POOJAI

POOJAI

Theatre : TVM SreePadmanabha
Showtime & Date : 2.30pm, 22-10-2014
Status : Housefull

Vishal after a break is doing a mass masala entertainer with Hari who delivered some racy entertainers in Tamil Cinema. Did the movie works??? Lets see

Story
Vasu(Vishal) is doing small time financial business who is staying in a market. We have a villain who is a contract killer underplaying his role on society as a financial company head, an honest cop Sathyaraj after him, a heroine Sruthi Hassan for romantic scenes and songs. And as expected a family drama with twists.

Performances
Vishal as always is supercool in these type of roles. His emotional scenes were good. And in action, as always he shines. Sathyaraj was fine. Sruthi was just for songs and romantic scenes. Her dubbing and certain expressions in certain scenes were horrible. Villain was fine. Lot of stars Jayaprakash, Thalaivasal Vijay, Sithara, Radhika, Kousalya, Renuka... to play family members as they did their part well. Soori simply shines in his role

Songs & BGM
Yuvan Shankar Raja disappoints in songs, BGM was fine

Technical
Cinematography and Editing were perfect for this mass masala entertainer

Script & Direction
Both departments handled by HARI was just rehash of Hari's own SINGAM, THAMIRABHARANI, ARUL movies. Still the packaging, the way plot unfolds maked the show interesting. Interval punch was superb. Second half was fine, but side track comedy though enjoyable didn't fit to the plot much. Also the climax ended as ordinary one. The fresh element I could see in this was the way the villain does his job, their planning and all

Overall if you like HARI films and mass masala entertainers, this won't disappoint you, but don't expect something fresh.

Verdict : MASS MASALA ENTERTAINER

KATHTHI

KATHTHI

Theatre : TVM Anjali
Showtime & Date : 9.45am, 22-10-2014
Status : Double Housefull, people were sitting even on floors

Ilayathalapathy Vijay and A R Murugadoss unites again after THUPPAKKI, what else needed to watch the movie on first day itself. Did the movie succeed in meeting the expectation??? Lets see

Story
Kathiresan(Vijay) escapes from Calcutta jail and tries to board Bangkok. At Chennai, he accidently meets Jeevanandam(Vijay) who is on his mission to save his village from land acquiring by corporate companies. Yes you guessed the rest. A in B's place. Thats it. But what makes the difference is the awesome screenplay and fresh proceedings and a hard hitting socially relevant plot.

Performances
VIJAY VIJAY VIJAY
What to say??? AWESOME PERFORMANCE
CLASS & MASS, ACTOR & SUPERSTAR
 You can't think of another actor in this movie. What a performance!!! I'm running short of words to explain his performance as many may act as spoliers for those who haven't seen the movie. That includes the smile to villain in climax

Samantha had nothing much to do. She looked a bit old too. Satheesh once again shines. Niel Nithin Mukesh was fine with good lipsync. Rest of the characters were apt in their roles.

Songs & BGM
Songs were good and picturisation was rich and had high production values. BGM - NO WORDS TO SAY - AWESOME AWESOME AWESOME especially title cards music when used in climax ADRENALINE PUMPING ONES

Technical
Top class in cinematography, editing and art direction

Script & Direction
A R MURUGADOSS definitely deserves a standing ovation.
The people who may hear the oneline or so called story may doubt about how this will work on bigscreen. There he stands tall. IF SCREENPLAY IS THE BACKBONE OF THE MOVIE, THIS ONE HAS A DOUBLE STRONG ONE. A plot which would have become a routine masala tearjerker with unwanted heroism blending one was neatly presented in a cinematic realism way which is a really tough task. Direction by him too stands out. If I'll point out any negatives, it'll be the starting of Interval action block and climax song picturisation in between.

OVERALL A GREAT MUST WATCH INDIAN MOVIE WHICH SPEAKS TAMIL LANGUAGE

VERDICT : GO FOR IT!!! DON"T MISS IT
BLOCKBUSTER WRITTEN ALL OVER IT

HOMELY MEALS

HOMELY MEALS

Theatre : TVM SReePadmanabha
Showtime & Date  : 11.00am, 03-10-2014
Status : Balcony around 15 people FC 6 people

After Jawan of Vellimala, director Anoop Kannan is back with HOMELY MEALS written and lead character done by Vipin Atley, who shot to fame years back with a film based programe called INTERVAL on Jeevan TV and later Kairali TV.

Story
Its about a person who wants to be part of TV or Cinema field, his struggle, betrayal, experiences, family experiences, friends played by Vipin Atley. We may feel like its his personal experience while making the programme INTERVAL for the TV channel.

Performances
Vipin Atley was natural and given a sincere performance. Srinda is surely an actress to stay here. Manoj K Jayan's SharathChandran character could have been better which went overboard. Kailash, after Neelathaamara performed well in his role. Neeraj Madhav was superb. Sudheer Karamana proved in his cameo that he's one of the best character artist in this generation. Babu Antony as himself in his cameo though exaggerated was superb. Nedumudi Venu did a fine job. Jugru, the Monkeypen kid rocked in Interval portion.

Newcomers were too good. The one who played Josappan is sure to stay in Malayalam Cinema, his eyes speaks a lot.

Songs & BGM
Both suits well with the movie. Bhoomiyil Theme song was a superb one which is the anthem of the movie. BGM FOR LALAN - "Lala Lala" from Vandanam simply rocked.
Technical
Art direction was good. Cinematography was good in songs sequences. Editing could have been better especially in first half.

Script & Direction
Script by Vipin Atley which we may feel like its his biography. Scenes were natural, dialogues to. First half wa a tad lengthy till he second epsiode making. That one was one brilliantly executed item - especially Babu Antony's and Shakeela's crying scene. Second half was a above first half especially Neeraj episode and climax portions were well written and executed. But there are scenes which we may find out of the box or forced ones especially poorly written Manoj K Jayan's characterisation and some comedy scenes. And those who have no idea about the programme INTERVAL may find a bit difficult to adjust with the movie as everything starts all of a sudden than taking its own time to introduce and start the plot.

Anoop Kannan made a product which looks far superior to his debut venture. He did a good job. Interval and climax portions were neatly exeuted.

Overall eventhough negatives are there, the movie never disappoints and being a newcomer's venture in script area, its a commendable work.

