Movies in 2015 - End of Year review

I would say 2015 has not been a great year for movies but then I also have to confess that I've not watched as many this year as in the past. Why? There have been changes in both my professional and personal life & I've also become older and lazier so it’s easier to sit at home and watch sitcoms and TV shows than drag my ass to go to a mall, pay Rs. 60 for parking, Rs. 150 for popcorn and Rs. 300 for a ticket and then be disappointed....However, despite the slim pickings, below are 15 movies that I really liked for whatever reasons.

Note: I try and watch as many regional language films as possible but this list is limited to Tamil, Hindi and English which contribute ~90% of my viewing choices

The countdown begins

15      Tanu weds Manu Returns          (Hindi)

Clearly Bollywood is not known for churning out decent sequels but this is an exception though I still like v1 more. What works for this movie is the superb writing except for the first 15 minutes. Some of the really funny one-liners delivered in Punjabi went over my head not helped by the lousy audio in the lousier print I watched (ooops) but Pappi and Chintu were a real hoot and Kangna is the finest actress of her generation (well, I think i will contradict myself later so let’s make it one of the Top 2) so in hindsight, this would definitely count as one of the more enjoyable 2.5 hrs spent this year. 

14      Detective Byomkesh Bakshi     (Hindi)

I actually thought the plot was reasonably complex, the performances top notch, the period detailing perfect and for someone who hadn't read or seen earlier versions of the titular character, the overall experience was cool. Dibakar is a steady hand, an accomplished director and I hope the relative lack of commercial success of this film does not deter him from pursuing this series further. 

13      Mad Max: Fury Road    (English)

I've not seen the earlier franchise starring Mel Gibson and for any others whose first taste of this post-apocalyptic fiction was through the film, I am sure the reaction at the end would have been "WOWWWWWWWWW". 

This is one movie where I literally heard my heart pounding so fast that I thought I was gonna have a heart attack any second. The visuals, the stunts, the choreography and cinematography are mind-blowing. Why is the movie not higher in my list? I can only take that much over-the-top....Whew....

If you’ve not seen the movie, check this scene below to help you make up your mind J

12      The Martian         (English)

Another worthy addition to the awesome space adventure movies that have come and gone in the last 2 years (Gravity, Interstellar to name others), what worked for me was the way Ridley Scott underplayed the melodrama and action scenes. This one works more on your mind than on your heart strings and that is not necessarily a bad thing. I know this probably doesn't make much sense but for people who've seen this movie, I am sure you can relate to what I am saying.....and the 3D is a real bonus. 

11      NH 10 (Hindi)

This one haunted me for days after I came back from the theatre. We all read about it in the papers and also hear the debates in TV about khap panchayats, hot blooded hooligans and honor killings but very few movies make you sit up and notice how horribly different life in India can be in a 50 kms radius. A couple of dialogues from the movie had me writhing in my seat in unease

"Yahaan bijli paani to pohacha nahi, constitution kya khak pohachega." 

 "Aapki democracy na Gurgaon key aakhri mall pe khatam ho jati hai." 

...and rightly or wrongly, the above scene actually helped me make a career choice. 

When a mainstream actress like Anushka Sharma steps out of her comfort zone and not only acts but also produces a film like this, you know there is hope for the industry. Doff my hat, ma’am. Also, we need to see more of Navdeep Singh please.

10      Demonte Colony   (Tamil)

I am generally not a big fan of the horror genre (maybe coz I am easily spooked) more so in Tamil where the bar is as high as Kanchana but this was one well executed film. Lack of big name stars who do not distract from the story, no unnecessary songs, no needless heroine and a reasonable running time all contributed to what was a highly enjoyable ride. If only the BGM did not follow the usual cliche of "Louder is better", this would have been even higher in my list. Arulnithi makes some interesting movie choices so its high time the industry took him seriously and gave his films better releases and more publicity as compared to a Siva Karthikeyan or a Vimal. 

9        The Man from U.N.C.L.E        (English)

So it wasn't a typical Guy Ritchie movie....it probably didn't have as much swagger as his earlier ventures but it still had enough going for it to give patrons like me a great 2 hours... Check these 2 early scenes in the movie (minor spoilers)

A zingy sound track, a zany plot, 2 lead actors who played off each other fantastically well - what's not to like in this one. Sometimes I "love" movies for the craziest reasons and there is a sequence at the start where German dialogues are sub-titled for the audience in English and the font used was AWESOMEEEEE....  I am not kidding, it’s not the same scene but you can check it out here

8        Talvar         (Hindi)

By now, we've all seen or heard about how incompetent officials can completely bungle investigations, how media coverage can radically cloud and shape public perception, how egos can subvert the search for truth, how societal class differences can ingrain so much bias but what this movies reinforces strongly is how things do not look like they will change (Salman Khan, Peter Mukherjea and so many other stories have hit the headlines after this) and how all of this shit could happen to any of us....and that truly truly scares me. 

7        Kaakka Muttai      (Tamil)

Small is beautiful. You don't need a budget, you don't need stars, all you need is a simple story narrated straight from the heart. ....and the next time, a Kollywood producer eats a pizza, I hope he remembers this.  Kaakka Muttai is a gem that will stand the test of time and my special thanks to Manikandan for re-introducing us all to the curiously spelt Iyshwarya Rajesh. Boy, can she act!!!!! 

6        Inside Out   (English)

I will not be going out on a limb if I claim today that Pixar was, is and will always be studio no: 1 for animated movies. Inside Out is another outstanding addition to their incredible collection of modern day classics. Brilliantly crafted & magically voiced, Inside out explains how emotions inside our head color our memories and shape how we behave with the outside world. Inside Out is many things - thought-provoking, poignant, sweet, funny - but its also bloody damn cerebral and entertaining and that for me, is an absolute clincher.  

5        Bajrangi Bhaijaan (Hindi)

Contrary to what many would like to believe, a good masala movie is the most difficult one to make. You’ve got to get the ingredients (action, comedy, song and dance, drama) absolutely right in terms of proportion and then convince actors/stars to sink in their teeth and give it their all to pull off some of the most outrageous stuff….

