Note: Spoilers ahead! Read at your own peril!

After Wolfman, we caught Percy Jackson and The Lightning Thief.  I’m not sure if the movie looked fake. Maybe too much of Harry Potter in the last few years had affected the movie industry and the movie goers (not to mention having same director – Chris Columbus). I couldn’t help but make comparison between the two. And The Lightning Thief came off worse. Percy Jackson series has five books, and Lightning Thief is the first. I guess few more movies is in the pipeline.

Remember characters like Zeus, Poseidon, Athena, Minatours, Medusa etc.? These are gods and mystical beings in the Greek stories, along with Hercules, Perseus etc. In this movie, the Gods exist, and their offsprings (demi-gods) roam the earth as human beings. King of Gods, Zeus had decreed that the parent God can never make contact with their demi-god children, so our hero, Percy Jackson (Logan Lerman) grows up with his human mom – a regular college going student. The movie starts with a gigantic Poseidon rising from the sea and having a meeting with Zeus (Sean Bean). Seems like some stole Zeus’ weapon, his thunder bolt (thus the title) and Zeus promises war if the bolt is not returned (one wonders how the theft occurred in the first place). Zeus accuses Poseidon’s son since according to him, only a demi-god born of the 3 powerful gods Zeus, Poseidon or Hades would do such a thing.

So the race begins. Rest of the celestial beings believe Poseidon’s son Percy has the bolt and tries to grab him, while Poseidon tries to warn his son. Anyway, Percy has a protector, a Satyr (half human, half goat) named Grover (Brandon Jackson), who is incidentally his best friend in college. As with most demi-gods, Percy has dyslexia and ADHD, so he goes to a special school. During a trip to the museum, A Fury attacks Percy, but he is saved by his teacher Mr Brunner (Pierce Brosnan). Percy gets suspicious and wonders what is going on. Mr Brunner asks Grover to take Percy home and inform his mother. Once home, Grover tells Percy’s mother that its time to go. The three of them get into a car and drive off, with Percy having thousand and one questions. As they approach the destination, a Minotaur attack them. Percy manages to ward off the creature, but his mother is taken away, and he thinks his mother has been killed.

By this time, Grover is revealed to be a Satyr and their destination is a camp for demi-gods. Its run by Mr Brunner who himself is a demi-god, a Centaur (half human, half-horse) named Chiron. Here, Percy undergoes some fast-track training, and has time for a blossoming romance with Annabeth (Alexandra Daddario), a demi-god of Athena. He then gets a warning from Hades – return the bolt and rescue his mother (yup, she was kidnapped, not killed). Even though Mr Brunner advises him to go to Mount Olympus and talk to Zeus, Percy decides to take matter into his own hands and venture into the underworld. He is aided by Grover and Annabeth. Before they leave the camp, they met Luke, another camp member who provides them with some tools – shield, flying shoes, and map for pearls for underworld travel.

So, begins a journey for the pearls (3 in total). First was in the care of Medusa (Uma Thurman). They managed to kill her and retrieve the pearl. Second was in a museum, where they faced a Hydra. Final pearl was in a casino, where they had to overcome drug laced lotus food. Finally, they enter the underworld and meet Persephone (Rosario Dawson!), wife of Hades. Some small talk with her and Hades appears. Percy tries to convince Hades that he did not steal the bolt, but everyone soon notices that the bolt is actually hidden in the shield (given by Luke earlier). So, the trio realised Luke was the one who stole the bolt.. Hades is angered as he thinks Percy lied to him. While he is punishing them, Persephone takes the bolts and strikes Hades. Hades faints. Persephone then tells them to escape with the bolt (and she has some crazy reason for that). Unfortunately, there’s 3 pearls and 4 persons (three youths plus one mother). Grover volunteers to stay back, something that Persephone relishes as she’s attracted to him.

The three go back to the living world and was about to enter the gateway to Olympus when Luke attacks them and steals the bolt. Luke admits to stealing the bolt because he wants the Gods to fight so that the younger generation can take over (yeah, another corny reason). Anyway, to cut a long winded battle short, Percy retrieves the bolt and goes to Olympus along with Annabeth. They return the bolt and also ask for a favor – to get Grover from the underworld, which Zeus grants. Poseidon also gets a chance to talk to his son for a while. Story ends with Percy going back to the camp while his mother says goodbye to him.

So, you can see the similarities with Harry Potter story. This movie is from a book series as well, so there’s probably another 4 movies. I feel the movie failed to excite. Maybe its meant for kids, since its a simple, linear storyline.

Story: A “seen that” feeling prevails at times. Maybe due to the subject – Greek mythology. Simple and easy to understand, caters for kids.

Direction: Seems to have some disjointed parts. Not smooth flowing.

Acting: The young actors did well considering their age. The veterans like Uma Thurman, Pierce Brosnan and Sean Bean had small roles but acted well.

Conclusion: Watch this for time passing or if you are into teenage adventure stories.

Cast: Logan Lerman, Alexandra Daddario, Brandon Jackson, Uma Thurman, Sean Bean, Pierce Brosnan.

