Language:

Genre: Action, Adventure, Drama, Thriller

Cast: Denzel Washington, Gary Oldman, Mila Kunis, Michael Gambon, Ray Stevenson

Director: Albert Hughes & Allen Hughes

Music: Atticus Ross

Reasons to watch: Watch it for the climax and wonderful photography.

Reasons not to watch: Too many glitches that have ‘illogical’ written all over them.

Storyline: Denzel Washington (Eli) is a ‘walker’ on a mission. In a world that has been reduced to a wreck due to ‘the war’ or ‘the flash’ as told in the movie, water, food and all basic amenities which wouldn’t have had much value in a normal world, have become so rare to find, that people kill each other for even an ounce. Survival intricacies have turned people into cannibals.

Gary Oldman plays Carnegie, a mobster king who is on the look-out for ‘a book’ that happens to be in Eli’s possession. He finds out from Solara (Mila Kunis) that Eli has ‘the book’ which in Carnegie’s view could be the weapon to start the world all over again – A new beginning with him playing God. With Carnegie ready to sacrifice any number of lives for the book and Eli who would kill anyone to protect the book, the hunt begins. What happens when Carnegie gets hold of the book? Having lost the book to Carnegie, will Eli succeed in his mission of faith towards the West to give hope for a new beginning for the human race?

Climax Handling: The climax is what holds the movie intact. A surprising and totally unexpected ending. Kudos to the Hughes brothers.

Points: The director of photography, Don Burgess has done an excellent job in portraying a post-apocalyptic world. The whole issue about this movie’s illogical fallacies serve as a driving force for people to watch this movie again. Maybe it was intentional of the Hughes brothers to confuse the viewers with such daft logic.

Rating: 7/10

Comments: You might want to watch it twice to find a solution to the dilemma that will nag your brains at the end of 108 minutes of this movie.

Genre: Action, Crime, Drama, Mystery, Thriller

Cast: Robert Downey Jr., Jude Law, Rachel McAdams, Mark Strong, Eddie Marsan

Director: Guy Ritchie

Music: Hans Zimmer

Reasons to watch: Racy entertainer that keeps your mind ticking.

Reasons not to watch: No particular reason as to why you shouldn’t watch this movie.

Storyline: The mystery involves a heinous and aristocratic Blackwood (Mark Strong) who schemes to take over the world. Well you might be wondering what sort of mystery exists in this plot — that is what puzzles me too. The plot is banausic and the script is desolate. But what works for  the movie is the set piece shifting of one fight to another — Especially the fight sequence featuring Downey in slow-mo is absolutely out of the world. The Tower Bridge set-up and the depiction of London of the yesteryears is commendable.

Robert Downey Jr. stars as the protagonist with Jude Law playing Dr. Watson, his faithful sidekick. This Sherlock Holmes is neither the ones you have already seen before in the early 70s nor is he a depiction of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s imagination. So far, about 75 actors have played this role, but none of this kind. Guy Ritchie gives a new dimension to the tight-lipped sleuth and Downey has done immensely well.  He’s demented, delineated, rustic and has a hoarse voice — something about this characterization reminded me about the dirty and decrepit sailors in Pirates of the Caribbean. Downey essays his role with a skittish humor and a devilish charm. Jude Law’s performance conforms to the customary portrayal of Dr. Watson.

The ‘bromance’ between Watson and Holmes is the best part of the film. Though Ritchie provides both these men with women interests, they are just diversions to prevent a development of homo-eroticism among viewers. The essence of the movie is the Holmes-Watson chemistry escalated by their boisterous and wacky arguments.

Climax Handling: The movie ends with a definite hint of a sequel which I think is very much necessary. This movie demands a sequel; hopefully a smarter one.

Points: A Sherlock Holmes movie is thoroughly enjoyable when  it centers around a mystery that truly leaves you perplexed, the suspense and the way Holmes solves it with his overwhelming dogmatic reasoning. This version of Sherlock Holmes does not have a plot that inclines itself to the strongest form of mystery but the movie is certainly entertaining for three reasons –

A. The stunt sequences.

B.  The star-cast that works wonders for the script.

C. Hans Zimmer’s music is as always effective.

Rating: 8/10

Comments: Don’t watch this movie expecting another Snatch from Guy Ritchie. This one is less classy, but yet the approach works.

Language:

Genre: Action, Crime, Thriller

Cast: Prasanna, Sibiraj, S.P. Balasubrahmanyam, Yasmin, Ramya Rai

Director: Shakti S. Rajan

Music: James Vasanthan

Reasons to watch: A new concept for the Tamil audience.

