2012 Mid Year Review Second Half(Jul mid-yr end)

A trip to the UK has surely kept me away from one of the great passions that sustains my life - My FDFS ( First day first show) movie watching and review posting.Finally with almost all the major movie ones releasing on DVD and guys posting it online, i feel this is the best time to put forward the second half mid year review of the 2012 Mallu movies.

The second half surely wasn't as promising and happening as the first half for sure. Still there were movies that makes this writing effort worth enough.

Surprise of the mid-year - Joshiy-MOhanlal combo these days is surely a dangerous one and makes the audience wait for a bad film irrespective of the box office status. But "Run Baby Run" turned out to be a bit of exception with a pretty decent plot and good narration with a decent pace...

Bold attempts of the mid year - 

1. Theevram - Though pretty much an old wine, theme and plot wise, Theevram was packaged superbly with a good narrative style and neat presentation

2. Cinema Company - Though packaged with a lot of flaws like "new comer acting blues","cliches" and "over-sentiments", it was worth a watch for the different story,a wonderful presentation style,some superb visuals and a couple of good songs.

3. Matinee - It requires guts to think out of the box and dare to make something different. The crew behind this movie does exactly that and comes up with a superb,different and realistic movie in-spite of a not so inspiring hero and the obvious movie flaws.

4. Trivandrum Lodge - A bold and beautiful film which breaches all the benchmarks set for dialogue vulgarity albeit entertainingly... Great work in the story telling/dialogue department is complemented well by some great direction,terrific music and excellent performances from the lead cast.

Met Expectations of the mid year -  This is reserved for movies which were expected to be bad and turned out to be exactly the same. Mammotty fulfilled his share of this area with horrible duds like "Thappana" and "Face 2 Face". Prithviraj played his part with "Simhaasanam",Saji surendran with "Husbands in Goa" and Sathyan Anthikkadu delivered what he promised ( old wine again and again in the same old bottle) with "Puthiya Theerangal".

Directors who need a break -

1. Shaji Kailas- High time the producers association does a divine deed by banning the most useless director of recent times for coming up with unbearable duds like "Simhaasanam"and ""Madirasi"one after the another.It has been years since one of his films have made some money at the box office and it still makes me wonder how people have the guts to make movies with him

2. K Madhu - High time someone reminds K Madhu that times have changed and his style of film making requires a change !!!!

Movies of the mid year - 

1. Ayalum NJanum Thammil - It is very rare that everything associated with it clicks for a movie. Ayalum Njanum thammil turned out to be one of those with an excellent script,superb direction and simply 

brilliant performances from the entire cast with some good music to go along with it.

2. Ozhimuri - A true master-piece  with a superb script,brilliant direction and exceptional acting. 

Performances of the mid-year -

1. Prithviraj - A simply mind blowing & career best performance in "Ayalum Njanum Thammil" as the careless youth & the matured middle aged man bringing out all his talent when it mattered the most. This was a dream role and he does justice living up superbly to the task ahead of him.

2. Prathap Pothen - The greatness of his performance in "Äyalum NJanum thammil"  lies in the fact that no one can think of any other actor portraying the role with such aptness

3. Lal - A performance which truly deserved all the acting awards.

Lucky Tom of the mid-yr - Dileep continues his presence in this category again escaping with "box office hit"but un-inspiring movies like "Mr.Marumakan"and "My Boss"

Horror movie of the year - Though there were many movies which would have fitted the bill, the award unanimously goes to VK Prakash and his team for coming up with "Poppins", one of the most stupid and horrible films in recent memory.

Movie Review 2013

Oru Indian Pranayakadha - Sathyan Anthikad, it was said, had taken a break from movie making to come up with something different to his usual 'same route bus' kind of stories and film making style. And it seemed that the ploy had worked well, when watching the first half which was thoroughly entertaining, had some superb scenes and was totally worth your time. But he comes back to his usual self in the second half which reminds us of 1980's movie making style with over-dramatic and un-necessary sentimental scenes and a pathetic plot which is presented even more badly on screen.

