THE SOCIAL NETWORK - MY REVIEW

Hi Guyzzz I watched the movie THE SOCIAL NETWORK couple of days back and I was impressed by the movie. I think the Director has managed to stick to the true story most of the part and he also managed to make it like a movie(as it was meant to be) rather than a documentary (that’s how most of the tym such movies end up).This is one of the rare movies that can entertain you without big names or bigger action. I must say that the only face in the movie familiar to me was that of Justin Timberlake (who played the role of Sean Parker, the man behind NAPSTER) and all others were totally unknown to me but that didn’t in anyway come in between me and the movie.

Many of you will be already knowing the premises of the movie and for those who don’t it’s about the founding of FACEBOOK one of the largest (if not THE largest) social networking site in the world (and its becoming popular day by day) which boasts a user base of 500 million (that’s why the tag line “You can't make 500 million friends without making a few enemies”) members. It was started 6 years ago in the dorm rooms of Harward University by a nerdy 20 year old and couple of his college friends with an initial investment of 1000 USD. It was actually a small step for Mark Zuckerberg but a giant leap for SOCIAL NETWORKING.

Now the movie talks about the earlier days of FACEBOOK (From the INCEPTION) and the controversies around the founding of FACEBOOK.According to the movie a young and nerdy Mark Zuckerberg (they didn’t even worry about changing the name) copied the idea from Divya Narendra (a fellow Harwardian and tech whiz) and the Vinklewoss brothers (Young VCs also from Harward).The story is that Mark wrote a programme (to vent his frustration after breaking up with his girlfriend) to rank/match the female students from Harward (for this he hacked in to the database of many affiliate colleges)and published it in the net and the whole Harward Network went down within hours due to the heavy traffic created by the page. This incident caught the attention of Divya and his friends who were in search of a techwhiz who could write some programmes that were beyond their expertise and to publish a social networking website called Harwardconnect (not sure of the name..late it was renamed as connectU) for the sole use of Harward students and memberships will be limited to those who have a HARDWAR.EDU mail id.They approached Mark and explained the stuff and Mark agreed to be a part of the project. But then behind their backs Mark starts to work on his own site using Divya’s concept with the help of funding from his friend Eduardo Saverin (he is credited as the co-founder of FACEBOOK) and he published the site soon after and it became an instant hit and grew minute by minute (and now they have a 500 Mil + users).This betrayal enraged Divya and his pals and they filed a suit against Mark Zuckerberg and while that litigation was going on even Eduardo was infuriated by the reckless acts by Sean Parker (Justin Timberlake) and his growing influence on Mark. Eduardo was the CFO (In paper) of FACEBOOK but Mark and Sean signed deals without informing Eduardo and this hurt him badly and later without even consulting Eduardo they changed the share structure and Eduardo now had just .3% of shares while everybody else’s share percentage remained same. This ended Eduardo’s friendship with Mark and he also sued Mark for damages..by this time FACEBOOK has grown to a behemoth with members in 3-4 continents and at last all the parties agreed on a settlement and were paid millions of dollars as settlement and Eduardo’s name was reinstated as the Co-Founder of FACEBOOK.

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The best scene was the below…(Courtesy IMDB)..this happens once during the litigation discussions..The lawyer will be explaining something and Mark will be looking somewhere else…


Gage: Mr. Zuckerberg, do I have your full attention?

Mark Zuckerberg: [stares out the window] No.

Gage: Do you think I deserve it?

Mark Zuckerberg: [looks at the lawyer] What?


Gage: Do you think I deserve your full attention?


Mark Zuckerberg: I had to swear an oath before we began this deposition, and I don't want to perjure myself, so I have a legal obligation to say no.


Gage: Okay - no. You don't think I deserve your attention.


Mark Zuckerberg: I think if your clients want to sit on my shoulders and call themselves tall, they have the right to give it a try - but there's no requirement that I enjoy sitting here listening to people lie. You have part of my attention - you have the minimum amount. The rest of my attention is back at the offices of Facebook, where my colleagues and I are doing things that no one in this room, including and especially your clients, are intellectually or creatively capable of doing.
[pauses]


Mark Zuckerberg: Did I adequately answer your condescending question?

==========================================================================================================================


After watching the movie I am not sure if he is Mark SUCKERberg or Mark SUPERberg….

Whatever be the case he has just been named as PERSON OF THE YEAR by TIME and he is just 26..that speak volumes..


Plus Points

1 ) A nice story line that did justice to the true story (at least what is supposed to be the true story)

2) A nice bunch of actors who did their part extremely well. The guy who played Mark did a good job in portraying Angry Mark, Nerdy Mark, Arrogant Mark , absentminded Mark etc and all others supported him well.

3) It gives us an IDEA about how a simple IDEA change lives (in this case lives of Generations).

4) No Bloodshed, No over exposure of flesh etc makes this a nice family entertainer.



Minus point

1 ) Lack of familiar names may keep many away from the movie.

ENTHIRAN - MY REVIEW

Those who are wondering why a dark,ageing and bald man is still called SUPER STAR should watch ENTHIRAN to find out the answer.At 60 he is still the most bankable star in the country and like the KHAITAN advertisement "SIRF NAM HI KAAFI HAI" just his name in the credits is enough to make a movie the talk of the town and to make distributors stand in queue at your door step.Shankar-Rajni duo's last outing(SHIVAJI) was a phenominal hit and that movie made Rajni Kanth the highest paid actor in Asia after Jackie chan and this tym the duo again managed to stun the audience with technical brilliance and awesome performances.Many a times I have heard directors and producers boasting (pre-release) that their movie will be our answer to HOLLYWOOD but none managed to come even closer but this time a director from our own KOLLYWOOD proved that with an ample budget we could also make movies that are world class.When Rajni and Shankar told during the music release function that ENTHIRAN is gonna be an experience I thought that’s a bit of an overstatement (I failed to remember that those two never promised what they cannot deliver) but after seeing ENTHIRAN I can surely say that Rajni and Shankar were as usual true to their words.The movie indeed was an experience and never in the history of Indian cinema has one used computer grafix with such perfection and brilliance (In most movies grafix looked out of place and comical).


