KARMAYODHA

KARMAYODHA

Theatre : Aluva Zeenath
Showtime & Date : 3.00pm, 29-12-2012
Status : Balcony No idea, FC 50 people

Major Ravi after box office debacle Kandahar is back with his new movie KARMAYODHA with Mohanlal in lead which has no military backdrop.

Story
The whole story is inspired from hollywood flick TAKEN with Mad Maddy aka Madhavan DCP Mumbai(Mohanlal) in search of her kidnapped daughter.

Performances
Mohanlal as Maddy was cool and makes most scenes of the movie engaging. Rest of the actors - Mukesh, Janardhanan, Anil Murali, Bineesh Kodiyeri, Rajeev Pillai, Asha Sarath... all were good and bad at parts. Sukumari after a long time on screen with Mohanlal makes scene refreshing and energetic.

Songs & BGM
Though music by M G Sreekumar fails, BGM by Jonathan though copycat, was awesome

Technical
Pradeep Nair's cinematography was fine, but Editor Don Max needs some more concentration.

Script & Direction
Script by whoever in the court case, had a nice thought though copied which is a socially relevant theme in current Indian scenario. Screenplay could have been more crisper. This one lacks the thrill at many parts. Major Ravi handled the subject very lazily I should say. The theme had everything to set the screens on fire with a fire brand character on screen but failed in directing the movie to a level the script demanded. Shaji Kailas or Joshiy was the best option

On the whole a watchable socially relevant movie

Verdict : Watchable
BO Verdict : Above Average to Hit

KUMKI

KUMKI

Theatre : Aluva Casino
Showtime & Date : 3.00pm, 16-12-2012
Status : 60%

Prabhu Solomon after the success of MYNAA is back with his new movie KUMKI with Vikram Prabhu(son of actor Prabhu) and Lakshi Menon(Sundarapandyan fame, check the song in Vinayan's Raghuvinte Swantham Rasiya, you will find her) in lead. Whether movie entertains us or above like MYNAA. The answer as a Malayali audien is NO. 

For me,
KUMKI = Mammootty-I V Sasi team's MRUGAYA+ Dileep-Fazil-Muralikrishnan's SUNDARAKILLADI

Story
KUMKI is the name given to elephant trained to protect people from attack of Wild Elephants who often comes to the village. Bomman(Vikram Prabhu) lives with his elephant Manickam along with his uncle(Thambi Ramaiah) and his assistant played Ashwin Raja - the fat boy who played the spoiled brat in Boss Engira Baskaran. They live their life by taking their elephant for festivals and other functions in towns. Once they were forced to go a village with their elephant for just two days instead of another person with elephant to keep the word of their caretaker. Actually their elephant was not Kumki. The original person was expected to come to Kumki elephant. Once they reach there, they were treated well. These tribes still follow the rules as old as 200 years. Though they try to leave the place in two days, once Bomman falls in love with Alli(Lakshmi Menon) daughter of village chief - love at first sight, plan change. The rest whether they unite and whether Manickam defeat wild elephant becoming a Kumki.

Performances
Vikram Prabhu made a promising debut performance especially in the starting scenes and emotional scenes. In romantic scenes, the performance was similar to that of a college boy, though costumes and character were not. Lakshmi Menon had nothing much to do. Thambi Ramaiah steals most of the scenes with his oneliners. Ashwin Raja was apt. Sreejith Ravi was wasted in a poorly written role. Rest all did their parts. Manickam the elephant was superb.

Songs & BGM
Both departments were usual. Nothing great. D Imman disappoints

Technical
Cinematography by Sukumar was awesome especially waterfall sequences. Editing could have been more crisper, lags a lot at parts. Art direction was fine. CGI works were good at many points except a few climax portions.

Script & Direction
Script by Prabhu Solomon was a mix of malayalam movies Mrugaya & Sundarakilladi. Though the storyline was fine, converting it to a full length movie failed due to lengthy and cliched love story which lacks conviction at many points. It is Thambi Ramaiah's role which makes movie entertaining on both halves but still we feel his character could have been limited. Once the leads fall in love, we were waiting for the climax to happen as the in betweens were predictable for a normal film goer. It is the cinematography & virgin locations which makes the movie watchable. Climax was a poorly written incomplete one. Direction couldn't hide the problems with the script. MYNAA stands a mile above this one. Though tried to be a man-animal relationship, in that point of view succeeds to an extent but the love story spoiled the show as there is no proper villain to make the movie engaging. Sreejith Ravi could have been used well. Songs were badly picturise as if the characters were like college students. The final song was a crap with tribals doing heavy cinematic dance.

