Movie Review 2015

Charlie - Charlie the movie, is as 'imperfect' as it's lead character and 'stays away from cliches or any pre-defined patterns' expected out of a normal movie :) But there is no denying the fact that this unpredictability works heavily in it's favour and we are presented with one of the most beautiful 'feel-good' movies of recent times which scores heavily courtesy of some 'brilliant' direction, the 'awesome' cinematography and the 'soothing and impressive' music score :) In addition to these,such is the quality of offer on all the other departments that we end up enjoying the movie that doesn't have a plot even for a namesake :)

The whole host of actors are brilliant in the movie with Parvathy adding yet another feather to her already impressive cap :) One does wonder why a fuss is made out of Dulqar getting the state award. Though he might not done anything outstanding compared to the award winners of the 90's, he does indeed do full justice to the the 'crazy, wacky and vagabond' role and puts in an impressive performance with aplomb making it a 'truly deserved' win :)

Adi Kapyare Kootamani - A movie that neither does have anything significant to entertain you throughout nor is too bad to make you discard it :) Though by no means a 'too engaging' or even 'good' movie, what works in its favour is the frequent funny sequences on offer and the relatively unexplored main theme the movie has. The climax too is different from the usual cliched ones and sets the stage set for a sequel on an interesting note :) The entire set of actors are quite good and contributes to making this movie a 'one-time harmless DVD watch' :)

Su Su Sudhi Vathmekam - Su su is a 'very simple' and 'feel good' movie that deserves a watch in the movie halls. The movie is a good example on how to make a 'thoroughly engaging' watch with a simple 'real life' story of a disabled person without cashing in on the sentiments and sympathy associated with the same :)smile emoticonRenjith Shankar deserves true credit for the way he has smartly packaged this film without letting the movie go down a bit anytime throughout the entire duration.

The performances are what makes this movie a truly memorable experience. Jayasuriya is simply 'brilliant' and 'exceptional' and truly deserves credit for the effort he has put in for what can well be considered as his career best role smile emoticon The new comer heroines are quite good as well along with the whole lot of supporting actors including KPAC Lalitha and TG Ravi. It's a 'recommended' watch that's not to be missed :)

Salt Mango Tree- Though an 'over-the-top' and 'exaggerated' presentation of a relevant theme, the movie is well worth a watch due to a good amount of genuinely funny sequences and an 'impressive' Biju Menon who carries the lead role with aplomb. In-spite of a decent amount of flaws and irrelevant tracks going around, the movie strikes a chord with you due to it's innocent theme and its set of few feel-good elements :)

Tamasha - It falls into the category of a movie you 'would try' sincerely with all your heart to enjoy n like !!smile emoticonSuch is the guts on display by director Imtiaz Ali and crew to present a 'honestly' different film which doesn't fall into the trap of a conventional 'love story + coming of age' movie :)smile emoticon Ranbir Kapoor adds another feather to his already impressive set of roles and is well complemented by an equally competent Deepika Padukone and the 'amazing' music by AR Rahman. Watch it and be 'patient enough' to embrace and feel this really unique attempt which is certainly not everyone's cup of tea:)

Talvar - A very simple review that says it all - You would have hardly come across an investigative thriller as good as this :)

Anarkali - Anarkali is basically 'Ennu Ninte Moideen' reloaded in a different setup with a set of different characters:)smile emoticonWhat wouldn't make it click as Moideen is the fact that the movie lacks the 'class appeal and quality' of its predecessor and doesn't make you feel for the characters like you would have felt in the case of Moideen and Kanchana. It badly misses a strong and striking BGM which it's predecessor had and would have made you vouch for the 'love story' a bit more. What though makes it 'worth a watch' is the 'humour quotient and smart dialogues' in the script, the 'impressive direction', a terrific performance from Biju Menon, a towering villain performance by Kabir Bedi and the 'outstanding camera work' by Sujith Vasudev in the background of the wonderful locales of Lakshwadeep. All likely to complete the hat-trick of hits, Prithviraj is 'reliable as ever' in the main role and has the new comer heroine giving him necessary support in trying to make this love story convincing. Miya and Suresh Krishna too are quite good in their roles but in the end the love story feels a 'tad fictitious and filmy' and is sure to suffer due to the comparisons it's gonna draw against Moideen :)

Thoongavanam - Even though it's reasonably well shot and stylish, Thoongavanam falls quite short of being considered a 'good film'. The first half is quite good and gripping, but the movie loses steam as the second half progresses and feels 'flawed' throughout. Kamal Hassan is quite good in the lead role and all the technical elements are top notch as you would expect from his movies. But it's Prakash Raj and his don avatar that is the scene-stealer here and literally owns the most entertaining scenes of the movie :)

Rani Padmini - A movie that has the Ashiq Abu signature embedded all over it - How much ever good moments the movie has, he'll always end up making a movie that would by no means maintain a' high-standard' throughout it's entire duration :)smile emoticonHe keeps his haters happy this time too by going for a movie that doesn't even have as much a plot that even a Salt n Pepper or Idukki Gold could boast of, has a 'long drawn' second half and has a lot of unwanted sequences that doesn't add anything worth while from a story point of view. At the same time, he does keep the set of people who enjoys his movies 'happy' by having a set of smartly taken sequences that's gonna entertain you, has a lot of 'feel-good' moments and some well written dialogues. Both parties though would agree to the fact that this 'travelogue' movie is one of the most beautifully picturized movies of recent times and has two heroines giving a 'thoroughly enjoyable' performance in the main role :)smile emoticonIn-fact, this is without doubt the return to form of the old Manju Warrier we've been waiting for :)

Kanal - The movie is a 'yawn-fest' throughout its entire duration. What should have been a gripping & thrilling movie ends up being a 'torturous long drawn watch' and fits in perfectly to the 'avoidable watch' category!!! The 'disappointing and uninspiring' movie making style along with it's set of unwanted songs and poorly made sequences act as the major deterrents of the movie. Though the makers have tried to present this revenge drama in a different way, they end up failing miserably mainly due to the predictable story line which gathers some momentum only towards the end of the movie. None of the actors including Mohanlal doesn't have the scope to do anything outstanding and ends up contributing near to nothing in lifting the mood or quality of this 'lifeless' movie :)

Amar Akbar Anthony - The movie marks the successful return of an engaging 'festive mode entertainer' that is well worth your time. What works big time for the movie is the 'genuinely humorous' comedy track with it's set of funny dialogues and one-liners that entertains you without going overboard anytime. The lead trio of Prithvi,Indran and Jayasuriya are quite impressive in their humorous avatars and has an entire host of supporting actors who are equally good n funny in their well-written roles :)smile emoticonThough the 'mandatory' serious track with the aim of presenting a socially relevant topic is kind of a speed-breaker to the free-flowing narrative, it hardly accounts for about 15 % of the movie and doesn't take away any credit this 'entertainer' deserves :)smile emoticon Nadirshah scores in his debut directorial and has presented a rich,colourful film with some well picturized songs and a lot of comedy sequences that's gonna impress even the stone-hearted :)

Pathemaari - One can fault the movie for having the 'expatriates' cliches galore and for offering nothing new - You know what's gonna happen next at any stage of the movie !!! At the same time you wouldn't have come across such a 'soulful' and 'sincere' movie that touches your heart :)

The first half, thought well shot, meanders along just like that and is a tad slow without having anything too interesting to grab your attention. But the movie elevates into an altogether 'classy' level in the second half with a lot of 'excellent sequences','brilliantly written dialogues' and a 'truly mesmerizing climax' which are sure to stay with you forever smile emoticon Mammootty is 'simply awesome' and adds to his list of all-time best performances - How badly one wishes he chooses such meaningful roles only !!! He's well supported by Sreenivasan who is quite good in one of the most significant role he has bagged in the near future and by Siddique who is quite impactful in his cameo role. The technical aspects of the movie are top-notch and Salim Ahmed deserves true credit for giving us a truly memorable serious movie :)smile emoticon It might be Moideen-Kanchana ,George-Malar and many others who would be keeping the cash registers busy this year, but it's Pallickal Narayanan and his story which will undoubtedly be the 'Performance of the year' :)

