The Amazing Spider Man

Intro

The Amazing Spider Man is a reboot of the Sam Raimi - Tobey Mc Guire - Spider Man Franchise, a fresh start on how Peter Parker becomes spider man and bashes up the bad guys, Sam Raimi’s  Spider Man 1 and 2 were both amazing, even though the third part failed to match the level of the second it was a decent movie, Unlike Nolans Batman Trio logy which was a reboot to the Batman Franchise after a complete mess up by Joel Shumacher, Mark Webb has to beat an equally good set, now that’s going to be a tough job

Synopsis

Peter Parker (Andrew Garfield)  is a normal school boy, who gets bullied but still likes to stand for what he believes is right and loves to shoot pictures especially of Gwen Stacy (Emma Stone), In search of his past he goes to Oscorp to meet Dr. Curt Connors who along with his dad were together working on Cross Genetic Species, but this search results in him getting bitten by a radioactive spider and acquires spider like abilities inclusive of spider sense, climbing walls etc, Peter uses his new found powers to get back at Flash Thomps on the school bully , one such day where he comes home late Uncle Ben gives him a lecture on Power and Responsibility and after a heated argument storms out of the house and this leads  to Uncle Ben's death from a man who walks right under his nose, Peter believes he led Uncle Ben to his death and goes in search of Uncle Ben’s Killer and wants revenge but see’s the bigger picture with Dr. Connor becoming the The Lizard and how Spidey kick’s some Lizard ass is the rest

Good 

This movie is closer to the comics, in this movie we really get to see how spider man becomes spider man, on how he learns to swing and how he makes his spider web blasters, one thing that has to be noted is that this spider man is leaner, meaner and faster, he moves like a spider, when he swings we get to see where he shoots his web and from where he swings, There are some POV shots in this movie when he is swinging which is nice

Andrew Garfield is a good Peter Parker and also makes a good spider man, Does anybody remember The Famous Spider Man – Mary Jane  upside down kiss well there is something interesting on those lines, Mark sure has taken a few leaves from both Sam Raimi’s Spider Man, comparisons apart there a few scenes which are equally awesome

Bad

Spider Man’s Costume Totally, No Offense, his head was made to look small, his eyes were small like a bugs and tights were all shiny like as if he is going to break into a dance, so less shine and more webs please and the story in certain ways was similar to Batman Begins

A little more time for the action sequences please, I really want to see more and some more sarcasm, The comics are filled with one liner's when spidey kicks ass

Ugly 

Nothing much in this department,

Marks- 8/10. This is a really good movie but I still like Sam Raimi’s Spider Man a wee bit more for a few reasons, when spider man was first released it really elevated Superhero Movies to a whole new level and second the film was just simply awesome

Kadhalil Sodhappuvadhu Yeppadi (How to mess it up in 'love')

Intro

The most refreshing love story ever told in the Tamil film medium. Because of the lack of tragedy our tamil (and mallu) audiences might not give it cult status like the films 'Johnny' or 
Guna.' Question is will our audiences digest a refreshing romantic comedy that for the first time looks at a realistic portrayal of love, although a slightly optimistic one...  

Synopsis

Why is love such a hard subject to deal with? After a fallout with the love of his life, Arun (Siddharth) reflects on 'what went wrong.' The narrative shifts constantly between what happened before the fallout (in the past) and what is happening now as his close friends are in transition- one of them about to marry another just about fell in love (the present). 


The above line might be hard to understand, as the sentence formation might be flawed, but the narrative in the film is so flawless that you hardly ever get confused - why you don't even think about it.  

Good 

A romantic comedy which keeps it really really real. A guy who messed it up so bad that his lover throws a glass at him. A friend who has fallen in love and another friend who loves giving cheap advice which gets you into more trouble. The movie takes you into the stages of a romantic relationship. The initial stages of intense romance, the middle stage of taking each other for granted and finally the final stage of it all falling to pieces because of circumstances that expose the second stage of indifference.... 


It's a sort of a men are from Mars, women are from Venus. But with a comical twist that will send chills down your spine if you have ever been through a breakup and laughter down your belly if you have ever watched idiot couples breaking up for silly reasons.   


