OBLIVION ("BOREDOM ON SCREEN")

April 12, 2013

Cast: Tom Cruise, Morgan Freeman, Olga Kurylenko, Andrea Riseborough.

Director: Joseph Kosinski.

With Oblivion being Tom Cruise’s only release for 2013 all the fans who geared up for an action adventure would get not quite the same.

Set in 2077, Jack Harper (Tom Cruise) is a drone repairman on the war destroyed earth. He is stationed in a tower along with Victoria (Andrea Riseborough) and does a daily patrol of the area under his jurisdiction. When they are almost ready to get back to home base an explosion nearby leads to the discovery of Julia (Olga Kurylenko) who has been sleeping(scientifically induced) for 60 years. Harper starts realising all is not well and what appears to be the truth is far from it rather.

We know from Tron Legacy that Kosinski has an eye for the visuals and an ear for quality BGM and it’s no different here. You are treated to some wonderful landscape and graphically created buildings and machines. Though the BGM would surely remind you of the great Hans Zimmer the corresponding scenes lack the intent, grace and feel to do any justice to the great piece of music. 

The plot is too straightforward and trite and along with a dull, dragging screenplay you would most likely be left twitching and stretching in your seats.The supposed inner turmoil that Harper is going through is lazily written and directed which makes the whole experience a boring affair. The action scenes come in at times but they do not really offer any adrenaline rush.

Coming to performances Tom Cruise has done what he always does; full justice to the role! But it’s sad that he was wasted because of a lacklustre script. Morgan Freeman must be in need of some money I guess as nothing else explains him taking up this role having around 10 minutes of screen space with no substance at all!!

Oblivion is a cruelty to the fans who waited for a long time to see Tom Cruise in action.

Iam giving a 2/5 for Oblivion. It’s better to stay home watching an old Tom Cruise movie on TV.

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.

                                                                    

OLYMPUS HAS FALLEN (" ACTION WEEKEND")

April 5, 2013

Cast: Gerard Butler, Morgan Freeman, Aaron Eckhart.

Director: Antoine Fuqua.

After a series of flops Gerard Butler has teamed up with the Training Day Director Antoine Fuqua for Olympus has fallen.

Mike Banning(Gerard Butler) gets discharged from the position of the Security Chief for the President (Aaron Eckhart) after he fails to save the President’s wife from an accident. After 18 months the White House is taken down by the North Koreans and it’s upto Mike to save the day while Speaker Trumbull (Morgan Freeman) is the acting President.

Whether it is a conscious decision or not, Olympus has fallen gives more importance to action than the plot. The taking of the White House (especially by the aerial route) might look too easy to be true but the whole sequence has been shot perfectly with skilfully choreographed action scenes.

The authorities who are calling the shots along with the acting President  are portrayed as a bunch of naive persons easily falling into the traps set by the North Koreans. You would especially notice this when the US Airforce helicopters are shot down by the North Koreans using “Hydra”, about which no mention was made during the taking down of the White House. But if you are an action junkie I do not really think you are going to really mind that.

Gerard Butler looks fully in his element giving a confident and believable performance as Mike Banning. Aaron Eckhart in his limited role as President does a good job. Morgan Freeman does not really have any role.

The firing, bombs, air combat and fist fights are sure to delight those who go in looking for action, and these are perfectly placed at regular intervals in the crisp screenplay of 2 hrs making it the perfect action flick for the weekend.

Iam giving a 3/5 for Olympus has fallen. Get ready for some really good action.

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.

KEDI BILLA KILLADI RANGA(“KEDI DULL AH KILLADI BORE AH”)

Cast: Sivakarthikeyan, Vimal, Bindu Madhavi, Regina, Suri.

Director: Pandiraj.

After a promising start with Pasanga we saw a decline in the quality of content in Marina. Now that has gone down further with Kedi Billa Killadi Ranga.

First of all there is no relevance to the characters and the film name except that both the characters are Rajinikanth fans and were born when their mothers were watching those films on tv!

Kedi Billa Killadi Ranga is “formula film” with a few songs, romance, (so called) comedy scenes, and (horrible) sentiments. But the sad part is that the film does not even live upto the standards of a normal “formula film”.

Murugan(Sivakarthikeyan) and Kesavan (Vimal) are best friends who are jobless. They want to get into politics. Paappa(Regina) and Mithra(Bindhu) play their love interests respectively. Suri who is a “veettode maappilai” is always there for Murugan and Kesavan.

