ARM: "A cracking half century by Tovino!!!"

It's Uthradam paachil time & as expected we have a plethora of movies hitting the screens this Onam. There are quite a few that I am definitely keen on watching with Jithin Laal's "Ajayante Randaam Moshanam" being prominent among them. The news about this flick has been in the media for the last few years & hence there were considerable expectations that surrounded its release. Mounted at a cost of almost 30C, it is Tovino Thomas's 50th movie & shot in 3D format. So how will it fare at the box office???

A couple of centuries back, a meteorite had hit Haripuram & the Edakkal King (Madhupal) had a powerful deity in the form of a lamp (Chyyoti Vilakku) forged from it & had it set in his palace. A couple of years later, the King had to request the help of Kunjikelu (Tovino), a mighty warrior to settle the unrest in his region. In return, he was rewarded with the lamp that he had asked for, so as to return it to his village that it belonged to. In the present timeline (set in the 1990s), Ajayan was an electrician who led a honest living, but had to suffer from constant harassment as he was the grandson of Maniyan, the infamous thief who had terrorized the people during his time. To make matters worse, Ajayan found himself in a situation that would essentially brand him as a thief as well. Will he able to free himself from this tangle???

In terms of what genre it belongs to, it can be said to be an amalgamation of  action, drama, magical realism and folklore. The core theme of the story penned by Sujith Nambiar is the menace of caste discrimination that continues to persist to this day & the need for social justice. A classic example of that menace is the video from Lalbaugcha Raja which I presume most of you would have seen over the past day or so, where the Ganesh Chaturthi festivities took place and the evident difference in the treatment meted out to the elite and commoners was evident. Anyway coming back to the movie, . Jithin's vision & the command over his craft in building the world that Sujith had created with the non-linear narration & interweaving of the various periods was praise worthy. 

On the technical side, it was pretty much top notch in most of the departments be it the cinematography, action choreography, BGM & the music. The moment I saw that Jomon T John was the DoP, I was sure that it would be spot on & as expected, his visuals were exquisite. Dhibu Ninan Thomas's BGM was good while the music blended with the narration. The action choreography by Vikram Mor & Phenix Prabhu was impressive while the VFX/CGI work was neatly done.

This is undoubtedly one of Tovino's best performances ever especially the part where he portrayed the part of Maniyan. The attention to body language, expressions & dialogue delivery was precise as it made all the three characters distinct from each other. Surabhi Lakshmi is a proven talented artist though the opportunities that she had been offered has been far & few. Kudos to the makers for casting her as she impressed in the brief role & perfectly complemented Maniyan's character. Krithi Shetty has done her parts well with Mamitha Baiju deserving praise for her dubbing. The rest of the cast include Basil, Jagadeesh, Harish Uthaman etc., all of whom have done their parts well.

Verdict: It is certainly a movie that deserves to be watched on the big screen as the production quality & Tovino's performance makes it completely worthwhile.

Rating: 3.5/5

Regards...Ben

The Goat, Saripodhaa Sanivaaram: "Action entertainers that produces different results!!!"

This weekend saw Venkat Prabhu's "The Goat" being released which is undoubtedly one of the most awaited releases of the year.  As I have been a fan of Venkat's movies, I was eager to check it out especially since he was an expert when it came to blending in humour with action. Apart from this, I had also watched Vivek Athreya's "Saripodhaa Sanivaaram" as I was told good things about it. So did both the action entertainers manage to keep me engaged???

The Goat: "Expected much more from Venkat!!!"

With Vijay having announced that he would be drawing curtains on his acting career owing to his foray into politics, the expectations that surrounded the release of his penultimate flick was much higher than usual. From the trailer itself it was evident that Vijay was in a dual role & the question was whether the story & screenplay that Venkat had penned in the company of Gunasekaran, Manivannan, Chandru & Balasubramaniyam was credible enough to warrant such a decision.

The movie unfolds in Kenya where the Special Anti Terrorism Squad led by Gandhi (Vijay) were hot on the heels of Rajiv Menon (Mohan), their former chief who was charged with treason. Their mission concluded with the retrieval of uranium, that Rajiv unlawfully possessed & his possible death in the bomb blast that was set off. This was followed by another mission to Bangkok where Gandhi decided to take his family as well as part of holiday but it was a trip that changed their lives forever.

Without mincing words, I would have to admit that forget being the greatest, it is undoubtedly one of the weakest movie in Venkat's filmography. The first half was quite decent as it does have its moments with both humour and action both ticking the right boxes. However, after both the father & son come face to face, instead of having an inspired storyline, it is relegated to a very predictable plot despite a couple of twists. Except for one of the twist, none of the rest managed to arouse my curiosity. Obviously there are sequences where Venkat does a hat tilt to many popular pop culture references, but even as a fan boy worship, it failed to reach those levels. Another major let down of the technical aspects in general which to be frank was quite mediocre at times be it the tribute sequence in the beginning, the climax portions etc., to name a few. Though the visuals were decent, the music department on the whole be it the BGM or the songs from Yuvan Shankar Raja was extremely average and lacked the ability to enhance the impact of the scenes. 

Despite the drawbacks in the making, I felt that Vijay did a a fine job as the protagonist especially the elder version though his dialogue delivery could have been better while the younger version at times lacked the consistency. Kudos to Ayaz Khan for a fine performance in bringing out the apt body language for the younger Vijay. Both Prashanth & Prabhu Deva did a decent job while Jayaram, Sneha & Ajmal supported well in the limited screen time that they had. Mohan was a pathetic choice as the antagonist since the character was neither written well nor adequately performed. 

