Films watched in 2015

I watched 120 films in 2011, 69 films in 2012, 83 in 2013 and 74 in 2014.

1) Pacific Rim (2013) 7.5/10
Poor man's Transformers.

2) Kakki Sattai (2015) 4.0/10

It was indeed a pathetic 150+ minutes movie. Even if it came in 1985 the plot would still have looked old.

3) Escape Plan (2013) 6.5/10
If you dont know Stallone & Arnold, you cannot sit thru this movie.

4) Need for Speed (2014) 6.5/10
Poor man's Fast & Furious.

5) Percy Jackson: Sea of Monsters (2013) 7.0/10
Yet another Ambuli Mama story.

6) Saivam (2014) 6.0/10
Very slow movie. Different attempt by director Vijay. 

7) The Dictator (2012) 7.0/10
Political Comedy. Daring one at that. 

8) Safe House (2012) 7.0/10 

9) Friends with Benefits (2011) 6.0/10 
Since there were some talks that OK Kanmani was inspired by this, I caught up with this film.

10) Thor: The Dark World (2013) 7.5/10

11) X-Men: Days of Future Past (2014) 8.5/10

12) The Wolf of Wall Street (2013) 8.5/10

13) Uttama Villain (2015) 2.0/10

14) O Kadhal Kanmani (2015) 9.0/10

15) Meaghaman (2014) 7.5/10

16) Komban (2015) 7.0/10

17) Devil (2000) 6.0/10

18) Ride Along (2014) 5.5/10

19) The Amazing Spider-Man 2 (2014) 6.0/10

20) Jobs (2013) 6.0/10

21) Diana (2013) 5.5/10

22) Godzilla (2014) 7.0/10

23) The Great Gatsby (2013) 7.5/10

24) The Hunger Games: Catching Fire (2013) 8.5/10

25) Last Vegas (2013) 6.0/10

26) Papanasam (2015) 9.0/10

27) Brave (2012) 7.0/10

28) Ice Age: Continental Drift (2012) 6.5/10

29) Hercules (2014) 7.0/10

30) Parenthood (1989) 7.5/10

31) The Intouchables (2011) 9.0/10

32) Turbo (2013) 7.0/10

33) Idharkuthane Aasaipattai Balakumara (2013) 7.5/10

34) Jack the Giant Slayer (2013) 7.0/10

35) Captain America: The Winter Soldier (2014) 8.0/10

36) 300: Rise of an Empire (2014) 8.0/10

37) Gravity (2013)  8.0/10

38) Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (2014) 6.5/10

39) Dawn of the Planet of the Apes (2014) 8.0/10

40) How to Train Your Dragon 2 (2014) 7.0/10

41) Kaaka Muttai (2014) 9.5/10
One of the best slum children based movies ever in Tamil.

42) Kaththi (2014) 8.0/10

43) 22 Jump Street (2014)  5.5/10

44) Lucy (2014) 8.0/10 

45) Wreck-It Ralph (2012) 6.5/10

46) Rise of the Guardians (2012) 8.0/10

47) Edge of Tomorrow (2014) 8.5/10

48) The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey (2012) 7.0/10

49) Thani Oruvan (2015) 9.0/10
One of the best cop action movies in a long time.

50) Rummy (2014) 5.5/10

51) Despicable Me 2 (2013) 7.0/10

52) Minions (2015) 6.5/10

53) The Equalizer (2014) 8.0/10

54) Mr. Peabody & Sherman (2014) 6.5/10

55) Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs 2 (2013) 6.5/10

56) City Lights (1931) 8.0/10

57) Hotel Transylvania (2012) 6.5/10

58) Zero Dark Thirty (2012) 8.0/10

59) The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug (2013) 8.0/10 

60) The Maze Runner (2014) 8.0/10

61) The Lorax (2012) 5.0/10

62) Night at the Museum: Secret of the Tomb (2014) 5.0/10

63) Epic (2013) 7.0/10

64) Pisasu (2014) 8.5/10

65) Jeeva (2014) 9.0/10
One of the best sports based movies in Tamil.

66) Goli Soda (2014) 9.5/10
One of the best & realistic boys based movies in Tamil.

