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Reviews
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (2008)
Long, Lame, and Stupid
After watching Benjamin Button I realized why the mediocrity of Slumdog had been getting all the attention. Ah of course, if this is the kind of movies it is competing with at the Oscars!
2008 ought to be the year of weak premises. Button was a waste of time. The only thing worth mentioning was Brad Pitt's make-up. Everything else (including his acting) were below par. The logical inconsistencies were innumerable - to mention one: Button is born small (but old) and dies small (but young) with no wrinkles on his skin. Where did all the extra skin go? When are people going to realize it is not one idea that makes a movie? Scott Fitzgerald would have written that story in under three hours of his time!
Slumdog Millionaire (2008)
Good movie, great direction, poor storytelling
I'm a little surprised that almost all reviews of this movie have been overwhelmingly positive. Don't get me wrong, it is a must watch. However, I'll stick to negatives; for the positives, yes, they are all correct.
The first few minutes of the movie were enthralling - it showed the real Bombay, the slums of India, with great screenplay and camera-work. I was left expecting something of great quality, cinema in the genre of "City of God". Judging by those high standards, the movie was somewhat of a let-down as it degraded into a Bollywoodesque entertainer. Half-an-hour in, I got the impression that the director did not quite associate himself with India, and parts came off as condescending and flippant.
The main problem was an incredibly weak storyline. The story is that of a slumboy in chapters as he answers questions on India's version of "Who Wants to be a Millionaire". The correlation of the questions to his life is contrived at best, but this doesn't matter since the aim of the movie is to showcase his life in the Indian slum. It is a travelogue of India to the Western audience. In this respect the movie succeeds entirely. It is very real, gets to the heart of India - its immeasurable poverty, its craze for Bollywood and cricket, its social problems. However, I didn't like the carelessness with which some topics were treated. While this saves us from an overly sentimental and depressing movie, I feel it almost condones some of these evils, or at least accepts them as a part of everyday life.
Overall, it is a very entertaining feel-good movie that you won't regret watching no matter who you are and what you like. If you are a Bollywood fan, this will be the best Bollywoodish movie you have seen in ages. If you are the movie-critic, you will have plenty to enjoy and ruminate.
My rating: 7/10
Kannum Kannum (2008)
Simple movie addressing local sensibilities
One thing I totally appreciated in this movie was its honest portrayal of a very local theme. It revolves around a man's ethical dilemma - his role as a caretaker of an adopted family versus his role as a daring lover. It's very refreshing to see directors take up ethical concepts and treat them in a slightly formal, lyrical way, with plenty of opportunity for personal judgment and criticism.
The movie begins with a very short and almost careless introduction to the love story. Prasanna goes to Kutralam in search of the girl of his dreams, with no idea that she is indeed the sister of one of his best friends. While waiting for her to return from her school-trip, there is an interesting turn of events that puts a lot of emotional pressure on his original intentions.
The comedy track (Vadivelu), however, left a lot to be desired. It was completely disjointed from the movie, and was very ordinary. Music was quite ordinary too, and I think the movie could have done better without the songs or the comedy. But sometimes I forget the movie was made in India.
It was a pleasure to see Kutralam and the lush green settings of rural India for a change. Thumbs up for honest movie making, and thanks to the passer-by at the local video store here in California for suggesting "Kannum Kannum".
Dasavatharam (2008)
Confused ramblings of a pretentious egomaniac
This dude really amazes me - he thinks he's the only one in Indian cinema who knows how classic movies are supposed to be made, the only person in India who has read Marx, appreciates Dali, understands the Chaos Theory, and has inside information on all the CIA agents. And then he fails miserably at making an intelligent movie. But yet, he has succeeded, for he is a hero among the ignorants. A hero among the people who are so used to boy-meet-girl stories, good-man-kills-bad-man stories, that they revere and adore someone who has spoken about things that only the greatest minds are supposed to address.
