Art of Manliness - Top 100 Movies list

I came across this blog and it seems to have a lot of useful stuff not only for men but for everyone. Great work by Brett. And since this is a movie blog, I am going to watch the top movies from them. I have already watched some in the list and will try to complete the list soon. Already imdb 250 is a long pending list to complete. Currently i stand at 156 out of 250. So let me write some crap about the wonderful flicks which I am going to watch soon.

The Machinist

If Hitchcock is alive now, how does his movie look like? Nobody can say exactly but The machinist would be coming real closer to it. The whole movie feels like a tribute to hitchcock's movie making. The bizarre setting, the haunting score and the chase sequences shot in the way just like in any other Hitchcock's flick.

This movie follows a life of a man who is insomniac and the outcomes of his condition. This is shot in a more engaging way with a bleak setting with grainy and washed out colors hinting the mood swings the insomniac undergoes and not to forget the haunting score which again adds up the momentum of the flick. This is more of a character driven film rather than a plot driven one. So if you like character driven ones, this will savor you for sure. Christian bale as the insomniac is freakingly horrible and ya thats what he wanted. He fits the bill perfectly. Its out and out his show. The climax is brilliant explaining the things straight though keeps as engaged. I am not revealing anything about the story since it will make things normal. Wanna a watch a Hitchcock's film with a modern day settiing ? - "The Machinist" is the one

21 Grams

I guess the pic above is big enough to read the caption in it. And that's all it sums up the whole movie in those words. Simple story told in a poignant manner. Not so simple to catch up with the plethora of events happen in a small time which is told in non chronological order. Though could be told as a straight story, the narration do add up the suspense. The director's brilliance can be seen in each frame. Be it the sharp dialogues or the circumstances he creates, nothing is normal or clichéd here. Including Sean Penn everybody fits the bill perfectly. You would feel you have spent your time wisely when the end credits roll.( yes applies only for who watches the end credits only after watching the movie :)

Endhiran

Puzzled! Thats my reaction when I came out of the theatre. Does the kind of crowd you watch the movie with creates any difference in your views? I am sure it does! Atleast it did with me. The movie didn't meet my expectations when I came out of the theatre.

I come home, lay on the bed and start thinking about the flick. Hmm, mmhm - Come on its not bad! Hell ya! its good enough. That calls for our next important question - On what grounds?

Number 1 - The grandiose

This is nothing short of anything. Given the budget, I feel the same amount how I perceived the costliest Avatar. I dont find any scene which feel cheap or childish.

Number 2 - Acting ( Read it as Rajni)

How many of us wish to see that old Rajni like in Thalapathi or Netrikan or Johny. Where is the powerful actor has gone ? Where is that explosive performance sans punch dialogues and some stupid stunts? Your answer for all these would be Endhiran. No stupid proving the mettle scene or ton of advice in the opening song to show the "Mass". Just a casual introduction - I started liking the movie. And what an explosive performance from Rajni post interval when he shows the other face! Don't get me wrong, he is as good in the first half as well. Rajni starts his show when he starts laughing when he is designed to kill. Oh man, If anybody can do that in style I am game for it. And the following scenes as well. Specially the "Black Sheep" scene. This is out and out an roller coaster ride for Rajni in acting and he does it with panache.

Number -3 Technical Aspects and Music

Tamil cinema is turning heads toward it. Hard to accept but that's the truth. Though many guys from US have worked, the IDEA comes from here. The climax scenes really give goosebumps when you see those stunts and creativity in a Tamil cinema.Kilimanjaro and Irumbiile were the pick of the album, shot exquisitely. Be it the exotic Machu Picchu or the cool choreography - these two songs are going to rule the roost soon if not already :) ARR outshines himself in BGM when compared to his latest flicks.

