Who could ever forget the visual breeze of Bridge in kerala cafe...the 20 minutes of soulful immortal visuals that Anwar Rashid had hard printed on our hearts about 3 years ago?Eversince the announcement of Usthad hotel, my expectation was for "the bridge feel" to be extended for 2 hours.....and it almost did in most parts....!Be it the opening scene where an electric bulb flashes to light the board of usthad hotel ,or the scene which establishes the ambience of usthad hotel and the beach,or when faizy falls for shahana....or when Kareemikka reveals the suspence of his first love......the movie brings in goose bumps to the viewers.....Thanks to the majestic visuals...the poetic visualisation aided with the career best bgms of Gopi sundar....and of course the perfos that match up to the plot.
Usthad hotel plots the story around Faizy(dulquer)'s coming of age......realizing what serving food is all about.In due course of his life he happens to split ways with his father and happens to reenter the life of his grandfather Kareem(thilakan).Its his uppooppa who forms the tutorial to develop Faizy as a good human being.A series of episodes come in including a sidelined romance tale.
Dulquar as Faizy puts in a show that should posiibly suggest just one thing....that he is here to stay , not just to be popped up as a great actor's son.....but to make a name for himself.Good Show!
Thilakan.....the master actor...proves it yet again....!Nithya menon had never before looked so beautiful on screen.....Siddique mamukkoya,Lena,kallumekkaya band, all puts in their skills to perfect blend.
Though the subject from Anjali meon had more potential in it to be developed as more of a feel good entertainer,her script falters here and there at times.
Not to forget some wonderfully etched moments though.Kudos to Anwar Rashid...the best Director in Mallu town.The man mesmerizes with his skill to create poetry with visuals that you feel anyone in his frames would just be awesome.....! Wonderful cinematography....BGM by Gopi sunder is top class and so are the songs.....!
Walk in to Usthad Hotel.....Sulaimani and Usthad special Biriyani awaits you....!
Must feel movie....8/10......!
Friday, June 29, 2012
Thursday, June 14, 2012
Feel The Spirit.......SPIRIT Review
Malayalam cinema has made a remarkable turnaround since the last year with some cinemas that dared to show up differently.Thank to the filmmakers who were behind all such movies which carved out a new face for Malayalam cinema.One man who had stood steady with his head held high for meaningful cinemas ,even when he had all the scope for rechurning hits out of the tried tested formulas is Ranjith and He deserves a bow to the bold steps he had taken through palerimanikyam,praanchiyettan indian rupee and now Spirit.
Spirit the Movie deals with the dominance of alcohol in malayale's life.Told through Raghu nanadan,who himself is a high class drunkard,spirit takes you through several lives that lost its color drenching in alcohol.Raghunandan a divorcee is a well known tv anchor ,who has let his life loose with only liquor as his companion.First half moves thorough several satirical comedies with the Ranjith flavour ,and Mohanlal once again rocking as the drunken comedian.Most of the comedies in the first half kept the movie alive and moved on to a comparatively serious 2nd half.The movie becomes a bit serious here and drags a bit into the climax where Ranjith signs off with his manly voice.
Mohanlal - Ranjith has always been an elite combo and spirit doesn't let that down.Mohanlal has always been at ease with such kind of roles and he does it once again.Nandu gets a role of his life time as plumber mani...good performance from him.Madhu Lena tini tom etc tuned in well to the plot. Thilakan was wasted.
Kaniha gels in with some skin show though it looked that intentional at times.Some good role for her after pazhassi.Shankar ramakrishanan,Adoor govindankutty,siddarth etc used their screen space to good effect.
Ranjith the Master craftsman take a bow.He has always left me wondered with his writings.Whatever be the genre,the subject it just stands out Brilliant!
The movie is an open book with Ranjith deciding to be open in saying and showing up everything related to the subject.This could be a family repellent.But as Raghu nandan says "Who F****kin cares"?
Also watched Thiruvambaadi thmabaan....Felt it to be decent entertainer shot in the likes of tamil movie...!
Spirit the Movie deals with the dominance of alcohol in malayale's life.Told through Raghu nanadan,who himself is a high class drunkard,spirit takes you through several lives that lost its color drenching in alcohol.Raghunandan a divorcee is a well known tv anchor ,who has let his life loose with only liquor as his companion.First half moves thorough several satirical comedies with the Ranjith flavour ,and Mohanlal once again rocking as the drunken comedian.Most of the comedies in the first half kept the movie alive and moved on to a comparatively serious 2nd half.The movie becomes a bit serious here and drags a bit into the climax where Ranjith signs off with his manly voice.
Mohanlal - Ranjith has always been an elite combo and spirit doesn't let that down.Mohanlal has always been at ease with such kind of roles and he does it once again.Nandu gets a role of his life time as plumber mani...good performance from him.Madhu Lena tini tom etc tuned in well to the plot. Thilakan was wasted.
Kaniha gels in with some skin show though it looked that intentional at times.Some good role for her after pazhassi.Shankar ramakrishanan,Adoor govindankutty,siddarth etc used their screen space to good effect.
Ranjith the Master craftsman take a bow.He has always left me wondered with his writings.Whatever be the genre,the subject it just stands out Brilliant!
The movie is an open book with Ranjith deciding to be open in saying and showing up everything related to the subject.This could be a family repellent.But as Raghu nandan says "Who F****kin cares"?
Also watched Thiruvambaadi thmabaan....Felt it to be decent entertainer shot in the likes of tamil movie...!
Tuesday, May 29, 2012
Hero Mallu singh Diamond Neckalce
Hero :
Mass movies are those which are expected to be entertaining/exciting/thrilling or to say the least Engaging.Unfortunately Prithvirajs Hero doesn't fit into any of the above categories though it was made up as a Mass movie.
What lets the movie down is an outdated screenplay and sloppy narration.The story that has been here since ages has been shaped up for Hero and has been executed with flashes,cut,fights,camera shakes all to form a below average flick.Prithviraj looks masculine with his oiled up muscles and thats all he had to do in such a script.Prithviraj could not overcome his aura which made him look alien among the local bunch of his colonywalas.Anoop menon was given some dialogs to score in and he did well.Thalaivasal vijay too did well.The heroine was ok. Other casts like tini tom,anoop,nedumudi,kapac etc comes n goes.Srikanth didn't look apt for the character ,may be because of the dubbing.
Songs arent good as well.
Hero- Avoidable
Mallusingh -
Another one in the format of mass masala entertainment.But this for me was a watchable flick.Just because of directorial expertise of vysakh,an average script was churned out to a watchable stuff.
Unni as Mallusingh ,though most of the time had the same kinda expression managed to not let down the movie.Looks a sure bet for the future.
Kunchakko wasnt able to bring in laughters though he desperately tried to.
Biju Menon and Manoj did not have much to entertain as they did have in seniors.
Suraj was as usual.Samvrutha,roopa and other female leads were eye candy and gelled in well with the colourful frames set.Cinematography was of top notch with the beauty of Punjab tantalizing like anything.Songs are ok.
Mallusingh - Watchable entertainer.
Diamond Necklace :
Fahadh fazil is on a relevation these days.With his 22FK still running successfully, he has managed to bring in another succes story through Diamond necklace.Lal jose movie has some predetermined standards in the minds of malayalees but he hasn't been quite there in few of his recent outings.Well diamond necklace too isnt there exactly but has a lot of feel good factors to keep you entertained.Script by iqbal kuttipuram is good enough to bring in you close to life sort of feelings.
Some scenes in the second half like the joy alukkas advertisement and the (cliched) greedy aunts of fahads wife looked plastic and could have been presented in a better way.Fahadh has surprised with his second coming and he does again doing the diamond neckalce act!Heroines were good,especially gowthami and samvrutha.The third heroine looked a bit out of sorts,may be because her character is like that!
Songs are a treat...Kudos to Vidyasagar!
Diamond necklace - A good Watch!
Mass movies are those which are expected to be entertaining/exciting/thrilling or to say the least Engaging.Unfortunately Prithvirajs Hero doesn't fit into any of the above categories though it was made up as a Mass movie.
What lets the movie down is an outdated screenplay and sloppy narration.The story that has been here since ages has been shaped up for Hero and has been executed with flashes,cut,fights,camera shakes all to form a below average flick.Prithviraj looks masculine with his oiled up muscles and thats all he had to do in such a script.Prithviraj could not overcome his aura which made him look alien among the local bunch of his colonywalas.Anoop menon was given some dialogs to score in and he did well.Thalaivasal vijay too did well.The heroine was ok. Other casts like tini tom,anoop,nedumudi,kapac etc comes n goes.Srikanth didn't look apt for the character ,may be because of the dubbing.