My main problem with Kamal in this movie is that he has given me nothing to talk about. He makes many small points. The chaos theory, butterfly effect, causality. The tension between science and faith. Has he driven home a point about atheism? No. About faith? No. Does Dasavatharam have any elements of good movie-making? Far from it. Poor screenplay. Pathetic graphics. Very ordinary dialogues. It takes more than an idea to make a movie. It seems to me like Kamal Hassan picks his "newly learned concept of the week", combines it with an already-concocted plan of characters consisting mostly of Kamal Hassan, and comes up with a "classic movie". I wish they were so easy.
If you've spent any time at all reading philosophy, learning science or watching good cinema, you'll have nothing to look forward to here. If not, this movie is a bad introduction to any of them anyway.
Click (2006)
Worst movie of the year!
Just when I thought movies didn't get worse than the recent ones from India, here is fierce competition from Hollywood! I have never been a fan of Adam Sandler's movies, and this one re-confirmed that I need to keep away from them.
The story is about this guy who gets a *universal remote control* that he can use to control his life. The new toy is fun for a while, but then things begin to change...
If it was at least entertaining, I would have enjoyed it as a reasonable time pass, but this one wasn't. One exception: the futuristics sets were quite awesome and would have done any sci-fi movie proud.
Way too many mushy scenes interspersed with silly ones. I just felt like fast-forwarding through the entire movie (thank God I don't need a universal remote for it)...
Anniyan (2005)
An insult to the movie industry
I can't believe I'm writing a review for a movie this bad. I know better than to expect good movies from the Tamil film industry these days, but this one came as a shocker nevertheless. I don't remember the last half-decent movie I saw that came from home - probably Autograph. It's a shame: the same industry that produced Kadhalikka Neramillai, Nayagan, Mouna Ragam...but I digress.
What hurts me most is hypocrisy in such *message* movies. I will eat the humble pie if anything changes in India after Shankar makes a million of these movies a million times over. Anniyan was just a fool-proof formula masquerading as a film that had a social message. Try telling someone else that Shankar cares about anything except for the commercial success of his movies.
And for heaven's sake, why can't we be original? There's one very interesting forum topic here that's discussing the number of English movies this was a rip-off from. I'm sure the quiz-masters are getting their notepads ready for a mega question: play a couple of scenes and then ask the contestants to name all the original movies that 'inspired' those scenes.
Don't even let me get started on the song lyrics... Now that I've berated it enough, let me explain why I gave it the three stars that I did. Song visualisations. Vivek's comedy (a *big* saving grace - 2 stars).
I'm not going to ask you not to watch it. You are either going to think I'm stupid, or that I watch only Bergman, Fellini, Renoir and Eisenstein to be saying such ridiculous things. So, go ahead by all means. And God bless our country if such movies are going to change it.
Life of Brian (1979)
As good as it gets
I don't know if there'll ever be a movie to match Brian - for the dialogues, the acting, the story and simply the laughs per minute. A good movie always makes you remember the dialogues and this one is full of unforgettable ones - "What have the Romans done for us?" (which was recently voted the funniest scene of all time), "Are you a virgin?", "I'm Brian, and so is my wife!" to name a few.
Cleverness and creativity are never lacking in Monty Python's works, and this movie is a great example. I think it overshadows Holy Grail (which is quite silly at times).
When it was released, it was thought sacrilegious, but today it's a million miles away from some totally blasphemous movies (that are not even funny). Overall, the greatest comedy movie I've ever seen!
Black (2005)
Wonderful movie, something India can be proud of
One of the very few recent Indian movies that can be truly critiqued on the world stage. A clear message, some good acting, and excellent cinematography. Just long enough at about two hours; anything more would have made it too depressing for mass appeal. The British colonial setting was pretty well done.
The negatives - as someone else had mentioned, the girl was shown as being very violent in the beginning for no reason; and I thought the movie could have had a better name.
