Inside Out (film)

Animated movies have a way of getting at the emotions housed inside certain stages of life. What happens when these emotions become characters in a movie? This idea of Pete Docter transmuted into the summer blockbuster of this year - Inside Out.

Image Source: www.wikipedia.org

Inside the brain of a 11 year old girl, named Riley, is a team of emotions - joy, sadness, fear, disgust and anger - working together to get her through daily life. The emotion Joy manages to control the headquarters, keeping track of the glowing orbs that represent Riley's memories. While other emotions want to take control of Riley's brain, Joy has to manage them too. After moving from Minnesota to San Francisco, an accident sends Joy and Sadness to a labyrinth of long term memory, and leaves Fear, Disgust and Anger to take control of Riley. She becomes emotionally wrecked as her parents do their best to help her adjust to the new surroundings. Meanwhile, venturing through the different realms of Riley's mind, Joy is determined to make it back to the headquarters along with Sadness, and return everything back to normal in the young adolescent consciousness of Riley.

This movie doesn't feel like it was haphazardly put together or drenched with unnecessary cultural references. Inside Out is truly genuine and crafted beautifully with lots of love and care. This is a very much imaginative film and the creative team and writers should be commended for their high effort. The idea of five emotions controlling an individual, the theme that every emotions are required for one's holistic growth, and the subtle message that sadness is as much important as joy, are few of the appreciable aspects of Inside Out.

As the objective of the story is narrative and it is classified as a kids' movie, Peter Docter and his team had a difficult task on how Inside Out would be presented. Neither too childish, nor too serious, Docter's screenplay has rendered a balanced treat that attracts both children and adult. Inside Out is also laden with tonnes of humorous jokes that would surely make both kids and adults laugh.

This movie also looks incredibly beautiful. Pixar Studios usually provide top notch CG and Inside Out is no exception. With vibrant colours and precise details, even subtle facial expressions are executed masterfully. The musical shortfilm of Disney-Pixar, titled Lava, is worth mentioning. Like the full animated film it is attached to, Lava is presented beautifully with pleasant tale of a lonely volcano looking for a volcanic partner. Pixar has not lost their touch in crafting these shorts.

Adults will be taken back to emotional struggles we had at that age and – let’s face it – sometimes still experience. Children will get the first film in a long time that treats their emotions as something complex and worth talking about. And it all happens in a colorful, energetic animation that may be Pixar’s funniest yet. Inside Out - right side in.

Kaaka Muttai (film)

"Till yesterday, we ate only when we were hungry. Who changed our nature today, that we are in search for taste?"

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Kaaka Muttai is a story about two brothers nicknamed Chinna Kaakka Muttai and Periya Kaakka Muttai, living in the slums of Chennai. With their father in jail, they had to discontinue their studies and assist their mother by working as ragpickers. When a pizza outlet is built near their slum, they become fascinated by the idea of tasting pizza. The storyline goes on to show the obstacles they encounter and discriminations they face, in their journey.

If one wants to taste the true essence of a Tamil film, then this movie is the pinnacle of it. It showcases the various problems of slum dwellers and how poverty forms a barricade for their opulent wishes. What is more beautiful is that they enjoy life even with the smallest things they experience, like drinking a crow's egg or catching a frog. In the scenes that shows the interactions between little slum boys and a higher class boy, it portrays the differences between the classes of the Indian society.

This film is director Manikandan's first feature film. Through his exquisite film-making and delightful take on slum life, he charms the viewers. He took a daring attempt to connect several social realities such as slum local politics, media sensationalism, social prejudice etc., and portray them in the most pleasant way, so that it guides people realise them without getting offended by the truth. He has sprinkled subtle messages in several scenes. To quote a few,

1. Media doesn't care: There is a particular scene where a new team arrives at the slum because two children from that area had been involved in a controversy. When these two children are about to walk right in front of the camera, they are told to hurry away by a channel member, who doesn't even know who they are. In another scene, during a television debate, a logically speaking person is shut off by the anchor frequently. These scenes clearly shows the conventional media's insensitivity to the issues and over focus on coverage and TRPs.
2. The Leftover Pizza and Not-Stolen Mobile: When a rich boy offers a leftover pizza to the slum boy, he refuses to take it. In another instance, they boy decides to steal a mobile phone from a train passenger but back out at the end. In both these scenes, the director tries to break down pre-conceived notions that poor children would do anything to get what they want. They have as much esteem and morality as anyone else.
3. Mother's reaction and class divide: When the boys' mother learns about the slapping incident, she becomes concerned of the safety of the children rather than getting angry upon the pizza outlet supervisor. Had it been a middle class mother, anger would have been the first reaction. The director has actually brought in Maslow's hierarchy of needs where safety takes precedence over esteem. Hats off..!

