The Martian Review – The Martian is an American science fiction film released in 2015. During a manned mission to Mars, the base is hit by a Martian storm. They are forced to abandon the machine and lose one of the crew member Mark Watney in the storm and presumed to be dead. But Mark survives and has to find a way to survive till he gets a help in 4 years. Does he survive is the plot of The Martian.
Director Ridley Scott has struck the right chord yet again to give a movie that is thoroughly entertaining and also appeals to your intelligence. I was not very much impressed with Exodus Gods and Kings, but The Martian makes it up for all. The movie would remind you of many lost alone movies like Cast Away and also the space movies like Gravity and Interstellar. The story is a compelling tale of human perseverance against all the odds.
There is a lot of scientific accuracy behind many of the incidents that take place and a few in which they have taken some creative liberty to bring in dramatic elements. The movie is based on Andy Weir’s novel in the same name. Ridley Scott has chosen to focus on the determination and survival of a person more and let the scientific theories run in the background. This is one of the greatest strengths of the movie which makes it a widely appealing flick. Matt Damon has performed very well and this would be one of his most remembered movies.
High Points: The movie is based on a best-selling Novel, The screenplay captures the essence of human perseverance, The visuals of the Martian planet, Matt Damon’s performance, Scientific theories and their accuracy.
Low Points: Not many low points, the climax I felt was a bit over dramatic.
Overall The Martian is a space movie that you would enjoy as you have enjoyed Gravity and Interstellar. The movie keeps you engaged for two and a half hour and is a trip worth taking when it is in theaters.
Puli Review – Puli is a Tamil fantasy adventure movie released in 2015. Many years ago a superior race known as Vedhalam had won wars over the human race in India and ruled them. The atrocities of their general in the kingdom caused misery to people’s life. Circumstances lead an adopted son of a village chief to take on the might of the Vedhalam race.
There has been enough negative trolling on Puli review on the social media. This increased my curiosity to watch Puli and understand why it could have gone so bad. This review is my take on Puli and an unbiased opinion.
Director Chimbu Deven had treated us with periodic movie Imsai Arasan 23 am Pulikesi. He has now experimented with periodic fantasy movie. Post the era of Vittalacharya there has not been any successful attempt in Tamil Cinema on any fantasy adventure. Even if it had been it has not become wildly successful. Most of the Tamil filmmakers stayed out of this genre for quite some time. The financial budget and relevance of such stories in the modern era should have been the fear.
Vijay and Chimbu Deven should be lauded for going beyond the usual mass masala movie to create a fantasy adventure. It is definitely a welcome change to Tamil Cinema. However where the movie has gone bad is in the script writing department. The plot was in place which has similarities to 1948 classic Vedhala Ulagam starring T.R Mahalingam directed by A.V Meiyappan, Pa. Neelakantan and M.V Raman. Many of the trollers in social media may not have been aware of such a movie which was a mass entertainer of its time and beats many of the fantasy movie stories that are out there in the west.
In the movie Puli the writers have fallen prey to push mass masala film elements which seem out of place. The dual between Sudeep and Viay is one of the important portions of the movie. Sudeep says, “Intha kottaikke Thalapathy naan thaan” and Vijay replies “Intha kottaikkuthane…” looks very cliched and out of place for the movie. The film is filled with such cliches throughout including the dance numbers that doesn’t fit the genre of the movie barring one song which happens in the Kingdom.
The first half of the movie is long and boring. I felt why did I come for this movie. The scenes were too disconnected, the artists eye line match was out of place in many occasions. This is sure to test your patience and by the time the interval block comes it would have disconnected the audience from the movie. The second half of the movie which seems to be the actual story which the director wanted to convey is sure to engage you in a much better fashion. Thanks to the characterisation of Sudeep and Sridevi who help in making the movie watchable. If someone walked into the movie hall just for the second half they might be wondering why people are upset about the movie. Shruthi Haasan and Hansika are just used for glamor quotient. The songs are more jarring to the years than being pleasant.
The big plus for the movie is the production design by T. Muthuraj. He has aesthetically created some of the sets which looks grand and help you connect to the movie. Also, the VFX department has worked hard to add more grandeur to Muthuraj’s set.
