MANTRA Movie Review

Mantra Starring: Charmme

Director: Tulasiram

Music: Anand

Cast: Charmy, Sivaji, Chitram Sreenu, Jeeva, Mallikarjuna Rao etc
Art: Y Satyanarayana
Editing: Upendra
Camera: Dasarath
Dialogue: Surendra Krishna
Choreography: Prem Rakshit
Music: Anand
Producers: Kalyan Ram, Ravi Prakash
Direction: Osho Tulasi Ram
Released On: 14th Dec 2007

It recalls the flicks like ‘A Film By Aravind’, ‘Ave Kallu’, ‘Chandramukhi’ and similar ones. The film is completely treated with horror and leaves the audience with many questions in head until the climax.

Story:
Mantra (Charmy) is a parentless girl and the owner of her ancestral estate ‘Mantra Nilayam’. She wants to sell that big house at the outskirts of the city. But whoever comes as tenants in that house will be killed in mysterious way. Hence no buyer comes forward to buy that house. Finally a person comes to buy the house on a condition. The condition is that someone should stay there for 3 months and stay alive. Then Mantra herself thinks of living in that bungalow along with her friend. But her friend notices some evil spirit and gets frightened.

They vacate the place and come back. Meanwhile, Hero (Shivaji), a rowdy who lives on land settlements approaches Mantra. She asks him to stay in ‘Mantra Nilayam’ for 3 months saying about the place and mysterious deaths. Her thinks to take some commission from Mantra after selling that house. Hence he starts staying there along with his three friends. Suddenly on a day, one of his friends in the group gets killed in mysterious way.

Then the story takes a full horror swing from then. What is Mntra Nilayam? Why there are mysterious deaths? Who is Mantra? Watch on screen to find answers for all these.

Performances:
Charmy excelled in her performance. Especially while showing fear in her face in second half she outshined. She added right tempo for the film with her glamour and performance. Shivaji is appropriate in his role.

Others are up to their mark.

The backbone of the film is music and sound effects. There are many moments where the audiences shake with fear. Editing also appeared to be very sane.

Cinematography should be lauded. Especially the toning effect is used appropriately. Direction by Tulasi Ram is up to the mark and production values are also very well within the requirement.

Analysis:
It is common that majority of horror films many a time justify with rational reasoning at the climax. The horror graph falls down at that point. The crucial part in dealing with a horror subject lies at that point.

The belief and disbelief on evils and spirits depend on the faith of the beholder. It is not required for a horror film maker to justify that there is no evil spirit. That may not be relished by a set of audience. At the same time the director need not prove that there is ‘evil spirit’. Rational minds dislike that. So, a horror film can be concluded with a doubt on existence of such spirits. Such conclusion haunts for longer time. But there would be no doubts in mind once this film concludes. Everything is rationalized at the end.

First half of the film is a mixture of little comedy and some horror. Second half is completely treated with high dose of horror. On a whole, it’s film for good time-pass. The presence of Charmy pulls young crowds to theaters. Music is another added factor for pulling youngsters. The film may go successful if youngsters become its patrons.

I Am Legend Movie Review

I Am Legend is believable

Will Smith is back at the multiplexes and he's battling an army of man-made vampires. Sounds like fun? Lets find out.

The film opens in New York in the near future. But it is nothing like tourists and residents know it. Hollywood's favourite city for wreaking havoc upon wears a deserted and overgrown look. Wild animals roam the streets (possibly escapees from the zoos that were abandoned when everybody died or moved away). A deathly calm hangs over what was once one of the liveliest cities in the world. Vehicles lie abandoned. Stores, office parks and even aircraft carriers are deserted.

It all began when a scientist (Emma Thompson) discovered a cure for cancer. Three years later, the mutating virus that was supposed to be the miracle cure decimated the world's population, leaving scientist Robert Neville (Will Smith) as the sole survivor in New York City.

He hunts, he works out, he swats golf balls off the wing of a grounded Air Force plane, he broadcasts a message of hope for any other survivors that might be accessing AM frequencies, he cooks meals and he plays with his dog, Sam. When his wristwatch alarm clock alerts him to the arrival of nightfall, he goes home, locks and bolts all the doors and windows and waits out the night during which a class of infected humans prowl the city.

Before too long, Neville is engaging with these beasts. Once to save his dog and another time to avenge her. Along the way, as the sole person immune to every form of the virus, he attempts to find a cure for the man-made strain that has transformed the majority of all the people it didn't kill into rabid creatures of the night.

This film is a remix of a lot of tales and cinematic tropes already familiar to the viewers of blockbuster cinema. Part 28 Days Later, part Cast Away, part post-apocalyptic saga and part monster flick, Legend also reuses the present-intercut-with-flashback storytelling technique so effectively employed by cult television show, Lost.