Flipside - yawn five minutes, watch five minutes, sleep five minutes, swear on the director for ten more minutes and drop your jaw for the last fifteen minutes. This is what really happens second half. First half was pretty much decent though it had dragging fights and few cliched scenes. Coming to second half what should have been a cool ride with an interesting scenario of a robot loving a human turns to be a boring episode in the movie. There were two stupid scenes which are the leads to two good songs are the real culprits of the flick. One involving the mosquito scene and another being Kalabavan Mani's scene with Rai. Come on, we don't want a situation which demands a song. Throw it somewhere between the flick, we would rather like it. Kilimanjaro and Irumbiile were the pick of the album, shot exquisitely. Be it the exotic Machu Picchu or the cool choreography - these two songs are going to rule the roost soon if not already :) ARR outshines himself in BGM when compared to his latest flicks.

I guess I left a guy who is responsible for all the write up above or scribbling. Shankar he is! I don't like him much personally. I am one of the guy who calls him as "Technical Perarasu" :) I want to change my views I guess hereafter. Endhiran is not a simple flick to make. We can talk over this logic is missing or that. Its boring or whatever crap we wanna say. However, what churned out in the screen is a big dream which a guy had. How slowly it has gotten into shape and how its made is to be appreciated for sure.

Coming to the first few lines of the same write up. I watched with a couple of friends in a utter crap theater without any hope. I guess anybody will feel the same when they watch Inception or what so ever:)

Verdict - Rajni, On his bare bones is a great actor. Here utilized properly. Watch it one more time you will understand!

Bass Engira Baskaran - Review

A picture is worth a thousand words. This holds true in this movie. Below is the pic of the guy who is the back and whatever bone of the flick. Kudos to Rajesh to bring another comic caper!

Weekend Watch

Children of Men -2006

Well, the year is 2027 and humans are no longer able to procreate. And the last young human who was 18 odd years was murdered. In midst of all these, a lady gets pregnant and a group wants to transport the lady to a research group. Now that's a setting which i would like to see in a science fiction story. Not like some weird blue tall creatures walking around speaking in robotic voices. Last year's District 9 was interesting but this beats it by a mile! An real offbeat flick to savor. Great background score, sophisticated yet bizarre art work to show its 2027 and last but not the least, splendid cinematography. There is a war sequence towards the end which looks like an Herculan task those camera man performed with knack. I think its a long , free flowing single shot. I guess its nearly 15 minutes or more. Having said all these, on its bare bones it has a beautiful story which the director nailed it with style.

El laberinto del fauno (Pan's Labyrinth) -2006

A beautiful story of a young girl who gets obsessed with her own fantasy world told in a poignant manner. The scene is set in Spain during the second world war and Ofelia comes with her mother from far away to stay with her stepfather who is the ruthless fascist captain there. Her mom is pregnant and Ofelia gets lost in her fairy world. She meets a fawn one day and she is supposed to complete three tasks so that she can go back to her own world. On the other hand, Ofelia's mother gets sick, the captain's cruelty kills more and more people, the rebels want to get hold of the place. The resultant is the beautiful flick.

Great piece of editing there. Its a treat to watch how the director slowly but perfectly handles both the worlds with ease. Ofelia as the little girl is picture perfect and acts naturally with ease. Not like the stupid fantasy flicks which Hollywood churns out every now and then. Performance wise everybody shines specially the captain and the maid, Mercedes. The story is novel and kept me glued all the time. Its a cult classic in fantasy flicks to say the least.

Naan Mahan Alla

Susinderan's debut movie "Vennila Kabadi Kulu" was different and interesting. Next comes "Naan Magan Alla" now, which is again a interesting take on youngsters who take a different stride and their potential outcomes. On a whole the movie is very decent and can be enjoyed a lot.

The first ten minutes of the movie reveals that this is not our usual flick. A group of college going guys show their intoreable violence to a girl and a boy and the title card scrolls up. And my mind said I am going to witness something new and interesting. And what i saw is some clichéd scenes in the first half and the rest is just plain awesome.

Jeeva(Karthi), a cool guy who takes life the way it is meets Priya (Kajal Agarwal), a confused girl and as by the golden rôle in Tamil cinema - they fall in love. The scenes which involves the love and how they talk is made interesting with full of humor. The entire VKK team is here and Karthi pulls it nicely. The story progress as Priya's dad is unlikely about her marriage with Karthi. Karthi takes up his new work , then he quits and things go normally. Meanwhile the police finds different parts of a boy and a girl thrown in different places, On the other hand, the four ultra violent guys try to murder Karthi's father. However he escapes somehow. Why they tried to kill him? What they were upto? To what extent will they go to kill him? Will they really succeed in what they trying to conceal? Susindran answers in style with a racy screenplay and with fine characters moving around without any major logical flaws.

