FOUR FRIENDS

FOUR FRIENDS

Theatre : TVM Dhanya
Showtime & Date : 2.30pm, 28-10-2010
Status : Balcony Full, FC 98%

Ater back to back hits, Ivar Vivahitharaayaal & Happy Husbands(one of the biggest hits of 2010), Saji Surendran-Krishna Poojappura-Anil Nair team is back with their new flick FO(U)R FRIENDS. I'll rate it as the disaster movie of 2010. Though movie had a promising team behind, nothing works on screen this time. CRAP MOVIE.

The positives I felt was
1. Kunchacko Boban's performance in the hospital scene in second half
2. Jayasuriya's oneliners in first half
3. Salimkumar's emotional scene
4. Suraj Venjarammood's dialogues, though repetitive

Story
So called story(which is missing here) revolves around 4 characters.
Roy(Jayaram), a multimillionaire and an orphan, Suriya(Kunchacko Boban), an MBA student, only son of Lalu Alex(Chackochan's onscreen father again after Niram & MummynMe) & Seema, Amir(Jayasuriya) an illiterate goon who will do anything for his sister & mother(Sukumari) & Gowri(Meera Jasmine), who too have an emotional flashback. All 4 are cancer patients & they meet at a cancer treatment centre run by GaneshKumar. All 4 become friends & they decides to enjoy life before they die. All 4 plans a trip to Malaysia to meet Vineetha(Sarayu), Suriya's lover.

Performances
Jayaram as Roy was a miscast and he looks too old for the role. Kunchacko Boban as Surya was apt. Though nothing special, the hospital scene in second half was a good one. Jayasuriya as Amir was also an apt casting. His oneliners were the only saving grace of the first half. Meera Jasmine as Gowri surprisingly didn't go over the board and she was ok in that role. Also she looked too young to be Jayaram's pair. Salimkumar had a senti scene which he did well, but none of the comedy scenes worked. Suraj Venjarammood was there with his trademark dialogues. Lalu Alex, Seema, Manikuttan, GaneshKumar, Sarayu were just OK.

Kamal Hassan in his cameo was unimpressive with lenghty unwanted documentary style of dialogues & his own experiences.

Songs
Music by M.Jayachandran was above average. BGM was too loud at many parts. Also using the remix of Sholay song "Yeh Dosthi" music for senti scenes were irritating.

Technical
Anil Nair's cinematography was good at parts. Editing, I won't say anything, because without a proper script what can be done by the editor with the scenes he got on his table. Art direction was good.

Script & Direction
After a hatrick, Krishna Poojappura fails in the script department. I doubt whether a script was there for this movie. The movie was a dull documentary style of one. Don't know why an unwanted action sequence was included in second half. Saji Surendran would have concentrated on script rather than locations, stills, costumes & song picturisation. A bad movie, that was never expected from this team. The sentiment scenes & comedies, nothing worked on screen. Tearjerker serials have much better script. Storyline was interesting. But without a proper screenplay & gripping dialogues, whats the use???

On the whole, a bad movie strictly recommended on TV, if you have no other movies on other channels.

Verdict : Escape
BO Verdict : Flop

Bodyguard, another disaster movie of this year was better compared to this.

People expected a fun-filled ride seeing stills & songs & starcast. People were laughing for senti scenes & crying for those crap scenes called comedy scenes.

ORIDATHORU POSTMAN

ORIDATHORU POSTMAN

Theatre : TVM Kairali
Showtime & Date : 2.30pm, 08-10-2010
Status : Balcony Full, FC 60-70%

Shaji Aseez, one of the directors of Shakespeare M A Malayalam is becoming an independent director with new movie Oridathoru Postman scripted by K.GireeshKumar. The movie works well with the audience at many parts because of its packaging avoiding cliches, subjects it deal & an impressive starcast.