Verdict : Enjoyable

SIGARAM THODU

SIGARAM THODU

Theatre : TVM Ajantha
Showtime & Date : 11.15am, 14-09-2014
Status : About 50 people

Vikram Prabhu after ARIMA NAMBI was my calling card. Whether movie entertains??? Lets see

Story
Chellappa(Sathyaraj), a handicapped now is in record bureau of Police department living with his son Murali Pandian(Vikram Prabhu). Chellappa wants his son to become a police officer but Murali wants to be a bank manager. Things change when Murali gets police training selection and his love life becomes a question with this. And things get more serious when ATM robbery gangs in the city attacks Chellappa. Watch rest on screen

Performances
Vikram Prabhu was good as Murali Pandian. His comedy timing and sentiments were good.Sathyaraj, the seasoned actor once again proved his caliber especially second half. Monal Gajjar as Ambujam was fine. Sathish was fine but Mahesh disappoints. Director Gaurav as one of the villains was fine.

Songs & BGM
Songs were enjoyable except the one in second half, unwanted one. BGM was fine

Technical
Cinematography was topnotch. Opening sequence itself proves the caliber of the cinematographer. Certain angles were fresh and terrific. Editing could have been better in second half.

Script & Direction
Script by Gaurav was engaging. A good start till heroine's entry, a cinematic track chosen later, but enjoyable. But second half was lagged by a set of unwanted comedy scenes and a misplaced song. But things get better later. But second half lacks the punch which we expect after watching first half. Detailing of ATM robbery was genuine with no extra gimmicks. Direction by Gaurav could have been better. Lack of a good suspense also gives us the feeling of something missing and climax was executed in a lazy and racy manner which could have been more thrilling.

Overall an enjoyable one, if we can forget the second half starting portions

Verdict : Enjoyable, could have been better

RAJADHIRAJA

RAJADHIRAJA

Theatre : TVM SreePadmanabha
Showtime & Date : 6:00pm, 07-09-2014
Status : Housefull

A Mass Entertainer from Mammootty on the lines of Rajnikanth's Baasha by debutant Ajai Vasudev written by Udaykrishna-Sibi K Thomas team. Does the movie met the expectations?? Lets see
 

Story
The very same Baasha storyline - Shekharankutty(Mammootty) is living peacefully with his wife and kid with petrol pump job and restaurant. Ayyappan(Joju), a distant relative enters their life causing problems. Later villains enter the scene and in Interval block Shekharankutty bursts out as Raja the old DON. Second half is his flashback and how he finishes the villain gang.

Performances
Mammootty looked dull throughout except in flashback episode. The Interval portion where he needs to be energetic was spoiled mainly by this dull nature. Joju simply scores with his well written character though shades of Biju Menon was there at times. Nelson was fine in his limited scenes. Bheeman Raghu was wasted. Lakshmi Rai had nothing much to do. Joy Mathew and Babu Namboothiri were again in typecast roles. Siddhique was fine, so as Lena. Rest of the cast especially from Bollywood were too many and killed the effect at times.

Songs & BGM
Music by Karthik Raja and Berny Ignatious were below average and songs were picturised in a bad manner. Lyrics killed the songs most of the time. BGM was fine, but lacked the punch and timing in those mass scenes.

Technical
Shaji did a fine job with his camre work but not his best. Editing could have been better especially towards climax and mass scenes

Script & Direction
Script by Udaykrishna Siby K Thomas team was fine, and better compared to their last few outings. The script had enough moments and elements to be a mass entertainer. What killed the party was Ajai Vasudevan's direction. Though he could maintain the tempo and interest factor in first half till Interval portion, then onwards direction was totally out of place in most of the times. Ajai couldn't execute the mass scenes in paper to screen with style and elan. There were only frames copied at times from Telugu/Tamil flicks rather than packaging it as a whole. The much anticipated Interval scene was lazily executed. Second half could have been a lot lot better with the script.

Overall an enjoyable first half and an average second half.

Verdict : Above Average

Undoubtedly recent better outings from Mammootty for mass audience, but definitely not the best for the standards he had set before.

VILLALI VEERAN

VILLALI VEERAN

Theatre : TVM NEW SCREEN 1
Showtime & Date : 2:30pm, 07-09-2014
Status : 50%

A Dileep movie on festival season,this time script & direction by newcomers and songs were pretty enjoyable. Did the movie entertains??? Lets see

Story
Siddharthan aka Siddhu(Dileep) is the only hope of three families who struggles for day today expenses. He meets Namratha(Namitha Pramod), an ad film maker, by accident in between a mock drill by Police. Later he enters to her life as Arun K Menon. Rest of the movie is Siddharthan's flashback which later ends as a comic and action flick.

Performances
Dileep carries the whole movie with his comedy timing and histronics. Kalabhavan Shajohn with his screen presence was good and evoked a few laughters. Dharmajan as BijuBrahmanan's intro scene was bad, but later he was fine. Siddhique, Lalu Alex, Suresh Krishna, Riyaz Khan, Seetha, Valsala Menon, Neena Kurup were routine. Namitha Pramod needs to be a bit more serious about acting and character selection and above all HER MAKEUP. Though Mythili got a better role, her impeccable disinterested dubbing and wooden expressions killed her chance.

Songs & BGM
Songs by S A Rajkumar were good and fits well with the movie. BGM was too loud at times.

Technical
Editing could have been better in econd half, Cinematography was good, especially in songs and action sequences.

Script & Direction
Script by Dinesh Pallath had all ingredients for a festival entertainer but the ingredients were a bit more or less and timing at times killed the taste. Still an enjoyable one. As a debutant, being a festival entertainer package, he did a nice job with the storyline. Though nothing much happens in first half, he could make the show engaging.

Direction by debutant Sudheesh Shankar could have been better. SScenes as such were fine at many parts and shot in rich frames. But certain slapstick ones like Ad Film shoot will test our patience with b grade slapstick humour. Second half showed better promise than first where script was more tight and stick to the subject. Though not a great debut, he's promising as he could handle the final portions of the movie without going overboard in a neat manner.

Overall an enjoyable flick if we can forget a few set of scenes in first half.