Verdict: Undoubtedly, one of the weakest in Venkat's filmography!!!

Rating: 2/5

Saripodhaa Sanivaaram: "Quite an interesting storyline & treatment!!!"

It's been quite a while since I had watched a Telugu movie & when Vivek Athreya latest release hit the screens about a fortnight back, I didnt give it much of a thought. However, later on when I started to hear good things about it & noticed that the star cast had Nani & S.J Suryah, I thought to give it a try & would have to admit that it did interest me.

As I haven't watched any of Vivek's earliest movies, I am not versed with his writing or film making craft. In this flick, he has penned about the protagonist, Surya (Nani) who used to vent out his anger for literally any petty issue. Eventually, his mother advises him of a method to vent his anger to matters that are truly relevant & to do so on one day of the week which happened to be Saturday. The latest matter that came to his attention was the atrocities that CI Dayanand (S.J Suryah) was inflicting on the people of Sokulapalem. So what was the reason behind all this & how was it going to be resolved???

On the whole, it comes across as a typical action masala entertainer but it has quite an interesting storyline with a liberal sprinkling of humour. At the same time, it touches upon some social messages in a subtle manner. The backstories of both Nani & SJ's characters are established properly, before their conflict take centre stage. Obviously, he tries to pack in a lot towards the end & some of that could have been trimmed off. On the technical side, Jakes Bejoy has done a praise worthy job while Murali G's choice of colour tone and visuals were impressive as well.

Whenever I have watched Nani's movies, I have always him to be quite authentic to the character that he portrayed & the same applies here as well. As for S J Suryah, he is a dynamite on screen especially when it comes to exposing eccentricities & his distinctive dialogue delivery is a delight at many instances. Abhirami was impressive while Sai Kumar, Priyanka Mohan & Aditi Balan did their parts aptly.

Verdict: Despite the long run time, it still manages to keep us invested in the flick. In short, give it a try!!!

Rating: 2.5/5

Regards...Ben

Vishesham, Level Cross, Secret, Adios Amigo: "Decent fare on offer!!!"

Over the past couple of months, there has been a plethora of movies that hit the screens and none of them have quite managed to get the box office ringing. At the same time, the news has been predominantly about off screen activities that has captured more headlines. Anyway the following are my opinion about some of the movies that had released in July-August.

Vishesham: "This vishesham does provide us with a smile!!!"

The word 'vishesham' is an oft used word in different context. However, whenever it is mentioned usually by a relative to a couple, it essentially means only one thing & I presume you would have guessed what it would be for. Anyway, Sooraj Tom decided to call the shots on that topic that Anand Madhusoodhanan had penned in which he had also donned the role of the protagonist. 

After a failed marriage that ended on the first night itself, Shiju (Anand) was reluctant to be drawn into another relationship. However, when he met up with Sajitha (Chinnu Chandni), a police constable who had also gone through a similar situation; they decided to give their lives a second chance. Both of them led a happy and contented life, until questions start to arise regarding having a family. The challenges that both of them face on the face of societal pressure is what is explored in this flick. 

There are quite a few topics that are being touched upon such as relationship stereotypes along the lines of "Thamasha", societal pressure on having a kid, pregnancy treatments etc. They have opted for a feel good track & in that sense, I feel they have done a decent job even as we would have felt that more intense situations were required in some instances. The technical aspects were neatly done, though it does not warrant special mention. On the performance front, Chinnu was impressive, Anand was able to convincingly portray the emotions of an ordinary guy though his portrayal at times felt like a caricature, while the rest of the cast were ok. 

Verdict: A neatly crafted feel good movie with decent performances makes it an enjoyable one time watch!!!

Rating: 2.5/5

Level Cross: "Interesting psychological thriller that lacks the punch!!!"

When the promos of Arfaz Ayub's directorial debut was beamed on YouTube,  I was keen to check it out primarily coz of Asif Ali's make over & the fact that it had just three main characters with the movie being shot predominantly in Tunisia. The movie unfolds in a parched deserted land that seemed miles away from any sort of civilization where Raghu (Asif Ali) was the gate keeper at a level cross where trains turned up only occasionally. Into his uneventful life, Chaitali (Amala Paul) turned up after having been discovered in an unconscious state next to the tracks. Apparently, she had jumped off the train to escape from her toxic husband, Zinjo (Sharafudeen). In due course of time, both of them warmed up to each other as they noticed a similar trait in their stories. But were they indeed telling the truth???

There is no doubt that Arfaz's script had an intriguing feel to it as the slow burner takes its time to steadily reveal the plot. The back stories of each of these characters were interesting though the dialogues lacked the punch and on the whole, it had an underwhelming feel to it. Kudos to Appu Prabhakar's frames & Vishal Chandrashekhar's BGM, both of which were crucial for the mood of the movie. 

In recent times, Asif's choice of movies & performance has been praise worthy & as the unkempt rugged Raghu, it reminded me of his act in "Ordinary". However, he has moved far ahead in terms of his skill set over here and produced one of his career best performance. Both Amala & Sharaf have done their parts well, though their dialogue delivery at times lacked authenticity.

Verdict: It is a slow burner & expectedly didn't find much takers at the box office. However, it is still worth a watch & might get more audience on OTT.

Rating: 2.5/5

Secret: "No secret that it was pathetic!!!"

