Routine Love Story

My review: Routine Love Story

"Routine Love Story" is a romantic comedy from Praveen Sattaru who's debut flick "LBW" was critically acclaimed and well received by the audience. What could have been a really nice take on the current generation's perception of falling in love and making it work is watered down by really ridiculous and childish comical elements. The main plot of the love-hate-love relationship between the lead pair is portrayed realistically and interestingly.

Though it is christened "Routine Love Story" the screenplay is fresh. The initial pact that the lead pair get into about knowing each other before falling in love and when they realize that  they have fallen in love with each other(which is shown not as a moment but a process that happens over a period of time) are shown like how it happens in the lives of  current generation's youngsters.

Movie's biggest plus is the lead pair and their crackling chemistry. Sundeep Kishan and Regina Cassandra have done their parts to perfection. Especially Regina is excellent. She comes across as a natural performer and she looks damn cute too. Sundeep has also done his part well. The trio who play his friends are first-class while the comedy team led by M.N.Narayana are let down by juvenile writing.

Micky J Meyers' music is good though it reminds of many of his previous compositions. Suresh Bharghav's cinematography is adequate and the movie as a whole is technically okay, could have been better.

Praveen Sattaru who came into prominence with his previous movie has tried to live up to the name with his second venture too. He has tried to repeat with the concept which he seems to be comfortable with in his second venture too. He does succeeds to some extent. He could have tightened up his script a bit more and should have done away with those irritatingly poor sequences involving the heroine's family. Then it would have become as memorable as his first one.

On the whole, "Routine love story" merits a one time watch mainly for the lead pair's chemistry which lights up the screen.

Bottomline: Routine rom-com

3/5

Life of Pi

My review: Life of Pi

Based on a novel by Yann Martel of the same name, "Life of Pi" is an abstract piece of work which people with straight rational thinking mind would find it difficult to comprehend or enjoy. For non-believers and scientifically oriented souls this movie would test their patience. It is almost a religious propaganda, at least without  taking the sides of any religion. So the subject matter and the content right away disinterested me and hence I would like to abstain from reporting on it further. The reference of sort of Lord Vishnu helping the marooned Pi in realizing his purpose of life in the form of a carnivorous island is farfetched and a big yawn.

Technically the movie is marvelous. The cinematography (Claudio Miranda), CG and VFX work and the background score (Mychael Danna) are astounding in making it a worthwhile watching experience visually and aurally. The 3D is done without any gimmicks that would hurt the eyes or bring out unnecessary thrills, except for one scene in which the tiger just sprung towards the viewers. The various shades, hues, character of the sea is captured so well that after a point the sea becomes one of the main characters of the movie.

Casting wise the movie boast of a mixture of veterans and novices all of whom have done their parts well. Suraj Sharma is brilliant, comes out as a natural talent. Irrfan Khan is dependable as usual while Tabu though doesn't have much to do looks radiant. The Royal Bengal tiger, Richard Parker, the animated tiger in one of the best VFX work one can get to see.

All said and done, though the movie is compelling visually since it was difficult to have the same amount of involvement cognitively from a non-believer's point of view, movie can't be enjoyed wholesomely by them as the believers would do.

Bottomline: Skewed interpretation of  natural phenomenon in the believers' point of view.

3/5

Poda Podi

My review: Poda Podi

"Poda podi " is a romantic-comedy written and directed by debutant Vignesh Shivan starring Silambarsan aka STR and Varu Sarathkumar in the lead. Movie starts of very tentatively with draggy screenplay and amateurish direction. First half an hour is almost like watching an amateur drama. But thankfully the movie picks up from there and gets better and better, the emotional roller-coaster culminating with an end that would bring smile in the face of the viewers.

Good aspect of this movie is that Vignesh has refrained himself from taking sides between the archaic and chauvinistic hero and achievement oriented and practical heroine. Thankfully the sermonizing about the virtues of Tamil culture and how Tamil girl is expected to lead her life is cut short and we get to hear both the sides of the story.

