Recently Watched

Watched the much touted Raja-Rani, the modern , yet sob-sob version of "Nenjathai kiLLAdhE". I am surprised to see the sky high praise for GVP's bgm . Indha so called romanticla songs onnu kooda thEralangaradhu vEra vishayam. Does GVP think he is scoring for an action flick with all those loud rock guitars , heavy drumming ?? cha!!! For someone like me who had no prior clue of the fim's genre, I was expecting some crime every now and then. Idhu thaan mAman kAttiya orthogonal bgm vazhiyA? Indha lakshanathula andha forum la ALAlukku Radha Ravi mEla orE pAichal vEra.  - thumburu

That radharavi video was as funny as it gets- nothing he spoke was coherent.. 
but 15 crore salary for such shitty work is as good as it gets I must say..

Watched, OAK, not-so-great print online. Will certainly rewatch once better print is available. IMO, just like Nandhalalaa eventhough the score and the film are in sync for the most part, I felt the score was too good for the film (I echo balachidambaram's thoughts here) Here are my notes.

1. I was actually expecting a Yudhdham Sei-esque thriller but in #OAK Mysskin was in his Nandhalala mode which is not something I dig. But in spite of that the movie works, for the most part. Its a simple straightforward story told with the usual Mysskin idiosyncrasies. Lot of things worked.

2. The complete irreverence to human lives. I mean the way people, lots and lots of them, die in this film are handled in such a casual manner. Even the ones who matter the most, like the members of the blind family. But the funny part is all this happen because of the (unintended) loss of a single life.

3. 'Gods'. There are Gods everywhere. Right from piLLaiyaar in various forms to a cemetry to the funny invocation of the Gods when people die to Edward appA shooting at them. That gun pointed towards the sky was as effective as the 'the** magan' comment in naan kadavuL.

4. Some excellent typical (Nandhalala) Mysskin moments. The ones what worked are the ones involving the family. The death of the sister character, Mysskin stabbing at the feet of the people who damaged the mother's feet and the gun on Edward appa.

5. Some matter-of-face outrageously hilarious lines like, 'Police kaasu koduththaa vittRumpA" by Edward appa in response to Sri's 'whole family in police custody'.

6. Mysskin's monologue - the biggest compliment I can give is I did not laugh at it while watching the film. I am sure it will be hilarious on rewatches, but what an idea! Brilliant, in telling the history of the accident and the geography of the incident in a matter of two minutes. But Mysskin, who did not care to explain a single thing in Yuddham Sei could have done better.

7. Performances in this film are typical Mysskin which are so disconnected from the normal thamizh cinema world, but even within his world, Shaji's was 10 nails-on-blackboard.

8. Thamba's gang, the men on the bike is an extension of Anjathey. The way they die is ROFL stuff. And they hold a holy bible. Mysskin's angst against 'God' is quite apparent.

9. Oops almost forgot, the score, I in fact started watching the film mainly for the score. And till this second 'Walking through life and death' is ringing in my ears. In some places it was so brilliant that it knew what is going on in the screen with a millisecond precision. There are some brilliant pieces which are missing in the film, like Sri-Mysskin's first meeting (no, not when Mysskin was unconscious) and the long climax sequence.

10. To repeat the obvious its a typical Mysskin film happening in his own universe. If you can't come to terms with his *universe* so to speak, this film can be a heckler's delight. It's a pretty good film, but Yuddham Sei (with that horrible last 30) was a much better film. The first 2 hours of that film is just so tremendously awesome that its extremely hard to beat it. And I simply do not understand the unanimous critical acclaim for this one while Yuddham Sei was mostly panned.

V_S wrote:Cliche climax ending in airport.

More out of Nenjathai Killadhe than Mouna Ragam and I was watching a few Mani tards on twitter go "ooohhh it's a copy of Mouna Ragam's climax" when Mouna Ragam was itself a chip off NK's bloc. Dei adangunga da.

Yes, I don't mind the influence of nenjaththai kiLLaathE/mouna raagam, but the movie overall didn't have impact in me, but there were some portions which were too good. Definitely not a bad film. One another scene I loved the most is when Arya throws his birthday gift exactly at the time kids enter the room (door opening) and Sathyaraj seeing it. Lovely, Lovely! On the other hand, I was disappointed that there is not much scope for Sathayaraj. Film could have been more crispier and tighter. Music is a big let down and dampener. I remember some very average/dud movies like thendralE ennai thodu kind, but see how the songs elevated the film. Music is the decider when it comes to love films.