Songs arent good as well.
Hero- Avoidable
Mallusingh -
Another one in the format of mass masala entertainment.But this for me was a watchable flick.Just because of directorial expertise of vysakh,an average script was churned out to a watchable stuff.
Unni as Mallusingh ,though most of the time had the same kinda expression managed to not let down the movie.Looks a sure bet for the future.
Kunchakko wasnt able to bring in laughters though he desperately tried to.
Biju Menon and Manoj did not have much to entertain as they did have in seniors.
Suraj was as usual.Samvrutha,roopa and other female leads were eye candy and gelled in well with the colourful frames set.Cinematography was of top notch with the beauty of Punjab tantalizing like anything.Songs are ok.
Mallusingh - Watchable entertainer.
Diamond Necklace :
Fahadh fazil is on a relevation these days.With his 22FK still running successfully, he has managed to bring in another succes story through Diamond necklace.Lal jose movie has some predetermined standards in the minds of malayalees but he hasn't been quite there in few of his recent outings.Well diamond necklace too isnt there exactly but has a lot of feel good factors to keep you entertained.Script by iqbal kuttipuram is good enough to bring in you close to life sort of feelings.
Some scenes in the second half like the joy alukkas advertisement and the (cliched) greedy aunts of fahads wife looked plastic and could have been presented in a better way.Fahadh has surprised with his second coming and he does again doing the diamond neckalce act!Heroines were good,especially gowthami and samvrutha.The third heroine looked a bit out of sorts,may be because her character is like that!
Songs are a treat...Kudos to Vidyasagar!
Diamond necklace - A good Watch!
Friday, May 18, 2012
Gruhuaathuruthwan Thulumbunna Manjaadikkuru
Manjadiikuru ..... Manglish Review...!
Plot orupaadu thavana thiraseelayil vannu poyathu thanne....Oru valiya tharavaattile kaarnoru marikkunnu...swathu bhaagam veppinu aakrantharaaya makkal pala idathu ninnum ethunnu...avide ellarum orumichu jeevikkunna kurachu naalukal ithu thanne aanu ee padthinteyum plot...thinkalaazcha nalla divasam,raapakal,enningane orupaadu padangal ithe plotumaayi vannu nummale nombara peduthiyittundu....ennittum manjaadikkuru enna cinema enthu kondu vythyastham aakunnu...otta kaaranam...manjaadikuru enna cinema katha kuttikaliloode aanu paranju pokunnathu...vicky ennu perulla nishkalankam vittumaaratha payyante oppam kannanum, avante anujathyum,thamizhathi rojayumokke chernnu pala vattamaayi namme kothippikkunna kuttikkaalathekku kooti kondu pokunnu.....Anyam ninnu thudangiya vettukal padikalum,kariyila puthapiicha idavazhikalum,vellaka-irkkil pambarangalum ellam pala idangalilaayi ningalude ormacheppile manjaadikurukkalude smaranakal thottunarthunu ......Rojayude episode aanu padathine ithe pole ulla mattu padangalil ninnum kathaaparamaayi vythyasthamaakkunnathu...
Climaaxil maathrame ullenkilum prithviraajinte shabda gaambheeryathiloode aanu manjaadikkuruvinte katha paraju pokunnathu...Urvashi valare naalukalkku shesham nannayi cheytha oru role...Murali,Jagathi,Cinemalayile kakshi ellavarum nannaayi chythu...
first half nannayi enjoy cheythu kandu...chil a thammashkal nannaayi...2nd half palayidathum manappoorvam slow aakkiyathu aalukale mushippichu....!
paattukal kollam.
Gruhaathurathwam ennum kaanan maathram kollavunna oru saadhnamaayi kaanunna pooribhaagam malayaalikalkkum ingane oru chithram theateril vannu kaanan taalparyamundaavathathu albhuthapeduthunnilla.....mobile fonum tv onnumillathirunna kaalam,current poyirunnappol manenna vilakku kathichirunna kaalam, kothichekkilla palarum.....Nalla cinemakle ishtapedunnavarkku dhairmaayi chennu kaanuka ee kochu chithram ...!
Thursday, May 3, 2012
Grandmaster, Cobra,22 Female Kottayam
Grand Master: A plot based on serial killing ,a game portrayed by the killer infront of a shrewd policeman Chandrashekhar...!Parts of the movie also deals with the personal side of Mr chandrshekhars life.
What strikes .......!
Mohanlal...A relief to see his cool act.Looked trimmed,well toned and neat.
Direction: Unnikrishnan's best work till date as a director.
Babu Anony's performance was a surprise from what he presented in Cobra!
Rest of the cast too fitted in well!
What Don't......:
Script: First half wasn't engaging untill the killings showed up. The lags were intermittently present between the engaging scenes throughout the plot . The suspense story looked ordinary to the build up given to the series of killing.
Songs:One of the songs,(the first one) sounded good.The rest could have been avoided.
On the whole Gm is a neatly presented flick from B unnikrishnan.
Cobra: Lal has been successful with his hariharnagar series and he tries to repeat the same slapstick formula with Mammootty in the lead . The storyline seems to be pretty silly with the twin brothers in love with anything that starts with ko...!
+ ....
Mammootty - Looked like he enjoyed what he did in the screen.Energetic perfo.
Lal-repeats what he does best.
Salimkumar- Does his usual stuff.
Ente nenjinullile song
Boxing ring fights.
- es....
Script
Could have come up with something more convincing.The story looked half baked.
Some comedies made the characters look so silly!
The 2nd song.
On the whole Cobra is just another attempt to make merry on pre made formulas.Watchable Entertainer if you love to watch crappy entertainers!
22 Female Kotttayam
A revenge story that revolves around a nurse, her lover and his boss.A very well crafted movie.
+....
Rima kallingal...sure to sweep some awards with this perfo...
fahadh.....Though similar kidn of roles n looks...he has been very effective in presenting them convincingly....
pratap pothan,sathaar,tg ravi....all did well....
Aashiq abu displays his class.
Camera....
Well made script.
-ves
Some of the dialogues could have been avoided and looked like inserted for showing the bold approach of the movie makers.....
Bold attempt...Worth a watch with friends or alone.....Not for the kids!!!
What strikes .......!
Mohanlal...A relief to see his cool act.Looked trimmed,well toned and neat.
Direction: Unnikrishnan's best work till date as a director.
Babu Anony's performance was a surprise from what he presented in Cobra!
Rest of the cast too fitted in well!
What Don't......:
Script: First half wasn't engaging untill the killings showed up. The lags were intermittently present between the engaging scenes throughout the plot . The suspense story looked ordinary to the build up given to the series of killing.
Songs:One of the songs,(the first one) sounded good.The rest could have been avoided.
On the whole Gm is a neatly presented flick from B unnikrishnan.
Cobra: Lal has been successful with his hariharnagar series and he tries to repeat the same slapstick formula with Mammootty in the lead . The storyline seems to be pretty silly with the twin brothers in love with anything that starts with ko...!
+ ....
Mammootty - Looked like he enjoyed what he did in the screen.Energetic perfo.
Lal-repeats what he does best.
Salimkumar- Does his usual stuff.
Ente nenjinullile song
Boxing ring fights.
- es....
Script
Could have come up with something more convincing.The story looked half baked.
Some comedies made the characters look so silly!
The 2nd song.
On the whole Cobra is just another attempt to make merry on pre made formulas.Watchable Entertainer if you love to watch crappy entertainers!
22 Female Kotttayam
A revenge story that revolves around a nurse, her lover and his boss.A very well crafted movie.
+....
Rima kallingal...sure to sweep some awards with this perfo...
fahadh.....Though similar kidn of roles n looks...he has been very effective in presenting them convincingly....
pratap pothan,sathaar,tg ravi....all did well....
Aashiq abu displays his class.
Camera....
Well made script.
-ves
Some of the dialogues could have been avoided and looked like inserted for showing the bold approach of the movie makers.....
Bold attempt...Worth a watch with friends or alone.....Not for the kids!!!
Tuesday, April 10, 2012
MASTERS n MAYAMOHINI
Masters!
