dkemathas Reviews

Aayitha Ezhuthu (2004)

ஃ - These 3 Dots Mean Something... More Than You'll Ever Know

[9/10 · 8 March 2017]

Back in 2004 when Ayitha Ezhuthu was first released, it was widely panned by critics and didn't do well at the box office. Why? It's simple: The film was much ahead of its time that the audience didn't understand this brilliant story line and the metaphors it carried throughout the film.

Ayitha Ezhuthu is a political drama directed by the genius Mani Ratnam who had previously directed movies such as Kannaththil Muttamital, Thalapathy, Bombay, Alaipayuthey, Iruvar and Dil Se. If you're asking me, I'd say Ayitha Ezhuthu is the greatest movie of all time in Kollywood's history and here's why:

The film carries metaphors that are used as color symbols for the three lead characters; Inba, Michael and Arjun. The writer chose the color RED for Inba which symbolizes fire and stands for anger, power and love. Michael is given GREEN which symbolizes soil/ground/earth and stands for growth and energy, while the Arjun is given the color BLUE which symbolizes water and stands for his chilled personality. The clues for their colors are their clothes and their homes (the walls). If you've noticed in every frame Inba wears red, Michael wears green and Arjun wears blue (in Arjun's case he wears blue for the most part).

If you haven't noticed there's also another hidden fact in the story. Remember the prison scene where Michael and the other students are locked up in one cell? Do you remember what Michael wrote on the cell-walls with that chalk? It was the Grand Unified Theory (GUT). This theory is also used as a metaphor for the film. The theory is based one three gauge interactions; strong force, weak force and electromagnetic force, which all helped to create earth. The strong force is Inba because of his anger and his lust for power and position. The weak force is Arjun because he always choose to avoid problems (for example when he admits Michael at the hospital he is told to give a complaint, but doesn't want to because he fears that his passport might be taken in). The electromagnetic force is Michael because of his mannerism, bravery and his guts over fear. As you all know by now, Ayitha Ezhuthu is an experimental film based on the Grand Unified Theory.

The film features an ensemble cast that includes Suriya Sivakumar, Madhavan Ranganathan, Siddharth Suryanarayanan, Meera Jasmine, Trisha Krishnan, Esha Deol in the lead roles, while Bharathiraja, Sriman, Janagaraj, Praveen, Krishna, Suchithra Karthik Kumar and Kamala Krishnaswamy in other pivotal roles. All the actors have played their characters well. For your information; The character Michael Vasanth (played by Suriya Sivakumar) is actually inspired by a research student named George Reddy who was known for his controversial involvement in youth politics. He was later murdered on April 14th, 1972 (aged 25) at Osmania University in Hyderabad, India (you can google him).

The cinematography and editing which were handled by Ravi K. Chandran and A. Sreekar Prasad deserve to be praised for the phenomenal job they have done. At last but not least, I have to talk about the Academy Award winner A.R. Rahman for the soundtrack and the mind-blowing score. All the songs in the soundtrack were amazing, especially the song ''Jana Gana Mana'' which is my all-time favorite song by Rahman. The BGM in the title card, the String Solo and the bit song titled ''En Jeevane'' are admirable and scores everyone should remember. Finally I have to give a BIG-TIME applause to the late Sujatha for the amazing on-point dialogues (especially in Inba and Michael's first meeting, the flirting scenes with Arjun and Meera, played by Siddharth and Trisha Krishnan, and the conversations between Michael and Minister Selvanayagam, played by Suriya Sivakumar and Bharathiraja).

For those of you who were disappointed with the movie when you were watching it for the first time back in 2004, give it another try now. I bet you'll change your mind and see the clear picture!

Jason Bourne (I) (2016)

The absence of CGI, shaky camera work and the return of Matt Damon save the movie!

[7/10 · 6 August 2016]

Jason Bourne is directed by Paul Greengrass, the director of the previous two films titled ''The Bourne Supremacy'' and ''The Bourne Ultimatum''. This is one of my favorite trilogies of all time, and definitely movies that I can watch over and over! Matt Damon is back once again as the former CIA-agent Jason Bourne. For those of you who have no knowledge of Bourne, and don't know what his story is, I'll give a quick introduction here.

Jason Bourne (played by Matt Damon) is an assassin and a former CIA- agent who's suffering from amnesia and is on the run to regain his memory. When he is framed for a CIA operation called ''Treadstone'' gone awry, he is forced to resume his former life as an assassin to survive this madness.

Like I mentioned earlier, The Bourne Trilogy (I do not include The Bourne Legacy here) is one of the best spy trilogies I've seen in my entire life. Bond-lovers, do not underestimate Bourne here!!! When I got to know that Damon and Greengrass were coming back to this franchise after nine years, I was so pumped and excited, because I know what they have in store for us. It will be AMAZING and like Denzel Washington says in all of his movies I can say ''I Guarantee It!''.

This is the fifth installment of the Jason Bourne franchise (fourth chronologically), and Bourne has finally regained his memory and knows who he is, but there are still some certain secrets about his past that that he is desperately trying to find answers to. I won't spoil anything because I want you guys to see it for yourselves.

The opening sequence of this movie is marvelous! There's a fantastic motorcycle chase in Athens that will take your breath away and literally keep you on the edge of your seat. It's not only action packed and fast paced, but it's also emotionally gripping and realistic. I won't explain you why, because this is a spoiler free review. The film later moves further to its subplot which involves a character named Kalloor, who's about to launch a new form of social media that makes people to be concerned about privacy.

Julia Stiles who has appeared in the first three Bourne movies has returned to her role as Nicky Parsons. Even though she has a little screen time in this film, she has done a phenomenal job and shares an action-packed scene with Damon that I'm pretty sure people will talk about for weeks, maybe years. The film also introduces two new characters; Robert Dewey and Heather Lee, played by Tommy Lee Jones and Alicia Vikander who've nailed their roles. Even though Tommy Lee Jones has delivered a strong performance as the CIA director, I felt that he wasn't as bad-ass as David Strathairn, who played Noah Vosen in The Bourne Ultimatum or Chris Cooper, who played Conklin in The Bourne Identity. It just wasn't 100% satisfying. We have seen Tommy Lee Jones' outstanding performances in movies such as The Fugitive (1993) and U.S. Marshals (1998), but his character Dewey didn't seem to be as desperate as Noah Vosen or Conklin to take out Bourne. This is one of the biggest reason for why I think this installment is the weakest one in this franchise. When the antagonist doesn't have the equal balance to the protagonist it'll make the story less interesting.

Another reason for why I didn't love this movie as much as the previous ones is because the story wasn't fascinating and strong enough compared to the other films in this saga. That doesn't mean that this is a bad movie. This is much more better than The Bourne Legacy, the action is not disappointing, but unfortunately, this is just the weakest one of Damon's Bourne series. One of the few things I missed when it comes to the action is the knuckle fights. There are a few fight sequences here and there, but not as spectacular as the fight sequences in the earlier films (an example: Bourne vs. Desh in The Bourne Ultimatum).