All of this means I give Kabir Khan absolutely no credit (surely the producer’s purse strings and Salman Khan is what must have convinced Kareena, Om Puri and Nawaz to sign up before hearing the storyline) and all of the kudos for BB’s success goes to K V Vijayendra Prasad. N-O-W we know story-telling goes deep in the Rajamouli family.  The meta theme of the hero being a righteous, god-fearing, good-Samaritan who can do no wrong tying up so well with Salman’s real life story arc was a masterstroke.

And yes, whoever thought 7 decades of political problems with our noisy neighbours could be solved so easily. While all of us smiled and shed a tear and pinched ourselves to see if what we were seeing on screen was really true, the box office collections ensured that the producers laughed all the way to the bank…and who would grudge them too for providing us wholesome entertainment. Bravo !!

Here, go have a cry and remember, you're not alone J

4        Mission Impossible: Rogue Nation      (English)

I used to be a B-I-G fan of the Bond movies but the MI franchise is fast replacing them as the de-facto guilty pleasure I like to indulge myself once every 2-3 years.

Tom Cruise completely owns Ethan Hunt now and one cannot but marvel at a 53 yr old dude continuing to perform daredevil stunts, each one more ludicrous than the previous. His camaraderie & chemistry with the sidekicks like Simon Pegg, Ving Rhames and Jeremy Renner is crackling and (I never thought I would say this) the opening sequence here is more fun for me than Spectre (ok, sue me).

The plot is not very complex and execution is pretty much by-the-number but who cares as long as the popcorn keeps coming and time flies by. Check out the video below giving details of my favorite scene in the movie.

3        Baahubali   (Tamil)

Words and phrases like Magnum-opus (Kochadaiyaan…hehehe), Epic (Puli??), All time classic (Raja Rani…ROFLLLLL) are bandied about too frequently these days but I will risk criticism and say that Baahubali deserves all of these tags and more.

In a movie of many firsts and greats, what struck me most was Rajamouli’s humungous vision and then the ability to translate that into flawless execution at such a grand scale. We read so many great books, hear awesome stories and then feel disappointed when they make it to reel. Baahubali must have been a tale that Rajamouli wanted to tell for years and his passion and love for the story shows coz when we, the audience, finally see it, we are left gasping for breath.  

What is a set, what is real and what is CGI is often so difficult to delineate that one is amazed at the technical peaks our cinema has scaled. 

Part 1 was released in Bangalore with 90% prints in Telugu, 9% in Hindi and 1% in Tamil so had to watch in on television but Part 2 is an experience I’d rather savor in a giant screen than in my 32 inch TV.

Till summer 2016, one of the biggest mysteries of 2015 – why did Katappa kill Baahubali – will have to remain unanswered.

2        O Kadhal Kanmani        (Tamil)

*start of rant*

I am incredibly biased when it comes to Mani Ratnam but that isn't the reason why OKK comes 2nd in this list. Its just that after seeing the Pyaar Ka Punchnaamas & Hunterrrs of Bollywood masquerading as representative of Young India, its refreshing to see a  59 yr old who blew away my generation through Mouna Raagam in 1986, captured the imagination of the next through Alaipaayuthey in 2000 still get the pulse of the youth right in 2015 through OKK and prove himself relevant in the modern context.

The moneybags who dominate Kollywood these days have identified 8 special days where star movies can release. Back in the days when I was growing up, there were only 4 festivals we celebrated every year - Pongal, Diwali, a Mani Ratnam release and a Kamal/Rajini release depending on which side of the divide you belonged to. For an icon like Mani Ratnam to keep inventing and reinventing himself and still entertain millions speaks volumes for his versatility and caliber.

OKK is his gentle reminder (no obscene middle finger gestures from this gentleman) to his critics that he still has his mojo.

Btw, on the other criticism that I keep hearing about how OKK didn’t tackle the core issue seriously, here is my irritated response - The movie looks at today's youth and the choices facing them and gives you some perspectives on how they make decisions (their thought process, their influences etc). The movie was not meant to be a serious commentary on living in with pros and cons analyzed to death. Period.

*end of rant*

I genuinely liked OKK so much that I watched it twice on screen within a few weeks of its release. So what did I love about the film (hmmm….reliving the movie now through this post) - pretty much everything that we have come to associate as Mani Ratnam tropes

•  The meet cute - railway station and church scenes
•   The two leads - what incredible talents, what amazing chemistry
•   The songs - their lyrics, placement & visualization - helped so much in moving the story fwd. Malargal Kaetaen is so moving, Naane Varugiraen is poetry at its peak, Parandhu Sellava is so imaginatively pictured
•  The cinematography - yes, it was colourful, picture-postcardish but given that was the palette choice made, it was still wonderfully shot. That segment around Maula Wa springs to mind immediately
•  The climax conflict - shot in pouring rain, the pain, anguish, confusion and insecurity is so brilliantly acted out through looks and glances

*sigh* Oh, to be young again !!!

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• I - 2 yrs that Vikram will never get back in his life but then is that necessarily a bad thing...and Shankar has another flop. The start of the end?
• Yennai Arindhaal - another long, snooze fest from GVM who keeps rehashing his own movies again and again and again and again and...you get where I am going with this. The name Hemanika was probably the one original thing in the whole film
• Enakkul Oruvan - should have probably seen Lucia first but honestly this was one trippy movie which confused the heck out of me. I still don’t get parts of it. Maybe I should be the one who first screams "The emperor aunt wearing clothes"
• Uttama Villain - a fantastic concept gone awry purely because Kamal tends to go way overboard with his smart ideas and I-am-too-intelligent-for-you touches
• Dil Dhadakne Do - how the mighty have fallen !!! Luck by chance was simple yet endearing but with every subsequent venture, Zoya has been slipping down the slope. This story of the rich and famous had me yawning 10 mts in and even a loutish Ranveer could not salvage this wreck.
• Baby - ok, this is not a bad movie but what was all that hype about? For movies dealing with Dawood and mafia/underworld, D-Day was better, much better despite it starring Shruti "shudders" Haasan & Arjun "Teakwood" Rampal. Akshay, Rana and Taapsee are an odd team who just don’t look like a unit together.

Amongst other must-watch movies, I didn’t get a chance to really get down to watching the below movies...