Sutta Kadhai- had no intention of watching it, cousin worked on this movie so had to tag along. titles raised expectations with MD been called 'Isai Muyal'  but the movie left a 'puliyan briyani' taste in the mouthus..rangar calls it 'Monty Pythonesque'  

V_S wrote:Yes, I don't mind the influence of nenjaththai kiLLaathE/mouna raagam, but the movie overall didn't have impact in me, but there were some portions which were too good. Definitely not a bad film. One another scene I loved the most is when Arya throws his birthday gift exactly at the time kids enter the room (door opening) and Sathyaraj seeing it. Lovely, Lovely! On the other hand, I was disappointed that there is not much scope for Sathayaraj. Film could have been more crispier and tighter. Music is a big let down and dampener. I remember some very average/dud movies like thendralE ennai thodu kind, but see how the songs elevated the film. Music is the decider when it comes to love films.

sathyaraj character is very irrational - cool as a cucumber beer drinker partying on new years eve is the guy who gets heart attack on seeing daughter's love failure - doesnt seem all that rational to me.
and why taint 9thara's love(by making jai stage that elementary drama) while keeping arya's thyaagam/sogam at a higher pedestal? mahendran did it in NK mainly because it was a triangle (suhas-prathap-mogan) - but here it was uncalled for. and yes. Mohan, prathap pothen, karthik all are acting stalwarts compared to wooden faced arya - biggest putoff in the movie ..

Yes, lot of logical holes and I am also not convinced/impacted by the flash back stories, very lame. Also, she just believes in a phone call from some friend that it is true, very naive. Whole day she is waiting outside registrar office without even attempting to call his home or trying to get in touch with him, so many like this.

Aadhalaal Kadhal Seiveer is probably my film of the year. It was just perfect, for the most part. Lot of refreshing things

- The akka character, her pregnancy and even the child birth was connected beautifully to the main thread. I mean seconds after a child was born, a plan is formulated to kill another. The horror.

- And liked how it was not one sided. The girls's father too had a couple of friends who could raise their voice.

- Most of the film was void of any drama and even the drama (the scene in which the mother finds out) was handled very well. Except the last few minutes.

- All the side characters, even the mappillai who appears in just one frame has something to do. 

- Manisha's is the performance to beat this year. The character demanded a worthy performance and she did wonderfully well. And like most Susee films the supporting cast was excellent.

- Dint see the final twist coming at all. Extremely unsettling. Even the girl was OK to abandon the child. And has moved on. Just like that.

Now onto the things I dint like, hated HATED that final song. The film should have ended with a close up shot of the child. The song was dramatic, manipulative and unbearable. The Bangalore / police station / minister / hand slit episode did not work. Felt a little disconnected from the other parts of the film.

The best one word description of Susee as a director is 'effortless'. I mean he gets most things right without us realizing it. And the way he gets the milieu right be it a village or a small town or a city is just unbelievable.

Aarambam. Sexy stunts and all that. But film is raNakkodooram.

Nerd wrote:Aadhalaal Kadhal Seiveer is probably my film of the year. It was just perfect, for the most part. Lot of refreshing things

- The akka character, her pregnancy and even the child birth was connected beautifully to the main thread. I mean seconds after a child was born, a plan is formulated to kill another. The horror.

- And liked how it was not one sided. The girls's father too had a couple of friends who could raise their voice.

- Most of the film was void of any drama and even the drama (the scene in which the mother finds out) was handled very well. Except the last few minutes.

- All the side characters, even the mappillai who appears in just one frame has something to do. 

- Manisha's is the performance to beat this year. The character demanded a worthy performance and she did wonderfully well. And like most Susee films the supporting cast was excellent.

- Dint see the final twist coming at all. Extremely unsettling. Even the girl was OK to abandon the child. And has moved on. Just like that.

Now onto the things I dint like, hated HATED that final song. The film should have ended with a close up shot of the child. The song was dramatic, manipulative and unbearable. The Bangalore / police station / minister / hand slit episode did not work. Felt a little disconnected from the other parts of the film.

The best one word description of Susee as a director is 'effortless'. I mean he gets most things right without us realizing it. And the way he gets the milieu right be it a village or a small town or a city is just unbelievable.

Nerd, susee has done his best to appease the yungsters and still stick the cold sharp knife in their throats with that ending. He is a gramathaan to the core and no way he is gonna leave it subtle for city slickers to pick and choose what the film is all about. This is all said and done a modern day julee and vidhi - just made slicker and with a 
lot of head. The final song worked for the 70s born like me rather well. and when u1 sings veedhiyil erindhadhu vaanavillai - i was just erupting in moral glee and pumping my fists at the "immoral" and "casual" younger genx - knowing well that this is just a 90 minute movie - as if susee decided, you immoral worms you are not gonna get a 180 minute Marocharithra ever again for the sick thing you do in the name of Love. Bravo Susee.

Nerd,
Always love to read your movie reviews. As usual excellent short and crisp review on OAK and AKS  Yes, AKS is a strong contender for the movie of the year for me too (till I get a hang of OAK  ). The best surprise in ASK (as Jai mentions often) is the duration of the film. I was watching the film and I thought it is going to be interval, but the film ended. Jokes apart, a very honest and well made film with superb unconventional casting and performances. As you said, 'effortless'.

LOL Jai! The most unsettling thing about the film was, even the girl does not have any feelings for the baby. I mean she is against aborting the child not becuase of love or anything but becuase that may kill her. Which thamizh film has done this before?

V_S saar thanks. Looking forward to your views on OAK especially the music

Nerd wrote:LOL Jai! The most unsettling thing about the film was, even the girl does not have any feelings for the baby. I mean she is against aborting the child not becuase of love or anything but becuase that may kill her. Which thamizh film has done this before?