Verdict : Entertainer

SAPTHAMASREE THASKARAHA

SAPTHAMASREE THASKARAHA

Theatre : TVM Dhanya
Showtime & Date : 11:15am, 06-09-2014
Status : Balcony 80%, FC 38 personsANIL RADHAKRISHNA MENON after 24 NORTH KAATHAM, that was my calling card for the movie with an impressive trailer. Does the movie entertain us??? Lets see

Story
Watch the trailer here

All the 7 thieves meets at a jail and plans to hunt down a common enemy of two - Krishnanunni & Nobilettan

Performances
Prithviraj was fine, so as Asif Ali who got a good intro scene, Nedumudi too. It is Chemban Vinod as Marty who steals the show. Terrific dialogues and expressions. The one who played his asst too scores. Neeraj Madhav as Narayankutty too got a couple of scenes to score. Sudheer Karamana as Leaf Vasu was a superb characterisation and he did his part in a superb way, but used less in second half. Joy Mathew is typecasted again, so as Irshad and Mukundan. Lishoy was good in his role. Another person I have to mention is director Lijo Jose Pellissery who was superb, especially dialogue delivery as a Thrissur priest. Reenu & Sanusha were okay in their role.

Songs & BGM
Rex Vijayan disappoints except the Title saying song portion. BGM was fine.

Technical
Nothing special, Editing was fine.

Script & Direction
Both departments handled by Anil Radhakrishna Menon. Story plot is nothing new, but the way story unfolds and the characterisations make the show different. First half was a kind of introduction and flashback of all the seven thieves. Towards Interval, they plans a robbery. First half was good enough with enough genuine comedies, especially situational ones. But second half, though the proceedings were engaging, could have been a lot better. I think script was in a confusion whether to give prominence to the 7 characterisations making a robbery or the robbery plot with 7 thieves. He chose the second option in my opinion. The climax portion was predictable and the post climax part killed the party and standard the movie set till then.

Real Hero is ANIL RADHAKRISHNA MENON, the director. A director with vision, at the same time racy and slow enough which the subject demanded.

Overall a director's flick with good first half and could have been better, still engaging second half with not so impressive twist and post climax

Verdict : Engaging Entertainer

BHAIYYA BHAIYYA

BHAIYYA BHAIYYA

Theatre : TVM Anjali
Showtime & Date : 11:30am, 05-09-2014
Status : Balcony Don't know, FC 45-50%

Kunchacko Boban-Biju Menon combo again after a short gap, Benny P Nayarambalam penning the script. This Johny Antony flick had these features to attract attention before release. Did the movie reach the expectations??? Lets See

Story
Movie begins with Babumon(Kunchacko Boban) on an ambulance introducing his Bhaiyya Baburam Chatterjee(Biju Menon), his love Angel(Nisha Agarwal), Baburam's untold love Shanthi(Vinutha) and Udayipp Soman(Suraj Venjarammood), all for different reasons travelling together while both Babus on the way to Bengal to deliver a deadbody of one of their workers. Story begins from childhood when Chacko Contractor(Innocent) takes home Baburam to his home and considering his as his own son and both Babus are living as brothers. Now Babumon is a Bengali employee supplier with the help of Baburam. Angel is the daughter of politician Vijayaraghavan and his son Monayi(Shammi Thilakan) is an upcoming MP Candidate. Story takes a turn in Interval after flashbacks when the Ambulance met with an accident.

Performances
Kunchacko Boban and Biju Menon did their part well. But the screenplay failed to create a strong bonding and emotional attachment the story demanded. Suraj was superb, though repetitive at times. Salimkumar was good in one scene, otherwise wasted, Innocent too. Shammi Thilakan and Vijayaraghavan were Superb. Nisha Agarwal, reminded Kajal in most frames except closeups. Her lipsync needs special mention. Vinutha was fine as Tamil girl Shanthi. Gregory except one or two scenes, failed to evoke laughter. Thesni Khan repeats her Trivandrum Lodge role. Sadhique was wasted.

Songs and BGM
Vidyasagar disappoints big time. Aarodum by Jayachandran which is the title song is my pick. Only 3 songs are included in the movie, not even theme song Bhaiyya Bhaiyya. BGM could have been a lot  better

Technical
Nothing much to talk about, except the opening shot cinematography, the road from hills.

Script & Direction
Benny P Nayarambalam seems to have a plot and a no proper storyline to engage the audience at times. It is the lead casts with Suraj makes the show watchable. Screenplay lacks the flow and the whole stuff treated as a fun film, which lacked that seriousness the scenes demanded. Comedies some of them were too old or rehashed which acted as subplots.

Direction by Johny Antony was engaging. Climax portions clearly states that slapstick humour is his forte and he could create that well. Overall the packaging was OK to FINE only. No blames to director, but the script didn't give him ample support most of the times.

Overall an avg first half with few comedies and an avg but better second half with an enjoyable climax which takes the movie to an abv avg level

Verdict : Tads Above Average

The ones who are planning to make Chackochan-Biju team has to keep one thing in mind. The script and final product should be something above ROMANS to satisfy the audience fully

VISHUDHAN

VISHUDHAN

Theatre : TVM SreePadmanabha
Showtime & Date : 11.15am, 22-11-2013
Status : 85%

Vysakh who is known for his 100% success track record with four commercial mass masala entertainer joins with Kunchacko Boban for the third time after SENIORS & MALLU SINGH, but this time its a totally different Vysakh movie which sans all the usual masala elements. Lets see whether Vysakh entertains in this way

Story
Fr.Sunny(Kunchacko Boban) takes charge as a priest in new church in a village. Snehalayalam an oldage home run by Vaavachan for getting dead bodies for his Medical college creates clash between them. To cover up the issue, Vavachan creates an issue of illicit relationship between Fr.Sunny & nun Sister Sophie(Mia) which results in the marriage of both. The rest is their life in the same place after marriage & a subplot of Nandulal.

Performances
Kunchacko Boban as Sunny was superb. His looks, voice modulation, especially crying scenes in climax needs special mention. The best scene of him was the first night in the home when Mia comes to his room. Superb expressions & dialogues. Mia had nothing to do. Her looks itself did what she was supposed to do. Hareesh Perady as Vavachan was a letdown. He is still in the hangover of Left Right Left, climax scene underlines that point well. Shalin in her limited role was good, Nandulal too. Lal's intro was one of the best scenes in the movie, after that he too lost track. THough a single scene, Shaju was good as Chackochan's brother. Krishnakumar, Joju, Anil Murali, Suraj...all are wasted in poorly written roles

Songs & BGM
Both departments are handled by Gopi Sundar. Oru Mezhuthiriyude works well. BGM was not upto usual Gopi Sundar level. Still good at times.

