The Adventures of Tintin - Fun ride all along

X-posting my FK review. Visit FK for further discussions.

Theatre: Lakshmi Theatre, Thaverekere
Show: 1:15 PM, 12-Sep-2011
Status: Balcony around 40%, very low in FC

Tintin makes me nostalgic. My childhood vacations where either spent playing cricket or in the bed with a book in hand. I managed to read all the Tintin books that I could lay my hands upon. I wanted all dogs that I see to be snowy. Be Tintin and travel the world on adventures. From the moon to the deep abyss of the sea. Herge had created an engaging world and pitted in a set of delightful characters.

Fast forward to mid-2000s. News breaks out about a new Tintin movie spearheaded by Spielberg and Peter Jackson. Animation and not live action. I had been waiting for this movie ever since then.

First of all, the viewing experience I had was shoddy at best. I saw Mankatha in Lakshmi Theatre and was pretty ok with it. Tintin was a colossal let down. The sound system turned out to be way too crappy. Dialogues were barely audible let alone understandable.

Moving on to the movie. Spielberg sticks to the original material. May be a little too much. Its almost like watching the Tintin cartoons that used to air on TV a few years back with some awesome tech blended in. The movie does stay more like that book and Spielberg is successful in maintaining some aspects which delighted like that comic. The pickpocket scene comes to mind immediately. Similarly, the chase scene in the Emir's palace was breathtaking. Immensely rich visuals packed with a shot of adrenaline and the stamp of Herge humour all over it. Snowy's actions in certain scenes are a delight to watch. Follow the pooch closely and you will be rewarded!

Voice actors have done a good job (I think!). Tintin was perfectly voiced and Andy Serkis as Haddok, took some time to get used to, but he does deliver some striking stuff in the flashback scenes. Thomson and Thompson were a perfect fit and so was Castiafiora. The singing scene was sensational.

The story is derived from three Tintin books and they have been seamlessly merged creating a single, strong narrative. I really wish they create at least 2 more movies based on the books.

3D technology was really good to see in certain places and the animation is top notch. Tintin and Haddock feels strangely real. Snowy is beautifully done. The animators deserve a huge applause just for snowy. Captures the essence completely from the book.

TL;DR: The Adventures of Tintin is a delightful movie blessed with top notch animation and captures the essence of the original material.

Rating: Excellent.

In Time - In sync with these times

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Theatre: Fame Cinemas, Bangalore
Show: 7:45 PM, 5-Nov-2011
Status: House Full

In Time has a very interesting premise. A future where time is literally money and humans are immortals. There is a catch though. Your clock starts ticking at the age of 25. You have 1 more year on the clock that you can spend or live. You need to work hard for the entire life and earn time to stay alive. The land is divided into time zones where the rich and powerful stay in the upper echelons in comfort and the poor struggle to sustain their life in ghetto like time zones.

The protagonist played by Justin Timberlake lives in a ghetto with her mother. He is 27 and his mother is in her 25th anniversary of turning 25. They literally live minute to minute. His life turns upside down one day when a man arrives in the ghetto with over 100 years on his clock. What follows form the core of the movie.

The movie alludes to the current situation in our world economy. The economic powerhouses built on top of debt or paper money which has no intrinsic value. Everything driven by the greed of a few powerful corporations. Humanity treated secondary to profit. I could really connect to the movie in its allegory, %with the occupywallstreet protests and debates on 99% taking place in the USA.

Justin Timberlake is good as the hero. Other actors were pretty decent. Amanda Seinfried is stunning and played a good part as the rich, rebellious girl.

The styling of the movie is good. Realistic future blended with a retro style. Absence of cell phones is the main thing I notice. Could be deliberate. The screenplay tends to get generic and move away from the powerful underlying thought in the thread. Will not bore you for sure. Direction is good. BGM and camera work are pretty standard and engaging enough. Visually, the movie does not offer any excesses and relies on the normal, realistic setting.

At the end of the day, you do get the feeling that the movie could have offered a lot more with the kind of thread it has. But it does entertain you and is a good watch.

TL;DR: In Time is a good scifi thriller with a powerful allegory relevant to our times.

Rating: Good

Velayudham - Just for the mass!

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Theatre: Innovative Multiplex, Bangalore
Show: 10 PM, 29-Oct-2011
Status: 80-90%

After getting torn by 7aam Arivu and Ra.One and blowing 500 Rs, I was reluctant to go for Velayudham. Picked up my pieces and went to the movie thanks to peer pressure. The movie does not disappoint. It offers what you expect from a Vijay movie. Gravity defying stunts, quite a few comedy numbers, larger than life hero, and luscious women, all tied into a neat package.

Vijay does what he does best and is entertaining. Thanks to KPN, I have watched most of the bad films from Vijay 5-6 times and this is a welcome relief. Hansika is gorgeous and I got my money's worth from just watching her prance around the screen. Genelia is subdued and a decent role for her. Saranya was good as Vijay's sister. Santhanam was quite funny without going overboard. The baddies fit the bill neatly. Thumbs up for casting Abhimanyu Singh. Downright menacing.

Direction is pretty good. Cinematography and editing adequate to keep with the pace of the movie. Screenplay is tailor made for larger than life heroism and succeeds in that respect. Velayudham costume could have been better without the obvious Assassins Creed inspiration.

