Kung Fu Panda 2 - 3d (2011)

What's it about:
'Dragon Warrior' Po and his 'Furious Five' team have to save China from the shackles of Shen, the peacock. Shen has a huge machine that spits out metal balls and there are a pack of wolves who are always around Shen to protect.
   Po also comes to know that he is an adopted son to his goose father. Po is advised by his master Shifu to find his inner peace but Po is haunted by images of his past when his parents had to abandon him in a radish basket due to Shen's evil machinations.
   Shen underestimates Po's prowess and ignores the astrologer's warnings. Po finally finds his inner peace and eliminates Shen and all the metal fireballs. He finally reunites with his father who is very enthusiastic to use his son's fame to promote his tofu and noodles, in the form of "Po saves China" posters.

                                                                         

Hits

• Everything that is expected out of a DreamWorks animation film is there. Top class animation, modelling, rendering and the characters are so expressive.
• The stunt choreography is just too awesome. Such creativity and pace in the fights. Reminds us of the legendary Jackie Chan's action feasts. A mixture of comedy and fights.  
• The 3d effects are as expected. Not extra-ordinary but. 
• Witty dialogs for Po, that are philosophical as well. Leave the past baggage and focus on the present is the message. 
• Great BG score by Hans Zimmer and John Powell. The percussion drums stand out amidst the other general goose bumps inducing instruments. 
• The idea to use a peacock as the villain is very novel indeed

Misses

• The villain, Shen could have been characterized more powerfully. In the end it is all too easy for Po. Given the initial buildup, a greater resistance from Shen was expected

VERDICT

Kung Fu Panda 2 re-emphasizes the escapist quality of cinema. Just forget all earthly worries and plunge into this fantasy world for a short and sweet adventure ride along with Po and his team. 

Hot Shots! Part Deux (1993)

What's it about:
A sequel to the earlier 'Top Gun' spoof, and this time 'Rambo' is the spoofed film. Topper Harley has to rescue American POWs from Iraq. Harley's former colonel is also trapped and the entire nation's hopes rest on his shoulders. The American CIA agent has a crush on Harley and he also encounters his flame Ramada during this mission.

                                                                     

Hits

• Lloyd Bridges is a riot once again. This time he is the American president. He is the major highlight yet again.
• 2 hot heroines :)
• The spoofy take on Saddam Hussein works well most of the times and is downright silly at times too. 

Misses

• Many jokes don't stay in mind. It's just the watch-laugh-forget types. The earlier version had better jokes.

VERDICT

Time pass stuff. Just for a few laughs. 

Life in a Metro (2007)

What's it about:

           Set in Mumbai, the film deals with the lives of people who are stuck in matters of love, family and relationships.

       Amol and Shivani are an elder couple who re-unite after 40 yrs to spend their twilights together. Rahul is an ambitious young man who goes to the extent of lending his flat to his office seniors so that he can get some money through promotion, for his dream restaurant.  Shikha has a troubled family life and she finds solace in a struggling theater actor. Shikha’s husband has an affair going on with Rahul’s one side love Neha. Neha’s roommate and Shikha’s sister, Shruti is looking for her ideal man and she finally finds her match in Monty, a naïve good-at-heart man.

    All the characters are connected in one way or the other and the film is basically a relationship drama. 

                                                                             

Hits

• Some natural acting from all the actors. The film has a huge ensemble cast.
• Irfan Khan leads the pack with his innocent portrayal of Monty.
• Shilpa Shetty impresses with her acting skills as well, for a change and she looks absolutely smoking hot in that one moment of closeness she has with her lover. 
• The songs are all melodious

Misses

• The climax is in total contrast with the realistic nature of the film. It is quite funny and dramatic and sticks out sorely
• The gang of 3 performers who come in each song, becomes repetitive

VERDICT

A serious, watchable relationship movie.  

