Veeram (2014) ~ Review

Focusing the high resolution device on the star, forwarding it in slow motion, who already has a slow walk. Simultaneously keep playing the only composed soundtrack from start till the end. That's it... I'm tired of watching this same old crap right from Billa, Mankatha to Arrambam.. and now Veeram. It's useless to expect for a change in future. Other than that, directors are making good use of Ajith in recent flicks, taking out only what he's capable of., instead of over doing anything silly. And all of a sudden, things got worse after the intermission. By the shaved look of our ultimate star.. Nasser, who plays father of a novice actress keeps calling ajith as 'thambi'.. I think he really means that :D (or perhaps he was thinking him as 'samanthi' the whole time :P and it became a twist for him at the end) 

Quality of the movie is almost as bad as Siruthai, saving the first part with Santhanam and leaving the next part going berserk. Siva was targeting to reduce the budget of the entertainer, so he started with Ajith's costume i.e wearing the white combination throughout 2 hrs and 41 mins. Songs are well placed but misplaced. The copy-paste king DSP will never disappoint us.

Rating: 5/10

Verdict:

Veeram now holds the record of the longest dhoti commercial! ;) and takes a heavy toll on poor audiences :/

Note: Nobody is against commercial movies if it is made good.

WINNER OF PONGAL RACE:
People who avoided  #Jilla & #Veeram. I salute those who saved their penny /\ Fans are fighting for the better among abysmal.

Jilla (2014) ~ Review

For the price of one, we were shown five films (From Godfather, Aiyaa to Dheena) and witnessed one of the poorest screenplay in the history of Tamil cinema. No wonder R.T.Neason was Remake Raja's assistant. Each and every punch dialogue's of the Malayalam star begins with his role name 'Shivan' and hearing after umpteenth time, i totally forgot his real name by the end of the movie :P All i could do, is to sit back with my hands on my head, squirmed, grimaced during the whole gruesome first half.

I see many people, who say Jilla is like Pokkiri-2, but in-spite the fact of pokkiri being a Telugu remake, it was lot better in many ways. Vijay imitating his own acting and style from the later one didn't look any better and seemed ridiculous. Poor dialogue delivery from him (Similar to Pokkiri). Changing the voice modulation doesn't work for him. I'm surprised to hear that the flick is called blockbuster, when even a follower of the actor like me couldn't take it more! D.Imman's music was good but didn't provide the powerful frequency when it was most needed. Yet again, Sampath - the only highlight in the cast and rest are just a showcase. There are not many applauding factors in this Pongal potboiler.

Rating: 5/10

Verdict: 

Vijay failed to start the year with high note.

Jilla disappoints: This will be a bitter truth to his fans.

Biriyani (2013) ~ Review

All the key ingredients are properly mixed and served. There isn't much to criticize about the story or the movie. Venkat Prabhu mastering the commercial formula, covers our South-Indian audiences really well with the masala feast which is what needed the most considering our current trend. As a result, everyone came out pleased with the way things went. 

The Director finally manages to end Karthi's 2 Year diet. But the worrying part is.. he's either trying something new in the wrong way or doing something wrong in the right way. At-least in future i hope that he doesn't give unnecessary importance to his goofy brother or use the names, dialogues, songs or visuals of other famous celebrities to gather cheap publicity. Well forget that... that is never going to happen :| I still wonder why such a creative talent like Venkat prabhu is planting other's idea and style in his features when he has got his modus operandi of film making?

Coming to the cast, most of them has got nothing to do with the story and are appearing among titular guest roles, including Hansika Motwani. Mandy thakkar, a serious deception! Good use of camera and pacy screenplay are the extra scores to the exuberant entertainer. Some of the scenes are utterly copied (eg., from 21 Jump Street). Meanwhile, the movie being U1's 100, the hit albums & tracks from Hollywood to Kollywood are playing a huge contribution than Yuvan's music.

Rating: 6/10

Verdict:
The Movie will be a big hit commercially ! Otherwise, it's just an Ok movie with some plot holes IMHO.

My Dear Director Saar,
Biriyani la piece'u mattum hot ah iruntha pothathu :P Better try to come up with something new ji (No-offense) :P

Irandam Ulagam (2013) ~ Review

Selvaragavan clearly following the footsteps of Darren aronofsky. Yet again his intelligence comes to play. The Title depicts the whole story, which showcases love & death. The Plot and things like switching the screenplay to parallel universe simultaneously reminded me of 'The Fountain (2006)'. Bunch of mistakes in the 1st half spoiled the fun. Second half is all about fighting the dumbest chauvinistic evil force. The Unknown second world contains contrasting visuals. Be it fantasy, including too much colorful essence to the celluloid was not a brilliant idea. Nevertheless, fabulous picturization. By this time, Ramji must be receiving adulation for his spectacular work.

