Another feather in the cap of Karthik Subbaraj !!

Two years back, director Karthik Subbaraj made the whole of Tamil Nadu sit up and take notice when he gave us ‘Pizza’….After such a phenomenal hit, he is back with ‘Jigarthanda’ (his original debut script) to prove that he is no one-hit wonder…..

When director Karthik gets an opportunity to make his first movie, he chooses to make a gangster movie based on real life gangster ‘Assault’ Sedhu..:P The journey of his movie --- from research to release, forms the story of ‘Jigarthanda’…..

Siddharth plays the aspiring director Karthik…..After featuring mostly in lover boy roles, this is unchartered territory for him…But he comes out on top….Hats off to him for choosing this script despite such an ensemble cast….

Lakshmi Menon plays his love interest Kayal….She has her moments, and unlike most dumb heroines (with zero contribution to the story!!), she provides an unexpected twist in the tale……

And then comes the director’s master stroke……Bobby Simha as ‘Assault’ Sedhu….After playing an innocent comedian in ‘Soodhu Kavvum’ and comedy villain in ‘Neram’, he takes a huge step forward in ‘Jigarthanda’...His body language threatens in every frame and he carries the movie in his shoulders big time…._/\_

Karunakaran (from ‘Soodhu Kavvum’), Ambika, Ramachandran Durairaj (Sedhu’s right hand) form rest of the cast.....Vijay Sethupathi performs neatly in a cameo…

A noteworthy point about the movie is that the genre completely changes post intermission…One moment, it is a complete thriller having you sit in the edge of your seats and the next moment you are laughing all over the place !! Simply brilliant… J

The songs might not be chartbusters but just like the ‘Soodhu Kavvum’ BGM for Vijay Sethupathi, music director Santosh Narayanan delivers an awesome BGM for Simha….Majority of the BGM is reminiscent of Quentin Tarantino’s movies… J

Overall, ‘Jigarthanda’ is an excellent movie boosted by the impeccable performance of its lead cast especially Simha…

Verdict:

Another feather in the cap of Karthik Subbaraj !!

Must watch Hollywood movie of this summer!!

After ‘Oblivion’, a sci-fi flick last year, Tom Cruise returns with another movie from the sci-fi genre ‘Edge of Tomorrow’. The movie is directed by Doug Liman, the man behind successful movies like ‘Bourne Identity’ and ‘Mr & Mrs Smith’…

From ‘Super Mario’ to ‘Assassin’s Creed’, we have all played games where we auto-reset to a saved checkpoint, when we die in the game….This is exactly what Tom Cruise undergoes throughout the movie in his quest to win a war against Mimics (Aliens) ….But there is a catch….Unlike the games, in ‘Edge of Tomorrow’ Cruise cannot save his progress … 

Tom Cruise plays Major William Cage who is reluctant to fight the war in the beginning but later adapts well to his ‘Live-Die-Repeat’ condition….  Cruise is evergreen, and only after I Googled, I got to know that he is 51 !! Sci-Fi movies are bread and butter for Cruise and his acting is flawless....

Emily Blunt co-stars as Rita Vrataski, who earlier had the ‘Live-Die-Repeat’ condition of Cruise but now lost it…She portrays the tough emotionless woman well and constantly ‘resets’ Cruise when he messes up in training…..

The cast is very limited in number as most of the screen time is taken up by Cruise’s repeat mode…:D The movie brings us memories of Tom Cruise’s many previous movies ( ‘Top Gun’, ‘Minority Report’, ‘War of the worlds’ and ‘Oblivion’)…

Unlike other Sci-Fi movies, the time loop was uncomplicated and easy to follow…The humor element was refreshing and the movie keeps a steady tempo without any unnecessary slack….

On the flip side, the movie’s ending was quite predictable…..Also a Hans Zimmer style BGM would have worked wonders for this movie..

Overall, ‘Edge of Darkness’ is a hugely entertaining sci-fi flick, you do not want to miss watching in the theatres in 3D.. 

Verdict:
Must watch Hollywood movie of this summer!!

Kollywood style Godzilla rules!!

After 16 years, the King of Monsters Godzilla makes its return to the big screen in 2014……The original 1998 Roland Emmerich movie was one of my favorite childhood movies and so I couldn’t wait to watch this reboot in 3D .. :)

In terms of plot, the director keeps it simple….An ancient creature MUTO (Massive Unidentified Terrestrial Organism) awakens from its slumber due tosome research by humans….In order to balance the destruction caused by MUTO, nature has its own solution – Godzilla…The magnificent battle between Godzilla and MUTO forms the remainder of the movie….

