Dhoom 3 - Exclusive Unseen Stills in High Definition

Dhoom 3 - Exclusive High Definition Unseen Stills

 

Arrambam - Exclusive Movie Review

 Arrambam - Exclusive Movie Review

 Directed by     Vishnuvardhan
Produced by     A. Raghuram
Written by  Vishnuvardhan, Subha
Music, Re-Recording by     Yuvan Shankar Raja
Cinematography     Om Prakash
Editing by     A. Sreekar Prasad
Studio     Sri Satya Sai Movies
Release date(s)   31 October 2013
Country     India
Language     Tamil

CAST

    Ajith Kumar as Ashok
    Arya
    Nayantara
    Taapsee Pannu
    Rana Daggubati
    Mahesh Manjrekar
    Atul Kulkarni
    Suman Ranganathan as Ramya
    Kishore
    Akshara Gowda
    Krishna
    Prashant Nair
    Lee Whittaker

 Story

Arrambam tells the story of Siva, a commando officer, and his mission to find the ones who are responsible for an irrecoverable loss in his life and bring to justice those villains who are also a threat to the nation, with the help of few of his friends.

Arrambam was one of the most publicized Tamil movie since Enthiran. Even the title which was kept a secret till 2-3 months to release was done with much fan fare. An Ajith release after almost 15 months, Billa team reuniting for all these reasons the film had baggage of huge expectations. With a check mark against all the necessities before the release of a biggie, the film had humungous expectations surrounding it.

Now let's see if the film managed to live up to those.


Arrambam which was expected to be an out and out action thriller just fell short thanks to the half baked script. The first half of the movie is infact just average. Aarya-Taapse track should have very much been avoided. The movie never gets into pace till the pre interval portion, even though that sequence was executed tackily. Also Aarya surprisingly gets as many or even more screen space as Ajith in the first half, taking over the 'humor' part. The second half is much better, and in pace. Even though lots of things happens it has been conceived neatly. Logic goes for a toss in the movie, which is not a crime for mass entertainers.

Ajith is the mega plus of the movie. He never looked this dashing, stylish handsome and fit.
The character gets more scope in the second half & Ajith has done it with elan as always. Also credit to the actor for doing all those stunt sequences despite getting injured many times. Aarya too got an important role to play, especially in the first half its his character that help the narration move forward without much lag. Nayanthara just had to do the Billa act-nothing much [looked stunning eventhough], Taapse was OK. The supporting cast were very good.

Vishnu Vardhan is one such director who gives more importnce to the visuals than the script. Most of the times the narration suffers in the effort to make each scene rich [which infact is a plus of the movie]. In Arrambam to its more or less like that. Scripting by Subha should have more crispier, especially in the first half. But the dialogues were good with plenty of quirky and massy one-liners.

Special mention to the stylist - costumes, makeup man etc. All of the characters were looking their best, lead by Ajith.

Yuvan's music has been very good, the tittle/intro song and Tamizachi song were huge hits even before the release, now with the visuals expecting more to join the hit charts. His Background score was okay this time, nothing exceptional, but the genre had limited scope.

Camera work was top notch.Needed a bit more crisp editing as it drags here and there - a big no no for action entertainers.
.

The story has similarities with Sivaji and many other films that we have seen in the past, its the making and performances that saves the film. Thanks to the average first half , a great opportunity wasted (almost)

So in all Arrambam can be a great watch for 'Thala' fans, and above average time pass movie at the best for others.

Thala fan power and carpet bombing release coupled with immense hype should make the movie a hit.

Rating : 2.75/5

Verdict: Above Average

Box Office - Should be a Hit

Last Word: Go with less expectations

Krrish 3 - Kerala Release Paper AD with Theater List

Krrish 3 Kerala Release Paper AD with Theater List

Nadodi Mannan (Malayalam) - Exclusive Movie Review

Nadodi Mannan - Malayalam Movie Exclusive Review

Crew

Directed by     Viji Thampi
Produced by     V.S Suresh, S. Madhan

Banner - Chithram film Company, Vendhar Movies
Written by     Krishna Poojappura
Music by     Vidyasagar
Cinematography     Sanjeev Sankar
Distributed by     Thameens
Release date(s)     October 18, 2013
Country     India
Language     Malayalam

Cast

    Dileep as Padmanabhan
    Ananya as Meera
    Mythili as Rima
    Archana Kavi as Aathira
    Sayaji Shinde as Purushothaman
    Sreelatha Namboothiri

Story

'Nadodimannan' tells the story of how a nobody, one day becomes the mayor of capital city & the troubles he face, for doing good to the people.  

