Balaji's Thots

While we’ve been getting a steady stream of releases recently, this Friday feels like a festival day with 3 movies hitting screens. The films Vedi, Vaagai Sooda Vaa and Muran all have different things going for them and so are coming with their own set of expectations.
The most high-profile of the releases is Vedi, thanks [...]

Our directors who turn to production have always displayed a good knack for spotting talent in other aspiring directors. Following directors like Shankar(who rediscovered Balaji Sakthivel and Vasanthabalan) and Sasikumar(who gave the chance to Pandiraj), A.R.Murugadoss too exhibits this knack with his choice of new director Saravanan for Engeyum Eppodhum, the first film from his [...]

Though I got my 60D back in February, I never took any photos using manual focus for the first few months. The word ‘manual’ implicitly conveys work and effort and the inherent block I have towards labor of any kind kept me from employing manual focus for my photos. Its not like I was taking [...]

Several movies with flimsy stories have been rescued by strong screenplays and though there are fewer examples, strong stories have helped movies survive weak screenplays. But when the story is silly and the screenplay is contrived, there’s not much else for a movie to fall back on. That’s what happens in Vandhaan Vendraan, which is [...]

I’ve never been a big fan of Ajith but things have gotten worse the last few years. The quality of his last few movies has ranged from ‘watchable’(Billa) to ‘atrocious’(Aazhvar) and I can’t remember the last time he delivered a certified hit. Worse, the actor’s performance in the movies was dull and lifeless and there [...]

Reviews for Poattaa Poatti, Puli Vesham and Yuvan Yuvathi are now online @ the reviews site.

Thrillers usually develop pace at the expense of character development but Ted Dekker shows with The Priest’s Graveyard that strong characters can propel a story forward strongly too. A character-driven tale that develops tension and suspense out of the relationship between the two main characters, the book is a good read.
Renee is a prostitute and [...]

This was a relatively low-key Labor Day weekend with only 1 day-trip over the long weekend.  But the trip, though planned at the last minute, was a fun outing for the entire family.

We drove to Calaveras Big Trees State Park, which as the name clearly indicates, is known for its giant trees (it could be [...]

Though he has earned a name as a bankable director with films like Chennai 600028, Saroja and Goa, Venkat Prabhu’s loud declarations that he was a ‘Thala’ fan and the fact that he was directing Ajith’s 50th film made us wonder if Mankatha would another adulatory star vehicle along the lines of Vijay’s 50th film [...]