Kohinoor - The movie is a 'pretty decent one-time watch heist movie'. Coming in with low expectations, the crew can be proud of presenting a pretty 'engaging' movie which has its share of thrills and comedy throughout the entire duration :)smile emoticon Though having it's share of cinematic liberties throughout, what works in its favour is the fact that the on-goings on screen are presented in a much believable and entertaining way smile emoticon In addition,being set in the late 80's works in favour of the movie such that you are not subjected to any complicated technological gimmicks associated with the recent heist movies :)smile emoticon Though not a flawless product by any means, it's a good time-pass watch :)

Life of Josutty - This 'simple and tailor made for family audience' movie could be better enjoyed watching in 2-3 segements rather than sitting through in a single stretch for the 166 min duration!! It's one of those kind of movies that does you no harm but at the same time does no favors as well :)smile emoticon The movie boasting of an overload of cliche moments (and surprisingly CGI shots!!) has a 'good standard' ,though slow-paced, second half compared to the "supposedly" entertaining first half filled with comic sequences that evokes very few laughs !smile emoticon The good BGM,songs,some heartwarming moments and a pretty good performance from Dileep in the title role contributes a lot in making this a 'harmless' watch :)

Ennu Ninte Moideen - A movie that will go down in the folklore of Malayalam Cinema as one of most 'intense and beautiful' presentation of a real life love story. It's one of those rare movies that has everything that you could ask for in a meaningful movie going its way - the direction is 'brilliant', the screenplay is 'engaging', the dialogues are 'amazing and powerful', the songs are 'melodious', the BGM is 'superb and soulful' and the cinematography crew adds gloss to the proceedings with the 'rich and beautiful' frames. By bringing Moideen into life on screen, Prithviraj once again underlines his position as the most versatile, 'willing to experiment' and talented actor among the young crop and is complemented well by Parvathy who is 'simply brilliant and exceptional' and makes you feel for Kanchana and the sufferings she endured for her love. The main cast is supported superbly well by the ever dependable crew of Saikumar, Sudheer Karamana, Lena and an amazing performance (indeed a real revelation) from Tovino Thomas :)smile emoticon A 'must-watch movie' by all counts and a movie which doesn't deserve the 'lagging a bit at times' judgement which is the part n parcel of a serious movie :)

Thani Oruvan - Is one of the most 'brilliantly crafted' thrillers of recent times. It's quite different from the usual 'run of the mill' stuff in that we are devoid of the mandatory comedy sequences, speed breaker item numbers and super heroism so much existent even in a movie with a decent plot.Thani Oruvan sticks to its plot with barely any deviation from the main theme and has loads of intelligent moments woven throughout the script :)smile emoticon Jayam Ravi's brilliantly written character and sequences cover up for his usual deficiencies in acting/dialogue delivery but it's Aravind Swami who is 'simply exceptional' and the undoubtedly the star of the show. A highly recommended watch which keeps you engaged for the entire duration :)

Kunjiramayanam - The movie takes you back to the core movie formula of the 90's - a simple, rather non-existent, story line with loads of humour that depends on the actors to carry it through with their comic timing :)smile emoticon Though it does bore u at times, the movie is a 'pretty good' light-hearted entertainer with it's set of funny sequences/dialogues coming at regular intervals to keep u engaged. The director and team can be proud of presenting smartly the 'simple feel good entertainer' they had intended to and are aided tremendously in their efforts by the entire set of actors who are in fine form :)

Loham - The movie is by far one of the most watchable Mohanlal movies of recent times smile emoticon But it can't be by any means termed as 'good' and the main reason for the same is the poor direction from Renjith who seems to be confused whether to make a 'classic thriller' concentrating on the subject in hand or make a 'mass action' movie to play along with the superstar image :)smile emoticon In addition to this a set of unwanted songs, unwanted guest appearances,loads of cinematic liberties and the predictable story line contributes to downgrading the quality of the movie to a certain extent. Still an 'energetic,interested and in-form' Mohanlal, an 'impressive and entertaining' contribution from Siddique/ side kick and a decently gripping presentation in-spite of the flaws makes it a 'pretty bearable' watch :)

Double Barell - I've always been a fan of Lijo Jose Pellisery's film making style and had enjoyed all three of his previous movies . And as someone who has always been against cliches and looks for something different , I had the firm belief that i would be one among the rare breed who ended up appreciating and enjoying DB :)smile emoticon

But what was kept in store for me, was something which by any sense of the world doesn't qualify as a movie and offers you 'boredom' and 'torture' in loads smile emoticon Expect for some few hilarious sequences in between and the rich/lavish frames in abundance ,there is absolutely nothing that you would find 'bearable' :)smile emoticon Even fine tuning my mind to enjoy it as a 'spoof' movie like Chirakodinja Kinaavukal or a cartoon movie like CID Moosa didn't help a bit and one feels that the makers have terribly failed in the 'daring' and 'bold' attempt to do something different.Though one appreciates the effort put in, it's a good reminder for the film makers that they cannot flush out 'style and variety' without any plot and expect the audience to like it :)

Nirnayakam - Boasting of an excellent Sanjay-Bobby script which discusses one of the most socially relevant topics and has some 'awesome and significant' dialogues, Nirnayakam had sufficient potential to turn out as a big hit. But sadly the poor amateurish direction at many junctures, a lot of insignificant build up and a poor choice of hero in the form of Asif Ali lets down the film a great deal. The movie is sincere and does have its moments in the form of many 'well shot and emotional' sequences ; but in the end it just ends up being a 'just about watchable' movie with PremPrakash and Nedumudi Venu being the stand out performers :)

Ivide - Is a 'pretty good' emotional thriller (if that's the right genre !!! ) which is directed 'brilliantly' by ShyamaPrasad. It follows a narrative sytle which wouldn't be lapped up too easily by the Malayali audiences and has it's right mix of human emotions/characteristics put in for the characters to complement the main murder mystery investigation it deals with !!!smile emoticon Though a tad slow , as expected, it never really moves into a 'boring and irritating mode' and the sciprtwriter deserves credit for keeping the interest levels up throughout the movie:) Though Nivin Pauly is not too bad, this is one movie which gives ample evidence that he has a long way to go before being tagged 'the next superstar' :)smile emoticon No such complaints though about Prithviraj , who is 'absolutely awesome' in the role of the 'troubled' police officer and puts in yet another memorable performance :)smile emoticon Bhavana complements the two lead actors well and is supported well by the rest of the cast smile emoticon All in all, its a 'classy and quality' product which will have its set of fans and critics :)smile emoticon

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Lukka Chuppi - 'College friends re-union, Drinks,Nostalgia'... Then again 'Drinks,Nostalgia'.... And then the loop goes on and on...

That's sadly what constitutes the entire duration of this movie which has nothing worth remembering, is 'out of scope' for a theatre watch and 'just about bearable' as a DVD/TV watch :)

Ugly - A 'perfect and beautiful' neo-noir thriller film comprising of some of the most 'imperfect and ugly' characters ever written for a Bollywood movie :)smile emoticon The movie is 'gripping' right from the start to end, rarely deviates from the main plot and culminates with a terrific climax. The movie hits the right note in all departments- be it the screenplay, the dialogues, the way the characters are portrayed, the background score and almost everything you could ask for in a thriller. The performances are so 'top-notch' that you are faced with a tough choice to pick out the one that stands out :)smile emoticon A 'real gem' from Anurag Kayshap and team that shouldn't be missed !!

