TheCinemaphile Reviews

Sarkar (2005)

A movie to remember from Ramu's collection...

[9/10 · 13 September 2007]

It's Ramu's(Ram Gopal Varma)turn to pay homage to the Cult Classic 'The Godfather'.I have no idea how many Directors actually got inspired by THE GODFATHER,but I am least bothered.Because Ramu's 'Sarkar' is good enough for me.

Subash Nagre(Amitabh Bachan/Big B) is a ray of light for the down-trodden and ill-treated in the dirty lanes of Mumbai.He is respected by the 'aam janta'(public) and feared by the sinners.If found reasonable,Nagre is a man who will murder a person for the sin he committed!!!His family comprises of his wife,elder son Vishnu Nagre(Kay Kay Menon) a wastrel,foreign returned MBA graduate Shankar Nagre(Abhiske Bachan),Avantika(Tanish) Shankar's cousin.

Nagre is up against Selva Mani(Srinivasa Kota Rao),Swami Virendra(Jeeva)amongst other.Rashid(Zakir Husain in a chilling villainous role) approaches Sarkar with a drug and the latter warns him against moving forward the drug plan.Rashid teams up with Sarkar's other enemies and they try their best to dethrone Sarkar,but to no avail.In the midst of this,we have Shankar returning to Mumbai with his girlfriend Pooja(Katrina Kaif),who later is force to ditch him for obvious reasons.Vishnu lands himself in trouble over a murder and he is thrown out of the Nagre house and he is aptly used by the Rashid team.With everything against him,Sarkar is is imprisoned and an attempt is made on his life.And at this point of time,Abhishke(Shankar) takes over the show and delivers one of his unforgettable performances ever.His revenge spree coupled with the haunting 'govinda govinda' background score,sends shivers down the viewers spine!!! Big B is too good for us to ignore his performance and the scenes are power-packed with his presence.Things get even better when his Shankar slowly gains screen presence and marks his stamp during the final part of the movie.It is difficult not to make comparisons with 'The Godfather',but when Ramu has given us an excellent piece of adaptation,who is to complain.I thoroughly enjoyed the film..two thumbs up Ramu!!!

Black Friday (2004)

A master-piece to be saved for the future.....

[10/10 · 13 September 2007]

A brilliant masterpiece by Director Anurag Kashyap.He gives out a neutral opinion on the Mumbai Bomb Blasts.The movie is based on the book about the same,written by Hussain Zaidi.

Many different angles(view-points of different people) are shown in the movie.Kashyap starts with the shattering bomb-blasts(shown very effectively) and going back to the point in time,where the plan was hatched in the first place.

March 9,1993 was a day not to be forgotten by the Mumbai Police.For that was the day,a crook confessed to major bomb blasts being planned around major places around the city and it was the same day when the Mumbai Police dismissed the confession without a blink.And on March 12th,Mumbai is rocked by the blasts that tear the metropolitan city apart,leaving more than a 1000 dead.

Inspector Rakesh Maria(Kay Kay Menon) starts the investigation into the matter and skeletons come tumbling out of the closet.Tiger Memom(Pavan Malhotra) is found to be one of the prime suspects with orders coming from an upper echelon.The films moves around with the investigation of Maria and later on we get to see the justifications of Memom for the war!!!Next comes Badshah Khan,one among the criminals involved in the bombing.His initial faith in the hallucinations for jihad ,his sufferings as he is lead on a wild goose chase by Memom and finally his submission to the Mumbai Police as a Police Witness.And we also have the views of the criminal and financial mastermind behind the entire plot,Dawood Ibrahim.

Vijay Maurya who depicts Dawood Ibrahim looks chillingly identical and one cannot help but shiver on watching him enact Ibrahim.Being a film based on a real event,it needed a strong screenplay matched with some decent performances.The screenplay is taught enough and the way of story-telling is quite gripping.The major USP of the film comes from the acting department.Almost everyone in the film is excellent and the major characters give a rock-solid performance.

Kay Kay Menon as Inspector Maria is menacing and cool as required and Pavan Malhotra steals the show as the cool,suave and calculating Tiger Memmom.Another brilliant performance is given by Adhithya Srivastava as Badsha Khan.He is able to make the audience feel his anguish and confusion very well that,the audience actually start feeling pity for him.

