Wonder Women: "Wonder whether Anjali contemplated adding more content, coz in its present form it felt inconclusive!!!"

Whenever Anjali Menon has been part of a movie either as a director or writer, it has invariably impressed the audience as evidenced by the handsome box office returns. Her latest release "Wonder Women" however had an OTT release on Sony LIV & despite that there were expectations after all it had a talented ensemble cast. To be frank, she has certainly chosen an interesting subject & provided various variants of it through her choice of characters. But by the end of 80 odd minutes, I couldn't help thinking that though it felt fine it felt rather incomplete. 

As all of you would have naturally guessed, the subject that Anjali has chosen to discuss is pregnancy. She gives us a peek into the prenatal period of various women from different cultural backgrounds & family circumstances. A group of such women had gathered together to attend prenatal classes conducted at the much acclaimed 'Sumana' that was run by Nandita (Nadiya Moidu). The movie is essentially about how these women bond with each other during this period & how they try to help each other to tide over the challenges in their lives. 

There is no doubt that the topic & the manner it was picturized was fine as the audience were given a glimpse of the different challenges that the characters faced. However quite a few of them were not discussed or clarity was not provided. I do agree that it's the director's prerogatory as to whether she wants to give a closure to the character's problems, after all we can't expect all the movies to follow the same template. Anyway the point that I would like to emphasise is that there was both time & scope for a much more detailed look into each of the characters. On the technical side, it was ok though there was nothing that required special mention. Coming to performances, almost all of them have done a decent job be it Nitya, Nadiya, Parvathy, Archana Padmini etc., however in terms of connecting with the audience on an emotional level it would be Amruta Subhash (as Jaya) & Padmapriya. As for the male artists, except for Sandesh Kulkarni (as Jaya's husband) the others were pretty average.

Verdict: Despite the relevance of the subject, I personally felt that it didn't have the adequate content or the emotional depth to make it into a full fledged movie. In effect, it turned out to be rather disappointing (for me) & undoubtedly the weakest among her previous projects. 

Rating: 2/5

Regards...Ben

1744 White Alto: "Unconventional narration that impresses with its wacky humour!!!"

Senna Hegde is a name that doesn't need much introduction among movie lovers. If at all you are still trying to figure out as to who he is, well he gained prominence among the audience over the past one year on the back of his impressive directorial venture "Thinkalazhcha Nishchayam". Hence when he had announced his next project, "1744 White Alto" there was a palpable sense of expectation which was further accentuated courtesy of its interesting trailer. Anyway he certainly scored yet again, but the question is whether majority of the audience will warm up to his unconventional crime drama. 

As in his previous movie, Hegde has chosen Kanhangad as the location though its name is neither explicitly told nor the appropriate dialect was chosen. He has penned a rather straight forward plot which is made interesting because of the way it is narrated & kudos for that to him and Sreeraj Raveendran for the engaging screenplay. SI Mahesh (Sharafudeen) is entrusted with the investigation of a murder & prima facie evidence indicated that two men were behind the crime who had apparently escaped in a white alto car. The subsequent portions are about this cat & mouse game and the discussions and planning that happens within each camp. 

The first thing that struck me about the movie was the location (reminded me of cowboy flicks), the way it was picturized & the colour tone chosen which was both rustic yet funky at times. Hats off to Sreeraj who apart from the screenplay handled the cinematography with elan & giving him able support was Vinod Pattanakadan's art direction that deserves praise. Another major positive was the BGM and the music that were created by Mujeeb Majeed which gelled perfectly with the mood. 

Coming to performances, it would be hard to pen each & everyone's name since almost all of them have done utmost justice to their roles. Sharafudeen has consistently raised his game in recent times & continues to impress irrespective of the genre that he chooses. The two fugitives essayed by Rajesh Madhavan & Anand Manmadhan were excellent while the three police constables (Arun Kurian, Sajin Cherukayil & Ranji Kankol) were a hoot. Even the female artists have done a fine job be it Sminu Sijo, Vincy Aloshious etc. 

Verdict: It has all the ingredients to keep the audience engaged & in good spirits without resorting to a complicated story. However, the challenge that Hegde might face is whether the audience would be able to appreciate his unconventional pattern of narration & humour. If you ask me, dont miss it!!!

Rating: 3.5/5

Regards...Ben

Yashoda: "Interesting thought but pedestrian execution!!!"

There has been a humongous number of releases ever since the pandemic restrictions have been lifted & this has led to many barely getting adequate number of screens or a long enough run to break even. However, Hari-Harish's "Yashoda" was said to have recovered the costs for the makers which is certainly encouraging. Since I haven't seen its trailer or promotions, I barely had any idea as to what the movie was about except that Samantha was the protagonist. But surprisingly, despite the lack of expectations; it turned out to be unintentionally hilarious courtesy of the sloppiness in its screenplay & amateurish execution.

