Dharani, Vijay, Trisha ,Vidyasagar. Although you do not spot great talent in these names, you expect this mix to deliver a commercial 'masala' entertainer like the previous outing - "Gilli". Once cannot blame Vijay because , it is Mahesh Babu's fault that he could not deliver hits after Okkadu and Pokiri. Else, why would Vijay even think about acting in a straight tamil movie that is not directed by Ramana or Perarasu.
And what's with Vijay doing a race sequence in the beginning of every movie? First it was a bike race in Thirumalai. Then 100M dash in ATM and now a car race. And ,ofcourse, he wins...what were you thinking?
Ok...Coming to Kuruvi. The movie gets the name from a slang used "somewhere" in Chennai (I say somewhere because the sets were so shoddy that I couldn't make out which part of Chennai Vijay actually lived in). Kuruvi represents people who travel to Malaysia/Gulf to deliver goods for those Indians who reside there.
When Vijay needs cash to re-pay his debt for the house after his father ditched them and disappeared, he agrees to go to Malaysia as a "Kuruvi" to get the amount (some 50 lacs) from a guy in Malaysia who owes his father that amount.
The reference to Kuruvi ends there, and there is really no need for the movie to be called Kuruvi, except the fact that Trisha keeps yelling the name every now and then to get on your nerves.
So Vijay travels to Malaysia, to meet Gocha (what a name?) who, as you would expect is a diamond smuggler and ....I'm not really sure. He is some kind of a Gang Leader with a gang and lots of cash. So when Vijay demands for cash, his ass is obviously kicked and he returns the favor and soon all Hell breaks loose.
So to get his money back, Vijay steals a really expensive diamond from Gocha(by swapping it with something else...where did he find it?? wrong question). Trisha spots Vijay in his Mask of Zorro style and falls for him immediately when he does some circus stunts and follows him all the way to chennai. She had decided that Vijay would be her life partner. What a wastrel!
Ok...the movie is bearable until now. Then the plot moves to Chennai/Andhra where Gocha follows Vijay. And you, along with Vijay, find out that this is no ordinary scam. His father and all his employers are taken as bonded labourers in Kadappa for Diamond mining by Gocha and Konda Reddy (ha ha) and his brother. The guy as Konda Reddy's brother is actually a decent actor. He did a decent job in Polladhavan. Here he is made to deliver high decibel dialogues and talk some telugu. And he does a terrible job at that pronuncing "Cheppu" (Talk) as "Seppu".There is also one more guy, Kadappa Raja who is the baddie in charge of the mine (?). So there ends the bad guys list, straight out of a B-movie flick.
But what we also find out , (unfortunately Vijay doesn't), is that this has been the most horrific 2 hours of your life considering you have paid $15 for a first day ticket after all the hype. So you are ecstatic when the movie ends, you thank God that you have successfully survived the 2 hours.
Oh..If you haven't guessed by now, I haven't let the climax out. Watch for yourself. Yaam petra inbam, peruga ivvaiyagam.
Kuruvi - Mass "Murder" Entertainer!
Rating - 2/10.
Wednesday, June 18, 2008
Sunday, May 4, 2008
Arai Enn 305'il Kadavul - The Review
Honestly, I had huge regards for Simbudhevan after watching his 23rd Pulikesi. I loved every frame of it. That one was fresh and unbelieavable funny. Historic comedy?? I had never even heard of that before. And to pull it off with such finesse...it was just amazing.
But...but...what about his second venture?? It is a personal records of sorts for me. Never in my 15 yr movie going experince have I walked out of a movie hall before the end of the movie. Unbelievable? Believe It. But I had to break my record this one time. I was out before the last 20 mins.
I cudn't find a trace of creativity that was overflowing in 23rd pulikesi. Actually I'm confused as to what genre this movie belongs. Its definitely not comedy...ofcourse..the serious matters make us laugh..but thats unintended comedy. Is it a kids movie?? Maybe...coz..u have some graphic stuff happening here and there. And there's that crappy thing called Galaxy Box...or Power of galaxy or G-Box or some shit. But..there is that one scene between Rajesh and Prakash Raj...where they debate about the existence of God...and that is serious evidence that this is no kids movie...One of the kids in the movie hall actually started crying at the end of the scene. We were all looking at each other with the same expression.."Why blood...Same Blood".
I do not wish to explain what this movie is about because its inexplicable. It sure is wasted talent. Simbudhevan....better luck next time. On second thoughts...it wud be better off if we include this in the "Moral Instructions" lessons that the poor kids have to deal with in school.
