Breaking Views on Joss Whedon's Avengers: Age of Ultron - Movie Review

Joss Whedon is back with the biggest real & real life 'super hero' ensemble ever in Hollywood history, the sequel to critic darling & box office juggernaut, The Avengers. SHIELD has fallen (CAP 2 & Agents of SHIELD) and the film begins with the Avengers reuniting to capture Loki's scepter from HYDRA. To avoid any such future mishaps the 'mad scientists' Banner &  Stark decide to use the scepter, befor Thor takes it back to Asgard and create Stark's pet project 'Ultron' a robot army to help them defend Earth. But as always it goes wrong and creates the AI super villain 'Ultron' voiced by James Spader. 'Ultron' is the evil version of stark himself and tsince lack a body and travels via the net, makes it even more difficult for the Avengers to handle. Adding to the woes are the 'Enhanced' twins 'Quick Silver' & 'Scarlet Witch' - the fast & the Weird one. All hell breaks loose as Ultron manages a stock of 'Vibranium' the hardest metal on earth, thing which CAP's shield is made of, and starts building his own Robot army to 'apparently' save Earth by wiping out the entire population. So how will Avengers tackle the enemy this time and save the world forms the rest of the tale.

As a film it might not quite match upto the first one, the first one was one of a kind and blew every one's mind, so it was obvious that it will be a hell of a job to even match up to that. One of the biggest flaws of the film is the Villain, which was supposed to be one of the best ever, menancing, cunning etc. If not for the outstanding job over mic by James Spader (Watch 'The Blaclist' to see the actor in action') the character would have fall flat, thanks to lack of character development. For those who are not familiar with the comic book world, this might just feel like a copy/remake of Shankar's magnum opus, 'Enthiran' .Apart from such minor flaws the film still entertains and may be more than that for Comic book fanatics.

The film is full of humorous one liners, a Marvel specialty. But unlike last time Iron Man & Hulk takes a back seat. But the scene in which they collide is awesome, a true 'every penny worthy' moment. Hawk Eye gets more screen time and punch lines this time and it worked out well too. Black Widow too gets a light thrown in to her past. We also finally gets to see 'Jarvis' in his 'bodly' form. The 'Enhanced twins' also gets their own screen time, even though it doesn't end well for one of them. The Quick Silver do gets some unique moments, but still the Bryan singer version in 'Xmen Days of Future Past' stands tall with that one iconic scene.  The film also threw snippets into the future Marvel movies like 'Black Panther' CAP 3: Civil war'  etc. The new Avengers team which as per reports will fill in for the the current team in 'Avengers: Infinity Wars Part 1' also gets teased at the end.

The action sequences are awesome. But the cinematography fails to capture the entire thing in grandeur, makes us often wonder, what the hell is happening ala Transformers like. VFX is as always top notch. Back ground score was Okay.

I n all Avengers Age of Ultron is your typical Hollywood summer blockbuster. Don't expect a 'Dark Knight', its for Comic book - Super hero movie aficionados and offers everything a Marvel movie promises.

Rating: 3.5/5




******





Spoiler






*******



The end credit scene features Thanos, once again and he is getting ready to hunt for the 'Infinity stones' all by himself, and the wait for 'Infinity Wars' begin.......

Kaththi - Movie Review - AR Muugadoss, Vijay, Samantha

Kaththi aka Kathiressan is a petty thief, who is currently in Kolkatta State Prison. Meanwhile Jeevanandam a Kaththi look alike is spear heading the moment for farmers against corporate land grabers back home. How the paths of these two diametrically opposite characters cross forms the rest of the story.

The basic story line may not be innovative but the way an important message has been conveyed through the film both entertainingly and effectivevly is where the success of Kaththi lies in.

AR Murugadoss first of all deserves all the credits in the world for 1
1) The poerful, impactful, emotional dialogues in the film
2) Conveying the message entertainingly without being preachhy, eventhough few might feel lag/drag here and there as the movie runs close to 3 hours and is not your regular mass masala movie
3) The way the movie has been written, packaged and presented
4) and most importantly for keeping the identity of Jeevandam till the very end and not going opting gallery pleasing techniques

Now the importance of 4th point becomes more clear once you watch the movie. The Kathiresan Avatar we have seen many times, but as Jeevanandam you will get to see a never seen before Vijay. He was too good in emotional scenes, something which was not his forte, a complete down to earth character, with 0% mass/commercial elements, perhaps played for the first time by Vijay, and he comes out with flying colors [The film is a must watch for all the admirers of the actor, just for this character].

As Kathireesan Vijjay is in his comfort zone and delivers the character with typical Ilayathalapathy mannerisms and naughtiness and mass. The actors who played the old villagers were good too. Sathish as the side kick was good. Samantha really has nothing much to do, and the film didn't require a heroine in the 1st place. But thankfully the scenes between Vijay-Sam is noway irritating/boring like the scenes with Kajal in Thuppakki. Neil was okay as the villain, tried to repeat Vidyut success, but nowhere near.

Anirudh scored heavily with the background sscore, another highpoint of the movie. With the movie the songs sounds/looks good too. Cinematography was good, high points being the Coins fight scene and tunnel scene.

The film has adequate aaction and that too not over the top. There are no unnecessary punchlines either, but even the BG score or a visual with no music cant sent the theater go bezerk, thanks to ARM's intelligent craftmanship.

The highlights of the movie are
1. Press Meet
2. Coin fight scene
3. Tunnel Scene
4. Last scene with 'Yar petha mavano' in the background

In all Kaththi offfers perfect blend of mass and class which sends a very good message and is not your typical Vijay mass masala. If you have the time to invest and love Vijay the actor more than the superstar Kaththi is a must watch.

Rating: 3.75/5



Thank you for reading & if i have typed Jagadeeshan instead of Jeevandam anywhere, requesting you to read it correctly.

