Review : Expendables 2

Hollywood’s biggest action stars hold nothing back in ‘Expendables 2’

Extravagant chase scenes, flying bullets, extremities dangling from mangled bodies and almost every action star for the past 30 years making an appearance — “The Expendables 2” boomed into theaters this weekend with no mercy for its foes.

“The Expendables 2” has additions to its previously star-studded cast, including kickboxing guru Vilain (Jean-Claude Van Damme), Booker (Chuck Norris) and Billy (Liam Hemsworth). These three actors help “The Expendables 2” hold nothing back with an all-out assault spanning the globe.

Simon West takes the director chair from Sylvester Stallone, who directed “Expendables” in 2010. West uses his experiences directing “Con Air” and “Lara Croft: Tomb Raider” to help add his personal touch.

“The Expendables 2” begins similarly to the first movie, with Barney (Sylvester Stallone) and his band of aging friends killing bad guys and saving a hostage from being tortured.

However, Agent Church (Bruce Willis) spoils the troops’ return home with a new mission: To find a safe in the midst of plane wreckage in the Albanian woodlands and retrieve its contents.

Church assigns Maggie (Nan Yu) to assist the boys on their operation and, with Maggie’s help, the boys venture off to find out what is in the safe.

After being ambushed and learning the contents of the safe, Barney and comrades must fight their way through rogue post-Cold War Russian villages to stop nuclear material from falling into terrorists’ hands.

Hemsworth, a nice addition to the cast, delivered an adequate acting performance. With all signs of the mythic Thor behind him, he creates a solid role and adds some romance to the movie.

Norris’s character, Booker, only makes brief appearances, but his influence is strongly felt.

Virtually unknown in Hollywood, Yu, the only female in an otherwise all-male cast, performs as well as could be expected among such heavy-hitters as Norris, Willis and Stallone.

The setting spans rural Eastern Europe to Russia, it takes the viewers on a visually appealing journey. Although nothing too flashy, the cinematography shines with its rustic settings and beautiful landscapes.

In the film, there are subtle hints to past action films, which had the audience laughing if they understood the inside jokes. All together, “The Expendables 2” fires on all cylinders as another great summer flick.

Naan E Review

 

Starring: Nani, Samantha, Sudeep

Direction: S S Rajamouli 

Music: Maragatha Mani & Keeravani

Story :   Naani (Naani)  who loves Bindu( Samantha) a micro-artist and social activist loves for long two years whom resides in opposite house in a colony...Though there is no response from Bindu but she likes all his antics and attitude but doesn't reveals it.At the time Bindu who get a chance to meet Sudeep (Kicha Sudeep) a great business tycoon and womanizer in nature for a donation.Sudeep loves her and wants to be part of his life but at last he comes to know that she is in love with Naani .

By the time of revealing her love Naani gets kidnapped by Sudeep and he kill's him.Naani before dying warns him that he will surely kill him.Bindu gets upset with the death of his lover Naani as it is set up as an accident.But Naani Incarnates and rebirth as housefly,revenge by killing Sudeep.He disturbs him as housefly brings down all his business, peaceful life, even makes his company run towards loss.

Sudeep comes to know that Naani took birth as housefly for a revenge.Bindu comes to know the truth about housefly and his lover killed facts.So they both housefly and she plans to kill Sudeep.What happens in the movie is all cracker of entertainer....

The positives :The bonding between Naani and Sam was great. Sudeep has given a once-in-a-lifetime performance. If one-half of the film is for kids, then the other half is for adults - its Rajamouli’s master blend that has packed all the elements so well. The background music will just woo you. The CG work by Makuta team was extraordinary, specially the scene where Sudeep blackmails Naani by Sam was shot brilliantly. Cameraman Senthil deserves a special mention here. Overall, the film keeps you engrossed for most of the time. 

The negatives
The film is a bit lengthy, sometimes you might feel that it is for the kids.  

3 (Three) Review

"3" which was made famous even before it got released due to the popular YouTube song video 'Why This Koleveri Di', is a love story with a mix of dark thriller elements. Debut director Aishwarya Dhanush (Rajnikanth's daughter) has delivered quite a substantial film within a limited budget.

"3" explores the 3 stages of life of both Ram (Dhanush) and Janani (Shruti Hassan) from their school days up to their married life. Flashback narratives tell of how they met and fell in love, from objections from their parents, to a post married life which then turns sour. The first half of the film is a romance drama and the second half takes a total turn into a slow thriller. The director manages this transition well and executes each frame with sound knowledge.

Dhanush introduces the Ram character in 3 different stages which resembles his earlier performances in films like "Thulovatho illamai" & "Mayyakam Enna". His performance in the second half is heart wrenching and wins the sympathy of the audience. On par we have Shruti Hassan (Kamalhassan's daughter) who seems to have far better improvements in her acting skills since her "7aam Arivu" film. It would have been better if she could speak fluent Tamil and limit her crying scenes in this film though. Other cast members like Prabu and Rohini who portray the parental characters stands out with their limited screen presence. Playing Dhanush's friend, both Siva Karthikeyan and Sundar Ramu handles comedy and emotional scenes fairly well respectively.

Newcomer Anirudh who composed the popular 'Why This Koleveri Di' song also managed a good background score which added more connection to the film's narration. Surprisingly, the song in the movie was pictured in a simple way without any hype.

The director's approach towards two different genres in a single film is a change to the conventional patterns of a Tamil movie today. On the whole, "3" has an interesting story backed by a wonderful performance.

Kadhalil Sodhapuvadu Yeppadi Review

Story : 

Siddarth (Arun) & Amala Paul ( Paarvathi) in the lead roles besides a pool of supporting cast like Ravi Raghavendra, Sriranjani, Suresh etc.

The movie begins with the narration of Siddharth explaining about how he faltered in his love and from there on the lecture starts. Siddharth, an ECE student , who lives an easy life with the support of his good parents falls in love with Amala Paul, who studies in Computer Science department. As usual, the couple face tiffs every now and then and a final outbreak ends in breakup. Losing hope on patching up with Paarvathy, Arun sets off to divert is mind with the help of his friends.