One feels sorry for Amala Paul who ,in-spite of being given a complex role she could have easily ruined, has given her best and was quite good. But your heartfelt sympathies goes out to Fahad Fasil who was exceptionally brilliant in the role of the young politician ,acting with the required maturity,artificiality and comic timing that was required of this role. In-fact he was so brilliant that his screen presence and performance made the scenes he was present the only bright spots of the second half.

We the audience deserve better from you Mr.Sathyan Anthikad !!!!!!!!


Ezhu Sundara Raathrikal - Lal Jose stoops to an all time low with this terribly boring film that is hampered by a poor plot and pathetic direction !!!! Dileep is totally miscast as the main lead and you are served a movie devoid of even some unintentional comedy to remember :( 

Dhrishyam - The film that gives you the feeling you've been yearning for years - the feeling of leaving the theatre watching a Mohanlal movie ' happy' and 'fully satisfied'.

The first half is a tad slow and lagging taking a long time to setup the 'family mood' and it is only towards the fag end of the first half that the story starts moving. The second half though is brilliantly crafted with credit to be given to the simple yet intense and attention-grabbing screenplay and a good climax. Though you could question the logic on second thought at some places, this is a movie which deserves all the benefit of the cinematic liberties you could give for a thriller 

Mohanlal is brilliant in a role tailor made for him with some superb support from the rest of the cast headed by a superb performance from Kalabhavan Shajon. But the eventual star of the movie ought to be Jeethu Jospeh whose brilliant direction in the second half makes this simple family story a must watch!!!!!

Bicycle Thieves - A pretty decent one-time watch which is made quite well with numerous twists and turns in the plot. 

Vedivazhipaadu - It's by no means a great film or not even something i would say good  But it surely does entertain you at a lot of places with its generous dose of adult comedy, one liners and some really good on-screen portrayals of real life characters that exists among us  Saiju Kurup,Sreejith Ravi and Muraly Gopy carry the film on their shoulders quite efficiently 

Silence - Mammotty & VKP continue their flop procession in absolutely gorgeous fashion with this hell of a movie that is directed horribly and has a poor storyline, pathetic climax and a villain who provides us with some unintentional comedy by virtue of his wonderful performance  

We've had enough of your horrible movies over the past one year Mr.VKP... Its high time you take your long overdue break from movie making...

Punyalan Agarbathies - A simple film targeted at the family audience with a socially relevant theme, some good humour and a great feel-good factor...  Surely worth a one time watch but still gives u a feeling that something is amiss somewhere!!!!!

Thira - A movie that has things happening a too easy for a thriller. Everything happens the way it ought to in a simplistic manner which really makes question the thriller quotient in the movie :) A brilliant Shobana and the good theme just about makes it an 'average' watch!!!

Geethanjali - A reloaded version of countless horror movies we've seen...

Priyadarshan : Why do you and Siddique come from Bollywood once in a while and torture us with these kind of stuff? And why by any means you should come back and make the kind of horror movie which our own super director Vinayan gives us every year.

Mohanlal : We frankly didn't expect a lot when you took a 7 month 'so-called' break from Mallu movies in the search of a good script. Still we wish the break had been a lil longer rather than come back in a movie with such a pathetic plot and suspense.

Nishaan : We've heard stories that you were a topper pass out in the acting department from the Pune Film institute. But please stay away from Mallu movies. We've had enough of your lifeless acting and pathetic lip/dialogue synch.

MG Sreekumar : We agree that the neither the tunes or music was great for this movie. But your singing has made it even more horrible. Please continue judging in tv shows and retire from movie playback singing.