First half is more on the lighter side. There are lot of interesting scenes and a few clichéd scenes here and there. The first song though nice to hear is unnecessary. Second half goes on a perfectly opposite direction and the movie is more serious than expected. Kudos to the director to give a thriller like that. I thoroughly enjoyed watching the second half. So did the others.

Yuvan is brilliant in this flick. It will be a sin if I don't mention the BGM for this flick. Some hard work has really paid for him. It simply takes the movie to the another level.
Iragai Pole is soothing to hear. Mathi's choice of colors and few shots are exceptional. Particularly, the secluded places in the start and end of the flick was shown with the expected vagueness. Take a bow sir.

Karthi is cool and becomes a real baddy when its needed. He is far better here than in Paiya. Thank god, he didn't dance much :) Kajal Agarwal is cute and that's it about her. The real hero is the director and the best characters are not the main cast but those college guys and the one who helps them. You should see in what all possible directions the movie goes. Man, this is brilliant piece of work. On the flip side, the ultra violence has to be cut down as I saw some audience leaving the theater during those scenes. Climax is little disappointing to me.

On a whole a decent movie with loads of laugh in the first half and loads of surprises in the later. Go for it and you won't regret yoour choice :)

Finally a nice movie to watch with your friends.

500 days of Summer

I am not a big fan of romantic comedies. Still this movie is very close to my heart. It makes you feel good and when ends it slaps on our face. I am sure, each one of us can relate to this story and the feelings the protagonist undergoes is a honest portrayal of each and everyone who got dumped by one or the other.

Tom works in a company where his job is to write quotes for the greeting cards on different themes. He studied architecture and out of no choice he started working in the greeting card company. One fine day, Summer joins Tom's office as manager's PA and the sweet love story begins. The story is told in a nice non chronological order which makes us guessing what happened to her. The dialogues are awesome throughout the flick. For instance,in one scene , when Tom's friend says Tom that he is stalking Summer. Summer will be inside the room. When she comes out Tom asks did she hear anything. She says nothing, and she gotta go since she is stalking i mean starving. Like this the film is filled with scenes which will make you smile.


The editing is perfect and the director uses split screens to show what Tom thinks and whats the reality in one scene and that's just perfect. The film is full of OSTs. Some or the other songs is being played in the background if not, somebody holds the mic and they start singing. Nothing bad, those are the cool moments and certainly the OSTs feel so good like very few romantic flicks. Somehow "Notting Hill" comes to my mind.

And coming to the performances, Levitt and Deschanel did their rôle perfectly and their onscreen chemistry is one of the best which I have seen of late. And the sister of Tom. Oh my! Man mark my word, she is going to chew everybody in the next 10 years. Her rôle in "KIck Ass" was phenomenal and even here too. The good part is she knows how to act.

Having said all these, the true beauty of the movie lay nowhere in the things mentioned above. It lay in the relationship between the two and how beautifully its shown and the hard hitting climax. This is one of the movies which will touch every human's heart someway or the other. Period.

Madrasapattinam

It may sound clichéd when every critic or every other person writes as "Chennai to Madrasapattinam" when reviewing this flick. Believe me or not, that's just true. First of all kudos to the trio - director, cameraman and the art director respectively. Its splendid work of art to see the trams running in the city, a beautiful kuvam river with boats plying and the wonderful clock tower and etc etc. The stage was set so nicely and no loose ends when coming to bringing the erstwhile Madras Presidency before us. So what about the story then?

Nothing new here. Yet, the interesting characters make the difference. Aarya as the brawny youth and Amy as the beautiful english lady who visits Madras. As expected, she falls for Aarya on seeing his braveness. Language indeed comes as a barrier between them and the way they tackle it is shown just like a poem. Amy not only looks beautiful but acts very naturally given the scope. There are laughs here and there and nice action sequences when needed. The songs are pretty good though one during the second half halts the pace of the flick. The day of independence was shot beautifully and it's a treat to watch. There are a couple of supporting characters and each played their rôle effectively.

