Cloud Atlas

My review: Cloud Atlas

Every now and then comes a movie which one can't watch passively. One has to be really active, using the grey matter to put the pieces together to get a complete picture. Even then one should have done their homework well to aid in which piece to put where. Else when you get out of the theater you would be muddled with confusion of what has happened over the past 3 hours. "Cloud Atlas" is one such movie which teases your intelligence and very difficult to comprehend what is going on, however intelligent one is.

Touted to be one of the most expensive film ever, it is adapted from a novel of the same name by David Mitchell. Written and directed by Tom Tykwer, Lana Wachowski, and Andy Wachowski, "Cloud Atlas" narrates six-stories which happens in six different epochs, each story is a story within a story. Also there are hints that each of these stories which are all true stories have people related to some or the other character from the preceding story or themselves reincarnated in their next lives.

 Though the movie has a more structured narrative when compared with the novel, it is still confusing for an average movie goer. Many may get tired of trying to concentrate hard to find the relationship of what is going on screen. Main reason might be that when one is reading a novel they can take their own sweet time taking breaks in between to decipher what is going on. But here one is bombarded with all these 6 stories within a period of three hours which might get into one's nerves.

There must be movies that tease one's grey matter and make the movie watching an active experience. But there must be reason for it. It should not be done just for the sake of it. If one takes a closer look at the movie it an assortment of six straight-forward stories. It is just the narrative style which makes it difficult to follow initially which also gets easier as the movie proceed.

Almost every actor has more than a role in this movie, aided by top-class make-up and CG work it is hard to identify who is who. For instance except for couple of roles, it was difficult for me to identify Tom Hanks in others. Same holds true for many others too. Tom Hanks is brilliant as ever in all his six roles, some very brief. Halle Berry, Hugh Grant, Jim Sturgess, Hugo Weaving and Jim Broadbent, all have substantial roles in most of the stories and have done well in most of their roles. Only sore point is in the 22nd century story where many non-Asian actors are made to portray Asian characters which looks very artificial with amateurish make-up.

Technically movie is brilliant with all its CG work, cinematography by Frank Griebe and John Toll. Background score is good in parts.

On the whole, "Cloud Atlas" is a type of movie which will get only dichotomous opinion from its viewers. Either people will classify it as one of the best or the one which is very difficult to decipher and hence difficult to appreciate. For me its a mixed feeling when the movie ended.

Bottomline: An active movie watching experience.

3.5/5

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Ayalum Njanum Thammil

My review: Ayalum Njanum Thammil

"Aayalum Njanum Thammil", written by Bobby-Sanjay and directed by Lal Jose is one of the best movies of the year in Malayalam. It is a coming of age story of a haughty and irresponsible junior doctor into a dedicated and conscientious cardiac surgeon through his relationship with a noble and honest senior doctor. With an underlay of suspense the movie makes for an engaging watch.

As with most of the new age Malayalam movies, in "Aayalum Njanum Thammil" also script is flawless, almost. That Bobby has a medical background is seen vividly on screen. Movie portrays exactly what happens in a medical college, with what kind of attitude new young doctors graduate and start their practice, the knowledge level of doctors graduating, and how they relate with their senior colleagues. The scriptwriters scores in with minutest of details. All the medical terminologies, procedures, treatment, etc used in the movie are flawless. It is refreshing to see an Indian movie with the amount of research and homework to come up with a authentic portrayal of a medical story.

Director Lal Jose has presented a nice script in a poetic manner. Movie also moves at a good pace, not lagging at any point of time.

Prithviraj has come up with one of his best performances as a young doctor whose life changes when he is forced to work in a rural area as a part of his bond for completion of his course. First as an impulsive and hot-headed student, later as a reluctant and passive doctor starting his career in a rural set-up, and finally as a mature senior doctor, Prithviraj portrays various shades of his character effortlessly and in a restrained manner without overacting. Prathap Pothen is another pillar for this movie. Using all his experience he has come up with one of the most memorable character in recent times, Dr Samuel. Great work from the veteran.

