O KADHAL KANMANI

O Kadhal Kanmani #OKKanmani – A Maniratnam Film..Naah.. This movie is Digitally made.. So it is A Maniratnam Movie…

Simple story/Simple Characters – Reflecting Today’s generation with both Simple and Complex emotions..Told very beautifully with very few characters in Lead..

The lead actors (Adhi – Dulquer / Tara – Nithya) are so very charming.. They have carried the movie effortlessly till the end..  Prakash Raj and Leela Samson play an “Amour” like couple.. Their relationship is etched so beautifully.
No flashbacks.. No complexities.. No Stunts..  Yet so very entertaining!!

Visually unhindered and creates a perfect feel. It is so very real.. Thanks to the Master of Visuals!!
The production design adds so much value to each frame convincingly..

The movie is so crisp unlike any Maniratnam film. Thanks to Sreekar and Mani!! People don’t have patience to sit even for 150 minutes unless it is really needed and worth it..

Special mention to the game animation.. Too good 👍👍👍

I wasn’t actually sure how it is going to be when Maniratnam told that they have created an OST.. It’s Truly and Beautifully an “Yes”.. It is an OST.. Lot of songs.. But no hardstops!! It gels with the film.. Especially Theera Ula!!

Finally the Master – The writing is simple, straightforward and so beautiful..
Found Sujatha’s screenplay(Referring his book – Thiraikathai Ezhthuvathu Eppidi) pattern throughout.. “Introduce all characters in first 10 min.. Establishing the story and premise in next half an hr. Create a problem for the protagonists.. Solve it in due course..” Each characters find their place and destiny in the story over due course of time very convincingly.. Definitely trendsetting movie again!! Thanks again for having me smile all through the movie.. Truly Joyful!!

#AngelmanSyndrome #Joyful #Maniratnam #ARR #PCSreeram

Vishwaroopam Review

After much delay and watching the movie twice – here goes my review on Vishwaroopam.

First on its genre – You can broadly categorize it as “Spy Thriller”. Not the usual one which we get to see in Hollywood or Bollywood. This is a bit more intelligent and humane. This goes much deeper in terms of analysis and detailing. And the way the narration happens is brilliant. It is Non Linear and it travels seamlessly between times.

 

Kamal Haasan as an actor is at his best in first 30 minutes. You couldn’t think of an actor other than Kamal Haasan, who could perform so graciously as a Kathak Dancer. I could even bet with those who challenge me. And this character finds its end with an extraordinary scene which I would easily term it as the Best Mass Scene Ever in Indian Cinema.

Rahul Bose is brilliant as Omar. A man who never thinks what he does is wrong. A pure dark character.

Pooja Kumar as Nirupama has done her part so well. It is from her point of view the story opens up.

All other characters in the movie had performed really good. Some had meaty roles. Some didn’t have much in this part like Andrea and Shekar Kapoor.

 

Technically the movie is very strong.

Sanu Varghese has done brilliant cinematography. It gives an international color to the movie. The Time Slice technology has been handled very well.

The production design by Boontawee ‘Tor’ Taweepasas and Art Direction by Ilayaraja brings you Chennai Made Afghanistan. So very realistic.

Songs by Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy. The Kathak number is a killer. The way it was shot is also different from usual song numbers. Other songs are used in background. Some didn’t suit the scene. Some did. BGM is by Indrajit – Brilliant stuff.

 

Kamal Haasan as a writer amazes every time. The research he has put into this subject is tremendous. Be it Mughal Knife, Geiger Counter, Faraday Shield and Rituals of people who fight in the name of God – Intelligent. You can also find an Undercurrent humor in many scenes – Trademark Kamal Haasan. Also I don’t think any director/actor would have guts to end a movie like this – Sheer Planning. It was simple, intelligent and paving way to the second part. It also gives you a sneak peek into the second part.

 

On the downside – I felt the first afghan portion was pretty long. It could have been shorter with some scenes trimmed.

 

Of course there are a few unanswered questions. But with the pattern in which the screenplay is written, am sure that it is going to be explained in second part.

