DVDISOIL,
Im definitely a frustated Indian cinephile. I was in the exact same complaining phase a couple years ago before 2000 about Hong Kong movies. All Hong Kong was doing was releasing crap after crap, but ever since Croutching Tiger, all of the big movies of the year that are released in China/Hong Kong actually turned out to be great and lived up to the hype (Croutching Tiger, Shaolin Soccer, Hero, Infernal Affairs, House of Flying Daggers, Kung Fu Hustle, Seven Swords, SPL). So im happy with Hong Kong/China movies making quality movies again after a messy 90s....

I put the same DVD review post in DVDtalk forum and a Tamil guy wrote that he was happy with my review and happy to see that some people are watching Tamil movies. So, everyone interprets things differently. I did expect trouble though..haha...

And let me remind you again, ANNIYAN is not a good movie. I only said it was an extremely entertaining movie and gave it a "C" grade - it's a movie that is good for India. Anything that has positive change in Indian cinema gets more points. Eventhough Shankar copies (all film directors do it - George Lucas copied Kurosawa with his star wars), it's an excellent movement he is doing. He didn't do it as well as the Wachowski brothers, but ANNIYAN is an excellent movie that showcases special effects such as CGI hell, bullet time, and the best choreographed fight scenes ever in any Indian movie. (The filming of the fight climax in Mission Kashmir is still very good too, but it's not really fighting, it's just excellent filmmaking of two people smashing up an old wood hut). ANNIYAN may inspire other Indian filmmakers to be a little creative too and hopefully in a better way than Shankar...

I thought RUDKRASH, the Blade-knock-off starring Sanjay Dutt and Bipasha had potentional. It's a movie that is so bad it's good. But all it needed was to be completed and polished and it could hav been good. It's like an incomplete movie that was released into the theates. It had like early stage special effects and such...All it needed was a polish and a trim, and it could have been a pretty cool Indian science fiction movie. It's the incompleteness and sloppiness of that movie that bothered me...

Oh no you didn't!

http://www.dvdtalk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=440753

This thread is too funny.This toddly guy is neither white nor american. Judging from his posts, he is a indian, tamil guy probably not in the US. He is using his alternate avatar to hype up the films he likes. He knows that Indians are suckers for anything that comes out of a white man's mouth. Okay I am exaggerating but you get the idea.

Now now, dont ask me how I know. I am from Mars and I would know everything about you earthlings and be very objective. I would rate this thread 5.0 for earthlings and 0.0 for everyone else.

Brilliant!

I hope you guys noticed that people not only did not flip out by the same review at DVDtalk, but they liked it, including a couple Indians that posted there....You should all chill out. You are taking it the wrong way. You all know that a foreigner cannot appreciate a Bollywood movie as much as an Indian. With that theory, that means that movie ratings will be different. That's all I meant, jeez! I'm glad someone mentioned the IndiaFM website, because that is truely the first objective Bollywood review site. Im surprised they even gave super low reviews to the Bollywood movies that I love! (Devdas, Mission Kashmir, Fiza)...I don't understand why they gave such high marks to Chalte Chalte...but overall, that's a great site...can someone actually make a list of the over 4 star movies they have there? I think I found maybe 2 or 3....I would like to see the 4-star Bollywood movies that they rate - it just takes forever loading up each review on my computer...

There is no way to prove to you that I'm a white american guy, but I can share an experience I had with Tamil DVD searching - I live in NYC and if I don't order Indian movies online, I go to Jackson Heights Queens (Little India) to buy them, which is a 45 minute ride from Manhattan. For some reason, when I had looked for Tamil DVDs in Jackson Heights, all the DVD shopkeepers look at me as if im crazy, because no one carries Tamil DVDs. I see Tamil and Bollywood dvds pretty related. But I guess that Jackson Heights is an extention of Northern India...So I get advise where to find Tamil DVDs and that is in Flushing, Queens, even further away than Jackson Heights. Im told of some store on some side street a mile away from the subway. I finally find it and it's more of a wholesale-looking store than a typical store someone is supposed to go in. And Im looking around the store and start asking for a couple Tamil DVDs Im looking for....after a while of browsing, the store keeper finally asks me, "Are you doing this for a school project?" In the back of his mind, I could see his true question "Why the f*** is a white man looking for Tamil movies on DVD in the middle of nowhere?" I tell him, "no, I like Bollywood/Tamil movies." And the usual question I get then is "Do you understand hindi/tamil? Is that why you are looking?" It's just funny because there is no way that they can understand a white person searching and asking for certain movies from India/South India...It's as if they understand that their movies suck and have no understanding of some foreigner looking for their homeland movies...I love the reactions and the stares I get going in those stores...


DVDUNLIMITED, I certainly live in a different country, right? All I want to do is get people to watch Bollywood/Tamil movies. DVDTALK is a huge site, and people may start ordering more Tamil DVDs. It's free advertising from me!

