Kumki Stomps over Thaandavam and Maatran's Audio

Recently, there have been three high profile audio launches in the Tamil Music industry. D.Imman's Kumki with it's Raja'istic vintage feel pitted against GV's Thaandavam and Harris's Maatran!

The good thing was that all these songs could be instantly assessed on the first hearing. Hearable, Good, mindblowing, Familiar, Pathetic.....etc...etc...

First we will run through GVP's Thaandavam.

Being his 25th movie in a short career span, people had a lot of expectations on this album. Personally, i believe it did not rise up to the occasion. May be GV is caught up with his new found Bollywood commitments (Gangs of Wasseypur, Joker! ). The album lacks the magic which Veyyil, Kireedom or Madrasipattinam had....Oru Paadhi Kadhavu,Yaaradi Mohini and Adhikaalai Pookal are all passable. Haricharan, Rahul Nambiar and GVP have sung these songs very well. GV's voice is getting better and better every album. Uyirin Uyire's forte is the vocals section courtesy GV, Saindhavi and Sathyaprakash. But this song gives you most of the satisfaction and lacks in some areas. Nothing to write about 'Will you be there'. must be some cliched requirement for Amy Jackson. SPB croons the "Shiva Thaandavam" . Noisy arrangements and heavy processing.... Personally,did not like it much. But the Veteran's vocal energy reminds of his grandeur and mastery.

On the whole, GV's Thaandavam is decent but fails to get people's feet moving. RATING: 3/5

 

Decent but not inspiring

The second competitor is Harris Jayaraj's Maatran.

K.V. Anand and Harris return after Ayan and Ko, to continue their Tamil cinema partnership. Everyone must have had a greater idea about the perception of HJ's music after the 'Harris Jayaraj for Dummies' which went viral on social media.

Ayan had a 'Vizhi Moodi'. Ko had an 'Ennamo Yaedho'. Maatran IMHO misses that ideal chartbuster.
Rettai Kathirae could have been the case study for the 'Dummies soundcloud', cause it falls into the Krishh template. Nothing worth writing about!

Kaal Mulaitha Poovae makes Javed Ali sound a bit like Udit Narayan. Nice to hear Mahalakshmi Iyer's voice after a long time.

Theeyae Theeyae is in the 'Honey Honey' and 'Aga Naga' genre. But the song is rich in tones and voices. It packs a punch and will be popular on the dancefloors. Tonality and programming are the strengths for this song.


Naani Koni and Yaaro Yaaro were very Ordinary and disappointed me despite being rendered by some of my favorite singers - Karthik, Vijay Prakash and Shreya Goshal.

Verdict: This album is nothing compared to other KVA-Suriya-HJ combos... RATING: 2/5

Tyre "Maatran" Socks "Maatran"...LOL

Kumki made a lot of positive news due to the alliance between Prabhu Solomon and Vikram Prabhu (Prabhu's son). The audio launch was graced by Superstar and Ulaganayagan. D.Imman got the stage for his album and he does not disappoint one bit.

The songs have a very heavy Raja Influence. Some are on the borderline of 'inspirations' but the feel of the songs take us back to the eighties at times.....

Heavy appreciation to all the singers...Ayayayoooo Ananthamey sung by Haricharan is truly mesemerizing.
D.Imman's Onnum puriyala is very pleasing to the ears. The 'Raja' bass lines in the background are superb.

Sollitaley Ava Kaadhalae will be the biggest hit in this album. The arrangements reminded me of Roopkumar Rathod's 'Tuj mein Rab dhiktha hai'... but the tune is very catchy and Shreya Goshal's voice is like divine nectar. Ranjith shows his command over melody (usually known for heavier songs).

My favorite track in this album is Nee Yeppo Pulae sung by our Aaromale Alphons Joseph. After hearing his voice in a progessive rock track, it was refreshing to hear the singer in a folk track. And the octaves and notes reached by him can only be experienced while hearing the track. Semma High! Semma Powerful!

"A Lady and the Violin " is a nice instrumental, but comparisons are inevitably made with the Isai Gnani....

Kumki's audio is nice to hear....Forget the similarity and enjoy the Isai Gnani influence...
This album stomps over Thaandavam and Maatran like a Wild Elephant!

RATING: 4.5 / 5

The Wild Elephant triumphs!

A new Spidey courtesy NOLAN?

