25 Years of Amaidhipadai and Mahanadhi

If someone makes a list of top Tamil movies, I can tell you that high probability you will find both Amaidhipadai and Mahanadhi in that list. Both were released in 1994. Both have gone on to become movies we still remember and talk about irrespective how they did at BO when they got released. Both are in my favorite movies list. Amaidhipadai tracks the life of Amavasai who from being

 

Movies I liked from 2018 watched list

It is always fun to look back on the year that has gone by and list the movies that made it to your top list from the movies you watched. My list includes not just the movies that got released in 2018 but also movies I caught up with from my watchlist, movies I missed from earlier years. I am not a fan of ranking the movies. So, the movies

 

Merku Thodarchi Malai – Excellent Visual Show and Tell Cinema where the Tell is left to the audience

Official movie trailer: Since the movie never got a release in Bangalore, had to wait for it to show up in a streaming site. So, the delayed writeup – it showed up on Netflix, I guess beginning of this year. Considering the payoff, it is worth the wait. This is one of the best movies of 2018, along with Pariyerum Perumal these two movies stand way ahead of all other

 

2.0 – an impressive 3D VFX spectacle that would have worked great with better writing

Official Trailer: It is a goosebumps moment as each letter of Super Star rolled in 3D in the title sequence. From the title sequence till the end, 3D worked with effective use of depth and I found 2.0 to be much better than many Hollywood 3D fares. After initial 3D euphoria, I switched to 2D version since with 3D I felt either lighting to be dull or subjects appear smaller

 

Boy Erased – society, parents, prejudice and the boy

Official Trailer: Boy Erased is the second film from Director Joel Edgerton. His first directorial venture, The Gift, was a psychological thriller that had multiple creepy moments. With these two movies I can confidently say Joel is a very good story teller. Boy Erased, adapted from a book, based on true events, takes us through the struggle of a boy and his parents, and how the society reacts around them

 

Favourite Action Movies: Mad Max: Fury Road

Official Trailer: Mad Max: Fury Road is one of those movies where just saying you liked the movie doesn’t cut it. You got to see it to experience it. I have watched this movie so many times, every viewing I find something new. Post Terminator 2: Judgment Day, Mad Max: Fury Road has raised the bar for action movies; it has set a new benchmark. Similar to T1 & T2,

 

Vadachennai – An exciting, gritty, terrifying depiction of gangster world powered by love, betrayal, and violence

[SPOILERS AHEAD…] Official Teaser: We get a Tarantino style opening with 4 guys tossing their weapons on the table with fresh blood stains and flesh pieces, wondering what is in store for them in the future, now that they have eliminated the big man. Whatever happens, they decide to stay together. We are not shown the victim. This opening sets the premise for a gripping gangster drama for next 2

 

96 – take a heart tugging trip down memory lane stripped of melodrama

[SPOILERS AHEAD…] Official Trailer: Ten minutes in to the movie, there is a sequence where we follow Ram entering the school premise, climbing the staircase, walking through the corridors, entering the classroom, longingly looking at the benches, he shouts that is me looking at his name in the notice board. Director Prem Kumar doesn’t give us intercuts to show the thoughts he is going through. Prem Kumar is not in

 

Pariyerum Perumal – a strong film that holds a mirror to all of us with realistic depiction

[SPOILERS AHEAD…] Official Trailer: The opening sequence where Pariyan and his friends are taking a bath in a small pond ends with tragic death of Karuppi, the dog. That setups the premise for the movie where in the eyes of dominant caste, even the pets of oppressed castes don’t have a right to live. Rest of the story takes us through discrimination and humiliation Pariyan goes through in and outside

 

My introduction to cowboys, horses, and western

Read the full article here: https://baradwajrangan.wordpress.com/2018/10/03/readers-write-in-51-my-introduction-to-cowboys-horses-and-westerns/ Born in 60s and growing up in Kanyakumari district from 4th to 12th grade, most of the movies I watched were Tamil movies, few English movies (once we moved to Nagercoil from Cheruppalur) and occasional Malayalam movies. I use the term English movies since I didn’t know the term Hollywood that time!! Exposure to terms like Hollywood, Western, genres, happened late 80s and early