Kalavaani - Movie review

It is really a tough job for a debutant director to make an impressing movie with less popular star-cast, average music. Director Sarkkunam (Sargunam), does it well in his Kalavaani. Kalavani is a clean entertainer that can be enjoyed with whole family.

The script is all about a guy who falls in love with a girl from the next village. Both villages suffer from age-old enmity. Even we have seen this story umpteen times, what makes it worthy is the treatment and characterization.

Treatment: Crisp, clean, not dragging.

Characterization:

Making a village story (that too two villages) with limited characters is not an easy job. Most of Tamil Villages stories revolve around so many characters such as uncles, great grandparents, cousins, etc etc. Kalavaani forgoes that. I should give full marks for the director for using limited no of characters.

Saranya gets 200 Marks for her performance as sweet, innocent mom, which she usually does it with perfection. Saranya is indispensable when it comes to Mother roles. It is highly impossible to imagine someone else in her role.

Secondly, heroine's brother (New face?). He impresses with a unique body language and dialogue delivery which is quite natural. He gets 100 Marks.

Vimal, as Arikki @ Arivazhagan, has done his part well. Only thing is, few dialogues reminded me of Paruthiveeran. Oviya, has done a fabulous job. Her acting as a girl hailing from a village is so apt.

Then Kanja Karuppu as Mr. Panchayathu, who gets trapped in the plans of Vimal gang. Noteworthy performance from Ganja Karuppu after a long time.

Friends of Arivazhagan have pulled off an excellent performance. One scene that had the whole theater in splits is "Arivazhagan. Mr. Arivazhagan". OMG!

Cinematography: Excellent. Green Paddy fields have been shot so beautifully.

Music: SS Kumaran has done a better job in Background score in first half while songs are big miss. Oru Murai song works because of the picturization and "dumma dumma" hook!

Overall: A perfect movie for family audience. Do not miss it.

Regards,
Vinith...

Keywords: Kalavaani movie review, kalavani vimal, sargunam, sarkunam, oviyaa, saranya ponvannan, ilavarasu, ganja karuppu.

Vasanthabalan's Angadi Theru - A must visit street

Angadi Theru, the descriptive title says it all. Yes, it is the tale of a couple who works for a famous Textile Store in T Nagar.

Story:

Jothilingam (Akhil), a guy who hails from a village ‘Ittamozhi’, comes to Chennai to work in a Textile Store as a salesman. That owes to the sudden demise of his father in an accident. There he meets the floor supervisor Kani (cho chweet ‘Anjali’). Their meet starts with a fight and soon turns into love. Love blossoms between the couple. Another couple in the same store, who loved each other, faces a tragic end. Will the lead couple, who are terrorized by this incident, unite?

As far as the story and screenplay are considered, this is certainly a feather in director Vasantha Balan’s crown. The screenplay in the first half works so beautifully while the sequences in the second half are quite predictable.

The first scene of this movie is symbolic. But it has been shown in a way that audiences realize it only as they reach the end. Well done Vasanthabalan. There are so many brilliant, poetic, emotional scenes in the movie. For instance, the scene where younger sister of Akhil, who is longing to see his brother, asks for the ‘Senthil Murugan Stores’ labeled bag from a lady, in her village. Brilliant. The love between Akil and Anjali has been portrayed so beautifully, especially in the songs.

Talking about the performance, everybody has done their parts well that includes the lead pair, Akhil’s friend who provides the comic part and his girlfriend, the floor in-charge Karungali. However, the best of these performances is undoubtedly from Anjali, who stuns the audience with her realistic performance. With her expressive eyes and girl next door look, she has done a fabulous job in acting. Akhil, though, has done his part well, needs a little improvement in facial expressions.

Songs are excellent. GV Prakash’s ‘Un perai sollumbodhe’, Vijay Antony’s “Aval appadi ondrum” are soothing to ears and the songshave been picturized beautifully. However, the background score is not effective. Cinematography is excellent.

Of course, this cannot be called a flawless movie. The movie has its minus points. To quote a few,

The second half is predictable. Though the friend of Akhil provides a comic relief, we have seen such characters in of movies. The tragic second half is supposed to create a shock in audience. But it doesn’t really.

Overall: The impact of the lighter first half is more than the impact of the tragic second half. I’m not a big fan of Vasantha balan’s Veyil. I thought he was overrated. He proves me wrong with his Angadi Theru. Looking forward to his next venture.

Regards,

Vinith...

Tags: Vasanthabalan, angadi theru movie review, saravana stores, senthil murugan stores, akhil, anjali, gv prakash kumar, vijay antony

Paiya by Lingusamy - An Entertaining Cliche!

Paiya is a very good entertainer with good amount of romance, action, humor, excellent songs.

Plot:
Karthi, a job seeker, sees Tamanna in Bangalore and falls in love with her. One day, he takes the car to railway station to pick up his friend (the owner of the car). There, he happens to meet Thamanna again with a villain. Thinking that Karthi is a taxi driver, the villain calls him for a trip to Chennai. On the way, when Villain gets out of the car in a petrol bunk, Tamannah asks Karthi to drive away before the Villain returns. There begins the lovable journey. The couple go on for a journey from Bangalore to Mumbai. The obstacles they face in the journey form the crux.

Performance:
Karthi delivers a superb, lovable performance. Some of his expressions give us a feel that he is still stuck with Paruthiveeran. The complete transformation hasn't come yet. However, he does this role with ease. Thamannah as Charu looks gorgeous on screen and does her role perfectly. The girl in Karthi's friends gang catches our attention.

It was reported that Milind Soman has a vital role in this movie. What's that. LOL. He comes hardly for few scenes. Delivers some hindi dialogues and gets beaten by Karthi at the end. He has been wasted.

Villains usually shout in high decibel that tortures our hears. That is completely missing in Paiya which is indeed a good relief.

Technically:

Brilliant music by Yuvan, takes the movie to next level and makes it more entertaining. His songs have been placed aptly. We could hear a huge screaming, whistles from the audience for every single song. Kudos to Yuvan Shankar Raja. Suthudhe suthudhe song has been picturized with beautiful set by Art Director Rajeevan. Cinematography is okay.

