Changing Lanes - Movie Review

CHANGING LANES - MOVIE REVIEW

HE SAID:

What a mind blowing journey through the venal landscape that is modern law! And what a blistering portrayal of a father with lots of problems trying to hang on to his children and family! The actors are amazing. Each and every line of dialog is sculpted so beautifully. In short a sleeper hit. The film resonates so closely with our life that we are constantly agreeing with how the characters feel.

Samuel L. Jackson is a fantastic actor, who brings a lot of vigour and enthusiasm to his roles. Ben Affleck is surprisingly good and delivers a performance way beyond his usual wooden self.

Definitely worth watching.

On a scale of 1 to 10, 1 being the worst and 10 being the best, I give this movie a 8.

SHE SAID:

Nothing special. A decent movie with a good performance by Ben Affleck. The methods the two protagonists use to get even with each other is interesting.

Worth watching once.

On a scale of 1 to 10, 1 being the worst and 10 being the best, I give this movie a 5.

Insomnia - Movie Review

INSOMNIA - MOVIE REVIEW

HE SAID:

An excellent movie, which analyses the nature of evil, by looking at the slippery slope on which police detectives live every day. It is so easy for cops to make small dishonest decisions, which can then accumulate and one day accelerate them inexorably towards the pits of hell. Al Pacino once again proves that he deserves a spot on the "Top 10 Actors of all time" list. He is nothing short of amazing. The true genius of an actor lies in their ability to portray intensely personal feelings on screen for all to see. Robin Williams is good as the villain. Hillary Swank is excellent as the star-struck police person, who is terribly let down to find how things are in the real world. The Alaskan landscape is stark and brutal.

A brilliant movie, in the "must see" category.

On a scale of 1 to 10, 1 being the worst and 10 being the best, I give this movie a 8.

SHE SAID:

In my opinion, this movie was not something to write home about. It was most definitely a good entertainer, but that is where it stopped for me. The actors were adequate, the locations stunning and the story interesting.

Worth watching if there was no favourite TV show on.

On a scale of 1 to 10, 1 being the worst and 10 being the best, I give this movie a 5.

Imsai Arasan 23am Pulikesi - Movie review

IMSAI ARASAN 23am PULIKESI - MOVIE REVIEW

HE SAID:

Your first thought as you sit to see this movie is, "How successful can Vadivelu be as a hero?" Then as you sit through the movie, you are pleasantly surprised. Vadivelu is actually not bad as a hero. For one thing, it is nice to see an old fashioned raja rani movie after such a long time. The dialogue is pleasing to the ears. After violent movies like pudhupettai, pattiyal and thiruttu payale, ImsaiArasan brings a breath of fresh air to the scorched tamil movie scene.

Overall, a good family entertainer. Now the question becomes, what next for vadivelu. Will he go back to playing comedy roles, or will he try one more movie as a hero? We will wait with bated breath for the answer to that riddle.

On a scale of 1 to 10, 1 being the worst and 10 being the best, I give this movie a 7.

SHE SAID:

Who would have thought that a full-length movie with Vadivelu would be worth sitting through? But surprisingly enough, it is quite good. Vadivelu has done an excellent job in a dual role. He enunciates his dialog well. He is versatile and displays a wide range of emotions quite well. Nasser tries to evoke M.N. Nambiar and Manorama is adequate as the queen mother.

On a scale of 1 to 10, 1 being the worst and 10 being the best, I give this movie a 5.

Ice Age 2 - Movie Review

ICE AGE 2 - MOVIE REVIEW

HE SAID:

The graphics are obviously better than Ice Age 1. The usual band of characters have been augmented with Seann William Scott - Crash (voice), Josh Peck - Eddie (voice), Queen Latifah - Ellie (voice). They play two possums and a female wooly mammoth, who thinks that she is a possum. However, it is the character with no voice - the squirrel and his acorn, who steal the thunder. His antics have the audience rolling around on the floor. Manny the sloth comes in second in the comedy category.

It seems like the makers fell into the trap of the sequel and just relied on the success of the prequel to carry the sequel. There is not much of a story to speak of. Much of the middle of the movie is just held up by music!

Definitely a must see and a must own with the first Ice Age.