I am a die hard SUPER STAR fan and I can proudly say that I have watched his last four movies on the first day itself (Since Shivaji didn’t release here I missed the first shows but I watched it on the first day of the release here) and I wanted to do the same this tym also.Once it was confirmed that movie is going to release here in Muscat I was happy coz I knew that this tym also I will watch SS movie on the first day itself (and that too before my friends in India watched the film - the movie released in ME a day prior to the Indian release).I got a ticket for the first day matinee show and booked 25 tickets for the 2nd day matinee show (as we couldn’t get bulk tickets for the first day shows) and while I was waiting for the movie to start I heard some one talking about what he heard from a friend who watched the movie in Dubai/Abu Dhabhi (In Dubai the first show started as early as 7.00 AM) "Enthiran is mostly a SHANKAR movie" I was a bit nervous after hearing this..i was wondering whether that meant SS is sidelined in the movie.The movie started on 3.15 pm DOT and the atmosphere was charged and people started clapping and whistling the moment the name ENTHIRAN appeared in the CBFC certificate and then came the legendary "SUPER STAR RAJNI" credit and the noise level reached its peak (Only Rajni could evoke such a response from kids and pensioners alike).The introduction scene went without a bang (Even in Shivaji also Shankar underplayed the intro scene) and we all were slightly disappointed.Intro showed the scientist Rajni (Dr.Vaseegaran/Vasee) working in his lab and he was sporting a long beard and spects (like a "SANYASI on vacation" as quoted by his screen mom after seeing him for the first tym after months).He was in the final stages of realising his dream "A HUMENOID ROBOT" which could replace human beings in military operations and prevent the loss of human life.He shut himself in the lab with his two assistants (Karunas & Santhanam) and avoided all outside contatcs including Sana (Aishwarya - STUNNINGLY BEAUTIFUL).Atlast his efforts bore fruit and we got another Rajni Kanth in the form of Chitti and from then on Chitti rocked the screen with his innocence,arrogance and villainy.Now there is a villain in the form of Danny Denzongpa and he is just a namesake villain the real villain is CHITTI (Danny makes Chitti a killing machine and he pays dearly for that).

The story is simple - A scientist creates a robo with Artificial Intelligence and another one manipulates him and makes him a killing machine with an intent to steal him and sell him to terrorists.. what happens then is the story is all about (Ohh then there is also the issue of ROBO falls in love with the Diva).

If it was not for Rajni Kanth the movie wont be such a huge hit…nobody else could have carried out this role with such ease (Only Rajni could make it look believable and pull it off).Yes technically this is a Shanker film but apart from the technical brilliance of Shanker its Rajni's mindblowing performance and histreonics that attracts the crowd to the theaters.Its without question one of Rajni's best performances in the recent times and Shanker dared to use Rajni in a different way and the result is for everyone to see.We get to see many Rajnis in this film "COMEDIAN RAJNI" "ROMANTIC RAJNI" "HEROIC RAJNI" & the best "VILLAIN RAJNI".We saw a glimpse of negative shades in "MOTTAI BOSS & LAKA LAKA VETTAIYAN RAJA" and in CHITTI we can see a full blown villain and in my opinion if at all Rajni chooses to play villain in the future there wont be a soul who could match his performance.



My Fav scenes

1) The scene involving Chitti and the Traffic police (VMC HANEEF)

2) Rajni's answer for the question "Kadavul Irukkara" or "Does God exist" and he asks back "Kadavul yaar" or "Who is God" and the person who raised the question replies "Nammale ellam padaithavar" or "He who created us" and then Chitti says "Ennai padaithathu Dr.Vaseegaran,Kadavul Irukkar" or "Dr.Vaseegaran created me,GOD EXITS".
Thru this dialogue Rajni was once again expressing his belief in God.

3) Chitti singing "50Kg Taj Mahal enakke enakka" to irritate Dr.Vaseegaran.

4) Chitti's "Mmmhehehe,Mmmheehee"

5) The jewellery scene and "Innekku naan leave" scene

6) First song -Kathal anukkal udambil ethanai

7) Chitti's roaring laughter (I love it!!)

and all the scenes involving VILLAIN - CHITTI


My opinion


1) This movie will be one of the biggest hits in recent times (if not the biggest)

2) Rajni Kanth once again proved beyond doubt that he is still the biggest star in Indian Cinema and biggest draw at box office.

3) Shanker may be a big spender but he gives more than money's worth and he is the James Cameron or Roland Emmerich of Indian cinema.

4) Ash looked magnificent - Age defying beauty (After RAAVAN & ENTHIRAN I have started liking Ash)

5) Couldve used Santhanam,Karunas & Mani more (or couldve done without them - since Rajni himslef is very good with humour)

6) 1st half was tooo good but second half lagged a bit.

7) Only Rajni could have pulled off a character like this…

8) At 60 Rajni is still the most energetic and stylish star in Indian Cinema.

9) Enthiran is a complete family entertainer - Even kids will like it.