In the meanwhile, Paarvathy’s father (Suresh) and her mother apply for divorce due to mutual concern, and the case falls in the laps of Arun’s father (Ravi Raghavendra). The movie toggles between real life sequences and flashbacks holding Siddharth and Amala Paul’s love sequences and petty quarrels. Despite of Arun’s efforts to patch up with Paarvathy, the couple fail to succeed due to a lot of difference in opinions. Amala Paul, who is shown as the dominating character of the relationship, finally melts down after seeing her parents patching about after a years-long fight and makes her first attempt to patch up. The couple’s reunion, with a list of messages forms the climax.

Kadhalil Sodhapuvadu Yeppadi Review :

The very first thing to be mentioned is debutant director Balaji Mohan’s screenplay which he has tailored in a engaging, rather not boring manner. The director has chosen, apt faces for filling up each and every character, which is one of the main plus of the movie. The happenings seems to be unrealistic in a few sequences, but it is a usual thing in rom-coms.

On the acting front, Siddharth scores well as a charming, lovable college guy, which he is used to and continuing to do in most of his ventures. Amala Paul’s has done her job well. The supporting roles need a special mention, as they are the one who give us some timeout from Arun-Pavathy’s story narration, which at times seems to bore us a bit.

About the technicalities, Nirav Shah has done his best with the lens. The colors and locations shot, right from the college campus to each and every other place in the frame, keeps the freshness alive.

Music director Thaman has done full justice to the movie with his music. ‘Kaadhalithu Sodhappuvom’, ‘Love Love’ and the final songs are filmed in a happening way. The re-recording travels well with the script and adds good feel to the story, especially in the portions where emotional flow is on a high.

The movie can be declared as a perfect release for Valentine’s day weekend for age group between 18 to 40 and above as it holds portions showcasing the love story of a young couple and matured love of their parents as well.

Verdict : On the whole, ‘Kadhalil Sodhapuvadu Yeppadi’ is a 2 and a half hour lecture on how, to and what to do while in love, but interestingly the lecture is not boring.
 

Vettai Review

Linguswamy is one of the very few directors in Tamil cinema who has understood the pulse of the Tamil audience. That’s the reason he could deliver these successful wholesome entertainers. And, ‘Vettai’ is no exception in his line-up of successful movies!

The director has done it yet again with a superb commercial cocktail called ‘Vettai’ with all the right ingredients of an enjoyable entertainer!

‘Vettai’ has a very intense story of two brothers, Thirumurthy and Gurumurthy, who live for each other. The elder brother becomes honest police officer and the younger is a carefree one who is forced to take a different route in his life. The brothers fall in love with two sisters of the same village. The happy story takes a twist and the ‘Vettai’ starts. And, how the happy lives of these four is changed after this is told with high-octane action sequences.

Madhavan as an elder brother and an honest police officer has done a tremendous job and Arya’s has again wonderfully portrayed that happy-go-lucky guy! Sameera Reddy and Amala Paul have also given one of their best performances.

Ashutosh Rana, Nasser and Thambi Ramaiah has also come out with a neat performance.

Credit goes to the director who has etched the characters and cast the right stars.

‘Vettai’ is just a simple one line but the director has made it as a wonderful action based commercial script with romance, comedy and colourful songs to make it a super entertainer.

Yuvan Shankar Raja has scored the music and the songs are one of the pluses of the film. The song ‘Pappapaa…’ had been a rage even before the official music album of the film.

Nirav Shah’s camera work has supported Linguswamy to tell the story what he wanted; especially the action sequences and the colourful songs!

Anthony’s editing is another big work in the film.

Thirupathi Brothers has produced the movie and UTV Motion Pictures has distributed the film.

‘Vettai’ is the right film who wants to enjoy an action-packed entertaining movie. The film offers something more what you expect. Thanks to the director, Linguswamy and the cast and the crew!

This ‘Vettai’ will definitely entertain you, in Linguswamy style!


Positive :-Madhavan, Arya's brotherhood,Sameera Reddy and Amala Paul's hotness,Naseer and co's funny moments,Yuvan's Bgm,Crisp Editing & Nirav Shah's Brilliant Cinematography.


Negative :-To much of action & Simple storyline.

Nanban Review

Nanban is the Tamil remake of a hit Hindi flick 3 Idiots which itself was adapted from Chetan Bhagat’s novel Five Point Someone. The story revolves around 3 friends and their college life. After the college days one of the three friends has cut of the chords and is not having any contacts with anybody from the college. Two of the friends go in search of their close friend who was an eye opening mentor for them. During their journey they memorize the good old days and the special moments they have shared together. This is a movie with a message especially on the methodology in which our education system should be formulated. The movie also has all the elements required for a commercial movie with a good blend of comedy and emotions.
The movie is well casted which includes Vijay, Srikanth, Jeeva, Satyaraj, S J Surya etc. The performance of each one of them is good but has not reached the levels of the original movie. They had done their best but the original was excellent. This is once in a blue moon opportunity to see Vijay in this decent outfit. The dance in the movie is choreographed by Farah Khan but don’t expect too much as the steps are simple ones.

The movie is an exact replica of the original movie and the director has tried to make it frame by frame. Usually songs are one of the highlight of Shankar movie and he has failed in this regard. Apart from the song “Asku Laska” rest of the songs is not that much ear soothing ones. The settings built for the song sequence are good the usual Shankar style.

One director’s flaw I observed in the movie is where Ileana hands over her brother’s suicide note to Satyaraj and it is evident that it is blank paper. Don’t know why an ace director like Shankar who is famous for spending too much money for his movies has missed this silly point. Whenever the frames of Ooty appear in the movie, The Ladakh which is pictured beautifully in 3 Idiots comes to my mind and is in no way they are comparable.

Ileana & Sathyan however failed to capture the magic of Kareena & Omi Vidya respectively. Satyaraj has definitely done a decent job but falters with respect to Boman's brilliance.
This is a good entertainer and I will give 5.5 out of 10 for the effort Shankar has put forth not to destroy the original one. You will enjoy it if you din watch the original.

Don 2 Review

Did I go to watch the Don return, or was it Mission Impossible 5?? There were car chases, buildings being bombed, hi-tech bank robbery sequence, 300 feet jump off a building, a mask involved.. did I miss anything?? In one word, it was a potpourri of say all the MI, Ocean's Eleven, and every other Hollywood action film of similar genre put together into a 2 hours 26 minutes film. But wait, it doesn't end there; unlike all other films, this one has the bad guy playing the lead role.