Many complain the movie is like Titanic. May be. The way adopted to tell a story seems like Titanic, but the script is original. The complaint I have about this movie is the exaggerated climax and a comparatively snail paced second half. Forget these flaws and you have a real good flick before you.

Madraspattinam - May be a old story but it glitters.

Inception - Thoughts & Reflections

I guess everybody would have written about this flick by now. What can i say new about this? As like everybody, I am no exception. I was drawn by the charm which Nolan created once again.

Christopher Nolan with his own story after his debut "Following", shows the world why he is smarter than others.When James Cameroon spent 10 years in creating a technical marvel, Nolan beleived his brain. He too created a marvel, may be not in the technical side, but with his true script.

Inception is a spiritual journey where Nolan is the god and we are the disciples. One thing where Nolan scores more than any other director of our time is the way he narrates the story. We don't have enough time to think.You need a second viewing for sure, to truly appreciate the nuances he has put in the flick.

As somebody rightly said, Inception is not immune to spoilers. You can't tell the story without revelaing the story. In a nut shell, its a story about planting an idea in one's mind through his dreams. Having said, its not so easy. The design they create , the perfect execution, the haunting background score, the slick editing, amazing camera work and last but not the least the fiendishly clever script makes it a master piece.

If Matrix is the best sci fi film made in the last decade, then Inception is the one for next few decades. On a whole, Nolan's movies may seem like a movie with lot of technical finesse and some great twists which qualify for a decent thriller. However all his movies, on its bare bones have an emotional underlying story why his protagonist wants to do that. And that justification, makes him a genius. Take a bow Sir.

As an ending note, please stop reading the spoilers. Its no bad if you missed something. I watched twice still i have a book of unanswered questions. I will watch it again. If you are reading the spoilers, you are not thinking smart enough. In the era of just teen comedy, meaningless sequels and millions of dollars spent on blowing up buildings, Inception wins hands down as a summer blockbuster and a perfect movie to test your acumen. To sum up, Inception - Mind-bending Visual Spectacle.

Following - 1998

You have a $6000, 16mm camera in your hand. What will you do to turn the world towards you?

Nolan did "Following" and the rest as they say is history.I searched the web umpteen times to get this flick but many a times all in vain. However eventually i got this and when i complete watching this I made my mind that Christopher Nolan is the best contemporary director we have alive in the planet. Such a genius he is!

Following is a piece of art shot by Nolan himself for months since they had to shoot only during the weekends because whoever acted( or lived? ) in this flick had other jobs to do. However Following delivers with its sheer brilliance and pure cinematic awesomeness the director created!

Following looks like a precursor to Memento with different story but with same execution and its narration style. A wannabe writer who runs out of ideas starts following random people for creating interesting characters for his writing. He has certain rules not to get into trouble while shadowing somebody. When he breaks his own rules things get nasty and movie ends with a fine twist which i can bet you, you cant think of.The story is in non chronological order as per Nolan's classic style.

The dialogues are simply brilliant. I can see Nolan's literature degree helping him highly here. "Everyone has a box ," "You steal them and show them what they got" will be remembered for years to come by his fans. But not without any reason. Every word each character utter has a reason and a deep underlying meaning to it. The scenes just flow in random without any linear structure which makes us engrosses all the time. The bg score is minimal and its best when used. The editing is slick with the flick running over just over an hour. Photography is again brilliant. How many brilliance in one movie? :( Shot using a 16mm camera the whole flick is in black and white hinting its budget, but never compromises in its quality.

Nolan shows the world a phenomenal and a path breaking flick can be made with his knack for making movies even when given a constraint of budget. After seeing this somehow Kubrick's quote came to my mind which says " If its written, it can be definitely made into a movie". Similarly as the movies famous dialogue says "You steal them and show them what they got", Nolan here steals our heart and shows us what he has got. Needless to say its sheer brilliance.