10) CHITTI CHITTI BANG BANG

RAVANAN - MY REVIEW

Hi Friends I managed to watch RAVANAN (One of the most expected movies of this year, my other expectations are Mohan Lal,Suresh Gopi,Sarath Kumar starrer CHRISTIAN BROTHERS and the MOST expected movie is ENTHIRAN starring none other than super star RAJNI KANTH) on the day of the release itself (Vere enna periya velai enakku!!).Initially I was planning to watch RAVAN at 6.30pm and then RAVANAN at 9.30 pm but my friends adviced me against this coz it will be too boring since both have the same storyline (btw it didn’t have any STORYLINE or at least the LINE was invisible to my eyes!!).And for the first tym(I think this is the first tym..coz I can’t recollect any previous instances!!) in my life I followed somebody’s advice and I must say that it saved me my time and my money ( I think in the future I should make it a point to take advices seriously and follow it).Let’s talk about the movie…

Like everybody else I also thought that Mani will be giving us another epic like DALAPATHI (Which is loosely based on the Mahabharatha story) but this tym Mani has failed to recreate the magic. If Dalapthi was the story of Karna,Duryodhana,Kun thi,Krishna and Arjun..Ravanan is the story of Ram,Ravan,Seetha,Han uman,Kumbhakarna and Vibheeshana but in Dalapthi the characters were realistic and natural but the characters in Ravanan looks out of place and over reacting. Maniratnam tries to portray Veerayya (Vikram) as Ravanan and he tells us that Veerayya’ s character has 10 faces or 10 qualities thru the mouth of some villagers but other than that we never really get a chance to see why Veerayya is called Ravanan (A villager says he is a great dancer, another says he is a master comedian etc but none of this qualities are shown onscreen in any scenes).The only trait that’s visible is STEALING somebody else’s wife and fall for her beauty (Btw that’s the ONLY weakness of RAVANA and that’s what resulted in his end).Basically this movie is about a rivalry between a COP(Played by the Malayalam star PRITHVIRAJ) and an OUTLAW (Robinhoodish) and there is nothing else in the plot.

The actors

VIKRAM(Ravan) – He has done justice to his role as Veerayya but there is no scope for much acting and in some places we will have a feeling that his acting crossed the border from FINE ACTING to OVER ACTING (Maybe that’s what Mani wanted from him).In my honest opinion Vikram should reduce the time gap between his releases or his fans will go searching for other actors to cheer for. His fans are not getting enough of him and whenever he delivers something it’s not liked by all (only a class of ppl can appreciate his selections and not the mass).I agree that he should do roles which makes the best use of his potential but that doesn’t mean he should alienate himself from the more popular Directors and mass entertainers who could make a movie within a couple of months.

At present he is almost taking 2/2.5 yrs per film…. (Anniyan,Pithamahan, Kanthasamy,Bheema,Ra vanan etc)

AISHWARYA RAI BACHAN (Seetha)– Aishwarya as Ragini is one of the best things in the movie. She looks really gorgeous and sensual in this movie and I could not blame Veerayya for kidnapping her (even I would’ve done the same if there is a minutest chance).I never thought Aishwarya is this beautiful and I think in this film her beauty is well complemented by the location and Santosh Sivan’s camera. She looks like a woman troubled and her vulnerability and fear makes her more beautiful (I am stopping now else I may end up writing an ode to her)

PRITHVIRAJ (Ram)– Prithviraj plays the role of a cop who’s primary aim is to capture/kill Veerayya at any cost. He looks dashing as a police officer and he has played his role well .He is very junior to Ash and Vikram when it comes to experience but still he managed to stand shoulder to shoulder with them. It’s actually he benefited most out of the movie…he got to play a role in a Maniratnam movie (which is not a small achievement),act with Vikram,Ash(not many actors from south gets a chance to do it – Mammukka did it,Lalettan did it and now Prithvi also has done it),Karthik and Prabhu. So with this film Prithviraj will get noticed by major Directors from the south and it will really help boosting his career.

KARTHICK – Karthik plays the role of a Forest Guard and his character is based on Hanuman and he also have played his part but again his role is also not well developed and he is underutilized. Mani’s AGNINATCHATHIRAM is one of the best films in Karthik’ career and again there is MOUNARAGAM so Mani knows Karthik’ s potential and still he chose not to give him a more meaty role.

The other characters are Prabhu whose role is based on Kumbhakarna (I don’t think Kumbhakarna was as big as Prabhu is…he actually fills the screen – Btw I SHOULD NOT COMMENT ABOUT HIS BULK COZ IAM NOT VERY FAR FROM REACHING HIS STATURE!!!)) who does what his younger brother Veerayya says even if he believes that Veerayya is wrong and then there is one guy who plays Veerayya’ s younger brother and he is modeled on Vibheeshana who tells Veerayya to make peace with Dev and unknowingly walks to the trap set by Dev and gets himself killed in the process (in the real story Vibheeshana becomes Rama’s ally).Priyamani plays the role of Veerayya ‘s sister (Soorpanakha was the epic equivalent) and she is the reason why Veerayya kidnaps Ragini and even though her role is short it stays in memory.

The only time there was a clap/Boo was during the scenes they show RANJITHA (Prabhu’ s wife).She don’t have any dialogue in the film (again it’s not for her dialogues she is famous/notorious now but for her actions!!!) and her role is very short and nobody wudve bothered if her scenes were removed from the movie.

So I have mentioned all the stars in front of the camera but it will be an injustice from my part if I don’t give credit for the people who worked behind the scenes.

A R RAHMAN – ARR’s music and BGM is awesome and it really syncs with the scenes. Once again MANI-RAHMAN combination have hit the bulls eye.

