Two Line Reviews - #439

Movie: Kumki (Thamizh, 2012)

Plot: A staunchly traditional village is ravaged by a Tusker which is expected to kill more villagers during the harvest season. A temple elephant is forced to shadow the delay in arrival of a 'kumki' bodyguard elephant the villagers contract. When its mahout falls to love in first sight with a village damsel, the stay extends and brings sleepless nights!

What Works?

• For the idea of trying to create an interesting love film around an unusual 'elephant guarded forest' sort of a setup, Prabu Solomon can be appreciated. But the execution? To that, later.
• The role of debutant Vikram, Son of Prabhu is slightly sidelined. His is neither an impressive show nor a dud. Lakshmi Menon is pretty impressive and could do well to her fledgling career. The Villagers play their role well and Thambi Ramiah as usual performs the role of bringing bursts of laughter in us.
• D.Imman's music (though it reminds of his earlier works) is appreciable in songs as well as re-recording.
• The film is a visual spectacle thanks to some wonderful and strenuous camera work and choice of locations! CG work is adequate and whoever did it knew their limitations, which was good to see.

What Doesn't?

• Execution disappoints! The film wavers between this and that; What starts off as a promising tale around an elephant moves to a romance tale (which is quite shoddily told).
• The prime characters aren't defined well: The hero is shown selfish to the core for his 4-day love!(never shown to bother about the danger he puts his elephant into); The heroine, who is shown to come from such a community wouldn't fall for someone outside JUST LIKE THAT.

The first hour promises a lot! What follows lets you down.

Two Line Reviews - #438

Movie: Neethaane En Ponvasantham (Thamizh, 2012)

Plot: Varun and Nithya know each other since childhood. Simple and silly misunderstandings separate them on four occasions at the ages of 8, 16,20 and 24. Their love for each other stands taller than their ego in two occasions. Will it work a third time?

What Works?

• Yet another attempt from Goutham Menon at telling a romance tale; Only this time, he doesn't go to foreign locales and adds extra gloss! The film is quite different in the sense that it moves not based on a lot of short scenes but based on sharp, incisive game changing conversations!
• Jiiva looks the part in all the situations and so does Samantha. However, in acting terms, with his unperturbed yet impactful presence Jiiva shows he is way better than Sam who appears listless in some scenes thanks additionally to an artificial dubbing!
• For Goutham, the feather on the cap are two defining scenes where the dialogues rule: The pre-interval scene in the terrace and the shore scene post Yennodu vaa vaa - The right questions asked with some nice answers there!
• Ilaiyaraaja's mellifluous melodies have been given the respect and justice they deserve and are used as the apt background sounds as well. Camerawork of the candid style works too.

What Doesn't?

• Goutham's ego needs some rest. Like KB, he brings in things from his earlier films and some of those send us into irritation. He is no KB. He's made just a handful of films.
• The characterisation of the hero is selfish and the climax is a bit off that line.

A simple tale of romance, powered up musically ! Worth a watch.

Book Look - #40

A THOUSAND SPLENDID SUNS by Khaled Hosseini
Prime Characters: Mariam, Laila, Tariq, Aziza, Jalil, Rasheed.

Plot: Two Afghan women from different backgrounds are made to sail on the same boat when they get married to the same man in different periods under similar circumstances. How the bloody war and the suppressive Taliban around them become a blessing in disguise for the bonding that blooms between the women is told poetically!

Highlights:

• Hosseini's mission with this novel was to show to the world the unfortunate tale of the true Afghans and the way the war had made the nation a nightmare for women is accomplished perfectly in this touching tale.
• The picturesue quality of narration is in full flow when Mariam's story winds itself up; The oppressive ways of Taliban is expressed subtly in the Laila Mariam portions.
• Mother-daughter sort of a bonding between two wives of the same person is such a bold thing to narrate and the delicate subject is handled with an expert's touch and one is made to feel when their sojourn together ends.
• It touches you when the author explains the effects of Russian and American intervension in Afghanistan and how these had changed the country's values.