Haunted 3D (2011)

Whats it about:
A real estate broker Rehan goes to a place called Glen Manor to finish a deal. He has 10 days to finish his work but he starts seeing and experiencing many spooky things. He later comes to know through a letter about what all happened in this place about 75 yrs back.
    Meera lives with her family in this place and she gets sexually molested by her piano teacher Mr. Iyer. Meera succeeds in killing Iyer before getting raped but Iyer comes back as a ghost and kills all the remaining ppl in the house and also rapes Meera every other night. Meera commits suicide because of this unbearable torture. And her soul continues to be tormented by Iyer's evil soul till date. Rehan decides to put an end to her suffering.
    In a 'time machine' moment Rehan traverses back in time to the point where Meera is still living happily just before her parents' departure out of station. All the events of the flashback happen in the same order again with Rehan also being one of the parties in these events. Rehan can't prevent Mr. Iyer getting killed. So, Mr. Iyer's ghost is still very much in the picture in the second half too.
   Rehan tells Meera and the housemaid Margaret the truth about his existence and he somehow succeeds in stopping Mr.Iyer repeating his atrocities through a combination of Islamic beliefs.
   In the end, Rehan returns back to the present moment after saving Meera and he again reads a letter this time telling about how Meera has lived a happy life. He sees a lot of photos proving Meera's happy life.

                                                               
Hits

• Technically brilliant. The VFX, cinematography and the locations add to the thrills and spills
• The 3d effects are decent. They give us the creeps at times
• The heroine Tia Bajpai looks very sexy and beautiful and she also wins our sympathies during her times of torment. She expresses the fear very well.
• The hero Mahakshay is ok. He proves his skills at dancing in one scene. But, he doesn't have much to do. 
• Arif Zakaria as Mr.Iyer is the biggest terror seen in Indian cinema in recent times. He looks devilish and the way his character has been sketched makes it a real scary experience. 
• Achint Kaur is another scary looking human and in the second half when her character Margaret gets possessed by Iyer's spirits and she starts flying around from tree to tree, it really is scary and thrilling. 
• The creativity of the story writers in telling a typically entertaining Indian ghost saga, needs to be lauded
• Some really intense scenes like the scene when Meera gets raped by Iyer's evil spirit, the scene when Iyer gets killed etc. are sure to send shock waves. 
• The BG score adds to the eerie effect.
• The songs are all montages and are good. 

Misses

• The 'time machine' moment in the film when just a tune played in the piano takes Rehan back in time, is highly illogical even for a fantasy film
• The movie is quite long. Though it is never boring. 

VERDICT

The best horror film seen in Indian cinema in a long time. Vikram Bhatt deserves all the appreciations and applause. 

Aadukalam (2011)

Whats it about:
      Set in the backdrop of rooster fights, this film is a take on the ego issues that arise in a person when he sees his own protege becoming a big name in the same field.
      K P Karuppu dedicates his life to rooster fighting and he dotes behind his master and 'brother-like' Pettaikaran and Durai, another Pettakaran protege. His mother wants him to be more responsible in life but the naive Karuppu is always fully behind Pettaikaran and his pet rooster.
      Karuppu also falls for Irene an anglo Indian Madurai girl and a nice matured relationship exists between them based on mutual trust. Pettaikaran has a fierce rival Rathnasamy, and Karuppu is a major reason for Pettaikaran's total domination in all rooster fights. Rathnasamy yearns for one final shot at victory
      Once, KP goes ahead with a fight using his pet rooster in-spite of his master asking him to kill that rooster on an earlier occasion. His rooster totally dominates and wins thrice against drugged roosters. Karuppu wins a huge sum of money as a bet from Rathnasamy and he becomes a major hero in Madurai.
      Following this, the master becomes totally insecure, avoids Karuppu, starts hating Karuppu's new found name and fame and he starts playing foul with Karuppu's life. His ego starts playing big time.
      Pettaiakaran hides KP's prize money, indirectly leads to KP's mother's death, instigates Durai against KP, fights with his wife Meena over KP and also tries to separate Irene from KP.
      Finally KP comes to know of his master's real intentions. He feels so broken and sorry for his master's pitiable frame of mind. Pettaikaran kills himself in shame after coming to know of how highly KP thinks of him. KP then leaves Madurai with Irene to start a new life away from all the hate and blood.