Dialogues are from the casual  lingo that youth currently use. Vignesh can be excused for few of the misogynistic preachy dialogues because the hero gets it back from the heroine whenever it warrants.

STR  is self-conscious in the first half trying hard to come up with a restrained act. In the second half he is very good. Be it jealousy, anger, love, fatherly affection, angst, or pathos he comes up trumps. Especially his outburst in front of his wife's house is one of the best scene by him in his career. Varu is excellent. She is more casual in her portrayal and she does a very good job in the emotional scenes too. Her voice is added advantage to her role for it brings in novelty factor. It is heartening to see both the lead pair doing so well in dance after a very long time (May be after Vijay-Simran pair). It is a treat to see them dance in the "I am kuthu dancer" song with both outperforming one another. Varu is a good addition to Tamil Cinema which is scarcely populated with Tamil actresses.

Shobana is wasted in a half-backed role while Ganesh is strictly okay.

Dharan's songs are already rocking the charts. "Hare rama" and "Poda podi" are awesome melodious numbers. "I am a kuthu dancer " and "Love panlama venama" are foot-tapping spiced up with good moves.
However his background score is pretty average.

Duncan Telford is the cinematographer & technically the movie is sound.

Vignesh Shivan seem to be a quick learner. His grasp over the medium improves as the movie progresses which is evident on screen. At many places one can get a feeling that happenings are superficial but may be the director might have felt it right that way.

On the whole, if one can excuse the initial amateurishness, "Poda podi" is a neat rom-com that might satisfy the youthful crowd.

Bottomline: STR's worthy follow-up to VTV.

3/5 

Thuppakki

My review: Thuppakki

Before I review Vijay’s latest Diwali movie “Thupakki” let me give you the background of what has been happening before its release. After a string of not so successful ventures the distributers and theatre owners started to grumble about buying Vijay’s movies. Some even demanded the actor to compensate for their losses (which is atrocious to say the least). There was a time in which to release his movies hassle-free was a big achievement in itself. But since “Kavalan” happened last year amidst lot of hegemony and acrimony each of his movies have become a bigger hit than the preceding ones viz., “Velayudham” & “Nanban”. The time has changed and distributers and theatre owners started reprising their faith in his movies. Will “Thupakki” strengthen their faith further..?

Second point I have to make is that this year is bad for all top heroes and their “BIG” movies. Except for “Nanban”, all other movies fell on the wayside leaving the distributers and theatre owners with huge losses. These are times in which they are all apprehensive about buying a big star movie for huge sums for fear of another loss. Lots of hard backdoor negotiations went through before the movie got released in these many theatres. Will the movie save them of their blushes and bruises...??

During that lean phase that Vijay went through every tom, dick and harry became self-confessed intellectuals trying to micro analyse his movies and him personally. Whatever he did was mocked by these pseudo-guardians of Tamil cinema. (Most of them were hard core hypocrites because when it came to the movie in which their favourite heroes acted they conveniently overlooked the same things) Will “Thupakki” would be that movie which slaps them right in their faces..???

A.R.Murugadoss was hailed as one of the most promising directors in India after both his Tamil and Hindi versions of “Ghanjini” became huge hit in the respective languages. But last year after his below-average showing in “7 am Arivu” people started to question his capabilities. Will he redeem himself this time with “Thupakki“exactly a year later..????

“”Thupakki” has answered these entire questions in the affirmative and how..??!!! Read on.

Written and directed by A.R.Murugadoss, “Thupakki” tells us the story of an army man who takes up the mission of eradicating the sleeper cells in Mumbai. He does it almost single-handedly with style and panache, brawn and brain, Tamil movie style. A.R.Murugadoss is back to his old form dishing out an engaging story with almost racy screenplay aided by a best technical team and above all Vijay, that one man entertainment troop. 