On a scale of 1 to 10, 1 being the worst and 10 being the best, I give this movie a 7.

SHE SAID:

It is movies like these that make even people like me, who hate animated movies, sit up and enjoy them. Unbelievable story and the squirrel is priceless. Queen Latifah, who I am an immense fan of, is hilarious as the mammoth who thinks she is a possum.

If you have kids, do not miss this one.

On a scale of 1 to 10, 1 being the worst and 10 being the best, I give this movie a 9.

Pattiayal - Movie review

PATTIYAL - MOVIE REVIEW

HE SAID:

The Mafia type assassin story has finally come to Kollywood. It became such a fashionable thing to make movies about mobsters, in Bollywood. Mobsters rule Bollywood in real life as well. South India was relatively free from such criminals for the longest time.

However recent events like the controversy in Kanchipuram have spotlighted the existence of criminal elements willing to kill for money.

The movie is very mediocre. The narration is choppy. The actors are inexperienced.

Have you ever noticed how movies never show people living by the gun/sword emerging successful? Must be some kind of code. It would not do any good to show killers and assassins living a cool life and getting away with murder. As it is, God knows how many youngsters living in slums all over Tamil Nadu are going to go away from this movie thinking how great it would be to become assassins.

Pooja and Padmapriya have done good jobs as the girlfriends of the heroes.

Nothing special, in spite of having a unique theme.

On a scale of 1 to 10, 1 being the worst and 10 being the best, I give this movie a 4.

SHE SAID:

The first half of the movie is not bad and raises expectations. However, the second half is a total screw up.
Bharat has done a good job. Arya would be better off if he does less action roles and more of romance. Pooja is good. Padmapriya is adequate. Her performance is a step down from her excellent debut in "Thavamai Thavam Irunthu".

Worth watching once, if for nothing else than to show kids today that there are no short cuts to success.

On a scale of 1 to 10, 1 being the worst and 10 being the best, I give this movie a 5.

Monsters' Ball - Movie Review

MONSTER'S BALL - MOVIE REVIEW

HE SAID:

A starkly realistic movie, dealing with racism, parent-child relationship and loneliness in the 20th century. But at times the pace is so slow, that it makes us wonder if our daily lives are so slow and boring.

Blacks in America. Are they a downtrodden race or is it just a case of white America suffering from a bit of reverse racism?

Parents can be really cruel to their children and then call it tradition or some such nonsense. I am not saying that we should all be New Age touchy feely while raising our children. At the same time we should be comfortable showing our love and other emotions o our children. Abused children become abusive parents. The chain reaction has to be stopped.

A simple powerful movie shedding light on a whole range of issues plaguing life in the modern world.

Although I would not consider it Oscar material, definitely a must see.

On a scale of 1 to 10, 1 being the worst and 10 being the best, I give this movie a 6.

SHE SAID:

I am absolutely appalled by the fact that Halle Berry got an Oscar for her role in this movie. All she did was expose herself on screen. Does this mean that other than acting really well, a woman can get an Oscar for being naked?

When will a woman get roles and awards just on her acting prowess and not on her bust size?

That being said, I liked the way Billy Bob Thornton's character does a complete about face and starts feeling guilt for being bad father to his son.

Worth watching once.

On a scale of 1 to 10, 1 being the worst and 10 being the best, I give this movie a 3.

Kovai Brothers - Movie review

KOVAI BROTHERS - MOVIE REVIEW

HE SAID:

We all agree that Sathyaraj is a very talented actor. However, his son is a different story. No matter how hard Satyaraj tries to position his son as a hero, unfortunately he is a zero. Sathyaraj should give us all a break and stop.

Immaterial of how many movies we have seen Satyaraj do comedy in, it never grows old. In Hollywood there is a separate category of films called spoofs, where they copy scenes from famous movies and ridicule them. Similarly, this movie does a wonderful job of spoofing some famous Tamil movies. Satyaraj is wonderful while he mimics famous actors. Kovai Sarala is his excellent partner in these spoofs.

Namitha is just short of being the blimp. Man she is fat.

A highly entertaining movie.

On a scale of 1 to 10, 1 being the worst and 10 being the best, I give this movie a 6.