Toddly

I do know where you live with complete address (btw your order was shiped today. I just had to get the Anamorphic Wide screen indian, thats why the delay!), but I dont want to post about your where abouts, cuz it will violate our "Privacy Policy".

My "Brilliant" was my sarcastic comment for ET who came up with a "brilliant" findings (happens to be his first post in Zulm), nothing to support ET's statement. The only thing new here for me is that you post reviews in DVDTalk. I myself was planning to give Ad in DVDTalk and good to know that you represent them.

BTW, I couldnt find your reviews in DVDTalk. Can you please send me the link for your reviews.

I like reading reviews and among all the folks the best (IMO) is by Suresh who post reviews at mouthshut.com. You also probably wanted to check that site as well. They review from toothpaste to movie to current political leaders!

DVDUNLIMITED,

Thank you, your online store kicks the ass out of nehaflix.com and indiaplaza.com! I never find what I'm looking for at their stores. You guys have everything!
I do know at DVTALK that they will kick out businesses that directly advertise or spam or whatever they call it, but it's okay if someone posts something about a DVD and shows a link where they got it, from what I've observed...

By the way, I love reading the people's reviews at mouthshut.com...that's the main place I read about the people's opinions of bollywood films, not just the critics...

Here is the link at DVDTALK in the International DVD Talk forum at http://forum.dvdtalk.com/showthread.php?t=440753

Kewl. I saw you posting question about nice tamil movie. I would suggest the following (in recent years) for various reasons, some of them you might find hollywood inspiration


Romance
7G Rainbow Colony
Autograph
Kadhal
Kadhal Kondaen [a modified version of Guna, which itself is a hollywood inspiration]

Drama
Anbe Sivam
Kamaraj [story abt a political leader, not sure if this will interest you]
Pithamagan

Comedy
Mumbai Xpress [lot of ppl didnt like the movie, but i thinks its a good movie considering the fact that there isnt a "comedy" genre in indian movies and Kamal attempt to make comedy once in a while]

Action
Aayutha Ezhuthu
Kakka Kakka
Ramana
Virumandi

I dont know if you are interested in 90s and 80s movie, the movie will be lot better but you will have to give up DVD PQ.

In general Manirathnam movies are hollywood inspired, so does Kamal Hasan movie. Shankar movie is based on Chanakya [a professor of politiical science and a political theorist. Chanakya was the main force to stop Alexandar from invading India by propaganda war in Alexandar's army and loose their confidence, so eventually Alexandar himself has to give up on war agains ChandraGupta who was ruling the india then]

DVDUNLIMITED,
I've seen and considered a few of those from your list:

Kakka Kakka: I liked this movie - it was pretty violent, but overall, it was an entertaining cop/criminal movie

Kadhal Kondaen: I thought the acting was very good and it was filmed well, but it's just too depressing to watch again..

Aalavandhan: You didn't mention this one, but I thought this movie had potential, but it was one of the worst Tamil movies that I have ever seen. I like the lead actor copying Vin Diesel - that was funny. And it had some good special effects and animation, but it's just a ridiculous movie

Pithamagan: I've been curious about this movie since it came out...I still haven't seen it...I don't like cemetary movies....but it's definitely got the best DVD cover for a Tamil movie...

And yeah, I can't watch poor quality DVDs anymore, I'm a DVD snob...and I certainly can't watch Bollywood movies from the 80s to mid-90s. They are just to dated for me to consider watching them...It's like me trying to watch a black and white 1950s humphry bogart movie..it's impossible and painful..haha

The cemetary starts and ends with in the title itslef (may be about 10 minutes) - The movie is not about cemertary, but a man who was born and brought up in cemeratary and has no outside world communication, so he is naturally rude and crude and how he translate into having a friendship with a "local thief" and the troubles he goes thru because of the new found friendship and relationship. Its an excellent movie. Yes, definitely has the best DVD cover for tamil movies. Has excellent BGM and soundtrack by Illayaraja. This is one movie that I repeat when I am depressed. The BGM makes you feel like you are young and fresh.

If you can, atleast rent this and provide me your review/comment about

direction - bala
music - illayaraja
actors - vikram & surya

That's how I'd describe 7/G RAINBOW COLONY. The movie was so depressing. Once you know the ending it's very hard to watch the dvd again.

sorry double post.

Kadhal Kondein & 7G - first half good, good direction, acting, but stories in the second half are absolute downers.

Same can be said about Thulluvatho Illamai.

Entertaining, but also kind of HW-inspired, particularly the scene near the end, in the field (copied from Seven).



Yeah, its pretty ridiculous, but I like it as an eye-candy action film. No Indian film has a scene like the one with Nandu's drug trip. The creepy Ronald McDonald is particularly memorable.



I found the style to be refreshingly rustic and rough, but the story itself kind of settles into a standard action and revenge story. I thought it was rather overrated.