Philips and the Monkey Pen - Movie Review - Mollywood's Chillar Party

'Philips & the Monkey Pen' tells the story of how Ryan Philips and his bunch of friends, who excel in everything except studies, especially Mathematics. How the lives of Ryan and those surrounding him changes with the arrival of a 'Monkey Pen' which is believed to have magical powers, forms the rest of the story.

The film beautifully narrates how a kid learns about life, god, parents, work, worship etc which has been presented in a fairly entertaining manner.

Monkey Pen is definitely one of the most entertaining and accomplished work, about kids and for kids, from Mollywood. Every department shines in this well made film. Director duo Rojin & Shanil have done an excellent job. Usually they take such movies for granted, but here the director duo have presented film in the best possible way one could, thanks to the support from Producers Vijay Babu [who also played Pappan Sir] & Sandra Thomas. The passion the producers have for cinema is very much visible here.

Master Sanoop [Sanusha's brother] who played 'Ryan' has done an excellent job. It hard to believe that this is his first film, don't be surprised if he win both best actor & best child actor awards this year, such a treat was this young talent. The rest of the Kids in the gang were also excellent, special mention to the ones who played Jahangir [a character Modelled on 'Jangiya' from 'Chillar Party'] and Juan. Kudos to Jayasurya & Ramya for agreeing to be a part of the movie which is not focusing on them.

The film has lots of touching moments and great dialogues with depth. Full credits to the writers.

Cinematography was very good, a treat to your eyes. Editing was good. Music & BG gels very well with the narrative and doesn't try to go over board.

The film do try to pack in quite a few messages in the second half and also enters the preachy mode quite often.But the humor laced writing prevents it from being out of control.

So if you liked films like 'Tare Zammen Par' 'Pasanga' 'Chillar Party', 'Philips & the Monkey Pen' is a film that can very much be added to that elite list.

Please make sure you definitely watch the film with your entire family, especially with Kids. Its one of the rarest opportunity that Mollywood gives Kids, to be what they are, Kids.

No Rating, just watch it !!!

Goliyon Ki Rasleela Ram-Leela - Movie Review

 Directed by     Sanjay Leela Bhansali
Produced by     Sanjay Leela Bhansali, Chetan Deolekar, Kishore Lulla, Sandeep Singh
Based on     Romeo and Juliet by Shakespeare 

Music by     Monty Sharma, Sanjay Leela Bhansali
Cinematography     Ravi Varman
Editing by     Rajesh G. Pandey
Studio     SLB Films, Eros International

Distributed by     Eros International
Release date(s)   15 November 2013
Running time     155 mins
Country     India
Language     Hindi

Cast

    Ranveer Singh as Ram
    Deepika Padukone as Leela
    Richa Chadda as Raseela
    Supriya Pathak as Leela's mother
    Sharad Kelkar
    Gulshan Devaiah as Bhavani
    Barkha Bisht as Kesar
    Abhimanyu Singh
    Priyanka Chopra (Special appearance in the song "Ram Chahe Leela")
    Anshul Trivedi as Ram's brother

 'GOLIYON KI RAASLEELA RAM-LEELA' is an adaptation of Shakespearean all time classic 'Romeo & Juliet'. The story is set in an imaginary (i hope it is ) town in Gujarat where every 2nd sound you hear will be that of a gun firing. Every 2nd answer people give is with a Gun.  The crux of all these is the rivalry between 2 families. And normally as you see in Bollywood our Hero & Heroine belongs to opposite groups & the film tells this love story of Ram Leela and whether they succeed or meet a tragic end like Romeo-Juliet.

First things first, Ram Leela is the best 'commercial' entertainer made by Bhansali. It has everything that a typical 'Bollywood' fan would love, thanks to Bhansali's packaging. The setting of the story itself is very much vibrant and feels real. It oozes richness in every screen.
The songs are outstanding, and have been conceived brilliantly too. The sets/locations helps the narration a great deal. The dialogues are very powerful.

Another important aspect of the film is the terrific performances of the lead cast. Deepika Padukone, who can be called the hero of the film, has given her career best performance, so as Ranveer Singh. Their chemistry was electrifying. The performances Supriya Pathak & Richa Chadda deserves special mention too.