Reasons not to watch: Painfully slow and unsubstantial first half. Completely worthless songs.

Storyline: Ravi (Prasanna) is an honest and ambitious person whose dream is to set up his own business. He is drafted by Bank Manager Vishwanath (S.P. Balasubrahmanyam) into Trust Bank where Ravi goes on to design a successful plan to make the bank ‘con-proof’. He also falls in love with Nandini (Ramya Rai), a divorcee. When all seems to be going well for Ravi, disaster strikes in the form of Fareed (Sibiraj). Ravi is framed for Nandini’s ex-husband’s murder and suddenly finds himself entangled in an intricate blackmailing scandal. With a mountain of evidence piled up against him, Ravi is forced to comply with Fareed’s devious plan to rob Trust Bank and pull the plug out of Vishwanath’s reputation — But, it ain’t over yet as Ravi’s trust takes a beating and soon the audience is sucked into the story as it takes many unexpected twists and turns that serve as (foreseeable) shockers.

Climax Handling: The fight sequence featuring Prasanna and Sibiraj is commendable. Though I personally found it a shade predictable, it was pretty clear that my co-viewers were quite enthralled by the suspense.

Points: “I pray to you God. Please make sure that songs like the ones that are shown in this movie, do not resurface again in any prospective movie. Amen!”

Sibiraj tries to emulate his veteran father, and it kind of works for the movie. Yasmin charms you with her limited on screen presence.

Rating: 5/10

Comments: A yawn for people who have seen The Bank Job, Entrapment, How to rob a Bank and all other bank heist Hollywood flicks. For those who have not, it is a one-time watch.

Genre: Action, Adventure, Fantasy

Cast: Karthik Sivakumar, Andrea, Reema Sen, Parthiban, Prathap K. Pothan

Director: K. Selvaraghavan

Music: G.V. Prakash Kumar

Reasons to watch: The pre – release hype and the efforts poured in by the technicians.

Reasons not to watch: Too long and amazingly CONFUSING!!!

Storyline: An archaeologist (Prathap K. Pothan) goes missing on a solitary mission to find the ghost town of the long lost Cholas. His daughter Lavanya (Andrea) is devastated by this news. Enter – Anitha Pandian (Reema Sen) and her bandwagon of military lads led by Ravi (Azhagamperumal) who offers to help Lavanya find her missing father; of course they have ulterior motives behind the offer. Funded by the Government and manpower provided by Muthu (Karthik Sivakumar), a churlish, rustic, bad-mannered guy with prowling eyes and his co - laborers, the entire team sets sail on a journey marred by greed, revenge and utter chaos that eventually has a deeper meaning at the end with a realization of destinies and the unexplainable links between them and one of the world’s earliest civilizations. With a clash of destinies, history is about to repeat itself — and the consequences will be far worse and disastrous than they ever imagined. The first half is awesome with a terrific combination of fanatical violence with dark and gloomy mysticism.

The second half is where the director seems to have gone bonkers along with the movie’s script. Parthiban as the Chola King is all guns in the second half and his intro scene makes you jostle in your seats. The first 45 minutes of the second half tests your patience. It looks like Selvaraghavan wanted to show us ‘more’ and I guess in the end he has shown more than what the audience can take; too much of anything can also be a problem.

Taking cue from Tamil history, Selvaraghavan’s epic movie gives us something totally uncalled for by breaking away from the shackles of stereotypical Tamil cinema and finally confuses us so much that we wonder if we actually liked the movie or not.

Climax Handling: 3 hours of watching this movie and you get this logical but irritating climax that leaves you completely dissatisfied.

Points: Karthik hasn’t shed his Paruthi Veeran look and continues in the same manner. No scope for acting as such in this movie, but a lot of hard work has been put in by the technicians and that is evident. Parthiban’s intro does not allow you to blink, but he is reduced to a caricature as the movie progresses. The songs are a real headache and add to the on-screen confusion. The movie would have been more comprehensible had there been sub-titles in the second half.

Rating: 6/10

Comments: Brush up your history before watching this complex brain-racking movie.

1. The Book of Eli

Director: Allen Hughes, Albert Hughes

Cast: Denzel Washington, Gary Oldman, Mila Kunis, Ray Stevenson, Jennifer Beals

Release Date: January 15th 2010

Summary: Denzel Washington is a lone warrior who must fight to bring society the knowledge that could be the key to its redemption. Gary Oldman has been set to portray the autocrat of a small expedient town who’s determined to take possession of the book in Eli’s guarding.

