herbiehancock

Movie Review Film: Aayirathil Oruvan Director: Selvaraghavan Cast: Karthi, Parthiban, Reema Sen, Andrea, Azhagam Perumal, and Prathap Pothan Music: G.V. Prakash Kumar Director Selvaraghavan's long-awaited "Aayirathil Oruvan", which has been touted as his dream project, is a brave attempt at seeking novelty in the world of Tamil cinema. Breaking away from the shackles of the stereotypes, the director transports us to a whole new world...and we are dumbstruck by the visuals, the packaging and his unique way of storytelling. The jet-paced first half offers comedy, action, eye-catching songs, stunning visuals and grandeur. However, the film fails to impress as a whole, as it gets diluted in the second half due to the over-ambitious and illogical approach of the director. In the movie, the government appoints a secret team led by archaeologist Anitha Pandian (Reema) and a military officer Ravi (Azhagamperumal) to track down the missing links after an archaeologist (Pratap ...

Review Can a movie be made in an interesting and crisp format in spite of a boasting of a huge star cast? Director Sasikumar, who had his tutelage under Bala and Ameer, has proved that a quality entertainer can be made with less-known faces provided the movie has interesting storyline with the right amount of twists. Designed in a retro classic style, Sasikumar portrays Madurai in a different color and with a new perspective. As the title suggests, the entire movie is set in Subramaniapuram, a hamlet in Madurai. The story, set in the 80s, takes place in Madurai Subramaniapuram, a suburb of the city. Movies like Palaivana Cholai dwelt around four friends. Perhaps Sasikumar impressed by such classics, has made an attempt of chronicling the life of a group of friends. They are fun-loving and carefree, who spend most of their time together. Jai, Kanja Karuppu and Sasikumar (the director himself), are typical youths, who do not miss an opportunity to fight when they come across a brawl on t...

Review: The producer in director Shankar is known for spotting the right talent. In ‘Eeram’, he has brought out the filmmaker in his former-associate Arivazhagan. S Pictures, which has made a name for churning out movies on different genre, has dared to deliver an eerie thriller, which is a rarity in Tamil cinema. Arivazhagan, quiet like his mentor, has come out with a movie that has gripping screenplay coupled with good use of technology. What starts as a crime thriller takes twists and turns to end up as a horror show. The debutant director has been assisted by a young brigade of technicians and lesser known star cast. ‘Eeram’ lives up to its theme- all is wet and watery in the film from the first frame till the last. Making a seat-edge thriller on super-natural elements is no easy task. It has to be logical. The young filmmaker takes the responsibility on his shoulder and lives up to the reputation entrusted on him by his mentor. The movie revolves around Ramya (Sindhu Menon). She i...

Review: When the villains of Kung Fu Hustle introduce themselves with a swishy line dance, you know you’re in for something special. No it’s not the latest Baz Luhrman musical; it’s the new Hong Kong film from actor/writer/director Stephen Chow. The well choreographed bad guys are “The Axe Gang”, and they’ve just finished killing off their gangland competition. They call the city’s ineffective cops out of hiding to pick up the bodies, and go back to celebrating. It’s 1940’s Shanghai and they have the run of the town. Enter Sing (Stephen Chow), a wannabe gangster and two bit crook. In the poor neighborhood of “Pig Sty Alley” he attempts to con a barber out of some cash. He botches everything and suddenly the whole Axe Gang is declaring war on the residents of “Pig Sty”, with the mewling, prat-fall prone Sing stuck somewhere around the edges. Sing is unlucky to say the least, and his ineffectual attempts at gangdom keep landing him in wacky trouble. Chow has an amazing knack for comic ti...

Review: The original "The Taking of Pelham One Two Three" (1974) starring Robert Shaw and Walter Matthau is a classic. Tony Scott's remake, "The Taking of Pelham 1 2 3" (2009) is not. This remake begins with what has become the obtrusive and defining style of Tony Scott's recent pictures. Frenetic editing, sudden wipes, stuttering frames, rapid focus-pulls, repetitive zooms and ear piercing sound design to punctuate every moment. This style soon becomes sickening and you wish for a moment a shot would simply hold for more than 3 seconds without constant self-conscious cinematic gimmicks. This arranged marriage of production effects even made me laugh out loud when during a helicopter shot of the New York skyline, the sun disappears behind some sky scrappers and each time it does you get a "whoosh" sound followed by a train "beeep"! Soon after this nauseous beginning, a simple edit of Denzel Washington sitting at his desk is badly botched ...

REVIEW: Gladiator Directed by Ridley Scott Majestic and psychological, Gladiator marks the return of a director and a genre to the big screen. While Ridley Scott (Blade Runner, Duelists, Alien) fell into oblivion after more than risky choices (GI Jane, White Squall), and given that the "toga and sandal movie" had become nothing more than the object of amusing kitsch, this time he succeeds with a tour de force. By breathing new life to a deposed genre, he is able to revive the flame of his fiery debut and at the same time create a new movie hero onscreen: a gladiator, and in the flesh: Russell Crowe. Above all, Gladiator is proof. The film shows that Hollywood can still produce quality films if given the means. In effect, the film that benefits from a colossal budget is of course spectacular and luxurious, but all the same privileged with the psychology of its characters. To give depth to the characters, Scott called for a solid cast with the presence of talented actors, a rar...