Remnants of a sex rampaged in the Afghan wars & their offshoot, Taliban!

Two Line Reviews - #437

Movie: Naduvula Konjam Pakatha Kaanom (Thamizh, 2012)

Plot: A bridegroom-to-be slips while playing cricket a day before his marriage and goes into selective amnesia! When three of his friends try to hide the episode from others to carry the ceremony off smoothly, the victim becomes a menace to all their plans showing up his amnesia whenever he possibly can! Aporam?? 'Yennachu' dhaan!

What Works?

• Balajee Tharaneetharan is a welcome addition to the list of new-age unorthodox directors who prove their substance in their first outing! It must have been mighty difficult to convert the one-line into a 150 minute script which he has done quite stunningly!
• His choice of actors and crewmen has been impeccable - Most of them newbies, but that doesn't show up! The friends in particular have rocked!
• Vijay Sethupathi, is quietly climbing the stardom staircase. His essayal here is probably among the most difficult as he has to give lifeless expressions when there is a riotous ruckus going on around him, because of him. He pulls it off quite easily!
• The background score adds life, so do the witty explosive dialogues and the camera work in the pivotal scene at the start was especially good.
• Some sequences remain memorable: The ones at 'Hairport' saloon & the Hospital for example!

What Doesn't?
At a point towards the end, the extreme comedy turns a bit arrogant on the audiences' senses!But normalcy resumes and it ends with a fitting tribute to the original story on which the film is based on.

A thoroughly enjoyable Laugh Riot!

Two Line Reviews - #436

Movie: Life of Pi (2012)

Plot: A family owing zoo animals decides to move from their base in Pondicherry to the U.S.A. On its voyage with the animals, calamity strikes in a Pacific storm, wrecking the ship leaving only the younger son cast away in a small boat.Not alone though! He has a Zoo tiger for company! The peaks that the surival instincts of living beings can scale is what constitutes the rest of the tale.

What Works?

• Firstly, Ang Lee is to be appreciated for adapting from a book whose contents are not the easiest to conceive and place on a film reel. With immense focus on graphics and advancements in visual technology, he manages that quite well!
• Some of the scenes have been made tastefully and are magical! The scene where the boy Suraj Sharma (who has enacted his sturdy role pretty well) enjoys the storm, the small yet nice portion of his uncle's love for swimming, the scene where he communicates with the Tiger in the Mangrove are some examples.
• VFX is stunning in places: the digitally created Tiger is a winner's label for 'technology in films'.

What Doesn't?

• Background Narration that moves the story forward in places is weak, artificial and induces theatre-drama effect. Usage of Direct speech in narration is excessive.
• At the end of it all, There isn't much impact: You don't get that feeling you get when Tom Hanks butchers his Wilson and breaks down in Cast Away!

Few technical aspects and the core idea of celebrating human perseverance are appreciable!

Book Look - #39

THE FOUNTAINHEAD by Ayn Rand
Prime Characters: Howard Roark, Dominique Francon, Peter Keating, Gail Wynand, Elsworth Toohey

Plot: The tales of two fellows from an architecture school - one: the naturally ideal, the other: the ideal seen from the eyes of this artificial world, their ascend and fall, the way they influence and are influenced etc. are used by the author to explain how wrongly the world perceives selflessness.

Highlights:

• Breathtaking, Admirable & Stunning are some of the words I would use to describe how well Rand has tried to gutsily alter the definitions of altruism and egotism!
• She deserves all the plaudits for the facts that the book is so apt to the present even after having seen years pass & that the narrative doesn't bore you even when the technicalities in architecture discussed are a bit beyond the threshold.
• Many of us would wish to be Roark when we are Keating; wish to be Keating when we can afford to do a Roark and the fact that we can relate to the main men makes this a winner.
• Gail Wynand and Dominique's portrayals have their share of twists and wisdom but the Volume on Toohey is a bit of a dampener.

Powerful, Stunningly defies some fundamentals defined by Humans!

