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

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

MUMBAI POLICE

MUMBAI POLICE

Theatre :Aluva Zeenath Screen 1
Showtime & Date : 3.00pm, 04-05-2013
Status: Balcony 45%, FC 75%

Rosshan Andrrews-Bobby-Sanjay team is back after the disaster Cassanova with Mumbai Police, a thriller genre one

 
Story
Antony Mosses IPS, ACP(Prithviraj) mets with an accident when he was about to reveal the culprit of Aryan John ACP(Jayasurya) murder case to Commissioner Farhan(Rahman).After accident Antony had memory loss & he tries to solve the case once again is the rest.

Performances
Prithviraj as Antony Mosses post accident episode was good but in the past episode, he was artificial. In looks too he was not at his best when compared to his previous police roles. Rahman was good while Jayasurya was ok only, especially in parade scenes he lacks the police finese in looks & actions. Rest of the cast had nothing much to do though Kunjan had a scene to score which was an unwanted scene in the movie. Riyaz Khan in his cameo impresses.

Songs & BGM
No songs in the movie. Is it the same Gopi Sundar who impressed us with many awesome BG scores. His worst work in recent times.

Technical
Cinematography was fine. Editing could have been better a lot. Art Direction was fine. Action choreography was good.

Script & DirectionIs this the same Bobby-Sanjay team who gave us TRAFFIC. The storyline was a good one but the screenplay was in a confused state I hope like whether tto make in non linear or linear in a stretch especially flashback episode and whether to make it a forcefully made newgen theme. Script had a lot of unwanted scenes which had nothing to do with proceedings of the story. Interval block was a simple one which makes no interest. Many good scenes were conveyed through dialogues and bad ones were made into scenes. Overall an average work on script by the team.

Rosshan Andrrews did his part but direction lacked thrill. These type of films need thrills at regular intervals to keep audience engaging till climax. Like a sensex graph the pace of the film goes up & down at regular intervals. The film deserved a Joshiy style of approach. The hollywood standard adapted definitely won't work with the starcast & the theme in malayalam cinema.

Verdict : Average(at max)
BO Verdict : Flop

CELLULOID

CELLULOID

Theatre : Aluva Zeenath Screen 1
Showtime & Date : 6.15pm, 16-02-2013
Status : Balcony No Idea, FC 25%

CELLULOID is the unknown story of father of MALAYALAM CINEMA.

Story
Its the story of J C Daniel(Prithviraj) & his lifestory from 1928-1979, the difficulties he faced to make VIGATHAKUMARAN(first malayalam cinema), his life after that.

Performances
Prithviraj as J C Daniel & his son Harris has done a decent job. As J C Daniel in first half, his Trivandrum slang & certain scenes were a bit artificial. In second half, he maintained the slang & modulation well. As Harris, in climax scene he was good. Sreenivasan once again proved why he is still there in Malayalam Cinema. There are a set of dialogues which Sreenivasan alone can make audience clap. T G Ravi was superb in his single crying scene who played old age character played by his real life son Sreejith Ravi. The CINEMALA member as the actor in movie was nice. Ramesh Pisharady made us laugh with "AYYO ENGLISH". Mamta was fine.She too faced the slang problem, may be more than Prithviraj.  Siddhique.Jayan, Chembil Ashokan...all supporting cast were apt.

Its CHANDNI who played Rosi stealed the show though she was not even mentioned in climax portions(could have been done that).

Songs & BGM
Songs fits well to the movie. Thanks to the superb modulation of singers. BGM was fine. Could have been a lot better for a movie like this.

Technical
Awesome crew I should say. Makeup by Pattanam Rasheed & Costumes by S B Satheesan needs special mention. Cinematography by Venu was superb. Editing was apt. Art direction definitely needs an appreciation. The whole crew's hardwork was seen in every frame.

Script & Direction
Both departments handled by Kamal. Script by Kamal was apt, simple & straight forward. Cinematic approach was less. Script flows like a biography. Dialogues were simple. Hardwork done by Kamal in researching J C Daniel was evident throughout. Direction was top notch.