2. Extraordinary Measures

Director: Tom Vaughan

Cast: Harrison Ford, Brendan Fraser, Keri Russell, Courtney B. Vance

Release Date: January 22nd 2010

Summary: This is the story of a biotechnology executive and his wife, who hire a research scientist and defy all odds to pursue a cure for the life threatening Pompe disease in order to save the lives of their affected children.

3. I love you Phillip Morris

Director: Glenn Ficarra, John Requa

Cast: Jim Carrey, Ewan McGregor, Leslie Mann, Rodrigo Santoro

Release Date: February 5th 2010

Summary: I love you Phillip Morris is a fact-based film about Steven Russell, a married father and also a convict in jail. The story is about his mad love for his male cell-mate, who eventually gets freed and Steven’s four time escapades from Texas prisons to meet his love.

4. The Wolfman

Director: Joe Johnston

Cast: Benicio Del Toro, Emily Blunt, Anthony Hopkins, Hugo Weaving, Geraldine Chaplin, Kiran Shah, Art Malik

Release Date: February 12th 2010

Summary: Lawrence Talbot (Benicio Del Toro) is a haunted nobleman and the disappearance of his brother lures him into his family estate. Reunited with his resentful father (Anthony Hopkins), Talbot sets out in search of his brother’s whereabouts which leads him to realize his ghastly destiny. Inspired by a yesteryear horror classic, The Wolfman might just bring the classic definition of ‘haunting’ back.

5. Shutter Island

Director: Martin Scorsese

Cast: Leonardo DiCaprio, Mark Ruffalo, Ben Kingsley, Emily Mortimer

Release Date: February 19th 2010

Summary: Easily the biggest and the most expected movie of 2010 – goes into the list of “unmissables”. Martin Scorsese gives life to Dennis Lehane’s psychic thriller with Leonardo DiCaprio and Mark Ruffalo in the lead. The two of them play U.S Marshals investigating the disappearance of a patient from Boston’s Shutter Island Ashecliffe Hospital whose activities later on turn out to be unethical to illegal to downright sinister. As they turn the heat on their trail by amassing clues, they soon begin to lose trust on each other, their memories and their sanity.

6. Alice in Wonderland

Director: Tim Burton

Cast: Mia Wasikowska, Johnny Depp, Anne Hathaway, Helena Bonham Carter

Release Date: March 5th 2010

Summary: An imaginary sequel to Lewis Caroll’s classic, Alice returns to Wonderland at 17. As she makes her way through, she realizes that the place has changed since her last visit. A change that she least expected — a sparely haunted, disordered and overrun Wonderland.

7. Green Zone

Director: Paul Greengrass

Cast: Matt Damon, Jason Isaacs, Greg Kinnear, Brendan Gleeson, Amy Ryan

Release Date: March 12th 2010

Summary: The successful duo that gave us two of the three roller coaster hits in The Bourne Series is back. Matt Damon and director Paul Greengrass team up again for Green Zone which depicts the U.S led regime in Iraq. Matt Damon is a warrant officer who stumbles upon an elaborate cover-up by his own people as he goes in search of weapons of mass destruction believed to be hoarded in the Iraqi desert.

8. Clash of the Titans

Director: Louis Leterrier

Cast: Sam Worthington, Liam Neeson, Ralph Fiennes, Gemma Arterton

Release Date: March 26th 2010

Summary: Based on the 1981 film bearing the same name, Clash of the Titans is a story about the transcendental encounter over power between men and Gods. With the Gods fighting amongst themselves, darkness and destruction looms large which could very well destroy the world. Perseus (Sam Worthington) who is halfman-halfGod strives hard to save his family from Hades, the bloodthirsty and vindictive God of the underworld.

9. Ironman 2

Director: Jon Favreau

Cast: Robert Downey Jr., Mickey Rourke, Gwyneth Paltrow, Sam Rockwell, Don Cheadle

Release Date: May 7th 2010

Summary: Having disclosed his Iron Man identity to the public, Tony Stark the billionaire inventor is reluctant to share his scientific know-hows with the military. But, forces beyond his control hatch a devious plan against him.

10. Robin Hood

Director: Ridley Scott

Cast: Mark Strong, Russell Crowe, Kate Blanchett, Kevin Durand, Matthew Macfadyen

Release Date: May 14th 2010

Summary: The story of how an archer in the service of King Richard the Lionheart became to be known as Robin Hood, the famous archer and outlaw of English Folklore. Featuring historically accurate characters such as Sir William Marshall and grounded in reality (in a similar way to Gladiator), this is the making of the legend we have come to know him as now.