Arai En - Stay as far away as possible.
Rating - 3/10.
But...but...what about his second venture?? It is a personal records of sorts for me. Never in my 15 yr movie going experince have I walked out of a movie hall before the end of the movie. Unbelievable? Believe It. But I had to break my record this one time. I was out before the last 20 mins.
I cudn't find a trace of creativity that was overflowing in 23rd pulikesi. Actually I'm confused as to what genre this movie belongs. Its definitely not comedy...ofcourse..the serious matters make us laugh..but thats unintended comedy. Is it a kids movie?? Maybe...coz..u have some graphic stuff happening here and there. And there's that crappy thing called Galaxy Box...or Power of galaxy or G-Box or some shit. But..there is that one scene between Rajesh and Prakash Raj...where they debate about the existence of God...and that is serious evidence that this is no kids movie...One of the kids in the movie hall actually started crying at the end of the scene. We were all looking at each other with the same expression.."Why blood...Same Blood".
I do not wish to explain what this movie is about because its inexplicable. It sure is wasted talent. Simbudhevan....better luck next time. On second thoughts...it wud be better off if we include this in the "Moral Instructions" lessons that the poor kids have to deal with in school.
Arai En - Stay as far away as possible.
Rating - 3/10.
Yaaradi Nee Mohini - The Review
Ohhh Yessss...I wanted to watch this one after some stupid movie review site called it "a treat for rom-com lovers". To say the least , romanace and dhanush are like...miles away from each other. To begin with, this was a remake of a telugu movie that I cant spell, but it was made by Selvaraghavan. How on earth could selva make such a movie. Or maybe it was better in Telugu? Honestly, I do not have the courage to watch the Telugu version after I've watched this one.
Dhanush + Software Engineer -> Does this make any sense to you? It doesn't to me. But actually thats what he becomes. A software engineer who works for a s/w company whose entire system crashes becuase Dhanush plays with his keyboard. A company whose HR executive is also the Project Manager for the techie project.A company who delivers a 'CD' as a deliverable to their client. Forget it...Dhanush just does "something" for "some" company.
Story - yes..actually a story does exist. Dhanush falls for Nayan and joins her company in a bid to woo her. Things go crazy between both of them eventually resulting in the death of Dhanush's Dad (Raguvaran in a very decent portrayal). Dhanush is left without anyone. His friend Karthik (our modern Alva Raja) who is about to get married invites Dhanush along to his so called "orthodox" home in some place in TN. There is no prize for guessing that Nayan is the same girl that Karthik is engaged to. What follows is total crap. The way they have portrayed a Brahmin household is trash. All characters seem straight out of "1980 Cinemas". Plot is entirely predictable. There is no chemistry between the lead pair. The songs are poor. The humor is pathetic. You reach a point where you cannot bear all this any further, and at that point, thank God, the movie ends.
There's nothing much to talk about this one.Just save your money for a rough day.
Yaaradi Nee Mohini - Damp Squib
Rating - 4/10.
Dhanush + Software Engineer -> Does this make any sense to you? It doesn't to me. But actually thats what he becomes. A software engineer who works for a s/w company whose entire system crashes becuase Dhanush plays with his keyboard. A company whose HR executive is also the Project Manager for the techie project.A company who delivers a 'CD' as a deliverable to their client. Forget it...Dhanush just does "something" for "some" company.
Story - yes..actually a story does exist. Dhanush falls for Nayan and joins her company in a bid to woo her. Things go crazy between both of them eventually resulting in the death of Dhanush's Dad (Raguvaran in a very decent portrayal). Dhanush is left without anyone. His friend Karthik (our modern Alva Raja) who is about to get married invites Dhanush along to his so called "orthodox" home in some place in TN. There is no prize for guessing that Nayan is the same girl that Karthik is engaged to. What follows is total crap. The way they have portrayed a Brahmin household is trash. All characters seem straight out of "1980 Cinemas". Plot is entirely predictable. There is no chemistry between the lead pair. The songs are poor. The humor is pathetic. You reach a point where you cannot bear all this any further, and at that point, thank God, the movie ends.
There's nothing much to talk about this one.Just save your money for a rough day.
Yaaradi Nee Mohini - Damp Squib
Rating - 4/10.
Anjathey - The Review
My review for 2008. And what a way to start it...Anjathey according to me is the movie of the year so far. I was expecting a lot out of Mysskin especially after watching his debut movie "Chithiram Pesudhadi". Its a shame that this movie did not get released in the US. I had to wait a long while before I could catch a glimpse of this movie online. The opening scene where the director has done amazing camera work gives u more than a clue of whats in store. Top Notch.