Minuses:
There are many. To quote a few, same old story, predictable second half, too much of heroism. There is a scene near toll gate. Karthi and Tamahha on one side of the Toll gate, the villain gang is on the other side. The way Karthi escapes from the sight of the gang is ridiculous and damn silly. There are quite a few such scenes.

However, Thamanna and Yuvan make it worth watching. 80% of the movie happens in traveling that adds a special charm.

Overall: Go for it! First half is a high-way ride while second half has 'men at work. go slow' board at times. Good journey overall.

Keyword: Paiya, paiyaa, payya, karthi, thamannah, yuvan shankar raja, movie review, paiya music, background score, milind soman, linguswamy.

Vinnai thaandi Varuvaaya by Goutham Menon

Summary:
A feel good movie with nice twist in the climax. Technically this is again a typical Gautham Vasudev Menon movie, with stunning visuals, cool picturization of songs and scintillating songs and background score. Slick and stylish overall.

Plot:
Simbu falls in love with Trisha, who is from an orthodox Malayalam Christian family. Simbu is passionate about directing and movie and joins as Asst. Director to K S Ravikumar (Guest role). Trisha's family opposes her love (No prize for guessing this :-p ). Simbu goes on pursuing his director career. Does the couple unite? Go watch it!

Performance:
Simbu surprisingly delivers a fabulous performance. His performance is something we'd been missing for years. Trisha is neither a plus nor a minus. She does her role perfectly but that isn't a show stealer. Ganesh, who comes as a helping friend for Simbu made a good effort in terms of realistic performance. However, I feel, Santhanam or Vivek would have been an apt choice for that kind of role. No offense.

Treatment:
There is nothing new in the story of Vinnai thandi varuvayaa. Screenplay could have been faster and dialogues were not so intense. Disappointing. First half is boring and second half is much better than first half. Climax is out-of-the-world. Too many songs that affect the pace of the movie.

Technically:
Yup. You guessed it right. AR Rahman is the real hero of the movie. His background score in first half simply elevates the movie and enthralls the audience. Songs have already become super hits. Picturization of song is good and is typical GVM stuff. Nothing new. I get a feel that he's getting monotonous in terms of song picturization. Cinematography is absolutely delightful. Kudos to the technical crew.

Overall:
A satisfying movie. The last 20 mins made me sit up and the twist was really unexpected. Many said that they were bowled over and the movie had a big impact on them. Hmmm. I did not feel any such impact. I liked it. I was not blown away. Vinnai thandi varuvaya is certainly not a 'movie to be avoided'.

Final Verdict: Not a disappointing movie. You can go for it.

Regards,
Vini...

Tag: Vinnaithandi varuvaaya, vinnai thaandi varuvayaa, vinnai thandi varuvaaya, ar rahman, background music, background score, goutham, gowtam, gautam vasudev menon, simbhu, thrisha, trisha, silambarasan.

Venkat Prabhu's Goa - A Boring holiday trip

Chennai 28 gave us a fresh feel. People loved it. Saroja's screenplay was very much entertaining even though there was nothing new in terms of story. Premgi, Shiva were excellent in Saroja. But in goa, everything fails miserably. Poor screenplay, same old mokkai, dud jokes, same face expression from Premgi, repeating the same style of using Ilayaraja's song when guys meet their girls. Oh my god! Give me a break! Cannot tolerate this anymore!

The story that progresses aimlessly, boring screenplay that lacks continuity, made this trip a forgettable one.

Solace of the movie:
> Sampath's role was good and he'd done it really well.
> Jai's English - In one scene where guys decide to speak only in English, Vaibhav asks Jai for a towel. He asks in English "Towel Come" for which Jai looks at the towel and says "Towel Go"! ROTFL. But sad that there were only few such scenes that evoked laughter.
> Yuvan's music
> Sakthi's Cinematography.

Boring Factors:
> Premgi's mokkais
> Three heroines - Hardly 20 mins for each. Though they did their parts well, there was no scope at all.
> Too many songs. Imagine 8 songs in a already boring screenplay.
> Almost 90 minutes of the movie were aimlessly shot. Filled with too much of meaningless mokkais.
> Using Ilayaraja's song frequently. :banghead:

Overall - A trip that should not be remembered. Very sorry Ms. Soundharya Rajnikanth!

Regards
Vinith

Keywords: Goa movie review, Venkat prabhu, venkat prabu, yuvan, Premgi, premji, vaibhav, jai, piya, melani, melanie, sneha, soundharya, soundarya rajnikanth,

Movie Review: Yogi - A Shameless remake of Tsotsi.

Yogi is definitely one of the good movies of the year. With a good screenplay, brilliant direction in few scenes, excellent performance, wonderful cinematography and stunning background score, Yogi is certainly worth watching.

Plot: The story is all about, how the life of a slum dweller (a ruthless human, played by Ameer) changes when a baby comes into his life. That's the one liner.

Yogi is more of Ameer's than Subramaniam Siva. On seeing the movie, the narrating style, the camera angle, one can easily say that the brain behind these is Ameer. There were some brilliant scenes which evoke emotion to the audience. Ameer and Madhumitha's performance were excellent and laud-worthy. Ameer shined well as an actor.

The biggest plus here is Yuvan Shankar Raja's background music. Brilliant music. His music conveyed the emotion so beautifully in some scenes. Background score of Yogi is sure to take Yuvan one step further. Kudos!

The biggest minus point is that the movie is almost a ''frame-by-frame' remake of South African movie "Tsotsi". Shamelessly copied. Though there were rumors that this movie is inspired from tsotsi, I was confident that Ameer would not take that route. But it was a complete shock to me that the whole movie is a rip off. WTF!!!!!!!!!!!The moment I saw the set up of Ameer's house in the movie, I could guess the amount of plagiarism. About 70 minutes of Yogi are lifted from Tsotsi. Why they couldn't copy more than 70 minutes? Because, Tsotsi runs only for 90+ minutes. LOL. It's a sin to copy Tsotsi without mentioning any credits. Tsotsi is a classic. The movie has to be experienced. Now that I have watched Yogi, I want to watch Tsotsi once again, to nullify the sin.