Technical
Shehnad Jalal's cinematography was superb especially mist scenes. Editing by Mahesh Narayanan could have been a lot better. Art Direction needs special mention

Script & Direction
Vysakh handled both departments. Vishudhan was supposed to be Vysakh's first film. And the script was also ready long back. The problem is there is an incident in the movie. But there is no proper story which could create a good impact for that. First half was a good one with nice proceedings eventhough predictabel. But in second half, screenplay was half baked to reach the climax. Dialogues were superb at times. The best scenes were First Night dialogue scene & Lal's Intro. Predictability is another big problem of the movie. There are no surprises for audience at any point of the movie. Plot was a good one, but screenplay killed the part altogether though. Scenes as such was good but when considering the whole package, its a failed attempt. Overall a movie Vysakh could have made into a blockbuster in his usual way of direction was executed in a way which didn't struck the chord with audience at many times. The serious approach also kills the flow.

Verdict : Watchable, but lacks pace
BO Verdict :Flop

The movie will be an advantage for Kunchacko Boban as an actor, nothing more nothing less.

Idavakayil ethunna puthiya Fr.Sunny(Chackochan)
Naattile pramaaniyaaya kuttykku kandudan ishtam
Nayika ishtam thurannu paranjittum nayakan anusarikkunnilla
Romansle pole bhagyathinu kutty suicide cheyyunnilla
Naattile mattoru villainum muthalaaliyude makanumaaya Sasikku ee kochine nottam
Upadravikkaan varunna Sasiye(Riyaz Khan) pedichu nayika palliyil olikkunnu
Nalla vaakku paranju madakki vidaan nokkumbol Riyaz Khan kelkunnilla
Pinne Sunny Sasiye loha oori vechu thera paara adi
Itharinju Saside father naattilethi father pattam therippikkunnu
Sunny veendum aa naattil land cheythu Sasiyeyum gundakaleyum veendum thera paara ittu thalliyittu avante fathernte business samrajyam thakarthu nayikaye kettumennu parayunnu
INTERVAL
Pinne oru kidu second half

Vysakh ingane vichaarichirunnel padam SUPER HIT

KADHAVEEDU

KADHAVEEDU

Theatre : TVM Kripa

Showtime & Date : 11.30am, 08-11-2013

Status : Susheela... Enthooooo!!! Aaro enne vilich

KADHAVEEDU was supposed to be a serious cinema raising the question whats the relevance of marriage in a society where divorces are happening a lot due to various reasons. Or is it better to have a Living Together relationship?? This is what I understood from what I saw. But nothing was presented well and effectively other than making the audience yawn

Story

Characters from the stories of M T Vasudevan Nair, Madhavikutty & Vaikkom Muhammed Basheer was mixed to the storyline of a film maker Raj Karthi(Kunchacko Boban). He makes the movie with Basheer's storyline(featuring Manoj K Jayan as Abdul Khader & Mallika as Jameela) and Madhavikutty's Indulekha & Balachandran played by Swapna Menon & Biju Menon respectively. In between Raj Karthi reminds what happened two years ago with Major Frederic Mukundan(Lal) & his wife Reetha(Rituparna Sen Gupta). Whats the final decision by Raj Karthi whether to marry or not Jeena(Bhama) who is having a living together relationship with him.

Performances

Kunchacko Boban delivers a good performance as Raj Karthi. As a film maker, he was simply awesome in his looks which suits well with attitude of the character he plays. His scenes with Lal & Rituparna Sen was too good. The scene remarking his victory over Reeta like a kid featuring Innocence lost was awesome. Biju Menon as Balachandran was too good. He underplays the pain the character demanded and makes it more effective. Only positive I found was these actors' performances.

Lal was usual. Rituparna Sen Gupta as a debutant in malayalam needs special mention for perfect lipsync even with the song. Manoj K Jayan was wasted in a badly directed episode. His makeup too looked bad especially old getup. Mallika scored well in old getup scene. Swapna Menon was  just a showcase. Bhama too. Kalabhavan Shajohn was fine.

Songs & BGM

Songs by M Jayachandran was superb ones which were picturised in a dull manner. BGM was done as if the person wants to market himself of what he knows rather than sticking to the mood of the movie.

Technical

Good Cinematography by T D Sreenivas. Editing NO COMMENTS. What else can be done with these. Art Direction was good. Sound Recording needs special mention. Rain Effects were Awesome

Script & Direction

I appreciate Sohannlal for selecting this theme, but a movie works mainly on the screenplay rather than the theme. Bad screenplay on the whole. Dialogues were too drama type ones at times. At times too good too. Direction was below average one.

On the whole, KADHAVEEDU never impresses as a movie. If the movie has any positives its Kunchacko Boban, Biju Menon & Songs(just listen, don't watch the video)

Verdict : No story presented well

BO Verdict : 1 Week Run itself is too large for this

ALL IN ALL AZHAGURAJA

ALL IN ALL AZHAGURAJA

Theatre : TVM Ajantha
Showtime & Date : 11.00am, 02-11-2013
Status : Balcony Full, FC ~80%

Rajesh M after hits Siva Manasula Shakthi, Boss Engira Bhaskaran, Oru Kal Oru Kannadi this teams with Karthi who is going through a tough phase in his career after flops Saguni & Alex Pandian. Whether Azhaguraja saves him?? Lets see

Story
A very simple plot as in every Rajesh movie - Azhaguraja(Karthi) falls in love with Devipriya(Kajal Agarwal). Raja is running a local cable TV channel along with friend aka officer Kalyanam(Santhanam). How Raja wins Devipriya along with problems happening in between with Kalyanam forms the rest of the story with a super flashback episode of Raja's father(Prabhu) played by Karthi again in 80's episode.


