Yes, I saw Sivaji a couple of days ago and yes I am having trouble getting this song out of my head (although I confess I thought it was adhiradi kaadhal).
Catchy songs, great locations, lavish settings and costumes ... what's not to like about this movie? Plenty, if you're looking for any semblance of logic or any kind of story or have any expectations.
In my case I went in fully prepared to dislike the movie - after I am no Rajni fan - but came away feeling quite content. So in my opinion it delivers what it promises to - a Masala story, nonsensical plot twists and sheer entertainment.
There seem to be a few things that are always common to Shankar movies - some sort of anti-corruption story, decent music, fantastic sets, costumes and makeup (The makeup artist for Rajni definitely deserves an Oscar) and...'The Matrix' inspired fight scenes.
So, Shankar seems to be a devoted Matrix fan. I am diehard Matrix fan too. But The Matrix had a reason... it was the Matrix - a fantasy world that defied logic and gravity! Well, this is a Rajnikant movie and I suppose the same reasoning applies... So Rajni seems to start out as Neo and ends up as Morpheus in that last fight scene on the terrace thing. I probably laughed more during the fight sequences than the comedy scenes. Oh well, to each her own I suppose.
as I said, the movie was entertaining..
Showing posts with label Tamil cinema. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Tamil cinema. Show all posts
Monday, June 18, 2007
Friday, September 08, 2006
Vettaiyaadu Vilayaadu
Three words to describe this movie: Masala cop thriller.
If you liked Kaaka Kaaka, there is a very good chance you'll like this one as well. Since I wasn't a huge fan of the former, it stands to reason I am not exactly crazy about this one either - despite Kamalhassan.
It was entertaining though. I'll grant that.
What I liked about this movie:
1.) Kamalhassan's understated acting. He acts his age, mostly. There are no unnecessary theatrics on his part, which make his actions stand out more.
2.) Kamal -Jyo romance - different, mature and more appealing with a realistic grounded chemistry instead of the obvious dance-around-the-tree sort.
3.) Americans speaking and sounding like Americans
4.) The non-masala parts which are fast paced albeit gory at times.
5.) Jyo has a kid. There is no nonsense about the heroine being pure and untouched for the hero, keeping with Tamil tradition. I liked that!
What I disliked about this movie:
1.) Unnecessary masala that detracts from the main flavour of the movie. This movie would have been so much better if it had been more consistent in tone.
2.) Poor character definition of who the killers are and what their motive is. Psycho nerds? Sure, they look and sound a bit crazy and they have a medical degree as proof of their intelligence. But why? This is not very clear and the explanation scene where Kamal and killer meet doesn't do a good job at making it any clearer
3.) Logic that makes an appearance occasionally in parts of the movie only to disappear completely in other parts! This was really the weakest point of the entire movie. A fast thriller, without a logical plot at its backbone, becomes weak and tries to rely on other forms of support - and I guess thats where the masala and romance try to chip in.
Overall, worth watching once and certainly a better option than many of the other movies out there.
If you liked Kaaka Kaaka, there is a very good chance you'll like this one as well. Since I wasn't a huge fan of the former, it stands to reason I am not exactly crazy about this one either - despite Kamalhassan.
It was entertaining though. I'll grant that.
What I liked about this movie:
1.) Kamalhassan's understated acting. He acts his age, mostly. There are no unnecessary theatrics on his part, which make his actions stand out more.
2.) Kamal -Jyo romance - different, mature and more appealing with a realistic grounded chemistry instead of the obvious dance-around-the-tree sort.
3.) Americans speaking and sounding like Americans
4.) The non-masala parts which are fast paced albeit gory at times.
5.) Jyo has a kid. There is no nonsense about the heroine being pure and untouched for the hero, keeping with Tamil tradition. I liked that!
What I disliked about this movie:
1.) Unnecessary masala that detracts from the main flavour of the movie. This movie would have been so much better if it had been more consistent in tone.