Note:It could also be considered a documentary,because its been shot in such a way and am sure a layman will have a fair idea about the Mumbai Bomb Blasts after watching this movie.The only thing against this movie is the fact that it has that documentary feel,which means the pace is quite slow.But that should not deter people from venturing to watch such a master-piece!!!Certainly deserves a watch.

Running Scared (2006)

A well deserved R rating :)

[9/10 · 22 August 2007]

A pot-boiler of a movie. Quite like a bollywood(Hindi) masala movie, which has everything for almost everyone. Action,Romance(!!??),Guns,Great moments,Comedy,suspense,nudity and very 'private' scenes b/w the hero and his girl..u name,u Will get it here!!! I don't wanna talk about the story.Just go ahead and watch the movie.Paul Walker as the Hero has the maximum screen presence,but we do have Cameron Bright and Vera Farmiga having enough scenes to justify their presence in the movie!!! I actually thought this movie was a comic caper,but as the movie progressed it struck me that this movie really meant business.A Pretty hardcore action movie...and hey i forgot to mention,there is more than a single twist during the end.So am sure you would like this movie and i would recommend it for guys alone.This movie is definitely not for girls and women alike...

Shootout at Lokhandwala (2007)

A few things spoiled this movie for me!!!

[5/10 · 9 July 2007]

Before watching this movie i made sure i checked out IMDb as to what the other users feel about this movie.I found most of them unsatisfied..but i was confident i would not be.

And i went ahead with the movie....i still don't understand whats my final say on Shootout!!!!At some places it was really good like fattu returning back to the hideout(u know wen) and the scene at the restaurant b/w sanjay dutt and obroi.

But some others were like Oh-my-god-gimme-a-break!!! Has'not the slow walk shot been already shown numerous times,especially in Kaante???Then why use the same technique here,only god knows,or better the director knows.Another totally comic scene is when Buva says "teri maa ki"...i was on the floor clutching my tummy.

Amitabh is pretty cool as the lawyer and so are vivek obroi & sanjay dutt!!!They keep this film from falling flat.

And can someone explain why there is still 4-5 songs in movies like this??one or two songs are bearable.But the bhai's breaking into a jig then and there had me skipping the entire movie.

The Verdict::: I gave 6 for Big B,Sanjai and Obroi alone..else it might have been 3 or 4!!!!

Ek Ajnabee (2005)

A well-made film..but for the 2nd half excluding the CLIMAX!!!

[6/10 · 18 May 2007]

well actually before i started watching this movie,i surfed IMDb for user reviews. 6.9 is pretty good i guess and moreover it is a Big-B movie.So why would i miss it?

The premise is good enough..kidnappings.and we have our Big-B or Surya as he is called by the sweet Anamika(the girl in-focus) coming in to action.The first half was very sweet and i enjoyed each and every moment of it,because the interactions between Surya and Anamika were really nicely done.

After the shock incident towards the end of the first-half,i was ready for really great action from our Big-B.Even though Surya carries off his 'revenge' in style,his pace is something which could have been improved.I meant the slow-speed at which he uncovers clues and finds out what is actually happening around him.And moreover,when Big-B is ready to blast the villains with a machine gun(oo mama),the camera man tries something different and in the end spoils the fun of watching Big-B pumping bullets...give me a break please!!!Everything is at the same slow pace in the second half till the climax.People are in for a triple-shock...that was the good part of the 2nd half.Otherwise it's a boring affair to watch the last half of Ek Ajnabee...

Anamika was really sweet.Though i feel the Anamika in the last scene was an idiotic choice(this Anamika is'nt sweet or cute at all). Arjun Rampal was apt in his role and flexed his muscles when needed.

If the second half had been a bit more crisp(excluding the climax) this movie would have certainly gone places.

NOTE:I heard this movie is a rip-off,but that never matters.As Big-B's presence more than makes up for the faults in the movie.Watchable once,certainly.

Guna (1991)

Excellent film-making and simply awesome acting!!!

[9/10 · 12 April 2007]

I need not make mention of how good kamal hassan is at acting....you actually cant call it acting.It can be called getting under the skin of the character and portraying a realistic look on the role.