The director duo have penned the script which dealt with the topic of surrogacy and the ethical issues associated with it. Apparently, Yashoda's (Samantha) sister required surgery & in order to garner funds for it, the former decided to become a surrogate mother. She was taken to a state of the art facility called 'Eva' which was managed by Madhu (Varalaxmi) where she gets to meet many other similar surrogate mothers. With time, she starts to get the impression that there was something fishy about the facility & what she unearthed subsequently forms the basis of the plot. 

I'm pretty sure that the makers felt that the audience are naive coz as the protagonist unravels the mystery behind the facility, it becomes sillier by the minute. The screenplay was mediocre & many of the sequences in the latter half barely made any sense. There is an investigative storyline that goes in parallel & even that also fails to attract attention. On the technical side, the visual effects were pathetic & the art department was just a joke. At the same time, the stunt choreography was neatly done & kudos to Samantha for the decent execution, though her performance didn't have much to write home about. Even the others such as Unni Mukundan, Sampath, Murali Sharma etc. were quite average while Varalaxmi was woeful.

Verdict: Was it a lack of choices for the audience or were the collections bloated??? Anyway it failed to entertain me as an audience despite having an interesting subject which undoubtedly had a lot of scope as well. In short, don't bother!!!

Rating: 1/5

Regards...Ben

Thattassery Koottam: "Seems more like a thatti koottu movie!!!"

Is nepotism really as bad as it is made to appear? Well it certainly gives you an easy break in the industry but it all comes down to how good the final product is & if that isn't good enough, then there is nothing much one can do about it One such movie that could be mentioned in that category is Anoop Padmanabhan's "Thattassery Koottam" which is bankrolled by his brother, Dileep. Hardly anything worthwhile happens except for a couple of sporadic chuckles as it turns out to be as predictable as Team India's performance in ICC tournaments over the last decade.

Whether Geo PV had written two scripts & combined into one is something only he would be able to answer since the two halves had distinct templates (not that either of them mattered much). Sanjeev (Arjun Ashokan) was a talented artist who was taught the craft of goldsmithery by his uncle. However, he wasn't keen on pursuing his uncle's profession despite being rather clueless about his future. But circumstances meant that he needed to step in for his uncle for the creation of a necklace which in turn brings in quite unexpected challenges in their lives. 

There is hardly anything unique in the whole movie be it in the manner in which Geo has penned the script or Anoop has narrated the story. The conflict that was expected in the first half barely materialized, while in the second half, it did give some expectations when the protagonist & his band of friends embark in search of the culprits. But it wasn't to be as it was typical predictable stuff culminating in a revenge drama. None of the technical aspects deserves special mention while the artists such as Arjun, Vijay Raghavan, Balaji etc. did their parts aptly though it didn't challenge any of the performers.

Verdict: Quite predictable & offers nothing that we haven't come across from such movies in the past!!!

Rating: 1.5/5

Mukundan Unni Associates: "A fantastic directorial debut that has a remorseless protagonist take centre stage!!!"

A couple of days back when I had written the review on "Kooman", the main reason why that movie had appealed to me was the manner in which Jeethu Joseph had created the protagonist. Even before the effect of that flick had worn off, Abhinav Sundar Nayak came up with an interesting protagonist in his directorial debut "Mukundan Unni Associates". He had crafted an engaging movie that is both hilarious and quirky and is shown from the perspective of the protagonist who is remorseless and selfish. In effect, this is undoubtedly one of the finest movie to have released this year.

As has been the norm in recent times, we have yet another director who has penned the script which was done in the company of Vimal Gopalakrishnan. Kudos to the thought process of the duo as they have created a protagonist, Mukundan Unni (Vineeth Sreenivasan) that is morally flawed who goes about his tasks with unwavering determination unmindful of what means that he has to employ. Mukundan's mission in life was to become a successful lawyer & sets his plans in motion when he stumbles upon the financial opportunities in  accident insurance claim cases. What all he does as part of that plan is the basis of this flick. 

This is not a story about good against evil or the change into a new leaf & that's exactly why this worked for me. Obviously, it is ironic that we do laugh at some of the stuff that Mukundan does though we do know that his behavior is detestable & the reason for that is the excellent voice over. An apt accompaniment for that was Sachin Warrier's music & the attention given to some of the stuff like the credits sequence, WhatsApp etc. was unique. 