Performances
Kajal Agarwal as Chithra Devipriya aka Devipriya towers above all in performance with her impeccable comedy timing and smart expressions. She proved that she's not the usual glamdoll in routine tamilcinema. There is a good actress in her who can emote well comedy & emotional scenes without going overboard. Directors out there, an actress is here, give her good roles to perform. 

Karthi makes a strong comeback & he performed well. His comic timing & voice modulation needs special mention. Santhanam is getting typecasted and boring at times. His Kareena Chopra avatar was good but long sequences made it irritating in initial scenes. He was good in 80s episode. M S Bhaskar was enjoyable in his extended cameo. Prabhu, Kota Srinivasa Rao, Nasser & Saranya was adequate. Rest of the cast did their part well.

Songs & BGM
Songs were good especially Unna Partha Neram in flashback was superb. It was picturised well. Also Yaarukkum theriyaamal is one of the most colourfull song after Maduraikku Pogathedee in Ilayathalapathy Vijay's Azhagiya Tamizh Magan. Rest were enjoyable and sync well with the flow of the movie. BGM was enjoyable though nothing great to rave about.

Technical
Cinematography was usual, but did a neat job for a movie like this especially in flashback episode. Editing could have been a lot better especially Santhanam scenes and at times certain scenes. Art Direction was good.

Script & Direction
Both departments handled by Rajesh M. This time too he chad chosen a waferthin plot and converted to an enjoyable ride with lots of comedies in proceedings. First half though the nothing great happens still it was enjoyable with nice song well taken scenes and neat proceedings. It is second half, flash back episode and post that makes it a laugh riot. For me its Rajesh's best after Siva Manasula Shakthi. His other two movies bored me at times in second half. Interval Punch though nothing to do with tone of the movie was a Mass one matching to PAIYYA interval block.


Overall a jolly funride this Deepavali season, enjoy with your families

Verdict : FUN-FILLED JOLLY ENTERTAINER
BO VERDICT : HIT

NORTH 24 KAATHAM

NORTH 24 KAATHAM

Theatre : TVM Dhanya
Showtime & Date : 6.15pm,16-09-2013
Status : Balcony Almost FULL, FC 21 persons
A small movie with Fahad Fazil in lead released this Onam season - NORTH 24 KAATHAM by debutant Anil Radhakrishnan Menon. Does the movie offers anything interesting?? Lets see.

Story
Hari(Fahad Fazil), an IT professional at Ernakulam is an introvert and a person who has a disciplined life and more concerned about cleanliness. He was forced to attend a meeting at Trivandrum on a Harthal Day. On the way, situations made him to be with Saghav(Nedumudi Venu) and Narayani aka Nani(Swathi) on their way to Kozhikode. How they reach Kozhikode from Paravur near Kollam on a harthal day, the persons they meet and how everything changes Hari's life forms the story.

Performances
Fahad Fazil as Hari delivered a brilliant performance with less dialogues and more expressions. Nedumudi Venu delivered another terrific performance especially towards climax. His dialogues about his wife while travelling in an auto was awesome. Swathi did a notable performance as social worker Nani. Premji Amaran in his cameo made his mark. His trademark dialogue recieved terrific applause. Sreenath Bhasi, Geetha, Thalaivasal Vijay did a neat job so as rest of the cast.


Songs & BGM
Govind Menon handled both sections. He did a great job. Especially the last song and climax episode BGM was top noth with nice lyrics.

Technical
Everything was perfect - be it Jayesh Nair's Cinematography or Dilip Dennies's Editing or Sameera Saneesh's costumes.

Script & Direction
Both departments are handled by Anil Radhakrishnan Menon. A simple story presented in a beautiful manner. Though climax was predictable, the packaging was too good and the lead actors' performances took the movie to another level. Dialogues were natural. The best one being Nedumudi's dialogues about his wife.

Nothing more to say, the best movie of this Onam season is undoubtedly this one
Verdict : Go for it
BO Verdict : Multiplexes and Balcony hit, Audience out there, please support this one.

SRINGAARAVELAN

SRINGAARAVELAN

Theatre : TVM SreePadmanabha
Showtime & Date : 2.30pm, 16-09-2013
Status : Housefull

Last year's biggest hit MAYAMOHINI team unites once again for a festival season release SRINGAARAVELAN. Whether the movie works?? Lets see

Story
Kannan(Dileep) is a lazy guy who is in search of a rich girl to marry and settle in life. In a scenario, he goes to go to a palace and he was forced to stay back. He fell in love with the heroine and rest is whether he wins or not

Performances
Dileep as Kannan was below his usual energy level we saw in MY BOSS or MAYAMOHINI. His looks were fine. Lal as Yesudas aka Yesu, a goon was over the top and he tried his best to laugh the audience with his histronics but sadly failed. Kalabhavan Shajohn too tried his best but the script was too weak for him to do anything. Nedumudi Venu repeats the role again. Vedhika as heroine is ok in a cliched role. Sreedevi Unni made the audience laugh in Mohiniyattam scene in song with heroine(or is it Bharathanatyam?). Joy Mathew was a miscast. His dialogue delivery was pathetic. Baburaj though his slang was fine, his underdeveloped character made him an unwanted character. Shammi Thilakan as Ukken Tintu(the character in film NERAM) but lacks the soul as in the original. Babu Namboothiri was usual, Rahul Roy too.

Songs & BGM
Berny Ignatious disappoints once again. Rajamani tried his best to uplift certain scenes with his BGM, but the script failed him too.

Technical
Nothing special to mention except art direction in certain scenes.

Script & Direction
Script by Udayakrishna-Sibi K Thomas was a rehash of rehashes which they had done in their recent flicks. Sad to say that this time no good comedies were there in the movie other than loud scream by the actors. If we closely look into their career graph, we can see that they can surely create a tight script with surprises. But this festival flick has no solid storyline or screenplay or nice dialogues. Climax part was weak and thattikkoottu to the core.

Direction by Jos Thomaas was fine. He tried his best to uplift certain scenes. Scenes as such was fine. But as a movie it lacks the pace and a nice packaging.

Overall a rehash of rehashes which provides no comedies though labelled as comedy entertainer. Wait for DVD and watch this 2hr 40 min movie in less than an hour or get the DVD of Mayamohini which was far better than this one.