11. Shrek Forever After

Director: Mike Mitchell

Cast: Cameron Diaz, Mike Myers, Eddie Murphy, Antonio Banderas, Julie Andrews, Justin Timberlake

Release Date: May 21st 2010

Summary: A sick and tired Shrek (Mike Myers) who seems to have lost his ‘ogre’ self, gets duped by Rumpelstiltskin who promises to restore Shrek’s ‘original’ self. This takes Shrek to an awry and perverse Far Far Away, where Rumpelstiltskin is the King and ogres are the hunted. Moreover, the most disorienting fact is that Shrek and Fiona have never met in that kingdom. So, Shrek begins to materialize his efforts by trying to restore the actual Far Far Away and regain his true love.

12. Prince of Persia: Sands of Time

Director: Mike Newell

Cast: Jake Gyllenhaal, Gemma Arterton, Ben Kingsley, Alfred Molina

Release Date: May 28th 2010

Summary: Based on the popular video game, Prince of Persia is set in medieval Persia where a bold and daring prince joins hands with an emulous princess to find a time-manipulating dagger which is the only means of stopping an angry Grand Vizier who wishes to destroy the world by unleashing a huge sandstorm.

13. Sex and the City 2

Director: Michael Patrick King

Cast: Sarah Jessica Parker, Kim Cattrall, Kristin Davis, Cynthia Nixon

Release Date: May 28th 2010

Summary: It is an upcoming sequel to the 2008 movie, Sex and the City. The movie is in production stage right now and is slated for a May 2010 release. It comes with the tag-line “Carrie On” which is a sort of a pun in comparison to the “Get Carried Away” for the previous movie.

14. The A-Team

Director: Joe Carnahan

Cast: Liam Neeson, Bradley Cooper, Sharlto Copley, Quinton Jackson, Jessica Biel

Release Date: June 11th 2010

Summary: Having been framed for a crime that they never committed and now in the U.S military’s most wanted list, four Iraq War veterans look to clear their names with the U.S military. But yet, they are forced to go on a run. The movie is based on a 1980 classic action-comedy TV series that tickled the funny bone of an entire nation.

15. The Twilight Saga: Eclipse

Director: David Slade

Cast: Kristen Stewart, Robert Pattinson, Taylor Lautner, Billy Burke, Ashley Greene

Release Date: June 30th 2010

Summary: Victoria is still on the run and is out to avenge James’ death. With the previous movie New Moon just ending in a standstill, Eclispe may just answer all the questions that were left unanswered. Meanwhile Bella’s feelings for Jacob leave her torn apart in this love triangle.

16. The Last Airbender

Director: M. Night Shyamalan

Cast: Noah Ringer, Nicola Peltz, Jackson Rathbone, Dev Patel

Release Date: July 2nd 2010

Summary: Based on a Nickelodeon TV series, The Last Airbender is about the dangerous journey of a hesitant young child who strives to bring unity in a war torn world where civilization exists as four mighty empires.

17. Inception

Director: Christopher Nolan

Cast: Leonardo DiCaprio, Ken Watanabe, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Marion Cotillard

Release Date: July 16th 2010

Summary: After giving us the biggest hit of 2008 in The Dark Knight, Christopher Nolan returns with the story that is said to explore the architecture of the human mind. Leonardo DiCaprio plays a higher up executive who gets himself involved in a blackmailing scandal.

18. The Expendables

Director: Sylvester Stallone

Cast: Sylvester Stallone, Jet Li, Jason Statham, Mickey Rourke, Eric Roberts

Release Date: August 13th 2010

Summary: “The Expendables” is a story that follows a team of mercenaries whose task is to infiltrate and overthrow a dictatorial regime in South America. With an impressive starcast, this movie has already set the verbal “hyperboles” rolling.

19. Harry Potter and The Deathly Hallows: Part One

Director: David Yates

Cast: Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint, Emma Watson, Helena Bonham Carter

Release Date: November 19th 2010

Summary: With Dumbledore gone and darkness spreading, it is up to Harry, Ron and Hermione to find Voldemort’s remaining horcruxes and destroy his soul completely. In their quest for the horcruxes, they stumble upon the mystical three ‘Deathly Hallows’ which they will need to succeed in their endeavour.

20. The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader

Director: Michael Apted

Cast: Georgie Henley, Skandar Keynes, Ben Barnes, Will Poulter, Gary Sweet

Release Date: December 10th 2010

Summary: Aboard The Dawn Treader, a wondrous Narnian ship captained by King Caspian; Edmund and Lucy along their irksome cousin Eustace Scrubb find themselves headed for the very edges of the world in a journey encountering dragons, slave traders and merefolk.

