sound.
Cameron has used his patented Camera to shoot the movie and the camera replicates the human eyes.
Catch the floating mountains and wildlife present in Pandora.

Rating:

Although Avatar lacks the touch which Titanic gave you after you watch the movie. I would give Avatar 4/5. The credit just goes to Cameron for creating this work of art. In case you have not watched Avatar go catch it in a 3D theatre only.

Links Just for you..

http://ibnlive.in.com/blogs/jaimonjoseph/326/54022/cutting-edge-tech-and-the-making-of-avatar.html

For some extra technical details on how Avatar was made.

http://www.life.com/image/ugc1023932/in-gallery/37912/avatar-jet-setting-with-the-cast

For some exclusive Avatar Cast pictures.

Chill and enjoy movies.

2 States… The Story of my Marriage.. And it is in "quite a NORMAL state…"

2009-12-21T19:04:00.000+05:30

2 States - The story of my marriage is a new novel by Chetan Bhagat. The famous IIT IIM writer who weaved magic in 5 point some one- what not to do in IIT. The magic was so intense that I being a non novel reader read that novel in 2 days flat. Yes. That was the intensity with which he wrote his first novel. Then came the One night at call center. Which was also interesting. But had a less intensity compared to his first.. 5 point someone.. After that came the most boring novel from him. 3 mistakes of my life. I think I completed that novel in 3 months time. I expected Chetan would have known this;-) And was waiting eagerly for his next improved novel.

I was not disappointed fully though. 2 states is a decent novel. And it is about a couple from different states who convince their parents who are against their marriage and then finally they agree to marry. This plot is not at all new to Tamil or infact Indian Audience. Right from Kadaluku Mariathai (Tamil) or Doli Saja ke Rakhna (Hindi) times we are used to these kind of stories.

So this is not an interesting or a new plot. As all his stories are written either with a unique plot or in a climax mode. For example in 3 mistakes he would have used the Gujarat riots as a plot. That does not mean we are always against the used to kind of plots. There are so many movies coming with similar plot and some even make it big. Why? That is because it depends on how it is written and directed. In a novel that’s the way it is written.

The story starts with Krish (Delhi) and Annanya (Chennai) in the IIMA Mess and ends in a Hospital where Annanya gives birth to twins. What happened with in this is the novel. How they got married? How they started to love each other and how they convinced their parents to accept their Love for each other.. Etc... Etc... Is given in this 269 page novel. That’s the story in 4 lines.

So now we come to the way he wrote it. I would say.. There are some genuine laughs packed in a few places through out the novel. I literally closed the book and laughed for a while and then continued to read.
Just an example for you from the novel.

“I cleared my throat and finally gathered the courage to ask. ‘Where’s Annanya?’
Uncle looked up in shock as if I had asked him where he kept his porn collection.

Figure out the scene yourself or read the novel.

And I should mention the English has also improved in this book. I felt I did not know meaning for one or two words in it. Although I figured the meaning by reading the line.

At one point after reading half of the novel the story becomes predictable and boaring. I think that’s where the story slips off your mind. He has tried to capture the difference between the 2 states and sometimes he tends to bully Tamils and sometimes the Punjabis. So we can’t say he is totally criticized Tamils or Tamil Nadu. That’s why his novel is still selling around the country.

One point which I noticed which could have been avoided is the use of offensive language in Tamil. There are some genuine Tamil Bad words written fully and clearly. That could have been censored.

Just to add more spice:
The story 2 states is inspired by Chetan’s own life. Chetan did his MBA from IIMA and loved and married a Chennai girl by name Anusha who was his IIMA classmate. They have twin boys now. He was working in a multinational Bank. But now left his job for writing.

My rating for this book would be 3/5 and that 3 will be fully for the genuine laughs which the writer gives to the reader. And do read this book. It sells just for 95 rupees. And I am very sure it is well a worth for that money. Also read 5 point some one. As that is being adapted in the movie 3 Idiots and is going to be released this Christmas.
One night @ call center has been already adopted in the Hindi film Hello.

Enjoy reading and watching movies guys.. those are the gifts worth enjoying and they which will never let you go..

I will post one more interesting information about Chetan in sometime.

Follow Chetan on Twitter by name chetan_bhagat He is an interesting person.
And his website is http://www.chetanbhagat.com/
Wiki link: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2_states
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chetan_Bhagat

Cheers Guys.. See U later....

Paa – is simple, good, beautiful and funny…

2009-12-10T00:20:00.002+05:30

Let me start from the hero. Who is the hero? I was told it was Amitabh Bachchan. And to be very true I was searching him again again till the end. And I did not find him. Not even in one scene. I did not hear him too. I was not at all disappointed by it though ;-)

The movie started by Jaya Bachchan telling the names of the artists and technicians of the movie ending with an “introducing Amitabh Bachchan”. The start was a refreshing one. And don’t miss it in case you are going for the movie. So start 10 mins early from your homes.