Trivia: The movie is gonna be screened in Dubai Film Festival where there will be juries from all over the world. Wondering how Ameer is gonna manage them. Is Ameer aware of this fact that the movie is copied? Or it is Sub Siva who the real culprit is? Let's see!

Regards,
Vinith.

Keyword: Yogi movie review, yogi yuvan ameer madhumitha, yogi copied from Tsotsi, yogi inspired, Yogi review, yogi background score.

Movie Review: Kandhasaamy

At last, the much awaited movie of the year is out! Here's my take on Kandhasaamy!

Story:

You can compare the story of Kandhaswamy with Sivaji. Yes it is all about black-money and about the saying "Rich get richer, Poor get poorer". Kandhasamy (Vikram), the CBI officer raids the money from the rich and gives it to poor. How? Go watch it!

What's new???

The concept of using God Kandhasamy's name to serve the poor is quite impressive. People tying the prayers written paper on the tree, Vikarm reading all those prayers and answering them in the name of "God Kandhasamy". Good one.

Performance:

As far as acting is considered, Kandhasamy doesn't disappoint. Everybody has done a good job. Just that there wasn't enough scope for Vikram to showcase his talents.

What's good?

The second half is far better than the boring, rubbish first half. The Mexico episode in second half is very much satisfying with interesting twists, suspense elements, outstanding Camerawork and Vikram's performance. In fact I would rather say that Mexico episode was the only relief for me. Krishna (father of Telugu Superstar Maheshbabu) who comes as senior officer for Vikram, impressed with his short but sweet role. He did a great job.

What plays spoil-sport?

First half progresses aimlessly. Screenplay sucked. Too much of glamor, skin show from Shreya. Songs that act as Speed-breakers. Vadivel's torture in the name of "comedy" and his disgusting double entendre dialogues too. Sonorous background score that damages our ears.

Verdict: Kandhasamy, a big disappointment! Movie fails to live up to the hype.

Tags: Kandhasamy review, Kandhasamy movie review, kandhasaamy review, kandhaswamy movie review, Vikram, Shreya, Susi Ganesan.

Movie Reviews: Muthirai, Vamanan

Just thought of sharing my opinion on these two movies.

Muthirai - A crap movie with some nice twists towards the climax. Yuvan is the real hero of this movie. He's elevated this movie with his amazing background score. Beautiful songs have been picturized pathetically with expressionless Lead heroes. We only get frustrated on seeing Nitin's romance in Azhagaana Neeyum song and Daniel's horrible face expressions in July Madhathil, Uyire Uyire songs. Huh. However, it serves as a nice laughter therapy if you go with your friends as a gang. Muthirai's Background scores have been recorded (good quality) and uploaded by me in Yuvan's freeforums. You can download it from there! Here you go. Do register if you have not done already. :)

Vamanan - A run-of-the-mill plot (which is quite similar to as that of Muthirai) that has been narrated in an entertaining way. Even though the movie (particularly the second half) lacks logic, the first half is very much entertaining with Santhanam and Urvasi providing a great laughter therapy. Santhanam has raised to a newer level in this movie with his rib-tickling comedy. Suspense elements in the movie are quite interesting. Another major plus point is Yuvan's songs and above average background score. All five songs have been placed aptly without disrupting the pace of the screenplay. Jai has done a commendable job. Aravind Krishna's camerawork is awesome! Can watch it once.
PS: It is said that this movie has been inspired from a hollywood flick called "Following". Let me watch that movie and get back to you with proper information.

Tagged under: Movie reviews, Vamanan review, vaamanan movie review, vamanan jai, I. Ahmed, Vamanan following, Muthirai review, muththirai movie review, muthirai yuvan, daniel balaji, nitin, srinath, santhanam, urvasi.

Regards,
Vinith.

Movie Review: Kunguma Poovum Konjum Puravum

Direction: RajMohan
Cast: Ramakrishna, Dharshana
Music: Yuvan Shankar Raja
Cinematography: Siddharth


Story:
Same old story. Spoiler ahead. Do not read if you are yet to watch the movie (Hero and Heroine love each other truly. Dreams go haywire. Situation forces heroine to get married to some X. X is a rowdy who spends more time jail than in house. Heroine comes back to the village where their love blossomed. Hero is still in love with her. A small misunderstanding prevails. Heroine thinks that hero did not even try to rescue her from her marriage. He actually tried but in vain. Climax is bit predictable but a not bad one though. aSubham)

Director makes an impression by introducing fresh faces who are not fair handsome, glamor, (just like VKK). He miserably failed in portrayal of the characters. Dubbing voices were not appropriate for the characters seen on the screen. No proper lip sync, tone, pause etc. First half was ok. second half was dragging... thank god.. climax was crisp. Rural feel was completely there

Director's inexperience was very clear in the screenplay. He has no prior experience in this field (as told by him in an interview). Lack of fresh ideas is a big minus. Could have made it much better. The twist just before the interval made me sit up. After this, only towards the climax I realized that I was yawning and leaning back. Welcome Rajmohan. You can definitely prove yourself if you concentrate more in the above said points. All the best for your future ventures!

Performances:
Both the lead pair (Ramakrishna and Dharshana) who stammer in acting at first, picked up later and have done justice to their roles. Ramakrishna has done a commendable job in second half while Dharshana stole the show with wide gamut of emotions and expressions.

Music and Cinematography:
Could feel the change in Music as it is Live Orchestra Recording. No synth sound has been used in this movie. Flute, violin sounds were good with Originality. Apart from this, Yuvan's Music was above average. 1st half had very little music and second half was good. One thing that bothered me in music is, the same kinda music was heard throughout the movie. Well, Yuvan needs to learn more when it comes to rural based subjects.

