THE HOBBIT: THE DESOLATION OF SMAUG ("HERE COMES SMAUG")

December 13, 2013.

Cast: Martin Freeman, Sir Ian Mckellen, Richard Armitage, Benedict Cumberbatch.

Director: Peter Jackson.

After just an year of “An unexpected journey” Peter Jackson is back with the sequel “The Desolation of Smaug”. With the 1 billion USD collections for the first part covering almost the whole production expense for the trilogy it was always going to be a profitable venture. Still Peter Jackson ensures that he does not compromise on quality with this sequel.

Continuing from where the first part left off, the pack of dwarves and Bilbo led by Thorin Oakenshield are forced to advance towards the Lonely Mountain by themselves after Gandalf is instructed by Lady Galadriel to check on the growing strength of the evil Necromancer. Azog the defiler is ordered by his master to give up chasing Oakenshield as there are preparations to be made for the brewing war.

It was quite evident to everyone that Peter Jackson had to give something much more spectacular than the first part to keep the audience engaged considering the inability of “An unexpected journey” to match upto the Lord of the Rings. As a fan and otherwise I am personally satisfied that he does 

manage to bring this sequel a notch higher in almost all the departments.

The fight sequences which happen to come so very easily to Jackson are one of the many highlights here too. The barrel fight in the falls is one that everyone would enjoy very much for the kind of shots, camera and CG work, the stunt choreography and the sheer creativity. The level of fighting enters a different league altogether once Legolas and Tauriel enter the scene.

The film hits a rough patch at times mainly when Jackson tries to build up his characters and certain situations, which though may be required for the film, would not have hurt if absent! The BGM also gets substandard at times appearing more like an amateurish band rather than being part of the film’s soul.

Still there is a certain soul to the film that keeps it going and once the action picks up you almost completely forget those letdowns especially when you are treated with the interesting and amazing encounter between Bilbo and Smaug. The conversation they have, shot beautifully, keeps the future of the quest so beautifully suspenseful and when it’s the arresting voice and tone of Benedict Cumberbatch (Smaug) you are left wishing for more.

Though flooded with characters, The Desolation of Smaug mainly belongs to Bilbo, Thorin Oakenshield and Smaug, with Gandalf, Legolas and Tauriel amongst others offering support.

The latter part of the second half gets so thrilling that it takes a minute or two after the sudden climax for you to realise it has ended after having seen a few dragging scenes earlier. With Smaug awakened the stage is beautifully set for the final part to unleash all the action that the fans have been waiting for.

I am giving 3.5 for The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug. Smaug has arrived, let us wait for “There and Back Again”.

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.

IVAN VERA MATHIRI ("SATHYAMA ILLA!!")

December 13, 2013.

Cast: Vikram Prabhu, Surabhi, Vamsi Krishna.

Director: Saravanan.

It is sad when a young director gives you hope after a decent realistic film in his debut and then gets confused on what to do next ending up offering a substandard masala film.

Gunasekaran (Vikram Prabhu) is a normal city guy belonging to a middle class family. He gets involved with a local gangster (Vamsi Krishna) after he decides to bring down a corrupt politician who happens to be the former’s brother. After a few totally unexpected meetings with Malini (Surabhi) the two fall in love. But trouble follows when the gangster wants Guna dead.

It is difficult not to mention the misfire right at the beginning with the unnecessary song in the background during the law college fight. It is known to everyone how bad things are in law colleges nowadays with a lot of untoward incidents happening almost on a regular basis but by emphasising it a tad too much with a song conveying the same spoils the whole thing. Starting with the above it’s misfire after misfire at regular intervals.

Almost all the songs in the movie are unnecessary and it’s better not to start talking about the BGM which gives one helluva pain for your eardrums.

The director has tried doing justice to the title of the film by trying to give an image to Guna in one of the songs by highlighting certain activities of his which are things not everyone does normally, but sadly that is all that you get. After that the screenplay slips into a very mediocre level making the film a normal hero V/s villain film with the usual masala set up.

Things keep happening mechanically half the time and the film progresses on such a narrow level with no importance or relevance given to any of the characters except the hero, heroine and villain. The dialogues and scenes towards the end, especially when Malini is tied to the metal bars as a dummy, are so silly that you would laugh out loud despite trying so hard not to.

The next area of disappointment is the fights, most of which have over usage of ropes, making lifting the opponent look like lifting a piece of paper. Going by common sense, with the kind of beating that they take with iron rods, metal objects, concrete etc among other things, both the hero and villain should have died several times.

All this and a lot more ,which if told would expose the story, makes one wonder if this is the same director who gave us a simple and decent movie an year back.