Padmanabhan, a village youth who earns his living by supplying 'people' to public meetings, mass gatherings etc.On one such occasion he gets stuck up in Trivandrum city and gets involved with the local king pin Purushothaman which changes his life for ever. In an unexpected series of events, he gets elected the Mayor of the city. The rest of the film deals with how Padmanabhan cleans up the city.

Meera is a bold girl coming from poor family backgrounds, who forms Padmanabhans moral support. Aathira is a doctor & the member of a royal family. Rima, a broadcast journalist & Bollywood actor Sayaji Shinde, who makes his Mollywood debut, as the villain who is at loggerheads with Padmanabhan.

The film was promoted as Dileep's mass-comedy entertainer kinda delivers its promise in the first half. But what could have been Dileep's next 'Runway' or 'Lion' turns out to be an average fare thanks to an average, long and boring 2nd half.

The film begins very well, especially with the introduction of hero's character with lots of humor through out the first half, thanks to Dileep & co. But in the 2nd, especially once Padamanabhan becomes Mayor I think the writer lost his steam and had n clue on how to move forward and wrap up things. Characters played by Suraj and co who plays Dileep's friends after a good beginning gets disappeared in the proceedings which also affects the film badly.

Dileep has done a good job, his character in the beginning showed promise which couldn't be kept in the later half. Siyaji Shinde has made a good Mollywood debut as villain, major thanks to the dubbing artist. Out of the female leads Ananya gets more scenes, in 99% of which she has to do the same thing - shout or doubt.

For a moment we got an impression that this could be the come back vehicle for Viji thampy, but bad writing in the 2nd half let him down. With many flash cuts and all, editing looked just average, also @ 160 mins the film is tad too long. Camerawork was Ok. Songs were not only bad, but proved to be speed breakers, Lyrics felt like that of Telugu dub films. Many scenes has been shot in front of green screen and the VFX in such scenes looked bad.

 The film has been in production for over 2 years, several production issues and miscellaneous reasons caused the film delay. The estimated final budget is about 8-9cr and with such an average script it looks will end up as a losing affair.

For a Dileep mass film to work it need to have plenty of humor [it doesn't matter if they are crass, crap or double meaning] with a majority share from the star himself, unfortunately this one doesn't have that. The  fate of  the film looks like a 'filler' before much hyped releases that comes in two weeks time.

Verdict: Average

Rating 2.5/5

Box Office: Flop

Last Word - watch the first half for Dileep and 2nd for  Sleep ;-)

Memories - Malayalam Movie Review

Memories - Malayalam Movie Review

 Director: Jithu Joseph
Star Cast: PRITHVIRAJ , MIA, MEGHNA RAJ

Banner - Anantha Visions
Producer - P.K.Muraleedharan , Santha Murali
Story And Script - Jeethu Joseph
Cinematography - Sujith Vasudev
Editor - V. Sajan
Art Director - Saburam
Makeup - Roshan.G
Production Control - Shaji Kavanad , Sajeev Arjunan
Associate Director - Cylex Abraham
Lyrics - Shelton , Sejo John
Music Director - Sejo John
Stills - Abhilash Narayanan
Designs - Collins.

 Memories is, as the tagline says, 'an episode in the life of a police officer. Prithviraj plays an alcoholic, irresponsible father cum policeman. The reasons for his erratic behaviors plus a murder mystery that he has to unravel due to circumstances forms the basic plot.

Memories is a serial killer typed murder mystery that begins slowly and gets you hoked on as the film progresses, just like last year's Grandmaster. Even the story is similar to that of GM, Police Officer no longer interested in his job gets drawn into the scene once again as the killer is on prowl.