The story is simple. Two friends. One (Ajmal) with a vison to join the police force, and one(Narain) without any. Obviously things do not end up the way they want to be. Narain ends up joining the Police force in the most crooked way possible. Honest and Eligible Ajmal ends up with nothing. Actually this part of the movie is the weakest link, because you can pretty much figure out whats going to happen. Come On...after all, it is a Tam movie. Everytime Ajmal starts like "Dei...Nan SI ayiduven da"..rest assured that he wont become one. Ajmal's helplessness and jealousy lands their friendship in trouble.
Then the actual story kicks off...Prasanna and Pandiarajan head a gang in North Madras...pretty new to Tamil cinema....yup...they are kidnappers. Young girls being kidnapped and raped for ransom is nothing new..but it is being portrayed in a way you call "non-cinemathanam". Narain, along with Ponvannan (Keerthi Vasan) head the team that needs to nab this gang and end their tryst. I guess this team is called AGW...but I'm more than a 100% certain..there was no explanation given as to what AGW is. Much of the story line is predictable. Ajmal has to join the bad guys, good guys face off against bad guys, and alls well that ends well.
Narain has done a neat portrayal. His character looks much similar to the one he portrayed in "Chithiram Pesudhadi". Ajmal is a surprise Package. A sweet surprise. Prasanna, has done a brave attempt. And how well has it paid off...He carries the character with ease. Vijayalakshmi as the girl next door fits the bill. But a little make up wouldn't have done any bad.
The film stretches a bit towards the end. A couple of unnecessary songs could have been done away with. But looking through all these negatives, Anajathey is a taut edge-of-the-seat thriller. Mysskin is sure to stay.
Anjathey - Dont Miss It.
Rating - 7.5/10
The story is simple. Two friends. One (Ajmal) with a vison to join the police force, and one(Narain) without any. Obviously things do not end up the way they want to be. Narain ends up joining the Police force in the most crooked way possible. Honest and Eligible Ajmal ends up with nothing. Actually this part of the movie is the weakest link, because you can pretty much figure out whats going to happen. Come On...after all, it is a Tam movie. Everytime Ajmal starts like "Dei...Nan SI ayiduven da"..rest assured that he wont become one. Ajmal's helplessness and jealousy lands their friendship in trouble.
Then the actual story kicks off...Prasanna and Pandiarajan head a gang in North Madras...pretty new to Tamil cinema....yup...they are kidnappers. Young girls being kidnapped and raped for ransom is nothing new..but it is being portrayed in a way you call "non-cinemathanam". Narain, along with Ponvannan (Keerthi Vasan) head the team that needs to nab this gang and end their tryst. I guess this team is called AGW...but I'm more than a 100% certain..there was no explanation given as to what AGW is. Much of the story line is predictable. Ajmal has to join the bad guys, good guys face off against bad guys, and alls well that ends well.
Narain has done a neat portrayal. His character looks much similar to the one he portrayed in "Chithiram Pesudhadi". Ajmal is a surprise Package. A sweet surprise. Prasanna, has done a brave attempt. And how well has it paid off...He carries the character with ease. Vijayalakshmi as the girl next door fits the bill. But a little make up wouldn't have done any bad.
The film stretches a bit towards the end. A couple of unnecessary songs could have been done away with. But looking through all these negatives, Anajathey is a taut edge-of-the-seat thriller. Mysskin is sure to stay.
Anjathey - Dont Miss It.
Rating - 7.5/10
Wednesday, December 12, 2007
Evano Oruvan - The review
The best movie I have seen in a long time.
Evano Oruvan - The review
Looks like my stint with good movies keeps continuing with this one after Polladhavan. Evano Oruvan is a class apart. Its in a totally different league altogether. It does not make you think, it does not propose a solution, its definitely not a trend setter. What it does is , slap reality right on your face. Its so strong that there was a deafening silence when people walked out of the movie hall.
The movie is a remake of the Marathi Film Dombivli Fast directed by Nishikant Kamat (who dons the role in Tamil as well). Its about a common man's upsurgence against the society in a rather dynamic manner. Madhavan as Sridhar Vasudevan is a banker who abides by his ethics that everyone is being taught only in school. This earns him the disrespect among his co-workers, his wife and the society. Angered and cornered, he turns against them with violence as his weapon. The moment with the shop keeper is so well made and written that you feel happy for Maddy once he has shattered the shop left, right and center.