On the whole, wait for the DVD. Or else if you want to see some visuals on screen then go for it

Verdict : Average
BO Verdict : Average

NEETHAANE EN PONVASANTHAM

NEETHAANE EN PONVASANTHAM

Theatre : Aluva Madhurya
Showtime & Date : 11.30am, 16-12-2012
Status : 40%

Gautham Vasudev Menon, after a big hit romantic movie Vinnaithaandi Varuvaaya is back with his new movie Neethane En Ponvasantham - an Ilayaraja Musical with Jiiva and Samantha in lead roles. Whether the movie entertains us??? Before watching the movie, the first & only thing you have to forget is VINNAITHAANDI VARUVAAYA.

Story
Its all about Varun(Jiiva) & Nithya(Samantha) - their love & breakups at various stages of life. Whether they unite or not - watch it on screen.

Performances
Jiiva was good in a well written role with depth of a lover boy with possessive nature as a school kid, a happy-go-easy loverboy in college life, a loving son who recoginises his duties to family & ultimately as a LOVER. He performed what the character demanded. Samantha was cute in all stages of life lookwise. But when comes to acting, she needs more homework especially in such a movie where female character having equal importance, may be more than that of hero. Missed a golden chance in my opinion. Still the school episode and second half and climax episode will make an impact because of the well developed and well written character by Gautham. Santhanam - once the movie starts and first song will make you feel whether he is the hero. Yes to an extent he's also a hero in the movie. His Vinnaithaandi Varuvaaya spoof episode in opening second half sequence was superb. As usual, his oneliners will make us laugh throughout in scenes he appear. Ravi Raghavendra repeated his role in Kadhalil Sodhappuvadhu Eppadi with a dull tone. Even the school friends of Samantha was the same in Kadhalil Sodhappuvathu Eppadi. Rest of the characters were fine in limited roles. Once again GANESH rocks with his trademark dialogue.

Songs & BGM
Songs were a big letdown except Saayndhu Saayndhu. Rest of the songs looked totally unfit for the movie. BGM was okay.  A R Rehman or Harris Jeyaraj could have taken movie to another level with both songs and BGM.

If this is your first impression, then you are thoroughly mistaken. The songs in the movie are like slow poison which will haunt you like anything once you watch the movie. Saayndhu Saayndhu, Mudhal Murai, Satru Munbu - Ilaiyaraja is a genius. BGM was superb. The best BGM was Saayndhu Saayndhu BGM used at parts, especially with climax.


Technical
Cinematography lacked the usual sharpness found in Gautham Menon movies. Good visuals are also not there much. Editing by Anthony was fine in first half, but second half could have been better. Art direction was good as usual by Rajeevan. Costumes by Nalini as usual rocked bringing apt colour tones with the background at the sametime making characters look realistic.

Script & Direction
Gautham Vasudeva Menon once again presents a romantic movie this time his trademark autobiographical narration was missing throughout the movie. Story by Venkat Somasundharam was a wafer thin one. Screenplay by Venkat & Gautham had enough moments. Somewhere we feel like Venkat wanted this one to be a routine tamil flick where as Gautham wanted to be his trademark film. Felt like this conflict spoiled many sequences. Dialogues as usual rocked especially "Melbourne friend". Email idea was extreme brilliance of script writer. Direction lacked a 100% dedication in second half I think. This can be called as 100% musical love story. Climax was awesome

On the whole a good love story

Verdict : Good
BO Verdict : Hit (low production cost as this one has no foreign location & street dancers, a pure Tamilnadu flick)

The theatre experience of this movie purely lies on the hands of audience watching with you. You may find many scenes as touching while others may find boring. Vice versa too. Their reactions may spoil your viewing experience too. So don't conclude your verdict with public reaction.

INTHA MAATHIRI PADAMELLAM PAATHA UDANE PUDIKKAATHU, PAAKKA PAAKKA THAAN PUDIKKUM

MY BOSS

MY BOSS

Theatre : Aluva Zeenath
Showtime & Date : 3.00pm, 02-12-2012
Status : Housefull

Jeethu Joseph after Detective & Mummy n Me is back with his new movie MY BOSS with Dileep & Mamtha in lead roles. To know whether Jeethu scored a hatrick, read more.

