The Dark Knight

If you have seen the ad of Fosters Lager Beer then you will understand exactly what I mean by "Heath Ledger: Australian for Villainy"

In a strange way this one line probably sums up the film itself as you need no other reason to watch this film.

It is a mind boggling performance by him as "The Joker" and although our hero Bruce Wayne/Batman (Christian Bale) is damn good in all aspects, the villain simply steals almost the entire film from the hero.

It is a sad fact that Ledger got so much into the skin of the psycho character that he needed anti depressants an overdose of which (coupled with sleeping pills) ended up taking his life before the movie's release.But when you see the movie you will realize that Ledger died long time ago,it was Joker who left recently.....This is the extent to which Ledger has Immortalized the character of the Joker.

The best part of the movie is that there is no blood shed or gory violence that is relied upon by the villain to send several chills down your spine.

The technical brilliance of this movie is also the next best reason to watch it and also since this is the first in an action genre to be shot in an IMAX camera and hence watching it in an IMAX screen is sure to blow you away from your seats.....

The Supporting perfromances of Morgan Freeman, Gary Oldman and Michael Caine add tremendous value to the movie.Maggie Gyllenhaal was however the weakest link....but then no movie can be perfect [;D].

The climax has a nice twist and a superb link to the title of Dark Knight by way of the sacrifice Batman makes to sullify his name to protect that of the District Attorney Harvey Dent(who for most part of the story plays the white knight and the future hope of justice for the city of Gotham and in the end becomes the villainous Two Face brainwashed by The Joker played by Aaron Eckhart)....

Ironically , in a freak turn of events, the White Knight is the only character in the entire movie killed by Batman whose sense of justice is so high that it prevails upon his most furious moments to make him stop a whisker short of killing The Joker for all his inculpable acts.

The concept of villainy is very different as the Psycho's only aim is to keep Batman constantly challenged without any fiscal or political gains.

I typically shy away from English films as I personally find it difficult to follow and enjoy as much as I am able to with our simple film formats :-) but this film was different and a very exciting roller coaster experience.

Sakkarakatti audio review!!!! Cho Chweet!!!!

Well SK (Sakkarakatti) was one of the awaited movies of 2008 because ARR marks his return to Kollywood after Sivaji in June 2007.....Many people were surprised with the fact that ARR agreed to score music for this film considering the fact that it isnt a big scale production....but reports say that ARR was blown away by the script.....Well we can only wait and see for the movie's analysis but the songs have made a major impression already....

The director had asked ARR to re record 5 of his Hindi compositions in tamil due to his busy schedule, but the maestro has given 4 fresh tracks and the other 2 are improved versions of his hindi tracks from the movie Meenaxi.....I'll start my review with those two songs...

1)Chinnamma.....
Well this song was one of my favourites in hindi and it sounds even better in tamil......the vocals are the main forte.....Benny and Chinmayee impress everyone with their vocal versatility.....Very catchy chorus with brilliant beats and an appropriate bass track......this song leaves most listeners spell bound.... RATING:9.1/10

2)Naan Epodhu.....
I personally feel that the lyrics suit the hindi version better though Reena Bharadwaj has sung this version as well in the same beautiful manner.....But all those who have not listened to "Yeh Rishta' will love this track....Gr8 melody.....the natural instruments and the percussions add splendid feel to the song...... RATING:9.0/10

3)I Miss you da.....
Very commercial track i guess based on the needs of the movie......very unique and different...most people dont like this song because their unable to understand the melody....but special mention to Chinmayee...never knew she could sing in such a sexy voice.....This is one of those ARR tracks that will grow onto you.....and the song's value will be enhanced by the video hopefully.....I wont consider this song as a Rahman Masterpiece but brilliant experimentation... RATING:7.8/10


4) Maarudhaani.....
The song start has a very electronic and commercial feel like any Yuvan or HJ song but when Madhushree starts singing the song, u will realise the beauty of this tune's melody......Her voice is like the nectar of life...damn sweet....the chorus has got a gr8 feel.....AN ABSOLUTELY MIND BLOWING PIANO INTERLUDE by ARR....dont miss it....one of his longest pieces in cinema i guess.....Then he hums a mesmerizing bit at the end of both the auxiliary stanza's..incidentally ARR has sung only this little bit in the entire music album.....the only drawback of this track is the monotonous electronic beats throughout but nonetheless a great song.....
RATING:8.5/10

5)Elay....
My favourite track in this album.....another feather in ARR's Roobaroo genre cap.....excellent Strumming......brilliant Bass track.....mind blowing vocals and harmonies....and a blend of violin pieces inspired by track 'Toss the feathers' by The Corrs......not to forget trademark ARR's tune,feel and chord shifts......Adding all we get an amazing song......Very catchy and high recall value......Naresh Iyer is gr8 as usual but Rahman proves that with his expertise even an average over-hyped singer like Krishh can sound decent in an audio track....Great work ARR...
RATING:9.4/10

6)Taxi Taxi....
Every ARR album has one track that become an instant super hit as soon as it hits the market.....Thats Taxi for you....Rahman uses the simple hip hop Gasolina beat and fuses Blaaze's trendy punjabi inspired rap and his own genre of music.....what we hear is an amazing track....brilliant vocals ....though there are many people singing this track....Blaaze rocks....The first interlude is really wonderful to hear....the Girl muttering stuff in a foreign language plays a perfect foil to the track....The lyrics of this song are really youthful and Urbane...the mama mama but sounds like an improved Crazy Frog [;)]......this song will rock every audio system t=in town for a while...theres no doubt....Just get onto ARR's taxi.....
RATING:9.5/10

Overall Verdict:

• Once again ARR comes up with a great album
• Taxi and Elay are the highlights
• Definitely worth a buy
• RATING:9.0/10
  

Kuselan Audio review

Well its been nearly a week since the songs of the much anticipated Kuselan had arrived.....
The music of Superstar Rajnikanth's every film plays a very crucial role in determining the extent of success.......Usually Rajni's films have seasoned music directors who can handle the biggest stage a movie can offer in India.....so i must say that the rather inexperienced,young but talented G.V Prakash does a very decent job. He seems to show sudden similarity in terms of quality like his uncle ARR but only in certain small sections.....on the right track but a long way to go........ needs to improve his consistency.....

