In a 48-hour period…

1. Vel: Above-average masala flick, evidently designed to please as many sections of the audience as possible in over 2 hours. Excellent performance by Surya, in his first (?) double role, that puts to shame Vijay’s ATM. No doubt Vel is rocking the BO this Deepavali. Despite the music being a let-down, the movie is well-packaged overall.

2. Pollaadhavan: Dhanush revels again in a Pudhupettai-type role. Newbie director Vetri Maaran presents a riveting, compelling watch. The best of the Deepavali releases, this slick movie is also probably the best movie of the second half of 2007. Needless songs prove a distraction, while the comedy track (especially Santhanam) adds to the entertainment. Apart from Dhanush, the guy portraying Selvam the don is very convincing. Totally recommended!

3. Kannaamoochi Yenada: Okayish. A time-pass movie shot to help graduate students kill time over the winter break. Predictable at times. Prithviraj acquits himself rather well; Sandhya turns in an at-par performance, while Sathyaraj does not quite match the elan that Prakash Raj carries in these roles.

4. M: I am considering buying land some twenty miles from Chennai to build a temple for Fritz Lang. A thriller, the obvious comparison is with Hitchcock’s Psycho. However, the latter has to resort to darkness, rain, a haunted house and a killer speaking in monotone to frighten you, whereas Lang accomplishes all this just by showing a mother waiting for her child to return home after school, and a whistling man buying the kid a ball. A 1931 movie far ahead of its time.

5. Ammuvaagiya Naan: When I read in The Hindu that this movie had been selected ahead of Mozhi and Paruthi Veeran, I was surprised. Though not of the same calibre, this is still a very good movie. The debutante actress is impressive. Recommended, if you like slow movies.

6. Algiers: Interesting pre-war tale of how a jewel thief wanted across Europe is safe and at home in Algiers, until he meets a charming Parisian (Hedy Lamarr) who reminds him of what he misses.

7. It Happened One Night: So used are we to cliched romantic comedies and the elements that repeat in each that we won’t see anything special in this movie… that is, until we realise this was the one that started it all. Clark Gable is at his dashing best in his attempts to tame a shrew played by Claudette Colbert.

8. Rashomon: Poetry through images. Akiro Kurosawa’s temple will be built too.

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3 Responses to “In a 48-hour period…”

  1. guess you have been hanging out at one of those sites built around stage6 like joox. same here!

  2. Wow… thats one helluva movie marathon…Ensoiii !! Cant wait to see Evano Oruvan though.. supposed to be awesome…

    Apologies for the late response on the formatting part of your site…I guess its meant to be this way but it still takes some time to get used to the fact that when I land at your site, I need to scroll down long and hard to get to the first post..of course, the direct url to the post aligns it all well but….

    ps: That hasnt come out the way I wanted to explain..hmmm… will see if i can send ya screenshots to explain what I mean..

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