Genre: Adventure, Fantasy

Acting : 4/10

Story : 4/10

Special Effects: 7/10

Cinematography: 6/10

Overall Oomphness: 4/10

Note: Saw this movie in East Coast Mall, Kuantan.

NOTE: Spoilers ahead. Read at your peril

I managed to catch 3 movies during the holiday season recently (well, its Chinese New Year AND Valentine Day, nothing much happens). First of them was Wolfman, a remake of the old classic movie made in the 1940s. This one stars Benicio Del Toro, Emily Blunt, Anthony Hopkins, and the Matrix-voiced Hugo Weaving.

Story is quite straightforward – about werewolves or lycanthropy. The hero (del Toro) returns home after his brother’s disappearance is notified by the fiancee (Blunt). Alas, he is too late, as the brother’s body was found, horrifically mutilated. It was the 3rd or so death in the town. He investigates, and on a visit to the Gypsy camp, the campers along with town security is attacked by the wolf. Hero is injured (you know what that means in werewolf-world). Hero’s father (Hopkins) seems to be cool about it (hint, hint). Cop (Weaving) comes to town to investigate. Hero is prime suspect as he is a stage actor, had witness mother’s suicide when young, and was admitted to an asylum subsequently.

On a full moon night, a trap is set, but the werewolf escapes, leaving trails of massacre. The next day, a bloodied hero is found and caught by the cops. He is sent to to asylum in London, under the impression that he is mentally affected. While in prison, his father visits him and reveals that he himself is the werewolf that terrorised the town and killed both mother and brother. Hero swears revenge.

On the next full moon night, the doctors display him to fellow researchers, saying that once the patient realises he doesn’t turn into a wolf, he will be cured. But, we know what happens when the full moon is revealed. Hero-cum-werewolf kills a few people and escapes into the night, chased by the cops.

Hero finds brother’s fiancee, who is now unattached and is on a rebound (hint, hint). Tells her that father is the cause and that he will take care of it. She vows to find a cure for him. He leaves for hometown while cops raid the fiancee’s shop.

Climax is in the town. Both werewolves fight, and the father-turned-werewolf gets killed. Hero-turned-werewolf chases after fiancee-turned-heroine. Fiancee pleads and we can see realisation in the eyes of the hero-turned-werewolf. Heroine shoots the werewolf and gives redemption as she “frees him’ out of love.

Oh yeah, the cop gets scratched while chasing after hero-turned-werewolf, so …part two maybe?

Story: Simplistic.

Direction: Nothing much to shout about. It lacks the thrill/suspense factor.

Acting: Hopkins is melodramatic as usual, while I feel Weaving can’t let go of his booming  Agent Smith voice. Emily Blunt and Benicio were OK.

Conclusion: Not so appealing as storyline is known. I think it fails to excite the viewers, and we are able to guess the plot and ending easily. The transformation from man to animal was cool though.

Cast: Benicio Del Toro, Anthony Hopkins, Hugo Weaving, Emily Blunt.

Genre: Horror, Period,

Acting : 6.5/10

Story : 5/10

Special Effects: 8/10

Cinematography: 8/10

Overall Oomphness: 7/10

Note: Saw this movie in East Coast Mall, Kuantan.

NOTE: SPOILERS AHEAD.

This movie is a remake of an Hindi movie – A Wednesday, starring Nasseruddin Shah and Anupham Kher, which was released in 2008.  I did not watch the Hindi version, but it seemed that the Tamil version followed it closely, even the movie length was similar, with no songs and comedy tracks. What sets apart this movie is that it had the “Ulaga Nayagan” Kamalhaasan!

The movie opened on a public holiday weekend in Malaysia, and also without competition from other Tamil movies, so it should get a good run. The downside (for some)  is that there’s no skimpily dressed heroines, Vadiveloo jokes, or dreamy songs. And yeah, its a short movie, about 2 hours only. But what a two hour it was!

One won’t realize time passing by, as you will be living the moment – tensed just like the police, anticipating like the journalist, plotting like the protagonist.

OK, let’s start with the storyline – its all about terrorism and the ‘Common Man” (people like you and me).  How a  man takes the  laws in to his own hands and punishes the terrorists. Terrorist for the terrorists. Oh, and its a bit like short version of the series 24, covering only about 6 hours of time (from noon till 6pm or so) on the same day.

» Read more: Unnaipol Oruvan

NOTE: SPOILERS AHEAD.

Kanda, Kanda, Kanda, Kanda…Kathai Kanthal!

There’s been a lot of hype about this movie for the last two years. The reviews so far are mixed. Some say the movie is good, while others not. For me, the movie is carries a well-used plot of corruption, black money, vigilantism, and religion, till some people say its a mix of Robin Hood, Sivaji the Boss and Anniyan. For me, this is a Comedy movie due the amount of laughter in the cinema. Its not really an action or romantic flick.

