AIRLIFT – Bollywood’s answer to Argo

Movies based on real-life incidents have been trending over the past decade. It is common understanding that the Oscars are reserved mostly for movies following the “Real-Life” theme year after year. Hollywood understood the potential of this theme a long time back and have reaped its benefits hugely over the years. Bollywood is lagging behind, but movies such as Airlift will put faith among Indian Audiences, who yearn for Desi “Real-Life” Movies. 

Airlift is the story of how Ranjith Katyal, a Kuwait-based Indian Businessman, helped more than one lakh fellow Indians to escape the Iraqi Invasion of Kuwait and back to their home nation. It is to be noted that this rescue operation is the largest till date and the director, Mr.Raja Krishna Menon, has done full justice to the story by coming up with a screenplay that keeps things tight but with a few commercial elements to keep the audience entertained.

Akshay Kumar has delivered an excellent performance as Ranjit Katyal. The Khiladi is known for his action stunts but with the script requiring zero action, he has focussed more on delivering better emotions and has succeeded in giving one of the best performances of his career. Nimrat Kaur had already received critical acclaim with her performance in “The Lunch Box” and as Amrita Katyal, she portrays multiple roles and delivers multiple emotions as a mother who worries for the safety of her child and as a wife who defends her husband’s honour at question. Both Akshay and Nimrat are well supported by the rest of the cast. Purab Kohli as Ibrahim Durrani gives his best as a person who tries to aid any and all in distress. Inamullhaq as Major Khalaf Bin Zayd of the Iraqi Army is good but his dialogues are a bit difficult to understand, owing to his Iraqi style of speech.

Cinematography should be given special mention, with multiple shots being canned well by Priya Seth. Scenes of the Iraqi army raiding Kuwait City, the aftermath of the raids and the escape of Indians to Jordan aren’t exactly originally thought but have been shot well. Most of the shots are tightly held to show the emotions of the people and the thoughts that are going on in their minds. Comedy elements in the movie have fell flat mostly.

Airlift is a movie that overflows with emotions. The way that Ranjit Katyal moves from being a self and family-serving person to someone who saves his fellow compatriots from danger brings in the Messiah element in the movie. The portrayal of the Ministry of External Affairs being incompetent and showing a lack of interest in helping its own people stuck in foreign nations, shows us how well things have changed in recent times. Watch this movie for Akshay’s performance, solid cinematography by Priya Seth and the good story-telling style of Raja Krishna Menon.

So how did u enjoy Airlift.. Let us know at the comments section below.. 

The 'REAL' Winner of the Pongal Race - 2016

BOX OFFICE COLLECTION is a new fancy term and has been the media's favourite child for quite sometime. Be it fan-fights or be it a teeny-tiny argument about a movie, it ends up adding to the box office collection. But is it the box office collection that really determines whether a movie is good??? Do we remember movies like IRUVAR, ANBESIVAM, PUDHUPETTAI etc. based on their box office collections ? or do we remember them due to their remarkable content?? 

For all those people who consider CONTENT - As the king, This review is for you people... 

2016 has been a very special year for Tamil cinema as it has already seen the release of around 10 films, and Pongal ( being a major release time for the industry ) was even more special as the festival saw a clash of the industry's giants: Bala Vs Pandiraj Vs Ponram Vs Thirukumaran ( with their second film)..it was a good clash though.. 

And eventually the media has cited RAJINI MURUGAN to be the clear winner of the box office race. But, is that it?? Is that what movies are all about..?? Concentrated yet bland masala ? 

So, we at Reel Magnet Reviews, have set up a countdown on who exactly the REAL winner of the Pongal race is... Based on the content, story telling, technicality and innovation, we have come up with a list... a list for all the content junkies...

AT #4 spot we have RAJINI MURUGAN : 

What was expected to be a comic roller coaster turned out to be an average flick and the only reason it rose up to 'Average' from 'Poor/Flop' was the 2nd half which brought some meaning to the movie unlike its pointless 1st half.. Keerthy Suresh's performance was praised and lauded by the masses which actually turned out to be a notable film this far in her career. Even though this has all the elements it needs to become a blockbuster, it has nothing new or innovative to offer to the audience.