I would give it an 8/10 - for staying with mainstream Bollywood cinema, yet trying out something different.
Some Like It Hot (1959)
Perfect Comedy
When things are down, and you want a nice change to lift your spirits - go rent 'Some Like it Hot'. Will make you forget all your worries and give you a good time, it atleast did for me.
The movie is about two guys (Lemmon and Curtis) who cross-dress as women to play with an all-girl band. From there on it's just laughs and more laughs. To finish up, the immortal final line "Nobody is Perfect!"
Perfect entertainment for the whole family, Marilyn Monroe beautiful as ever and some unforgettable dialogues:
Daphne - Have I got things to tell you! I am engaged! Josephine - Who is the lucky girl? Daphne - I am!
I can watch the movie a thousand times over and not get tired, 10/10!!
The Texas Chain Saw Massacre (1974)
Overdose of Terror, horror and screams
I saw this movie alone one night and I must admit, it was scary. You could, of course dismiss the movie as funny or ludicrous, but then that's something you could do to just about any horror flick (with the volume down or while watching with a bunch of friends).
The story itself is simple enough - killer brothers hunting to feed their cannibal grandparents. A group of teenagers get killed one by one, by 'Leatherface'...
Not too much gore, but enough makeup, screaming, running around and decaying corpses to compensate. Quite the opposite of Psycho, Rosemary's baby and the like - the horror here is pretty obvious.
Anyway, worth a watch for the normal movie-lover, and a must-see if you like those gruesome and scary ones. 7/10
Kaakha Kaakha (2003)
Good
A well-made run-of-the-mill movie with a tragic ending. Pluses: The way the story moves - begins with Soorya struggling to live followed by a long flashback about why he's there. The Music. A disinterested look at the life of policemen. Minuses: The violence and the gore, but I guess they add to the realistic effects. Still, having people's heads chopped off and sent in boxes and sacks could have been avoided.
No complaints - 7/10
Michael Madana Kama Rajan (1990)
A True Comedy Classic
Should be among the greatest comedy movies in any language, from anywhere in the world. Immaculate dialogues, brilliant acting from Kamal Hassan (I feel he does his best in comedy roles), good music score, and around three hours of wholesome entertainment.
The story is about a woman giving birth to identical quadruplets who are separated at birth. Later in life each of them tries to play another for monetary benefits. All this with confused lovers singing duets with the wrong people!
I am not sure if the movie would have as much effect with subtitles (not so much of a slapstick), but a must watch for anyone interested in Tamil movies.
Rosemary's Baby (1968)
Classic Horror, Polanski at his best
A movie that grips you from the first second, and takes you with it through two hours of subtle horror. In my opinion, how a horror movie should be...the more I think about it now, the scarier it gets.
Sans all the blood, gore, hairy one-eyed creatures or naked big-breasted women, the lasting effect the movie left on me was astounding. Mia Farrow fits the role perfectly, well supported by John Cassavetes and Sidney Blackmer; Ruth Gordon's irritating and befitting performance; the occasional Fur Elise in the background; to finish things up a good ending.
What more can you ask for? 9/10 and a must watch.
Kaadhal Konden (2003)
Excellent movie, but not pathbreaking (Possible Spoiler)
My best Tamil movie of the year - simply because there have been so many outlandish and mediocre ones these days. The plot is not totally original or revolutionary, but the movie never lacks in pace. It begins with the story of an orphan (Dhanush) moving to the city to study, where the fashionable people think him to be uncivilized and boorish. A kind girl (Sonia) takes sympathy on him and they become close friends - a relationship Dhanush mistakes for love without realizing Sonia's love for someone else. When you think the movie is going to be another love triangle, it takes an interesting turn - Dhanush has been a victim of child abuse and will do ANYTHING to win his lover!
Great acting by a relatively new set of actors, decent music score, and for a change in Tamil movies - A Story Line!
I would give it an 8/10, among my favourite Tamil movies of the year.