The 'A' Team movie review

Simply fabulous! I mean innovative and incredible...something Indian films these days never have. Indian film makers.. watch this first!

As I watched The 'A' Team movie,the thing that kept striking me was the power and confidence that ran throughout the movie. The screenplay was simply stunning and so was the script and direction. The break-neck pace of the film deliberately slows down now and then... possibly to make fun of all script writers who sit and think about providing lightning fast screenplay. This movie for all its worth and much less negative points definitely deserves your time and money.

The plot, as told in the trailer is about a team of Elite united states officers sent to prison for a crime they never committed. What actually follows is quite obvious but what they show is .... well, un-obvious. Twists and turns thrown in all around the movie with some very clever script-writing and terrific ideas laid out as 'plans' are the biggest and brawniest assets for this flick. Every plan that is made and executed by the A-Team is worth watching. This is the possibly the next level of film-making.

Amazingly active,surprisingly charming for his age and subtle as ever Liam Neeson sizzles as their captain,Col.Hannibal smith.Bradley Cooper as 'face' Peck is stunning as the 'ladies man' in the team. The rest of the cast just play along. :) I however missed Mr.T as 'B.A. Barnacus' and the ripe Jessica Biel ;-) the one that appears on screen looks too skinny :P They team could have however focussed on the character developement of Murdock. I felt the most lovable fella in the team, was being ignored a little.

The director really deserves credit for the twists and turns along with a lot of innovative ideas in every action block. Though some of them went a little overboard like a helicopter turning upside down and a tank falling from a shot down plane...the execution keeps it so damn engaging! Dialogues and cinematography are well above par as it lives to your expectations and leaves you impressed. Now and then there are tributes to the original series and the characters. The mention of Ghandhiji in a scene evokes thunderous applause and whistles at the theatre. The climax was a bit of an overkill but this movie deserves it. :) Costumes,sets,areas,editing... well there is nothing I can think of to complain. Finally a movie that respects your intelligence!

I don't want to spoil your movie experience with over-hype,which is exactly what I have been doing now :) But still this is one good movie that holds your interest with slam-dunk action and adventure.So with piping hot stars,clever screenplay and magnificent execution, this is the best tribute that can be given to the original Series. Get in and get yourself some fun to escape a boring weekend.

No Sound! only substance!

4/5

Raavanan Movie Review

"...1000 sengal venum.. ovvonnu laiyum 'raaman' nu adichu venum..." - Bombay

"..Adutha leave ku vena...enna ma??.. adutha jenmam illama adutha leave ku ma!!..." - Thiruda Thiruda

"unga mama minister apdingura thayiryama? ....Yaen college election la unga arasiyal saakadai ya kalakureenga?..." - Aaayutha eluthu

"..Aanandan nadippa vitta.. avar ketta padhavi avarukke..."
"...NADIPPA VITTA???.." "..Avar ketta padhavi avarukke.." - Iruvar

"..Appo IPS padichathu yaaru..innuru payyana?.. avarukku rendu mattum thaana illa innum vera ethavathu??..." - Agni Natchathram

"Tha nahi. Hoon.

Aur hamesha rahoonga.

Gurukant desai"

Just a few sparks that hit me as I thought of Mani Ratnam. Everytime this man wields the microphone a new benchmark is set. Maybe he was just a little tired this time around.

Raavanan disappoints as a movie and specifically so, since its from the man who always sets his own lofty standards. Save its technical brilliance, with its amazing Cinematography, art and editing, this movie fails to make an impression. Not even mighty Mani could do justice to a script that was so shallow. The treatment I would say was still mediocre.

It is Vikram who single-handedly keeps you engaged for the entire film...the man is such a treat to watch. Its nice to see him work after a long time. Aishwarya Rai is however the pick of the lot. Too bad she had to be wasted the whole of second half.Prithviraj has painfully little to play and carrries it out with ease. Karthick comes across as a spark of the old fire that he was. Priyamani too shines in her short role. Other actors like Vijay,Vaiyapuri,Ranjitha appear in forgettable roles. Ranjitha's screen time is in fact countable in seconds.

The screenplay looks like its turning constantly through a square maze.Though the movie looks fast in certain cases, Many things like Karthick's intro,Vikram's romance,Prabhu's dialogue delivery at the beginning..to mention a few... looked too ameteurish. Suhasini's dialogues really mar the impact that the film could have delivered. Come on!!this is not Iruvar for you to get away with simpler tones and leave all the poetics to Vairamuthu. I really missed Vijay Acharya's stunners in GURU. Even Rahman's BGM fails to make an impression. And I always thought Rahman reserved his best for Mani.

Santhosh Sivan and Manikandan take turns to salvage some respect and quite surely their cinematography is absolutely enchanting. Never have I seen such beautiful locations and creative photography as this. Apart from their hard work in the details, the camera also takes you through every delicate expression changes in the leads' faces. Marvellous! The songs were shot with such passion and the hard work put in was evident.

The references to Ramayan were quite obvious and most of it looked unnecessary and forced. If you want to paint grey both the shades of Black and White.. please make it more interesting. A movie that blurs that line should be like "The Prestige". Not a revenge drama.

Mani has set a few benchmarks as usual.Not in his usual style. At 130 minutes the movie's length is quite commendable. But predictably there was nothing more to show on this idea.

This movie is proof that a weak script can never give you a memorable movie. This is from a view point of an educated movie-buff. A layman would have not noticed anything except aishwarya rai's low-cuts.

So Ask no questions.. you ll hear no lies.

Expect less... get a mouthful

Normal rating - Average 2/5

Mani's Scale - New-found low.

Prince of Persia : Sands of Time movie review!!

Prince of Persia : Sands of Time

Video game movies usually don't work. Video game plots are designed for that thrill and speed.
So when a movie is made on it.. you dont' really set your expectations high. But Prince of Persia proves you wrong....well not totally :-)

The plot is quite direct. A rustic 'prince' on the run, wrongly accused of a crime he had not committed. That s it. Well almost. The story has its very own share of twists and turn.. one too many I'd say. The necessary introduction of new characters keeps up its pace and the movie never really runs out of steam and moves on a like a falling rollacoster without control.




The screenplay is so arranged that if you so much as blink a little longer you wouldn't understand where you are. The enjoyable part is watching a single movie with and without magic. The contrast is really good enough for you to relate with its characters.


The best part of the movie is Jake Gyllenhal.. who plays Dastan, the prince in question. His charisma and performance gives the movie a great advantage. All other characters seem a lot out of touch. Though they have eventually delivered the goods. Gemma Arterton disappoints as Princess Tamina,as she looks nowhere close to a princess of a holy Persian city.


Ben Kingsley plays,sorry 'cakewalks' the role of one Mr.Nizam. Toby Karell has however been wasted as Prince Gasab. I couldn't believe he was the guy I saw in RocknRolla. Like many other Disney movies, violence and adult scenes are nowhere to be found. Thankfully we do have the pace of the movie to hold out attention. ;)

The art and cinematography are huge assets for this movie. The editing has been done to keep the running crisp and slick. The director could have re-worked the climax to set it more fitting to this movie. The special effects are good but not great as per hollywood standards.

The most important aspect of the movie - the dagger that turns back time is used less than 6 times in the movie,which makes it a tad underwhelming. So except a few glitches and a lot of compromises by disney to keep this a 'kids' movie. Its a good work.

But disney fellas,We live in an era where even kids want more outta everything. There are few video games without violence. I suggest you look into your strategy for the coming decades. :D

Rating : 2.5/5