Cinematography by Siddharth was really cool. Sinnianchirusu song picturization was very good though it reminded me of Kangal Irandal, Aiyaiyo (Paruthiveera) at times. Oru Nimisham song was so apt for that situation. It was really haunting. Velmurugan who has sung this song must be appreciated.

Overall: Average movie. But don't go with huge expectations. You would be disappointed! Just like me!

Share your thoughts.

(Keywords: Kunguma Poovum Konjum Puravum movie review, Director Rajmohan, Kunguma Poovum Konju Puravum review, Yuvan Shankar Raja)

Regards,
Vini...

Siva Manasula Sakthi – Definitely not an SMS

Happened to watch Siva Manasula Sakthi last week. The hype given by Ananda Vikatan and some of my friends made me watch this movie. Some of my friends rated this as a very good entertainer. Well, in my opinion, it was a mediocre movie.

Story:
Sakthi (Anuya), an RJ in a local FM station meets Siva (Jiiva) during a train journey. She lies through her teeth that she is an Airhostess. Siva, a courier man in Professional Courier, boasts about him that he is an Army Man. But, soon after few days, Siva goes to deliver a courier to “Sakthi” in Hello FM station where he comes to know that Sakthi is not an Airhostess. Sakthi too comes to know that he is a courier delivery boy. Ego Clash starts! Love blossoms. What else? Arguments, fights, ego clashes, separation happens with “Subam” at the end!

Performances:
Jiiva is one my favorite actors of this generation. He has done his part well. This role is a child’s play for his acting abilities. I could encounter some overreaction from Jiiva in couple of scenes while Anuya surprised me with a decent performance. Subtle reactions during the ego clashes were really good. Urvasi, as usual delivered both good and over action. Performance of the girl who plays Jiiva’s sister was intolerable. Who is that girl? New face?

Pros and Cons:

Many said that Santhanam-Jiiva combo rocked in comedy. But to me, the comedy was pretty average in the first half except few dialogues and timings by Santhanam. The dragging second half was another minus point.

Debutant director Rajesh shines well in few scenes which were quite enjoyable. For instance, Sakthi’s disappointment in the scene where she wishes Siva on his birthday (false date given by Jiiva) and utters some schmaltzy dialogues. The next scene, in bus, where Siva feels sorry for whatever happened the last night. After Siva finishes his speech, Sakthi wears out the headsets from ears to show that she did not listen to any of his words! Rerecording in this scene was really good.

Lengthier, unentertaining second half with an absurd scene in the climax is certainly a minus point. There is no strong reason why Siva asks Sakthi to sleep with her before marriage. Movie lacks, a crisp and entertaining screenplay, interesting twists and turns. Can watch it for the lead pair Jiiva and Anuya!
Cinematography was good and Yuvan’s background score was mediocre. Oru Kal and Parvaiyil songs were good.

Verdict: Siva Manasula Sakthi – Definitely not as short as SMS.

(Tags: Siva Manasula Sakthi Review, Actor Jiiva, Siva Manasula Sakthi movie review, SMS review, SMS Yuvan, SMS Rajesh, Jiiva)

Share your thoughts,
Vini...

REC - A real horror flick

I have no great passion for Horror Movies neither do I have a great aversion for such movies. I’ve seen hardly three or four horror movies (including Yavarum Nalam. Lol) of which “Grudge” impressed me. Last week I heard about a horror movie called “REC” (2007). Decided to watch it and watched it yesterday. Running time is 75 mins.

Believe me, this is THE BEST horror movie that I’ve seen. This movie managed to ruin my sleep last night. Horror scenes kept disturbing me throughout the night. Go watch it.


Filmed using "Shaky Camerawork" is a big plus. You don't get the feel of watching a movie rather you get the feel of watching some horror scenes recorded live.

If you love horror movies, this one is sure a feast. Check it out!

Warning: Please do not watch this move with weak hearted people, children or ladies.

Target: Horror movies, rec movie, rec horror movie, thriller movies, rec 2007.

Regards,
Vinith

Yavarum Nalam Movie Review

First of all I wish to start this post by saying that it was so great to see Maddy aka Madhavan on big screen after a long time. If at all there is one actor whom I love the most next to Rajni and Kamal, it's Maddy. Yavarum Nalam is definitely a good re-entry for him. He has done his part so well (as usual).

Well, disclosing the story here may be a spoiler. So lemme share my thoughts, what I enjoyed, what I disliked, plusses and minuses of the movie. Yavarum Nalam (13B in Hindi) is a horror movie. In Tamil Film Industry, there is no dearth for Love stories or action scripts or thriller stories or comedy stories. But "Horror" genre has always been rare to see in TFI. So the expectations are high!

What do you think could be the story of a horror movie?
Hero and his family move into a new apartment. Strange things happening in the flat. He starts discovering the mystery and saves his family. Correct? Yavarum Nalam is not an exception in this. It does have the similar plot.

What makes it different?
Things that make this movie different are,

** There is no priest who tells the history of the place (flat).
** No pooja (Homam) is performed to please the ghost and save the family.
** No strange characters to scare the audience... LOL...
** Usually ghost scares the hero and his family in the form of a person or in the form of a voice. But in YN, director Vikram K Kumar has adopted a new technique in this. That's laudable. The ghost in this movie comes through a different medium. That is strikingly different even though we get a question in mind (Can this happen?). However, that is something new that we get to see.
** A perfect blend of humor and horror.
** P.C Shriram's cinematography. Stunning. Forgoing the regular bluish tone, the film's cinematography carries a different tone which is great to see on the screen. The way our Cinematographer shows the lift is awesome. Of course, when there is PC Shriram, we need not worry about the cinematography part.

Performances:
Saranya Ponvannan, as a home maker who is passionate about tele serials, fits the bill. Neetu as maddy's wife. Even though the role doesn't offer much scope, she has done her part well. Maddy's friend, who is a police man, has done justice to his role. The whole theatre LOLed when he asks maddy for updates on the TV Serial. ROTFL. Good job.

