So I was in New York yesterday. I arrived in the US on Saturday. There wasnt too much of a jet lag, so we decided to see some parts of NY.
Our train reached the New York Penn Station and the one thing I was surprised to find out is that no one knew where the tourist information center is. Everyone was guiding us to the tickets and information center which was servicing for the train journeys. anyway, we figured something and got out.
we decided that we'll walk to times square. why? because we were somewhere close to that area. nothing special.
whatever. NY on first impression is such a boring place. its crowded everywhere. all you can find is tall buildings. the sight of just stuctures around you kind of irritates a lot. the only factor that saves is perhaps central park and the rivers that run on either sides. otherwise, NY feels like an over-crowded jungle.
and again, if a city is like that, you cannot expect anyone to be in order. although the vehicles dont jump signals because of strict policing, there are enough number of people who would cross a busy road when the signal is green.
so we walked past all the famous stops - times square, grand central, rockefeller, chrysler, trump, united nations, and all that shit. nothing phenomenal about all of these places. some have shopping malls attached, so people like to just get in and waste time.
i think my opinion of NY would never change. i would prefer a lesser built up city. more open space and less crowding. the place where i live right now - parsippany jersey is actually a nice place. there is lots and lots of space around you and its pleasant to be outdoors.
Monday, April 27, 2009
Monday, April 13, 2009
Anandha Thandavam
Theory: Aascar Ravichandran profited a lot from his last movie. So he decided to fund some of that on a project that wouldn't really take off well.
AR Gandhikrishna, who shot to fame with Chellame; thought that he could turn a Sujatha novel into a fantastic movie. But the movie was too late to the audience.
Sujatha's novel - Pirivom Santhippom was based on situations that were perhaps a decade old. Affluent NRIs marrying innocent pretty girls; going back to US to lead a luxurious life. The girl never realises that she is being ignored. Emotional drama, but not suited to how things are at present. Especially, when everyone is talking about RECESSION!!!
Anandha Thandavam (dance of ecstasy) is a movie that failed to capture the characters that Sujatha had created in his novel. In between, we also have a hero who is the most vulnerable character I have seen, maybe in years. The director, even after sticking to the novel, could not create the right impact.
Pathetic Editing - We see a car getting onto a highway in the US. In seconds, the same car is hit by a trailer in Malaysia and then the next minute, everyone's in KL Airport.
Great locations near Tirunelveli and Tenkasi. Bana Theertham is a place to visit. The cameraman has captured some wonderful landscapes in interior Tamil Nadu.
I must definitely talk about the music. An amazing rendition by Shubha Mudgal and Nithyasree Mahadevan. Kanaa Kaangiren (see my previous post) is a brilliant song with splendid choreo. Worked well for Rukmini. GV Prakash's music is just getting better and better. Poovinai sung by Srinivas and Shreya is also a great song that is shot in Atlantic City. These two songs will stay on your mind for a while.
Tamannah plays the innocent pretty girl. A mix of the child and woman - young at heart and mind too, she plays silly pranks with her brother, listens to her parents and doesn't have a clue of the outside world. If this was what the novel wanted from her, then she did 125% of what was required.
Siddharth (a newbie), does exactly what a newbie is expected of. Everything goes belly up for him - acting, dance, delivery, emotions. Totally shreds up into pieces.
Rukmini is another actor we have to watch for. She scored pretty high in Bommalattam. In this movie, she definitely strikes a chord. Her character and then few others (eg. Kitty and the US Uncle) bring a lot of direction into a screenplay that just goes astray every now and then.
This movie is a pot pourri. Its about love at first sight through the eyes of an unemployed youth who has no direction in his life; parents wanting their daughter to live a rich life abroad without understanding what could be in store; a father who gets blamed and ignored for being concerned about his son's life; a loser who cannot come to grips with what is not his own. There are too many characters who in their own way impact the storyline, but I am thinking that these characters would have been carved well in the novel.
Overall: Fails to deliver.
AR Gandhikrishna, who shot to fame with Chellame; thought that he could turn a Sujatha novel into a fantastic movie. But the movie was too late to the audience.
Sujatha's novel - Pirivom Santhippom was based on situations that were perhaps a decade old. Affluent NRIs marrying innocent pretty girls; going back to US to lead a luxurious life. The girl never realises that she is being ignored. Emotional drama, but not suited to how things are at present. Especially, when everyone is talking about RECESSION!!!
Anandha Thandavam (dance of ecstasy) is a movie that failed to capture the characters that Sujatha had created in his novel. In between, we also have a hero who is the most vulnerable character I have seen, maybe in years. The director, even after sticking to the novel, could not create the right impact.
Pathetic Editing - We see a car getting onto a highway in the US. In seconds, the same car is hit by a trailer in Malaysia and then the next minute, everyone's in KL Airport.