Story
Manu Varma(Dileep), an engineering graduate with distinction in Computer Science joins Quadrek Softwares as assistant to the boss Priya(Mamtha), a strict person by profession hailing from Australia. Manu had to face a lot of work pressure from her. At a stage, when next CEO of the company has to be selected, competition arises between and Mathew(Anand). By the time, Priya's visa period reaches the deadline which will force her to be back to Australia. To be the CEO and to stay in India, she claims that she is in love with Manu & they are going to get married. Manu takes this oppurtunity as a visa card to live in overseas. Things change when Manu takes her to his family in his village. See the rest on screen.

Performances
Dileep was super cool as Manu Varma. He plays with such an ease which we really didn't see from him for last few years. Really enjoyable performance which will make us laugh well. Mamtha was good as the boss Priya. Her fluency in English was well utilised. Tailor-made role for her which she did with 100% perfection. Kalabhavan Shajon as Ali was refreshing. First half gave him ample scope to make us laugh which he did successfully. Saikumar makes us laugh in his role in second half with the witty oneliners. He shines in sentiment scenes too. Mukesh,Ganeshkumar, Rekha & Anand in their cameos did their part well. Seetha & Valsala Menon were usual. Rest of the casts did their part. Dharmajan Bolgatty in his cameo makes us laugh.

Songs & BGM
Songs were enjoyable. Sejo John, though not upto his music in Mummy n Me, impresses us with the BGM & Kuttanadan song & opening song, especially orchestration. Songs stick well to the movie except the album song Enthinennariyilla which was totally out of box.

Technical
Cinematography by Anil Nair was good with fine visuals of Mumbai & Kuttanad.  Editing was good. Art direction needs special mention for his work in first half

Script & Direction
Jeethu Joseph handled both departments. May be the initial spark of the movie would have been hollywood flick THE PROPOSAL, but this one is entirely different. Script was a tailor made one for Dileep & Mamtha. Oneliners were sharp & the proceeding sequences were enjoyable if you are not thinking much of logic. Dialogues wre raser sharp especially for Saikumar. Direction by Jeethu reached next level with this. If Bolgatty Palace was avoided as location & some other in Kuttanad was taken it would have given much more effect(strictly my opinion).

Overall an enjoyable comedy entertainer

Verdict : Good Entertainer
BO Verdict : Hit

Jeethu Joseph won the harick!!!

Without Suraj Venjarammood or Salimkumar and slapstick humour, a clean comedy entertainer is here.

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

101 WEDDINGS

101 WEDDINGS

Theatre : Aluva Matha
Showtime & Date : 6pm, 23-11-2012
Status : Balcony Full, FC 55%

Shafi after box office debacle Venicele Vyapari teams up with Kunchacko Boban after Ordinary & Mallu Singh this year along with Biju Menon & Jayasurya. Whether movie entertains us?? Lets see

Story
Film starts with childhood of Krrish aka Krishnankutty(Kunchacko Boban) - son of Munshi Parameshwara Pillai(Vijayaraghavan), a true Gandhian and Antappan(Biju Menon), son of a fraud played by Kochu Preman. Munshi acts against illegal works done by Kochu Preman using police. In return, Antappan always hits Krrish. To get rid of him, he makes Antappan a thief purposefully. Years later, now Krrish is a careless youth thinking of making easy money. Munshi wants him to marry Abhirami(Samvrutha Sunil) in a marriage function arranged by Kasthurba foundation. Without knowing that Abhirami is the daughter of a rich man, Krrish tries to stop the wedding by bringing Jyothish(Jayasurya) into picture as Krrish. By the time Antappan also enters there. When knowing truth about Abhirami, Krrish wants to marry her. Jyothish too wants to marry. When Jyothish comes to know about the past of Krrish & Antappan he blackmails & things become more complex when Abhirami's father too agrees for the marriage. What happens next is the rest.


