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

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.

BHARYA ATHRA PORA

BHARYA ATHRA PORA

Theatre : Aluva Madhurya
Showtime & Date : 11.35am, 05-05-2013
Status : 50%

After VERUTHE ORU BHARYA which gave Jayaram a comeback, the same team - Akku Akbar, GireeshKumar Jayaram,Gopika unites again for BHARYA ATHRA PORA. Is this one a rehash of previous venture?? DDefinitely not - this time more entertaining & engaging with a good shocking climax episode.

Story
Sathyanathan(Jayaram), a school teacher is an alcoholic who has immense love for P Bhaskaran songs. He lives with his wife Priya(Gopika) & son Bhas aka Bhaskaran(master Ken Sanal).The story unfolds when Sathyanathan becomes too alcoholic & starts using facebook. Watch rest on screen.

Performances
Jayaram, after a long time makes a strong performance. At times, the character is a caricature to show newgen language which Jayaram does with ease & deserves applause. Gopika as Priya was usual till the final 25min. The final lap makes her the star of the movie. Thanks to the wellmade character. Siddhique in his limited role impresses us once again. Reena Basheer was usual. Aju Varghese was fine at parts. Sunil Sagatha is wasted. Balachandran Chullikkad had a fine set of dialogues towards climax which he delivered well. Arun Ghosh was fine as SI Paul. Veronica once again impresses as Thandamma.

Songs & BGM
Only one song in the movie which works well because of picturisation. BGM was usual.

Technical
Cinematography was fine. Editing could have been better in second half. Art direction was good.

Script & Direction
Script y K GireeshKumar was a good one. Though from start itself script mentions about newgen, the final hour makes it work well. Dialogues were good at parts. Final parts of the movie was too good which was shocking at the same time a reality in current society. Though movie takes off slowly in first half, the movie never makes us boring. One of the best climax scene in recent times which sans all the cliches of the typical climax of movies of same genre.

Direction by Akku Akbar could have been better at parts. He did a fine job except in newgen portions. It was lengthy and sans reality at many points.

On the whole a good family entertainer.

Must watch for all those who are married & going to marry
Verdict : Family Entertainer
BO Verdict : Hit

Ladies will surely like this one as many scenes and dialogues will be applauded by them, especially the climax & the scene in which Gopika blocks Jayaram before slapping her.

FACE 2 FACE

FACE 2 FACE

Theatre : Aluva Matha
Showtime & Date : 6.15pm, 30-11-2012
Status : Balcony No Idea, FC 40%

Mammootty after a string of flops is back with new release FACE 2 FACE directed by V M Vinu. Interested to read more???

Story
Balachandran(Mammootty) is a police officer under suspension is now a real estate delar & share market broker. He's a drunkard too which created a seperation in family life in the past with Jayasree(Ragini Trivedi). A murder happens in the town & Balachandran's former colleague Prasad(Siddhique) deals the case with Kalabhavan Mani. Initially Prasad suspected Balachandran & later Balachandran decides to find the truth.

Performances
Mammootty was good in parts. For the first time, Mammootty looked very bad in a police uniform on screen like Suraj playing dummy police officer role. Radhika Trivedi was just okay in her 3 scenes. Siddhique as usual was good. Vijayaraghavan repeats his role in movie Nasrani again. Don't know what was the relevance of Roma & Vineeth Kumar. Kalabhavan Mani & Mamukoya shines in their roles. Rest of the cast including newfaces were horrible.

Songs & BGM
Both departments by Alphons. Songs were too loud mixed with rap music & executed very badly with worst picturisation. BGM, though lacks thrill, but was fresh for the theme in first half.

Technical
Ajayan Vincent's camera was good at parts. Rest were nothing worth to be mentioned.