There is no doubt that SN Swamy is one of our most  celebrated scenarist & hence when he decided to don the cape of a director for the first time, it made headlines. However, a couple of days after the release of this flick, SN Swamy made a statement that there was a concerted effort from some quarters to tarnish his movie. To be brutally honest, it was mediocre to say the least.

The movie unfolds with Midhun (Dhyan Sreenivasan) & his friends making a trip to Thanjavur to attend the wedding of their buddy. During their time over there, they happen to meet an astrologer who was of the opinion that his horoscope denied Midhun of being married. This puts him in distress as his wedding with Shreya (Ardra Mohan) was already fixed. But was this prediction indeed true & was there any way to change his fate???

According to SN Swamy's script there is a chance to change the fate by making a potpourri of various topics such as synchronicity, entropy, thermodynamics with a dash of psychology courtesy of noted psychiatrist Carl Jung. There is no problem to touch upon such topics as long as one has a fair idea how to weave a creative thread from it. This is exactly where the movie faltered as it turned out to be nothing than a verbal diarrhoea without any sense of coherence. None of the technical aspects deserves special mention while Dhyan Sreenivasan, Aparna Das & Gregory Jacob did what was possible from their side.

Verdict: By the end of the movie, Dhyan's character manage to save six people but Swamy will struggle to find as many people who would genuinely like his flick!!!

Rating: 1/5

Adios Amigo: "Performances just about manages to salvage it !!!"

After having worked in a plethora of moves as Assistant Director, Nahas Nazar finally made his directorial debut with "Adios Amigo". The main reason as to why I was interested to watch this movie was that the script was penned by Thankam, who had also worked on "Kettiyolane Ente Maalaakha" which was a movie that I had really enjoyed. Incidentally both of them had worked together on that project which was headlined by Asif Ali, who is also the protagonist here along with Suraj Venjaramoodu. 

Priyan (Suraj) struggled to make ends meet & his track record of failing to repay debts on time, meant it was always going to be a struggle especially in the case of an emergency. It so happened that such a scenario arose when his mother had to be admitted for a medical emergency & he ran from pillar to pillar to settle the expenses. Eventually, one of his friends agreed to help him & he was asked to wait for him at the Vytilla hub. This is where he met Prince (Asif), a carefree perpetually intoxicated guy from an affluent & influential background who seemed to spent money on random people. Both of them got acquainted & Priyan decided to stick on with him in the hope that Prince might be able to help with his financial struggles. 

In terms of the story as such, I felt that it was quite fragile as nothing much happens after we are introduced to both the characters. There is a sense of mystery to Asif's character as to why he had this bindaas attitude, concern for his ex-lover etc. But as the character is revealed in due course of time, it literally had nothing much to it & failed to make us empathize for the character if that was the intention of the makers. On the other hand, Suraj's character did manage to create more of an impact though it was a surprise as to why he preferred to not disclose his need for so long. At the same time, I would not say that it tested my patience & the credit for that goes to the performances. On the technical side, Jakes Bejoy's BGM and Jimshi Khalid's cinematography were fine.

Both Asif & Suraj have done justice to their respective roles and that is the main reason as to why this move works to a certain extent. The physical transformation that Asif brought to his character and his diction in the Thrissur slang was commendable. Suraj's emotional scenes in the latter half was impressive & the duo generates some genuine laughs. Anagha appeared in a brief role & did her part well.

Verdict: With a script with not much content & still running for a significant amount of time, it seemed like a recipe for disaster. However, decent performances from the protagonists somewhat managed to evade that!!!

Rating: 2.25/5

Regards...Ben

Nadanna Sambhavam, Ullozhukku, Big Ben & Samadhana Pusthakam: "Apart from one, the others fail to impress!!!"

Even as the monsoon lashed the length & breadth of the state, there has been no dearth of movies as it continued to hit the screens every weekend without fail. Most of them failed to make a mark but there were a couple which did have a decent story to convey. So how did it cater to my taste?

Nadanna Sambhavam: "Not much of a sambhavam!!!"

This is Vishnu Narayan's second directorial venture after "Maradona" with the story being the effort of Rajesh Gopinadhan. The events of the plot unfolds in a posh residential colony where Unni (Biju Menon), a marine engineer & his wife, Roshy (Sruthy Ramachandran) with daughter had recently moved in. Unni was the type of character who was pretty warm, friendly & cordial making him a rather popular person among the ladies there. This irked many of their husbands which included Ajith, (Suraj Venjaramood) who had a chauvinistic attitude that led to marital discord with his wife, Dhanya (Lijomol). It was a matter of time before the situation escalated & that's exactly what happened as Unni was literally framed for an incident that he was innocent of. 

In terms of what Vishnu & Rajesh wanted to convey, it did have a credible thread as it was essentially about the subversive emotions of married women. They opted for a satirical tone to it making many of the scenes laced with light humour. But it fails to offer anything unique or novel that kept us invested in it. Luckily for them, I didnt feel it tested our patience though there is no denying that the sequences that followed the police station saga was rather average, not to mention that the climax was quite lame. 

Coming to performances, Biju Menon's character was a cake walk for him & he has done it quite well. Suraj was the one who actually had the scope to perform to which he has done justice as he showcased the traits of a chauvinistic person quite effectively. Lijomol did her part aptly while Shruti didnt have much to do. The rest of the cast have also done their parts reasonably ok. 

Verdict: Not much of a sambhavam except that it is a harmless time-pass flick!!!

Rating: 2/5

Ullozhukku: "Intense emotional drama backed by power-packed performances!!!"