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Bajrangi Bhaijan - Is probably one of the best films to come out from the Salman Khan stable coz of the fact that it's unlike any of the typical Bhai offering 

smile emoticon Salman is excellent in his 'aam-aadmi' portrayal in this 'plot-driven' movie which is devoid of the usual 'over-the-top' or 'irritating' sequences which we are used to being served in regular doses in his usual blockbuster avatars smile emoticon The movie benefits greatly from the 'superb' performance from the lead child artiste and an 'absolutely brilliant' performance from the ever-reliable Nawazzudin Sidiqqui who is the real 'scene-stealer' in the second half . Though we do have sequences where cinematic liberties are aplenty and logic takes a bit of a backseat, Kabir Khan deserves due credit for his presentation style which rarely goes 'overboard' or 'preachy' in-spite of the sensitive subject he had chosen. Pritam's music is another 'top-notch' factor in this movie which is 'sincere', has its 'heart at the right place' and deserves it's minor flaws to be ignored smile emoticonsmile emoticonsmile emoticonsmile emoticon

Baahubali - I might be the odd one out with this review 

Baahubali is close to one and a half hours of 'boredom' you have to sit through,to enjoy the brilliant last hour of the movie 

Prabhas's poor acting in his normal avatar, Tammanah's 'torturous' and 'unintentionally comical' warrior avatar, over-the-top 'melodrama' and most of the sequences in the initial part takes the gloss out of the grand sets and vibrant special effects on display during the initial half of the movie smile emoticon The major issue with the initial part is that you rarely feel for the main characters and is likely to get irritated by the 'heavily unrealistic' action sequences on display smile emoticon The movie does elevate into another level once the flashback scenes start and turns into an 'engaging watch' with the brilliantly choreographed war sequences being the 'icing on the cake'. Sathyaraj and Ramya Krishnan stand out with their performances and both Prabhas and Rana look the part in their 'action avatars' during the latter part of the movie smile emoticonsmile emoticon The major issue with the initial part is that you rarely feel for the main characters and is likely to get irritated by the 'heavily unrealistic' action sequences on display smile emoticon The movie does elevate into another level once the flashback scenes start and turns into an 'engaging watch' with the brilliantly choreographed war sequences being the 'icing on the cake'. Sathyaraj and Ramya Krishnan stand out with their performances and both Prabhas and Rana look the part in their 'action avatars' during the latter part of the movie smile emoticonsmile emoticonsmile emoticon

The second part though might be something to look forward too considering the fact that we might be spared of a lot of 'boring' elements of the first part 

ABCD 2 - A movie which pans out exactly the way you would expect 

The dances are 'amazing'and Varun Dhawan continues his impressive act along with a wonderful exhibition of his dancing skills with good support from Shradda Kapoor 

smile emoticon The movie does have its moments but it's mostly the amalgamation of cliches with the 'customary India against the world in any competition', 'a son fighting for the honour of his parent' , 'the mandatory injury for the main character during the competition' and 'the bundle of emotions of relationships'smile emoticon

Kumbasaram - The movie boasts of a superb performance from Jayasuriya and a very good last half an hour smile emoticon Though the movie is 'sincere' and we do feel for the characters ,it is indeed a depressing watch due to the 'sadness' on display .The movie somehow doesn't do enough to translate into a gripping product overall and ends up being a 'recommended DVD watch' .smile emoticon 

Dil Dhadakne Do - Though not 'perfect and sincere' as her first film Luck By Chance or 'as feel-good and enticing' as her second film Zindaga Na Milegi Dobara, Zoya Akthar does indeed complete her hat-trick of ' 'superb' films 

Though let down a bit by the lack of a story and an 'entirely out of place' 'over-the-top' climax, the movie is still a high quality product boasting of some lavishly shot sequences, 'supposedly high-class' real life characters, 'awesome and entertaining' dialogues and terrific performances from the entire cast with Ranveer Singh being the stand out performer !!! Despite its set of flaws, its hard to have anything else rather than a 'satisfying smile' when leaving the theaters smile emoticon
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Mass - The tagline says 'A Venkat Prabhu Sixer'!! Though he would have intended to give us the 'satisfying' and 'privileged' feeling of a batsmen who would have 'blasted' a six, the product he delivers ends up giving the 'disappointing' and 'tortured' feeling of a bowler who just been hit out of the park for a six :)

Pretty much everything is bad about the first half of the movie and though it improves a bit in the second half, there are hardly any moments or scenes worth remembering. You've got action,sentiments,comedy,songs,heroism and whatever is expected out of a 'superstar' Tamil movie - But the problem is that its 'so badly' made and mixed that you end up losing interest within the first half an hour into the movie.

High time Suriya stops enacting his now cliched 'revenge' and 'angry' act theme and come up with something meaningful and 'worth' his talent !!

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Neena - Is a 'wacky','crazy' and a real 'bold' movie :) It's a movie that easily fits into 'new-gen movie fable' and deserves a one-time watch for the true and vulnerable characters on display and the way the story has been presented by Lal Jose. Though the dubbing of Deepthi Sati doesn't sound the best and her acting looks like going overboard at times, you rarely get irritated in the first half when her character drives the show and is sure to end upenjoy the 'weird on-goings' on show.The film loses a bit of steam in the second half and is a tad slow and lagging. But the 'reasonably good' ending helps the movie from not ending up as a disappointing watch.

smile emoticonVijay Babu is definitely the star of the show and is supported well by the set of performers around him smile emoticon Watch it to understand that this is a movie which is not likely to be lapped up by allsmile emoticon 

Laila O Laila - A movie which stays true to its acronym; LOL - Laugh Out Loud 

No better suited statement for the movie after sitting through the following :

- the antics of Mohanlal as the 'secret agent' and his totally dis-interested acting

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 - Amala Paul's 'horrible' over-acting

- the 'irritating' romantic sequences between the lead pair

- Remya Nambeesan ( even if for less than 5 min)

- Sathyaraj's show off

- the poor dialogues and sequences which even puts a seria/dramal to shame

- the ever foolish villains

- the 'bomb' and 'password' cliches

- and a list that goes on and on !!!!!!

The making is so poor and amateurish that you finally end up enjoying the 'comedy on offer' and is reminded of Vinayan and his 'all time entertaining thriller' War and Love :)

Chirakodinja Kinaavukal - The movie deserves it's place in the history of Malayalam films as one of the 'really different', 'daring' and 'bold attempts' of all time. It does fall short of being perfect - but there is no dearth to the 'spoof' entertainment being ditched out throughout the whole length of the movie :) The movie is without doubt the most genuine and worthy spoof attempt in Malayalam and is a slap at the face of established directors and new comers who ditch out their set of clichés and horrible stuff year in and year out :) The movie rightly has 'sarcasm' in loads and pokes fun at the truly 'double headed mentality' of the general Malayali audience who act like they carve for something different and then discards it without any mercy when being served something really different :)  It requires tremendous guts to come out with a product like this and the newbie director, scriptwriter and the 'daring' producer deserves a pat on their back for willing to take such a big and bold risk :) smile emoticon

It's a 'must-watch' for true lovers of movies who can genuinely understand the 'spoof genre' and is looking for variety. For the others, there is always your yearly dose of superstar actor and director movies to fill up your never ending desire for 'family and festival entertainers' :)

Alif - A socially significant film one would have to say... The movie grows on you slowly and scores in the fact that it isn't against any religion and 'projects' the  good things about the scriptures while 'opposing and criticizing' the misinterpreted facts of the same. Lena and Seenath score big time in the movie and though one looking for entertainment wouldn't find anything interesting out of the movie, it's a movie that deserves a watch for the strong message and real life characters it portrays :)smile emoticon 

Bhaskar the Rascal - Such a poor movie that takes undue advantage of the family audience's longing weakness for a 'festival entertainer' 

How else could one explain the 'hit' status of this movie that has a pathetic plot, a lead hero who is at-least 20 years older than the role demands, 'real tragedy' in the name of comedy, a frustrating set of sequences one after the other and a hell lot of un-necessary drama.smile emoticonsmile emoticon

Siddique might end up making a lot of money with this hit and the remakes that will follow in the other languages ; But the man,who gave us the all-time entertainers in the 90's we still cherish, should feel ashamed of himself for this 'pathetic' dip in his standards 

Oru Vadakkan Selfie - Even though the plot is 'stupid and flawed', and the movie looks 'listless and lifeless' at various junctures in the second half, there is no denying the fact that OVS offers an entertaining one-time watch.  The main credit for the same should go to the pretty good first-half, loads of 'genuinely funny dialogues' throughout the movie and the wonderful Nivin Pauly - Aju Varghese combo supported very well by a 'bearable and decent act' from Vineeth Sreenivasan :) 

Ennum Eppozhum - The movies without any specific plot or story worth mentioning belong to two 'categories' mainly - The lack of a story is compensated by entertaining sequences, good dialogues and noteworthy performances for some while the movies in the other category meanders along aimlessly with only 'boredom and frustration' being the end result :) Ennum Eppozhum comfortably fits into the second category with nothing noteworthy to mention about and is made even worse by its set of 'un-inspiring' and 'cliché' sequences. The last 10-15 minutes offer the only 'watchable and happening moments' of the movie and neither Mohanlal nor Manju Warrier come up with anything outstanding to compensate for the lackluster story line or dialogues. In fact Mohanlal looks totally disinterested and 'out of place' for most of the movie and just about bursts into life towards the end !!!  Yet another addition to the ever growing list of 'we've seen it all family hit' movies from Sathyan Anthikad :) 