The cinematography is brilliant, capturing the movie with all the right colors and elan. Music & BG another great plus. Editing could have been crispier as it drags in bits and pieces. Dialogues are good, script is okay.

With that being said, But Ram Leela is not a perfect film either. It feels like Ishaqzaade dipped in Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam with a Delhi-6ish ending. Many sequences infact reminds you of HDDCS, only thing is that its a bit bolder this time.  Songs even though extra ordinary  there are too many of them which pops up every now and then. The film might not cater much to the audience of South, its mainly for North, and due to the presence of violence and quite few bold scenes Overseas audience, whose usually lap up similar films may stay away. Also the dialogues might be hard to pick due to its Gujarati flavor, mainly for non-Hindi speakers.

If you don't mind typical Bollywoodised adaptation of Romeo & Juliet Ram Leela is a film that you shouldn't miss. For others, may be not for the story or script, but is at least a one time match for all the richness, technical perfections, songs and performances.

Rating 3.25/5

Verdict: Good 

Box Office: Should be a Hit

Last Word - RamIshaqLeelaZaade** !!!

** Even I don't know what that means, but it felt/looks good :-)

Golion Ki Rasleela: Ram-Leela - Kerala Release Paper Ad with Theater list

 Golion Ki Rasleela: Ram-Leela - Kerala Release Paper Ad with Theater list

Malabar Region

Ernakulam region

 Trivandrum Region

Thira - Malayalam Movie Review

 Thira - Malayalam Movie Review

 Directed by     Vineeth Sreenivasan
Produced by     Manoj Menon
Screenplay by     Rakesh Mantodi, Vineeth Sreenivasan
Story by     Rakesh Mantodi
Music by     Shaan Rahman
Cinematography     Jomon T. John
Editing by     Ranjan Abraham
Distributed by     LJ Films
Release date(s)   November 14, 2013
Running time     113 minutes

Country     India
Language     Malayalam

 Cast

    Shobana as Rohini
    Dhyan Sreenivasan as Naveen
    Deepak Parambol
    Gaurav Vasudev as Kidnapper

'Thira' was creating buzz from the moment it was officially announced. With the trailer, poster & songs the excitement reached paramount. Its' Vineeth Sreenivasan's 3rd directorial venture.

According to the makers Thira is the first  part of a Trilogy, written by Vineeth's cousin brother Rakesh Mantodi. Vineeth's brother Dhyan also makes his debut, as an actor, in this film. Thira also marks the return of Shobana to big screen after a long gap.

Story

'Thira' is a  road movie styled thriller based mainly on two characters Roshni and Naveen. Naveen who comes to Karnataka to meet his sister witness her being kidnapped by traffickers. Roshini who is a Doctor by profession is also in search of group of girls, protected by the NGO she works for, kidnapped by the same bunch of traffickers. How the paths of these 2 strangers cross and whether they will able to find & rescue the missing girls forms the story of the first part of 'Thira'.

The basic idea is something that we have seen in films like 'Taken' "Calcutta News' 'Karmayodha' etc. But its the presentation that makes the film stand out.

Writing by Vineeth & Rakesh is top notch. There is no time to relax or think, it action from the word go. But it doesn't get monotonous too, the film has the right mix of emotion, thrill and suspense and keeps viewers on the edge of the seat. 

The performances of all the actors, not just Dhyan & Shobana (who are exceptional by the way)are superlative. Special mention to debutant Dhyan who looks like a future prospect.

The technical side is also very good. Vineeth's crisp direction, Jomon's camera are huge plus. The color tone itself adds to the over all feel of the movie. Songs by Shaan are Very Good, used efficiently in the film. His BG work was likeable too, suiting the mood of the movie.[Felt bit loud at places, making dialogues sound feable - may be a problem with the theater sound system]

Thira is not a film for every one. Multiplex/City audience will lap up the movie while for mass audience it will be tough to find acceptance. There are many dialogues in Hindi/English/Tamil/Kannada & the subtitling in such scenes were inefficient [all over the screen and disappearing quickly]. The film also lacks elements for mass or family audience. Plus the way film ends, with a lead to the next part, could also leave the viewers perplexed. Everything happens with ease for the protagonists, could have added bit of drama and complexities.

