Paramasivan - Movie review

PARAMASIVAN - MOVIE REVIEW

HE SAID:

What the hell happened to Ajith? Has he been diagnosed with some disease? Why is he so thin and awkward? The plot for the movie is straight out of an old English film. Having said that, performances by Prakash Raj and Jeyaram are at their consistent best.

Laila as the eccentric girl who falls for the hero is getting to be ridiculous. She can obviously act if given good roles. What we cannot figure out is, why she keeps doing these lousy roles.

We do not need more movies like these. If Tamil cinema is to rise above the level of front-bench trash, we need movies with good stories. Like they say in real estate, where it is all about location, location, location, in cinema it is all about story, story, story.

If you have a good story to tell, all other aspects of movies making such as actors, editing, direction and so on will become secondary. There is enough evidence for my theory. If we look back at the history of cinema, we will find that the best movies, did not all have excellent actors or editing or direction. But we will find that they had a good story to tell.

This movie is a must avoid.

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

SHE SAID:

If this is the kind of movies that the people want Ajith acting in, what is wrong in giving them what they want. Cinema is meant to be an entertainment. We should come out of a movie feeling happy. We don't need heavy themes that make us cry. we have enough of that in real life. The common man is overwhelmed by the reality of his life and tries to escape this reality for a couple of hours in a cinema being entertained by magical worlds other than the one he lives in.

So I say more power to Ajith and movies like Paramasivan.

Go see this movie, if you are looking to pass your time.

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

Aathi - Movie review

AATHI - MOVIE REVIEW

HE SAID:

When will Vijay realize that he has to stop doing the same kind of movie over and over, no matter how much his fans want to see him in such a role all the time. If he ever plans to mature as an actor, and I use the term mature very loosely here, he better start doing something, anything different.

I do not particularly fancy Vijay. However, I like Gilli a lot. Since then I have used Gilli as a yard stick to measure any movie of Vijay's. Using that measure, Aathi is a miserable shadow compared to Gilli. The story starts out being very interesting and then winds up being the typical masala fare that we have become used to expecting from Vijay.

Trisha breezes through her role as the vindictive girl/woman, who is trying to kill all the people involved in destroying her family, a long time ago, with the assistance of her uncle, yet again brilliantly played by Nasser.

I definitely would not recommend this movie to anyone.

On a scale of 1 to 10, 1 being the worst and 10 being the best, I give this movie a 2.

SHE SAID:

I am a big fan of Vijay. However, I have to say that I did not like Aathi at all. Just because I am fan does not mean that I have to like all the movies that he makes. I feel that a true fan is one who lets the idol know when he his making a mistake. And Vijay's mistake is that he keeps on doing action movies.

Vijay has got a lot of talent and can play any role with ease. Directors and producers must take a chance with Vijay and let him do no-action roles. Vijay has become a prisoner of his image with his fans.

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

Beauty Shop - Movie Review

BEAUTY SHOP - MOVIE REVIEW

HE SAID:

How many times have we seen the Cinderella story, set in different ethnic backgrounds, using different genders, set in different time periods? They are all the same - the protagonist is stuck in a bad situation, then they get out of the situation and try to make it on their own. They overcome a series of heartbreaks and persevere in their quest and finally win in the end.

In this version it is a black woman hairdresser (Queen Latifah), who is Cinderella in today's Atlanta, Georgia, USA. I do have to agree that she has a lot of atyle and verve.

However the story is one we have seen a million times before. We know that the heroine will come out successful in the end, no matter how bad it looks in the middle of the story.

Boring. Maybe hard-core Queen Latifah fans might sit through the film to see their idol do a Cinderella movie. Otherwise, I would give this one a miss.

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

SHE SAID:

I loved this movie! Queen Latifah is my favorite and she is absolutely fabulous in this film. The confidence that she exudes in her every move is just simply amazing.

Queen Latifah carries this movie on her wide shoulders and keeps it interesting. I just can't get enough of her.

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

The Perfect Catch - Movie Review

THE PERFECT CATCH - MOVIE REVIEW

HE SAID:

Although, as a rule, I don't see chick flicks, I had an instinct about this one. So I bit the bullet and sat through it. And guess what? It was fantastic. The key factor in my loving the movie, was the way they dealt with the highly problematic issue of how men are fanatics about sports and whether this quality can come in between them and their perfect woman.