The story is quite simple. But has an original Indian touch to it. Although the main idea was taken from some other Hollywood movie. This movie does not have anything common with that movie. So it is an original work of director Balki. So he sure deserves an appreciation.

Story

Amol (Abhishek Bachchan) and Vidya (Vidya Balan) meet @ college in US and soon they begin to love each other and Vidya becomes pregnant. But Amol does not have the intension to become a father yet. As he is in between his studies and also wanted to become a politician. And advices Vidya who also is studying medicine for an abortion and mentions the developing fetus as a problem. This makes Vidya angry, they split and she leaves for

India

where she gives birth to a son who has this rare genetic disorder Progeria. Guys if you don’t know what Progeria is. Please read my previous blog for more details (http://sabharatnam.blogspot.com/2009/11/paa-promo-trailer-makes-your-heart-soft.html) so she raises this kid with the name Auro. And Auro meets his politician father in school one day. How Auro manages to convince them and make them live together forms the rest of the story.

Auro Aka Amitabh Bachchan

Auro’s dialogues are all funny and very very enjoyable. With smiles and occasional laughs peeping out our mouths most of the time.

With very heavy make up Amitabh Bachchan carries himself effortlessly like a 13 year old boy with every detail. I feel 40 years of acting has made him do this role with ease. If at all the film is remade it would be a challenge for any person who plays Auro.

Vidya Aka Vidya Balan

Vidya Balan is stunningly beautiful throughout the movie. She also has done a fantastic job compared to Amitabh Bachchan. But I would rate her only next to Amitabh Bachchan.

Amol Aka Abhishek Bachchan

Junior Bachchan has done a neat job without overdoing anything. Abhishek Bachchan is becoming a seasoned actor with great potential. I feel his role was inspired from Rahul Gandhi except for the body guard thing.

The camera is handled by PC Shreeram which is good. And music by our own maestro IIlayaraja. Lookout for the symphony in “Gumm – Summ – Gumm” song. It is a pleasure to hear it in theatre. Although he has used some old tunes of his. It is sure refreshing to hear them once again.

Intersting scenes

Lookout for all scenes with Auro and his friends. All are very original and really good ones.

Lookout for all scenes with Auro and his mother Vidya. The cast makes the scenes more beautiful. You will enjoy them.

I am going to give 3.5 out of 5 for the movie. As I felt some scenes could have been written more beautifully. For example the scene where Amol takes Auro to Delhi. And of course the last scene of Amol and Vidya making rounds with Auro in the centre. Had these scenes been written a little bit differently it would have been more enjoyable. But on a whole the movie is worth the watch.

Guys do watch it and keep your comments coming in.

2012 – The Destruction Movie is not Destructive for you..

2009-11-17T23:34:00.000+05:30

Story:

The world is ending on 21^st December 2012 due to a solar Flare. How the world gets deformed and how people react and die to it are shown in this movie. With Interesting and good Graphics. That’s all. Nothing more and nothing less.

I am not going to give a detailed review for this movie. That does not mean that it is a bad movie. To be simple and clear here are some points.

The movie was not boring most of the time
The movie had a lot of good graphics.
You can feel how tiny and powerless we are against the nature’s force. Technology becomes helpless sometimes.
It is a Hollywood Masala movie with a very simple story line.
An Indian is shown in the movie who figures out what is going to happens before the Americans know. Although Indian prime minister or any of it’s leaders are not shown. India gets drowned in a huge tsunami.
Africa becomes the only continent above sea level after the D day.
The movie's collection has crossed 200 Million in a week.. The budget was a staggering 260 Million $.

Some things which I felt after seeing this movie are

Anything can happen anytime. An earthquake, a Tsunami, A Volcano.. Anything. And we may die in one of them. So instead of living always for tomorrow we should live for today also.
Was seeing the people coming out of cinema hall and everyone was having an Awe struck face. Me too was having the same expression.
Have a look at the trailer which is in the right side of the blog and then see the movie only in a theatre. As seeing in the best quality DVD won’t give you the feel which you will get watching it in the theatre.

My Rating is 3/5. Go for it. I think it is a must watch in theatres this season.

(500) Days of Summer.. Has a slice of everyone’s life in it..

2009-11-14T20:03:00.000+05:30

In case you wanted to see a “different & good” rom com film which would be of 90 min in duration. Here is your pick. (500) Days of Summer. Let me tell you the meaning of this title.

Summer is the name of the lead lady of the film and the film tells about the life of our lead man (Tom) with Summer for 500 days. How she entered into his life, lived and left him and how he overcame it. This is told in a non linear fashion. That makes watching this movie for the second time also interesting. As am sure we would have missed something in our first watch.

The film starts and ends with a punch. I will tell you both. Starts with this note which usually may not come in every other movie.

