Swaroop King

Swaroop King
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Saturday 28 July 2012

UKODATHARA ULIKKIPADATHARA REVIEW


Have you watched the trailer of this movie? Well then. Dont expect the movie to be as exciting as the trailer, because the trailer is a complete misguiding, misleading and a shameless cover of a lacklustre film that is zero in content. When a movie is full of sets, designer costumes, and looks like high-budget-personified but doesnt have even a single character that is well developed, its not your fault if you sleep in the theatre.

UKUP is a movie that assumes itself to be thrilling and creative. When the desperation of the director to touch every cliche and the self assumed eccentricity of the actor who wants to score a hit with offbeat picture doesnt match, we are doomed to find ourselves sitting helpless in the theatres like this. Well, coming to the story, there is a grandly erected set( Oh..there they have shown all their creativity..What else do you want you greedy man?) that has some ghosts and people who have one thing in common. They dont pay rent. Our hero arrives on a bike, with a hairstyle that is desperate to display his self proclamed negativity(Oh my God...these guys are killing me with creativity) and then the good deeds of this bad boy begin, much to our dismay. With a big sword(Hope its not plastic), he scares the hell out of the comedy less comedians and the audiences as well. Till Balakrishna arrives on scree, its boring. When he takes the movie on his shoulder, its again boring. Somewhere in the middle, we find Suhasini with the same expression we have saw her a zillion times. Manchu Laxmi, except in the climax episode is a matter of jokes, with her getup.

The dialogues are borrowed from the mookie dramas of the 90s. In the second half, the director realises that the only way to complete a socio fantasy picture is to copy something from the previous films in that genre. And then we are served with Sonu Sood plucked away from Arundhati minus his solid characterisation. (Creativity again). The songs that drop out of nowhere do their job(make you more sleepy). And then the climax. The only one thing about the movie that I liked is the fact that it ended.

When the title of the film itself assumes that it is a fairy tale that shocks you at times, and the trailer is shown to be promising, and there is an expectation on the hero, and in the background of a heavy marketing hype, it is the job of the director to design the film to be thrilling enough to make the audiences glued to their seats.  But what happened here? A creative bankrupt director is showered with an efficient starcast and a juicy budget, just to dole out a disgusting and half boiled picture. All cliches and all stereotypes.

Manoj is an actor aho has a fanbase independent of caste and family status. He is reputed to have a good creative choice, and an eccentricity to pick up innovative subjects despite failures. But this time, you cant forgive him. As an actor he needs to realise that a solid script can do more than a tremendous budget and innovative-only-to-hear lines. And Balakrshna is okay in his role as a man that sells clothes......sorry distributes clothes. Than God the set doesnt have a railway track nearby, otherwise they would have planned a "slap your thigh--make train go back" episode.

As a final say, I would advice you not to waste your money on this film, and not to expect any telugu film based on its trailers.

Saturday 14 July 2012

EEGA-THE POWER OF FLY

There is an unsigned contract between the audience and Rajamouli, even before we enter the theatre. "Well, my dear audience, I told you the story of this film even before starting the movie. I showed you what it looks like in the trailer. I too know that a house-fly cannot do all the things that are shown here. This is just the outcome of a funny thought presented in a manner that could excite the telugu audience. So, dont complain that it is out of reality, or an absurd point." Okay Mr. Rajamouli...We got your point.

Eega is a technically brilliant film, to start with. The special effects are of top notch, if you donot watch hollywood films. The story doesnt have any twists or turns. The taking doesnt have any feel to it. But what saves your day is the fact that the film is not boring. Esecially the second half, which is a continuous tom and jerry show. If you can afford to switch off your brain for a while, you can pass the movie. The film starts on a dull note, showing Sudeep's lustful expressions, and a heroine with typical telugu heroine makeup. Till Nani goes off screen, it is like any other telugu romance. Once the fly enters the scene, the CG magic begins. The fly goes on rage, in the second half, getting on the nerves of the villan, and strikes creative heights at places. This is the first film that brought the creative levels of Rajamouli to the full extent. I hated all his earlier films, for their overdose of heroism, gravity defying fight sequences, and one man killing hundreds-kind of ideas. This one is bearable, with its funny line shown seriously.