Villali Veeran - Movie Review - Dileep, Namitha

 Cast: 

Dileep - Siddarthan

Namitha Pramod - Narmada

Kalabhavan Shajon, Mythily, Nedumudi Venu, Siddique, K. B. Ganesh Kumar, Suraj Venjaramoodu, Lalu Alex, Geetha Vijayan, Valsala Menon, Neena Kurup, Saju Kodiyan, Suresh Krishna, Dharmajan Bolgatty, Dinesh Panicker, Vinaya Prasad

Director: Sudheesh Sankar

Producer: R.V. Chaudhary

Music: S.A. Rajkumar

Lyrics: Murukan Kattakkada, Rafeeq Ahmed

Cinematography: Anil Nair

Editing: Jayashankar

Art Direction: Sujith Raghav

Screenplay: Dinesh Pallath

Story/Writer: Dinesh Pallath


Siddarthan lends money, runs vegetable shop etc to feed not only his family but three other families too. He is ready to do anything to keep them happy. His path often cross with Narmada an ad film make, the conflicts which slowly gives rise to romance. There is a story to why Siddarthan's father is in jail and who are the 3 families he is looking after, all of which explained in the following reels.

The film begins as a typical Dileep entertainer, but then changes rack to emotional soap like drama (the debutant director has yielded Mega Serials in the past) to revenge drama and ends up an unsatisfying, boring 'Avial'. Even most of the jokes in the initial reels falls flat, except a few from Dharmajan and Dileep. The first half can be called watchable, but the later one just test the viewers patience. It lags and drags like hell.

 Dileep is totally out of form once again nafter Avatharam and the supporting cast except Dharmajan offers nothing much. Namitha and Mythili are there for namesake. The direction was average the script was bad. There is nothing much to tell and the dialogues are flat too. Cinematography was good, editing should have been crispier. The film at about 168 mins is too long. The music is average eventhough they have been choreographed and shot well. Action choreography was also good.

'Villali Veeran' is not your regular mindless Dileep comedy mass entertainer. It is long, slow, boring and most importantly sans any good humor (both in terms of quality and quantity)

Verdict - Below Average

ENTERTAINMENT - Movie Review - Akshay Kumar, Tamannaah

ENTERTAINMENT - Movie Review - Akshay Kumar, Tamannaah

Screenplay & Direction by Sajid-Farhad

Produced by Ramesh S Taurani / Jayantilal Gada

Story by K.Subhash

Music by Sachin-Jigar

Stars: Junior Dog, Akshay Kumar, Tamannaah Bhatia, Mithun Chakraborty, Johny Lever, Praskash Raj, Sonu Sood & Krishna Abhishek

Movie Review by Sree Prasad Nair

Theater – Al Wahda Cinemas, Abu Dhabi, UAE

07/08/2014 – 11.30 pm

Occupancy – 80% (Surprising, Zero promotions in UAE)

Entertainment is the directorial debut of bollwood script writer duo Sajid-Farhad. The duo had penned many blockbusters in the past right from Golmaal Returns to 2013 Blockbuster Chennai Express. However their last film as writers, Boss (remake of Malayalam film Pokkiriraja) bombed at the box office. And with Entertainment, they are making their directorial debut in bollywood.

Entertainment is the second Akshay Kumar film releasing in 2014. The actor had a sleeper hit with Holiday(remake of Tamil film Thuppakki) which grossed about 115 crores at the box office. Entertainment stars Junior Dog, Akshay Kumar, Tamannaah Bhatia, Mithun Chakraborty, Johny Lever, Prakash Raj, Sonu Sood & Krishna Abhishek.


STORY
Entertainment is the story of an unemplyed guy Akhil Lokhande (Akhshay Kumar) who is struggling to find some money for his ailing father. Akhil is in love with Saakhsi (Tamannaah Bhatia) a stereotypical TV serial actress who needs to convince her father (Mithun Chakraborty) that marrying Akhil will keep her happy. But her stingy father puts down a condition that she can only marry him if he becomes a Crorepati. Akhil accepts his condition that not only he will become crorepati, but also his daughter's pati.

But one day he realizes that his ailing father is not his real father and his real father is famous billionaire in Bangkok, Pannalal Johari (Dilip Tahil) in Bangkok. Akhil comes to know that his father passed away but when he reaches Bangkok, he comes to know that his father gave whole of his property of 3000 crore to his pet dog named Entertainment (Junior Dog). The family lawyer (Johny Lever) appoints him as the caretaker of the dog.

Akhil and his filmi cd library friend Krishna tries to kill the dog and they fail miserably in each and evry attempts. But Pannalal Johri's first cousins, Karan-Arjun (Prakash Raj & Sonu Sood) are behind Johri's 3000crore and they decide that they can get the whole money only after killing Akhil. What happens next? Does the Entertainment die in the end? Who will get the whole money, Akhil or Karan-Arjun? For that you should go and watch Entertainment.

This is a small warning for all those who are planning to watch ENTERTAINMENT. There is a strong possibility that you'd fall off your chair laughing. To state that Entertainment is a rib-tickling comedy would be an understatement. Because Entertainment is a complete laughathon.

Positives
Put your hands together for one of the best comic capers to hit the screen in recent times. Entertainment charters the same path as director duo Sajid-Farhad earlier script works Housefull 2, Golmaal Series, Double Dhamaal, etc. But Entertainment is a step ahead in terms of content, light sequences, terrific comedy and hilarious oneliners. And that's the reason Entertainment works big time as an entertaining film.

Entertainment belongs to Akshay Kumar. The actor goes on a rampage yet again and delivers a performance that's not at par but better than that in Housefull Series. His comic timing is just brilliant. His expressions, repeated one liners, great comedy will contribute enormously to the repeat viewing. He got an unquestionable talent of showing bizzare expressions with his face and he is excellent in it. Sometimes you can't believe that it's the same Akshay Kumar who gave us Virat Bakshi in Holiday. His chemistry with the Junior dog is crackling, infact more rocking than his chemistry with Tamannaah. As usual, Akshay Kumar is rocking in his comfort zone, comedy!

Tamannaah Bhatia is competent. Finally she got a good role after the failures, Himmatwala & Humshakals. Her serial dialogues are witty and her pairing with Akshay is good. Krushna is a scene stealer yet again. His sequence with Akshay Kumar and dog is amongst the most memorable sequences of the film. His oneliners are clapworthy, especially "I Rajni Kant believe this."