1) Cinema Cinema
Not the usual intro song for Rajni....no folkish element.....but interesting chorus pattern and this track will kinda grow on you......sounds a bit like balleillakka in certain portions......the trumpet piece sounds a bit like the Batman theme.......Shankar Mahadevan has sung this track with enormous speed,clarity and enthusiasm.....decent song but might work wonders based on the video featuring Superstar..... RATING:6.5/10

2) Chaara
My favorite track......in fact one of the best songs of GVP till date........very very catchy....the initial arrangements involving the sound of rain, with drop-like notes and the digital frog croaking seems to be very fresh......Shreya Goshal wat can i say......she seems to be improving with every song she sings...her tamil pronunciation has become almost perfect.....The Bass track of this song is fabulous......The orchestra string and Flute interlude are superb.....The tune is gr8 as well......GVP makes use of the children choir excellently just like ARR!!
....... RATING:9/10

3) Om Zaarare
This track had a lot of hype because Daler Mehndi was involved in it......The intro of the song is nice and it has a catchy chorus but i felt that that song was too long......plus there was no need to have Chitra sing this track as well..... the masses will like this song a lot.....i'm waiting for this track's video which promises to be a visual treat filled with grandeur and pomp...The lyrics of this song would make a big impression on all hard core Rajni fans....Kudos to Daler who gives extreme power to the vocals of this track..... RATING:6.5/10

4)Sollamma
A very soothing melody filled with Hariharan's honey-like voice.....based on the musical arrangements it seems to be a village based track probably filmed on Pasupathi and co......
Nothin much to write about this track.........a good song but dont know how much recall value it possesses....It's definitely not a chartbuster..Worth listening though.. RATING:7.8/10

5)Perinba
The most disappointing track for me in this album.......though the lyrics and tune of this track are really nice, GVP has committed a blunder by using the SAME BEATS as in Veiyil (Veiyillodu Vilaiyaadi) with Kailash Kher once again on the vocals....So both the songs sound agonizingly similar.......If GVP tried to be original with this track then i would call it a wasted effort!!
...RATING:3.5/10

OVERALL VERDICT:

• An average album but decent effort by GVP
  
• worthwile expense if you are a hardcore Rajni fan
  
• RATING: 6.8/10
  

Jaane Tu Ya Jaane Na Review - Simple and Fun!

First there was the hype surrounding producer Aamir Khan, then there was Rahman's brilliant music album, and finally came rumours that some song lyrics were targetted at Salman, so finally when the movie was released, I sat down to it with a lot of expectations. And boy does JTYJN deliver. Abbas Tyrewala in his debut directional venture has created a simple blend of romance and humour that will definitely strike a chord with the youth.

The story revolves around two college goers and their fun gang of friends . A quick word of praise for Tyrewala in refraining from portraying a bunch of rich city kids as in Dil Chahta Hai. Here, it's easier to identify with the lifestyle of these kids. Jai and Adithi are best friends but fall in love with each other(no surprise!) Their gang of friends and parents are able to see this, but unfortunately for these two, they don't admit this and end up dating other people, with terrible consequences.

Imran Khan does a commendable role in his debut role as Jai Singh Rathore(alias "Rats"), a teen of rajput heritage who is sooo non-violent that he might have featured in a pacifist's wet dream. On the other side of the character-spectrum, Genelia plays the role of Adithi(alias "Meow") , a complete fight-a-holic. The lead pair have great chemistry together, and you couldn't ask more from them.

While the story may not be exceptional, the real strength of the film lies in its humour. The dialogues are witty and hilarious. The director loses no opportunity in converting a sentimental scene into a comic one.(The policeman in the ending acted as the perfect embarrassment-antidote which did the job as well as Solomon Poppaya's 'idu daan vaida' dialogue in the film 'Boys')

Then there are the scenes with misunderstanings such as when Jai and Adithi's parents discuss their daughter "wedding proposal" while Jai thinks he is talking about his job!
Bhaloo and Bhagera - the two jolly guys who haunt Mumbai's night clubs in cowboy costumes, the relationship between Jai's mother and his late father (Nasruddin Shah) who talks through a portrait are really hilarious. The patchy relationship between Aditi and her talented but introverted brother Amit(played superbly by Prateik Babbar), lends some excellent emotional moments to the film. Credits must be given to Ratna Pathak Shah(Jai's mom Savitri), for playing the role of a cool but protective. Manjari Phadnis does a good job in playing the complex role as Jai's girlfriend. Paresh Rawal as the police inspector cracks you up.

The only dissappointment in the film for me was the climax. Yes, we all like a happy ending but the scene where the hero woos the heroine seemed to be inspired from the climax of the hollywood film 'Love Actually'. Nevertheless, it was done cleverly enough so no complaints there!

As far as the audio is concerned, the director has done a great job in utilizing Rahman's talents. He has distributed some songs cleverly such as "Tu Bolein" and has also ensured that the story line has not been accomodated for the music, interweaving the film and the songs flawlessly.

Overall, this is one film that is definitely worth spending an evening on. It is really light-hearted and will surely lift your spirits. With the positive word of mouth and excellent opening, Jaane Tu is all set to become a smash-hit!

SCORE - 7/10