SHE SAID:

Nothing special. A decent comedy movie. Otherwise just another run of the mill Tamil movie.

Maybe worth a look.

On a scale of 1 to 10, 1 being the worst and 10 being the best, I give this movie a 4.

Trapped - Movie Review

TRAPPED - MOVIE REVIEW

HE SAID:

In the midst of a glut of suspense movies, this movie is quite different. Charlize Theron is strikingly beautiful and her beauty overshadows any character she tries to play. Maybe this is the reason why she had to seriously deglamourise herself in movies like "Monster" and "North Country". This is not necessarily an advantage for an actress.

Kevin Bacon is such a versatile actor that he breezes through his role of the villain. It is not his fault that the story is so confusing that it is difficult to tell, if he is kidnapping for money or revenge.

Courtney Love proves that she is not called rockdom's wild child for nothing. She is a piece of work! The surprising thing is that she can act too. In fact quite well!

Dakota Fanning as the kidnapped child is highly precocious. She has a bright future ahead of her.

Stuart Townsend as the father with multiple skills is kind of wooden. He is unable to emote.

Surprisingly, definitely worth watching.

On a scale of 1 to 10, 1 being the worst and 10 being the best, I give this movie a 6.

SHE SAID:

A highly enjoyable thriller with very good acting by Charlize Theron. It would be very wrong to overthink this movie. It is an entertainer with lot of plot holes. But who cares? The ultimate effect is enjoyable.

Definitely a must see.

On a scale of 1 to 10, 1 being the worst and 10 being the best, I give this movie a 8.

The Exorcism of Emily Rose - Movie Review

THE EXORCISM OF EMILY ROSE - MOVIE REVIEW

HE SAID:

A truly scary movie after quite some time, made all the more spine chilling when we find out that it is based on a true story. The trend in Hollywood in recent times seems to be "based on a true story" movies.

This movie forces us to confront the existence of a spirit world populated by angels and demons. Today, surrounded by all the technological marvels that have proliferated our existence, we might find the notion of demons roaming the earth amongst us, extremely funny. However, strange unexplained events occur every day all around the world.

The other important question raised by this film is about the nature of evil. Does evil merely exist in human thoughts and deeds or does it exist as an entity external to us?

Once again we are shown that there is nothing more scary than fear. Not all the blood, gore and ghosts can equal the effect of making the audience feel the fear and paranoia of the characters on screen.

The movie is understated and low on flashy special effects. It relies on good old fashioned story telling. While we who are watching the movie may not believe in Christianity or the existence of the spirit world, it is extremely difficult to discount the evidence described. There is something more than what we see around us. Man with all his technological advances is unable to explain so many phenomenon.

Laura Linney is brilliant as the agnostic, high-profile lawyer who progressively starts believing in God and realises that lie is not all about chasing the almighty dollar. Tom Wilkinson as the priest accused of negligent homicide of Emily Rose is very convincing. Emily Rose played by Jennifer Carpenter has gone through hell to perform this role. The fabulous contortions that her body is put through are sure to scar her for life.

Ultimately the message here is to prove God's existence by showing the existence of the devil.

A must see movie for everyone. Not for the faint of heart.

On a scale of 1 to 10, 1 being the worst and 10 being the best, I give this movie a 8.

SHE SAID:

Very Scary! My God! I could not sleep properly and when I woke up in the middle of the night for a trip to the toilet, I could not help looking over my shoulders.

I was not too impressed by a any statement that this movie was trying to make. It is a good scary movie made all the more scary by the possible that it could be a true story.

Definitely worth watching if you want to get really and truly sleepless with fear.

On a scale of 1 to 10, 1 being the worst and 10 being the best, I give this movie a 4.

The Majestic - Movie Review

THE MAJESTIC - MOVIE REVIEW

HE SAID:

What a movie! Set against the backdrop of the McCarthy witch hunts, it portrays a beautiful tale of mistaken identity changing a man and through him helping a community torn by losses of young men to the war. America is the only country in the world built on an idea. It is all the more poignant to watch this movie now in 2006, where Bush and his right-wing bullies have once again proved that through might, it is possible to destroy the idea of America.