The plot is so silly and amateurish. Both the heroes keep going behind the heroines without much use in the first half. After the interval all of a sudden the heroines develop interest for the heroes, it does not end there, even the parents are ok with it. What more can one ask for! Sivakarthikeyan along with Vimal (after being wronged by the local MLA) manages to contest the election with the little money he gets from Regina and her dad. The list of such instances and the superficial characterisation of almost the entire cast are disappointing to say the least. If you are still inside the theatre during climax you would understand why the words “sentimental scenes” have taken a negative meaning.

Though some scenes are genuinely funny most of the time you are just indifferent. The film looks much longer than it’s runtime of 148 minutes and if you are real fan of comedy films the only reason you would sit through would be the air conditioner inside the theatre. The film just keeps drifting pointlessly on and on and on and comes to an abrupt end!

Iam giving a 2.25/5 for Kedi Billa Killadi Ranga. It’s time for Pandiraj to take a serious look at what he is doing if he wants to maintain the name he has earned.

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.

                                                                    

CHENNAIYIL ORU NAAL ("A GOOD DAY IN CHENNAI")

Cast: Sarathkumar, Prakash Raj, Radhika, Cheran, Prasanna.

Director: Shaheed Khader.

Chennaiyil Oru Naal is the remake of the Super Hit Malayalam movie Traffic which was directed by Rajesh Pillai, inspired by true events that happened in Chennai some years earlier.

It is a casting coup of sorts with a lot of prominent faces from the Tamil Industry like Sarathkumar, Cheran, Prakash Raj, Prasanna, Radhika, Vijayakumar, Jayaprakash, Lakshmi, Mallika, Ineya,....it’s a big list! But the refreshing and good thing about Chennaiyil Oru Naal is that it cannot be termed as the film starring any of the above actors. Chennaiyil Oru Naal is a film where the screenplay is the hero, heroine and the villain. All the above actors and the rest of the cast just support the screenplay by acting out their parts.

The original screenplay written by Bobby-Sanjay has been retained. But even the dialogues(though written by Ajayan Bala) are almost the same as in Malayalam. The fabulous multi – layered screenplay which must be the first of it’s kind for the Tamil audience is sure to be appreciated.

Though not on par with Rajesh Pillai, director Shaheed Khadar has done a fairly good job in trying to retain the essence of Traffic and most of the time he actually succeeds in it. But having watched the original, it’s a bit hard to overlook the fact that the masala element creeps in at some scenes.

Coming to performances it’s a job well done by most of the cast except for a few scenes involving Prasanna, the newcomers and the junior artists. When certain scenes involving Prakash Raj are really funny, others involving Lakshmi, Jayaprakash and Radhika are touching.

But what really works for the film is the portrayal of wide ranging characters having different dreams about their lives with conviction without causing any deceleration of the tempo.

Iam giving a 3.25/5 for Chennaiyil Oru Naal. Get ready for a mixture of wide ranging emotions along with some thrill.

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.

                                                                    

GI JOE RETALIATION ("RETALIATION IS ON YOU!")

Cast: The Rock, Channing Tatum, Bruce Willis.

Director: John M Chu.

After making us wait for so long the Joes are back; this time with an extra member in particular, Roadblock (The Rock).

The Cobra Commander and Destro are locked up in a “high security” prison. Zartan is trying to bring them out (impersonating the President) with the help of Storm Shadow and Firefly. Snake eyes is trying to bring Storm Shadow back to the blind master for punishment. After a dramatic turn of events it’s upto Roadblock along with Lady Jaye, Flint, Snake eyes and General Joe Colton( Bruce Willis) to prevent the Cobras from executing their master plan.

Talking about the Cobras’ “master plan”, the thing that the film lacks is a master script, it does not have a script at all rather; nothing atleast that you can call a script. Things keep happening, bullets keep getting fired, bombs explode and you sit there wondering if it’s a movie or a montage of action sequences taken from you tube.

Logic goes for a toss considering the free run that the GI Joes and the Cobras have across the globe. May be the scriptwriters forgot that the only people safeguarding the American citizens are not just the Joes, there are a few departments called the police, the military etc. There are a lot of such instances all the way through. Everything just happens!