(Scene-1) Author’s Note: The following is a work of fiction. Any resemblance to persons living or dead is purely coincidental.

(Scene-2) Especially you Jenny Beckman

(Scene-3) Bi*ch.

The last dialogue of the movie is

A lady says to Tom “Nice to meet you. I’m Autumn”. Tom looks us and day 500 ends and day 1 starts again.

Was a very refreshing end and that was sufficient to convey a lot.

The lead lady of this movie has real beautiful eyes. The name of the actress is “Zooey Deschanel” The Cast of this movie has done a decent work in the department of acting that includes our lead man “Joseph Gordon-Levitt”.

One very interesting thing this movie is the director “Marc Webb” shows the same scene as one of the romantic one and also the same scene with the frustration in air between the leads. The scenes are differentiated by just BGM. Really wondering how just music can make the difference in the scenes.

Interesting scene:

Watch out for the scene where half of the screen shows reality and the other half shows expectations. We always would have this mindset when we are going to meet some one. And this is captured in an interesting manner.

The director begins the movie like meeting the one person is so special and we know that soon after we have met them. But end by saying that it is just coincidence. And that’s all anything ever is. And it is nothing more than coincidence. Sounds like a lesson for you right? Yes.. It has a moral in it.

My dialogues of interest in this movie where

Dialogue 1 – We will be friends.

Dialogue 2 – I like you.

These dialogues in the movie convey either 100% meaning or 0% meaning. This is the reason why this movie has been made.

My rating would be 4 out of 5. I don’t think this movie will be released in

India

. So catch hold of the DVD in a rental or download it. You will sure not repent for the time you have waited for downloading this movie. I can send the torrent of this movie on request to your mail Id. So watch it and Enjoy J

Paa Promo Trailer makes your heart soft and heavy…

2009-11-04T22:46:00.003+05:30

Came home today and logged into my twitter account. And found that Rajeev Masand had posted a link for the trailer of the movie Paa.

Watched it and really found it to be doing something inside me. Yes.. The region.. centre of my chest.

The interesting part is Abhishek Bachchan has acted as the father of Amitabh Bachchan and Vidya Balan has acted as Amitabh’s Mother!!!!

I guess Paresh Rawal has acted as Abhishek’s father.

Let me say something about this trailer. It is little more than a minute. And has very good music running through it. Music is composed by none other than our own Maestro.. Ilayaraja.

The scene opens up to some dance moves by a school boy… Or an old man in a school uniform who dances like a school boy. Sounds interesting right. Why don’t you watch it yourself? (Link below)

It took me some time to realise that it was Amitabh.

The oldest in the cast has acted as the youngest. I also read Amitabh’s Blog and was amazed at to what extent an actor can go for the passion of cinema. I was expecting Amitabh to do some lighter roles as he was not having the best of his health recently. But his passion for cinema has made him take this role. What more can you expect from a 67 year old actor?

Then the trailer has 2 more touching scenes.

A scene where Amitabh dances with Vidya Balan in rain.
A scene where Abhishek is carrying Amitabh piggyback.

Let me say something more about the story background. This is about a child who has a medical condition who grows older 4 times faster physically but has a normal mental growth. The name of this medical condition is Progeria. And this concept is not new for a movie. Yes I think the base frame of the movie was taken from an English movie Jack and the same role was played by another superb actor Robin Williams. Movie was directed by the famous God Father trilogy Director Francis Ford Coppola.

We have to wait till December 4 to find out how much creativity has the director Balki who took Chenni Kum earlier put in. I would be very interested to write a review of this movie once it is released. And I will sure try to watch the movie Jack before that.

Youtube Trailor link:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QK84Vfu24hE

Wikipedia Paa Link:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paa_(film)

Amitabh’s Blog:

http://bigb.bigadda.com/

Official website of the movie:

http://www.paathefilm.com/

Wikipedia Jack movie Link

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jack_(film)

Kanden Kadhalai in Tamil < Jab We Met in Hindi

2009-11-01T23:47:00.001+05:30

On the above picture do you see any difference? Hmmmm…

This is the level of similarity you can see when you see Kanden Kadhalai. But I understood direction is not simply copying. You have to have the magic touch which the original director (Imtiaz Ali) has. Kannan (Director of Kanden Kadhalai) didn’t have that magic touch.

Scene to Scene, Dialogue to Dialogue it is same as Jab We Met. Although he has left out some really cute scenes which comes in Jab We Meet.

Some scenes coming to my mind are, when Geet and Adhitya try and catch a running train in Manali soon after he finds out her in Manali and she tells abt her dream. And the very last scene where Geet’s Sikh Grandfather says that he knew every thing and he needs only one second to find what is running between the girl and boy. In that scene you will be seeing Geet and Adhitya with their 2 children and giving a smile saying “Ji Daji” Those are some of the real sweet scenes in Jab We Met and we don’t find them in this movie. If you are going to copy scene by scene, word by word why doesn’t the director copy the real sweet scenes too?