Story
Gangadharan(Innocent) is a lazy postman in Cherumkuzhy Village. He never delivers letters & money orders on time. His son Raghunandanan(Kunchacko Boban) is a very hardworking person who works as a PSC tutorial lecturer, real estate agent, LIC agent....His ambition is to become a govt employee. Once Gangadharan fails to deliver a hall ticket for Raghunandanan & this creates a separation between them which makes Gangadharan a responsible person. But that didn't last long. He got hospitalized & then Raghu came to know that his father was a heart patient. Gangadharan's last wish was to find his old friend Yaasin Mubaraq(SarathKumar) who is a wildlife photographer by profession, but mistaken as a terrorist by media & people. Gangadharan asks Raghu to find & give Yaasin the letters sent by his daughter. The rest of the story is whether Raghu finds Yaasin & the problems he face in his mission to find him.

Performances
Kunchacko Boban as Raghunandanan was simply superb. He's the backbone of the movie. His character was well-etched and presented well. He delivered a smart performance when he comes to know that Innocent's character passed away saying I have nothing with me to Kalabhavan Prajod. SMART PERFORMANCE!!!

SarathKumar as Yaasin Mubaraq was effective & fresh for the role. Innocent was regular. Salimkumar as lottery maniac was a caricature to many in the state, also IbrahimKutty. Kalabhavan Mani as Inspector Shahul Hameed delivered a decent performance. Suraj Venjarammood as constable Abhilash though reminds us of his character in Kunchacko Boban starrer GULUMAAL THE ESCAPE, he was given ample screenspace by script to evoke laughter which works on screen too.. Meera Nandan has nothing much to do. Rest of the characters by GaneshKumar, Shanavas, AnilMurali, Chembil Ashokan, Seema G Nair did their part well. Kalbhavan Prajod was impressive as lottery agent.

Songs
All the three songs by Mohan Sithara were situational ones, which works well with the mood of the movie. BGM was loud at many places & reused ones.

Technical
Cinematography by Anand Balakrishnan was impressive at many parts of the movie with nice visuals. Editing was apt. Art direcction was good.

Script & Direction
I will rate this as the best screenplay of K.GireeshKumar as it had no dull moments(screenplay wise). Also it had lots of social issues like terrorism, after effects of lottery in society, plastic & environment....The best thing was, all these were beautifully blended in the script. Usually movies dealing these subjects used to have dialogues with lots of advices. But here no such dialogues were there. Also characterisation of all were superb. Overall a nice work by K.GireeshKumar. Direction by Shaji Aseez was not so impressive. It had dull moments on screen. But many scenes were taken by avoiding lot of cliches like bomb blasts, public support sequences, dialogues to boost patriotism, advices, court scenes. Everything was executed in simple and clear manner. We can expect more good movies from this director if he improves handling scenes in m uch more effective & faster manner.
Usually these type of movies used to have a comic first half & a serious second half. But here comedy was there in both halves without disturbing the mood of the movie. All comedies were situational ones only.

Verdict : WATCHABLE AVERAGE ONE
BO Verdict : Average - flop

Good marketing might help this movie to be a big success.

ENDHIRAN the ROBOT

ENDHIRAN the ROBOT

Theatre : TVM Ajantha
Showtime & Date : 1.20pm, 01-10-2010
Status : Balcony Full, FC 99%

Director Shankar's ENDHIRAN the ROBOT starring Rajnikanth, which were on news for a long time had finally hit the screens. But don't expect a usual Rajnikanth film here. The movie doesn't live upto the hype created by the makers.

Story
Vaseegaran(Rajnikanth) is a scientist who is working on robotics for 10 years to complete his dream of a ROBOT which can be used by the Indian Army in the warfield. Finally he succeeds in that. The Robot is named Chitty(Rajnikanth again). As in every superhero movie, here also a set of such events like helping the needy is there. But one such incident make Vaseegaran think to give Chitty human emotions so that he can behave according to situation. Sana(Aiswarya Rai) is in love with Vaseegaran. Once Chitty gets human emotions, it falls in love with Sana. Knowing this Vaseegaran destroys Chitty. Vaseegaran's professor is envious of Vaseegaran's work. He helps Chitty to get back into old form to get the technical knowhow of the robot so that he can use that for illegal matters. He programs Chitty with new code of destruction. Chitty abducts Sana to marry her. The rest of the story is how Vaseegaran wins over the robots.