• Piku, Bombay Velvet, Prem Ratan Dhan Paayo, Masaan, Titli, Shaandaar
• 36 Vayadhinile, Maya, Kuttram Kadithal, Darling, Bench Talkies
• Bridge of Spies, Cinderella, Trainwreck, Spy, Tomorrowland

*and now for the movie of 2015.....drumroll.......*

Wimbledon 2015 musings

It was a superb 2nd Semis y'day but now that I've had time to reflect on the match and also skim through the match reports on the net, I differ from the vast majority. contrary to popular belief, I dont think Andy Murray played really well yesterday. He did ok but was blown away by a man who was playing at his absolute peak...and the real shame is that Federer was doing it a month short of the ripe old age of 34. Sigh.

Federer's first serve percentage was an incredible 76% and he won 85% of those points... but they were not freebees like a Karlovic ace. Federer was clever - he varied the speed and kick on his serve so often that it caught his opponent unawares. It didnt help that Andy was standing so way back behind the baseline and trying to push fwd as he returned since Federer was also constantly varying the direction of his serves - to the body, wide out, down the line - that Andy couldnt even guess and move in for the kill. Edberg has brought a lot of variety into Federer's game plan so much so that we see RF go to the net more often (even on his 2nd serve talking of which my 2nd serve is better than Andy's) and the way he uses his backhand is so different from how it was 2 years ago - he slices more often and when you least expect it, whips that down the line shot a la Wawrinka or Gasquet.

The finals? I can see RF winning it though its the last thing I want. Not that I care too much for Djoker but it would be nice for Becker to put one over Edberg hence my loyalties are firmly in the Djoker corner. Till Sunday.....

PS: Nice to see Sania doing well in the doubles and mixed....Rooting for her and the Swiss miss to both do the double.

TV musings

I know Thomas Friedman used the term in a different context but can I misappropriate it for my next observation on Television.

The World is truly flat. 

Yeterday's TV shows screened in America are available today in India... Globalization has well and truly kicked in....and am I loving it !!!

So, The Newsroom is winding down to the last few episodes and The Americans premieres in late January, House of Cards Season 3 in late February & Sherlock god-knows-when. So what do I do in the meanwhile? I just finished Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip for the 2nd time and it was so much fun watching Bradley Whitford, Amanda Peet, Matthew Perry and co: that its finally dawning on me that Sorkin could never be back in TV again and boy, would I miss him. Sigh.

Anyway, read this interesting piece on Best 20 shows of 2014 and was surprised by a few names in the list.

I am really now intrigued by Orange is the new black & Louie (which is actually showing on Indian telly).

Till January, here I go....

EPL mid-season review

14 games is a fair time to pass judgement on a season well underway so just before we get into the Festive season fixtures, here is my team of the season so far

Courtois
Clyne - Cahill - Terry - Cresswell
Alexis - Matic - Fabregas - Downing
Aguero - Costa

Subs
Forster
Ivanovic
Alderweireld
Montero
Sigurdsson
Pelle
Bony

Manager: Ronald Koeman

Yes, it is quite heavy on Saints but I have been mightily impressed by them and they deserve all the accolades they are getting despite the recent reverses.

My tips for the season

• Chelsea to win by 6 points
• City, Utd and Arsenal to finish in the CL Places.
• Southampton and Spurs to play Thursday night football.
• Everton and Swansea to miss out on Europe.
• Aston Villa, QPR and Burnley to get relegated. Leicester squeak through on the last day.  

...and while we are at it, Real Madrid to successfully defend La Decima. Mourinho to park the bus and beat Guardiola in one of the earlier rounds. Everton to go far in the Europa league, maybe even till last 4.

You heard it here first.

Terrible time at the movies

Its been a while since I did detailed movie reviews but I hardly get the time these days nor can I summon the energy to sit back and (re)think on how I felt when I was actually watching the mostly insipid fare being dished out these days... However, there is a reason why I was compelled to jot this blog entry down and the reason is the last movie that I will cover in the post so read on....

2 STATES

Lets get this clear straight off the bat - Chetan Bhagat does not write literary masterpieces but no one call deny that he pens what I call "real timepass" books which are perfect for a few laughs, a quick cry and a good 2 hours of all masala entertainment elements  packaged in the right propotion. As his protagonist Krish in the semi-autobiographical 2 States says early on, the story should always be honest (and relatable) and the story is the real hero. Most of Bhagat's books lend themselves to screen very easily and though the adaptations have been mxed so far (loved Kai Po Che, didn't really fancy 3 Idiots), I was quite looking fwd to seeing 2 States in reel.

Short verdict: If you aren't a fan of Alia Bhatt, stay miles away from this movie. The film is a DUMMY's GUIDE TO REGIONAL STEREOTYPES and while the book treated all of this in a lighter vein, the movie takes itself too seriously and ends up boring you to bits. Arjun Kapoor is horribly miscast and if it weren't for his lineage, he would have probably become a librarian or a musuem curator.    

HASEE THO PHASEE

There are just 3 reasons why you should even give this product from Karan Johar's stable a shot - Parineeti Chopra who is increasingly looking like she could be the Juhi Chawla of this generation (cute, likeable and genuinely capable of performing if pushed by the director), Mohan Joshi who is one of the finest, under-utilised character artists of Bollywood and Vinil Mathew, the director, for having the guts to create on paper one of the truly "hatke" heroines of recent times (she is a geeky scientist who actually has no shame in trying to steal her sister's fiance) before the inevitable surrender to the machinations of his producer when he started shooting the film.

Everything else about this movie is a problem - the story, screenplay, music, tone, I could go on and on - and I cannot imagine why/how Anurag Kashyap got himself associated with this?

QUEEN

Very few movies in recent times have got as much universal critical acclaim and commercial success as Queen and more so, when the starcast is led by a heroine (Kahaani is probably an exception but I thought Vidya was strictly ok in it not mind blowing). When expectations are this high, you are only bound to get disappointed so I had been avoiding seeing this movie for a loooooong time till I was left with no choice but to give it a shot during a long 15 flight journey... and by god, WHAT A MOVIE... W-H-A-T   A   M-O-V-I-E !!!!

There's nothing that I can say here that has probably not been covered in earlier reviews so without going gaga over Kangna, let me draw your attention to one person. In a role that screams LOSER in caps and bold and 42 Times New Roman, Rajkumar Rao nails the character of Vijay. If this were Hollywood, where length of the role doesn't matter and stars still do "guest appearances", Rajkumar Rao would probably be nominated for the Best Supporting Actor Oscar and might actually win it too. He is really THAT GOOD !!! Forget Shahid and Kai Po Che, watch Queen and watch it just for him.

