Kill Bill: Vol. 1 (2003)

'Black Mamba' aka 'The Bride' is seeking revenge on the fellow members of her squad - 'The Deadly Viper Assassination Squad' led by Bill. They had ravaged her marriage at the gospel and she just about manages to stay alive. After a coma lasting 4 yrs, she wakes up and goes about her job with a big "Hattori Hanzo" sword and with a lot of style and guts.

She finishes 2 of the members - Vernita Green and O-Ren Ishii in this part. O-Ren Ishii is the leader of the Tokyo underworld and she has a huge entourage of mob-men and bodyguards. The Bride finishes them all singlehandedly.

Hits

• Quentin Tarantino's aesthetic and artistic film-making style that glorifies violence, blood and gore. He shows it in such a stylish way.
• Uma Thurman exudes grace, hostility, elegance and style all at the same time. What a tall, graceful and agile woman
• The BG soundtrack as with all Tarantino movies. So many catchy tunes, some retro style tracks and funky sound effects. RZA is the composer. 
• Lucy Liu and her 17 yr old bodyguard Gogo are menacing. 

Comments

• Glorifying violence, blood and gore. It is a blood fountain literally. 
• The action choreography for the scene in Tokyo where 'The Bride' kills around 100 people is unimaginable, far-fetched yet super stylish and aesthetic. 
• Usage of stylish animation and black/white frames to reduce the bloodbath on screen, is a good idea. 

VERDICT

A simple revenge story told in an aesthetic and stylish manner by Tarantino

Snatch (2000)

Another "chain reaction" movie from Guy Ritchie where there are a lot of characters and one action leads to the other, leading to a classy climax.

Here a diamond is the bone of contention and people like 'Franky Four Fingers', Avi, 'Bullet Tooth Tony', the Russian Boris, 3 Negros, Doug etc are involved in this.

Meanwhile, Turkish and Tommy get mixed up with 'Brick Top' over betting in an unlicensed boxing match involving 'Pikey' Mickey. Men like Errol work for 'Brick Top'.

The 2 tales coincide and all the characters are interconnected leading to the climax. As expected, there are lot of deaths and a few men escape with their dear lives as well as get some good fortune in the form of diamonds and money.

Hits

• The non-linear screenplay particularly in the scene when Borris gets banged in the middle of the road by the Negros' car and Bullet Tooth Tony's car crashes due to the milk thrown out from Turkish's car. 
• The dialogs are too hilarious and typically British. The scene when Tony compares the Negros to a dick and 2 balls is outrageously brilliant. 
• Brad Pitt's style of speaking and his lean and mean body. Cult. His fighting scenes are short yet his bare-knuckle punches have high impact.  
• Benicio Del Toro is another man with a totally elegant yet heroic style. He is made for such casual sort of drugged roles. 
• The typical Guy Ritchie elements like jerky camera movements, groovy soundtrack, funky character names, tongue-in-cheek dialogs etc. The man sure has a unique style.  

Comments

• Quite complex and needs undivided attention as with any other Guy Ritchie movie. 

VERDICT

Another complex yet casual affair involving a lot of characters in typical Guy Ritchie style. CLASSIC 

Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels (1998)

A classic tale of "chain reaction" where each activity leads to the other. Eddy and his gang comprising Bacon, Tom and Soap are out to make some big money by playing cards at Harry "The Hatchet"'s club. They get into trouble and owe Harry 500,000 pounds. Harry's mob comprising Barry, Chris are behind their life.

What they do to pay Harry off is one big chain reaction involving weed, shady money and this earns them a lot of enemies. One by one their enemies get eliminated in-spite of no effort from their side. In the end, they save their life and even earn a shot at earning a fortune. Whether they took the shot, is anyone's guess

Hits

• A super movie by Guy Ritchie involving money, drugs, crime etc. in typical British style. 
• All the Guy Ritchie elements like a groovy soundtrack, jerky camera movements, crazy characters (like Rory Breaker), funky names etc. are there in this too. 
• The ending is classic.
• All the actors have an equal part and it is the screenplay which is the 'king'

Comments

• The card game played, is quite incomprehensible and doesn't seem to be worth so much money. 

VERDICT
Complex yet casual. Never a dull moment and keeps us hooked throughout. A CLASSIC 

Warrior (2011)

A movie that talks about Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) in the backdrop of 2 brothers, their father and the troubled relationship that exists between them.

Paddy Conlon has 2 sons Brendan, the elder one and Tommy. Paddy was a drunkard and he ignored his wife and his 2 sons when they needed him the most. The 2 sons are still pissed off with him. The brothers themselves have their arguments because Tommy was the one who stuck on with his mother while Brendan settled in life with his lover Tess.

Tommy becomes a war hero and a celebrated marine while Brendan becomes a physics teacher. Both of them are circumstantially lured into the ultimate MMA tournament called Sparta with a 5 million $ winner-takes-all purse. While Tommy does it for his fellow marine's widow, Brendan does it to save his home and family.