Johny Antony is more well known for his cartoonish approach to cinema,but the man has also done decent thrillers like cycle before.He tries out another one here in the form of the Prithviraj Starrer-Masters.Based on an investigation of a serial killer,masters begins with an attempt to establish the bond between two friends done by prithviraj and Sasikumar,this unfortunately doesn't materialize,but there after the plot gets along well with the viewers.Direction for me didn't look awful,seems like the director preferred to use the old style of film making,without resorting to any torturous gimmicks!The suspense is predictable which lets the climax down.Prithviraj provides the fire and looks that is all required in such investigative movies.Sasikumar was a total failure and never looked in a mood to do this movie.The script demands attention and appreciation but got poorly executed at the climax.Salim kumar and Biju Menon requires some special mention for their roles.Most of the other characters have minimal roles to play which were safe with them.
Johny Antony has done a decent job though the climax could have been executed differently.Though Masters doesnt give you goose bumps,or pump out your adrenaline,it certainly gives you an engaging watch!
Decent Thriller!
Mayamohini-- THE QUEEN OF CRAAAPS!
Such kind of movies are a result of the undeserving attention malayalees had given to craps like karyasthan,pokkiriraja ,or to generalize to most of the recent udayakrishna sibi k thomas movies.Mayamohini is a pathetic attempt to make you laugh by remixing and reusing most comedies of previous Malayalam films.Almost 90% jokes are non vegetarian,surprising for a family movie,but even surprising is the fact the families are rushing to catch their seats for maayamohini.That is their trust on Dileep,perhaps the most bankable actor as far as families are concerned.The sad part is that this trust is getting misused by churning out craps like mayamohini,karyasthan etc!First half of the movie looked terrible for me except for some laughs here and there for baburaj,but the second half was utter crap that it made me feel that the first half was sort of ok!
Direction is fast paced but still cant hide most of the loopholes,because there were plenty of them in the script.Dileep looked irritating as mayamohini,but his efforts to take up such a character deserves applause.Script-How many times they have fooled the audience and still they does,but hope not the majority of them were happy this time!Sphadikam george ,Abu salem too were asked to try the Baburaj way ,but looked miserable with their comedies.Biju Menon and Baburaj evokes some laughter here and there.
Mayamohini - Hope the audience treats such movies deservingly,else more of the same genre will frequently jump out from the pipe line --- Avoidable!
Johny Antony is more well known for his cartoonish approach to cinema,but the man has also done decent thrillers like cycle before.He tries out another one here in the form of the Prithviraj Starrer-Masters.Based on an investigation of a serial killer,masters begins with an attempt to establish the bond between two friends done by prithviraj and Sasikumar,this unfortunately doesn't materialize,but there after the plot gets along well with the viewers.Direction for me didn't look awful,seems like the director preferred to use the old style of film making,without resorting to any torturous gimmicks!The suspense is predictable which lets the climax down.Prithviraj provides the fire and looks that is all required in such investigative movies.Sasikumar was a total failure and never looked in a mood to do this movie.The script demands attention and appreciation but got poorly executed at the climax.Salim kumar and Biju Menon requires some special mention for their roles.Most of the other characters have minimal roles to play which were safe with them.
Johny Antony has done a decent job though the climax could have been executed differently.Though Masters doesnt give you goose bumps,or pump out your adrenaline,it certainly gives you an engaging watch!
Decent Thriller!
Mayamohini-- THE QUEEN OF CRAAAPS!
Such kind of movies are a result of the undeserving attention malayalees had given to craps like karyasthan,pokkiriraja ,or to generalize to most of the recent udayakrishna sibi k thomas movies.Mayamohini is a pathetic attempt to make you laugh by remixing and reusing most comedies of previous Malayalam films.Almost 90% jokes are non vegetarian,surprising for a family movie,but even surprising is the fact the families are rushing to catch their seats for maayamohini.That is their trust on Dileep,perhaps the most bankable actor as far as families are concerned.The sad part is that this trust is getting misused by churning out craps like mayamohini,karyasthan etc!First half of the movie looked terrible for me except for some laughs here and there for baburaj,but the second half was utter crap that it made me feel that the first half was sort of ok!
Direction is fast paced but still cant hide most of the loopholes,because there were plenty of them in the script.Dileep looked irritating as mayamohini,but his efforts to take up such a character deserves applause.Script-How many times they have fooled the audience and still they does,but hope not the majority of them were happy this time!Sphadikam george ,Abu salem too were asked to try the Baburaj way ,but looked miserable with their comedies.Biju Menon and Baburaj evokes some laughter here and there.
Mayamohini - Hope the audience treats such movies deservingly,else more of the same genre will frequently jump out from the pipe line --- Avoidable!
Friday, March 23, 2012
KING AND COMMISIONER -- STILL FIREBRAND!
Saving a few,sequels in Malayalam has often never been able to live up to the expectations set by their prequels.Many of the iconic heroes like tharadas, perumal,saagar,have looked silly in their second comings.Luckily Joseph alex the man with an extra bone will never have to be forced to this category.The King and Commisioner delivers big time.
Stuffed with cliches of Ranji-Shaji films ,its the verbal grandeur that lifts the spirit of the movie.Joseph Alex,the District collector who rocked the screens around 20 years back is back with the same vigour,the same fire and the same sharpness to set the screen on fire.This time he is in Delhi and is on an assignment related to the threat national security and the country's prime minister.Minutes away from the titles arrives Joseph,an intro for which a fan of his would have been waiting since an year or so .Each word uttered were pompous for the mass that most parts of the dialogues went unheard.Scenes proceed with Joseph stealing the bloody show all the way. Halfway through the movie IG Bharath chandran joins joseph as his protection officer.Thereafter both enjoys thrashing the baddies with their verbal power.
Nice to see Shaji Kailas back.Its long time that one could enjoy a shaji craft,despite his best efforts behind the camera.Ranji Panikker provides sufficient stuff for him to set fire on screen.Mammootty as joseph alex is nothing short of a wonder as he just dwells into the soul of a character he did 20 years back.The dialogue modulation,the charisma and the energy that made joseph alex,the king of the masses was amply rediscovered by him in the sequel as well.Suresh gopi too adds to the mass element of the movie with Bharath chandran.Suresh gopi as always excels once again as the arrogant police officer!Saikumar gave in a controlled performance,while Biju pappan performed well in one of the prominent role in his career.Samyukta could have been easily avoided.Janardhanan plays the typical hero friendly minister of Ranji script and did his part well though they could be trimmed cutting the 3 hours movie shorter.KPAC lalithas scene with suresh gopi just reminds you how gifted the actress is.
In brief - King and Commisioner is a return to the good old days for the Firebrand movie lovers!
Stuffed with cliches of Ranji-Shaji films ,its the verbal grandeur that lifts the spirit of the movie.Joseph Alex,the District collector who rocked the screens around 20 years back is back with the same vigour,the same fire and the same sharpness to set the screen on fire.This time he is in Delhi and is on an assignment related to the threat national security and the country's prime minister.Minutes away from the titles arrives Joseph,an intro for which a fan of his would have been waiting since an year or so .Each word uttered were pompous for the mass that most parts of the dialogues went unheard.Scenes proceed with Joseph stealing the bloody show all the way. Halfway through the movie IG Bharath chandran joins joseph as his protection officer.Thereafter both enjoys thrashing the baddies with their verbal power.
Nice to see Shaji Kailas back.Its long time that one could enjoy a shaji craft,despite his best efforts behind the camera.Ranji Panikker provides sufficient stuff for him to set fire on screen.Mammootty as joseph alex is nothing short of a wonder as he just dwells into the soul of a character he did 20 years back.The dialogue modulation,the charisma and the energy that made joseph alex,the king of the masses was amply rediscovered by him in the sequel as well.Suresh gopi too adds to the mass element of the movie with Bharath chandran.Suresh gopi as always excels once again as the arrogant police officer!Saikumar gave in a controlled performance,while Biju pappan performed well in one of the prominent role in his career.Samyukta could have been easily avoided.Janardhanan plays the typical hero friendly minister of Ranji script and did his part well though they could be trimmed cutting the 3 hours movie shorter.KPAC lalithas scene with suresh gopi just reminds you how gifted the actress is.
In brief - King and Commisioner is a return to the good old days for the Firebrand movie lovers!
Sunday, March 18, 2012
ORDINARY -- NOT ORDINARY
Ordinary
The recent times have seen many promising talents,both in front of and behind the camera entering the big league of cinema.Well the latest addition to the list is the crew behind the camera of the flick Ordinary.Crafted in the misty backdrop of Gavi ,Ordinary takes you through an episode in the lives of two KSRTC employees.