This was a movie that I was eagerly looking forward to for the reason that it featured Urvashi, who I personally consider the most versatile Malayalam actress to date. In addition, it was directed by Christo Tomy who is already a two time National Award winning director at just 36 years of age & the presence of Parvathy, who is also a powerhouse performer in her own right. 

Based on the script penned by Christo himself, it is about the emotional struggles that a mother, Leelamma (Urvashi) & her daughter-in-law, Anju (Parvathy) go through following the death of her son. Due to the heavy rains that had lashed out in the region, the funeral had to be kept on hold as the graveyard was flooded. Over the course of those days, it became evident that Anju was in an unhappy marriage & was keen on starting her life afresh. On the other hand, despite the sorrow; Leelamma looked forward to the arrival of her grand-child. Though everything looked fine on the surface, both of them harboured secrets which threatened to break the very basis of their relationship. 

Christo looks into the emotional package that both the female protagonists from different generations carry. Both of them had unfavourable circumstances thrust upon them by fate & how they chose to deal with it is what is being portrayed. Obviously, as an audience we will end up taking sides as the story slowly unfolds the secrets. Even as all the proceedings were paced properly & realistically showcased, the climax was rather lame as it was rushed & too convenient to reach a pre-determined end. On the technical side, Shehnad Jalal's visuals were fine while Sushin Shyam ensured that silence was given adequate importance to convey the emotional heft. 

Does one even have to talk about Urvashi's performance? The legend has given a power packed performance which kept us completely invested in the story. Giving her apt company was Parvathy who was equally impressive. Prashant Murali as Thomaskutty didn't have much screen space but did his part well along with Arjun Radhakrishnan. The rest of the cast have also done justice to their roles.

Verdict: I dont think they could have chosen a better title for this movie. Kudos to Christo, Urvashi & Parvathy, as it was well made & performed. In short, do check it out!!!

Rating: 3.5/5

Big Ben: "Execution wasn't exactly thought through!!!"

The last week of June saw Bino Augustine making his directorial debut with a story that he had penned about child protection law that is prevalent in the western world. It did have shades of Ashima Chibber's "Mrs Chatterjee vs Norway", though that had marital discord as the main cause. Lovely (Aditi Ravi) worked with the NHS while her husband, Jean (Anu Mohan) was a stay home dad as he was a SI who was presently under suspension due to which he had moved to the UK. Life moves on calmly until an issue happens with Lovely at work to add onto a quarrel that Jean got into with her colleague, Wilson (Vinay Fort) & his friends during an Onam function. This brings in the investigation team into the picture & in Jean's fit of fury, it resulted in an event that injured their daughter. Soon enough, the child welfare agency takes away their child stating that she was not safe to be with her parents. What subsequently unfolds is the effort of the parents to get back their daughter. 

It was an interesting theme & a premise that is not explored much in our industry. The manner in which the story is build was fine & we get to feel the tense situation that the parents go through. There is no doubt that the second half makes for a more engaging watch, but it felt like Bino had pushed the envelope a bit too far as it lacked the believability. In addition, another aspect that could have been given more screen space was the emotional turmoil Lovely went through. The technical aspects were handled well.

On the performance front, Aditi has done a fine job while Anu was decent though he does struggle in the emotional scenes. The rest cast of the cast have which included Nisha Sarang, Biju Sopanam, Vijay Babu did their roles aptly while the presence of Mia George & Chandunath barely had any relevance.

Verdict: Despite the decent theme, the movie falters in its execution.

Rating: 2/5

Samadhana Pusthakam: "This pusthakam is unlikely to give box office samadhanam for the makers!!!"

After having collaborated with Arun Jose in the role of a script writer, the duo decided to reverse roles for this flick with Raveesh Nath making his directorial debut. Along with CP Sivan, they decided to pen a story on the need of sex education rather than sweep it under the carpet & treat it as taboo which in turn led to more harm that could have been easily avoided. 

The story is set a couple of decades back when soft porn magazines were still much in demand as internet was still in its infancy. Muthalib (Irfan) along with his buddies rented out a soft porn magazine from a shop & decided to make some bucks out of it by loaning it to their classmates. However, things takes a turn when Appu (Dhanush) flicks the book from them & the news of such a magazine being circulated among the students reaches the ears of the school authorities.

There are quite a few hilarious scenes as expected & it works reasonably well in the first half. But I felt the latter half could have been much better & though the emotional sequences in the climax had an impact, the subsequent preaching didn't have much effect at all. On the performance front, almost all the youngsters did their parts well while the others such as Veena Nair (especially the climax sequence), James Eli, Siju Wilson etc. provided the adequate support. 

Verdict: Certainly provided the laughs early on, but failed to provide an effective latter half and had a rather tame end!!!

Rating: 1.75/5

Regards...Ben

Kalki 2898 AD & Gaganachari: "Our film industry has certainly moved ahead in dealing with sci-fi themes!!!"

The T20 WC has come to an end while the Euros & Copa America have reached the business end of the tournament. So much so, that even though I did happen to watch some interesting sci-fi themed movies over the past couple of weeks, I didn't quite find the time to pen my opinion as to why I liked them. These include Nag Ashwin's "Kalki 2898 AD" & Arun Chandu's "Gaganachari". Whenever our Indian movies have ventured into sci-fi, more often than not; it came across as half baked & lacked convincibility. So what made these two flicks work for me???

Kalki 2898 AD: "Visually inspired from many others though creatively it had a soul of its own!!!"

