Annabelle

Posted on October 11, 2014 by Dr. Tennyson

Vampire Owl :: This is the day I have been waiting for.

Vampire Bat :: Are you sure this is the movie you waited for?

Vampire Owl :: Yes, I am hoping that I can adopt that doll soon. I have also written a letter to the Dracula Castle requesting permission from Uncle Dracula for the same.

Vampire Bat :: You don’t need that doll right now. You are pretty much a scary owl as of now.

Vampire Owl :: No, it is part of my plan to owlify the world. I would need a side-kick, like Robin is to Batman. Otherwise, I know that I am scary and dangerous.

Vampire Bat :: Annabelle doll doesn’t play supporting role. She always does the main role. She is a level five demon, not a level zero vampire.

Vampire Owl :: What? Bad doll. What makes it think that it can get the main role outside movies? Especially when super hero-villains like me are alive?

Vampire Bat :: Because she has pride, and also the rest of those seven deadly sins. It is why she is an evil demonic doll.

Vampire Owl :: I shall rate this movie low.

Vampire Bat :: No, it is me who does the rating, and I choose not for an owlified world.

[Gets the tickets].

What is it about? :: The movie has the same beginning as The Conjuring, with people telling the story of a demonic doll. From there, the movie goes to a flashback which shows John (Ward Horton) and Mia Gordon (Annabelle Wallis) expecting the birth of their first child. But they are attacked by a satanic cult which kills their neighbours and causes terror before the cops arrive. Annabelle Higgins (Tree O’Toole), a member of the occult group marks their wall with a symbol and a drop of her blood is left in the eyes of a doll which was in the house. Even as they throw the bloodied doll away, it makes another appearance at the house after a baby is born and they shift the house. They keep it feeling that the doll made its way to the new house during a quick packing and decides to keep it this time. But strange things begin to happen at the new home, and Mia begins to suspect the doll. She contacts the local priest and a detective, but there doesn’t seem to be a way to stop the terror, or is there a solution?

The defence of Annabelle :: The scares that this movie provides are impressive, just like it was for The Conjuring, even if lesser in a comparison, which should be avoided at each and every moment of this one. There is a very nice creepy environment and chilling atmosphere already created for the thriving of this doll and its scary demons. The way in which the lighting and the darkness are managed can be considered pretty much admirable. The sound effects support the visual horror in an impressive manner. There is one scene when an elevator keeps stopping at one floor full of darkness, and when you think you can avoid this moment by taking the stairs, there is a demon waiting downstairs. There is the moment when a young girl appears and runs towards you and when the door closes and opens, she transforms into something else. There is the bloody guarantee to scare the audience here, and it is something which is not easy to provide. It is time you respect the dolls, and may be after watching this movie, you will.

The claws of flaw :: There are those expectations which make things a lot worse than they really are, and what people expect after watching The Conjuring should be something not less than marvelous, and even as that movie’s fans will surely watch this one, the same has badly affected the opinions which have come out. Considering how much of a big level that movie had left for all the horror movies which were to follow, especially for a flick which claims to be its prequel. Annabelle lags behind The Conjuring with its ideas and the repetition of things that we have seen so many times in our horror watching life, as its plot gets thinner. Even as the end is satisfying, it is rather too predictable and not something that was wanted by those who wanted the evil to end or for the same to thrive. There is no grand success in a pure evil manner, or the end of evil with an exorcism, and also the movie takes a little bit too time to get into full flow of horror and those who are looking for ghosts end up getting restless early itself.

Performers of the soul :: Annabelle Wallis is lovely in her role (with the name of the doll for herself – that’s a nice surprise in the credits section and makes one wonder if it was intentional), but being scared becomes the more important part of her presence, and that indeed seems to work well with her character. Ward Horton and the rest of the cast are left with not much to do, except for a little bit from Alfre Woodard and Tony Amendola. Otherwise, there is not much to do for the actors and actresses, and that is no surprise from a horror movie. Its ddependenceon the performance of its cast is pretty low, as it keeps bringing those moments of terror now and then to minimize the focus on everything else. But the question remains if some more for the acting department would have been good, as this is nothing like The Conjuring, and needed more doses here and there to elevate its status.

Soul exploration :: Annabelle reinforces the faith in the supernatural, and it is always a good thing to have, in a world where people live with the false pride of being everything and believing to the be the centre of the world. Such movies are necessary for the realization that we can’t always know everything, and there will always be things beyond our comprehension. The more we remember about our minuteness, the better the world gets. There might be too many supernatural horror movies which are better than Annabelle, including the two parts of Insidious, Sinister and The Conjuring, and the dolls of Curse of Chucky and Dead Silence surely seems to do better than our demonic doll here. But Annabelle has life of her own, and despite the need to take a few lessons from Chucky, her power as the demonic doll will also stay. Do watch those other two doll movies I mentioned if you missed them. For a review of the former: https://moviesofthesoul.wordpress.com/2014/09/01/curseofchucky/

How it finishes :: People will obviously want to think low of Annabelle due to the high expectations which haven’t come down even after the bad reviews. A number of reviewers from this part of the world had given even better ratings to below average movies like Pizza just because it was produced by Bollywood – is it how the quality is to be decided? Yes, one has to wonder how such a thing should even happen. Lets not come to any conclusions here though, as there is the certainty that Annabelle scares the audience, and any denial of the same directly takes the viewer with such an opinion into the demonic realm where he or she can join the devil. No, Annabelle is nowhere close to being perfect, and it has its moments of struggles. You can ask for many things extra in this movie, but that it clearly a direct result of your deadly high expectations which had ventured too high and as a result had gone to Mars with Mangalyaan. Just remember that there is chance for another movie between this one and The Conjuring 😀

Release date: 10th October 2014 (India); 3rd October 2014 (USA)
Running time: 98 minutes
Directed by: John R. Leonetti
Starring: Annabelle Wallis, Ward Horton, Alfre Woodard, Tony Amendola, Kerry O’Malley, Brian Howe, Eric Ladin, Ivar Brogger, Tree O’Toole, Keira Daniels, Morganna May

@ Cemetery Watch
✠ The Vampire Bat.

Vellimoonga

Posted on October 2, 2014 by Dr. Tennyson

Vampire Owl :: I condemn the name of this movie. They are not supposed to name a comedy movie as “the silver owl”.

Vampire Bat :: It says silver owl, not vampire owl or not even night owl. There is no way it can affect you.

Vampire Owl :: But I am still deeply offended.

Vampire Bat :: You were just looking to find a reason to be offended.

Vampire Owl :: Everyone is offended by something or anything all the time, and I choose to follow that path which is the new fashion. I shall still forgive them if the movie is a good one, because I am a generous Vampire Owl.

Vampire Bat :: It has good reviews so far. You could actually not blame a few people this time.