2.) Poor character definition of who the killers are and what their motive is. Psycho nerds? Sure, they look and sound a bit crazy and they have a medical degree as proof of their intelligence. But why? This is not very clear and the explanation scene where Kamal and killer meet doesn't do a good job at making it any clearer
3.) Logic that makes an appearance occasionally in parts of the movie only to disappear completely in other parts! This was really the weakest point of the entire movie. A fast thriller, without a logical plot at its backbone, becomes weak and tries to rely on other forms of support - and I guess thats where the masala and romance try to chip in.
Overall, worth watching once and certainly a better option than many of the other movies out there.
Monday, September 04, 2006
ka ka ka .. po
Easily my favorite peice of dialogue in the entire movie - 'Imsai Arasan 23vadu Pulikesi'. After seeing tired formulaic tamil movies, this was actually quite entertaining.
The movie is meant to be a historic comedy. Historic it most definitely is not - what with timelines of different emperors being mixed up and the British guys speaking contemporary Madras Tamil "Pulikesi, tension aavaathey pa". But it definitely is a comedy and a pretty good one at that. While there are very few scenes that make you laugh heartily, the movie does manage to sustain a continued smile and the occasional chuckle.
Vadivel seemed like an odd choice for a hero, but it makes sense once you see the movie. Who else could play both roles so well? Vadivel 1 is your typical comic V role: an arrogant but foolish and cowardly king, who walks with a swagger and fools around in the incredibly serious business of running his kingdom. V2 on the other hand is serious, wise and noble - charecteristics that aren't typical V, but he pulls off the role anyway splendidly. There is no doubt: the movie is so funny mainly because of Vadivel's brilliant acting.
The story is nothing brilliant though - just the usual twins separated at birth and re-united later thing. One grows up stupid and boastful while the other is wise and kind. One sucks up to the British and the other opposes them. One promotes disastrous policies for his profit, while the other believes that true profit is not at the expense of the people. By the end of the movie though, the bad twin meets the good one and becomes reformed. Yep, I gave away the ending, but really, could it have been anything else? To paraphrase the astrologer in the movie "If you have a screenplay with separated twins, they eventually have to meet."
There are even bits of social satire, but they've been careful to not let it dominate the tone of the movie. After all, when one seeks to escape reality (all the opiate for the masses thing should be about movies), one doesn't need a constant reminder of how crappy the reality is.
All in all, good entertainment and definitely worth watching once. Maybe even enough for you to say 'ka ka ka ..po' with a silly smile at random intervals for the next few days.
The movie is meant to be a historic comedy. Historic it most definitely is not - what with timelines of different emperors being mixed up and the British guys speaking contemporary Madras Tamil "Pulikesi, tension aavaathey pa". But it definitely is a comedy and a pretty good one at that. While there are very few scenes that make you laugh heartily, the movie does manage to sustain a continued smile and the occasional chuckle.
Vadivel seemed like an odd choice for a hero, but it makes sense once you see the movie. Who else could play both roles so well? Vadivel 1 is your typical comic V role: an arrogant but foolish and cowardly king, who walks with a swagger and fools around in the incredibly serious business of running his kingdom. V2 on the other hand is serious, wise and noble - charecteristics that aren't typical V, but he pulls off the role anyway splendidly. There is no doubt: the movie is so funny mainly because of Vadivel's brilliant acting.
The story is nothing brilliant though - just the usual twins separated at birth and re-united later thing. One grows up stupid and boastful while the other is wise and kind. One sucks up to the British and the other opposes them. One promotes disastrous policies for his profit, while the other believes that true profit is not at the expense of the people. By the end of the movie though, the bad twin meets the good one and becomes reformed. Yep, I gave away the ending, but really, could it have been anything else? To paraphrase the astrologer in the movie "If you have a screenplay with separated twins, they eventually have to meet."
