Aaranya Kaandam (2011)

Plot
This is another gangster movie based on the theme "The survival of the fittest". A bag of cocaine is the bone of contention among 2 groups of gangsters headed by Singaperumal and Gajendran. The cocaine belongs to Gajendran's gang while Pasupathy of Singaperumal's gang sniffs it and wants to sell it off and settle in life.

Singaperumal is impotent and he has Subbu as his keep. Sappa is a small time guy with an addiction for video games who is with Singa for small time jobs including matters regarding Subbu. Sappa falls for Subbu and she also reciprocates his feelings or that's what we believe till the very end.

Kalaiyan and Kodukkupuli a father-son duo are in the city to recover some money to pay off their debts. Their rooster is their only source of income. They lose their rooster to Singa's sickle and the cocaine bag ends up with this duo incidentally and what follows is a series of kidnappings, lots of bloodshed and murders and finally it is the smartest and the fittest that survive. The brawny macho gangsters are all eliminated and in the end a new gang-leader is born and there is also a major boost to womanhood in the climax.

Hits

• Yuvan boosts the movie in unimaginable ways. His use of violins, strings, piano leave us with goose bumps on many occasions. The jazzy style music heard in Guy Ritchie and Tarantino movies is also heard here. Yuvan continues to dazzle.
• The fight choreography is a straight tribute to Tarantino's style. Blood literally sprays all over the place like in Kill Bill. Marvelous to see and a sight to behold. 
• The cinematography is innovative to say the least. The picture clarity, the angles, the slow motions etc. are all top notch
• The slick editing also adds to the style quotient. This is in fact one of the most stylishly made Indian films
• The dialogues are all spot on and earn claps at many places. Liberal use of expletives add to the rustic effect. The Rajini, Kamal, Vijaykanth, aunty jokes are all spot on.
• Some brilliant acting by the guy who comes as Kalaiyan. Very spontaneous. The kid Kodukkupuli also has a major role and his part is another applause worthy show. His dialogs almost always earned the applause of the crowd. 
• Sampath can give any hero a run for his money. Very suave and debonair as the gangster. Jackie Shroff is imposing and his lazy style suits the character perfectly. The way he grins his teeth bare is superb. Ravikrishna is again aptly cast as the useless Sappa who trusts everyone. Yasmin pulls off a shocker in the end as Subbu. Initially very naive, her's is among the most weighty characters in the movie. 
• All the other small characters like the money minded police, the Gaja brothers, the guy who cracks aunty jokes make a mark easily

VERDICT

Near perfect ... in fact perfect. How humans are also part of the food chain where humans consume other humans is what this movie tells. A brilliant debut by Thiagarjan Kumararaja. He is one for the future. 

Avan Ivan (2011)

The Plot
Walter Vanangamudi and Kumbidren Saamy are step brothers. While Walter wants to be a dance artist, Saamy is happy with doing petty robberies with his small side kick. Walter is slightly effeminate thanks to the influence of 'Highness', the entire family's godfather and a highly respected man in the village. The brothers have their petty rivalries over who is the better thief and their mothers are also constantly at loggerheads over who is the superior son. But they are very close and their bonding is very strong. The brothers also have their love stories going on with 2 timid village girls, a policewoman and a college girl.

The brothers have their stints with the police who are mere buffoons. They also have a minor disagreement with Highness over Saamy's girl, which ends well nevertheless.There is also a villain in the story in the form of a man who deals in illegal cow business. 'Highness' gets mixed up with this man's business and what follows is a brutal last half hour which will surely leave a lump in your throat for the sheer intensity and emotionally draining nature of Bala's film making.