Vampire Owl :: Who are they to judge and review an owl? What do they even know about owls? Are they married to owls?

Vampire Bat :: It is not really the story of an owl. It has humans. What is wrong with you these days?

Vampire Owl :: I stare at the mirror and see only the owlish truth. The absolute truth that only the owls can recognize as true.

Vampire Bat :: This is exactly why zombies eat brains.

[Gets the tickets].

What is it about? :: Vellimoonga tells the story of a politician Mamachan (Biju Menon) who attempts to reach big heights by being part of political party in the north of India rather than joining a local party and using his local image to become a leader in the locality. He roams around his village, attempting to make a name using his political affliation to the big party of which he is just one of the very few members in the whole state. His best friend and the only other member of the party in that locality is Pachan (Aju Varghese) who helps him in his initiatives, hoping to go to Delhi with him some day. Jose (Tini Tom) is his big political enemy from the left wing. Mamachan who is not married even after his younger brother getting married and having two kids, finally falls of a girl who attends the same church, Lisa (Nikki Galrani), but would face big resistance from her father Vareeth (Siddique) who used to be his rival. How our hero handles the situation becomes the rest of the story.

The defence of Vellimoonga :: The movie’s ability to be a laugh riot cannot be questioned in the most doubtful situations. We come to know that right in the beginning itself. They could ornate this simple plot with nice comic numbers and some interesting twists with serene strength. The script does have enough to extract the performances from the actors and actresses. The visuals are good as the beauty of the rural area is captured nicely and the shots are beautifully adorned. There is no questioning the movie’s propensity for competence even without the presence of any so called superstar or heavy publicity, and for the same, the movie deserves some more applause. The movie could skillfully use its cast to its strength, and could thrive on the abilities of its actors to evoke laughter embedding the right situations here and there and there is also the ultimate realization that it gives to its viewers on how cute and pretty Nikki Galrani actually looks.

The claws of flaw :: Vellimoonga could have surely had a little more logic with some of its proceedings, but that should be a purely subjective opinion as far as a funny movie purely made for fun is concerned, and it does keep some of the same. The songs are just ordinary, nothing really making an impact. There is a little bit of missing in the middle, with the flow getting lost at times, but that can often go unnoticed. A little more care to the plot could have been nice, instead of deviating each situation to bring comedy here and there. A little bit more of the reflections of the major political incidents would have also done this movie more favours. A full swing political satire like Sandhesam could have been here, may be developing what Oru Indian Pranayakadha had also partially shown, sadly that much is not there to be seen. There are also a number of comedy numbers which should have been rather avoided, but may be it caters to a certain group of viewers.

Performers of the soul :: Biju Menon returns to the big screen as the solo leading character of a movie after a very long time, and it is not just the silver in the name of the movie that he strikes, but it is the gold itself. It was splendid to see how well he captures the mannerisms of his character and gets into the role of a political player with such an ease. Yes, it is Aju Varghese who skillfully supports him and does what he has been doing the best, but there is nothing like Biju Menon leading the comedy train, something he has been doing for such a long time along with his other variety roles. He doesn’t combine with or play second fiddle to Kunchako Boban or Dileep this time as takes things forwards with the support of Aju. This also turns out to be Nikki Galrani’s best ever outing in Malayalam as she is stunningly beautiful and cute like no other actress of these days. Tini Tom also essays an impressive role with ease, and Asif Ali’s extended cameo is likable. It is good to see Anu Joseph in the movies too. Sunil Sukhada and Sasi Kalinga scores with their comic numbers too.

Soul exploration :: Vellimoonga does work as a satire, there is no doubt about it. The movie doesn’t hesitate in making fun of the political situation that is prevalent in the country concerned with unholy alliances between the parties and seat sharing, along with the influence of regional parties. The situations related to politics remain funny throughout the movie, and the personal life of the protagonist and his infatuation towards the girl comes only as a part of the same. The significant thing is that the whole thing is concerned with what happens in one village, something which provides a certain feel-good factor to this movie, as the audience also seems to need such locations. The movie doesn’t give the feeling of drinking some bourgeoisie coffee which is provided by some random machinery, but that of a certain kind of tea which has the flavour of the villages and its hardworking common people.

How it finishes :: Vellimoonga is the winner of the weekend before Gandhi Jayanthi and will carry over its success to the Pooja season – who would have thought that this Biju Menon starrer will be the winner facing bigger movies which released at the same time, or were already in the theatres when it came to the audience? Yes, Biju Menon wins this round with ease, and for giving us this one with all its power, we can thank his versatility as a wonderful actor. Let’s hope that this movie is not lost in mindless remakes coming from Bollywood with the dumb stuff like Bang Bang! We are in need of comedy movies which don’t stoop into buffoonery of any kind, and Vellimoonga guarantees that such movies can exist without superstars with its own existence. May be it will inspire more movies which can come up with some more genuine comedy which won’t make the brains of the audience feel like vegetable noodles.

Release date: 26th September 2014
Running time: 130 minutes (estimate)
Directed by: Jibu Jacob
Starring: Biju Menon, Aju Varghese, Nikki Galrani, Tini Tom, Lena, Asif Ali, K. P. A. C. Lalitha, Siddique, Sunil Sukhada, Sasi Kalinga, Kalabhavan Shajon, Anu Joseph, Chembil Ashokan, Shivaji Guruvayoor

@ Cemetery Watch
✠ The Vampire Bat.

Deliver Us from Evil

Posted on October 1, 2014 by Dr. Tennyson

Vampire Owl :: You are obviously talking about me.

Vampire Bat :: No, I am not. Why should I talk about you now when I am going to watch a horror movie?

Vampire Owl :: You said “deliver us from evil”. I am evil.

Vampire Bat :: No, you are not evil, not even remotely close to being a bad guy.

Vampire Owl :: But I am bad. Super evil.

Vampire Bat :: Owls are not evil. It is impossible. Bats are evil.

Vampire Owl :: You cannot take my right to be evil. I am going to owlify the world and establish my greatness.

Vampire Bat :: As if that is going to happen. You said you would do it before Mangalyan reached Mars.

Vampire Owl :: Damn. It all happens too fast. These strange space related things are not covered by the vampire newspapers.

Vampire Bat :: I would say that it is more due to your brain’s clock working so slow.

[Gets into the theatre].

What is it about? :: A cop Ralph Sarchie (Eric Bana) is going through some strange situations, as weird incidents happen in the city, and some of them has almost no reason or solution. A Spanish priest Mendoza (Édgar Ramírez) tries to convince the police officer that these incidents have something with it than what meets the eye. There are three former soldiers from Iraq who seems to be involved with the crimes that has occured in the city, and the priest warns Sarchie that it is beyond the human comprehension as there are two types of evil, primary and secondary, and it is only the second about which the humanity can find answers with its ability to understand things in the scientific way. At first, the cop refuses to believe that the three men are possessed, but he might not be able to hold on with that viewpoint for too long, as things go out of control, and it affects even his own relationships with his wife and daughter.