Cinematography is one of the important technical aspects for an offbeat film like Kaaka Muttai and Manikandan’s camera work makes the movie even more realistic and enjoyable. Special mention to the frame where a tricycle is placed on top of a hut’s roof. The coal contained railway tracks and the long shot which covers the entire slum, are a visual treat through his lens.

Coming to the performances, the little boys Ramesh and Vignesh are the blood and skin of the movie. They have perfectly portrayed the nuances of being slum boys. Their expressions are natural and it shows that they have thoroughly enjoyed during the shoot. Iyshwarya Rajesh breathes life into the character she renders. At a point when she is in the race to shine as a lead heroine, she has to be respected for choosing the role of a mother of two kids. Ramesh Thilak and Yogi Babu provide occasional laughs with their sense of humor. While the other actors Joe Malloori, Babu Antony and the woman who played the grandmother of the boys have done a fabulous job on their part.

To sum it up, Kaaka Muttai is one of the best reality films I have watched so far. No wonder it has bagged couple of awards in National Film Festival. It has even broken the stereotype of award winning movies by blending genuine humor in the narrative. The credit in turning the Kaaka Muttai into a golden egg goes to the producers Dhanush and Vetrimaaran. Their beautiful find, Manikandan, has nailed it with his simple yet effective storytelling. Kaaka Muttai - masterpiece debut.

O Kadhal Kanmani (film)

Are you young and single and never want to get into a relationship? Watching OK Kanmani would make you want to feel the pain of love.

Are you old and still fight with your better half? Watching OK Kanmani would make you want to cuddle your wrinkled spouse.

15 years after Alaipayuthey, Mani Ratnam is back on his turf with a pure and pleasant love story. After the failed experiment of Kadal, he could have gone out to make a commercial film roping in a star from the Top 10, or he could have made another film with a political backdrop, or he could have even gone over to Bollywood once again, where he would have found himself a bigger budget and wider reach. But no, he decided against all of this and set out to make something simple but memorable. Thus, OK Kanmani was born.

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It is a simple story that features two couples: one, young, who seem to have escaped their conservative dens are living far away from home and two, older couple, who seem to have preserved their values even while living in a cultural melting pot like Mumbai.

The youngsters, Aadhi (Dulquer Salmaan) and Tara (Nithya Menon), are both independent and ambitious individuals with promising careers. They both are of the view that the system of marriage is flawed and vow to never be tied down to a marriage. However, they find themselves attracted to each other, decide to be in a live-in relationship till they both part ways for their respective careers. Soon enough and as expected, they fall in love.

On the other hand, the older couple, Ganapathy (Prakash Raj) and Bhavani (Leela Samson), is still very much in love after years of marriage. The story-line moves in a way that the older couple become the backbone to the younger couple's relationship, which becomes crucial during the climax.

Dulquer-Nithya pair's charm and chemistry combined with the performance of Prakash Raj and Leela Samson, give life to otherwise plain storyline. Dulquer with his own style, looks dashing and is perfect for the role of Aadhi, a carefree yet passionate guy. On the other hand, Nithya can very well be called as Kanmani of the film, as she speaks with her love filled eyes and beautiful performance. Prakash Raj, with his natural way of acting with maturity, adds vital seasoning to already charming film. Leela Samson as his wife Bhavani, an Alzheimer's patient, turns out to be the germane selection of Mani Ratnam. Kudos to the director and the actor quartet.

A.R.Rahman, P.C.Sreeram and Sreekar Prasad are the background heroes of the film. As usual, Rahman's songs and BGM give goosebumps to the viewers. Aptly placed, songs of this film could be stand alone attraction for fans. The classical bit of "Theera Ulaa" and the male voice of "Naanae Varugiraen" are worth mentioning.