Sometimes you will notice an actor’s performance when you see another actor portray the same character. I noticed how good Arjun acted in Mudhalvan only after seeing Anil Kapoor’s performance in Nayak. Same thing happened, but here it was Shahid Kapoor who was scoring much more than Bharat. I was appreciating Shahid Kapoor’s performance when I was seeing this movie. Kudos to Shahid.

Kareena is usually an actress who acts in an expressive way. We have not seen Tamanna like that before. She has taken a genuine try to enact the same performance which Kareena has done. But I would say that no other than Kareena can perform the character of Geet or Anjali better. Given that Tamanna has lesser experience in acting compared to Kareena and she does not know the local language Tamil and some one else have dubbed for her. I would say she has given her best.
Some times you don’t understand the word chemistry when talked between actors and actress right?

So now you can understand that when you see Jab We Met and Kanden Kadhalai. The chemistry between Kareena Kapoor and Shahid Kapoor is so very good. And there is not much of chemistry between Bharat and Tamanna.

What I enjoyed most in the movie is the comedy track by Santhanam. He was real good and the scenes which he appears you tend to have a laugh for sure. Although his comedy will not please the elder audience.

If you have watched Jab We Met and want to make comparisons like me then go to Kanden Kadhalai. And if you have not watched Jab We Met then watch Kanden Kadhalai first and then watch Jab we met and you can appreciate how good Jab We Met was and how close JWM is to your heart.

My rating is 3/5 for this movie. Out of that three, 2 goes to Santhanam and 1 goes to Tamanna.

It’s a Fishy world out there…

2009-10-24T21:48:00.000+05:30

I always wanted to taste all kinds of sea food available in our fish markets. But my mother used to scare me when I was young saying that other fish expect the Vanjaram will have lots of thorns in them and it may get stuck in your throat if not chewed properly.

There is no need of any proof that vanjaram has the best taste both in Fry and Stew (Kolambu) category and because of its taste it is also the costliest. It just has one centre bone and rest all is flesh.

But I always wanted to taste other kind of fishes. The biggest hurdle in it is each and every fish is called differently in different parts of Tamilnadu. In Tuticorin the Vanjaram is called as Sheela Fish. So this was one of the biggest hurdle.

Soon after I came to Chennai about 9 years back from Tuticorin. We tried buying fish from Velachery Fish market. But I did not like the taste of the fish. I will not say it was bad but it was very decent. Tuticorin had a better tasting fish. But Until one fine day about a year back when I discovered the government Fish stall near Gemini Flyover. The name of the stall is Neithal Fish Complex. It has 3 shops in itself. One is the Ornamental fish. The second is the edible raw fish stall. The third is the Fish food centre where they make dishes out of fish and serve.

The fish bought there reignited my taste buds. And it started my craving for fish once again. The reason being that it is very fresh. Which means the fish available in Velachery markets are refrigerated once? And there is a marked difference in taste from fresh and refrigerated once. So people in Chennai please try out the fish from Neithal complex and I am sure you will revisit it again.

Inside Neithal Complex

http://www.thehindu.com/2009/02/28/stories/2009022858430300.htm

Now coming to my story, Neithal started my carving for fish and I wanted to taste all the variety which they are selling. But I did not know which one is good for fry and which one is good for stew. My mom neither knew the names as we did not bother to find out names of other fish except Vanjaram after coming to Chennai. So I took up this challenge of knowing the names of the commonly available fish in our Chennai market and then try to taste them all.

It’s a little embarrassing when I stand in a crowded fish stall not knowing the names and asking the sales guy out there who is already very busy about fishes and asking if it will be good for fry or stew. But as I had a challenge laid in front of me I had to know the names and taste them all.

The first fish other than Vanjaram which I came to know and taste is Nethili. It is a very small fish about the size of your finger and has a distinct taste. I tasted it about a month back and today I went and bought 2 kind of fish. Sankara and Koduva. Sankara is used for making only Stew and Koduva is fine with both Fry and Stew. And both tasted amazing. although Sankara had a lot of thorns for its size but had a good taste. I have started my challenge and I think very soon I am going to complete it.

My next target is Vavval.

You can have a look at the below picture. It surely helped me knowing things and gives my status so far.

You too enjoy the sea food. Fishes have the least fat and are a very good source for proteins.

Aadhavan Review – Pathetic may be the right word to describe the experience

2009-10-23T00:01:00.001+05:30

I feel there is no need to review this movie. It is real bad. I think a group of people wanted to make some money and then they thought they can make a movie and make some money. Then they went to Suryia and Nayanthara and then took a story from some old Rajini Movie and then made the movie with money alone in their minds.