Prakash Raj & Sonu Sood are a revelation. Both actors displayed their comic side like a complete pro. Actually, they should continue doing roles that go beyond their villain image. Their Karan-Arjun song sequences are truly hilarious. Mithun Chakraborty is funny as Tamannaah's stingy father.

Johny Lever is a scene stealer, yet again. Not even a single minute goes without laughing while you watch him in Entertainment. Yes after a long time, he got a meaty role and he provided maximum laughs even just with his name in the film. Real hero of the film, Junior dog is very adorable. The interactions between the dog and Akshay Kumar are picturised beautifully and it's so touching. Yes the dog makes you laugh and shed few tears.

Direction by the writer duo Sajid-Farhad is good. Special marks to them for writing extra ordinary dialogues and terrific one liners. Music by Sachin-Jigar is very good. Johny Johny song is already a chartbuster. Tera Naam Doon & Veerey Di Wedding are also hits.

Negatives
Last few minutes before the interval featuring Prakash Raj & Sonu Sood are boring. Teri Mahima Aprampar songs is exact copy of Kiya Kiya song from the Akshay Kumar Welcome. Sometimes film looks like a mashup of earlier Akshay Kumar films like Mr & Mrs Khiladi, De Dana Dan, Housefull and Welcome. Cinematography is surprisingly below average. Climax scene, eventhough it's hilarious is hard to digest.

On the whole, ENTERTAINMENT is a clean family entertainer that lives upto it's title with Akshay Kumar's comic timing, Junior dog and Johny Lever as pluspoints. Film is releasing on 2800+ screens because of the ongoing KICK wave at the boxoffice. A respectable opening between 11-13cr is on the cards with a weekend of 40cr+. Film need to perform very very well, especially in the weekdays to earn a good moolah as another biggie is releasing on next Friday, Singham Returns which means a long run is ruled out.
       

V​erdict - A Clean Family Entertainer That Lives Upto It's Title, ENTERTAINMENT
 Rating - 3/5  

SIMPLE YET CLEAN ENTERTAINER!!!

P:S: "Take Your Kids For Entertainment, That's The Best Way To Entertain Them"'

  This Reviewer can be contacted on Twitter : @i_spn : https://twitter.com/i_spn

Salman Khan's Kick - Movie Review

'Kick' is the remake of the Telugu blockbuster, also titled 'Kick' which *ed Ravi Teja & Illeana D'Cruz. Kick tells the story of Devi Lal Singh (Salman) who only do things that gives him a 'Kick, who turns into a Robin Hood like robber who calls himself DEVIL. Jacqueline plays his love interest, Randeep, the cop chasing Devil and Nawazuddin after whom the Devil is.

'Kick' basically is a typical Salman Khan mass entertainer that offers whatever his fans and admirers except from his films. The film begins in a super entertaining manner with Salman Khan in full on energy & mood, playing it to the gallery. The pace slightly drops towards interval and the Devil into could and should have been better. In the second half its the cat n mouse gamr between Salman-Ranndeep-Nawazuddin. From a typical Indian mass masala the film takes a grand hollywoodisque make over in the 2nd half.

The first half feels lengthy, but the later one moves at rapid speed giving not much time for the viewers to think.The script is all over the place with uneven pace. Sajid Nadiadwala makes a decent debut as the Director of this mammoth commercial vehicle. Cinematography is outstanding & Music is really good, which has been picturised beautifully too. Editing was average, especially Devil's intro and the way the scene leading to the now 'iconic' walking before train shot has been cut. The flow between scenes is bumpy. The action sequences in Poland even though looks grandeur, actually lacked finesse in execution on closer look. There's no point searching for logic in such a film, so lets leave that apart.

Despite many flaws KICK manages to satisfy its targets audience thanks to the one man entertainment army called 'Salman Khan'. He is in his best form after a small gap, and looked interested and enjoying the proceedings. Jacqueline looked hot and cute the same time, but her make up was way over the top. She scorched the screen in the 1 min exclusive screen time she got in 'Jumme Ki Raat'. Randeep Hooda was good. Nawazuddin Ziddiqui was excellent, enacting a role, eventhough limited in screen time, which could have easily gone horribly wrong had anybody else did it.

In all KICK is a film for fans and all those like no-brainer mass masala entertainers. Its 140 mins of entertainment package with something for everyone except the intellectuals and critics.

Rating 3/5

A Perfect Salmantainer !!!

Dawn of the Planet of the Apes - Movie Review

 

Dawn of the Planet of the Apes - Movie Review

 

Rise of the Planet of the Apes was not only the surprise hit of 2011, was technically brilliant and a great movie too. Dawn of the Planet of the Apes, sequel to RotPotA was eagerly awaited hence.

RotPotA told the story of a shrewdness of apes, who were held captive for research purposes, escaping into the woods, not before exposing themselves to the  viral drug (ALZ-113, believed to be the cure for Alzheimer's) which makes them as smart & intelligent as Humans. The film ends hinting us a viral outbreak, upon using the medicine on humans. DotPotA begins 10 years after events in RotPotA. Even though humanity is on the verge of extinction, thanks to the viral out break, the apes have been building up a civilization, their colony, deep in the woods and living peacefully there. Fight for survival cross the paths of humans and apes once again. Even though Caesar, leader of the Apes, hopes for a peaceful co-existence with the humans, there are some forces on either sides who doesn't agree to the idea. Will it be the dawn of a new era or will it lead to extinction of humans & apes, watch the film to know more.

The are films that make sequels just for monetary benefits and there are few who demand future additions. RotPotA & DotPotA belongs to the later category. Just like the prequel, the sequel too has a story to tell and does it in a convincing manner, that engages and entertains. The movie offers everything for the movie goers like great script, nice story, good dialogues, great acting etc. Plus the important aspects of any Hollywood summer blockbuster, VFX/CGI, 3D, Action sequences etc are there in the film too. Likke the prequel the otion Capture technology, combined vith VFX/CGI is outstanding in DotPot. The apes looks life like even in extreme close ups and the emotions on their face, especially that of Caesar is PERFECT!. 3D is Okay, but not a must watch.