Sreeram's camera surprises the audiences right from train station scene at the beginning. Even the cut vegetables look ravishing through his lens. I was so immersed in the screen when I noticed the creative camera angles during "Paranthu Sellavaa" song, which was taken within the walls of a single room.

Sreekar's neither too lengthy nor too short editing serves as a silent backbone for OK Kanmani. One can hope that his innovative editing, like the one in the fast paced "Mental Manathil" song, continues in his upcoming films.

Mani Ratnam's touch to the film is visible in the due importance given to picayune. A Daliesque clock in Architect Nithya's room, Prakash Raj grinding spices physically and usage of traditional Tamil vessels are few examples. To sum it up, OK Kanmani is a feel-good urban love story with a simple premise backed with strong performances, exquisite visuals and soulful music.
OK Kanmani - a classy romantic by Maniratnam and Co.

I (film)

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A little too much predictable, revenge romantic thriller, shockingly from the magnanimous Shankar. Fortunately he is saved from humiliation by Vikram's performance, Rahman's music and Sreeram's camera. In both romance and thrill departments, the plot is flat. A Mister India aspirant body builder Lingesan (Vikram) has a huge crush on supermodel Diya (Amy Jackson). Lingesan becomes Lee, as he gets a chance to act in advertisements with Diya. As time passes they fall in love and emerge as a successful pair in modelling. In the meantime, five persons - a bodybuilder, a model, a stylist, a businessman and a secret villain - who were affected by the skills and honesty of Lee, use the 'I' virus to deform his appearance and destroy his future. The story moves on as to how the hunchback Lingesan takes his revenge and unite with the love of his life Diya.

Chiyaan Vikram is the saviour. His physical and emotional transformations, from Lingeswaran to Lee to Hunchback, are commendable and even a level ahead of his multi-role performance in Anniyan. Make-up work for the hunchback and the beast song adds score to his acting efforts. Kudos to WETA. Chinese gardens in P.C.Sreeram's camera and A.R.Rahman's music, are a treat for eyes and ears, certainly a wholesome experience.

Though she is best suited for a role as a model, at times Amy Jackson's portrayal is emotionless and void of romance. Clearly there was no chemistry present between Amy and Vikram. Thanks to Shankar, this negativity was eclipsed by the mediocre screenplay. Unlike his previous blockbusters, no dialogue has the electrifying effect, no scene is memorable. A terrible disappointment.

Verdict: Shankar made an Exodus in I.

Half Girlfriend (novel)

"...a simple and beautiful love story that will touch your heart and inspire you to chase your dreams." - Goodreads

Source: www.wikipedia.org

Before starting the actual review, I just want to clarify that I am not one of those 'I hate Chetan's stories' guys. I really enjoyed reading Five Point Someone and 2 States. There has long been a criticism that Bhagat unnecessarily includes social problems that are not related to the core of the novel. I do not agree with any such statements because it is his style of writing. None of us question Dan Brown for going into the intricacies of Roman Architecture, or criticise Khaled Hosseini for elaborately describing the beauty and nature of Afghanistan. Ultimately they intend to make the readers aware of these details, so does Chetan Bhagat. However, lately he seems to have forgotten the most essential part of a novel - the story. Story is the most attractive element of a novel that drives the reader to immerse and grasp the intended message. When the story is repetitive, monotonous or predictive, the novel fails, as happened in the case of Half Girlfriend.

A Bihari boy, Madhav Jha, gets admitted into the prestigious St. Stephen's College and befriends a rich Delhi girl, Riya Somani. He falls in love with her, she agrees only to be his "half-girlfriend", his lust betrays him, resulting in "half-break up". She discontinues studies, marries a rich family friend and moves to London. With a broken heart, he follows his dream and starts running a school in his hometown. She gets a divorce, flies back to India, meets him, helps him, but disappears. He finds her journals, searches for her, finally finds her in New York. They live Happily Together.

On the positive note, the story deals with the characters we see in real lives. Chetan Bhagat writes in a simple and understandable language, that can easily reach Indian masses. Within the story line he has beautifully highlighted some of the social problems like the class disparity of Indian society, regional differences, false pride of high society, child abuse, corruption in politics, etc.