There is nothing new in this movie. I was cursing myself for sitting in the movie hall. The movie has some of the worst graphics of recent times. The budget of the movie is 28 crores. I felt Eeram which was made of a shoe string budget had better graphics. News articles may tell you that Suriya has acted as a 10 year old. Please don’t believe it fully. They have morphed Suriya’s face on to a 10 year old boy. It’s really pathetic. Remember this is no Vaarnam Aairam.

Vadivelu is there in 85 percent of the movie leaving us out of breath and tired at the end of the movie. Although I laughed in a couple of scenes. Thats all what he was able to do in this movie.

Nayanthara looks slim and almost nothing to do expect to dance in duets. If you like the song Hassili Fissili then please go to the movie some 20 mins before it ends. And I am sure you will not feel that you have missed something. You will be person who has enjoyed the movie.

One more interesting thing in this movie is, it has 7 intervals that means 6 songs during which most of the theater goes out and the theater canteen gets crowded. Sure there would be reports in the future that the theater canteen is making more money than what it will be making by selling tickets.

With new directors trying to make meaningful cinema. K S Ravikumar has surely gone many steps back in his carrier and given us a worthless cinema. If these kind of Formula or commercial cinemas are to be made in future only God can save the Tamil Film industry.

I would advice if you are going to watch this movie. Just check out if you are having sick leave with you. It may psychologically affect you and may take a week for you to become normal again.

My rating 0.5/5

Inglourious Basterds – Oui Si Yes!!!

2009-10-14T01:06:00.001+05:30

13/09/2009

I was very much interested to seeing this movie right from the day it released in Indian theatres. It released in

India

on 2^nd October 2009. But I was able to see it only today. It was worth the wait. Saw the cinema in Fun Cinemas, the same place where I saw Up. But this time I was not alone, I was with Praveen.

I should say this is not really a very serious movie for the amount of gun shots and blood spatter shown. It is a movie where the dialogue and screenplay has its own sense of humor which was really very enjoyable.

The movie has a screen play which is scripted as if it was reading a novel. With chapters and names for each chapters. Actually the movie has 5 chapters.. I think.. In this way the 2½ hour long movie has its grip on you till the end.

The last chapter or the climax sure has its own high class suspense and leaves you with only one question as what is going to happen next? And I should say the movie ends in the way it should end i.e. ends in the way you want it to be.

Some scenes are filmed in a way our own Tamil films would be filmed. One example is the scene where Eli Roth or “The Bear Jew” comes out from the dark tunnel with a base ball bat hitting the floor. I remembered our own heroes’ so called "entry scene". But here in this movie it was one of the Basterds. The scene after that is a scene where he beats the Nazi officer to death with the base ball bat. The movie has its own blood oozing scenes but is always justified and I feel it would look the same in real when something similar happens.

Coming to the story.

It is a complex story which can’t be told in a small paragraph. But I surely will try to summarize. A group of 8 Americans (called as Basterds by Germans) try to kill as many Nazi officers and take their scalps as a winning ritual. Reason is to teach them a lesson for what they are doing for the Jews. Most of the American solders are Jews and the leader for them is Aldo Raine who is played by Brad Pitt. This makes Hitler really angry and a pain in his ass. And there is one more person Shosanna who is trying to kill Hitler and important Nazi officer during a premier of a Nazi war movie. Shosanna lost her family to German bullets and she alone escapes from “The Jew Hunter” and lives under a new identity in

France

running a small cinema theatre. How their plans get executed is what forms the rest of the movie.

Some interesting scenes to watch for..

Look out for the character of Christoph Waltz as “The Jew hunter”. Right from the first scene he is simply superb. He some how cracks every thing from finding the Jews hiding below the floor to the plan which the Basterds put to kill Hitler. The scene where he has a chat with Shosanna and also eats his sandwitch with cream is one of the best. He portrays his character really well. Look out for his acting. I was really surprised to see that such a talent was not used in movies before.
The English slang with which Brad Pitt talks through out the movie.
The character played by Til Schweiger as Sgt. Hugo Stiglitz as an angry Jew. You may have a smile during the scene in the basement bar. But he is sure very angry in that scene. The other scene is where he sharpens his knife and there is a conversation between another American soldier.
Scenes in which Hitler is shown i think all the scenes except the last one has a bit of humor in it.
The style with which the movie goes scene by scene. The director Quentin Jerome Tarantino is sure a one kind of a person. He has his own unique way of making films which sure is very very stylish.

My favorite dialogue from the movie is

“I know this is the silly question before I ask it, but can you Americans speak any other language than English?”

My view

More men would like this movie than women. Anyway whom ever interested in Nazi stories it is a must watch and also for people who like seeing a movie in a new style in which they have not seen before.

4.5/5 is my rating.

If you have seen this movie please comment on what you liked in this movie.

UP – Really Superb – Cross my heart….