High Points: A fantasy adventure genre for Tamil Cinema, Sridevi’s performance, Muthuraj’s production design, Mannavane Mannavane song choreography, Talking birds, frog, Lilliputs would entice kids.
Low Points: Screenplay is a big let down, Cliched mass elements in the movie, Songs and choreography, Title of the movie doesn’t fit in well, There should have been much more creativity in differentiating Vedhalam race and human race, Long and boring first half.
In 2002 Rajinikanth tried a different genre in Baba and it failed when it released in theaters, but later the home audiences enjoyed watching the movie on their TV sets once it was edited and all expectations died down. Vijay’s Puli is one such movie. When it comes on TV hopefully with some of the cliches edited the home audience would like it.
Overall Puli is a wannabe fantasy adventure movie that works in parts in the second half. A better script writing would have helped it to appeal to the audience. Still it is not as bad a movie as it is being trolled about, it could be watched when played on TV.
This week my facebook wall was filled with funny and sarcastic criticism about the recent Tamil movie Puli. There have been really creative meme’s posted which were definitely rib-tickling and became coffee table conversations and Whatsapp forwards. Equally there has been my friends in the movie industry who felt sad that a creation after so much of hard work is being criticised heavily without any regards to the effort the makers have put it.
In this week’s “Friday Fundas” I decided to share my opinions about the behavior and my humble thoughts on whether to fight it or use it to the strength.
Criticism is not a new phenomenon. It has been in practice for ages. It is like an opposition party in a democratic government. Where the critic’s opinions are targeted to shape the quality of the content. Recollecting one of literature discussions we were having one of them had raised a point that a creation doesn’t belong to the writer once it is published. And the readers have complete rights on expressing their views about it.
While on the other had the writers have a different take on it. Writer/Director Brad Bird has expressed his angst against the critics in the movie Ratatouille in the words of the character Anton Ego as below
“In many ways, the work of a critic is easy. We risk very little yet enjoy a position over those who offer up their work and their selves to our judgment. We thrive on negative criticism, which is fun to write and to read. But the bitter truth we critics must face, is that in the grand scheme of things, the average piece of junk is probably more meaningful than our criticism designating it so. But there are times when a critic truly risks something, and that is in the discovery and defense of the new. The world is often unkind to new talent, new creations, the new needs friends.”
And the following scene from the movie Birdman takes a hit at critics trying define what the artist needs to do
They are two sides of the same coin. One needs to exist for the existence of the other. They will shake hands and embrace each other when there is agreement and turn their backs to each other when there is disagreement.
Off late with the advent of social media the amount of criticism a works get has dramatically increased. When a movie is good it is heavily praised and when it is bad it is heavily trolled. In either case it definitely affects the performance of the movie in the theaters.
Social Media has become a necessary evil in promoting products. It has provided a great tool for the movie producers to reach their audience like never before. Compared to the era when weekly magazine articles were the only medium to promote the content now it has become much more easier to take the content to the audience to their personal mobile phones. Also they have the option to hear back from them. While this is powerful it also opens a pandora box of hearing non-favorable comments as well.
Assuming that the reviewers on the social media will become ethical and write responsibly is a wild goose chase. But they could be leveraged to the strength of the promotion. If the source content is good it will definitely get a majority of positive reviews than negative reviews. For instance movies like Kaaka muttai and Maya received very positive reviews which helped the movie while movies like Anjaan, Puli suffered from the negative reviews. More hype the movie creates before the release the more it is going to be reviewed. There is no secret formula for an optimum amount of promotion one could do.
Instead of spending too much energy on worrying about the reviews if the makers invest time in producing quality content then the chance of getting positive word is much more. Now one could argue that no one sets out to make a bad movie. But there certain patterns behind a movie that doesn’t work. One of the major pattern which I believe the Indian movies suffer is screen writing. In India most of the movies are being written and directed by the same person. This is a very diffcult job to do. Unless the director is very talented like Christopher Nolan, Tarantino, Anurag Kashyap, S.S Rajamouli or Vishal Bharadwaj who can write entertaining scripts and also direct good content the quality of the content suffers. In the Hollywood most of the movies have a well established writing department. Or the content is made from literature that is already published. It took Danny Boyle to create a movie based on the book Q&A and not for any Indian director. Spielberg has made movies based on books written by popular authors. His skill has been in directing movies and he does that well. This has enabled Spielberg to work on multiple projects simultaneously. Director Shankar and Maniratnam heavily relied on writers like Sujatha to create screenplay which worked well. Screenplay is the soul of the movie and if you have a great screenplay the movie would work. Increased production quality makes the movie more appealing to a wider level of audience. But if the screenplay is bad the movie would not work. I hope in the future we have the culture of directors more open to work on someone else’s script.