Great locations near Tirunelveli and Tenkasi. Bana Theertham is a place to visit. The cameraman has captured some wonderful landscapes in interior Tamil Nadu.
I must definitely talk about the music. An amazing rendition by Shubha Mudgal and Nithyasree Mahadevan. Kanaa Kaangiren (see my previous post) is a brilliant song with splendid choreo. Worked well for Rukmini. GV Prakash's music is just getting better and better. Poovinai sung by Srinivas and Shreya is also a great song that is shot in Atlantic City. These two songs will stay on your mind for a while.
Tamannah plays the innocent pretty girl. A mix of the child and woman - young at heart and mind too, she plays silly pranks with her brother, listens to her parents and doesn't have a clue of the outside world. If this was what the novel wanted from her, then she did 125% of what was required.
Siddharth (a newbie), does exactly what a newbie is expected of. Everything goes belly up for him - acting, dance, delivery, emotions. Totally shreds up into pieces.
Rukmini is another actor we have to watch for. She scored pretty high in Bommalattam. In this movie, she definitely strikes a chord. Her character and then few others (eg. Kitty and the US Uncle) bring a lot of direction into a screenplay that just goes astray every now and then.
This movie is a pot pourri. Its about love at first sight through the eyes of an unemployed youth who has no direction in his life; parents wanting their daughter to live a rich life abroad without understanding what could be in store; a father who gets blamed and ignored for being concerned about his son's life; a loser who cannot come to grips with what is not his own. There are too many characters who in their own way impact the storyline, but I am thinking that these characters would have been carved well in the novel.
Overall: Fails to deliver.
Saturday, April 11, 2009
Kanaa Kaangiren
Kanaa Kaangiren - I am glued to this song. From the movie Anandha Thandavam (Dance of Ecstasy), what an amazing song.
Sung by Nithyasree, Subha Mudgal and Vinitra, this song would go into the history of tamil music as one of THE BEST wedding songs of the 21st century.
The video is set in Belur, Halebid and nearby temples. The one below just has pictures and not the original video.
Following the lines of the wedding songs in Alaipayuthae (Yaaro Yaarodi) and Paarthaale Paravasam (Adhisiya Thirumanam).
This song has amazing lines and the beats are excellent. If you get on to youtube, you can see the lyrics on the side bar.
I am just waiting for the video to arrive on youtube.
Sung by Nithyasree, Subha Mudgal and Vinitra, this song would go into the history of tamil music as one of THE BEST wedding songs of the 21st century.
The video is set in Belur, Halebid and nearby temples. The one below just has pictures and not the original video.
Following the lines of the wedding songs in Alaipayuthae (Yaaro Yaarodi) and Paarthaale Paravasam (Adhisiya Thirumanam).
This song has amazing lines and the beats are excellent. If you get on to youtube, you can see the lyrics on the side bar.
I am just waiting for the video to arrive on youtube.
Thursday, April 09, 2009
Horse-Do?
A new hairdo for the horses. And guess what, these are based on some famous people in the world.
Can you take a guess?
Clues:
Left: American celebrity, model, singer
Center: English model
Right: Australian actor
Post your comments
Saturday, April 04, 2009
Ayan
Ayan - What does Ayan mean? Well, it means a lot in different languages. I am not going to delve into that.
Ayan - Suriya's latest movie after V.1000 is a super entertainer for the masses. Suriya has been telling everyone that he couldn't give a fun-filled movie because he devoted more time with character based roles in movies such as V.1000 and Kaakha Kaakha. For the long wait, Ayan surpasses all expectations.
Suriya plays the role of an educated street smart under-the-table-business associate. A computer science graduate who uses more of his brain than muscle to get rid of people who come in his way. In a lot of places, he would remind you of what Clooney did in Ocean's or Leonardo did in Catch Me. I mean, its a lot of fun to watch. Nevertheless, tamil cinema cannot do well without fights. So, there is scope for that too. One fight that was shot in Congo is bleddy amazing. Its like the one that Daniel Craig does in Quantum. Extremely fast, through small buildings, windows, terraces, winding streets. Kudos to the guys who planned the cameras. It was PERFECT.
Ayan introduces you to another world that's flourishing big time in India. A world of dvd's, cocaine, gold biscuits, diamonds - everything unaccounted. Talking of diamonds - I like the way they explain the diamonds business in Africa.
The villain gets introduced in less than 10 minutes from the beginning. So no great shakes. We always know that if something goes wrong, its always because of him. Villain is a Bollywood import and he does quite a shitty job. Very bad voice syncs.
Prabu is Suriya's boss and he controls a lot of this business. Its interesting to see how these guys get the smuggle the stuff from the airport to India and back to other countries. While we know that a lot of this could be true, its quite shocking to see what happens.