Only Christopher Nolan's genius interpretation of Batman as the Dark Knight trilogy could have convinced Marvel to dump Sam Raimi's series of movies (Spiderman  3 was ridiculous) ! The Amazing Spiderman's latest trailer showcases the web slinger in  a new refined avatar! Andrew Garfield looks fresh and perfect for the role! And yes, he can emote unlike Mr.Tobey!










Check out the trailer!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U7nWNkAIT34

This is gonna be a spectacle for sure. But they better hope to make all their collections between July 3rd  and July 20th! Cause the Dark Knight is gonna Rise taller than the Burj Khalifa!

ROCKSTAR - Ranbir's entry to the elite league

A lot of us were really looking forward to watching this movie mainly because of A.R.Rahman's music. The Mozart from Madras had the world taken by storm by providing an album that encompassed music from various genres and feel.

The Question: Did the movie live up to the expectations?
My Answer: Kind of....

POSITIVES!

1. A.R.Rahman's music was already a mass hit...but the background score was stupendous.... Mohit Chauhan's voice was the perfect choice for Jordan (Ranbir Kapoor).... The 'Sher-o-wali Ma' track reminded me of the freshness displayed in the "Iyappa" track from the movie Boys (Tamil). Also, all the songs in the album have been given to perfectly match the on screen situation.Whether it is the freshness in Phir se Ud Chala, Joy in Katiya Karun, Darkness in Aur ho, Desperate Hope in Nadaan Parindey or Anger in Sadda Haq...... A.R.R proves that he is a class above the rest.
2. Ranbir Kapoor definitely!! The Kapoor kid has issued a stamp of authority with his mature portrayal of Jordan....a character that previously goes through many transitions due to the high's and low's of his life..... from a simpleton musician Janardhan Jhakad (JJ). We see 2 very different Ranbir Kapoors in the movie. Also, he carries simple scenes with natural acting rather than supreme overacting displayed by many of his current competitors. He could have screamed a little less at times...but still...on the whole...a performance worthy of a filmfare award.
3. Camerawork and Cinematography was great.....Superb locales and unique shots have become a common criteria for films to focus on, in order to cut competition... but the camerawork for songs like Sadda Haq, Nadaan Parindey and Phir se Ud Chala showed that the entire unit was soaking in the nectar of music composed by Rahman. That translated on to the visuals and the viewers were in for a treat. Most importantly, when Jordan performed on stage, the cinema audience felt that they were a part of his concert. To achieve that amount of realistic connection is commendable.
4. Imtiaz Ali has to be given credit for writing this story and attempting to make a movie like Rockstar. Lets face it...it ain't the run of the mill Bolly masala.....neither does it have a widespread target audience. So if Rockstar manages to recover it's cost and make decent profits, everyone will be pleasantly surprised..... But Imtiaz Ali made this movie for it's true meaning and essence.... kudos for that.

NEGATIVES! (Well i did answer "Kind of...")

1. Nargis Fakhri did have a new look ..... but honestly the audience gets an overdose of her....her character 'Heer' seems to stall the flow of the movie....Though Heer (in the movie) is responsible for the creation of Jordan the Rockstar, character Heer is mainly responsible for compromising the script and screenplay (mainly in the second half). 
2. SECOND HALF RULE!  It is an universal but unsaid law...."IF A BAD MOVIE HAS A GOOD SECOND HALF, THINGS MIGHT WORK, BUT IF A POTENTIALLY GREAT MOVIE HAS A POOR SECOND HALF (Even in relative comparison), THAT AFFECTS THE AUDIENCE ADVERSELY! " The First half of Rockstar is mind blowing....and the 2nd half just does not sustain the same amount of steam.....things move back and forth.....the audience lose the flow..... the main attraction in the second half is the video of Nadaan Parindey....Also, the movie ends in a weird manner that can be left to the audience's perception...
3. Direction, Editing and Screenplay missing a few tricks ...... Ali and gang have attempted a different narrating style and the movie tends to move in both directions. Also, songs are edited in portions....tracks used in different places....this formula works well in the first half , but loses itself in the second....can leave many people in the audience confused and irritated. 

OVERALL VERDICT!

• Rockstar is definitely worth a watch but don't go with too many expectations.
• It could have been great if the second half had more focus and structure.
• I am giving Rockstar 4 on 5 (Actually 3....but 1 point for A.R.Rahman's genius contribution) 
• Ranbir Kapoor is here to stay!

Velayudham: Vijay's redemption after Gilli

DISCLAIMER: By watching Ra.ONE first, i am hoping that my ability to write an unbiased accurate review has not been compromised..... May God be with me!