Narain is good as the protagonist's friend. Among the lead ladies, Samvrutha Sunil and Ramya Nambeesan have more screen-space and scope to perform and they have done their parts well. Rima Kallingal has nothing much to do in a brief role which seems to have written as an after-thought.

Jomon T.John's cinematography is excellent. The camera work is pleasant and breathtaking all the same. Technically this movie is among the best. Ouseppachan's music is good with two good melodies and background score which compliments the script.

"Ayalum Njanum Thammil" is a nostalgic ride for the doctors. Surely it will bring back at least one or two of their old memories. For others it is nice peek into the lives of doctors, right from their college days. It also provides some insights into how many doctors are victimized in their zeal to do good to patients putting their career and reputation at stake.

On the whole, "Ayalum Njanum Thammil" is a pleasant movie with food for thought.

Bottomline:  Respect for the doctors.

3.5/5

Pizza

My review: Pizza

Debutant Karthik Subbaraj's "Pizza" can't be categorized into one particular genre. Movie seamlessly flows through various moods and shades ending up fooling the viewers on numerous occasions. Movie's script is undoubtedly one of the best this year in Tamil. It once again reiterates the fact that script is paramount and everything else is just value addition.

Great scripts are those which not only link each and every character into  a smooth confluence to tell a story, it has to do justice to the attributes, personality and talents of each of those characters. In "Pizza" no character looks unwanted or forced in. And each of their character sketch is fully formed and adequately utilized for the story to move forward and to justify it. Heroine is a ghost story writer, hero is a very demure and timid person, the eatery owner's daughter is considered to be haunted by spirits and hence he is a staunch believer in spirits and ghosts, etc. All these aspects form a strong foundation on which the script is built around.

Another aspect of a good script is that it should fool the viewers at least once during the narration. Here not in one or two occasions, viewers get fooled on numerous occasions. Script is so intelligently woven that it is very difficult to guess the twists and turns, at the end everyone is taken aback.

Movie is two paced though. It starts of very slowly, taking its own sweet time to establish the characters and the direction it is going to progress. During this phase, one do get  feeling of getting bored. Once the movie shifts gears into murder mystery initially followed by horror mode, there is no looking back. At the intermission point air of expectancy is predominant. Post intermission, movie moves into couple more modes revelation of which might spoil the fun of those who have not watched it yet.

Since in this movie script is the real hero, each and every artists chosen fit into their characters impeccably. Vijay Sethupathi is brilliant. He carries whole movie on his shoulders and comes out unscathed. The effortless manner in which he is able to portray myriad of emotions and  body language appropriately is outstanding. Ramya Nambeesan is good though she has only limited scope. Each and every one in the support cast have done their parts excellently.

Not only in the aspect of script and direction, technically also the movie is top-class. Gopi Amarnath is the cinematographer who teams up with the music director Santhosh Narayanan to scare the viewers at more than couple of occasions. Gopi's lighting inside the dark haunted house is outstanding. Santhosh's background score has not tried to scare the viewers with usual gimmickry associated with horror movies. He has taken a more sensible approach to go about  his work. "Mogathirai" is a delectable melody while "Rathiri" in various versions of it is foot-tapping and adrenaline pumping.

Karthik Subbaraj not only seem to have a good knowledge of scripting a movie, he also has done a stupendous job of presenting it to the viewers in a very presentable manner. He has good visual sense too. He also show glimpses of  how progressive his thinking is by portraying things which are not explored much in Tamil cinema, live-in relationship and premarital sex for example. Future holds promise for this youngster. One can only hope that this movie is his original idea, especially considering the amounts of plagiarism one is coming across in the Indian movies these days.

If one is able to sit through the initial draggy half an hour, a scrumptious treat awaits. Go for it without further ado.

Bottomline: Brilliant debut by a promising team.

4/5

Maatran

My review: Maatran

After a below-average showing in "7aum Arivu" Suriya's shot at redemption to salvage his pride at box-office is "Maatran". He has teamed up with the director of one of his biggest hit "Ayan" K.V.Anand. And the duo have not disappointed the viewers. They have come up with an engaging action thriller that keeps you at your seats edge for most parts.