A good movie would work well with the audience and thereby attract more positive comments from people. There has been no movie which has worked for every one. There would be always lovers and haters for the movie. At the end of the day it matters whose count is larger.
Movie makers should stop worrying about the negative comments and concentrate on building a quality movie and believe in it, it will be healthy for Cinema.
The Man From U.N.C.L.E Review – The Man from U.N.C.L.E is an English comedy spy film released in 2015. This is based on the television series with the same name. Solo, an US CIA agent and a KGB operative have to come together to stop yet another nuclear bombing.
The movie is an out and out Guy Ritchie style movie. If you have loved Guy Ritchie’s movies you would love this one as well. The movie is stylish, witty and engaging right from the word go! The first one-hour of the movie just moves so fast that it was hard to realize the time go by. The situations are comical in nature and entice you with some amazing visuals and cool background score. Henry Cavill still has the expression from A to B but still has managed to be convincing in the role of a CIA agent. Ilya Kuryakin’s role is more adorable one in the movie. The tiff between Cavill and Kuryakin in the first hour is the most enjoyable part of the movie.
The movie slows down a bit once they are set on a mission but quickly picks pace towards the end. The traditional trademark of Guy Ritchie movies of repeating the same sequences with missing pieces is used in here as well and is brilliant to keep the narration interesting. The art direction is also done well to recreate the period setup.
High Points: Stylish visuals, Background score for the movie, Ilya Kuryakin’s performance, and the sequences of tiff between Cavill and Kuryakin, true to a Guy Ritchie movie.
Low Points: Once they are on the mission the pace slows down a bit. But this can be ignored.
Overall this one is a very enjoyable spy movie completely presented in Guy Ritchie’s style. If you love spy movies and also Guy Ritchie’s movies then you are in for a treat. Don’t miss this one while this is in the theaters.
Seven Days Review – Seven Days is a South Korean crime thriller movie released in 2007. Yoo Ji-yeon is a successful lawyer. Her daughter is kidnapped and she has to win a case to release a convict with death sentence for a murder to save her daughter.
The movie is very slick and engaging throughout. The suspense of the plot is maintained throughout and keeps you guessing on what is going to happen next. Yunjin Kim has performed her role very well. She comes across very convincingly for a lawyer and a mother trying to save her daughter. The scene in which she is interacting with the criminal with utmost confidence and the scene in which she breaks down for her daughter there is a sharp contrast and powerful.
The script keeps building up well and knots tighten as they try to break it. In the end everything falls in place. The movie has a strong take on the moral values and the conflict between moral values versus the selfish benefit for one’s own family.
High Points: The script is very thrilling and engaging throughout, Yunjin Kim’s performance, suspense maintained throughout the movie.
Low Points: Not many for this movie.
This movie is remade in Bollywood as Jazbaa featuring Aishwarya Rai and Irrfan Khan. From the trailer it seems to be neatly done, maintaining some of the core essence of the movie. It definitely promises to be a good movie and has a very promising cast for the roles that had been in the original.
Overall Seven Days is a treat for crime thriller fans and it does go beyond dealing with emotional dilemma of ethics. If you love crime thrillers, this one is a must watch for you. This one has some explicit violence scenes and viewers discretion is required.
Kunjiramayanam Review – Kunjiramayanam is a Malayalam comedy movie released in 2015. Kunjiraman a youth living in a village called Desham unknowingly brings upon some curse to the place. The plot revolves around the curse, the superstitions and how the people living around deal with it.
