No one saw this coming - Abrupt WC 2018!

If  there is one thing that I am absolutely feeling discontented about the World Cup so far is, the fact that there's no South American team in the final stages of the tournament. The cards were widely spread for the likes of, Brazil, Argentina and even Uruguay to make it to the final. More than to call it the World Cup, I'd rather name it, "The Fall of the Giants." We've witnessed the biggest teams there are to be to compete in the grandest stages of all, only to fall short against average teams. How disappointing but wait, that's the irony of the World Cup. 

This is no club competition, it's a competition where you put aside all of your differences, egoistic behaviors and fight for a place of pride across the globe with many other teams. This World Cup, unlike any other, fed us with even more intriguing surprises than the usual. Trust me, I mean it when I say that. Well, what more proof would be essential when you see the Germans get knocked out in group stages. Now, that's a rare phenomenon. Having not qualified to the knockout stages is not the only pain they had to endure, but getting a beating from South Korea had to tail along the pain caused. 

I have to say, the Germans looked below average from the first group stage match itself, suffering a huge loss to Mexico. It was just not happening, the flair in football missed out, the clinical and creative movements of the ball and most importantly, they played real amateur football throughout the tournament. For a moment, this German team reminded me of the sloppy England side during WC 2006 and 2010. Star-studded players all over the field, but statistics shows otherwise. 

Losing to Mexico, escaping three valuable points with a narrow win against Sweden, all they needed was just a freaking goal against the Koreans without conceding to progress to the knockout stages! Koreans were on their feet almost all the time, never for a second looked vulnerable or intimidated by the German's attacks. They looked like "We got this shit right here", and in fact, yes they got their shit well up their sleeves. 

Leroy Sane would have certainly made a whole lot of difference, breaking fast in the flanks, providing more attacking options for the Germans, which greatly lacked this time. Leaving Emre Can out of the team was also a mistake. Sami Khedira, I would brand him, "The Spectator", well that's what he was doing throughout the tournament. He left least impact on the field and his contribution stats were ridiculous. 

To me, Germany's exit will definitely be the shock of this year's WC, simply because no one saw that coming, especially being the defending champions, you would at least hope to see them make it to the Final. 

Several other shocking exits would be, Spain, Portugal, Brazil, Argentina and Uruguay. Spain, who locked horns with Portugal in the group of death, seemed no longer like the Spain we used to know. I see Spain side facing major extinct process, with most of the top players, either no longer needed in the team or already hanging their boots. 

But, I certainly see this young Spain side coming back stronger than ever in near future. The likes of Asensio, Isco, Costa and many others do have the potential to shine in big games, coming up with the goods. 

Another heartbreaking news for all football fans is that, this could potentially be C.Ronaldo and Leo Messi's last WC appearance. Often carrying their respective teams on their shoulders, it happened to be yet another disappointing tournament for the lads. Messi, who looked least functional in this year's WC, except for that remarkable goal he came up with against Nigeria, which secured a last 16 showdown with France, was merely a spectator as well. Oh, by the way, that France-Argentina clash will probably go down as one of the best World Cup matches in history. 

Ronaldo, who relatively had an excellent start to the tournament, scoring a hatrick of goals against Spain, slowly looked least effective in the games that followed up. His on field stats were staggering, but never good enough to bring Portugal further this time around. 

Often being mocked for having poor performances in WC tournaments, England pulled out the biggest surprise thus far, by stretching their place to the semi-final, setting a showdown against a revamped Croatia. England became the third youngest side in WC after France and Nigeria, and the Three Lions definitely deserves a huge round of applause for the efforts they have put in. 

The nation's hope was short lived after a 1-2 loss to Croatia in a spicy semi final clash. Gareth Southgate's young side had put on a good show this time, and its amazing how they've rotated their game play not playing the typical England approach,  long balls, predictable passes. The entire team shifted its game play and they really seemed like a new England side, that was up for a change and a fight to regain the lost stardom of the nation. 