                                                                     
Hits

• Vetrimaran's meticulous research on the subject matter and his honesty in admitting his inspirations in the end credits.
• Dhanush. Deserved the national award that he got. Absolutely expressive, energetic and likable. Be it ecstasy, agony or anguish. Dhanush is effortless. 
• GV Prakash. Both the songs and the BG score add value. All the songs in particular are cult classics and well picturized too.  
• Tapsee is cute and decent as Irene. A fine debut.
• Jayabalan as Pettaikaran, Kishore as Durai, the guy who comes as Rathnasamy, the lady who comes as Meena and the guy who comes as Karuppu's loyal friend are all A rate. Very natural portrayals from all the other support characters too. They bring in the required intensity and believability to the role and involve us. 
• The rooster fight sequences are as thrilling as real fights. Great work by the VFX team. The interval block is terrific cinema. 

VERDICT

A milestone in Tamil cinema when it comes to the number of National awards it has got. A two part movie which is very sporty in the first half and becomes an emotional roller-coaster in the second. 

Pudhupettai (2006)

Whats it about:
This movie tracks the life of a gangster Kokki Kumar. How he gets into it, how he slowly picks up the tricks of the trade, how he becomes big, how he gets consumed by his greed and lust for power and how he settles in life finally.
     Kumar leaves home fearing for his life after his mom gets killed by his dad. He accidentally gets mixed up with Anbu's gang. He gets into the drug business initially and slowly becomes a dreaded gangster thanks to his expertise with the sword. He kills Murthy's (another big gangster) brother. He goes to the extent of even killing his father for his mother's sake.
     He has an affair going on with Veni, a prostitute. At the same time he also marries Selvi, his friend's sister in a bizarre wedding. Later he marries Veni too learning about her pregnancy.
    He isn't able to control his urge for power and he kills Anbu and heads the gang in no time. He works for Thamizhselvan, a politician. He helps Thamizhselvan many times and but he is refused an MLA seat. His reaction at this, irks and pisses off many.
   He loses Veni and escapes with his baby. He drops off the baby safely and returns to finish off all his remaining enemies and just when we believe he is about to be hung, he is taken away by the ruling party and he joins the party as a replacement for the very same Murthy that he killed.

                                                                   
Hits

• YUVAN. One of his all time best scores. His BGM is scintillating, mesmerizing and suits the mood of the film perfectly. It enhances the movie. That too, the title credits score is something out of the world. And the songs are all cult classics. No need to elaborate more on these songs :)
• Dhanush scores big time too. Initially as the afraid young kid and later as the ruthless and lusting gangster. All expressions are so easy for this national award winning actor. 
• Sneha as the helpless prostitute gets our sympathies. 
• All the other characters coming as gangsters also look and play the part. 
• The action scene with the sword in the first half is classy. But the same sword fight in the climax becomes too unbelievable. 
• The scenes showing how Kumar gets into the gangster world are so full of impact. 
• The final sequence showing Kumar becoming a politician is a nice spoofy take. 

Misses

• Kumar's transition to a feared gangster becomes too soon and abrupt. 
• Some of Kumar's greed and lust doesn't gel with the movie. His marriage with Selvi is one such ridiculous sequence. 
• Dhanush's pencil thin frame doesn't make him look like a gangster though he more than makes up for it with his perfect lingo, body language and expressions. 

VERDICT

With some more fine tuning, this Selvaraghavan film could have become an unanimous favorite.  

Nandalala (2010)

Whats it about:
A grown up retard Bhaskar Mani and a young kid Agilesh go in search of their respective mothers on a common journey. Thaivaasal and Annaivel are their destinations. While Agilesh longs to give his mom a kiss, Bhaskar Mani wants to ask his mother why she had left him in a mental institution for so many years.
   During their road trip, they meet a number of characters. Some of them are hostile while most of them are fine human beings. A helpless prostitute's life is also resurrected during this road trip and she also joins the 2 sons' search for their mothers.
   In a very touching finale we come to know that Bhaskar Mani's mother has become a totally devastated soul ever since her son's admittance to the mental institution  and Agilesh's mother has married another time and has another kid.
   In the end, Mani redeems his mother's life and admits her in a home for the elderly and Agilesh comes to know the truth behind his mother, and accepts the prostitute as his mother. Mani starts a new life as a balloon seller