Directed by one of my favorites, the film is very stylish, but is also long and disappointing. I expected something more sensible from Farhan. I never thought I would say this, but go watch the film only for Shahrukh. He's perfect for such kinda roles, and he sure delivers. He tried to carry the entire film on his shoulders, but its the script which fails him. If you aren't too fond of him, wait for the DVD to release.

For a detailed review, read on...

Plot

With the European mafia planning to kill him, Don (Shahrukh Khan) surrenders to the Interpol in Thailand. He  is sentenced to death, and is sent to a Malaysian prison where he meets Vardhaan (Boman Irani). Don and Vardhaan escape from the prison and reach Berlin. Together, they plan to rob a bank while Interpol officer Roma (Priyanka Chopra) is trying to chase them down. The rest of the story is all about how the robbery is executed, and Don's real motive behind the robbery.

Actors Performance

Shahrukh Khan is brilliant as Don. He suits such kinda roles to perfection. I cant think of any actor from the current generation who can do a better job than him. Hrithik Roshan just proves that in his brief cameo as Don (oops, sorry!!). SRK looked really stylish all throughout the film. I liked his antics (which are very decent unlike his regular films) and dialogue delivery. Priyanka Chopra has a limited role in the film. She tried too hard to get into the character, and failed miserably. Kunal Kohli was alright in his brief role. Strangely, both Om  Puri and Boman Irani looked out of place. The guy who played the role of Jabbar, Nawab Shah, was pathetic. Lara Dutta was pretty good in her cameo.

Story-Screenplay-Direction

Written by Farhan Akhtar, Ameet Mehta and Amrish Shah (also credited for the screenplay), the film, as mentioned, relies too much on other films of similar genre. The first half of the movie was well written, and made sense, but the second half was like a half-baked cookie. The whole episode of the bank robbery, which forms the crux of the story, just doesn't make sense. If anyone could walk into a bank and get into its safety vault so easily, I believe there would be a robbery every other day. And ya, why did Don need Vardhaan with him exactly?? The best part was Don going back into the bank with Roma in order to save the hostages. Even better, what's with the bomb blast after Roma was shot?? The whole episodes involving Don and Roma seemed entirely ridiculous. The screenplay was decent, but too haphazard, especially towards the climax. For the first time, Farhan Akhtar fails as a director. Except for SRK, I thought that everyone looked out of place, with blank/straight faces for most of the movie. He shot the film very stylishly and even brilliantly in parts, but failed to generate performances from his artists.

Other Departments

The usual's of an Excel production film are all here. Music by Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy is a definite asset to the film. There are only three songs in the movie though. More than the music, its the background score and the re-recording which make an impact. Lyrics by Javed Akhtar, and dialogues by Farhan are good. Editing by Anand Subaya could have been more crisp. Cinematography by Jason West is again, fantastic. The action sequences were alright, but a little to much to handle. With the 3D, I could neither make head nor tail of most of the action sequences, cos everything happened really fast. Otherwise, the 3D effect was alright. Production values by SRK and Excel Entertainment are pretty good. It is apparently the first Indian film to be shot in Germany.

Verdict

Inspired from a whole bunch of movies, Don 2 lacks the punch of the first Don. Its not that MI - Ghost Protocol dint have its flaws, but it managed to cover them with the action and direction. But for this film, except for SRK, nothing else holds. Plus points are SRK, music, cinematography and a couple of action sequences. But its the senseless script script and mediocre direction which pull the film down.

Rajapattai Review

Director Suseenthiran [Vennila Kabadi Kuzhu, Naan Magan Alla] has a distinct tally of dealing in both countryside and urban centred stories and hones it, which is matchless. Notably, he is never game for stardom to entice box office; and that’s ability. This time around he sees to a U-Turn and gives his hero a go.
Rajapattai [King’s Course] starts with Anal Murugan [Vikram], a Cinema fight boy, muscle man and an aspirant Villain, who shares roof with his film fellows including Shanmugam [Thambi Ramaiah] who is a wannabe film director. Murugan’s tryst with Dhakshnamurthy aka Dhakshna [Director K Vishwanath], an erstwhile merchant, endears them at once and they become buddies. Dhaksha’s son Chidambaram [Avinash] tries to pocket an orphanage property from him much against his will. In comes Ranganayagi or Akka [Sana] who is a minister in power; grabes properties of natives above suspicion, for her political benefits. She is supported by rowdies of Vappa [Pradeep Rawat]. No price for guessing rest of the story.
Now, several ideas in the movie seem to have clean references of earlier blockbusters in Tamil cinema. While land grabbing played a subject in Singam, Persona of Vikram as Anal Murugan is very similar to that of Kamalhassan in Pammal K Sambandham, not to forget the Sivaji-Vijay starrer Once More in which a similar bond between the male leads was showed. Its not only tough to see Vikram do a regular Romeo-types, he also looks older for a coward lover.
5 time national award winning director K Vishwanath as Dhakshna steals the show by leading the lighter portions during the first half. Sana as Ranganayagi lets her powerful eyes express the umbrage but her clichéd role has very little substance.

The string between satire and humour and intelligence is not as thinner as Suseenthiran imagines it to be and his engagement of the so-called sharp and subtle phrases by Vikram, the fuzzily choreographed stunt sequence in the Temple scene, and those Vikram-Vishwanath-Ramaiah talks, steer the ‘Mo’ word in the balcony every now and then. A national award winner [Thambi Ramaiah] is a bad call for the role.
Once again Tamil Cinema uses the female lead, here, Dhiksha Seth [debu], only for songs and a concluding kidnap; and only here can we witness someone being snatched off; but benignly allowed mobile phone in pocket. The entire hostage drama, intended to be clever, ended being ridiculous. We can only remember the much sharper Dhil and Dhool of Vikram and how they convinced us. The 45-year-old actor gets a sprint in the movie as he gets to don multiple looks, but many of them are mere make-overs and not roles.
Yuvan and Yugabarathy get our pity as their decent work in an ordinary script sound nuisance. Lest, the disco number “Villathi Villangal…” [Malathi and Mano] is the pick among the 4 songs and melody could have been avoided in the fore. By the time “Ladu ladu….” stars with the credits, the hall gets empty.
The amount of details put into Vikram’s miniature make-overs, stylish good looks and trendy outfits could have been done with the script as well. With good screenplay, the movie could have been an all time comedy of Vikram’s Filmography. The movie is baby honour to the much-exploited gym boys in Tamil Cinema. The stunts often seen in the air, with sounds of bone cracking makes it all the more irksome. In Rajapattai, many of them manage to rouse chuckles with their hairdos and cowardice. They will survive as long as nutty heroes dominate Kollywood.
Only clear sense of humour and not mere references could have put a good show for Rajapattai.