2009-10-03T23:05:00.000+05:30

02/10/2009

After a not so good day I woke up at 7 in the morning. Was feeling sleepy somehow picked myself and started from my room alone for the 10am show in Fame cinema at the Forum Value Mall which had sprung up in Whitefield recently. And this was the first time I am going there. Should say was a good and professional Multiplex.

Exchanged my online ticket for the ticket which they give for the entry and then went into Screen 2 and settled down. Noticed that there where many children in the theatre. It was not strange for me to notice children for an animated movie. But the feel was different.

The movie started and the first scene was in Black and white. From the start I was noticing a girl of age about 12 or 13 kept asking her mother if this scene was real or was a dream scene. I was remembering myself asking my mom numerous questions when I was younger.

The movie is about an old man Carl Fredricksen who tries to fulfill the promise which he made to his wife to set up their home near Paradise Falls in South America.

The movie begins when Carl is a small boy and he is very much interested in exploring new places. He is a big fan of Charles F. Muntz who is an explorer and discovered a big bird and brought the skeleton of the bird back home. But the world refuses to accept it saying it is a hoax and Charles is ripped off his explorer title and he promises the world that he will come back home only with the live specimen of the bird. Well this is one part of the story.

The other part is about Carl and Elle. They have the same interest and that is Exploring and that’s how they become friends and they marry and they live their lives happily. There is some medical condition and they are not able to have a child. So they save for their journey to Paradise Falls. But eventually Elle becomes old and she passes away leaving Carl alone. This part is shown in just 5mins. Should say that it gives a complete idea on how Carl and Elle lived. I would say that an entire 2.5 hours story captured in 5 mins. Was very good to watch it. After the first half of the movie these 2 parts will connect and the story will end on a happy note.

Dialogues like “South America, its like

America

but South.” Are really fresh and am sure you will enjoy when you are seeing it of screen.

The place where Carl lives changes into a big commercial construction place leaving only his home in the place. A small fight with a construction worker lands Carl in court and he is forced and sent to a retirement home. But he gives a slip by flying his entire house with the help of helium balloons. Once in the sky and he gets a knock in the door and to his surprise he finds Russel a small school scout who is on the mission of helping the elderly by which he can earn his medal and become a senior explorer.

From then the adventure starts which is not at all boring even for a second. Apart from fulfilling the promise which he made to his wife Elle he also helps Russel’s wish to save the strange bird which Mr Muntz is trying to bring home by separating it from its’ chicks.

Every thing in the movie is new. The paradise falls, the flying home, talking dog, the strange bird fond of chocolates to name a few. Guys like Pete Doctor and Bob Peterson should be congratulated for the efforts they have put in the movie. Wondering who they are? They are the directors of this fantastic movie.

The story is quite simple but the detail in each and every scene makes it a pleasant watch. If case you are going to watch the movie try watching it in a 3D theatre. As the experience will be totally different. But I watched it only in 2D. The detail in animation is simply superb. The eye brows of Carl are exactly the same as that of a 70 year old man.

I am giving 4.5/5 for this movie and it’s sure a delight to watch it. Go for this movie and it will surely make your mood good if it is bad after a bad day. It sure did for me.

Unnai Pol Oruvan aka A Wednesday!

2009-09-21T23:49:00.001+05:30

It was drizzling here in Bangalore on 21/09/09. I was going to Pushpanjali Theatre in K R Puram with Praveen to see Unnai Pol Oruvan. So had a cool drive the whole way. Reached and we bought the tickets and settled down inside the theatre well before the movie started.

All the time what was running in my mind was how different Kamal Hasan would perform compared to Naseeruddin Shah and Mohanlal compared to Anupam Kher. All the 4 actors are really superb. If we made a comparison then I feel we would give them all the same marks. I was also curious on what plot they have taken for Unnai Pol Orruvan. In Wednesday they had used the serial suburban train blast as the main theme.

Ok now the movie started. They have followed the same script with just changing the Mumbai train blast to Coimbatore and Meenambakkam blast. Somehow did not feel the punch in it which the Wednesday had.

Kamal's performance.

I had no choice but to compare it with Naseeruddin Shah. What I felt is Kamal has just performed the same way Naseeruddin Shah had done. I was a bit disappointed because I was expecting a difference from Kamal. But the climax scene was just Kamals trade mark Performance. The way tears roll down his eyes and the way he wipes it with the revolver are simply superb.

Mohanlal’s Performace.

Sure Mohanlal had acted as a Malayalee who he himself is. I was very happy to see the difference in his character. Both Anupam Kher and Mohanlal have acted differently and both where very good. Look out for the scene where he teaches a cop to say something in Tamil to the press. I was literally laughing.

Surprise:

Ganesh Venkatraman who acts as a cop. Man I should say he was so refreshing to watch. Really smart and tall. He looked much different from the sardar which he had acted in Abhium Naanum. He was much better than Jimmy Shergill. I am sure he will be there for quite sometime in Tamil Industry.