Pros:

** Maddy..... Maddy..... Maddy..... Maddy..... Maddy..... Maddy..... He perfectly suits the role of Upper Middle Class man. With subtle expressions on his face in romancing his wife, getting scared when he experiences strange things, in comedy sequences, worrying for his family members, maddy enthralls the audience. That was a treat to watch him.
** Cinematography and editing.
** Screenplay in first half and interesting twits and turns in second half.

Cons:

** Feckless background score. Tubby-Parik has done the BGM. BGM could have been better for this horror movie.
** Second half could have been abridged.
** Loopholes...some are really silly!

Verdict:

Go, watch the movie. You will surely like it. With horror genre movies becoming rare in TFI, this one should not be missed. Don't miss it. Movie is worth watching.

Share your thoughts...

Tags: Yaavarum Nalam review, Yavarum nalam review, yavarum nalam movie review, 13B yavarum nalam review, maddy madhavan, yavarum nalam story.

Regards,
Vini...

Naan Kadavul - Movie Review

Discussing the story of Naan Kadavul may become a spoiler. Hence I've decided not to reveal the story here. I'm sharing my opinion on this movie.

First 20 mins was excellent. But movie miserably fails to move on with a good screenplay. There were good scenes too in the first half. Overall the first half was little boring to me. First 5-10 mins in the second of made me regret for the money i spent to watch this movie. No. I was wrong. There comes the turning point, soon after the second half starts. The next 40-50 mins of the movie including the climax is stunning and never seen in Tamil Cinema (or even in Indian Cinema). Bala, as usual excells in characterization. Wonderful attempt Bala :thumbsup:

With scary looks and husky voice Arya has done his best. Except for few mantras and some hindi dialogues, he has nothing to speak/act in the movie. However, he makes his presence felt. Good job man!

Pooja steals the show with her extraordinary performance. Kudos to bala for getting the best out of her. Award nichayam.

Bala’s touch in movies like Pithamagan is not seen much in this movie. But then, there are few scenes which are never seen in cinema. Bala has captured the feel/emotion/lives of those “kai vida pattavargal” (orphans) very beautifully! Words fail to express the impact that it creates in one’s hearts. There are some questions that are asked against god in this movie. Questions may sound valid for atheists.

Music and Camera:
Raja proves that he is god once again in this movie. :clap: :bow: :fall_at_his_feet: His music in second half is terrific. Right from the intro of Arya , where the camera travels from top angle till the climax, the cinematography is outstanding. :clap:

Negative points:
* Why does Bala need 2+ years to make this movie? (108 heroines change pannina aagathaan seiyum :P )
* Playing old songs where few characters imitate MGR, Sivaji, Rajni etc :banghead: Does this kinda sensitive movie require such elements??? :argh: It was boring to see :fatigue:
* Arya comes hardly for 30-45 mins. Bala could have given more importance to Arya's role.
* Only two out of six songs have been included. Injustice to Raaja's composition.


Verdict: A very different cinema that captures the world of “abandoned” which we’ve never seen in tamil cinema. It also brings the business of cunning people behind those orphans to limelight. Barring those few boring scenes, movie is definitely worth watching! Second half elevates the movie. Naan Kadavul - boring at times, stunning at times, funny at times, disturbing at times, scary at times. Overall - worth watching many times.

PS: I strongly recommend you not to watch it with kids or weak hearts.

Varanamayiram - Movie Review

The wait ends. One of the much awaited movies of the year is out.

Varanamayiram (VA) portrays the life journey of a man. As many of us know, the movie has been inspired from Forrest Gump. Inspiration is very minimal. VA is the blend of Forest Gump and the autobiography of the director.

The film starts with the demise of the aged Krishnan (Surya). The news is informed to his son Surya (Surya again as an Army officer) who is on a mission to rescue a writer who has been kidnapped by terrorists. Surya then starts recollecting the memories of his father and his life journey. The journey begins.

The movie shifts to 60s (or 80s) where Krishnan falls in love with his college mate Malini (Simran). She reciprocates his love and they get married. They are blessed with the gift of the married life. Surya is born. He grows up, he becomes a guitarist, and he studies in a college at Trichy. He meets Meghna (Sameera) in the train when he returns home after the completion of college life. He falls in love with her. He proposes her in the train itself. But Meghna who doesn’t believe in Love At First Sight rejects his proposal saying that Love cannot blossom just like that. Surya who is in sincere love with her tells her that he’ll not leave her and will only marry her. He later searches and finds her house and makes a proposal again. Meghna, who is surprised to see him at her house, says that she cannot fall in love as she is leaving US to pursue higher studies.

Krishnan falls sick and is hospitalized. Surya asks him to take rest and assures that he’ll take care of the family and finance. Surya obtains some projects to improve the financial status and builds a house for his dad. He is still in love with Meghna. He conveys this to his parents and gets their consent to leave for US to search Meghna. He finds Meghna. She is impressed and finally reciprocates her love. Then comes the tragedy. Meghna dies in a terrorist bomb attack in US.

Depressed Surya decides to come back to India. He meets a gentleman called Shankar Menon who lends his shoulder and tries to console Surya. Surya who is still not recovered from the loss of Meghna starts consuming drugs and becomes a drug addict.

Krishnan and Malini decide to send him out of the town on an attempt to rejuvenate Surya. Surya then tours Kashmir where he comes across the news that the son of Shankar Menon (person whom he met in airport) has been kidnapped. Surya decides to rescue his son and succeeds in his attempt.

Surya is back to home now. Priya (Divya) a friend of Surya’s sister is in love with Surya for years. But then she hid it as Surya was in love with Meghna. Now, she decides to make the proposal. Surya doesn’t accept her proposal.

Surya plans to join Indian Army. After he gets the nod from his parents, he joins Indian Army and becomes a Major. After few years, Priya comes to Indian Army to meet Surya and she makes the proposal again. He accepts and soon they get married.

One day, Krishnan falls sick and is diagnosed as Throat Cancer. He then undergoes an operation. Before he could recover fully, Surya gets a call from the army to rescue the writer who has been kidnapped. So he starts immediately to Kashmir. He is on the mission. Then is when he received the call from his home which conveyed the death of his father.

