Best of 2017 - Tamil Cinema

When bollywood was struggling to entertain us, the regional movies made huge success this year. Especially Tamil and Malayalam movies made the audience sit up and take notice due to their original content and some twisty screenplays. Movies with parallel and multiple storylines made it big with filmmakers opting to let the audience do the thinking than spoonfeeding them.

Backing of independent filmmakers' nuanced stories by big production houses, fall in big budget releases (and the brushing aside of those with aimless hero worshipping, they even hit the rock bottom in this post), big stars opting for content over command, unknown cast and crew making it big were some of the reasons for continued success of Tamil movies in 2017.

Based on the releases we have had this year, following movies made it to our best of list, in no particular order.

Aruvi - 4.75/5
Genre: Drama

The biggest split view we have had on a movie till date. While I couldn't connect with the movie at all, Gowtham sided with majority who liked it, lived it and are worshipping it. So this is entirely his take..;)

For me, this is undoubtedly the movie of the year! In fact it is so far the best movie of this century. Do not look into any websites for a review of this movie please. Just go and watch it. I get it if you don’t like it, but then this is like thalaivar saying gettha munnadi vandu nippen da!

What is note worthy is the clarity of the debutant director. And Aditi Balan, Please don’t do any other movie, you can rest your case with this one!

Dheeran: Adhigaaram Ondru - 4.5/5
Genre: Action | Thriller

Dheeran proves what good can original content; detailing and research backed up by riveting screenplay do to a movie. It's an all out action movie spewing technical brilliance and clarity in film making! Even the much criticized romance angle actually proves as a breather amidst the breakneck speed at which the movie progresses.

Vikram Vedha - 4.5/5
Genre: Crime | Thriller

Need we say more about this one! What a screenplay! What perfection. The only movie this year in which even flaws were shown perfectly! Eagerly awaiting the director – writer duo’s next presentation.

Thupparivalan - 5/5
Genre: Crime | Mystery | Thriller

Thupparivalan is a razor sharp, edgy and brutal thriller. You will keep finding more of Mysskin's mastery, the more you dig in to this delightful cake glazed with Mysskin-ness! Probably the only director who casts music/BGM/RR also as a character for the movie. Arrol Corelli's BGM is definitely one of the biggest plus of this movie. It feels like the music was written on paper with entry and exit cues. Watch out for all the layering and sub-text! For not a single information shared with you by the film maker goes waste.

Managaram: 4/5

Genre: Crime | Drama | Thriller

Layered screenplay, parallel-multiple story lines and unnerving thrills. These, are crafts in themselves. They excite us whenever we encounter at least one of them onscreen. Now imagine when all of them click together. It's a superb portrayal of Chennai the city we all know and don't know.

Kurangu Bommai - 4.5/5
Genre: Drama

Mystery of the contents of a bag and then the big reveal! Gut wrenching climax. For a debut director to handle such a multi layered screenplay took us by surprise. Many of us might have missed it on the big screen. This is one gem of a movie with character depth and arc. The story comes a full circle in the end.

Oru Kidayin Karunai Manu - 4.5/5
Genre: Comedy | Satire 

A rural backdrop story from a Goat’s point of view. The screenplay may test your patience at times but then that is the best part of it. The tone is dusty and rusty throughout but the dialogues are strong and humourous as well. It is a simple story of how to do – what not to do!!

Aval - 4/5
Genre: Horror | Thriller

A sensational old school freak show that entertains in the smartest way possible weeding out the unnecessary and focusing on frightening you with haunting set pieces and locales, making it one of the beautifully shot horror movies.

Though it may not be as true as it claims to be, Siddharth's writing skill rises above the usual purely because it doesn't abuse the genre and Milind's direction keeps us wondering when we will get the jolt of our life

Meyaadha Maan: 4/5

Genre: Comedy | Romance

Can chest thump as Kollywood's La La Land. Meyadhaa Maan is a delightful watch mainly due to the convincing portrayal of its cast and smart, slapstick one-liners and some amazing music! The running length and pre-climax scenes do stick out as sore thumbs, but the smart turnaround in the end makes up for it. Here's a Jolly good movie which nobody can deny!! 

Magalir Mattum - 4/5
Genre: Drama

Brought in the much needed fresh breeze amidst all the energy (time & money) draining humidity!! 