Channing Tatum is in the movie just for the sake of it and nothing more and I have no idea why The Rock and Bruce Willis signed up for this project that was not going to be beneficial for them performance wise or otherwise. The last thing that you can look for in the film is feel; it’s more like a bunch of robots fighting against each other.

The only saving face element in the film is the nice visual effects along with a few action scenes but it’s highly doubtful if that is going to satisfy even the GI Joe fans.

Iam giving a 2/5 for GI Joe Retaliation. Take a nap after the movie starts, wake up towards the end and still you can figure out the plot.

IMDB Rating - http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1583421/?ref_=sr_1

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.

                                                                    

AMEN ("NANDANAM VERSION 2.0?")

Cast: Fahad Fazil, Indrajith, Swathi.

Director: Lijo Jose Pellissery.

When you go in for a Lijo Jose Pellissery film you expect something different and different is exactly what you get, well, to an extent.

A good film generally catches your attention in the first ten minutes. Though that does not happen in the case of Amen, you know there is something different about the whole thing.

Solomon(Fahad) is the son of a famous clarinet player who wants to follow the footsteps of his father and play for the Church band. Soshanna(Swathi) who hails from a wealthy family is his love interest. Vincent Vattoli(Indrajith) comes as the Father of the Village Church when the whole scene changes.

Right from the beautiful title song you know that you are in for some nice numbers and Prashanth Pillai does not disappoint except for one or two songs. The songs fit very well into the wonderful screenplay by P.S Rafeeque. Most part of the first half you would be laughing your butts off mainly because of the screenplay ably supported by some nice dialogues. The single shot song sequence and the Vattoli song would delight you with their humor and creativity.

The 2^nd half is where the screenplay falters a bit dragging the film at times presenting a few clichés. It is doubtful if the final scenes involving the music competition would be enjoyed by the commoner as the tunes of the clarinet is not something very familiar to him. This truly tarnishes the excellence built up in the first half. But then with an unexpected twist in the final scene(a different version of Nandanam) the director shows why he has earned the name that he has.

Fahad, Swathi and Indrajith have given really good performances but even the other actors in the film amuse you equally well. This is one of the best roles of Swathi till date. It’s such a delight to watch her in Amen; in her scenes with Fahad and otherwise.

The stand out features of Amen apart from it’s screenplay are undoubtedly the beautiful frames, with an amazing sense of lighting(especially the indoor scenes and those in the dark), of Abinandan Ramanujam and the excellent direction of Lijo. With a better second half it would had a fair chance of getting into the top league.

Iam giving a 3 to 3.25/5 for Amen. Get ready for a visually amazing divine comedy with some beautiful romance.

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.

                                                                    

RED WINE ("PASSABLE WINE")

Cast: Mohanlal, Fahad Fazil, Asif Ali.

Director: Salam Bapu.

Salam Bappu makes his directorial debut with Red Wine after being in the industry for almost 11 years.

Red Wine deals with a murder case that makes three people; Anoop, the Local Committee Secretary of the Communist Party in Wayanad (Fahad Fazil), Ramesan, a goonda turned sales executive(Asif Ali) and Ratheesh Vasudevan, Assistant Commissioner of Police(Mohanlal); cross each other’s paths.

The first thing I would like to tell is that Red Wine is NOT a Mohanlal movie, the central character here is Fahad and he is brilliant in his role as the young communist. The director has done a good job in showing Communism in a different light through Fahad. It would not be surprising if the young guns of the Communist Party in Kerala start idolising him. But do not go in expecting to see a fiery communist because as said already this one is different.

You would not find the plot that interesting or thrilling but the screenplay should be mentioned in particular for the commendable job. It cuts into the three lives(timelines rather) very frequently with no confusion whatsoever. Ranjan Abraham’s experienced editing amplifies the effect. The connecting point from one scene to the next is very smooth which shows the clarity of the writer and the director.

Another appreciable element in the screenplay is the chemistry between Asif Ali and his wife. Even if both of them have very limited screen space the scenes involving both of them are adorable. The girl who plays Asif’s wife is simply brilliant!! This is not to suggest it’s flawless though. It’s a tad lengthy and there is a barrage of characters , mainly to up the suspense factor, which is a letdown.

Beginner’s blues is quite evident in the direction department but that may be overlooked considering the earnest efforts.

Cinematography is ok but the colouring in several places is very substandard, BGM being no different. The final song in the film is very good to hear and rich in meaning as well.

Overall it’s an almost satisfying watch if you go in without expecting much.