67) Madha Yaanai Kootam (2013) 7.5/10
One of the best caste based movies in Tamil, with a virtually unknown starcast. Better and more realistic than Thevar Magan.

68) Indru Netru Naalai (2015) 8.0/10
One of the best sci-fi movies in Tamil.

69) Manjappai (2014) 7.0/10

70) Endrendrum Punnagai (2013) 8.0/10
One of the best romantic movies in Tamil in recent days.

71) 36 Vayadhinile (2015) 8.0/10
One of the best woman oriented movies in Tamil in recent days.

72) The Other Woman (2014) 6.0/10

73) Contagion (2011) 8.5/10

74) Demonte Colony (2015) 9.0/10
One of the best horror movies in Tamil.

75) The Expendables 3 (2014) 7.5/10

76) Divergent (2014) 7.5/10

77) Exodus: Gods and Kings (2014) 7.5/10

78) Frozen (2013) 8.5/10
 
79) Maari (2015) 6.5/10

80) Vasuvum Saravananum Onna Padichavanga (2015) 4.0/10

81) Oru Kanniyum Moondru Kalavanigalum (2014) 8.0/10

82) Baahubali (2015) 9.5/10
 
83) The Croods (2013) 7.0/10

84) Payum Puli (2015) 7.5/10

85) Thoongavanam (2015) 7.5/10

86) Orange Mittai (2015) 7.0/10

87) The Lego Movie (2014) 9.0/10

88) Vadacurry (2014) 5.0/10
 
89) Darling (2015) 6.0/10
 
90) Noah (2014) 6.0/10

91) The Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part 1 (2014) 6.0/10

92) Interstellar (2014) 9.5/10

93) Guardians of the Galaxy (2014) 7.0/10

94) Sundattam (2013) 5.0/10

95) The Great Dictator (1940) 7.5/10

96) Modern Times (1936) 8.0/10

97) Ted (2012) 6.5/10
 
98) Maleficent (2014) 8.0/10

99) The Smurfs 2 (2013) 6.0/10

100) Transformers: Age of Extinction (2014) 6.0/10

101) Annabelle (2014) 6.5/10

My Top 5 Tamil Films of 2015 were:

1. BAAHUBALI
2. O KADHAL KANMANI
3. PAPANASAM
4. THANI ORUVAN
5. DEMONTE COLONY

Films watched in 2014

I watched 120 films in 2011, 69 films in 2012 and 83 in 2013.

1) Skyfall (2012) 8.5/10
To me, this is the best Bond flick till date and so my most favorite Bond flick also. Ironically I am not a big fan of Bond and this is not your typical Bond film either. Probably that's reason why I have enjoyed this the most. Directed by a seasoned director, Sam Mendes whose other two films I have seen are American Beauty (1999) & Road to Perdition (2002), both of which I liked.

2) Life of Pi (2012)  7.5/10
When you see all these African animals running around in an Indian zoo and then listen to the childish Tamil spoken with funny accent, in the opening sequences of the film it starts off in a disappointing note. At the end, it was an enjoyable movie. Nice to see some dialogs in Tamil. I always wish there were some nice Indian characters speaking some Indian language in Hollywood films, whenever I see Chinese, Spanish and Russian dialogs.

3) The Abyss (1989)  7.0/10

4) Paranormal Activity 4 (2012) 4.0/10

5) Nadunisi Naaygal (2011) 6.5/10

6) Kalyana Samayal Saadham (2013) 8.0/10

7) Les Misérables (2012) 8.0/10

8) Argo (2012)  8.5/10

9) Jilla (2013) 5.0/10

10) The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn - Part 2 (2012) 6.0/10

11) Kathai Thiraikathai Vasanam Iyakkam (2014) 7.5/10

12) Running Scared (2006) 8.0/10

13) Looper (2012) 7.0/10

14) Daredevil (2003) 5.0/10
One of the dumbest & most boring of super heroes movies in a long time.

15) Silver Linings Playbook (2012) 8.5/10
One of the most refreshing movies in a long time. I thought after a long time here was a movie with very nice realistic acting by not only the lead pair of Bradley Cooper & Jennifer Lawrence, but also by the supporting pair of Robert De Niro & Jacki Weaver playing the parents of Bradley Cooper. It was nice to know that all four were nominated for Acting Oscars and only Jennifer went on to win.