Half Girlfriend is more of a movie script than a novel, to the worse, it is an half cooked one with loads of logical flaws. There was no real necessity for Chetan's presence in the story. Why would the lead character bring his dead girlfriend's journals to a writer, whose novels were read by him for the sole purpose of learning English? Wouldn't he want to know what his girlfriend wrote before dying? A guy, who tried to decode her every expression during each moment together, who had clinged on to the past for two years by thinking about her everyday, yet is not curious about what she has written in her journal. It doesn’t seem realistic. Riya cuts off from the world with utmost perfection, but forgets about her journal! These logical flaws clearly shows the lack of caution and realism from the author's side.

The intent to weave social issues inside the story is appreciable, but real content is missing. Neither the causes for class disparity, overemphasis on English, false pride etc., are explored, nor their effects are discussed. Author could've done some research and given attention to the deepest intricacies of the problems. Without doing so, the intended effect - reaching the readers, is not possible. Given the experience Chetan had in writing relationship stories, the whole novel should have taken a maximum of three weeks to write. One surely can not expect better reviews for such minimum input.

This disastrous failure clearly shows that time has come where Chetan Bhagat should stop writing relationship stories - he has written six such novels including Half Girlfriend. With the reach he has achieved through his first few novels, he can directly deal with social issues, not under the cloak of love stories. His fans deserve better novels, not half baked film scripts.

Half Girlfriend - deja vu.

P.S. I Love You (novel)

"A novel about holding on, letting go and learning to love again." - Goodreads

P.S. I Love You, a debut novel by Irish writer Cecelia Ahern, deals with a love that a man leaves for his wife even after his death and how he eventually convinces her to fall in love again. This man Gerry is so unreal and romantic that he leaves bunch of letters to his wife Holly, meant to guide her out of grief and loneliness. Starting from trivial tasks such as buying a bedside lamp, these letters gives her hope and a new outlook at the society. In the tenth and final letter, Gerry gives Holly confidence to fall in love again and a task to open her heart and follow it.

Highlight of the novel is the order of these letters. The author has stood upon the shoes of Holly and found out what would be needed at what time for her recovery. By doing so, the author has represented Gerry as a husband who has completely understood the feelings of his wife.

The story is more focused on emotions. Sometimes, even the letters have lost prominence to emotions. The author has more focused on how Holly feels upon reading a letter than to what the letter actually says and how important the task in the letter is to Holly's recovery. This has lead to a monotonous story-telling at times, although the storyline had the potential to diversify.

The characters centered around Holly are diverse in nature and add life to the story. Opposite to the main plot which deals with sad emotions, these characters and their little life episodes make the readers feel light hearted. The author could have used more such funny episodes to cut the monotony.

Overall, the storyline is good but the narration could have been better. Not bad for a debut novel.

To Kill a Mockingbird (film)

An adaptation of the novel written by Harper Lee and directed by Robert Mulligan, To Kill a Mockingbird is one of the few good courtroom movies I have seen. The film poster says, "The rare film story of a father who must expose his children to a small town's outraged passions...and can only protect them with his love." It is indeed a rare film story which is explicitly mentioned as 'not suitable for children', and yet narrates the story in the view of a young tomboy Scout. 

To Kill a Mockingbird was set in a fictitious town of Maycomb, Alabama in 1932. It looks into the prevalence of racism in Maycomb society through three young children namely, Scout, Jim and Dill, and focuses on the character of Scout's father Atticus Finch. Intertwined between these characters, the story goes on about how Atticus defends a negro Tom Robinson who allegedly raped a white woman Mayella Ewell. Though the case is strong in Tom's side, the racist tendency of the society results in Atticus losing the case. However, Atticus efforts gain him the respect from other black people in the society. In the other hand, the story also talks about Boo Radley, and the children's imagination about his monstrous appearance. Final scenes talk about how the vengeful father of Mayella attacks Scout and Jim and how Boo saves them by killing the attacker.

There are scenes which give scintillating effect to the viewers. Let me describe few here.

