THE WOLF OF WALL STREET ("SALESMAN OF THE YEAR")

January 3, 2014.

Cast: Leonardo Di caprio, Jonah Hill, P.J Byrne, Jon Favreau, Mathew Mccaunaghey.

Director: Martin Scorcese.

“Sell me this pen”, this is what Jordan Belfort asks each of his initial team members to do if he should select them. This one scene sets the tone of the film so beautifully; courtesy the outstanding writing and direction.

Jordan Belfort (Dicaprio) starts off as a rookie stockbroker taken under the wings of Mark Hanna (Mccaunaghey). With no beating around the bush Hanna gives Belfort a clear picture of the life that he should be willing to lead filled with sleaze, cheating and drugs, if he wants to make it big in Wall street. But soon afterwards Wall Street crashes and Belfort is forced to join a third grade stockbroking firm that deals only in Penny Stocks. That becomes the turning point in Belfort’s life when he is shown an innovative way to cheat customers without them having a clue about it  yet making it all look legal and convincing. Donnie (Jonah Hill) joins him shortly when they bump into each other in the food stall where Donnie works and there starts a long time partnership of fraud, drugs, obscenity and money!

Terence Winter has a written a top class screenplay, taken of course from Jordan Belfort’s autobiography, fictionalising things wherever required. But right from the start the screenplay does not have any qualms in the kind of language or actions that it contains. It is highly relieving that the CBFC has not edited any of the scenes, except for the explicit physical content, may be because of the reason that 90% of the film would have been required to be censored that way.

It is an intoxicating mixture of lack of control, drug abuse, verbal abuse and some really good humor. There are particularly two to three scenes that stand out from the rest due to the sheer acting prowess of Dicaprio, and freshness and natural humor of the situations; the first one is when Belfort makes the first call from Stratton Oakmont teaching the others how to manipulate a client; the second is the scene where he repeatedly gets splashed with water on his face by his wife; and the last is when the “Lemmon 714 effect” comes forth rather lately than expected by Belfort and Donnie. The second one may be voted the best among the three because of the way Dicaprio portrays a man quite different from the roles he has done so far.

Jonah Hill has done quite a mature character, though it has a mild resemblance to the kind of characters he generally plays. His combination scenes with Dicaprio are truly magical especially the “Lemmon 714 effect” scene. This is undoubtedly his best role till date and he has used the opportunity given to him so fabulously well. The other characters in the film are equally good and make up Jordan Belfort’s team really well.

Wolf is an adventurous ride filled with a lot of emotions and a film of this stature was pending for quite sometime from the Scorcese stable. But ultimately Wolf belongs to Leonardo Dicaprio. This may very well bring him the elusive Oscar!!!

I am giving a 4 for The Wolf of Wall Street. Sell me this pen!!

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.

DRISHYAM ("DO NOT BELIEVE WHAT YOU SEE!!")

December 20, 2013.

Cast: Mohanlal, Meena, Siddique, Asha Sarath, Kalabavan Shajon.

Director: Jeethu Joseph.

Sound scripting; that was the first thing different about Drishyam, a concept unheard of in India. And once you start watching the film you slowly begin realising that is only one of the few distinctions of Drishyam.

Georgekutty is a cable TV operator in the small village of Rajakkada who has a small family; his wife Rani (Meena) and two daughters. They lead a very simple life with their own little dreams and ambitions. At the most unexpected time the safety of his family is compromised because of an ugly incident. Georgekutty’s very reason for existence takes on an altogether different meaning and the way in which things take shape form the rest of the story.

Staying true to it’s caption “Visuals can be deceiving”, Drishyam will make you almost believe you are in the theatre to watch a really beautiful family story unfold at a leisurely yet a harmonious pace. Your heart goes out to the family because of the way the scenes are written and the amazingly natural acting by all the main actors. Certain moments in the film are so real as if Jeethu was looking at the private conversation in a family while writing the script.

