Dhoom 3 Review from Times of India!

Story: Chicago is hit by a mysterious thief targeting one bank - can Mumbai cop Jai Dixit catch the shadowy chor?

Review: Straight up, Dhoom 3 makes you laugh, gasp - even sniffle. The most emotional of the Dhoom series yet, this is Aamir Khan's show all the way. As revengeful circus star Sahir, whose father Iqbal (Shroff) dies after losing his beloved Great Indian Circus to a stony-hearted Chicago bank, Khan is terrific. The Dhoom series usually showcases brawn on bikes but in this one, mind meets machinery, Khan's brain almost visibly ticking behind his eyes, calculating every second before he vrroooms off on a bike - across a wire stretched high between buildings, beneath a mega-truck, even underwater.

Chicago forms a super backdrop for Sahir's stunts, the grainy stone of its buildings the perfect texture against which those bikes purr past with velveteen growls. Scrawling 'Teri aisi ki taisi' on its vaults and scattering the bank's money across Chicago's skies, Sahir makes the local police look as intelligent as turkeys. But things change when Mumbai cop ACP Jai Dixit (Bachchan), with bike-and-babe-mad subordinate Ali (Chopra), arrive and figure out why - and how - Sahir is breaking the bank.

Dhoom 3 rests on Khan's magnetism, his actor's eyes and jaw-line, his abs playing a part too. But the film is powered by its action. With WOL (whistle-out-loud) moments, this is super-slick and on an extravagant scale, using Chicago's skyscrapers like sexy statues arching into the sky. Alongside,Dhoom 3 features the franchise's tongue-in-cheek cheekiness, Ali, fida over blonde policewoman Victoria (as in 'secret'), Jai telling him to focus not on Kamasutra but kaam. As circus star Alia, Kaif provides soft romance, her fitness and innate grace redefining sexiness, making even potentially risque sequences - she lands her job following a speedy striptease - look delicately sensuous. Alia's charming beauty stops our protagonist in his tracks - but for how long?

Clocking in at nearly three hours, Dhoom 3 is slightly extensive. But it holds advantages, the first, that sizzling Dhoom tune, all leather, boots and electric guitars, which straightens sagging scenes. The second - sharp performances by Khan, Bachchan (an underrated actor, whose ability to drawl languid lines with intense looks stands out) and Chopra, who sprinkles lightness and fun. And the third - Dhoom 3's story with a twist wrapped around it, like the ribbon around a Christmas gift. Merrily unwrap - flying out of the Great Indian Circus, Dhoom 3 is great fun.

Rating:****
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/entertainment/movie-reviews/hindi/Dhoom-3/movie-review/27677238.cmshttp://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/entertainment/movie-reviews/hindi/Dhoom-3/movie-review/27677238.cms

Silence Review from Rediff!

Paresh C Palicha says Silence is the first attempt at serious film making from the writer-director team of Y V Rajesh and V K Prakash and have made a decent attempt.

Watching Mammootty play a legal eagle is always interesting. May be because he is a qualified lawyer in real life too. Director V K Prakash seems to know this fact well and uses it to his advantage in his new film Silence.

Written by Y V Rajesh, this legal thriller has taken its inspiration from a couple of Hollywood films to make a highly watchable film.

Arvind Chandrasekhar (Mammootty) is a very successful lawyer, who is appointed judge in the Bengaluru High Court. He is the youngest person to achieve this distinction. Before taking the oath, he visits his parents in Kerala. There he is harassed by an anonymous caller, who says he is not fit to be a judge. At first he thinks it’s a prank played by some friend or a rival.

But things get serious when his wife and children face dangerous situations supposedly created by the same caller. So he tries to dig into his past to see if he has made any mistakes or unintentionally hurt anyone.

He uncovers the mystery in the beginning of the second half and sets out to correct his past mistake before assuming charge as a judge.

The first half moves at break neck speed. But the momentum is lost in the second half as Arvind goes on a fact-finding mission to find his mistake and correct it.

The film borrows heavily from the Richard Gere starrer, Primal Fear (1996).

Among the legion of supporting actors is Anoop Menon who plays a high-ranking police officer and a batch mate of Aravind’s in law college. He had a crush on Sangeetha (Pallavi Purohit) who later married Aravind.

Jayaprakash Kuloor is a Malayali priest and Joy Mathew plays Markos who wanted the judgeship that went to Aravind.

