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---)!
Friday, May 27, 2011
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.
