STAR TREK INTO DARKNESS ("SPACE ODYSSEY")

May 10, 2013

Cast: Chris Pine, Zachary Quinto, Zoe Saldana, Benedict Cumberbatch.

Director: JJ Abrams.

Star trek that released in 2009 took us by surprise by it’s quality content and classy execution. Four years later with Star trek Into darkness, JJ Abrams gives us yet another memorable experience.

Kirk (Pine) loses the command of USS Enterprise for violating a dozen rules of the Starfleet in an attempt to save Spock (Quinto) from inside of an erupting volcano in a Class M planet in Nibiru. Right afterwards Khan (Cumberbatch) strikes the Starfleet Archive in London and Kirk and team sets out to kill Khan.

Right from the set-piece in Nibiru you are bombarded with breathtaking visuals and effects. Though such precision in visual effects is a common thing in Abrams’ movies the vision he has for Star trek is something quite unique.

Kirk has the same team with him consisting of Spock, Uhura(Saldana), Bones, Scotty, Chekov and Sulu. The chemistry of the whole crew of USS Enterprise is as sparkling as it was in the first edition and you will enjoy when they are on screen.

Though this is gonna be a treat for the Star trek fans the other section of the audience might complain about the screenplay being not as intellectually satisfying as the first part. But it ensures that the fans familiar with all the characters have one of the best movie outings of the year; this is not to mean that those who haven’t watched the first part will be left in the dark.

If the chemistry between Kirk and Spock was one of the highlights of the first film it is definitely the presence of Benedict Cumberbatch in the second film that is gonna woo the audience. He is spectacular as Khan and completely overshadows Chris Pine and Zachary Quinto whenever they are on screen.

Star trek Into darkness is a compact package offering everything in the right amounts.

Iam giving a 3.5/5 for Star Trek Into Darkness. There is a lot of action, camaraderie, fun, emotion and Benedict Cumberbatch. Go for it!

IMDB Rating

Rating Scale (Out of 5)

Less than 2                   -           Unwatchable.

2    to 2.25                   -           Below average.

2.5 to 2.75                   -           Average.

                                 

3    to 3.25                   -           Good.

3.5 to 3.75                   -           Really Good.

4    to 4.25                   -           Great.

4.5 and above               -          Extraordinary.

                                                                    

MUMBAI POLICE ("BOLD ONE!")

May 10, 2013

Cast: Prithviraj, Jayasurya, Rahman.

Director: Roshan Andrews.

Malayalam cinema rose to greatness mainly because of the bold themes that the filmmakers and actors were ready to experiment with. Mumbai Police comes right out of that stable!

ACP Antony Moses (Prithviraj) who is investigating the murder of his friend ACP Aryan John (Jayasurya) meets with an accident when he is on the brink of solving the case and he loses his memory. Now it’s upto Commissioner Farhan (Rahman) (the third one of the trio popularly called as Mumbai Police by the media) to help Moses recover his memory and solve the case.

Coming from Bobby and Sanjay we expect something different in the screenplay and Oh boy! You get just the same it’s a brilliantly crafted screenplay that teases you every now and then with the whodunit part and keeps you guessing till the very end. After a disappointing Casanova, Roshan Andrews bounces back to show his amazing directorial skills to make Mumbai Police very appealing; slick editing and wonderful cinematography add to it.

ASI Sudhakaran mouths Kerala Police oath by heart when the other officers in Moses’ team need a copy to read it from. Scenes like that and characters like that of Rakhi IPS could have been done away with as they serve no purpose to the plot in any manner. Apart from these minor glitches a few minutes in the middle where the “Mumbai Police” camaraderie is shown might look a bit too long but it may be argued that it is required to establish the core of the plot.

Barring these very few shortcomings it’s precise articulate storytelling and those who love investigation stories are gonna have one helluva time! The way Antony Moses B (as he is called by the doctor after the accident) breaks down the case diary of Antony Moses A is written and executed flawlessly; thanks to the brilliant writing, wonderful performances and top class direction.

When Rahman and Jayasurya do their part perfectly well, Prithviraj simply excels as the mean cold blooded Antony Moses A and the conscientious ethical Antony Moses B.