...and yes, the music in Queen is a dream. If Amit Trivedi's songs rocked as a stand alone sound track, it is ten times better within the movie.  

JILLA

It takes a special kind of talent to get two big stars like Vijay and Mohanlal together and then mess things up bad.... REAL BAD. Director Nesan pulls off this miraculous feat with aplomb in Pongal 2014's biggie Jilla.

If Nesan learnt his early trade under Bhagyaraj, then he clearly wasn't paying much attention as the movie clearly shows the influence of his other mentor Vincent Selva, the man behind brilliant (cough cough) movies like Priyamudan, Iraniyan etc.

The only way to enjoy Jilla is to go to the theatre with your friends and have an ongoing guessing contest on predicting what will happen in the next scene. Warning alert: Its bound to be a high scoring game with every mistake costing you - the winning score is likely to be in the high nineties in terms of percentages.

Its also sad to see a star like Mohanlal playing paycheck roles like these but I am told his Malayalam potboilers are worse and I cannot even imagine that. What worries me more is Vijay's tendency to keep going back to these old horrible templates just when you think he's doing well for himself in v3.0...but then I remember this is the guy who sent DVDs of his old movies (Vishnu, Chandralekha, Coimbatore Mapillai, Selva) to Shankar after he had made Jeans and asked him to write a script to suit his own image *shudder shudder*

Jilla is illogical and silly and also mind-numbingly long at 182 minutes (almost sat through 3 airline meals). What's worse is that it is going to be remade in both Kannada and Telugu. God  save audiences who escaped this monstrosity the first time around.

....which brings us to the magnum opus of 2014 Tamil Cinema (and I say this with complete confidence despite there being another 3 months in the year)

ANJAAN

The story (or whatever poses as one) is as old as the Old Testament. It is a routine revenge drama told with no energy or novelty. I have seen movies of the same genre starring Sarath Kumar and  Namitha (i think) narrated with more panache. The pacing is dull and dreary, critical events unfold with no sense of edge or tension and just when something seems to finally be happening, there is a horrible interruption in the form of a tedious song. The sound track is one of the worst in Yuvan's stuttering career and it isn't helped by gimmicky stunts like getting Surya to sing. The lyrics are cringeworthy - sample this

Sirippu En Speciality
Silk Smitha Community
Day By Day Majority
Take It Easy Mentality

Hey Paapa Pola Maturity
Ada Pasanga Kootam Security
Yen Azhagukae Naan Authority
Yen Adimai Indha Mumbai City

The dialogues, btw,  are no better. Cliches abound - the cartoonish Dubai based don, the honest Muslim, the sincere cop, the double crossing aide - and there is no attempt to even try and relate things in a logical fashion. Casting choices provide a lot of unintended comic relief with Vidyut Jamwal a sureshot winner for a Raspberry or a Golden Kela.

I cannot fathom why respected artists & technicians like Manoj Bajpai, Santhosh Sivan can sign up to something as moronic as this. Samantha is on record saying she worked in Anjaan to give herself an image make-over.  Why just wear a bikini and play a token bimbette love interest for a ruthless gangster in a C Grade masala potboiler. Why not go whole hog and do a Penthouse centrespread?

Nothing about the movie makes any sense. No one associated with the project (starting from the producer to the director, actors, technicians) seems to have cared about the end product. Their only concern seems to have been to start, shoot, cut, release & make a fast buck.

How did someone sell this project to Surya?

You've tried being different in 7aum arivu and Maattrraan (Lost count of the T,R,As) and it did not work - we just commissioned a survey on what will work in all our major markets (Tamil Nadu, Andhra, Kerala and Hindi dubbing rights) and this is the script that covers  ALL the major findings.

Its 20 years since Baasha released and we've not had one memorable Gangster movie post that. Let's do this. Why will it work? The story is set in Mumbai (location sentiment) and we just cannot fail (let's just forget Thalaivaa for a moment).

Surya bhai, I've designed a look for you in this film that would do even Marlon Brando proud. You have a tooth pick in your mouth and that makes you look realllly menacing. How is it????

All this might have been true if it were a newcomer but this was a Lingusamy effort.... so did he just tell Surya "I made Paiyaa and that was your brother's last hit. Trust me. This WILL work."

Whatever it is, I pity Surya. I read he was very offended when people trashed Anjaan within hours of its release. Has Surya become so sensitive that he cannot tolerate criticism? Yes, some of it was downright spiteful but the film absolutely deserves it. If he cannot admit it himself, then I am sorry, its time to wake up and smell the coffee. 

For now, I am staying miles away from the films of the two brothers... till they fire their PAs who screen the scripts or till Sivakumar gives them a right, old fashioned spanking. Not holding my breath though.

 

Drishyam, Mollywood, movie myths dispelled and other random thoughts

Forgive me if this sounds patronising but it definitely is not meant to be.  I'd always heard that the market for Malayalam movies was not big (monetarily) and so I'd imagined that their movie budgets would be low (discounting for the star salaries) resulting in poor production values. Not true.

I was also under the impression that Mollywood either churned out loud, trashy, nonsensical films or boring, arthouse flicks. Not true. 

A 165 minute thriller. With just 2 songs. A second half which is significantly longer than the first. An overall lazy and languid style of film-making. It just wouldn't work for me. Not true.

Meditative silences randomly interspersed with long, dramatic monologues characteristic of  radio shows / TV serials of the 80s (remember them??). How can it succeed? It just did.

Drishyam released in December and ever since, I'd been hearing nothing but rave reviews about the film. It seemed to be one of those rare Malayalam movies that seemed to have won over both the fans and critics in equal measure. Racking up an incredible 50 crore, the movie's success was attributed to the fact that besides connecting with the die-hard Lalettan fans & the important family audience, it pulled in a lot of non-Malayalam speaking crowds outside of Kerala and even abroad. With this as the context, I had been meaning to see the film for quite some time but my only concern was the language barrier. Bangalore does not have a Sathyam cinemas to screen movies with subtitles & so as I dithered and the movie crawled into its 7th week of running, it finally came down to just one 10 am show at PVR, Koramangla....and that's when I heard Kamal was planning to remake it in Tamil with Gautami and Nadia. *shudder* Flashback to Unnaipol Oruvan and A Wednesday *shudder shudder*

My mind was made and I finally saw the movie this week. WOWWWWWWWWWWWWWW....Yes, I got only 80-90% of the dialogues and would have loved to see it with people who know the language better but the film absolutely lived up to the hype.