PROS : Sivakarthikeyan, Samuthirakani, 2nd Half

CONS : Pointless 1st half, VVS Climax twist ( Lame one too :P )

Box office : 20 Crores (Approx.) - as on 20/01/16

AT #3 spot we have KATHAKALI :

From the promos, we understood that this movie was in the lines of PANDIYANAADU. But if you ask whether the movie has lived up to that expectation, we just have to say that it falls quite short. The movie which has a run time of just 120 mins seems a little draggy and takes its own time to settle down. The movie relies heavily on the last 15 mins and the twist in the climax which has been handled intelligently by the director.. It's certainly not the best from Pandiraj and Vishal, yet passes with flying colours. 

PROS : Climax Twist, Cinematography, Colour Tone, Catherine Tresa :P :P 

CONS : BGM, Draggy Screenplay

Box Office : 5-8 Crores (Approx.) - as on 20/01/16

AT #2 spot we have GETHU : 

Forgetting the fact that Udhayanidhi and Vikranth form the protagonist - antagonist pair of the film, you come to realize that the movie is executed pretty well. The critics and the media have been slamming the film about the screenplay but there is a very small knot of the screenplay which plays a brilliant significance in the movie. Hats off to Udhayanidhi for breaking his stereotypical image and we are glad to see that he has excelled in action sequences, especially the pre-interval block. The on-screen chemistry between Udhayanidhi and Sathyaraj is too good. DOP Sukumar has carried this movie on his shoulders and visualized sequences like Hollywood movies.. VERA LEVEL.. :D

PROS : Sukumar's cinematography, BGM, Screenplay, Runtime, Sathyaraj

CONS : Songs, Budget constraints

BOX OFFICE : 2 Crores (Approx.) - as on 20/01/16

Undoubtedly The #1 spot goes to THAARAI THAPPATTAI : 

This priceless gem of a movie was terribly criticized for various reasons such as gore, dark content etc. But if you take a moment of silence and analyse, you realize that Bala has just showcased the life of people whom we forget to turn and take a look at. Brilliant movie.. Just Brilliant.. Varalaxmi Sarathkumar has given her career's best performance in her very second film. Be it the intensely fierce scenes or the scenes in which she emotes, she's done a fabulous job and the wedding sequence is a perfect example to justify the above made statement. As the movie proceeds, we get a feeling that Sasikumar has been under-utilized, but this is soon wiped away by a massy portion in the climax where he rules the screen, thanks to Raja sir's music. Overall the movie has been packed with dark elements prevalent in our very own society.

PROS : Content, Varalaxmi, Vision, Execution

CONS : Chezhiyan's cinematography and Raja sir's music (Doesn't really live up to the name of the 1000th film but the 1st song and the song featuring GM Kumar did do justice)

Note :

To all those who are shocked hearing 'Thaarai Thappatai' as the winner of the Pongal race : 

"Do remember the name REEL MAGNET REVIEWS when u keep continuously hearing the name "Thaarai Thappatai" in the next year's award ceremonies... I bet you will...!!"

Do leave us your feedback in the comments below and do share if you liked this post.. :) 

The Most Underrated Tamil Movies - 2015

The success of  a movie is not only dependent on the story or the way it is directed, but also on various other factors like the time of its release, the money spent on its marketing, competitors etc.

In an industry where more than 200 Tamil films release every year, there are approximately only 50 of them, which reap the profits they deserve. 

Many times, there are genuine movies which fall prey to the INDUSTRIAL CHAOS.

Underrated movies are very common as far as Hollywood is concerned. There are people who search for such underrated movies and there is a huge  fan base following them.

But as far as Tamil movies are concerned not much attention is given to these movies with the exception of a few like HEY RAM, ANBE SIVAM, and many other KAMAL SIR movies.

We, the team of REEL-MAGNET Reviews has decided to start our blog by putting together this list of underdog movies which you might have missed watching in the theaters but are definitely not to be missed.

So here are the Top 10 UNDERRATED Tamil Movies of the year 2015.. 

10) MOONE MOONU VAARTHAI (IMDB 6/10)

This family comic caper has a decent story line- A guy who runs an agency to convey bad news and the adventures he faces due to it. The story revolves around his love life and the relationship he has with his grandparents (beautifully portrayed by SPB and LAKSHMI). All these elements and a guest role by K. BHAGYARAJ sir has made it a fun film to watch, but unfortunately didn't make an impact in the cash registers. 