Three old friends re-united and their journey is all the movie offers us. Watch out for some soul stirring, thought provoking and face palming one liners!!

It is truly a journey into the mindset of Women and the rest. If we all missed the sub-text in Kamal Haasan's Magalir Mattum (1994) about the existential crisis that women face, then this Magalir Mattum brings it up front and makes it stand in front of us.

Lens - 5/5
Genre: Thriller

We do not know how many knew that such a movie was made and released this year. Hard hitting content oriented, a socially pertinent movie about misuse of hidden cameras and online adult content. Nearly 90 minutes of run time but nevertheless a captivating one.

Aramm: 3/5

Genre: Drama

A relevant social movie that gets lost amidst goofy newsroom discussions. Watch it for the opening scenes, the BGM and the honest, down to earth script about the ignored section of the country.

 -

The following movies caught our attention and were worthy of the money spent on them but because we couldn’t fit them, they are in our honourable mentions:

8 Thottakkal – Crime Mystery at its best

Pandigai – Action movie with a taut screenplay

Pa. Pandi – Light hearted coming of age movie!

Maragadha Naanayam – Laughter guaranteed!

Did we say some movies hit the rock bottom? Here they are, falling under "so bad, it's good".

AAA & Bhairavaa - Understood two things from watching these two mentioned!

1. Naanga yevalo vettiya irukkom (public)

2. Ungalku yevalo kozhuppu irukum (directors and actors)

Best of 2017 - Hindi Movies

Enough with the Hollywood high handedness and awards mania. Lets switch over to Indian movies now, starting with the list of best Hindi films this year.

Bollywood is on a hatrick (nothing to chest thump about), producing two consecutive years of lifeless duds and big budget flops. The trended started in 2016 and has continued and has even peaked in 2017. Simply put, this year has been disastrous for bollywood in terms of number of movies which crossed the break-even point. If someone like Vishal Bharadwaj didn't make it to the list, then you can imagine the mediocrity dished out to the audience. And the sheer number of comedies that have made to our list throws light with ample pun on the state of B-Town.

Still we managed to handpick Seven B-wood movies released this year (2017) which left a lasting impact on us after watching them. We couldn't watch some of the year end releases (there isn't enough time!!) so we reserved it for you all to comment on.

Hindi Medium - 4/5
Genre: Comedy | Drama

Fantastic satire on our education system and the high handedness of a privileged few in it. It is mildly preachy but true to its heart. In an era where we are being preached for everything unnecessary in our country, from religion to cows, this preaching in the movie is more than acceptable. Irrfan and Saba's performances and superb dialogues keeps you on your toes.

Watch it, Enjoy It!

Lipstick Under My Burkha - 4.5/5
Genre: Drama

It takes guts to make such a movie and give it this title. And the state of affairs is so pity in our country that it takes guts to make such a movie and give it this title!!

Director Alankrita Shrivastava weaves a layered story with women in four different age groups and from four different backgrounds and all living under one roof. Yet the only time all four of them meet across is in the Penultimate scene of the movie.

The performances of the lead actors overtakes the necessity to have hard hitting dialogues. Give it a try!

Trapped - 4/5
Genre: Drama | Thriller

Oh wow!! Vikramaditya Motwane!! Rajkumar Rao!! South Mumbai – In your face!! How brilliantly he showcases the irony of being trapped all alone in a concrete jungle bustling with people. So often than not, at some level everybody gets trapped!!

If Buried (Ryan Reynolds) was claustrophobic this is the opposite of it! Space here was plenty. In fact the actor had a whole apartment to himself and gets felt woefully distraught. A brilliant movie with top notch performance from Rajkumar Rao (what a year he has had!).

 
Jagga Jasoos - 3.5/5
Genre: Adventure | Musical

All you Reviewer Rascalas!! One underrated movie of the year. Must watch for Anurag Basu’s animated take on the Purulia Arms drop case with a La La Land touch to it and Pritam’s hum worthy music. Ranbir Kapoor lives and breathes the role of Jagga. Katrina Kaif is Katrina Kaif, let’s leave her at that. Do watch it. Make time to watch it. One wholesome family movie to be watched along with Kids.

How hypocritic are we – just because we are ignorant to a case, we are shunning it.