The story is straight forward. India is grappling with “black money”.  Income earned without proper proof and not taxed. These money is the laundered overseas or hidden from the Income Tax department. The story starts with a comedic “cocky” act by Vikram (dressed up as a rooster) who drops down from the roof (ala Jayam) and bashes up Mansor Ali Khan, the local police officer. Why? Because Mansor took the money that a lady surrendered to the police. The money was actually given by Vikram to the lady’s family. Why you ask? Because the lady prayed to Lord Kandaswamy (Murugan) in Tiruporur (near Chennai?) to ask for help since her husband needs money. You see, temples in India(and Malaysia) would have a tree where people can tie things to send their requests to God. So in this particular temple, people can write their problems and tie on the tree branches, hoping that Lord Kandaswamy will answer their prayers. The temple priest are in cahoots with Vikram (whose name is also Kandaswamy) and will pass the request slips to him. Who is Kandaswamy? Well he is an income tax officer who is anguished because all their cases takes long time in court, and the seized money lies idle. So, he and another 11 friends (hint: flashback time) team up to deliver the wishes of the people by taking up the form of a rooster, the symbol of Lord Muruga. That’s when the comedy starts. Whenever Vikram appears as a fowl, its looks funny. The imitation of chicken walk was nicely done with lots effort, but still can’t resist laughing.

The story continues where Vikram’s department raids crook PPP’s (Asish Vidyarthi) house. To avoid further questioning, he pretend to get a stroke. Only his assistant YG Mahendran (wasted talent here)  knows this. His daughter Subulecthumi (Shreya), who thinks Kandaswamy is the cause of her father’s stroke and vows to avenge him. She tries the “he tried to rape me” formula but fails miserably. Next is, yes you guessed it, – “i’ll make him fall him love with me until he becomes crazy” strategy. Boring stuff, but plenty of eye candy.

The story of Lord Kandaswamy appearing in the various forms – rooster, old man, young lady, etc to fulfill the makkal’s request or to teach a lesson to those who deserve it gathers momentum. Naturally the police led by Prabhu start their inquiry.

After a some time, Kandaswamy gets caught, not by the the actual cops, but by bad guys pretending to be cops, a setup by PPP. Left with no choice (Shreya was about to be molested by a prisoner as part of the process to get Kandaswamy to admit. duh!), Kandaswamy agrees. Kandaswamy then realises its a trap set up by father and daughter team. Kandaswamy also reveals why he did the robbery – a flashback involving the loss of a limb of his friend. He admits to his “crimes” and PPP uses the admission to blackmail Kandaswamy. Every raid Kandaswamy makes, he wants 50%.

The story drags on, with timely comedy by Vadivellu, including some scenes shot in Mexico where Kandaswamy goes to get in touch with the money laundering agents. Oh ya, the director Susi Ganesan makes a cameo here as a CBI officer who tails Kandaswamy to Mexico.

To cut the long story short (it was a 3 hours and 15 minutes movie!), Kandaswamy manages to catch another big crook and also gets arrested. Since there’s no proof that he was the one who actually helped the makkal (so said the judge) he was freed, but ordered to be transferred to another state. In the last shot he is shown being in a temple, and when walking out, takes a paper from a tree (ala Anniyan ending).

Story wise, its partially OK. There are holes here and there, but passable.

Acting wise, Vikram did well in the various roles, but Kandaswamy seems to prove that Shreya can’t actually act on par with other actress of substance. You might as well replace her with any other models and still the movie will go on. I don’t think both of them had any kind of  on-screen chemistry at all. Frankly speaking, I kind of got turned-off when the duo was on screen together.

The villains were quite comedic as well menacing.  Prabhu acted well as a police officer bent on revealing the truth about the persons behind the apparitions.

Comedy is the strength of the movie. The main attraction is of course Vadivellu. Without him, it would have been a below average movie. Villains, Vikram, Prabhu, YG Mahendran, and other actors also provided the laughter.

In terms of direction, the movie seems to stumble along and scenes fitted in to showcase Vikram’s talent, instead of strictly adhering to the movie. Some scenes are totally unnecessary, like the Mumaith Khan’s dance (waste 5 minutes to provide a 3 second dialogue – “can afford to pay 30 lakhs for a dance”). The scenes where Vikram’s team set up the cables and wiring, and conduct the stunt are not believable. Looks like inserted just to please someone.

Songs – Lots of modern beat. My favorites are Idhellam Dupe, and Excuse Me Mr Kandaswamy. The visualisation for Allegra looked messed up, probably trying to do some medley or combo dance sequence. En Peru Meenakumari is unecessary in the movie, but a catchy song nevertheless. Miow Miow also same – disjointed and irrelevant to the movie.

Cinematography is OK. The temple scenes, and song scene in Mexico was nice to watch.

Cast: Vikram, Shreya, Prabhu, Vadivelu, Ashish Vidyarthi, YG Mahendran (and Susi Ganesan the director)

Genre: Comedy, Action, Romance

Acting : 7/10

Story : 5/10

Special Effects: 6/10

Cinematography: 7/10

Overall Oomphness: 6/10

Note: Saw this movie in Big Cinema Sitiawan last weekend. Crowd was about half full, and not so noisy, so could enjoy the movie.