The movie begins with Eravi(Kunchakko getting appointed to KSRTC as the conductor for the GAVI bus,of which Suku (Biju Menon) is the driver.In due course of their trips ,they get to be a part of the lives of people in Gavi.What follows is a series of engaging and scenically portrayed scenes which are laced with subtle wits which thankfully evokes some laughter.Towards the interval the movie meanders to its story element and ends with your hopes raised for a brilliant second half.However the 2nd half literally obliges to the movie name as it becomes pretty predictable and ORDINARY.
Kunchakko once again proves that he has the mettle in him to entertain the masses.he repeats what he did in Dr Love with a cool head!Biju menon surprisingly had a different slang which was well dubbed by him but one felt that it never was in sync with his body language.The new heroine was ok for the role she had while Ann Augustine was terrible as usual!Baburaj once again entertains in his newly found comic avataar and along with Biju menon,kalabhavan navas's brother (donno his name) provides the humour element which gives life to the movie.Asif Ali was blessed with a brilliant intro ,but the character proved too heavy for him by climax.Other cast like Lalu Alex,Jishnu, etc fits in well enough.
The first half of the movie would often mistake you for this being a Lal Jose flick.Sugeeth the debutant director has to be applauded for this being his first attempt.The screenplay by Manu and nishad was engaging to say the least.The camera work was good enough though nothing to be called as eye candy!Music wasnt good enough to engage you in the first hearing except for Sun Sun Sundari.
To sum it up Ordinary is not Extra ordinary but is definitely worth a watch if you are ready to forgive the minor faults considering this as the first outing of the team!
Also Watched EE ADUTHA KAALTHU-Another of those new generation cinemas that gives you a roller coaster edge of the seat ride especially in the second half.The first half looked a bit too long and boring because of the over detailing of the characters!The brilliantly scripted second half forms the soul of the movie.Indrajith once again brings in the ease and naturality to Vishnu!Finally Nishan gets a role that gets the audience to talk about.Murali Gopi performed too well as the egoistic husband that he might have irked the viewers at times.Anoop Menon Lena and Tanushri Ghosh dwells in well.
Ee aduth kaalathu - Bold one!Thrilling second half!
The recent times have seen many promising talents,both in front of and behind the camera entering the big league of cinema.Well the latest addition to the list is the crew behind the camera of the flick Ordinary.Crafted in the misty backdrop of Gavi ,Ordinary takes you through an episode in the lives of two KSRTC employees.
The movie begins with Eravi(Kunchakko getting appointed to KSRTC as the conductor for the GAVI bus,of which Suku (Biju Menon) is the driver.In due course of their trips ,they get to be a part of the lives of people in Gavi.What follows is a series of engaging and scenically portrayed scenes which are laced with subtle wits which thankfully evokes some laughter.Towards the interval the movie meanders to its story element and ends with your hopes raised for a brilliant second half.However the 2nd half literally obliges to the movie name as it becomes pretty predictable and ORDINARY.
Kunchakko once again proves that he has the mettle in him to entertain the masses.he repeats what he did in Dr Love with a cool head!Biju menon surprisingly had a different slang which was well dubbed by him but one felt that it never was in sync with his body language.The new heroine was ok for the role she had while Ann Augustine was terrible as usual!Baburaj once again entertains in his newly found comic avataar and along with Biju menon,kalabhavan navas's brother (donno his name) provides the humour element which gives life to the movie.Asif Ali was blessed with a brilliant intro ,but the character proved too heavy for him by climax.Other cast like Lalu Alex,Jishnu, etc fits in well enough.
The first half of the movie would often mistake you for this being a Lal Jose flick.Sugeeth the debutant director has to be applauded for this being his first attempt.The screenplay by Manu and nishad was engaging to say the least.The camera work was good enough though nothing to be called as eye candy!Music wasnt good enough to engage you in the first hearing except for Sun Sun Sundari.
To sum it up Ordinary is not Extra ordinary but is definitely worth a watch if you are ready to forgive the minor faults considering this as the first outing of the team!
Also Watched EE ADUTHA KAALTHU-Another of those new generation cinemas that gives you a roller coaster edge of the seat ride especially in the second half.The first half looked a bit too long and boring because of the over detailing of the characters!The brilliantly scripted second half forms the soul of the movie.Indrajith once again brings in the ease and naturality to Vishnu!Finally Nishan gets a role that gets the audience to talk about.Murali Gopi performed too well as the egoistic husband that he might have irked the viewers at times.Anoop Menon Lena and Tanushri Ghosh dwells in well.
Ee aduth kaalathu - Bold one!Thrilling second half!
Monday, January 30, 2012
CASANOVA -- COSTLY CRAP!!!
There hasn't been something so big in recent past in Malayalam cinema.Be it with the hype,the production cost,the casting or the locations, CASANOVA was a name that was thoroughly promoted by the crew over the past year.Unfortunately the same cannot be told regarding its success.
Roshan andrews's latest flick has Mohanlal portraying the title character inspired from Casanova,the ancient womaniser legend.
The one liner for the movie is difficult to be explained as there is scarcely any to boast about.The plot revolves around the hot guy,rather a middle aged man for whom the chicks drool about!Mohanlal's Casanova always arrives well dressed,with goggles,in posh cars,bikes, helicopters and with lots of hot chicks always around him!One gets a notion of the torture he is to expect right away from the intro song.With all the chicks expecting their darling in an airport waiting area,he is introduced riding a sports bike!From thereon the movie tries to exhibit the charm and tricks of casanova with which ladies easily go crazy!Casanova,who is in dubai finds a reason to stayback and tries to bring out the truth behind the death of one of his dearest girls.
It is still a pity that movies like Casnova still happen.How many times has movies with style and minimal substance failed colossally and Casanova will be no different and in fact would be even bigger considering the huge budget that the promotions boasted about.Roshan andrews as a director fails as he has nothing expect a few awesome frames to boast about.The mediocre script was made even lagging with the style of narration opted.He has tried to recreate stunts like what we have seen in movies like dhoom ,but not sure how many would agree on the success.The script from Bobby sanjay was a shocker considering their previous works.Though Mohanlal looks cool in most of the frames one would feel he wasnt the hottest guy(he is reffered to as hottest guy in newyork by the white chicks) to justify Casanova.The role doesnt offer him any sort of entertainment oriented performance scope as well.Shriya saran,lakshmi rai,sanjana roma etc tries to enrich the glossiness of a womaniser based subject.Jagathy has repeated his role in sagar elias jackie.Music is another aspect which is a letdown!
The responses once again confirms that skin shows/cars or locales cannot save a movie like Casanova.The only advantage from the movie is just that it is another chapter to learn for cinema enthusiasts that money alone need not make a good watch!
Verdict : Crap!!
Also watched
Spanish Masala-Hash of several malayalam films.Some average comedies and fresh locations may make it watchable for some.Average!
Asuravithu -- Strictly Avoidable!
Beautiful- Indeed Beautiful.Definitely to be enjoyed in theaters.
Indian Rupee--Good movie.Watchable.
Roshan andrews's latest flick has Mohanlal portraying the title character inspired from Casanova,the ancient womaniser legend.
The one liner for the movie is difficult to be explained as there is scarcely any to boast about.The plot revolves around the hot guy,rather a middle aged man for whom the chicks drool about!Mohanlal's Casanova always arrives well dressed,with goggles,in posh cars,bikes, helicopters and with lots of hot chicks always around him!One gets a notion of the torture he is to expect right away from the intro song.With all the chicks expecting their darling in an airport waiting area,he is introduced riding a sports bike!From thereon the movie tries to exhibit the charm and tricks of casanova with which ladies easily go crazy!Casanova,who is in dubai finds a reason to stayback and tries to bring out the truth behind the death of one of his dearest girls.
It is still a pity that movies like Casnova still happen.How many times has movies with style and minimal substance failed colossally and Casanova will be no different and in fact would be even bigger considering the huge budget that the promotions boasted about.Roshan andrews as a director fails as he has nothing expect a few awesome frames to boast about.The mediocre script was made even lagging with the style of narration opted.He has tried to recreate stunts like what we have seen in movies like dhoom ,but not sure how many would agree on the success.The script from Bobby sanjay was a shocker considering their previous works.Though Mohanlal looks cool in most of the frames one would feel he wasnt the hottest guy(he is reffered to as hottest guy in newyork by the white chicks) to justify Casanova.The role doesnt offer him any sort of entertainment oriented performance scope as well.Shriya saran,lakshmi rai,sanjana roma etc tries to enrich the glossiness of a womaniser based subject.Jagathy has repeated his role in sagar elias jackie.Music is another aspect which is a letdown!