Who would have thought that within Jim Carrey existed such depth of acting ability? What a performance! Martin Landau as the aging father of the war hero, who is blinded by desperate need to believe that his son has returned after being lost for nine and a half years, is amazing!

The beauty of the film lies in its ability in capturing the mood of a nation that is trying to recover from a war, the McCarthy trials, Jazz and the sense of new hope. It is very rare for Art to capture a sense of a nation.

A strong must see.

On a scale of 1 to 10, 1 being the worst and 10 being the best, I give this movie a resounding 8.

SHE SAID:

I enjoyed the movie, although it was slow, almost like a documentary. It was confusing at times. It does not play like a commercial movie, but more like a Art house movie.

Good acting by all the actors involved.

I would see it once.

On a scale of 1 to 10, 1 being the worst and 10 being the best, I give this movie a resounding 5.

The Polar Express - Movie Review

THE POLAR EXPRESS - MOVIE REVIEW

HE SAID:

Wow! I would say that actors all around the world need to start shivering in their boots. This movie has definitively proved that it is not necessary to have live actors to make a gripping movie. Animators with their computers can do the job. Techies have even been experimenting with using long dead actors in brand new movies. Now imagine, if we could have any actor act in our movie, without having to worry about tempers, ego, tantrums etc.

An amazing movie that is as good as, or better than a live action movie. Even you are not a Christian like me, you will still enjoy it and treasure it's message.

Definitely worth watching and owning.

On a scale of 1 to 10, 1 being the worst and 10 being the best, I give this movie a 8.

SHE SAID:

A highly enjoyable movie. I hate cartoons, but movies like this convince me otherwise. A lovely story that can be enjoyed by children and adults alike. It has a message of hope.

Worth watching for sure.

On a scale of 1 to 10, 1 being the worst and 10 being the best, I give this movie a 7.

Astronauts Wife - Movie Review

ASTRONAUTS WIFE - MOVIE REVIEW

HE SAID:

Am I the only one seeing this or what? Does anyone else find that the weirdest dude in Hollywood is Johnny Depp? The moment you find out that he is in a film, you can immediately expect things to get strange. Charlize Theron is increasingly becoming the female Johnny Depp. So what do you get when you put them both together? One weird movie.

While the story of an astronaut picking up an alien life form in space, is not new, this movie handles this theme very well with good special effects thrown in. There are quite a few sequences that run as if the cameraman was on an acid trip.

Definitely worth watching once.

On a scale of 1 to 10, 1 being the worst and 10 being the best, I give this movie a 6.

SHE SAID:

While I like Johnny Depp very much, I do not like the weirdness of his roles. That goes for this movie too. Charlize Theron was ok.

Overall, a very forgettable movie.

On a scale of 1 to 10, 1 being the worst and 10 being the best, I give this movie a 3.

Cheaper by the Dozen - Movie Review

CHEAPER BY THE DOZEN - MOVIE REVIEW

HE SAID:

A romp in the park! Funny while tackling a serious issue affecting all of us. It is about work-life balance, in a family where both the parents are working. Ultimately it is about a question of what is important, money or family. How much money is enough?

Steve Martin is one of my favourites. He can play just about any part and make it look effortless. This movie is a walk in the park for him. Numerous directors have used his comedy to display weighty issues.

Bonnie Hunt is excellent. She has always been under rated. She is a very good actress who can prove herself given half the chance. The kids are numerous and quite good.

A very interesting sidebar. The main actor who plays Superman in the TV series Smallville - Tom Welling, is the eldest son of the Bakers in this movie. To make a ever bigger coincidence, on of the brothers, who are the heros in the hit TV series Supernatural - Jared Padalecki, is the kid in school, giving Superman a hard time. Talk about coincidences.

Definitely worth a look. A light breezy look at a big emotional issue.

On a scale of 1 to 10, 1 being the worst and 10 being the best, I give this movie a 7.

SHE SAID:

A good family movie. Other than that I am not too sure that they are dealing with any issue in the movie. Most of the time it is a big confused mess of kids running in and out of frames.

Steve Martin has class. This is as clear as daylight.

A good movie to watch if you had no other choice.

On a scale of 1 to 10, 1 being the worst and 10 being the best, I give this movie a 5.