Iam giving a 2.5/5 for Red Wine. You can watch it once.

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.

                                                                    

DJANGO UNCHAINED ("NOT AS UNCHAINED AS HYPED!")

Cast: Jamie Foxx, Leonardo Dicaprio, Christoph Waltz, Samuel L Jackson, Kerry Washington.

Director: Quentin Tarantino.

The guy who does not care what other people (read critics) think about his films is back with his next directorial. The much hyped Django Unchained!

Django Unchained is set in 1858 when slavery was the rule of the day. Django (Jamie Foxx) is rescued from his masters by the witty daring scheming dentist turned bounty hunter Dr. King Schultz (Christoph Waltz). King makes Django his partner and together they set out to rescue Django’s wife  Broomhilda(Kerry Washington), who is owned by the supposedly cruel Mississippi Plantation owner Calvin Candie (Leonardo Dicaprio).

The first thing that would strike you right from the start is the wonderful cinematography and the old classical western style music that sets the tone right away. After the immediate entry of Waltz and Foxx character by character starts appearing as Tarantino goes about building up the screenplay with traces of humor here and there.

Waltz who has done a fabulous job, is given a heroic stature initially but is soon shadowed by Foxx(not performance wise) because of the screenplay. The characterisation and scope of Django does not look indelible which easily explains why Will Smith might have turned down the role; not to take away any credit from the really good performance by Foxx.

Leonardo and Samuel Jackson come into the picture towards the end of the first half. What seems really appalling here is the weak characterisation of Leonardo which hardly makes him the cruel villain as he is supposed to be. This is easily one of the roles he would love to forget. Samuel L Jackson as Steven, the nigger who hates niggers, is funny and appears more sinister than Leonardo.

The film moves at a slow pace especially in the first half and the runtime of 165 minutes will make you shift in your seat unless you are a Tarantino fan. The verbal duels between Foxx and Leonardo are interesting but they never reach a boiling point leaving you unsatisfied.

But a special point to be made here is the spectacular direction which keeps the intent all through the film considering a not so impressive screenplay and a simple plot. The action scenes(violence rather) have been choreographed well. You would really enjoy certain scenes towards the end.

One interesting question that a lot of the viewers would have is whether Christoph Watz (notwithstanding his amazing performance) really deserved the Oscar for the Best Supporting actor over Tommy Lee Jones!

Iam giving a 3.5/5 for Django Unchained. Django though a really good film does not reach the league of the great ones.

PS: Django is a slow moving VIOLENT film. You will be disappointed if you are looking for a fast paced action flick.

IMDB Link:http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1853728/?ref_=sr_1

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 MASTER ("NOT FOR THE MASSES")

Cast: Joaquin Phoenix,Philip Seymour Hoffman, Amy Adams.

Director: Paul Thomas Anderson.

The Master is a story about the relationship that an eccentric naval war veteran (Joaquin Phoenix) shares with the leader of a movement (or cult) (Philip Seymour Hoffman).

Set in 1950, The Master begins with Phoenix returning from the navy to lead a normal life. Because of the kind of stress he has gone through while in the navy along with some other personal problems and alcoholism he finds it hard to get back to normal life. He is charmed by Hoffman (The Master) who is “a writer, a doctor, a nuclear physicist, a philosopher and above all a man just like you” as he himself puts it. Hoffman brings him into his organization in a bid to help him. Amy Adams plays Hoffman’s wife.

What would interest you the most about The Master is the performances; the terrific Phoenix and the subtle Hoffman. If the sessions between them in the first half are electric the second half lends more of a psychological angle to the whole affair. Undoubtedly this is one of the best performances of his career by Phoenix, if not The best.

The film moves at a slow pace and there is a fair chance that the average viewer might find the content of the film confusing (especially with respect to the character played by Hoffman), dragging and a bit disturbing. The runtime of 144 minutes seems a little excess, a defter handling of the screenplay would have proved commercially better for the film.

Cinematography, just like Argo, gives you the perfect feel of the era that the film deals with and that is a good move by the director. Costume design and art direction should also be mentioned in particular for the wonderful job done.

Iam giving a 3.25/5 for The Master. Watch it if you like slow moving films.

IMDB Link - http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1560747/?ref_=sr_1

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                   -           Great.

4 to 4.25                      -           Exceptional.

4.5 and above               -           Extraordinary.