DotPotAis undoubtedly the best movie to come out of Hollywood this year that appeals to every single one. If you loved the prequel, if you love animals, if you like having a great time at the movies, go watch this one. Its one movie that you shouldn't MISS !! The way the movie ends hints the sequel, which looks like is going to be the conclusion of the epic Human-Apes saga [Hope they don't stretch beyond possible limits, just the the former category guys I mentioned above]

In all Dawn of the Planet of the Apes is an entertaining, intelligent movie that also enlightens the viewers

  Rating: 4/5

Verdict: Excellent

Last Word: The best sequel since 'The Dark Knight'

 

 

Humpty Sharma Ki Dulhania - Kerala Theaters List - Alia Bhatt, Varun Dhawan, Karan Johar

Transformers: Age of Extinction - Movie Review

Directed by     Michael Bay
Produced by     Don Murphy, Tom DeSanto, Lorenzo di Bonaventura, Ian Bryce
Written by     Ehren Kruger
Based on     Transformers by Hasbro
Music by     Steve Jablonsky
Cinematography     Amir Mokri
Edited by     Paul Rubell, Roger Barton, William Goldenberg
Production company   Paramount Pictures, di Bonaventura Pictures, Hasbro,  China Movie Channel, Jiaflix Enterprises
Distributed by     Paramount Pictures
Release date    June 26, 2014 (India)
Running time     165 minutes
Country     United States
Language     English
Budget     $165 million

Cast

    Mark Wahlberg
    Stanley Tucci
    Nicola Peltz
    Jack Reynor
    Kelsey Grammer
    Li Bingbing
    Sophia Myles
    Titus Welliver
    T. J. Miller
    Melanie Specht

 After the so called final episode in the franchise, 'Dark of the Moon', comes the next installment in the mega blockbuster Transformers series 'Age of Extinction'. The movie has everything to satisfy a 'Transformer' fan, but nothing new and is agonizingly long. The franchise which hit rock bottom with just its 2nd installment 'Revenge of the Fallen', recovered some of its lost ground in 'DOTM'. But 'AoE' somewhere between 2nd and 3rd in terms of quality and entertainment. 

Years after the 'incident in  Chicago' US Govt are doing a witch hunt of 'Transformers'. With even Autobots declared 'Enemy of the State, an unsuccessful robotics inventor Cade Yeager comes across a scrap trunk from junkyard which turns out to be a hiding, damaged 'Optimus Prime'. A unit of CIA is working with the 'Creators' (of 'Transformers') to help them capture 'Optimus Prime' in exchange of a bomb that will help US Army to make their own Robot Soldiers. Meanwhile a firm, KSI, has made their own transformer, which has traces of Megatron. So what happens to Yeager and his family, Will Optimus Prime once again stand tall and prove Humans wrong, will earth be saved, forms the rest of the story.

If you have seen the past 3 movies in the franchise, there won't be anything exceptional in this to look forward to, unless you are a diehard fan of 'Transformers'. Like the previous movies it offers lots of action, Great CGI/VFX effects, great chase sequences, tongue-cheek humor etc. The film is way too long, running almost 3 hours. The film also offers 'Michael Bay' stamped visuals - low angle shots, ladies in shorts and their butt views, explosions, in brand placements, bad writing, great camera etc. 

Watch the movie in 2D as it offers nothing in the expensive, namesake 3D format. The action sequences are not cluttered or tiresome like ROTF but has a huge DOFTM, Avengers hang over and is long drawn out. There are many unnecessary sequences which could have been cut. Michael Wahlberg is a welcome change and the father daughter relation gives the film a better credibility than previous 2 films. Addition of Dinobots, especially Grimlock (T-Rex Bot) was a good move.

The movie is sure to be a super success. With the entire climax portions set in China, the film is for sure to make a killing there at Box Office, the biggest market for Hollywood films outside North America

In all Transformers: Age of Extinction is just for fans and those who like the huge, CGI heavy, brainless Summer Hollywood blockbusters...... others, catch it on bluray....

Verdict: Average or just a notch above

Rating: 2.65/5

Last Word: Will it be a full on transformer movie next,  with no humans at all ? Hmmmm... !!!!

How Old Are You - Malayalam Movie Review - Manju Warrier, Kunchako Boban

How Old Are You - Malayalam Movie Review

Crew

Directed by     Rosshan Andrrews
Produced by     Listin Stephen
Written by     Bobby Sanjay
Starring     Manju Warrier
Kunchako Boban
Music by     Gopi Sunder
Editing by     Mahesh Narayanan
Studio     Magic Frames
Distributed by     Central Pictures
Release dates   17 May 2014 (Kerala)
Country     India
Language     Malayalam

Cast

Manju Warrier as Nirupama Rajeev
Kunchako Boban as Rajeev
Kaniha
Siddhartha Basu
Lalu Alex
Vanitha Krishnachandran
Vinay Forrt
Sreerag Nambiar
Jayaraj Warrier
Muthumani
Sethulakshmi
Amritha Anil as Lekshmi Rajeev

The return of Malayalees favorite heroine of perhaps all time has been in the news since months. Finally the film has hit the screens over coming 'various' odds. Did it satisfy the hype or did PR team over did their job, lets see.

Nirupama Rajeev is a Govt. employee, a loving wife and a caring mother. She is the representative of millions of Indian house wives/working mothers who have kept their ambitions and dreams locked up for their family or their husbands. Thanks to her Male Chauvinistic husband and an 'incident' that happens in her life Nirupama is forced to take some stern decisions which turns her life around. Was its for good or bad - the remaining reels tells us.

The trailer and basic story line gives an impression that the movie is inspired from 'English Vinglish' with a hint of 'Ethir Neechal'. Yes, in a broad sense it can be called. But How Old Are You has multiple layers that makes it a stand out film at the same time stand along with the recent women oriented, much celebrated, films like English Vinglish & Queen. Its difficult for majority of women folks in our country to break the barriers they themselves or the society builds around them post marriage (even though the situation is slowly changing). The films remembers them to break the shackles, chase the dreams, after all Age is just a number.