Tommy is trained by his dad while Brendan is trained by Frank Campana, one of the best in the business. The brothers expectedly reach the final through contrasting victories and what follows is an intense and emotional fight between the 2 brothers. While one of them obviously loses, their family ties become stronger at the end of the bout.

Hits

• Terrific performances by Tom Hardy (as the brooding, eccentric fighter who beats others to pulp/ as the troubled son and younger brother), Joel Edgerton (as the matured family man/ physics teacher/ elder brother/ underdog fighter who withstands all the beating he gets), Nick Nolte (as the repenting father) and Jennifer Morrison (as the concerned wife)
• The action scenes are awesome. The contrast in Tommy and Brendan's styles adds to the effect. 

VERDICT

One of the best 'fighting' movies with intense family emotions running through. 

Crazy, Stupid, Love. (2011)

Cal has some problems in his marriage with Emily and they decide to part ways. They are married for over 25 yrs and they have 3 kids - Hannah, Robbie and Molly. Emily has an affair with her colleague David.

Just when Cal is down and out and frustrated in the nearby bar, Jacob befriends him and changes his style, looks and outlook towards women. Before long Cal starts nailing woman after woman. But, his heart still beats for his wife despite all these affairs.

Meanwhile, Jacob and Hannah fall in love. Babysitter 17 yrs old Jessica also has a secret crush on Cal while Robbie is madly in love with Jessica. There is a lot of heartache due to all these affairs and secret crushes. Finally, things are sorted out on Robbie's graduation day and it's a happy scene again.

Hits

• The scene where all the affairs and secret crushes are exposed is a real laugh riot. 
• The cool metamorphosis of Cal and the way the romance develops between Jacob and Hannah, are also well shown. 
• Ryan Gosling is a real cool hunk and a serious charmer. Well cast. Steve Carell and Julianne Moore play the elder couple with conviction. Jonah Bobo as Robbie, Analeigh Tipton as Jessica, Emma Stone as Hannah round off the main cast. A job well done by all these actors with no exceptional performance as such. 

Comments

• Quite slow moving

VERDICT

Another relationship movie that might appeal to the chicks and the romantics. 

Engeyum Kadhal (2011)

Prabhudeva's attempt at making a candyfloss romantic movie on the lines of Yash Raj Films' numerous such movies.

Kamal is a prolific businessman who comes to Paris every year for a month just to unwind and have a nice romantic time with the ladies. He doesn't believe in commitment and love. Kayavizhi is a Tamil girl who lives in Paris with her detective father. She falls for the charming Kamal, at first sight. She slowly draws Kamal towards her. In the end, Kamal also reciprocates and feels the same about Kayal. The lovers join as expected

Hits

• The look and feel of the film is so classy and glossy thanks to Paris, the costumes and the attractive lead pair. Nirav Shah has had a nice time capturing all the beauty around
• Hansika Motwani redefines bubbly, cute, charming, innocent, plump and pretty. Her dubbing voice is also very apt. She is expressive too. 
• Jayam Ravi, the handsome dude is best suited for such lover boy roles. 
• Harris Jeyaraj is the heart and soul of the film. Super duper hit songs colorfully picturized by Prabhudeva
• Crisp and not dragging for the most part

Comments

• Some hard to laugh moments provided by Raju Sundaram. Could have been avoided

VERDICT

Above average romantic musical. Definitely watchable 

Rajapattai (2011)

A movie that shows the hero, Anal Murugan taking on a politician (Akka ) and a local dada (Vaapa) who are into land grabbing. Dakshinamurthy is the victim and the ashram land that he has for young kids is coveted by the above said land grabbing goons.

Dakshina is treated like a grandfather by the hero who is a gym boy. The hero is also in love with the college girl across the street and the feeling is mutual. The oldie helps the hero with his experience and tricks at love.

With his local friends and some needless getup changes, Anal does the expected and bashes the enemies to pulp and saves the children and their ashram

Misses

• Total nonsense
• The hero's costumes are garish and totally out of sync with his real life age and personality. 
• The fights don't have the desired impact.
• The jokes don't incite much laughter as well. 
• The songs by Yuvan are below average. The BG score isn't much better either
• The villains are all cliched and mere props with no acting wares
• The getup changes by the hero are a needless exercise at ego-boosting. 

Comments

• Some typical heroism scenes highlighting the hero's brain and brawn in the 2nd half are passable.
• The heroine is just a beautiful doll with nothing to do.
• Some scenes showing the old man advising the so called young men, at love are funny and enjoyable. 
• Vikram's daring hairstyles and facial hair style are worth a mention. 

VERDICT

Nonsensical crap totally unexpected from the promising director and the seasoned hero. PLEASE AVOID