Matt Damon's Bourne franchise is best known for its shaky camera work. The cinematography was well handled by Barry Ackroyd and the editing by Christopher Rouse was excellent. At last, but not least, I definitely have to mention Matt Damon's work in this film. Damon is irreplaceable as always, and it's a total pleasure to see him back as Bourne!

Overall this is a good movie that I recommend everyone and Bourne fans to watch! For those who haven't seen the previous films; I think you'll enjoy this ride! It's a good movie, but not great compared to Identity, Supremacy and Ultimatum. Paul Greengrass and Matt Damon NEED to come back and deliver an epic end to this franchise!

Iraivi (2016)

Iraivi: a story about beautiful mess

[7/10 · 10 June 2016]

After the horror-thriller Pizza (2012) and the gangster comedy- thriller Jigarthanda (2014), Karthik Subbaraj has become one of the most creative and talented directors in the Tamil film industry. This year, Subbaraj is back with his third venture titled Iraivi, which picks up the feminist concept. It stars S.J. Surya, Vijay Sethupathi, Bobby Simha, Anjali, Kamalinee Mukherjee and Pooja Devariya in the lead roles. Actors Radharavi, Vadivukarasi and Karunakaran play other pivotal roles.

Simply said this is a story for men about women. Subbaraj has focused on women's needs and men's priorities. Towards the end there's a powerful message about love, lust, betrayal, family life, brotherhood and the difference between men and women's behavior, needs and lifestyles.

S.J. Surya plays Arul, an alcoholic who once was a successful film director. Due to some issues with his producer his latest film has trouble to get released. Bobby Simha plays Jagan, Arul's troubled younger brother, and Vijay Sethupathi plays Michael; Arul and Jagan's friend who got married against his own wish.

The actors, especially S.J. Surya and Vijay Sethupathi has given life to their characters and have done their parts really well. We all know that S.J. Surya is a successful film director who has directed films such as Vaali (1999), Kushi (2000) and New (2004), but his acting career didn't go so well. This film in the other hand is definitely a turning point in his acting career. Vijay Sethupathi, an actor who has a household name in the industry is brilliant as always, but in this movie we will feel pity for him for all the things he goes through. Kamalinee Mukherjee and Anjali who play Arul and Michael's wives did a phenomenal job with their roles. Pooja Devariya who has the least screen time in the film does her part well too.

The film was beautifully shot by newcomer Sivakumar Vijayan and Vivek Harshan's editing is neat as always. This is the third time Santhosh Narayanan has scored music for a Karthik Subbaraj film. We all have enjoyed collaborations such as K. Balachandar-Ilayaraja and Mani Ratnam-A.R. Rahman, and these guys have proved that they are the next duo in this legendary list. The tracks ''Kadhal Kappal'' and ''Manidhi'' deserve to be mentioned. ''Kadhal Kappal'' is another funfilled Tamil folk song by Santhosh Narayanan which is mixed with old school jazz that has a catchy melody supported by guitar, strings and earthly rhythm section. ''Manidhi'' is an admirable feel-good song about hope and humanity which is played in the background in the climax scene. If you can easily get emotional, this scene will make you walk out of the theater with tears.

The only thing that I find negative about this film is its length. If they had cut out 10-15 minutes of the film, it could have kept the audience more engaging.

If you are looking forward to see another cult classic thriller film by Karthik Subbaraj, then this is definitely not a movie for you. This one is a family oriented drama, but a bold film which has a topic we rarely see in Tamil cinema.

The Conjuring 2 (2016)

The Einfield Case is a Killer!

[8/10 · 10 June 2016]

The 2013 film The Conjuring, directed by James Wan is a masterpiece to the horror genre, and became the highest grossing horror movie of all time. The film revolved the case about Batseeba Sherman, a woman who sacrificed her child to Satan and hung herself from the tree right in front of her farm in Rhode Island, New England, United States. In 1971 the Perron family experienced some disturbing events which was solved by The Warren couple.

The Conjuring 2, which is about the Einfield case, takes place six years later after the Rhode Island Case. First of all, the screenwriters and James Wan need to be praised, because it's not easy to make a sequel stand in the same level as the original. It rarely happens in Hollywood. A few examples in the horror genre could be Ridley Scott Alien (1979) and James Cameron's Aliens (1986), and John Carpenter's Halloween (1978) and Halloween II (1981).

Every single actor should be praised for their performances, especially Patrick Wilson as Ed Warren, Vera Farmiga as Lorraine Warren, Madison Wolfe as Janet Hodgson and Frances O'Connor as Peggy Hodgson. I think why many horror movies don't succeed is because we don't feel pity or remorse for the characters in the story, but when it comes to this film it doesn't fail at all (which is proof that the script and the characters are believable and powerful).

Joseph Bishara's music is definitely a reason for why the movie is a killer. The background score just makes every single frame more and more intense and spooky and the cinematography by Don Burgess and editing by Kirk M. Morri was excellent.

To people who don't know anything about the Einfield case or the cases which were solved by the Warren couples: Don't expect another exorcism scene like the first one... you might get disappointed if you are a hardcore horror fan. The film has some scenes that will give us ''deja vu'' as it has been repeated over and over again.

Other than that, the story-line is really engaging and it will keep the audience to sit in the edge of their seats throughout the film.

Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice (2016)

A great start for DC's Cinematic Extended Universe (No Spoilers)

[7/10 · 24 March 2016]

Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice picks up from where Man of Steel ended. First of all, is the movie good? Well, I think it's brilliant. Of course there is so much going on, and much details to take in, but if you concentrate on the movie, I bet you all will like it.

A lot of people will think that Ben Affleck's Batman is much more brutal than the other versions/performances, and yes it is, but I personally think that Affleck was a bad-ass. Before Affleck we've seen 5 other actors who've portrayed the caped crusader, but none of them could do justice to both roles as Batman and Bruce Wayne equally, in this case, I think Affleck has nailed it. The suit is on point, and so is his chin too. The other thing I loved about Batfleck was the combat style. The fighting technique is not as lame as Keaton's or Bale's, but it's absolutely fantastic. Affleck uses the same combat style which is used in the Arkham Games. Shortly said, I think Ben Affleck is the best actor to portray Batman/Bruce Wayne till date.

Henry Cavill in the other hand, wasn't as great as Ben Affleck performance-wise, but he has improved a bit. He is still a bit stiff, and doesn't have that much charisma in him. The beautiful-looking Gal Gadot was great as Wonder Woman even though we only see her as Wonder Woman in the final battle.

Jesse Eisenberg's performance as Lex Luthor made me questioning his portrayal. The character is supposed to be hungry for power, but instead the director made him to be psychotic. Eisenberg is a good performer, but he was exaggerating a bit at times.