The 1st half movies largely at leisurely pace with some nice humor (some crass too) thrown in the mix. It was breezy and entertaining. The 2nd half takes some what a serious tone and pace drops a bit. It do goes to preachy/philosophical mode at times. But as a whole the film is inspirational, emotional and entertaining.

HOAY is the perfect come back vehicle for Manju Warrier. She arrests our attention and owns the screen like she used to do in her prime. The gap of 14 years wasn't felt much apart from couple of scenes. The film truly rides on her. Kudos to Kunchako Boban for doing the role of an MCP where the female character has more screen time and opportunities to score. Sethulakshmiamma (who did the role of Indran's father in 'LRL') was excellent. Rest of the cast were okay. Kaniha and the kid who played the daughter were miscasts.

Roshan Andrrews after an average outing is back to his full form in 'HOAY'. He handles the theme neatly and naratesa good family entertainer to the viewers. Bobby-Sanjay's scripting was as always good (the only time the duo mis fired was in 'Casanovva') and their dialogues were impressive. Cinematography was good, Editing could have been better. There's one song during the movie which was good, while the BG score was tad average.

In all its a film every family should watch, every Women must watch.

Rating: 3.5/5

Verdict: Very Good

Last Word: SHE IS BACK !!!!

PS: If the 'Master of Ring' had some questions for you take back some polite answers from the 'Queen' :wink:

Mr. Fraud - Malayalam Movie Review - Mohanlal, Unnikrishnan B

 Mr. Fraud Malayalam Movie Review

Crew

Director: B.Unnikrishnaan
    Producer: A.V Anoop
    Executive Producer: B.Unnikrishnan

Banner : AVA Productions
    Script: B.Unnikrishnan
    Cinematographer: Satheesh Kurup
    Makeup: Pradeep Rangan, Liju Kumar S
    Music: Gopi Sundar
    Playback Singers: Shankar Mahadevan, Shakthisree Gopalan, Sithara & Gopi Sundar
    Editor: Manoj
    Lyrics: Hari Narayanan, Chittoor Gopi & Santhosh Varma
    Costume: S.B Satheesh, Murali
    Art Director: Joseph Nellikal
    Stills: Sinat Savier
    Production Controller: Aroma Mohan

Cast

      Mohanlal as 'Fraud'
    Dev Gill
    Pallavi Purohit
    Mia George as Saraswathi
    Manjari Phadnis
    Vijay Babu
    Vijayakumar
    Siddique
    Sai Kumar
    Suresh Krishna
    Rahul Madhav
    Ashvin Matthew
    Rajeev Parameshwar
    Arjun Nandhakumar
    Balaji
    Sathaar
    Devan
    Gopi Sundar (cameo appearance)
    Amritha Anilkumar

Mohanlal plays a 'Fraud' who has many names and many faces, a non sympathetic cunning hi-tech robber. He gets offered a job with enough money that he can very much retire after this. But its not easy as it seems and is 'one of the most difficult mission' he has come across as the character says. The treasure belongs to an Old Kovilakam and they are going to open the chest for the first time in 41 years with all the relatives, police and top level private security team guarding it. So will he able to do it forms the rest of the story.

Mr Fraud is a heist movie presented in a mass masala packaging, so there's no logic in asking for a unique or different storyline as all of them have universally one theme. The first half is racy and entertaining largely thanks to Mohanlal who was simply free flowing and outstanding making even minutest expressions and simple dialogues clap worthy. The Director being a Lal fan has added elements to please the fans. The packaging and the way everything is setup in the first half is really good. Its in the second half the movie suffers a bit. Totally its an above average 2nd half with an average, rushed up climax. The first half makes us prepared for a better 2nd half which the film couldn't provide, also the unnecessary sentimence ruins the pace. It would have been great if the film had a climax like 'Mankatha' or 'Don' (SRK's).

With the limited budget Malayalam can afford Director was able to show the heist scenes convincingly. May not be a patch on Hollywood counter parts, but still they serve the purpose. Unnikrishnan B is definitely improving every time as a director, and this one is his best Directorial outing. Even though his scripting faltered here and there in the 2nd half, for most of the run time it was engaging. The dialogues as always were good, made look even better by Mohanlal.

It can be called a one man show by Mohanlal, after a long time Malayalees gets to see his Mass entertainer side which he did with elan. He carries the movie in his entire 'slanting' shoulder. Siddique, Mia George, Sai Kumar, Ashwin were good. Vijay & Manjari was okay. rest of the cast did their role. Dev Gill's villain character was a disappointment, as it was an underwritten role, the film could have had a better villain character.

Gopi Sunder is back in full form after a long back as both his songs and BG are very good. Back Ground score infact is a great plus for the movie. Cinematography was good, editing was sharp. VFX team have done a great job. Art work was superb. Action choreography was average.

Over all Mr Fraud is a Mass-Heist movie - must watch for fans, one time watch for others

After 150 days of delivering 'Class' to the world, its time to give some MASS with Class, good old Lalettan way, which no one can replicate

Rating 3/5

Verdict: Good

.

Godzilla 2014 - Exclusive Movie Review - Monster of a Movie

Crew

 Directed by     Gareth Edwards
Produced by   Thomas Tull, Jon Jashni, Mary Parent, Brian Rogers
Screenplay by     Max Borenstein
Story by     David Callaham
Based on     Godzilla by Toho
Music by     Alexandre Desplat
Cinematography     Seamus McGarvey
Editing by     Bob Ducsay
Studio     Legendary Pictures, Warner Bros. Pictures
Distributed by    Warner Bros. Pictures (International), Toho (Japan)
Release dates   May 16, 2014 

Running time     123 minutes

Country     United States
Language     English
Budget     $160 million

Cast

Bryan Cranston as Joe Brody
Aaron Taylor-Johnson as Lieutenant Ford Brody
Ken Watanabe as Dr. Ishiro Serizawa
Elizabeth Olsen as Elle Brody
Juliette Binoche as Sandra "Sandy" Brody
Sally Hawkins as Dr. Vivienne Graham
David Strathairn as Admiral William Stenz
   

 Godzilla is a pop cultural icon in Japanese and the worldwide audience got a glimpse of it in the infamous Roland Emmerich's 1998 version. Even though I liked it, the film is universally hated for just being a Jurassic Park, making the iconic Monster an iguana faced evil villain who gets killed in the end. So hopes were high on this project to get a 'Godzilla' flick set in the modern world, more grounded to the CGI reality of current movies and one that doesn't treat the 'Icon' as just another monster. The posters the teasing trailers have done their trick and this is undoubtedly one of the most awaited movie this season.