Performances
Rajnikanth as Vaseegaran & Chitty had done justice to his role. Rajnikanth's Vaseegaran character has nothing much to do. But the character Chitty had many shades. In the beginning of the movie, he is clearly a robot. Then it changes to a normal human like one & in second half, the character clearly becomes a villain. At points he was boring, looks too. Aiswarya Rai as Sana has nothing much to do other than routine stuff, Songs, some romantic seq & some scenes. Make up was bad for her at many places. Rest of the characters were just cameo only. Santhanam, Karunas, Cochin Haneefa, Kalabhavan Mani, none of them could evoke a good laughter.

Songs
Music was the biggest plus point of Shankar movies till Sivaji. A.R.Rehman disappoints big this time. Music is a big letdown here, not even a single hummable song. Picturisation of all songs were not at all impressive, very routine tamil film song stuff, what extra is the robot costumes for dance troupe members. Not even good for a second time watch. Songs were misplaced ones. BGM too disappoints.

Technical
Cinematography was good. Editing by Anthony is OK only while considered from the film's flow viewpoint. Otherwise he had done a great job as many scenes were having a lot of CG(Computer Graphics). Second half needs trimming. Art direction was excellent.

Shankar's interest to introduce new technologies was clearly seen in this movie. As per reports, he had used Animatronics & other latest stuffs for CG work. In the first half, it works well. In the second half, it feels repeated & overdone. After spending lots of money for CG, still the scene where a building in fire has been done very badly.


Script & Direction
Shankar who did the script of the movie in late 90s itself(Shankar then planned the movie with Kamal Hassan & Preity Zinta & later Shahrukh Khan, both didn't happen) seems to be inspired from hollywood flicks Terminator Series, Bicentennial Man, Godzilla, i-Robot, The Mask at many parts & Shahrukh Khan's DARR in second half's basic plot. Though engaging, it is presented with routine masala stuff like hero helping the needy, saving heroine from goons, falling in love with another person's girlfriend & stuffs like that. Unnecessary songs were  another negative. Dialogues by Sujatha, Shankar & Karky were good at first half. First half was an engaging one though masala stuff. But second half was a technical show but sadly the poor screenplay & weak plot makes it boring. Also the technical stuff shown were a bit over the board at many parts. Even the robot Rajnikanth, walks & talks like a normal Rajnikanth in Padayappa or Baasha may be be liken by Rajni fans, but for normal viewers it's too illogical. As a fantasy movie it works to an extent. Shankar's routine stuff- a court scene was there in this one's climax too.

Overall an engaging first half, boring & lengthy second half.

Verdict : Srictly a one time watch
BO Verdict : Considering the budget of the movie, it won't end up as a profit maker.

Shankar would have concentrated on script than in technical stuffs. All the technical stuff will work only on a solid screenplay only. MAGADHEERA is a good example I can say. Good CG works which suits well with what the script demands.

BOSS ENGIRA BHASKARAN

Boss Engira Bhaskaran

Theatre : TVM Anjali
Showtime & Date : 6.00pm, 26-09-2010
Status : Balcony : Almost full, FC 45-50%

Rajesh.M who delivered a box office hit with Siva Manasula Shakthi(SMS) is back with his new film Boss Engira Bhaskaran or Boss (A) Bhaskaran featuring Arya in title role.

Story
Boss aka Bhaskaran(arya) is a jobless youth yet to complete his degree arrear papers. His family consists of his elder brother a vetenary doctor, who is upset of not getting married, a sister who always talks as if she is a TV anchor & a temple crazy mother. Boss spends most of his time with his friend Nallathambi(Santhanam) who runs Thala-Thalapathy Saloon. Boss meets Chandrika(Nayantara) who is a trainee lecturer. Boss's brother's marriage happens with Chandrika's sister. Boss expresses his desire to marry Chandrika to her sister. She asks him to be responsible first & then think of marrying Chandrika. In anger, he leaves home to be successful in life. Whether he succeeds in life and how & whether he marries Chandrika is the rest of story.

