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

Avatharam - All India Theaters List - Dileep, Lakshmi Menon, Joshiy

Avatharam - All India Theaters List - Dileep, Lakshmi Menon, Joshiy

Mammootty's Manglish - Movie Review

Manglish - Movie Review

Directed by     Salam Bappu
Produced by     Haneef Muhammed
Written by     Riyas
Music by     Gopi Sundar
Cinematography     Pradeesh M Varma
Edited by     Vijay Sanker
Distributed by     Red Rose Release & PJ Entertainments(Europe)
Release date(s) July 27, 2014
Country     India
Language     Malayalam

Cast

    Mammootty as Tharakan Malik
    Caroline Beck as Michelle
    Srinda Ashab as Mumtaz    

Aneesh G Menon as Simmon
    Alexx O'Nell as Kevin
    Tini Tom as Boss
    Vinay Forrt as Dixon
    Suresh Krishna as Lakshman
    P.Balachandran as Swami
    Sunil Sukhada as Anglo Charlie
    Joju George
    Sathaar as Paulose Punnookaaran
    Raveendran as Pothen
    Sasi Kalinga as Mathukutty
    Kalabhavan Haneefa as Chayakaran Mani
    Gopan as H.C Chandran
    Kalabavan Rahman as Driver Rahman
    Mukundan as Adv. James
    Pouly Valsan as Veronica
    Sreedhanya as Seenath
    Sheelu Abraham as Lalitha

Mammootty is Malik Bhai, the bhai of Mattanchery, bhai with heart of gold, a do gooder and one who doesn't toleate injustice. What happens when a foreigner, Michelle enters Bhai's life, who knows only English, a language which is alien for our Bhai. 

Hearing the title One may think that this is yer another Mammootty comic caper where he talks in bad/horrible English to make us laugh, like Pokkiri Raja, Rajamanickyam etc. But once the movie ends we wish had it been like that, thanks to the writer(s). The main intention was to create mass entertainer for the festive season, with Mammootty in stylish colorful costumes, doing action, mouthing punching lines, delivering humor etc, but unfortunately none of these work, for most of the part. 

The initial part is slow and boring and nothing much happens here. All the above mentioned 'tricks' to keep us entertained fails. Its in the second half that the proceedings gets somewhat interesting. Still the movie movies predictably and ends up with an Okay climax. The first half is below average, while the 3nd in comparison to the st is above average.

It was a cake walk role for Mammooty, but seriously doesn't understand why he keeps doing films like these. Even though looked handsome, it was awkward and weird to see him in the song picturised overseas. Caroline has done an okay job. Raveendran was irritating. Its Tini Tom who delivers all of the interesting one liners in the film, one of the few saving graces of the film. Srinda ashab was once again impressive.

Salam Bappuu's direction has improved compared to Red Wine could have delivered a better product had the script was better. Ulla Ulla song was good and the other one was completely unnecessary and hard to watch as I said before. Background score was okay, don't understand the need of 'Atmos' for this. Cinematography was good and editing was efficient.

Overall 'Manglish' is a half baked entertainer 

Rating: 2.5/5

Average

Kerala Box Office - 2014 Half Year Exclusive Report

Kerala Box Office - 2014 Half Year Exclusive Report

6 Months into 2014, lets look at how how Kerala Box Office performed so far this year. Total 91 Malayalam film released till June 27th including 10 Dubbed ones. The Top grossers are

1. Bangalore Days

The first blockbuster of the year is the mega multi starrer Bangalore Days. The film is also the first and biggest success in Malayalam by a Women Film Director. With Ramzan fasting beginning from tomorrow June 29th) it will be interesting to see whether the film will beat Mayamohini & T20 to grab the 3rd or 2nd biggest hit of all time title.The film is a huge success in 'Rest of India' markets too grossing around 6 crores, becoming the 2nd biggest hit following Drishyam.

Gross - 19.61 crore in 29 Days 

Distributors Share - 8.64 crore

2. Ring Master

Another summer vacation, another Dileep hit. The film was made for ladies and Kids and it worked out well thanks to the target audience. As usual critics thrashed it and mass audience accepted it. The film didn't take a great opening but sustained through out as the Vishu releases slowly faded out.

Gross - 14.56 crore 75 days

Distributors Share - 6.15 crore

3. How Old Are You HOAY

Ladies were queuing up for the film from FDFS. Even though competition with Mr Fraud hurt the film in the initial days later the film picked up as Fraud went down. Thanks to the strong support from Family, especially Women, audience the film attained Super hit status. Its also the biggest grossing Women oriented film in Malayalam.

Gross 12.25 crore 42 days

 Distributors Share - 5.15 crore 

4. Ohm Shanthi Oshaana OSO

2014 is a rare year for Mollywood as two Women oriented film attained huge success, first OSO, then HOAY. The film made Nazriya a household name and the most popular Malayalam actress since Manju Warrier, looking at the response she is getting in theaters.

