Vengai

My Review: VENGAI



Hari is an enigma who invariably follows up a hit movie with a dud . This time also its not different ,after that super duper hit “Singham” he has made this largely forgettable “Vengai”. Its a tiring watch having seen such a movie umpteen times in the past , many from Hari himself. Story is routine tit for tat game of cat and mouse between the good & the evil which follows a predictable screenplay .

Movie sticks strictly to the tamil-masala action movie template religiously following each tenets . Right from the first few scenes which has the villain trying to create havoc , Hero outthinking that & emerging victorious followed by a mass opening songs with lyrics praising the holy traits of the hero.......it’s a BIG YAWN.

Dhanush has lost track after his critically acclaimed & award-winning performance in “Aadukalam” by doing pathetic movies like “Mapillai” & this one. Thamanna unlike her recent movies has scope to perform which she has utilised well. Rajkiran is getting typecast & it is tedious to see him in the usual “Oor periya manusar” role again & again. Prakashraj’s character is yet another poorly etched one which he tries to salvage to some extent by putting into use his “Gilli”ish antics.

Kanja Karuppu’s comedy track is the most irritating track one has seen in a long time.

Vetri’s cinematography has nothing much to rave about while DeviSriPrasad’s music is poor with none of the songs registering in one’s mind.

On the whole ,”Vengai” is a routine village action fare with bloodshed-sentiment-romance on the lines of “Thamirabarani” which tests one’s patience to an large extent.

Bottomline : Tedious

2/5

Muni 2 - Kanchana

My review : Muni 2 - Kanchana





After his impressive directorial debut with “Muni” Raghava Lawrence concentrated on acting dishing out movies which outdid each other in their mediocrity. Having pushed to the wall in search of redemption he has once again tried his hands on direction. He has stuck to his strengths which he has showcased & successfully at that in “Muni” that is mixing horror with comedy. In this sequel he has also touched upon a good social message too .

That the movie is shot with a shoe-string budget is evident from the cast & crew as well the tackiness of the CG effects in particular & technical details of the movie in general. Raghava Lawrence has once again managed to present a movie with a crisp screenplay with double the dose of horror compared the former with a lot of scenes making one jump in his seat with fright. Comedy has also worked out well with Kovai Sarala & Divyadarshini ruling the roost in this department.

On the down side , as usual a hero introduction action sequence followed by a “mass” song makes one squirm in the seat right at the outset. First half an hour or so is mindless with no direction whatsoever .Movie meanders until the appearance of the ghost. Certain aspects like Lawrence climbing onto each & every one of his female relatives hips in fright & certain dialogues here and there are quiet repulsive.

SharathKumar deserves kudos for accepting the role of a transgender in the first place & deserves praise for doing so convincingly without caricaturizing it. Raghava Lawrence reprise his role of a phasmophobic youngster who is courageous & macho otherwise ! Laxmi Rai has nothing much to do while Kovai Sarala & Divyadarshini bring down the roof with laughter with their comic antics & hilarious dialogue & lingo.

Thaman’s music with respect to songs have nothing much to rave about but his background score is adequate in elevating the thrilling effects & the mood of the movie.

Vetri’s cinematography is adequate but the movie is nowhere close to “Muni” as far as technical finesse is concerned.

Raghava Lawrence might have hit the bulls eye with his second directorial venture too with the movie keeping the viewer engaged with the occurrence on screen . On the whole, “Kanchana” is watchable if one is tolerant enough to excuse certain shortcomings & crassness here & there and able to appreciate a valuable message driven home.

Bottomline: Will surly scare you...

3/5

Deiva Thirumagal

My Review : Deiva Thirumagal



“I am Sam ” is one of the best movies done on the subject of a person with subnormal intelligence & issues of child custody associated with the same. The movie had one of the best performances ever by Sean Penn & was realistic to the core with a pragmatic ending. When an Indian adaptation of the same is made one might not think of anyone other than KamalHassan or Vikram to reprise the role. Also it would invariably have all those additive elements that a commercially viable movie should have according to trade.

“Deiva Thirumagal” is an adaptation of “I am Sam” presented in a palatable manner for the Tamil audience. With judicious mixture of melodrama , feel-goodedness , mindless comedy , comic-book song sequence & excellent acting , “Deiva Thrirumagal” has in it to become a commercial hit. Though the movie is “filmy” to the core Vijay has managed to present a tale which intrinsically has the danger of getting boring in an interesting manner. Never once in the 2 hour 30 minute stay in the theatre one gets uninterested in the proceedings.

Vikram is excellent in his portrayal of the protagonist with subnormal intelligence. There is always a danger of portraying such a character either comically or theatrically but Vikram has managed it with élan. The body language , dialogue delivery & demeanour clinically depicts the joy , agony , anger & sorrow of the character of Krishna , a grown up child with the mental age of 5.

Anushka is adequate in her role of a struggling young lawyer who takes up the protagonist’s case. Amala Paul has nothing much to do while Nasser is as good as ever. Shanthanam is comical with his characteristic one liners.

The supporting cast are good .

Nirav Shah’s cinematography is outstanding as ever. Technically the movie is brilliant especially “Katha solla poren” & ” Vizhigalil oru vanavil” song sequences are excellently picturized.

“Aarariro ” & “Vizhigalil oru vanavil ” are melodious & hum worthy from G.V.prakashkumar while his background score is okay with certain sequences hurting the ear drum.

Vijay has once again vindicated that he is one of the most promising young director in Tamil cinema today with his “Deiva Thirumagal “ which is a worthy follow-up to his brilliant “Madarasapatinam”.

On the whole , “Deiva Thirumagal” is a must watch especially to savour Vikram’s acting.

Bottomline : Eternal sunshine of spotless mind.

3.5 / 5

Delhi Belly

My review :Delhi Belly



Aamir Khan productions’ “Delhi Belly” written by Akshat Verma & directed by Abhinay Deo is a laugh riot. Though movie is a unabated funny ride from start to finish , many may get offended by the means used to rake in the laughs.

Many a sequences are downright repulsive while some other are very foul to Indian cinema standards .But the makers have ensured whether you like it or not one can’t come out of the theatre without having their stomach aching after the loads of fun the movie puts through the viewers.

Story is a thread bare one but the treatment is what unique & bit audacious to Indian standards. May be this is the first movie in India of the genre “adult comedy” if one may put this movie into a category .And the movie is rated for adults purely for its language .

Imran Khan is adequate but Vir Das & Kunal Roy Kapoor steal the show in that order. The movie’s most comical of one-liners are reserved to Vir Das who mouths them effortlessly. Vijay Raaz is funny as ever while the ladies Poorna Jagannath & Shenaz Treasurywala are supportive to the story.

Jason West’s cinematography races through the dusty & crowded streets of interior Delhi with elan. Huzefa Lokhandwala has done a crisp job editing the movie giving it a racy feel.

Ram Sampath’s music is already a rage among youngsters with “Bhaag D.K.Bose ” ruling the charts. "I Hate You (Like I Love You)" is another fun song comically picturised on Aamir Khan. His background score is also not that bad considering its his first movie.

On the whole , “Delhi Belly ” is outrageous fun provided one is able go through all those hideous moments on screen.

Bottomline : Comedy , not for the faint hearted...!

3.5 /5

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