Tuesday, January 20, 2009

Weekend Movies - Kireedom and Kadamai Kanniyam Kattupaadu

Quick thoughts on these 2 movies that I had written a long time back right after watching these movies. Can't remember many scenes from both the movies but still wanted to post these here.

Kireedom - Well, after watching Kireedom, you just can not feel but sorry for Ajith, for he, as always, puts his everything into the movie but he is letdown big time by the director who in his efforts to appease his fans, spoils the entire show and makes the movie a complete bore. Making a movie like this is like preparing a meal, where if you falter at any point by adding more of the spices or salt, the entire meal becomes inedible and that is precisely what happens here. The director tries hard to make us empathize with the travails that Ajith goes through, but it just doesn't cut it, mainly bcos of all the other ingredients that are added to make the movie more appealing to his fan base. I could not even sit through even the supposedly good scenes in the movie - the scene at Ajith's house where Trisha & Ajith are talking in a water tank. It is hard, not to compare this movie with Dhil, an agmark masala movie which had an almost similar storyline and I can easily say that Dhil was miles ahead of this one. Dhil did not try to be a very serious & to-the-point movie. It had all the ingredients that you would expect in a masala movie but it still stayed faithful to the central theme of the movie - that of Vikram trying to become a sub-inspector of police. But here, the script goes haywire beyond a point and nothing could salvage the movie from that. Ajith, hmm...seeing his performance in movies like Godfather and this one, I would probably go to the extreme of saying that even Vijay, with his limited repertoire of expressions & acting, is eminently watchable than Ajith. I would not haven imagined in my wildest dreams that I would type something like this (bcos as many of you know, I am a big-time hater of the other guy) but Ajith does not do anything to change the opinion of sympathisers like yours truly. But then, Ajith was atleast watchable. If there is one person who is consistently irritating and gets on my nerves in every single movie that she appears in, it has to be Trisha. She is at her usual best - artificial in every single scene. The first 30 mins of the movie when Ajith & Trisha fall in love with each was absolutely unwatchable. Raj Kiran does a decent job, as always and delivers what was expected of him. G.V.Prakash's songs are awesome, easily one of the highlights of the movie. It is only when you see Ajith mangle in movies like these, you seriously wonder what if he had acted in Naan Kadavul as per the original plan. A sense of deja vu sets in, as I think I might have typed the same thing in my Godfather review too but that is what readily comes to my mind, every time I watch an Ajith movie.

Kadamai Kanniyam Kattupaadu - Have been wanting to watch this movie for a while mainly bcos of 2 reasons - 1) Kamal produced it with another actor in the lead and 2) the film is supposed to be the best of the 80s when it came to cop stories. With my dad in the Police department, he usually quotes this movie in our discussions. But afterwatching the movie, though I could kind of understand why Kamal came forward to producing this, the movie was a huge let-down. The only positive thing to take home about the movie is its length (just above 2 hours, I guess) and the fact that the movie had no songs. The most irritating thing about the movie was the number of parallel threads running at any given point of time. After a while, the number of such threads just grew too large that I began wondering how will it all be tied up at the end. And surprisingly, the director does not bother to tie some of the loose ends up. Sathyaraj is OK. One of my uncles always cites Sathyaraj's performance in this movie as one of the best. I did not even remotely think that way. He has performed way better than this in many of his movies and this is one over-the-top performance. Nothing much to write about this below average movie.

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Friday, January 16, 2009

Conference Championships Preview

So, it has come to 4 teams after such a topsy-turvy season. Here are my thoughts on the 2 games for the weekend:

Eagles Vs Cardinals: It would be an understatement to say that the Cardinals have stunned the NFL with their advancement to the conference championship game. Absolutely nobody gave them a chance against the Panthers last weekend but they not only beat them but also humiliated them in front of their home crowd (I was in Charlotte for new year and you should see the cockiness in most of their voices as to how the Panthers will for sure make it to the Super Bowl without any issues). If the Cardinals are the most surprising team to be left in the fray, the Eagles are probably the most expected as once the playoffs began, they were the team nobody wanted to play. They have lived up to their name with 2 outstanding victories, at the Vikings and at the Giants. After the Seahawks, the Eagles are my most favorite team and McNabb is my favorite NFL player. So, I am really happy for them.

As far the game, I think the Eagles will win it handily. When Kurt Warner is given all the time in the world, he is a great QB and when he is subjected to pressure that one expects the Eagles defensive coordinator Jim Johnson is expected to bring, he is at best a mediocre quarterback. So, I expect him to have a game slightly better than the one he had against the Patriots where he threw for a mere 30 yards before being benched. The Eagles don't have a quarterback who makes poor decisions like Jake Delhomme did last weekend for the Panthers. Brian Westbrook is always just 1 play away from running away with the game. Good defense, solid running game, efficient passing game - the Eagles recipe for success.

Pick: Eagles by 7

Ravens vs Steelers - The Steelers are the team that everyone loves to hate and the Seattle folks certainly do that after our loss in the Super Bowl game 2 years back. Any time a rookie coach and a rookie quarterback take a team to the conference championship game, we should appreciate it. What the Ravens have done this season has been just short of remarkable. Their bloody good defense always keeps their offense in the game, no matter how badly they do. The Pittsburgh Steelers, on the other hand, statistically have the best defense in football and also have in their ranks the Defensive Player of the year, James Harrison. So, this should be a cat fight between the 2 leading defenses in the league in what is expected to be a low scoring game.