The esoteric mythical love story taking place in another world is more or less a sparkling fairly tale and likely be told to kids during bed time. Budget cannot be an excuse all the time for bad visual effects. If budget is a constraint, it's best not to even try doing such a shoddy job (i.e applying hue tones everywhere in the field or showing dragon like creatures always flying around just because it's an alien planet).

Anushka's performance, a huge let down. I didn't expect anything from Arya because i know time and again he'll prove why he's a half-talented hero :P Our fellow audiences lost in translation trying to understand the motive. Aayirathil Oruvan had a strong story and made a tremendous impact. Even though Mayakkam enna was partly inspired from 'A Beautiful Mind (2001)', it was beautiful at some stages whereas Irandam Ulagam failed to deliver the hidden intensity. The director who preached the importance of love in his flicks Kadhal Kondein and 7G Rainbow colony in a distinctive way couldn't able to do the same in the fantasy world. Most of the play should have been improved. As i mentioned earlier, every good movie gets spoiled by its own content.

My Opinion: 
Don't come to a conclusion after hearing it from anyone (that includes me). Until you watch the film, make no change to your anticipation.

Rating: 5.5/10

Verdict:
Valiant effort from the courageous film maker. All i could see is symptoms of him falling into a trap in the near future. I'm also not sure whether this would be praised by current generation cinema fans.

Krrish 3 (2013) ~ Review

One more Indian-Superhero movie successfully added to the trash. The third installment of Koi... Mil Gaya series -[of which Krrish 2 is still missing] Krrish-3 is a compilation of all the comic superhero characters, particularly concentrated on X-Men. The Story is set up in Mumbai or should i say the whole Mumbai shown, is nothing more than just a unattractive useless Set, thus lacks creativity and originality.

Evergreen and charismatic Hrithik as Krishna (Krrish) battles Supervillain Kaal (Vivek Oberoi) and his mutants. Here kaal has telekinetic powers and moves in a hover chair, imitating Professor-X (which doesn't suit him). Perhaps, V.Oberoi  should stick to gangster films, that's where his ruthlessness looks good. Coming back to Hrithik, he kept nervous whenever things got a bit serious. Even though he played his own father, without much difference to his appearance, it did not seem like both characters were played by the same actor at all. Kangana ranaut plays a role of form-changing female mutant Kaya (Hench-women of Kaal) who later falls in love with Krishna. Apart from these two characters, there is no significant performances could be seen in the screen. Priyanka chopra has been used as a modern sentimental wife every there and then and to remind us that she is still a part of the franchise.

The whole 152 mins or so is entirely based on two concepts "Light is life" and "Fusion is future" but eventually fails to tell what its all about?

Kangana ranaut covers most of the opposite genders by uncovering most of her body, wearing half-naked costumes may help improve glamour but it surely does not make a film like this suitable for children's.

First half was enthusiastic with Krrish's energetic intro. Unfortunately the remaining half couldn't carry the same momentum. Coming to visual effects, even a PS3/XBOX game will have better graphics.
I often keep pondering why the makers are still believing in making songs in these kind of movies.. I know it has become a tradition and indian spectators will always love to watch songs and dance movements but instead of adding another extra cost just for 300 secs romance in a foreign location, why couldn't they rather invest more on VFX? At-least it would reduce the running time.

Climax stunt sequences are entirely copied from Man of Steel. Salim-sulaiman's music never lost the resonance at the crucial stages but Rajesh roshan's songs was not useful in anyway.
Krrish 3 ends in a way that still something left in the series.


Rating: 5/10

Verdict:
With preliminary suspense, it is more a emotional treat than a action based movie, could have been made much better. Another mega budget rip-off :/ Nevertheless, Krrish 3's packaging is fairly pretty yet the Roshan trio's (Hrithik, Rakesh & Rajesh) could not able to provide what the audience really need.

Arrambam (2013) ~ Review

The most wanted person in the most wanted film of the year, the protagonist Ajith Kumar a.k.a Thala, flies from country to country, place to place without getting caught or being noticed by anyone. The same thing happened in his previous blockbuster film Manktha and directors yet again failed to rectify. If i list out all the un-digestible flaws present everywhere in the movie, it may form a mega domino deck :P There's no logic behind most of the sequences. Cliched too much and added to this, we have a goofy villain. Infact, Mankatha was lot better than this in all way respective of the flaws it had. Our devoted fans will try to justify everything so i ain't gonna criticize about anything no more, i'm already done arguing with these people.