Performances
Arya as Boss aka Bhaskaran was a role for him to explore his comic side, but sad to say he succeeded in parts only. Nayanthara as Chandrika has nothing much to do other than a routine Tamil movie heroine, just songs & few scenes. Santhanam as NallaThambi simply rocked with his oneliners. He got more screen space in many scenes. But at few parts he was boring. The guy who acted as Arya's brother was refreshing one on screen. He was excellent in first half with good expressions & superb dialogue delivery. Rest of the artists did their part well.

This time it's Jeeva's turn to do cameo appearance. Remember Rajesh.M's Siva Manasula Shakthi with Jeeva in lead had Arya in cameo. Though for very few minutes only he appeared on screen, he proved his comic timing, which the whole movie demanded from Arya.

Songs
Yuvan Shankar Raja remixes his tunes once again. "Yar Antha Ponthaan" is the pick of the lot. Except that song & first song "Boss Boss", rest of the songs acted as speedbreakers.  Picturisation too lacks creativity.BGM was disappointing.

Technical
Cinematography was good at parts. Editing was good in first half, but needs trimming in second half. Art direction was apt.

Script & Direction
Rajesh.M handled both departments. Script by Rajesh.M is on the lines of Siva Manasula Shakthi only, a fast entertainer with light comedies in each and every scene. This time Rajesh tries Venkat Prabhu track too - spoofing situations of old hit films & songs & dialogues in the proceedings. First half was a good one with never a dull moment & the execution also was good. In the second half, the proceedings happens only in snail pace compared to the pace of first half. Also its too predictable once a particular situation is presented before the viewer. Second half needs immediate trimming as the length of the movie exceeds 2.5hrs and second half drags in parts. Direction by Rajesh was nothing special. He executed his script in a normal way only. Also he uses the cliche scenes which we have seen in many films to present it as comic situations in this movie.

On the whole a good first half, tad above average second half.

Verdict : Above Average Comedy Entertainer
BO Verdict : Already a HIT, may become SuperHit as families will enjoy this clean movie.

In my opinion Jeeva was the best person for the role of Boss. Comic timing of Jeeva was superb in SMS. In climax portion once Jeeva starts his play, Arya got sidelined.

ELSAMMA ENNA AANKUTTY

ELSAMMA ENNA AANKUTTY

Theatre : TVM SreePadmanabha
Status : 50%
Showtime & Date : 10.20am, 10-09-10

LalJose's new movie ELSAMMA enna AANKUTTY is not as good as it was expected. But the movie is watchable because of LalJose's making and performances of Kunchacko Boban & Nedumudi Venu.

Story
Story happens in Balanpilla city. Elsamma(Ann Augustine) is the eldest among 4 daughters of KPAC Lalitha. After her father's death, she started working as a newspaper agent/ local reporter for her sisters. Paalunni(Kunchacko Boban) is a milkman and close friend of Elsamma who never revealed his love towards her. Kunnel Pappan's(Nedumudi Venu) close pals are Elsamma & Paalunni. Then comes Aby(Indrajith) & his friends to Balanpilla city. Whats happening there after that is the rest.

Performances
Kunchacko Boban's character Paalunni is not new for him except in looks & some good scenes. He had done a commendable job in a set of scenes like his expressions when Indrajith's character talks in English, his gestures & dialogues in the above shown poster scene & a very well done performance in a scene with Nedumudi Venu in the second half telling like "he needs some time". But sad to say even LalJose too didn't utilised his talent with a not so new character & scenes. Indrajith who had done good job in LalJose movies miserably fails here because of the character he got, limited screenspace & bad dialogues. Ann Augustine as Elsamma was wooden in some scenes & missed fire in scenes like while beating her sister & all. Not so impressive, but not bad. Nedumudi Venu as Kunnel Pappan has done his part well with nice expressions & voice modulation. Jagathy, Suraj Venjaarammood, Vijayaraghavan, Manikkuttan, Manianpilla Raju, Janardhanan.... many artist were there. But sad to say the not so well developed characters, screenplay & bad dialogues spoiled the show. Jagathy & Suraj fails to evoke laughter in most parts.Meera Nandan in her cameo was not impressive. 

Kalabhavan Shajon as suspended SI who is mimicry artist too was impressive in toddy shop scene imitating PremNazir & SureshGopi. Also Kalabhavan Unni as a drunkard who sells his household articles for liquor was impressive with a dialogue " HAAI, ente veettil police".