Kudos; to Roshan Andrews for staying faithful to the script(not even including one song in the film), to Bobby and Sanjay for a brilliant product and finally Prithviraj for taking on such a bold role.

Iam giving a 3.5/5 for Mumbai Police. This is one of the best films that have come out recently and it’s a pretty bold one too. Go for it!

Rating Scale (Out of 5)

Less than 2                   -           Unwatchable.

2    to 2.25                   -           Below average.

2.5 to 2.75                   -           Average.

                                 

3    to 3.25                   -           Good.

3.5 to 3.75                   -           Really Good.

4    to 4.25                   -           Great.

4.5 and above               -          Extraordinary.

SOODHU KAVVUM ("KIDNAPPERS IN TOWN")

May 1, 2013

Cast: Vijay Sethupathy, Sanchita Shetty, Radha Ravi, M.S Bhaskar.

Director: Nalan Kumaraswamy.

Nowadays when a film comes along with Vijay Sethupathy as the lead we have started expecting something different, and that is just what you get with Soodhu Kavvum.

Das (Vijay Sethupathy) is a middle aged man with a mental disorder (somewhat a funny version of John Nash in “A beautiful mind” you could say) who is a “professional” kidnapper with a rule list on how to kidnap. He keeps talking to Shalu(the imaginary character that only he can see). He takes 3 jobless youngsters along with him and after a series of petty kidnappings they hit jackpot when they are offered 2 crore rupees for kidnapping the minister’s son.

Scripted and directed by Nalan Kumarasamy, Soodhu Kavvum is a laugh riot with the situations in the screenplay being the main comedian, which is sort of a once in a blue moon event in Tamil cinema.

With no leading actors from the Tamil industry, except for M.S Bhaskar and Radha Ravi doing minor roles, Nalan Kumarasamy shows his mettle extracting solid performances from the entire cast.

Vijay Sethupathy once again does a fine job, but what is to be appreciated more is the fact that he has allowed the director and the screenplay dictate the course of the film. Though it is apparent from the screenplay that Vijay Sethupathy is the main character he never really hogs the limelight. He looks comfortable and happy letting the other actors have some of the best dialogues and scenes in the film.

The praiseworthy editing (considered Kumarasamy’s forte), catchy BGM and wonderful cinematography involving certain moving shots and slow motions spice up the film really well. Every element like thrill, suspense, humor and tension, to name a few, is given in right doses.

But the USP of the film is undoubtedly the tactful and brilliant screenplay that provides laughter throughout the film (even in tense situations) which keeps you engaged all the while. It would not be surprising if Soodhu Kavvum gets repeat audience especially as it’s summer vacation.

Iam giving a 3.5/5 for Soodhu Kavvum. Change is always good and this film is testimony to that statement! Soodhu Kavvum has finesse written all over it.Make sure you watch it!

Rating Scale (Out of 5)

Less than 2                   -           Unwatchable.

2 to 2.25                      -           Below average.

2.5 to 2.75                    -           Average.

3 to 3.25                      -           Good.

3.5 to 3.75                   -           Really Good.

4 to 4.25                      -           Great.

4.5 and above               -           Extraordinary.

                                                                    

ETHIR NEECHAL ("LONG SWIM")

May 1,2013

Cast: Sivakarthikeyan, Priya Anand.

Director: R S Durai Senthilkumar.

Sivakarthikeyan as the hero, Anirudh’s music topping the charts, Dhanush as the producer; he comes in an item dance with Nayanthara as well. Ethirneechal having all these mouth watering elements finally hits the screens so what more can you ask for, right? Well...a lot more!

A couple with no children for quite a long time gets blessed with a baby boy (Sivakarthikeyan) whom they believe has been given to them by the deity named Kunchithapadam, and for the same reason they name him after the deity. People start calling him Kunchi and Kunchithapadam who is a decent athelete feels cursed even when he wins races just because his name gets announced during the presentation ceremony. He is friends with Peter who runs a tailoring shop.