An excellent movie that uses modern narrative techniques like 'mocumentary' where the artists give a documentary type interview within the film. And the non linear narrative which is seamless as mentioned in the intro keeps the audience thoroughly engaged... 


The movie is for everyone... because even though it does not dumb down audiences as out Tamil serials do, it keep everyone laughing and the closeness of the script to everyday occurrences will surely make it a 'super hit.'

Bad

The second half started with a rather boring note where the sub plot of the marrying friend takes over for like ten minutes. But 10 minutes of boredom is engulfed by 2 hours of good story telling so its negligible. 


The music is a little distracting at times...

Ugly 


Are we living in a breakup culture? The underlying angle in this film is that communication (or lack of it or mis-communication)  is the primary reason for breakups and that this is largely due to male female dissimilarities. There are also skewered expectations of money and time... 


This film reflects how as a culture we are so ill prepared to deal with these... As a culture we don't teach our young as top how to deal with this and so we (Indian's) either break up or lead a dysfunctional married life.

Marks- 8/10.No cult status, but definitely the best romantic comedy the tamil film goer has ever seen.


                                        

Johnny English Reborn

Intro

The funniest man alive is back in a sequel to Johnny English. Rowan Atkinson is a can of slapstick, satire and absurdly funny facial expressions all put together for mass consumption. The can has been carefully preserved for many a years, for us common folk to consume once in a while- on sick days or such days when we feel horribly low. If Atkinson cannot make you laugh, then no one can. 

Synopsis

The bungling secret agent is back and will now have to fight a mysterious assassin organization called the vortex. Not only has he recovered and learnt from a horrible mistake he committed in Mozambique, but he also has stronger balls from training with the Tibetian monks. 

Good 

Its a funny movie that will make even conservative pricks laugh out in childish joy. This man can make you laugh by controlling his facial muscles and making them twitch like never done or seen before. Now those of you who are wondering, if this is is a tribute to Mr.Atkinson or a review for Johnny English Reborn beware. It is impossible to separate the man from his movies for he is in every frame (not technically verified) every dialogue and every laughter or the heart attack resulting from it.


The plot points are very good and this movie does not solely depend on Mr.Atkinson's god given talents (If you have watched his satirical sketches then devil given talents). This movie's story, though far from being legendary, keeps a good pace and accommodates the legendary comedian's antics very well indeed.  

Bad

The ending as rather bad. Not going to give it away, but after working meticulously on the script the script writer has slacked majorly when it came to writing the last few scenes.


And the movie was only 80% as funny as the 1st part. The sequel failed to exceed the first one by about half a mile.

Ugly 


The ugliness of human nature is revealed in this movie as we laugh at another's misery. My mom always resented 'Tom and Jerry' for the same reason. But she did not stop her children from watching the cartoon and neither did she prevent herself from laughing out loud. Atkinson head locks two old women (in different scenes) and hits them repeatedly on the head with a food tray. One of the women is the Queen of England herself. He mistook them for a Chinese assassin who is an old lady in disguise. You can see why this can be very funny. Hysterically even...


Perhaps a more seasoned psychologist can throw light on this phenomenon.

Marks- 7/10. Rowan Atkinson, Rowan Atkinson, Rowan Atkinson (the bottom line goes on like this...)

Contagion- Not that contagious

Intro

It is a Soderbergh film. Traffic and Syriana type, not the Ocean 11, 12 type.

Synopsis

MEV-1 Virus versus all of humankind. The virus spreads and mutates...the WHO and the CDC look for ways to contain, quarantine and vaccinate the world's population. We don't want to lose 1 % of our population like in 1918 when the Spanish flu ate 3% of us.

Good 

It is another Soderbergh film. I could have finished this part of the review with that line, but I will say more in another small paragraph which follows...

Incredibly well researched but very simply put... This is a docu- drama of sorts for every one. I for one feel well educated about how a pandemic starts and spreads. What is an R-0 (R-Nought)? How do diseases cross borders. And how do these new viruses get formed. The thrifty editing and no nonsense story progression keeps the audience well engaged, though in an indifferent way.... Which takes us to the next section.   