                                                             

Hits

• Vishal has come up with the performance of a life time. His intro scene is among the most daring. His comic sense during the scenes where he woos his girl, the scene where he performs before the entire school and his performance in the final half hour of the movie is surely worthy of many awards. 
• Yuvan is supreme as usual. His title score is mesmerizing. His BGM for the villain is also quite chilling. He has given 2 extra songs both of which are very good. At lots of places, the BGM adds to the emotional value of the film 
• Arya is also impressive with his comic timing and his bonding with Arya is evident. His act is very similar to Suriya's Pithamagan role. 
• Both Arya and Vishal have become experts at the 'kuthu' dance
• G.M.Kumar as Highness makes a huge impact in the second half. His role is among the most daring character roles in Tamil cinema history. 
• Ambika and the lady who comes as the mother of Arya bristle with energy and typical village charm. The young side kick of Arya is another typical village lad.

Misses

• Suriya's absolutely needless cameo and his attempts at self promotion show him in very bad light. He better stay away from such nonsense in the future.
• The obvious similarities to Pithamagan
• The characterization of the police as sheer buffoons
• The 2 lead ladies, though very pretty (particularly Madhu Shalini) are mere show pieces and their love with the lead guys is also very cinematic. 

VERDICT

A typical Bala product. The performances of Vishal, G.M.Kumar and Arya, in that order,being the major resurrection.   

Smokin' Aces (2007)

What's it about

Buddy 'Aces' Israel, a part of the mob, wannabe gangster and a showman, decides to turn police informant and give vital information about Primo Sparazza and the rest of the La Costra Nasa gang. Word spreads around about this and a whole lot of hit men are out to kill Buddy and get his heart for Primo. The FBI is also hot on heels to keep Buddy safe in protective custody at a hotel in Lake Tahoe.

Slowly things start turning out really violent at the hotel and there is a whole lot of bloodshed. One of the FBI agents Carruthers is also killed. Things go according to the FBI Deputy Director Locke’s plan and all the hit men who are out to get Buddy are left humbled.

Finally it becomes clear to Carruther’s dejected partner Agent Messner that it is all a part of the FBI’s plan to get Agent Heller one of their old time agents, who actually is Primo Sparazza. He had gone undercover many many years back and Buddy is actually his son. They need Buddy’s heart due to the blood compatibility, for a transplant to save Sparazza aka Heller. The FBI would get all the information about the mob that they need from Sparazza himself, after this operation

The FBI had used many ppl including their 2 agents as mere pawns in this operation. Messner is totally blown out hearing this huge setup by the FBI, from Locke and he pulls out the life support of both Buddy and Sparazza in one go, in the end. He feels that this FBI created monster Sparazza is a man who has killed so many FBI agents and that he doesn't deserve to live, along with the other wannabe Buddy Israel. 

                 

Hits

• The screenplay is chaotic and very fast. Lots of characters and complexities. Full attention needed. 
• Very stylish making by Joe Carnahan. 
• Good BG score by Clint Mansell
• The characterization of Buddy Israel is very impressive. Always hyperactive and lively with a pack of cards in hand. Jeremy Piven rocks. 
• Ryan Reynolds as the rugged FBI agent is apt too. All the other characters in this huge cast also play their parts well. 
• The final twist in the tale about the identity and mystery surrounding Sparazza is quite shocking and makes us sit up. 

Misses

• The final scene at the hospital room where Messner pulls the plug, is quite cinematic. 
• Ben Affleck's role proceeds so stylishly until he is killed off suddenly. A big dampener that was. 

VERDICT

A chaotic ride that is engaging and the final twist in the tale is sharp too. Worth watching.                                                                        

The Hangover (2009)

What's it about:
             3 childhood buddies Phil, Stu, Doug and Doug's soon to be brother-in-law Alan, go on a bachelor party to Vegas to celebrate Doug's last few days of bachelorhood. They take a Mercedes and vow to have some crazy fun and also to not tell anyone about all this fun. In short, they want to forget what they would be doing in these days.
             As expected they have some amazing fun but unfortunately, Doug's whereabouts become a real mystery to the other 3 men, after they wake up in the morning at their villa . They find a tiger in their bathroom and a baby at their doorstep. Stu is missing a tooth and all the 3 have no clue as to what happened the previous night. As the wedding nears, the 3 friends need to find Doug and reach the marriage on time.
             After a lot of searching and roaming, they find that Stu had married a stripper the previous night, and that the tiger belongs to Mike Tyson. They piss off the cops and also get involved in a mix-up with a Chinese big shot over gambling at the Bellagio casino.
             Finally after a lot of confusions, they realize that they had left Doug on the terrace of their hotel, the previous night. They put the pieces together in the end and reach the marriage just in time. All is well and fun in the end after Stu breaks up with his control freak girl friend, Melissa
     