Joe  and his wife has been working in a Japanese nuclear plant till one day a seismic activity leaves him alone in the world with his child. Studying the unusual readings of the day Ford came to conclusions, that it wasn't an earth quake or at least ain't normal one, which were ignored by everyone. Cut to 15 years later, his son has grown up but Ford is still living on the memories of that day, wanting to find the reason his Wife died. slowly starts believing in his father's conspiracy theories. As they go to the site of the plant to recover any possible evidence they come to know about secret scientific studies and the classified Government facility where they have kept an unidentified organism locked up for research. The beast  escapes captivity and wrecks havoc in the city and that's when our Hero/Villain makes his entry. What happens next in the war of the villains? who ever wins we loose......

Godzilla is a kind of Kaiju (collective names for such monsters) and Last year's 'Pacific Rim' also dealt with 'Kaiju's', and both film have similar story lines, but the way the movies have presented they look diametrically opposite. While PR was more a color ful, swash buckling mass masala kind of a monster movie Godzilla is rooted more to reality, emotions and keeping in check with the original mythology. The movie has a call against the harms humans do to Mother Nature, as each and every exploitation will have an impact and in the war with the Nature humans can't win they only can adapt to whats left. 'Godzilla' being a heroic villain represents the force of Mother Nature, the term 'God' is not just for the sake of it as the myth treats it that way (The very reason why 'God' was dropped from the Iguana shaped creature featured in 98 movie).
There is also adaptation from Hindu mythology, according to which when all hell breaks loose (Kalyug) Lord Vishnu takes his 10th Avatar, Kalki which fights the evil, restores the earth and a new cycle of life begins after wards. 'Godzilla' is the Hollywood representation of 'Kalki', that's the myth the film creates. Apart from a blockbuster graphics heavy Hollywood movie it is tied up to reality, mythology at very deep routed levels which is what makes the film stand out.

The film is slow to take off as it takes its own time to level all cards on the playing field before a final extravaganza. Breaking Bad fame Bryan Cranston as always is Outstanding. Ken Watanabe also did a great job. Rest of the cast doesn't get much scope even though there are names like Aron Taylor, Olesen etc. The cinematography is excellent. The CGI work is super cool. 3D effects are there, but nothing much to speak about. Background score is awesome. Godzilla the creature and its sound definitely deserves a special mention, for coming up with a gigantic, realistic, monsterestic, more closer to the classic 'Godzilla' and giving it an Iconic 'Roar' - KUDOS !!. Editing could have been better as it drags slightly in between.

In all Godzilla is a must watch movie for the fans of 'Godzilla', monster movies, disaster movies, huge Graphics spectacles and almost everyone who doesn't demand great acting, dialogues and strong story lines. Being a fan boy the film satisfied all my expectations and the final battle sequence were jaw droppingly awesome and scream/clap/whistle worthy....

Godzilla is a Mind blowing, epic, gargantuan, out of the world, blockbuster, Monster movie

Rating: 3.75/5

Verdict: BLOCKBUSTER !!!!

Last Word: What the Hellll..... still reading...go grab your tickets !!!


PS: Please try to watch the film in Imax and Dolby Atmos - Would blow you mind, Guarantee - [if both available in same screen - AWESOME, you are one lucky guy !!]

Mosayile Kuthira Meenukal - Malayalam Movie Review

Crew

Directed by     Ajith Pillai
Produced by     Niyas Ismail
Screenplay by     Ajith Pillai, Vipin Radhakrishnan
Story by     Ajith Pillai

Music by     Prashant Pillai
Cinematography     Abinandhan Ramanujam
Editing by     Ratheesh Raj
Studio     Frames Inevitable
Distributed by     KNM Pictures
Release dates      May 1, 2014
Running time     131 minutes
Country     India
Language     Malayalam

Cast

    Asif Ali as Alex, son of a farmer.
    Sunny Wayne as Akbar Ali, a fisherman.
    Nedumudi Venu as Kuriachen, Alex's father.
    Janani Iyer as Deena
    Swati Reddy as Isa
    Nishanth Sagar as Hashim
    Jijoy as Sulaiman
    Jojo Mala as Mathew P Mathew
    Chemban Vinod

'Mosa' mean 'Waves' and 'Kuthira Meenukal' are 'Sword Fishes' who fights with themselves for food and survival. The films tells us that Humans rarely do good to others and if they do there will be an ulterior selfish motive behind it. Every character in the film has a selfish motive behind the things they do, which drives the movie plot forward. 

Alex is the son of a rich planter. In the process of multiplying the wealth, without going for a job, in shortcut,  He ends up jail where his relative is the chief. Unable to cop up with Jail he does a prison break days before he was to be released officially on special 'Independence Day' pardon. He breaks out of prison with another inmate Akbar Ali. Now its Alex's job to go back to prison with Akbar in order to get out legally with the help of his Chief. Akbar who is on a important time bound mission to 'Lakshwadeep' is in no mood to listen to Alex. What happens to the characters as their journey together begins, forms the rest of the film.

Like mentioned before the film deals with human nature, friendship & love. The first half is interesting and fast moving with light humor sprinkled through out. In the second half the pace reduces drastically, especially in the Sunny-Swati portions. The dialogues are well researched & well written. There is a nice story to tell, which has been presented with an above average script.

Its Asif Ali who binds the entire film. When ever the film goes down its his character that brings it up. One of the career best roles for him. Sunny Wayne too was good. Swati and Janani were okay. Jijoy was very good in a small role.