10. Siva Manasula Sakthi

Director: Rajesh

Cast: Jeeva, Anuya, Santhanam

Music: Yuvan Shankar Raja

Points: This ‘hyped’ entertainer just managed to tickle the funny bone in patches and was worth a few laughs, but nothing more. Music by Yuvan Shankar Raja was a big hit.

9. Vennila Kabadi Kuzhu

Director: Susinthiran

Cast: Vishnu Vishal, Saranya Mohan, Kishore

Music: V. Selvaganesh

Points: With an entire cast of new-comers, director Susinthiran scored a hit. The individual characters rendered lasting performances. With a shocker of a climax, an excellent ensemble cast and script, Vennila Kabadi Kuzhu scored a match-point.

8. Yavarum Nalam

Director: Vikram Kumar

Cast: R. Madhavan, Neetu Chandra

Music: Shankar, Ehsaan, Loy, Tubby, Parik

Points: For all those who associated Madhavan with mushy romance, Yavarum Nalam was a complete volte-face. With a strong performance oriented role, Madhavan was bang-up on the job. It turned out to be a big break for Vikram Kumar who made a killing out of this movie which was also released in Bollywood as 13B.

7. Peranmai

Director: S. P. Jananathan

Cast: Jayam Ravi, Roland Kickinger,Vasundra, Saranya, Varsha, Tanusika, Liyasree, Oorvasi

Music: Vidyasagar

Points: What makes director S. P. Jananathan chalk up such storylines? After a brilliant directorial debut in Ee, he comes up with this oddball movie. This movie, though it did not serve the interests of all types of audiences, will remain in the memories of all those who watched it because it’s essence is ‘hard work’. Right from the director to every individual member of the cast has toiled it out in the Deccan jungles. Brave effort — That’s why it is here.

6. Naan Kadavul

Director: Bala

Cast: Arya, Pooja

Music: Ilaiyaraaja

Points: Naan Kadavul continues Bala’s winning streak that began with Sethu. Having chosen a very ritzy and productive subject like he always does, Bala throws reality at your face that could make you feel restless with a sense of discomfort. The movie was certainly a landmark for both Arya and Pooja.

5. Thiru Thiru Thuru Thuru

Director: Nandhini

Cast: Ajmal Ameer, Rupa Manjeri

Music: Mani Sharma

Points: Does it satisfy the premise of a contorted kidnapping plot? Yes, in a way. With two hours of senseless, schizophrenic laughter and smothered romance, this movie was a feel good entertainer that kept me wanting the movie to go on.

4. Pasanga

Director: Pandiraj

Cast: Vimal, Vega Tamotia, Kishore, Sriram

Music: James Vasanthan

Points: Pasanga is a masterpiece. Movies about children have always been a rare and neglected genre in Tamil cinema which is a commercialized tinsel town. The movie comes with a big heart and an important message. It is a must watch, because movies of this kind are a rarity and Pasanga comes in the line of movies like Veyil, Paruthi Veeran and Subramaniapuram that are changing the scene in Kollywood.

3. Eeram

Director: Arivazhagan

Cast: Aadhi, Nandha, Sindhu Menon, Saranya Mohan

Music: Thaman

Points: Rationalism, originality, vigor — Eeram scores in all these POVs. The best part is that it actually makes you cling to the edge of the seat most of the time. No mean feat, considering the limitations of mainstream Tamil cinema.

2. Unnaipol Oruvan

Director: Chakri Toleti

Cast: Kamal Haasan, Mohanlal, Ganesh Venkatraman, Anuja Iyer

Music: Shruthi Haasan

Points: Quintessentially Kamal! The starcast works wonders for the project. Unnaipol Oruvan surprises you and is a bizarrely fascinating movie. Though one can say that A Wednesday was definitely better in the ‘whole-movie’ aspect, the expectations in Tamil cinema are poles apart from Bollywood.

1. Nadodigal

Director: Samuthirakani

Cast: Sasikumar, Vijay Vasanth, Ananya,Bharani, Abhinaya

Music: Sundar C Babu

Points: Every character has lived under the skin of characterization in the movie. It is nowhere near Subramaniapuram in terms of intensity, but with a logical storyline and realistic depiction of relationships, it consumes you into it’s screenplay. Nadodigal is unquestionably not only the best tamil movie of 2009, but also one of the finest films Tamil cinema has ever produced.