Verdict : Below Average
BO Verdict : Vacation season and Dileep's family audience might make this one a hit

DAIVATHINTE SWANTHAM CLEETUS

DAIVATHINTE SWANTHAM CLEETUS

Theatre : Aluva Matha
Showtime & Date : 6.15pm, 12-09-2013
Status : Balcony NO IDEA, FC 40%

Benny P Nayarambalam once again joins with Mammootty after Chattambinadu which was a fun filled entertainer for DAIVATHINTE SWANTHAM CLEETUS directed by debutant Marthandan. Whether movie entertains as Chattambinaadu?? Lets see

Story
A drama troupe plans a Bible drama. They are in search of a person to play the role of Jesus. Cleetus(Mammootty) enters the scene as the actor, who is a goon, to play Jesus. What happens there. Nothing more

Performances
First of all, it may be the first script of Benny P Nayarambalam with least well written characters.
Mammootty as Cleetus had nothing much or new to do. Another dull performance from Mammootty. Even THAPPANA had an energetic performance than this. Honey Rose as Lakshmi was cliched and she did an ok job only. Vijayaraghavan though he performed well, his character was incomplete in all aspects. Siddhique as usual did a fine job. P Balachandran too. Rejath Menon had nothing much to do. Abu Salim, Vinayagan, Aju Varghese, Anoop Chandran, Kailash all makes the scene worse. Kottayam Nazeer had something different but whether to make the character comic or villaneous make the scene again worse. Moorkhan Jose as police officer was another wastely executed role by director & scrip writer.

Songs & BGM
Both by Bijibal. Songs were below average ones and badly picturised. BGM for Mammootty's intro scene was good. Rest of the BGM was a big failure.

Technical
Nothing much to rave about. A lazy work by Editor Shyam. Editing could have been crisp at many parts especially action scenes. Art direction was good.

Script & Direction
For me Benny P Nayarambalam's boring script was SPANISH MASALA. Even Puthiya Theerangal was ok to an extent. But this one crosses all the limits. Lack of a clear storyline and rehash of many film stories makes the final storyline a confusing one for scriptwriter itself I hope. Whether to make it full length comedy movie or one like Chattambinadu an action comedy entertainer. But lack of the former makes the script proceedings dull and boring which provides nothing new for the audience where as it tests patience at times too. Comedies were trademarks of Benny's script. May be this one will be his script with least comedy numbers.Also included ones didn't work as expected because of poor direction, bad choice of actors and cliched items. Moorkhan Jose scene seeing Mammootty as Jesus in Drama rehearsal camp was irritiating at peak level and audience were commenting and booing. A bad work from Benny

Debutant Marthandan disappoints big time. Offers nothing new in making or presenting well the script. Not at all promising debut by the director.

Overall a movie, which has a mixed storyline of many movies, and which has to be released in 1980s released in 2013 with the very same making style as in 1980s.

Verdict : Big Bore
BO Verdict : Flop

I think the part of storyline had enough elements to be a good entertainer without mass elements. Siddhique's or P Balachandran's, don't know which role was supposed to be for Rajan P Dev if the movie was released years back.

MEMORIES

MEMORIES

Theatre : Aluva Zeenath Screen 2
Showtime & Date : 12.00pm, 15-08-2013
Status : Housefull

Jeethu Joseph who started his career with an investigation flick - Suresh Gopi starrer DETECTIVE is back to that genre after a hatrick success with MUMMY n ME & MY BOSS. Does the movie promises the ample thrills?? Lets see

Story
Its the same old wine - Sam Alex(Prithviraj)who was once a brilliant police officer is now on leave and a drunkard now because of his personal tragedy. He was asked to take up a case which he starts and finishes well, as usual towards the end it becomes personal.

Performances
Prithviraj was good as Sam Alex, especially in first half. He performed well in scenes with Nedumudi Venu. Its a big break for Rahul Madhav. Nedumudi Venu and Vijayaraghavan was good and Suresh Krishna was apt. Sreejith Ravi gets typecasted where as Madhupal is wasted. Kuttickal Jayachandran was fine in his cameo, so are Irshad & Praveen though nothing much to do. Rest of the cast were fine. Mia was an unwanted role as Varsha, the journalist while Meghna Raj had nothing to do in cameo.

Songs & BGM
Only one song in the movie which could have been avoided that adds as a speed breaker. BGM was good in towards interval and towards climax portions. But on other proceedings BGM failed.

Technical
Cinematography was fine, Editing could have been a bit more tighter. Graphics work was not upto the mark though the idea was awesome.

Script & Direction
Both departments are handled by Jeethu Joseph himself. Though the story is the same old wine, a mix of Mohanlal starrers MUKHAM & GRANDMASTER, it is the screenplay and packaging by Jeethu which makes the product a bit different. First half was more focussed on character development and from few minutes before interval, the movie falls on track. The flashback episodes were routine and the interrogation scene was the most funniest one in the film. Dialogues at few scenes were superb, but at other times, it was too artificial. Second half was much better and the detailing by director needs mention though many are left unanswered. Eventhough the suspense revealing scene and final encounter between main characters do not make any impact, it is the question to HOW(those who watched the movie may understand) he saved makes a better impression for the movie altogether(similar impact which S J Suryah could create in the climax of Newtonin Moondram Vidhi). Direction by Jeethu could have been better though initial and climax scenes were well executed, at times the movie lacks the pace.

Overall a well-written investigation flick

Verdict : Engaging Thriller
BO Verdict : Hit

NEELAKASHAM PACHAKKADAL CHUVANNA BHOOMI

NEELAKASHAM PACHAKKADAL CHUVANNA BHOOMI

Theatre : Aluva Madhurya
Showtime & Date : 6.15pm, 11-08-2013
Status : Housefull

Samir Thahir, after Chappa Kurishu is back with his second flick with Second Show team - Dulquer Salman & Sunny Wayne in major roles in a road movie with an interesting title. Does the movie makes an impact?? Lets see

Story
Qasi(Dulquer Salman) is going for a road journey in his motorcycle without a proper destination. Suni(Sunny Wayne), his college mate and friend joins him. The destination somehow ends at Nagaland for Qasi to meet his love - Asi. Its all about the people they are meeting in between.

Performances
Dulquer Salman as Qasi was good. Sunny Wayne repeats his Second Show as Asi in Kannur slang with well written set of oneliners and sequences for him. Joy Mathew was apt. Rest of the casts did their part. Heroine did what the script demanded and freshness was there in her characterisation as a Nagaland native. Needs special mention for actors on other state episodes.