One of the most awaited movie of the year was undoubtedly this flick & to be honest, I didn't have much expectations primarily because of the way majority of Prabhas's movies have shaped up after the "Baahubali" series. To do that, even the trailer looked like it was inspired from a plethora of Hollywood flicks. The only aspect that kept me interested was the stellar star cast which included Big B & Kamal Haasan and that the story was a mix of mythology and sci-fi. 

Based on the script by Ashwin in collaboration with Rutham Samar, Sai Madhav Burra & Sarawagna Kumar, the story is set in the post-apocalyptic world in 2898 AD and it is about the protection of the mother of Lord Vishnu's next avatar, Kalki in Kali Yuga. The movie unfolds in the aftermath of the Kurukshetra War where Aswathama (Big B) tries to kill Uttara's unborn son, the heir apparent to the Pandavas; with Brahmastra, to avenge their loss. However, Krishna intervenes to prevent the mishap & curses Ashwathama to roam the land until redemption comes with him taking the role of a protector for Kalki's arrival. 

This the second directorial venture that I had watched of Ashwin after "Mahanati" which I had also liked. Kudos to the manner in which he has seamlessly blended mythology with sci-fi and will undoubtedly go down as one of the the finest ever VFX/CGI Indian movie. There is no doubt that it was visually inspired from numerous movies like "Guardians of the Galaxy", "Dune", "Star Wars", "Mad Max", "Justice League", "Man of Steel" etc, the list goes on & on. Thankfully it was not just a blatant mediocre rip off but rather handled with finesse that acted as add-ons to a proper story that was engaging & awe evoking. That doesn't mean that it was all hale & hearty, as the first half had significant chunks that just beats around the bush for quite a while before it gets into the proceedings.

Kudos to the vision of Ashwin that went into the world building of Kurukshetra, Complex, Shambala etc & hats off to the dedication of the technical team which was top notch to say the least. Each & every visual aspect was done exceptionally well be it the VFX-CGI & the cinematography by Djordje Stojiljkovic. However, Santhosh Narayanan's music failed to leave a lasting impact though the BGM was impressive.

It might have been understandably marketed as a Prabhas movie but the one who steals the show is Big B. The legend was absolutely brilliant in all facets of the performance including action which was impressive considering he is 81. Another bonafide legend who made his presence felt was Kamal Haasan in a brief appearance who will take centre stage in the sequel. After numerous lack lustered performance since "Baahubali"(though I did like him in "Salaar"), Prabhas is back with a bang as Ashwin knew how to utilize his star power. Deepika puts on a praise worthy show along with Shobhana & Anna Ben (wish she had a longer role), Keerthy Suresh makes a mark with her voice as 'Bujji'. though not sure why Disha Patani was even there. There were a plethora of cameos, most of which failed to hit the mark barring one. 

Verdict: It has already grossed a 1000 C at the box office which might not essentially translate into huge profits for Vyjayanthi Movies considering the production cost was in the range of 600C. Anyway kudos to Ashwin for a well crafted movie & sets the stage for an eagerly awaited sequel!!!

Rating: 3.5/5

Gaganachari: "Mockumentary that makes all the right noises!!!"

I still remember the first time I saw its poster as it had caught my eye due to its uniqueness. However, later on I forgot about it until there was news of it making news at various film festivals. This included the honour of being adjudged the best movie at the Art Blocks International Film Festival held at Copenhagen. 

This is Arun Chandu's third directorial venture & this time around as mentioned earlier has opted for a sci-fi subject that he had penned with Siva Sai. They have placed the story in a dystopian Kerala in 2043 where the planet had ceased to exist in the manner that we know. Victor Vasudevan ( ganesh Kumar) was an ex-military officer that was part of the team that had taken on the aliens when they first came to the planet. Presently, he led a peaceful retired life in a secluded building along with his nephew, Alan (Gokul Suresh) & helper, Vaibhav (Aju Varghese). Things take a turn when Vaibhav unknowingly brings home a female alien (Anarkali Marikkar) & how they manage the situation before it goes out of control is what this movie is about. 

Kudos to both Arun & Siva for pulling this off as it was no easy feat considering they had a minimalistic budget & yet had to convincingly convey to the audience about the sci-fi aspect whenever it was shown. They have intelligently focused their energies on the content which was both witty and quirky in equal measure. As per Arun, the inspiration behind it is Taika Waititi's "What We Do In The Shadows" whereby they made a concoction of Malayalam pop culture references with a liberal sprinkling of the socio-political climate, all of which provide ample moments of humour. The contribution of the technical team has to be really appreciated be it Surjith Pai's visuals, Shankar Sharma's score & Aravind Manmadhan's editing. Their work ensured that Arun's vision was executed in the best manner possible. 

The only time that I could possibly remember when Ganesh genuinely made me to laugh must be in "Manichitrathazhu" (there might be others that I cant recollect). As Victor, he was top notch & handled the humour proficiently, which I believe is undoubtedly one of his best career performances. Another person who surprised me was Gokul as he showed his capability to handle humour. At times, he did tend to go overboard but in the context of his character, I felt it was fine. Aju gives a fine performance along with Anarkali & kudos to Mallika Sukumaran's vocal presence which was a master stroke by Arun.

Verdict: It is definitely an engaging watch that keeps us in good spirits for most parts. Anyway with the makers have already announced their intention to make another flick in the same genre, "Maniyan Chittappan" with Suresh Gopi in the lead (an easter egg related to the same is shown in the movie); it could possibly herald the beginning of sensible sci-fi flicks from our industry. In short, do check it out!!!