After such a long time, Ilayathalapathy Vijay gives me a reason to write a movie review..... After Gilli , Velayudham was the only movie that registered similar IMDB ratings of 7.2...

I enjoyed the movie.... and wish to highlight the pros and cons..
THUMBS UP:

1. Interesting start.....Hero introduction very different from previous movies....
2. First half has a great narration style...
3. Throughout the movie, there are some good twists...hence the audience remain guessing and interest is sustained to a great extent...
4. Comedy quotient is high..beats it's Diwali competitors by light years....
5. Hansika scores high points with her expressions and lip sync, while Genelia looks ravishing! Both the heroines form a combo visual treat for the masses.
6. SANTHANAM...that should say it all
7. Vijay has given a good performance....he has excelled in the sentimental scenes with his sister played by Saranya... As usual , dance and action scenes are done easily by him... HIS USUAL OVERACTING AND ON SCREEN GIMMICKS have reduced by a ton...
8. Unlike many of his earlier movies....the story is good....very Shankarish  feel...appeals to the masses...deals with corruption and terrorism...

THUMBS DOWN:

1. Background score is good....songs are ok..but as usual...the timing of these songs seem abrupt and disturb the flow of what would be a proper fast paced movie..... commercial elements do compromise the quality of cinema in our industry.
2. Every Hero needs a worthy Nemesis....that is seriously missing here....
3. Unnecessary usage of ordinary graphics in certain scenes and song sequences....seems to be the trend...
4. Negative points for Director Raja's blatant visual xerox of Assassins  Creed (without even mentioning the reference in the credits)
5. Some scenes that portray crimes against women go past a limit...could have avoided those instances...
6. Negative points for Vijay's sudden attempt in the end to showcase his '6pack' abs (more like a 4pack)....not necessary..it is evident that he has worked on his fitness but this 'Ab' Craze among all heroes in Bollywood and Kollywood is 'ABS'olutely Irritating....

OVERALL VERDICT:

A good entertainer...paisa vasool for the entire family.... miles ahead of Vijay's usual movies...

Velayudham gets the mix right for a Diwali release....

Definitely worth a watch..

RATING: 4 / 5

DIWALI RELEASE VERDICT:

Watch 7am Arivu for script, content and Shruti Hassan  ;)

Watch Velayudham for maximum entertainment and paisa vasool

Watch Ra.One if you are a techno geek and have excess money to blow.

"My 2 Cents on 7th Sense" written by Naarayan Raghunath

Original link to the facebook note:
http://www.facebook.com/notes/naarayan-raghunath/my-2-cents-on-7th-sense/10150374243256730


Great concept.. could have been executed better.. some of my observations..

1. Introducing Bodhi Dharma to this part of the world.. ok fine.. agreed.. the CG and the first 15-20 mins of Bodhi's travel from Kanchipuram to China and he getting accepted as a master through a couple of instances.. very good.. till then I felt it was good.. Once operation code red is introduced, the movie becomes predictable..
2. Good launch pad for Shruti Haasan.. not sure that amidst so many heroines who are given just support roles in male dominated movies.. role is meaty bcos she is ulaga nayagan's daughter and had to be given a good launch pad? am not sure.. she definitely though does have to concentrate and improve on her dialogue delivery.. pathetic.. being the daughter of a self professed Tamil Poet :-) she needs to at least learn to pronounce basic words properly..
3. Surya has done his role well.. though he definitely does need to get out of his "ripping shirt off" scenes soon and transition to something else.. he is soon becoming south india's answer to Salman Khan.. he has worked really hard but dude.. enuf's enuf.. everybody is getting tired of it now.. 
4. Johnny Tri Nguyen - very intense, looks menacing through out.. does his fist do the talking most of the time.. would have loved to see a little lesser hypnoticism and more action.. :-)
5. Abhinaya  - such a great talent I felt after watching her in "Nadodigal" just comes for a few seconds?? Not sure if an actor like her was needed for that filler.. 
6. Some silly directorial mistakes like.. When Shruti haasan stands in the bus stop and she gets on to the elephant.. she suddenly becomes bare foot?? yen.. verun kaalula nikkanamnu venduthala? flash back shows Shruti spending considerable amt of time with Surya's family members at Kanchipuram.. everybody has only vague memory of her except one Anni who remembers everything?? yen michavangalukku yenna amnesia va?
7. The transition in the end to Bodhi Dharma - when the transition has not yet been completed.. Dong Lee thrashes him so badly that is impossible for somebody to even get up.. surya transforming physically.. eyes turning blue.. not required.. if the DNA is unleashed its not necessary the body form changes so drastically.. a natural depiction would have been better.. the ending was a little too aburpt..
8. Some concentration on how he actually cures the people.. brings back the magical medicine.. that wud have made it a little more interesting.. possibly taken some tips from "Outbreak"? 
9. Forgot to mention.. Ravi.K.Chandran's cinematography - absolutely brilliant.. the lighting and capture.. splendid.. hope he works in more tamil movies.. 
10. BGM and music.. I had already reacted on this earlier to an earlier music review by my friend Karthik Ananth.. Harris Jayaraj.. aiyoo aiyoo.. bad BGM.. felt like it was a jugalbandhi of so many copies.. the mandarin song was a nice move.. definitely not Harris's.. but atha twinkle twinkle little star tonelaya podanam? nonsense.. the movie's actual villain is not Dong Lee.. its this guy.. Harris on the edge had the audience really on the edge with some "mind blowing" background scores.. literally :-)) ARR's BGM scores would have definitely taken this to a different level.. 