Two Line Reviews - #435

Movie: Thuppaakki (Thamizh, 2012)

Plot: An army officer comes home to Mumbai for vacation. Vacation time turns vocation time when he accidentally hits on a sleeper cell member and creates a plan to disrupt the terrorist group's plan. Things get riskier when he tries to find the instructor so that the sleeper cell network can be made dormant. In the middle of all this, there's time for some romance too!

What Works?

• AR Murugadoss shows in places that he is indeed the guy who made Ramana and presents a simple story in a thrill-filled impactful & intense screenplay of the Q&A/cat-and-mouse format.Watch out for the pre-Interval scene!
• I never wished I would say this someday but Vijay has finally shown he can deliver solid stuff without being preachy, angry or irkesomely kiddish (Something which you would see in almost all his films in the last decade). In specially designed outfits (especially those in the Aleikka song & the interval tuxedo he wears), with an ultra-fit body, spotless dubbing (English & Hindi as well!) and superb screen presence, he steals the show!
• One never gets reminded of a camera being held somewhere to can the shots and that shows Santhosh Sivan's stellar work behind the lens. Sreekar Prasad's Editing meanders between good and bad (abrupt cuts at places).
• Murugadoss has placed the action scenes where apt and the stunts have come out well. Vidyut Jamwal provides the thrills but for the climax. Sathyan's tiny presence doesn't go unnoticed.

What Doesn't?

• Kajal Agarwal does what is expected of her but in an otherwise racy film her portions (and Jayaram's) are speed-breakers.
• Climax could have been a lot better given what was promised before. Ghilli like act by Vijay to mend body damage was comical, atleast, for the 'not-so-fans'.
• Harris Jeyaraj's songs fall flat. There's no hummable number except maybe Kutti puli kootam. His deja vu background score leaves hell of a lot to be desired!

Bullets from this Thuppaaki hit the target, more or less!

Two Line Reviews - #434

Movie: Skyfall (2012)

Plot: Secret Agent 007 returns, this time to nab the terrorists who have access to the hard disk carrying the identities of MI6 agents working under cover in different terrorist organizations. On mission, Bond travels to Shanghai and back to Britain where he finds the villain who has a special dislike for their mutual boss M. Bond's identity and national loyalties get debated in this action-ride.

What Works?

• Sam Mendes has taken a route less travelled thus far in the Bond Franchise and asks questions and delivers answers on some points worth considering. In that way, the game is interesting.
• Daniel Craig's James Bond is pleasantly quite different from the suave and unperturbed ways of the previous Bonds. Here too, he performs death-defying stunts. The Turkey episode, even though it isn't as adrenaline-pumping as the Parkour episode in Casino Royale, is fun!
• Javier Bardem has played the role of the Hopkins, Joker type villain and makes the second half of the film more solid. Judi Dench plays a meatier role than the ones she has had before!
• Adele's title song and the famous Bond theme that gets played frequently in the latter half are worth mentioning as they keep us interested too.

What Doesn't?

• The usual girl,martini & gadget routine is sorely missed (even though the compensation is refreshingly good!)
• The basic story is as old as the hills; It takes Bond loyalty not to mock at the mission!
• The issue on England & Scotland being Bond's home could have been dealt with off-the-screen!

One of the 'Villain-saves-the-ship' kind!

Two Line Reviews - #433

Movie: Erin Brokovich (2000)

Plot: A divorced mother of three small kids tries to get some job to make ends meet. After a stunning revelation, she chases down a huge firm responsible for bringing down an entire town in terms of its people's health. When the race intensifies, she has to make some personal sacrifices to cross the finishing line.

What Works?

• For a film based on a true story, the presentation is quite entertaining thanks to Soderbergh's simplistic & old-school narrative.
• Julai Roberts understands she is the bone and flesh of the film and comes up trumps in her role as the determined legal assistant.
• Her scenes with her boss, played neatly by veteran Albert Finney, where she ends up screaming in temper are winners!
• The angle that describes her parenting and the sacrifices she had to make is an inspiring story in itself.