Rating: 3.25/5

Regards...Ben

Grr, Golam, Little Hearts, Once Upon a Time in Kochi, SSHP & Marivillin Gopurangal: "More thought put into titles than on the story!!!"

The monsoon has lashed the length & breadth of the state in full fury bringing some much needed respite from the torrid summer. Anyway over the past couple of weeks, there has been a few releases; some of which I had happened to watch. Well except for one, the rest were largely average or mediocre. So the question is when will the next big release come to the theatres? Seems like the answer to that could be "Kalki 2898 AD" though many of the scenes in the trailer looked like a blatant rip off of many Hollywood flicks. 

Grr: "Eww could have been a better choice of title!!!"

During it's promotions, Jay K stated that the thought for this 'survival comedy' came from an incident that unfolded in Trivandrum Zoo a few years back. This is Jay's second directorial venture after the reasonably appreciated "Ezra" & he has penned the script from the idea that was mentioned earlier. 

Regimon (Chackochan) is an entrepreneur who was in an affair with Rachana (Anagha), the daughter of a prominent politician. As one would expect, her father was against their relation due to caste & financial reasons and hence the two decided to elope. But when she didn't turn up on the decided day, Regi ends up drunk & jumps into a lion's enclosure in the zoo. The rest of the movie is about the efforts of the authorities to rescue him.

Well to be frank, apart from a few sporadic laughs; there was hardly anything worthwhile that kept the audience engaged. It felt like the sticking together of various skits that we usually come across in TV channels. Neither the main plot nor the sub-plots provided anything that was unique and that proved to be it's downfall. None of the technical aspects deserved special mention including the VFX.

Even the performances didn't have much to write home about as it was average at best, though it had more to do with the lack of material for the artists to play with. Among the cast, the only ones worth mentioning were Suraaj who tickles the funny bone with his efforts to pacify Chackochan's character, while it was refreshing to see Shruti Ramachandran in a humorous role which she handled quite well.

Verdict: It is definitely a survival comedy where the audience will struggle to survive without looking at their watches as the comedy also falls flat in numerous instances!!!

Rating: 1.5/5

Golam: "Neatly crafted investigation thriller!!!"

Frankly speaking, this was a movie that I wasn't even planning to watch until I heard some positive comments about it. So I decided to check out Samjad's directorial debut where he had collaborated along with Praveen Viswanath on the script. It is essentially an investigation thriller where the MD of an IT company (Dileesh Pothan) is found dead in the washroom of the office in broad daylight. So was it a suicide or a murder & to solve the mystery, ASP Sandeep (Ranjith Sajeev) is entrusted with the case.

In terms of the plot, I would have to admit that it was well done & kept us engaged with the thought that has gone into it. Obviously, one glaring issue that I felt is that though the planning looked fine, the officer as such barely revealed anything; so essentially we don't get to see his investigation capabilities. The manner in which the crux is revealed gave the feel of a Michael Crichton type of novel but the possibility of a sequel might not be a great idea for such kind of a story as it requires high quality production value which is rarely executed properly in our industry & tended to come across as mediocre, when attempted otherwise. On the technical side, Vijay's visuals were fine & a special mention of appreciation for Mahesh Bhuvanend whose editing was impressive.

However, the same cannot be said about the performances which were average at best with the exception being Siddique, though we have seen him do such type of roles in the past. Ranjith had a chiselled torso, however his acting abilities were far from refined.

Verdict: It belongs to those category of flicks that didn't have the star power but word of mouth got it noticed & it certainly deserved that attention. In short, do check it out!!!

Rating: 2.75/5

Little Hearts: "More heart required in exploring the relationships!!!"

When the promos of this flick came out, the main USP was obviously the lead pair of Shane Nigam & Mahima Nambiar after their successful combination in "RDX". This was the second directorial effort of Anto Jose Pereira & Aby Treesa Paul & they would have hoped for a much better outing than their "Member Ramesan 9aam Ward". 

Baby (Baburaj) & his son, Sibi (Shane) were the best of buddies who shared everything with each other. As Baby has been a widower for quite a while, he nursed feelings for his childhood love, Cicily (Ramya Suvi) whose husband had abandoned her & their teenage daughter, a few years back. However, with resentment about their relationship from various quarters, they weren't able to formalise it officially. It was around the same time that Sosha (Mahima) confessed her love to Sibi & before he could come to terms with it, her brother, Sharon (Shine Tom) requested his help to convince his parents of the life partner that he had met in UK. 

First & foremost, I liked the animation that were shown in the credits section as it had the finesse unlike the tackiness that we usually come across. Rajesh Pinnadan's script focused on three different relationships & the impact that it had on the people around them. It did have the potential to make it engaging for the audience without having to adopt a melodramatic track, which is what I feel they would have been confused about. The track that involved Baby & Cicily was the best among the lot, as it did have its emotional moments & gave a smile as well. As for the other two, it was inconsistent with the one that involved Shine Tom being the most under developed. The technical aspects were neatly done but not to the the extent of deserving special mention.

I dont even remember the last time when I saw Shine Tom behave in a sensible manner in a movie as it always felt like an extension of his interviews. However, over here he was well within the requirement of the character & did a decent job. Shane was ok though I felt there were inconsistencies in the manner his character was written. Ramya Suvi, Baburaj & Shammi Thilakan did a fine job while Mahima was average.

Verdict: Seemed like they were too focused on making it into a rom-com, that they forgot to invest time in establishing the adequate heft to the various tracks. 

Rating: 2/5

Once Upon a Time in Kochi: "About time Nadirshah gave serious thought about his films!!!"