Songs
Ithile Thozhi was enjoyable because of the visuals in parts. Aamodamaayi was enjoyable as it perfectly suited the situation. Kannadi Chirakulla was a misplaced one & unwanted. BGM was loud at parts & lacks the Rajamani touch.

Technical
Cinematography by Vijay Ulakanath was good at parts only, not so good compared to his Neelathaamara work. Editing was OK only, needs trimming in second half. Art Direction was good.

Script & Direction
The main problem with the movie is the script by M.Sindhuraj. Clearly a half baked one. The movie was expected like changes happen in Balanpilla city because of Aby's friends coming there. But sadly nothing serious happens because of them. If they were not there, then too the very same things in second half can happen. First half was entertaining compared to second half. From the dialogues in the title song itself, the movie creates a negative impact. Dialogues were bad at many parts. The interval scene was bad, the first sequence of post interval too. It reminded me MULLA's interval & first post interval sequence. Second half lags a lot with unwanted melodrama. Climax would have made better. Director LalJose carelessly handled the climax sequence and a set of other scenes, just like he don't have any interest to make this one.

Verdict : Tads above average
BO Verdict : Average----HIT(because of LAL RELEASE)

Never expected such a carelessness in making at many parts of the movie from LalJose

The positives I felt was the Kunchacko Boban-Nedumudi Venu sequence in the second half which was nicely taken with smart dialogues & the performances by them in the whole movie.

NAAN MAHAAN ALLA

NAAN MAHAAN ALLA

Theatre : TVM Athulya
Showtime & Date : 2.30pm, 23-08-2010
Status : Balcony Full, FC 80%

Suseendran, who made his debut with Vennila Kabadikkuzhu joins with Karthi, who already delivered 3 hits(Paruthiveeran, Aayirathil Oruvan, Paiyya) in the new movie NAAN MAHAAN ALLA. Just like the title of the movie, the movie also is not a great one, but it's a better entertainer available now in theaters.

Story
Film opens with the brutal murder of a girl by 4 drug addict students. Jeeva(Karthi) is a jobless youth, a happy go lucky & a very frank person who belongs to a middle class family consisting of his father(Jayachandran) who is a taxi driver, mother & sister. Jeeva meets Priya(Kajal Agarwal) in a friend's marriage function & after a series of events they fall in love. Things change when those diabolic guys tries to kill his father to destroy evidence of a murder they committed. Later they kills Jeeva's father & rest is his revenge.

Performances
Karthi as Jeeva had done a good job. His oneliners & expressions were good. But the final action sequence lacks punch according to the situation which demanded a much more fire brand performance in action too. Kajal Agarwal as Priya looked beautiful & did her part well with nice expressions & far better lip sync from a non-Tamil girl. Jayachandran as Karthi's father had done a commendable job. Rest of the cast were apt for the role especially in looks. The 4 fearless diabolic characters & goons, especially the guy who played the character Royapuram Dada, looked very much convincing.

Songs
After Paiyya, Yuvan Shankar Raja is back with another Karthi movie songs. Though certain tunes were a rehash of his own songs, songs were enjoyable. "Iragai pole" is the pick of the lot which was beautifully picturised too.

Technical
Art direction by Rajeevan was excellent. Cinematography was good. Editing was good in first half, needs trimming towards the climax of the movie. Action by Anal Arasu lacks the punch & freshness at many parts.

Script & Direction
Director Suseendran  had adopted the same formula story of Tamil cinema this time. But what makes this entertaining is the racy screenplay & a realistic approach. The first half of the movie was excellent with good oneliners & nice sequences especially the Karthi's scene with Priya's father & his meeting with Royapuram Dada. Fresh & good dialogues by Bhaskar Shakthi is a major plus point of the movie. The screenplay of second half of the movie could have improved with some interesting sequences. Kajal Agarwal had just two scenes in second half. Even Karthi, the lead role got sidelined in the first 30-40 minutes of the second half , which were fully focused of the villain characters & their planning to kill Jayachandran's character. But finally movie entertains us with the way it is executed. Direction was good. The movie never lacked the pace at any part of the film. Nothing more to say a good first half, an above average second half.