But the grasp with which he shifts the film into one helluva gripping thriller makes you wonder where this was hiding all the time. Once that takes over the film is almost relentless filling you with intrigue and suspense till the very last scene. And when you have almost accepted that there is one little secret that will go to the grave along with Georgekutty as he says you get the trump card which will sweep you off your feet both because of the simplicity and the genius of it.

The sound scripting concept is surely gonna be a trend from now on considering the amazing clarity it brings to the mood of story. The two songs in the film are also done on a need basis with utmost relevance to the story.

The arresting screenplay makes it a serious case for film buffs to discuss whether Jeethu is a better writer than a director or vice versa. As mentioned above when the first part of the screenplay makes it’s way straight into your heart because of it’s simplicity the second part blows you away with it’s brilliance; a solid piece of writing so intricately woven together that you are wondering whether to get amazed at the simplicity of it all or be spellbound at the intellectual part of it.

What is more interesting is the fact that Drishyam cannot entirely be branded as a thriller. It is a perfect blend of family drama, humor, sentiments and thrill with a socially relevant theme; more like the elusive “perfect script”.

All the actors play their part perfectly well but Kalabhavan Shajon, Mohanlal and the daughters stay a notch above the rest (Meena too to an extent) and undoubtedly this will be one of the landmarks in their whole career.

I am giving 4 Drishyam. Do not believe what you see!!

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.

BIRIYANI ("STALE FOOD")

December 20, 2013.

Cast: Karthi, Premgi, Hansika.

Director: Venkat Prabhu.

REVIEW COMING TOMORROW......!

DHOOM 3 ("AAMIR KHAN SHOW")

December 20, 2013.

Cast: Aamir Khan, Abishek Bachan, Uday Chopra, Katrina Kaif, Jackie Shroff.

Director: Vijay Krishna Acharya.

AAMIR KHAN                       0.5

It has been common practice in Bollywood to overdo things especially when the next instalment in a successful franchise comes out. But the only speciality in Dhoom 3 was always gonna be Aamir Khan and that is all the movie has to offer as well.

Sahir (Aamir) decides to ruin Western Chicago Bank after his father (Jackie Shroff) commits suicide when the bank denies credit facilities. As Sahir leaves hindi words at the crime scene Jai (Abishek) and Ali (Uday) are asked to help the American police in finding the culprit.

This all seems a little bit acceptable considering it’s a Hindi masala film, but the writers seem to treat the audience as fools if you look at the way the screenplay is structured. Even in a developing country like India, if someone steals from a bank without a mask and flees afterwards in a bike wearing a helmet which also does not cover his face, it will only take about a few days to lock him up. If the same is happening in the USA it’s just a matter of a few hours before he gets caught. But here Sahir walks free in the city he runs a popular circus show and what more, he even walks right into the bank which 

he has robbed; thanks to the brilliant script!

What is really sad though, is the fact that the core idea of Dhoom 3 has been taken from the legendary Nolan film “The Prestige”. And as expected this one is a 3^rd rate version of the landmark Nolan film.

It will run into pages if we start talking about such absurdities. Next comes the masala element; it’s Christmas time people want to enjoy so it’s only fair that the makers want to provide them with out of the world action sequences among other things. But when it’s like the autorickshaw fight in the beginning which is neither required for nor relevant to the movie, the word to describe it is definitely not masala! There would be no impact at all if you remove the first 40 minutes or so of the movie barring a few scenes, such good is the script.

Katrina who is into somersaults jumps and gymnastics most of the time is there mainly for providing the glamour quotient. Abishek does what is required by every Indian hero who goes to America to help them solve a “difficult” case; he has a solution for everything and he is the one who discovers everything no matter how evident or apparent it is that a school kid could more than easily do the job. Uday Chopra entertains at times playing the silly playboy Ali.

But if at all you should watch Dhoom 3, it should only be for the amazing Aamir Khan who just entertains you with his genius, though the script does not provide much scope for him to perform. He plays the characters with such ease and grip and at times is really endearing. The technical team has also done a commendable job with the visuals mainly. And that is that you get from the film.

I am giving 2.25 Dhoom 3 and a 0.5 for the amazing Aamir Khan. This is saddening.

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 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.