The first time that I heard about this movie was when I came across Nadirshah's comments that "Kesu.." was sold to Hotstar for a barely believable 30C. I was stumped to say the least as to how such a mediocre flick bagged such a huge price. Anyway his latest release is the launchpad for Raffi's son, Mubin Raffi & with Arjun Ashokan in an equally important role; it was interesting to see how it panned out. 

Rafi is known to have helmed & penned many hilarious flicks, & hence it certainly raised expectations as this comedy thriller was based on his script. The drug menace in Kochi has been in the news for quite a while now & that is the basis on which this story is mounted. SI Anand Das (Arjun) was on a personal mission to wipe out the drug cartel that was in operation in the city. On a parallel track, Janaki (Devika Sanjay) was one of the carriers in that cartel into which Habibi (Mubin) also gets entangled in. Incidentally, both of them had feelings for each other in the past but it didnt quite work out & into that mix, Anand's family approached Devika's folks with a marriage proposal. How all of this have an effect on their lives is what this movie is about. 

So is it a comedy or a thriller? Well the truth is that it is neither & therein lies its problem, as it was not able to do justice to either of them. There were quite a few sub-plots as well, not to mention the songs that were squeezed in; none of which managed to make the movie interesting. None of the technical aspects stood out & when it came to performances, Arjun has done a decent job while Devika & Mubin were average at best. There were artists such as Riyaz Khan as a visually challenged sharp shooter (along the lines of Jagathi's character in "Vettam") & numerous others as well most of whom I dont even recollect now which is a fair indication as to how forgetful the movie was.

Verdict: It will be interesting to see how much it will get from the OTT platform. Anyway it would be fair to say that it's high time that Rafi & Nadirshah realise that the taste of audience has moved on from what it was the last time they came with movies!!!

Rating: 1/5

SSHP: "Experimentation goes overboard!!!"

When Ratheesh Balakrishnan Poduval announced that his latest release was a spin off from his critically & commercially appreciated "Nna Thaan Case Kodu", there was a quite bit of expectation. I do enjoy his quirky sense of humour & it seemed like with Suresh & Sumalatha's romance, he was going to push the envelope even further.

As the title indicated, it is about their romance & how Suresh (Rajesh Madhavan) tries to impress Sumalatha's father (Sudheesh) for her hand. Since her father was a huge fan of dramas, Suresh decides to direct one & the events that happen as a result of that is what this movie is about. Though it is not a political satire, I feel that is one area that it manages to throw the punches with effect while the romance did not quite have the impact what it had in "NTCK". The romantic track is depicted in three different timelines & that I felt made it confusing for me, as the conviction & logical reasoning did not come across as organic. 

On the technical side, it was neatly done be it the art department, Sabin Uralikandy's cinematography & Sushin Shyam's music. Coming to performances, Sudheesh rocked while Rajesh & Chitra did their parts well, while the rest of the cast did their parts aptly.

Verdict: Maybe it might turn out to be a cult classic after a few years, but for now; it felt like Ratheesh went overboard with experimentation & lost track of the need for the audience to warm up to it!!!

Rating: 2/5

Marivillin Gopurangal: "A pale shadow of that iconic song!!!"

Is there any Malayali who haven't heard Vidayasagar's melodious songs from "Summer in Bethlehem" which included the iconic track 'Marivillin Gopurangal'? I doubt so. Hence when Kokers Media Entertainment decided to launch their latest production with that title along with Vidyasagar, it felt like they wanted to turn back the clock & replicate the success. With Arun Bose helming the project on a subject that he had penned with Pramod Mohan & a solid cast, it did seem like they had the recipe for success.

Shinto (Indrajith) & Sherin (Shruti Ramachandran) had been married for a while now but weren't ready to step into parenthood despite pressure from family & friends. Shinto was a budding film maker who was waiting for his first major break while Sherin ran a nursery & that took care of their financial struggles. It was around this time that Shinto's brother, Rony (Sarjano Khalid) came to their home with his pregnant girlfriend, Meenakshi (Vincy Aloshious), who was reluctant to get married. The rest of the movie is about the effect that all of this had on the life of both the couples. 

Arun Bose has certainly touched upon a topic that has gained relevance over the past decade or so, be it the reluctance of couples to have a child, decision to become single parent etc. It was a decent watch on the whole though it doesn't make us feel invested with the characters. More than the actual story, what stood out was the chemistry between the artists especially between Indrajith & Shruti. Both of them did their parts well & they were supported by Sarjano & Vincy despite the latter being over the top at times which felt rather artificial. Unfortunately, the same cannot be said about the music which was quite average while Syamaprakash's cinematography was in sync with the mood.

Verdict: Despite the presence of a talented cast, the script fails to do justice to their talent!!!

Rating: 2/5

Regards...Ben

Turbo, Thalavan & Mandakini: "Turbo downs mandakini and emerges thalavan at the box office!!!"

With the monsoons having started to lash across the length & breadth of the state after a torrid summer, there were a trio of releases last weekend hoping to cash in prior to the commencement of the academic year. As per box office reports, Vysakh's "Turbo" seems on course to recover the costs despite it's high production costs. So is it indeed so good & does the other two stand a chance???

Turbo: "A classic cliché salvaged by performances & Vysakh's skills!!!"

Over the past couple of years, Mammookka's choice of scripts has been top notch irrespective of whichever genre it belonged to. However, to be honest; there was one choice that I was most sceptical about & it happened to be his latest release. The primary reason for that was Vysakh whose action flicks predominantly had that standard template which was predictable from a mile away though I do accept that his film making skills in majority of the cases made it an engaging theatrical experience. 