 Gross - About 10 crores

5. Mr Fraud

The film took a thunderous opening and had the biggest 1st week of the year (which BD later broke). Fighting social media activists and critics the film attained success thanks to the mega opening. Unlike Grandmaster the film was a disappointment at Outside Kerala markets. 

Gross - about 9.5 crore

 Distributors Share - 4.25 crore

6. Jilla

Film featuring 2 of the biggest mass super stars @ Kerala Box office raked in 2.63 crore, the biggest ever, on day 1. But the insignificant role Mohanlal got proved to be a curse for the film. The Drishyam Tsunami also affected it greatly as the film couldn't create life time records as far as Tamil films are concerned.

Gross - about 9.5 crore

 Distributors Share - 3.5 crore 

7. 7th Day

The film surprisingly took a huge opening, Prithviraj's biggest, despite low key promotions and not even a trailer being released.  The film got mixed reviews and couldn't sustain the early momentum.

Gross - 9-9.5crore

Distributors Share - about 3.75 crore

8. 1983 

The film got tremendous reviews which helped the film which began in a low key manner to acheive HIT status in the long run. The successful run of Nivin Pauly in 2014 began with this film.

Gross 7.5 crore

Maan Karate - the biggest Tamil hit of 2014 so far, in Kerala,  based on Returns on Investment. The rights were purchased for 15 lakhs and the total gross is about 1 crore. 

Among dubbed films Bhaiyya (Yevadu) was average while Lucky The Racer (Race Gurram) did above average business, while all others where wash outs.

Among Hindi films 2 States was a huge hit, and now Ek Villain took good opening.

Among Hollywood films X-Men Days of Future Past is the biggest hit of 2014 so far.



* Figures are approximate values and may not necessarily be exact. Actual Figures might be slightly different

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... !!!!

Kaththi First Look Posters HD - Vijay, Samantha, AR Murugadoss, Anirudh

 Click on images for Full Size View

Robert Downey Jr's 'The Judge' - First Look Poster & Official Trailer

Robert Downey Jr's 'The Judge' - First Look Poster & Official Trailer

10 October 2014 (USA) 

Directed by     David Dobkin
Produced by     Susan Downey
David Gambino
David Dobkin
Written by     Nick Schenk
David Seidler
Bill Dubuque

Cast

    Robert Downey, Jr. as Hank Palmer
    Robert Duvall as Judge Joseph Palmer
    Vera Farmiga as Samantha
    Vincent D'Onofrio as Glen Palmer
    Jeremy Strong as Dale Palmer
    Billy Bob Thornton as Dwight Dickham
    Sarah Lancaster as Lisa Palmer
    Emma Tremblay as Lauren
    Ken Howard as Judge Warren
    Leighton Meester as Carla
    Dax Shepard
    Lance Norris as Juror #8
    Ian Lyons as Juror #2
    Johnny Orlando as Glen Palmer (Young)

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....

The Amazing Spider-Man 2 - Movie Review

 The Amazing Spider-Man 2 - Movie Review

Thought the prequel was an average one as it couldn't bring much into the table and Rami-Maguire version was still fresh in everyone's' minds. Also the promises of revealing the truths about Mr & Mrs. Parker also wasn't fulfilled. The Amazing Spider-Man 2, from the plethora of trailers Sony released, looked a much better product with more at the stake for Spidey/Parker & Stacey.

Peter Parker is still in search for the mystery behind the sudden disappearance of his parents. He torn between the love for Gwen Stacy & the promise he has give to Gwen's father to stay away from her. Plus his alter ego has to fight noot one but 3 super villains. Max Dillion, a mentally unstable Oscorp employee, who gets electrical powers (ELECTRO) after felling into a tank filled with genetically modified Electric Eels. Harry Osborn, who inorder to save his life from the rare genetic condition, injects himself with some sortt of venom and becomes 'Green Goblin'. A thug who Spidey got arrested while trying to hijack truck of plutonium, who later with the hel of 'Mystery man' becomes 'Rhyno'. Will Peter find out the truth about parents, what will happen to Gwen, how will he defeat the villains forms the rest of the plot.

Everything has been stepped up a bit compared to its sequel. The plot is more complicated, there are more at stake for Peter/Spidey & of course, New York. With Marc Webb's direction it ends up a notch above the predecessor, but still no where near to the Marvel CU/Avengers movies or Nolan's Dark Knigt trilogy.

Also the movie still couldn't justify the need of the sudden reboot, despite Sony's 'hold onto rights'. The script could have been more focused and clear. The story is your usual Super Hero movie story line, which Webb tried to make interesting as possible.