The defence of Deliver Us from Evil :: The scares are surely working, especially with a number of scenes in the basement which brings the best out of horror. The atmosphere is creepy, and is successfully kept that way and the tension is efficiently maintained. The darkness and the rain are two elements that nicely supports the shocks that the movie dares to come up with. The movie nicely manages to stay in control with the blood and gore elements as well as the horror, and this intermediate path which it has taken can make it a safer bet. There is an attempt to explain evil with the need for faith, and there is some skill in the characterization of the two leading characters who go on to fight evil. The moments in the zoo and the basement of a family with a complaint are two very nicely done scenes, invoking terror as well as mystery, and a certainty that there is something yet to come. The cast is also a fine boost for this movie.

The claws of flaw :: The movie needed a lot more explanations about what is happening around with demons possessing people and making them do things, and by passing through the portal into this world from the other dimension, the question would remain about what they achieve other than scaring people and in the process, killing a few. There had to be a plan which isn’t seen anywhere here. A comparison to The Exorcism of Emily Rose and Sinister which comes from the same director is not possible as this belongs to a lower level, and any comparison to The Conjuring is clearly impossible. The movie should have used more special effects, and it could have given a much needed boost to the scary sequences. The end scene is also weaker with a usual exorcism performed in not that powerful manner as it was expected from the way the movie was working with its creatures from the other world. The second half is weaker compared to the first which was an impressive start.

Performers of the soul :: Eric Bana is in full control of things here in one of my favourite performances from him ever. There is something about him that makes him good with this character, and I would guess that his looks and style is pretty much best suited to playing this role. Édgar Ramírez also has left a mark as the new generation priest who has kept himself modern, but has still remained within his priestly world. I remember him mostly as Ares from Wrath of the Titans, and here he seems to fit in better. The prettiest one around, Olivia Munn has an admirable stay, and her character has presence, but she is left is not much to do in a world of demons repelled by one priest and a police officer. Sean Harris as Santino is impressive with his possessions and nicely compliments the horror elements of the movie with his performance. Meanwhile, Joel McHale is also good in his supporting role. Olivia Horton also delivers some terror with her role as the possessed lady.

Soul exploration :: The movie is based on the real life experiences of Ralph Sarchie recorded in his book, Beware the Night also co-written by Lisa Collier Cool. I would guess that it would add to the spookiness and surely has me wishing to read the work some day – it would be difficult to get it here, but there will be a way. The title of the movie is the ending of the Lord’s Prayer. It is that need to be saved from evil that we can see in this movie. There will always be things which are not in our control, and humanity’s minuteness and vulnerability are among those factors which will solidify the same fact. It is a clear thing that we can’t know everything, and no mater how or to whom we pray, there is something that prayer can always do. There is evil in this world, and however we categorize them, there is the need for God’s grace to save ourselves. The free will is there, but it is not the permission to do evil; as there is the presence of sinister forces at work, and only by goodness and faith that one can be redeemed.

How it finishes :: The reviews from critics which were negative, has now improved and the movie has come close to getting a fifty percent, and I would expect it to increase further as the opinions from most of my acquaintances have been quite positive. The other movie of the week happens to be November Man which should have its own audience due to the presence of Pierce Brosnan. Surprisingly, Lucy and The Maze Runner are the movies which stay on to this week, and I wonder more about the former, as it seems to have stayed there so much longer than it was expected to thrive. Deliver Us from Evil should be the movie of the week, and it is going to be replaced by Annabelle as the most awaited horror movie of the year. There is also that expectation for Haider the Hindi contemporary adaptation of William Shakespeare’s Hamlet along with the seemingly dumb remake of Knight and Day which has been named Bang Bang! which attempts to repeat what Besharam did during last year’s Gandhi Jayanthi. Let’s hope that horror will find a way to thrive!

Release date: 26th September 2014 (India); 2nd July 2014 (US)
Running time: 118 minutes
Directed by: Scott Derrickson
Starring: Eric Bana, Édgar Ramírez, Olivia Munn, Sean Harris, Joel McHale, Chris Coy, Olivia Horton, Dorian Missick, Rhona Fox, Valentina Rendón

@ Cemetery Watch
✠ The Vampire Bat.

The Maze Runner

Posted on September 20, 2014 by Dr. Tennyson

Vampire Owl :: We are here at the exact time.

Vampire Bat :: How many times do I have to tell you that we have to reach the theatre before the movie begins?

Vampire Owl :: I am punctual with an awesome timing. So we should be here only when the movie starts. Otherwise, we will be bombarded with stupid commercials.

Vampire Bat :: There are no Vicco ads at this multiplex. This is Vicco-free

Vampire Owl :: There will still be a Katrina Kaif with a juice or chocolate.

Vampire Bat :: Stop solving the maze. You haven’t even seen her bathroom ad yet.

Vampire Owl :: What? You don’t tell me anything. You didn’t even talk to me about the uncensored version of 300 part two.

Vampire Bat :: But you did notice in the theatre that something was cut.

Vampire Owl :: Damn. I thought it was the blood and the flying body parts that they cut.

Vampire Bat :: This is why you are never promoted in the vampire ranks. You solve the maze before it is ever built.

[Gets the tickets].

What is it about? :: A boy wakes up in a box carrying supplies in an elevator, and is joined by a group of other boys who welcome him in an open area and makes him a member of their group. This boy whose name is discovered as Thomas (Dylan O’Brien), soon finds out that they are all trapped in an area surrounded by a maze with just one opening. They are all trapped in a rounded area filled with vegetation, which they call the glade. A new boy is send up in the elevator with supplies every month, and only when it is emptied that the elevator goes back down. Now they have started a small civilization there, and remembering only their own names, the boys are hoping that they can one day find a way out through the maze which is filled with dangers, including the consistently shifting mechanism of the maze which can squeeze whoever is inside, and the creatures of the night known as Grievers who roam around inside the structure. They train runners and make them travel through the maze during the day to be back at night, hoping to find a way out.

The defence of The Maze Runner :: The movie has the strength of some scares, especially with that great environment that it creates, and it is a significant thing that it is generated even without much strain but from the premises. The situation is about being locked in the middle of a maze, with no contact with the outside world, or the hope to escape and see what happens around. In the case of an escape, there is painful death awaiting, and that much they make clear. The maze is nicely designed with the addition of scare elements and the creatures which look a lot like mechanized spiders, and the atmosphere is a success. The suspense element stays strong too. The progress of the tale is nice, with the maze and the glade nicely explained and the incidents happening like they should. The best thing is that even as there is only one girl in the glade, there is the absence of a love triangle (or even rectangle) – not going there itself is a gain, and there is no romance as one would expect from a movie like this, keeping its mystery and terror alive without side-effects. The actors do their job, but almost everything is about the central character.

