[WindRide]

Kantara - Wow... just wow!

A movie meant to be watched only in a theater. Do not even bother watching this at home. You will miss the essence of it.

I don't understand a word of Kannada. But i still wanted to get the original feel of the region this story depicts so watched it on the big screen with subtitles to help me along.


Totally mind blown!!!

There is a hindi version and a soon to be released malayalam version. But my suggestion is to watch this in its original language to feel the true magic.

Originally Posted by balenoed_

Very unlikely it will launch in Bangalore. Will go for Hindi version, which is released today.

Do yourself a favour and watch it in Kannada. Subtitles will help. Half the "effect" is in the language spoken.


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[volkman10]

Rorschach (Malayalam) - 3/5

Watched the movie in PVR.

Liked the name of the movie, it is a layered psychological-philosophical thriller, gripping nerve-racking and told in a manner that was so far not explored.

The ensemble cast breathes life into characters, its electrifying visuals, music which sets dark and varied moods in the film are some highlights of this film. Made with a budget of~ 20 Cr. it has already raked in 30 Cr. and is the latest hit from Kerala.

Understanding Rorschach better:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LYi19-Vx6go&t=78s

[Saanil]

Ponniyin Selvan: I

I saw the Hindi dubbed version of this movie after seeing a lot of positive review online. I anticipated the movie to be a nice entertainer with Mani Ratnam as the director and a couple of big names (Vikram and Aishwarya) in its cast. But I was thoroughly disappointed. This is probably one of the worst movies I have seen in recent times. It was hard to keep a track of all the characters in the movie and the relation between them. Some of the scenes were abruptly put together and the story telling was not smooth. I am not sure if this was because of the Hindi language but I would not recommend watching this movie.

Kantara

A good example of how good story telling can keep the audience engaged for 2.5 hours. I saw this in Kannada with English subtitles although the Hindi dubbed version is also released now. The storyline was simple but effective. Many online reviews are praising the climax of the movie and it indeed was a treat to watch. I would definitely recommend everyone to watch this in a theatre.

[Samurai]

Originally Posted by Saanil

Ponniyin Selvan: I

I saw the Hindi dubbed version of this movie after seeing a lot of positive review online. I anticipated the movie to be a nice entertainer with Mani Ratnam as the director and a couple of big names (Vikram and Aishwarya) in its cast. But I was thoroughly disappointed. This is probably one of the worst movies I have seen in recent times. It was hard to keep a track of all the characters in the movie and the relation between them.

I heard this complaint about too many characters, so I decided to read the 5 part book series first. I am already in the middle of second book, and Ponniyin Selvan (future Raja Raja Chola) is yet to make any appearance. However, by now I know all the characters, so I am probably ready to take on the PS1 challenge.

[The Rationalist]

Kanthara!

What a treat!!! The “R” trio has changed the movie landscape of Kannada. It was bit easy for me understand the movie as I know Kannada well and can understand Tulu to an extent as I lived there for few years. The film beautifully potraits the Tulunadu culture, you can find some similarities to the North Malabar culture due to the shared borders. The simple yet powerful story line along with some brilliant performances has made Kanthara a must watch.

For those who loved this movie, please do watch Garuda gamana vrishabha vahana, another must watch. I feel there will be more stories waiting to be made into films from Tulunadu, which is often not given the deserved credit in Kannada movies. Excting times ahead!

PS: I may be biased as I feel Managuluru as one of the most beautiful towns to live. It was a privilege to have lived there and to have known the rich culture of the land. Only blot is the simmering religious tension lurking beneath the superficial calm.

[balenoed_]

PS-1

At the start, I was thinking I am not going to understand anything of the story, but as the film progressed, got settled into it. Enough of reviews around, so not getting into any reviews and as such it is a magnum opus, giving it due credit.

But how I wished Ponniyin Selvan character should have been done by Suriya instead of Jeyam Ravi. Even in the posters, they had to put Vikram in the center stage than Ravi.

[Samurai]

I never thought Rishab Shetty is this fluent in Tamil....

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f1wKplWyyZM

[Latheesh]

Originally Posted by Saanil

I am not sure if this was because of the Hindi language but I would not recommend watching this movie.

You are not wrong and nothing wrong with the Hindi version. Some reading is very much required to know the names (names itself are very confusing and difficult to remember for outsiders), their relations, and their background before watching the movie. My wife said I never looked so confused and clueless while watching a movie before

[Samurai]

Originally Posted by Latheesh

Some reading is very much required to know the names (names itself are very confusing and difficult to remember for outsiders), their relations, and their background before watching the movie.