                                                                 
Hits

• Some terrific performances by Mysskin and the young kid Aswath Ram. Very difficult roles for both of them. Mysskin proves that he is a supreme actor as well and Aswath proves that he is a star for the future
• Maestro Ilayaraja is in tremendous form be it the melodious songs or the goose bumps inducing BG score. 
• Snigdha impresses with her soul stirring performance as the helpless prostitute. Rohini shocks with her appearance in her cameo as Bhaskar Mani's mother
• The feel good nature of the road trip emphasizing the goodness of humanity. 
• Nice camera work covering the vast stretch of empty roads and greenery. 

VERDICT

One of the finest 'mother-sentiment' movies that deserved to strike gold. But it was just another critically acclaimed classic. MUST WATCH

Aayitha Ezhuthu (2004)

What’s it about:

             Set in the world of Tamil Nadu politics, it shows the lives of 3 young men, a student leader Michael, a ruffian Inba and a typical city youngster Arjun.

             Michael wants to serve the people of TN and he shuns even the high profile scholarships that he gets. He inspires all his college mates and the villagers of Neykaaranpatti.  He has a lover and is supported by his concerned mom and 2 sisters.

             Minister Selvanayagam panics due to Michael’s proactive stand and he takes the help of gangsters like Inba to somehow curtail Michael’s growth.  Inba has a troubled relationship with his wife and is caught up between his wife and his own greedy money minded intentions.

             Arjun is hell-bent on going to the US and but he changes his mind after a shootout by Inba to Michael. Arjun saves Michael and he gets inspired by Michael’s ideals and he also joins politics along with Michael and his gang.  Arjun has a nice lover Meera and his father and brother to support him.

             In the end, the team of 4 youngsters lead by Michael wins in their respective constituencies and is shown entering the assembly.

                                                               

Hits

• The same incidents shown from the 3 protagonists’ points of view, is something very new to Tamil cinema. Very novel and classy handling of the screenplay by Mani Ratnam.
• A.R.Rahman comes up with one of his best ever scores, both the songs and the BGM. The title track in particular gives goose bumps all over.
• The 3 heroes are dashing and apt to the core. Suriya as Michael is a dynamo and is aggressive as the ambitious young leader. Madhavan as the local ruffian Inba looks macho and is a real natural as the gangster . Siddharth as the carefree youngster turned politician Arjun is competent too.
• The 3 heroines look beautiful and have their parts too. Meera Jasmine, a terrific actress is obviously the best of the 3. As the concerned and emotional wife Sasi, she is top class. Trisha is very cute and emotes well. Esha is also very cute and like-able.
• Some very good support characters. Bharathiraja as the politician is very natural and utterly believable. The lady who is a sisterly figure to Sasi is again very natural. Sreeman as Dilli, Inba's friend and well wisher is first class. Other characters like Michael's mother and his sisters are all life like too. All the other student politicians make an impact too. 
• The sound design is top class. The sound effects for the fight scenes in particular make a supreme impact
• Some of the stunts are awesome. Michael’s first stunt and his stunt with Inba on the broken bridge are superb

Misses

•           The graphics during Michael’s shootout are tacky
•           The climax fight on Napier Bridge is also very amateurish.
•           After the 3 protagonists’ perspective sequences, the movie somehow loses grip and fails to inspire. 

VERDICT

Deserved a better run. The making style is supreme. Kudos to the master Mani Ratnam for bringing together such a star cast and giving them equal footage. 

Mounam Pesiyadhe (2002)

What’s it about:

Gautam and Kannan are close friends since a long time. Gautam does not believe in love and he has a very bad opinion about the present state of love and lovers. Gautam is fiercely independent. Kannan is in love with Maha and he is an open flirt with all other girls too, except Sandhya, his ‘mora ponnu’. Kannan is a very obedient father-fearing son.

              Gautam isn’t convinced about Maha’s love with Kannan until the very end when an incident to Kannan shows Gautam the extent to which Maha loves Kannan.