Sangeetha as the housewife is brilliant and has ideally underplayed with her emotions in the second half of the film. Its never too melodramatic.
Seeman as the corrupt police officer full of heart, wins your sympathy. His portrayal is top notch. He has the potential to become a commendable character artist.
This is an attempt to take Tamil Cinema to the next level. Do appreciate it. The Tamil audience once did a terrible mistake by staying out of the movie halls of 'Anbe Sivam'. Hope they would not repeat the same mistake again. Please do go and watch it.
Evano Oruvan - A film about you and me. Its a must watch.
Rating - 8/10.
Cheers.
Evano Oruvan - The review
Looks like my stint with good movies keeps continuing with this one after Polladhavan. Evano Oruvan is a class apart. Its in a totally different league altogether. It does not make you think, it does not propose a solution, its definitely not a trend setter. What it does is , slap reality right on your face. Its so strong that there was a deafening silence when people walked out of the movie hall.
The movie is a remake of the Marathi Film Dombivli Fast directed by Nishikant Kamat (who dons the role in Tamil as well). Its about a common man's upsurgence against the society in a rather dynamic manner. Madhavan as Sridhar Vasudevan is a banker who abides by his ethics that everyone is being taught only in school. This earns him the disrespect among his co-workers, his wife and the society. Angered and cornered, he turns against them with violence as his weapon. The moment with the shop keeper is so well made and written that you feel happy for Maddy once he has shattered the shop left, right and center.
Sangeetha as the housewife is brilliant and has ideally underplayed with her emotions in the second half of the film. Its never too melodramatic.
Seeman as the corrupt police officer full of heart, wins your sympathy. His portrayal is top notch. He has the potential to become a commendable character artist.
This is an attempt to take Tamil Cinema to the next level. Do appreciate it. The Tamil audience once did a terrible mistake by staying out of the movie halls of 'Anbe Sivam'. Hope they would not repeat the same mistake again. Please do go and watch it.
Evano Oruvan - A film about you and me. Its a must watch.
Rating - 8/10.
Cheers.
Polladhavan - The review
Now its time for Polladhavan
Polladhavan - The review
I initially had my apprehensions about watching a Dhanush movie. But Voila, how bloody wrong I was. Polladhavan was clearly a surprise package. It was neatly done with finesse. Here's the storyline.
Dhanush is a happy-go-lucky guy who along with his friends Karunas (in a commendable role) and Santhanam (again..a neat portrayal) are pretty much jobless and spend their time on the streets of North Madras. Things go smooth until Dhanush's Dad (Murali) questions him about some money that has been stolen. This creates some tension among the two resulting in Dhanush questioning him about his responsibilities as Dad. Dhanush points to Murali that he has not done anything financially to help him obtain a job. Angered and Humiliated, Murali returns with 70k and asks Dhanush to take it and do whatever he wants with it. The guy he is, he goes and buys a brand new Pulsar. As luck would have it, he manages to get a job and win his girl. Dhanush thinks the bike is certainly his good luck. This bike gets stolen during a murder night and then the story revolves as to how Dhanush tries to find the lost bike. This lands him in trouble with the local duds and how he manages to reign supreme forms the rest of the story.
Its a superlative effort one should say. The director had certainly done his homework w.r.t to drug trafficking, smuggling, Bike Robbery, Pudhupettai mechanics et al. The cinematography is top notch and travels through the muddy and ugly streets of North Madras.
Daniel Balaji has done a neat job but his portrayals are getting stereo-typed. The Don Kishore gives an amazing performance and is full of class. He is not the usual Tamil film Dada that you come across. "Out" as his right hand, has also done a neat job. Though the plot is lifted from "Bicycle Thieves", the screenplay is brilliantly adapted to North Madras.
Dhanush is back to his brilliant self with a terrific performance. The face-off at the hospital between Dhanush and the gang stands out. He has certainly worked on his physique as well. South Indian "Bruce Lee" might actually suit him now.
Divya as the heroine does not have much to do. But she does not hinder the film's pace as many heroines these days do. Songs could have been much better or the director could have done away with them. The re-mix of course is bound to be a hit.
But a lot of violence and gore especially in the second half could have been avoided or underplayed. This is bound to keep the family and women crowd away.
Vettri Maran seems to be a class act. We hope this effort will not go unnoticed and he gets back to film-making and delivers some commendable performances such as this.
Polladhavan - Quality.
Rating - 7/10.