1. The courtroom scene: As said earlier, the courtroom scene makes clear that Tom Robinson is innocent, and it was Mayella who tried to take advantage of him, and it was her father who beat her up. In this scene, Atticus' appeal to the all white jury to keep aside their prejudice and consider the case in human point of view, is one of the best pieces of dialogue I have heard. Yet the all white jury finds Tom guilty anyway. The best of the scene is the quietness the verdict receives from either side. Neither the whites cheer much, nor the blacks send cries of protest. This quietness is clear symbol of the faultiness of the verdict and tolerance of the blacks. Jewel in the crown is the saying by a reverend, "Miss Jean Louise, stand up, your father's passin."
2. The lynch mob scene: A lynch mob of white men tries to attack Tom Robinson in a jailhouse. Being prepared to break in and hang Robinson, the mob faces Atticus himself guarding the jailhouse. In that remarkable scene, Scout being unaware of the intentions of the mob, bursts onto the scene and shames a poor farmer into leaving. Despite being of innocent words, her speech shows a strategic exercise. It made me wonder whether a child could turn away such an angry lynch mob? The way the scene is portrayed clearly provides an aye for an answer.
3. Spit on the face scene: After the death of Tom, Atticus goes to his house to inform Tom's wife. Bob Ewell appears there and calls one of the black men, "Boy, go in the house and bring out Atticus Finch." One of them does so and when Atticus is out, Bob spits on his face, Atticus stares at him, wipes his face and drives away. There seem no specialty in this scene as such. But the face expressions by the two actors is the gem. Atticus' angry but confident look and Ewell's unstable fear in the stare down were well captured in camera.
4. Killing a Mockingbird scene: The climax sees a sudden appearance of Boo Radley. Robert Ewell is found dead with a knife stabbed under his ribs, and Boo appears in Jim's room. This appearance is much unexpected because of the descriptions of Boo and the story's focus away from him. Though it becomes obvious that Boo killed Bob, Sheriff says, "There's a black man dead for no reason and the man responsible for that is dead. Let the dead bury the dead this time." After this, so far innocent Scout reaches to her father and with much understanding of the situation and states that what the Sheriff says is right because sending Boo to the gallows would be like "killing a mockingbird".

Added to the excellent story by Harper Lee and direction by Robert Mulligan, the third element that leads the viewer to concentrate on the movie is music by Elmer Bernstein. In fact, till the movie was over, I almost forgot there has been a background music going on. It has so embedded with the screenplay. Hats off to Bernstein.

In total, To Kill a Mockingbird is an artistic depiction of the then society of Alabama. It views, speaks and plays the reality of a racist society and the few good men in it. No wonder it remains in the top 100 in IMDB ratings for the past 23 years.

Scent of a Woman (film)

"Whoo-ah." I know it is very late to write a review on a movie that was released in 1992, but still, what to do! I was a toddler then and I have just watched it last night..!!

Scent of a Woman is about Charles Simms (Chris O’Donnell), a Boston prep school senior, and the Thanksgiving weekend he spends working as the aide and companion of Lt. Colonel Frank Slade (Al Pacino), a stubborn, lonely, blind veteran. The job, which begins as an onerous task performed principally for money, becomes a tour of self-discovery when Slade decides to make an unexpected visit to New York City. There, amidst all the holiday hoopla, the lieutenant’s actions force Charlie into making an emotionally painful and morally good decision, which could rot his entire future.

Acting is a divinely art and Cinema is a dangerous platform. It has seen men who had aspired to become a Super Star and ended as yet another Day Dreamer. But there are certain actors that, when they appear in the big screen, make the audience engrossed on their face (to be more precise, eyes). I can name few of those elite actors – Tom Hanks, Leo Dicaprio, Morgan Freeman, Robert De Niro, Marlon Brando, Brad Pitt… and Al Pacino. These guys above can do any roles given to them to the perfect extent possible. I have seen very few Pacino movies and of those few characters I have seen, Lt. Colonel Slade is the most difficult one – a stubborn, blind man with a soft heart deep inside, and no one could have done this role better than Pacino. His “Whoo-ah“s are ever memorable.