What worked for me:

The script & screenplay: Whoever thought a thriller with strong human drama elements could keep an audience hooked for 165 minutes. Despite the slow pacing, I never found myself getting restless and could hardly wait for the next scene to unfold and the story to move forward. The twists were logical and the attention to detail was meticulous. The only complaint I had was the excessive amount of explanatory scenes but I guess that's a compromise the director had to make the film more accessible.

Camera-work: Sujith Vasudev's cinematography was top notch and the very first scene shot inside a rickety local bus itself was an apt pre-cursor of things to follow. Lovingly mounted shots of life in small town Kerala and some innovative framing (angles, lighting) techniques made this movie a soothing sight for tired eyes.

Characterisation: Every single character was very well fleshed out and they stayed in my mind long after the movie ended. While you can never justify why some of them reacted/behaved the way they did, you could understand their motivations for doing so and that was where the writer won. There was no clear but overly simmplistic black or white, there was grey and various hues and shades of the colour.

The casting & performances: I'm not familiar with the works of most of the supporting cast but there wasn't a a single over-the-top or off-note performance from anyone in the cast. The supporting actors be it the rich industrialist (Siddique) or his IG wife (Asha Sarath), the in-laws (Sreekumar and Shobha Mohan) of the hero or even his two young daughters (Aansiba and Baby Ester) were consistently brilliant as were the canteen owner & the office assistant. Meena as Rani George is quietly competent but the show-stealers are Mohanlal as Georgekutty (another chameleonic act) and Kalabhavan Shajon as the lead antagonist Sahadevan. These two alone are reason enough to merit a repeat watch.

The direction: All things aside, the real hero of the film is the man at the helm, Jeethu Joseph. This film is ample proof that we have in our midst, a man with genuine story-telling prowess, one with exceptional control over his craft and an ability to keep us engaged without any needless gimmicks.

A movie as successful as this cannot be without its share of controversies and I am not talking about the plagiarism part here. There has been an incredible amount of heated arguments and internet chatter on the propriety of Georgekutty's actions but here is how I see it

There is always a correct/right (legally of course) way of handling a problem or a crisis and then there are other ways. What Drishyam does not DO is take a firm stance in one side or even justify the choice its protagonist makes. Different people put in the same spot might react differently and since the movie is a work of fiction, the director just makes a choice on which route Georgekutty takes. They say "Art imitates life and vice versa" but it would be ridiculous to blame the director for propogating the view that it is fine to take the law in one's hands as long as the ends justify the means.

I've never ever tried to put myself in the shoes of a fictional character and decide at a moral crossroads but if I had to, I swear I would have done exactly the same (or even more) as what Georgekutty does. Parenthood sure does strange things to you !!!

Final words: This is a must-not-miss movie. I could not give it a more ringing endorsement than what I have hopefully done above. Catch it in a theatre asap before you miss out

Oscars 2014 - a roundup

Come Feb/Mar, it is the Oscars season and I try and watch as many of the nominated movies in theatres as possible. Of course, I've already seen few of them through 'other sources' but if you're eager to catch up with these flicks, now is the time to do so as studios typically try to cash in on the Oscar Buzz and release these films in Indian halls. This year has been really good with virtually all the interesting films being screened, including off-beat ones like Nebraska, August: Osage County, Inside Llwelyn Davis and Saving Mr. Banks.

Here are my quick thoughts on some of the films that I've managed to see and some of those I've deliberately given a skip

American Hustle: I enjoyed this film, really did but cannot for the life of me fathom how it could get 10 Oscar nominations. This is commercial, mainstream, fun cinema. I thought it was as entertaining as the Ocean's Trilogy. Almost. Still, doesn't take away the splendid performances. I loved Silver Linings Playbook as a novel and was quite disappointed by the movie version. Obviously, I wasn't particularly thrilled by Jennifer Lawrence's win last year but she's the current Hollywood darling and its not dificult to see why. She's a hoot as the completely cuckoo Rosalyn and is reason enough to pay Rs 220 at PVR to watch the movie. Jeremy Renner is good too as is the incredible Christian Bale whose physical transformation to play this role almost had me gasping for breath. Go for it. 

Captain Phillips & Gravity: I've already covered these in brief here

Her: Spike Jonze’s  movies are usually bizarre. His collaboration with that genius Charlie Kauffman (whom I finally "got" thanks to Eternal Sunshine) gave us the universally acclaimed Being John Malkovich and the delicious Adaptation neither of which were particularly liked by me when I first saw them.....and then, Where the Wild Things Are happened. This was a brilliant and hugely under-rated (73% at RT, you've got to be kidding me) film that actually worked for me the second time I saw it. And so, when I first heard about the idea / concept of Her, I was utterly, intrigued. This coupled with a starcast of Rooney Mara, Amy Adams (ok, there is Joaquin Phoenix also but he's actually good here) meant that I HAD to see this one.  Sweet, funny, soul-stirring, insightful, even melancholic in parts, this is a fantastic film. It is actually genre bending and a must-see for people

The Wolf of Wall Street: Finally a 3 hr Hollywood movie with no song and dance which actually justified its running time. Completely entertaining though I do wish I had seen it in the hall..but then, I wasn't sure if I would or would not be bleeped out. Leo will get his Oscar one day just like Scorcese did but it will be a real pity if he gets it for a not-so-deserving film in the end.

Dallas Buyers club: Not really my kinda film as I tend to stay clear of biographical dramas. I am going to get a lot of flak but I really used to like Matthew McConaughey in his braind-dead rom coms (read: How to lose a guy in 10 days, The Wedding Planner etc) that I am loathe to see him in this new avatar. I've been meaning to catch up with Mud for a long time now but from what I hear, he's awesome in Dallas Buyers Club and with True Detective also in his kitty, the McConassance is truly gathering steam.