I am giving 1.5 for Ivan Vera Mathiri. This one lacks common sense and has no entertainment value.

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.

SILENCE ("TESTS YOUR PATIENCE")

December 7, 2013.

Cast: Mammootty, Anoop Menon.

Director: VK Prakash.

Silence came out with a tempting cast and director combo which naturally upped the expectation but this one disappoints right from the start.

Aravindan (Mammootty) a leading advocate is just about to go to the next level in his career as the Bangalore High Court Judge. He has a wonderful family and a group of friends and leads an enviable life. All of a sudden a stranger starts harassing him over the phone, starts following him more or less like a shadow for no apparent reason and when all that crosses the limit Aravindan goes to his friend Neal George IPS (Anoop Menon) for help.

Right from the beginning you feel something is missing in the film every now and then be it the dialogues, scenes or the direction. Songs keep coming just for the sake of driving home certain clichéd points. But for the only reason that it is a VK Prakash film with Mammootty and Anoop Menon in the lead you keep waiting for the story to get engaging and you keep waiting and waiting and waiting.

Apart from the shabby direction and an even shabbier screenplay trying to instil suspense and intrigue into the audience, which fall flat, nothing much really happens in the more or less innocuous first half. The second half brings the utterly silly reason behind all the craziness that is happening in Aravindan’s life and it has to be told that this is one of the most ordinary VK Prakash films; one of the most ordinary suspense thrillers rather!!

There are very very few moments in the film that are worth watching and most of the time it is more of a messy collage of different scenes rather than a smooth flowing affair; substandard editing being one of the reasons. To make matters worse there is a really annoying piece in the BGM which keeps playing at regular intervals throughout the second half irrespective of it’s relevance to the situation; something which really tests your patience more so because it tries to project the superhero image of the protagonist when a normal scene with no BGM at all would have sufficed!

Towards the climax one starts to wonder if this was a thriller or more of a masala action film with the stupid underwater fight sequence among other things.

Silence feels like a looong journey inspite of the runtime being just two hours.

I am giving 1.5 for Silence. The theatres playing the movie are gonna be silent very soon.

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 HUNGER GAMES - CATCHING FIRE ("GET SET..")

December 6, 2013.

Cast: Jennifer Lawrence, Josh Hutcherson, Woody Harrelsen, Liam Hemsworth, Philip Seymour Hoffman.

Director: Francis Lawrence.

Hunger games- Catching fire was one of the most awaited films of the year and just as the name goes, the film does set the screen on fire!!

After their victory in the 74^th Hunger Games, Katnis and Peta are made to tour all the districts by the President mainly to act as a distraction. The mood in all the districts are slightly changing as they feel they can see the mildest bit of hope that their lives could be better. As the President gets the smell of a brewing revolution he suddenly decides to hold the 75^th Hunger games with the prior Victors as participants with the help of Plutarch (Hoffman) in which he wishes to see Katniss killed which he believes could thwart the impending revolution.

The mood that the first part had is amply carried forward to Catching Fire right from the beginning. The first half of the film takes it’s own time to set the theme and mood before throwing the audience into all the action just like the first part. By the time you hit the interval you are very much sucked into the grim imaginary world of the Hunger games.

While the first part had Katniss doubtful about her feelings towards Peta and Gale this one gives us a much clearer picture that is very well executed and acted that at times you really want the lead pair to kiss each other with all the passion and tension floating around.

Coming to the technical side the graphics, visual effects and cinematography are just as impressive as the first part and combined with the really amazing screenplay offering ample scope for varied effects it is a treat for the general audience and the fans alike. The writers have taken special care to give you the amazing fight sequences and the drama in the correct proportion making 

Catching fire more than just an action movie.

Jennifer Lawrence revels as the smoldering Katniss Everdeen well supported by the rest of the cast especially Josh. The scenes having the both of them together explores the growing romance in a beautiful way.

With the terrific climax here the stage is all set for The Hunger Games – Mocking Jay Part 1 that is scheduled to release in November 2014.

I am giving 3.75 for The Hunger Games – Catching Fire. A revolution begins.

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.

VILLA REVIEW

November 14, 2013.

Cast: Ashok Selvan, Sanchitha Shetty, Nasser.

Director: Deepan.

REVIEW COMING SOON......!

ALL IN ALL AZHAGURAJA ("INTOLERABLE CRUELTY")

November 2, 2013.

Cast: Karthi, Santhanam, Prabhu, Kajal Agarwal.

Director: Rajesh.

First it was Santhanam’s dialogue mocking the “Smoking kills” ad that landed the film in trouble; next Rajesh gave a shock telling from now on his films would be having only situational comedy (something which he has not proved himself to be good at); now finally when the film has come out it looks like the biggest trouble is the film itself!