A lot of misfortunes come his way which he believes is because of his name. So he changes his name to Harish. He falls in love with Geetha (Priya Anand) who is a teacher cum LIC agent cum student cum charity worker. After a series of events he decides to take part in a marathon to “earn” his new name! He starts training under Valli who has the National record for 100 metres race.

The first half of the film is rather passable with a few funny scenes, some reminding you of Boss engira Baskaran. The romance between Sivakarthikeyan and Priya Anand is nice but lacks the chemistry actually required. At times it’s hard not to feel if the director was hoping to make the film appealing to the audience by stuffing in as many songs as possible.

The second half mostly concentrates on the training for the marathon and the actual event. The item song involving Dhanush and Nayanthara is nice but it is just as unwanted as Valli’s flashback!

The screenplay though earnestly written lacks the solidarity required  either for a romantic film or a sports film, and when it’s a combination of romance and sports the final product ends up with several loose ends unfortunately. This is not to belittle the training sequences that have been shot really well.

A filmmaker feels victorious when the audience empathise with the characters he is presenting to them, but the characters in Ethirneechal seems half baked and you as the audience end up watching a story that is happening somewhere out there and not something that you can relate to.

In spite of it feeling too long Ethirneechal cannot be termed as a bad film. It does offer entertainment in parts and does not make you feel bored. But that’s that!

Iam giving a 2.5/5 for Ethirneechal. Go in without expectations and you will not feel disappointed.

Rating Scale (Out of 5)

Less than 2                   -           Unwatchable.

2 to 2.25                      -           Below average.

2.5 to 2.75                   -           Average.

                                 

3 to 3.25                      -           Good.

3.5 to 3.75                   -           Really Good.

4 to 4.25                      -           Great.

4.5 and above               -           Extraordinary.

IRON MAN 3 ("HEAVY METAL")

April 26, 2013

Cast: Robert Downey Jr, Gwyneth Paltrow, sir Ben Kingsley, Guy Pearce.

Director: Shane Black.

One of the most anticipated movies of the year has arrived, that too one week ahead of it’s US release just like “The Avengers”. Because of the amazing response from India “The Avengers” had had a super huge opening in the US and it is going to be no different in the case of Iron Man 3!

Tony Stark is more of a responsible person, the reckless womanising character has faded away. He is now in a committed relationship with Pepper. Come Mandarin along with Aldrian Killich and Tony Stark’s world as he knew it changes.

Into middle age, all that generally comes to people in that phase(or may be more) happens with Tony as well; he is anxious, less of a risk taker, fearful of the safety of his family and super anxious to the point of having anxious attacks very often. You can get to see more of the emotional side of the Iron Man here.

After a watered down start (which is intentional) the action starts, once Tony declares an open challenge to The Mandarin, with a super spectacular sequence(action wise, cinematography wise and effects wise), in which Tony loses his house. And after that it’s heavy bombardment time!!!

The plot is an average one but the screenplay infused with a lot of action sequences and humor keeps you engaged even if you are not an Iron Man fan, barring a few scenes. Tony Stark’s equation with the kid in Tennessee will be loved by the younger audience. With Robert Downey Jr as the arrogant, witty, mocking Tony Stark, Gwyneth Paltrow as the ever dependable Pepper, Guy Pearce as the intriguing Aldrian Killich and Sir Ben Kingsley as the interesting Mandarin the performances are nothing short of first class.  

What is most amazing about the film is the unbelievable grip and control that Shane Black has over the action sequences and the effects. His coordination with the technical crew especially the action choreographers, visual effect team and the cinematographer is well evident in the final product on screen.

With a number of over the top action set-pieces it’s carnival time for the Iron Man fans and others alike.

Iam giving a 3.5/5 for Iron Man 3. Gorge on. This is the Iron Man doing what he does best!

IMDB Rating

Rating Scale (Out of 5)

Less than 2                   -           Unwatchable.

2 to 2.25                      -           Below average.

2.5 to 2.75                   -           Average.

3 to 3.25                     -           Good.

3.5 to 3.75                  -           Really Good.

4 to 4.25                     -           Great.

4.5 and above              -           Extraordinary.