Jagan - the guy who hosts America's Funniest Videos on Star Vijay is Suriya's pal in the movie. Tamannah is his sister. NOW THATS A VERY BAD MATCH UP for a family. Black Coffee and Milk. Jagan as Chitti has a very interesting role. He has done a fantastic job. I am guessing that this is a great break for him and the future holds a lot for him.
Tamannah - this hard working Punjabi kudi rocks! In this movie, its not just love and songs for the actor. Love happens in like 5 mins. They meet and the next scene they are already in love. Costume selection would score a 4 on 5. She is surely getting better in every movie of hers.
There is no separate comedy track. Suriya, Jagan, Tamannah, Karunas, Renuka (Suriya's mom) - everyone does comedy to their own capacity. When prime characters perform comedy, it gels into the movie and it also lightens the audience's view about a particular character.
Songs and the picturisation are a treat. Hariharan's voice in Pala Pala is so FRESH. Like always, Harris' music reminds you of all his previous creations. Grinding the same dough. I am guessing that Harris is fond of a few raagas and he composes only on those. One of the songs, i think Nenje Nenje, was shot in Walvis Bay, Namibia, where the sea and sand dunes are next to each other. Beautiful Place.
Story, Script, Screenplay - would give a min of 3 on 5. Very skillful. Even though we have heard of so many con-job movies in the past, this one is quite entertaining. There is more focus on smart smuggling rather than using plain ammunition with mobs. Creativity is fabulous - KV Anand and his team will be appreciated for this. In a lot of instances, they quickly show the way things unfold from the past. That's very thoughtful and neatly done.
Overall: Great entertainer from Suriya, after a long time.
Ayan - Suriya's latest movie after V.1000 is a super entertainer for the masses. Suriya has been telling everyone that he couldn't give a fun-filled movie because he devoted more time with character based roles in movies such as V.1000 and Kaakha Kaakha. For the long wait, Ayan surpasses all expectations.
Suriya plays the role of an educated street smart under-the-table-business associate. A computer science graduate who uses more of his brain than muscle to get rid of people who come in his way. In a lot of places, he would remind you of what Clooney did in Ocean's or Leonardo did in Catch Me. I mean, its a lot of fun to watch. Nevertheless, tamil cinema cannot do well without fights. So, there is scope for that too. One fight that was shot in Congo is bleddy amazing. Its like the one that Daniel Craig does in Quantum. Extremely fast, through small buildings, windows, terraces, winding streets. Kudos to the guys who planned the cameras. It was PERFECT.Ayan introduces you to another world that's flourishing big time in India. A world of dvd's, cocaine, gold biscuits, diamonds - everything unaccounted. Talking of diamonds - I like the way they explain the diamonds business in Africa.
The villain gets introduced in less than 10 minutes from the beginning. So no great shakes. We always know that if something goes wrong, its always because of him. Villain is a Bollywood import and he does quite a shitty job. Very bad voice syncs.
Prabu is Suriya's boss and he controls a lot of this business. Its interesting to see how these guys get the smuggle the stuff from the airport to India and back to other countries. While we know that a lot of this could be true, its quite shocking to see what happens.
Jagan - the guy who hosts America's Funniest Videos on Star Vijay is Suriya's pal in the movie. Tamannah is his sister. NOW THATS A VERY BAD MATCH UP for a family. Black Coffee and Milk. Jagan as Chitti has a very interesting role. He has done a fantastic job. I am guessing that this is a great break for him and the future holds a lot for him.
Tamannah - this hard working Punjabi kudi rocks! In this movie, its not just love and songs for the actor. Love happens in like 5 mins. They meet and the next scene they are already in love. Costume selection would score a 4 on 5. She is surely getting better in every movie of hers.
There is no separate comedy track. Suriya, Jagan, Tamannah, Karunas, Renuka (Suriya's mom) - everyone does comedy to their own capacity. When prime characters perform comedy, it gels into the movie and it also lightens the audience's view about a particular character.
Songs and the picturisation are a treat. Hariharan's voice in Pala Pala is so FRESH. Like always, Harris' music reminds you of all his previous creations. Grinding the same dough. I am guessing that Harris is fond of a few raagas and he composes only on those. One of the songs, i think Nenje Nenje, was shot in Walvis Bay, Namibia, where the sea and sand dunes are next to each other. Beautiful Place.
Story, Script, Screenplay - would give a min of 3 on 5. Very skillful. Even though we have heard of so many con-job movies in the past, this one is quite entertaining. There is more focus on smart smuggling rather than using plain ammunition with mobs. Creativity is fabulous - KV Anand and his team will be appreciated for this. In a lot of instances, they quickly show the way things unfold from the past. That's very thoughtful and neatly done.
Overall: Great entertainer from Suriya, after a long time.
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