REVIEW: DEIVA THIRUMAGAL

First things first, Vikram and Sarah’s performances are two of the greatest performances I’ve seen recently in Tamil cinema. Vikram effortlessly portrays (for the lack of a better term) a mentally challenged person. Mind you he is walking a very tight rope here. His performance could’ve easily been overdone and made into an annoying one, but Vikram manages to keep it just on the balance. Baby Sarah . . . what can I say? She is absolutely mind blowing. She instantaneously strikes a chord with you and it’s a pleasure to watch her on screen. Having said that, is the movie good? YES and NO.

This movie is about a mentally challenged father and his daughter. How they are separated and their struggle to get back together forms the crux of the film. For me, DT looked like two different movies. The track between the father and daughter looks cute and great while the courtroom scenes and the struggle to get back together are amateur and lacks everything that you could think of!

The film opens up well and the initial sequences involving Anushka and Santhanam are funny. The flash back is quite clearly the best part of the movie and has some amazing scenes. Although the writing is not particularly brilliant here either, the performances of vikram and Sarah elevate the proceedings altogether to a different height. The movie is super cute and interesting till the two get separated. This is where the movie derails completely.

The second half of the film focuses mainly on the courtroom battle. These sequences completely lack any sort of punch. All these scenes fall flat on its face. Remember the courtroom scenes of A few good men? That is exactly how this should’ve been. Even less impactful courtroom scenes like the ones from veer zaara or the Mammooty and Amala starrer would’ve helped this movie so much. The movie never really picks up till the finale in the court. But that is too little too late.

In the rest of the cast, Amala Paul is strictly OK. Anushka looks gorgeous and has done a very good job. I just wish she had better dialogues to speak rather than the embarrassing lines she had to deliver. Santhanam does what he does best. His sequences are funny and it works especially because he doesn’t have a separate track.

In all, Deiva Thirumagal is super cute when it is simple and turns annoying when it tries to be super cute. This movie has a heart and some amazing performances. I just wish the great performances were backed by a good script, Alas, it wasn’t. An average flick.

My Rating: 5.5/10

-V

P.S: Every time Anushka said VINO (santhanam’s name in the film is vinod) my heart skipped a beat. Fell in love with her all over again.

REVIEW: ZINDAGI NA MILEGI DOBARA

ZNMD is clearly one of the most fun filled movies that I’ve seen recently. The title clearly gives away the message of the film but do not worry my friends, none of the lead characters suffer from any of the clichéd diseases that one would usually suffer in movies that spread out this message. It’s a progressive film that is engaging, funny and even exciting!

This is the story of three long time friends (Hrithik, Abhay and Farhan), who decide to go on a bachelor trip to Spain before the marriage of Abhay Deol and engage in adventure sports that each one chooses. All three have their own sad part in their lives and this movie is about how they overcome their fears and sadness and how they learn to live their life to the fullest.

Hrithik plays the role of a rich stock broker with absolute ease. Farhan Akhtar in a never seen avatar – a goofy, fun filled flirt, is an absolute revelation. Abhay suits the character perfectly and essentially plays the guy who desperately wants this trip to work. Katrina Kaif plays . . . scratch that, is a gorgeous lady who teaches the importance of enjoying every minute to the guys. The fiancée of Abhay, Kalki is somewhat more of a caricature than a realistic character.

Scuba diving, sky diving, tomatina festival and so on, the writing and direction takes you to so many beautiful locations and fun filled adventures that you will get ready to pack your bags at the end of the movie. Not just adventures, every little thing these people do makes an impact on their lives as they all carry a baggage of some sort. There are pretty awesome scenes sprinkled throughout the movie such as Hrithik’s reaction to scuba diving, Farhan getting a new phone for Hrithik, Abhay’s proposal and so on. There’ll always be a smile in your face throughout the film thanks to gems like those. The major reason why the film works is the chemistry between the three main leads. Never once that you’ll doubt the friendship of these three.

On the flip side, the movie is a bit long and drags in some portions. The movie could’ve been way better if it was a bit shorter. Although the movie avoids clichés, there were a few which the writer couldn’t avoid. I’m not going to nitpick each and every little thing because these are minor glitches on what otherwise is a fun flick.

ZNMD is clearly a very mature and refined attempt that isn’t for everyone. I loved the movie and wouldn’t mind watching it again. Zoya Akhtar is a gifted director and if her streak continues, we might be lucky enough to see some different, matured cinema from her which Indian movies lack quite often. Watch the movie and pack your bags for a holiday with your best buddies.

MY RATING: 8/10

- V

P.S: Why copy the last sequence from Hitch? Ran out of ideas like they did for the posters???