Songs & BGM
Both disappoints big time. Not a single song was hummable. BGM, which had a lot to do in a movie like this was a total disappointment.

Technical
Cinematography by Girish Gangadharan was fine. Though these many locations from Kerala to Nagaland was involved, cinematography lacked the charm at many places. May be ebcause the script focused more on characters and a travelling mood than visual beauty. The travelling mode work by cinematographer needs special mention. Sreekar Prasad did a neat job in editing, especially the flashback episodes and traces in present mode was just superb.

Script & Direction
A clear oneline was there. Hero with his friend going from Kerala to Nagaland to find his love and the incidents he meets in between and the impact on him. But screenplay by Hashir Mohammed was a clear failure I should say at majority portions. First half was a blank paper except the flashback scenes. It was just a travelogue with no dialogues most of the time. The Puri episode was boring and lengthy whereas the village episode was another Swades rehash. But second half was better with well written scenes till the climax portions though dragging was there at times. The mechanic episode was superb. Ganja episode at Railway station was an avoidable one. Climax was a big letdown. Dialogues were good and subtitles were class.

Direction by Samir Thahir was not upto the mark I should say. It is commendable that he produced and directed this road movie, the first of its kind in Malayalam Cinema. But the direction(with script) fails big time in creating an emotional attachment for characters with audience leading to a dull reaction for a happy ending episode.

Overall a commendable effort with a dull first half and a better second half.

Verdict : Its New, but halfbaked
BO Verdict : Expecting a HIT

THALAIVAA

THALAIVAA

Theatre : Aluva Casino
Showtime & Date : 6.00pm, 09-08-2013
Status : HOUSEFULL

First of all, THANKS to all those "great people" who watched this movie yesterday at outside India theatres and for putting negative reviews.

A Vijay starrer after Thuppakki, a mega mass teaser and a well cut trailer though increased hype, the name of the director and his previous track record made a small doubt. So how's the movie??? If that's the question, read here.

Story
Vishwa(Vijay) is doing business in Australia. His father Rama aka Anna(Sathyaraj) is a leader in Mumbai. To avoid his son know what he's doing, he sends Vishwa to Australia and visits him once in a year. Things change when Vishwa falls in love and takes her and her father to Mumbai to meet his father. The rest is villains killing Anna and Vishwa becoming the next THALAIVAA with some interesting twists and good as well as cliched sequences.

Performances
In the first half, Vijay is just that cute simple lover boy and in second half he's at his full energy carrying the whole movie. As in THUPPAKKI, its the character and not the image of Vijay which carries the film. His scenes with Sathyaraj and his histronics and dialogue delivery was superb. Sathyaraj makes a strong presence as Anna. The intro scene itself was too good. Amala Paul though her makeup is a bit over the board, she had considerably improved in acting and a big round of applause for dubbing in her own voice. In song sequences too she shines. Santhanam as usual with his witty oneliners makes audience laugh. All other actors did their part as needed for the movie.

Songs & BGM
Songs lacked the tempo though the ecstacy of love and Sol Sol fits well. THALAIVAA and Vaanganna song were picturised badly. BGM was good at parts.

Technical
Nirav Shah's cinematography was top class. Editing was good. Art Direction needs special mention.

Script & Direction
Story by A L Vijay(not exactly) is as old as hill one. Screenplay had nice moments in first half with a good interval punch. Second half was too predictable though director included some nice sequences. And climax was routine. Still the movie is worth a watch as this one is an A L Vijay style of making and above all the actor VIJAY is used more than the star ILAYATHALAPATHY VIJAY.


Verdict : Mass presented in a classy way
BO Verdict : Hit

PULLIPULIKALUM AATTINKUTTIYUM

PULLIPULIKALUM AATTINKUTTIYUM

Theatre : Aluva Matha
Showtime & Date : 12.15pm, 09-08-2013
Status : Balcony Almost Full, FC 55%
 
Lal Jose - Kunchacko Boban - Sindhuraj teams up after Superhit ELSAMMA ENNA AANKUTTY which gave Kunchacko Boban a new image. Expectations were a bit high for this as the trailer, songs and song picturisation were to good. Whether it lives upto expectation?? Lets see

Story
Just watch the trailer, the storyline is clearly there.

Performances
Once again Kunchacko Boban impresses with his ease in comedy and dialogue delivery as Aadu Gopan aka Chakka Gopan. He carries the whole movie from start to end. In action sequence too he shines. Irshad as Chakka Mani surprises us with ample fun in histronics and face expressions. Shiju as Chakka Vijayan was a revelation and sure to give this actor a new image. His "Ingere njan thaallilla" scenes were good. Joju as Chakka Suku had the oneliners which he delivered superbly. Suraj Venjarammood impresses on big screen without his cliche items after a long time. Harisree Asokan was superb with witty oneliners. Its his good comeback. Namitha Pramod as Kainakari Jayasree impresses with her ease in acting. She is sure to stay in Malayalam Cinema. Also Anusree with her typical dubbing style. Shammi Thilakan as Kuryachan once again entertains us. Chaali Pala in his cameo was good. All other actors did their part well.

Sreenivasan once again as a narrator of the story impresses us with his voice over.

Songs & BGM
Songs by Vayalar SharathChandra Varma - Vidyasagar team are already chartbusters which was picturised superbly. BGM perfectly fits to the whole movie especially "Chakka Gopa, Nee Pettu Gopa". Also the lyrics by LalJose, the small humming portions was too good.

Technical
It was S Kumar show all the way. Every frame was a visual. Cinematography work on backwaters need special appreciation. Editing was crisp. Art Direction by GokulDas Mohandas was awesome.

Script & Direction
The same team's previous flick Elsamma enna Aankutty was just a tad above average flick for me. In all Sindhuraj scripts, second half was out of track. This time, he changed that track. The movie had enough fun elements in both halves making it a full length fun film. Dialogues were superb at many parts.

Yes, the captain of the ship - LAL JOSE. He did his part as usual. Took the movie to another level by his direction. Nothing more to say other than a neat work with that cute LalJose touch.