I sincerely appreciate Murugadoss for introducing a great master like Bodhi Dharma to us.. you feel proud definitely when you realize that a tamizhan was behind the founding of the Shaolin temple.. a tighter script I felt would have made it a little more entertaining.. my take ..  but definitely a good one time watch.. to satisfy your curiosity..

Ra.ONE's Ten Commandments!

1. If you use an 'Ayyo' in every sentence and have a self portrait of yourself in a white dhoti, you are classified as a 'filter kaapi' South Indian.
2. 2 minute noodles can be consumed by a South Indian using his hands and curd in less than a minute.
3. Multi million Game Giants can exist in London....conversing only in Hindi and having Hindi clientele base.
4. In order to be a teacher in London, you are supposed to have your very own striptease video posted in the net for your students to obtain maximum 'gyan'.
5. If Indians see a Chinese origin guy, they will assume he is Bruce Lee.
6. Women don't care about losing their husbands as long as an improved version crosses the cyberworld and joins them in day2day life...
7. You can bury the dead Hindu in a casket and still take an urn of ashes to dispose off in Ganga....Now that's sentiment!
8. Wolkswagen vehicles can safely transport your wife and kid through a bus at 100 miles an hour without causing any personal injury. Also it can spin endlessly...till the hero and heroine have made their respective introductions.
9. Apart from three laws of Isaac Asimov that govern every Robot.... an Indian robot must be able to love, dance, sing and demonstrate 'Power Yoga'.
10. No amount of murder, action and mayhem will alert the police in any country. Your cyber baddie and goodie will run around causing widespread chaos till both their batteries drain out or when the game ends.

Still... a great movie ...worth watching once in a theater for entertainment purposes!

RA.ONE : MOVIE REVIEW (No Spoilers)

I am confused on what to write ...so i collected my thoughts and decided to give a crisp review analyzing the pros and cons of SRK's highly ambitious project.

In a nutshell...Ra.One .... Definitely a mixed bag .... but thats not what people want to read....so here goes....

Positives:

1. Great VFX and Sound effects
2. The Train Action scene is brilliantly taken..... (though slightly inspired)
3. ARJUN RAMPAL IS ONE MENACING VILLAIN!
4. Great to see SuperStar Rajinikanth's cameo on screen...
5. SRK and team have taken great effort in giving us a film that matches up to international standards with respect to the technical department

Negatives:

1. Poor music ....ordinary background score.....Chammak Chalo is the only tolerable piece!
2. The Direction and Screenplay is not tight ..... movie is already inspired by many sources...tends to lose focus....
3. SRK as a South indian might not even convince rest of india...forget about Tamil Nadu!
4. Rajini's cameo....boon and a bane...Rajini fans will be depressed to see the Superstar portrayed in such a manner..the graphics for the entire movie was brilliant...why screw up this potentially epic scene...i don't know if there was any offense intended...the idea was good...but execution...pathetic...
5. Movie is weak in the humor dept...and target audience is not as broad as expected.

OVERALL VERDICT:
Ra.One promised a lot....delivered in a few areas...failed in certain....Kudos to the entire team for the hard effort...worth watching once in a theatre...

Ra.One is like a tasty Dosa served with poor chutney and sambhar..... Satisfaction...Almost!


RATING: 3/5

PS: DON-2 Trailer is awesome....i am sure that is gonna make for Ra.ONE's mistakes...though i detect a serious Prison Break Influence! :)