"...I don't know if Charlie's silence here is right or wrong; I'm not a judge or jury. But I can tell you this - he won't sell anybody out to buy his future! And that, my friends, is called integrity. That's called courage..." - Lt. Colonel Slade

Scenes and Dialogues, which apparently impress most of the audience, is one of the big reasons for the success of the Scent of a Woman. Director Martin Brest knew the secret and blended awesome dialogues with beautiful screenplay. Especially Pacino’s tango scene with Gabrielle Anwar, it was magical. Final dialogues from Slade, which explains how much he had learnt from young Charlie, were very convincing for me to believe that the Disciplinary Committee had acquitted Charlie. Some may argue it as an usual Hollywood ending, but I can say there could be no other perfect ending for a pleasant story like Scent of a Woman.

"No mistakes in the tango, not like life. Simple, that's what makes tango so great. You make a mistake... get all tangled up... just tango on." - Lt. Colonel Slade

If you ask for something other than Al Pacino’s role-play or Scenes or Dialogues which gives a reason to watch this movie, I can give you one to listen to Scent of a Woman – Music. Thomas Newman has given a divinely, peaceful and outstanding backscore which could be heard all day. Hats off to Newman!

Scent of a Woman – a masterful product by a perfect trio, which makes you forget your sorrows and makes you feel happier. Never miss it..!!

Nadunisi Naaygal (film)

It really needs a lot guts to take A movie like this in Tamizh, although it looks like a slight remake thing of Sivappu Rojakkal by Bharathi Raja. From the beginning of the movie to the end of the end titles, we can be sure, Gautham Menon did not expect any more than once watching audience and just stood on the message he wanted to convey them. Excellent cinematography with coherent story and screenplay, lack of music and songs are totally faded out. I am really happy that I watched this on the very first day of its release.

The whole plot is very simple as I can tell in three sentences - Sex abused boy, Multiple Personality Disorder, Cold Blooded Murderer. Veera Bahu - the new comer - old Assistant Director - has acted beyond his level, while Sameera Reddy has acted far better than her previous two tamizh movies. Editing by Kaaka Kaaka Anthony and cinematography by Eeram Manoj Paramahamsa has added spice to the movie flow.

Apart from the positive factors told above, this movie can be said as a mixture of Sivappu Rojakkal and Tell Me Your Dreams. Child abuse thing by Veera's own father, three personalities MPD, Murder during sex, etc., brings the pictures of Sidney Sheldon's TMYD, while the Lonely House, Dogs, Security Gate, Last sequence police and documentary like end make me remember the Sivappu Rojakkal. Gautham is far improved, instead of just copying one story as other directors do, he has blended two to make his own remark.

In total I can give 5/5 for both cinematography and editing, 4/5 for Veera, 3/5 for Sameera, 2.5/5 for the movie and 2 for my ex-fav Gautham.. :(

Der Untergang (film)

I felt like 'you need to be this stubborn guy to be able to speak German','you have to dig your gutter out to bring this Umlaut and Eszett through your tongue'. Actually this movie - Der Untergang - made me to feel like this. Bruno Ganz's casting as Adolf Hitler will make anyone watching this movie to shout 'Hail. My Furher'. The whole story is about the interesting and terrible go-thro's experienced by the youngest private secretary 'Traudl Junge', during the last ten days of Adolf Hitler and Eva Braun in the Furherbunker. As the real Traudl comes into picture claiming her insanity of admiring and fascinated to Hitler - in her words 'the greatest criminal ever to have lived'.

Movie starts as a group of young ladies from Berlin, including Traudl, arriving at the Wolfsschanze - Hitler's eastern headquarters, for interview to be Hitler's private assistant, where young Traudl Humps gets selected. Then the next scene lifts to 56th birthday of Adolf, the war almost reaching its end. Movie goes on as showing the trusted generals of Hitler couldn't do anything against the upcoming Soviet enclosure to Berlin. In the mean time the movie describes the people loving kindhearted Colonel Dr.Gunther helping the medic team treating the civilians and military units. Third line of story explains a boy - Peter - from Hitler Youth fighting and witnessing the terrible things happening around him and a mob killing his parents for not leaving Berlin.

This movie also shows the personal experience of Traudl Junge with Hitler, and her experience witnessing him committing suicide with his 48 hours wife Eva Braun. After Hitler's death Joseph Goebbels becomes the Chancellor and commits suicide with his wife Magada after killing all their six children. Movie ends with Traudl escaping with young Peter through the Soviet Army. Subsequent facts of the other survivors were superimposed in the end.