Mammootty gives a controlled performance as Aravind. His greying sideburns and moustache somehow add to his vulnerability.

Silence is the first attempt at serious film making from the writer-director team of Y V Rajesh and V K Prakash after low-brow comedies such as Gulumaal and Threekings.

It is notches above the previous attempts and highly watchable.

Rating:**1/2
http://www.rediff.com/movies/report/review-mammoottys-silence-is-worth-a-watch-south/20131209.htm

Nambootiri Yuvav @ 43 Reviews from NowRunning!

Folks, let me tell you that Mahesh Sharman's 'Namboothiri Yuvavu @ 43' is no 'Paavam Paavam Rajakumaran'. It isn't even a pale shadow of the Sreenivasan film that talked of an almost middle aged bachelor, desperate to tie the knot. 

Jayanthan (Maniyanpillai Raju) works as a priest at a local temple, and has almost given up on his plans to get married. Which is why he is taken by surprise when Sangeetha (Tanusree), an eighteen year old girl at an orphanage expresses her willingness to spend the rest of her life with him.

Nambootiri Yuvavu @ 43 Pictures   85 Pictures

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Post-marriage however, Jayanthan is in for a couple of severe shocks as Sangeetha seems scared of him. Pretty much soon, he realizes that his wife is suffering from a post-traumatic stress disorder, and sets out to find out more about her past.

For one, this is a tale that hassomewhere along the years, lost its significance. So, it becomes extremely difficult to retain the viewer interest in an account in which you know exactly what lies around the corner.

So when the girl looks like she has a story to tell, you sit up, all perked up, hoping thatthis will turn the tables around for an otherwise humdrum film. And along comes the flashback, that is quite uninspiring, and you watch as the last straw of hope floats downstream and away.

The characterization too leaves pretty much a lot to the imagination, and it has these chestnut characters that fit every bill. For instance there is the character played by Nandu, who is an elderly Muslim, who seems to have been planted right opposite the Brahmin who marries a girl from a church. Things couldn't probably get any more specific, perhaps. 

For most of its part, it does stick to reality, though on two instances, it makes a considerable deviation. Jayanthan decides to go chic all on a sudden at the insistence of a friend, and tries out even some low waist jeans in the process. The antics that he indulges in makes you wonder if the man has not really mellowed with age.

His interactions with a youngster (Sraavan) who has a very special wily way with women is the other occasion that almost misfires. When the association finally ends in a brawl, you realize that all this beating around the bush has eventually served little purpose.

I should add that 'Namboothiri Yuvavu @ 43' is not really a film that merits a detailed analysis, and try hard as it may, it is a formulaic piece of cinema, that does not have the potential to rise above the bery minimal standards that it has set for itself.

Maniyanpillai Raju makes a decent middle aged guy who is caught in the doldrums of life, courtesy a late marriage. Tanusree makes a confident debut, though her performance borders on the theatrical at times. 

'Namboothiri Yuvavu @ 43' is thus a futile exercise in film making that is a bit of astretch, since it's neither emotional nor funny. It's a bland adaptation of a theme that we have already seen before, delivered with less charm and even lesser appeal.

Rating:*1/2
http://www.nowrunning.com/movie/12707/malayalam/nambootiri-yuvavu-@-43/4487/review.htm 

Silence Movie Review by NowRunning!

V K Prakash's 'Silence' has Mammootty playing Aravind, a vibrant lawyer who is all set to take office as a judge. The celebrations are on in full swing, when Aravind starts receiving phone calls from a stalker, who seems to know everything about him. Whenhis family is threatened, Aravind has no other option but to track the caller down and seek out his intent.

Y V Rajesh's script has a few thrilling moments in the first half and the film has a striking interval punch that sets the ball rolling on a thriller field. However, we see the script toppling down in the latter half, with a few loose ends hanging about here and there. 

Silence Pictures   12 Pictures

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'Silence', to be fair to the makers, does have its share of thrills, is slickly shot and keeps you perched on the edge of your seat - at least for the most part. Its collapse lies in the fact that the surprise comes perhaps a bit too early, and once the revelation is made, there is nothing much sturdy enough to hold the rest of the film together.

It has become almost customary these days, for every thriller film to have a psychotic character who would wreak havoc in someone's life, and 'Silence's is no exception. Psychosis seems to be the key factor here as well, and everything from a troubled childhood to a history of schizophrenia are dwelled on, but we have all seen it before. 