This is very true. Even though I am in the middle of second book of the 5-part series, I still don't know how most of those names are pronounced. That is because most names have Z in them, only Tamil or Malayalam speakers know how to say it correctly. I wonder how they say those names in the dubbed versions of PS 1.

[Rajeevraj]

Solomante Thenichakal- Malayalam -Manorama Max- Joju George and a bunch of relative new comers

Did not expect much, but turned out to be a fairly good film. Two thick friends who are policewomen, starts as a fun film and moves on to a mystery. Joju George has done a lot of police roles but still impresses and does a great job. Rest of the cast is also fairly good. Keeps you quite engaged till the end.

Rating:3.5/5

Palthu Janwar- Hotstar- Basil Joseph

Had heard good reviews, but felt it a big bore. A typical Basil film. Slice of Life, small village, quirky characters, slow pace. Indrans was good.

Rating: 2/5

Oru Thekkan Thallu Case- Netflix - Biju Menon

A localised Thallumaala. First 30-40 min is pretty slow, then picks up and is a decent watch. Padmapriya and Nimisha Sajayan do a good job and have important roles to play.

Rating :2.5/5

[SmartCat]

Finally watched KANTARA

One of the rare experiences where you 'think' about the movie long after you are out of the movie theater. Last time something similar happened to me was 'Sixth Sense' two decades ago.

- Two and half hours is gone in a flash. Dull boring scenes (romantic scenes/songs) are kept to the minimum.

- There are 4 or 5 'jump scares', but that is instantly followed by laughter in the movie theater, because you are served comic relief immediately. That's because our Hero is startled by what we see too. One can anticipate the jump scares though (pace of the movie drops, background music stops etc). I covered the eyes of my 7 year old daughter at the right time, all the time.

- Background music of the movie is top class. The songs per se are boring/average. However, the final song hits the ball out for park. It is a fusion of Indian classical music and rock music (lots of guitar/drums)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gH_RYRwVrVM

- Since paranormal elements in the movie were never hidden from the viewers, I did not find the climax of the movie very different from the rest of the movie. I mean, the climax was good, but so was the rest of the movie.

- Some dialogues are hilarious. However, one needs to give full attention to the movie, to catch those dialogues.

- Night scenes are brilliantly captured. Beautiful cinematography.

- The woaaaaaaaah's are a bit excessive. The screaming and shouting should have been dialed down a bit.

[ghodlur]

Karthikeya 2

Streaming: Zee5

Having enjoyed the first installment, I was looking forward a good movie. However wasn't completely happy with the 2nd one. The story wasn't engaging neither gripping considering it being tagged as a thriller. I found the movie a hotchpotch between science and spirituality. The lead actor has been give the shades of Indiana Jones but nowhere even close to it. The lead actress hadn't any role/acting to do.

Rating: 2.5/5

[SoumenD]

Do we have a separate thread for east/west/north regional movies? Was wondering what’s happening in Marathi/Bengali/Punjabi/Gujarati etc movie industries. Never saw any mentions in this thread. If someone could point me to the right thread?

Thanks in advance

[PrideRed]

Originally Posted by SmartCat

- The woaaaaaaaah's are a bit excessive. The screaming and shouting should have been dialed down a bit.

Agree for non-localites this may be a bit too much. However for someone who is born and brought up in the region will find this is realistic as depiction is pretty close to reality. There are commercial elements like the fights highlighting heroism which i think was needed to make this look like a movie than documentary.
The expressions play a major role in Bhoota Kola like others forms of similar art and Rishabh shetty's performance can be compared to the best of Kola in the region.

Other update, Watched Honsla Rakh. My first Punjabi movie and was nice timepass . Was decent comedy and Diljit did a good job. Is available in Prime.

[ninjatalli]

PS-1 : 2/5

Came out deeply disappointed. For someone with Mani Ratnam's mettle, I did not expect the movie to fail me on cinematography and script editing. I had zero trouble in following the characters and storyline; no constraints on that. Plus the overall finish didn't seem as good as what we have been seeing recently (KGF, RRR, etc); at times I felt I was watching an animation video. Last 15 mins I felt I was watching Pirates of the Caribbean; kind of expected Jack Sparrow to pop up any minute. It was quite clear where the inspiration had been taken from.

Silver lining: the actors did not screw up. Karthi, Trisha, Aishwarya, Jayaram, Ravi - all were good. Vikram has been given unnecessary screenplay I'd think. Felt many of the good secondary role actors are being reserved for the second half, with miniscule screen presence in this movie - Prabhu, Prakash Raj, Parthiban, and others. Hoping PS2 makes up for it.