Bruce Almighty - Movie Review

BRUCE ALMIGHTY - MOVIE REVIEW

HE SAID:

What an absolutely delightful movie with a powerful message. Even God himself cannot mess with man's free will. Even He cannot make somebody fall in love.

Opens up a whole new can of worms. What is free will? Is there really such an animal? It really goes back to the existence of God.

Anyway, a highly entertaining movie with a very amusing what if. Jim Carrey has out done himself. Morgan Freeman is a very convincing God with a quirky sense of humour. Jennifer Anniston is vapid and not fully there in her role.

I would almost say that this is one for the collection.

On a scale of 1 to 10, 1 being the worst and 10 being the best, I give this movie a 8.

SHE SAID:

A very entertaining movie that can be enjoyed by the entire family. This type of movie is getting to a rarity these days with movies targeting niche audiences.

I would say don't over think the movie but just go along for the ride. Jim Carrey makes the movie very funny and pretty much carries it on his shoulders.

Worth a watch.

On a scale of 1 to 10, 1 being the worst and 10 being the best, I give this movie a 6.

Stitch the Movie - Movie Review

STITCH THE MOVIE - MOVIE REVIEW

HE SAID:

An absolute blast! What fun! I love cartoons and I just can't get enough of Lilo & Stitch. The zany humour is absolutely great. Disney has done it again! The thing about Lilo & Stitch is that adults have as many delights as kids.

This movie continues the adventures of Lilo and Stitch as they try to get Stitch to connect with all his cousins - the other 625 experiments.

This is one for the collection.

On a scale of 1 to 10, 1 being the worst and 10 being the best, I give this movie a 8.

SHE SAID:

I hate cartoons. I think they are bad even for kids let alone for adults. So I did not fancy this movie much.

I would not give this one even a look.

On a scale of 1 to 10, 1 being the worst and 10 being the best, I give this movie a 1.

Thambi - Movie review

THAMBI - MOVIE REVIEW

HE SAID:

This movie is a perfect example of the premise that, even if the message is good, if it is presented badly, it will not get through to the audience. The message is a perfectly good one, but the poor handling of the movie leaves one doubting that there ever was a point to this movie.

The message is, that the pointless vendetta and revenge have to stop some where and that the most effective way to deal with an enemy is by being kind to him.

Madhavan has shot himself in the foot with this role. He has made such a fool of himself with his antics that there is no need for Vadivel. Too bad that his efforts at building a good physique and performing the action sequences very well have been overshadowed by his mannerisms.

His dialogue delivery is horrible. One can hardly understand his speech. Our advice to Madhavan is "Stick to the kadhal hero roles, leave the action roles to others better suited for it".

Pooja does a good job, although her diction leaves a lot to be desired. The rest of the cast is adequate.

Worth seeing once.

On a scale of 1 to 10, 1 being the worst and 10 being the best, I give this movie a 4.

SHE SAID:

Madhavan has acted very well. He is very effective in getting the message across. Although initially, his mannerisms are a bit funny, as the movie progresses, he gets better. Pooja has done well.

What really got me was, that I had read somewhere that this movie was advertised as a family movie. Nothing could be further from the truth. The sheer violence will scar any children viewing this movie.

Definitely worth seeing.

On a scale of 1 to 10, 1 being the worst and 10 being the best, I give this movie a 7.

Fida - Movie Review

FIDA - MOVIE REVIEW

HE SAID:

A really slick movie, which plays out like a Hollywood action blockbuster. However there is something missing. The movie is soul less. The actors perform very well. Fardeen Khan, Shahid Kapoor and Kareena Kapoor all redeem themselves well.

The locales are exotic. At an instinctual level, the film fall way short of being a good movie.

Worth watching once.

On a scale of 1 to 10, 1 being the worst and 10 being the best, I give this movie a 6.

SHE SAID:

A very enjoyable movie, although I did not fancy the heroine being one of the bad guys. Something about that portrayal rubs me the wrong way.

Otherwise worth watching once.

On a scale of 1 to 10, 1 being the worst and 10 being the best, I give this movie a 7.

Madrasi - Movie review

MADRASI - MOVIE REVIEW

HE SAID:

Here is the surprising thing about this movie. One would normally dismiss an Arjun movie as action masala. But stop! This one is actually good. Is it because of Jegapathy Babu? Or is it because maybe this movie is a remake? Whatever the reason, Arjun has woken up and finally given us a good quality action movie.

