Goon (2011)

This movie is about Doug 'The Thug' Glatt who is a misfit in a family of intellectuals. He works as a bouncer in a bar before being noticed by a local ice hockey team for his 'bashing' skills. He is that good at punching the crap out of anyone who dares to oppose him. He goes to Canada to be on an under performing team and to inspire them.

He uses this skill well on the ice hockey turf, he inspires his team and protects his highly talented but self-destructing team mate Laflamme. He also comes on the winning side in his showdown with fellow thug and goon Ross 'The Boss' Rhea

There is a nice and cute romance thrown into the mix. His friendship with his mate Pat is so brash and informal. Lovely scenes these are.

Ultimately the movie works big time due to the characterization of the 'Thug' played wonderfully by Seann William Scott. His funny dialogs, his rugged looks and innocent charm work solid. Jay Baruchel as the friend is a riot as well with his utter foul mouthing and style. Liev Schreiber is imposing as Ross 'The Boss'. Alison Pill plays the typically confused love interest. She is cute. Eugene Levy just needs to appear on screen and he is funny.

The soundtrack of the movie is beautiful. Opera music has been used extensively. It is a bit surprising that a full fledged fight can just like that happen on the hockey turf. The fights are bloody to say the least as the title card itself will testify.

VERDICT: Works big time thanks to Seann William Scott and the characterization of the goon. 

Project X (2012)

3 high school kids, Thomas, Costa and JB wish to throw the best party anyone has ever thrown on the occasion of Thomas' birthday. They want it to be their game changer. The location is Thomas' house as his parents are away to celebrate their wedding anniversary.

Word spreads around and the party becomes extreme to say the least. X-rated and crazy to the core. Booze, drugs, tits, booty, sex, smooches, music, dance galore.

But, it goes out of hand and the party soon causes destruction to the neighborhood. The party is all over the news and the 3 kids earn a lot of notoriety. They earn a lot of popularity in school as well, and in that sense their motive is fulfilled.

The kids have all enjoyed to the core as they literally party and have sexual fun all through the movie. There is some hot stuff for sure in this movie.

The movie ends with the promise of a sequel and it should be another crazy ride for sure. Todd Phillips' liking for 3 male leads (the wolf pack) continues in this movie as well. He is the producer. After 'Old School', 'Superbad' and the 'Hangover' movies, this one joins the list. FUN GUARANTEED.

VERDICT: X-rated and extreme fun. Truly, a party you've only dreamed about. 

Shanghai review

3.5 / 5

Highly acclaimed director Dibakar Banerjee’s latest offering is Shanghai. It is based on the novel Z by Vassilis Vassilikos. The movie has a very interesting star cast of Emraan Hashmi, Abhay Deol and Kalki Koechlin. This film has been distributed by PVR Pictures and produced by DBP and NFDC. The trailer gave us exactly what to expect – a political thriller based on an investigation into a ‘planned’ accident. Does the actual film satiate our appetite for a riveting investigative thriller?

Bharat Nagar is a typical Indian city (fictional) comprising a lot of naïve, uneducated locals who are all blindly passionate about their ruling party IBP. A big business proposal, also called the IBP (International Business Park) is about to come to this place thereby making it a major developmental hub and a possible Shanghai in future.

The ruling party is firmly behind this business idea. But, social activist Dr. Ahmedi (Prosenjit Chatterjee) wishes to let people know of the actual ground realities of this project and how people would be driven out of their own homes and lands for the sake of this infrastructure. The political bigwigs are obviously not pleased with Ahmedi and wish to eliminate him from the scheme of things, with the help of some naïve citizens of the city. An accident is planned and the doctor is sent into a near death situation. An investigation starts under the helm of the sincere T.A. Krishnan (Abhay Deol), a high ranking bureaucrat.  

Shalini (Kalki), Dr. Ahmedi’s fierce supporter is dying to expose the people behind this accident while Joginder (Emraan), a videographer who is also into pornography, backs Shalini in her pursuit of justice with some important evidence.

The above incidents were all nicely packaged in the trailer itself. Now, whether the actual culprits are exposed, whether the pursuit for justice is fruitful and what happens to the aforementioned protagonists is what Shanghai, the ‘movie’ is about.