The shock moments that are so imperative for a film as this to get its moves right, are sadly what are missing here. The buildup is quite fine, and you get all perked up and excited, and when the final disclosure does not match up to the setting, the effects are catastrophic.

It's a shame really, since the film does show signs of immense potential during its initial few moments. A golden thriller premise is what it has on offer, and hence when you watch it tumble down like a pack of cards, you are disappointed and wish that things were indeed better.

One does wonder if it's at all possible to deliver a real exciting thriller any more, with almost all the possibilities explored by film makers across the world. And yet, films continue to be made; the ones that excite us, and which make our hearts skip a beat or two. 

The underwater scenes at the climax have been captured on camera remarkably well, and Mammootty does deserve an ovation for having done the action sequences on his own. Manoj Kumar's cinematography is slick, and suits the mood of the film to the 'T'.

Mammootty looks incredibly handsome with the salt 'n pepper look, and though the role does not throw any fresh challenges to him as an actor, slips into the portrayal of the troubled lawyer with remarkable ease. Basil does a neat job as well, and perhaps this should open up a vista of new opportunities before the young actor. Anoop Menon and Pallavi Purohit lend ample support in their respective roles.

I would still say this Y V Rajesh's best script till date, and with a bit more polish, he could have had a real winner in his hands. As of now, things are pretty much silent over here. So much so that you wish someone would at least let out a scream.

Rating:**
http://www.nowrunning.com/movie/14416/malayalam/silence/4500/review.htm

Ivan Veera Mathiri review by NowRunning!

Usually, the rise of a common man against evil always results in violence and the immediate formation of an overnight leader. But our common man, played by Vikram Prabhu, is well read, comes from a decent middle class family, is currently job hunting and prefers to use brains over brawn when he has to handle a situation.

This common man is aware of the repercussions he might have to face for his actions and therefore always operates alone and in disguise. This is the story of an intelligent common man, someone you seldom see in society but are aware of his existence.

Ivan Veramathiri Pictures   27 Pictures

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A barbaric act in a law college provoked by a local minister makes headlines which catch the attention of our hero, Guna, who at first hardly pays any attention and instead laughs at the comments posted on the video from the incident on his friend's Facebook wall.

Guna is constantly reminded of the incident over the next few days, forcing him to do the unthinkable, and results in the inevitable. He kidnaps the local minister's brother, Eeswaran, who has come out on parole and instigates the opposition party to accuse the minister of hiding his own brother. Following the disappearance of his brother, the minister is forced to resign and is arrested.

Having succeeded in putting the minister behind bars, Guna lets go of Eeswaran who sets out to seek revenge.

We have seen several stories of the common man turning into a hero and a leader in Tamil cinema, but this film, although confining itself to commercialism, tries something different. "Ivan Vera Mathiri" literally translates into "He is Different", and the film indeed is different. Sadly however, not to a great degree. As initially pointed out, it's intelligent but also has instances that make it look dumb.

The entire episode of Guna taking Eeswaran captive is intelligently executed, is engaging and makes you almost empathise with the latter's predicament. It's another story of good versus evil that's spared the cliched treatment but somewhere towards the end it gets sabotaged by a disturbing climax, especially scenes featuring Surabhi being kicked in the face and gut.

I wish the climax wasn't handled so recklessly.

Director Sarvanan uses some key characters aptly to push our protagonist to rise to the occasion following the incident in the opening scene. But what I fail to understand is how can just another average common man turn out to be a good fighter who could pull off some extremely dangerous stunt sequences with ease.

Here, the film's stunt choreographer Raja Sekhar deserves a special mention. The stunt atop an incomplete building definitely stands out and some road chasesequences also draw equal attention. The fights draw more attention than the music and acting put together while the cinematography at some junctures is good.

I don't know if Vikram Prabhu was forced to use the same expression from start to finish but his acting didn't quite convince. It's alright if it was done deliberately but if not, then I suggest he start working on his expressions because he hardly displays any variations in his performance. Vamsi Krishna as the baddie is aggressive and acts well while debutant Surabhi can be impressive with some guidance.

Ganesh's cameo is powerful but he has more talking than action in the role of a cop. I still don't understand why cops always have to yap about being good citizens? It's so cliched and yet our filmmakers fancy that idea.

"Ivan Vera Mathiri" is a fairly different tale of a common man.

Rating:***
http://www.nowrunning.com/movie/12699/tamil/ivan-veramathiri/4499/review.htm