It's now down to France and Croatia to decide who is going to be crowned the new World Champions! 

Tamil Cinema's first space thriller - TIK TIK TIK

In today's highly reluctant society towards experimental pieces, Shakti Soundar Rajan's bold attempt - TIK TIK TIK, provides a base for all the audiences to sit back, relax and enjoy what is now trending as a proud achievement for the Tamil Cinema industry. 

Director Shakti Soundar Rajan and actor Jayam Ravi have always tried to experiment within the commercial format. Two years back, they made Tamil Cinema's first zombie thriller, Miruthan, which unsurprisingly received neutral responses from audiences. Now, they are back with the first space thriller ever made, Tik Tik Tik. The film certainly creates a new experience, especially for those who are craving for some level of novelty and freshness in plot. 

As we are aware that this is entirely an asteroid hit situation that's about to provoke catastrophic sets of events on planet earth, the film starts with an outer space visual, then an asteroid heading towards the earth, specifically Chennai and blasting towards the ground of a slum area in Chennai. 

That leads to explosion that sets off car alarms and leaves a massive hole on the ground. Immediately, news channels flashes the death toll of the incident and the extent of the damage done. 

The next scene, we have a group of top defense officials debating a highly confidential matter depressingly with the lack of urgency and every actor/actress making the same face expression repeatedly until the end of the scene. I strongly feel this scene was done abruptly and it needed a little bit of time to develop a stronger follow up after the explosion scene. 

What surprised me the most is the calmness and how composed the higher officials were when explaining an even disastrous event that's about to happen in India. It was about a rouge asteroid measuring 60 square kilometers dropping into the Bay of Bengal in seven days, unleashing tsunamis and killing approximately, 40 million people! 

Lacking nuclear firepower to carry out the mission, Defense Department Chief, Jayaprakash comes up with the craziest of plans, which is to rob nuclear missile from a space station, which is said to be owned by the "Beep", a Chinese outer space station. 

This is where our hero comes into the picture. Well, to rob, you need a robber, that's what Jayam Ravi happens to be in this movie. A professional thief and a magician, Jayam Ravi's intro will certainly give you the, "wow, this is something different, not the usual flying, running or dramatic intro scenes for Tamil Cinema actors." 

Jayam Ravi's son, Arav Ravi, made his debut acting role as his son in this, and I have to say, they both put up a decent, fruitful bond on screen. The father-son relationship would tear you up, especially during the Kurumba song. 

What's a tamil movie without comedy? Having selected to fly to outer space to rob the nuclear missile, I personally liked the part, where Jayam Ravi requests for both his friends to be part of the mission. It is not rare in a tamil movie where the main lead would actually give much importance to the comedians, but in this one, it was otherwise. 

The comedy relief was much-needed, and I strongly feel RJ Ramesh Thilak and Arjunan closed the gaps of almost making this a one-way, boring and formal piece. 

Aaron Aziz's role was too little to bare, simply put because after watching the trailer and glancing through the posters, I was given a hope that his role would be a major part of the movie. He seemed clueless almost since he existed on screen towards the end. 

Nivetha Pethuraj did an excellent job, she showed much character and attitude, carrying one of the crucial roles in this movie. 

On the flip side, the film lacked a strong villain, and for movies of such genre, the villain is a character that needs no immediate or clear-cut exposure, which in a way diluted the impact of the climax. Another drawback is that the villain character was revealed almost the half way point, which already made the film to be very predictable towards the end. 

Jayam Ravi is one of the most versatile, brave and experimental young actors I know today, and he deserves huge credits for his excellent presence on screen. Ravi as the con-artist-turned-astronaut was amazing and definitely a solid reason to go and watch this film! Nivetha Pethuraj alongside Vincent Asokan did a good job and as mentioned, the comedians, Ramesh and Arjunan provided enough laughs to enjoy. 

Shakti Soundar Rajan has provided us with a reasonably entertaining film without any lag. A good watch, indeed.