Overall a simple neat fun film of the season. Enjoy with families and kids.
Verdict : Good Family Entertainer
BO Verdict : HIT

PATTATHU YAANAI

PATTATHU YAANAI

Theatre : Aluva Matha
Showtime & Date : 3.00pm, 27-07-2013
Status : Balcony No idea, FC 30%

Rehashing a winning formula is not a crime in Cinema if its done neatly. Vishal-Bhoopathy Pandian teams up after a well made mass entertainer MALAIKOTTAI which had good songs. Whether this time it works??? Lets see

Story
Gauravam(Santhanam) runs a catering service. He recruits 5 new people - Saravanan(Vishal) and his friends. Gauravam runs into trouble when he cancels goon's catering order and takes up police officer's by sending him to jail. This forces them to leave to Trichy to start a new hotel. The rest is the same MALAIKOTTAI story with an as old as hill flashback for Saravanan.

Performances
Vishal is not at his best. Except song sequences and with Santhanam scenes, he looks like he's not that interested. Even in action scenes, he is not at his best which is for the first time in his career I hope. Debutant Aishwarya Arjun(Daughter of actor Action King Arjun) is not that promising. She plays the cliched social worker-student role who has to fall in love with hero after initial scenes and just 2 scenes to cry and songs. Santhanam entertains and irritates. If he's not too careful about script, he'll be on the lines of Vadivelu soon. The initial scenes of Santhanam was too lengthy and boring though dialogues at times were fine. The cfinal portions of Santhanam were good. Panchu Arunachalam wasted in a single scene role. Villains were usual - loud and TATA SUMO. Rest of the cast were ok only. The one who played villain's henchman was good in comic scenes.

Songs & BGM
Songs by Thaman were disappointing. And badly picturised ones too. The biggest plus points of Vishal movies so far is adrenaline pumping BGM score which takes scenes to a mass level. Here Sabesh-Murali team disappoints big.

Technical
Everything as usual except editing. Editing was a bit too bad I must say.

Script & Direction
Is this the same Bhoopathy Pandian who made MALAIKOTTAI & THIRUVILAIYADAL AARAMBHAM. Story, though a rehashed one of MALAIKOTTAI had a mass element in it. But the 80's model flashback episode for hero and forced comedy scenes makes screenplay lagging and boring. Remember, MALAIKOTTAI & THIRUVILAIYADAL AARAMBHAM had no separate comedy track or stars. It was the leads and their relative roles who did the job well. Here everything is out of place. Post flashback scenes were a lot MALAIKOTTAI inspired ones. Dialogues by Srinivas was disappointing. Interval punchline was a rehash of THIMIRU & MALAIKOTTAI, but lacked punch.

Direction too lacked sincerety. The whole movie was like completed just because we started this. A disappointing work.

On the whole, if you get the DVD of this movie, make sure that FORWARD button works well.
Verdict : Disappointing
BO Verdict : Flop to Disaster

BUDDY

BUDDY

Theatre : Aluva Zeenath Screen 1
Showtime & Date : 6.15pm, 07-07-2013
Status : Balcony no idea, FC 40%

BUDDY is the new film by debutant RAAJ PRABHAVATHY MENON. A well edited trailer and release by UTV Motion Pictures were the calling cards. Whether the movie surprised??? Lets see

Story
Two ladies - an Indian English writer(Asha Sharath) and a dancer(Bhumika Chawla) discloses their child Kunju(Midhun of Black Butterfly fame) on his 18th birthday that he was the product of artificial insemnation. Kunju founds out that his father is Manikunju Thaadikkaaran(Anoop Menon) from hospital records & meets him. Rest is one hundred times told same old wine.

Performances
This one is the film in recent times which had the best or near perfect miscasting.
Anoop Menon as Manikunju Thaadikkaaran was in usual Anoop Menon style of acting & style of dialogues with an overdose of Mohanlal. Asha Sharath looked out of place & Bhumika Chawla looked too young for the role. Srikanth was wasted. BalachandraMenon's comeback did not make any impact in this poorly written role. Babu Antony had nothing to do, so as the serial artist who played the cook role. Arun was just ok in his small role. Lal and T G Ravi in their scenes were the only better ones. Aju Varghese disappoints big time in this cliched role which was executed poorly. Anil Murali was routine. Honey Rose just for one song and one scene with no dialogues.

Songs & BGM
Songs by Navneeth Sundar were okay  only. Some of them had many old A R Rahman tunes rehashed. BGM by Gopi Sundar as usual worked especially second half towards climax.

Technical
Editing - I won't say bad, what else can be done with whatever taken and what director says. Art direction was good. Costumes by Sameera Saneesh needs special mention.

Here comes the high positive point of this movie which makes us sit till the final scene - CINEMATOGRAPHY. Prakash Kutty who debuted with Kunchacko Boban-AnilBabu movie INGANE ORU NILAPAKSHI, after a gap is back. AWESOME WORK. EVERY FRAME WAS A VISUAL WITH GREAT COLOUR COMBINATION. ACTION SEQUENCE WAS WELL TAKEN, ABOVE AN AMAL NEERAD WORK.

Script & Direction
Story & Screenplay by Raaj Prabhavathy Menon itself. A decent plot on the hangover of Vicky Donor was there. A storyline which a good director could make us engaging too. But the sceenplay was horrible. Just like Manikunju character in the movie, the screenplay also lacked a presence of mind or direction. The problem I felt was what to do till the final portion was an empty page which was filled with routine TV serial stuff. Dialogues by Bipin Chandran disappointed a lot. Is this the same person who worked in DADDY COOL??? Forced kind of newgen items couldn't make any impact in screenplay or for the movie

Direction was fine in respective scenes at times. But as a whole movie, a below average work. Action Sequence as such was superb. Certain scenes were well executed and some others in rather poor manner.

Overall BUDDY minus Cinematographer PrakashKutty is below below average

Verdict : Watch it only for Cinematography
BO Verdict : Flop to Disaster
WAITING FOR A LAL JOSE - PRAKASH KUTTY WORK SOON.

The same plot if given to Priyadarsan or Lal Jose could have made wonders.

Don't know whether Mr or Miss or Mrs, whatever Raaj Prabhavathy Menon, putting such a lengthy name in direction part and influence of english in dialogues will not help in making another Gautham Vasudeva Menon