Neville's solitude is admirably depicted through sedately paced sequences that may disgruntle quite a few Will Smith fans who expect things to go boom with increasing frequency. Make no mistake, things blow up. But this version of Will Smith is not the hyper-energetic go-getter who has little else to do other than kick some ass and take some names. This guy is worn out and losing his grip on reality. He perseveres (in his search for survivors and a cure) and yet he is very close to giving up. He is a mature hero, completely at odds with the character of Mike Larry that made him a silver screen star to be reckoned with in Bad Boys. It is a solid performance by Will Smith, whose age is beginning to show in the lines on his face and the white in his hair.

Abandoned New York is dramatically depicted and it is quite chilling to see what only three years of neglect could do to a megapolis like that. The moments of tension in the dark where we know that something lurks just beyond the pool of light cast by a flashlight are well done. The sudden appearance of the strong and feral creatures that fear little other than sunlight delivers a jolt of scary surprise. The film also owes its visual styling to graphic novels like DMZ and Pride Of Baghdad.

There are a few good examples of letting tension build through silences and an almost documentary illustration of one man's struggle for survival against seemingly insurmountable odds.

But Legend is not without its shortfalls. The creatures of the night, sometimes called The Infected and otherwise known as Dark Seekers, look like an army of Gollums or a slightly more humanoid version of the robots from I, Robot. The cutaways to the past that led to this present don't really offer much by way of back story and seem to have been put into the film solely to break the monotony of watching one man and his dog try and live their lives without any other company. While we feel his pain, it is almost simultaneously impossible to buy Will Smith as a man who suffers to no perceivable end.

Since it all feels familiar, it also feels believable. The message of man messing with nature without fully considering the implications inherent in that messing about is a resonant one. Still, I am not sure how big a market there is for a film, even a Will Smith-starrer, set in a depressing time. Especially now, as people prepare to celebrate the end of another year.

cinemagola.blogspot.com Rating:

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Cinema Stills 14 Dec, 2007

Telugu Film News Dec 14, 2007

Vinayak to direct Chiru again

It’s almost official. Production giants Allu Arvind, Ashwini Dutt and KRR are joining hands to jointly producer megastar Chiranjeevi’s next film to be directed by V.V.Vinayak. The film, to be produced under the banner of United Movie Makers, will be a socio political drama unlike the actor’s previous film with Vinayak, Tagore. With rumors of Chiranjeevi’s inevitable entry into politics doing the rounds, this film will sure be a highly anticipated, must-watch flick of the coming year. The film will also be Chirnajeevi’s 149th film.

Balakrishna is Gunasekhar’s next

Word from the industry has it that Nandamuri Balakrishna will be starring in a magnum opus to be directed by Gunasekhar and to produced by a well known producer. Though no official announcements have been made to this effect, one would sure like to see if director Gunasekhar would pull off this coup of sorts.

Nagarjuna gives the nod for Sreenu Vytla

With his Lawrence directed Don ready to hit the screens on the 20th of this month, actor Nagarjuna has apparently moved onto his next project. It is being said that Nagarjuna has given the nod for director Sreenu Vytla’s next film that is being produced by Siva Prasad Reddy for the banner Sri Kamakshi Movies. Trisha is being considered as the female lead. The yet-to-be-titled venture is expected to start rolling in April next year.

Actor Brahmanandam enters Guinness Book

Veteran character actor and comedian Brahmanandam has been honored with a place in the Guinness Book of World Records for acting in the maximum number of films in a single language. Brahmanandam, with a career spanning over 20 years, has acted in 754 Telugu films to date. Speaking about the citation the beaming actor said “I got the confirmation news last night. I am absolutely thrilled and I have only the Telugu film audiences to thank for this.” Here’s wishing the versatile actor many more such glorious years.

Devi Sri turns actor with Jalsa?

Looks like effervescent music director Devi Sri Prasad is planning to make an inroad into the acting field as well. After etching out a well deserved name for himself in the music industry Devi Sri Prasad is going to come in front of the camera for a film. The music director cum singer recently completed shooting for the title track of actor Pawan Kalyan’s upcoming, Allu Arvind produced, Jalsa. The film is expected to see a 2008 summer release.

It is kurukure for Junaid

With rumors doing the rounds that debutante director Junaid’s film is a remake of the off beat surprise hit Hindi film Bheja Fry , the director himself clarified that the film is not Bheja Fry but is a story revolving around the lives of the characters played by Bhubaneswar and Duvvasi Mohan. The film, a RR Movie Makers production, has been titled as Kurukure. The film has story and dialogues by Ravi. C .Kumar and is being produced by Venkat.