Bad

I will not stop short of calling the script boring by saying the following-

• The different plot lines don't connect
• Some parts of the script are rather forgettable and not needed - for instance Gwyneth Paltrow cheating on her husband Matt Damon
• The parts of the whole do not sink in and causes indifference even as a million people die on screen - for instance after the movie was done, a friend asked me if Kate Winslet was dead or alive at the end of the whole thing

Ugly

This pandemic thing is real- I have a friend who worked in a government hospital when the whole swine flu thing broke out and she told me how one of the doctors had died during the whole thing. I worried for her own safety a lot and I can only imagine the mental agony she must have had dealing with - indifferent nurses, dying colleagues, personal safety, dying people and public anger.

Watch this movie if you want to educate yourself stay home if you want entertainment. 

Marks- 6/10. A Soderbergh movie which is not as good as Traffic.  

Delhi Belly- Rib Tickling

Intro

Delhi Belly is rib tickling... I still laugh thinking about some of the jokes in this movie.

Synopsis

Diamonds are flown in from abroad and an air-hostess (Shenaz) unwittingly hands it over to her fiance (Imran) who makes an attempt to deliver it to the smugglers. The diamonds transform- 'Yeh toh tatti hai!' (still laughing). Shit happens in this movie, quiet literally.

Good 

The entire line of guys at the urinals, after the movie, were still laughing... Its well made, good use of the medium and though it reminds you a lot of modern day english sitcom... it is still pure genius. The songs are short, the action sequences long and comedy spontaneously hilariously dirty. The characters are very real and you will hate them as much as you love them... 

Bad

This is one of those good attention to details films. I will need to watch it 5 more times (which I intent to do at the soonest) to find anything remotely bad. Perhaps not philosophical enough and if there were layers I could not find it.

Ugly

There are many things ugly about this movie. All this comes in pure hindsight- was laughing too much to think beyond the next second of the film. I can imagine that the incredibly dirtiness inherent in the film will be humorous to only a niche albeit a huge niche in the world population. Please do not watch if you are below 18 or if you are a conservative prick or if you don't like silly, toilet, profane, slapstick humour. Also I read somewhere that the women are treated badly in this movie. And now in hindsight (eyesrolling) I realise that the portrayals of the 'bad girl,' 'noisy girl' and 'heartbreak girl' varieties was indeed stereotypical, but what the hell- Its still funny.

Marks- 8/10. I am going to end this review exactly the way that I started it. Delhi Belly- Rib tickling!

Nandalala- Stark reality.

Intro

A Tamil contribution to World Cinema. Though I am not a big fan of these movies, they don't entertain much, I have to say that like most World Movies this one portrays a stark reality using only good filming techniques. A Tamil take on 'Kikujiro' this film adds enough Indian flavour without butchering the original.

Synopsis

What do a mad man in an asylum and a little boy in primary school have in common? A longing to meet their mother. The former to confront her as to why she left him in an asylum and the latter to simply give her a kiss. Fate has it that they travel together and in this journey they encounter unconditional mother's love albeit in a completely unexpected manner.

Good 

Not too many Indian movies have the detail of a good novel, or the aesthetics which fully exploit the medium which is film. Using montages to tell a story, especially in India, requires a lot of guts and the applause has to go to the director of the film. You will love the seeming silence which engulfs the film. And you will notice that there is depressing mood in the film like in most Tamil films which reflect the lives of the outcasts of society- Mentally ill, physically challenged and abandoned children.

Bad

The music was horrible to say the least. Flashes of Ilayaraja's genius are evident but over all it seemed like music borrowed from a cheap fusion CD. And I think that in all the detailing that went into the form or the art, there were many scenes which drew a blank or were confusing in a not so intellectually overwhelming. A little irritating at times.

Ugly

I think this film is Myshkin's failure to fill too many shoes and I think he did not have to put himself everywhere. He is a good director and a decent actor. But he should have done just one role to justify the original he drew inspiration from. There is a paradox here for Takeshi Kitano wrote, starred and directed Kikujiro. But I honestly believe Indian directors cannot play such supermen and these attempts show a vulgar attempt to satisfy the ego rather than for the art of film making. Does Kamal Hasan ring a bell.

Marks- 5/10. A missed opportunity to make one of the best films of the decade.