The claws of flaw :: The movie leaves with more questions than answers with which it struggles to provide, something which can get better only with the sequel. We don’t know much about most of things in this movie, and also about what is the right information, and what the wrong one is. The emotional side is pretty much weak, with no real attachment between the characters other than what is implied. Most of the characters including the heroine remains less interesting characters, and there are parts of the plot where things are rather rushed; the fans of book will surely complaint about possible deviations too. The movie could have used the maze more, especially in providing more mystery as our people unlock parts of it as we come to know about it. The scary stuff could have also had some boost with the darkness and the trees better twisted. There should have been more running in the maze suiting the title, and the need for more theories about the maze, its working and surprise attacks from the creatures, all would have boosted this movie, especially when it has that shortage of steam in the middle.

Soul exploration 1: Dystopian world :: The Maze Runner leaves us with a maze to think about. It is a lot like that labyrinth which was built by Daedalus for King Minos of Crete, which had that mythical Minotaur waiting to claim its victims. The half-man half-bull creature was slain by Theseus with the aid of Ariadne, and here, the story of monsters lives on. But what remains outside is the story of a dystopia, like what we had seen in Divergent and The Hunger Games, as a group of people are left in a world detached from the rest, controlled by some unknown people. There is also something from the Lord of the Flies as the boys struggle between themselves and their beliefsThey fight for survival here too, somewhat like in the games, but supporting each other and fighting an external force. Here, the divergent is the protagonist called Thomas, and he finds a way even as he is another newcomer like Beatrice Prior who becomes dauntless, and also showing the courage of Katniss Everdeen. Another fact is that there is another possible dystopia waiting for them outside, or is it extinction? Only those who have read the next books will know.

Soul exploration 2: Need for travel :: The glade is more like home, and we can see that there is reluctance from some members of the group to leave the place and enter the maze of troubles, which reflect what we see in out world. The maze of life is a difficult place to be, as we struggle to go through the same and nobody gets out of life alive, as we know it. The dangerous place that is life, calls us, but our reluctance to go into the world will only save our lives from the trouble that awaits us. Meanwhile, the glide protects its inhabitants and provides the people with the much needed safety of home. But can we be sure about the same? What if something better awaits us on the other side of the tricky and dangerous maze? It is only by travelling that we come to know about the same. Yes, the movie somewhat reflects the same, as we have the chance to go out there and explore, and only then, there will be choices. Such an uncertainty awaits us, and if we wait like the boys in the glade, we will never know; it is the risk factor that will define us.

How it finishes :: The Maze Runner ends the season of English movies coming late to this part of the world, along with A Walk Among the Tombstones which was my first preference for the weekend due to the presence of Liam Neeson. But thanks to the stupid timings that the multiplexes have kept for this movie, I might not be able to watch it, but I might still think abut giving it a try if circumstances are more favourable. For now, The Maze Runner seems to be the only movie of the week for me, and I am pretty much happy that I had chosen to watch it. It has also inspired me to read The Maze Runner by James Dashner some day, as there have been talks about some differences which are there and has affected the movie both positively and negatively. Lets also wait for that sequel which has a lot of things to tell us – here we await those answers to the questions which naturally springs up in the mind and leaves us not satisfied enough. Lets hope that this won’t get degraded like the Mortal Instruments and Twilight franchises or even as The Host.

Release date: 19th September 2014
Running time: 113 minutes
Directed by: Wes Ball
Starring: Dylan O’Brien, Kaya Scodelario, Thomas Brodie-Sangster,Will Poulter, Ki-hong Lee, Blake Cooper, Chris Sheffield, Aml Ameen, Alexander Flores, Jacob Latimore, Dexter Darden, Randall D. Cunningham, Joe Adler, Patricia Clarkson

@ Cemetery Watch
✠ The Vampire Bat.

Sapthamashree Thaskaraha

Posted on September 11, 2014 by Dr. Tennyson

Vampire Owl :: I can’t pronounce the name of this movie. Is it a bad omen? Does that mean that we will suffer brutally?

Vampire Bat :: No, the movie is good as per all reports. There is absolutely no question about it. The inability to pronounce is because you are an owl.

Vampire Owl :: I am the Vampire Owl.

Vampire Bat :: Yes, everybody knows that already.

Vampire Owl :: Well, what you don’t know about is the significance of owls in vampire mythology.

Vampire Bat :: It is not about you, but some random old, toothless owl.

Vampire Owl :: You shall not understand because you were brainwashed thrice by Uncle Dracula. Do you think the movie will go wrong?

Vampire Bat :: I don’t think so. Prithviraj hasn’t missed anything since Ayalum Njanum Thammil. There is that perfection even in cameo roles; even in Bollywood. Even his lesser appreciated movie London Bridge was a very good flick which some people failed to follow with its themes because of their lesser intellect.

Vampire Owl :: So, this is the day we really celebrate Onam?

Vampire Bat :: This should be it. But this is not the end as there are also a few other movies to pick from.

[Gets the tickets].

What is it about? :: We see a man coming to confess at a church in the early morning, and he decides to tell the priest about his story of crime. He talks about how his life changed with one big heist that he committed. There are seven people who meet in the prison, and the list includes Krishnanunni (Prithviraj Sukumaran), Shabab (Asif Ali), Noble (Nedumudi Venu), Martin (Chemban Vinod), Narayanankutty (Neeraj Madhav), Vasu (Sudheer Karamana) and Salam (Salam Bukhari). They decide to steal from a business tycoon called Pious Mathew (Joy Mathew) who was the one responsible for the terrible predicament of some of the people in the same cell as well as many other poor people. For the same, they come up with a plan for which they are helped by Noble’s daughter Annamma (Sanusha Santhosh), Salam’s friend Paki (Flower Battsetseg) and a few of the other former acquaintances as they decide to teach the city’s top devil a lesson.

The defence of Sapthamashree Thaskaraha :: Here, the usual heist movie is made interesting due to the skills of the director, as there is some nice narration and progress going on in the movie, and the jokes are nicely added in between the situations. The confession setting is nicely done, and the dialogues there are worth some applause. There were lots of claps all around in the theatre. Anil Radhakrishnan Menon has nicely managed these characters here and has made sure that all the robbers have some individuality of their own to compliment each other. The whole thing remains interesting throughout, and there is no drag, loss of interest or any similar thing. The fact that this turns out to be more of a heist than a social satire might be interesting for a few, but not working for some others – remember that things are rather too easy for the robbers. The movie is a clear winner for the Onam box-office, and nothing can change that, and considering the opinions about the other movies, a defence might not be even needed.