The action blocks have been well executed. There are tons of CG, which has been done neatly too. Surprisingly the 3D is more effective than many of the recent releases too. As all Spidey movies its more on emotional content and lighter on the lighter side. Plus too much villains has also created bit of confusion and gives over done or too much feel to the audience. The movie also has a shocking/sad end, for the fans. The film also throw hints at expanding the universe and possible future villains and factions.


The technical crew has done an excellent job. Great direction, excellent CGI and 3D. Good Cinematography and editing. Acting was Good.Even though they shot for few days with Shailene Woodley as Mary Jane Watson, decided to drop that role and reserve it for future, But Shailene who got a hit franchise under her belt in Divergent, looks reluctant to return.

Fox's X-Men was reportedly attached to TASM2 (which I missed) should be a great sign for future, Hope Sony allows Spidey to partner with the Avengers too, pretty soon. Its high time Spidey saved people from other Cities/Countries too

Rating: 2.75/5

Verdict: Above Average

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

Anjaan - First Look HD Posters - Suriya, Samantha

Click On Images to Views them in full screen

'Samsaaram Aarogyathinu Haanikaram' is an interesting watch - Malayalam Movie Review

 'Samsaaram Aarogyathinu Haanikaram' - Malayalam Movie Review

Crew

 Directed by     Balaji Mohan
Produced by     S. Sashikanth
Varun Manian
Screenplay by     Balaji Mohan
Story by     Balaji Mohan
Starring     Dulquer Salman
Nazriya Nazim
Music by     Sean Roldan
Cinematography     Soundararajan
Editing by     Abhinav Sunder Nayak
Studio     Y NOT Studios
Radiance Media
Country     India
Language     Malayalam

Cast

    Dulquer Salman as Arvind
    Nazriya Nazim as Anjana
    Madhoo as Sreedevi
    Maniyanpilla Raju as Prabhakaran Thanchappuzha
    Arjunan as Sathish
    John Vijay as Boomesh
    Ramesh Thilak as Ramesh
    Vinu Chakravarthy as Thambidurai
    Chemban Vinod
    Dinesh Nair

 'Thenmala' is a hill range village situated in Kerala-Tamil Nadu border. Aravind- a sales rep, who likes to talk a lot, Anjana- a Junior Doctor, who prefers silence, Nulear Star Bhoomesh, his fans who are gathered in the village showing support against the protest organized by Drinkers Association, Prabhakaran- Health Minister, Madhoo- Writer cum house wife & Anjana's step mom, Thambidurai- a rich landlord are the major characters in SAH. Each of them have different kinds, ways and reasons for talking, One day a new kind of disease called 'Dumb Flue' spreads through out the Village which prevents people from talking. What changes happens to these characters when everything gets settled forms the rest of the story.

The story may not be unique but the film do offer a good enough message. So special credits to Balaji Mohan for the daring attempt. Watched the film after reading many reviews about both SAH and Vaayai Moodi Pesavum, its Tamil version, which were extremely contrasting. So went to watch the film with a clean mind and was some what satisfied with the output. 

'Talking' can solve almost all problems, people sitting up with their egos bottled up and refusing to talk are the root cause for most issues is what the film is trying to tell us. The director uses candy floss romance, satire etc to deliver the message, which is where the film falters a bit. Sticking entirely to a satire format would have worked more I think. 

The film has a Tamil flavor too, too much detailing, hero with heart of Gold and delivering good old quotes and messages every now and then, separate comedy track etc could have been avoided. The news reading also gets irritating after a point, if it was meant to be funny , failed miserably. The ticker news too failed to raise laughs, apart from 1/2. 

Even though failed with Male lead, the way female lead character has been portrayed is pretty impressive. Kudos to Nazriya too. With out much dialogues, was able to draw out the character perfectly, esp Nazriya's intro scene and the scene after 'Talking' becomes prohibited. 

Its the 2nd half that people have harsh opinion about, where there are no conversation for major porion of the time. But I thought that too was beautifully handled. Reading all the reviews also kinda help me prepare for the 30-40 mins of 'no dialogues' and just actions [Subtitling could have helped those scenes I guess] 

Nazriya's initial conversation with Dulquer after this, Fans and Drunkard meeting [on 2 Occasions] etc were 2 of the noticeable scenes in that portion.

For Dulquer, it was a cake walk of a role. Nazriya for a change gets a completely contrasting character and she has done a great job, repeating her 'OSO' feat. Madhubala's much hyped comeback turned out to disappointing one and she was struggling with Malayalam too. Chemban Vinod rocked as the head of Drunkards while RJ Shaan disappointed in his big screen debut (?). Should have used somebody else for 'Satish's' role as like the character think he messed up. Maniyanpilla Raju, Vinu C etc were Okay.