Every actors in this movie had lived to their character and Ganz gets the salute. Director Oliver Hirshbiegel had taken much care to make audience feel the heat but failed in some scenes. Remember this movie doesn't show the real Hitler who was barbaric in nature, and this is only the view of an innocent secretary who apologizes being innocent. So don't get sympathized to Hitler as Ganz will make you to. I give four out of five to this Downfall and a full to the actors.

Enthiran (film)

No exaggerated hero introduction, No extravagant first song. It is all a Shanky's than a Rajinikanth movie. I personally felt like watching a Cameron plus Spielberg stuff in Tamil. I hope no one would have missed it, yet as it has to be a movie review I'm adding the plot here. Dr.Vaseegaran, a robotics expertized professor spends his time and effort (even avoiding his girlfriend Sana) to make an andro-humanoid robot and names it as Chitti. He wants to help the Indian Army by replacing infantry by Chitti like robots and for that purpose takes the robot to AIRD evaluation which was headed by Dr.Bohra where Chitti was rejected for not having emotions and feelings. Vaseegaran works on Chitti by using artificial hormone simulation gives him all human feelings which in turn makes Chitti fall love with Sana. Knowing this Vaseegaran gets angry and dismantles Chitti and throws him in garbage. Dr.Bohra, being sold himself to European Weapon dealers brings back Chitti's life and inserts a Red Chip with destructive programs. Chitti being more powerful than ever creates many robot similar to him and kills Dr.Bohra who opposes it. Chitti and other robots capture the AIRD building and abduct Sana. Chitti forces her to marry him. The story goes on like how Dr.Vaseegaran defeats the robots and saves his lover Sana.

Rajinikanth has shown his grace in style for the Robot character. Some 'I Want to Whistle' like moments(though i could do it only like King Julian) are

• Robot walking like Superstar in the first scene.
• Chitti giving answers for the questions asked in the Robotic Conference.  
• Vaseegaran and Chitti hugging as Chitti declares God's existence in his creator Vaseegaran.
• Chitti version 2.0 calling Vaseegaran as 'Black Sheep'
• Chitti version 2.0 explaining about Robo-Sepians to Sana.
• Touching climax dialogues by Chitti.

Although it was a nice movie, some of the scenes were really irritating and could have been avoided. The mosquito scene and Kalabavan mani appearance scenes were unnecessary. Pre-Climax scenes were very lengthy and could have been shorted.

Coming to other departments Music was done exceptionally well by ARR. No better words can describe the way CG had been done. Once again hats off to Shankar and team..:) and watch the movie only in Theatres...;)

Paiyaa (film)

5 Songs + 6 Fights + 1 Car = "Paiyaa"

This time we entered the theatre with less expectations as we had already got comments from my friends. I went to Paiyaa mainly for Karthi and Yuvan, both have done their jobs well.

Karthi comes as "Shiva" - an unemployed ECE engineer searching for job in Bangalore with the help of his friends. He falls in love at first sight with "Charu"(Thamannah). Shiva goes to railway station to pick up his friend where he sees Charu with a man. That man thinks Shiva as a Taxi driver and he gets a chance to take her to Chennai. Later he knows about her uninterested marriage arrangement at Chennai and helps her escape from it by taking her to Mumbai. A villain gang set by her step mother chases them. First half is enjoyable with Karthi's funny dialogues and expressions. Second half starts with Shiva's flashback explaining his clash with Milind Soman. Whether Shiva safeguarded Charu and handed over her to her grandma and whether they escaped from respective chasing groups is the rest of the story.

All the five songs with Yuvan's music are amazing, especially "En Kaathal Solla Naeram Illai..." song is mindboggling. Tamannah has acted well and her expressions are improved much from Ayan and Anandha Thandavam. In this movie Karthi hums his brother's "Oru Maalai Ilaveyil Naeram" and his father's "En Kanmani Un Kaadhali" like tributes to them. Picturisation of Songs is really nice.

How could Charu and the man with her think a man with Mitsubishi Lancer as a Taxi driver?? Both Charu's step mother and Shiva's father were not shown and only could be heard. Milind Soman comes in only four scenes. I don't say fight scenes should be realistic but they could have avoided it being over-dramatic. Madhi's cinematography is the only convincing thing for eyes.

Paiyaa - a one time watchable entertainer...