12 years a Slave: Lincoln bored the hell outta me last year and if I don't know much about heavy, historical subjects like this, not sure I will care much for this film so skipped this one. If i still have to see a film on slavery, I'd rather revisit Django :-) 

Side comments:

• I USED to like Meryl Streep. For one, she could act (18 nominations and counting) and she had genuine screen presence...and I absolutely adored her in The Devil Wears Prada for which she deserved an Oscar....but then I saw Doubt, Julie & Julia and caught parts of The Iron Lady. Jeeeeeeeeeeez. This woman is like the Major Sundarrajan of Hollywood. She can still ACT but she is always the same Meryl Streep. She KNOWS she can act and there are scenes which scream out 'Hey watch me ACT"....and, as my mom recently observed, if you go back and watch her old films like Kramer vs. Kramer or Bridges of Madison County, she's been doing it for ages. I just cannot stand her now.

• Cate Blanchett won Best Actress for Blue Jasmine. She was the clear favourite by a country mile and won comfortably in the end and all the critics were happy that their prediction came true. Except that there was nothing extra-ordinary about the performance. I'm not dissing it, just saying I've seen similar stuff from Saritha and Rohini in Tamil films and I never heard anyone raving about them. A lot of this for an Oscar?? Just because it is a Woody Allen film, do people need to go so overboard?? Uffffffffffff

I'm usually not enamoured by the acting honours and tend to focus on the Best Picture and Best Screenplay (Adapted and original) categories but this has been a year of sterling, breakthrough performances by relatively new faces so do give some of the above movies a dekho.

Tamil film music - Light at the end of the tunnel

If you, like me, have been frustrated with the general quality of Tamil film music over the last couple of years and the lack of fresh talent, here is some good news for you. There are a couple of really stand-out composers in the scene and these two 30-something talents look like they are very much there to stay....Wait to know more about who I am talking about.

With YSR finding 'new' religion and thankfully sparing us of his Thamizh kolais, Harris Jayaraj continuing to create templatised music that sounds good for 2 months and then completely fades away, Anirudh rehashing idli maaavu to create dosa and uthappam already in his short 4-5 movie innings, DSP continuing to be DSP and Imaan refusing to let go of his 80s Ilayaraja hangover, TFM buffs have been starved of genuinely new material. Enter Ghibran and Santhosh Narayanan from Coimbatore and Trichy respectively :)

I've already waxed lyrical of Ghibran and how much I loved the score in Vaagai Sooda Vaa and Naiyandi. Of course, Vatthikuchi was what brought him firmly to the limelight but my personal favourite amongst his efforts is Thirumanam Ennun Nikah. His ability to take a classical raga and then create commercial magic out of it is what makes me really look forward to his next 2 efforts, Viswaroopam 2 and Uthama Villain. As long as he doesn't get Kamal to sing much in these films, he's got me waiting with bated breath. If you've still not heard about this guy or his music, sample this, this and this - these are my personal favourites currently.

‎Santhosh Narayanan has been another gem I managed to chance upon thanks to Karthik here. First off, I must confess that I did NOT like Attakathi (the film) one bit which meant I wasn't open/willing to take away any positives from the film  - it didn't help that the Aadi Pona Aavani song which was all over the airwaves absolutely drove me nuts. Since then, I've had a chance to revisit the album a few times over and even I cannot deny that it heralded the return of Gaana as a cool genre and gave us that man, Bala. Pizza had an excellent score but it was with Soodhu Kavvum that Santhosh blew me away. The album was a quirky mix of rock, trance, rap and even techno fusion elements & his choice of unknown (to me atleast) singers to deliver this rollicking sound track was a brilliant move - absolutely mad, zany music that had me oooohing and aaaahing. Come Na, Mama Douser and Kaasu Panam attained cult status and ensured that the world sat up and waited for his next....and then came Jigarthanda. This one will divide people straight down the middle - you'll either looooooooooove it or hatttttttttttttttte it. No prizes for guessing which camp I belong to.

I've never been a fan of the logic that music has to be judged in the context of where it fits in the movie. If you're releasing a full fledged album and I pay hard-earned money for it, I want to enjoy it stand-alone. Period. (This is where ARR's Highway failed but I digress). Having heard so much already about Jigarthanda being an urban gangster film, I was keen to see how Santhosh would treat this and boy, does he deliver. The effort is as good as Pudhupettai which is the Holy Grail in this genre and Jigarthanda feels more of an OST than a regular album. Each track is stand-alone wowwwww, unique and feels like nothing I've heard before which is saying a lot. I'm not able to put a finger and tell you exactly why this is awesome but awesome it is. Its just been a couple of listens and the tracks do grow on you.

PS: Technically, Cuckoo came before Jigarthanda but I've not listened to it much so more on it later.

Summer clearout at the Emirates

John W Henry was right... what are they smoking at the Emirates?

Piers Morgan is damn right... How on earth can we give Wenger ANOTHER contract extension? What has he done to deserve it?  What are his KRAs?

Anyway, this is EXACTLY what we need to do this summer

Extend

·         Get Rosicky and Sagna to extend their contracts - promise them WENGER will be OUT. 

In

·         Cover for Right back Sagna – Jenkinson is just not got enough. Budget options like Martin Montoya (who will anyway sign on at Barca) are not the solution. Get bloody Toby Alderweireld who is languishing in the bench at Atletico Madrid (though we could have got him for far cheaper last summer) – he can also play centre back or pay good money and get Seamus Coleman.

·         Defensive midfielder – pay a huge signing on fee and get Blaise Matuidi N-O-W....or get Marouane Fellaini - he can do what he used to do at Everton effectively for us (forget what that clown Moyes is trying to do with him at United)

·         Creative / Attacking midfielder – Clement Grenier would come cheap but if you need a winning mentality, go for Toni Kroos, Ilkay Gundogan or Lucas Moura

·         A 15 goals a season striker – Balotelli wouldn’t be bad but we should also consider Mario Mandzukic or Edin Dzeko

·         Second support striker –– we need 4 strikers for a campaign and since we’ll be letting Bendtner go, we should look at the experienced Lavezzi from PSG or make a play for Javier Hernandez both of whom will offer something different.

Out

·         Arsene Wenger – persuade Joachim Low to break his contract with Germany or get Antonio Conte

·         Mikel Arteta – he was a quick fix signing but he has only 1 year left at the end of this season. He is slow, ponderous and cannot play DMF.