Surya returns home and completes his father’s funeral. The movie ends!

What I liked in VA?

Surya’s unparalleled performance as father and son is a nothing short of a treat. The emotions he shows when Meghna dies, when he behaves impolitely as a drug addict, his body language as an Army officer. This movie should be a milestone in his career. He does well in father’s role also. But then there is a scope for improvement.

Simran’s performance was really cool. Her character has been portrayed well. Kudos to costume designer for Mundhinam song in which Simran looks gorgeous. :-)

Harris’ background score in second half was amazing. Songs have already become chartbusters.

Cinematography by Rathnavel. Beautifully captures US, Delhi, Kashmir. Good job man!

The characters and the relationship between the characters have been very beautifully portrayed. Be it the bond between Father and Son or the bond between Father Surya and Simran. Father Surya calling Simran as "Darling" is something new. The way Surya respects his father, the way father Surya gives freedom to his son will move each father and son watching the movie.

What I hate in VA?

Excruciatingly slow paced screenplay. Dialogues of Sentiment. Sometimes they were ok, but most of the times they gave a feel :sshhhabbbaa: Is there a thumb rule that this kind of movies should be slow paced?

No excellent dialogues.

Runtime of the movie :yawning:

Certain scenes in first half were very boring.

Some scenes were too artificial. (Eg. Father son surya asking sorry to son surya for using his room in his absence. Huh... )

Which parents will allow their son to stay with his Girlfriend in the same room before marriage? Here is Krisnhan and Simran.. lol.

English dialogues which will not be understood by common people.

Verdict of Vinith:

Varanamayiram means “The strength of thousand elephants”.

Surya’s phenomenal performance equals the strength of 300 elephants, Music and Cinematography equal another 300 elephants, Portrayal of Simran equals 200 elephants and heroines & the portrayal of the characters equal the strength of 199 elephants. Director Gautham's screenplay is the only weaker elephant here. His slow, sometimes merely dragging screenplay and dud dialogues weaken the other elephants. With 999 strong elephants and one weak elephant, the movie is definitely worth watching. Only once.

Regards,

Vinith...

Kadhalil Vizhundhen

A quick review of “Kadhalil Vizhundhen”

This is one of the different movies in Tamil Film Industry. In fact, an untold story. Kadhalil Vizhundhen is all about a guy who lives with the corpse of his girlfriend thinking that she is still alive. Hmmm… Doesn’t that sound different? Yes, a romance of rare genre! A must watch movie!

Why I liked this movie?

* The story of this movie which is really strong.
* Nakul and the new face Sunaina. Perfect chemistry! Sunaina shines well.
* Vijay Antony’s music. Not for the songs but for the background score. Outstanding BGM for romance scenes elevates the movie to another level. BGM played during the “balloon” scene was my favorite.
* Vijay Milton’s cinematography is another plus.
* The climax.

Why, I may not watch this movie again?

* Sluggish Screenplay for such a powerful story is a big minus. Even though the scene, where we actually come to know that Nakul is mentally abnormal, makes us sit up, the poor screenplay following this scene makes us feel bored.
* Director could have done without a villain.
* Stunts and Songs overdose.

Verdict of Vinith:
Go, watch the movie once. Satisfaction of watching a good movie is guaranteed!

Regards,
Vinith

Children of Heaven

Please spend Ten minutes in reading this review, and 90 minutes to watch this movie.
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Movie: Children of Heaven (1997)
Country: Iran
Director: Majid Majidi
Cast: Amir Farrokh Hashemian (as Ali), Bahare Seddiqi (as Zahra)
Awards and Accolades: Nominated for Oscar Award. Critically acclaimed.
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A simple tale of a brother and sister hailing from a very poor family. Zahra’s damaged shoes are given for repair. Ali goes and collects the repaired shoes. Ali keeps the shoes outside a shop and goes inside to buy provisions. Accidently a street peddler takes away the shoes along with the wastes. When Ali comes out, he finds the shoes missing. He returns home and informs this to Zahra. Zahra initially decides to inform this to parents but calms down as Ali convinces her that he would surely find the missing shoes. Siblings decide not to inform their parents about the missing shoes.

Ali comes up with an idea when Zahra asks him as what she would wear tomorrow. The idea is, Zahra will wear Ali’s shoes in the morning and hand it over to Ali. Ali would then wear it in the afternoon. Zahra agrees to this condition as she knows that her parents cannot buy a new one. They implement this idea and are quite successful in this. But everyday Ali goes late to school since he has to wait and collect the shoes from Zahra.

One day, Zahra finds her shoes on her schoolmate’s feet. Assuming that her classmate has stolen her shoes, she follows her and finds her house. She then takes Ali to her house to get the shoes. But they return after seeing her family situation which is worse than theirs.

Ali’s school organizes a running race. Ali who was not interested to be a part of the race at first, changes his mind later after he sees the poster which has the prize list. Third prize – A pair of sneakers. Ali breaks this news to Zahra and promises that he will end third in the race.

The race starts! Does Ali succeed in his attempt to win the sneakers? Was he able to keep the promise? Have they got the new pair of sneakers which they were yearning for? – Go, watch the movie!


Best parts of the movie!

Zahra and Ali’s splendid performance. Are these children from heaven?

Ali and Zahra communicate with each other by writing in their notebook. This is because they cannot talk about the lost shoes in front of their parents.

The movie carries very little music but aptly comes in the background. Rerecording for the racing scenes is brilliant.

Every time when Zahra runs to handover the shoes to Ali, I sit up.

The way Zahra tries to catch the shoe which falls into a gutter. The tension she shows on her face when running to catch the shoe is absolutely mind-blowing. This one scene left me at the edge of seat and my eyes were wet! Excellent GBM!

The whole running race episode. The way the director increases your tension during the running race. At one point during the race, Ali realizes that he is in the first place; so he slows down and lets two boys run ahead so that he can end third in the race. When Ali places himself in third position, a boy hits Ali wantonly and runs ahead; Ali falls down. Tension grips!