Mayakkam Enna Review

Story

Dhanush is the pivot around whom the whole story revolves. Karthik (Dhanush) is a freelance photographer who lives life his own way. He does work hard and wants to leave a mark as an photographer. Though he does portfolio and weddings, his pasion is wildlife photography. His only desire in life is to work with Madhesh Krishnaswamy (Ravi Prasad), a world renowned wildlife photographer. 

Karthik prefers to spend his time with his close buddie Sundar (Sundar) and their gang have a gala time. One fine day, Kartik is introduced to Yamini (Richa), Sundar's girlfriend. Kartik and Yamini turns cat and mouse and often end up quarreling. But call it fate, Yamini is slowly attracted towards Kartik. There begins a different journey in the lives of these three people. What happens then forms the rest.

Performance

Its straightaway a Dhanush special. The National award winning actor has proved that he can do any role with ease. His expressions and body language  are the hallmark of the movie. Selvaraghavan has understood the strength of Dhanush and played it well.

Richa is a Revelation. She brings right emotions and has a meaty role to play. Sundar walks away with honours and does chip in with his best.All the erst of the characters add pep to the proceedings.

Direction & Technicalities

Selva has a nose for picking right technicians. Cinematographer Ramji is the apt choice. He pictures a poetry on screen. His camera captures the events in rich colours with clarity. G V Prakash's music adds strength. The background score give filip to the scenes.Kathal En Kadhal, Pirai Thedum and Naan Sonnadhum are all woven into the narrative seamlessly, while the first number Voda Voda.. is shot as a fun music-video style number. Selva's dialogues too deserve a mention.

Strength

Dhanush, Ramji's camera and Selvaraghavan's screenplay.

Verdict

Very Good 

Velayudham Review

Velayudham - Extremely Hopeless Movie

Velayudham Oh My God! The most horrible movie I have seen in a long time. I also have a few serious questions for Vijay (at the end of this blog post).
Velayudham is the masala story of a milkman trying to eradicate corruption, first unknowingly, then knowingly. This is a direct copy of Assassin’s Creed without any exceptions. The start of the movie gives a good idea of how the movie will end, but never expected the end to be the worst one I have seen in many years.

Genelia looks like a direct import from the north, with zero tamil accent – but at least her dialogues are original and she speaks exactly the way she knows it. Hansika Motwani is another heroine in this movie, who looks much bigger in size when compared to Genelia.
Vijay is introduced with just what you expect from a funny Vijay movie, without any serious story build up. The scene in the train when Vijay makes everyone eat the food cooked by his sister is the best. Santhanam comes as ‘Speed’ and is consistently excellent in the timely delivery of his dialogues. Until this point the movie is exactly what we expect from a good time pass movie.
If you are seriously thinking of watching this movie, see if you can enter into a deal with the guy at the ticket counter to sell you the ticket for half price in return for watching only till the interval – that would be the best deal you could get for this movie.
After the interval, as each scene goes, the quality of the movie goes down and down, and finally achieves the most horrible level towards the end of the movie.
WARNING: Some of the content below this might be too dramatic for many people to take. Please read at your own risk

I am guessing it has become very normal for Tamil movie fans to accept the hero killing 100 people in each movie. I remember the same starting from Nanbargal, Subramaniapuram, Endhiran and even in 7am Arivu. Vijay just goes one step further and kills about 200 people in this movie and the way he kills them is even more worse.
By the way, I am not talking about the throwing of people against electric posts, from the train, from the bridge, etc, (all these are also in this movie) as I think that has become normal in fights. I am talking about taking these fights to the next level of cruelty.
In one scene, Vijay cuts one guy into two half not horizontally, but vertically. If you felt bad thinking why he did not cut horizontally, he does that in the last scene, where Vijay reserves the straight cut of the hand and then the horizontal cut of the head for the head of the bad guys (that guy ends up as the head without a head!). Oh, also, in between, Vijay also pokes a few bad guys with his sword, just that his sword is so sharp that it enters from front and comes out from the back – I guess it is ok! If that was normal, here is something new, he stabs one guy from the throat and the end of the knife comes out of the back of the top portion of the head! What is wrong with you people????? Are you barbarians??
Vijay, you are seen as a leader of the masses of the future. You go to Anna Hazare’s Anti-Corruption movement to support his cause. You give all signals in the movies and in your actions in Indian political scene, that you are interested in becoming our leader in the future. Is this what you want the kids of the future to remember about you?
Just one last dialogue from you in this movie to people that every one has a Velayudham inside you for 30 seconds do not erase the memories of all the killings shown in this movie with your multiple swords – It never justifies any of your actions. You are justifying your actions, I guess by saying the Government and law is helpless. That is against what you say in real world, then why act something else and say something else in real world? Vijay – dont confuse people by educating them to take the law in their own hand in their own hands in your movies, and then talk about Gandhiji style of protests in real life. Standing up for your rights is one thing, showing that killing bad people is ok is not acceptable – then why do we need all these laws? Did not expect this from you, Vijay.

Be the change – Vijay – both in reel and real life. Be the change.

7am Arivu Review

Just came back from wasting three hours of my life watching this movie called 7am Arivu.
7am Arivu movie starts with Chinese martial arts – Shaolin Temple and explanation about how Bodhi Dharman, the third prince of Pallava rule travels to China, reaches Nanyang village and teaches medicine as well as martial arts to the natives there.

The first fight scene in China itself is full of unbelievable stunts (also called as ‘reel’ in tamil). Normally my mind is tuned to accepting such stunts performed in english movies or Rajini movies, but this happens to be Surya and so could not accept it. I guess the director wants to see us thinking  it is Bodhi Dharman defeating 100 people. So the benefit of doubt in this one goes to the director.