Script & Direction
Theme was a socially relevant one debutant Manoj executed the screenplay in a very bad manner. First half though predictable had enough moments to keep the audience engaged with fine oneliners in between. Second half was a big letdown without a proper ending. Direction by V M Vinu was good in first half. Second half looks like it was directed by someone who came to see shooting. Performances by newcomers in second half was enough to make the audience boo. Songs were misplaced ones with bad picturisation

On the whole, an engaging first half & bad second half with no climax.
Verdict : Watch first half in DVD and trash it
BO Verdict : Disaster

Anyone interested to know the reason behind the title FACE 2 FACE?? Here's the clue


തോക്ക് താഴെയിടെടാ

എടാ തോക്ക് താഴെയിടാന്‍


നിന്റഛനാടാ പറയുന്നെ തോക്ക് താഴെയിടെടാ

GRANDMASTER

GRANDMASTER

Theatre : TVM Ajantha

Showtime & Date : 6.00pm, 05-05-2012

Status : Housefull

B Unnikrishnan, the scenarist of some engaging movies as well as some craps is back with Mohanlal again after the successful movie Madambi. The movie also marks the entry of  UTV MOTION PICTURES into malayalam cinema. The movie had created some hype with the niitial photoshoot stills itself portraying Mohanlal as an aged cop. Whether movie satisy us?? Lets take a look

Story

Chandrashekhar(Mohanlal) is the chief of Metro Crime Stopper Cell in Kochi. He was a former national level chess player & a divorced person after an issue with Deepthi(Priyamani) 10 years ago. The movie though begins with a mission, the show really starts when he gets an anonymous letter from a killer who wants the smart Chandrasekhar, like him 10 years before back in action to make his psychic killing spree a thrilling one. Though initially Chandrasekhar resists to take up the job, later he decides to play the game with the killer.

Performances

Mohanlal as Chandrasekhar looked great. Acting wise this one is a cakewalk role for him, nothing special other than his aged looks & character of a father of 16 year old. In action sequences & in dialogue delivery, as always he shines. Once again a fact got proved - Even though the character is a simple man, a simple usual dialogue becomes a punchline, only if it is delivered by the actor Mohanlal. Narien was wasted in a simple role, Jagathy too. Siddhique scores as usual eventhough he's there in movie in just 2 scenes. Babu Antony's initial scenes were superb with the mannerisms of a psychic, but somehere in between it lost. In climax episode, he was good. Manikuttan, Devan, Roma, Mithra Kurien,Riyaz Khan, Anoop Menon, Priyamani were usual characters only. Mithra Kurien didn't look the mirror during makeup session I think, HORRIBLE!!!

Songs & BGM

Songs were fine. Aaranu Nee song was a speed breaker picturised in a comparititvely low profile sets. Akaleyo was well picturised. BGM lacks the punch.

Technical

Cinematography was just ordinary. Editing lacks the thrill needed to be maintained for these kind of flicks. Art Direction was good. Dileep Subbarayan's fights were realistic.

Script & Direction

Script by B Unnikrishnan had a strong base oneline to be converted to a smart thriller. But the screenplay fails & falls into cliche pits of predictability at many times. The villain of the film was very much predictable in first half itself. Towards the second half, the reason for that too becomes predictable. Still the movie manages to engage the audience with its simplicity in proceedings. The movie seems to have required a wide canvas to execute this one. Then why it didn't happen when UTV was there?? I don't know. Mohanlal saves the show at many parts. The climax was a big failure as it becomes everything predictable because of last two years' biggest hits' shades were there. Dialogues were simple & fine. Also the style he mixes those lines for fans is a commendable one which would have been a out of the box stuff if not good.

Direction by B Unnikrishnan was engaging altogether. Climax execution was a failure. It ended as a cliche item. Shades of Shaji Kailas style as usual was there throughout the movie. Also we may feel that the script writer had a lot to tell the audience & director too wants to execute another set along with the other. Direction could have been a lot lot better. 

Overall an engaging onetime watch

Verdict : Tads above average

BO Verdict : Hit