When Ali loses energy and slows down, the scene where Zahra runs fast to handover the shoes flashes his mind! He gears up and starts running fast! Re-recording for this running race is priceless. You’ll hear only the panting sound of Ali. This piece is very innovative! Again, my eyes brimmed with tears!

To conclude,
This movie is so realistic that almost every brother can relate this story and scenes with his life! The guy who is watching this movie would see himself in Ali and his sister in Zahra!

I strongly feel that this movie should be screened in every school for children on Children’s day! This is not a movie but a journey for me.

Regards,
Vinith...

Saroja - Movie Review

After roaring success with Chennai-28, Venkat Prabhu is back with Saroja. He is actually back with a bang in Saroja. Yes, Saroja is a sure shot winner.

Saroja is all about a foursome (SPB Charan, Mirchi Shiva, Premji and Chinni) are friends who plan a trip to Hyderabad to watch India-Pakistan ODI match. They plan to go by a caravan arranged by Shiva. The journey starts happily but faces a big tragedy in the middle.

The journey is disrupted as a tanker lorry mishap on the road. Shiva comes up with an idea of reaching Hyderabad through a shortcut. Midway in the shortcut, they hit a man (Bose Venkat) who is trying to escape from a rowdy gang. They take Bose Venkat into their Van as an attempt to aid him. The gang catches Bose Venkat and shoots him to death. This murder is witnessed by SPB Charan and Shiva. The gang decides to kill both the Witnesses. They try to escape. Thus a racy screenplay starts.

The foursome later comes to know that the gang is also involved in kidnapping the daughter (Vega) of Viswanathan (Prakash Raj). The foursome makes up their mind to rescue Vega from the gang. How do they plan and succeed? That forms the rest of the story. There is an unexpected twist at the end. Premji and Shiva keep the movie alive and entertaining.

First bouquet to Venkat Prabhu for making a movie with a good action screenplay mixed with right amount of fun. Next in the line is Yuvan Shankar Raja for his amazing background score. His music is the backbone of the movie. Then, the cameraman Shakthi Saravanan. He has done a fabulous job. He has captured even the dark night scenes very clearly. Last but not least, Premji. He put the whole theatre in laughter whenever he appeared on screen.

Prakash Raj, Jayaram (as policeman), Sampath (gang leader), Vega all fit the bill. Rest of the actors of Chennai28 team also appears in cameo roles in the movie. That’s a good idea VP.

On looking at the above said points, please do not come to a conclusion that VP has come up with an innovative and trend stting story. Here is the biggest negative point of the movie.The one half of the story is unoriginal. The whole concept of Tour to Hyderabad, Caravan, Foursome, Van hitting a man, heroes witnessing the execution, hiding themselves in the building, seeking the beggars’ help, are all the Tamil version of the movie “Judgment Night”. Dittoed. The only thing VP has done is, he has combined this half with a usual Kidnapping story and has added enough fun.

Had VP come out with an original script, I would have been very happy watching the movie. As I have already watched Judgment Night, I could easily predict most of the scenes.Since most of the Tamil audiences wouldn’t have watched Judgment Night, Saroja is certainly a fresh script for them.Positives and Negatives of the movie:

Plus points:
Racy screenplay
Premji
Yuvan’s BGM
Cameraman Shakthi Saravanan

Minus:
Unoriginal Script is the big minus point
The twist in the climax is utterly cliché.

Overall a commendable job from the team.

Star Rating: Saroja deserves 4 stars. Inspiration takes 1 star from it. So only 3 Stars.

Regards,
Vinith

Director - Not found

I like this Mr. X very much. Mr. X is a director. Mr. X has directed only one movie. I’ve been waiting for his next venture. But now information is found about the director’s next movie. Immediately after his first movie, he announced his next movie. Title of his second movie was too good. There have been no updates after that.

The only movie he directed was an excellent movie. When I came out of theatre, I was emotionally stuck. It was like a journey. The camera work, the music, the characters, lead artist's performance were all enthralling. Certain scenes were absolutely mindblowing and very innovative. Meaningful dialogues is another plus.

Despite the positive reviews from critics and audience the movie bombed at the box office. The movie did have some flaws and few ridiculous dialogues. But still the movie was worth watching. I cannot forget certain scenes and dialogues of that movie. Am eagerly waiting for his next movie.

But I feel that he is not given his due. When director Perarasu, recipient of contempt reviews could get numerous offers, why aren’t producers approaching this talented Mr. X?I wish to see news about the next venture of this talent soon. Hope we’ll get it.

I hope you have guessed who Mr. X is. Haven’t you?

He is Mr. Raam, the director of the movie Katradhu Tamizh.

Regards,

Vinith

Subramaniapuram - Movie Review

2008 - A man is being released from a jail, he comes out - CUT - Its raining outside - CUT - He had not even crossed the prison premises, a man comes and kills this bloke. He falls down - CUT - 1980 - Subramaniyapuram - Kanja karuppu walks down the street. The story starts...

Isn't that a fantastic opening scene?

Jai, Sasikumar (Director), Kanja Karuppu and two other are thick friends. The story revolves these three leads with other two being supporting roles. Jai, Sasi and Kanja Karuppu are unemployed youngsters who involve themselves in fights, then paying frequent visits to the Subramaniyapuram police station. They are being helped by Samuthrakani whose elder brother is an ex-Councilor. So there comes a natural bonding between Samuthrakani and these three youngsters. Conucilor is being taken away from the post by a member in the opposite party. This puts Samuthrakani under mental agony. He shares this pain with this trio. Trio decides to kill the opposite party member believing that Samuthrakani will help them come out of jail on bail. Jai and Sasi are imprisoned. But Samuthrakani doesn't take any step to release the duo. They make friendship with another accused in the same jail who helps Jai and Sasi to come out on bail. The act of revenge starts... Thus the racy screen play starts... Swetha, daughter of the the councilor, falls in love with Jai... After an hour and 15 minutes, the story switches back to 2008, the person who was killed in Jail premises is taken to the hospital and is being given treatment... After a minute, the story goes back to 1980 and continues with the rest and comes back to 2008 at the end...