Nagababu’s Shubham in January

Producer C.R.Mohan’s Nagababu starrer Shubham has completed its shooting and is presently in the post production stage. The film, a Mohan Shakti Creations production and directed by G.Siva Prasad Reddy, tells the story of how two families resolve their misunderstanding among them. The film also stars M.S Narayana, Utej and Venu Madhav. Ravi Kollikapudi provided the story while producer Mohan himself composed the music with lyrics by Bhaskar Bhatla. The music will be released by this month end, the film makers announced at a press meet held recently in the city. The film is being readied for a January release.

Analysis: Chiru gives yellow fever to TDP

HYDERABAD: The prospects of megastar Chiranjeevi entering their domain has the Telugu Desam party more worried than the Congress. Reason: the combination of large number of BC leaders in the TDP plus many of them being a disgruntled lot may induce them to jump into the new political party if it becomes a reality coming January.

Though it is early days still, sources say that Chiranjeevi's party may strongly woo TDP BC leaders T Devender Goud (Goud from Telangana), Yerrannaidu (Koppula Velama from north Andhra), C Ramachandraiah (Balija from Kadapa) and former minister K E Krishnamurthy (Ediga from Rayalaseema).

"So far, these leaders had no choice but to remain with N Chandrababu Naidu. But if Chiranjeevi enters the fray, they may well join him. This is because these leaders have been repeatedly marginalised and prevented from growing within the party by Naidu.

Goud has been put down many times, including after his recent padayatra in Telangana region. And Yerrannaidu can never forget the fact that Naidu gifted away the Lok Sabha speaker's post after the death of G M C Balayogi when he (Yerrannaidu) was the obvious choice," a party leader told TOI. Analysts, of course, cautioned that though they may be wooed, it is not necessary that all of them will fall for the bait.

Apart from these BC leaders, there are others in the TDP who may be lured by the new party because of being marginalised by Naidu.

These include K Vidyadhar Rao (former MLA and Velama from West Godavari), K Venugopalachary (former minister from Adilabad who claims to be a Brahmin) and T Seetaram (former leader from Srikakulam).

Already non political BC activist with considerable following R Krishnaiah has thrown his weight around Chiranjeevi.

According to sources, the mediators of Chiranjeevi are expected to consult these leaders to discuss about Chiranjeevi's new agenda "power to powerless" soon.

The Congress, meanwhile, though outwardly maintaining that the entry of the star would not adversely affect the party in any manner, discussed the issue at Wednesday's CLP meeting in which three Kapu ministers - Botsa Satyanarayana, Mandali Buddha Prasad and Kanna Lakshminarayana - were present.

Reel Buzz: Bhoomika Ran Away With Fear

Actress Bhoomika ran away with fear recently. She is now shooting for a music video in Hindi. In a shot gap she went to make up room but suddenly the light bulb was burst. That made Bhoomika frightened and she ran away shouting wildly. Everybody in the sets turned panic looking at running away Bhoomika. She had been shouting all the way she ran.

Bhoomika is now working for music video as and she has no fresh films in hand. Is that her marriage effect? May be!

Bhoomika once said that's he has fear of cockroaches. Now light bulbs also must have added to her list.

Balayya For Rs 55 Lakh and Pawan Kalyan For Rs 1.4 Cr

The films 'Okka Magadau' of Bala Krishna and 'Jalsa' of Pawan Kalyan are being sold at whopping prices overseas. No Balakrishna's film did a business of more than Rs 10 lakh so far. But still the craze on 'Okka Magadu' is upright and the film was sold at Rs 55 lakh overseas. The factor of YVS Choudary's brand name added to it. We have to see how far the business works out this time. The expectations on the film are very high.

And coming to Pawan Kalyan's 'Jalsa', as per the sources the overseas rights were sold at Rs 1.4 Cr to the surprise of everyone. Pawan is also exercising same immaculate following irrespective of his serial flops. Here the factor of Trivikram Sreenivas and Pawan Kalyan combination boosted up the sale of the film. The expectations are very high on it as well.

Fingers are now crossed to see the future of this film at overseas box office.

Screen Buzz: Trisha Opens Her New 'Part'!!!

Trisha is the hot heroine on silver screen who mesmerizes many young hearts. She has shown enough on screen and now she is going to show the talent by opening her 'new part'! Yes, she is opening her mouth now for giving her own dubbing. Well, that is not in Telugu but in Tamil. Trisha is yet to speak in her mother tongue on Tamil screen. A dubbing artiste by name Savita has been lending her voice for Trisha all these days.

But it is impossible to get nominated for National wards in best heroine category if the heroine lends some other's voice.

So, from now onwards she wants to use her own voice for self actualization as heroine. She wants to curb the competition to some extent by showing this new talent for everyone. Let us wish her all the best and expect the same for Telugu as well.