Emraan Hashmi has pulled off a really different role in his career for the first time. He has totally gone for an ugly, de-glam look with a paunch as well. His teeth are colored, his laughs are typically rustic and his dressing sense is anything but classy. But, his character wins our hearts. Great show by Emraan. Kalki is fierce and aggression personified. Her character’s motives are lofty and honest. Abhay Deol is a Tamilian in the movie and his English has needlessly been tweaked to make it sound like a Tamilian’s. For example office is pronounced as ‘affice’. A needless gimmick. He speaks broken Tamil also for few seconds and is shown listening to the Vishnu Sahasranamam too. Abhay is required to underplay and he does it well. Prosenjit Chatterjee looks majestic with his beard and spectacles.

There are a lot of local character artistes too, who have done their parts well. The songs by Vishal-Shekhar are among the entertaining elements in the movie. ‘Bharat Mata Ki’ is a chartbuster already. Shanghai has an amazing BGM score too. The movie in fact warrants a repeat just for the pulsating BGM score. The music for the climax and the end credits roll take the cake.

To conclude, Shanghai is another worthy offering from Dibakar Banerjee. He has taken Indian politics as the main subject area and based a nice investigative thriller around it. The way the police and high ranking officials are merely puppets used by politicians according to their whims and fancies, is an oft-repeated plotline in Indian films. But, here it has been shown in a realistic manner without any overt cinematic licenses. How small Indian towns are exploited in the name of big infrastructural development is very relevant to the current times.

The movie is gripping from the word go. You will find yourself sucked into the happenings on screen. The item numbers could have been avoided though

VERDICT: A taut investigative thriller with generous doses of politics.

Man on a Ledge (2012)

An ex-cop, Nick Cassidy is dying to prove his innocence in relation to a diamond theft that he never committed. He escapes from prison and with the help of his brother and his girlfriend, he stages a major drama on top of a ledge in a high rise building in New York City. A negotiating officer tries to talk him out of jumping from the ledge while Nick is in touch with his brother and his girlfriend, as they attempt to steal the very same diamond which Nick was wrongly accused of stealing, in the first place.

In the end, Nick manages to prove his innocence and manages to expose the cops who framed him. The businessman David Englander whose diamond is the one in question, is also arrested for framing Nick.

The scenes on the ledge are very thrilling. The negotiation scenes between the beautiful Elizabeth Banks and Sam Worthington are riveting as well. The theft scenes are also nice thanks to the super hot Genesis Rodriguez who exposes a lot of bust and curves. Sam Worthngton is brooding and serious thanks to his manly voice. Jamie Bell has a cute role as the younger brother. Ed Harris is really old, as the villain.

The movie becomes too far fetched towards the end when Sam just like that, jumps off the building and lands safely on the mattress.

VERDICT: Doesn't end well but it has its thrilling moments. 

Haywire (2011)

This is a revenge story where a female black ops soldier gives it back to her male colleagues for setting her up in a mission at Barcelona. The motives behind the mission are obviously money. But, she escapes and succeeds in killing the people who were responsible for this

The film has some terrific action and chase sequences thanks to Gina Carano, a trained mixed martial arts fighter, kick boxer and fitness freak. It is fun seeing this busty action heroine strutting her stuff. The film has a good soundtrack too.

Channing Tatum and Ewan McGregor have minuscule roles. Antonio Banderas also makes the cast in another small role. Michael Douglas is there too.

The presentation and theme is similar to Kill Bill, though the motive for revenge here is purely professional.

VERDICT: Simple payback movie with a busty action heroine and her credible fight sequences. Strict one time watch.  

Saguni music review

3 / 5

Saguni is Karthi’s release after close to one and a half years. In this gap, the expectations and hype around him have increased manifold. He is a mass hero in his own right now. At such a time, Saguni arrives with the beautiful Praneetha and comedy superstar Santhanam in tow. G.V.Prakash joins hands with Karthi for the 2^nd time after ‘Aayirathil Oruvan’. Let’s see if he has lived up to his lofty levels.

Kandha Kaara Vadai … THUMBS UP

Shankar Mahadevan

Lyrics: Paramu

This is an enjoyable number about life in the city. It is a jolly ride all the way with catchy words and typically expressive singing by Shankar Mahadevan. The tempo never drops with the instrumentals aiding in the pace of the song. Will be a winner in all probability. It would be interesting to see Karthi enacting the lyrics out on screen. A new number for G.V.Prakash, definitely

Manasellam Mazhaiye … THUMBS UP

Sonu Nigam, Saindhavi

Lyrics: Na. Muthukumar

When you have Sonu Nigam, you know what to expect. A full-fledged melody, it is. When Saindhavi is there for company, it adds to the melodic quality even more. Her voice sounds shrill though. The flute and the whistles gel well with the song.  Will the masses take a liking to this melody? Time will tell.   