Cheers.
Polladhavan - The review
I initially had my apprehensions about watching a Dhanush movie. But Voila, how bloody wrong I was. Polladhavan was clearly a surprise package. It was neatly done with finesse. Here's the storyline.
Dhanush is a happy-go-lucky guy who along with his friends Karunas (in a commendable role) and Santhanam (again..a neat portrayal) are pretty much jobless and spend their time on the streets of North Madras. Things go smooth until Dhanush's Dad (Murali) questions him about some money that has been stolen. This creates some tension among the two resulting in Dhanush questioning him about his responsibilities as Dad. Dhanush points to Murali that he has not done anything financially to help him obtain a job. Angered and Humiliated, Murali returns with 70k and asks Dhanush to take it and do whatever he wants with it. The guy he is, he goes and buys a brand new Pulsar. As luck would have it, he manages to get a job and win his girl. Dhanush thinks the bike is certainly his good luck. This bike gets stolen during a murder night and then the story revolves as to how Dhanush tries to find the lost bike. This lands him in trouble with the local duds and how he manages to reign supreme forms the rest of the story.
Its a superlative effort one should say. The director had certainly done his homework w.r.t to drug trafficking, smuggling, Bike Robbery, Pudhupettai mechanics et al. The cinematography is top notch and travels through the muddy and ugly streets of North Madras.
Daniel Balaji has done a neat job but his portrayals are getting stereo-typed. The Don Kishore gives an amazing performance and is full of class. He is not the usual Tamil film Dada that you come across. "Out" as his right hand, has also done a neat job. Though the plot is lifted from "Bicycle Thieves", the screenplay is brilliantly adapted to North Madras.
Dhanush is back to his brilliant self with a terrific performance. The face-off at the hospital between Dhanush and the gang stands out. He has certainly worked on his physique as well. South Indian "Bruce Lee" might actually suit him now.
Divya as the heroine does not have much to do. But she does not hinder the film's pace as many heroines these days do. Songs could have been much better or the director could have done away with them. The re-mix of course is bound to be a hit.
But a lot of violence and gore especially in the second half could have been avoided or underplayed. This is bound to keep the family and women crowd away.
Vettri Maran seems to be a class act. We hope this effort will not go unnoticed and he gets back to film-making and delivers some commendable performances such as this.
Polladhavan - Quality.
Rating - 7/10.
Cheers.
Vel - The review
After a short break, here goes Vel.
Vel - The Review
I got so fed up with this movie that it took me nearly a month to think about writing the review. Vel is totally full of formula, that leaves you thinking about directing your own movie. I am not going into the details of what its all about. When I did read some reviews about this movie, I thought it was a decent attempt with an intelligent and racy screenplay. This was no where near to intelligent.
The whole film is made in such high decibel that you tend to walk away from the screening fed up with those "Yeeeeeiiiiiiiii"s and "DDDDeeeeeeeeeeiiiiiiiiii"s. GOd knows why Surya would choose a film such as this after a stint with the likes of Gautam Menon and Bala.
Asin in a hopeless role. Saranya, the stereotype mother. Lakshmi, the filmy grandmother.Kalabavan Mani, the good-for-nothing villain. You name it...you got it. This film is full of cliches and formula that you can almost predict the whole movie since the first reel.
Phew...What a waste of time. Stay as far away from this as you can.
On the other hand, if you do like this movie (as they did in many B & C centres), kindly stop reading my blog. Its not meant for you.
Rating : 2/10
Vel - The Review
I got so fed up with this movie that it took me nearly a month to think about writing the review. Vel is totally full of formula, that leaves you thinking about directing your own movie. I am not going into the details of what its all about. When I did read some reviews about this movie, I thought it was a decent attempt with an intelligent and racy screenplay. This was no where near to intelligent.
The whole film is made in such high decibel that you tend to walk away from the screening fed up with those "Yeeeeeiiiiiiiii"s and "DDDDeeeeeeeeeeiiiiiiiiii"s. GOd knows why Surya would choose a film such as this after a stint with the likes of Gautam Menon and Bala.
Asin in a hopeless role. Saranya, the stereotype mother. Lakshmi, the filmy grandmother.Kalabavan Mani, the good-for-nothing villain. You name it...you got it. This film is full of cliches and formula that you can almost predict the whole movie since the first reel.
Phew...What a waste of time. Stay as far away from this as you can.
On the other hand, if you do like this movie (as they did in many B & C centres), kindly stop reading my blog. Its not meant for you.
Rating : 2/10
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