With a shadow of doubt, I would rate this as one among the top three performances of Vineeth. This was a flick that moved forward solely coz of the apathic nature of Mukundan and that was conveyed extremely well through his dialogue delivery, body language & expressions (or rather the ability to remain expressionless). Giving him perfect company was Arsha Baiju (as Meenakshi) who had a distinct character of her own & yet stood by Mukundan in all situations. Even the rest of the cast have done their parts well & deserves praise such as Suraj, Sudhi Koppa, Tanvi Ram etc.

Verdict: If you are looking for a proper plot, then this might necessarily appeal to you. As I mentioned earlier, this is about an interesting protagonist & the lengths to which he goes to ensure that he becomes successful. In short, game for something out of the ordinary then don't miss it!!!

Rating: 4/5

Regards...Ben

Kumari: "A promising mythological fantasy flick that fizzles out!!!'

Our industry has seen numerous fantastic movies across genres over the years. However, I personally feel that there has been a lack of adequate praise worthy flicks that dealt with mythology and fantasy. One that instantly comes to mind is Santhosh Sivan's "Anandabhadram" (damn...I still cant believe that he made the pedestrian "Jack N' Jill") which was a proper blend of this genre. Hence when the trailer of Nirmal Sahadev's "Kumari" was launched, it certainly evoked expectations but managed to do justice only in parts. Eventually, it failed to win over the box office for obvious reasons.

Along with Fazal Hameed, Nirmal introduces us to the world of Kumari (Aishwarya Lekshmi) as a grandmother's tale who tells us about the dark forces that had descended on the affluent Kanjiragat family many generations back. The present patriarch, Velyachan (Spadikam George) gets his younger son, Dhruv (Shine Tom), a rather timid & eccentric individual married to Kumari. However, unknown to many was that there was more to this marriage than what met the eye.

First & foremost, kudos to the exquisite production quality which sets the stage for an engaging tale that begins promisingly. The colour tones & the haunting visuals of Abraham Joseph deserves special praise & the impact was further enhanced by Jakes Bejoy's music as well as the art department. Despite the slow pace, it builds the tempo in the first half with aspects like mystery & eeriness of the dark forces; but fails to sustain it as it felt like the makers had no clue how to give it a befitting climax. 

Aishwarya has done a fine job as the protagonist while Shine Tom's performance resembled what he usually does in interviews. That doesnt mean that it was his fault as the character demanded that but his dialogue delivery was far from ideal with quite a few of them barely legible. Surabhi was top notch as Muthamma while others like Swasika, Tanvi etc. have done their parts well.

Verdict: There is no doubt that the makers have done a reasonably good job in terms of visuals & performances. But all of these has a limit especially if the script doesnt provide the killer punch & that's what has happened here. In short, a missed opportunity!!!

Rating: 2.5/5

Regards...Ben

Jay Jay Jay Jay Hey: "Hilarious take on the female's response to marital inequality!!!"

Seems like the lines in our National Anthem is turning out to be a favourite choice among film makers as titles for their projects. A couple of months back we had "Jana Gana Mana" from Dijo Jose & about a fortnight ago, Vipin Das came out with "Jay Jay Jay Jay Hey". Well why wouldn't they, after all they have been box office successes with the latter termed as a blockbuster. The movie has been the talk of the town ever since its funny title track was released as a teaser which later on became a popular tik tok reel. It appealed to the audience primarily because of the manner it spoke about an important relevant topic in a hilarious manner.

The script penned by Vipin along with Nashid Famy is about Jaya (Darshana Rajendran) whose middle class family literally took all the important decisions in her life be it in academics or marriage. To make matters worse, she gets married off to Rajesh (Basil Joseph), a poultry farm owner who decided the matters in his household with an iron fist. It gets to a stage where Jaya reaches out to her family to step in but to no avail. It was now upto her & how she deals with it forms the crux of the movie.

Even though the subject on domestic violence as such is inevitably grim, with numerous horrific stories coming out on the news at an alarming frequency, the makes have chosen to treat in a light manner. The emphasis is on the fact that females should stand up (not quite literally) for their rights. This strategy employed by the makers gives the movie a fresh feel to it & keeps the audience in good spirits across the length of the movie. On the technical side, Ankit Menon's music was good and in sync with the mood while other aspects were also neatly done.

Apart from being a talented film maker, Basil is slowly & steadily establishing himself as a reliable performer who could handle both comedy & serious characters with equal finesse. Equally impressive was Darshana who portrayed the transition in her situation convincingly with her apt body language & expressions. The rest of the cast have all done excellent jobs as well such as Azees Nedumangad (as Ani), Kudassanad Kanakam (as Rajesh's mom, her sounds reminds me of a yester year character artist though I dont quite remember her name).

Verdict:  It certainly keeps the audience in good spirits & the revenue that it has collected for the makers is a testament to that. In short, don't miss it!!!