              Gautam thinks that Sandhya is in love with him and he also starts falling in love. But, in a sad turn of events, Sandhya is in fact in love with another guy. Gautam had misunderstood Sandhya’s intentions. Gautam walks away totally shattered and even more skeptical about love.

              In the end, Kannan marries Maha and Gautam walks away all alone, mulling over his loneliness. Then all of a sudden, his longtime fan and a girl who has been loving him unconditionally since his college days, resurfaces and convinces Gautam that she is the girl for him. A fairytale climax that gives a very feel good feeling about love and life.

                                                                    

Hits

• Yuvan’s terrific songs and nice soothing BGM. An all-time favorite score from Yuvan
• Suriya looks macho, tough and at the same time very handsome as Gautam. He does adequately and dances like a dream in this film.
• Nanda as Kannan does very well for his debut. The 2 girls are beautiful and don’t have much to do except a few scenes. Trisha makes her debut and is very cute.
• The humor is all situational and the 3^rd friend Selvam provides some good laughs.
• The dialogues are all brilliant. Gautam’s take on love has been brought out with some very humorous dialogs.
• The realistic feel good nature of the entire film.
• The climax is very intelligently linked with the rest of the film, though it appears very cinematic

VERDICT

A great debut by Ameer and a stark contrast from the rest of his later films. One of the all-time feel good films. 

Hot Shots! (1991)

What's it about:
This is a spoof of the movie "Top Gun". The hero, Topper Harley is an US fighter pilot with a reputation to get other pilots into trouble. He is brought back into the force for another mission. His late father also had such a notorious reputation. His dad's shadow looms large over him.
       He also encounters a psychiatrist and falls in love. He has his rivalry with another co-pilot in the force. Finally, he gets his act together and succeeds in his mission in a typically silly manner.
    Everything is told in a very funny and light way. Exactly, how a spoof ought to be.

                                                                      

Hits

• Most of the jokes work well. 
• Lloyd Bridges as Adm. Thomas 'Tug' Benson is a total riot with his sheer idiocy, lack of memory and buffoonery. He is the highlight of the movie

VERDICT

Provides the laughs. Nothing more was expected

Iron Man 2 (2010)

Whats it about:
The film starts off with Tony Stark reviving the Stark expo, to showcase the best inventions from around the world. He is also having trouble with the element palladium that is keeping him alive. His blood toxicity is too high. The Govt is also against the Iron Man suits saying that many duplicates can come up in other countries, which can post a grave danger. But Stark shrugs it off.
    Then comes Ivan Vanko with his dangerous technology based on drones and he poses a major threat to Stark. Vanko is on a personal vendetta mission. Hammer technologies' boss and Stark's business rival, Justin Hammer recruits Vanko to build something that can put Stark in the shade.
    In the meanwhile, Stark and his buddy Colonel Rhodes have a minor disagreement regarding the Iron Man suits and Rhodes escapes with one of the suits.
    Finally Colonel Fury and his SHIELD team help Stark counter the palladium problem. Stark sees one of his father's old videos and gets an idea for the future. He invents a new element to counter his troubles and succeeds big time.
   In the end Vanko's army of drones take on the Iron Man and his side kick, Colonel Rhodes in another Iron Man suit, and are wiped off totally. Hammer is also put in prison for putting the country in danger with his involvement with Vanko.
    The movie ends with Pepper Potts and Stark smooching and also a premise for another sequel is shown

                                                                         
Hits

• As usual Robert Downey Jr. is a style icon. This role is another cakewalk for the charming hero
• The technology, the visual effects and the production values are out of the world, as usual. The artificial intelligence at Stark's disposal is unbelievably advanced and awe inspiring. 
• Gwyneth Paltrow and Scarlett Johansson are the 2 leading ladies. Both have contrasting roles and are a pleasing sight to the eyes. Gwyneth is her cute self and Scarlett gets to show some action moves too. 
• Don Cheadle is a replacement in this version, as Colonel Rhodes. He has a couple of good lines
• Mickey Rourke as the brooding and macho Vanko is imposing as usual. 
• Sam Rockwell as Hammer excels in some scenes. But the scope of his role is limited. 

Misses

• Too much slam bang and not much finesse, particularly in the last 30 mins. Just a showcase of some mind blowing visual effects. 