Detective Byomkesh Bakshi - This vintage mystery set in the back drop of Calcutta of the 40's is a 'classic thriller' in the Agatha Christie mode. The plot is laid out very well, there are not much gimmicks on display and the events unfold steadily and logically culminating in a well explained finale. But the 'classic' and 'vintage' making does come with its share of problems - As expected the movie is damn slow,it has an overdrawn climax even post the revealing of the culprit and the making style might not suite a majority of the movie-goers .Sushant Singh Rajput is quite brilliant in the title role with the director and crew deserving a special mention for the recreation of the era :) 

smile emoticonYou Too Brutus - Roopesh Peethambaran does indeed turn out a 'Brutus' with this product which takes him a step back post his impressive debut with 'Theevram' . The movie has a lot of good things going it's way - a very promising start, a set of good funny sequences and some good background music to go along with the colourful frames. And on top of this we have a 'bearable' peformance from Asif Ali,an 'absolutely awesome' performance from Tovino and a 'watchable and worthwhile' performance from Sreenivasan after a long long time !!! But inspite of all these good factors the movie meanders along aimlessly throughout and falls short of being considered good with the main culprit being the lack of a proper plot or story :) 

NH 10 - In-spite of having being shot realistically and having a relevant theme, it ends up being a disappointing watch !! The movie starts off well and has a well shot and engaging first half. But things go downhill in the second half with the movie turning into a predictable and illogical ride with the climax being the biggest let-down. Anushka Sharma's performance is a highlight but she is badly let down by the script which doesn't quite let you feel for the character she portrays :) 

Onnam Loka Mahayudham - A decent start and a good climax with a pretty good twist is what you remember after sitting through the whole duration of this movie which is pretty below par most of the time :)
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Chandrettan Evideya - Though the movie comes with its set of imperfections , it's still a 'standard good quality' product and that's not something you'd expect out of a Dileep movie :) Director Siddarth Bharathan and team deserves full credit for bringing out the best in Dileep and the supporting cast crew with the aid of a good and relevant family story that is filled with some good humour, nice dialogues and some pretty well shot sequences :) The real star of the movie though out to be Anushree who comes up with a 'brilliant' performance as the doting housewife :)

Piku - I can't quite remember a movie that doesn't have a plot to show forth as much as Piku. 'Constipation' and 'Bowel problems' are discussed right from the start in the movie and continues till the end leaving us struggling to recollect as to what exactly the story was and what message they were trying to convey through the movie.

Reading the above would make one think that you will end up hating the movie to the core. But the reality is that you would have rarely come across a movie as 'enjoyable' and 'entertaining' as Piku in the recent past. The 'smart and funny' dialogues, the brilliant one-liners and the real-life characters on display make the movie 'a good and worthy time-pass watch. It's 'sheer brilliance' on show from the combo of Amitabh,Deepika and Irfan and undoubtedly that's what makes this movie a recommended watch 

Uthama Villain - Is a treat for Kamal Hassan fans... He's awesome in the role of the 'ill' superstar and scores in almost every scene he's part of making the movie worth a watch in-spite of the need to have a lot of patience to sit through the 'stupid' and 'boring' scenes of the 'movie within the movie' :) If watching  the DVD copy, you are in all probability gonna fast forward the 'movie within the movie' and repeat the other 'real time parts' of the movie which is filled with some real 'touching' and 'entertaining' scenes and has some good performances from the entire set of supporting actors who complement the 'mesmerizing' performance from Kamal :)

Ok Kanmani - The movie is going to receive a lot of flak for its lack of freshness with relation to the story line and is sure to suffer in comparison with a similar 'AlayPayuthey'. It is also let down by a long drawn and slightly borning pre-cliamx. But why should one really bother about the above negatives when you have a leading 'rocking pair' in the form of Dulqar-Nithya, an 'amazing' side cast in the form of PrakashRaj-LeelaSamson, 'awesome' cinematography from PC Sreeram, 'masterful' music and BGM from the maestro Rahman and above all the 'director's touch' from ManiRatnam in each and every frame 

Ivan MaryadaRaman - Wish the makers had shown a lil 'Maryada' to the paying public. This is an absolutely pathetic and irritating remake of an originally illogical plot. Even fast forwarding a DVD doesn't help,which makes we wonder on the mental state of the people who attempted to watch this movie in the theatre : )


100 Days of Love - The makers do justify the tagline 'Pranayam Annum Innum Painkili aaanu' with a lot of sequences in the movie. And if one chooses to be, the movie will be a critic's delight as well !!!! 

But if not, this Balan K Nair - Sheela love story is one well-shot and beautifully cinematographed movie that ends up being a 'sweet' , 'good' and 'engaging' presentation of an age-old love story. The sequences laced with a lot of gentle humour and beautiful frames is the major highlight of the movie and the performance of the Dulqar-Shekhar Menon combo adds a definite 'charm and gloss' to the proceedings. On the evidence of this film one does get the feeling that Kamal's director son Jenuse Mohammad is one to look out for 

Haram - Not too quite sure on what the makers were trying to convey through the movie. It's a damn poor movie which bores you to death with the only positive being a pretty good performance from Fahad Fazil!!!!!

P.S : Not the complete review since i walked out 15 minutes into the second half :)

Namaste Bali - The horrible state of affairs can be summed up in a single statement - Think of 'Queen' with Roma at the helm of affairs !!!!! More than enough clue to decipher how much of a torture the movie is. 

Fireman - The movie turns out to be a pretty decent 'one-time watch' and undoubtedly Mammotty's best 'commercial entertainer' of recent times. Though not a classic or flawless thriller by any means, Mammotty's energetic performance and the pacy entertaining script with its share of twists and turns keeps you glued to the screen. Though the special effects and graphics are a big let-down, the director deserves a special pat for sparing the audience from seeing the hero do any 'hardcore action scene with a body double' :)

The sore point and the most disappointing factor from the movie though, ought to be a poor over-acting performance from Salimkumar who seems to have totally lost his flair for acting!!!smile emoticon smile emoticon

Anegan - Is quite an 'engaging' watch. Though the basic premise deals with the done to death re-birth theme and comes with its set of re-incarnated characters, the mandatory cruel villain and its set of cliches, the movie doesn't bore you. Smart direction, rich frames,the pacy and happening narrative, good performances from the lead cast and some catchy music makes this film quite a 'decent' watch

Badlapur - A classy revenge saga that offers you one of the most brilliant movie-watching experience you could ever wish for 

Though the stage is set for a predictable revenge saga, the on-goings on the screen are realistic,unpredictable to the core ( including the climax) and has what you call 'dark humour' lacing the proceedings which takes the movie to another level . You would rarely see any script director develop his characters and plot in a better and realistic way 

smile emoticonsmile emoticonsmile emoticon 

Varun Dhawan is quite brilliant in the main role and is well supported by each and every character around him. But it's Nawazudin Siddique who is the 'scene-stealer' with an 'out of the world and exceptional' performance leaving you short of words to convey the sheer brilliance of what you have seen :) I cannot find a better compliment that call him the 'Christopher Waltz' of Indian cinema !!

Saradhi - No amount of disclaimers and warning would prepare you to sit through this 'absolutely disastrous' drive. During this era when makers are struggling for good scripts, we see a director and team making an absolute mess of a good plot that could have been made into a pretty decent watch. The 'poor making' is at its evident best in the first half an hour of the movie and though it improves as the movie progresses, it never reaches a level where it holds your interest for a ten minute stretch.

Even though Sunny Wayne is not too bad, its quite evident that he cannot carry a solo hero movie on his shoulders. The biggest disappointment though is Sreenivasan whose acting skills seems to have gone down to an all-time low.

Yennai Arinthaal - Gautam Menon ventures into the 'Joshiy' mode of film-making in his latest cop movie with the reprise of a predictable story line, similar set of sequences and same set of characters thereby resulting in a 'dragging' and 'tiring' watch. The movie is by no means 'sub-standard' or 'torturous'; but still ends up being a 'disappointment' considering the movies that have come out from the director so far.