Jimmy Fallon plays the part of a high school teacher who lives and breathes the Boston Red Sox, brilliantly. He conveys the all consuming passion that a person can have for a sports team.

Drew Barrymore is adequate as the driven workaholic woman who deigns to date a school teacher. Her coterie of friends are yuppies with highly paid jobs or partners with the same.

The beautiful part in the movie come when Drew Barrymore realises that her passion and commitment to her work is similar to Jim Fallon's passion for the Boston Red Sox, and it would not be right for her to ask him to give up his team for her love.

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

SHE SAID:

What were the filmmakers thinking, when they made a chick flick, which appealed to the guys? Obviously, about the box-office returns. But this will win them no love from the chicks.

It is ridiculous for Drew Barrymore to have to give up important meetings to be with Jim Fallon. Why does it always have to be the woman who gives up things to accommodate a relationship? When will it be the guy's turn?

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

Rang De Basanti - Movie Review

RANG DE BASANTI - MOVIE REVIEW

HE SAID:

Brilliant movie, although a bit confused looking. The primary messages seem to be:

1. If the need arises, the youth of today's India will rise to the occasion and achieve what ever is necessary ala the independence got for us by our forefathers. They are shiftless today due to a lack of purpose - something greater than themselves to work towards.

2. The reason for a person to resort to terrorism is when he lives in a society that does not provide some kind of justice for his woes. When he can turn to no one and do nothing else, he starts picking up the gun as a means to get results.

The effort to be modern, while essaying a serious tale of the freedom struggle, while novel, makes for a very messy movie to watch. The point that a British girl sees more in India than our own youth is not to be missed.

Another subtle message of the movie is that the punjabis are very patriotic and no matter what difficulty they may have had in the last decade, constitute a strong part of our nation.

The songs put to music by A.R. Rahman have turned out very well. It is very difficult to get them out of your head, especially the title track.

Aamir Khan is getting too old for the wild college boy roles. He is very good when he is emoting and one cannot help feeling young when he gets ready to pull some stupid prank with that wild half grin on his face.

Sidharth needs special mention. He has shown that he is capable of doing well when given meaty roles. A piece of advice for him - put out that cigarette until you learn how to smoke it correctly.

Kunal Kapoor has played the role of a Muslim caught between his strict family and his carefree friends, with zest. His male model good looks do nothing to reduce the seriousness of his acting.

Sharman Joshi has played the role of the dumb but funny college jock quite well, leading us to wonder if his real-life persona is similar to his on-screen one.

Atul Kulkarni has transcended his image of the angry young man that he has played in almost all his roles until now. A superb performance.

Alice Patten is outstanding in the main role in the movie. Her persona just radiates love for India and everything Indian. Her anguish at not being able to fire up Indian youth and make them understand the sacrifices that the freedom fighters went through, is amazing.

Madhavan has done his guest role with restraint. It should be pointed out that it is getting more difficult to stomach him in the role of a recently graduated college boy, hanging out with other kids. He is showing maturity in his acting.

Soha Ali Khan plays the role of a modern Indian girl with aplomb. The part where she says "kill him" is a little weak, but that is not her fault. It is a hole in the script.

Overall, the movie presents a very encouraging message of hope. It says that even if India's youth might be Americanised and seemingly aimless, they have it in them to rise to the occasion if the situation demands it.

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

SHE SAID:

What does the title 'Rang de basanti' have to do with the movie? No connection.

Absolutely hate the potrayal of Indian youth as bumbling idiots, who need a foreigner to tell them that they do not appreciate their country better.

Spending a large portion of the movie trashing Indians and then presenting a short optimistic message at the end of the movie does not constitute an overall positive message from the film.

Was it really necessary for the protagonists to turn to violence, when their friend dies and is bad-mouthed by the concerned politician? Was there no other recourse open to them? It seems a bit extreme, just to make a point.

On a scale of 1 to 10, with 1 being the worst and 10 being the best, I give this movie a 2.