The storytelling has improved a lot since Man of Steel, and I think the credit should go to Chris Terrio. David S. Goyer, who was also a co-writer has sharpened up his writing since Man of Steel (which wasn't as great as expected). Larry Fong's cinematography and David Brenner's editing was excellent. The scenes in the movie would have had a different, but better atmosphere if the production team had let Hans Zimmer do all the film scores by himself. The collaboration with Junkie XL wasn't as great as Zimmer's previous works (The Dark Knight Trilogy, Interstellar, The Amazing Spider- Man 2). The few things that I would criticize are Snyder's directing, the design of Doomsday (he looks awful) and the screenplay. As many of you already know, there are a few dream sequences here and there, which I think were placed wrongly, and the fact that Batman is using guns is actually a bit devastating for the fans. Another thing that I personally feel is that they gave too much of the movie away in the trailers and TV-Spots. Other than that the movie is great, but I suggest DC and Warner Bros. to replace Snyder for the Justice League films.

Terminator Genisys (2015)

After 24 years... The real Terminator 3 has arrived!

[8/10 · 26 June 2015]

I just got home after watching Terminator Genisys in Lillestrøm, Norway.

If you say that Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines and Terminator Salvation were awful, then I agree with you 100%. No doubt about that. ''Rise of the Machines'' and ''Salvation'' sucked BIG TIME. Like James Cameron mentioned a couple of weeks ago in an interview, Terminator Genisys has all of the great characters that were in the first two films. You'll have an inside look at the back story of the first installment. I'm pretty sure that the Terminator fans have had imaginations (deep down in their back-head) about how it would be like if a T-800 was sent back to 1984 to stop the T-800 which was programmed to kill Sarah Connor or to see how Kyle Reese manages to fight against T-1000. I was surprised to see how the film makers crashed the different time lines together. It worked out so good!

If people think that Skynet is a building, they'll probably be as much surprised as I was when I got to see Skynet's appearance. There is a bunch of twists in this installment that will drive you crazy. Terminator Genisys is the most respectable sequel since Terminator 2: Judgment Day. Worth a watch!

Run All Night (2015)

Thrilling and entertaining!

[7/10 · 16 June 2015]

If you love the films from the 80s and 90s, then you already love veteran actors Liam Neeson (The Taken Trilogy) and Ed Harris (The Rock). The concept is old, already used a numerous times in Hollywood cinema, but the characters and the way it's shot are pretty interesting.

Joel Kinnaman who is best known for his Swedish films ''Snabba Cash 1+2'' and his role as Robocop in the Robocop remake which was released two years ago. Kinnaman's acting has improved, and the chemistry between him and Neeson keeps the story real. Rapper Common who is known for his roles in Street Kings and the worst Terminator sequel ''Salvation'' has played a different character than he has usually done.

The cinematography was handled well, especially in the run chase scene with Michael and Danny and the car chase scene with Jimmy and the cops. The way Ed Harris' character Sean died could've been done in a different way, otherwise ''Run All Night'' is a decent action flick that is worth to watch more than once.

Poltergeist (2015)

Don't F*ck with the Original!

[4/10 · 22 May 2015]

I love the original Poltergeist which was released in 1982. This one is just the same, but the scares in different order. Nothing fresh, nothing new. Just some appreciating creepy CGI-effects.

One thing that is definitely missing in this movie is the score by Jerry Goldsmith which kept the original movie to be thrilling. The score in this one doesn't give that much life to the screen.

Otherwise the cast live up to their characters, which is a great thing, but somehow it's not as great as the original.

If you ask me how good this version is compared to the original one, I'd say far from being solid. Not a movie to remember!

4/10

Halloween (2007)

1 Thing movie makers have to know before they do remakes: Don't Mess With The Original!

[4/10 · 17 May 2015]

I'm a huge fan of John Carpenter's Halloween, but I love the whole franchise from Halloween (1978) to Halloween: 20 Year's Later. At least this one is way more better than Halloween: Resurrection, which I consider it as a spin-off.

After Christopher Nolan chose to reboot the Batman films, it has been a trend to do remakes of the classics, but Nolan hasn't failed at all to reboot a franchise. However people like Michael Bay (A Nightmare on Elm Street & Friday the 13th) and Zac Snyder (Man of Steel) are one of those many names who actually just destroyed the pride of the classics. But does Rob Zombie hit this list or not, is what I'm going to talk about.

Rob Zombie has failed to improve the scare from the classic. Instead he has focused more on the back story of the young Michael Myers, and that's a great thing. We all wondered what that actually happened on that Halloween night when the 6 year-old Michael killed his sister Judith. The first 55 minutes of the film was absolutely great, so we should give Rob Zombie an applause for that! However the second part when Michael returns to his hometown, Haddonfield, is when the movie starts to turn bad! There are so many mistakes and so many goofs compared to the original.

If you want to see a horror movie I prefer you to not see this one and WHATEVER YOU DO, don't even think about giving your time for the sequel. It's awful! AND YES, Rob Zombie has hit the bad-remake-movie-makers list HARD!!

I (2015)

If you are looking for what you call ''Good Cinema'' watch I!

[9/10 · 16 January 2015]

I is a Tamil Romantic thriller film produced by V. Ravichandran, written by Shankar and Subha and directed by Shankar. The film has an ensemble cast that includes Vikram and Amy Jackson in the lead roles, while Santhanam, Suresh Gopi, Upen Patel, Ramkumar Ganesan and Ojas M. Rajani play other pivotal roles.

It has been said that ''I'' took nearly two years and eight months to be completed. If it was worth the waiting or not is what I'm going to write about.

Shankar is probably best known for his movies which have political issues (Gentleman, Indian, Mudhalvan and Anniyan), but like one of his other ventures titled ''Boys'', ''I'' is also different in its own way.

The film's lead actor Vikram (known for his roles in Sethu, Kaasi, Anniyan and Pithamagan) has done quite an amazing job in ''I''. I saw an interview by Shankar right before I went to watch the movie. The director claimed that the actor played six different roles. The first one is the bodybuilder, second one is the model, third one is the hunchback and the fourth one is the beast. The fifth one is a surprise, while the sixth one is his voice. During the dubbing session, the actor struggled so much that he had to suffocate himself while he was lending his voice. Overall, Vikram's performance is simply mind-blowing and definitely one of the three highlights of the film.

The lead actress Amy Jackson, a British model and actress, was sexy and faithful to her role as Diya. Even though the actress doesn't speak the language and struggled with the lip-movements, her performance was marvelous. She has been captured beautifully throughout the whole film, specially in the songs ''Ennodu Nee Irundhal'' and ''Pookkalae Sattru Oyivedungal''.

Santhanam who plays the hero's side-kick is seen in a different role. The comedy begins great, but during the first half of the film, the humor starts to lack and comes back to the atmosphere in the end of the second half. Both Suresh Gopi and Upen Patel were predictable while Ojas M. Rajani played an anti-character which was acceptable.

The film's cinematographer P.C. Sreeram, is the second hight-light of the film. What he has delivered is what we call a visual treat. Every frame is just picture-perfect. Llewellyn Anthony Gonsalves who handled the editing did also a great job. The third highlight, Academy Award winner A.R. Rahman who has been working with Shankar since Gentleman has also delivered a power packed score and soundtrack. The make-up artists and the special effects team deserve to be praised as well. A few things could have been avoided. One of them is the two long fight sequences while the other one is the guest appearance by Power Star. It would have lacked the running time of the film.