The claws of flaw :: The addition in the end is pretty immature, as if there is that 7th Day hangover which never leaves, and has come back to haunt for this Onam – the movie should have just finished before it. There is never the need for a climax over another climax just to add another twist. What we needed were simple lovable little robbers working for a cause, and the end ruins it, destroying that feel-good element completely. The movie was going in the same mood until it happened. The whole thing does remind us of many Hollywood heist movies, and as a comparison is rather unnecessary, I shall leave out of it. This doesn’t like up-to our director’s first movie North 24 Kaatham in front of which, this is trailing. The movie takes too much time to get into the action, and almost an hour is over by the time all the flashbacks are dealt with – not really appropriate for a heist movie to have such a long background for each character. None of the songs are interesting except for the title song which is okay.

Performers of the soul :: Prithviraj Sukumaran continues his winning run in Sapthamashree Thaskaraha, as his success story continues from what he had started with the Lal Jose movie and goes on even when put in less familiar territories like Bollywood (Aurangzeb), romance (London Bridge) and even in negative roles most of the actors would hesitate to do. That perfect journey that he started in 2012, as there is no other actor who has achieved such a good winning ratio, as they move around with their ups and downs – this where Prithviraj has risen above them all, the only other person who has achieved a similar record should be Nivin Pauly, but even he hasn’t got such variety opportunities as our man here who has made the impossible look easy through the last few years. Yes, if you choose the right movie to act in, there will always be appreciation or at least there won’t be too many bad things being told in the worst case scenario.

And the same that is continued :: This Onam is not just about this movie’s success for Prithviraj Sukumaran, as he became father to a baby girl a few days ago. Here, he has a role which is not at all a challenge for him, and does that with ease. The rest of the cast is also very good, and it is on the performances that this movie stands. Reenu Mathews and Sanusha do fine with the limited roles that they have, and the pick of the supporting cast should be Chemban Vinod and Neeraj Madhav who give us a lot to laugh. Asif Ali should have had a bigger role here, but he remains just as one of the seven robbers, unlike his nice entrance in the beginning. Joy Mathew is a nice villain, and this might be better than his previous such performances. Sudheer Karamana and Nedumudi Venu also provides nice support here. Indrajith Sukumaran comes in a guest role by the end of the movie. Flower Battsetseg, a Mongolian circus artist also does some nice work in this flick.

How it finishes :: This Onam is not that good as the last year, as it is evident from the reception for the released movies, and it goes on with the total lag that this year has experienced with Malayalam movies. The last year’s Onam had North 24 Kaatham, Daivathinte Swantham Cleetus and Ezhamathe Varavu being very good flicks, the first one being simplay awesome. There were also terrible stuff like D Company and Sringaravelan, but this year only has Sapthamashree Thaskaraha and up-to an extent, Bhaiyya Bhaiyya to save the season, as others turn out to be mass masala movies for the fans. If the reports are to be correct, Sapthamashree Thaskaraha should be the movie of Onam, and it is clearly re-iterated by a lot of movie watchers who are regular audience. It is a good sign for this Onam. I shall take this opportunity to wish everyone who reads this a Happy Onam, and hope that this last weekend before the Onam vacation ends, brings some awesome movies which will only extend our celebrations. Enjoy the Onam Holidays and God bless! 🙂

Release date: 6th September 2014
Running time: 148 minutes
Directed by: Anil Radhakrishnan Menon
Starring: Prithviraj Sukumaran, Reenu Mathews, Sanusha Santhosh, Asif Ali, Joy Mathew, Neeraj Madhav, Nedumudi Venu, Chemban Vinod, Flower Battsetseg, Sudheer Karamana, Salam Bukhari, Lijo Jose Pellissery, Indrajith Sukumaran (cameo)

@ Cemetery Watch
✠ The Vampire Bat.

Bhaiyya Bhaiyya

Posted on September 10, 2014 by Dr. Tennyson

Vampire Owl :: Do they give subsidy to movies which doesn’t have a Malayalam title?

Vampire Bat :: I haven’t heard about it after that news about the same.

Vampire Owl :: There is one Sanskrit title and one Hindi title for two out of the four movies released during this Onam.

Vampire Bat :: William Shakespeare has said that we can call a rose by any name, and it wouldn’t make any difference.

Vampire Owl :: But you can’t call Uncle Dracula a mosquito just because they have been doing the same thing for so many centuries, right?

Vampire Bat :: No, the title should still be suitable. But any language would be fine; the Malayalam movies with English titles have done great business, like Memories, Philips and the Monkey Pen, Left Right Left, Celluloid and others. May be such names also bring more luck, and is also easier to release them outside Kerala and catch some attention.

Vampire Owl :: So, what language title would be 1983?

Vampire Bat :: I guess that would be like what the director calls it. That is one safe move there.

Vampire Owl :: So, it deserves subsidy?

Vampire Bat :: How can we be sure? Mumbai Police sounds English, and North 24 Kaatham is partially English – we are not qualified enough to understand that completely, I guess.

[Gets the tickets].

What is it about? :: The movie tells the story of not just one Babu, but two of them, the first one Babumon (Kunchako Boban) from the highranges of Kerala and Baburam (Biju Menon) who was adopted by Babumon’s father during his stay in Bengal. Both grew up together, and as time progresses, Baburam drops out of school and Babumon falls in love with Angel (Nisha Aggarwal), the daughter of a rich businessman and politician, Varkey (Vijayaraghavan). Baburam falls for Shanthi (Vinutha Lal) from Salem, who is working with them. They come in conflict with Monayi (Shammi Thilakan) who is Angel’s brother and also the one whom Varkey is promoting as the next young MLA and minister. Accompanied by Soman (Suraj Venjaramoodu) who wants to see Kolkata, they travel together to Bengal with the corpse of a worker who died in an accident at their site; the rest of the group has Babumon, and Angel who are eloping and Shanthi who wishes to get down at Salem on the way, with Baburam as the driver.

The defence of Bhaiyya Bhaiyya :: The movie targets the family audience during this Onam vacation and celebration. It seems to try to get into that family and kids pleasing area which is always there to be taken. It does achieve some of that with ease, as there are funny moments which keeps coming, and most of the time, it does work – the trailer had already given that idea for the viewers. The visuals are fine, especially that of the hilly areas of Kerala, and that of the Kolkata city. The narrative with the monologue by the hero is quite good. The movie doesn’t ask for big thinking or hope for logic, and yet keeps its events under control without going out of the boundary. This is the same reason why it is very good in parts, and even when it losses its footing, it shows an ability to come back and keep going. Then there is Nisha Aggarwal, and that is one reason which needs no defence as we watch Kunchako Boban – Biju Menon combo attempting to strike again.