Aadu Oru Bheekara Jeeviyanu - Stupid from the director and team to think that the amazingly funny 'character intro theme songs' and some slapstick humour would turn it out into a successful product :) The movie does deserve the tag 'Bheekaram' for the sequence of events that unfolds on screen :)

Baby - The movie gives u a feeling that the logic goes for a toss at times and there are ample doses of cinematic liberties at some instances. Yet it is a riveting thriller that boasts of a gripping screenplay, a 'mind-blowing' performance from Akshay Kumar and able supporting acts from Danny and Anupam Kher.

Picket 43- Major Ravi has infused in all the usual 'Army cliches' and 'unnecessarily glorifies' Mohanlal at every possible juncture :) In-spite of these, Picket 43 is thoroughly entertaining and undoubtedly the best movie to come out from Major Saab 
smile emoticon The 'unique' theme is the one of main highlights of this movie and a couple of good songs, some good dialogues,a good supporting role from Renji Panicker and some brilliant camera work adds gloss to the overall proceedings.But the scene-stealers here are Prithviraj and Javed Jaffery who are absolutely brilliant in their roles and makes you feel for the characters they portray. It's a quality movie which is well worth your time :)

Mariyam Mukku - Wonder what state of mind the director and team were in to go ahead and make such a pathetic & poor movie with a stupid plot and lazy performances from the entire cast. A perfect example of bad film making!!!!! 

Mili - Is a 'just about average' movie that wanders along aimlessly without having enough interesting moments or sequences to cover up for its lack of a genuine plot . The movie does have its moments in between to go along with terrific performances from Amala Paul and Saikumar. But sadly those are the very few positives you could take out of these otherwise 'lifeless' and 'emotionless' movie 

Rasam - Is a poorly made movie. The movie which has a pathetic story-line is further hampered by the fact that the sequences are so uneventful and lacks anything interesting to hold the viewer's interest !!!! 

I- Is a movie that is sure to leave a few disappointed due to the humongous hype it had created. But it's undoubtedly a high quality product and well worth your time since you would rarely get a chance to see such a visually brilliant and engaging presentation of an age old predictable revenge story. It's a movie that deserves its set of flaws, including it's lag and it's set of poorly performing villains, to be ignored. Vikram's hard word and dedication pays off and he's exceptionally brilliant in this challenging role. The song picturizations and technical side are brilliant as expected from a Shankar movie.A "recommended one-time watch" in the theaters !!

Movie Overview 2014

Presenting the Movie Overview of 2014 on what has surely been a so-so year for Mallu movies, with its share of few good movies and a bigger chunk of crappy ones.

Top Movies of the Year Segment: ( Not by box office collections :) )

Bangalore Days: A skillful demonstration of how to make a multi star movie where all characters have their own space and a prime example of how to make an engaging movie devoid of any cliches.
Munnariyippu: A neatly constructed movie that requires you to use your brains to fully grasp the hidden intricacies in the plot and one which is complemented by two outstanding lead performances.
Om Santhi Oshana: Probably one of the most entertaining on-screen depictions of one of the oldest and simplest plot - "a girl-chasing-boy love story"
1983: A classic in its own right. A movie which deserves all the accolades for the neat and engaging execution of a different and unique plot.
Iyobinte Pusthakam:  A Gripping and intense tale where the visual beauty of each and every frame stands out and which alone would make it worth a watch.

Top Performances of the Year Segment: (Even cameos are welcome here :) )

Jayasuriya: One of the most impactful and towering performances of all-times that is going to stay with you forever.Jayasuriya was an absolute revelation as the cool and restrained villain.
Aparna Gopinath: A brilliant portrayal of a challenging and complex role and even more special due to the fact that she had to stand up against a towering performance by Mammotty.
Nazriya: The heart and soul of both ' Blore Days' and 'OSO'.
Shine & Anushree: Watch 'Ithihasa' and you'll get to know yourself.

Unlucky Misses of the Year Segment: (For the ones who deserved more :( )

Homely Meals: A movie praised by each and every critic, lapped up by each and everyone who had seen it and one which didn't have competition of any kind during its release. Still it remains a mystery why this differently made, brilliantly executed and entertaining film didn't find any takers.
Angels: Bad release timing and poor marketing could be the only reasons why the movie didn't make any mark at the ticket window. Though by no means a perfect movie, this gripping thriller did deserve better at the box office.

Not Lucky Everytime Segment: (The caption says it all! )

It's been years since he has been torturing us with his same set of movies with the same plot and same setting and same characters and similar names. Finally Dileep's luck runs out, much to the delight of a lot of genuine movie lovers, and he gets his much deserved set of flops through Ezhu Sundara Raathrikal ( end of last year),VillaliVeeran and Avatharam. 

Desperately Need  A Break Segment: ( For those who are torturing us year in and out)

An area usually reserved for Shaji Kailas and K Madhu (both didn't make any movies this year thankfully!!!!) sees them being replaced by none other than our "craftsman" director Joshiiyy who makes 2 absolute duds in the form of 'Salaam Kashmir' and 'Avatharam'. Somebody needs to remind him that his usual template of setting up the context for one hour, then moving into the plot in the next hour and then finishing off the plot in the next one hour and that too with the similar set of story lines, desperately needs a makeover. 

Mammootty and Mohanlal as usual keep their coveted places in this segment with mind-blowing stupid disasters in the form of 'Mr.Fraud','Peruchazhi','Koothara', 'Praise the Lord','Gangster' and 'Manglish'. Let's not talk much about the box office collections please :)

Jayaram as usual continues his presence in this segment with his set of blockbuster disasters. The least said about his films, the better!!!

Surprises of the Year Segment: ( Reserved for anything coming with zero expectations)

Vellimoonga - Many expected it to be a one week gap filler movie in the theatres!!!! But this simple and absolutely entertaining movie surpassed all expectations and went on to become the biggest hit of the year entering its fifth month run in many of the major centres.
Ithihasa - What was generally perceived as a movie made with just the aim of getting the satellite rights money, had a pleasant surprise in store. This movie with a daring and unique plot with some superb performances from the lead cast deservedly got into the hit charts this year :) 

Disappointments of the Year Segment ( Comes in with a lot of expectations and lets you down badly :) )

One By Two - One of the most awaited movies of the year turned out to be one of the most tortorous one !! This Manichitrathazu inspired movie ( or rather remake) turned out to be one hell of an experience that drew flak deservedly from all corners. Imagine Murali Gopy playing Nagavalli and you'll be prepared to face what's in store :) 
Gangster - The movie which came in with so much hype and was expected to end Mammotty's flop run turned out to be much worse that many of the other duds he'd given us. 

ComeBack of the Year: 

Well... Not really !!!!! But still Mammooty had a better year with a couple of awesome performances & avg hits in the form of 'Munnariyippu' and 'Varsham' to go along with his blockbuster hit ( strictly in terms of collection and the other extreme in quality) in 'Rajadhiraja'. 
Looking at his next set of movies coming up though, he might not be far away from his normal flop-delivering self :) 

Could Do Better Segment: (For those who atleast tried but failed miserably!!! ) 

Renjith desperately need to get a clear hold of his mind and go back to the set of different and beautiful movies he had given us over the past 3-4 years. Though 'Njan' was by all means a better film compared to his all time dud ' Kadal Kadannoru Mathukutty' , there was no need for Renjith to make an Adoor style movie which sadly had a main character whom none can relate to or find anything signifacnt about. Hope he'll make something more significant and meaningful next time around :) 
Indrajith surely can't go on like this. Being one of the most talented and natural actors among the youth brigade, it's high time he gets his act together and starts chosing his movies carefully and meaningfully. We all are fans of you Indran - we deserve better from you :) 

2013 Mallu Movie Review

Its time for a sneak peek into the Mallu movies released over the past year. The year has been quite good for a movie buff looking for fresh and bold themes with the audience being offered a wide variety of reasonable good fares.