Overall ''I'' is what I call a ''Good Cinema'' and ''Different Cinema''. If critics and audience find this film predictable, then they are not ready for a different cinema yet.

Verdict: A classy love-story about pain that should absolutely be watched at the cinema.

Strongly recommended!

The Amazing Spider-Man 2 (2014)

Finally a superhero movie that is credible to the comics.

[9/10 · 26 April 2014]

I went to watch the second part of Mark Webb's Spider-Man franchise yesterday. As it's precedent it stars Adrew Garfield as Peter Parker/Spider-Man, Emma Stone as Gwen Stacy and Sally Field as Aunt May. Both Martin Sheen and Dennis Leary who portrayed Uncle Ben and Captain Stacy make cameo appearances in this film as well. The film also introduce new characters; Max Dillon/Electro (Jamie Foxx), Harry Osborn (Dane DeHaan), Aleksei Sytsevich/Rhino (Paul Giamatti)and Felicia Hardy (Felicity Jones). Unlike it's previous film the musician is Hanz Zimmer, who replaced James Horner.

The actors's performances are outstanding, specially by actors Andrew Garfield and Emma Stone. Garfield's body-language is better than Maguire's and he is way more curious, funny and emotional. Although Tobey Maguire was a great Peter Parker/Spider-Man, Garfield is a notch better. Emma Stone is a great choice to portray Gwen Stacy. The chemistry between her and Garfield is outstanding. Sally Field's performance as Aunty May/May Parker is marvelous and she has a bigger role in this one than it's previous venture. She is very secretive and is kind of a selfish woman who hides a lot of things for her nephew Peter. Jamie Foxx who portrayed Dillon was great even though the character is portrayed by a black actor. Dane DeHaan who played Harry Osborn/Green Goblin was good. Not as great as James Franco to play Harry Osborn, but better than Willem Dafoe to play Green Goblin.

The film's storyline is well-built and it's more credible to the comic books than the previous Spider-Man films. It digs deeper about Peter Parker's past and his parents's disappearance. It's more humorous, more emotional and it has a more darker tone which keeps the film interesting to watch. The costumes are stylish and more high-tech and the CGI effects are amazing. However, I felt that the final battle between Spider-Man and Electro maybe had a bit too much effects. Even though the scenes where we see Spider-Man swinging around New York City is epic, I still miss James Horner's music. Zimmer's music is cool, but I felt that it wasn't that suitable as Horner's tunes.

The movie is simply amazing and it deserves to be watched in the cinemas. Two thumbs way up!

Thalaivaa (2013)

A different tale from The Darling of Mass

[8/10 · 11 August 2013]

This venture is different from Vijay's previous films like ''Nanban'', ''Thuppaki'' and ''Velayudham'', but still, it keeps what it has promised. Like Indiaglitz.com stated, Thalaivaa is something between a classy gangster flick or a racy action drama.

People say Thalaivaa has brought Vijay back to the bottom again, but that's wrong. Some people really have a problem with looking at an actor's films (specially Vijay's) in different angles. Okay, as a fan I admit that Vijay slipped a time when films like ''Azhagiya Tamizh Magan'', ''Villu'' and ''Sura'' came out, but still he came out with four blockbusters in a raw, which are ''Kaavalan'', ''Velayudham'', ''Nanban'' and ''Thuppaki'' and what happened to these films? Aren't four blockbusters in a raw good enough for the actor to come back in track. The fact that people really can't accept this, kind of freaks me out at times. So, here's the fact: This is the truth: Thalaivaa is a different genre, and as everybody know Vijay does an excellent job in his usual genres which are action and comedy. Thalaivaa is a decent gangster drama which tells the story about the change of a common man's life. Simple as that. ''How?'' is the question. There's no doubt that the film was completed beautifully.

The first official combination between Vijay and G.V. Prakash Kumar was awesome. The soundtrack is energetic and the choreography was mind-blowing. The costumes that are used in this film were also pretty good, specially those that are used in Sathyaraj sir's character and those that are used in Vijay's character in the second half of the film. Santhanam's sense of humor hasn't sunk a percent at all and Amala Paul has shown another side of her acting skills. Abhimanyu Singh was also faithful to his role as Bhima. The film also has another benefit: Unexpected, but needed twists.

As a Vijay fan, I believe Thalaivaa will be a film all Vijay fans will remember. Perfect title for both the story and the actor and you see the character is born to win. It might not be as great as ''Nanban'' or ''Thuppakki'', but still it's satisfying!

''Once we pick up the knife, it will either protect or destroy. But one thing we know for sure is that it's impossible to drop it down.'' - Sathiyaraj

Man of Steel (2013)

Man of Steel: Strictly Made For Children

[4/10 · 21 June 2013]

I did not really expect a lot from this movie when I first saw the trailers. Of course like all movie trailers, this one was really good too, but I really stopped making a judgment call after seeing trailers after I saw a bunch of movies that actually let me down. I can't deny that I really wanted to see this film because Christopher Nolan, Russell Crowe, Kevin Costner and Diane Lane were involved in it. To be 100% honest, Henry Cavill was the perfect choice of actor to portray the Man of Steel.

The film had great actors in a really bad script. To be more specific: A script with a lot of mistakes. Krypton looks like one of the planets in Star Wars and have creatures like dinosaurs and monsters from James Cameron's Avatar. Superman's biological father Jor-El, gets stabbed by General Zod (who should have been in the black whole before Krypton started dying) and Superman's biological mother Lara, dies alone in the explosion.

The film doesn't show anything of how Clark discovers his powers in his younger age. Just some couple of details of how he struggled with some of his powers is shown (which is a positive thing). Lois Lane gets to know Superman's real identity the first day she sees him and tells half of the world who Superman is. Since when did Perry White become black and Jimmy Olsen become a female? I felt that Faora had much more action sequences than General Zod. To be honest, the climax did not look like a Superman climax at all. It was horrible! It looks like one of these climaxes from disaster films such as 2012 and The Day After Tomorrow. And at last but not least, what's the Man of Steel's purpose? To not hurt anyone. To not let anyone get hurt. And specially not kill anyone no matter what. And what happens? Superman kills General Zod by breaking his neck. They both caused a lot of damages in Metropolis (which definitely took a lot of lives) and Superman could not break him no matter how many times he punched him on his face, threw him to the building walls and the ground and suddenly at the end when Zod tries to kill a family by his heat vision, Superman breaks his neck like it was so easy to break a pencil. I also missed the romance between Superman and Lois Lane. Both Henry Cavill and Amy Adams's chemistry couldn't even get near the chemistry Christopher Reeve and Margot Kidder had in the Richard Donner's version.

Like I said the film has some positive aspects like great performances from actors Henry Cavill (the best Superman after Reeve), Russell Crowe, Kevin Costner and Diane Lane. Technically the art, accessories and equipments are way better than the other films. Hans Zimmer's music was amazing and the film is a visual treat. But still, this is not enough. The lack of the perfection of the screenplay and the development of the story drags the film to a whole another direction. They should have worked more on that. Warner Bros. pictures made a serious mistake: Accepting this script. It's not a reboot. It's not a remake. It's just a pretty bad re-imagination!