The responses once again confirms that skin shows/cars or locales cannot save a movie like Casanova.The only advantage from the movie is just that it is another chapter to learn for cinema enthusiasts that money alone need not make a good watch!
Verdict : Crap!!
Also watched
Spanish Masala-Hash of several malayalam films.Some average comedies and fresh locations may make it watchable for some.Average!
Asuravithu -- Strictly Avoidable!
Beautiful- Indeed Beautiful.Definitely to be enjoyed in theaters.
Indian Rupee--Good movie.Watchable.
Wednesday, August 31, 2011
PRANAYAM --- FEEL LOVE.....!
How often has a movie given you an experience so poetic,so adorable,so close to life or so inspiring, sort of feelings? Rare are such talents in this Era who can convince you that the life you led could be better just within the time frame of 2hrs and 20 mins.Blessy does more than that with his latest attempt on human relations, Pranayam.
Penning up a script based on a not so common love track and portraying it without going overboard isnt easy these days.Blessy succeeds big time narrating it in the most poetically convincing manner, that you cannot imagine any better execution for most parts in the movie.He lets the characters meander through from the stroke of the titles till the climax frames.All begins when Achuthamenon (Anupam Kher)meets his ex wife Grace(Jayaprada) who is now married to Mathews(Mohanlal).What you witness there after is some thing to be felt through.
The movie is shouldered along by the three characters Mathews,Grace and Achuthamenon and without their scintillating show ,the movie could not have quite managed to become what it does!Mohanlal,the extraordinary actor,though with limited movements(half paralysed) and on screen time once again mesmerises as Mathews.Anupam kher was a brilliant casting.With many brilliant actors in malayalam to do such character roles,Blessy justified himself why he chose Anupam kher.But for me the real surprise was Jayaprada who bagged the role of her life time.The character not only demanded the charm of a mid aged lady but the emotions she goes through isnt something which any actress can portray.Any flaw on her performance would have stooped the movie down!Anoop Menon once again exposes the acting talents in him.He is sure to make a mark in Indian cinema in the days to come.All others gels in well.
Music as usual with Blessy movies delights in Pranayam too.Songs and BGMs carry along the tempo of the movie without distracting you.Camera is excellent with love embedded on each and every frame!Blessy,undoubtedly among the best scriptwriter of this era has come up with very inspiring scenes and dialogues,one being ....SWAPNANGALEKKAL MANOHARMAANU JEEVITHAM ....JEEVIKKANARIYAAMENKIL....!
The movie just flows along without any hiccups for most of the time.One may feel the plasticity in the way Grace and Achu falls in love or may be even the role of Cardiac arrest in the movie ,but that takes away nothing from Pranayam,being close to his First and Best Kaazcha.
PRANAYAM --- FOR THE ONES WHO LOVE LIFE....OR WANT TO LOVE IT.!
Penning up a script based on a not so common love track and portraying it without going overboard isnt easy these days.Blessy succeeds big time narrating it in the most poetically convincing manner, that you cannot imagine any better execution for most parts in the movie.He lets the characters meander through from the stroke of the titles till the climax frames.All begins when Achuthamenon (Anupam Kher)meets his ex wife Grace(Jayaprada) who is now married to Mathews(Mohanlal).What you witness there after is some thing to be felt through.
The movie is shouldered along by the three characters Mathews,Grace and Achuthamenon and without their scintillating show ,the movie could not have quite managed to become what it does!Mohanlal,the extraordinary actor,though with limited movements(half paralysed) and on screen time once again mesmerises as Mathews.Anupam kher was a brilliant casting.With many brilliant actors in malayalam to do such character roles,Blessy justified himself why he chose Anupam kher.But for me the real surprise was Jayaprada who bagged the role of her life time.The character not only demanded the charm of a mid aged lady but the emotions she goes through isnt something which any actress can portray.Any flaw on her performance would have stooped the movie down!Anoop Menon once again exposes the acting talents in him.He is sure to make a mark in Indian cinema in the days to come.All others gels in well.
Music as usual with Blessy movies delights in Pranayam too.Songs and BGMs carry along the tempo of the movie without distracting you.Camera is excellent with love embedded on each and every frame!Blessy,undoubtedly among the best scriptwriter of this era has come up with very inspiring scenes and dialogues,one being ....SWAPNANGALEKKAL MANOHARMAANU JEEVITHAM ....JEEVIKKANARIYAAMENKIL....!
The movie just flows along without any hiccups for most of the time.One may feel the plasticity in the way Grace and Achu falls in love or may be even the role of Cardiac arrest in the movie ,but that takes away nothing from Pranayam,being close to his First and Best Kaazcha.
PRANAYAM --- FOR THE ONES WHO LOVE LIFE....OR WANT TO LOVE IT.!
Wednesday, July 20, 2011
Salt n Pepper --- Yummmy
Have you tried something different recently,well Asiq Abu certainly did and he delivers his stuff big time with Salt n Pepper.If Daddy cool could show only glimpses of his his talents,salt n pepper exhibits the filmmaker in him.
The whole plot of the movie is a love story which isn't anything new but the theme of movie narration based on the delicious recipes makes it a stand out. Be it the main characters or the scenes ,food items form the link between them.A smoothly inserted story of the foreign war hero and his wife(who is waiting with a cake each day, for his return)simply shows the good work behind the screens.
Lal was good as usual.Mythili too wasnt a miscast, but the real picks for me were Baburaj,Shwetha menon and Asif Ali.Babu raj-What a transformation from the roles of the tried and tested villain/goonda to the soft hearted cook in salt n pepper.Never would have he won so many hearts with any of his previous characters.Kudos to Ashiq Abu in using him this way.Shwetha was excellent i portraying a the frustrations of a companionless middle aged.Asif Ali has really emerged from the dubious guy in rithu to one who could handle comedy numbers with ease.He surely can bring the house down on his own in the future days.The rest of the cast fits in well too.
Music from Bijibal is another mention-worthy aspect that helps the cause of the movie.Avial song impresses too with a perfect sign off.
Final word - None among the audience bothered to move even after the climax titles started rolling.They waited for the avial song to finish off to exit gratified.
The whole plot of the movie is a love story which isn't anything new but the theme of movie narration based on the delicious recipes makes it a stand out. Be it the main characters or the scenes ,food items form the link between them.A smoothly inserted story of the foreign war hero and his wife(who is waiting with a cake each day, for his return)simply shows the good work behind the screens.
Lal was good as usual.Mythili too wasnt a miscast, but the real picks for me were Baburaj,Shwetha menon and Asif Ali.Babu raj-What a transformation from the roles of the tried and tested villain/goonda to the soft hearted cook in salt n pepper.Never would have he won so many hearts with any of his previous characters.Kudos to Ashiq Abu in using him this way.Shwetha was excellent i portraying a the frustrations of a companionless middle aged.Asif Ali has really emerged from the dubious guy in rithu to one who could handle comedy numbers with ease.He surely can bring the house down on his own in the future days.The rest of the cast fits in well too.
Music from Bijibal is another mention-worthy aspect that helps the cause of the movie.Avial song impresses too with a perfect sign off.
Final word - None among the audience bothered to move even after the climax titles started rolling.They waited for the avial song to finish off to exit gratified.
Thursday, June 30, 2011
Bombay March 12 -- Bold n Classy
Movies based on terrorism have come and gone,some made minimal impact while some others created a strong wave of emotion within you.Fortunately Babu janardhanans debut directorial venture falls to the latter category.The Movie is wholly based on the innocent muslims who falls a victim to the terrorism atrocities.
Following a non linear narration babu janardhanan introduces sameer(Mammootty) and shahjahan(new comer) on a parallel track.The link between the tracks is establised in the second half.Pre interval the movie is nothing much to hype about with two excellent songs and romas ever best performance being the highlights to really boast off.But the 1st half does tell you that it is a buildup for something more good to come.The second half for the reviewer is the soul of the movie with shahjahans mysteries being revealed.
Performance wise
Though promoted as a movie which promised a hefty performance from Mammootty,he just had cake walk scenes.Being a fan of his ,expected a performance that would create goosbumps,but it didnt!
Roma the actress has finally evolved out.Best ever performance from her!
The newcomer as shahjahan performed without the hiccups of a newbie...definitely has an actor in him to watch out for in the future days of malluwood. Rest of the performances were apt and none of the characters looked plastic.
Songs Lyrics and Music to me is one among the best of the recent times.All the songs impressed at the first hearing itself.