Surprises of the Year:

HoneyBee - Asif Ali and Bhavana are the sure shot recipe combo for a disaster movie. Add Lal Sr to it and its expected to get even worse. But Lal Jr inspite of having all the above dangerous ingredients cooks out a delicious entertainer that was well worth your time!!
Philips and the Monkey Pen - A movie which came in with no hype but turned out to be one of the best feel-good movies of the year which turned out to be a hit by the sheer virtue of mouth publicity!!!!
Ann Augustine - Probably one of the worst actresses you would have ever seen on screen, Ann Augustine does a reverse by portraying the challenging role in 'Artist' with tremendous maturity without going overboard and making you feel so deeply for the helpless character of the GF of a crazy Artist :) 

Top Movies of the year:

1. Left Right Left - One of the most hard hitting and realistic movies of all times with the strongest characters ever created on screen to go along with the amazing performances on screen.... 
2. Dhrishyam - One of the best made thriller movies of all times with a terrific second half that hardly lets you breath!!!!
3. Philips and the Monkey Pen - The surprise hit of the year with a simple story which is shot superbly and has some terrific performances from the child artistes and seniors alike...
4. Amen - One of the most loved and differently shot films of the year. Surely the first of its kind for the Malayalam movie industry
5. Mumbai Police - Roshan Andrews,Prithviraj and Bobby-Sanjai deserve credit for coming out trumps with this tremendously gutsy movie.

Performances of the year:

Prithviraj - Undoubtedly the best performer of the year with his amazing choice of roles. He won all the accolades for 'Celluloid', played the most gutsy role ever written for a hero in our industry superbly in 'Mumbai Poice' and played the role of a drunk cop haunted by his past to absolute perfection in 'Memories'. 

Fahad Fazil - Had a tremendous second half  playing the blind 'Artist' to perfection, the 'OCD' guy superbly and excelling above the mediocre script to be the star of the show in 'Indian Pranaya Kadha'

Indrajith - The stand out performer among the exceptional performers in 'Left Right Left' ... Couldn't think of anyone else who would have played this eccentric character to absolute perfection !

Lucky Tom of the year:

Who else other than Dileep when he makes 'Sringaravelan', the movie any normal movie buff couldn't tolerate for more than ten min , a box office hit and 'Nadodi Mannan', which even puts some B Class tamil movie to shame, an average grosser !!!!

'Need A Ban ' Award of the year:

Who else other than the multi mega star of our Industry who dishes out flops one after the other and is fast setting new benchmarks/records for the longest survival rate in the industry without a hit !!!!

'Ultimate Horror' Award of the year:

Though 'Silence' and 'Ladies and Gentlemen' gives it some good competition, 'Lokpal' is way ahead of the competition winning this award hands down courtesy of some real poor direction, a pathetic script, an uninterested hero and some of the worst make-overs you could ever associate with a character!!!!

Disappointment of the year:

One of the most hyped and awaited movies of the year turned out to be the one which actually requires a study class to understand what the director tried to convey on screen. Its none other than 'Kadal Kadannoru Mathukutty' !!

Special Mentions of the year:

5 Sundarikal - Though we have seen the concept before via Kerala Café, 5 Sundarikal was equally brilliant with Amel Neerad & Dulqar leading the pack with a superb 'Kullante Bhaarya' with Anwar Rasheed & Fahad giving it tough completion via an excellently shot ' Ami'

Idukki Gold - Making a movie with the heroes of 80's is a tough thing in the present times. But with Ashiq Abu at the helm we expected something good out of the movie and he doesn't disappoint us with this good time pass entertainer that is well worth your time !!!!

Movie Review 2014

COusins - You have a 10+Cr budget, full freedom to make a movie where logic can take the backseat and an audience expecting just an average timepass entertainer. Still in-spite of all these favourable factors, if someone comes up with a movie that bores and irritates you to the core with hardly 4-5 scenes worth laughing across the length of the movie, it is such a colossal shame. A "must-avoid" movie at all cost !!!

PK - Rajkumar Hirani and team comes up with a bold,meaningful and significant plot and makes an awesomely enticing, thought provoking and gripping movie out of it. The film scores in the fact that it rarely ventures into a preachy mode despite the nature of the subject and keeps its entertainment quotient intact throughout. Aamir Khan is brilliant in what could easily be termed as the best role of his career and is ably supported by Anushka Sharma and the rest of the supporting cast. A must watch!!!!

Seconds - A well shot and quite gripping movie that does hold your interest till the end. The director and his team deserves credit for coming up with this 'worth a watch' thriller and are aided well by the actors who are top class in the their respective roles. But still it doesn't let you leave the theaters with great satisfaction and the main reason should be the culmination sequences which doesn't surprise or excite you as a thriller ought to and has its share of loose ends 

Kaviya Thalaivan - Even terming it as 'stellar' would be an understatement to describe the performances of Sidharth and Prithviraj in the movie. Both of them play their respective roles to utmost perfection leaving the audience with an impossible task of choosing the best between them  The above mentioned factor and the entire scenes involving both are the factors that keeps you glued to the screen irrespective of the fact that the movie is not entertaining or as gripping/intense as a retro-classic would demand 

100 Degree Celsius - A pretty watchable opening half is ruined by a poor, amateuirish, silly and stupid second half presentation. A total waste of time one would say !!!!!

Angels - By no means the perfect film and one which would give u a set of reasons to dislike it due to its theme  But it's a movie that deserves utmost credit for presenting a crime thriller effectively in a never before seen format for the audience and for not deviating from the main plot for not even a minute. The interesting story and the efficient screenplay coupled with the suspense element makes it well worth a watch. The actors complement the movie quite well and it's quite a satisfying feeling to leave the theatre after watching a decent movie from one of the most naturally talented actors amongst the young crop  And the biggest highlight got to be the fact that Joy Mathew famous for his cliche and lazy acting doesn't bore you a bit:)

Mylanchi Monchulla Veedu - How long can these guys, Sibi-Udayan, continue torturing the audience like these rehashing the same story lines and themes again n again... Pathetic!!!!

Lal Bahadur and Shastri - Too many cooks spoil the broth they say!!!! Similarly too many coincidences, cinematic liberties and feel good factors ends up spoiling the movie :)

Ormayundo Ee Mugham - The poor casting of Vineeth Sreenivsan as the hero is the main problem with this '50 First Dates' inspired movie which ends up being 'just about watchable'. The faults just doesn't end there but it still would have been pardonable to a certain extent if the movie had a hero who could emote on screen properly and the fag end of the second half was devoid of the over-melodramatic romantic portions. The movie boasts of some good songs, some decent funny sequences and a real good performance from the heroine and the side kicks, but none of these might be enough for the movie to make a mark at the ticket window !!!

Iyobinte Pusthakam - The movie, which in all probability would end up being labelled a 'flop' ,gives you some of the best cinematography and visual delights you could ever hope for in a movie. The first half of the movie is quite brilliant,intense and gripping with some superb dialogues and sequences complementing the well developed plot. The second half though loses its steam with the focus being more on the gore violence, revenge and the action scenes and is sure to end up having very few takers. Still overall the movie is well worth a watch and offers the feel of the vintage Hollywood classic movies that you would have come across Fahad Fazil is brilliant as the main character with Lal,Vinayakan and Chemban Vinod being equally good.But the scene stealer here is definitely Jayasuriya who delivers a truly memorable performance that is sure to stay with you forever

Varsham - A one man show all the way by a tremendously brilliant Mammotty that should finally see him breaking his flop parade and making us wish he'd only do these kind of meaningful roles in future:) Even though there is nothing great about the movie with respect to either the plot or the script, it's still a movie that has it's heart at the right place and is tailor made for the family audience. In-spite of its set of cliches and over-melodramatic sequences, the movie is still a decent one time watch and a lot of it should be attributed to the performance of the entire cast. Ranjith Shankar's direction though has his signature style making us leave the halls thinking he could have done better than the decent job he'd done :) :)

Njangade Veettile Athithikal - This physco drama movie with a poor plot, illogical sequences and an inconsistent presentation is a let-down. The movie does have its moments and the decent acting from the cast headed by Priyamani, Jayaram and Shajon saves the film from being a complete disaster. But one is left to leave the theatre feeling damn disappointed at the choice of subject and the steep decline in standards from the 'once great' director Sibi Malayil !