REVIEW: HARRY POTTER 7 PART 2

After 10 yrs and 7 billion $ under the belt, the Harry Potter series has finally reached its epic conclusion. Let me start this by saying that I’ve never read even a single line from any of the potter books. I thought the first few potter films were a bit too kiddish for me (that’s how it was meant to be. I get IT), as the series progressed, the movies became more dark and interesting. Is the final film worthy enough to be the final part of such a successful series? YES.

HP7.2 picks up right where the previous installment ended with Harry and his friends mourning the death of Dobby and searching for the rest of the horcruxes of Voldemort. At a lightening pace, the film keeps throwing action set pieces and peels layer after layer of the plot. Before you know it, we are at the battle of Hogwarts, which is clearly one of the best action sequences of the series and is very imaginatively shot. I’m not going to get too much into the plot as either you already know it or I don’t want to spoil it for you. All that you need to know is Harry potter and Lord Voldemort are about to face each other mano-e-mano to end their rivalry.

Performance wise, all of the actors have matured with each passing movie and are at their best in this one. Even the ones who have been sidelined in the previous installments shine here. The main three leads show amazing development in their character arc and are now braver than ever. Neville Longbottom gets couple of the best scenes in the movie and the actor is having the time of his life. The same can be said about the rest of the performances and they all pitch in perfectly.

Technically, the movie is very sound. It has a great score, cinematography, VFX and everything that an epic needs. The writing is absolutely fast here and has gems of scenes placed throughout the movie. Watch out the scene when Harry and snape meet for the first time in this film or when Longbottom does his greatest contribution yet and so on. All of these scenes had me cheering out loud. Its pretty clear that if I hadn’t been involved in the characters I would’ve never cheered. That is the success of the movie. One complaint I did have was that it felt as if I had walked 30 mins after the movie had started but considering everything that had to be shown, I don’t blame anyone for this little problem (There’s no question of lack of character development here as they’ve been with us already for 7 movies and its not as if they have added new characters. We know these people already!!).

All said, HP 7.2 is a perfect and fitting end to one of the most followed series worldwide. It has enough action, drama and even crowd pleasing scenes. It is a terrific achievement for everyone involved to maintain the consistency for the entire series. The movies kept getting better and it finishes off on a great manner. Harry Potter 7.2 is a great send off.

My rating: 8/10

- V

P.S: I would really like to see Emma Watson in a lot of movies. She is absolutely gorgeous.

P.S2: With all the magic, I still don’t understand why they need the Hogwarts express. Cant they just walk right to the school from platform 9 ¾ ???

Review THE GREEN LANTERN:

Green lantern is a super hero who is someone I’m completely ignorant about. This movie is the first time I’m getting into the GL universe. For someone who has no idea about how the universe works, this movie succeeds in explaining most of the things that I needed know. The rest I would attribute to the uneven script. Is this movie good? I did work for me in parts. But something that I can definitely tell you is that it is not as bad as it is being thrashed around by the critics.

Green lantern is the story of Hal Jordan, a test pilot who is daring and is a maverick kind of a guy. On one not a very fine day he is chosen by the ring which takes him to a dying purple alien who gives Hal a ring and thrusts upon this irresponsible (which is spoon fed to the audience in more than one scene) human great responsibility of being a part of the green lantern corps. GLC are the peace keepers of the universe and their main source of energy is WILL power. Their nemesis is parallax, a powerful creature that thrives upon fear of others and uses it to grow. What follows is an uneven ride about the age old battle between the powers of will and fear with some really cool visuals and 3D.

The movie has a certain few things going for it. First of all, the visuals and the 3D were great. The GL’s planet OA looks as gorgeous as Blake Lively who I’m told is not a part of the CGI. The creatures and their suits and the powers of GL are well imagined and executed. They all look colorful and beautiful. Ryan Reynolds tries very hard and succeeds for most part in bring Hal Jordan to screen. Sometimes he looks too cool to be in any real danger. Rest of the cast especially Mark Strong and Peter as sinestro and Dr.Hector perform pretty well. Blake Lively looks drop dead gorgeous although I think I might have suggested that already.

What definitely didn’t work for the movie was its uneven script. Yes there were funny lines and interesting scenes every once in a while, but the movie felt too long in the middle part and had pacing issues. It also had embarrassing lines that made me laugh. There is a scene where Hal tries to walk away from something and Carol (Blake Lively) tries to talk him into it. Just as she tries to speak, Hal has a look in his face that said “oh no not again” That exactly was my reaction to it too. The whole plot of will against fear felt a bit old and it was handled in a clichéd manner.