16) Jack Reacher (2012) 8.0/10

17) The Expendables 2 (2012) 7.0/10
My rating for this movie is mostly influenced by two things: the all-start team of Stallone, Jason Statham, Jet Li, Chuck Norris, Van Damme, Bruce Willis & Arnold in the cast and some of the funny one liners. Other than these two its an ordinary movie with some nice raw action. I particularly liked that one shot that had the three Hollywood super stars in one frame.

18) A Time to Kill (1996) 7.5/10
Though this film was a 100M hit in the US, I couldn't get a DVD or get to watch this on TV for a really long time. Almost like the other film 8 Miles. Finally caught this on TV and a very nice movie.

19) Lincoln (2012)  6.0/10
Since I was not aware of the historical facts associated with the movie, it turned out to be a big drag for me.

20) Bramman (2014) 5.0/10
It is sad to see Sasikumar doing such a film and such a role. It doesn't suit him at all. He is better off playing roles like the one in Sundara Pandian. This movie would have looked old even 30 years back, as Davani Kanavugal was.

21) The Last King of Scotland (2006)  8.0/10
Its ironical that even though I was not aware of the historical facts associated with the movie, I really enjoyed this one, which was not the case for Lincoln, despite Steven Spielberg & Daniel Day-Lewis. Here you have a relatively smaller actor Forest Whitaker, living the role of Idi Amin and went onto grab the Oscar.

22) Iron Man 3 (2013) 8.5/10

23) Oz the Great and Powerful (2013) 7.0/10
 
24) Inside Man (2006) 7.5/10
This film had Chaiya Chaiya as the title song.

25) The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel (2011) 7.0/10 

26) Onaayum Aattukkuttiyum (2013) 6.0/10

27) A Good Day to Die Hard (2013) 6.0/10 
While it is unfair to compare this with the first or second Die Hard films, when comparing this to the fourth film that came in 2007, it is not up to the mark. I rate this at 6.0 only for the action sequences and not for anything else!

28) Journey 2: The Mysterious Island (2012) 5.0/10 

29) The Internship (2013) 6.0/10

30) White House Down (2013) 6.5/10 

31) Oblivion (2013) 7.5/10

32) Elysium (2013) 7.5/10 

33) The Heat (2013) 6.0/10

34) Yaamirukka Bayamae (2014) 7.5/10

35) A Separation (2011) 8.0/10

36) G.I. Joe: Retaliation (2013)  7.5/10  

37)  Insidious (2010) 7.0/10

38) Kochadaiyaan (2014) 6.0/10

39)  Identity Thief (2013) 5.0/10

40)  The Bank Job (2008) 7.0/10

41)  Grown Ups 2 (2013) 6.0/10

42) Arima Nambi (2014) 8.0/10 

43) Sathuranga Vaettai (2014) 9.0/10  

44) Velai Illa Pattathari (2014) 8.0/10

45) The Hangover Part III (2013) 6.0/10

46) Captain Phillips (2013) 8.0/10

47) After Earth (2013) 4.0/10

48) Fast & Furious 6 (2013) 8.0/10

49) The Lone Ranger (2013) 7.0/10

50) Attack the Block (2011) 7.0/10

51) Anjaan (2014) 3.0/10 

52) Nirmirndhu Nil (2014) 4.0/10

53) Harold & Kumar Escape from Guantanamo Bay (2008) 7.0/10

54) Nootrenbadhu (2011) 4.0/10 

55) Star Trek Into Darkness (2013) 8.5/10

56) The Wolverine (2013) 7.0/10

57) Pizza II: Villa (2013) 6.0/10

58) Man of Steel (2013) 7.5/10
Would have give it a 9.0/10, but for the drag in the middle.

59) Gangster Squad (2013) 7.5/10
This looked more like a Tamil film to me!!