Director Basil Joseph has taken a very innocent story that deals with the simplistic lives of the people. The movie is sort of a bouquet of memories that you would have experienced from childhood spent in a village. The movie is a lighthearted fun watch with some good quality humor. Vineeth Sreenivasan has essayed the role of Kunjiraman very well. The ensemble of cast who also have significant role to play in the movie ably supports him. Dealing with so many characters and providing them some significant screen space is not an easy task for a first time director. Basil Joseph has handled it very well.
The liquor shop sequence involving the liquor brand Salsa is hilarious and is the best part of the movie. Aju Varghese and Dhyan Sreenivasan are part of a sub plot in the movie, which is also very entertaining. Similarly the sub plot featuring Mamukkoya as Well done Vasu is entertaining. There are many such things to look forward to in this movie. There is no one person who is central to the movie but the village and its people form the core of the story.
High Points: Very simplistic plot, Good humor and good ensemble of cast, screenplay and characterization, liquor shop sequence, multiple subplots that are entertaining.
Low points: If you are expecting a larger than life movie then you might be disappointed. You need to catch the subtle references to enjoy the movie.
Overall Kunjiramayanam is a wholesome entertainer that would give a hearty laugh to the viewers this Onam. While you can argue that it can be done much better, still it is a very laudable effort for a first timer. Go and watch it in the theaters.
Song of the Little Road: A movie that was 3 years in the making on a shoe string Budget
All of us are enthusiastically talking about the magnum opus movies like Baahubali that is in the making for a long time. Long time doesn’t necessarily mean the cost of the movie but the common trait is the passion for producing high quality cinema to the audience. In this week’s Friday Fundas I am going to talk about a well-known personality whose obsession to create great movies changed the landscape of Indian Cinema. The name is Satyajit Ray.
All of us know Satyajit Ray created his debut directorial venture Pather Panchali (Song of the Little Road) that was released in 1955. Do you know when the shooting for the movie started? It started in 27 October 1952. The estimated budget for the production was Rs. 70,000 (around USD 14, 613 during that time). The film took so long to produce due to funding problems and the shoot has to stop and restart many times.
Satyajit Ray had a passion of making cinema for a long time. In the 1940’s when he read the novel Pather Panchali by Bibhutibhushan Bandopadhyay he wanted to make that into a movie. When the French director Jean Renoir was making his film The River in India, Ray had a chance to assist him. Jean encouraged Ray to make Pather Panchali. Ray then travelled to London on his advertising company assignment. He watched more than 100 films. He started drawing sketches for his movie Pather Panchali. Based on these sketches he created the initial storyboard with details of continuity. Ray altered the story and characters to suit the narrative of a film. In particular the iconic scene where the children run through the field to catch the glimpse of the train is not in the novel.
Ray had casted new faces primarily to reduce the cost of filmmaking. After many auditions for the casting of Apu; Ray was not satisfied with the people he met. His wife spotted a boy in the neighborhood who she thought would fit the role and thus he became Apu on screen. The Technical team also included many new comers. The Cinematographer Subrata Mitra was handling camera for the first time. He had worked with Ray in the sets of The River. Initially he was given the role of assistant director and later he became the cinematographer for the movie. Subrata Mitra and art director Bansi Chandragupta later went on to become very famous in their respective professions.
Ray had funding problems from the starting. He had to work as a graphic designer, pawn the insurance policies, and sell his gramophone records to raise the fund for the movie. Ray’s wife pawned her jewels to contribute to the fund. But halfway through the filming Ray ran out of funds and could not resume it for a year. One of the most influential friends of Ray’s mother had requested the Chief minister of West Bengal Bidhan Chandra Roy to help with funding the film. The Home publicity department saw the footages of the film and helped Ray in completing the film with appropriate funds. The government is said to have misunderstood the nature of the film to be a documentary on rural uplift and recorded the loan as being for “road improvement” based on the title of the movie.
Rest is history where the movie was welcomed with overwhelmed response all over the world and Ray the master mind director for Indian film industry started ruling hearts of the audience for many years to come. He went onto making two sequels to Pather Panchali, Aparajito and Apur Sansar. This is rated as one of the best Trilogy of all times.
Thus the passion and obsession of a man who believed in his dream went on to realizing it. Also a best movie is not about making it on a big budget but narrating a compelling story through visual medium to the audience.
If you liked this article you might also like this article about the legendary director SS Vasan and the making of his magnum opus Chandralekha.