Movie is not without its share of flaws and logical loopholes, as does many great makers’ movies are. But what make them click is that they are masters in camouflaging these flaws by a racy narration which leaves the viewers not that much time to think while you are watching the movie. Here A.R.Murugadoss succeeds in doing the same.  He flounders in the romantic portion which is marginally better than his previous very dreary “7 am Arivu”. But there few enjoyable portions in between also.

There are at least two or three “wow!” moments in the movie which sure would bring goose bumps in most of the viewers. Pre-interval portion is one of the best adrenaline rush scenes in recent times. Another one which warrants mentions is when Vijay emerges out of smoke after shooting one of the terrorists to save the kidnapped girls. These scenes along with the racy screenplay would ensure success. Also the heroism in this movie is not engineered but appears along the flow of the script. 

Dialogues are another strong point in the movie. There are many hard-hitting dialogues that extol the Indian army and the sacrifices of the army men. Also there are couple of enjoyable humorous dialogues coupled with Vijay’s excellent comic timing that rocks the theatre.

Technically it is one of the best Vijay movies.  Santhosh Sivan needs no praise for this movie is like child’s play for the great man. His candid shots especially are noteworthy. Srikar Prasad’s editing is another astounding aspect of the movie. It is not all racy, where there is need for the pace to slow down he does it with proficiency.

Vijay is excellent in a very casual portrayal of an army man accidentally caught in a mission. His body language, Hindi and English diction, comic timing, agility in action sequences and subtle acting makes it one of the best work from him in the recent times next to “Nanban”. Kajal Agarwal is gorgeous and dances well, though in terms of acting she has nothing much to do. Vidyut Jamwal is excellent, he is more of a Hero material than Villain though he has done a very good job here. Jayaram and Sathyan lend good support.

Harris Jayaraj’s background score is one of his best in recent times. It makes sure that right amount of adrenaline rush happens in the most crucial of moments in the movie. “Google google” and “Kutti puli kootam” are awesome dance numbers while “Vennilave” is a delectable melody. “Antartica” is picturized interestingly while “Alaika laika” has good dance movements. “Poivarva” is a heart-rending number rightly placed.

Agreed there are few moments in the movie that slackens the flow but the larger picture satisfies the audience to a great deal. May be the songs may irritate a few, but when you have a proficient dancer like Vijay, gorgeous damsel like Kajal and above all awesome songs from Harris Jayaraj why wouldn’t anyone have songs in their movies.

On the whole, 2012 would be remembered as the year in which all the big stars of Tamil cinema fell by the wayside except for this one man, Vijay who has hit bull’s-eye not once but twice.

Bottomline: Paapaakala konjam thalli poi vilayadunga...!!!  

3.5/5 

200th Tamil movie review

Looking forward to my 200th Tamil movie review with "THUPAKKI"......

                            

Looper

My review: Looper

"Looper" Rian Johnson's sci-fi actioner that deals with time travel is not your regular mindless action movie. And it is not intended to tease your brain with the concept of time travel either. It is almost philosophical without being a boring, long drawn out arty movie. It is an action movie but the main confrontation is between the present and future self of the protagonist, between selfish interest and the larger good for the society.

Many movies have used the concept of time travel but here the same is used in a cognitively simple manner for the viewer to follow. And main focus is not on the time travel but as i said earlier, it is a battle for survival between the present and the future life of the same person which is very intriguing thread to make a movie on. Movie starts of like an usual action movie with time travel concept to spice up things. But when the concept of "closing the loop" which means killing self from the future by the person in the present surfaces the movie becomes interesting and engaging.

Once Bruce Willis, who plays the future self of Joseph Gordon-Levitt appears, the confrontation and cat and mouse game between the two makes up for a riveting viewing. With umpteen twists and turns, the writers keep you guessing till the end with a thoughtful end.