Eagerly waiting for the second part.

 

Rating:- 4/5 (Must Watch)

Django Unchained– Movie Review

One of the best action movies I have seen in Western Genre..

Instead of remaking the old Django, Quentin Tarantino has created an extraordinary screenplay over a simple story which makes it so heroic.

The major show stealers are Christopher Waltz, Leonardo DiCaprio, Jamie Foxx.. All three had excellent characters. Samuel L Jackson has an interesting role too.. And we also have a short and sweet cameo of the first Django – Franco Nero.

Technically the movie is very well shot. It is very stylish yet raw.
Tarantino has never taken the traditional path.. Everything in his movie is over dramatized be it the blood, bullet, dialogues.. which surprisingly works so well in his movie..

As usual this movie also has one unnecessary scene where people keep on discussing about wearing the bag mask for nearly 5 minutes.. Tarantino style.. This is the most hilarious scene in movie.

There are some disappointments too.. When hero shoots the bullet kills and guy and the guy behind him too.. The same doesn’t happen when the baddies shoot. Movie seems to over worship the hero at times..

With excellent performances, hardcore action and super dialogues people will definitely love this movie.. Thorough entertainment..

 

Rating:- 4/5

Indian Rupee–Malayalam Movie Review

A well written movie with some extraordinary acting by Thilakan, Prithviraj and Jagathy Sreekumar..

Thilakan – Aah!! What an actor.. Wonderfully etched character.. 
And Prithviraj – An actor who can emote so well. Why does ever he want to play some dirty roles in Hindi when there is lot to do in his own language??
Wake up Prithvi. No more Dreamum–Wakeupum. Plsss..
Haven’t seen much of Jagathy Sreekumar earlier.. But he has done extremely well in this movie.. 
Revathy too played a sweet cameo in this movie.. Happy to see her on screen after a long time..

Songs didn’t play a big role in the movie.. But BG score did.. An apt score which suited the movie..

The camera work was very clean and It didn’t disturb the audience in any way with unnecessary angles and cut shots.. 

All this worked because of just one thing.. The writing was so clean and had all real emotions.. Ranjith had No confusions on what has to be told.. Very clear and simple way of Story telling.. 

Few things I didn’t like about the movie is that the length of the movie is big and lacked a hard hitting end..

Apart from that, This movie actually educated me on real happenings of Real Estate Dealings and on the mentality of youths in making some quick and big money..

On the whole – This movie is a worthy watch..

Rating:- 3.75/5

PS – Should learn Malayalam first to watch films like this earlier.. 🙂

Salt N’ Pepper–Malayalam Movie Review

Quite a matured romantic comedy.. Sort of Jack Nicholson’s "As Good As It Gets".. The movies are no-where similar except for the content handled..

Lal and Swetha are show stealers.. They acted so well in the lead roles..

There are scenes which are draggy.. But there are also scenes which you wouldn’t want to end.. Like the cake making scene.. Felt really bad that i couldn’t cook after watching this scene..:P:P
I liked the few Historic connections(Ibn Battuta/Joan’s Rainbow cake) cited here and there in the movie..

The Music was Quite Average.. The Cinematography was good..

I liked the way few characters were handled.. It didn’t have any importance or need at all.. But still they were present.. You would expect a follow up from those characters, but the director made a good decision in not bringing the characters in again..It didn’t spoil the flow of the story..

Overall it is a worthy film to watch..

Heard this is being remade by Prakash raj in Tamil.. Good choice for a remake…But I don’t like to see Prakash raj in Lal’s character.. May be someone else..

Rating:- 3.25/5

Ice Age 4–Continental Drift

Fellas!! Time to become kids.. Manny, Sid and Diego set another adventurous travel in finding back their herd whom they lost during the great drift.. The story dates back to the time when land drifted apart and continents were formed.. Thanks to Scrat who always sets the crux for ICE AGE series. This time it is toooo good.. Don’t miss the First and the Last Scene.. Ice Age followers know what it has.. But this is wonderful.. Better than all other parts.  Story is perfectly packaged within 88 minutes. No Lag in the movie. Dialogues are good.. Top Notch Animation and that too when it comes from some production house apart from Pixar and DreamWorks SKG, it is commendable..  BTW – Animation is by Fox Animation Studios and Blue Sky Studios. The movie also tries to establish some sentiments which doesn’t work well.. But it has loads of fun.. If you want to watch some logical stuff – then this is not a movie for you. Personally I don’t care about logic in animation movies.

