Skip to content

Entertainment 101

Anything to do with movie reviews, cinema, radio, music and other forms of entertainment

Ilaiyaraaja: Project “Then, Now & Forever” 2013

Western classical music is perspective – look at the number of people involved in a symphony! Our traditional music is lonely – Ilaiyaraaja

ilaiyaraaja sp bala s janaki old photo

A very young Ilaiyaraaja with the very talented SP Bala and S. Janaki in the early 1980s during a recording session. Image source: The Federal

As long I could remember, I have been listening to Ilaiyaraaja music since I was still young and started to have an appreciation of his style of music – all the way from the 1970s (you are aware that Annakili was not his first movie and that he had to impress the producer Panchu Arunachalam by singing a song that his mother sang and using the table as a music instrument?) to his latest flick in “Neethane En Ponvasantham” – thanks to my Dad who was a big fan of Ilaiyaraaja (Ilaiyaraaja means the “younger” Raja – that is because the Tamil music industry already had another music director named Raja – the famed A.M. Raja).

Read More »Ilaiyaraaja: Project “Then, Now & Forever” 2013

Tamil Movie Review – Yuddham Sei 2011

This was one of the most waited Tamil movies in my list for 2011!

tamil movie

(I love the camera angles in this movie – Cheran sitting down at the spot where his sister was kidnapped, contemplating on how to find her. Image source: Indiaglitz)

Sometimes, we can determine a good movie upfront by seeing who is the director of the movie – throw some names like Alfred Hitchcock, Steven Spielberg, James Cameron and in Tamil movie scene, Shankar (although he screwed up his last movie), Mani Ratnam, Gautham Menon and many more up into the air and you can be assured that you going to see a movie that is not only entertaining but well made and with the right storyline.

Read More »Tamil Movie Review – Yuddham Sei 2011

Hindi Movie Review: Rocket Singh: Salesman of the Year 2009

Rocket Singh Hindi Movie

(Downright honest salesman – you can see it in his face but the reality of things is that it is a dog eating dog world out there. Can Harpreet and his no-nonsense company make the cut? Image source: IMDB)

Indiaglitz reports it as “uplifting and brilliantly performed”!

Along with the excellent 3 Idiots, this movie is another MUST have in your Hindi movie collections. The premise is so simple and yet brilliantly executed. I first saw this movie when I was cruising at 30,000 feet and at first dismissed it as boring but as the story started to develop, I thank God for keeping me to continue to watch the movie. Otherwise, I would have missed one heck of a movie which has interesting lessons intertwined within.

Read More »Hindi Movie Review: Rocket Singh: Salesman of the Year 2009

World War 2 Movies: The Most Memorable Movies I Ever Seen

world war 2

(The last major war around the world at the same time was the World War 2 that happened between 1939 to 1945. For most of us who were not born then, we can understand the ultimate sacrifices that many gave from some of best movies ever made on this subject. Image source: http://www.buchanan.org)

World War 2 was the last major conflict that we have faced and we all dread the start of World War 3 (which could mean end of mankind or worse, the planet earth).

I like history and I have collection of books and magazines on the subject at home but nothing portrays the event better than seeing them on movies. Over the years, we have been “bombarded” with many types of war movies and mini-series ranging from ancient wars (like “300” and “Braveheart”), World Wars (both 1 & 2), Vietnam Wars (still remember “Platoon”, “Full Metal Jacket” or “Apocalypse Now”?) and all the way to galactic war in a galaxy, far, far away (my favourite – “Star Wars”)

If you are looking for World War 2 movies for your collection, I strongly recommend these (in no particular order):-

Read More »World War 2 Movies: The Most Memorable Movies I Ever Seen