The claws of flaw :: Bhaiyya Bhaiyya is more of a standard procedure, as it goes on predictable lines, and even the surprise that is added doesn’t work in favour of the movie. The whole thing is adjusted to suit the story which has no real innovation in it, and the characters are not really used that well either. There was the need for a stronger bonding in romantic love, and more incident to support the brotherhood. This is supposed to a comedy, but that can’t be used as an excuse because this movie is not entirely that. Even the comic side is rather repetitive, and there are numbers that we are quite familiar with. It needed more seriousness or more comedy, but this takes the middle path, and even then the mixing is not correct. The songs are not at all interesting, and this is the area which could have given a movie like this, a much needed boost, but that wasn’t to be. The climax needed more impact, and it can only be said to work in a funny manner, not that much of a brilliance right there.

Performers of the soul :: It has been a long time since Kunchako Boban and Biju Menon acted together, and even their most dumb and irritating work Romans was a superhit loved by the masses, and therefore a lot was expected from this movie which was supposed to go the way of Ordinary, and also be funny like Mallu Singh, Seniors and 101 Weddings in which they had created some nice fun. There is no doubt here that both of them did give some nice performance in the roles which gave them some lesser challenge as they also had success in such roles without the other. Nisha Aggarwal has a good debut in the Malayalam movie industry, and she has done fine in a role which might have been new to her, but common in the Malayalam movie industry. Vinutha Lal is also fine as the other female lead, even as she has eve lesser to do. Jacob Gregory was nice in his role, but it was short and of lesser significance. Innocent and Salim Kumar are also present to handle the fun, and Suraj Venjaramoodu has more presence with some good numbers. Vijayaraghavan and Shammi Thilakan also play the typical roles.

Soul exploration :: The movie seems to have that message that all Indians are brothers and sisters, even as the relationships are not that effective here. The movie’s main characters are from Kerala, West Bengal and Tamil Nadu showing the strength of India’s unity in diversity, even as it is not that visible from their talks and action. May be the movie could have worked it that way, without losing its fun elements, but I guess there was the chance of some mockery in the same, which would work against the flick. The shots are also from the three states, even as Kerala has more, for the obvious reasons. The value of brotherhood is also implied here, and it is not just the usual relationship between two brothers that work here, as there is no blood relationship involved at all. The romantic side also takes the second place as bromance takes over right from the beginning, and that way, this is Bhaiyya Bhaiyya making the title of the movie true.

How it finishes :: There will be the need to watch Kunchako Boban – Biju Menon partnership yet again on the big screen, and the opportunity to see the beautiful Nisha Aggarwal on the screen in her first Malayalam movie, and one has to admit that she looks a lot like her elder sister, the stunning Kajal Aggarwal. The cast might not attract those extremist fans of the big stars who will abuse you if you say that the movie is bad, but only nicer people who are not the fans for popularity, but for only the good reasons – its good to be there without hardcore fan evil. The movie doesn’t disappoint, and neither does it loss out this Onam, but still it might be one of those movies which will somewhat miss out due to the lack of publicity; this one even lacks a Wikipedia page – how often do you see that? It is the first thing that a movie should have, followed by the Facebook page. The feel-good elements and the comedy keeps it going, along with the fact that this is the vacation time; the wonderful season of Onam.

Release date: 5th September 2014
Running time: 130 minutes (estimate)
Directed by: Johny Antony
Starring: Kunchako Boban, Nisha Aggarwal, Biju Menon, Vinutha Lal, Jacob Gregory, Shammi Thilakan, Vijayaraghavan, Innocent, Salim Kumar, Suraj Venjaramoodu, Thesni Khan

@ Cemetery Watch
✠ The Vampire Bat.

Sin City II

Posted on September 7, 2014 by Dr. Tennyson

Vampire Owl :: Didn’t this release long ago?

Vampire Bat :: No, there was a delay. I think the Indian censor board was concentrating heavily on this for many days, and they have finally managed to cut a lot of this movie and released it last Friday.

Vampire Owl :: They waited all these days to release this on Onam?

Vampire Bat :: Yes, as Onam has colourful flowers, they would balance it with this colourless movie.

Vampire Owl :: I wonder how much they would have cut.

Vampire Bat :: I would guess, half of it. They have very good scissors, and from what they have been doing, I shall not dare to doubt their skills.

Vampire Owl :: So, they want us to watch this movie on the computer, right?

Vampire Bat :: That should be the reason. Otherwise, I see no reason why they cut too much and still give a movie the adult rating. May be they can have a 21+ and 25+ rating for the movies too.

Vampire Owl :: My question is about that dame for whom it is to kill. May be we can collect blood for her too.

Vampire Bat :: Lets watch this and find out about her then.

[Gets the ticket].

What is it about? :: Sin City 2 has three stories, all of the happening at the same place and having relation to each other. One is the tale of Johnny (Joseph Gordon Levitt) who beats Senator Roark (Powers Boothe) in game of cards and the loser is not really happy about it. The powerful man wishes to get back to Johnny and his new girlfriend Marcie (Julia Garner) for humiliating him in the game. At the same time, Nancy Callahan (Jessica Alba) is seeking vengeance from the same man who had killed the man he loved. She lives an alcoholic life, being a bar dancer and at the same time, hoping to murder the evil man. The third story has Dwight McCarthy (Josh Broslin) attempting to free his former lover Ava Lord (Eva Green) who seems to be in a terrible relationship with her husband. In the middle of all these, there is Marv (Mickey Rourke) who seems to be part of the whole thing like the blood is to the veins. As things happen in Sin City, there will be blood, death and more vengeance.

The defence of Sin City: A Dame to Kill For :: This sequel should be a much awaited one for the fans, and it is nice to have one after nine years after the first adaptation of Frank Miller’s comics on the big screen. This was even a longer wait than one had to do for 300, and as some people might have forgotten about the same, a few others might have been still eagerly waiting. The return of the franchise is with a more powerful cast, even as Bruce Willis’ presence is minute. The style of the original continues in this movie, as there is lot of violence even as most of them are not really shown directly on the screen (can’t comment that much on the sex and violence and the censor board has been working its scissors so well with this one). The colourless world and the slight infiltration of the colours that we see in this movie, is something that I like a lot. There is a visual beauty in this absence of colours and the sudden appearance of some of it at certain point, catching our attention; may be its nostalgia or the love for such variation, for I am not sure.

The claws of flaw :: I haven’t watched the first movie of the franchise, but it seems that the original was better, as said by a number of people I know. There are problems in the story for sure, at moves on without any aim, and the inter-linking is not that awesome as one would think that it would be. There is the way in which it is presented, and the absence of colours might not be good for most of the regular viewers, and I could feel that in the theatre. The movie also dares to slow down, and at the same time not give enough for the viewers to ponder about. The action could have been nicer too, and the protagonists should have had more to do rather than moving along in predictable lines. At the end of the movie, one ends up wondering if he or she has got enough of the idea behind this movie, or did most of it go with the scissors of the censor board – it is clear that they have cut again and again in this movie, and the same has affected and disfigured this movie further at this part of the world. May be this can work better without those scenes cut, but can’t say that now.