SANTOSH SIVAN – He is the real star in this movie. The sceneries in the movie are jaw dropping only after seeing those will we realize that there are such beautiful places in India and especially why we call Kerala GOD’S OWN COUNTRY. Actually capturing Kerala’s captivating beauty is nothing new for Santosh Sivan he has done that before especially in his docu-movie “BEFORE THE RAINS”. His Cinematography is the main highlight of this film and that’s what which makes this movie a visual entertainment (There is no proper story or situations to keep u interested so the only relief is BEAUTIFUL SHOTS).


MANI RATNAM – Though this movie is not as good as his previous movies we still can feel the Maniratnam touch in this film also..the locations, the scenes, the ambience etc creates that distinct feeling. The best thing is his choice of locations and shots.Peter Jackson and James Cameron needed CGI to make ethereal world but Mani managed to do that with the help of the wizard named Santosh Sivan.Mani should have used better use of his lead actors and he should have made the Screen play a little more tight.


My opinion

Minus points


1) Lack of good screenplay
2) Underdeveloped Characters
3) Underutilization of talent
4) Many a times dialogues were inaudible (especially during opening scenes)



Plus Points


1) A.R.RAHMAN’S Music and BGM
2) Aishwarya Rai,Vikram and Prithviraj
3) Stunning visuals by Santosh Sivan
4) Choice of locations (Mostly Kerala – God’s own country and mine)



Verdict – This movie will do average collection in multiplexes and urban locations…not very saleable in rural areas where people don’t like watching COMPLEX movies.

SURAA-MY REVIEW

Yesterday (2 weeks back) our ILAYA THALAPATHI’s (dunno if he is still worth that title!!) 50th movie released here….we all thought that Vijay wudve learned some lessons from his previous outings and wudve chosen a good story for his milestone release but instead he chose to follow the same path and this time he managed to better his previous flops (compared to this movie VILLU and AADI are classics!!)

The movie is abt a youth from a slum who opposes a minister who wants to take over the slum and build a theme park there…I have lost count of the number of movies that has similar themes…but many of them were entertaining coz it had some good performances and plots but SURAA fails to impress us in any front….it has been told that Vijay wanted his 50th movie to be a big hit and he wanted a good director to direct it and I am still clueless why he chose S.P.RAJKUMAR who doesn’t have any HITS to his credit…maybe Vijay was too much impressed by the story (he wudve dreamt that this will be an Indian version of SUPERMAN/HE-MAN) and wudve given the dates without applying COMMON SENSE.

The movie starts with a news about a group of fisherman disappearing in the ocean after a storm…..their family and friends were given assurance by the district collector that the navy and military is searching the area thoroughly and they will surely save the people…..and as promised by the collector the navy manages to bring back everybody….everybody was happy and then suddenly they realizes that SURAA is still missing (it wudve been better if he went missing forever!!!) and they all gather around the collector and starts telling the heroic/selfless deeds of our great SURAA…i.e. it was becoz of Suraa that they managed to escape and without him they all wudve drowned and that Suraa went missing trying to save them…… Collector tells them that their prayers will protect him and before he finishes the dialogue there is a cheering and suddenly something shoots out of the sea…for a second I thought it was a DOLPHIN but I was wrong it was our SHARK (SURAAA)….he swam from the deep sea (a threat to KUTRALEESWARAN’s throne!!) and still he acted as if he just had 2 laps in his backyard swimming pool (now that’s what we call STAMINA!!).Then like a typical Vijay movie we are treated with a title song which glorifies Vijay (He is no MGR and he should know that!!).His mom is worried that he is not agreeing for a marriage and she asks the local priest (Radha Ravi) to advice him…Radha Ravi asks Vijay why he isn’t getting married and for that Vijay gives a lecture about the plight of the family in the slum and tells that he will marry only after making sure that the people of him slum gets a good house which doesn’t leak during the rains and which won’t burn during the summer (there wudve been claps if the same was mouthed by MGR,RAJNI or even VIJAY KANTH but I could only hear BOOOs from the crowd)……Radha Ravi tells Vijay’s mother that only one in a million(actually he told 1 in 10 million) will think like Vijay (I don’t think even the worst nutcase will think like Vijay!!) and that he has the willpower to fulfill his dream (DARE TO DREAM!!)

There are many scenes (actually in all scenes) where Vijai tries to emulate MGR and RAJNI KANTH (I don’t think somebody should try portraying Rajni Kanth when he is still around….Rajni is a class apart) but without much impact…..Now we have 3 more important characters in the movie…Tamanna (Vijay’s ladylove – nothing more),Vadivelu (Vijay’s friend – worynfew laughs….not a big role),Dev Gill (the VILLAIN…he played villain in the telugu block buster MEGADHEERA and in this movie he still acts like he is just out of a telugu movie set).Dev Gill wants to throw the people out of that slum and make an amusement park there but all his efforts are spoiled by our brainy hero…..there is a court scene and I am sure that if any JUDGE sees that scene he would surely issue an arrest warrant against the makers of the movie for mocking a court room (comedy scenes are okey but this was supposed to be a serious scene!!).The story is about how Vijay beats Dev Gill in his own game…..

My opinion…..

1) If Vijay continues doing such type of roles then I don’t think even RAMA NARAYANAN will give him a role……

2) Ajith,Surya,Vikram etc are trying to add variety to their roles by changing hair style,voice,mannerism,Physique etc but Vijay doesn’t even bother to change his leather jacket!!

3) Vijay should stop imitating the Super Star and should start creating an image that is his own…

4) Poor becoming rich overnight…..ordinary person becoming DON overnight etc are stories of the past (there are exceptions but such movies had some nice plots and performances..wholesome entertainment and a hero who could carry such a role singlehandedly)..now a day’s people want some realistic stories

5) Vijay’s movies are too predictable….MASS SENTIMENT + DUET IN FOREIGN LOCALES WITH FTV COSTUMES+KUTHU SONG+4 FIGHTS…..even his hardcore fans cant digest this anymore…..Vijay is insulting their tastes and senses..