 The intelligent scripting and interesting story line makes it a must watch movie, especially for the fans of thriller genre. The first half may be just above average, nut the second half is truly brilliant. Especially the climax.

Prithvi has done it again. fourth Hit in a row for him, after a lean patch. He is simply excellent as the full time drunkard cop. It is difficult to believe that he is the same guy who couldn't do such roles till recent past. This time he got it bang on ! Rest of the cast gets minimal scope, but have done their roles neatly. The choice of villain was good and surprising. background score and Editing helps the film a great deal. Camerawork looked ordinary at places, was ok otherwise.

on the flip side is the slow pace of the movie, especially in the first half. it takes time before the film gets into the grew. But intelligently the film has been publicized in that manner, brave but Good decision. Direction also looked ordinary. There are some small (negligible) plot holes.

Those who enjoyed film like Mumbai Police, grandmaster shouldn't miss this. its also a must watch for Prithvi fans.

Nice investigation thriller, Go for it

3.5/5

Neelakasham Pachakadal Chuvanna Bhoomi - Malayalam Movie Review

 Neelakasham Pachakadal Chuvanna Bhoomi - Malayalam Movie Review

Directed by     Sameer Thahir
Produced by     Sameer Thahir
Written by     Hashir Mohamed
Music by     Rex Vijayan
Cinematography     Gireesh Gangadharan
Editing by     A. Sreekar Prasad
Studio     Happyhours Entertainment, E4 Entertainment
Release date(s)     8 August 2013
Country     India

Language     Malayalam

 

 Cast

    Dulquer Salmaan as Kasi
    Sunny Wayne as Suni
    Surja Bala Hijam as Assi
    Ena Saha as Gauri
    Dhritiman Chatterjee
    Joy Mathew
    Pearle Maaney
    Paloma Monappa
    Avantika as Fatima
    K. T. C. Abdullah
    Vanitha Krishnachandran
    Ajay Nataraj
    Madhubaladevi
    Bobby Zachariah Abraham

NPCB is touted to be the first road movie to be made in Malayalam. Its about the journey of two youngsters across India, in search of Love, in search of Life.

Dulquer has one again delivered, big time. Sunny Wayne gets an equally important role, reminiscent of 'Kurudi'. Kudos to whoever made the casting, everyone were simply brilliant.  Dialogues are also good. The effort the crew took during Pre Production stage is visible, superb locations all over India.

More than dialogues visuals tell the story here. Kudos to Sameer. The scripting is also good, told a good story laced with humor (thanks to sunny) very well supported by the entire cast and crew.


NPCB is a breathtakingly beautiful & refreshingly different film. Its an out an out Sameer Thahir movie. The visuals are outstanding, with brilliant Background score and crisp editing. The music also suits the feel and mood of the film.

The film is mainly targeted at today's youth, with bikes, road trips, girls, party, etc.... It should be a treat for them. It also carries a good message.

The film drags a bit towards the end. There is nothing much for the family or mass audience,, but its high time that they too start receiving such honest attempts. May not be film that people wish for in the festive season, but still its time to break the cliches.

The film leaves with the same impact that films like Zindagi milegi na Dobara or Dil Chahta Hai left in you.

Go Watch it and get soaked in Blue sky, Green Ocean and Red Earth.

Very Good

3.75/5

Thalaivaa - Exclusive Movie Review

Thursday, August 8, 2013

Thalaivaa : Exclusive Movie Review
                                        

Direction by A. L. Vijay

Produced by Chandra Prakash Jain/C.P. Sunil/C.P. Dinesh

Music by G. V. Prakash Kumar

Stars: Vijay, Sathyaraj, Amala Paul, Santhanam, Ragini Nandwani, Abhimanyu Singh & Rajiv Pillai

Movie Review by Sree Prasad Nair
Theater – Grand Cinemas, Sharjah, UAE
08/08/2013 – 4.45pm
Occupancy – 100%  Sold Out

A Vijay film is always special. Be it Velayudham or Thuppakki, Vijay films always worked big at the box office. Thalaivaa is the first Vijay film in 2013! Just like Velayudham & Thuppakki (released during Diwali 2011 & 2012) Thalaivaa is also releasing on a festive season, Eid 2013! Thalaivaa is directed by A.L Vijay who had remarkable hits under his belt in the form of Deiva Thirumagal & Madrasapattinam. However his last film Thandavam was a washout at the box office. Thalaivaa stars Vijay and Amala Paul in the lead roles. Sathyaraj, Santhanam, Ragini Nandwani, Abhimanyu Singh & Rajiv Pillai are also acting in Thalaivaa.

