180

My Review : 180





“180” has splendid visuals , youthful cast , technically brilliant yet lacks soul . Part of the reason is bad writing & part of the blame should go to bad direction. The story is beaten to bushes one that of a lead afflicted with cancer (the most favourite disease for the film makers) & repercussions of it.

First half is average with lighter moments & feel good effects scattered all over in both the contemporary as well as the flashback stories. Though one gets a feel that the movie is stuck & goes nowhere , somehow one manages to sit in the theatre. Second half is pathetic with writers & director losing way finding recourse in melodrama which annoys the viewers to the core.

Director Jayandra is an ad movie maker & his visual sense is appreciable but he would have found out that sustaining the tempo of a 30second add in a full feature is way difficult . Movie has its moments but director fails to sustain the effect of these moments which are few & far in between.

Sidharth is good in his part , cheerful & charming. In the melodramatic scenes he overdoes a bit but on the whole not much complaints. Priya Anand is adequate in her role but her characterization is not well graphed. Nithya Menon does reminds one of Revathi of the late 80’s & early 90’s. Both the heroines fall for the hero just like that without much justifiable reasons whatsoever , okay hero is charming but one doubt whether girls of today are so pea headed so as to fall in love on anyone so quickly.

Sharath is the music director & movie has loads of songs but none makes you hum. Background score is okay.

Balasubramaniyam is the real hero & the saviour of the movie. His visuals speaks for itself & are poetic & aesthetic .One & only reason anyone can venture anywhere near the theatre showing this movie is the cinematography.

On the whole , movie is technically brilliant but stale & soulless .

Bottomline : Pointless

2.5/5

Aaranya Kandam

My review : Aaranya Kandam





S.P.B.Charan’s Capital Film Works is known for its variety as well as novelty in movies they have produced thus far . They have once again come out with yet another movie in “Aranya Kandam” which more than lives up to the production house’s reputation. Touted to be the first neo-noir genre of movie in Tamil , “Aranya Kandam ” is a blast for movie lovers.

Thiagarajan Kumararaja has done an excellent job in his debut feature . Both the writing & execution are flawless to say the least. It’s been a way long time since one had come out of the theatre with a feeling of “Wow..!” in Tamil. Kumararaja might well be the next big thing for Tamil cinema in particular ,Indian cinema in general.

The manner in which the story unfold in a leisurely pace with each & every character introducing themselves without any contrivable situations put forth specifically for introduction. Slowly the movie gets into you ensuring that concentration is focused on nothing but the happenings on screen for the next 2 hours. Just 15 minutes into the movie it picks up pace & is able to maintain the momentum until the grand finale.

The seamless lucidity of the screenplay make one wonder at the hard work & acumen of the writer. Seamless confluence of thrill , action , comedy , treachery as it happens in real life is well captured in the screenplay. Though movie is full of action ,gore ,blood & violence one doesn’t get repulsed by it instead left marvelling at the poetic portrayal of the same.


Casting as well as the acting is top class. Jackie Shroff & Sampath are apt in their casting & they have a field day in their respective roles. Special mention should be made of Somasundaram , who revels in his role of a gullible village pumpkin . His voice modulation , dialogue delivery as well as his histrionic ability leaves one marvelling at the talent. Ravi Krishna does justice to his role while Yasmin Ponnappa is a revelation in her first movie. Master Vasanth is casual & adorable.

Technically the movie is world class. P.S.Vinod , the cinematographer is one another reason why the movie is brilliant. His camera work enhances the final outcome. It has replicated the words on paper into a sparkling motion picture where each & every frame celebrates the art , that is cinema.

Praveen- Srikanth’s editing makes the movie viewing experience like reading a novel . The pauses , punctuations , full stops , similes ... are spread across the movie where ever it is needed. This further enriches the style & grace of the movie.

Yuvan Shankar Raja is yet another cornerstone of the movie. His Background score is dazzling elevating the mood of the movie. The impact is doubled by his fabulous score. Use of new sounds in many places further adds up to the novelty & freshness of the movie.

On the whole , “Aranya Kandam” is a must watch irrespective of whether one knows the language or not for this movie is racy yet arty, gory yet classy.

Bottomline : A classic...!

4/5

Avan - Ivan

My Review:




Bala’s “Avan-Ivan” touted to be the maverick director’s first full-length comedy drama is a huge let down. Movie is boring , comical scenes make you frown while the last 15 minutes of the movie is anything but pathetic to say the least. Bala should understand that mouthing of filthy language or below the belt dialogues won’t ensure a good laugh. And howsoever he tries , it is impossible for him to come out of “Pithamagan” hangover, so it seems.

Screenplay of the movie is very loose, careless one might add. Many scenes are disjointed lots of loose ends left untied with a wealth of unnecessary & pointless scenes spewed all over. It is a shocker from the director of the calibre of Bala.

The actors in the movie have done a stupendous job but all their hard work turn futile due to poor direction. None of the characters have a trait of themselves. The characterization is very much confused , in some scenes they act mature & in some others outright silly & even moronic .

Vishal’s squint eyed act is praiseworthy. He also comes out with appropriate histrionic & appropriate places better than what we have seen of him so far.

Aarya once again proves his versatility , this time scoring with his comical act.

G.M.Kumar has a significant part to play & he has also done justice to his role though as said earlier his characterization leaves a lot to be desired.

Among others Janani & Madhu Shalini add up the numbers.

Cinematography of Arthur A.Wilson is as reliable as ever .

Yuvan Shankar Raja’s music is average , his BGM below-average.

There is nothing wrong with experimenting with a new genre . For Bala Comedy is not an unknown territory for his comical talents came to the for in “Pithamagan” . The execution here leaves a lot to be desired.

After a point of time , one gets the feeling of the movie being a tamer version of “Pithamagan” , following its template almost religiously.

On the whole , “Avan-Ivan” is not the type of movie one expects from Bala who i fear has become the victim of the baggage he carries.

Bottomline : Poor execution..!

2.5 / 5