Have been on a movie binge, last couple of weeks. English/Hindi/Tamil movies, have all fallen under my purview. My DVd player has insured, that I can view the tamil movies, though I dont understand even one word.

Pithamagan (Tamil) : Vikram surely deserves a national award for his splendid performance. Tale of a undertaker, who has lost all human feelings and how a petty conman (played outstandingly by Surya) reawakens them. Story line is not very strong, but its worth watching for the powerhouse performances

KK (Tamil) : for the life of me I cant pronounce or write the full name, Khaaka Khaaka something. Tale of a upright cop, who becomes a "encounter" specialist, and then his personal life is shattered by the villains, seeking revenge. Story has shades of "Seven" , but its a refreshing debut(??) by director:Govind Menon, ably supported by Surya's restrained performance, Jyothika also essays her role to perfection. Govind remade the film in Telugu, Gharshana, but changed the ending. Maybe thats why it flopped, though it *ed Venkatesh. I heard that Govind has also got a offer to make it in English, setting being Chechenya.

Ramanna (Tamil): first time I saw a Vijaykanth movie. A inspiring tale of a college proffessor who motivates his students to form a Anti Corruption Force, which kidnaps and kills the most corrupt buearaucrats. Reminded of Indian, Citizen?: the difference is that there the protagonist played a lone hand, in this case he gets his job done by his "army". Its tough to imagine a person with Vijaykanth's portly figure, carrying out the action stunts, but if you can overlook that, his dialogue delivery and acting is simply topclass. I also liked the fact that the prof remains uncompromising till the end and prefers getting hanged , rather than beg for mercy. The Chiranjeevi *rer, Tagore, was a watered down version ,with lots more song & dance , and a tame ending.