Story

Thalaivaa, is the story of comman man who rises to a leader. Vijay is a professional dancer in Australia. He is in love with Amala Paul. Both plan to get married. Vijay comes to India to meet his father (Sathyaraj) with Amala Paul & her father. Sathyaraj is Thalaivaa, leader of social workers in Mumbai. The local enemies murder Sathyaraj. To take the revenge Vijay turns into a leader. What happens next?

Positives

A. L. Vijay's story may sound predictable, but film is filled with many twists and turns. Two great suspense, one just before the interval and one just at the right time, climax! Direction is first rate. The run time of the film is almost 3hours. But you will never get bored in those long duration. First half is fast paced with romance, dance, funny scenes and second half is just brilliant, infact better than first half.

Vijay’s character in the film goes through two phases, one as typical lover & other as leader. He is good as lover with his usual charm, dance & romance. But he is brilliant as leader. Unlike his previous films Thalaivaa don't have much action scenes. Less action & more acting... That's Vijay's Thalaivaa. A performance like this comes once in a while and can compete with the best actors this year. The ease with which Vijay slips into the character is amazing and the outcome is spellbinding. If he is lovable as the lover boy dancer, he is outstanding as the leader.

It's Amala Paul who gives Thalaivaa that extra sheen. She gets a role to prove her talent and she more than lives up to the expectations. She is super confident and registered a strong impact. Her dancing skills and expressions are her added benefits. However her role is limited in the second half.

 Santhanam once again proved that he is unbeatable when it comes to comedy. He contributes enormously to some of the best moments of the film. Satyaraj is truly outstanding in a pivotal character. Ragini Nandwani is goregeous and makes her presence felt in a small but significant role. Abhimanyu Singh is ok. Rajiv Pillai may not have many lines to deliver, but his presence and expressions register a strong impact.

Negatives

Music of Thalaivaa is a letdown. And the placement of two songs are wrong. Veteran actor Nassar is wasted. Not much action scenes in this Vijay film except the climax. That’s about it. These factors won’t harm to a film like Thalaivaa.

Overall Thalaivaa is a perfect Eid gift from VIJAY'S! Director Vijay & Actor Vijay. A Good First Half, Great Second Half With A Brilliant Climax! The film is all set to take a bumper opening at the box office.

P:S: Third Festival Superhit From Vijay In A Row

Verdict - Thalaivaa Is A Great Leader!!!

Rating - 4/5!  Super Hit!!!

This Reviewer can be contacted on Twitter : @i_spn : https://twitter.com/i_spn

BHAAG MILKHA BHAAG : Movie Review

Thursday, July 11, 2013 BHAAG MILKHA BHAAG : Exclusive Movie Review 

Direction by Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra

Written by Prasoon Joshi

Produced by Viacom 18 / Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra

Music by Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy 

Stars : Farhan Akthar, Divya Dutta, Pawan Malhotra, Prakash Raj, Yograj Singh & Sonam Kapoor 

Movie Review by Sree Prasad Nair

 Theater – Grand Al Mariah Cinemas, Abu Dhabi, UAE 

11/07/2013 – 10pm 

Occupancy – 70% 

Director Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra is known for his National Award Winning Movie, Rang De Basanti. He debuted in 2006 with Aks and Bhaag Milkha Bhaag is his fourth film as director. But except Rang De Basanti, his other films were flops at the box office. The story of Bhaag Milkha Bhaag is written by lyricist Prasoon Joshi. He was also the script writer of Om Pakash's last movie, Delhi6. Bhaag Milkha Bhaag is the sixth film of Farhan Akthar as an actor & his second film as a solo hero after Karthik Calling Karthik in 2010. Bhaag Milkha Bhaag also stars Divya Dutta, Pawan Malhotra, Prakash Raj, Yograj Singh, Sonam Kapoor, Meesha Shafiv & Rebecca Breeds. 