Azhaguraja (Karthi) runs a local channel AAA TV with the help of Kalyanam (Santhanam). His father (Prabhu) owns a stationery shop and his mother (Saranya) is a homemaker. As is customary in a lotta Tamil films he falls for Chitra Devi Priya (Kajal) at first sight.

Apart from the point above, till OKOK, Rajesh’s films had some kind of a story in them but Azhaguraja is different from them in this aspect also, the film keeps drifting aimlessly for an unbearable 2 hrs and 54 minutes; more or less like the answer to a 20 mark question in a Madras University Exam!!

Karthi and Santhanam try their very best to make something out of the intolerable screenplay but sadly all their efforts go in vain owing to the dull writing and execution. The flashback that comes in the second half where Karthi plays Prabhu’s younger days is more like a caricature gone horribly wrong. It will make one wonder what the director was thinking while making those portions because of the preposterousness of it all! Karthi makes a mockery of himself trying to imitate Prabhu with a single exception of the song with Radhika Apte.

There is only one scene that provides entertainment in whole film where Kajal’s father laments about the sufferings he has gone through because of her singing. The portion where M.S Bhaskar teaches Bharatanatyam to Kajal is also acceptable when compared to the rest of the film.

With one of the worst screenplays, dry dialogues that make the most cheerful of persons indifferent and tasteless songs All in All Azhaguraja is a real pain. Please stay away!

I am giving 0.75 for All in All Azhaguraja. This is Intolerable Cruelty!!

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.

KRRISH 3 ("TRASH IT")

November 1, 2013.

Cast: Hrithik Roshan, Priyanka Chopra, Vivek Oberoi, Kangna Ranaut.

Director: Rakesh Roshan.

Koi Mil Gaya was something really novel when it came out and barring a few scenes it was really a good entertainer with a good script, wonderful songs and amazing acting by Hrithik. Krish could not really match upto Koi Mil Gaya. Yet Rakesh Roshan has come out with Krrish 3 this diwali boasting of a Rs. 250 crore budget, merchandise and a Krrish 3 video game.

Krishna (Hrithik) is happily married to Priya (Priyanka Chopra) and Rohit (Senior Hrithik) is trying to develop a machine that could harness solar energy and convert it into life creating technology. Kaal the super powered Tele Kinesis expert (Vivek Oberoi) on the other hand is doing just the opposite to earn billions in order to cure himself of the Paralysis that he was born with. He develops a deadly virus and spreads it using his genetically created “Maanvars”, Kaya (Kangna) being the main one. Once the virus hits Mumbai, it is upto Krishna and Rohit to come up with a cure.

If the story of Krrish 3 is pretty ordinary, the screenplay is even worse. There is a bunch of unnecessary “Maanvars” with different abilities (each one of them being a substandard version of the mutants in the legendary X Men series) created for the sole purpose of acting as punching bags for Krrish. And then there is the ridiculously silly twist where Kaya falls for Krrishna turning against Kaal!! Things keep happening pretty much mechanically and there are lot of unconvincing scenes which would have worked out well for the film had it been released a decade or two back!

In one such scene a Krrish statue (more or less like the great Rocky Balboa statue) is unveiled with a huge crowd worshipping him singing songs in his praise and you are left wondering if you are in 2013!! Trying to turn Krrish into a philosophy, something larger than a person is all good but choosing an overused method for it is really lamentable; especially when you have dialogues borrowed for that from Sarkar (which in itself was a copy); “Krrish ek soch hai”.

The copying does not end with the X men, Sarkar or Rocky; it continues even in the fight sequences some of which are blatant copies of X men first class and Man of steel (the climax fight in the sky between Krrish and Kaal).

Rakesh Roshan-Hrithik Roshan-Rajesh Roshan combo have always entertained us with beautiful songs; both stylish and soothing. That department also takes a hit in Krrish 3 with songs that are so bad and unnecessary at the same time.

One point to be conceded to Rakesh Roshan is in the department of the VFX; though it is not as evolved or appealing as Shankar’s “Enthiran” the half baked product has clear signs of a lot of hard work put in by the team and the director! But all said and done it is sad that even with such a huge budget Rakesh Roshan could not come up with a product that is appealing enough.

The only saving grace of the film is the amazing Hrithik who is super committed and dedicated. He excels in the emotional scenes though the scope is limited, playing both Rohit and Krishna with such charm.

I am giving a generous 2 for Krrish 3 especially for Hrithik. This one does not have the soul that made Koi Mil Gaya such a phenomenon!

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.

ARRAMBAM ("ANYAAYAM")

October 31, 2013.