For a change, this time around he has joined hands with Midhun Manuel Thomas instead of Udaykrishna & that gave the hope that the template would be much better. The protagonist, 'Turbo' Jose (Mammookka) who hailed from Idukki had a habit of getting drawn into fights. The latest issue  that involved Indhulekha (Anjana Jayaprakash) who was in love with his friend, Jerry (Shabareesh Varma) found him having to flee to Chennai. However, as one would expect he found himself in a bigger problem as Jerry & Indhu's lives were threatened by the kingmaker, Vetrivel Shanmugha (Raj B Shetty).

Did Midhun actually even write a script for this or did Udaykrishna ghost write it? There is not even the semblance of a credible storyline as events unfold just like the numerous other similar genre movies that we have seen in the past. There is mention of an act that Vetrivel does which reminded me of Mithran's "Irumbu Thirai" that I happened to watch on Mazhavil Manorama sometime back. Actually, if they had focused on that aspect rather than merely mention it; I personally believe it would have made the movie engaging & impactful. Apart from a brief touch on Jose's bond with his mother, there is hardly anything that emotionally binds us to the characters. Despite all these shortcomings, Vysakh still manages to keep the ship afloat primarily with his skills and the support of his talented crew. Kudos to the action choreography & visual department handled by Phoenix Prabhu & Vishnu Sarma respectively, both of whom were impressive. The same also applies to a certain degree to Christo Xavier's BGM & Shameer Muhammad's editing. 

On the performance front, it is a role that barely challenged Mammookka as a performer but the action sequences required him to put in a lot of hard work & it was there for all to see. The legend was top notch in those sequences & continues to prove that age is just a number. Raj B Shetty is an artist that needs no introduction & it was unfortunate to see him be given such a poorly etched character. However, he made that character shine through with his skills & convincingly gave that villainous aura. Bindu Panicker stood out with some of her dialogues, Shabareesh did his part aptly while Anjana, despite the screen time didnt have much to do. Sunil as Auto Billa was wasted & could have been dispensable, as he reminded me of his mannerisms in "Jailer" while Kabir Duhan was damn good. 

Verdict: It is always a pleasure to see movies do good business at the box office. But it is undeniable that Midhun's script was mediocre & it still managed to garner credible footfalls primarily because of Vysakh's film making skills & Mammookka as well as Raj's performance!!!

Rating: 2/5

Thalavan: "Jis Joy makes a promising transition to other genre!!!"

Whenever Jis Joy's name is mentioned, the first impression that most will have about him is that he is the brand ambassador of 'feel good' movies. Though he tried to break away from that mold with his previous movie "Innale Vare" it failed to impress the audience. Hopefully his latest directorial venture will have more takers as he collaborated with Anand Thevarkkat & Sarath Perumbavoor, for their maiden script. 

Rtd DySP Udayabhanu (Dileesh Pothan) was doing a talk show in a channel where he spoke about the sensational cases that he was involved in (along the lines of 'Charithram Ennillode' in Safari TV). One of them happened to involve two cops, CI Jayashankar (Biju Menon) & SI Karthik (Asif Ali) who were at loggerheads coz of their egos. Things take a turn when Jayashankar becomes a murder suspect & Karthik is put in charge of the investigation. So can Jayashankar expect justice in such a scenario???

First & foremost, kudos to both Anand & Sarath as it definitely had an intriguing plot that kept us hooked until the very end. The character arc given to the artists were impressive as that provided much of the effect but in terms of the knockout punch in the end, it was rather lukewarm. There is no doubt that Jis Joy has done a fine job in executing it well & kudos to him for that while the technical aspects were also executed reasonably well.

Both Biju Menon & Asif Ali have done a fine job in their respective roles with Dileesh Pothan providing decent support. Bilas Chandrahasan was impressive along with Kottayam Naseer though the latter reminded me of his role in "Anweshippin Kandethum". As for the rest, Miya George, Anusree & Joji John did their parts aptly while Jaffer Idukki was wasted in an insignificant role.

Verdict: Though it would not be a thalavan at the box office (didn't quite understand the thought behind that title), it certainly has the substance to keep us engaged. In short, do check it out!!!

Rating: 3/5

Mandakini: "Seems like the makers were intoxicated as well!!!"

The third movie of the week were from a bunch of debutants as Vinod Leela chose to picturise the script that were penned by the duo, Shiju Bhaskaran & Shalu. If "Guruvayoor Ambalanadayil" was the hungama leading upto the marriage, over here it is about the post marriage fiasco that unfolds in the first night. The couple in focus were Aromal (Althaf Salim) & Ambili (Anarkali Marikar), and the issues unfold when the latter unknowingly downs a glass of Mandakini, an intoxicating drink that one of the guests had brought as part of the celebrations. 

To be fair to the makers, they had an idea on paper but failed to flesh it out properly. So much so, I believe there was a significant deal of improvisation in the dubbing stage. The situations created managed to create sparse laughs but apart from that nothing else quite managed to get my attention. 

On the technical aside, none of them deserves special mention. As for performances, Vineeth Thattil tickles the funny bone while Saritha Kukku (as Rajalakshmi) was good as well. The lead pair of Althaf & Anarkali were fine, while Ganapathi, Jaffer Idukki, Aswathy Sreekanth etc supported well. 

Verdict: The aliyan bromance evokes laughs & did have a couple of light moments, but on the whole it didn't have adequate content!!!

Rating: 1.5/5