                                                                     
Hits

• Zach Galifianakis must be one of the most funny men around. Just seeing him, brings in the laughs and his style of dialog delivery is cool and unhurried. That makes it even more funny.
• Bradley Cooper looks every inch the cool dude and has great screen presence. Ed Helms impresses with his frustration and desperation as Stu
• Ken Jeong in a short cameo as Mr. Chow is a riot. His intro scene where he springs up naked, bashes the 3 men and runs away, is one of the most funny scenes ever. His dialog delivery is cute too. 
• The sound track is rocking and has many famous party songs.
• One of the most feel good, jolly buddy movies ever made. 
• Crazy comic situations and hilarious dialogs. 

VERDICT

This will be the very first movie that will come to your mind whenever you need a stress-buster and some wholesome hearty laughs ... 

Ghosts of Girlfriends Past (2009)

What's it about:

    Connor Mead is a fashion photographer and a very high profile one at that. He is a hard core playboy and has a way with the women. He sleeps with countless women. He goes back to his uncle’s home for his brother’s wedding. People are surprised to see him there, including his childhood sweetheart Jenny.

    He starts messing up things there unintentionally. The marriage is even broken at a stage. Then, he realizes all his past follies thanks to the intervention of 3 ghosts (his first sex partner, his secretary and an angelic woman) and his uncle's ghost. They take him through his past life, his relationship with Jenny, his numerous flings at women and he realizes his faults and repents for them. 

    Finally he patches up the marriage again and he also gets back his sweetheart Jenny. 

                                                                      

Hits

• A normal story of a playboy mending his ways, told in a funny and cheeky way through ghosts and all.
• Matthew McConaughey looks handsome and is apt as the playboy, but he looks gay with long hair in the flashback sequences. 
• Michael Douglas as Uncle Wayne is uber cool with his attitude and demeanor. The way he calls Connor as Dutch is terrific. 
• Jennifer Garner looks chic and charming. 

VERDICT

A feel good and pleasant relationship movie. Rated very low in IMDB but ... 

Classic Revisited - Fight Club (1999)

What's it about:
     A man gets so frustrated with his mundane life, mundane job and materialistic condo life. He doesn't sleep and he goes to all sorts of health group sessions to meet other losers and feel a bit better. Still something is missing as he finds another person called Marla Singer who is also a roamer like him without any diseases.
     Then he meets a person called Tyler Durden who happens to be everything that he aspires to be in life. He loses his apartment to a fire, moves in with Tyler, starts a fight club which soon becomes really famous among scores of other frustrated men.
     Soon a big movement called 'Project Mayhem' starts. More people are recruited by Tyler who gives them all sort of assignments that mock at the materialism in society. These men are all bald and live their lives in teams and in a set pattern. Marla Singer is also very much a part of Tyler's life and they have so many spectacular sessions in bed.
     Then one day, Tyler ditches our man and he disappears. Our man is perplexed and slowly he figures out in a shocking turn of events that he actually is Tyler Durden. He had created an alter ego to make himself feel better and this alter ego is all that our man wanted himself to be. He dresses like how our man wants to, looks like how he wants to and fucks like how he wants to.
     People around him knew all along that Tyler Durden is only one man, Marla knew it too. But, our man believed all along that Tyler Durden is a separate individual. He had been hallucinating on many occasions about his alter ego. He had caused so much pain to himself thinking that Tyler Durden is doing it to him. He had been imagining that Tyler had been fucking Marla, and not him.
     Finally he figures it out after a major struggle with his alter ego and after so many self inflicted punches, bruises and bullets. But, he can't stop Project Mayhem because of the sheer strength of his army and he watches all the credit card companies biting the dust in the end along with his re-united lover, Marla Singer.