Cast: Ajithkumar, Arya, Nayantara, Taapsee, Rana Daggubatti.

Director: Vishnuvardhan.

Mankatha provided a really good comeback for Ajith. What followed was a disaster in the form of Billa 2 and even before we have recovered from that impact here comes Arrambam.

Ashok (Ajith) is introduced as a terrorist who is bent on destroying certain people. He is aided in this endeavour by Maya (Nayanthara), who happens to be the computer whiz Arjun’s (Arya) classmate. Arjun is in love with Anitha (Taapsee).

Arjun is tricked into coming to Mumbai along with Anitha by Ashok who wants Arjun’s help in his endeavours. He starts coercing Arjun into doing things against his wishes with the threat of killing Anitha in case of non cooperation. Any viewer with an interest for English films would clearly see “Swordfish” by now but to make it worse what follows is a few so called twists (all of which fall flat), a horrible flashback and some scenes that really test your patience!!!

The script is very very mediocre letting anyone who has watched a few films guess what is coming and a few minutes after the interval you can very easily predict the climax. The first twenty minutes or so in the film is literally unbearable with two irritating songs, a stupid flashback involving Arya, Nayanthara and Taapsee, stupid makeup (Arya’s) and bad acting!!

Once you have passed that test of patience you would be subjected to a lotta unnecessary slow mo shots, completely trite background score, substandard direction and a lotta bad acting yet again. After all this it’s time for the flashback explaining how an honest Ashok was turned into a terrorist of sorts; Nayanthara starts the flashback with heavy words like torture, terror and the likes of it; but sadly it’s all just words and no action whatsoever.

The screenplay is so bad that the characters have to verbalise the scenes so that the audience might understand what they (characters) are going through which exhibits a blatant absence of feel that is required for any scene to reach the audience!! With umpteen characters (all played by major artistes) which are so very ill conceived it’s a cruelty to the film and unfair to the artistes of this calibre!!

Next comes the dialogues that make you laugh and cry at regular intervals; but the sad part is that both the laughter and crying are the unintentional by-products of some of the worst dialogues that you have seen in the recent times. After a point your laughter and crying would cease to make way for indifference owing to the realisation that it has reached the incorrigible plane!

In short Arrambam is a waste of time, money and efforts.

I am giving a 1.5 for Arrambam. Stay away!!

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.

CAPTAIN PHILLIPS ("PIRATES OF THE SOMALIAN")

October 18, 2013. 

Cast: Tom Hanks, Catherine Keener.

Director: Paul Greengrass.

When a film comes from a director who has the history of walking out of a prestigious project in the past for the sole reason of his creativity being compromised you can rest assured of the content on offer.

Paul Greengrass has chosen to make Captain Phillips based on a real life incident of 2009 when the Captain of a Maersk Alabama ship was captured by Somalian pirates. Tom Hanks plays the Captain.

It’s a no nonsense script that takes you right into the crux of the story a few minutes on. It gives you the background from which the pirates come and the reason why they are forced to do what they do regardless of what is right or wrong.

The taking of the ship by the pirates has been shown in as realistic a way as possible without compromising the flavour of mainstream cinema (as always is the case with a Greengrass product). The first half deals with what goes on on-board Maersk Alabama with the pirates and the crew playing a cat and mouse game of sorts.

As the situation progresses the crew takes the Captain hostage on a life boat and sets course for Somalia after which they plan to get millions as ransom money in return for the Captain’s life. From the moment they get onto the life boat the level of thrill keeps increasing bit by bit reaching it’s peak at the climax. Once the navy comes into the picture you will be at the edge of your seat.

The film shows us both the vulnerability of the ships sailing through the Somalian coast as well as the extent to which the US armed forces will go to rescue one of it’s civilians.

The regular hand held shots taking you to the centre of the action (like you have seen in the likes of Bourne Ultimatum amongst other Greengrass films) are there to up the ante along with brisk editing.

The virtually unknown actors who play the pirates dazzle with their performance showing the vulnerability, helplessness, terror and desperation with the confidence that equals a really trained actor. But it is Tom Hanks who steals the show as Captain Phillips. He keeps it simple and subtle throughout the film and shows us why he is one of the legends in the final moments of the film where he makes the audience really feel the pain and all the other emotions that Captain Phillips had kept at bay till then.

I am giving a 3.75 for Captain Phillips. Get hooked!!

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.

ESCAPE PLAN REVIEW

October 18, 2013.

Cast: Sylvester Stallone, Arnold Schwarzenegger.

Director: Mikael Hafstrom.

Please visit the following link for the review
http://www.rajeevmasand.com/reviews/their-films/prisonbreak/