Mr. Vijay there are many good looking people coming and also performing much better without the image battle. So if you know only to dance I guess the best job would be to become a judge in Jodi No 1 or to enter into politics. What say?

There are no songs in the film and the back ground score was good for the first timer Shruthi Hasan. The music changes with the camera angles as the angles progress the music intensifies.

The director.

I think he did not have much a challenge than to manage the top actors from south. Because there was no new thinking going in the process.

The final verdict.

For people who have not seen A Wednesday!

Unnai pol oruvan will be a better movie.

For people who have seen A Wednesday.

UPO is a good movie.

My rating would be 3/5. That’s because I have seen A Wednesday!.

Wednesday had the punch which UPO does not have.

District 9 – The best Alien Film so far...

2009-09-19T22:31:00.000+05:30

District 9 is a highly fictitious film. But you get involved so much that you begin to think as if something real is happening.

The director Neill Blomkamp has clearly captured the Human mentality when it comes to finding something new. Here in this film it is the Aliens. The mentality of the tech savvy educated and also the uneducated people are clearly shown. From the start of the movie you think as if something real has happened 20 years back and it has been captured in that manner with interviews and news footage.

The story is quite simple. But the creativity it has is simply mind boggling. I would rate this one as the best alien movie which has been filmed so far.

Wikus van de Merwe

The film starts with an evacuation process for the aliens from a place called district 9 to district 10. The cause of it is, it is near humans and it has virtually turned into a slum. So Wikus van de Merwe played by South African actor Sharlto Copley is assigned as the head for the field operations. He looks timid and normal. Not the sort of an action hero. During the mission he is exposed to a fluid in a cylinder which is of the aliens. From that point he begins to change into an alien. The first visible change is, one of his arm becomes like the one of the aliens and there after he slowly begins to change. The MNU for which he is working takes him off and starts to study him. Learning that he can use alien weaponry which the humans where not able to and he is going to change fully to an alien. They plan to study him as a rare specimen eventually killing him in the process. Somehow he escapes and tries desperately to stay away from the MNU securities. In the process discovering an alien by name Christopher who could help him. After which the movie is shifted to top gear with some action scenes and finally Wikus helps the alien ship to leave earth before which the alien promises that he would come back in 3 years to help him change back to a human.

Then we are shown that the MNU’s secret research has been stopped and also all the aliens still left behind in earth have been shifted to District 10 and their numbers are growing. In the last scene of the film, an alien is seen in a junk yard with small pieces of white cloth sticking to it making a metal flower from the junk indicating it is Wikus who has changed fully. The film ends in a typical Hollywood film style where we are left to think what would be the end. I mean there are many possibilities but we are given the choice to think the best i.e. the aliens would come back and help Wikus change back to a human. The other possibility is that the aliens could come back and may attack Humanity.

The Film has good graphics, good performance by Sharlto Copley and also is not boaring at all even for a minute. Go for it.

My rating is 4/5.

Read on - Eeram lyrics..

2009-09-19T15:11:00.002+05:30

Thought of Putting the lyrics of Eeram Songs in my Blog..
U can start singing while hearing to the songs. Karaoke Style..
First is Mazhaiye Mazhaiye...
Music by S Thaman
Sung by Ranjith..
Lyrics are simple.. But I like it..
click on the picture to see it big and then read on... Or sing on..

The second song is Tharai Erangiya..

I liked this song when i heard the first time itself. But after seeing the movie this became my second favorite and my first favorate became Mazhaiye Mazhaiye..

Sung By Suchitra..

Keep reading and keep your comments flowing..

May not be useful to you.. But It is very useful for me..

Eeram - My movie day out....

2009-09-17T23:22:00.001+05:30

Me along with 3 of my office colleagues (Praveen, Sankar and Prabhakar) decided to go to a film yesterday (16/09/2009). The pick of the day was Eeram. The new film from S Pictures.

We started from office at 6 for the 6.15pm show. Battling the Bangalore traffic we somehow reached the theatre at 6.20. Parked my bike and ran towards the hall. I was hearing the "Mazhaiye mazhaiye" song while parking from outside. I wanted to watch that song as I had heard it already and I liked it. Want a sample? Hear to my caller tune..

Oh.. I forgot to say the name of the theatre. It is Pushpanjali in K R Puram. This was the first time I am going to that theatre after its renovation. Which actually took roughly about 1-1/2 months. Should say it looked good. A mixture of an armature multiplex and a town single screen cinema theatre. But I don’t know how long will the maintenance last.

We got the balcony ticket which was 60 bucks each. It was good value for money for the Bangalore cost of living. So I managed to see the fag end of the song. That means I have missed abt 10 mins of the movie. But I managed to know what happened. Thanks to the internet.