6) SURAAA is a complete disaster….

NB:GOD SAVE VIJAY

3 IDIOTS - MY REVIEW

Hi Guyzzzz I watched the movie "3 IDIOTS" couple of weeks back and without doubt I can say that its one of the finest(if not the finest) movie I have watched in the recent times and I am sure that those who have watched the movie will agree with me.Aamir is one actor who always(or most of the time) manages to rise to our expectations..and most times his performances even surpasses our expectations and no wonder he is known as a "PERFECTIONIST" among his colleagues….Since my reading mostly revolves around popular fiction and that too western authors(Robert Ludlum,Frederic Forsyth,Clive ussler etc) I am not that much fond of Indian-English writers and havent read any books from such authors other than "ONE NIGHT AT A CALL CENTER" (Based on which the movie HELLO was made - and it didn’t CLICK) by Chetan Bhagath and I read that book coz I was working in a field which is related to call centers…though the book was interesting I didn’t feel that it was a great piece of literature…So I didn’t venture in to reading his other famous book "FIVE POINT SOMEONE" and hence the story of "3 IDIOTS" was new to me…and maybe that’s one of the reason I was able to enjoy it thoroughly…

The movie is about the dreams and ambitions of 3 unlikely friends (unlikely in the sense 3 ppl with diff backgrounds and diff tastes and outlooks) and how they manage to fulfill their dreams despite oppositions from various corners…

3 IDIOTS

RANCHORDAS SHYAMALDAS CHANJAD - AAMIR KHAN
RAJU RASTHOGI - HARMAN JOSHI
FARHAN QURESHI - R.MADHAVAN

The casting was awesome and all suited their roles perfectly…But I think its OMI VAIDYA who stood out among the crowd and he sure needs a big applause coz he managed to grab attention even in the presence of great performers like Aaamir,Bomman and Madhavan….and the best thing is that its his debut film.

The movie starts with Raju and Farhan getting a call from Chatur saying their long lost friend Rancho is in town and wants to meet both of them…at the time of the call Farhan was inside a plane which is on the verge of taking-off and Raju was just out of bed in his undergarments….Farhan will fake a seizure and manages to halt the plane and get out of it while Raju in his exzcitement even forgets to wear his pants…and they both will reach the place (their college)where Chatur has asked them to come…there they will see Chathur but no sign of Rancho and when they asks Chathur he will show them a date inscribed on the wall and tells them that 10 years ago the same day he made a bet with Rancho that he will succeed in his life and will prove that Rancho is wrong and now he has returned to celebrate his victory and to see the look on Rancho's face….Raju and Farhan gets angry and they start fighting with Chatur..Then they decide to go in search of Rancho and they even force Chathur to accompany them and its during this journey they will narrate the story of 3 IDIOTS…they will travel 100s of kilometers following the lead they got from different sources….during the journey they finds out that Rancho's real name is not Rancho and that he attended the college just to get a Degree Certificate in the name of RANCHODAS SHYAMALDAS CHANCHAT (Javed Jaffrey) whose family adopted Aaamir as a kid..this was a shocking revealation to them and we are shown their college days..the pranks they played and the hardships they faced and how Rancho influenced/inspired each one of them to achieve their dreams…and atlast they will find their Rancho in a remote village and he is a social worker who started a school (This school unlike others don’t follow the normal curriculum but lets children to experiment with things which interests them) to educate the rural children….and Chathur mocks him saying that he (Chatur) managed to reach a top position by following the normal route (which is flawed as per Rancho) and Rancho managed to become only a poor school master by following his system (which Chatur thinks is flawed or illogical)…and then Aamir tells him his name and Chathur was speechless…and I think this was also a fitting climax to a great movie….


There are numerous scenes which will make you laugh your guts out like

1) The examination hall scene…
2) The BALATKAR/CHAMATKAR speech by Chathur
3) Making fun of Kareena's fiance (The brand conscious metrosexual)
4) The examination result scene (This one is my favorite) and the dialogues during this scene really rocked

"You will be sad when you realise that your friend failed in the exam but you will be more sad if you realise that your friend scored 1st rank in the exam"

etc

and there are few scenes which will make your eyes water like..

1) Raju's family scenes…
2) Raju's interview scene..
3) Centimeter becoming kilometer (I cried out of some emotions)

etc

So according to me this is one movie which could be watched and anjoyed by everyone in the family and its also very much thought provoking…

it makes us think about whether a youth should be forced to study some fancy degree or he should be given a chance to learn/study what he likes the best…

also

It mocks the present educational system which forces students to MUG UP/BYHEART the theories and definitions (that’s to swallow whats written in the book without digesting it and then vomiting the same content without any change..a MECHANICAL process) or rather than teaching them the real content of those theories and definitions





So in my opinion…

1) 3 IDIOTS is one of the best movies in recent times which offers wholesome entertainment….

2) This movie once again proved that if you have a good story and good performers then you don’t have to depend upon ITEM DANCES and UNBELIEVABLE ACTION SEQUENCES or EXTOTIC LOCALES to make a HIT film….

3) Aaamir Khan is without doubt the most bankable and hardworking star in Bollywood today….

4) Rajkumar Hirani once again proved that he can make entertaining films with a moral (and at the same time not looking Preachy!!)