Direction n scripting made this movie what it is.Though the first half could have been made more engaging he deserves a pat at the back for a movie like this. All Kudos to Babu Janardhanan for selecting a bold theme for his first venture,for the questions that he shot out at the democratic views that exists in our country,for not shying away and opting to do a commercial crap as his 1st venture.....and for making Bombay March12 a highlight in malluwood history!
Msut watch for all serious movie lovers....!
Watched cars2 -- Avg,Not anywhere near the prequel....3D effects minimal!
Kungfu panda --- Yet another g8 outing by the Dragon warrior and his friends...3D gives the icing on the cake.Enjoy!
Following a non linear narration babu janardhanan introduces sameer(Mammootty) and shahjahan(new comer) on a parallel track.The link between the tracks is establised in the second half.Pre interval the movie is nothing much to hype about with two excellent songs and romas ever best performance being the highlights to really boast off.But the 1st half does tell you that it is a buildup for something more good to come.The second half for the reviewer is the soul of the movie with shahjahans mysteries being revealed.
Performance wise
Though promoted as a movie which promised a hefty performance from Mammootty,he just had cake walk scenes.Being a fan of his ,expected a performance that would create goosbumps,but it didnt!
Roma the actress has finally evolved out.Best ever performance from her!
The newcomer as shahjahan performed without the hiccups of a newbie...definitely has an actor in him to watch out for in the future days of malluwood. Rest of the performances were apt and none of the characters looked plastic.
Songs Lyrics and Music to me is one among the best of the recent times.All the songs impressed at the first hearing itself.
Direction n scripting made this movie what it is.Though the first half could have been made more engaging he deserves a pat at the back for a movie like this. All Kudos to Babu Janardhanan for selecting a bold theme for his first venture,for the questions that he shot out at the democratic views that exists in our country,for not shying away and opting to do a commercial crap as his 1st venture.....and for making Bombay March12 a highlight in malluwood history!
Msut watch for all serious movie lovers....!
Watched cars2 -- Avg,Not anywhere near the prequel....3D effects minimal!
Kungfu panda --- Yet another g8 outing by the Dragon warrior and his friends...3D gives the icing on the cake.Enjoy!
Friday, May 27, 2011
The Train ---- Not on Track
The train from Jayaraj can be summarized as the movie Kayyoppu remade in the Traffic format.Though both the mentioned movies were excellent in their own genres,the train doesn't come out so well!
Whats Hot?
Well.The lead acting department does a cool job with the screen presence of Mammootty (a cakewalk role) and Jayasurya exhibiting once again the methodical actor in him.
The plot was promising and had the potential to make it big.The crispy,colorful frames and camera work need to applauded too.But the real standout to me was the BGM by gopi sunder,perfect for the mood that the theme of the movie could have delivered.The songs were also good,but could have reduced the number of them to help the movies pace.Jayaraj should be appreciated for seeing the possibility in the plot.
Whats not?
What lets a promising plot down after the initial half an hour is the flaws in the script which tries the tested and tried sentiments with minimal impact on audience.Tne script and direction could have been better to avoid some of the cliched scenes and dialogues. This could also have made the love track of Jyasurya more convincing.Jayaraj has the habit of picking actors who are either not good in malayalam or those lacking some natural acting instincts (including sabitha Jayaraj).He repeats this mistake here too.Some of the plots if performed by a seasoned actor could have been better!
Lack of thrills and twists without which the purpose of the movie like this is half lost!
To add ,Unacceptable number of songs in a movie like this!
The Train - is definitely better than the last few Mammotty movies,but should have been well received,with a better script and narration!
Also watched Janapriyan Last week ---- A softly treated movie which is worth a watch for Jayasurya.The script was is good enough except that it could have been better in the climax......Songs were horrible!Bhama looked good in her role and wasnt irritating (to much of my surprise---)!
Whats Hot?
Well.The lead acting department does a cool job with the screen presence of Mammootty (a cakewalk role) and Jayasurya exhibiting once again the methodical actor in him.
The plot was promising and had the potential to make it big.The crispy,colorful frames and camera work need to applauded too.But the real standout to me was the BGM by gopi sunder,perfect for the mood that the theme of the movie could have delivered.The songs were also good,but could have reduced the number of them to help the movies pace.Jayaraj should be appreciated for seeing the possibility in the plot.
Whats not?
What lets a promising plot down after the initial half an hour is the flaws in the script which tries the tested and tried sentiments with minimal impact on audience.Tne script and direction could have been better to avoid some of the cliched scenes and dialogues. This could also have made the love track of Jyasurya more convincing.Jayaraj has the habit of picking actors who are either not good in malayalam or those lacking some natural acting instincts (including sabitha Jayaraj).He repeats this mistake here too.Some of the plots if performed by a seasoned actor could have been better!
Lack of thrills and twists without which the purpose of the movie like this is half lost!
To add ,Unacceptable number of songs in a movie like this!
The Train - is definitely better than the last few Mammotty movies,but should have been well received,with a better script and narration!
Also watched Janapriyan Last week ---- A softly treated movie which is worth a watch for Jayasurya.The script was is good enough except that it could have been better in the climax......Songs were horrible!Bhama looked good in her role and wasnt irritating (to much of my surprise---)!
Saturday, May 7, 2011
COMBO REVIEWS --- Doubles,China town,Melvilasam,KO!
Hectic office schedules often makes me combine reviews....this time the reviews come late as well......with the fates of these movies already sealed!
Doubles ---- A rare example of a Mammootys experimentation with a debutant director back firing.Average script backed by below average direction helped doubles being a crap.Mammooty looked aged,Nadiya had nothing to be impressed for a comeback.The whole plot and setup looked plastic!
China town --- Another crappy multistarrer after Xian bros!Mohanlal had minimal comedy scenes while the most of the other comedies were irritating.2nd half makes matters even worse with Hangover influenced scenes going all over the place!CRAP!
Melvilasam---May be influenced by the foriegn film but this movie is well etched out!Suresh Gopi gets a good role ,Parthiban excels with his emotions in the 2nd half.Dialogs by Krisnmoorthy are sharp that the entire flash back can be visualized from them.As expected the audience turnout is poor!
KO! -- Brilliant entertainer.KV Anands frames and making style reminded of Gouwtham menon films.Excellent portrayal by Ajmal.Jeeva and rest of the cast are good too.The real hero being the script and the direction!
Doubles ---- A rare example of a Mammootys experimentation with a debutant director back firing.Average script backed by below average direction helped doubles being a crap.Mammooty looked aged,Nadiya had nothing to be impressed for a comeback.The whole plot and setup looked plastic!
China town --- Another crappy multistarrer after Xian bros!Mohanlal had minimal comedy scenes while the most of the other comedies were irritating.2nd half makes matters even worse with Hangover influenced scenes going all over the place!CRAP!
Melvilasam---May be influenced by the foriegn film but this movie is well etched out!Suresh Gopi gets a good role ,Parthiban excels with his emotions in the 2nd half.Dialogs by Krisnmoorthy are sharp that the entire flash back can be visualized from them.As expected the audience turnout is poor!
KO! -- Brilliant entertainer.KV Anands frames and making style reminded of Gouwtham menon films.Excellent portrayal by Ajmal.Jeeva and rest of the cast are good too.The real hero being the script and the direction!
SENIORS --Colourful entertainer
College stories have always drawn attention in malluwood and especially when the Cast and crew is as big in Seniors,one couldnt be blamed for expecting a rocking entertainer...Thankfully the 4 Seniors delivers almost the same.
Seniors by Vysakh( pokkiriraja) tells the story of four friends (Jayaram,Biju menon,Kunchakko and Manoj k jayan) who had to halt their studies due to incident in their college life and then after 12 years deciding to return back to the campus.The sole intention of this being to unravel the mystery behind the tragedy years back.The thread seems similar to classmates but is executed well enough that you wouldnt be always worried about the same.The fun filled first half ensures that.
The second half though initially resorted to some slapstick routine scenes with the hostel stuff,the movie regained momentum with the suspense taking the toll.Though the suspense is a predictable one,the climax was plotted out very well.Do not wish to go more into it as it would be better on screen.
The 4 Seniors were really effective as they won the hearts of the viewers tight from their intro.Biju menon handles most of the comedies and has come out excellently well enough.Manoj was cool in some of his comedies,while in others he almost went over the top.Jayaramas usual was at his very best with his comedies and emtional scenes.Kunchakko puts to display why he is one among the most improved actors of this period.Suraj was as usual.Siddiques role identical to balachandra menons in Classmates was a cake walk.Padmapriya,ananya,jyohika etc gels in well.