Thira is a 113 min long emotional, thrilling, racy ride that every one should give it a try

Verdict : Very Good

Rating: 3.75/5

Box Office - HIT

Last Word : Watch IT !!!

Geethaanjali - Exclusive Malayalam Movie Review

 Geethaanjali - Exclusive Malayalam Movie Review

Directed by     Priyadarshan
Produced by     G. P. Vijayakumar
Screenplay by     Abhilash Nair
Dialogue: Dennis Joseph
Music by     Vidyasagar
Cinematography     S. Tirru
Editing by     T. S. Suresh
Studio     Seven Arts International
Distributed by     Seven Arts International
                                P J Entertainments (Europe)
Release date(s)  14 November 2013
Country     India

Language     Malayalam

Cast

    Mohanlal as Dr. Sunny Joseph
    Suresh Gopi as Nakulan (Cameo)
    Keerthy Suresh as Geetha & Anjali
    Nishan as Anoop
    Swapna Menon as Mary
    Nassar
    Siddique
    Madhu
    Innocent
    Harisree Ashokan
    Ganesh Kumar
  

'Geethaanjali' is the sort of sequel to All time Malayalam classic 'Manichitrathazhu', which is a huge baggage itself. Expecting anything remotely close especially with Priyadarshan at the helms of of affairs was out of the question. But still the trailer and video song were able to create some sort of hype before the release.

Story

'Geethanjali' deals with another interesting 'case' that Para-Psychologist Dr. Sunny Joseph gets to encounter in his career. On his friend Nakulan's request Sunny comes to Kerala to investigate about the paranormal activities taking place in an old mansion, once soon to be married Anjali & Anoop sets foot inside. 


Geethanjali is a nice watch for those who don't frequent Hollywood/Foreign horror films, for others this might be an under whelming outing. Its definitely one of the better horror 'attempts' from Mollywood
after a long time. 

First half was good where the story gets established. In the second half especially toward the end the writer looses complete control and felt like everything was rushed and didn't knew how to end properly. Innocent's role which was meant as a comic releif gets repeatative after a point. The basic idea of the film is inspired from a Thai film, which interestingly has been used in 2  Malayalam films in the past.

Mohanlal gets a extended cameo length role, but his 'Sunny' failed to create the charm which he had last time around. Keerthy has made a very good debut, her performance in the climax was very good. Rest of the cast did an okay job.

The main issue with the film is the half baked script. It's Priyadarshan's skill that made a decent entertaining movie out of it. His direction is good, he has tried every trick in the 'horror' book to make the film interesting, thrilling and scary (to an extent). Equally worth appreciating are Tirru's camera work and TS Suresh's editing which prevents the movie from going to a mess. Dialogues were just Okay, had a drama feel in few scenes. Music was disappointing considering the iconic songs

 'Manichitrathazhu' had, but Vidyasagar scored big time in Background score. also kudos to the art department who have done an excellent job



As a horror film it quite succeeds in scaring the audience - its thrilling and told in a convincing manner too.  If you avoid any sort of comparison with the iconic predecessor Geethaanjali can be a decent watch.

 Being the biggest/widest release ever for Malayalam film, it should at least recover investments, in the worst case scenario.

Rating: 2.75/5

Verdict: above Average

Final Word : Don't Go with huge expectations, avoid comparison  with MCT, you will enjoy this ride

 

Punyalan Agarbathis - Exclusive HD Posters Set

KRRISH 3 : Exclusive Movie Review

KRRISH 3 : Exclusive Movie Review

Produced & Directed by Rakesh Roshan

Written By Rakesh Roshan, Honey Irani & Robin Bhatt

Music by Rajesh Roshan

Stars: Hrithik Roshan, Priyanka Chopra, Kangna Ranaut & Vivek Oberoi

Movie Review by Sree Prasad Nair Theater 

Grand Al Mariah Cinemas, Abu Dhabi, UAE 31/10/2013 – 11.50pm Occupancy – 100% (Expected)

Rakesh Roshan is known for directing super successful films like Karan Arjun, Kaho Naa Pyar Hai, Koi Mil Gaya & Krrish. Krrish3 is a continuation of Krrish & Koi Mil Gaya. Both films were super successful at the box office and started the superhero science fiction trend in Bollywood.