On the whole a good movie on the lines of THIRAKKADHA, but a more realistic one & strictly one time watch to know who is J C Daniel

Verdict : Good
BO Verdict : Can't say, at max, a hit level

Family audiences, I don't think they'll enjoy these type in cinema halls other than in major centres. Another movie which will get appreciated for effort when watched on DVD by major Kerala audience

TEJA BHAI & FAMILY

TEJA BHAI & FAMILY

ദിലീപിന്‍റെ നാട്ടില്‍ നിന്നൊരു പൃഥിരാജ് ചിത്രത്തിന്റെ റിവ്യൂ
Theatre : Aluva Matha
Showtime & Date : 11.20am, 30-08-2011
Status : Balcony around 50%, FC 55%

After the runaway hit CRAZY GOPALAN(a good revenge story with a good second half), Dipu Karunakaran is back in tinsel town with his new movie TEJA BHAI & FAMILY which was promoted like the image makeover of Prithviraj as a comic hero sadly fails in almost all departments to entertain.

Story
Teja Bhai(Prithviraj) is a highly paid underworld don in Malaysia who falls in love with a social worker Vedia(Akhila) without revealing his real identity & meets her as Roshan Varma. Things change when her father Damodarji(Thalaivasal Vijay) decides her marriage as per priest(a comic baffoon character) Vashyavachas said(Suraj Venjarammood) whom in which Damodarji strongly believe.With the help of Vashyavachas, Teja introduces himself as Roshan Varma who is from a reputed family. Damodarji asks Vashyavachas to be with Roshan & get his family details. Roshan aka Teja, by the time with the help of Vashyavachas himself tries to find his lost parents at the age of three ending up with a group of fake relatives to be with him to make the marriage happen. The rest is whether Vedika & Damodarji comes to know about Teja & whether they unite.

Performances
Prithviraj, though marketed as his comic role didn't delivered a single scene which will make us laugh. As a don in malaysia episode too, he looks bad(His look in Thanthonni was perfect for this role). When Suraj enters the movie, Prithviraj was seen in few scenes only. His intro scene was horrible. Suraj as Vashyavachas tried his best to save the movie. Sadly he too fails. Except a very few oneliners, nothing worked. The best scenes in movie belongs to him - the final shot & the scene in which he imitates Mohanlal in Chithram. Salimkumar had a Mahabharatham storytelling episode & one dialogue to make us laugh. Bheeman Raghu in his cameo imitating Mammootty of Rajamanikyam didn't work. But the scene in which Suraj imitating Bheeman Raghu in his presence was good. Akhila was just a showcase item in the movie. Thalaivasal Vijay was ok. Suman as baddie was just another routine role for him. Asokan was just ok in his role. Nedumudi Venu, as usual, eventhough a cameo role scores. Shobha Mohan had no dialogues & just 2 shots in the movie. Shakeela couldn't make in any impact in his cameo. Rest of the cast - Jagathy Sreekumar, Kochu Preman, Premkumar, Nandulal, Indrans, Kollam Thulasi, Bindu Panicker, Manju Pillai, Manka Mahesh & a set of kids were there to fill the screen only.

Songs & BGM
Deepak Dev disappoints this time. Except Shishiranilavil, nothing worked. Remix of Oru Madhurakkinavin didn't work as expected. In BGM, you can find lots of Hollywood, Bollywood, Tamil & Telugu movie BGMs.

Technical
Cinematography by Shamdath was OK. Art direction was fine. Action sequences lacked freshness & picturised in an ordinary manner only. The real villain of the movie is the editor Manoj. I think he was sleeping for the first 15-20 minutes. Editing was bad as a whole.

Script & Direction
Both departments are handled by Dipu Karunakaran. Basic story had all the elements to be a mass entertainer. But the screenplay lacks the punch to make it entertaining. Everything was predictable & many scenes looks similar to rehash of old Priyadarsan movies like Boeying Boeying. Though the movie was marketed as comedy movie, comedy was too old fashioned & artists tried their best to make us laugh, but without proper script & bad dialogues, what they could do. Director seems to be unclear of how he could present the movie before the audience. Teja Bhai as don was presented very badly on screen as a not at all serious one. Many scenes looks like a TV serial at times. Climax was just rehash of Pokkiriraja climax. Direction lacks experience & many frames & shots look repeated & a copy of some other language movies. Dipu Karunakaran did an OK job only.

Verdict : Strictly a one time watch if u have nothing else to do or no other movies left on theatres
BO Verdict : No competition for 9 days & wide release might help this one to enter safe side, but whether budget of 6.5c will be covered is yet to be watched.

The hardwork in script & execution seen in CRAZY GOPALAN was absolutely missing in this one. This one eneded as just a movie to project Prithviraj among family audience, some dialogues in the movie too tells that.

If u watch this movie on DVD, you can finish it in just 1 hour