                                                                       
Hits

• Brad Pitt as the imaginative, alter ego of Tyler Durden turns in one of the most stylish performances in motion picture history. His looks, his body, the fighting style, the attitude and the dialog delivery are a class apart.
• Edward Norton is overshadowed by his alter ego, Brad Pitt. But still the sophisticated and neat style of Norton is immensely like-able. The final half hour where he struggles with himself is a desperate treat to watch. How can he hit himself so convincingly :)
• The male oriented dialogs are a major plus. They spew aggression, attitude, desperation and frustration. The "I am Jack's" series of dialogs are something totally new. 
• The twist in the tale about the identity of Tyler Durden is shocking. 
• Helena Bonham Carter as Marla Singer is another performance that is brimming with attitude and carelessness. Her unique relationship with Tyler that starts in the group sessions, is new to cinema. 
• The tryst with the world of therapy sessions is new too. All sorts of groups. Testicular cancer, tuberculosis, brain tumor etc etc. 
• Nice information thrown in here and there about the making of soaps too :)

Misses

• The method that Tyler uses to eliminate his alter ego in the climax is highly debatable. He shoots himself in the mouth and still comes out alive. People around him say that he is a tough motherfucker. But still this scene is a bit too much. He even talks properly within minutes of the bullet firing. 

VERDICT

The very best guy movie that is full of style and attitude. The climatic twist that brings in the hallucination element is the cherry on the cake. 

Source Code (2011)

What's it about
A dead American soldier, Colter Stevens is sent on a 'Source Code' mission which is all about time re-assignment and parallel reality. Colter's brain is activated from inside an isolated chamber and Colleen Goodwin and Dr.Rutledge give him instructions as to what he has to do. He is on life support all through the mission.
     Colter assumes the identity of a teacher Sean and he is sent to the scene of a Chicago train just 8 mins before a major explosion. His task is to find out the bomb and also the person responsible for the bombing. This bombing is expected to trigger a series of further explosions in Chicago.
     The thing with this Source Code mission is that the past can't be altered but the future can be affected. So the persons who are on the train with Colter are already dead. He can't save the people on the train or that is what Dr.Rutledge and Goodwin assume.
     Colter finally nabs the person responsible Derek Frost, after a series of failed 8 min attempts where he is brought back and forth between the chamber and the train scene. He prevents the bomb blast, arrests Frost and takes away Christina Warren, a woman who is known to Sean and who is very attractive to Colter as well, for coffee in the streets of Chicago.
    Rutledge plans to use Colter for more such missions by re-initializing him and wiping his memory whereas Goodwin wants to shut down Colter's life support and give him his death after his great service. But Colter proves to them through a message, that the Source Code leads to a parallel world where the past can be altered. Quite a complex and debatable climax.

                                                                     
Hits

• The utterly original cinematic concept of 'Source Code' based on quantum physics and parabolic calculus, by the director Duncan Jones. Too complex and worth paying attention to. 
• Breathtaking cinematography, particularly the aerial shots of the Chicago train and the city.
• Rugged yet sophisticated looking Jake Gyllenhaal is perfect and like-able as Colter Stevens
• Cute role for Michelle Monaghan as Christina. Quite a serious and dignified role for Vera Farmiga as Goodwin.
• The VFX effects for the bomb explosion are decent.
• Good support role for Jeffrey Wright as Dr.Rutledge, the utterly brilliant and path breaking scientist.

Misses

• The climatic twist stating that the Source Code leads to a parallel world blots the otherwise brilliant movie. The movie could have ended at the point when Colter kisses Christina, on preventing the bomb explosion, after his final 8 mins of life support in the chamber. 

VERDICT

Plenty of food for thought and entertaining too. Another mind bending fantasy from Hollywood.