5) Everybody should watch this movie atleast once (I know for sure that most of you wudve already)

LAW ABIDING CITIZEN - MY REVIEW

Hi Guyzzz I saw this movie couple of days back and I liked the movie somewhat..the movie stars Gerrard Butler and Jamie Fox(I wudve liked Denzel Washington to play that role) and its got the same storyline of A WEDNESDAY (Now didnt we people compare AVATAR and VIETNAM COLONY ??) but with a lil more violence and twists..This is the 2nd Gerrared Butler movie I am watching after the magnificent "300" (Leonidas)...actually this wudve been the 3rd movie had I watched the recent movie "GAMER"(I started watching and soon stopped coz it was like watching someone else playing a PS3 game) which I have in my collection..


The movie starts with 2 goons murdering Clyde's (Butler's screen name) wife and daughter while he was lying half unconscious...the culprits were caught by the cops and they were produced before the court and Nick (Jamie Fox) was chosen as Clyde's lawyer...Nick is a highly successful attorney with a 96% conviction rate and he is keen to maintain that statistics so when one of the goons agreed to testify against the other in exchange of lesser punishment Nick accepts that offer without getting approval from Clyde and Clyde was angered by this act and he asks Nick why cant they try to get both capital punishment without making a deal with the criminal since they know that they are culprits and Nick says that in a court room what matters is not TRUTH but what can be PROVEN…this incident made Clyde lose faith in the entire system….

The next scene happens after 10 years and now Nick is a succesful senior attorney with a wife and kid…and we are invited to watch the execution of one of the persons (the other got away with a prison sentence) convicted for murdering Clyde's family…the execution was supposed to be quick and painless (lethal injection) but when the chemical went thru the veins the person starts screaming and twitching and his veins started to bulge and eyes almost popped out and everybody was stunned/terrified and it took couple of minutes (instead of the few seconds it normally takes) for the convict to die and he died a painful death….this incident was investigated and they found a paper with words "YOU CANNOT FIGHT FATE" and they thinks that this was done by the crook who testified againt this fellow (coz that was a line he often quoted) but Jamie Fox realises that this was done by someone who has got connections and brains and he decided that it must be Clyde….meanwhile a SWAT team was sent to capture Darby (The TESTIFIER) but Darby was tipped by an anonymous call and the voice over the fone tells Darby how to evade the pursuing cops and Darby unknowing walsk into the trap set by Clyde for him….Clyde poisons him with an exotic venom (which paralyses ur body but does not numb your senses..thats even though u cant move a limb you will feel pain when pricked or poked) and ties him to a cot and slowly chops of his limbs one and kills him eventually by and captures that in a camera(He will be wearing a mask all thru out this scene) and sends it to Nick and Nick confirms that its none other than Clyde who is behind all this and they arrests him and puts him behind bars but even sitting inside his cell he manages to eliminate his targets one by one and then Nick realises that Clyde is no small fish and later he comes to know from a secret agent that Clyde used to work for the Government and he was their best THINK TANK/STRATEGIST who cud think few steps ahead of the enemy and he also warns NICK "If Clyde wants you DEAD then you will be DEAD"….the movie is about the CAT and MOUSE game Clyde plays with Nick and the authorities…


I said its theme is similar to A WEDNESDAY coz in A WEDNESDAY our hero is a common man who is angered by the acts of terrorists and becomes a ONE MAN ARMY and in this movie hero is a person who is felt cheated by the judicial system and wages a war against the system(HELL HATH NO FURY LIKE A MAN WRONGED)….in hindi movie we had Anupam Kher as an equally sharp law enforcement agent whereas in English movie we have a sharp legal professional…it’s a battle of wits between both that’s the crux of the story (otherwise the scenes and situations are entirely different)…just the basic thread is similar…..



My opinion

1) I felt it’s an entertaining movie…

2) Some scenes were a bit unbelievable…but anyway if everything is too believable then wheres the fun ??

3) I wouldve liked a different climax….

4) Denzel Washington wudve been a better choice but if he was cast then Gerard wudnt be able to match his performance…it wudvebeen an uneven match…

5) The plot cudve been a lil more tidy…

KANTHASAMY - MY REVIEW

Hi Guyzzz its been long since I wrote a review about a movie...so here comes a new one...this time its Vikram's megabudget movie KANDHASAMY....the movie has been in the news from the day it was announced and people were expecting a lot from this movie....first it started with the E-Invitation cards which contained the trailer of the movie and supposed to have costed Rs.15000/ per piece (Producere mottayadikkarathukku evalavu vazhi!!!)then we heard about the cutting edge technology (grafix) used for the movie and then the pics of Vikram in a female getup etc...the movie was in the making for almost 2 and a half years and the release got postponed numerous times (now I wish the movie release was postponed till eternity!!) due to various reasons (unfortunate demise of Raghuvaran who was cast in the role of CBI-JOINT Director-later played by Telugu veteran Superstar Krishna)(Vikram not happy with certain scenes and wanting to reshoot - LOL we are not happy with any of the scenes!!) etc.....


The movie had it all...a producer who gave him an almost unlimited budget (Paavam manushan!!!)...a mass hero like Vikram...eyecandy Shreya...ilaya thilakam Prabhu...a seasoned villain like Asish Vidyarthi etc etc but the movie lacked one thing A GOOD STORY to accommodate all the above....the story (can i call it that ??) has been told a 100 tyms by 100 directors and the most prominent among them is SHANKAR...I dont know if Susi Ganesan had seen SHIVAJI...coz if he has I dont think he wudve released the movie with almost the same story line (that too when SHIVAJI is fresh in the minds of tamil audience)...the fight against corruption is the main theme of the movie (wasnt GENTLEMAN,MUTHALVAN,INDIAN,ANNIYAN,SAMURAI and SHIVAJI enough ??) and it has been told and retold by many earlier and most of them met with success because of the novelty in story telling and performance of the stars but KANDHASAMY doesnot have anything novel to offer...the songs werent catchy...the stunts below par when compared to many other movies released recently...the performances of the actors were also mediocre....the only plus point according to me is the comedy track involving Vadivelu (and I think those parts were added to the movie at a later stage to include some comedy element which was missing in the movie otherwise)