9) INDIA PAKISTAN : (IMDB 5.7/10)

After Vijay Antony's back to back success with NAAN and SALIM (its sequel), India Pakistan was released amidst huge expectations and it proved to be a comic-roller coaster ride which heavily relied upon PASUPATHY and MS BHASKAR with their comic timing. Everything other than Vijay Antony's dancing and acting was good in this film.. :P :P :D :D

Including Mano Bala's folkish mission impossible entry.. :P :P  :D :D 

8) IVANUKKU THANNILA GANDAM  (IMDB 5.4/10) 

This movie marked the debut of TV anchor DEEPAK's on-screen debut as a hero. The movie was touted to be fun ride, which relied heavily on the growing comic-image of MOTTAI RAJENDRAN and this movie did break-even business at box-office too.

7) THAAKA THAAKA :  (IMDB 5.5/10)

 

This movie did have the potential of becoming the next big thing in Kollywood on the lines of POLLADHAVAN, NAAN MAHAAN ALLA, & PANDIYANAADU, with its dark, intense and realistic action genre. The only mistake on the part of the movie was releasing it along with the biggest blockbuster of the year THANI ORUVAN.

6) ISAI : (IMDB 6.4/10)

This film marked the comeback of SJ Suryah to direction after almost a decade. This psychological thriller plot can be simplified to a simple statement- the clash between two music directors. The 3 hour journey was mostly depressing, leaving the audience astonished with a brilliant 5 minute climax. Simply wow. Isnt that what a Psych-thriller supposed to do..??? 

5) PAAYUM PULI : (IMDB 5.5/10)

When you end up making commercial compromises for a film with an awesome plot, the result is that which happened to Paayum Puli. The portions involving SAMUTHIRAKANI (the antagonist) and his cop brother VISHAL (the protagonist) , grabbed all the spotlight in the story. The climax fight and its picturization took the film to a different level.

4) 49-0 : (IMDB 6.9/10) 

This movie marked the return of COMEDY KING GOUNDAMANI to mainstream cinema after a long time. The movie was rich in content and had Goundamani conveyed all the important messages in his own style. Despite having a good premise, the movie just did average business. 

3) TAMIZHUKKU EN ONDRAI AZHUTHAVUM : (IMDB 6.9/10)

This is one of the very few science based movies that made an impact in Kollywood. The movie had all the elements required to become a blockbuster, but ended doing above average business, still was critics' favourite child. 

2) VELLAIYA IRUKURAVAN POI SOLLAMATTAAN : (IMDB 7.4/10) 

This movie was a surprise at the end of the year. An out and out laughter-riot with decent performances by everyone, the movie dealt with the protagonist needing money for the expenses for his father's medical treatment. He ends up blackmailing his ex and the blackmail chain leads him to PERIYAVAR, the most powerful don of South India. The solution to this chaos forms the crux of the story. Except for ADUKALAM NAREN's make up, the rest of the movie's elements can be lauded.

1) RAJATHANDHIRAM : (IMDB 7.6/10)

Rajanthandhiram has all the qualities of being crowned "THE OCEAN of KOLLYWOOD". This movie went on to receive high critical acclaim and was a sleeper hit with flawless performances from VEERA and REGINA, rib-tickling comedy from DARUBUGA SIVA and the best from almost everyone in the cast. Rather than ending up as a break-even for the producers, this movie could have been the biggest blockbuster of the year, if a reasonable amount of money had been spent on marketing the film. 

SPECIAL MENTIONS :

Even acclaimed actors of the industry tried experimenting different genres rather than focussing on commercial masala movies. Two such movies were MASS and PULI. 

                                       

Both these movies had an equal share of pros and cons and contributed to the new experiments in Kollywood. Both MASS (supernatural elements) and PULI (fantasy adventure) relied highly on computer graphics. 

And not to forget the other two critically claimed movies which took the industry by storm, proving that CONTENT is always THE KING-  Kirumi and Kuttram Kadithal, both enjoyed critical acclaim and did decent business having their budgets in mind. 

                                     

Hope you enjoy these movies like we did.