 
Bareilly Ki Barfi - 4/5
Genre: Comedy | Romance

From the director who gave us Nil Battey Sannata (Amma Kanakku in Tamil), comes this light hearted, fun-filled emotional roller coaster romantic ride. When Ayushman Khurrana and Rajkumar Rao both play cat & mouse when it comes to  acting, it is Paisa Vasool for the audience. Wholesome entertainer of the year with one of the best songs, the mesmerizing Nazm Nazm. The desi dialogues and ensemble cast makes this movie al the more entertaining. And Kriti Sanon managed to pull off the rare double of best and worst (Raabta) in the same year.

 
Shubh Mangal Saavdhan 4/5
Genre: Comedy | Romance

Kalyana Samayal Saadham (the original version, which was also a sleeper hit) – Tadka Maarke. The best thing the director did in remaking his own story was 1. hiring specialist writers to tailor the screenplay to suit the Hindi audience, 2. Casting Ayushmann Khurrana and Bhumi Pednekar.

Amidst a Sanskaari CBFC comes this movie on Erectile Dysfunction. The tongue in cheek dialogues to convey intercourse (Alibaba & the forty thieves from Arabian Nights) is by far the best comedy scene of the year. The way in which Tiger Biscuit was used to communicate erectile dysfunction visually and metaphorically is another scene stealer.

The ensemble cast more than makes up for the Kicchadi of a climax.

Toilet Ek Prem Katha - 4/5
Genre: Drama | Comedy

This one effectively delivers the poignant message of having a ‘Shauchalay’ in every home. Infact the movie has a dialogue which goes – “agar Biwi paas mein chahiye, toh ghar mein Sandaas (toilet) zarror chahiye”. Some felt it was a public bandwagon for Swachch Bharat campaign and It didn’t strike a chord with many main stream critics/reviewers but then this movie has its heart at the right place, we feel. Makes for a good evening weekend watch with Chai & Biskut (pun intended) ;)

Following are the movies which we are yet to watch but are already making or have made some good & healthy noise:

1. A Death in the Gunj – Konkana Sen Sharma directed

2. Secret Superstar – starring Zaira Wasim of Dangal fame and an Amir Khan production

3. Qarib Qarib Single – Parvathi & Irrfan Khan. Do we need to say more?

4. Tumhari Sulu – Seems Vidya Balan acted the hell out of it!

5. Poorna: Courage is the Limit - Scaling new heights.

Best of 2017 - Hollywood

So here we are, Gowtham and Arunan, as the year is coming to an end with our first edition of "Best of" series that consists of those movies that upped the movie going experience that much to warrant our (and in some cases everyone's) attention.

Nevertheless with awards season picking up, many movies are getting released for nominations under various categories, there’s plenty of movie watching left for us to even though the Calendar year 2017 is officially signing off.

We would’ve missed many new releases (Read: 3 Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri, I Tonya, The Post etc) but these are the few releases of the year which we think no one should miss!!

Some choices are obvious and some are bewildering. Fell free to pitch in with your recommendations that you think we missed out.

For the ardent fan in us and all…………… 

Here goes the Top 10 (in our View) Hollywood Production Ventures for the Year 2017, not in any particular order!!

Mother 5/5 

Genre: Mystery | Thriller

This unabashedly daring movie transcends topics that are what making us more and more chaotic, exploitative, violent and inhumane. The movie traverses from faith & religion to global warming & gender inequality and creation of life itself (and the elixir of it!). Mother! is a fiercely metaphor rich symbolic tapestry woven with one of the best ever lead performances and master class direction by Darren Aronofsky which makes it trippy, fantastical, metaphysical and hysterical. It is a movie that accepts audience to go home with a view of their own rather than trying to drive home the point of context. Watch out for the year's intense climax!

You may not like it, you may not connect with it, you may not get along with it, hell you may even dislike it, but that is exactly what we feel this picture wanted to do! To each their Opinion, to each their space only if there is Harmony!

Coco 5/5
Genre: Animation | Fantasy

If ever there was a more touching animated movie after Toy Story and Up it's gotta be Coco. Unkrich and Molina (Monsters, Inc) have done some serious research on Mexican traditions and folk culture and have chosen characters to fit their idea. Ably aided by spectacular visualization - oh what a treat! - And foot tapping Mariachi ensemble. Coco is poetic and vivid in every way possible, even while portraying death.