Balaji Mohan did a great job of directing the movie, but his writing faltered.May be few lines got lost in translation too. There are many cliches which could have been avoided. Cinematography was good. Background score which was loud and at times disrupting dialogues in 1st half proved to be a blessing in 2nd half. BG had a great helping hand in making the 2nd half interesting (at least for me). Editing could have been better as the film lacks pace.

I liked the movie, reviews are out, so make up your own mind, but personally don't think it deserves the harsh criticism it has been receiving especially when the Tamil version have released with glowing reviews. It will be a nice watch if do like experiments.

Rating: 2.75/5

Verdict: Above Average

Mr. Fraud - Theatrical Trailer - Mohanlal, Manjari Fadnis, Mia George, Pallavi

Mr. Fraud - Theatrical Trailer 

Teaser 1

Teaser 2

Song Teaser

Kerala Vishu/April Box Office - Exclusive Report

Kerala Vishu/April Box Office - Exclusive Report

7 Days has passed in Mollywood's biggest season, Summer Vacations and its time to have a look into how the movies have been performing at the Box Office.


1. 7th Day

We have a surprise entry at No.1. The film opened to a superb response, especially in main cities, beyond all expectations. 7th Day leads the Vishu releases (as of now) despite the film not belonging to mass entertainer genre, which audience used to prefer on Holidays. The last 2 thrillers Prithvi did worked on long run and WOM and didn't have an opening to boas off. 7th Day took the best opening for a Prithvi starrer.

Gross: 5.15 crores in 8 days
Superb Opening, Marching towards Super Hit

2. Ring Master

Dileep's Mass sumer vacation entertainer aimed at Ladies and Kids didn't take a grand opening, but the status has remained even through out without major drop either.

Gross: 4.58 crores in 8 days
Good Opening, Marching towards a Hit

3. Gangster

After a terrific opening the film fell badly like a pack of cards at Box Office. The film was removed from most of its stations within 6/7 days.

Gross: 3.95 crores in 9 days
Great first day, fell after wards - Disaster

4. Pauly Technique

The film took an average opening, and with average WOM future doesn't look much good for Pauly and his Techniques.

Gross: 2.65 crores in 8 days
Above Average

5. Ohm Shanthi Oshaana & Drishyam 

Still Continuing their blistering run in selected main centers and in many B & C class centers.

Mega Hit & All Time Blockbuster

6. Maan Karate

The film got an almost free week as Summer releases were pushed to 1th due to elections. The film was bought for a meagre prize and collected many times that amount. Film performed beyond expectations and many theaters chose the film to continue for a 2nd and 3rd week.

Gross: about 85 lakhs in 15 days

Hit


1 By Two *ing Fahadh Faasil was released this pat Friday (April 19th) to an average opening and below average WOM. So looks like that won't make any difference to the tally. Last Friday of April will 3 releases
Dulquer-Nazriya's Samsaram Arogyahtinu Hanikaram, Indrajith's Masala republic and Allu Arjun's Lucky The Racer [Race Gurram]



PS: The figures are approximate values and may not necessarily be actuals

Kerala Box Office First Quarter 2014 - Exclusive Report

Kerala Box Office First Quarter 2014 - Exclusive Report

Like 2013 it has been a slow start for Malayalam Film Industry in 2014. 2 of the biggest earners of the 1st quarter of this year are 2013 Hold Overs [meaning released in 2013, no the other HO]. So lets look at the top 5 performances at Kerala Box Office in the first 4 months of 2014.

1. Drishyam

Undoubtedly the film that grossed most in 2014 from Kerala Box Office is Drishyam. Releasing on Dec 19th, the majority of the film's total gross came this year. In Outside Kerala, Overseas markets too the film had extraordinary run in 2014.

Kerala Gross: 41 crores (Approx) Worldwide: 60 crores (approx)

All Time Mega Blockbuster

2. Ohm Shanthi Oshaana

The biggest hit amongst 2014 releases so far.

Kerala Gross: 10 crores (approx) Rest of India 1 core+

Mega Hit

3. 1983

Cricket based movie did exceedingly well and made Nivin Pauly part of 2 successful films in 2014.

HIT

Kerala Gross: 7.25 crores

4. Oru Indian Pranayakatha

Released on December 20, 2013 the film worked due to Fahad Faasil's impressive performance, his chemistry with Amala Paul & Sathyan Anthikkadu brand

Super Hit

Kerala Gross: 9 crores (approx)

5. Jilla

The Presence of Mohanlal even though helped the film to take the biggest opening ever for any movie in the state, the very same became the factor that pulled down the movie in the following days, as most of the Audience felt that Mohanlal was made to play a second fiddle to Vijay, only to boost up his character.

Hit

Distributors Share: 3.60 crore (approx)

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 !!!