The movie released in muscat on 20-08-09 (Thursday),a day before the chennai release and me being a hardcore movie fan wanted to watch it on the first day itself and since my bday just passed (17-08) I thought I wud offer this movie as my treat to my friends ..so I asked one of my friend to book the tickets (16tkts) and was overwhelmed with joy when my friend told that he managed to get the tickets…then I asked my friends to join me for the movie…so by 9.30 pm we were all present in the theater and we had to wait for about 30mins outside the theater coz the earlier show ended late (the movie is 3hrs +) and it was bloody hot outside and we were sweating like pigs (do pigs sweat ?? - just checked the net and realised that my usage is wrong - sweating like pig means doing nothing or LAZY and pigs don’t have sweat glands!! Anyway I hope you understood what I meant)…people started to complain and I convinced them stating after a LONG wait comes GOOD things (Dialogukkonnum kurachil ille!!)…..atlast the movie started by 10/10.10 pm and the movie hall was almost full (Housefull I suppose) and the people were all in good mood…obviously most of them were Vikram fans and had come to watch their CHIYAN in action after a long gap (his last outing BHEEMA was a superflop)…


The opening scene shows devotees praying in front of a Murugan aka KANDHASAMY temple and tying their petitions on the branches of a tree coz it is believed that all those petitions will be answered by Lord Kandhasamy…..a woman asks for Rs.100,000/-for her husband's surgery and nextday she sees a bag containing Rs.100,000/- in front of her house…she being a honest woman took the bag to the nearby police station and handed it over to the inspector…the corrupt inspector (played by Mansoor Ali Khan) takes the bag for himself….the same night while he was asleep a mysterious man (???) disguised as a human COCK (hope u understood what I meant!!) attacks him and asks him to give back the money to the lady and then brands his face with a SPEAR symbol (Lord Kandhasamy's weapon)…this scene and getup reminds me of a scene from the French movie VIDOCQ (released -2001) (honestly the only sentence/word I know in french is J'et aime…..I watched the movie VIDOCQ with subtitiles and watched it just a couple of weeks back) where a mysterious man/creature called ALCHEMIST disguises like a BAT with a mirror in the place of face and the action sequences were almost similar though without the COCK mimicing ….next morning when the inspector gets up he is not sure if it was a nightmare or a real happening coz the only evidence of such a thing happened is the branding on his face….a few such incidents and the news spreads like wildfire and the temple is crowded with people asking for divine intervention in solving their issues…..

So now one face of Vikram is shown…now coming to the 2nd face….Vikram is a strict and no-nonsense CBI officer who toils hard to eradicate corruption (MISSION IMPOSSIBLE!!).The action begins with a raid in Asish Vidyarthi's house….Vikram finds out where Asish keeps his secret documents and manages to seize the documents…Asish Vidyarthi will fake a paralysis (I dunno why the hell he did that…..there is no apparent reason for such a drama) and now Sreya (Asish's daughter) wants to take revenge (Look whos playing BAD girl!!) and she tries to harass or trap Vikram (She goes to Vikram's office and tears off her clothes ………we were all expecting her to tear off a lil more so that atleast we cudve consoled ourself saying - What the hell..we got our money's worth……but unfortunately that too didn’t happen..)

The rest of the story is about how Vikram succeeds in fighting the baddies and a flashback to show us why Vikram and his pals chose to play KANDHASAMY…..the only HIGHLIGHT of the movie is Vikram's disguise as a SEVAL and he to a great extent managed to imitate the actions of a cock (Ivar seval vesham pottu aadarathu pakkaruthukka namma 2.5 varshama kathukkittirunthom ???)…..then there is the female getup which fails to make any impact…Why such gimmicks ?? what are they trying to prove ??......the movie wudve done better if they gave KANDHASAMY a superhero image like KRRISH (atleast kids wudve been happy!!) but director failed to do that also (in the movie itself they explains that the stunts were choreographed with the use of technology and no superpower is involved!!)….the fight scene in Mexico where a blindfolded Vikram defeating the goons are nothing new to us…..Didn’t we see the same thing in Lalettan's YODHA (malayalam movie directed by Rajiv Anchal) which was released before a decade and half ???....even my tamil friends wud remember the movie coz it was dubbed to tamil with the title ASOKAN and telecasted in various tamil channels (esp RAJ TV) numerous times….the actions sequences and overseas locales wudve entertained us few years before coz we werent exposed to such sequences but now we have cable-tv even in the remotest of the villages and people watch hollywood blockbusters on a daily basis so our cheap imitation of hollywood style wont impress them like earlier days….they will watch a movie only if it has something new or entertaining to offer….AYAN/ANNIYAN/SHIVAJI etc had something new to offer and it had some good performances and catchy songs whereas KANDHASAMY has nothing to offer….(Sreya's costumes in song sequences made sure that songs will be WATCHED and remembered eventhough not HEARD and remembered!!!)


First half of the movies was somewhat okey coz we were all expecting that there will be twists and turns as the movie progresses but by the beginning of second half we were pretty sure that NOTHING interesting is going to happen and this realisation made watching the rest of the movie a painful experience…I think the director realised that something is missing when he reached climax and then he inserted an ITEM SONG (Enna kodumai SUSI GANESAN sir ithu….)…Mumaith Khan's dance was missed by most I suppose (coz most of them were almost asleep…it was 1.00AM) and at last after that song director decided to end the movie and there is a climax court scene and like in all movies the HERO, though committed some mistakes was pardoned by the court coz he did what he did for the benefit of the society….