At the end of the day, you get what you pay for. 2-3 hours of mindless entertainment. Switch off your brains and enjoy the ride.

TL;DR: Velayudham is a fairly enjoyable Tamil masala flick which does not stray away from a successful formula.

Rating: Decent masala flick.

Ra.One : Dumb Film. Brilliant Technology

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Show: 9:45 PM, 28-Oct-2011
Theatre: Rex, Bangalore
Status: Barely 30% in FC, 80% in Balcony (FC has a lot more seats)

The only redeeming factor about this movie is the technical brilliance. Visual effects were spot on. Near perfection in most of scenes. VFX team, take a bow!

Story is as dumb as it comes. Dumbness follows one after the other. International technology demo in Hindi where most delegates are foreigners! Video game which has 3(!) levels and require you to do somersaults if you want to win! As an avid follower of games, this is appalling to say the least and as dumb as it can get. Kid in 2011 who is a fan of Michael Jackson! He listens to metal for god sakes! Make him a fan of Lamb of God or Maiden! But no, we need SRK to show off his MJ impersonation! Dead guy getting a christian burial and some Hindu ash dispersing! It goes on and on. The funny part is, these things can be forgiven if the plot made even a little sense.

Movie relies on stereotypes for comic relief. South Indians, fat kids, Chinese guys. Not even mildly funny. Insufferable to be frank. SRK would have been better off letting his kids write the screenplay and story. They would have done a better job.

SRK is not too good as the Tamilian dude. G.One doesn't have much to do in terms of acting. Flashes of brilliance in the household scenes as G.One. Arjun Rampal is pretty decent. Looks ominous enough to scare 3 year olds. Kareena looks okay. The kid is pretty good. Chinese guy was nice as well.

Direction is pretty average. Cinematography, editing, sounds, VFX were top notch. The technical part actually makes you sit and watch the movie. I watched 3D and its pretty good when compared to usual 3D stuff.

Northie guys and gals were giggling in a lot of scenes. So, I guess it does appeal to a section of the audience. Will it be enough to save this trainwreck?

TL;DR: Ra.One is a dumb film undeserving of the breathtaking VFX.

Rating: Avoid (Unless the ticket is dirt cheap)

7aam Arivu - Seventh Sense is nonsense!

Theatre: Fame Cinemas
Show: 10.45 A.M, 26-Oct-2011
Status: Housefull

I decided to watch 7aam Arivu because of Surya and the amount of hype that surrounded the movie. I had a major reservation with the movie ever since Murugadoss made statements about Tamilian culture, heritage and all. Reeked of jingoism to exploit the average Tamilian. And why would he need to do that? The answer stared right from the screen. In simple terms, the movie sucks.

The only thing I liked in the movie was Surya. Holds his head high from a heap of ruins. The Bodhidharman act was really good and he was charming self as the modern day Arvind. His performance in stunts showed how much commitment he had made for the movie. Circus tricks, kung fu fights, dances...he could pretty much do nothing wrong. Shruthi Hasan was ok as the love interest. You could barely blame for an overwritten character. Villain is good. He can kick ass but no opportunity to act.

Technically, the movie is frustrating. Brilliant camera shots followed by some shoddy work. Hollywooditis at its peak at certain points. Note to the makers, a shaky camera is considered as a negative in recent Hollywood blockbusters. Its not something that gives your movie credit. Editing is also shoddy at places.

By far, the biggest or rather the only culprit is Murugadoss. You claimed that Hollywood would be queuing to remake this movie (or something like that!). When you make such loaded statements, back your ass. Else you will fall flat like this. Terrible screenplay and a bad story made from a very promising thread. Direction is shoddy. Lets forget about the science part in the movie. Everybody makes concessions so that movie becomes enjoyable to the masses. But even if you consider the watered down logic (or lack of it) in Tamil, the stuff you see in this movie is downright laughable.

Mind Controlling villain. I can digest that. But a mind controlling villain who is able to teach multiple people kungfu within 10 seconds and make the cars and bikes fly? The usual turncoat Indian who is paid 300 crores(!) as lumpsum with nearly zero motives who begins lecturing about the evil plans of the evil Chinese in intricate details like a study class. If you can digest that and a lot more you may be able to tolerate the movie.

Songs are forgettable. Ringa Ringa song though good to hear is not shot very well. Rest of the songs look really good but has a forgettable rhythm. BGM is downright terrible at some places. When did high pitched shreeking became a trademark of the Chinese?

SFX were decent to good. But in many places you could feel the artificiality. Value for the amount of money spent? Decide for yourself.

What really pisses me off is the amount of time this movie took in pre-production. Looks like while Surya was doing his jig, others were out partying hard. Screenplay looks like its been written in a week and the frames look like they been hastily put together. The amount of Tamil jingoism in the movie is irritating to say the least. Multiply the kind of philosophy that Shankar pushes out in his movies by 20.

At the end of the day, you feel bad for Surya. The man gave a lot for the movie. The movie could be a hit in TN thanks to Surya, but Murugadoss should hang his head in shame.

TL;DR: 7aam Arivu is a terrible disappointment laced with a non-existent screenplay and lacklustre direction.

Rating: Avoid.