Verdict : Above Average
BO Verdict : Hit

In Kerala Box Office, this one is going to be the ultimate Onam Winner as there are no big opponents & families too prefer this movie only.

Cloud Nine started promoting their next venture MANGAATHA starring Ajithkumar & Nagarjuna, directed by Venkat Prabhu with this one. Exclusive teaser was there with the movie.

SAKUDUMBAM SHYAMALA

SAKUDUMBAM SHYAMALA

Theatre : TVM Kairali
Date & Showtime : 23-07-2010, 6.30pm
Status : Balcony Full, FC 35-40%

After Saji Surendran, another miniscreen serial director, Radhakrishnan Mangalath is making his debut in big screen with the script of Krishna Poojappura, who had already delivered two big hits. If you people have any expectation like serial director's movie will also somewhat like a TV Serial, just change that mentality. Already Saji Surendran broke that. Radhakrishnan Mangalath makes an impressive debut with Sakudumbam Shyamala which is 101% family comedy entertainer.

Story
Shyamala(Urvashi), sister of Shekharan(Nedumudi Venu), eloped with Vasudevan(Saikumar) in her early days. This creates seperation between them. Now Shyamala is the mother of Aakash(Kunchacko Boban). She still wants to win over her brother who is a collector. She wants her son to marry an american malayalee girl. Her husband is a clerk in Shekharan's office. Enters the picture Kollamkaavu Pappan(Suraj Venjaarammood) who is a local political party leader.Nandana(Bhama) is co-worker of Aakash & both are in love too.  After some interesting sequences Shyamala becomes a minister by defeating Nandana's father played by Balachandran Chullikkaad. What happens when sister comes above her brother is the rest of the story.

Performances
Urvashi as Shyamala, a housewife with lots of ambition & love, simply rocked with smart voice modulation with original Trivandrum slang like "Entharu makkale??" Nothing more to say, SIMPLY SUPERB. Negative I felt was her costumes in second half.

Kunchacko Boban as Aakash has nothing much and new to perform, but did his part well with good voice modulation & scenes with Saikumar & Urvashi. Suraj Venjaarammood as Kollamkaavu Pappan was impressive by avoiding his usual set of dialogues & introduced a fresh set of comedies, situational ones. Vasudevan is a great change for Saikumar as well as the viewers. It's a great relief to watch him other than his routine villain roles. He simply rocked with his expressions & dialogues, SUPERB. Nedumudi Venu as Shekharan was good. Jagadeesh finally did a role wihout going over the board in recent times.Bhama has nothing much to do.

It is very important to mention that director has given screen space  to all those actors who associated with him in TV serials, including late Monilal as a party leader character in a photograph, Hats off for that.

Songs
Music by M G Sreekumar was above average. Vilicho sung by Yesudas is a simple romantic song in recent times, a good one. The second song in the movie featuring Urvashi, Kunchacko Boban, Sakumar, Nedumudi Venu & Jagadeesh in various costumes of various countries was a good one to watch. BGM was a bit loud at many parts. Don't know why BGM of Mammootty starrer ROUDRAM was used.

Technical
Cinematography by Jibu Jacob was good, especially in Vilicho song & some parts of the movie. Art Direction by SabuRam was above average. Editing was fine.

Script & Direction
It's a hatrick for Krishna Poojappura. No scenes are there in the movie which will make u feel bore. Good dialogues & a racy screenplay, though predictable. The story is nothing new or something offering twists & surprises. Towards the climax just 5-8mins was a bit slow, otherwise nothing else to say as -ve. Direction by debutant Radhakrishnan Mangalath is impressive. He had handled the script very well without making the actors going over the board though the script had loopholes for the actors to do so. Very fast & impressive making from a debutant. We can expect more entertainers from him.

Verdict : Fast Comedy Entertainer
BO Verdict : Hit

Though 3 people were keep on booing from beginning of the movie purposefully, after abt 10-15 min they also started enjoying the movie.

Families will thoroughly enjoy the movie.

Scriptwriter & Director provided whatever they promised through pre-publicity in a much better way than expected.