60) Aadama Jayichomada (2014) 7.0/10

61) Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters (2013) 6.5/10

62) Vaayai Moodi Pesavum (2014) 6.0/10

63) World War Z (2013) 7.5/10

64) We're the Millers (2013) 7.5/10

65) Jigarthanda (2014) 9.0/10

66) Ivan Veramaathiri (2013) 7.0/10

67) Now You See Me (2013) 8.0/10

68) RoboCop (2014) 6.0/10

69) Linga (2014) 6.0/10

70) Madras (2014) 8.0/10

71) The Secret Life of Walter Mitty (2013) 8.0/10

72) Hummingbird (2013) 6.0/10

73) Neerparavai (2012) 8.0/10

My Top 5 Tamil Films of 2014 were:

1. JIGARTHANDA
2. SATHURANGA VAETTAI
3. VELAI ILLA PATTATHARI
4. MADRAS
5. ARIMA NAMBI

Those that  missed narrowly were: Yaamirukka Bayamae, Aadama Jayichomada, Kathai Thiraikathai Vasanam Iyakkam

The biggest disappointments of the year were: Kochadaiyaan, Vaayai Moodi Pesavum, Linga, Bramman, Nirmirndhu Nil and of course the bottom of the chart should be ANJAAN.

Films watched in 2013

In 2011 I had started maintaining the list of films I watched in that year. I ended up watching 120 films in 2011 and in 2012, that number came almost down close to 60% at 69 films. It was not due to the quality of films or anything like that. Till April I was on target as 2011, with 40 films. After that during the IPL season all my spare time went there and then my new business commitments and social engagements meant that I would watch fewer and fewer films.

I am starting this post on the 7th of March and till now, I have only seen seven films this year and all of them are Tamil films!

1) Saguni (2012) 3.0/10
This year started with Saguni in TV during Pongal. I dont have to say anything more on this film, as enough has been said and written. I am not sure what the thought process was when such a film is conceived and made. The director doesn't seem to take anything seriously and the film goes up and down through a roller coaster. It had its moments. It was more like a bad remake of Dhool.

2) Pizza (2012) 8.0/10

3) Kumki (2012) 8.5/10

4) Thadayara Thakka (2012) 7.0/10

5) Naan Ee (2012) 8.5/10

6) Thuppakki (2012) 7.5/10

7) Neethaane En Ponvasantham (2012) 8.0/10

8) Viswaroopam (2013) 8.0/10

9) Thenmerku Paruvakaatru (2010) 7.0/10

10) John Carter (2012) 6.5/10

11) Billa 2 (2012) 3.0/10

12) Puss in Boots (2011) 6.5/10

13) Sundarapandian (2012) 8.0/10

14) Haridas (2013) 8.0/10

15) Uthiripookkal (1979) 9.0/10

16) Tootsie (1982) 8.5/10
When I came to know about Mrs Doubtfire and Avvai  Shanmughi, I thought Kamal had created some parts of that story on his own, especially Gemini Ganesan, Manivannan, Heera characters. When I saw Tootsie now (seen it before Avvai  Shanmughi), I realized I was very wrong.

Tootsie is an enjoyable film even today and as IMDB rightly puts it, its a Comedy and a Drama at the same time.