Rating: 3.5/5

Regards...Ben

Saturday Night: "Just like Stanley, even the audience will say WTF!!!"

One of the most sought after directors among the present crop is Roshan Andrews & understandably so, after all he has an impressive array of movies to his credit. Hence when his latest release, "Saturday Nights" was announced, there were appreciable expectations & more so, as he was collaborating with Nivin Pauly with whom he had earlier crafted the impressive "Kayamkulam Kochunni". Interestingly, the team embarked on an extensive promotional tour & from the looks of it, it seemed like a bindaas fun movie. Well it wasn't to be as I felt it was competing with "Casanovva" regarding which was more irritating.

Stanley (Nivin), Sunil (Aju), Ajith (Siju Wilson) & Justin (Saiju Kurup) has been friends since childhood and stuck out for each other whenever the need arose. However, some unsavory scenarios put a spanner to their relationship & they drift apart. A few years later, Sunil turns up at Justin's doorstep for help but the situation spiraled out of control putting the latter's job at risk. Left with no option, Justin embarks on a journey to find Sunil who had vanished & sought the help of Stanley and Ajith. However, life has changed a lot & this journey turned out to be one where they try to rekindle their friendship. 

Frankly speaking, I certainly had high expectations about this project since the script was penned by Naveen Bhaskar who had movies like "Anuraga Karikkin Vellam" etc. to his credit. But it turned out to be pretty shallow with most of the humour barely taking flight (except for the magistrate's dance . It seemed more like a wannabe "Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara" & even the so called 'relationship' that the four shared, I barely find it believable as to how they were friends in the first place coz apart from Stanley & Sunil, it was very evident that the other two were more concerned about themselves. In effect, the whole story as such felt incoherent and lacked any sense of direction. On the technical side, it was fine but nothing that deserves special mention.

It would be unfair to put the blame on the artists when the story itself is so weak but even then some of them weren't quite upto the mark. Nivin has done a fairly decent job as Stanley considering what that character went thru. However, when Siju & Saiju assumes that kind of vibe towards the end it came across as really pathetic since it screamed 'artificiality' while Aju was average. Coming to the female artists, Grace Antony was good in the limited opportunity she was offered while I didn't even understand the purpose of Saniya Iyappan's role which was equally poorly performed by her. As for the rest, nothing much to talk about.

Verdict: The use of psychedelic colors & wacky trailer certainly gives us the impression of a fun movie. However, it turned out to be a test of our patience for most parts. In short, don't bother!!!

Rating: 1.5/5

Regards...Ben

Kooman: "Jeethu pulls off yet another winner, this time with an impressive Asif!!!"

The last couple of weeks has been quite hectic, though that didn't quite deter me (as always) from finding time to check out movies. Anyway there were some movies that I had watched over the course of the past few weeks, that I have wanted to pen my opinion about. One of them is Jeethu Joseph's "Kooman" & his name itself was more than ample invitation to watch it. Just as he had mentioned in the promotions, the highlight was undoubtedly the character traits of the protagonist performed brilliantly by Asif Ali. Expectedly the movie has been doing well at the box office & if you haven't watched it, do so without fail.

The story unfolds in the region around the Kerala-TN border where PC Giri (Asif) is one of the smartest officers in the force. However, his efforts were not quite appreciated as much as he must have liked & he dealt with it in his own cunning manner. Kudos to K R Krishna Kumar for the interesting character arc that he had given to the protagonist & hence revealing more will take away the fun from it. He has penned an engaging script which has been well crafted onto the celluloid by Jeethu.

With regard to the story as such, the first half was interesting & keeps us hooked to it. However, the latter half didn't quite have the same impact & though interestingly, it touched upon an incident that had been in the news in recent tines; I felt that the eeriness and ghastly feeling that it should have created wasn't quite there. In addition, the details regarding the modus operandi of the crime & characters like Baburaj gets sidelined without much explanation. On the technical side, kudos to the BGM by Vishnu Shyam & Satheesh Kurup's cinematography who executed it well especially with a significant number of sequences being shot in the dark.

There were queries raised as to how come Jeethu chose Asif for the role especially since he has access to much more bigger names. But boy...it was indeed the right decision as Asif has done a fantastic job as Giri who has a myriad of emotions. Equally impressive was Jaffer Idukki who continues to impress in any role that he appears nowadays. the rest of the cast have done their aptly like Baburaj, Renji Panicker, Deepak Parambol, Hannah Reji etc.

Verdict: Undoubtedly, a well crafted movie & made unique primarily coz of the manner that Krishna Kumar has created the protagonist. Excellent performances & a reasonably engaging plot makes it a movie worth watching. In short, dont miss it!!!

Rating: 3/5

Regards...Ben