VERDICT

Another movie that boasts of the best technical values, a huge star cast and great production standards. Watchable once. 

Classic: Milk (2008)

What’s it about

This film is a real life docu-drama of Harvey Milk, America’s first openly gay, elected supervisor. Milk looks back in time and records all his life incidents on a tape that is meant to be played in the event of his assassination. All the incidents of his eventful life as a gay activist play out as the movie progresses.

               Harvey leaves his job as a businessman and runs away to San Francisco on the eve of his 40^th birthday, along with his newly found boyfriend Scott. They move to an area called Castro which is heavily populated by gays from all across America. They open a shop called Castro Cameras. Milk isn’t able to tolerate the atrocities that are committed against gays by the police. So, he unites all the gays and becomes a gay activist. He runs for the job of San Francisco board supervisor for many years and finally gets elected in a history making event.

               He has to fight against anti-gay people like Anita Bryant and John Briggs. He is particularly against a law that proposes to fire homosexual teachers in all schools and even the people who support homosexuals. Finally, Milk ensures that such a law isn’t put in motion, much to the elation of all his supporters.

              People like Cleve Jones and Anne Kronenberg are major pillars in Milk’s career as a gay supervisor in the San Francisco board. But, Milk has a troubled relationship with his boyfriends due to his high profile political career. 

             Another supervisor Dan White is jealous of Milk’s high profile public appearances and at the same time his incompetence compared to Milk’s charm.  So, White assassinates Milk and also Mayor Moscone who was strongly behind all of Milk’s actions. The movie ends with all of the LGBT community conducting a peaceful march in memory of their hero and also some information about what actually happened to the other main players in their respective real lives.

                                                                       

Hits

•  Sean Penn is an absolute natural as the gay Harvey Milk. The facial expressions, the hand gestures are all perfect. Another master-class from Penn
•  James Franco and Emile Hirsch as Scott and Cleve respectively, have adequate parts and they excel with their charm
• The appropriate usage of real footage is particularly impressive
• The narration style through the tape recording is awesome.
• Great painstaking research done by the entire team to recreate all the legendary real life characters and incidents.
• The intensely political scenes are very gripping

VERDICT

A real eye opener about such a huge gay movement with so many obstacles. Though scenes of 2 men kissing and making love were very shocking, their sheer passion to be their true-selves  and not hide in the closet, wins us over. 

I am Sam (2001)

Whats it about:
           The film details the sheer perseverance that a dad (with the intellectual capacity of a 7 yr old) displays in getting back his 7 yr old girl. The girl's mother leaves immediately after her birth. Sam Dawson brings up his kid so lovingly and in his own childish way. Sam has his friends who are all equally childish and genuine at heart. But on the kid's 7th birthday, she is taken away by the Child and Family services on the grounds that her needs can't be met by such an immature and childish dad.
      Sam is helped in his quest by a high profile lawyer who takes up his case for free. This lawyer, Rita has a reputation for being very money minded. But Sam despite all his efforts, isn't able to cope up with the court's proceedings and loses Lucy to 2 foster parents without a kid.
      But Sam perseveres and moves closer to Lucy's new home and their bond is rekindled in a much closer manner than before. The foster mother, Randy is so moved by the pure love that exists between the dad and kid that she gives Lucy up to her rightful owner. The film ends with Lucy back with her dad & Randy more than willing to help Sam in raising Lucy.

                                                               
Hits

• Marvelous show by Sean Penn as the autistic man with the brain of a 7yr old. Masterclass. Genuine genius
• Michelle Pfeiffer is also very natural as the high profile lawyer. She excels in the scene where she breaks down before Sam, saying how her life has become such a struggle. 
• The kid Dakota Fanning is super natural. What a brilliant actress at such a young age. A big future star without a doubt
• Sean's childish friends provide some classic comedy. Such innocence and sincerity in these 'children' men.
• Laura Dern as the foster mother is also good in the emotional scenes in the climax. 
• Nice soundtrack and songs by John Powell
• Pure emotions and love revealed

VERDICT

The triumph of pure parental love and perseverance. Worth a watch for the brilliant acting, all around.