Thani Oruvan Review – Thani Oruvan is a Tamil action thriller movie released in 2015. Mithran an IPS officer wants to take on organized crime that happens in the society by tracing the links of unrelated petty crimes reported on a daily basis to an organized crime source. But at the source is a fearsome villain Siddharth Abhimanyu who is invincible. Will Mithran be successful in this challenge is the plot of Thani Oruvan.
Director M.Raja has given a very racy thriller that is entertaining for most of the parts. After a long time this is a good break for Jayam Ravi. The script has been developed with the sole intention of giving a compelling thriller. They have failed to establish the core conflict very well. The reason why Mithran is so passionate about revealing the organized crime is not established very well as that is the core of the movie. The strength of the movie is Arvind Swamy. He has essayed the character of a fearsome, intelligent and unapologetic badass guy very well. The clashes between Jayam Ravi and Arvind Swamy are done well.
It was so pleasing to see that there was no bar song, unnecessary comedy track. Hope other filmmakers take clue from this and start concentrating on the strength of the screenplay rather than giving into the temptation of masala formula.
High Points: A very engaging script, Arvind Swamy’s performance and the character of Siddharth Abhimanyu, No unnecessary bar sequences and comedy tracks
Low Points: The length of the movie is bit long for the plot reducing this would have made it more racy, There should have been more effort to create the core conflict very well which would have made this more impactful. There are few loopholes in the plot, which do not get highlighted due to the raciness of the script.
Overall Thani Oruvan is definitely a very engaging thriller that needs to be watched in the theaters.
Manjhi – The Mountain Man Review – Manjhi – The Mountain Man is a Hindi biopic released in 2015. The movie is based on the life of Dasarath Manjhi the man who carved a path through a mountain using only a hammer and chisel.
Director Ketan Mehta has taken an inspiring story of a man who did something, which anyone would have written off, as impossible. The movie is a blend of commercial cinema and art house cinema. Most of the scenes are very realistic in nature.
Although a very inspirational story it has challenges when it is told as a full-length feature film. The makers have tried their best to use nonlinear narration to keep it interesting. I would say it has worked in parts. Can’t complain too much as the story only had so much to offer. A reduction of 20 minutes of the movie could have made it very impactful.
NFDC has jointly produced this movie with Viacom 18. It is good to see NFDC active in mainstream movies as well. Hope this trend continues. Nawazuddin Siddiqui’s performance is a stand out in the movie. He has helped recreating the type of person Manjhi might have been on the silver screen. Radhika Apte is another major strength for this movie. She had portrayed the character so well and is very convincing that someone has gone so far for the love of her.
The movie also has some strong political statements. I was not able to verify the authenticity of the subtle references. Nevertheless it was some of the best portions in the movie.
High Points: Inspiring Biopic, No unwanted commercial frills, Nawazuddin and Radhika’s performance, realistic visuals
Low Points: Not much in the story for a full-length feature
Overall Manjhi – The Mountain Man is an inspiring biopic that you would not want to miss. If you were interested in Biopics and realistic movies you would enjoy this.
Maari Review – Maari is a Tamil commercial comedy drama released in 2015. Maari is a local goon who lives by collecting money from the locals. His passion is pigeon race and an undisputed winner. Things change when sub-inspector Arjun takes charge in that area.
The movie is an out and out commercial drama that is just made to woo the first day fanfare. Director Balaji Mohan has a very good talent in creating comical situations but when it comes to action sequences it is not turning out to be effective. The story and the conflict were very weakly portrayed and some of the twists were very subtle and took a much predictable route. The build up for the hero for overdone to please the fanfare.
Dhanush has tried his best to do justice to the role and his performance is the one that lifts the movie on occasions apart from the comedy scenes. Robo Shankar playing the comedian is a refreshing change. The production quality of the movie is overall good. Particularly a lot of effort has gone into give it an aesthetic appeal. The music score was a different one from Anirudh. However it gets jarring after a while. Vijay Yesudas does well only in parts. His range of expressions is minimum to portray a wicked Villain. Kajal Agarwal is used as a eye candy for the visuals.