·         Abou Diaby – surely with his injury record, there is some way we can legally terminate his contract. He’s just been sitting and eating our money.

·         Johan Djourou – buy his last year of contract and release him

·         Ryo Miyaiichi – selling shirts in Japan is not enough, he is not good enough to play for Arsenal or even any team in the Premier League

·         Park Chu Young – I will pay for his contract termination, just get him out to anywhere

Release

·         Bendtner – enough is enough.

Traveling - BAH !!! I hate it (or do I?)

Wait, that didn't come out right so let me explain. I mean, I actually like visiting new places, experiencing a new culture, meeting different people (ok, that is a little bit of a stretch) and indulging in the odd adventurous pursuit but I absolutely detest the means to reach this end. I hate the actual traveling in planes/trains/buses etc to get there. Why, you might ask. For one, I like my precious sleep and despite being reasonably good in coping with jet-lag, I still don't make enough money to travel in anything other than cattle-class and I am still to come across any airline which has made the penny-pinching 6 ft plus Economy class traveler comfortable on a journey longer than 5 hours. Not to mention the godawful food where I never seem to learn my lessons. Asian Veg meals has to be the absolutely worst choice one can make in flights be it BA, Emirates, Lufthansa or Qatar....but all this I can't control so what is the point of complaining.

One thing which is very much in my own hands is what I choose to watch in the in-flight entertainment and that is precisely the topic of my rant for this post. How many of you feel increasingly overwhelmed with the amount of choice available these days? Makes one wish we could go back to the days of Henry Ford and Model T, right !!! Anyway, given that one could choose between Movies, Music, TV Shows, Audio books and what not, I find myself increasingly spending a lot of time just surfing through all the choices without ever settling down to anything specific.

Music soothes my nerves for sometime but pretty soon I get bored. Music is also not an option where you can move seamlessly from Jazz to Pop and then Classical. One needs to get into the "zone" and I seem to suffer from serous attention deficit issues. Audio books are interesting for about 15 mts after which the drone of the voice-over puts me to sleep.

TV shows are a mixed bag - the really popular ones like How I Met, The Newsroom you've probably seen all the episodes multiple times but if you're like me, trying to check out a new series, the problem is that the choices are limited to late seasons and mid season episodes which really mean you cannot try something from a logical start point. That leaves me with just movies.

I try and avoid all those movies that I've already downloaded but not watched because I always tell myself I am going to find the time SOMEDAY to see them at home anyway. The big summer blockbusters always look poor on a small screen and the olden classics are mostly for insomniacs. I then look at the time available before the next meal and also plan my sleep accordingly so I end up having 3 hrs of time to kill. This usually lends itself to 1 full fledged movie and probably 1 shorter flick. The genres therefore become automatic picks - a drama and probably a rom-com/

Coming to the current trip, Bangalore to Frankfurt kick-started with Ridley Scott's The Counselor. The movie is ample proof that having A list stars and a top notch director still dos not guarantee that the movie will be time-pass. I can't remember the last movie which made me feel "What the H&^% just happened" as the end credits rolled out and I dashed off to Wikipedia to see if I had indeed "got the movie" :-( The only saving grace - Penelope Cruz and her accent....sigh....Btw, for the prudish amongst you lot, skip the first 10 mts of the movie... quite saucy n racy, eh ;-)

The second film I checked out was Enough Said. I love James Gandolfini and though I have reservations with Julia Louis Dreyfus (thanks to Veep), I took a chance and I wasn't disappointed. Nice, simple story very well enacted. Just the kind of fare you'd pick for a flight.

Having never missed a bus/train/flight in my life (a la Kareena Kapoor in Jab We Met), I always plan my trips such that I have ample layovers in transit. With 4 hours to kill in Frankfurt before boarding my 2nd leg to New York, I set about exploring the shopping scene. My My. I've been through Munich and Hamburg before and I've experienced first hand German efficiency but nothing prepares you for the pure functional effectiveness of Frankfurt. The airport has no personality - it is business-like and does what it is supposed to do. Put people in planes with little fuss. Period. Needless to say, the shopping expedition was fruitless.

Boarding the 747-400 onwards to Newark, I quickly found my bearings in one of the middle seats of the centre 4 seater (I dont bother checking in 23 hrs in advance to get the right seat - cattle class is cattle class wherever you sit) and switched on the TV monitor.

My first pick for the afternoon was Rush. I had been meaning to watch Ron Howard's much acclaimed retelling of the 1976 F1 Season in big screen but never got around to doing it. Thank god I finally caught up with this one. SHEER MAGIC. Nothing I say here has probably not been said before but Chris Hemsworth and Daniel Bruhl (I loved the latter) are spell-binding in their respective roles and Hans Zimmer's pulsating rock score and Anthony Mantle's outstanding cinematography (you can literally feel the adrenalin) add that extra vigour/zing to proceedings.

The second pick for the journey was Krish 3 but I could not make it past 10 mts so ended up sleeping for 4 hrs continuously :-)

Coming up for the return legs: Prisoner, About Time, Malavita and/or Runner Runner (I know)

William, Sherlock, Scott, Holmes

The wait was intolerable so I did what I had resisted all along. Got the episode from the net and watched it in one sitting from 1130pm yesterday night... and I must admit, I had mixed feelings at the end.

Yet another season is over and Gatiss/Moffat are notoriously lazy so the wait for S4 is bound to be another torturous one. Coming to The Last Vow itself, the first hour was brilliant but the conclusion left me a tad disappointed....and the post credits shock/surprise did not really get me all revved up too. Mary's character arc moved exactly in the direction I guessed it would, Mycroft was brilliant as usual & Molly became a little more interesting. Benedict Cumberbatch continued to scale dizzying heights & I am now seriously tempted to check out some of his movies (his choice of roles are ALL in genres I absolutely loathe - 12 Years a slave / August: Osage County - boring Oscar drama, The Hobbit - Fantasy, Star Trek - Sci-fi, The Fifth estate - biopic) but the most magical thing about the episode was this pearly gem (slight spoiler alert) "“The problems of your past are your business. The problems of your future are my privilege”

So, how was Season 3 overall, you ask !!! There has been a lot of negative reaction to the first 2 episodes but this is how I look at it.

