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VikramMohan
Reviews
Inception (2010)
Smart action flick with a hell a lot of inspiration
Director Christopher Nolan manages to create an illusion of an original work just as the characters in the film create an illusion of an original world. First of all the basic concept of planting an idea into another person's mind is just the opposite of erasing a memory from a person's mind which we have already seen in Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind. Then the concept of creating a dream world where the senses we trust to distinguish reality from illusion cannot actually be trusted has already been showcased in The Matrix where a similar world is created by electrical signals emitted into the brain when people are connected to a device known as 'the matrix'(it's based on a theory called Cartesian Skepticism). Then the portions of the characters in the dream being created by one person's imagination is a direct lift off of a Twilight Zone episode named Shadow Play which concerns a man trapped in a recurring nightmare in which he dreams he is a prison inmate sentenced to death and to be executed; he tries to convince the characters in his dream that they are only figments of his imagination and that they will cease to exist if the execution is carried out. And the end portion in which Di Caprio faces the danger of being trapped inside the dream state because of his own "dream projections" is quite similar to Richard Linklater's Waking Life which revolves around a man being aware of having been trapped inside his own dream. But all said and done Nolan does create an edge of the seat thriller and what the audience wants 'the summer blockbuster'.
Kattradhu Thamizh (2007)
A maelstorm of intrapersonal communication
Probably one of the greatest films ever made in Tamil and definitely the best directorial debut in Tamil, Kattradhu Tamizh is about a Tamil teacher earning hardly 2000 INR a month, finding difficult to cope with loneliness living in a city like Chennai, trying to get back in touch with his long lost childhood love, unable to withstand the societal imbalance created largely by IT industry and therefore becoming a psychopath.
The screenplay's narrative structure takes you back and forth in time and changes from the protagonist talking to the audience then to himself and them to a camera yet doesn't create an ounce of confusion.
The cast is perfect. Jiiva excels in a role and a performance of a life time. He excels in every scene and manages to pull it off whether he is going over the top (like the scene where he confronts an IT guy on the street in the middle of the night) and while he expresses his emotions subtly (like his reactions in the Paravaiye Engu Irukiraai number), newcomer Anjali emotes exceptionally and is probably the only lady who can actually 'act' in Tamil Cinema for the time being, Karunas is better off playing such roles that are more memorable than his other silly characters, Azhagamperumal is another revelation and even the other small roles such as the heroine's uncle, the hero's friend, his lodge mates etc etc are so perfectly cast.
Yuvan Shankar Raja's songs are too good, the get right to the point literally, all the songs have the lyrics starting off immediately without a long beginning music and his background score enhances the mood of the film well.
Cinematographer Kathir's frames are a work of art. The shots of the little hero & heroine sitting on the top of a mountain with all the greenery around and then a very similar shot of the hero & heroine sitting on top of a mountain years later with all the dried up land around is example enough of his visual extravagance. Editor Sreekar Prasad's work is slick and enhances the narration perfectly.
Director Ram with his debut has already made an inedible mark on Tamil Cinema. Though most in the audience do not agree to his views on society a few like me willingly support them. Well accept his views or not you just cannot dismiss his efforts in creating a screenplay that puts 99% of all other Tamil films to shame, breathtaking visuals, a kaleidoscope of emotions and a realistic storyline and biting dialogues. You can't ask for more from a film.
An artistic triumph for everyone involved(including the audience who appreciate such work).
Home (2009)
Chicken consumption causes Global Warming! - watch this to find out why...
"Everything on Earth is interlinked". The film gives us evidence that the consumption of chicken is one of the major causes of global warming! There are many more such links that it points out. The film focuses on the evolution of the Earth and it's resources and how man over the last 50 years has altered the balance of the Earth more than in 200,000 years of his existence. The facts that the film conveys are presented with stunning images. The film contains the best ever aerial photography I've ever seen. The soundtrack is beautiful. There must be much more publicity for stuff like these as the average man does not have access to such important information. A must watch for all those who feel responsible for the sake of the Earth. "We can no longer afford to be a pessimist".
La vita è bella (1997)
Underrated by IMDb
Now first of all let me tell u that this film is my most favorite one, next only to 'the godfather'... I feel that it's really been underrated by IMDb itself. I really feel that a film of it's caliber should have a place in the top 10... I've watched hundreds of films but this is the first and the only one so far that's moved me to tears. it's the second one after 'the shawshank redemption', that gave me goosebumps... as the tagline says it is a fable. a fable of love, courage, sacrifice and most importantly hope... this is a film that's 99% comedy & 1% tragedy... ever since i saw this film about 3 yrs ago i've not been able to get it out of my mind. not a single day passes by without thinking about it. even now when i just think about those last few lines in the film "this is the sacrifice my father made, this is his gift" and the final one "we won... we won", i get goosebumps the very next second... this is a film that each and every person on the earth has to watch at least once in their lifetime... it's rest assured that they'll watch it again........... so i ask anyone who's reading my comments to watch this film, feel it's magic and vote for it in IMDb...
The Godfather Part II (1974)
The Greatest Movie the World has Ever Seen...
I personally think that this film surpassed the glory of The Godfather I. you will have to watch it time and again in order to understand the nuances of it's brilliant film-making. the characterizations are exceptional: 1. Micheal Corleone (as the new don torn between family & business) 2. Hyman Roth (as the scheming old villain) 3. Kay Adams Corleone (as the worried wife) 4. Robert Duvall (as the loyal lawyer) 5. John Cazale (as the betraying brother) 6. Robert DeNiro (as young Vito) etc. etc.... It's just Brilliant!!! Speaking about the film-making the parallel narration of two different but interlinked stories is a fresh new lease of screenplay. the cinematography is outstanding. the indoors are lit up beautifully with overhead lighting which puts a shadow over the characters' eyes making it impossible to say what they're thinking. But unlike the first part where they had broken all the rules (the characters are established first before the place and time) in this film they've come back to the rules (the locations are established before the characters) Francis Ford Coppola should definitely be given another chance to make a sequel to the trio-logy so that the present generation can also experience the 'Magic of the Movie' and for anyone who's not seen this film, I bet they're surely missing something in life...