High Points: Comedy, Production quality, Costumes, Performance of Dhanush, Robo Shankar’s comedy
Low Points: Absence of core conflict, overdoing of build up scenes, Many characters are present in the movie but seldom used.
Overall Maari’s story is not a compelling one to be told and seen. If you love Masala movies and an ardent fan of Dhanush performance you can give it a try. If not you can watch it when it is played on TV.
Orange Mittai Review – Orange Mittai is a Tamil comedy film released in 2015. Satya an EMT (emergency medical technician) receives a call to pick up a person suffering from heart attack. But the journey to the hospital is not an ordinary one.
This is an abstract experimental film that touches upon so many aspects of life and realities of life in many different places. We should appreciate the team for having tried giving a new movie to the audience. It was a pleasure to see a movie without a kutthu song, bar scene, below average slapstick comedy and build up sequences. All these end within an hour and forty minutes.
Vijay Sethupathi has performed very well as an old man. Not many actors would dare to do such a role in the early time of their career. The way he has modulated his voice and establishes his egoistic authority right from the first scene is definitely very powerful. Director Biju Viswanath known for taking up off beat subjects has yet again been successful in that.
The film touches upon many social issues. In particular the distance they travel to get medical facilities is quite astounding. The fact that the ambulance is not able to reach the doorstep of the person is showed in a very humorous way. Life is much beyond the rules that the society lays upon you, it is all about the journey and you are the only one who can control your life is a message that came through to me throughout the movie.
The screenplay has few weak points. First and foremost you may not connect or travel with any of the characters in the movie. It had to be established strongly for a deeper engagement. The first half of the movie seems to have been dragged to make this into a full-length feature film.
The first look poster depicted a larger than life godly costume for the lead characters, which was quite not the way to prepare the audience for this movie.
High Points: Acting performance by Vijay Sethupathi, no unnecessary drama, length of the movie, Experimental movie
Low Points: The movie may not have wide appeal due to its abstractness, Sometimes the events and hints are too subtle to create an impact
Overall Orange Mittai is a good effort in Tamil cinema industry. If you love experimental movies give it a try definitely. This movie would make you reflect back and draw your own interpretations much like seeing an abstract painting.
Nonlinear narrative – Art of script writing from a different dimension
It is good to be back with the Friday Fundas section after a while. This week I would talk about a specific style of script writing known as Non-linear narrative.
Nonlinear narrative is the art of telling a story as a list of events that are not in chronological order. The earliest form of nonlinear narrative in India has been experimented in Mahabharata. While this type of narrative has been popular in novels and stories, it has not been so easy to master this in the films. Only in the year 1924 nonlinear film emerged from French the avant-grade in the film “Entracte”, Dadaïst film by René Claire.
Sometimes people confuse non-linear narrative with films that employ flashback sequences. While you could argue them as nonlinear narratives but they may not be equivalent to narrating events in a non-chronological order. Films like Rashomon by Akira Kurosawa used non-linear narration using flashback that was non-chronological in nature.
In a typical three-act play structure a film has a beginning, middle and the end. A nonlinear narrative also has the same but not necessarily in that order (quoted by Jean-Luc Godrad, French-Swiss filmmaker). In the 1990s Quentin Tarantino employed nonlinear narrative structure in his films like Reservoir Dogs and Pulp Fiction. This made a huge difference to the viewing experience.
In Indian movies director Maniratnam in his movie Alaipayuthe very well exploited this. The movie used flashbacks and flash forwards and converged at a point, which made a difference to the narration and won many accolades.
In the late 90s entered Christopher Nolan whom I consider as a perfectionist of nonlinear narration. Recently I had seen the movie Following by Nolan. This was his first movie and made in a very small budget. But the nonlinear narration has been used very well. He never uses adages like “3 months ago” or “2 days ago” but cleverly used the hairstyle of the pivotal character and facial scar to differentiate between the timeline of the narratives. The story picks up from three points of a linear narrative and travels in parallel. It is just brilliant. He then went on to make Memento and the Batman series, which also heavily utilized the nonlinear narrative style.
A story becomes very interesting in the way it is told even if it is a same old story, which is been retold. Nonlinear narrative if executed well adds that difference and generates interest levels in the audience. Watch some of the nonlinear narratives mentioned in this article and let me know what you think.