Story 

Bhaag Milkha Bhaag is a bio pic film based on the life of former Indian athlete Milkha Singh. Milkha Singh was born in Pakistan. He lost his parents in the riots that followed the Indo-Pak partition. He wanted to join the Indian Army. And he joined the EME Centre in Secunderabad in 1951, where his talent as an athlete was discovered. After joining, he paid special attention towards athletics and began training for a 400 meters race. In a very short period of time, Milkha Singh emerged as a

world-class athlete in a country which was known for its poverty and backwardness. He succeeded in establishing a new record for a 400 meters race, which earned him great prestige and fame. 

Positives 

Last week we witnessed the best acting of 2013 by a female star in Sonakshi Sinha's Lootera and this week it's the turn of male actor Farhan Akthar. Farhan as Milkha Singh is extraordinary. It's not easy for a director like Farhan to get into the role of Indian Sports Legend. But his acting is pure magic. From his hairstyle to physique to body language to expressions, Farhan Akthar delivers a power packed performance. Hats off to his hard work, commitment and dedication. Easily the best acting of 2013 by a male star.., Best Actor Awards are waiting for you Mr.Farhan...

Another pluspoint is the supporting cast of the movie. Divya Dutta is outstanding as Milkha Singh's sister. Watch out for the scene where she recieve young Milkha Singh at the Refugee Camp. Special26, Gippi, Lootera & now Bhaag Milkha Bhaag, Divya dutta is on a roll this year.

Yograj Singh (Father of Indian cricketer Yuvraj Singh) is brilliant as India's coach. A solid screen presence and acted his role with confidence. Pawan Malhotra excels as Milkha's senior. Flawless performance. Prakash Raj was excellent in a brief role. I would like to mention the young 'Jabtej Singh' for his fantastic acting as Young Milkha Singh.

Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra's direction is good. Prasoon Joshi's story is strictly OK! Cinematography by Binod Pradhan' is of international standard. 

Negatives 

Just like the plus points, Bhaag Milkha Bhaag has its minus points too. Infact many flaws. The main problem with the film is the running time of a huge 3hour 15 mins with damn slow paced theme. Many many scenes are unwanted especially the complete romantic part between Farhan Akthar & Sonam Kapoor and Farhan & Rebecca Breeds. The story of the film is not connected at all, often shifts to Milkha's childhood to romantic track between Farhan & Sonam! Big Let Down! 

Sonam Kapoor is wasted. The actress just had her second hit (in 6 years career) Raanjhanaa and appreciated for her acting. But in Bhaag Milkha Bhaag, she only had 2-3 dialogues! Same for Australian actress Rebecca Reeds & Paskitan actress Meesha Shafi, only for 2-3 scenes! No need of the Slow Motion Angreza song & the dancing scenes of Prajash Raj with Army officers. Dilip Tahil as Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru is horribly wasted. 

Another setback for the film is the poor music & back ground score. Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra's last two films Delhi6 and Rang De Basanti had super hit music by A R Rahman. But this time Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy composed the music for the film. O Rangrez & Zinda are my favorite songs. Also the placement of 2-3 songs in the film are very poor. Farhan Akthar should improve his dancing skills. Choreography was lame.

Overall Bhaag Milkha Bhaag is a mixed Bag! The film is not at all a great tribute to Indian Legend Milkha Singh. A strictly average move targeted for class audience. But don’t have much takers in Single Screens. At the box office film is all set to have an average opening at the multiplexes(expected). An opening of 5-8crore with a weekend of 20-22cr weekend is on the cards and will be an average film at the box office.

P:S: 2013's Best Actor Award = Farhan Akthar for Bhaag Milkha Bhaag 

Verdict - Milkha Is Flying, But Film Is Walking!!! 

Rating - 3/5! Average !!! 

Box Office Prediction - 45cr+ 

This Reviewer can be contacted on Twitter : @i_spn : https://twitter.com/i_spn

Despicable Me 2 - Exclusive 'Minions' poster set !!