Krrish3 is the first Hrithik Roshan film of 2013. His last film Agneepath released about 20 months back. Krrish stars Hrithik Roshan(in double role) Priyanka Chopra, Kangna Ranaut & Vivek Oberoi. Expectations are high from this Solo Diwali release.

STORY

Krrish 3 is the story of Dr. Rohit Mehra and his superhero son Krrish (both roles played by Hrithik Roshan). After defeating the villainous Dr. Siddhant Arya, and bringing his father Rohit back from the dead, Krrish continued fighting against evil and saving innocent lives. Now Krishna is living a happily married life with Priya (Priyanka Chopra) while Rohit is using his scientific brilliance to benefit society. And Krrish is everyone's favorite superhero saviour. Unknown to them, a dark force is growing in another part of the world. Kaal, an evil genius played by Vivek Oberoi is selfishly misusing his powers to spread fear, death and destruction. And he is being assisted by an army of very dangerous beings, which he has created himself. Not long after Kaal's plans are put into action, both Rohit and Krrish find themselves faced with a crisis of epic proportions, which only they can resolve, together. But when they finally cross paths with Kaal and his army, neither of them is prepared for what lies ahead. Kaal not only brings the world to the brink of disaster, he also puts the strength and love of Krishna and his family to the test.

Let me start with the positives of the film.

Positives

Krrish 3 is Rakes Roshan's film all the way. His direction was top class and the film lives up to the international standards and is a technical marvel. Hats off to Rakesh Roshan for actually pulling off this risky film with loads of entertainment & top scenes. Without a doubt Krrish 3 one of the best works of the maverick Rakesh Roshan so far.

Hrithik Roshan's acting is good as Krishna, excellent as Krrish & outstanding as the old Dr.Rohit Mehra. Hrithik seems born to play this role and he enacts it with great confidence that it leaves you asking for more. In fact, you can't imagine any other actor enacting the role of a super hero with such precision. All in all A Hrithik Roshan entertainer.

Another positive of the film is Vivek Oberoi in a never seen before Avatar. He is extra ordinary as Kaal. His role was limited in the first half, but he was rocking in the second half, almost par screen presence with Hrithik. From a comedy role in Grand Masti to a super villian in Krrish 3. 2013 is already a lucky year for Vivek Oberoi.

Kangana Ranut evolves into a different person in Krrish 3. Her make up, her styling & above all her performance is outstanding. Priyanka Chopra is good. However her role is limited, especially in the second half.

But the real strength of the movie is VFX, special effects, action scenes & look of the movies and characters, surely catches your eyes. The over all make up and costumes is very imaginative. Cinematography by S.Tirru matches international standard. There are many scenes that will definetely impress young kids.

Negatives

The music is a huge let down. Rakesh Roshan films are always famous for great music by his brother Rajesh Roshan. Don't know what happend to him this time. A festival release without a hit music is disappointing. Only saving grace is to see Hrithik Roshan's amazing dances in the songs. Placement of the songs are totally wrong.

The romantic angle between Kangana and Hrithik, hard to digest. Also the song Dil Tu Hi Bataa (Excellent locations of Jordan) was not needed. Also no logic to see 'pregnant Priyanka Chopra's dance in Raghupati Raghav & God Allah Aur Bhagwaan song.?

Dialogues are very poor. Rajpal yadav is wasted. Second half is dragging and climax could have been much better.

On the whole, Krrish 3 is a good entertainer with an excellent first half & an average second half with Hrithik's acting and VFX- special effects as pluspoints. At the box office film is all set to open huge (solo Diwali release) with 4000+ screens all over India. An opening day of 25-28cr with a 65-68crore weekend will be bountiful for the makers. But the big question is will it mark the 200 crore mark? Will it cross the Chennai Express record of 208 crore? Unlikely for me! Nevertheless A Diwali Blockbuster!

P:S: This Krrish will win your hearts!!!

Verdict - A Diwali Blockbuster

Rating - 3.5/5! Great Entertainer!!!

Box Office Precition - 175cr 

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