Bodhi Dharman is known as Damo in China and with the fifteen minute introduction, the China scenes are done. My recommendation is the director should have ended the movie here saying this is the documentary about Bodhi Dharman..but the director had other ideas in mind.
The story then comes to present day and takes the form of Operation Red, an operation executed by a Chinese guy called Dong Li. He is sent to India for this.

Dong Li is very tall,  smart and handsome, but he suffers from a disease which I realized as the movie progresses. (Will discuss about it later in this blog, but want to retain some suspense.)
btw, Operation Red – the director could have called it Operation Halwa, would have been apt for Deepavali.
Surya has matured into a fine actor. His looks, body language and mannerisms show the confidence that has developed in him and it only brings out his good acting skills. Some of Surya’s jokes are excellent – especially the one when Surya and Shruti are on top of an elephant, when Shruti says are we sitting on a patient and Surya says yeah in this case we cannot carry the patient.

Shruti looks slim, elegant and presentable. I wish I could have added the adjective ‘beautiful’, but something is definitely lacking. Shruti looks amazing in many scenes and reminded me of Tabu in many scenes and Sonam Kapoor in a few.
I am not sure if the director told her to talk as much as she wants, as it is her first movie, she just keeps on talking about genetics and DNA forever. Also, she talks great about tamil, but her tamil is so bad to hear that I felt she is better off talking in english itself.
By this stage, the story is very clear – the usual blah, blah, blah and blah.(I will let your creativity run for now).
Munnandhi Chaaral song is quite melodious, while the train soft solo song by SPB is just average. Harris Jeyaraj has shown his class in almost all the songs. They are just amazing.
The second half starts quite interesting with Dong Lee chasing Surya and Shruti.
Around this stage, the director has no clue how to end the movie. So he exposes the disease that Dong Lee suffers from. It is called hypnotic diarrhea. Dong Lee just hyptonises every single person and makes them fight against Surya and Shruti. It was so effective that one person in the theatre got hypnotised and ran towards the screen chasing them.
The actual story should have been that Dong Lee suffers from this disease and he comes to India to get it cured, but the director had other plans in mind.
Finally, at the end of the movie, Surya delivers the big halwa dialogue to every one asking us to go home and relax.
Went to the theatre after seeing all the hype about 7am Arivu.  It was very interesting to note that there is not even a single banner or poster for 7am Arivu, while the theatre is full of Ra.One posters.  I was not sure what to interpret from this, but it was interesting.


What a waste of time! I am guessing Velayudham will be a big hit..thanks to 7am Arivu.

Amy Jackson – HOT! HOT! HOT!

My laptop just exploded and so did my eyes due to overexposure to awesomeness–> Amy Jackson. The Brit model turned actress, who made her debut in Madarasapattinam, is probably one of the most gorgeous gori mems who have ever graced the silver screen in India. Don’t trust me? Go watch Madarasapattinam. It’s a good film, but the moment Amy Jackson is on screen, nothing else matters. You forget to concentrate on how well the Madras of 1940s has been recreated, you forget to concentrate on the fact that Arya is flexing his muscles while fighting a British Police Officer and even end up forgetting that there are hundred other character artists in the background, when Amy  is on screen in that film. Maybe I’ll wait for her next film, Gautham Menon’s Premkatha (remake of Vinnaithaandi Varuvaaya/Yem Maya Chesave) to write about her acting skills but she was good in her debut film.

AL Vijay, the director who found her during an audition in London, is all praises for her dedication. He claims that even Gautham Menon is impressed with her performance in Premkatha. And if I have heard it right, she’s planning to move to Mumbai pretty soon and hire a Hindi tutor to pursue her career in Hindi cinema more seriously. Apparently, back home, her friends and family members are quite surprised about Amy’s decision to move to India and still can’t believe that she has acted in a South Indian film.

Recently, I came across some pics of this actress and couldn’t help tweeting about it. The ex-Miss Teen World -2008 has a killer body and looks stunning in these photo shoots for Australia’s ZOO magazine and FHM. I am not lying! The best part about the pics? They are NOT MORPHED! Ha!

 

For more awesomeness :-

Mauna Ragam(1986) Review

Watched Mauna Ragam yesterday ....

'Mr.Chandramouli! Mr.Chandramouli!!'
To me, and possibly many others, this is the first thing that comes to mind, when we think of the movie Mouna Ragam. That name and Karthik’s actions are embedded in my mind and are totally unforgettable. Arguably, one of Mani Ratnam’s best efforts, Mouna Ragam is a classic example of Mani’s work, a simple tale, well told. The lead actors do a fantastic job of it (I never thought I’d say this about po-faced Mohan) and it is, in my opinion, one of the best movies of my generation.
Revathy is a regular, young middle-class who’s quite content to maintain the status quo of her life. But when her parents decide to get her married off to someone they deem as a ‘good boy’, she rebels by staying out all evening on the day the ‘boy’s visiting her house to ‘see’ her. After a spot of singing and dancing in the rain, she finally saunters in quite late, full of glee of having outwitted her parents. She gets the shock of her life when she finds the ‘boy’, Mohan, still sitting there, patiently awaiting her arrival.
Furious with herself, she decides to go for broke and confesses to Mohan her aversion to the whole arranged set-up, even passing some disparaging comments about herself to help him along. When he hears the same words he was rehearsing, Mohan changes his mind and his feeling about arranged marriage and agrees to marry her. Off they go to Delhi, a stone-faced Revathy determined to get away from her marriage as soon as possible. She shuns Mohan and his attempts to get to know her. To celebrate their first month together, he buys her some beautiful anklets. But she prefers an annulment and off they go to a lawyer to start the proceedings. The shocked lawyer tells them that they have to give their marriage a shot at least for a year before the courts can call it off.

