‘I’ on Pongal

Today is Sankranti or Pongal Festival over here. And since I didn’t go home, I did the next best thing to do on such a holiday. Went to a movie on my own that was released for this festival and that of my favorite actor Vikram. The movie is called ‘I‘ (trailer was done very well). Went for an early morning show so that I can come back and relax before I hit my gym in the evening (and a perfect excuse to not sleep in late)

I will try and not give any spoilers on that movie. But even before that, here is a picture from my phone of the display that was kept outside the theaters for the festival. 

Happy Pongal or Sankranti to all

OK, now coming back to the subject of the post. A very usual story line but the treatment is what makes it different. But other than everything else, the only one thing that stands out most, as in most of his movies, is the hero Vikram. Wow.. Just Wow…He is a body builder and a perfect chance for him to show his 6 packs and all which he did for this movie. He then becomes the ultra modern model which has a different look and again he does look awesome (even though I am that fond of him without his mustache) and the end a person with disfigurement where his emotions gets you every single time… and even in the scenes where he teases the bad guys…Really, the money was worth his performance alone. Hats off to you Vikram.

Amy Jackson, the cute little British actress, is a model so she gets to show case her pretty body without it being odd and she looks very good, no doubt. And I was glad that her lip syncs were bad only in a very few places. That means a lot.

Santhanam, his lines were simply awesome and was not overdone, as it usually happens. And surprise, you have Powerstar’s special appearance too. I was a little bothered the way the transgender character was portrayed. I wasn’t too happy with that.

Since I am not going into the story line, the going back and forth between the timelines to set the events in motion was a little disconcerting at the beginning but then you get used to it. Loop holes are there but then you tend to not bother with it when so much is happening. Felt like a little too many songs, even though each and every single song sound very good and is shot very very creatively and very beautifully, Shankar style. The cinematography and the action sequences and art direction all deserve a big credit. Especially the fights on the roof tops while riding the cycle was very well done. Amazing team work. It is indeed a visual pongal treat with Vikram. I thoroughly enjoyed it. And one more thing, I guessed the culprit even in the first half. It could have been a little inconspicuous.

Big Hero 6 – Cute

Big Hero 6 – This week’s Saturday movie combined with our customary brunch. The only pain point for me was that it was a 3D movie. I hate 3D’s especially when I was having constant headache due to the sinus and all. But then the movie made up for it, so I can’t complain much. As soon as we entered the theater we saw that it was almost filled with kids of all ages. From almost 3/4 to teen, fully equipped with balloon and talking constantly, arguing. It made the theater very lively. Even before the movie started, they showed another short animation called Feast, which confused us because we thought there was something wrong with the screening of the actual movie. But it was a very cute one.

Again, I am not going into the movie and the story behind it, but if you like animation movies and combine it with some super hero stuff and a big soft bear like robot called Baymax, you have got a winner in hand. All the kids behaved well in the theater and even though there were a few moments where the reaction of the kids made us chuckle and even laugh out loud, it was very cute. I loved the movie and the song Immortals by Fall Out Boy which is played in the movie. It has action, adventure, emotions, humor, comedy, villany everything. As soon as the microbots were introduced, there was a moment we remembered the Tamil movie Endhiran. The robot there too had a chip similar to the one in Baymax and there were scenes which resembled the microbot action sequences. I loved the Big guy Baymax. Wish I had one for myself 🙂 He is so cute and so endearing.

All in all a very enjoyable movie. Kids sure will love it more.

Madras – Old Theme New Approach

After a long time watched a Tamil movie. Madras, a movie featuring my favorite actor Karthi. Again, after quite a few flops I am glad to see him in this movie, portraying a serious character. I saw in one of his interviews regarding this movie, that he was asked to do a movie where he doesn’t do his trademark smile (/smirk). Even though I do like his smile, I should say that it was definitely a change watching him perform and not go through a scene just with his smile.

Madras, the capital of Tamil Nadu is currently called as Chennai. But still a lot of people refer to it as Madras. And like a lot of movies, it shows the south Chennai and  the various political happenings that happen in a very small part of it. It all starts and ends with a wall. How a simple thing as a wall becomes the symbol of power and how the two parties who want to capture it play with the lives of the people around it and how it affects everyone, especially our protagonist and his close friend and how their lives change for ever is what the story is all about. I am not going into the story as such (Wikipedia tells it in much more detail), but I should say that it was definitely a slightly fresh take on a very old theme. Even though there is the usual romance, here and there and in bits and pieces, and songs , which for some reason didn’t put me off, and the age old backstabbing, which actually I figured out at the exact minute,  the overall effect of it on the movie was in such a way that it wasn’t boring in the least. Credit to the screenplay for that. There is one scene which I really liked. The one where the shadow of the hero Karthi grows slowly in the wall in such a way that it sort of envelops the whole wall. I really liked the way they used the lights and shadows to convey a strong message. And to mention the message at the end of the movie which says how social education if promoted right from child hood may prevent these kind of happenings using the same wall as the background is a good one.