Rajamouli is always succesful in catching the pulse of the Telugus. They even rated a over sentimental "Chatrapati" as a hit. Then its not a onder that this film, which has genuine creative stuff will get attention. What stands out is the direction and presentation of the movie. But the narration is very flat, which  is the reason for a poor first half. The take off is too simple and plain, that it failed to generate excitement in the audience, as everyone knows whats gonna happen. Though it is successful in making us have multiple creative orgasms, it failed to strike an emotional chord. We dont feel sad when Nani gets killed, or when Samantha turns into tears. There is nothing that the film conveys, except that it is a story well told.
But we cant blame the director for this. A movie should be reviewed on what it has promised and what it has delivered. In that case, Eega is successful.

Its not a small task for a director to visualise a film that almost runs on Graphics, write a power packed screenplay and execute it to the most minute of detail. Rajamouli deserves a standing ovation, for that. But I am quite angry on him, that he has decided to brand the film as a sheer technical experience rather than an emotional story told in a technical manner. End of the day, people liked it. No issues. Eega may not be a perfect film, but far better than most Telugu duds.
GGGGGGGGuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii

Monday 2 July 2012

THE AMAZING SPIDERMAN REVIEW

The obvious question tht arises when a film's title declared itself "amazing" is "Does the film Justify the title?". Honestly, what do we expect out of a Spiderman movie.....or for any super hero flick for that matter? Mind boggling visual effects, breath taking action sequences, charishma oozing stars and a witty presentation, ofcourse backed by a gripping plot and point( as far as the Indian audiences are concerned). The amazing spiderman, appeals to different audiences in different ways. Depends on what you expect before stepping into the theatre. If you felt nauseated with the too-many-villans-make-heroism-stronger-obsessed third part of Sam Raimi's trilogy, then this might come as a relief for you(The action is easy to follow).

Marc Webb's verson of spidey, doesnt go overboard in his display of his superhero powers but stands still to allow the audiences have a look at his emotional side, as Webb throws light on it. Here the audiences would get an insight into why Peter Parker has become what he is. The film intends to end on a sympathetic note towards the superhero, who has traded off his heart, for his responsibilities. Ofcourse the first three movies have visited this zone, but this part emphasises it. We see the same story how Peter is bitten by a spider, how he coped up with the changes in him, how he became a superhero. But the question is, are we really interested to see the same story once again, that too after ten years? Well...The answer is that this time he is different, if you are not. Spidey's point is...It takes pain to be a man who fights crime. It demands your personal life, if you intend to serve the public. I dont feel that this is a new point, atleast for spiderman. Christopher Nolan set a new benchmark, by rebooting The Batman series, by dealing it in a philosophical light. There is a great depth of thought, in the ethical puzzles thrown by the joker. That made The Dark Knight, a dark and gritty, but entertaining superhero tale. But the problem with AMS is that we are still in the THE AVENGERS hangover, where it is proved that we are still in a mood to enjoy Superhero movies that ooze fun and destruction. While the audience are all expecting Spiderman to go on with mad adventures, what he does there on screen is shedding tears and romancing. I dont mean its a mistake, as we know its a reboot.

If we view the film as it is, but not what it could be, then AMS is a well told story, well acted and well directed. Andrew Garfield brought a new charm to spiderman with his talent, but I cant resist the temptation of mentioning the glow brought to screen by the gorgeous Emma Stone. She is amazing. Even the climax is not that of a big bang. It replicates the same old formula what Raimi has set in his earlier trilogy. A scientist, a research, went wrong, turns monster, destruction, fight, good wins over the evil. But it would have provided a great excitement if the Visual effects are stunning. No doubt they are top notch, but just not enough, especially after THE AVENGERS, Marvel's previous superhit.

Finally, THE AMAZING SPIDERMAN serves its purpose. Redefined Peter Parker, set a nice background for a sequel. Watch it in IMAX, coz if you are bored with the film, atleast you could pass time watching the hot chicks immersed in watching the movie.