Cinematography is top notch, except few steady cam shots. The beauty of Lakshwadeep has been captured in all its glory, so as the sequences in Kochi, Viyoor Jail etc. Background was good in parts, average else where. Aikbareesa song is beautiful and has been used brilliantly in bits and pieces through out the 2nd half, as a back ground score, giving the feel of a cool breeze of a sea shore.Editing could have been better in the second half. Ajith Pillai has made a promising debut as Director too, attempting such a venture as first film, kudos to him.

In all its a different attempt and a nice watch if you have a bit of patience and mind set to be treated with something fresh and new.

Verdict: Between Above Average & Good

Rating: 2.75 - 3 / 5

Ulsaha Committee - Malayalam Movie Review - Jayaram, Isha Talwar

Cast

 Cast: Jayaram (Apoorvan), Sheela (Rossamma), Baburaj (Chopra) , Kalabhavan Shajon (Babumon), Suraj Venjaramoodu, Vinaya Prasad, Lakshmipriya, Shaju, Kochupreman, Sunil Sugatha, Joy Mathew, Kalinga Sasi, Nelson

Crew

Director: Akku Akbar
Producer: Arun Ghosh & Binoy Chandran
Production House: Chand VCreations
Music: Bijibal
Lyrics: Rafeeq Ahmed, Jophi Tharakan, Engadyoor Chandrashekaran
Cinematography: Anil Nair
Editing: Lijo Paul
Art Direction: Nandan Mannoor
Story/Writer: Shyju Anthikad
Costume Design: Kumar Edapal

 Apoorvan is the self proclaimed scientist of Mantharakadavu Village, who is pretty much interested in inventing various things. Babumon, his financial support and Chopra, his henchman, are his close buddies. Even though many of the inventions are useful for the villagers, the three when join together create mess that than anything. So one day the villagers are forced to kick them out of the village. The 3 thus end up in Rosamma's house, who is a millionaire. What happens next forms the rest of the story.

Akku Akbar with Jayaram has given 2 family hits in the past, the Producers gave the 2nd biggest hit of last year too. But when they united for a mad comic caper, the resultant product is an utter failure.

The film not only lacks a credible story line is a disaster in the scripting department too. There are only few good one liners  in the entire movie, every thing else falls flat. The acting too is over the top here. Jayaram has tried Palakkadan slang in the movie, which is not patch to Biju Menon in 'Ordinary'. Baburaj, Suraj often goes to 'Unsahikkable' levels. Isha Talwar had nothing much to do and her acting/lip sync hasn't improved much from her 'Thattam' days.

Director had no clue about the proceeding and did a below average job. Cinematography was Good. Music was disappointing while Background score was interesting at parts. Editing was okay. 

In all, Ulsaha Comitte, is a crassier crass comedy that you might wanna check out when its premiered on TV

Rating: 1.5/5

Verdict: Escape.....

Last Word: This committee will rip apart your 'Ulsaham' and burn it on the floor....

Law Point - Malayalam Movie Review - Kunchako Boban, Namitha Pramod

Crew

 Director: Lijin Jose Producer: David Kachappally Music: Mejo Joseph Lyrics: Rafeeq Ahmed Cinematography: Neil D.Cuhna Editing: Manoj Art Direction: Jothish Shankar Story/Writer: Devidasan 

Cast

Kunchacko Boban (Satya), Namitha Pramod (Maya), Nedumudi Venu, K. P. A. C. Lalitha, Devan, Suraj Venjaramoodu, Joy Mathew, P Balachandran, Riya Saira

 Satya is a tough nut and a cunning, conniving, shifty, sneaky, scheming and down right sly of a lawyer, who goes ato any lengths or do anything to win cases. One day Sathya gets to appear for the accused in a Suicide case. Since the case hasn't been registered, he tries to convince the girl 'Maya' for an out of court settlement. Will he manage to convince her, if yes how, is everything as we see, who is playing whom, forms the rest of the story.

The title and the tag line, 'Law Point - Law gets pointless' could mislead you as there is just one court scene in the movie, that to just to establish the character of Kunchako Boban. Its basically mind games between few individuals, but by the time you get to know it, its too late. The film takes too much time to get into the track. If not for 'Maya' and superb portrayal by Namitha Pramod the first half would  have been damp squib. The second half, about 40 mins long , rushes through proceedings. The film gets exciting only at the final reels where the 'twists' are revealed, and there are quite a few of them, thrown at you one after the other. These multiple twists keep the movie from being said 'predictable' but if the scenes leading to it aren't exciting, the mission is a failure. Also the audience is not given the actual picture itself to call those twists to be jaw dropping or surprising. Still could have worked to an extent, with good direction, recent example being 7th day.

Kunchako Boban looked uncomfortable and unconvincing as the tough nut lawyer and appeared forced in the initial scenes. Namitha Pramod was, as said before, very good, in the portrayal of smart young no-nonsense girl doesn't easily give into Sathya's charms. Krishna Shankar was good and rest of the cast were okay.

Direction could have been better, the script didn't help the case too. Cinematography was good, Editing wasn't bad either. 'Oru mozhi' song has been used very well. Back ground score was okay.

In all, Law Point is Half baked mystery/thriller.

Rating: 2.5/5

Verdict: Average

Naan Sigappu Manithan - Tamil Movie Review from Kerala

Crew

 Written, Directed by     Thiru
Produced by     Vishal, Ronnie Screwvala, Siddharth Roy Kapoor
Music by     G. V. Prakash Kumar
Cinematography     Richard M. Nathan
Editing by     Anthony L. Ruben
Studio     UTV Motion Pictures, Vishal Film Factory
Distributed by     E4 Entertainment (Kerala)
Release dates     April 13, 2014 (Kerala)
Running time     149 minutes
Country     India
Language     Tamil

CastVishal as Indran
    Lakshmi Menon as Meera
    Iniya as Kavitha
    Saranya Ponvannan as Indran's Mother
    Jayaprakashas as Meera's Father
    Sunder Ramu
    Jagan as Sathish
    Pyramid Natarajan
    V. I. S. Jayapalan
    Madhan

'Indran' is suffering from a rare kind of sleeping disorder called 'Narcolepsy'. Any sudden outburst of emotion will put him to immediate sleep.But even during his sleep all the conversations happening around will be recorded in his brain which he can recollect while waking up. Due to such an incurable disease he faces lots of difficulties, in every step of his life. So he has made himself a bucket list, which he gets to complete on by one with the help of Meera. Their Acquaintance slowly develops into love. One night gang of 4 goons ambush the car they were traveling & rape Meera in front of Indran, who falls asleep in the sudden shock, and leave her to death. Meera is in coma and Indran sets out to revenge with the vague clues he gets and the sounds that got stored in his memory while he was asleep. What happens next forms the rest of the story. 