Kathi - Vijay tries out something different from his usual nonsense no-brainers and the result is a quite awesome watch which would surely rank as one of the best of his career. The couple of things that basically stands out compared to his recent outings are the fact that he acts quite superbly and finally does a movie which has a solid plot. Though the initial parts lag a bit and the theme is in a way preachy, Murugadoss deserves full credit for using Vijay's star power to full effect and etching out the main theme superbly with a set of real touching scenes that rarely goes overboard. Special credit to Anirudh as well for the terrific BGM and the good songs

Homely Meals - It's by no means a perfect or a flawless movie. But it's still a movie that deserves the tags 'Brilliant' & 'Exceptional' for its unique plot, engaging presentation and its amazingly funny hilarious sequences. Anoop Kannan grabs the opportunity to prove that Jawan of Vellimala was just a mistake from his kitty and Vipin Atlee deserves a big round of applause for coming up with this amazing story line and script Equal credit goes to the entire set of actors, especially the entire set of newcomers, who are apt choices and quite brilliant with their performances. It's a movie that is well worth your time and deserves a great round of appreciation for its guts to try and present something new and unique

Ithihasa - Is a simple entertainer that is well worth your time  The newbie director and team explores the rarely tried out fantasy genre in Malayalam and presents its superbly well with loads of style and humour laced into the plot  This is a great change and relief from the cheap fantasy films offered to us by Vinayan and those which were shot during the 70's/80's with Nasir at the helm  

Shine Tom Chacko and Anusree are terrific as the lead pair ( especially considering the fact that it could have gone haywire) and is well supported by the rest of the cast  Overall a sweet little surprise that would have you leaving the theatres with a smile considering the poor pre-release hype 

Tamar Padaar - We're served a bunch of bad movies every year with its set of cliches,poor plots and repetitive story-lines. Tamar Padaar is very different from all these with the fact that it is a unique and rare breed of cinema that sets a new benchmark for a poorly made film !!!! You'd rarely get a chance to see such a 'pathetically' made film that takes 1 hr 45 min just to introduce the 3 main characters and then takes the next one hour to try and come up with a non-existent,unidentifiable and a never-heard kind of story line. One would need to be under the influence of the strangest brand of drugs to even think of making this 'rare-gem' kind of a movie.

The movie does have its moments with some genuinely funny dialogues/sequences in between and decent performances from the entire cast. But in a movie that is so pathetic as a whole, these positives just about help it to evade the top spot for the worst movie experience held by the superstar movies this year 

Happy Ending - It's pretty engaging watch. But the major problem is that  it's a rehash of rom-coms Saif has already been part of and hence ends up being predictable to the core :)

Vellimoonga - The awesomely entertaining yet simple feel-good movie that is well worth a watch  It's an out n out time-pass flick (of course with its set of cliches!!!) which boasts of some genuinely funny humour sequences & dialogues which is well woven into the simple plot  Biju Menon and Aju Varghese absolutely rock in their roles and is well supported by the rest of the cast headed by Tini Tom 

The movie is a prime example of a flick that comes through with the least hype and surpasses your expectations by all counts 

Money Ratnam - Is an absolutely hopeless damp squib that is a total waste of your time and 'money'. The movie is quite a boring watch from start to end with the occasional humorous sequences and some decent acting from Fahad providing the only relief. One can't help but feel irritated by too much of the cinematic liberties, too many sidetracks and above all the Vijay style acrobatic stunt sequences from Fahad !!!!

Njan - Renjith (though occasionally disappoints us with duds like 'Rock n Roll' & 'Kadal Kadannoru Mathukutty') has build a huge fan base for himself for his serious, meaningful movies which are commercially viable as well. But with this flick he ventures into the Adoor Gopalakrishnan/Shaji N Karun mode of 'purely made for the film festival circuit' movie making style with the result being a rather tedious and disappointing movie watching experience for the viewers.

With the mindset of watching an offbeat/award movie though,one should ideally like the first half and enjoy the movie till around the mid of the second half. The movie though loses the plot completely from then on and goes into a downward spiral culminating in a long-drawn and disappointing climax. The biggest positive though ought to be the career best performances from Dulqar Salman and Renji Panicker with some awesome,brilliant & able support from the rest of the cast.

Angry Babies -  Quite a cheap film by all counts. Still kind of watchable due to some good comic scenes in between and a decent end to the movie :)

Ek Villan - Is a terrific film with the USP of the movie being the tremendous music score and the awesome performances by the lead heroes... Though the initial twenty minutes is bit of a more mainly due to Shraddha Kapoor, the movie soon gets into the groove and then never let its quality drop till the end... Some awesome dialogues and the different plot aides the movie in a great way and offers you a good watch that is genuinely worth your time :)

Saptamashree Thaskara - Should surely and deservedly be the winner of Onam 2014  The movie is a good entertainer and presented superbly with lots of genuinely funny sequences/dialogues. It's aided a great deal by the performances from the entire cast with the great difference being the fact that the side kicks(Chemban Vinod, Lijo Jose Pallisery,Sudheer Karama & Neeraj Madhav) score a great deal with their portrayals and have more screen time than the main heroes 

Still somewhere down the line one feels that it fails to deliver as a whole, the tremendous potential it had shown in the first half. This could be attributed to the lot of unanswered questions towards the end and the overdose of cinematic liberties throughout the second half 

Rajadhiraja - The movie is an absolute torture with the makers showing no mercy to the poor movie watching public!!!!
It's quite evident that Mammootty has completely lost the plot when it comes to his choice of scripts and movies over the past couple of years. But one seriously wonders why he should choose this 'Baasha' Reloaded version wherein he tries to do action like the young Tamil superstars.It's high time somebody reminds the superstars that we no longer need commercial potboilers from them and would be more than happy to see them in only meaningful roles even if its just once in an year 

Peruchazhi - It's warned at the start of the movie to keep your brains at home and enjoy the movie as an illogical fare!!! Even taking this warning (or rather request) into account, Peruchazhi turns out to be a pretty cheap movie that relies a bit too much on the love moviegoers have for Mohanlal and his iconic characters/dialogues. And to go along with that, this movie with a poor plot has a lot of unwanted sequences including the songs and the action scene.
On the positive side though, the movie is not too close to the 'big disasters' which we have been used to seeing from the superstars recently. It does entertain you with its movie spoofs,tickle your funny bone at a few instances and has some good/interesting dialogues and sequences.The real enjoying factor though is an absolutely in-form Mohanlal who is at his vintage best and its set of supporting characters who does full justice to their roles.

Munnariyipu - Should qualify as one of the toughest reviews I would have had to write so far  The 'commercial/entertainment' fan inside me who farms out an instantaneous opinion on watching the movie would say that a interesting/decently paced first half is ruined by a slow/uneventful and lagging second half with a disappointing climax !!! But the 'serious movie loving/looking for something different' part of me would term it as an absolute classic which is etched out with utmost efficiency with a plot that is so common yet unique and requires you to use your thinking brains 

Mammooty and Aparna Gopinath are terrific in their role portrayals aided well by the supporting cast .The movie boasts of some superb and thought provoking dialogues which would need some careful thinking to understand that it's so integral to the main plot 

 Anjaan - The movie is too long and has some poor songs popping out un-necessarily during the second half. Still it's Surya's most watchable movie of recent times with Surya in fine form supported ably by Vidyut Jamwal. The main advantage of the movie is that the plot is a simple and predictable revenge drama and doesn't torture you with illogical and over the top stuff like in the case with a '7AM Arivu','Maatran' or a 'Singham 2'...

Apothecary - Haven't heard these many good reviews post the first 2 shows for a movie this year  Wellllll !!! A realistic theme, few good dialogues and great performances from Jayasuriya,Suresh Gopi and Indrans are the only positives I could take post seeing the movie  Though always expected to be slow, this movie from the director of the brilliant 'Melvilasam' is a complete letdown with its set of repetitive sequences and undermined by its poor presentation as a whole especially the long overdrawn climax 

Jigarthanda - The makers of 'Pizza' delivers yet another tasty fare that is exceptional,brilliant,offers you loads of entertainment and boasts of outstanding performances from the lead cast  I might learn later that the movie is inspired or even a copy - But for the moment i'll revel in the feeling that I've watched a movie that is truly awesome,'one of its kind' and offers you one of the best movie watching experience you could ever wish for 

Queen - A truly rocking and amazing movie that deserves every accolades that has come its way :) The presentation style,build up of the plot and the songs are magnificent and the director and team deserves all credit for experimenting with a 'unique' theme. Kangana Ranaut is brilliant in the title role and is ably supported by the equally efficent supporting cast. A magnificent piece of cinema :) :)

Avatharam - How long can Joshiy continue in this field with these sort of 'Avatharams' which follows the same pattern as any of his movies. The movie is a damn boring and torturous watch.