Furious 6 (2013)

Ride or die... Remember?

[8/10 · 24 May 2013]

This is not just a sequel, but it's a back to back sequel that goes back to all the five previous films. As we all know, Furious 6 stars the same cast from Fast Five (except Don Omar & Tego Calderon) and adds up new characters in the franchise who are Shaw (Luke Evans), Jah (Joe Taslim), Riley (Gina Carano) and brings back Letty (Michelle Rodriguez), who was last seen in Fast & Furious (2009).

This is definitely fast and furious if you compare this one to the other films. This is not about street racing. This is not about running away. And this is definitely not about another heist. Chris Morgan has sat down and written a predictable and strong script that drags ''The Fast And The Furious'' franchise more audience. But what we all should not forget is that this film is like a meal that has all types of delicious tastes. It has speed cars, amazing action sequences, sexy ladies, jokes that'll make you laugh for a while and at the end a surprise. Simply said, it's the action packed blockbuster of the year!

It's actually pretty cool to see Dominic (Vin Diesel), Brian (Paul Walker) and the rest of the crew take side with Hobbs (Dwayne Johnson). When you leave the theater, it will give you a different, but satisfied feeling. Probably because all the actors in this film have important roles that just turn out to be bigger and bigger for each and every sequel. It's not just about Dom and Brian, but about everyone. Without one of all these characters, Furious 6 would have been a mess. That says how important each and every character is.

Furious 6 is not a fun ride like Fast Five, but it is a serious ride. This is not the film you want to miss at the theater. Book the tickets as soon as possible, buy a pop-corn and soda and enjoy this ride. This is way better than what you think/expect.

Dear Justin Lin, Thank you for the 4 fantastic films that you've directed in The Fast And The Furious saga. You will definitely be missed in the next film.

Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers (1988)

In aftermath...

[8/10 · 24 May 2013]

''Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers'' is actually the best sequel in the Halloween franchise. Both Halloween (1978) and Halloween 2 (1981) are predictable, but somehow this installment is more nerve-wracking and more exciting than the previous films.

It is the first film in the franchise (apart from ''The Season of the Witch'') that doesn't feature the character Laurie Strode (portrayed by Jamie Lee Curtis), but it introduces Jamie Lloyd (Danielle Harris), the daughter of Strode and Jimmy Lloyd. Donald Pleasence has returned for the third time as Dr. Samuel Loomis and George P. Wilbur has been chosen to be the third actor to play the shape, Michael Myers. Ellie Cornell, Sasha Jenson, Michael Pataki and Beau Starr play other pivotal roles.

The film doesn't show anything new. It has the same story line as the first and the second one, but what that makes this installment special from the previous films is that Michael Myers is more cruel and more dangerous than he has ever been. A cold-hearted psychopath has returned back to Haddonfield on the hunt for his niece, the last generation of the Myers's family. As a personal feeling, the Halloween films are not scary at all, but they are exciting and keep your nerves and mind busy. If you're looking for a Saturday night horror, watch Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers. It's definitely thrilling.

Mr. Sandman, you were missed in this film!

Fast & Furious (2009)

Furiously Dangerous

[7/10 · 15 February 2013]

This might bring the audience a lot of questions about the return of the characters Brian O'Connor and specially Han Seoul-Oh after the events in The Fast And The Furious: Tokyo Drift. Fast & Furious is the sequel to the previous films 2 Fast 2 Furious (2003), followed by The Fast And The Furious (2001) and the prequel to The Fast And The Furious: Tokyo Drift (2006).

What that made this Fast & Furious to be a better sequel than the 2003 film 2 Fast 2 Furious is that all the original casts return in this one. Vin Diesel as Dominic Toretto, Paul Walker as Brian O'Connor, Jordana Brewster as Mia Toretto and Michelle Rodriguez as Leticia ''Letty'' Ortiz. The film also introduces new characters Fenix (Laz Alonso), Omar (Don Omar), Leo Tego (Tego Calderon), Cara Mirtha (Mirtha Michelle) and Campos (John Ortiz). Sung Kang who played Han Seoul-Oh in Tokyo Drift has also made a special appearance. We can briefly say that this is the direct sequel to the 2001 film. It begins from where it ended.

The film focuses mostly on swag, sex appeal, action, hunt and most importantly on the American Muscle cars. Why the film holds my attention is because the film promises on what is says in it's title: Fast & Furious. It's definitely more fast and more furious than the original one.

It has passed 8 years since the last time Vin Diesel portrayed the character Dominic Toretto. He has pumped up his body and fits perfectly to be the legend of street racing. Paul Walker who portrayed Brian O'Connor is still phenomenal as he has always been in the previous Fast & Furious films. Laz Alonso and John Ortiz have lived up in their roles.

Overall this is a perfect Saturday-night movie. If you want to see the classics in action then Fast & Furious is definitely the one you do not want to miss!

Kadal (2013)

Deserves to be listed in the Nomination list for Best Foreign Language Film for the Academy Awards.

[8/10 · 3 February 2013]

After Raavanan, Mani Ratnam has returned behind the camera and has delivered us Kadal (English: The Sea), a drama film which revolves the story of the life of Indian-Tamil Christian fishermen. It features an ensemble cast that includes Aravinth Swamy, Arjun Sarja, Ponnvannan, Lakshmi Manchu and débutantes Gautham Karthik (son of actor Karthik Muthuraman) and Thulasi Nair (daughter of actress Radha). The film's score and soundtrack were composed by the two time Academy Award winner A.R Rahman and the voices were lent by A.R Rahman, Vijay Yesudas, Sid Sriram, Abhay Jodhpurkar, Harini, Shakri Sri Gopalan, Haricharan, Chinmayi, Tanvi Shah and rapper Aaryan Dinesh Kanagaratnam. The lyrics were penned by Kaviperarasu Vairamuthu, his son Madhan Karky and rapper Aaryan Dinesh Kanagaratnam. The film was written by Jeyamohan while Rajiv Menon and A. Sreekar Prasad handled the cinematography and editing. It was produced by A. Manohar Prasad and Mani Ratnam.

The film has two story lines that become one. The one features Father Samuel Fernando aka Sam (Swamy) and Bergmans aka Meesaikaaran (Sarja) while the other one features Thomas aka Tom (Karthik) and Beatrice aka Bea (Nair). The film marks a comeback for Swamy. He was last seen in Mani Ratnam's Alaipayuthey which was released 13 years ago. We can say that Aravinth Swamy owns the film even if the main actor is Gautham Karthik. The film's strongest point is the screenplay which was handled by Jeyamohan. The screenplay was simply amazing, specially the childhood scenes of Thomas. Both the child and the teenager who portrayed the younger Thomas have done a fabulous job. Both Karthik Muthuraman and Radha can be proud of their children. They have delivered a wonderful and neat performance. Specially Gautham Karthik. His acting skills, dance skills and action are pretty impressive. Thulasi Nair is natural, but I didn't feel that Beatrice was a suitable role for her. Aravinth Swamy was at his strongest performance after Bombay (1995). He was simply the perfect choice to portray Father Samuel Fernando. Arjun Sarja, the action king who has delivered a bunch of successful action- packed films in the 90's has portrayed Bergmans, the main antagonist. Sarja has played a role with negative shades and has shown us another side of his acting skills. Ponvannan who portrayed Thomas's unknown father has also done a good job.