Joseph Gordon-Levitt as the present Joe, the protagonist of the movie with a lot of gray shades is very good.  Though he doesn't have much facial reactions to make, he is able to convey his emotions to the viewers nonetheless. Bruce Willis is good too as the future Joe, though his screen space and scope is lesser. Emily Blunt is brilliant.

Steve Yadlin's cinematography and Nathan Johnson's background score enhance the story's impact.

If your are the type who doesn't mind in being cognitively alert while watching a movie at the same time enjoy  slam-bam action, then "Looper" should be your pick.

Bottomline: Creative and humane sci-fi movie

3.5/5

Ted

My review: Ted

Seth MacFarlane's "Ted" is a fantasy adult-comedy, that takes itself very lightly. Hence it is imperative that the viewers should also must take it lightly, enjoy the swear words & profanities, routine love vs friendship battle with lots of laughs and Flash Gordon, Sam J.Jones. Starring Mark Wahlberg, Mila Kunis and Seth MacFarlane in the lead, "Ted" is not a must watch but not a pushover either.

First thing first. If you expect, since it has a fantasy element and one of the protagonists is a teddy bear, the movie to be cutesy and goody-goody then you are in for a jolt. This teddy is brash, loud, uncouth and promiscuous. Nonetheless you would instantly fall in love with it/"him" for he is not pretentious or "human".  The movie is strictly for the adult audience mainly because of the usage of strong explicit language throughout the movie. In that way movie stays clear of regular Hollywood rom-coms.

Except for the bold dialogues, movie is a routine story of a man's struggle to choose between his girl-friend and his best buddy. Seth MacFarlane is the hero of the movie. He has brought life to the teddy with his voice and keeps the movie going with his indomitable dialogue delivery. Without the teddy and Seth, movie would have been an usual movie with a routine storyline.

Mark Wahlberg is sincere in his effort as the "still-not-yet-THE-man" protagonist. Mila Kunis is adorable as ever.

"Ted" is your regular heart-warming "boy-finally-becoming-a-man" story, "bro-com" made in the narrative style of a rom-com. It might not be everyone's cup of tea but if you can brave the profanities, then "Ted" will surely make you smile in the end.

Bottomline: Watch it with your "BRO"

3.5/5

Argo

My review: Argo

A movie based on one of the most audacious rescue operations in history is bound to be overtly dramatic and lionizing. But Ben Affleck's "Argo" is not. It tries to be as objective as possible within the constraints of a commercial cinema with a few cinematic liberties which is understandable. It is astonishing to think of that a mission which appears so fancy and ridiculous on paper was actually carried out, that too in 1979-80 and successfully at that.

Movie never tries to take sides and be "patriotic". There itself the writer Chris Terrio and director Ben Affleck stand apart. They have also not tried to make it an adrenaline pumping action adventure. Rather they allow the story to unfold and gradually building up the tension in the viewers which leads on to a happy ending. Though one knows how the story would end, cant't escape the sense of jubilation that come into one's psyche as the movie ends. Sense of respect for the actual people involved gets higher when they show the photographs of them in the end credits.

As said earlier though the movie moves at a very laid back pace, it keeps the viewers engrossed to it throughout. Though the movie is set almost three decades back, it is still relevant considering how US has time and again done similar blunders, screwing many countries all along. And by calling spade a spade, team "Argo" has shown courage and honesty which deserves to be lauded.

Ben Affleck has also done the lead role of Tony Mendes, the hero of this rescue operation. He is uptight throughout the movie, may be the real Tony Mendes might have been that kind of a person. He doesn't show much emotions. It is a very restrained portrayal. Rest of the cast have ably supported Ben to give us one of the most memorable movie of the year.

Technically movie is brilliant, shot in the old 80's style, cinematography sets the mood. Rodrigo Prieto is the cinematographer. Alexandre Desplate's background score complements the story very well.

One the whole, "Argo" is a must watch, one is bound to get goose bumps in the end. Watch out for the Academy awards, except for the acting honours, it might sweep the others.

Bottomline:  An  astonishing "Mission impossible".

4/5