Will You Cross The Skies For Me?

This time Gautam Vasudev Menon has given us a wonderful love story. I went to Satyam for Vinnaithandi Varuvaaya with 40 of my classmates today. We simply forgot Silambarasan Rajendar and Trisha Krishnan and could only see is Karthick and Jessie romancing. Once again the name Karthick has got a romantic character after Alaipayuthey, Rhythm and Mozhi. 

VTV has some impacts of the director's previous movie Vaaranam Aayiram like love at first sight, Simbu almost imitates Suriya in most of the shots - probably Gautam is still in Vaaranam Aayiram hangover. First half starts with Jessie's wedding at a church where Karthick narrates his flashback. It looked more romantic with limited narrations and excellent screenplay. Unlike other Gautam movies second half is interesting despite its slow pace. Simbu proved himself as an actor in the second half (He has not used his finger mannerism and punch dialogues for the whole movie). I'm sure you will think about your love at present or in the past for at least a moment at the climax.

Gautam Menon has given special care for every characters in this movie. Simbu and Trisha have given their best performance in this movie. Ganesh Janardhanan has got a unforgettable character as Karthick's friend. K.S.Ravikumar comes as director and makes us laugh with his simple comments. But most of the characters were missing in the second half. Manoj Paramahamsa's cinematography is the key of the movie's success, especially the Malta Island and the locals of Alappuzha are treat for eyes. 

Music - from the beginning till the end, A R Rahman has given excellent background score. Songs are more seasoned with Rahman Music. Vaalvukum Pakkam Vanthen part in Hosanna, Swasthi Swasthi Muhurtham chorus in Aaromalae and Kollamal Unnai Kondru Pudaithaen in Mannipaya have given some exceptional moments  from A R R. Background music at the climax part of the movie is incredible. Rahman rocks!!!

In whole this is made for those who loves Love...

'A Movie For the Melody Lovers'

Tamizh Padam (film)

'First full spoof in Tamil, other than that nothing is there' this is what we thought before watching the movie. I watched this movie in Saidai Raj on Saturday 6.45 pm show with three of my friends.

Movie starts in a village where boy children were killed using Cactus milk like in Karuthamma. Reason for this leads to Naattaamai spoof. But the kid says to his granny to put him in Goods train as in Thalapathy - even new born kid knows that a goods train from village will reach Chennai in Tamil movies. Then his granny brings the kid to chennai. There his friends Siddarth, Nakul and Bharath help him to succeed in his love - Boys. In the mean time he kills some rowdies in different manners - Anniyan style and Aboorva Sagotharargal contraption and using his Unwashed Socks. Later he is revealed as a Police Officer like Pokkiri. He finds out the underworld Boss and gets promoted as DGP.

Though this movie has no unique story, it has some unforgettable spoof scenes...

Thalapathy hospital scene, Mouna Raagam library scene, Shivaji spoof and the Kathalukku Mariyathai scenes are awesome. Riding the cycle to grow, Hero becoming rich in one song are among those criticising reality lacking Tamil movies. When Chennai Central is shown one man says Chennai has many other landmarks to be shown. That thing is amazing. Among the songs 'Omagazeeya' is excellent - one of the best spoofs of the movie.

Watchable movie with friends...

3 Idiots (film)

When I watched '3 Idiots', -yesterday- it was a pleasant experience for me to see a college friendship story with college friends as a college student. It is Aamir's hat-trick box office hit after Taare Zameen Par and Ghajini. The writer duo -Rajkumar Hirani and Abhijat Jhosi- has developed the storyline more smoothly from the original. Hirani's movies always stands for its writing department.

Whole movie gave us a mixture of humour and emotion. When the movie character Raju's family is shown to you -black and white-, you will feel pity for their life and the story narration will make you laugh even at that moment. Muraleedharan's camera played a solid role in success of this movie. Songs were amazing especially 'Zoobi Doobi'...

Every characters -from 'Rancho' to 'Millimeter'- have done their jobs well. 'ViruS' and 'Silencer' were amazing. Movie gives us a good message that if we stand for our Originality, all will be done well, from the main character Rancho through his inventions -Helicopter with a wireless camera and Vacuum extractor with a Power Inverter.

Hats off to Aamir and Hirani...