Raavanan

Okay the big movie of Tamil Cinema. It delivered or not? Tough Question. I would say mostly yes and in some aspects- No. Why? Read on

First shot opens as Vikram standing in a hillock bare-chested and sun rises behind him. We see a brawny fellow standing upright before us. Cut. A village festival was going on. Immediate cut. We see Vikram standing in a hillock again. The camera goes behind him and from above his head we see a long shot of a river running down silently. He flips a stone into the river and dives deep into the river. Another Cut. And yes, Mani has set the mood for the film.

Story: After the intro, we see a group involving Prabhu, brother of vikram attacking a group of police and vikram kidnaps Aishwarya, wife of inspector Prithvi Raj on the other hand. And yes, the hide and seek story unfolds in ten minutes into the flick. Prithviraj starts his hunt of Veera and comes to know that Veera is rugged yet having good reputation among the local tribes and finds hunting him down will be a Herculean task. Aishwarya on the other hand doesn’t want to get killed by Vikram, jumps into the river and Vikram saves her followed by his mood swings. Did Prithviraj capture Veera? Why did Vikram take hostage of Aishwarya? Why Vikram couldn’t kill Aishwarya at the first instance itself? Who wins the battle? Mani solves all this in a slow first half and a somewhat interesting second half.

Having said this, its not a strong story. The flashback was not strong enough to sustain why Vikram wants to kill Prithviraj. There were loopholes in logic at times, but performance makes us to forget. Though Priyanamani delivers it was more like seeing her in second instalment of Paruthiveeran. I could hear all the comments pertaining to that in the theatre. Prabhu and Karthick shines with their witty dialogues. Ranjitha is a surprise in the flick and shouts about Nithyananda is not though. :)

Ok, the million dollar question. How was Vikram as Veera? Well, you know what am going to say. It’s very hard to say anyday that Vikram didn’t deliver. And the stalwart is once again the backbone of his flick. You take Vikram out of the role, I could only see Aishwarya’s performance coming next to him. When he is in the screen, he chews everybody else in the scene and ya, that’s expected. Be it romance or fury he delivers with such a zeal. He is a gem when it comes to acting. Prithviraj looks good and does his role perfectly as expected.

How about Technical ascepts? Ya baby , we have the best of the breed here. If wizard ARR is one pillar of the flick and another one would be Santhosh Sivan. Music and Cinematography are sublime. Montage, long shots, wide ones, low angle ones?- you name it, Santhosh captures beautifully with his camera and the lush green we see just adds more charm. Under estimating Srrekar Prasad’s editing would be a sin. Having said that, he would have edited more during the first half which is the real pain point of the flick. Peter heyen is a surpise though. Mostly known for gravity defying stunts, here we would see some real action here.The blasts and the fight before the climax which happens in a bridge above 3000 feet above the sea level is one treat to watch and savor. Though reminded me of the first fight between Surya and Madhavan in” Ayutha Eluthu”, the location changes my perception.

I don’t how many can attempt those kind of fights in their movie. You can count hardly. CG looks childish at times, and sometimes you never know it. Music Usure Poguthe and Kodu Potta are nicely shot. All praise to Karthick and ARR.I personally didn’t like Kalvare and Kattu siriki much. Kattu siriki was in a wierd voice over. The background score adds up to the eerie effect of the woods and indeed haunting mostly.

The climax was brilliant. Though one can predict the ending, the way the characters were woven toward the end and how perspective of one change toward other is shown as a class act. And you have a splendid performance from Vikram on the other end. One of the best scenes where you can see the full potential of vikram is when he explains what happened in the hanging bridge to Aishwarya- Man i don’t think anybody in Tamil cinema can do it at present. So many expressions he shows without a hint of over acting. Indeed an explosive performance. Period.

Verdict: Mani wins as a good commander here. Technical brilliance is seen throughout the film. And an explosive performance from Vikram makes it a must watch. On the down side, don’t expect logic (only at times) and a great story to back Veera’s deeds and vengeance. Weak story and nothing interesting happening in the screen which leaves the flick without any soul

Verdict – 3/5 (just Okay)

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How To Train Your Dragon

Well, to be honest i became crazy about these animated flicks these days. I fell in love for the first time when I watched "The Lion King" some ten years ago. Then watched the toy story series, Shrek series, Ratatouille, Wall E , Up and now this " How to train your dragon". And the fun gets doubled now with the 3d effects incorporation.