                                                                    

THE CROODS ("SUMMER TREAT")

April 19, 2013

Cast: Nicolas Cage, Ryan Reynolds, Emma Stone.

Director: Kirk De Micco, Chris Sanders.

For some reason or the other animation films that release during vacation time are sure to become hits irrespective of the content. The only difference with respect to The Croods is that it’s rich in content as well!

Set in a period 4 million years ago, the croods (as their family is called) lose their cave during the geographical shifts taking place on earth. The over protective Grug (voiced by Nicolas Cage) along with his family is forced to trek through alien lands with the help of Guy(voiced by Ryan Reynolds). Grug’s daughter Eep (voiced by Emma Stone) falls for Guy.

With a weird family consisting of a wife, a cowardly son, a dog like daughter, and a crazy mother in law (apart from Eep ofcourse) the trek with Guy offers plenty of entertainment for the viewers. The antics of the family itself will leave you in splits.

Though it is a simple story the breathtaking visuals and stunning 3D are sure to transport you into a dreamland. If you take kids along you can see them trying to catch the objects on screen every now and then. It’s equally appealing to adults as well. The visual effects and animation team surely deserve a pat on their backs for creating such a visual masterpiece. Some scenes might remind you of ”Avatar” mainly because of the similarity in the landscape and the animals.

Then comes the different animals some of whom most of the time are trying to kill the croods (for food of course). Now do not get me wrong these are not the dangerous sort that you might have seen in “Avatar” for example; these are the funny type and you have to give it to the character development team for making them so endearing. The fluffy colourful adorable scary looking but cowardly tiger, Guy’s belt (that’s an animal for your information), Grug’s son’s pet are just some of the animals you are most certainly going to fall in love with!

The cinematography and some action set pieces are simply stunning and some of the finest that you have seen in the recently released animated movies.

But the strength of the croods lies in it’s brilliant script, knowing it’s limits(not attempting to stuff in unnecessary details), that keeps you entertained throughout and the wonderful direction that remains faithful to the script.

Iam giving a 3.25/5 for The Croods. Be prepared to take your kids for repeat viewing!

IMDB Rating

Rating Scale (Out of 5)

Less than 2                   -           Unwatchable.

2 to 2.25                      -           Below average.

2.5 to 2.75                   -           Average.

3 to 3.25                      -           Good.

3.5 to 3.75                   -           Really Good.

4 to 4.25                      -           Great.

4.5 and above               -           Extraordinary.

                                                                    

UDHAYAM NH4 ("IT'S HIGHWAY...FOR THE AUDIENCE")

April 19, 2013

Cast: Siddarth, Ashrita Shetty, Kay Kay Menon, Kishore.

Director: Manimaran.

Being directed by Vettri Maaran’s associate with the script written by Vettri Maaran himself, Udhayam NH4 comes from a juicy crew with a pretty good cast.

Rithika (Ashrita Shetty), the daughter of a politician, who studies in a college in Bangalore falls for her classmate Prabhu (Siddharth). After a dramatic turn of events she is forced to elope with Prabhu. Kay Kay menon who is an encounter specialist is asked to bring back Rithika to her father before she turns 18 the next day.

The film starts off with a glibly shot encounter scene and you would start getting doubts if your decision to come for the movie was right after all! Very soon you would be sure as hell that it was one of the most stupid decisions that you have ever taken in your life!

The screenplay written with the intention of being clever never really goes beyond the elementary level! The hero very easily keeps fooling the police and what more, even the cops look happy enough to play fools. Next it’s time for the audience to become fools when the hero and the cops start taking turns to fool each other! For instance, the hero leaves his cell phone in a dust bin to prevent the police from tracking him. Once he starts moving he sends a message from his friend’s mobile and ends up getting caught.

To make it so wonderfully sweet, the heroine who gets caught by Kay Kay Menon after a struggle all of a sudden starts telling her romantic story to him and the ruthless encounter specialist suddenly becomes an avid listener. By this time all you want to do is run out of the theatre screaming for help.