Thus starts Revathy’s sentence – or so she thinks. When asked why she hates him so, she tells Mohan of the boy she loved. The happy-go-lucky, rowdy Karthik, with a zest for life and a hair trigger temper, which frequently results in local fights and altercations with the police. But slowly and surely, the love of a good woman decides his fate for him and he makes his mind to turn over a new life. Knowing her parents would not allow their union, Revathy and Karthik decide to get married in secret. As she’s waiting in front of the Registrar’s office, Karthik runs up the steps later than he promised – but is shot dead by mistake, by the police.
When it becomes clear to Mohan that it is the ghost of a past boyfriend that is standing in between them, he decides to step back and lets his wife have her head. They lead separate lives within the four walls of their house, counting the days till the year runs out and they can be legally separated. But slowly, Revathy starts to understand her husband and unbeknown to her, falls in love with him, little by little. How they sort their feelings for each other and end up together is a story beautifully woven by the director.
There are some really funny bits in the movie. Revathy’s attempts to teach her Punjabi neighbour Tamil is one of the most hilarious and memorable funny scenes from the annals of Tamil cinema. Showing her impish, naughty side, Revathy teaches her poor neighbour what he assumes to be polite words to impress his Tamil boss. When the boss visits the Sardar and says ‘namaste, he is told poda dai, much to his amazement. He is then not-too-politely to sit down (okkaru da somberi). The eagerness on the Sardar's face as he utters the words, imagining him to be the epitome of hospitality, made me nearly wet myself in glee, the first time I saw the film.
The music for the movie is by none other than the Maestro himself, Ilaiyaraja. It has been so long since I actually listened to the songs but I still remember the tunes of every single one of them. My favourite of all of them is the slow Manram Vandha, where the haunting quality of the music seems somehow echoed in the movement of the car, as Mohan and Revathy drive on. The melodious Nilave Vaa is another good number, sung beautifully by SPB. All the songs in the movie are hummable and even after more than a decade; I can still remember the words and the tunes of the songs. You cannot ask for more, can you?
This is Karthik’s best performance ever, I think. Under Mani’s skilful guidance, he curbs his tendency to overact and turns out a beautiful rendition of a rowdyish young man, who turns over a new leaf willy-nilly after falling in love. Revathy, as always, plays her role to perfection. She is such a fantastic artiste, with the most expressive eyes and one immediately empathises with her, first with her aversion to the arranged marriage, then her feelings for the boy she loved and lost, her initial anti feelings towards the husband foisted on her, her impish nature as she teaches her neighbour Tamil and finally, the growing love in her, for the man she married. A superb portrayal by a consummate actress. Mohan has never been a favourite of mine – I never felt this was a man who could act but this once, he proved me wrong by playing the role of a patient husband beautifully.
The movie tackles a subject that, funnily enough, still holds our culture and society in sway – that of arranged vs. love marriages. In a deeper level, the movie also deals with the difficulties involved in sustaining any relationship and the gentle strands of love that slowly bind people together; even without them realising it. It is an utterly romantic story and Mani has told it superbly. A must-see movie for any good movie buff.

Plus Points: screenpaly ,Mohan ,Karthi ,Revathy ,Music

Minus Points: Hmm....

Bodyguard Review

As I already had mentioned that I'll be preferring "That Girl in Yellow Boots" over "Bodyguard" but really its not easy to go for your choice if its against of your friend's. Eventually I had to go for "Bodyguard" in spite of having no interest in the movie.
Bodyguard in its first half seems no better than Salman's last few hits. The typical Salman Khan masala movie with blend of action, emotion, comedy, songs and romance. But the movie leaves its impression in the last 20 minutes. Bodyguard is a typical bollywood movie that promises to present all aspects in a movie such as larger than life action, comedy, item songs and the hero romancing with the beautiful heroin. Bodyguard may disappoint many people but Salman Khan fans will love it especially its interesting turns and twists in the second part.
This is a story of Lovely Singh (Salman Khan) who owes a debt to wealthy feudal lord Sartaj Singh (Raj Babbar) that he can not repay. Sartaj Singh's only daughter Divya (Kareena Kapoor) life is in danger as his father has many enemies but he was sure that his daughter is as safe as swiss bank with Lovely Singh.
The honest, handsome and loyal bodyguard becomes too annoying for Divya in the college so she makes a prank of him by impersonating herself as "Chhaya" on the phone. The story moves forward with some sweet and some comical sequences but the twist appears in the movie when Divya falls in love with her bodyguard Lovely Singh but she also knew that her father will not accept this relationship and even Lovely Singh might not accept it too.
The movie contains the well-expected fight sequences which hardly seems relevant according to the story line of the movie. The director of the movie seems to be in dilemma of what he wanted to present the Salman Khan as- an action hero or the romantic hero. In spite of all the flaws that the movies is full of, the second part of the movie makes you feel little attached with the characters and the twists in the story are appreciable.
Music is average. Teri Meri Prem Kahani is the only song that leaves some impact.
 The movie is not a must watch but you can give it a try if eithr you are a Salman Khan fan or you enjoy typical bollywood desi masala flicks.
But I'm still looking forward to "That Girls in Yellow Boots" as it has got great reviews from all critics

Mankatha Review

Star Cast: Ajith, Arjun, Trisha, Vaibhav Reddy, Lakshmi Rai, Andrea, Premji Amaren and Anjali.
Director: Venkat Prabhu
Story: Venkat PrabhuSt
Music: Yuvan Shankar Raja

Story :-
Maharshatra police officer Vinayak Mahadevan (Ajith) is suspended for helping a smuggler to escape from police encounter. He starts leading life in his own way. Arumuga Chettiar (Jayaprakash) is the Chettiar who owns Golden Theatres in Mumbai, which forms the front for all his illegal businesses, like money laundering, gambling, etc. Also he is the father of Sanjana, played by Trisha. Mahadevan fall in love with Sanjana (Trisha). A tough cop Prithvi (Arjun) takes charge to end betting scandal in IPL cricket in Mumbai. Arumuga uses his links with dons in Mumbai tries to route through his old theater, a cash of over Rs 500 crore to be used in betting.
Sumanth (Vaibhav), a goon working for Arumuga Chettiyar plans to take away the booty with the help of his friends Ganesh (Ashwin), Mahanth (Mahanth), who owns a bar in Mumbai and Prem (Premji), an IIT graduate. Vinayak joins the race. He promises to help them and divide it between them. Trouble starts after they take away the cash. Both Arumugha Chettiyar and police are now on their heels. Meanwhile, Mahanth and Prem escape with the cash. It’s all up to Vinayak now. The battle shifts between him and Prithvi.
The plot thickens, the end happens in the series of twists and turns – and it’s interesting to watch what would happen next; and who’s REALLY who in the story. An entertaining end to an entertaining movie: The ends credits are un-miss able so don’t get up and walk away thinking the movie’s over! Hilarious and user cool!