The script may sound run-of-the-mill. But director has presented it with so many twists (which were not at all predictable) which make you bite your nail at times.

All the characters have been portrayed well, especially the handicapped friend of Jai. There is no one in the movie who irritates the audience by overacting. Female lead has very less scope to act, but has done her part well. Jai has done this role with ease. Remarkable perfomance. Director Sasi goes one step further in acting.

Since the story is about the happenings in 1980, the director has been very careful that no mark of latest happenings is seen on the screen. No latest cars, no computers, no latest movie posters are seen in 80's episode of the movie. Hats off to the director.

Music director James has also proven his ability in delivering the best BGM he can for the movie, but falters at times where the re-recording becomes too sonorous. James must avoid this in his future ventures.

The best scene in the movie is, when Jai is being chased by Samuthrakani gang he runs off to escape and finally gets inside a house where a lady and a baby live. The moment the lady sees him inside the house, she scolds him and asks him to go out. Scared Jai falls on her feet and begs her to save his life. Fantastic performance by Jai in this particular scene.

Flawless movies cannot be made. So I tried my best not to find faults. There were few flaws. But I am not going to meintion those here as the stunning climax makes me forget those flaws. Most of the reviews say that too much of violence is a minus point in this movie. But I disagree with that. This kind of movies need violence and rustic screenplay. This is inevitable.

If you watch it in theatre, when someone calls you in the interval to ask your review, you would say "Hmmm... somewhat going... First half is OK". in the mid of the second half you would say "Second half is very racy. Better than first half.". When you come out of theatre you would say "The last 15 minutes elevated the whole movie to a greater level. Just couldn't believe why he did so. Have to watch it again"

Overall, the movie is worth watching many times.

Star rating: 4 stars.

Dasavatharam Movie Review

At last, the most awaited movie of the year is out. Does it live up to the expectations?

Fantastic 15 minutes

Movie kicks off with Kamal’s speech in a meeting. He narrates a story of Clash between Saivam (Siva) and Vainavam (Vishnu) which happened in 1200 AD. The Chola King (Napoleon), a devotee of Lord Shiva issues an order to remove the Lord Vishnu’s Idol from a temple and to put it under the sea. Rangaraja Nambi (Kamal) appears on the screen saying "Adiyen Ramanuja Dasan" and fights against the men but in vain. Chola King issues Nambi a warning that he’ll leave Nambi alive if says “Om Namachivaya” once else Nambi will also get under the sea along the Idol. Nambi’s wife Kothai (Asin) and other relatives ask him to say “Om Namachivaya” to save his life. Silence for few seconds. Kamal starts saying “Om……”, however he ends up saying “Namo Narayanaya”. Kallai Mattum song starts. Nambi is tied to the idol and thrown into the sea. This breathtaking first 15 Minutes is the best part of the movie. Kallai mattum song picturization song is really good.

Then comes the US based scientist Govind Ramasamy (Kamal) who is a part of the team that produces biological weapons. They develop a deadly virus (Vial hereafter) for anti-social elements. Govind later realizes that his boss Sethu is trying to sell this Vial to a terrorist group. Now Govind’s plans to recover the Vial from being sold to the terrorists start. By mistake, the Vial gets parceled to India. The villain group sends Fletcher (Kamal), an ex-CIA to recover the Vial from Govind. Now, the chasing episode starts and moves the screenplay. Aandal (Asin), Krishnaveni Patti (Kamal), Japanese Karathe Master (Kamal), Telugu CBI Officer (Kamal), Kalifulla (Kamal), Vincent Poovarahan (Kamal), Avthar Singh (Kamal) join the screenplay.

The chasing game looks interesting at first and gradually becomes boring especially in the second half. Kamal as Fletcher has done a wonderful job. He has concentrated very much in his accent, body language.

Fletcher follows Govind wherever goes. In train, in Lorry, in Jeep, in Car. Cinematic. Where is the Logic?

A bullet takes away the cancer from Avathar Singh. Hard to believe!

Fletcher and Govind are the two predominant characters that move the screenplay. Other characters of Kamal are nothing but “Idai sorugal”. Singer, Dalit man, Tall afghan, Japanese characters stay unconnected and fail to make an impact in audience.

Few directorial touches

Tsunami that nullifies the bio-weapon. The Idol under the sea creates Tsunami to save Crores of lives. This is where Kamal relates this 20^th Century happenings with 12^th Century. The argument between Aandal and Govind on Tsunami is noteworthy.

Krishnaveni patti, crying on looking at the corpse of Vincent thinking that he is her son Aaravamudhan,

The young age Asin-Kamal becoming life partners near the rock (This rock is the Idol to which Nambi was tied. The Nambi-Kothai Separation happened in 1200 AD). This one is really amazing!

Why and where Dasavatharam disappoints?

The traditional smuggling story is the main part of the movie. Hero tries to save the deadly virus from villain. Such a hyped up movie doesn’t have a strong storyline.

Instead of placing Pasupathy as Vincent, Raghuvaran (late) as Afghan, Janakaraj as CBI Officer and Mahanadhi Paatti as Krishnaveni, Kamal himself has acted in all the roles. You call it a difference? Huh!

As I mentioned earlier, many roles of Kamal stay unconnected and fails to catch a place in your heart.

BGM doesn’t really stand out except for the first 15 mins.

What did Telugu CBI Officer achieve? He was employed to investigate, but was he successful? He was mere a comedian in the movie.

Verdict of Vinith:

Dasavatharam certainly fails to live up to the expectation. But still, the movie can be watched once. (But, I have planned to watch it one more time, especially for the first 15 Mins). Kamal doesn’t have to take so much of pain to don 10 roles in which at least 6 roles go unnoticed.

Star Rating: 3.5 Stars.

Please feel free to drop in your valuable comments.

Regards,

Vinith