Music sounded good on first hear.Kudos to Vysakh in for his pacy narration and colourful shots.Script by sachi sethu is good enough though some characters and situations have already appeared the silver screen before.
One the whole one of the better entertainers of these days.
Seniors by Vysakh( pokkiriraja) tells the story of four friends (Jayaram,Biju menon,Kunchakko and Manoj k jayan) who had to halt their studies due to incident in their college life and then after 12 years deciding to return back to the campus.The sole intention of this being to unravel the mystery behind the tragedy years back.The thread seems similar to classmates but is executed well enough that you wouldnt be always worried about the same.The fun filled first half ensures that.
The second half though initially resorted to some slapstick routine scenes with the hostel stuff,the movie regained momentum with the suspense taking the toll.Though the suspense is a predictable one,the climax was plotted out very well.Do not wish to go more into it as it would be better on screen.
The 4 Seniors were really effective as they won the hearts of the viewers tight from their intro.Biju menon handles most of the comedies and has come out excellently well enough.Manoj was cool in some of his comedies,while in others he almost went over the top.Jayaramas usual was at his very best with his comedies and emtional scenes.Kunchakko puts to display why he is one among the most improved actors of this period.Suraj was as usual.Siddiques role identical to balachandra menons in Classmates was a cake walk.Padmapriya,ananya,jyohika etc gels in well.
Music sounded good on first hear.Kudos to Vysakh in for his pacy narration and colourful shots.Script by sachi sethu is good enough though some characters and situations have already appeared the silver screen before.
One the whole one of the better entertainers of these days.
SENIORS --Colourful entertainer
College stories have always drawn attention in malluwood especially when the Cast and crew is as big in Seniors,one couldnt be blamed for expecting a rocking entertainer...and thankfully the 4 Seniors delivers almost the same.
Seniors by Vysakh( pokkiriraja) tells the story of four friends (Jayaram,Biju menon,Kunchakko and Manoj k jayan) who had to halt their studies due to incident in their college life and then after 12 years deciding to return back to the campus.The sole intention of this being to unravel the mystery behind the tragedy years back.The thread seems similar to classmates but is executed well enough that you wouldnt be always worried about the same.The fun filled first half ensures that.
The second half though initially resorted to some slapstick routine scenes with the hostel stuff,the movie regained momentum with the suspense taking the toll.Though the suspense is a predictable one,the climax was plotted out very well.Do not wish to go more into it as it would be better on screen.
The 4 Seniors were really effective as they won the hearts of the viewers tight from their intro.Biju menon handles most of the comedies and has come out excellently well enough.Manoj was cool in some of his comedies,while in others he almost went over the top.Jayaramas usual was at his very best with his comedies and emtional scenes.Kunchakko puts to display why he is one among the most improved actors of this period.Suraj was as usual.Siddiques role identical to balachandra menons in Classmates was a cake walk.Padmapriya,ananya,jyohika etc gels in well.
Music sounded good on first hear.Kudos to Vysakh in for his pacy narration and colourful shots.Script by sachi sethu is good enough though some characters and situations have already appeared the silver screen before.
One the whole one of the better entertainers of these days.
Seniors by Vysakh( pokkiriraja) tells the story of four friends (Jayaram,Biju menon,Kunchakko and Manoj k jayan) who had to halt their studies due to incident in their college life and then after 12 years deciding to return back to the campus.The sole intention of this being to unravel the mystery behind the tragedy years back.The thread seems similar to classmates but is executed well enough that you wouldnt be always worried about the same.The fun filled first half ensures that.
The second half though initially resorted to some slapstick routine scenes with the hostel stuff,the movie regained momentum with the suspense taking the toll.Though the suspense is a predictable one,the climax was plotted out very well.Do not wish to go more into it as it would be better on screen.
The 4 Seniors were really effective as they won the hearts of the viewers tight from their intro.Biju menon handles most of the comedies and has come out excellently well enough.Manoj was cool in some of his comedies,while in others he almost went over the top.Jayaramas usual was at his very best with his comedies and emtional scenes.Kunchakko puts to display why he is one among the most improved actors of this period.Suraj was as usual.Siddiques role identical to balachandra menons in Classmates was a cake walk.Padmapriya,ananya,jyohika etc gels in well.
Music sounded good on first hear.Kudos to Vysakh in for his pacy narration and colourful shots.Script by sachi sethu is good enough though some characters and situations have already appeared the silver screen before.
One the whole one of the better entertainers of these days.
Thursday, March 31, 2011
URUMI ---- Glossy but fractional !
Urumi-Prithvi's 19th step to super stardom is here.Directed by Santhosh shivan the movie lives upto the expectations in the sense that the frames are rich ,glossy that you wouldnt dare to blink an eyelid.Unfortunately Urumi reminds you that a great cameraman isnt always a great director.The enchanting visual beauty of the movie often was let loose by the director-script writer combo!
The plot is based on a rivalry between Kelu Nair and the Portuguese explorer Vasco da gama.Having lost his people and his father to the invasional spree of Gaama,kelu sets out ,waiting for his chance to tore apart gaama and his men.He is ably helped and supported by his friend Vavvali (prabhu devas character).In due course of his venegance Kelu happens to meet arakkal Aisha and Vavvali meets Bala (Nithya menon) and the love track runs in parallel with the swashbuckling sword clashes.The track seems all set for a gripping outing but some characters developed in the script were poor and even poorly executed.Often dual meaning dialogs spoiled the intensity the movie intended to create.
Coming to the performances,Prithviraj looks well built but has nothing new to present (save his new prince of Persia looks ).The dialog delivery and style all reminded of his previous characters.Still the character kelu demanded lot of manliness which he could easily portray with his well built looks. He looked wanting in the scenes where Vawali gets shot! Prabhu deva performed well a character that handles some humour as well.Genelia looked too cute and immature for Arakkal aayishas role though her fight scenes were awesome.Nithya menon did an OK job as Bala.The pick of the cast for me was Jagathi who was at his usual best as Chenichery kurup,the villain character with shades of feminine charcater in him.Amol gupte as Chirakkal Thampuran
cracked a few jokes here and there.Ankur Sharma as Bhanu was a real Miscast and looked pathetic.Wonder why the crew preferred so many non-malayalees when we already had finest actors here.The cameo roles by Arya,Tabu and Vidya balan has nothing much to go ga ga on.Arya however looked ravishing as Kothuval.The foreign actors (Vasco and his son) were typical.
Coming to the technical side Urumi is a treat to watch with the astonishing camera art taking its toll.Santhosh shivan has succeeded making the movie rich in its technical side with barely any flaws to note.The action scenes were well shot and is certainly among the best that has happened in malayalam cinema.Music from Deepak dev matched his class as well though the BGM at places seems to be a lift from the gladiator theme music.
With all these working for Urumi ,it could have gone places with a better director & screenplay.Urumi- technically brilliant,could have been better on most of the other aspects!
The plot is based on a rivalry between Kelu Nair and the Portuguese explorer Vasco da gama.Having lost his people and his father to the invasional spree of Gaama,kelu sets out ,waiting for his chance to tore apart gaama and his men.He is ably helped and supported by his friend Vavvali (prabhu devas character).In due course of his venegance Kelu happens to meet arakkal Aisha and Vavvali meets Bala (Nithya menon) and the love track runs in parallel with the swashbuckling sword clashes.The track seems all set for a gripping outing but some characters developed in the script were poor and even poorly executed.Often dual meaning dialogs spoiled the intensity the movie intended to create.
Coming to the performances,Prithviraj looks well built but has nothing new to present (save his new prince of Persia looks ).The dialog delivery and style all reminded of his previous characters.Still the character kelu demanded lot of manliness which he could easily portray with his well built looks. He looked wanting in the scenes where Vawali gets shot! Prabhu deva performed well a character that handles some humour as well.Genelia looked too cute and immature for Arakkal aayishas role though her fight scenes were awesome.Nithya menon did an OK job as Bala.The pick of the cast for me was Jagathi who was at his usual best as Chenichery kurup,the villain character with shades of feminine charcater in him.Amol gupte as Chirakkal Thampuran
cracked a few jokes here and there.Ankur Sharma as Bhanu was a real Miscast and looked pathetic.Wonder why the crew preferred so many non-malayalees when we already had finest actors here.The cameo roles by Arya,Tabu and Vidya balan has nothing much to go ga ga on.Arya however looked ravishing as Kothuval.The foreign actors (Vasco and his son) were typical.