On the lines of chasing army secrets, nuclear secrets , here the protagonists are after the formula of lactose supplement which supposedly contains molecules which might harm children who are fed with it. And that antagonist is the protagonist's father is a new twist here though there are enough (forced in...!) justifications given in the end for the punishment to be meted out by the son.

First half moves at a very brisk pace which includes characters introduction, love angle (not that interesting or novel) , & preparations for the story to move forward. Towards the intermission unexpected twist results in a completely different second half which involves Hero & heroine going after the mystery behind the dreaded formula. Second goes on endlessly does tests one's patience towards the end. What could have been a crisp ending is stretched unnecessarily. Last 10 minutes of the movie is needless & should have finished it with the antagonist getting nabbed by the police.

Kamalhassan is the only actor in the country who used to put in a lot of effort to show contrast between his movies , even in the commercial ones. Be it quadruplets with different accents,body languages & voice in "Michael Madhana Kama Rajan" , midget in "Aboorva Sagodarargal" or Shanmugi maami in "Avvai Shanmugi". One actor in the current generation who is trying to it is Suriya. Just after a brilliant portrayal as "Bhodidarman" Suriya this time does a conjoint twin. With the attention to details by K.V.Anand , Suriya is brilliant in the conjoint twin portions. The body language that are so contrasting in accordance to the difference in the shades of the two characters is astounding. Though Akilan has a change over in his style similar to Vimalan after the separation , the body language of Akilan is so stark that one sees only Akilan though he looks like Vimalan. Even physically they look different with Akilan well built & brawny while Vimalan averagely built with a tummy.

As said earlier the attention to details is minute from the director. Especially after the separation of the twins the difficulty in balance that Akilan looses , his problem with his walk, the deformity that he has in his toes due to the fact that he has walked his whole life without giving much weight to one of his foot are examples. Also Akilan is shown to use his left hand for eating & writing in the latter half which is due to the fact that it was his free hand when he was in that conjoint posture. Also the visuals portraying the sportsperson are done very well which look authentic. K.V.Anand should be appreciated for these.

Others in the cast have done their parts well. Sachin Kedhekar is brilliant as the antagonist while Kajal Agarwal does her bit in a role without much scope. Good to see Tara after a long time on screen. The foreign actors have done a neat job unlike in "Thandavam".

Harris Jayarj's songs are already a huge hit. All the 5 songs are good with "Rettai Kathire" , "Naani Kooni" , & "Yaroo yaroo" topping the list. "Theeye theeye " & " Kaal mulaitha poovae" are also good numbers. His background score is average as usual. What is this obsession of making actors dance atop dangerous cliffs & rocks Mr K.V.Anand.

Soundarrajan's visuals are brilliant. The technical team including the CG & performance capture team have done a stupendous job in presenting the first half without any observable glitches. No where it is apparent that it is actually a single person who has done both the characters. So nicely done. But Anthony's editing could have been a bit better in the second half.

On the whole, "Maatran" is a engaging entertainer with good acting , direction & visual effects , better served with atleast a 15 minutes of trimming.

Bottomline: K.V.Anand's Hattrick hit

3.5/5

Trivandrum Lodge

My review : Trivandrum Lodge

Team “Beautiful” is back with another successful venture “Trivandrum Lodge”. Written by Anoop Menon & directed by V.K.Prakash movie stars Jayasurya rounding off the successful trio. Movie is bold in its subject matter, narrative style & dialogues. Supported by good performance of the star cast, splendid cinematography & good supportive background score “Trivandrum Lodge” is an instant hit with the movie goers.

“Trivandrum Lodge” is a place inhabited by a dozen souls each having different yearnings in life. Yearnings differ from physical intimacy, movie career and recognition to freedom of singlehood. They include aspiring actors, mimicry artists, movie journalist, retired government servant, music teacher, cook & a recluse who gets joined by recently divorced writer.