Rajiv Menon, the cinematographer has pictured the whole film beautifully, specially the songs Elay Keechan, Moongil Tottham and Adiye. You will still have the shots of Thomas as a teenager when he surfs in the ocean in your mind even when you leave the cinema. A. Sreekar Prasad, the editor, deserves to be praised for his work as well.

A.R Rahman, who has been Mani Ratnam's usual composer since Roja (1992) has given the film a soundtrack with different genres. Chittirai Nila describes the difference between life and death, Elay Keechan has a farmer-humpback tune, Adiye has a jazz feel, Nenjukkulle, a romantic touch, Anbin Vaasale, a religious song, Moongil Tottham, a slow tune of Nenjukkulle and Magudi Magudi, a Hip-Hop track which gives energy in the action scenes. Kadal is the third best album of the Mani Ratnam - A.R Rahman combination.

Overall Kadal is a beautiful journey you never want to miss. It is a story that tells us about the good versus the evil. It has emotions, action, love, heart melting music, extraordinary shots of jumping waves, a good message and a small piece of comedy. It may not be a usual Mani Ratnam flick, but if you want to look and experience something different, then Kadal is definitely the right choice.

Strongly recommended for everyone. Specially non-Mani Ratnam fans.

Leelai (2012)

First Class!

[8/10 · 11 January 2013]

First of all, when I first saw the posters at Indiaglitz, I had a doubt if I was really willing to waste my time for this film or not. But somehow this movie convinced me to actually waste my time on it. But was this an enjoyable ride? You can find it out by just read this review.

The film introduces us a gang with new faces, a new director/writer and a new musician to the South Indian Film industry. Simply said this is a very young team, and what this young team has got are skills: Talent to entertain the audience, make the time to not go any faster or not go any slower, just make it to go smooth, let us taste a piece of love and make us feel satisfied.

The lead actors Shiv Pandit and Manasi Parekh who portrayed Karthik and Karunai Malar are two non-Tamil-speaking actors. I looked at their lip-movements and I must say that I was really impressed. The both actors have lived in their roles and had an excellent chemistry from the beginning to the end. Especially in ''Oru Kili Oru Kili'' song and the climax.

Suhasini Raju who also made her debut in Tamil cinema has also delivered an outstanding performance by portraying Karthik and Karunai Malar's best friend Suja. Santhanam who portrayed the character Vicky was at one of his best performances so far in his career beside ''Boss Engira Baskaran'' and ''Oru Kal Oru Kannadi''. His jokes in this film are actually very realistic and make a lot of sense. His character also brings an importance for the film. Something that is not happening often to the comedians in the South Indian Film industry.

Sathish Chakaravarthy, who was supposed to be introduced as the musician through this film, had already been introduced to the film industry through the 2010 Tamil film ''Kanimozhi'' because of the delay of the release of Leelai. Sathish has delivered some peppy numbers and a beautiful romantic tale ''Oru Kili Oru Kili''.

Overall this is a decent romantic flick that is worth to be watched for its realistic, lovely and honest screenplay. ''Leelai'' is a visual treat. Strongly recommended for everyone (especially families and young lovers).

Verdict: A game for romance!

Dil Se.. (1998)

A Love that was never expressed by words but expressed by the Death!

[8/10 · 21 October 2012]

Dil Se/Uyire (English: From The Heart) is a Hindi film directed by Mani Ratnam which stars Shahrukh Khan and Manisha Koirala in the lead roles while Preity Zinta, Raghuviv Yadav and Piyush Mishra play other supporting roles and Malaika Arora makes an item number. The film's score and soundtrack are composed by A.R Rahman and the lyrics were penned by Gulzar and Vairamuthu (Tamil version). The cinematography was handled by Santosh Sivan while it was edited by Suresh Urs. The film is produced by Mani Ratnam, Ram Gopal Varma, Bharat Shah and Shekhar Kapur. The film is considered to be the third installment in Ratnam's terrorism saga.

The film revolves the story of two individuals from different societies. Amarkanth ''Amar'' Varma (Shahrukh Khan), a radio program executive and Moina ''Meghna'' (Manisha Koirala), a terrorist, meet randomly at a train station in a cold and rainy night, but later end up dying together as suicide bombers. How and why? forms the crux of the story.

Shahrukh Khan who portrayed Amarkanth Varma, delivered an incredible piece of work. His acting and dance had a lot of energy and he was faithful to his role. Manisha Koirala who portrayed Moina, a beautiful cold hearted revolutionary woman, has given a mind-blowing performance that makes Dil Se to be the best film of her till date.

A.R Rahman who composed the film's score and soundtrack has delivered a fabulous album. Dil Se is one of A.R Rahman's finest work. Santosh Sivan and Suresh Urs have filmed and edited the film beautifully. Santosh Sivan has done an amazing job, especially in the Chaiyya Chaiyya song. It is not easy to film the dancers in different angles when they are dancing on a moving train, so hats off to Santosh Sivan for that!

Dil Se is actually the first Hindi movie I've ever seen. I'm Tamil so I saw the dubbed version first. I didn't recognize this movie before I heard the Chaiyya Chaiyya song which was a famous song around the world in the end of the 90's. But both the Hindi and Tamil versions are extraordinary. It is rare that both the original and the dubbed the version can stand on the same level, because the writers fail to write the dialogs which has to be similar to the original script, so hats off to Mani Ratnam for that! It is strange that this film did not do well at the box office in India, but did a great business in the US and United Kingdom.

Overall this is a must watch film and strongly recommended to everyone. Especially Mani Ratnam and A.R Rahman fans.

Verdict: Silence is the best way to show love!

Alai Payuthey (2000)

Classic!

[9/10 · 7 October 2012]

Alai Payuthey is a 2000 Tamil romantic drama film directed by Mani Ratnam which stars Madhavan Ranganathan and Shalini Ajith in the lead roles while Swarnamalya, Aravind Swamy, Kushboo Sundar, Jeyasudha Kapoor, Ravi Prakash, V. Nadharajan, Venu Aravinth, Vivek and Karthik Kumar play other pivotal roles. The cinematography was handled by P.C. Sriram while A. Sreekar Prasad did the editing. Farah Khan who had earlier worked with Mani Ratmam in Iruvar was signed up to do the choreography. The film carries a popular soundtrack which was composed by the Academy Award winning composer A.R Rahman and the lyrics were written by ''Kaviperarasu'' Vairamuthu. The late G. Srinivasan who was Mani Ratnam's elder brother produced the film.

The film revolves the story of a troubled couple who fell in love and got married against their parent's wish.