Vella Bambaram … THUMBS UP

Baba Sehgal, Priya Himesh

Lyrics: Vivega

This is an energetic and cheeky number. A comedy duet, so to speak, what with the teaser already showing us glimpses. The flute has a prominent presence in this song as well. The singers add the necessary punch to this song. Will appeal to the kids for sure.

Pottadhu Pathalai Maapillai … THUMBS UP

Velmurugan

Lyrics: Annamalai

This number was an instant hit when the 20 seconds version was out itself. Songs centered on alcohol have generally hit the bulls-eye as the youth instantly connect to such songs. The trumpet and ‘thaara thappatta’ are part and parcel of such ‘gaana’ songs. The veena is a nice addition as well. Deva was en expert at such numbers and now GVP has one to show in his resume as well.

Aatukkutti Muttaipodum Solliduvaanda

Pushpavanam Kuppusamy

Lyrics: Na. Muthukumar

A song centered on the elections, politicians and the general voting process. Given the genre of the movie, such a song was expected. It is a happy ‘thiruvizha’ type song with the trumpet, ‘nadaswaram’ in full flow and Pushpavanam Kuppusamy is an expert at such songs.

VERDICT: The songs have all been composed with the sole intention of entertaining the audience. Save the melody, the rest all play to the gallery all the way. Good ‘mass’ album.

Rowdy Rathore review

2.5 / 5

Following the massive success of Housefull 2, Akshay Kumar is back in action with Rowdy Rathore, the remake of Vikramarkudu which was also made as Siruthai in Tamil. The trailers met with good response from the general masses. Whether this film directed by Prabhudheva (yes that is how he spells it now) and produced by Sanjay Leela Bhansali in association with UTV, does provide the expected entertainment quotient? Read on to find out.

Shiva (Akshay) is a petty thief who is an expert conman along with his partner in crime, 2G. He makes a lot of money out of this and also succeeds in bowling a girl over (Sonakshi as Paro) with his dubious charm and antics. But after the entry of a little girl (Chinki) into his life who calls him as her father, things turn upside down for Shiva. Certain people are behind his life while certain people swear by his side. The reason for this is Vikram Rathore, a perfect lookalike and a daredevil, proud and larger than life cop.

We come to know of Vikram’s unfinished business in a village called Devgarh which is tormented by three goons, Baapji, Munna and Titla. How Shiva gets involved in finishing the job started by Vikram is the remaining part of Rowdy Rathore.

There is no point in comparing this movie with the original as it is more or less a faithful remake. The essence of the original is not lost though as comedy, action, sentiment and masala are there in correct doses.

Akshay Kumar is in home territory as funny antics, punch dialogs, clumsy body language, atrocious dressing sense etc. are so easy for him. He pulls it off convincingly though a proper mustache would have helped his looks much more than the artificial mustache. Sonakshi Sinha dresses properly as the mandatory eye-candy in a commercial movie though the scenes involving her waist give us doubts whether they are graphically enhanced. The villains are all loud, inclusive of the seasoned Nassar as Baapji.

Among the songs, ‘Chinta Ta’ is a universally likeable number with special appearances for Vijay, Kareena and Prabhudheva himself. They are all ‘blink you miss’ type cameos. The other songs will appeal to the masses though placement of these numbers has been done randomly. Costumes for the songs are pretty crude and could have been toned down. Action choreography by Arasu Kumar has the necessary punch what with Akshay’s proven prowess at martial arts.

The mother sentiment element in the movie might be laughable for the youth but, will appeal in the heartland of the country.  Ultimately, this is a movie that will give critics a lot of fodder to pan the fact that this is a mindless commercial movie. But, this is escapist cinema and it is meant to be enjoyed. Just switch off your analytical mind and you will find yourself clapping and whistling happily at many points in the movie

To conclude, Rowdy Rathore in all probability will join the list of blockbusters (Bodyguard, Ready, Singham, Wanted) remade from Southern super hits. This will also give that much needed solo hit for Akshay Kumar who has generally been riding on multi-starrer comedies for the past few years. This being another cop movie based on the South, after Singham, Force and Wanted is another coincidence.

VERDICT: Proper masala fest guaranteed to please the average movie goer