10 – Where the Wild Things Are

Director: Spike Jonze

Cast: Paul Dano, Forest Whitaker, Mark Ruffalo, Catherine Keener

Points: Moving sleekly from being splendorous to farcical, it creates a profoundly simple cohesion between the  two worlds of fantasy and reality. But having been adapted from a book that was enthralling, it needed to be better.

9 – A Serious Man

Director: Joel Coen & Ethan Coen

Cast: Michael Stuhlbarg, Fred Melamed, Richard Kind, Aaron Wolf

Points: The Coen brothers hit the deck again with their fleckless film-making and Roger Deakins’ editing gave way to fabulous cinematography.  But this movie missed in shades due to a lack of modicum of empathy and humanity.

8 – Up in the Air

Director: Jason Reitman

Cast: George Clooney, Vera Farmiga, Anna Kendrick

Points: This movie proved to be a capper for Clooney who has had a great year. Up in the Air is a movie of immense etiquette and unobtrusive aspirations. For a dry comedy flick, it had an essence of unfortunate exigency in it. It was worth a watch, but I doubt if it deserved the price of a ticket.

7 - (500) Days of Summer

Director: Marc Webb

Cast: Zooey Deschanel, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Clark Gregg, Minka Kelly

Points: (500) Days of Summer struck a chord with a male skewed audience by redefining the romantic comedy genre. Substantial performances by the lead characters with entertaining musings.

6 – District 9

Director: Neill Blomkamp

Cast: Sharlto Copley, Jason Cope, David James, Mandla Gaduka

Points: District 9 is an inhumane and rapacious tale. With a powerful and captivating script, it is a figment of modern day fiction with a contemporary theme. District 9 came out with all guns blazing – tyranny, avarice, hegemony and a conflict of cultures at odds.

5 – Fantastic Mr. Fox

Director: WesAnderson

Cast: George Clooney, Meryl Streep, Jason Schwartzman, Bill Murray

Points: Absolutely ‘Fantastic’. This puppet fantasy movie is filled with hilarious and delightful moments that will make your hearts reach out to heaven. The best animation movie this year after Up.

4 – The Hangover

Director: Todd Phillips

Cast: Bradley Cooper, Ed Helms, Zach Galifianakis, Justin Bartha

Points: It is totally insipid, stupid, unweaned and definitely that sort of movie which would lead to your mother spanking your ass for watching it. But that is exactly what worked for the movie. Defines the word ‘hilarious’.

3 – The Hurt Locker

Director: Kathryn Bigelow

Cast: Jeremy Renner, Anthony Mackie, Bryan Geraghty, Evangeline Lilly

Points: The Hurt Locker is full of cutting-edge realistic action and visceral human drama thats all in all makes it a gripping film. A true to reality depiction of modern day warfare that silently questions the purpose of war.

2 – Up

Director: Peter Docter

Cast: Ed Asner, Jordan Nagai, Christopher Plummer, John Ratzenberger

Points: How does Pixar continue to do it? Previously it was Wall-E, now it is Up. Coming from a collaboration of Disney and Pixar, Up has raised the standards of film-making (both animated and ordinary) in Hollywood. I never thought I would relate myself to this movie because it was about an old man who ties balloons to his house. But, within less than five minutes into the movie, something in me told me, ” NO, I don’t want this movie to end.”

1- Inglourious Basterds

Director: Quentin Tarantino

Cast: Brad Pitt, Christoph Waltz, Michael Fassbender, Eli Roth

Points: Quentin Tarantino seems to be hanging on to a lost world of movie-making and setting his own standards which he matches every time he comes up with a  wonderfully complex story such as this. Tarantino gives life to this intriguing and absorbing World War II drama by adding a touch of fantasy and signature Tarantino-style visualization.

10 – New York

Director: Kabir Khan

Cast: John Abraham, Katrina Kaif, Neil Nitin Mukesh, Irrfan Khan

Where it scored: Great individual performances. It turned out to be the meatiest roles ever done by John Abraham and Katrina Kaif.

Where it missed out: Got predictable after the first half. A lot of ‘filmy’ element was involved and the the director pretty much lost a sense of practicality towards the end.

9 – Love Aaj Kal

Director: Imtiaz Ali

Cast: Saif Ali Khan, Deepika Padukone, Rishi Kapoor, Rahul Khanna

Where it score: Two parallel love stories narrated in a unique and wonderful manner. Depiction of modern day relationships without any filmy clichés was commendable.

Where it missed out: Unnecessary interruptions in the form of songs. Failed to meet the expectations the viewers had after Imtiaz Ali’s previous venture - Jab We Met.