Movie’s main subject matter is three love stories across three generations & an infatuation. First one is a puppy love between son of the owner of the lodge & his classmate. It seems a bit farfetched in few instances but by & large presented age appropriately. Second one is a mature love between the owner of the lodge & his childhood sweetheart. It is an unconditional love wherein the love triumphs over death of one in the dyad. Third is a broken love story at late stage of life between the Music teacher & the cook in the lodge. And the last one is the infatuation almost everyone in the lodge has on the writer who comes in to stay with them.

As the narrative flows it not only traces the lives of these motley group of people but also how each of them get transformed in their perspective about love & lust. Not only that there is transformation in their personality as well that happens very subtly. In the end movie ends with extolling the triumph of love over lust. And the presentation is light.

Dialogues are the main draw of this movie. One can love it or hate it but can’t be apathetic towards it. It may raise a few eyebrows but that is how people converse in real life. Not only the bolder ones there are a few insightful dialogues too for the purists. Frank conversation in colloquial lingo is what that makes them special.

All the actors have done their parts well. Jayasurya as a recluse Abdu impresses with his restrained act. Honey Rose looks radiant & acts her part like a seasoned performer with high degree of confidence. Anoop Menon is cool , Bhavana is good in a neat cameo , P.Balachandran has numerous applause worthy dialogues ,Saiju Kurup is confident,  Janardhan & Sukumari does their parts with assurance of the veterans. Child actors Dhananjay & Nayanthara act appropriately to their age.

Pradeep Nair’s cinematography adds sheen to the movie. He has done a tremendous job in showing the Old Fort Cochin & Mattenchery lustrously. Even the lighting inside the lodge reflects the mood of the scenes.

Art direction deserves mention. The interiors as well the exteriors of the lodge are done with elan.

Jayachandran’s songs are melodious while background score by Bijibal is supportive of the narrative. There are many places where the background score has added value to the scenes in the movie.

Anoop Menon needs to be lauded for yet another fresh script & forthright dialogues. V.K.Prakash has done a neat job of directing a good script.

On the whole, “Triavandrum Lodge” assures fun-filled & a reflective stay.

Bottomline: pleasantly inhabitable

3.5/5

English Vinglish

My review: English Vinglsih

Sri Devi's comeback to mainstream cinema after a long sabbatical is a memorable one with this "English Vinglish" scripted & directed by Gauri Shinde. It is a fun filled ride with food for thought which moisten the viewers' eye in the end with joy. Message that family is the one place where people can't be judgmental should be more supportive of each others weakness is light-heartedly told using English as a metaphor.

Gauri Shinde's script is flawless if one excuse the numerous ill-informed stereotypes based on the cultural milieu from where people come from. There are very few instances in this movie where boredom rears its head may be in the second half. Otherwise it is quite an engaging movie with very few complaints. Neatly written & excellently executed , movie moves at a brisk pace too.

Dialogues are excellent. When Amitabh Bachhan mouths that he has come to visit US to spend few dollars for the American economy to recover , why India not "THE" India & why US "THE" United States of America are some of many insightful & brilliant dialogues.

Sri Devi is excellent . Though she looks old in many places she has not lost touch of her acting skills. The underplayed emotions which finally gets an outlet when her daughter comments about her English knowledge & her outburst in Hindi to a French classmate is one outstanding scene portrayed excellently by Sri. It is a dream comeback for her. Amitabh Bachhan exhilarates the viewers with his neat cameo.

Rajeev Ravindranath as "Tanglish" speaking Ramamoorthy & Sumeet Vyas as Pakistani Salman Khan are brilliant in keeping the audience in splits though these two characters are caricaturized the maximum. Especially Ramamoorthy's Idli scene is a laugh riot. Priya Anand is good as ever while rest of the support cast give a good support. Casting & performances are good.

Technically movie is world class with neat cinematography by Laxman Utekar. Amit Trivedi's musical score is supportive to the narrative.

"English Vinglish" is one those rare gems like "Vicky Donor" wherein the maker have hit upon a perfect mix of entertainment , message & appropriate emotional chord with the viewers. It is an intelligent comedy with a very good message at the same time one can relax their mind off their busy lives.

Bottomline: English "WIN"glish

3.5/5