Karthik (Madhavan Ranganathan) and Shakthi (Shalini Ajith) are two young individuals from different class of family. Karthik, a computer engineering graduate, is son of a famous criminal lawyer named Varadharajan (V. Nadharajan) while Shakthi, a medical student, is daughter of a railways employee named Selvaraaj (Ravi Prakash). They both meet for the first time at a wedding and later begin to meet on suburban trains frequently. They both fall in love, but Shakthi denies to get married to him without her parent's consent. Karthik's parents meet Shakthi's parents and ask for their consent to a marriage between Karthik and Shakthi, but eventually disagree because of misunderstandings and cancel the wedding plans. Shakthi breaks up with Karthik and decides to move on.

Shakthi later goes to a medical camp in another city and Karthik decides to go after her. While Shakthi is at the medical camp and Karthik is traveling to find her, they both realize that they miss each other so much that they can not live without each other. When Karthik arrives the medical camp, Shakthi hugs him and asks him to marry her. They both get secretly married at a temple and begin to live with their parents.

One day when Raghu (Venu Aravinth) and his family come to ask Shakthi's parents to a marriage between him and Shakthi's elder sister Poorni (Swarnamalya), his father asks Selvaraaj for his consent to a marriage between Shakthi and his younger son (Karthik Kumar) as well. Shakthi denies and tells the truth that she is already married to Karthik. Both Shakthi and Karthik get kicked out of their house and they move together to an apartment and begin to live their married life.

After several months Shakthi meets her mother (Jeyasudha Kapoor) and Poorni on a suburban train. She gets to know that her father is about to die. She asks Karthik to come with her to go and visit her sick father, but Karthik denies because her father slapped him before. Shakthi then decides to not go to a house where people do not respect Karthik, but Karthik changes his mind and they both decide to go and visit her father the next day.

The next day they get to know that Selvaraaj is dead. Her mother gets angry, tells Shakthi to get out of the house and the relationship between the two young lovers begins to walk on the edge. Misunderstandings gradually turn out to be suspicions and the silence begins to speak.

The couple stop talking, but Karthik re-arranges the wedding plans for Poorni and Raghu to win back Shakthi's heart. One day when Shakthi gets to know that Poorni and Raghu are going to get married and that Karthik was behind everything, she decides to go to Karthik's office to meet him and ask for apology. On the way to Karthik's office Shakthi gets into an accident and is taken to the hospital. Shakthi is admitted at the hospital and fights for her life while in Karthik's mind Shakthi is missing. He has no clue about where she is. How Karthik finds Shakthi forms the crux of the story.

Madhavan Ranganathan (credited as R. Madhavan in films) made his debut as a big screen actor with this movie and quickly got everybody's attention because of his acting skills and his look. Both him and Shalini were faithful to their roles and they had a beautiful chemistry throughout the film. The film had great visuals and colorful locations which not only made the couple to look beautiful, but the whole movie beautiful. It did not surprise me that the film carries a popular soundtrack. With A.R Rahman's music and ''Kaviperarasu'' Vairamuthu's lines you can be 100% sure and say that the soundtrack will definitely be a hit and this soundtrack did not fail to win everybody's heart. It is still popular all over the world. Songs like ''Endrendrum Punnagai'', ''Pachai Nirame'' and ''Snegithane'' have turned out to be nowadays youngster's favorite songs when it comes to Tamil Cinema Music. If you ask for my opinion I would say that this album is the finest work by both A.R Rahman and Vairamuthu.

Like Mani Ratnam's earlier films this film does not have focus on politics, terrorism and today's society. This film explores a marriage life and learns the audience about how important the word ''sacrificing'' is when it comes to marriage. I am sure that every married couple who love their life-partner from the bottom of their heart will enjoy this film and learn the meaning of true love. Alai Payuthey will definitely be one of the best romantic drama films in Tamil Cinema's history for the next 20-30 years. According to me this is the finest work by Mani Ratnam till date.

Verdict: Alai Payuthey... A treat of love!

Waist Deep (2006)

Definitely worth the money!

[7/10 · 6 August 2012]

This is another ''Bonnie & Clyde'' ride which features an ensemble cast that includes Tyrese Gibson, Meagan Good and The Game in the lead roles, while Larenz Tate and Henry Hunter Hall play other pivotal roles.

The film has a simple and interesting story with a strong screenplay, but it did not deliver anything new. It is a typical action-thriller that people have seen before (which might be a strong reason for why the film is weak).

Tyrese Gibson who earlier had acted in Baby Boy, 2 Fast 2 Furious and Four Brothers has showed another side of his acting skills. His body language, style and his mastermind make his role as O2 to be a wonderful father and an unstoppable action hero who can get near on anybody.

Meagan Good who is sexy and beautiful as usual has done a great job and improved her acting skills from her previous films Roll Bounce and Stomp The Yard. Both Gibson and Good had a great chemistry throughout the movie.

The Game who made his acting debut with this film was faithful to his role as ''Big Meat'', who is the main antagonist in the film. Larenz Tate who played ''Lucky'' and Henry Hunter Hall who played Gibson's son ''Junior'' were at their best.

Otherwise this is a film which has much swag, raw Hip-Hop music, good comedy scenes and a lot of action-packed and sentimental scenes. It tells the story of a father who does everything he can to keep a promise he made for his son. It has everything that makes the audience to be filled with great entertainment. It does not disappoint at all.

Verdict: A Promise Kept!

The Dark Knight Rises (2012)

Thank You Christopher Nolan for saving Batman!

[9/10 · 29 July 2012]

Christopher Nolan who earlier had directed the two previous films (Batman Begins & The Dark Knight) is finally back to end the Dark Knight's destiny. Christian Bale has for the last time returned to the role as the Dark Knight while Michael Caine, Gary Oldman, Morgan Freeman, Cillian Murphy and Liam Neeson have returned to their pivotal roles. The film also introduced the characters Bane (portrayed by Tom Hardy), Selina Kyle/Catwoman (portrayed by Anne Hathaway), John Blake (portrayed by Joseph Gordon-Levitt) and Miranda Tate (portrayed by Marion Cotillard).

The film is set eight years after the death of Harvey Dent (Aaron Eckart). Gotham has become a safer city and nobody has seen Bruce Wayne or Batman since the night Dent passed away. The film goes deeply into the history of Ra's Al Ghul's family. Nolan has focused on both Batman and Bane equally, which might be a strong benefit for the film. It has a much more darker story compared to the two earlier films and I'm pretty sure that every Batman fan will enjoy it.

First of all, Christan Bale. He has once again proved himself that there can't be any better actor than him to have the honor to wear the Dark Knight's suit. He has delivered a clean performance and showed both the strong and weak sides of Batman.

Tom Hardy who portrayed Bane has delivered a mind-blowing performance. His trained body, fearless eyes, cold voice, bold head and the mask make him to look like a stylish and different super-villain (credit goes to the costume designer). Hardy is another great example (after Heath Ledger) to show how a super-villain should be when it comes to film. His ''Not Killing Straight, But Torturing to Death'' attitude makes him to be special. The story about Bane's past and the rise of the Dark Knight will give the audience an excitement and give them pleasure to watch the rest of the film.

Anne Hathaway who played Selina Kyle/Catwoman was beautiful as usual and did an excellent job. I was actually very excited to see Hathaway's performance after I read the article about the incident between her and the stunts-man, and I must say that I was really surprised and was filled with raw action.