It looks like Arjun has joined the long line of actors who want to make it big in politics. It is fairly evident in the dialogue and in aping MGR in a song.

The story is crisp and evokes anticipation in the viewer as to what will occur next. Jegapathy Babu is fantastic! He demonstrates the reason why he is a top hero in Telugu movies. The villains are more than caricatures and actually display normal human tendencies.

All in all a good action flick, definitely worth watching.

On a scale of 1 to 10, 1 being the worst and 10 being the best, I give this movie a 5.

SHE SAID:

I like Arjun quite a bit. So I enjoyed this movie. The added bonus was Jegapathy Babu, who has spoken the Tamil dialogues very well. The new heroine looks pretty. Gajala has improved her acting.

A good movie definitely worth watching.

On a scale of 1 to 10, 1 being the worst and 10 being the best, I give this movie a 7.

June R - Movie review

JUNE R - MOVIE REVIEW

HE SAID:

Hmmmmm. With Saritha, Khushboo and Jyotika in the movie one would expect it to be a feminist propaganda vehicle. However, it turns out to be low on propaganda and high on entertainment. It is a good story although a bit predictable. If Saritha was any fatter, she would be a hot-air balloon. Khushboo looks all lawerly and in command. Maybe she is the next person to start running for the Chief Ministership of tamil Nadu after Arjun. Jyotika is bubbly and emotional when called for. It is amazing how she continues to do well, when she is not beautiful in the conventional sense.

What is the big deal with Surya doing a guest appearance? Once his name appears in the titles as a guest role, it does not take a rocket scientist to figure out that he is the mysterious suitor of Jyotika.

Not bad. Worth a look.

On a scale of 1 to 10, 1 being the worst and 10 being the best, I give this movie a 5.

SHE SAID:

I loved the movie. It was totally enjoyable. A very emotional story of an orphan finding a mother who is ignored by her own son.

I have always been a big fan of Khushboo. So I thoroughly enjoyed her masterly performance. Saritha is excellent in her role as the long suffering mother. Jyothika is absolutely fabulous.

This movie is a definite must see, maybe even a keeper for the home movie collection.

On a scale of 1 to 10, 1 being the worst and 10 being the best, I give this movie a 9.

Kalvanin Kadhali - Movie review

KALVANIN KADHALI - MOVIE REVIEW

HE SAID:

How can someone so ugly be a hero in Tamil cinema? Are there no minimum standards? How do persons like Dhanush, S.J. Surya and so on become heros? And worse how do they get a fan following? Just goes to show that the population in India, especially in Tamil Nadu is large enough that any entertainer no matter how good or bad they are can get a fan following. The Tamil people are that hard up for entertainment. At the same time they will stay away from movies that have a different formula from the usual. It is very difficult to gauge the likes and dislikes of the Tamil cinema going public.

To be fair to SJ Surya, he was not a bad director. His "Khushi" was quite good. Why did he not stick to doing what he was good at instead of being something he could never hope to be? This seems to be the trend these days in Tamil cinema. Producers wanting to act, actors wanting to sing or direct and so on.

What is up with Vivek. He too tried to change from a comedian to a hero and did not do too well. Although he has great potential as a comedian, he wastes his time in bashing a particular community all the time. Wake up Vivek! Whatever injustices done by that community were a long time ago and they have paid for them many times over. Focus on what is holding the nation back from achieving its potential.

Finally coming to the movie itself, it is a piece of crap. No matter who the heroine is, or how glamorous the songs are, the bottom line is that the story is worthless. Nayanthara is wasting her time. Given time she can be a good actor, but the funny thing is that given time a donkey can be a good actor too.

I would give this movie a complete miss.

On a scale of 1 to 10, 1 being the worst and 10 being the best, I give this movie a 1.

SHE SAID:

I enjoyed the movie. SJ Surya is continuing to make vulgar movies. Nayanthara is quite good. Vivek is not bad.

Definitely worth seeing once.

On a scale of 1 to 10, 1 being the worst and 10 being the best, I give this movie a 5.