Philips & The Monkey Pen - An absolutely awesome 'feel-good' movie that touches your heart, is shot superbly, has a simple yet brilliant storyline with some great dialogues and is enacted superbly by the child artists and seniors alike with Sanoop,Vijay Babu and Jayasuriya deserving a special mention... A movie totally worth your time and money 

Escape From Uganda - You are sure to escape out of the movie theatre within the first half of the movie... It's a real poor attempt inspite of the promising storyline...

Aarambham - The usual tamil revenge drama, with not much a story to boast off which is shot stylishly, and has Ajith and Arya in good form....

Idukki Gold - Ashiq Abu delivers yet another one of his 'simple story' but 'differently & well presented' movie genre laced with some good dialogues and great camera work. The movie is a good one-time watch worth your time with an entertaining first-half and a not so bad second-half.The 'Gold'generation was superb on the screen with Raveendran and Raju being the pick of the lot. But the stars of the movie were undoubtedly the younger lot who portrayed the gold generation's childhood !!!!!

D Company- A stupid movie by all counts with the only exception being a stupendous performance from Jayasuriya :) 

Ezhamathe Varavu - A collosal disappoinment considering the fact that the movie is coming from the MT-Hariharan combo that always had a minimum guarantee associated to it :( Bhavana and Vineeth are horribly miscast and poor in this poorly scripted movie with a pathetic story line... The biggest deterrent though ought to be the terrible songs that pop up at regular intervals and stand out as a sore thumb in this even otherwise totally flawed product...

Soodhu Kaavum - The genre defining and one of the most brilliant movies in the genre that will stay with you for long :)

Artist - One of the best movies from Shyamaprasad aided by a good performance from Fahad and a surprisingly superb one from Ann Auguestine :) A movie which surely deserves a watch!!!!

Memories - A great investigative thriller with a convincing screenplay, a good story, crafty making and some good performances from the entire cast. Prithviraj is absolutely awesome in the role of the drunkard officer and carries the entire film on his shoulders with a superb performance!!!! 

Neelakasham Pachakkadal Chuvanna Bhoomi - Why would one mind a film with no story to boast of and takes a lot of cinematic liberties along the way, when it is shot superbly, doesn't bore you a bit,has a hero and his sidekick in superb form, has some great performances from the supporting actors  and is shot at some real beautiful locations across India  :)

Kadal Kadannoru Mathukutty - Renjith should conduct a workshop to explain to the viewers what he intended to presnet with this movie having one of the most stupid and illogical plots one could ever see.... A complete letdown !!!!

Honey Bee- Lal Jr etches out a good entertainer which, though has nothing new to offer in terms of plot, is superbly shot and presented well with some entertaining dialogues,performances and couple of good songs.. 

Shutter - Is a good movie that is worth a watch with a good plot and some decent performances worth remembering :) Still cant help note the amateurish direction and expectedly the low production values:)

Anchu Sundarikal - Starts off with a touching "Sethulakshmy" with some superb child artist performances which would bring a tear to even the strong hearted; Moves on to an entertaining and superbly shot "Isha" with some awesome shots; Then falls into a gutter with a horrible "Gowri"; Then skyrockets again with a brilliant "Kullante Bhaarya"with an amazing performance from the main character ( Kullan) and an awesome narration by Dulquar; And finishes off with a beautiful & simple "Aami"

Up and Down – Mukalil Oraalundu –  A Horribly bad movie!!!!!!

Left Right Left - An awesome and intense movie with some of the best dialogues ever written, to go along with some of the most brilliant characters ever created for a movie :) The performances are the most noteworthy thing about the movie with Indrajith delivering one of his best with some great support from Sethulakshmi and rest of the cast :) 

ABCD - A Damn poor movie seriously making me wonder how it was lapped up by audiences and turned out to be a hit...

Yeh Jawaani Yeh Deewani – Colourful,youthful,time-pass entertainer with some good performances and excellent songs.

Hotel California – It was so ‘entertaining and awesome’ that I finally gave up the 'fun' after 45 minutes. Pathetic movie with a pathetic subject.

Thank You- An atrociously horrible movie which sets a benchmark for how bad a movie can be... 