Aaron Johnson is a naval lieutenant who is the central human character of the movie….The famous Elizabeth Olsen is his wife and has a very small role…..Ken Watanabe of ‘Inception’ fame is the scientist who studies the MUTO and also tracks Godzilla…

The movie moves at a snail’s pace at the start and just when we think it is boring, the MUTO gets introduced in spectacular fashion….From then on the steady build-up to the introduction of Godzilla begins…

Usually portrayed as a monster which rips apart cities, the director chooses to deploy Godzilla as the protagonist of the movie…This surprise move is a winner and you start to root for Godzilla as it wrestles with the MUTO in breathtaking fashion… :)

The CG which the 1998 movie lacked, is top notch here and the fight sequences between Godzilla and MUTO are awesome…The scene where Godzilla uses its atomic blast is one to watch out for!! The BGM is dark and gloomy which adds to the thrill of the movie….

On the down side, the Godzilla scenes are too few in number to keep you engaged throughout the movie…And the way in which Godzilla saves children in school bus seems as if it became superhero..  It is a monster after all, but the director chooses to depict it as the friendly neighborhood Godzilla…  Also the way in which Godzilla first gets mauled by MUTO and then in the climax gives it back reminds me of Tamil movie heroes !!

Overall, ‘Godzilla’ keeps you fairly engaged and is a one-time watch for the few mammoth Godzilla Vs MUTO scenes…

Verdict:
Kollywood style Godzilla rules!!

Two hits in a row for Vishal !

 

After ‘Theeratha Vilayaatu Pillai’ and ‘Samar’, the Vishal-Director Thiru combo is back again for the third time with ‘Naan Sigappu Manidhan’….. This movie joins the long list of Tamil movies based on disorders (‘Chandramukhi’, ‘Anniyan’, ‘Ghajini’)…

‘Naan Sigappu Manidhan’ revolves around the protagonist who suffers from Narcolepsy (sleeping disorder)……..How his disorder impacts his life, forms the crux of the movie….

In terms of acting, a new subdued and underplaying Vishal has emerged….He carries over from where he left in ‘Pandiya Naadu’….Gone are the days where he bashes up fifty thugs… J

Lakshmi Menon has come a long way from ‘Sundarapandian’ and looks more refined & polished now.. ;) Despite featuring in a limited role, she performs well…..The supporting cast of Jegan, Jeyaprakash, Iniya and Saranya play their parts excellently....

While the first half focuses on the disorder and romance, the story turns on its head  at intermission…..The second half turns out to be a vendetta mission with a lengthy flashback…

For those who love twists and turns, the second half will definitely be a treat….Its completely unpredictable (very much like ‘Race’) and keeps you guessing till the end… J Rather than using Narcolepsy to waste the entire movie, the director opts to use it as a utility theme to supplement the main story…Kudos to Thiru…J

Facts like water acting as a repellent to the sleeping disorder and ability to hear despite being asleep (due to Narcolepsy) help the cause of the movie well including the underwater lip-lock scene !!

While none of the songs are big hits, GV Prakash gets the theme music spot on….Fantastic BGM throughout the movie!

Overall, the story has a typical commercial first half followed by an even better and thrilling second half..

Verdict:

Two hits in a row for Vishal !

                                                                                                                      -NB

Siva & Anirudh save us from ‘Live Murder’ in the theatre !!

Actor-turned-comedian Siva Karthikeyan is paired up with the ever-so-bubbly Hansika Motwani in this Rom-Com by Thirukumaran (AR Murugadoss’s associate), which also happens to be his directorial debut…..

If it was marathon running in ‘Ethir Neechal’, this time, ‘Maan Karate’ is a tale of how Siva woos his lady love by boxing!! The story has a definite AR Muragadoss touch and the fantasy element in the movie (though interesting) looks a bit far fetched… 

Siva plays Royapuram a.k.a ‘Maan-Karate’ Peter (  ), a carefree young man who turns boxer ‘overnight’ to prove his love..Though his acting is quite the same, Siva has improved extremely well in dancing and sparkles in all the songs…. While the likes of Surya and Vikram take extreme measures to change appearance, Siva continues to shift roles (marathon runner to boxer) with absolutely zero effort… 

Hansika Motwani does not have much role in the movie, except to look pretty and dazzling, which she achieves easily...  Vamsi Krishna looks convincing as ‘Killer’ Peter, the nemesis of ‘Maan-Karate’ Peter in the boxing competition…..When he roars in the press meet ‘You will see live murder’ (when he faces Siva), you are pretty convinced that he means every word !!

Siva’s antics with Hansika and his friends Sathish & Co ensure a very entertaining first half….But post intermission, the introduction of Suri and the lengthy (yawn) boxing tournament is boring….