Story of a determined sacrifice that is inspiring too!

Bercy Indoors Preview!

When the words 'Paris' and 'Tennis' are heard together, connecting that with Roland Garros is inevitable for any tennis fan.

Quietly, in the shadows of RG, the BNP Paribas Paris Masters (Bercy) has been churning out champions for the past 40 years. A lot of big names in the past have won at Bercy but till last year, this was probably the biggest tournament on whose silverware neither 'Roger Federer' nor 'Rafael Nadal' had never been etched. Thankfully for the tournament, Roger took off that oddity by winning it in 2011, for, if he had not, the streak would have continued this year as well as both Roger and Rafa have opted out of the event.

What's in stake?

Leading the line-up of stars is Novak Djokovic, the World No.2 this week and No.1 next week - irrespective of what happens here. Apart from proving his authority and stylishly getting back atop the rankings chart, the 2009 champion has nothing much to prove. For Andy Murray, vital points collected here can help him set his sight on the No.2 which he would happily accept if he can get there by the year end or in time for the Australian Open 2013. For other top stars like Berdych, Tsonga, last week's victors Ferrer and delPotro, wins against one another in the later stages of the tournament could give the much needed confidence ahead of their clashes-to-be at the O2 arena in London next week. The last berth for the World Tour Finals is up for grabs and the likely contenders Tipsarevic and Gasquet would be inspired to take a deep plunge into the draw. Never rule out the Outsiders like Raonic & Almagro who can mathematically still make it to the World Tour Finals. For the rest of the field, a good performance at the last event of the year would give them some nice confidence for the season ahead.

What's the draw like?

Top Half:
Victor Hanescu is the lucky loser who replaces Federer after the latter's last minute withdrawal. He is a lucky lucky loser as he gets a bye directly into round 2. Murray and Berdych are the top seeds in the top half. Murray has a tough one on paper. He has to contend with PHM, the man who had a good last week at Basel, in round 2 and has to go past Cilic in round 3 if he wants to help himself and Gasquet's chances in a potential quarter final match with Tipsarevic.
For Berdych, a  round-3 clash with Gasquet is in the offing, for which Gasquet needs to overcome either the brazilian left-hander Bellucci who has an uncanny knack to play well against top players or the South African giant Kevin Anderson! Going by the draw, if you were to choose between Tipsarevic and Gasquet on who'l buy tickets to London, choosing the Serbian would be a better thing to do.

A good first round match to look for in this half would be the one between the new father in the circuit,Baghdatis and home boy Gilles Simon. Whoever wins there can fancy his chance of reaching the last 16/last 8 thanks to Federer's withdrawal.

Bottom Half:
There are a lot of potential mouth-watering clashes in this half as well. With Novak pitted to face Raonic in round 3 and delPotro in his quarters , he has his hands full! For delPotro who, with a staggering 17-1 indoors this season,is looking for a third title in three straight weeks, Isner might offer some resistance if they are to meet in round 3. In other possible match-ups, it would be nice to see if Wawrinka can realise his potential if and  when he takes on the in-form Ferrer in a round 3 clash. For the 2008 champion Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, the quarter appears good as he has to contend with men like Troicki/Almagro against who he has the power and skill to dominate. If Benneteau can get inspired like he did when he upset Roger at this event in 2009, it would help the french crowd see an all French clash in Tsonga vs Benneteau.

A good first round match from this half would be the one between Llodra and Stepanek. For people fed up with the baseline slugfests, this could be one match to look for as the two are known for their liking to finish off points one way or the other from the net!

In all, a lot of promising match-ups and a pleasantly vociferous Paris crowd, we can expect quite a few fireworks in the last regular event of the year. If that is not enough, here's a trivia. Since 2003, the event has seen different men win different editions and this year, one man has the skill and form to end that streak. Novak Djokovic, of Serbia. There is a Scot practising somewhere in Bercy who would want to let the streak continue! We'l see how it pans out!