There are even bits of social satire, but they've been careful to not let it dominate the tone of the movie. After all, when one seeks to escape reality (all the opiate for the masses thing should be about movies), one doesn't need a constant reminder of how crappy the reality is.
All in all, good entertainment and definitely worth watching once. Maybe even enough for you to say 'ka ka ka ..po' with a silly smile at random intervals for the next few days.
Monday, August 28, 2006
Tamil anti-heroes
Originally posted 16 Aug 2006
In the midst of all the packing we did these past 2 weeks - we found time to watch two tamil movies; quite a feat considering each movie is about 3 hours long. Of course, we did end up fast forwarding songs and other chunks from the first movie.
The one thing both movies had in similar was that the hero was not the traditional epitome of virtue, but was instead a flawed twisted character shaped by the evils of modern society.
The similarity ends there.
Thiruttu Payale was a confused and drawn-out peice of cr*p. It was as if the director could not decide if the protoganist was a hero or not. Accordingly the guy alternated between murdering people and singing songs for the heroine and lecturing about true love to others. It was as if they were trying to define the boundaries of his evilness and that in my opinion was kind of unnecessary. Of course the torture of watching the movie was exacerbated by the fact that none of the actors could in fact act! The ending was forced into being moralistic and preachy. Cheaters never prosper, right?
Or do they? This was the premise of Pudupettai, one of the best tamil movies I've seen in a while. The camera angles, the way the scenes were lit, the way the dances were choreographed.. it was a visual treat; one that I didn't know tamil cinema was capable of delivering. The dialogues were simple and realistic. Dhanush portrayed the central charecter Kokki Kumar rather well. There were no euphemisms and endless justifcations of why K.Kumar behaved the way he did (apart from the background info already woven into the story). The premise might have been a little cliched, but the way it was handled definitely wasn't. This movie, we didn't fast forward. It was fast paced enough on its own.
One of the biggest weaknesses in this movie was the music. The music was 'borrowed' from several English movies, most notably from 'The Godfather'. The ending was a bit weak and confused as well, although I did like the cynical note on which it ended.
If you must see a tamil movie anytime soon, I'd recommend 'Pudupettai' over 'Thiruttu payale', unless you prefer soppy melodrama over fast paced action.
In the midst of all the packing we did these past 2 weeks - we found time to watch two tamil movies; quite a feat considering each movie is about 3 hours long. Of course, we did end up fast forwarding songs and other chunks from the first movie.
The one thing both movies had in similar was that the hero was not the traditional epitome of virtue, but was instead a flawed twisted character shaped by the evils of modern society.
The similarity ends there.
Thiruttu Payale was a confused and drawn-out peice of cr*p. It was as if the director could not decide if the protoganist was a hero or not. Accordingly the guy alternated between murdering people and singing songs for the heroine and lecturing about true love to others. It was as if they were trying to define the boundaries of his evilness and that in my opinion was kind of unnecessary. Of course the torture of watching the movie was exacerbated by the fact that none of the actors could in fact act! The ending was forced into being moralistic and preachy. Cheaters never prosper, right?
Or do they? This was the premise of Pudupettai, one of the best tamil movies I've seen in a while. The camera angles, the way the scenes were lit, the way the dances were choreographed.. it was a visual treat; one that I didn't know tamil cinema was capable of delivering. The dialogues were simple and realistic. Dhanush portrayed the central charecter Kokki Kumar rather well. There were no euphemisms and endless justifcations of why K.Kumar behaved the way he did (apart from the background info already woven into the story). The premise might have been a little cliched, but the way it was handled definitely wasn't. This movie, we didn't fast forward. It was fast paced enough on its own.
One of the biggest weaknesses in this movie was the music. The music was 'borrowed' from several English movies, most notably from 'The Godfather'. The ending was a bit weak and confused as well, although I did like the cynical note on which it ended.
If you must see a tamil movie anytime soon, I'd recommend 'Pudupettai' over 'Thiruttu payale', unless you prefer soppy melodrama over fast paced action.
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