8 – Rocket Singh: Salesman of the Year

Director: Shimit Amin

Cast: Ranbir Kapoor, Manish Chaudhary, Gauhar Khan, Naveen Kaushik, Mukesh Bhatt

Where it scored: A breath of fresh air with restrained melodrama, real-life clogs and sensible character portrayal.

Where it missed out: The movie got a mixed response as it was a seemingly long movie which required a lot of patience to watch. Music by Salim-Sulaiman was a big let down.

7 – Wanted

Director: Prabhu Deva

Cast: Salman Khan, Ayesha Takia, Vinod Khanna, Mahesh Manjrekar, Prakash Raj, Govind Namdeo, Inder Kumar, Aseem Merchant

Where it scored: It was a no brainer. A total commercial ‘masala’ entertainer that kept the audience at the edge of their seats. Half the battle was already won because of the pre-release hype.

Where it missed out: Prabhu Deva could have tightened the script a little more. The songs were absolutely disastrous.

6 – Luck By Chance

Director: Zoya Akhtar

Cast: Farhan Akhtar, Konkona Sen Sharma, Rishi Kapoor, Isha Sharvani, Dimple Kapadia, Hrithik Roshan and others.

Where it scored: It was quality cinema at it’s best. The honest depiction of the way Bollywood works struck a chord with many aspirants who wish to make it big in Hindi cinema. Zoya Akhtar excelled in her directorial debut. Realistic performances by Farhan Akhtar and Konkona Sen Sharma.

Where it missed out: Nothing new in the plot. Very slow – paced first half that makes you feel drowsy.

5 – Three Idiots

Director: Rajkumar Hirani

Cast: Aamir Khan, R. Madhavan, Sharman Joshi, Kareena Kapoor, Boman Irani, Omi Vaidya

Where it scored: Absolute laugh riot with a tinge of emotional moments and a social message – signature Rajkumar Hirani style. A dazzling Rang De Basanti starcast and amazing individual performances by Boman Irani, Kareena Kapoor and Omi Vaidya added to it’s success.

Where it missed out: Much was expected of this movie and it lacked the genuineness and high standards set by Hirani’s Munna Bhai MBBS.

4 – Kaminey

Director: Vishal Bhardwaj

Cast: Shahid Kapoor, Priyanka Chopra, Amole Gupte, Tenzing Nima, Chandan Roy Sanyal

Where it scored: With only a normal storyline, Vishal Bhardwaj proved to be a master story-teller. Shahid Kapoor sky-rocketed to stardom with a scintillating performance.

Where it missed out: A violent ending did not find universal acceptance.

3 – Dev D

Director: Anurag Kashyap

Cast: Abhay Deol, Mahi Gill, Kalki Koechlin

Where it scored: Randomness happens often in our newly-experimental cinema, but it’s always great to see a film where no detail is an accident, where the director gets to execute his vision exactly as he wants — and this seemed pretty darned close.

Where it missed out: The critics gave the movie good reviews and this raised the expectations. Even so, this was a rather radical project; a movie that could well have done more but accomplished far more than enough, and I think the only reason we expect even greater things is that it really, really whets our appetite.

2 – Wake Up Sid

Director: Ayan Mukerji

Cast: Ranbir Kapoor, Konkona Sen Sharma, Anupam Kher, Supriya Pathak, Rahul Khanna

Where it scored: Rendering flawless performances, Ranbir Kapoor matured as an actor and Konkona Sen Sharma was as elegant as ever. It was an absolute feel-good movie that catered to a wider audience who could relate themselves to the movie and it’s characters. The movie redefined the true meaning of ‘platonic relationship’.

Where it missed out: Did not really miss out on any grounds. It is in the No.2 position only because Paa ended up being a better movie.

1 – Paa

Director: R. Balakrishnan aka R. Balki

Cast: Amitabh Bachchan, Abhishek Bachchan, Vidya Balan

Where it scored: Amitabh Bachchan carries the movie on his shoulders! A different story is always welcome amidst the flurry of hogwash that Bollywood offers every year. Vidya Balan rendered a strong performance.

Where it missed out: Negative aspects of this movie include a weak music section and the length of the movie. But, nevertheless Paa was a ‘one-of-a-kind’ movie.

Language:

Genre: Action

Cast: Vijay, Anushka Shetty, Salim Ghouse, Sanchita Padukone, Srihari, Sayaji Shinde

Director: B. Babusivan

Music: Vijay Antony

Reasons to watch: Only for hardcore Vijay fans who will accept anything that he does is practical and possible.

Reasons not to watch: Stale and obsolete storyline that lacks originality.

