The T20 World Cup has reached the Super 8s & the Men In Blue has managed to chug along despite not being at their best. Incidentally, the same can be said about the Malayalam film industry which has seen many releases as usual but none of them has made the box office go bonkers yet. Anyway over the past few weeks, I have checked out some of them & it was average at best.
Valathu Vashathe Kallan: "Falls well short of what is expected from a Jeethu Joseph movie!!!"
If one has to take the list of directors who has been the most sought after over the past decade, one name that would prominently feature in that list is Jeethu Joseph. The reason for that is the name that he has created for himself with some of the finest thrillers in Malayalam. However, in recent times, it would be fair to say that his powers has been on the bane & his latest flick seemed to indicate the same.
CI Antony Xavier (Biju Menon) was a corrupt police officer who never hesitated to bat an eye lid to help the affluent and the influential. The latest case saw him push a girl into suicide & that's when young activist, Irene (Vyshnavi Raj) comes into the picture determined to bring him down for his deplorable actions. Even on the personal front, things didn't look bright for Antony as he shared a strained relationship with his son, Philip (KR Gokul) & used to attend counselling sessions to resolve the issue, but to no avail.
There has been a plethora of mystery thrillers in Malayalam over the past few years as quite a few of them had hit the bull's eye. However, it is high time that the makers realize that with the boom of various OTT platforms, the audience is exposed to all kind of plot twists & turns. That invariably means that the bar is set quite high & Dinu Thomas who had penned the script has failed to match that. The story as such doesn't offer anything intriguing except for a couple of sequences & even Jeethu's direction failed to create additional impact. Satheesh Kurup's monochromatic dark frames were in sync with the mood while Vishnu Shyam did justice with the tracks.
For some reason, Biju Menon came across as rather disinterested & lacked the usual naturality that we usually associate with him. Joju was fine as always with Lena & Vyshnavi providing adequate support. As for the rest of the cast, Gokul was average to poor at times while Irshad, Niranjana etc. were ok.
Verdict: Fails to live up to expectations & hopefully Jeethu can get his mojo back in "Drishyam 3"!!!
Rating: 1.5/5
Prakambanam: "This snorting horror comedy works at most levels!!!"
So most of us have seen characters being possessed by spirits due to some reason or the other. But imagine being possessed by snorting the ashes...hilarious isnt it? Well that's what happens in Vijesh Panathur latest release where he has penned the script in the company of Sreehari Vadakkan, an IIT graduate.
The story unfolds in a boys hostel, where Sidhu (Ganapathy), Punyalan (Sagar) & Shankaran (Ameen) were close buddies & room mates. Sidhu was actively involved in student politics & harboured hopes to win the elections before he graduated. As the campaign for the elections commenced, Sidhu had to rush home as his grandmother (Mallika Sukumaran) had passed away. Since her sons believed in Communism, they were not keen for any elaborate religious ceremonies & that's when his grandfather (P. P Kunjikrishnan) sought Sidhu's help to immerse her ashes in holy waters, which he reluctantly agreed. However, he took her ashes in a small bottle to college & the hilarious events that subsequently unfolds is what this movie is about.
Though it had shades of "Romancham" & "Adi Kappiyare Kootamani", it still had an identity of its own & once the spirit enters Punyalan; the film hits its strides. The screenplay was decently crafted as it manages to create hilarious sequences at various junctions which runs until the very end. The technical aspects were handled neatly while the performances made sure that the comedy landed well. Ganapathi was fine in a character that had various shades shifting from emotional to comical. Sagar clicked in the transformational scenes while Rajesh Madhavan was fine with Ameen & Sheethal Joseph (Vedika) providing support. Mallika Sukumar was a good casting choice as it needed to be an energetic character while the others did their parts aptly.
Verdict: It will genuinely make you laugh in quite a few sequences!!!
Rating: 2.75/5
Aashaan: "Indrans impresses in the maker's earnest effort!!!"
I barely knew about ths flick until I was flipping through YouTube & came across a video that showed Mammookka being part of its promotions. He was effusive in his praise for Indrans & with his son bankrolling the project, I decided to check it out. To add to it, this was Johnpaul George's third directorial venture after "Guppy" & "Ambili", both of which I felt were fine.
Anandan (Joemon Jyothir) was a visual effects technician who aspired to become a film maker. Hence he has been on the lookout for an assistant director slot for quite a while. Finally after much effort, he managed to become part of the once 'hitmaker' director KRS's team (Shobi Thilakan). The reason for that was because he had managed to find an ideal location for KRS's latest flick, which happened to be an apartment complex. Incidentally, the caretaker of the complex was Aashaan (Indrans), a much beloved & revered individual for the tenants who was a movie enthusiast and harboured hopes to act. So he provided permission for the use of the premises in the belief that he would be provided a small role. How the shotting pans out & the impact that it has on the lives of the protagonists is what this movie is about.
As in his previous directorial ventures, there is a strong emotional angle in the story & in the hands of an experienced veteran like Indrans, it does have a positive effect on the audience. It could be slotted as meta dramedy where the aspirations & struggles of individuals who wants to follow their passion & make a mark in the industry is showcased. The humour & emotional sequences pretty much works in most instances but it could have trimmed off a significant chunk especially in the first half as the film making process takes up a significant amount of screen time without adding as much substance.
One aspect that deserves a special mention is the Egg White VFX who has done an excellent job in the second half. So much so, it took away our attention from the core subject & made us focus on how it was done. The rets of the technical aspects were also executed well such as Vimal Jose's visuals and the music which was handled by Johnpaul himself. On the performance front, Indrans was impressive with Joemon doing a fine job as well while Shobi Thilakan and Appunni Sasi doing justice to their parts.
Verdict: Works for most parts with an impressive Indrans!!!
Rating: 2.75/5
Regards...Ben
No comments:
Post a Comment