This year's only animated movie worthy to make it to our top ten.

Thor: Ragnarok 4/5
Genre: Action | Fantasy 

Fasten your seat belt, get your popcorn/snacks tub, and don’t dare looking at your mobile or anywhere else. For, once this jolly good fun ride commences you wouldn’t want to miss a minute of screentime. A soaring movie with ridiculous and effortless comic timing, courtesy: Watiti's brilliant exchange of hammer with humour. Ragnarok is almost the best Marvel movie till date and its funniest too!

MCU strikes Gold in making a Seriously Funny Movie with earnesty!

 
Gifted: 4.5/5
Genre: Drama

A splendid soak that leaves you with a feel of happiness and wave of other emotions. Chris Evans, after his rhetorical flag waving duty for Marvel, totally nails it as the caretaker of a 7 year old child Prodigy, McKenna Grace, who solves differentials like it is breaking biscuits and is the natural lifeline of the movie. Webb's film-making is so delicate that it rises above the cynical expectations and clichés to find a cult status.

IT - 4.5/5

Genre: Fantasy | Horror

When was the last time you saw a horror movie and came out satisfied, smiling and thrilled as well? IT adopts an old school approach successfully to bring to life a book by a difficult author. Banking on the craze and cult for Stranger Things, IT unmasks a terrifying old clown who gets you totally! You will definitely need motivational quotes to switch on the lights in your house after watching IT. Fun filled, beautifully paced, coming off age movie for the teens of today with a dash of horror/thrill sprinkled all over it!! Go Feast on IT!!

The Big Sick: 5/5
Genre: Comedy | Romance

True story of Kumail Nanjiani (Silicon Valley) that really doesn't feel like a biopic but deals more with stuffs that define relationship and what it is to exactly have the one thing that universally connects us all – Love - The Real Big Sick. Well written, directed and acted and it comes off as one of those movies that you want every other movie to be.

We have a split view on this, so we leave the decision to the well mannered audience ;)

Dunkirk: 5/5
Genre: Action | War

How do we start? Did we watch it – Check. Did we like it – Check. Did we Enjoy it – Check. Was it easy on the eyes and soothing for the years – check. Was it technically brilliantly – check.

This is an amalgamation of visual brilliance, soul stirring BGM and masterful film-making from one of the greatest story tellers of our time. A story not touched upon as much as it deserves to be. It's only apt that Nolan took this up, and boy has he made a movie out of it!! Two years of work, shown in less than two hours. The shortest running and Nolan’s best till date. With almost no bullets (very few actually), here's a war movie set in beaches and about to be etched in our minds forever. This is an immortal and humongous achievement.

Oscars may finally open its arms to this maverick director.

War for the Planet of the Apes: 4.5/5
Genre: Action | Sci-fi

Emotions conquer guns in this engrossing and spectacular conclusion to a trilogy that began bombastically as a commercial tent-pole (Rise of the Planet of the Apes) and saw a much grimmer and darker sequel (Dawn of the Planet of the Apes). War's make up and set pieces are what CGI is to Transformers (pun definitely intended). They speak volumes, albeit in action just like the Apes do. Story telling and the technical wizardry at display are a class apart from the rest of the pack.

Get Out – 4/5
Genre: Horror | Thriller

Slowly starts off as a romantic movie and the more and more you get in to it, you will not want to Get Out of it! Racism could not have been portrayed with such ease and class on the big screen and leave the audience holding on to their seats simultaneously.

Truly genuine horror thriller classic!

 
Split – 4/5
Genre: Thriller

Just when Hollywood forgot that an individual by the name M Night Shyamalan existed, the man makes a resounding re-entry to his favorite genre – mystery/thriller/horror! Psychologically mind bending and believable at the same time this is very serious take on Multiple Personality Disorder. What actually happens when all the personalities in an individual share a particular trait of theirs and altogether take an all new Avatar?! With a delicious twist at the end to link it to one of his first films we can't wait for more spin-offs and plot development! Watch it to know more.

 
Logan – 4/5
Genre: Action | Sci-Fi

Highest grossing R rated movie of Hollywood!! We need not bother about that. What a character turning movie! For the first time a STORY was being conveyed in the WOLVERINE series!! Technicallly brilliant, very well enacted and a poetic ending to the WOLVERINE trilogy!! We will miss you Hugh Jackman!!