Hiccup a small Viking Kid always wants to go for a raid on the dragons in their locality. But his father didn't allow to do so. One day, he wins over a mysterious night fury dragon with his invention. He calls it toothless and as expected a great friendship has begun. Hiccup understands dragons are not dangerous as they thought and he wants to show his people the truth. But fate plays the other way leading the dragons to attack them. How he befriends the other dragons and how they win the battle with the help of toothless is the story which is so beautiful to see.

These animation cinema works only when it has a great plot to back it up. Here it has and works like a charm. Technology and style don't win over the script, which is hard to perceive these days. Though it comes with a tag of 3d, deliberately nothing was shot to utilize only the technology. The effects are minimal however when required, its done with a knack to surprise us. The background score is another important aspect of an animation flick. Remember the Lion king's one? And here its amazing.

This is a simple story told with interesting characters and stunning visuals. The CG is growing leaps and bounds and the result we see in the screen. Animated flicks are no more children movies, it has more to offer with substance as well as with its visuals.

4/5- 3d,witty,stunning visuals - What else you need? grab your popcorn and hit the theater.

Up In The Air

The director of Juno comes with another exhilarating and touching message with "Up in the air". I wish more and more flicks of this kind to be made in the coming days to make watching movies a pleasant and pleasing experience.

Okey, enough of my wishes and the story goes like this. Clooney's (Ryan)job is to fly to his office's different locations and start firing the people. And he has to tackle the situtaion and keep it cool. He is not so young, giving motivational speeches and believes in not getting committed and live a smooth life. Natalie joins him in the firing job with him, however couldn't cope up with it. She finds her struggling with the job every now and then where once to her it seemed cool to fire someone. Meanwhile Ryan gets along with a 30+ Alex(Farmiga) and as time goes by he finds her irresistible. Moving away from his own principles, Ryan goes to meet Alex and the director opens a cool twist. And the movie ends with introspection of the protagonist which is nothing but perfect.

Clooney in a very different role here shines. He carries the role of a lone man with all ease, whose only wish to fly miles and enjoying in the suites offered. Farmiga deserves the oscar which she got. She is looking mysterious, beautiful, sexy and what else, she acts well.

She as the 30+ woman is the best in the flick when it comes to performances. I cant believe myself to see the same woman who got so bettered from "The Departed".

The cinematography is brilliant and has lot of scope to shoot picturesque locations from the plane and it looks great in screen. This is one of the finest movie I have seen in the recent past. This would have got the academy awards for best picture. Dialogues are witty and meaningful when required and when backed up with great on screen performance, it culminates to be a great flick to cherish.

You may not feel how strong the flick is ,however if you think after sometime, it shall sound to be a satirical note on relationships, jobs and everything else. And that's the strength of it. It just shows how small things are valued more where real relationships are not. And it's true in everyone's life. Ain't it?

Up in the Air - Time to question ourselves on how honest we are to our own principles.

Brilliantly directed movie with a story to tell and thoughts to retrospect. 5/5

This Is It

Just heard some tracks of MJ and just known a very little about him, I started

watching this flick and needless to say I am blown away. This is a very good film on

just showing the last training performance of Mj for his final concert. This doesn't show

any hard feelings or not even a word about the tragedy happened. And I think, that's the

power of the flick.

Can you make an approximate 2 hrs flick to be interesting? Yes, why not if MJ is there

performing his best. I could see, how much effort they had put in it and how much different it

would have been if it has happened in real. This is nothing to be reviewed regarding this flick.

Because no body thought or devised a script for it. And as by the old saying " Truth is stranger

than fiction" goes, the movie is a perfect example.

For MJ fans this is a flick which reads "This is it" but in real, that's not it. The glory MJ has left upon

shall still remain. For others, atleast if not a great flick, this will remain as an example on

how much effort goes behind a live concert. Period.

Rating - 3.5/5 - Indeed an offbeat flick.