Performance :- 

• Ajith is all the way, playing a negative role. He has carried practically the whole film on his capable shoulders. He is simply amazing in the role of a dreaded baddie. With his usual looks sans makeup, he hogs all limelight. The man’s screen-presence works wonders. In all, he has shown keen interest over the dance, action, sense of humor, etc.

• Arjun does the role of a cop once more. But he is charming here. He has excelled in his role and proves that he is truly the Action King.

• Trisha’s portions with Ajith are good and her looks are enchanting. Lakshmi Rai appears for couple of songs and scenes. Both do play their part well. Andrea as Arjun’s wife and Anjali in the role of Vaibhav’s wife do minuscule roles.

• Vaibhav gets a meaty role and he utilise the opportunity. Premji did what he did in Goa and Chennai 28.

• Yuvan Shankar Raja’s music, especially the background score adds to the thrill of the movie.

Mankatha is truly an absolute entertainer for the masses. On the whole, ‘Mankatha’ has some slow moments during first half, but as the story proceeds during second half, it has gripping moments with an unexpected climax.

Briyani cooked by Ajit

Deiva Thirumagal Review

A Tamil film deserving a standing ovation after a very long time in all its production departments. Let me start with acting.
Actor Vikram is slowly getting rid of the nick name “Next Kamal” and soon people will be searching for the next Vikram. It is an entirely different genre for him. Definitely this movie will do well at box-office for him after Anniyan.

Everyone will feel the impact of the character Krishna which Vikram has portrayed, several hours after leaving the theatre. Vikram has delivered a better performance than Sean Penn in “I am Sam” right from his costume to acting. Vikram’s role of Krishna remains pivotal.

And the role of Nila played by baby Sara deserves much applause and is important next to Krishna character in the movie. The scenes involving Vikram and baby Sara, the one in the first half and the other in the climax are heart throbbing. Especially the one in the climax moves me with tears.

Next to be discussed are the roles played by Anushka, Santhanam and Nasser. I feel that next to Simran, Anushkha Shetty has the ability to fit into glamorous roles as well as the roles played by her in DT. She can render performances to the required level without over acting (which some heroines in the past next to Simran used to deliver in the name of acting). Hereafter we can expect such responsible roles too from Anushkha.

Santhanam plays the role of assistant to Anushkha. The role that Santhanam has to do is that he needs to pick subjects like this in between the flicks with his usual comedies in order to prolong his film career. Everything which he does in this movie is a part of his character. At some places he scolds Vikram which made me sympathize for the character Krishna. But that is also a part of his character

Nasser with his experience does the role with ease. But in some scenes, I felt that instead of Nasser, Prakash Raj could have played this role to provide performances to the required level. M.S.Bhaskar, Y Gee Mahendran, Amala Paul, Sachin Khedekar and Karthik Kumar who don’t have much scope in this movie have done their brief roles well.

Next person who is on cards to be lauded is G.V.Prakash  for his excellent BGM and songs. The theme “Life is Beautiful” used at apt places makes us feel more poetic. To be more specific, the climax court scene. Film by film, GVP is earning reputation not only for him but also for his uncle maestro A.R.Rahman.  

Cinematography by Nirav Shah provides us a visual treat. A sample for this is the song “Vizhigazhil”. Both GVP and Nirav Shah have equally supported by Na. Muthu Kumar’s lyrics.  

And finally it is about the captain, director Vijay who has to be lauded a lot for a clean, decent family entertainer. With this movie Vijay joins the club of decent film makers in which Radha Mohan is the only member so far. Vijay has proved once again that he is capable of delivering decent movies appealing to both family audiences and youngsters. Emotion starts right from the situation the baby calls the character Krishna “appa”. From then onwards, no negative comments in the theatre. In spite of Anushkha and Santhanam being part of this movie, there is no glamour or no double meaning dialogues. Director has helped them bring out their acting skills. It is a complete image change for them. Vijay has conquered the minds of people with a heart touching movie in the period of Madurai based films and mass films. A kind request to Vijay is to do movies in different genre without losing his identity as a decent film maker
  

Singham Review

I had watched the Tamil version of this movie while I was in the US and knew the plot pretty much. I thought I should take a look and see what Ajay Devgan has done. Whether the Hindi version was better or the Tamil one was more entertaining. Well after watching the movie I must say I enjoyed the Hindi version better for superior technical details. Performance wise the stars in both languages have delivered equally well.

The story is a typical Good cop versus corrupt police department and their political and rowdy henchmen. A honest inspector has a tangle with a politically well connected underworld don and that starts off an ego issue between them. The cop gets transferred to the big bad city where every one in the police department is corrupt and hand-in-glove with the thugs and politicians. The rest of the story is about how the cop combats his frustrations and eliminates the rowdy elements of the big city.

There was no need for a heroine in this movie and I don't know why good film makers see the need to include a pretty face even though the script doesn't demand one. If only Indian film makers were to see the potential of movies without song and dance routines, and heroines showing off their curves and skin I am pretty sure the industry would be able to attain new heights. But I guess right now the industry is still not mature enough... maybe the audience isn't also...

180 Review

The Buzz:

• Siddharth returns to Tamil cinema after a longish break
• Ad-film maker and film tech wiz Jayendra's directorial debut
• Two relatively new heroines, an impressive technical crew

The good: Visuals, Songs, Siddharth .. that's about it!
The bad: Quite a bit!

Look out for: Mouli who makes an impression in a brief yet sparkling role

Bottomline: Dashing hero + two heroines + nice soundtrack + picture postcard visuals (including overseas locations) = Good romantic film and hit... right? Wrong! Well you still need the plot and that's the biggest hole in 180. It starts on a good note - Mano (Siddharth) arrives in Chennai after a stopover in Benares, checks into PG style accommodation owned by Geetha and Mouli and spreads happiness around him. You are lead to believe he is on a sabbatical of sorts and wants to make most of this six month break. He runs into a photojournalist Viday (Nitya Menen) and sparks inevitably fly. Just when you begin to wonder what next, vignettes from Mano's life before Chennai start appearing and the film flits from the US where Siddharth is actually Dr Ajay to his present in Chennai. Priya Anand is Renu, the woman from his not so distant past and a sudden turn of events lead to his departure from the US. Eventually the past and present collide and so do Siddharth's emotions. To put it mildly this is a disappointing film. It loses steam within minutes and even the brilliant visuals and music can't keep you engaged. It gets more tiresome in the second half. Make sure you are stocked up with heaps of pop corn and munchies to keep you entertained because this film can't.