V_S saar thanks. Looking forward to your views on OAK especially the music

Probably the first film with no protagonists - Even naan kadavul had to have a hamsaveni..

Watched the 1993 film Aathma for the first time. The first 20 minutes interested and I thought this could be a fine film that went unappreciated. Couldn't have gone more wrong in my assessment. Interesting concept all right, borrowed from a novel, but absolutely horrendously executed piece of mind numbingly bull shit cinema. Only saving grace was Raaja's (and Karthik Raaja's) music and a few outstanding songs gone waste. The only sore point of the music was Mano singing a film version of Kamakshi Karuna Vilaasini and killing it with his soulless rendition  Why Raaja? Why?

I thought this could be a fine film that went unappreciated

if anything the movie had quite a following at that time, remember AV giving a glowing review. movie hasn't aged well, rajtv prints just kills it.

Wizzy wrote:

I thought this could be a fine film that went unappreciated

if anything the movie had quite a following at that time, remember AV giving a glowing review. movie hasn't aged well, rajtv prints just kills it.

Oh. News to me. I doubt it could have been considered a finely executed film even then. Interesting concept, not run-of-the-mill yes. But execution looks very silly today and seriously doubt it would have looked better 20 years back too.

Couldn't find a better thread to post this in. Thank me later.

Watched ThalaimuraigaL. Disappointing for a major part. There are a few good/touching scenes. But those are too few amidst a barrage of poorly executed amateurish scenes. Many scenes are redundantly repetitive and the film is a drag. Would anyone believe me if I said that for this 105 minute film? Second half nadula padamE thoongiduchOnu thONichu. And that wouldn't be a problem if the maker had an artistic hold through the film. inga adhuvum illa. sodhappal stuff from BM. Sadly, he does look past his prime in film making.

PS: Fring, sorry youtube says now that the video doesn't exist. What film was it? Athma'vEdhAnA?

drunkenmunk wrote:PS: Fring, sorry youtube says now that the video doesn't exist. What film was it? Athma'vEdhAnA?

Arghh. Saw this only today. Adhu movie lAm illa boss. Likely the most epic comedy scene from an unknown underground kannada movie from the 80s, seemingly with all English dialogues. Looks like the characters are all pidgin english speaking Anglo-indians (how do they dream up these scenarios?). What wouldn't I give to get hold of the full movie. You need to watch and rewatch a few times to "get" the whole thing. Earlier video had several tens of thousands of views and many LOL comments. Anyway here is the newly uploaded one.

About a couple of films I saw lately.

Kalyana Samayal Sadham - What started out excellently became a laborious exercise towards the end. Really liked the character arcs in the first half. The twist and the jokes surrounding it worked wonderfully well. Not even a bit of drama except may be that coffee shop scene with the F-I-L. 

They kept the tone / light-hearted for most parts of the first half. And with that conflict, which was well executed no doubt, they changed the tone of the film. And from then on it went downhill. In the last few minutes they made caricatures out of the parents essentially taking off whatever they built with that conflict. I mean did they two fight because of this dunces? If the tone had been kept light-hearted throughout may be I would not have minded the last 5 minutes. On second thoughts, that was ridiculously stupid whichever way one looks at it. And the less said about the drama in that whole kidnap episode, the better. 

Except the leads, stereotypes and cliches everywhere. That NRI dude, the suttramum, natpum etc. மொத்தத்துல சுமாரான படம்.


இதற்குத் தானே ஆசைப்பட்டாய் பாலகுமாரா - ஏதோ ட்ரை பண்ணிருக்காங்க, ஆனா சிப்பே வரலையே..

rAnjhanA...
Waste of time...but it is ok because it was for the sake of a fellow IRF (with the name Dhanush).

Of course, didn't waste money on it (Dearborn Public Library DVD)

பண்ணையாரும் பத்மினியும் ...சுப்பர் அப்பு! அருமையான படம்!
Naturally funny, lovable characters, delightful rural backdrop, feel-good scenes with right amount of emotional situations too.
எங்க ஊரு வண்டி எங்க ஊரு வண்டி ... வழி விடு வழி விடு!
Car sentiment and possessiveness! 
Loved first  tractor- cycle race scene and Pannaiyar car driving lessons scenes.  Peedai scenes are good.
Everybody has done a good & natural work.
  
Small budget regional films are charming!

Watched Kumki (Vijay TV's youtube channel ubayam, HD quality)...

The director / cinematographer duo definitely deserve some praises.

Imman has recycled rAsA in a successful way (some 70's like adi peNNE / muLLum malarum / pagalil oru iravu, some early 80's, chithram maLayALam movie, julie ganapathy's minmini pArvaigaL - many such uL vAngalkaL - but very effective with keyboard stuff)...one way I'm glad that the alternate "new wave" stuff is proved unworthy even in 2012, though this kicked NEPV movie out of BO...

Hero is dumb (despite having NT as grandpA...Prabhu's son with no such indications on screen)...

Others have done a decent job.

I can relate to the mileau / geographical settings! Splendid!

That way, despite all the cinematic stuff, the film deserved to be the winner it proved to be!