Howzzat!

There are quite a handful of movies that bored me the first time I watched them. Later on, I kept thinking about them, reminiscing their scenes  which made me realize how bad a movie buff I've been. Here is a pick of such movies (in no particular order) that have enthralled me every time I watch them(pity not the first time..) Apur Sansar (1959)                       -Satyajit Ray         Satyajit Ray’s genius unfolds in each scene like poetry. The final part of “the Apu Trilogy” shows us a struggling, aspiring writer Apu (Soumitra Chatterjee) tricked by fate into loving and losing a charm of a wife like Aparna (a rather young Sharmila Tagore) to childbirth after which he abandons both his manuscript and his son, Kajal . Apu’s subsequent acceptance of his son and therefore his life ends the movie on a poignant note.               ...

11 academy award nominations…to a film featuring just an Indian skinny vegetarian boy and a CGI animated royal Bengal tiger, for almost the entire length of the movie. It made it to the screens here with little hype but garnered surprising responses in the long run. What made “Life of Pi” appeal to the local masses..? The Indian connection..?  The 3D factor..? Or was it the way in which a story of survival and hope was visualised amazingly lifelike on screen?? Maybe all the three if I could guess it right ! The story A middle aged Pi Patel (Irfann Khan) narrates his survival story to an on-the-lookout writer (Rafe Spall), hoping to revive the latter’s spirits and restore his faith in God.   In this narrative, Pondicherry-based adolescent Pi (Suraj Sharma) leaves for Canada with his family (and animals from his dad’s zoo) in a Japanese cargo ship. A storm leaves the ship wrecked and his family dies along with the rest ...

                All superhero movies defy logic.   Batman outdoes them all…but with a difference. A stale looking Bale in an incredibly “batty” outfit...is clearly my most favourite superhero of all time…..thanks to a tight screenplay and an amazing soundtrack. A fitting end to the most believable series ever. We’ve had enough of the movies where the- guy-with-super-awesome-powers-kills-off-the-bad-guy-and-rescues-his-hostage-girlfriend-in-every-damn-movie-making-it-fricking-boring-all-the-time (read spiderman). Pity it’s a trilogy. Can’t they all go the ‘Shrek’ or the ‘Die hard ‘or even the ‘Harry Potter’ way? Three (sigh!) hugely commendable movies..move over James Cameron….Nolan’s intelligence is notable in every scene, every second. “The Dark Knight Rises” and soars high..way too high!    Sorry, I just can’t stop raving about this film. And what a movie it was!   ...

I got to watch this movie, Vijay’s 52 nd release, only yesterday- a good 11 days after it hit the theatres. After some 2 and half odd hours, I tried to recall something of the film’s story or the characters. But all I could remember was Vijay, Vijay and Vijay . The movie makes a God out of him! The film made at a cost of a whopping 40 crores is loosely based on the Telugu flick "Azad". The  story…. Bharathi (Genelia) a freelance journalist tries making a difference in the society by laying bare its villainous side. In the process, she gets hounded by goons who kill her aides. Minutes later, a grievously wounded Bharathi finds her attackers killed in an accident. Seizing the opportunity, she holds a fictitious hero named Velayudham responsible for the goons’ death and leaves a warning that Velayudham would continue his actions against such criminals. Around the same time, a villager called Velayudham (Vijay)  happens to be in town to collect the chit fu...

I write this review after a month the movie was released. I’ve never watched a film on the first day (not even the first week). But I can’t get over the urge to write this review.     Cast :    Karthi, Tamannah, Milind Soman Director : Lingusamy The story The easy-go-lucky Shiva falls head over heels on seeing Charulatha at first sight. As she turns up wherever he goes, he loses his senses, messes up with his friends and even misses his interview. Luck has it that she ends up seeking his help to travel all the way to Bombay (Thank God the Sena folks don’t watch Tamil movies!). And when the damsel in distress has goondas from Andhra chasing her, the knight in shining armor has his own problems from his previous visit to the destined city.     Karthi’s transformation from a village hunk to an urbane guy is only partially complete. If only he had sported a clean-shaven look….  However he puts in a solid perform...

Vinaithaandi Varuvaaya I just saw the movie this morning with my gang of girls at KG BIG cinemas. Well, I didn’t spend any of my money for it as the trip to the theatre was given as a treat by my pal. The movie evoked certain mixed feelings. I didn’t quite know whether the story was usual or unique; whether the characters were well-etched or blurred or whether the director wanted to say the tale of two lovebirds or more than just that. And about the story… Karthick (Simbu) falls in love with his house owner’s daughter Jessie (Trisha) at first sight. She spurns his advances warning him about the differences between them and the consequences they’ll face if they possibly marry. And of course, she doesn’t like him yet. So, what Karthick does to please her and whether their love finally succeeds, forms the rest of the movie. Well, half of the film goes by this way, where the leading lady speaks the same dialogues over and over. The film could have ended some 15 minutes...