8mm (English)

Plot:

A private investigator is hired to investigate wether a snuff film is real or not. His investigations lead him to a seedy underworld, which could probably leave him and his family dead.

The good:

• The thrills are good enough to warrant a single watch
• Joaquin Phoenix is excellent as the Al Capone-loving guy cum sidekick
• Creepy background score, two thumbs up
• All the characters act out their parts well, especially the mother who eagerly awaits her daughter's return and Nicholas Cage as the investigator who is on the verge of losing his sanity

The bad:

• The violence is very disturbing (obvious as the film is about the authencity of a "snuff" film)
• The ending could have been a tad different instead of becoming a revenge-fest

My say:

Strong acting and a good-enough screenplay slightly overpower the dark content of the film. Coming from the scriptwriter of 7 (Seven), this is worth a watch for lovers of thrillers. One of the most notable scenes is Cage's final call to the mother and their ensuing convesation, which in my opinion is simply too good!!

Director Joel Schumacher has made a good comeback after his disastrous Batman movie. He must be commended for the strong comeback. If violence turns you off, please avoid this at all costs.

My score: 7/10

Kullanari Kootam aka "a skulk of foxes" (Tamizh)

Plot?

A chance mistake while recharging a mobile number leads to a girl and boy to fall in love with each other. But the girl's father is a policeman and he has his own challenge for the boy to fulfill. The boy now lands up in Chennai to complete the challenge and win his maiden's hands...does he??

The good:

• Charming lead pair, a beautiful heroine and a charming young man as the hero
• A lovable and appealing love story :)
• Believable storyline with very adorable characters (from the hero's policemen-hating father to the Tea vendor aspiring to become an SI ~ Sub Inspector of Police)
• Pleasant music and background score
• Just 3 songs in film :o
• Clean entertainment for the entire family..no double-meaning dialogues or suggestive dance movements by scantily-clad women or blood-spattering fight scenes!!!

The bad:

• Climax seems a bit too convenient, but definitely not worth any criticism

My Say:

I have started loving this guy called Vishnu (Vennila Kabaddi Kuzhu, Drohi, Bale Pandiya)... who knows to act and has given solid performances since his debut. Paired with him is Ramya Nambeesan who oozes that homely charm (which is lacking in most Tamizh or Indian film heroines these days). Clubbed together with a melange of characters, good music and a screenplay that promises smiles all the way....."Kullanari Kootam" is definitely for the entire family!!!

My score: 8/10

Ko (2011) -- Language: Tamizh

Plot?

Ko portrays the life of a photo-journalist and his news agency "Dhinna Anjal", whose life gets intertwined with the political candidates of the upcoming State Elections (Tamil Nadu). Some Naxalites are out to cause chaos in the State as well...But who will win the election? And who is behind the Naxals? 

The good:

• Technically glossy from start till finish and simply entertaining
• The protagonist Jeeva looks suave as the photo-journalist who oozes charm and wit
• Engrossing screenplay with enough twists and turns till the very end
• A brilliantly shot climax fight sequence. This is one place where the slow-motion works real huge. Way to go!!!
• "Enemo Edho", the pick of the songs in the movie..lush locales, fresh faces and charming steps
• Did I mention entertaining?? ;)

The bad:

• 3 songs to break the film's pace and the audience's patience (grrrrrr!!)
• A totally needless flashback sequence with a ripped-off song singing you a lullaby
• Dance steps in the song "Amali Thumali" intesfies the look-at-me-i-am-a-dancing-monkey feel of the lead pair
• You may tend to start hating Harris Jeyaraj even more, since he seems more open about his "rip-off" skills

My Say:

The blemishes being on the lower side...and for an audience that has seen 60+ aged uncles dancing with girls their grand-daughter's age, the songs should not irk you much!!

"KO" is this summer's first entertainer for Tamil audiences...sure to be a huge huge hit!!!

My score: 8/10

Dude...the recos are boring!! Boooooooo

The good movies are on their way...I want to complete reviewing the average and below average flicks I saw before settling down to review the awesome movies!!!


So please excuse me if the blog has uninteresting movies for quite sometime.... :)

The Losers (2010)

Plot?

After being betrayed and left for dead, members of a CIA black ops team root out those who targeted them for assassination (taken from imdb, am not so interested in reviewing this trash).

The good:

• The team members have a good chemistry and the jokes are quite good
• Chris Evans as the geeky tech wizard is very cool and makes it a worthwhile watch
• The villain is darn smart (looks) and gets the funniest lines among all the characters

The bad:

• Very juvenile to consider this a proper action flick
• Looks more like an extended TV-show episode (yawn...)
• I found it tough to digest Zoe Saldana as a kickass female lead (am not a male chauvinistic pig btw)
• Very very slow!!!

My Say:

I would certainly not recommend this to anyone!!

IMDB 6.0  *** Rotten Tomatoes 17% fresh

My score:5/10