Coming to the dialogues department, it is really unfortunate to see such silly and cheesy dialogues coming from someone like Vettri Maaran. Barring one or two, the supporting actors and the heroine with weird accents (as a lot of them are not Tamilians in real life as well as in the film) and the last thing they could do being act, make your life miserable. To make it worse the dubbing and lip sync are a disaster!!

Manimaran has a long way to go as far as direction is concerned. His inability to extract performances from his cast is too apparent, even from actors as fine as Kay Kay Menon! The shabbily written and shot scenes between the lead pair have a fair chance of reminding you of the disastrous Twilight Saga chemistry between Robert Pattinson and Kristen Stewart.

The songs are nice and a few scenes are humorous but it’s highly doubtful if you would remember any of those by the time the ordeal comes to an end.

Iam giving a 1/5 for Udhayam NH4. If the director tells you it’s either his way or the highway, you would be better off taking the highway even in this summer heat!!

Rating Scale (Out of 5)

Less than 2                   -           Unwatchable.

2 to 2.25                      -           Below average.

2.5 to 2.75                   -           Average.

3 to 3.25                      -           Good.

3.5 to 3.75                   -           Really Good.

4 to 4.25                      -           Great.

4.5 and above               -           Extraordinary.

                                                                    

GAURAVAM ("NOTHING TO BE PROUD ABOUT")

April 19, 2013

Cast: Allu Sirish, Yami Gautam, Prakash Raj.

Director: Radha Mohan.

When you talk about honour killings to a filmgoer it’s natural if the raw, intense “Mississippi Burning” and it’s equally good Indian version “Aakrosh” come to his mind. But does Gauravam belong to the same league? Not at all!

Set in T. Vennur (a village in Tamilnadu), Gauravam talks about the story of Allu Sirish who comes in search of his classmate Shanmugam ( from a lower caste family) who is believed to have eloped with his girlfriend (from an upper caste family). Prakashraj plays the role of the girlfriend’s father. Nobody in the village, including Prakashraj and Shanmugam’s father, knows about the couple’s whereabouts. Allu Sirish and his friend, along with the help of Lawyer Yaazhini (Yami Gautam), the daughter of a local Communist leader, set out to find Shanmugam and his girlfriend.

If you have already watched “Mississippi Burning” or “Aakrosh” you right away understand the plot, but even otherwise it would not take the average viewer long to figure it out, courtesy the lazy, lacklustre and naive screenplay by Radhamohan. The screenplay is so amateurish that you would not find even a single tense scene in the movie! There is no scope for jokes in a movie of this genre and the bad ones forced into the screenplay are made worse by Allu Sirish who is stone faced most of the time.

The cast consists of a couple of Radhamohan regulars who do a good job. But it’s the actors who have played the role of Shanmugam’s father and his girlfriend’s sister-in-law, though very limited in screenspace, who outshine the rest of the cast. Sadly there are no characters like that of Gene Hackman and Willen Dafoe (in Mississippi Burning) or Ajay Devgan, Akshaye Khanna and Paresh Rawal(in Aakrosh), fiery enough to give you the thrills!Even the antagonists never looking menacing or dangerous.

An amusing yet confusing thing about Radhamohan is his tryst with Punjabis. Yes, you have a Punjabi in this movie as well who plays Allu Sirish’s friend!

The cinematography is so inconsistent that you would wonder if there were two Directors of Photography working. When some scenes are nothing short of visual beauty others look like cheap camera print.

Most of the events that look to good to be true unfold at regular intervals as if they were programmed. Certain scenes are so naively thought about and executed that you will burst out into laughter at the silliness. Towards the end there are a few “so called” discoveries and twists that fall flat on the face! With a lot of gratuitous characters and scenes Gauravam feels longer than it’s runtime of 2 hrs 16 minutes.

Iam giving a 2/5 for Gauravam. It’s clear that Radhamohan has stepped onto a genre that he has no clue about!

Rating Scale (Out of 5)

Less than 2                   -           Unwatchable.

2 to 2.25                      -           Below average.

2.5 to 2.75                   -           Average.

3 to 3.25                     -           Good.

3.5 to 3.75                  -           Really Good.

4 to 4.25                     -           Great.

4.5 and above              -           Extraordinary.