Gary Oldman who portrayed Comissioner James Gordon did not disappoint at all. He came back to the circumstances where he does crazy things to help Batman like he did in ''Batman Begins'' when he had to drive the Batmobile to stop the train. He gave life to the role like he did in the previous films and showed that his character has a great responsibility for Gotham city.

The veterans Michael Caine and Morgan Freeman who played Alfred Pennyworth and Lucius Fox were at their best. Joseph-Gordon Levitt who portrayed John Blake has also done a good job. The audience will not understand how important his character is until the end of the film.

This is one of the few superhero films which is not filled with neither joy or fun. It is very serious from the beginning to the end. The first fight scene between Batman and Bane is not a game at all. It is very violent and will give a twist in the film. You will also see a different relationship between Bruce and Alfred like you never had seen before in the earlier films and the ending is surprisingly good. For those who are die hard fans of ''The Dark Knight'' (because of Joker) will might feel that ''The Dark Knight Rises'' did not fill the all expectations. But if you go and watch the film without having ''The Dark Knight'' in your mind, you will definitely love it.

Strongly Recommended!

Verdict: Couldn't have ended it better!

Hardball (2001)

Life is an interesting journey... You don't know where it takes you!

[8/10 · 18 July 2012]

When this movie came out I was only 8-years old. I bought the DVD and watched it only because of baseball, but at that time I did not have any clue about what this film was trying to say. I watched this movie again last night (after 11 years), and I must admit that the tears were rolling down the cheeks when the film was finished.

The film has a simple story about a gambler who tries to figure out what he can do for living. After getting an offer from an old friend, his life which was like a roller-coaster turns out to be a quiet wave. This film makes a man to look at everybody's life before he decides if his life is perfect or not. Reeves meets eight young individuals who change his life and learns that life has several other values than money.

Keanu Reeves, who is best known for his role as Neo in The Matrix trilogy, has done a great job as usual and has given life throughout the film. His performance in the climax makes the audience to get in tears. Diane Lane, who plays Reeves's love interest and the kids played by Bryan C. Hearne, Julian Griffith, Michael Jordan, A. Delon Ellis Jr., Kristopher Lofter, Michael Perkins, Brian M. Reed and DeWayne Warren have all delivered a mind-blowing performance.

This film might be a message to those who are out there on the edge for give up. It describes that nobody in this world have a perfect life. Recommended for everyone!

Brothers (I) (2009)

A Typical Triangle Drama!

[8/10 · 16 July 2012]

When I first got to know that Tobey Maguire and Jake Gyllenhaal were going to act in a movie together I got very excited. I have seen all movies of both actors and I was really impressed when I saw this movie.

The film is about two brothers with different personalities. Sam (Maguire) is a Marine Captain and is married to Grace (Portman) and has two children named Isabelle and Maggie. His younger brother Tommy (Gyllenhaal) is an ex-convict who just got out of prison after serving five years for bank robbery. Everybody in the family hates Tommy, except Sam.

One day when Sam goes missing in Afghanistan, everybody in the family thought he was dead. Tommy takes care of Sam's family and a love begins to blossom between Tommy and Grace.

Several months later, Sam returns home after being forced to kill his friend Private Joe Willis when they were taken prisoners in a mountain village in Afghanistan. The fact that he killed Willis drifts Sam's mind and makes him to become a psychopath gradually. He begins to suspect that Grace and Tommy have slept together and his children begin to lose the love they have for him gradually.

One day when Tommy brings a girl at Maggie's birthday party, Isabelle becomes jealous and claims that what Sam suspects about Tommy and Grace is true. Sam becomes enraged, destroys the new kitchen which was remodeled by Tommy and tries to commit suicide by holding a gun against his head. Tommy tries to calm him down and convinces him by saying that what he believes is wrong. The police arrive and Sam begins to think. After a little dramatic moment Sam surrenders.

Sam is admitted at a mental hospital and Grace comes to visit him. Grace tells him that if he doesn't tell her about what that bothers him, he will lose her forever. Sam opens up his feelings and admits that he killed his friend Private Joe Willis.

The film ends with a letter that is read by the husband: I don't know who said only the dead have seen the end of war. I have seen the end of war. The question is: Can I live again?

After I saw this movie I realized that there is another side of Maguire that people might have not seen yet. I was used to see the Maguire from Wonder Boys and the Spider-Man films, but after seeing this movie I was really shocked and surprised and I must admit that Tobey Maguire has showed himself as phenomenal actor. He has truly deserved the Golden Globe nomination.

Jake Gyllenhaal and Natalie Portman are at their best as usual and Bailee Madison has delivered a fantastic performance as playing Sam and Grace's daughter Isabelle. Sam Shepard who played Sam and Tommy's father Hank Cahill has also done an excellent work as playing a father who always compares his both sons.

''Brothers'' is a remake of a Danish movie named ''Brødre'' (English: Brothers) and the director, Jim Sheridan did not fail to deliver the audience a mind-blowing drama.

Otherwise ''Brothers'' is a heart touching film with a very good message. Strongly recommended for everyone.

Verdict: Simply Fantastic!

Billa 2 (2012)

Billa II - Stylish, sexy, but less energy

[4/10 · 14 July 2012]

''Billa'' was one of the few films which was known as a ''stylish and sexy film'' in Tamil Cinema's history. Ultimate Star Ajith Kumar made a breakthrough with this movie and had established himself as the one and only actor in Kollywood to fit in a role as a Gangster with power, style and a lot of money. His last venture ''Mankatha'' (directed by Venkat Prabhu) made the actor to grab two awards which were ''Favourite Hero'' and ''Best Villain''. But would he get another opportunity to grab so many awards again? Did ''Billa II'' keep what it had promised?

Here is the review.

The film is a prequel to the 2007 film which is a remake of the 1980 Rajinikanth film with the same title. It goes back in time before the events of the 2007 film.

David Billa (Ajith Kumar) is a refugee from Lanka who comes to India and becomes an international don. The film has a simple story and amazing punch lines, but I think it should have deserved a stronger screenplay. The director had more focus on style, action and glamorous ladies than the screenplay (which perhaps could have been an attraction for males). Even if the film did not reach the high expectations, there are still some things in the film that should be praised.

First of all, the main actor Ajith Kumar. He has once again proved himself that he is the unbeatable don and has delivered a wonderful performance as usual. Bruna Abdullah, Parvathy Omanakuttan and Vidyut Jamwal who made their debut in Tamil Cinema and Ilavarasu who played the role as Annachi have also done a good job and have given lives to their roles. R. D. Rajasekhar and Suresh Urs who are the cinematographer and the editor did an excellent work and Yuvan Shankar Raja who is the music director, has given a stylish Hip-Hop/House soundtrack which gave energy to the film.

Otherwise ''Billa II'' is a weak and disappointing venture that was directed by Chakri Toleti. Expected more from him after Unnai Pol Oruvan. If people who loved Billa (2007) go to the theaters with lower expectations, maybe there is a little chance for that they will enjoy the film.

Verdict: Gang Gang Gangster, He Ain't a Monster!