Coming to the technical side Urumi is a treat to watch with the astonishing camera art taking its toll.Santhosh shivan has succeeded making the movie rich in its technical side with barely any flaws to note.The action scenes were well shot and is certainly among the best that has happened in malayalam cinema.Music from Deepak dev matched his class as well though the BGM at places seems to be a lift from the gladiator theme music.
With all these working for Urumi ,it could have gone places with a better director & screenplay.Urumi- technically brilliant,could have been better on most of the other aspects!
Thursday, March 24, 2011
August 15 ----- Lacks the Punch
Sequels have come and gone in malayalam,and most often we have seen them spoiling the aura of its prequel.Shaji and SN swami the war horses of malayalam political-action-suspense thrillers have tried it out with the suave police officer from Aug 1 Mr Peruamal.Shaji seems to have put a deliberate effort to see that he aviods his super heroics and camera gimmicks....but unfortunately seems to have been too much overcautious.
The plot and the scenes unfold in the same manner as the prequel with captain rajus role donned by siddique.Perumal arrives to save the CM's life yet again.That is all that can be revelead as the rest would feel better on screen.
Mammmmotty as perumal has minimal punch scenes or dialogues which was the result of the care to preserve the true nature of the character,but the sequences in aug 15 was less intense to work that out.Mammooty has recreated perumal in his walks and styles and the role was indeed a cakewalk for him. Nedumudi as the Cm and Saikumar as the part secretary (Mocking achuthanandan and Pinarayi) have done their roles neatly enough.Siddique as the villain is the major negative in the movie.Aug 1 was equally shouldered by Captains villain role as well.Siddue though has performed credibly,the role lacks the solidness and shrewdness that captains role had.Roles of Meghna,shwetha,Jagathi etc has nothing mention worthy.
Perumaals BGM was well recieved but Capatins BGM in Aug1 was really felt missing in this.
Shaji Kailas seems to have tried to sort out his mysteries going for minimal gimmicks but he lets the plot loosen with the same.SN swami had nothing to be put in as an effort as he had to reshape most of the characters from the prequel (Though i completely agree that this was piled up to settle the losses of the movie DRONA,the makers do have responsibility to the crowd too).Some of siddiques ways to kill the CM didnt look proffessional at all....!
On the Whole Swami and Shaji can be happy in one aspect that they havent ruined the name of the prequel in the likes of Saaagr elyas Jackie or Balaram Vs Tharadas.This time atleast, the movie is watchable.
The plot and the scenes unfold in the same manner as the prequel with captain rajus role donned by siddique.Perumal arrives to save the CM's life yet again.That is all that can be revelead as the rest would feel better on screen.
Mammmmotty as perumal has minimal punch scenes or dialogues which was the result of the care to preserve the true nature of the character,but the sequences in aug 15 was less intense to work that out.Mammooty has recreated perumal in his walks and styles and the role was indeed a cakewalk for him. Nedumudi as the Cm and Saikumar as the part secretary (Mocking achuthanandan and Pinarayi) have done their roles neatly enough.Siddique as the villain is the major negative in the movie.Aug 1 was equally shouldered by Captains villain role as well.Siddue though has performed credibly,the role lacks the solidness and shrewdness that captains role had.Roles of Meghna,shwetha,Jagathi etc has nothing mention worthy.
Perumaals BGM was well recieved but Capatins BGM in Aug1 was really felt missing in this.
Shaji Kailas seems to have tried to sort out his mysteries going for minimal gimmicks but he lets the plot loosen with the same.SN swami had nothing to be put in as an effort as he had to reshape most of the characters from the prequel (Though i completely agree that this was piled up to settle the losses of the movie DRONA,the makers do have responsibility to the crowd too).Some of siddiques ways to kill the CM didnt look proffessional at all....!
On the Whole Swami and Shaji can be happy in one aspect that they havent ruined the name of the prequel in the likes of Saaagr elyas Jackie or Balaram Vs Tharadas.This time atleast, the movie is watchable.
Friday, March 18, 2011
Christian Brothers ----- Star show with less Impact
Ever since the success of T20 the tricky script makers of malluwood has announced their next mega project christian brothers.No price for guessing that most of the character and scnearios are all similar to other sibi udayan movies....not even sparing T20.
A storyline better than many of sibi udays recent flick was surely let down by a screenplay that was cooked up trying to create a show space for the four lead characters.Not going into the story line as it wouldnt be that easy narrating it here.
The movie promised to be treat for the fans and the screenplay was desperate to execute the same but one would feel it couldnt create the expected cheers in most of the places.The first half almost lost its way but made up with the hero intros and fights.The second half of the movie bores you with the predictability and poorly written flashback scenes of mohanlal lakshmi rai love track.Finally the star show ends up with the usual stars Vs Villains fight.
Mohanlals intro was one among his recent worsts though he made up for it in the next scene.The script was over laced with heroism and punch dialogues for him but went well only in parts.The scene lal mocking Suresh gopi that he would break out from the custody was a cool one.Lal looked out of sorts in songs but one should admit that whatever was given to him was well executed.Suresh Gopi shared good screen space and was as usual in his cop outfits.Sarath kumar has nothing to do except for a couple of fights.Dileeps comedy track could have been used to add some entertainment quotient to the overall movie.Saikumar excelled as Varghese mapilai,the father of the bros.Vijayaraghavan,suresh krishna,biju menon etc does their typical villain act.Kaniha,Lakshmis,kavya etc has to just show up.Suraj and Salim kumar yet again proved of their lesser impact these days.Music and song lyrics are irritating to the core!
Joshiy almost managed the 1st half pretty well(saving some scenes)....but let loose the 2nd half,which can be an outcome of the prolonged schedules of the movie.
On the whole the heads of the four stars in the posters can create some intrest among the moviegoers but the movie would not make the expected impact.
A storyline better than many of sibi udays recent flick was surely let down by a screenplay that was cooked up trying to create a show space for the four lead characters.Not going into the story line as it wouldnt be that easy narrating it here.
The movie promised to be treat for the fans and the screenplay was desperate to execute the same but one would feel it couldnt create the expected cheers in most of the places.The first half almost lost its way but made up with the hero intros and fights.The second half of the movie bores you with the predictability and poorly written flashback scenes of mohanlal lakshmi rai love track.Finally the star show ends up with the usual stars Vs Villains fight.
Mohanlals intro was one among his recent worsts though he made up for it in the next scene.The script was over laced with heroism and punch dialogues for him but went well only in parts.The scene lal mocking Suresh gopi that he would break out from the custody was a cool one.Lal looked out of sorts in songs but one should admit that whatever was given to him was well executed.Suresh Gopi shared good screen space and was as usual in his cop outfits.Sarath kumar has nothing to do except for a couple of fights.Dileeps comedy track could have been used to add some entertainment quotient to the overall movie.Saikumar excelled as Varghese mapilai,the father of the bros.Vijayaraghavan,suresh krishna,biju menon etc does their typical villain act.Kaniha,Lakshmis,kavya etc has to just show up.Suraj and Salim kumar yet again proved of their lesser impact these days.Music and song lyrics are irritating to the core!
Joshiy almost managed the 1st half pretty well(saving some scenes)....but let loose the 2nd half,which can be an outcome of the prolonged schedules of the movie.
On the whole the heads of the four stars in the posters can create some intrest among the moviegoers but the movie would not make the expected impact.
Thursday, February 17, 2011
Combo Reviews
Watched a couple of movies which i dont wanna go gagaa on....But i feel they have to be recommended here..!
Dil To Bacha Hain Jee ---
A movie that could be watched with a smile throughout on your face....Too good performances from all the lead and supporting artists.Madhur Bhandarkar shows that he can very well handle light subjects too!
127 Hours ----
Danny Boyles outing this time is about a guy who gets his stuck in between the rocks of grand canyyon.Excellent camera/locations fuelled by some rocking bgms from the indian maestro,127 hours is truely inspiring to watch.Performance from the lead actor needs to be lauded too!
Aaadukalam -
Very entertaining movie.Good performance from dhanush.
Dil To Bacha Hain Jee ---
A movie that could be watched with a smile throughout on your face....Too good performances from all the lead and supporting artists.Madhur Bhandarkar shows that he can very well handle light subjects too!
127 Hours ----
Danny Boyles outing this time is about a guy who gets his stuck in between the rocks of grand canyyon.Excellent camera/locations fuelled by some rocking bgms from the indian maestro,127 hours is truely inspiring to watch.Performance from the lead actor needs to be lauded too!
Aaadukalam -
Very entertaining movie.Good performance from dhanush.