The Last Vow was like the last 2-3 overs of a T20 chase with all its thrills and chills, The Sign of Three was like the 1st innings and early + mid part of the 2nd innings of the match with all the patient build-up and setting up of the launchpad while the The Empty Hearse was like the precursor to the match with all the cheer girls and dancing and general fun.

When you buy a ticket for the match, you've got to go through all 3 stages to experience the whole entertainment package.

PS: The title of this blog post is another LOL moment in the episode. Sparkling dialogues, I say.

172 mts I am never going to get back in my life...sigh....

Christopher Nolan is a phenomenon. He is what I would call a once-in-a-lifetime director, someone who comes along and absolutely shakes the way you look at the movies ever after.

Memento established him as a director to watch out for, the Batman trilogy expanded his fan base multi-fold and Inception probably ranks very high in a lot of critics' All time top 10 lists  but if I were to be forced to pick my personal favourite amongst his works, it would have to The Prestige.

Yeah, for a first time effort Following is mind-blowing (if you've not seen it yet, go online and order it ASAP from the US/UK) ) but the Prestige still edges it for me. You could say he had great source  material from Christopher Priest's award-winning 1995  novel but it still takes a master to translate that magic to the screen. The complexity of the rivalry, the insecurity of the 2 principal characters, their dreams & obsessions were all brought out so brilliantly. The casting was purrrfect, the art direction was memorable and the movie was a masterpiece.... which brings us to Dhoom 3.

• 250 crores and still counting. WHAT THE F*&^ !!!!!
• If the moolah raked in is any indication of the average Indian cinegoer's "changing" tastes, I am OFF movies for another 10 years.
• Everyone and anyone at Yash Raj should hang their heads in shame for making this monstrosity.
• When the whole world rubbished Tashan, I was one of the few people who actually had some kind words to say of Vijay Krishna Acharya. Now I wish he had vanished from the face of earth after the debacle of his debut.
• Aamir Khan was always a scheming, manipulative superstar ever willing to come out and launch a charm offensive when he wanted something of us - our money of course - without ever coming back to apologise when some of his duds left us feeling nauseated (read: Ishq, Mann, Mela, Mangal Pandey, Dhobi Ghat). Lightning has struck again. Horrible is an understatement to describe his performance here but again he gets away with it.
• Just 10-15 mts of screen time for Katrina Kaif? Blasphemy. 
• Pritam's music was godawful.
• ...and the most charitable thing I can say about Abhishek Bachchan was that he was almost as good as Uday Chopra. 

Thank god I read this vitriolic piece - saved me time on the most obvious bashing targets. 

Return of the lone wolf

After a hectic 3 years in the field, returning to India in 2010 had always been a well-planned and carefully thought through decision. The first few months had been tough adjusting back to the hectic pace but then, once we found our feet, it felt great to be back with friends and family.  In the 3 years from 2010 to 2013, thanks to my new role, I’d hardly traveled within the country leave alone tour abroad so when the opportunity to make a quick 2 week trip across 4 cities came earlier this month, I was quite keen to go back in time to revisit old haunting grounds. Come Dec 3^rd, despite having to work till around 5 hrs before I flew out (crib crib), the overwhelming sensation was one of eager anticipation coupled with nostalgia.

Cut to today - It’s been a whirlwind 2 weeks on the road and as my trip winds down, I cannot wait to get back to India. Phew.  All said and done, home is where the heart is.  So what did I miss in these last 2 weeks? On the professional front, I realized how much my regular 9 to 6 routine meant to me and I must confess that I yearned for  the chitchat with my team, having known faces around me at work & the adda sessions during lunch.   On the personal side, it was really tough having to leave India within a week of Dee coming to Bangalore and despite the mild trauma of spending my first week with a full time bawling infant, I missed her.  Besides that, ghar ka khaana was never more appreciated than in these last 2 weeks…..and so here we are.

Highlights of the trip

London

·         Commuting by the tube, reading the free Metro newspaper & then rushing through the turnstiles to walk briskly towards your destination has to be one of the simplest things in life which has given me greatest joy

·         The sumptuous English breakfast at the Copthorne Millennium Hotel at Stamford Bridge – one of the few times I wished I was not pure veg

·         Much as I hate the menu, having Lebanese at the Sheldon Square restaurant Massis with some truly wonderful company on a cold, blustery, winter’s night

·         The festive spirit captured best by the public Christmas lighting – you see it everywhere

·         Riding the 24 mt Heathrow express from Paddington to T5

Reading

·         Working in LB at 185, Kings Road, RG1 4EX….. sigh……

·         Grabbing a (sandwich + drink + crisps)-to-go lunch at Pret a manger and then coffee at Starbucks later in the evening

·         Riding the elevator all the way up to the 1^st floor at Sportsdirect, checking out the Football jerseys and then returning back without buying the latest Arsenal kit (till we win a trophy)

·         Window shopping at the Oracle mall – doesn’t matter if many of my favorite shops have wound down and things have changed a bit, it’s still a magical place

·         Meeting Vinod and his 2 lovely daughters, Shreya & Sonia, at Woodley and feasting on the hot, delicious Poha made by Vasudha…. Manna from heaven !!!

New York

·         Traveling by train from New Brunswick to Pennstation – watching snow soaked landscapes whizzing by

·         The amazing 4 hr walk from Madison Square Garden to the UN complex and then from Central Park to the Empire state building – whoever thought one borough would pack in so much punch

·         Finally living the dream – saw almost all our RCT logos in real -  a Chipotle restaurant, a Macy’s store, a CVS Caremark pharmacy, a Coach and Estee Lauder outlet – a consumer’s paradise. 

·         The super cool FREEEEEEEEEEEE ferry to StatenIsland which affords nice views of the Statue of Liberty

·         Every skyscraper in Manhattan

·         The uniquitous NY Subway

·         The sense of freedom all around

Chicago

·         The most awesome Hotel stay I’ve ever had in a business trip – take a bow Staybridge Suites at Oakbrook Terrace. It’s not posh, it’s not flashy but it’s still awesome. The warmest chef, the kindest reception desk, the absolutely brilliant shuttle driver, the social dinner menu / conversation, the yummiest cheese pizza ever, the mind-blowing muffins, the awesome room, the super-fast Internet…. I could go on…. Do not regret for one bit not staying at the Courtyard…..If only the Chicago weather had been kinder J