Performers of the soul :: One can only accept that he loved Eva Green on the screen like no other. She is sensational as well as sensuous on the screen as the woman who seems to be at the centre of Sin City, creating enough to make that name sound truer as well as better for the human ear, for she was that good there. She is a wonder case of twisted evil here, and as Powers Boothe is excellent also a powerful villain, Eva takes over in a more serene manner. Jessica Alba was also impressive, but her score is more with her stunning looks and expressions rather than the rest. Mickey Rourke is perfect fit for this role, and one ends up clapping for him more than any other. Josh Brolin is also very good, and one has to admit that he is also a nice one for this movie. Joseph Gordon-Levitt is okay, but that story had nothing much. Rosario Dawson and Jamie Chung looked not that much needed for the tale. Bruce Willis wanders around as a ghost, for which there is no appropriate reason. Among the rest, I would vote for Juno Temple, even though it was rather a small presence.

Soul exploration :: Sin City 2 successfully creates its world, the monstrous city of sin and crime. The images and the colours that it uses catches our attention well, and helps us to relate well with the crime universe which exists inside the movie, and this time it is in 3D. There is too much evil going on in this movie, and the mood for the same is nicely created, the feeling is that we are really watching a very dangerous and crime infested place. It is a world to be transported into, and if you don’t want to feel that the same, it is to be avoided. There is a certain amount of admiration required for this genre as well as the action movies as a whole, and otherwise you might not want to watch this. It might be easy to choose not to watch this one if you prefer the Bollywood masala movies full of colour and music. You needn’t watch this movie if you didn’t like the first movie either. I have known many people expecting something else and watching this movie, not really liking it. I would say that you have to know what you are going to watch on the screen.

How it finishes :: Sin City: A Dame to Kill For becomes that comic on screen like not many movies have achieved before except for may be its prequel, but I haven’t watched that yet. You can watch this movie just for its variety in style and the cast, especially Eva Green, Jessica Alba, Mickey Rourke and Josh Brolin. It is not often that you will manage to watch such a movie, and considering the reactions and the box-office collections of this movie, as well as situation at the theatre, I would wonder if such a movie will set foot at this part of the world. There is the need for colour in this part of the world, and especially this is that week of Onam which demands colourful flowers, but this is more of a black and white movie with slight colours in between. One has to wonder if anyone other than me would watch a non-Malayalam movie for Onam; even I doubted the same myself, but decided to go for this one as timing of the show as well as the situation was more suitable for Sin City: A Dame to Kill For.

Release date: 5th September 2014 (India); 22nd August 2014 (US)
Running time: 102 minutes
Directed by: Robert Rodriguez, Frank Miller
Starring: Mickey Rourke, Jessica Alba, Eva Green, Jaime King, Jamie Chung, Josh Brolin, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Juno Temple, Rosario Dawson, Bruce Willis, Powers Boothe, Dennis Haysbert, Ray Liotta, Christopher Lloyd, Jeremy Piven, Christopher Meloni, Alexa Vega, Julia Garner, Lady Gaga, Marton Csokas, Jude Ciccolella, Crystal McCahill

@ Cemetery Watch
✠ The Vampire Bat.

Curse of Chucky

Posted on September 1, 2014 by Dr. Tennyson

Vampire Owl :: Chucky who?

Vampire Bat :: Chucky of Child’s Play? The doll that kills?

Vampire Owl :: Okay, I need one.

Vampire Bat :: It is not available in the market yet. That thing is just in the movie for now.

Vampire Owl :: This is unfair. I don’t even have an Annabelle doll yet.

Vampire Bat :: I shall tell the Lich Queen to gift you one for Halloween.

Vampire Owl :: Can I have her crocodilia animiatia spell with it? She likes me, right?

Vampire Bat :: I have to ask her for the Halloween offers, unless the day is re-located to the Valentine’s Day as both of them are the same in spirit.

Vampire Owl :: It is time they make such dolls locally available. I can’t even have a doll; this is why the world is going to end.

Vampire Bat :: Watch this and be prepared, then.

[Gives the DVD].

What is it about? :: Nica Pierce (Fiona Dourif) suffers from paraplegia and lives with her mother Sarah Pierce (Chantal Quesnel) in a big house away from the busy life of the city. One day, the Chucky doll (Brad Dourif) arrives at home by mail, and there is no idea why it is there and who sent it. But they decide to keep it anyway as it is just a cute little toy. The next day, she finds her mother dead and it is thought to be a suicide. The very next day, her sister Barbie Pierce (Danielle Bisutti) arrives, accompanied by her husband Ian (Brennan Elliott), their daughter Alice (Summer H. Howell), the kid’s nanny Jill (Maitland McConnell) and a priest named Frank (A Martinez). Alice develops an instant liking for the doll, and Nica is happy that it could be use to someone. But strange things happen, as the poisoned priest dies as he goes back home driving his car, and Jill is electrocuted to death. Meanwhile, Nica finds some information about the doll from the internet which details the doll’s connections to murders and a serial killer. But will anyone believe her?

The defence of Curse of Chucky:: This movie comes after nine years of wait by the fans of the genre, and only one movie within the fifteen years of two movies. It is the result of such a long wait which was finally fulfilled. This might be the best appearance of Chucky too, as he is back with a clear mission, something which he executes with so much focus and vigour. There is more creepiness with the doll this time, and there is not much for a funny side as he takes over the objective with seriousness. There is lot of blood out there and there is the much needed creepy atmosphere nicely worked out. The plot is nicely reinforced by the addition of a flashback and there is more logic in how this tale goes. The whole world of the group of people in a house in the middle of nowhere, fighting for survival from a doll which they don’t know as the villain – it is a treat. It is Chucky, and he will keep coming back for you until he gets your attention, because he wants to play 😀

The claws of flaw :: The long wait after the last movie of the series also works against the same, because not many people remembers about the previous one. The effect that The Conjuring 2 has, won’t be that much if the title is delayed for too much time. There is also a lot of stuff that you are familiar with, and this is after all, just another slasher movie at its core. There could have been more variety in the killings too, and a more suspense could have been used with the doll and the murders that it committed instead of letting the viewers know how it got into actin so early – but it won’t be a suspense in manner as we all know that Chucky is the one doing all, right? But that should work for the people new to the franchise. There was also the scope for Chucky to be more evil, and hope it is used better in the case of another sequel. Chucky should always do more, because he has that kind of a legacy to keep, as one of the first dolls ever to scare me during my childhood – it took me long to be interested in a doll again; and then there were little toy racing cars for me.