17) Alvin and the Chipmunks: Chipwrecked (2011) 5.0/10

18) Men in Black 3 (2012) 7.0/10 

19) Garfield 2 (2006) 7.0/10

20) Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol (2011) 8.0/10

21) Aval Appadithan (1978) 8.0/10

22) This Means War (2012) 5.0/10

23) Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004) 7.5/10

24) Cats & Dogs (2001) 6.0/10

25) A League of Their Own (1992) 7.0/10

26) Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows (2011) 8.0/10

27) 12 Angry Men (1957) 7.5/10

28) Fight Club (1999) 8.5/10

29) Soodhu Kavvum (2013) 8.5/10

30) Total Recall (2012) 6.0/10

31) Naan (2012) 7.0/10

32) Neram (2013) 8.5/10

33) Attakathi (2012) 7.0/10
 
34) Kalakalappu (2012) 7.5/10

35) Taken 2 (2012) 7.0/10

36) Battleship (2012) 6.5/10

37) 21 Jump Street (2012) 6.5/10

38) American Reunion (2012) 6.5/10

39) The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (2011) 7.5/10
 
40) Theeya Velai Seiyyanum Kumaru (2013) 7.0/10

41) Mariyan (2013) 4.0/10

42) Kedi Billa Killadi Ranga (2013) 6.0/10

43) Vathikuchi (2013) 7.0/10

44) Udhayam NH4 (2013) 7.5/10

45) Alex Pandian (2013) Zero/10

46) Ethir Neechal (2013) 7.5/10

47) Ainthu Ainthu Ainthu (2013) 6.5/10

48) Kadal (2013) 5.0/10

49) The Bourne Legacy (2012) 7.5/10

50) Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara (2011) 8.5/10

51) Aaranya Kaandam (2011) 9.0/10

52) Resident Evil: Retribution (2012) 5.0/10

53) Maasani (2013) 4.0/10

54) Prometheus (2012) 7.5/10

55) Raja Rani (2013) 7.0/10

56) Madagascar 3: Europe's Most Wanted (2012) 7.5/10

57) The Hunger Games (2012) 7.5/10

58) The Artist (2011)  9.0/10

59) Varuthapadatha Valibar Sangam (2013) 6.5/10

60) The Three Musketeers (2011) 6.5/10

61) Saettai (2013) 6.5/10

62) The Dark Knight Rises (2012) 9.0/10 

63) Hugo (2011) 7.5/10 

64) The Conjuring (2013) 6.5/10

65) Monsters University (2013) 7.5/10
This was no where close to what Monsters Inc was in terms of story or content, what was adorable was it was still good in its own way. Maybe I related myself with the story that I liked it more and I feel many people can relate themselves to this story. Initially I had a confusion whether this was a sequel or prequel in terms of the storyline.

66) Olympus Has Fallen (2013) 5.5/10

67) Moodar Koodam (2013) 8.0/10
Though I have not seen the Korean film "Attack the Gas Station", I thought this was a worthwhile film. I think now the new age directors are almost at the border of going overboard in the name of being realistic and different. There were few sequences in each of the new age hits, that I would have avoided. Some of the song sequences in this film were in that group. Otherwise it had laughable comedy and lots of criticism of the society as well.

68) Wrath of the Titans (2012) 6.0/10

69) Aarambam (2013) 7.0/10

70) Star Wars: Episode II - Attack of the Clones (2002) 6.0/10

71) Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith (2005) 8.0/10
After the first film Star Wars, this is the one I enjoyed the most, with all the romance, politics, and war. The film comes to the end with the formation of Darth Vader.

72) The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn - Part 1 (2011) 5.0/10

73) Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1 (2010) 8.5/10

74) Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 (2011) 8.5/10

75) Rio (2011) 6.0/10

76) Arthur Christmas (2011) 5.0/10

77) Brokeback Mountain (2005) 7.0/10

78) Cars 2 (2011) 6.0/10

79) Network (1976) 7.5/10

80) Pandiya Naadu (2013) 8.0/10 

81) Django Unchained (2012) 8.5/10

82) Aadhalal Kadhal Seiveer (2013) 7.5/10

83) Naiyaandi (2013) 6.0/10

My Top 5 Tamil Films of 2013:

1. Soodhu Kavvum
2. Neram
3. Pandiya Naadu
4. Viswaroopam
5. Moodar Koodam

Those that  missed narrowly were: Haridas, Aadhalal Kadhal Seiveer, Ethir Neechal, Udhayam NH4

The biggest disappointments of the year were: Mariyan, Kadal, Naiyaandi & Alex Pandian

Best Mass Scenes of Super Star Rajinikanth

1) Mullum Malarum - Ketta Paiyan sir avan scene



2) Moondru Mugam - Alex Pandian scenes



3) Annamalai - Challenge Scene



4) Annamalai - Malaida Annamalai Scene



5) Baashha - Ullae Po scene



6) Baashha - All Punch Dialogs



7) Padayappa Punch Dialogs:



8) Sivaji - Singa paadhai scene



9) Sivaji - Tea shop scene

As a Rajini fan I didnt like most part of Sivaji, but this scene was paisa vasool for me. My test for any current heroes who want to be a mass hero, would be to make them enact this three minute scene. Also if any other hero had become a hero after being a bus conductor, I dont think they would have done this scene at all!!



10) Endhiran - Black Sheep Scene