Kamal draws parallels with the late Sivaji Ganesan...who is admired now even after his sad demise some years back.

I get the opportunity to watch GUNA only on television nowadays...as i was too young to have watched it in theatres.Kamal's acting was way too awesome in the movie...and as another IMDb user suggested,films of such high caliber rarely meet commercial box-offices success.The failure of this movie to rake in money does not deter us from appreciating the performance delivered by Kamal.

Of course he has given awesome performances in other movies like devar magan,mahanadhi,hey ram and many many more movies....this movie stays close to my heart.

The song KANMANI ANBODU is still a melodious song to reckon with now...15 years after the movie was released.The only two things to talk about in this movie is Kamal's acting and Santhana Barathi's acting!!!

Bicentennial Man (1999)

A beautifully made movie...

[9/10 · 2 April 2007]

I guess the makers of this movie should have aired a cautionary message like,"people with patience proceed to watch this movie,please!!!".

Coming to know that most people found this movie to be too boring or ordinary,without any adrenaline rushing action..i was pained.I am giving my opinion on this movie nearly six-seven years after i watched it on my local cable TV.

Yes,i do accept that this movie is slow-moving.But are'not movies of this genre supposed to be so.Being fast-paced will obviously take the sheen out of the movie.

One of the brilliant performance's by Robin Williams.Though i must admit that i haven't seen many of his movies.As another IMDb user suggested,it is pretty difficult to showcase 200 years of time in 1 and a half hours.but still,the directors hard-work seems to have worked wonders.I say so because i was literally in tears at the end of the movie...imagine a 'thing'(no offense meant) who slowly starts to understand humanity and its vast sea of relationships,and he actually loses them one-by-one.I wouldn't go too much into the story...this movie is certainly one to be experienced.

Bicentennial Man is made of warmth,sweet realizations and the fact that LOVE has no barriers.

Sandakozhi (2005)

Mass Entertainer

[9/10 · 31 March 2007]

An all-out commercial movie...2nd movie of hero vishal....!!!Acting is good ,i mean all the actors involved did a good job.

First half is full of humour....2nd half is kinda mix of family emotions and full-fledged action.A big hit down here in south India(especially tamil nadu)!!! Good music by yuvan shankar raja and Stunts also have been done remarkably well.The climax literally uses slow-motion techniques....a visual treat for the viewers indeed!

Vishal,the Hero does a good job.It doesn't look like his 2nd movie at all.Meera Jasmine,the heroine is as usual at her best.Raj kiran playing vishals father commands respect even from the viewers.His presence is a dignified one. This movie actually was the comeback movie of director LINGUISWAMY...his last movie being RUN.

Do not miss out on this movie.....

Cube (1997)

science fiction or horror or drama..whichever way u call it...it ROCKS!!!

[9/10 · 31 March 2007]

Its too good a movie...i don't know why it didn't become popular overseas..!!! I watched this movie after having watched the SAW Trilogy.....this movie makes SAW a toddler on comparison....

Saw was successful in the sense of intelligent ways of dying/killing people.CUBE is thrilling because at the end when the school student figures stuff out....anyone(including me) will get chilled to the bone.

The last scene made me shudder....my only request for new viewer's is that to WATCH THIS MOVIE PATIENTLY(listen to the dialog's).The medium pace of this movie is what makes it interesting to watch.

Too good...!

Mounam Pesiyadhe (2002)

A really good movie....

[10/10 · 28 February 2007]

Watch this movie to know what real love is all about....its not bout loving someone,its about being loved by somebody(as we eventually find out)!!!! Excellent musical score by yuvan shankar raja(early days for him compared to his now famous persona)...ENN ANBE song brings out the happy feelings of love and the KADHAL SEIDHAL song conversely brings out the feelings of hatred for and because of love.

The movie has the plus points of good acting by all the characters(realistic) & excellent musical score (mix of commercial and film-relevant) and finally a good screenplay.You will never ever get tired of watching this movie because it has a definite charm of its own which will take you in,at least for the first viewing.

"THREE" thumbs to director ameer,for,this movie has made a big fan of trisha(looks charmingly simple) and surya(he is what acting is all about) and yuvan of course,for his good music.

Since the release of this movie I've never ever waited for the reviews to come before i check out director ameer's movies.