Blade Runner: 2049 - 4/5

Genre: Sci-Fi | Thriller

Dennis Villeneuve creates a colossal, mind bending story, adds layers and layers of plot to it and gives us one of the best reboots in recent memory. With cinematography so good (Oh! The long shots of LA in ruins!) and sound design reaching its zenith, BR49 is a pure example of what brilliance can be manufactured when every hand involved is doing its job!

Honourable mentions: some that we just couldn't accommodate, else the best of will become too long a list!

Logan Lucky – Masterfully crafted heist by Steven Soderberg.

Baby Driver – That Kick-ass movie of the year!!

Colossal – Innovative comedy movie of the year with Stellar performances from the lead actors

Alien: Covenant - Sometimes as audience we are at fault for not giving due credit to a story which deserves one. Such a riveting origins plot sadly written off with tags like rehash.

Star Wars: The Last Jedi - Overwhelming and brilliant in every way possible with beautiful new avenues for future movies.

The Last Jedi: Outrageously Futuristic and Still Jaw Dropping Worthy

It's a brave risk that writer-director Roan Johnson has taken to sacrifice storytelling pace for providing back story to more epic action adventures for future to this intergalactic saga.

Right from the beginning, Johnson's writing is ingenious and firm, stamping his own vision and wresting the story away from Abrams' 2015 reboot (Force Awakens). For the average audience the pace in writing may be slow but Johnson gives us a grand, full throttle 3rd act that surely would make opinions made till then, take a U-Turn through one of the wildest and most intense climax sequences you will ever see!

All along in this colossal galactic journey, we also see some of the puzzles of the prequels come together like Lego bricks and that's when it all makes sense why this edition of Star Wars is character driven and not just a bombastic space ride.

Stellar background score (as always) aided by some of the best story board work this year (the creatures that we see would surely resemble our childhood fantasies), some neck deep characterization (especially the telepathic face-offs between Rey and Ren) and terrific introductions to more buzzing characters work further in favour of this explosive spectacle.

It's amazing how Johnson managed to bring new flavours to Last Jedi and even more when you think how much this pop culture infested series has matured so much over the last 2-3 films.

Barring the anticlimactic moments that pop up almost in every scene, it is impossible not be overwhelmed in the movie hall by this euphoric, buzzing with self belief film.

****/5

Baahubali 2 - Epic Magnum Opus Concludes Unconquered with Grandeur and Finesse

SS Rajamouli, whose career graph has been skyrocketing upwards ever since the naive yet gripping Student No.1, doesn't care about sacrificing the characters (pun intended!) to satisfy his guilty pleasure and to the heartbreak of the audience whom he kept on knife's edge for better part of 2 years. He also knows how to give the audience a visual tapestry so that we forget the reason why we were kept on knife's edge and are able to sustain the length of the movie. By the time we know the reason why Baahubali was killed, we have already fallen hook, line and sinker to this audacious, mesmerizing and brilliantly played out epic.

The film doesn't waste time coming to the point. You have the Big 3 of the Bali-verse in the opening scene. There the goosebumps start and end just before the climax. With rapid energy in writing SSR is able to give ample scope for each character, both old and new. In the process he is also able to achieve heights hitherto unknown or rare in film-making - creating a climax for every scene. Even the title credits are not wasted, we are walked through The Beginning in stop motion animation. We are not spared of tension, laughs, excitement, jaw-drops, the wooows and the ooos and with the Oath-taking scene, we fall willfully to the magic of the screenplay. Kudos to SSR and Prasad for silencing even the notorious ones among the audience, like when a principal enters an unruly class room. We start obeying.

The problem surfaces post interval. Mind you, when I say problems, they are like good headaches. Imagine a lavish lunch turns into an eat-all-you-can competition. The characters ace one another in performance, the BGM turns into a Mad Max electric fusion, the dialogues get sharper, tension mounts further and amidst all this the writing is still holding you in a vice like grip. But there is just no time and hence all of this feels rushed. Even the cuts get jumpy and by the climax arrives we start to get the feel that SSR & Co have finally ran out of ideas. But once again HATS OFF to them for making us shrug off the sudden brain fades we see, especially the cannon ball scene which transforms into a 300-esque graphic sequence and the final showdown between Mahendra and Bhallaladeva.