Now coming to the movie. The first thing I noticed was that it had a good looking cast. Had an handsome hero (Aadhi from Mirugam fame) and a beautiful heroine (Sindhu Menon). The Director should be appreciated for it. Because I am feeling this after some time in Tamil movies. Then as the movie progressed around the murder or suicide of the heroine. The whole world said it was a suicide but our hero who is an ACP does not believe it and puts many calculations to prove it. But in vain. Nothing gets proved.

The interesting part which I noticed the director had put in logic and connected it very well. You will see a murder when ever the hero sees the colour Red and water together. For an example the first one was classic where the hero sees some one trying to catch the red fish from a fish tank. I was not connecting to this until I saw the next scene where red and water combined. Each time you are shown both there is a murder happening. Another is the heroine is shown as a left hander and later the director uses the same in a scene later. We are left to decipher what is happening and I am sure every one would find out. It is where the director shows his skills. In case you are seeing the movie watch out for these scenes. Because in a thriller some partial clues actually make the movie watching more interesting.

While myself and my friend Praveen where discussing silently who the murderer was and we were making wild guesses. But we knew that this director Arivazhagan Venkatachalam was not foolish enough to show the people who we guessed as the murderer.

The next thing I noticed was the cinematography. It was very good. And the way water is shown in the film really will make your heart feel light. It may be a drop or mist or rain. All are caught superbly by Manoj Paramahamsa’s camera. He surely deserves a Pat for his work. I am looking forward for his next film eagerly.

Now we are shown that the hero and the heroine part due the hero giving out some words in anger. So the relationship ends and the heroine is getting married to Nanda and move in to a flat… Nanda?? Yes.. The same person who said “Montly 20 thousand rupees salary” in Mounam pesiuthey. After a long time he looks the same as he did in his first film. Now the heroine starts to know the ugly side of neighbors in the flat. And neighbors start to protect themselves by putting in the blame on the heroine even without her knowledge. Nanda starts to believe the neighbors and also knows about her love life she had during her college days and begins to doubt her. Nanda uses the age old technique of “Pottu vangurathu”. This is practical and I am sure every one would have fallen for this technique.

The day when Nanda knows this, the worse days start for the heroine and it ends with the murder of the heroine. (This is the first scene in the movie) Now the murder of the heroine is solved but we are left to guess who did the other murders. And I am not going to say that. Find out that when you watch the movie.

The film does not have unwanted songs, fights and comedy. What the script needs is there in the film. I would say the second half was a bit lengthy. It could have been short by another 20 mins. Some dialogues where not clear and the BGM was not very good. the 2 songs in the film were good. But the “Tharai erangiya” song could have been shown longer. Suchitra’s voice is simply superb in that song. But given the small odds I would rate this film

4 out of 5 and it is a must watch for people who like soft thrillers, good cinematography and finally a good cast.

After the movie I left with Sankar we had our dinner at a restaurant in Hoodi and then reached home and started to listen to Eeram songs in my Ipod. Had a good end to the day.

Plan to keep you posted about Unnai Pol Orruvan..

Interesting movies which you may be interested in.

2009-09-13T15:08:00.000+05:30

I was seeing the list of best foreign movies in the Oscars. I was surprised to find a whole lot of interesting plots. I am sure you also will get the movie which you always wanted to see. Just reading the plot in wikipedia itself is so interesting.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Academy_Award_winners_and_nominees_for_Best_Foreign_Language_Film

Have a look at the above link.

I was impressed with the movie the sea inside.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Sea_Inside

It is the movie about a quadriplegic. He has lost control neck below when he was 29 years. it was due to an accident while diving. Then he was fighting in court for his own suicide. The struggle was for 29 years. Although he lost the case but he managed to die by drinking cyanide.

The reason for his struggle was he needed someone’s help to kill himself. And if someone helps then it may be considered as murder. So he was fighting for his euthanasia. At last he was helped by his friend to consume cyanide and he died. His friend was arrested but was released because of lack of evidence. His friend told that he has done because of the love he had on his friend.

This is not a movie alone but a real life story. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ramón_Sampedro

I also came across an interesting movie review Sling blade.

http://movies.rediff.com/report/2009/aug/20/dvd-review-sling-blade.htm

Read the review and I am interested to see the movie. For your information it won an Oscar for the best screenplay in 1996.

Waltz with Bashir: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Waltz_with_Bashir

It is a full animated movie and sure it was very good to see. It is about the Sabra and Shatila massacre. The animation is for above 18 year olds. Not the kind of one which Pixar does. So have a look at the realistic animation.

Some of the other movies which i was interested were

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Revanche_(film) - Revanche

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Class_(2008_film) - The Class

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Departures_(film) - Departures this won the Oscars for the best foreign movie.

I have not seen the above movies as of now. But i will surely put my reviews once i see them.

This is my first post. Let me see how I grow in the future.

Thanks for reading.

Sabharatnam