Mumbai Police - A movie that excels and thrills you with its different story, narration style, gripping script and an awesome performance from Prithviraj.. It requires amazing guts to make a movie like this and present it convincingly on screen :) By all means its a real trendsetter which deserves all kudos for its gutsy presentation :) 

English - Shyamaprasad disappoints big time with this poorly made movie filled with cliched characters,an uninspiring screenplay and a poor climax... 

Neram - Chumma "Neram" kalayan oro padangal :) 

Ladies & Gentlemen - To call this film 'bad' or 'horrible' itself would be an understatement... This is probably one of the worst movies ever with a horrible story line, an uninterested hero, some uninspiring performances from the heriones, awful music and some poor comedy!!!!!   

It would be great if Siddique could stay around in Bollywood and not come back to torture the Mallu audience like this... We've had enough you Mr.Gentleman director and will always be grateful to you for the wonderful movies you've made with Lal!!!

Immanuel - Though clichéd and quite cheap, a sincere performance from Mammotty and the directors choice of the realistic subject keeps you watching it somehow.

Red Wine - Uninspiring direction,poor choice of villains, lifeless heroines and a pathetic climax lets down this "one-time watch" movie big time.

Amen - The shots are superb,the plot is simple,the presentation style is excellent and the song picturization n lyrics are interesting.. Still the movie didn't excite me much :( 

Aurangazeb - Though the premise is flawed and old, the movie is quiet engaging with some superb dialogues, good pace and some excellent performances from the entire cast lead by Arjun Kapoor,Rishi Kapoor and Prithviraj....

Fast & Furious 6 - Enjoy the absurd and bizzare actions scenes :) And ofcourse wait for FF7 with Sthatham :)

Lokpal - Joshiy-Mohanlal combo delivers a deadly dangerous movie!!!!

Kammath & Kammath - Its ok to watch 'leave your brains behind' type movies once in a while... But why the hell tolerate one that has no comedy, the plot moves in different directions every half an hour, has a language which is tough to understand and above all is damn boring!!!!

Iron Man 3 - The franchise continues to be as entertaining as always consolidating its place as one of the best comic book adaptation of all times :) 

The Place Beyond the Pines - Though slow and a tad long, the movie is quite gripping and pans out well with a good plot and great performances from the cast... 

Romans - Though the plot might be silly, Romans would surely rank as one of the best entertainers of the year with some genuinely good time pass stuff :) 

Ek Thi Daayan - Though logical or not, though you believe in the concept or not; ETD is one well shot gripping horror supernatural movie... 

Olympus Has Fallen - Though pretty much watchable, i dont understand why i dont enjoy these kind of action movies anymore :)

Annayum Rasoolum - Realism in movies comes at a cost and this could well explain why watching this movie turned out to be one long drawn tedious experience...

Trance - The numerous twists and the complex plot makes sure that that the movie is well worth your time :)

Parker - Yet another sub-standard yet time-pass action movie from Jason Statham... :)

Side Effects - A highly gripping thriller with an excellent plot and some great performances from the lead cast.... Totally impressed with the way the events unfolded on screen :) 

David(Tamil) - Wish the makers had just concentrated on Jiva's story(good theme,well shot and some excellent performances) and made it to a full movie rather than putting in the Vikram track (totally irritating,illogical and poorly acted) therein making it a boring experience in total.

Django Unchained- An awesome performance from Christopher Waltz and superb direction from Tarantino makes this movie a great watch in-spite of its length :) 

Zero Dark Thirty - A decently made "documentary" that surely lags at places :) 

Special 26 - It's surely one of the best con films of all times with some excellent performances from the entire cast. Being set in the 80's works well to its favour such that there are no high tech con-nabbing techniques and the events that unfold on screen are entirely believable :) 

Vishwaroopam - Though by no means great or path breaking, its surely worth a watch for an in-form Kamal hasan, a decent plot and some neatly picturized shots:)