Language:

Genre: Satire

Cast: Shiva, Disha Pandey, Vennira Aadai Murthy, MS Baskar, Manobala, Paravai Muniamma

Director: C.S. Amudhan

Music: Kannan

Reasons to watch: First full length satirical (spoof) movie in tamil. And of course it is hilarious!

Reasons not to watch: Irritating and boring in patches which is expected of any spoof movie.

Storyline: Shiva is born in a town called Cinemapatti where male new-borns are killed. Just as his grandmother tries to carry out the proceedings, the baby comes up with actor Vijay’s (the major target) ‘punch dialogue’ from Pokkiri. As a 10-year old, Shiva asks his grandmother if it is time for him to take up the responsibility to fight injustice. He is asked to ride a bicycle and with a few rolls of the pedal, we have our hero up and ready to take up the mantle long held by Tamil superstars. The parody then takes over and we are treated with a flurry of mocked dialogues and sequences from Thalapathi, Aboorva Sagodharargal, Anniyan, Kadhalan, Kaakha Kaakha, Sivaji, Mozhi, Ghajini and of course, Binny Mills – tinseltown’s current favorite shooting spot for fight sequences is not spared. When the heroine’s (like in a typical commercial film, has nothing to do) dad refuses to accept Shiva as the groom citing monetary issues and social status, our (super)hero becomes the world’s richest man in a single song; the time the dad’s cook takes to make a cup of coffee . Many more parodies follow and generate many a laughs, but definitely not hearty ones.

Climax Handling: Boring. But, I guess the whole point was to make it boring with a “twist that wasn’t”.

Points: Nirav Shah emphasizes his brilliance yet again with flawless cinematography. The fact that 40 plus actors play college students is effective ridiculing of commercial flicks. Some of the scenes I personally liked were the spoofs from Anniyan, Kaakha Kaakha, Run and Mouna Raagam.

Rating: 5/10

Comments: Tamil film formula ridiculed! You can’t stand it, but you got to watch it!

Language: English

Genre: Comedy, Satire

Cast: Rowan Atkinson, John Malkovich, Natalie Imbruglia, Tasha de Vasconcelos, Ben Miller

Director: Peter Howitt

Music: John Powell

Reasons to watch: Rowan Atkinson aka Mr. Bean shines in this movie.

Reasons not to watch: Not for those who hate Rowan’s satirical facial expressions.

Storyline: Fear looms large in the highly secure Tower of London as a plan is hatched to steal the crown jewels of the royal family. The British Government decides to assign the case to secret agent Johnny English (Rowan Atkinson), in order to prevent the theft. NO! This does not make English the best secret agent ever; it’s just that he is the only secret agent who is alive at the moment the Government needed one. Though English’s intentions are genuinely for the best and he dreams of being a smooth, stylish operative, the pathetic Brit strikes catastrophe everywhere he goes. As he tries to save the royal empire from the holds of French prison mogul Pascal Sauvage (John Malkovich), the mastermind behind the evil plan, English makes you laugh your hearts out as he goes about misusing Bond type gizmos, recklessly leaking his plans to his enemies, taking the most antagonistic route into Sauvage’s castle, and sky-diving into a hospital instead of Sauvage’s skyscraper — but, he somehow gets away with all his foolhardiness. Assisted by his loyal sidekick Bough (Ben Miller) and Special Agent Lorna Campbell (Natalie Imbruglia), English with his inane brashness literally fractures your funny bone throughout the movie.

Climax Handling: Really funny!!!! Though the rest of the movie is excruciatingly predictable, the climax is a complete surprise.

Points: He knows no Fear. He knows no Danger. He knows Nothing!

Rating: 7/10

Comments: A laugh riot spoof movie. Go crazy with Her Majesty’s most trusted Secret Agent — Johnny English.

Language:

Cast: Audrey Tautou

Direction: Jean-Pierre Jeunet

Music: GOD! the French Accordions. Yann Tiersen IS GOD.

Reasons to watch: Watch for its screenplay. Watch it for its simplicity. Watch it for its shocking smoothening of cultural boundaries. Watch it to find a little bit of Amelie for yourself. This is a rare case where the movie is not an action flick, but goes very fast.

Reasons not to: Subtitles

Storyline: Amelie is the story of a girl who has an overly flamboyant imagination. She is a waitress at a cafe, and while tackling her own loneliness, her own fears, her own neuroses, tries to smoothen the creases in the world around her. She notices the smallest things. She targets the most mundane obvious details of life. She enables us reach for a cross-section of out own life. She meets lonely painters, curious collectors, ‘normal’ men, extremely taciturn men, and so many other marvelously painted and perfectly sculpted characters. She is a hypocrite at that; although she knows what and who it is, that will finally help her say, “This time, I will be free of my limitations. This time, I will free myself.”

Climax Handling: There are a million threads to the story. And they fall into one place and twirl together and make a huge rope out of themselves. Never better.

Points: Amélie: [to blind man] Let me help you. Step down. Here we go! The drum major’s widow! She’s worn his coat since the day he died. The horse’s head has lost an ear! That’s the florist laughing. He has crinkly eyes. In the bakery window, lollipops. Smell that! They’re giving out melon slices! Sugarplum, ice cream! We’re passing the park butcher. Ham, 79 francs. Spareribs, 45! Now the cheese shop. Picadors are 12.90. Cabecaus 23.50. A baby’s watching a dog that’s watching the chickens. Now we’re at the kiosk by the metro. I’ll leave you here. Bye!

Rating: 9.5/10

Comment: Please Watch!

Genre: Drama/Satire

Cast: Jim Carrey, Laura Linney, Ed Harris

Direction: Peter Weir

Music:Burkhard Dallwitz, Philip Glass(This movie has some amazing soundtracks on the piano.)

Reasons to watch: Stellar performances by Jim Carrey and Ed Harris, Extremely simple yet infinitely thought provoking

Reasons not to: NONE other than if you have peas for brains

Storyoline: Truman Burbank is an ordinary guy in an ordinary little seaside town of Seahaven Island where nothing really happens. Everything in Truman’s life is perfect and it is this perfection that becomes so repetitive for Truman that he’s raring to break the mould. Truman’s father died in a boat accident when Truman was a kid and Truman, a witness to the disaster is now mortally scared of the seas and the water. This also prevents him from finding the one woman he ever really loved (not his wife) who has long since left for the other side of the world, the side where he cannot go. A strange light falling from the sky, a man who reminds him of his dead father, a strange radio broadcast and the feeling that the world really stops when he shuts his eyes all combine to make him feel something is wrong – what happens when he tries to find out the ‘truth’? Or does ‘truth’ exist? Here begins his journey against his fears, against his life, against the world he lives in, a journey of a lifetime.

Climax Handling: The movie ends on a brave and emotional note, deserving a tearful applause.

Points: Jim Carrey at his best (without relying on his forte – comedy), this movie will leave you spellbound, with many lessons to learn for all of us. Made at the fag end of the 20^th century, this movie is most relevant in the present times. Watch it to experience it.!

Rating: 9.5/10

Comment: One of Jim Carrey’s best works ever, you’ll find a part of Truman in you. And you’ll love him more. Go, watch it.