The film falls prey to being too generic and trying to play it too safe for its own good. Courage inducing affection from little children, long boring speeches about the importance of will power and so on, the film packs up everything that you would expect in a super hero movie of the 90’s.

Another major thing that works against this movie is the standard set by movies like fast five, Thor, Kung fu panda 2 and the Awesome X men First Class. Well it’s no real excuse for churning out a 90’s script but it is true. Green Lantern is an average flick and I hope they come back around for a second time hopefully with a better script.

MY RATING: 6/10

- V

P.S: The only Will power I know of is the power of Will Smith at the box office.

Review X-MEN: FIRST CLASS:

When I first saw the posters of X men first class I was way too disappointed. Then there was the trailer which brought back some confidence. Then there were some bad posters and cool trailers. I had no idea what to expect when I walked into the theatre. Mr. Matthew Vaughn I am so sorry that I doubted you from the lame posters. Let me say it loud and clear right at the beginning, X MEN first class is my most favorite X men movie (at least as of now).

X Men first class takes us back to the time when Charles Xavier used his mutant powers to flirt with girls and Eric (Magneto) had nothing but revenge in mind. The film deals with how these two young mutants together along with a few other mutants, stop Sebastian (Kevin Bacon loves the name I guess) and frost from starting off a nuclear war between the U.S and Soviet Union.

The film succeeds on so many different levels that I don’t even know where to begin. In terms of acting, James and Michael as Charles and Eric are revelations. James Mcavoy brings a kind of cool fun loving Charles Xavier to screen and gradually transforms into the confident leader that Professor X was. Michael Fassbender gives a performance as Magneto/Eric that will long remain as one of the best performances in a comic book movie ever. Every time he is on screen, something amazing happens. He is strong, silent and AMAZING. The rest of the mutants that these two go on to hire are interesting and play their part appropriately.

The movie benefits a lot from the deft writing that cleverly integrates some real events into the plot and makes it all the more interesting. Funny lines and masterful scenes are spread throughout the movie which makes it a pleasure to watch. Matthew Vaughn is a director to look out for. His “Kick Ass” handling of the action sequences (especially the one in Argentina involving Magneto) and how he manages to balance the fan boyish fun and the serious and interesting transformation of the characters are outstanding. Not for a moment he loses his control over the movie.

Although this is a near perfect film there were a few short comings. The repetition of how humans would never accept mutants and the fact that some of the side cast that lost in the crowd is the only problem I had in the movie.

X MEN FIRST CLASS is a much welcomed fresh start to the series. I really hope they continue in this pattern. I really cannot recommend this movie enough. To sum it all up in a single line, X MEN first class is just that, FIRST CLASS.

My Rating 10/10

- V

P.S: “Kick ass” was kick ass fun. First Class is First class. May be Matthew Vaughn’s success is in his movie’s titles. What’s next?

P.S 2: With the dark knight rises releasing only next summer and green lantern managing to garner negative reviews, would this end up being the best comic book movie of the year? I won’t bet against it.

REVIEW - UNKNOWN:

Unpredictability is not always a good thing, especially when you compromise logic for achieving it. Unknown does exactly that. It has twists and turns, some of which are not predictable but it makes the plot so ludicrous that it feels quite silly. Liam Neeson plays a micro biologist who goes to Berlin to attend a conference along with his wife. He gets into an accident and goes into coma for four days. When he wakes up, his identity is taken up by a different man and his wife doesn’t seem to know him at all.

As things unfold, logic gradually gets thrown out of the window. The first hour or so is genuinely gripping and interesting. Liam Neeson fresh from the knock out performance in Taken, proves his mettle once again. Without going into too much about how things progress, it is safe to say that even though things look so made up, it is still fun. If it ever intended to be an out and out fun action thriller, it would’ve succeeded. Unfortunately the movie tries to be a smart thriller which it is definitely not, hence one cannot avoid feeling a little let down.

The action sequences are fun to watch. It would’ve really helped the movie if Liam kicked more arse than he does here. Diane Kruger plays an immigrant taxi driver who helps Liam putting the pieces together and she does a fair job. Apart from them, January Jones and the others have very little to do. The role of Jurgen was a pleasant surprise. Although the technical aspects of the film were good, it doesn't really stand apart. The action sequences were well shot but to be honest I liked the car chase sequence in THE HANGOVER PART 2 better than the ones in this movie.

All said, Unknown is not a stand out smart movie but it is briskly paced and keeps you interested for some time before throwing it away in the final act. If all you want is some fun at the movies Unknown is not a very bad choice.

MY RATING: 6.5/10

- V

P.S: Diane Kruger cannot be a taxi driver. You cannot get into a Cab and see Diane Kruger as your driver. Its just impossible.