Rating:- 3.5/5

A Separation

A Separation by Asghar Farhadi

The movie leafs through many important aspects of life. Responsibility, Love, Sacrifice, Fear and Truth.. The movie has a gripping screenplay with lot of detailing. The lead actors have given their best. Especially the children. This is quite different from the Iranian movies I had seen. It just had a single start point from where the movie starts and spreads itself eventually.  There is hardly any BGM. It just had SFX. Cinematographer has to be given the credit for having the movie so Raw and Real. One important aspect of cinematography is that you should not feel that there is a camera between the story and your eyes. This movie did 100% justice. One thing I did not like about the movie is that it did not have a solid end. The climax decision is given to the audience. Just read that this director(Farhadi) always makes an abrupt ending leaving the decision to the audience.

Rating:- 4.5/5 (Must Watch for Cinema Lovers)

Vazhakku Enn: 18/9

Vazhakku Enn 18/9 by Balaji Shaktivel

One of the best movies I have ever seen in Tamil Cinema. This movie very real, raw and rustic. The screenplay is interesting. Two parallel stories are interwoven interestingly and clearly. Almost all are new faces in this movie. They have delivered very good acting. Especially the guy who played the Velu character is extraordinary. The music is apt for the movie. There are only two songs in the movie which helps the movie very much to maintain the pace. Thanks to Guitar Prasanna and Singer Karthik for trying out something new in the songs. There is no instrumentation in the songs when the vocals are on. Yet it gives an extraordinary feel. Cinematography is by Vijay Milton – A revelation with Canon 5D. I am not a big fan of Balaji Shaktivel – I did not like his movie “Kaadhal”. I haven’t seen Kaloori. But I respect his view in filmmaking. That is what made me watch this movie and I was not disappointed. Rather satisfied to the core. The climax brings you tears and satisfaction. The only negative point is the characters background vocal and the choice of actor who played Jyothi’s character. She is alien for a tamil servant maid. Rest all is perfect. Pls Don’t Miss this..

Rating:- 4.5/5

Dreams

Dreams by Akira Kurosawa

There are people who can interpret dreams and the reason for such dreams. The extent of truth involved in this depends on one’s own belief. But here is one man who can make the world look at his movie with awe. The word “awe” has two opposite meanings, one is wonder and other is fear. Everyone will wonder how this man can make such a movie. There will also be fear among other film makers. There is not a single movie made till date in this genre. The feel, the emotions which Kurosawa brought out through this movie is unimaginable. But still this is my view on this movie. There are also people who don’t like this movie. They feel the movie is very raw. Of course it is raw. The movie doesn’t have only one dream. It has several dreams. A dream of a small boy, a dream of a captain, a dream of a painter, a dream of a demon, dream of mountain climber and few more. The movie also discusses social and environmental issues. Each and every dream was dreamt by Kurosawa himself. The movie is also technically rich. Kurosawa’s mastery in colors is evident in this film. Those who are lovers of good movies cannot dare to skip this. There is only one word which can describe this movie. “Beautiful”. Hail Kurosawa!!!

Rating: 10/10

A Beautiful Mind

A Beautiful Mind by Ron Howard:

This movie is Psychological thriller. Its about a mathematician John Nash played by Russell Crowe and the world in which he lives. Whenever the movie deals with some psychology, it will be very difficult to convince the audience. But this movie is very much convincing. This movie gives you some brilliant performances by Russell Crowe, Ed Harris and Jennifer Connelly. The movie is definitely a visual treat. It has won 4 Academy Awards including best picture and best director. Those who like to watch some good thriller drama go and grab a DVD or a Blue ray immediately. It’s definitely worth to buy and watch.

Rating: 9/10