Storyline: Ravi aka Police Ravi (Vijay), idolizes Devaraj IPS (Sri Hari) and comes to Chennai with dreams of becoming a police officer. He meets Susheela (Anushka Shetty) during his journey and love blossoms at first sight (the director brings in his usual flurry of duets). It is a college-auto-love routine (versatile, aren’t we?) for Ravi until he encounters Vedanayagam (Salim Ghouse), the treacherous banal yesteryear villain. Ravi tames Chella (Ravishankar) for having sexually harassed his class-mate Uma (Sanchita Padukone). This infuriates Vedanayagam, who happens to be Chella’s dad. Vedanayagam, responsible for Devaraj’s loss of eyesight, family and job, uses his hold over the police and makes life horrible for Ravi. With Devaraj’s moral backing-up, Ravi becomes a gang leader (does it ring any bells?) and puts an end to Vedanayagam’s brutal and cold-blooded efforts using his ‘intelligence’ and super-heroic muscle power. Though Anushka peps up the proceedings and knocks you out with her stunning beauty and screen presence, like in all other Vijay flicks, there is little role for the heroine in this movie too.

In a nutshell, Vettaikaran is yet another B-Grade ‘mass-masala’ movie that borrows it’s ingredients from Pokkiri and Bhagavathy.

Climax Handling: Clichéd…. and all it’s synonyms.

Points: Vijay simply fails to learn from his previous box-office disasters. Despite his charm and dexterity in dancing, there is nothing new that Vijay offers in yet another miserable attempt to emulate and mimic Superstar Rajnikanth. The only positive for this movie is the song “Naan Adicha” in which Vijay showcases his tremendous potential in dance.

Rating:4.5/10

Comments: Don’t watch it. And even if you do…. forget it!

Genre: Action, Adventure, Sci-fi, Thriller

Cast: Sam Worthington, Zoe Saldaña, Sigourney Weaver, Stephen Lang, Giovanni Ribisi, Michelle Rodriguez

Director: James Cameron

Music: James Horner

Reasons to watch: Amazing VFX and photorealistic 3D imagery.

Reasons not to watch: Weak storyline that bores you as it progresses.

Storyline: It is 2154 and the focus is on Pandora – a planet few light years from the Earth, inhabited by an abnormally tall, cat eyed, blue-skinned humanoid race called the Na’vi. Humans are at work on this planet with three different motives. A group of scientists is led by Dr. Grace Augustine (Sigourney Weaver), the brains behind ‘Avatars’ – bodies identical to the Na’vi clan, that are created by the inter-linking of human and Na’vi DNA but remote-controlled by scientists, with a sole purpose of maintaining diplomatic relations with the locals. Jake Sully (Sam Worthington) is a paraplegic Marine who volunteers for the Pandora program by taking his deceased twin brother’s place.

A major mining conglomerate and the military dudes sum up the remaining human task-force on Pandora. Giovanni Ribisi (makes a fool of himself in the movie) stars as Parker Selfridge whose obsessed agenda is Unobtanium – a valuable mineral found on Pandora, especially at one of the most holy places of the Na’vi. The plan is to let the avatars live among the Na’vi, quell them up, offer them various improvements (I wonder why they would need ‘improvements’ with flying giants on their side) and take the Unobtanium from right under their noses (big ones) . Colonel Miles Quaritch (Stephen Lang) heads a league of ex-military dudes who have been hired to provide security; but these guys are impatient brats itching to provoke the Na’vi into war. Stephen Lang’s overacting gives you the feeling he is constantly on steroids.

Having lost his way during a training program and rest of the team abandoning him, Sully is rescued by Neytiri (Zoe Saldaña), a young Na’vi lady, with whom he later falls in love (James Cameron loses the plot here). Thereafter, Sully lives with the Na’vi and soon gains enough trust and information that would make him a valuable asset to the Pandora program. Torn between the two worlds, Sully finds himself in a climacteric fight for his own survival and that of the natives.

Climax Handling: A logical ending to a not so extraordinary story. 3D imaging at it’s best.

Points: Avatar, the ’so called’ future of cinema is finally out. James Cameron’s confounding epic is a mix of mind-boggling visuals and eye rolling silly stuff. For all the pre-release banter about how this movie was going to change the future of movie-making, it disappoints. So is it worth a watch? Absolutely yes! But only for the technical bustle. But as a consummate movie? There lies the problem.

Rating: 8.0/10

Comments: Avatar scores in the depiction of it’s CGI world, but fails like 2012 with a messed up screenplay filled with clichés and hackneyed expressions.

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