Intha padam pathathukkapparam en friends enne (Aint I the one who made them watch this atrocity ??) kollame vittathukku ore oru reason thaan irukku…coz like them I was also a victim and they knew very well that I did this without malice and I am innocent…..


Some points/questions

1) I really don’t understand why the film took 2.5 years to complete…..
2) Why the hell is Vikram wasting years on such stupid projects ?
3) Why is KALAIPULI THANU (producer) still taking such risks after his AALAVANTHAN experience ?
4) The movie is supposed to be KOLLYWOODs answer to HOLLYWOOD….in what way ???
5) Makeup for makeup's sake will not help in running a movie (the lady getup,the oldman getup etc)…we have seen too much makeup in recent years (AVVAI SHANMUGHI,INDIAN,CITIZEN,DASAVATHARAM,ANNIYAN,PERAZHAGAN,VARANAM AAYIRAM,ANBE SIVAM etc) and it doesn’t fascinate us anymore….

AVATAR - IMAX(3D) - MY REVIEW

I have been to Dubai this weekend (for us the weekend is thursday friday) with my colleagues and we had different agendas for thr trip..mine was to watch AVATAR in IMAX and celebrate Xmass eve in some happening place and I must say that both of the above wishes got fulfilled.

AVATAR is crowned as the most expensive movie ($500 mil) made in the history of cinema and I think it will remain so for atleast a couple of years unless James Cameron or Rolland Emmerich decide to make something more grander and more FUNtastic.The credit for the success of the movie should go to James Cameron and his special FX team (who I think managed to create whatever James Cameron envisioned inside his head) and the bosses of 20th century fox who trusted/backed/funded James Cameron for making this GIANT of a movie.I have not seen anything before that could rival the IMAX-3D experience of watching AVATAR (I am 101 % honest about this statement).I felt like I was in the middle of whats happening onscreen (thanks to the magic of 3D which I am sure is the most HAPPENING thing in Visual Media arena now).The below is my review abt the movie..If u think I am exagerating then I wud request you to watch the movie in a theater with decent A/V system (like SATHYAM theater in chennai or the IMAX'es in Pune,Hyderabad or elsewhere).

The action takes place in AD-2154 and the main venue of the action is a planet called PANDORA which is populated by the Na'vi people.A billionnaire entrepreneur hires a team of scientists to tame the people of Na'vi and to find a way to ensure their cooperation to start mining operations in Pandora to dig out a precious metal that fetches $20 Mil/Kg in the international market.He also hires a team of highly trained mercenaries (Ex-US MARINES) as back up in case the scientists fails to ensure the Na'vi cooperation.The team of scientists are headed by Sigourney Weaver who is also an authority in the field of Na'vi way life and culture.They have created replicas of Na'vi like people (Lab-made and lifeless) and can give life to them by transferring the energy from human beings…so that "Na'vi" will have the body of a Na'vi and character of human being whose energy is bonded to it.This project is called the AVATAR project and they intend to send this clones to PANDORA to mingle with the natives and to become one of them so that they will be able to persuade the Na'vi's to allow mining operations.Jake Sully(Sam Worthington) is the main candidate and he is an EX-Marine (Paralysed below the waist) and is the twin brother of the scientist (who died before the movie begins) who was supposed to go to the Na'vi.

Jake Sully ventures into the forests of Pandora in his Avatar persona ….we are treated with breath taking vista of Pandora's forests…self illuminating plants and flies and many other magnificent creatures which will make us jaws drop….he was attacked by some dog like creatures (its like the dogs in Resident Evil movie but more vicious and agile) and suddenly a Na'vi huntress (I think that’s Zoe Saldana in her Na'vi getup) appears in the scene and she manages to protect Jake from the attack but she was very sad that she had to kill one of the creature..coz its becoz of Jake's ignorance that he got attacked and the fault lies with Jake rather than the creatures….she takes him to the head of their clan (Her dad) and siad that he is approved by Eowah (Maybe a variation of the ancient YEHVEH or JEHOVAH)…then her mom (A shaman or seer of the clan) asks her to teach him the Na'vi language and the ways of their life….the more he learns the more he starts empathising with the people and realises that the place where the Mineral deposit is found is actually the most sacred place of the Na'vis and that they wont allow anyone to desecrate the site…..he is in a dilemma…whether to support his team of human beings or should support the Na'avi people who accepted him as one of their own (btw…by this time he manged to fall in love with his tutor and make love) and the rest of the story is about what happens between the Human beings and the people of Na'vi….


My opinion

1) This is the best visual experience you will ever get watching a movie (atleast in the near future)

2) James Cameron has proved that "HE IS THE KING OF THE WORLD" (atleast the celluloid world)

3) Every penny spent is well spent and you could see all that on screen…

4) Despite the criticsm that it lacks in emotional content I felt that its more emotional than most of the movies I have seen..and like Ram Gopal Varma said in his blog…you don’t see the emotions coz u are awestruck by the visual treat happening on screen.

5) Watching the movie in small screen will be an injustice…you have to watch it in the biggest screen possible with the best audio system..and according to me I am lucky to watch it in an IMAX screen and in 3D format (nothing beats that experience)

6) Every scene that happens in Pandora can be screen captured and made into a PICTURE POST CARD…that’s the beauty of the frames…be it floating mountains…beautiful waterfalls…brightly colored/flurocent flying beings and plants…

7) If you think my review is not as good as my previews reviews then its coz I have tooooo much to write about the movie and I cant find enough superlatives to fill the pages…