Also in the fight sequence almost at the end, they showed the similarities between the fight and the football. I wasn’t sure how to interpret that 🙂 Is football that dangerous ? Is it a substitute for the primal fighting urge ? Or if you know football you can win a fight, just imagine the other person’s head as a football ? Song’s weren’t that impressive but didn’t put me off either. I am not sure if I will listen to them again, that is all. Is that a good thing that it sort of gelled well with the story and didn’t feel like a separate part of it ? Or is it that average ? Honestly, as far as this movie is concerned I don’t care about songs. Its a drama so I would prefer it went well with the story and am happy that it didn’t feel like a sore spot. Overall, it was a good movie and I enjoyed it.

Love, Lyrics and Technology

Some people frown at how we mix English words while creating songs for Tamil movies and all. But if it can bring across a point and additionally a smile or two, why not I say !!! I have liked lyricists who used to do that. Earlier it was Vaali Sir and now it seems Madhan Karky has taken that position and he does a fine job of it. There is this movie ‘Thuppaki’ (translated to ‘Gun’) in Tamil which has this song, ‘Google Google’. It is a cool song , the actor Vijay is a good dancer, the heroine is a cute and bubbly girl and a good dance number too. But apart from all this I really loved the song for its lyrics. I am going to give you a sample of a few lines translated in English. You can see for yourself 😉

The girl says most of the interesting lines related to technology:

…..

he never asks about my
facebook friends
he wont torture asking
me to check his status

when I get close to him to talk
he will get engrossed in Twitter
he will give a perfect kiss
like a tweet in my cheek

….

I asked him for a date
he said OK seeing his watch.
I asked for shopping
he showed me ebay.com

I asked for a movie
he opened YouTube giving me popcorn
standing like an innocent guy- but
selling this whole world

….

பிரியாணி – போக போக சூடு

Biriyani – Venkat Prabhu’s Diet. Same old Venkat Prabhu MO. Just like in Saroja. Two close friends have fun in life and one being a Casanova and a total flirt. The other always getting beaten up because of this flirt. They stumble upon by accident on someone’s plan of becoming big and their life becomes messy. How they come out of it with the help of friends and find the real culprit. And yes, you will be led to believe that the culprit is one person but eventually it will be someone whom you would never think of.

What a train load of actors in this movie ? Toooo many known actors , even if it is a small role. Ramki making a comeback as a suspected villain. Madhumita coming back after a long hiatus as Karthi’s sister. Nasser having some fun here. Jodi No. 1 Prem as a police officer. The other usual gang of Venkat’s friends are in this movie too, even if they come for a scene. He never gives up on his friends. Jai, Akash, Mahat everyone are there. Uma Riyaz Khan as a hit woman. And of course Premji in his usual role as the hero’s friend, which is becoming a repeat and boring too. Same kind of dialogues for him, same actions, same reactions. Please change the MO Premji.

Karthi – one of very few actors whom I like. He is very easy on the eye. When I said this , one of my friend rolled his eyes so much that I thought it would have get stuck looking up. And he has cleaned up well in this movie 😉 .. And thankfully this movie of his is much better than his other movies (which I couldn’t even watch for a few mins.. ..just because he is good looking I cannot watch any pathetic movies of his…that is not me) And he is the flirt, Casanova, dear brother, main hero, loving friend et al.

First half was total drag. I couldn’t help but keep squirming in my seat to find a way out. The story gets all hot only after the interval. At times too much flirting also gets boring to watch. It has to be limited. But yes, those small incidents and how they are linked together at the end is well done. As usual, the screenplay is OK. And it doesn’t get too serious or too comical and hovers in between. Thank God they did not kill any of the family members for sympathy. I am so tired of that.  There are lot of loop holes, but in the second half the movie goes a little fast for you to even concentrate on it. Songs – No change in my views.

All in all, a total time pass masala movie with all flavors as you see in a biriyani  (a food item)