Vikramadityan - A movie overflowing with cliched and predictable scenes and having a story-line as old & outdated as one could think of  Still its quite a 'harmless' watch which could be credited to the neat presentation by Lal Jose, the occasional humorous sequences,some pretty good performances from the lead cast headed by Dulqar and Anoop Menon and a decent performance to be credited to Unni Mukundan 

Manglish - How could one tolerate a movie that has a poor plot, pathetic direction , unbearable comedy sequences and above all a hero character who has absolutely no interest in what he's doing and just going through the motions.... 

Hi I'm Tony - Malayalam's recognized 'Psycho' Lal Sr takes company of 'upcoming Psycho' Lal Jr to present us this exceptionally bad 'Psycho thriller' that's sure to leave the audience running around searching for a 'Psychiatrist'.

Koothara - Not sure if it's a mere coincidence that the movie as a whole stays loyal to its title  The first half of the movie though is quite good with its set of entertaining sequences,fun-filled moments and some very interesting song lyrics  The second half though fully justifies its title and goes on a downward spiral the moment Mohanlal enters the fray  I would recommend the movie as a "must-watch" to experience the worst ever character written for Mohanlal and above all the worst ever climax for a Lal movie  

P.S : For the guys who were "lucky" enough to watch the last scene of Mr.Fraud - That "climax sequence" of this movie is much more memorable 

Bangalore Days - A genre-defining & genuine youthful film that is devoid of cliches and an absolute treat to watch!!!! The first half of the movie is quite entertaining with loads of fun filled dialogues and sequences. The second half moves into a more serious territory being a tad slow, but there is hardly a minute ( to be frank even a second) you would feel bored. Such is the top notch performances from the entire lead cast that you would have a tough time choosing the best performer  But the star of the movie ought to be director/script writer Anjali Menon who etches out a gem of a film with one of the simplest stories of recent times and sets a bench mark on making an effective multi-star film with equal importance & significance to each character 


How Old Are You - Roshan Andrews and Sanjai-Bobby creates a masterful and memorable feel-good movie that has a simple yet impactful plot, is filled with real life characters/incidents and is absolutely entertaining :) Manju Warrier is spectacular as the central character reminding us what we have been misssing for the past 14 years :)Kunchako Boban is awesome and underplays his part tremendously well and the teriffic performances from the support cast headed by Vinay Fort adds gloss to the proceedings. It would require an absolute classic to topple this movie from the summit of the hit charts this year :) 

Mr Fraud - As expected is quite terrible !!! It starts off with one of the worst MohanLal introduction scenes of recent times and never quite improves from that level  The whole of movie meanders between boring and uneventful without even offering a continuous 10 minute stretch that makes for an interesting watch  An illogical plot, poor dialogues and pathetic direction ruins the movie and the audience is forced to find consolation and laugh their heart out with the final makeover look from Lal which offers the movie's only genuine unintentional comedy :) 

Beware Of Dogs - An entertainer in its own rights and genre where logic has no place and you are just required to go along with the flow.. The movie has some genuine comedy scenes and dialogues which would make you feel not too disappointed at having watched this movie :)

2 States - A pretty decent 'one-time' watch with the apt & able casting being the major contributor to the movie's overall quality:)

God's Own Country - fades away disastrously in the second half post a pretty impressive first half. The movie is let down by some real amateurish direction and too many coincidences which is too much to digest in-spite of all the cinematic liberties you could afford to consider 

Mosayile KuthiraMeenukal - is a terrific and pleasant surprise!!! Though the movie is generally slow paced, it does entertain you quite a lot with its good plot, some real good dialogues,its picturesque locations, amazing camera work and some high quality background music. Sunny Wayne does pretty well in the role (with the tough slang)handed to him along with the rest of the supporting cast. But its Asif Ali who steals the show with a stellar performance that is bound to leave you impressed!!

Law Point - Is quite an engaging,interesting and a decent one-time watch which is devoid of a cliched approach and follows a quite un-conventional route especially towards the climax sequences!!! The script is quite interesting and the movie is presented in a decently paced manner with the cast headed by Kunchako Boban and Namitha Pramod being in top notch form :)The director deserves credit for taking up this gutsy approach which could quite well end up with more brickbats than bouquets since this movie is clearly not everyone's cup of tea:)

Onnum Mindathe - A platform for Sugeeth to certify that he's an 'ordinary' and 'one film wonder' director ! An exhibition for Meera Jasmine to showcase her poor acting and dubbing skills! And a great stage for Manoj K Jayan to show that he too can overact poorly when presented with a poor character !

Gangster - A 'must-watch' to remind yourselves how treacherous,tiresome and torturous a movie watching experience can be!!!! Kudos to Ashiq Abu and team for this most 'stupid' and 'idiotic' presentation of an equally pathetic script. 

7 th Day - Is a pretty good and watchable thriller with shades of brilliance and its set of minor flaws .The movie is directed superbly, has some awesome dialogues and boasts of a pretty good plot. Prithviraj is in top form with his performance/dialogue delivery and is supported well by the rest of the cast. Still it misses the 'exceptional' factor one could associate with Mumbai Police and the 'excellent' tag one could associate with Memories 

Ringmaster - 60 p.c of the movie is the usual over the top & boring crap that you could associate with any Dileep movie. But the rest 40 p.c somehow makes this the most watchable Dileep movie of recent times with its occasional funny moments, some genuine comedy sequences, bearable performances from Dileep/Suraj and a good show by Rafi(as an actor)/Kalabhavan Shajon.

Praise The Lord - You should be out of your mind to make a movie out of this poor plot :) And the director and team proves just that with this one hell of a movie that is totally boring, has absolutely horrible performances from the cast and is not even worth a five min watch...

Salaam Kashmir - We don't expect anything good out a Joshiy movie these days... But Salaam Kashmir seriously makes us wonder why he should downgrade to such a pathetic level, giving us a feel of the VM Vinu(family sentiments) and Vinayan(war movie) style of movie making :) 
The film offers us some genuine unintentional comedy though :) 

Pakida - Offers a quite boring movie watching experience which is easily avoidable...

Highway - 'Over-hyped' is what i would say after hearing people raving about the movie :) Still its a pretty good one time watch with a different plot and some good performances to go along with some amazing music and outstanding locales :)

Om Santhi Oshana : OSO is an out-n-out entertainer with a simple story and a good narration style. The movie scores in the fact that it is devoid of any major dull or dragging moments and offers you some genuinely awesome funny scenes  Its a Nazriya show all the way and she does quite a good job at it. Nivin Pauly is quite good in the restrained role and is supported well by the rest of the cast lead by Renji Panicker (an escape from the usual Lalu Alex father cliche scenes)  Kudos to the debut director and his team for this extremely satisfying movie experience well worth your time !!!!!

London Bridge - A pretty pathetic and poor attempt which is just about watchable for the initial one hour.... The more the film progresses, the more u hate it and wanna let it finish fast :) 

1983 : A simple but superb film that is dedicated to every Indian's passion(cricket) and their God (Sachin)... It boasts of a 'realistic-fiction' theme everyone could relate to and the debutante director deserves credit for the presenting it exceptionally well on screen with a genuine dose of good humour and some great feel-good moments. Nivin Pauly does a terrific job in one of the best roles he would ever get and is supported excellently by the rest of the cast.cast. Gopi Sunder deserves credit for the superb songs and the perfect BGM  Its a highly recommended watch and is well on its way to become first genuine hit of 2014 !!!!!

Mannar Mathai Speaking 2 - Seriously no idea why these stupid guys venture out making meaningless sequels trying to take advantage of the popularity of the prequel version... The movie is patheticaly made with not even a single scene offering a genuine laugh and is a yawn fest at its best... Mukesh & Saikumar are way past their prime for such kind of roles and i seriously hope some sense prevails before casting them in such roles!!!!!

Jilla - Confused whether to term it a 'disaster' or consider it as a 'mere disappointment' !!!!!

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.