Given the fact that the Steelers won both the regular season match-ups and given the NFL reasoning that it is almost impossible to beat the same time 3 times in a season, I pick the Ravens in this one. Roethlisberger's tendency to hold on to the football, just that wee bit longer, is going to be a major factor as he either will be sacked or will be forced into a turnover of some sort by the ever hungry Ravens defense. Flacco hasn't been sacked even once in the playoffs nor has he thrown an interception. All that will be crucial in this match-up where the margin of error is going to be very small and will ultimately prove to be the deciding factor. As a loyal Seahawks fan, I will be rooting for the Ravens.

Pick: Ravens by 3

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Tuesday, January 13, 2009

Villu - LOL

So, it looks like Villu is the next product from Vijay's never ending staple of crappy movies. (No, I haven't watched the movie and I have no plans either). Looks like even Vijay fans can't withstand the torture that this movie has to offer. Neutral reviews say that this movie is not half as good as Pokkiri and I couldn't even sit through that one. I shudder to think how bad this movie could be.

Anyway, the reason for this post is about what I read in the Tamil Film Forum here. Couple of hubbers there had this to say about Villu's alleged storyline (that of a son taking revenge for his father's murder. Wow, now thats new)

Hubber 1:

Story: Villu's story starts and ends in the climax

Hubber 2: (he starts writing notes on individual items like comedy - padu mokkai, Vijay - dances well, Nayanthara - looks ugly, Songs - OK, Prakashraj - wasted and then this is what he has to say about the story)

Story: Not Applicable

I haven't laughed so much in a very long time. Simply hilarious. They say that one should share their happiness with others and so here I am promptly doing the same. Laugh along...

Friday, January 02, 2009

Best Songs of the year - 2008

For those of you who don't know, one of the ten commandments for a blogger who writes a lot about Tamil music & movies is this: "Thou shall list the annual post about the best of the year in Tamil film music". So, heeding to that commandment, here is my post.

The usual conditions that I set for such posts do exist:

1) All these songs should fit in a 80-minute audio CD
2) There should be only one song from any given album, no matter how good the album is.
3) The album should have been released in 2008 (that would eliminate albums like Vellithirai and Anjaadhey since they were released in 2007)

1) Endhan vaanamum from Vaazhthukkal - One of Yuvan's stand-out melodies of 2008.
2) Yaaro manadhile from Dhaam Dhoom - Harris Jeyaraj, Bombay Jayashree. Enuf said.
3) Yae unnidam from Chakkara Viyugam - Typical Karthik Raja melody, with his voice reminding us of his illustrious father's voice.
4) Kangal Irandaal from Subramaniyapuram- Will be a crime not to include this song in this list. James, where were you all these days?
5) Taxi Taxi from Sakkarakatti- one of my picks for the song of the year
6) Mazhai nindra pinbum from Raman Thediya Seethai - A standard Vidhyasagar melody but very enjoyable nevertheless
7) Adai Mazhaikkaalam from Jeyam Kondaan - Vidyasagar. Melody. They do go hand in hand, don't they?
8) Dosth Badaa Dosth from Saroja - Breezy song. Absolutely loved this song.
9) Nenjukkul Peidhidum maamazhai from Vaaranam Aayiram - One of the 6 gems from easily my pick for the album of the year.
10) Aavaaram Poo from Poo - A refreshing song by debutant composer S.S. Kumaran
11) Poovinai thirandhu from Aanandha Thaandavam - GVP finally arrives this year with his uncle-like melody.
12) Lesaa parakkudhu from Vennila Kabadi Kuzhu - This melody from another contestant to the album of the year award.
13) Anaikkindra thaagam from Nepaali - Srikanth Deva surprises us with this enchanting number where Bombay Jeyashree's vocals stand out.
14) Siru thoduthalile from Laadam - A song that makes us long for more from this young lad.

Honorable mentions (a.k.a. The Second CD)

1) Machaan machaan from Silambaattam
2) Marudhaani from Sakkarakatti
3) Uyiril edho from Vennila Kabadi kuzhu
4) Theneeril Snehitham from Subramaniyapuram
5) Hey baby baby from Aegan
6) Kodaana Kodi from Saroja
7) Chellame Chellame from Sathyam
8) Kaalathai vendra kalaignan ivan from Uliyin Osai
9) Unmela aasai pattu from Vaazhthukkal
10) Adiye kolludhe from Vaaranam Aayiram
11) Anbe En Anbe from Dhaam Dhoom
12) En idhayatha kaanom from Chakkraviyugam
13) Kallil aadum theeve from Anandha Thandavam
14) Thendralukku nee from Arai En 305-il Kadavul
15) Ippave Ippave from Raman Thediya Seethai

Album of the year - Vaaranam Aayiram
Honorable mentions - Poo, Vennila Kabadi kuzhu, Subramaniyapuram, Arai En 305-il Kadavul

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