Whether its a boat or bike, it is always scintillating to watch him ride :) To admit, background beats were the true savior but even then, it turned out to be exasperating because whenever Ajith walks, the music is tuned-on. It's really effing to watch this stuff since we are dealing with this repetitive matter right from Billa.  For a film to be of better quality, the makers must stop depending upon specific person or their talent alone.Vishnu vardhan failed to bring the quality product. Arrambam is nothing when you take away Yuvan from the crew. It's a good for nothing mediocrity flick. Full of gimmicks.

Rating: 5.5/10

Verdict:
Never bother about the predictability or copied scenes. This one will be delight if you are a Ajith fan or a commercial movie lover. But if you're dedicated thy self to good cinema then stay away from this as you recently did to Thalaivaa and Singam-II (If possible, skip the atrocious All in All azhagu raja as well).

Pandiya naadu (2013) ~ Review

A Typical Tamil commercial film that begins in a way that irks us and soon catches pace thereafter. I never liked Vishal's previous flicks than Theeratha Vilayaatu Pillai but from now on, this would be his best till date and next to Avan Ivan in performance wise. Not enough to be considered as good, at-least he tried something new to come up with. D.Imman's score in the second half -cum- climax pulls the nerves,  an adequate booster! 

Legend Bharathi raja showed the meaning of the famous quote "Revenge is the best form of Emotion". Contributions from Soori, Vikranth and the Sharath (Who plays the antagonist) filled the remaining portion. With awkward films like Rajapaatai and Aathalaal Kadhal seiveer in his list, Suseendran's graph remains mysterious. Viewers cannot find much reasons to despise for it would be a perfect masala treat for tamil audiences, 150 mins of packed entertainment!

Rating: 7/10

Verdict:

Pandiya naadu, unsung winner of this year's Diwali race. Who would have thought?
Anyway, satisfied for 120 bucks;)

Gravity (2013) ~ Review

The outline of the story is all about surviving a space disaster. This is one of the best space adventure films that ever made (Probably this year's best). A masterpiece from Alfonso cuaron. Interesting plot, Intriguing cinematography from Emmanuel Lubezki. Heart pounding Steven Price's background scores, Sensible screenplay, George clooney’s decent supporting role, brilliant visuals and use of CG, Thanks to Tim Webber (VFX).
Everything at its best, all top notch. 

Sandra bullock played the character of her lifetime, a trademark one! Best cinematic experience in 3D. So sad that the running time is only 90 mins for a thrilling space ride. Stop noticing at the scientific flaws because it’s more a fictional and emotional journey than anything else.

Rating: 8/10

Verdict:
 Gravitational force is too strong so“Don't let go” ;)

Escape Plan (2013) ~ Review

Finally, the dream team Arnold Schwarzenegger and Sylvester Stallone joining forces to kick ass’es. Sam neill gets to work alongside a couple of dinosaurs yet again! (Arnie & Sly) :P The unusual story is the platform for the movie which is quite unpredictable; this helps to carry out the film with the same intensity till the last stage. Since it’s a never boring commercial script, the plot holes go unnoticed. 

Former terminator Schwarzenegger turns out to be self deprecating humorous person and the whole play has got something to do with him (Revealed at the end). By the way, it was a great fun seeing him back in big screen. Coming to Stallone, in this one he largely depends on his brain matter than relying on his muscle power alone. The only one that stands out terrible is none other than ‘50 cent’. Even the female lead isn’t crucial. But the pace wasn't affected in anyway. My advice is that, this would be an action packed entertainer if things are not taken serious. 

Rating: 6.5/10

Verdict:
Escape plan is more or less a dumb popcorn flick that makes up for its entertainment value.

Raja Rani (2013) ~ Review

"There is a life after love failure!" 

Now, that's what sending a message truly means :') A decent romantic entertainer from Atlee. Brilliant Cinematography and never boring screenplay are the added plus points. Good songs (except one) and background melodies carried the film. Jai's under-dominating role remains unchanged. It doesn't seem contradictory from Engeyum Eppodhum, infantile character but a great piece of acting. Wonderful matured display from Nayanthara and Arya as well. No comments about Nazriya's overacting :p

Total length of the movie should have been reduced. Second part drags at most stages without proper storytelling. Fortunately, Santhanam's usual one-liners's came to the rescue. Expected ending with an unexpected twist.

Rating: 6/10

Verdict:
On the whole, Raja-Rani is a latest version and a compilation of Mouna Ragam (1986) and Rhythm (2000). Couldn't ask more from a debutant kollywood director. Tamil spectators would be pleased but certainly not a hardcore movie buff.