Thiru has worked with Vishal twice in the past, both the times failed to give us a satisfying film. Samar even though had a great plot, failed to develop into a great film. Looks like its 3rd time luck for the duo as NSM is a good revenge drama with suspense, twists, action, sentimence etc. Thiru managed to package the films nicely and present it in an entertaining manner. 

The film begins as a drama, explaining Indran's condition, the difficulties he face, shifts gear to the usual meet girl, fall in love track. Its slow, but nice and breezy till it shifts gears toward intermission. In the second half its more of a thriller which has been conceived intelligently ye entertainingly by Thiru. He managed to complete the story without hurting our sensibilites and using brain more instead of brawn. Plus the Narcolepsy feature also doesn't disappear unlike in most mass films, instead the way he comes out of it or beats it each time is shown is smart work, something rare in Mass movies.

The twists in the 2nd half have worked out well. But the 'reason' feels kinda far fetched. The songs are average and prove major hindrance to the proceedings. Also they could have used a better actor as the main antagonist.

Vishal performed exceedingly well as the Narcoleptic suffering Indran. Got almost all his expressions and emotions in check. There were rumors that Mohanlal was supposed to do the project first, and the script was tweaked later when Vishal entered the scene. Without naming the star Vishal himself said he is scared to do the role as acting legend was supposed to do. Any way he has made this completely his film now and can relax. Laksmi Menon did an okay job. Iniya was good in the cameo role.

Thiru's direction and writing have improved a lot. Cinematography was good. Editing was efficient. Songs were average, BG was okay. 

In all NSM is a good revenge, drama, thriller that you might wanna check out this summer.

Rating 3.25/5

Verdict: Good

Last Word: You  Won't be Narcoleptic while watching the movie, except may be during the songs, that's a guarantee !!!

7th Day - Malayalam Movie Review - Prithviraj, Janani Iyer

 7th Day - Malayalam Movie Review

Crew

Director: Syam Dhar  
Producer: Shibu G Suseelan 
  Music: Deepak Dev  
Cinematography: Sujith Vasudev  
Art Direction: Vineesh Banglan  
Story/Writer: Akhil Paul  
Costume Design: Arun Manohar
Editing by John Kutty 

Distributed by     August Cinema
Release dates   April 11, 2014
Country     India
Language     Malayalam

Cast

    Prithviraj Sukumaran as David Abraham

    Janani Iyer as Jessy
    Vinay Forrt as Shan Shahar
    Anu Mohan as Vinu Ramachandran
    Tovino Thomas as Eby
    Praveen Prem as Cycle
    Joy Mathew as P.T.R. Bhattathiri

    Yog Japee as Charlie

 

Suspended IPS officer David Abraham on  Christmas night involves in an accident. The Jeep driven by him knocks off a bike and its passengers from the road. One of the passenger commits suicide that night and the other one seen beaten up pretty badly. So David takes the matters in to his own hands and starts unofficial investigation without the knowledge of the Department. Slowly things began to unravel before him. Who where those passengers, what happened with them, why did the guy commit suicide etc gets revealed in the following reels, and ends with a typical Hollywoodistic (post) climax shock twist and open ending for possible sequels, which I personally think will not be made.

'7th Day' will be the 3rd investigative/mystery movie Prithvi is being a part of in the past 12 months, and the 15th cop role in his career so far. The 1st look of the film has created quite a flutter in the internet.The look and feel of the movie made it look like a dark gritty slow paced thriller. The makers didn't even release a trailer to avoid unnecessary hype and people coming with strong preconceived notions.

But unfortunately the film ends up just a half baked, kinda predictable thriller with lots of loose ends. Malayalis have been offered quite a few brilliantly executed thrillers in the past, especially last 12 months, like Mumbai Police, Memories, Drishyam etc. 7th day is one such movie that desperately tries to squeeze in to that league, yet look a class apart, and end up neither here nor there. 

The intention was to make an eerie dark noir thriller, and the mood was perfectly set too, thanks to the brilliant work of Sujith, the DOP. But unfortunately both the direction and scripting falters. The dialogues have been rendered with unnecessary amount of stretching and pause (in quite a few scenes), which gives a drama feel. Prithvi's character cleary doesn't have an identity (or the writer wanted him to be mystery for us), coz he behaves like the guys from 'Island Express sometimes, sometimes Mumbai Police and some times London Bridge. Not only the character, the script is also confusing making us wonder what is happening at times. The movie does picks up pace towards interval portions and interval onward, but soon falls to the predictive track.

Felt there are many loose ends in the script. The film throws up more questions than answers. Most of the twists and turns were predictable, especially the finale one (but majority of the audience didn't felt so, looking at the reaction).

Like I said Prithvi's character is bit confusing and contradicting. But anyhow he has excelled in what was asked of him. Vinay Fort was good as Shaan. Anu, Tovino, Praveen did okay job while Janani doesn't get much screen space or scope to perform.

Direction was good in parts, could have given a better product with a better, closely knit script. Too many loop holes and unanswered questions (Or leaving too much to the viewers sensibility) predictable twists and turns made the scripting look weak. The dialogues were Good, even though have different opinion about the the rendering of the same. Cinematography & BG were excellent. Art work was good. Locations were beautiful and apt for the movie. Songs comes as part of narration, which aren't noteworthy.

So, what could have been a promising thriller end up just half baked.

Verdict: Average

Rating 2.5/5

Last Word: Many who watched the movie along with me like it pretty much, so give it a try if you are a fan of the genre or the new Prithviraj that we got to see in the past 1-2 years

PS: Moriarty ????? Reallly ???? ......