Performances
Kunchacko Boban as Krrish was good. His comic timing was good with a set of well written dialogues. In sentiment scenes too, he shines. Biju Menon once again repeats his Ordinary play leaving Palakkadan language. He shines in a set of scenes & action sequences. Jayasurya as Jyothish was just okay. His sentiment scene was fine. Samvrutha Sunil looked more beautiful and did her part neatly. Bhama as Rukiya was fine. Her sentiment scene expression was horrible. The person who played Biju Menon's pair(the one who played Rima Kallingal's friend in 22 FEMALE KOTTAYAM) should have given more screenspace. Vijeesh was cool as Chackochan's side kick. Dialogues were funny at many parts. Suraj Venjarammood & Salimkummar were good in parts. Sunil Sugatha was a surprise package with good comic timing. Rest of the cast were fine.

Songs & BGM
Songs by Deepak Dev were hummable. Changathi & Muthodu  were fine. Sajalamai is the pick of the lot. Nice picturisation with good visuals. BGM was fine

Technical
Cinematography was good at parts. Editing was good. Art Direction was superb.

Script & Direction
Script by Kalavoor Ravikumar was a fine entertaining one with a set of fresh scenes and dialogues. A simple oneline, a complexilty & confusions blended neatly & presented well with a set of nice scenes & dialogues. Direction by Shafi was fine. The packaging was good presented in a nice & new atmosphere. Jayasurya's guiness performance was out of place in second half. Shafi's packaging was good as usual and with the fresh plot & atmosphere, he delivers a fine entertainer.

Verdict : A Simple Timepass Comedy Entertainer
BO Verdict : Hit

Movie heavily banks on the new team Kunchacko Boban - Biju Menon.

THUPPAKKI

THUPPAKKI

Theatre : TVM SreePadmanabha
Showtime & Date : 8.45am, 18-11-2012
Status : Housefull with terrific atmosphere

After hatricks - Kavalan, Velayudham & Nanban, ILAYATHALAPATHY VIJAY is back with his new film THUPPAKKI - written & directed by A R Murugadoss after not so well accepted 7am Arivu. This time he created a movie that is fresh screenplay and execution, executed through not the star VIJAY alone but through the actor VIJAY too.

Story
Jagdish(Vijay) - DIA specialist in Indian Army comes to his home in Mumbai for leave. By coincidence, he catches one of the sleeper cell, who made a blast in a bus. Rest of the story is how Jagdish intelligently tracks the whole team.

Performances
Ilayathalapathy VIJAY takes the character to next level with his awesome performance. This time he's not rendering any punchlines, but the simple lines he speak in the movie makes the whole audience clap. Thanks to his immense screen presence, voice modulation & style which took the superb screenplay to a great level. The scene with retired army men was superb. A VIJAY SHOW all the way.

Kajal Agarwal as Nisha was fine in first half where she had something to do. In second half, her role was limited. She was good in her with emotional scene in restaurant. Jayaram in his brief role will make us laugh, Sathyan too. Vidyut Jamal as baddie was fresh and convincing in looks. Rest of the cast did their parts well.

Songs & BGM
Harris Jeyaraj disappoints this time. Google Google sung by Vijay & Andrea was foottapping. Vennilave, Antartica, Kuttippuli were fine with visuals though lacks the punch of usual Vijay movie songs. My pick is POI VARAVAA in climax. Awesome lyrics, superb & touching picturisation. Vennivale & Google were speedbreakers. BGM was awesome, especially the theme music was adrenaline pumping one on screen.

Technical
The whole team was superb. Considering the technical perfection from Santhosh Sivan, cinematography lacks the magic though a set of scenes looked good & the final railway station scene was awesome. Editing by Sreekar Prasad was superb. Art direction by Sunil Babu was cool. Action by Kecha needs special mention - another Peter Hein on the way I think. Hope we can expect fresh action seq from him.

Script & Direction
Both departments handled by A R Murugadoss. Though the oneline seems to be simple, the screenplay was awesome with fresh sequences - especially Interval and one in second half. SUPERB!!! Though Vijay-Kajal scenes & songs in second half were speedbreakers, we can easily forget that negative considering the whole movie. After JULAI, another movie with villain with intelligence. Direction was topnotch. Even simple things were made special with his direction.

On the whole - a great entertainer movie for those who love their nation.

Verdict : GO FOR IT!!!
BO Verdict : BLOCKBUSTER

A R Murugadoss had made not only INDIAN ARMY proud but also their families. Really great and wonderful!!!