With Baahubali series, Rajamouli has reinvented the telling of the mother of all base story line, good vs evil, and to be more generic, the art of story telling itself. Nimble in muscular and fire power with generous budget for love of action, Baahubali has positioned itself unconquerable for a long long time.

Verdict: The best bang for your buck you will ever get.

4.5/5

Kaatru Veliyidai - Song of Ice and Fire

Kaatru Veliyidai is a sort of movie that fails you when you want it to be a total love story and when you want it to be a war thriller.

The story at all points is on the cusp of being eternally great and abjectly dismal. Once, you are hooked, something beautiful is developing on screen, you forget the disappointment the previous scene so efficiently and effortlessly bestowed on you and then this one too meets with the same fate. You sigh. Get distracted by the hooting. 

Repeat. 

This goes on at various junctures for better part of 148 mins.

Mani Ratnam's mastery in direction is still intact. His screen writing is mostly intact. Where he falls flat is repeatedly placing similar build-ups to identical scenes one after the other. It gets challenging to even go through the motions. 

His sketching of Leela is poignant to understate, superbly dazzled on screen by Aditi. She is mesmerising. Her flawless lip-sync is so heartening to see. Efforts reap spectacularly. She carries the movie at various stages when it wanes in intensity. 

Can't say the same about Karthi's VC. He can't find his base and roots in a story that just has no scope for his role. You can't be an egoistic cry baby, a pilot and still want a devoted girl friend.

And the buck stops there. There is nothing to take home about any of the support cast. Some can't perform in Mani Ratnam movie and others are just too new.

Rahman glimmers through this fading light. Unplugged versions of Vaan and Nallai Allai are what you want to wake up to every morning, latter though, placed and enacted in the most un-Mani Ratnam way possible and former, as beautiful introduction.

Ravi Varman paints but I couldn't experience more of the snowy peaks than what was there in the sneek peeks and trailer. However the locales stand out. Kashmir has to build a monument for Mani for he is one of the reasons we knew of its existence & beauty, us southerners. Sreekar cuts are at times too jumpy and haste. For a love story shouldn't have there been more fade-outs? 

However overall production value of the film remains true and aesthetic. Climax sequences are well choreographed and stands out, albeit not logically.

Kaatru Veliyidai won't stand among the best of Mani Ratnam's works but isn't entirely a damp squib. Amidst the ruins stands one of the uncompromising works of a waning master.

**/5 

John Wick: Chapter 2 - Reeves and Stahlski Elevate This Bounty, Gun-Fest Thriller!

The Wickverse is here to stay. Professional killer secret world is here to stay. Wick is the James Bond of Killer Elite!

If you loved the 2014 sleeper hit, you will do so the Chapter 2 even more. There is no thing as a good thing in this "Bullet Ballad" as I would like to call it. This one doesn't dwell on the unnecessary. Gets on quickly in the scheme of things, Rock and Rolla sans the generous humor that takes fist fight and secret world professional killer network a cool thing, hell even a cult!

Reeves as Wick with his grim face doesn't get into the act of foul mouthing. He goes about killing. And boy does he kill. He kills them all! The sheer velocity of editing and his indomitable ability to perform quick reflexes will make other hit-man movies novice. The boogeyman has gone to the top of Hollywood's "Killer Elite". This may first feel like last year's insipid first person shooter movie Hardcore Henry only until you start feeling every shot and every punch. This one takes you on an entertaining and makes you forget the aplomb violence there is and enjoy the fun.

Chad Stahelski has brought down all his goods. He proves he knows the craft inside out and that the 2014 movie is no flash in the pan. This is basically stunt direction and Stahelski delivers. How a sequel should go about its business. There were so many occasions when the movie could have gone astray from its main theme, but it doesn't deviate a pinch.

Tyler Bates' simple yet foot tapping BGM and the slick and fast editing are other big support to a film that doesn't give a damn about underplaying violence.

And there are many brilliant moments that make you hold your breath. The metro station fire exchange, the fist fight outside the hotel, the bounty scene on Wick to name a few.

Bottom line: A thrill ride that elevates the prequel without the emotional connect and possibly teaches a lesson or two in making sequel.

Verdict: Too much of good is still good! 

4 stars out of 5.