Running time: 140 minutes (Approx) - Feels much longer than that :(

100% Love Review

Throughout the years, whether you're a girl or a boy, there are certain phrases that you are bound to here. "Men are from Mars, Women are from Venus", "Its easy to go the moon than to figure out a girl's heart" and "Boys are the most confused creatures" in the world to name just a few. Now these are said with good humour and are clearly not the norm but when it comes to love, everybody has an opinion about it. Sukumar is the kind of director that likes to take a different angle on everything and has done the same with his latest 100% Love. With Devi Sri Prasad on music, Naga Chaitanya and Tamannaah play the lead in this Geetha Arts production. So let's jump and check it out.

Meet Balu Mahendra [Naga Chaitanya]. State level tenth standard first rank holder, state level Intern first rank holder, MCET first rank holder and according to him, he is a genius and a brand name. The only thing bigger than his record is his ego. Enter Mahalakshmi [Tamannaah], his maradalu [marriagable cousin] from his home town in the village. A country belle smitten about her Balu Bava, she comes to the city to complete her higher education and stays with Balu and his family. While the family already adores Mahalakshmi, its going to take more than looking cute for her to get on her Balu Bava's good side. For his part, Balu with his head is firmly in the sky, doesn't look at anything beyond her second class ranking and dismisses her promptly. She decides to stick to her studying but becomes frantic in her exam and breaks down crying. Mahalakshmi runs out of the exam and says to her Balu's father, her uncle[Naresh] that she is going to fail and she wants to just go back to her hometown when surprisingly, Balu steps in. Ignorant to her and her emotions as Balu may have been, he decides to help her out of pity. And so with his guidance, her own effort and a bit praying by the whole family to Ganesha, Mahalakshmi sits for the exams. But much to Balu's absolute disbelief, she doesn't just pass. She takes over his coveted first rank. Balu becomes furious at the humiliation while everyone else is applauding her. But he isn't one to let the humiliation last long so he puts in the extra hours to study and in the process, purposefully distracts Mahalakshmi from her own without her realising. Yet just before he can bask in his glory, Mahalakshmi realises his plan and starts her own cat and mouse game to even the grounds. D-day arrives after the exams and both get the shock of their life as their class mate Ajith[Anand] came first. For Balu, his ego maybe hurt with Mahalakshmi getting the first rank the last time but there is no way another student can take it. So the both of them set their rivalry aside and work up a plan to distract Ajith. But he's not the only one that gets distracted as the two spend more and more time together studying albeit with a few encounters on the personal side. Everything seems to go smoothly and as according to plan, Balu gets first rank. Celebrations are in order and the family members, who are by now aware of the private canoodling, plan for an engagement announcement on the day of the party when Balu gets a bout of jealousy as Mahalakshmi casually praises Ajith who missed out only by a few marks. Words become insults and with their guests and parents as witness, Balu and Mahalakshmi have a massive fight and the pair part ways. Yet only 3 years on, circumstances bring them back together. Has time healed all wounds? Have Balu and Maahalakshmi changed themselves? To find out, you will have to watch the moview.

First thing's first. Naga Chaitanya, who is only three films old and has thus far made some interesting choices with his films, is absolutely adorable as Balu. Personally, I could even say this is by far the most perfectly suited rôle for him. The arrogance, the dismissal, the attitude, the frustration. At every point, Balu has the face of Naga Chaitanya and that is all you see. Some may feel he is a little stiff at certain points but given that everyone has quirks and habits, this only adds to his appeal and I myself have come across real people that have rarely faced failure and get a big head over it. Tamannaah plays the bubbly Mahalakshmi with ease but tends to go OTT with more emotive scenes. She also has tendency of reminding you of an early career stage Kareena Kapoor. However, she looks amazing and has great chemistry with all on screen, including and most importantly, Naga Chaitanya. Anand as Ajith has very little to do even though he is quite important to the story. K.R.Vijaya is elegance on screen and delivers whats needed for her Mahalakshmi Bhama rôle. Naresh has very few scenes in the film but plays it with heart. Vijayakumar is apt in his special appearance. Big special mention to the kiddies in the crew. Each one adorable as hell but unfortunately names aren't available of these little champions. Dharmavarapu Subramaniam, 'Thagubothu' Ramesh, 'Chitram' Sreenu and M S Narayana add to the comedy cocktailfun while the rest are passable.

That leads us to the scene stealer. Sukumar is at it again with his "different" angle on love. Personally, I felt that life has become one big competition to see who's better and with the alarming rate divorces get sanctioned, there is more truth to Sukumar little message than most would believe. But leaving the realistic things aside, his trademark storytelling is evident. Keeping the fun in check and building the drama in proportion, he showcases his talent in abundance. Adding to his awesome screenplay is the superb dialogue. Yes there are some commercialised moments but in all, there were very few in the cinema hall that didn't enjoy such great lines. Music by Devi Sri Prasad almost always has automatic feet-on-the-dancefloor effect and he is back to his old tricks with 100% Love. A Squared. That Is Mahalakshmi and Kallu Kallu Plusu bring out the fun, crazy and melodious side where Diyalo Diyala is a classic item number that is always present on a DSP soundtrack. But the album entirely leaves a major impact. Cinematography by Venkat Prasad is top notch as is editing by Srinivasa Karthik. Both are a huge asset to the film. Leaving us with the negatives of the film remaining.

So what can be wrong with one the most enjoyable flicks in recent times? Not much. Depth in characters could have been extended to avoid a two-character-driven-story feel yet at the same time, the situations become as they are because of the lead characters. The disappearance of Swapna at the climax wedding was overseen but came to the fore when Ajith was shown leaving. A few snips here and there could have done some good but barring that, you will be hard fetched to find anything majorly wrong as the film does entertain and leave you with a satisfied feeling about the money you spent on the tickets. Even if you go looking, it is you that needs to judge if the film reminds you of them or not. 

To me, 100% Love is 50% Fun, 50% Masti. A total time pass film that will have you singing the words and tapping your toes as you get the giggles from the story