In the music front, Anirudh-Siva combo strikes gold again after ‘Ethir Neechal’….Even prior to movie release, all songs were chartbusters and have served as a huge lift for the entire movie…The ‘Maan Karate’ BGM in the climax is fantastic… 

Tamil Cinema has witnessed the hero rise to power steadily through the entire movie (‘Naayagan’), turn the tables on the villain in one-half of the movie (‘Sivaji’), become rich in a single song (‘Annamalai’)…But Siva goes a step further and turns boxer in exactly 2 minutes of the movie…Height of fast-forwarding !!

Rather than taking one step at a time, Siva seems to be trying to get into the ‘mass hero’ role too soon….For example, when the movie ends with Siva in the ‘Maan-Karate’ stance, you can’t help getting the ‘over-heroism’ feeling…:D

Overall, ‘Maan Karate’ definitely has its flaws, but Siva’s humor and Anirudh’s music iron out those flaws and makes it watchable… 

Verdict:
Siva and Anirudh save us from ‘Live Murder’ in the theatre ... ;)
                                                                                                                                    -NB

Hollywood story told in Kollywood style !!

When the trailer, promos, reviews promise a different mysterious thriller, when wiki states ‘detective crime thriller in the likes of Sherlock Holmes series’ AND when you choose to watch ‘Thegidi’ over Liam Neeson’s ‘Non-Stop’, the expectations are sky high as you step in to the theatre….Does ‘Thegidi’ live up to its expectations??

‘Thegidi’ is actor Ashok Selvan’s third movie after ‘Soodhu Kavvum’ and ‘Pizza 2’...He is paired up with la belle Janani Iyer….’Thegidi’ handles the novel subject of shadowing and surveillance where the protagonist utilizes his ‘Holmes’ deducing skills to stalk people based on assignments given to him….How his ‘assignments’ impacts his life is the crux of ‘Thegidi’…

On paper, this sounds like a fantastic script, but the director’s treatment and execution of the script is below-par… The all-important initial illustration of the hero’s sleuthing skills is just a few lines of deduction and we are left to assume that he is ‘Sherlock Holmes’ reincarnated!! In an age of high tech gadgets, the hero hangs around with a pair of binoculars and camera, giving an entire new (Kollywood) meaning to the definition of surveillance equipment…J

Janani Iyer brings a pleasant experience to the movie but some of her ‘dumb’ reactions leaves a lot to be desired….Jayaprakash is easily the best actor in the movie and the veteran excels as always….

The first half builds the mystery quotient up steadily but towards the end, it becomes too predictable….The anti-climax & movie end is interesting and kudos to the director to give the movie an open ending (like Christopher Nolan) …J

The BGM by Nivas Prasanna is another high point of the movie (Although the title track is lifted directly from Adele’s Skyfall title track…. K)

Overall categorizing the movie is bad would be harsh, but it could have been way better than it is at present……Keeping your expectations low would certainly help .. J

Verdict:

Hollywood story told in Kollywood style !!

                                                                                                                           -  NB

Old Wine in Old bottle!!

After a ‘Thala’ Diwali (Aarambam), Ajith returns in short notice, hoping to make it ‘Thala’ Pongal with Veeram….. ‘Veeram’ is a typical commercial movie where you strictly need to leave your brains out of the theatre… J What else could you expect from the director who made ‘Siruthai’? …. J

‘Veeram’ narrates the tale of how a rough hero after falling in love with a girl, sets out to impress his lady love’s strictly non-violent family…. Sounds familiar? Yes it is… Another tried and tested storyline in Tamil cinema…L

Ajith is as brilliant as ever and eases through his role…. But after three back to back movies with the ‘salt and pepper’ look, its high time for Ajith to return to his original self…K Despite looking aged throughout the movie, his charm has not reduced a single bit.. J

Tamanna for a change, looks more cute than glamorous in this movie which is refreshing!! However, I can’t see the justification of her choice as heroine, especially when Ajith is sporting an aged look….Hence, the chemistry between them goes for a toss.... L Poor casting choice....

Atul Kulkarni who usually plays the brains-over-brawn mastermind, in stark contrast is cast as a pathetic villain here…. He is wasted in the role…L Santhaanam is outstanding yet again with his one-liners and perfect timing….Together with Ajith and his brothers, they run a laughter riot in the first half of the movie…

DSP’s songs are awful and the agonizing choreography just adds insult to injury!! Even the Ajith fan in me, couldn’t tolerate the dreadful picturization of some songs !! DSP manages to atleast get the theme BGM right, which plays an umpteen number of times whenever Thala gets into fight mode.. J

Santhaanam and Ajith keep us occupied for the first half… But post intermission the movie loses all sense and runs its course, thanks to numerous fights and songs serving as fillers!!

Overall, ‘Veeram’ might be a treat for Thala fans, but to the neutral eye, it is a no-brainer commercial movie which can be avoided .... K

Verdict:

Old Wine in Old bottle!!

                                                                                                                           -     NB