Performers of the soul :: It is impressive how well Fiona Dourif played the damsel in distress who fought back to be only damsel causing distress to Chucky. From her wheel chair, she causes more trouble to the doll than the others who claimed to be smarter, and she has done that role which so much power, and she carries that throughout the movie. Not many killer souls will be happy about being beaten up by such a girl, and here Fiona Dourif does that in such a convincing manner. She doesn’t do the same throughout though, as she varies in her situations, from the cute pretty girl on the wheel chair to the sad daughter and the frightened girl in trouble and finally to that lady fighting for survival against a serial killer doll. With the same, we also have one of the most frightening dolls of all time at work, and who needs humans when we have such awesome killing dolls? Sorry, Freddy Krueger and Jason Voorhees, for the latest slasher score goes to the doll character.

Soul exploration :: Curse of Chucky, just like most of the movies of the franchise, is horror right from the soul. There is the soul of serial killer in a doll, and there are not many better souls that a doll can have to create trouble. A person caught in a doll is pretty bad, and this one is a serial killer, not a regular ghost who would just be terrifying – but here the killer chooses to be his sadistic self, and this is where the movie has the potential to be so wonderful, and this is why Chucky is special. The only other movie which used the dolls so well was Dead Silence, and there it was the ventriloquist doll. Remember that it also had a doll coming by mail and nobody knowing where it came from. They might have been more of puppets, but they were dead scary, and no one can deny them that. Dolls might be cute gifts for the kids, but they can be nicely used in the horror genre, and lets hope that the upcoming movie Annabelle uses it well as the spin-off should be as good as The Conjuring itself. The real name of the heroine of that movie is also Annabelle – now that is strange 😀

How it finishes :: I have been a big fan of the Child’s Play franchise and its awesome doll. This franchise which has celebrated its silver jubilee and having six movies, all of them being fine, even as I don’t have that much high an opinion about the last two before this. It was going through a rather comic route at times, but here we have it back in the full horror. The movie had all the potential to be another bad horror movie hoping to have success by the name of the franchise itself. But Curse of Chucky brings it back up to the powerful horror side where it belongs. It is a case of happiness for the horror fans to have their favourite doll back in all its horror glory. It is the highest rated movie in the franchise by the critics, and it is well deserved, because it would have been easy to go the wrong way at this age, being just another horror movie which doesn’t scare. I am looking for the android game Chucky: Slash & Dash right now, hoping to get it some day 😀

Release date: 8th October 2013
Running time: 97 minutes
Directed by: Don Mancini
Starring: Fiona Dourif, Danielle Bisutti, Brennan Elliott, Maitland McConnell, Chantal Quesnel, Summer H. Howell, Jennifer Tilly, A Martinez, Brad Dourif, Kally Berard, Anne Leveille, Kyle Nobess, Kevin Anderson, Alex Vincent

@ Cemetery Watch
✠ The Vampire Bat.

TMNT

Posted on August 31, 2014 by Dr. Tennyson

Vampire Owl :: So we are going to watch Megan Fox.

Vampire Bat :: We are going to watch some mutated turtles who got ninja training and claims to be teenagers.

Vampire Owl :: Okay. We are going to watch one fox and four turtles. Still, I will watch the Fox more.

Vampire Bat :: It is quite obvious that we will watch Megan Fox more. But this movie is still about turtles.

Vampire Owl :: But the real turtle movie was in Malayalam. It was called Annayum Rasoolum. But it was neither for teenagers or mutated.

Vampire Bat :: That was the snail movie. Turtles are actually faster. The movie might even lose a race to a random snail.

Vampire Owl :: How can you be sure that turtles are faster? What if there is a turbo mode?

Vampire Bat :: Because turtles have legs?

Vampire Owl :: Why are we even talking about turtles when there is Megan Fox?

Vampire Bat :: Because we have to remember the name at the counter.

[Goes to the ticket counter].

What is it about? :: April O’Neil (Megan Fox) is a reporter who keeps looking for some big story which can take her status at the news office to a higher level. For the same, she attempts to gather some information about a criminal gang called the Foot Clan, but ends up seeing the goons being defeated by some shadow-like figures which comes out of nowhere and disappears. As she has no proof about the same, nobody really believes her, and she sets out to find more information about the same. The Turtles Leonardo (Johnny Knoxville), Michelangelo (Noel Fisher), Donatello (Jeremy Howard), and Raphael (Alan Ritchson) soon come in contact with her and she is caught in a battle between Foot Clan lead by The Shredder (Tohoru Masamune) and his wealthy and influential student Eric Sacks (William Fichtner) and the turtles. But the evil plan of the gang seems to be much more than just random robbery, smuggling and other criminal activities, as it turns out that the major objective is much more than all of those. But are the turtles and April good enough to stop the same?

The defence of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles :: The movie’s title itself explains what is to be expected from it, as there is basically nothing else about this movie other than the four crime-fighting reptiles with one heroine. The action sequences are very well done here, and there are lots of nice ones, even as some of them might be a bit difficult to follow with the pace. The special effects are very good and the turtles are nicely detailed even as there can be the doubt about it suiting the current creative imagination. The funny side works up-to an extent. The stunts are very good in 3D and they look even better when the action takes place with such a such a great background atmosphere – the tunnels, the rooftop and the scientific laboratory with its surrounding snow covered world are those premises where the stylish fights take place. There is lot of style involved along with the destruction and particles being thrown at you in 3D making good use of the technology. Three of the turtles other than the flirt are okay, but may be they wanted to prove that even turtles love Megan Fox, the most gorgeous one?

The claws of flaw :: This movie is basically about talking reptiles which can talk and turtles which can move faster than trained humans. But this movie made about walking humanoid turtles turns out to be immature for the adult viewers. I am pretty sure that I would have enjoyed this movie if I had this opportunity about fifteen years ago, and that would have been the right moment for me to go for this. But for an average adult audience, this should look pretty much stupid and silly for most of the time. The turtles are also somewhat irritating, while the Michelangelo one completely destroys the name of that Italian Renaissance painter with too much ridiculous dialogues. The characterization is just made to differentiate between the turtles and nothing else is worked on, including the roles of the villains as well as our heroine. The movie also goes on predictable lines, with an investigator looking for news, and a few heroes being trained by someone, and the villains who wish to spread chaos in the city for making money and fame. The movie needed more attention in its working, and the turtles needed re-working for the age.

Performers of the soul :: Even as this is all about the four turtles, Megan Fox becomes that leading lady and the one human character which steals all the attention. She plays the only positive non-CGI character that is there to catch our sight. She looks extremely good throughout the movie and there is no doubt about the fact that there is only one gorgeous lady who gets all the attention. It is just another role which follows the usual stereotype stuff, and yet it is clear that she has done what was expected from her in such a movie. I doubt if something more was actually expected when such a shallow character was given to her. Yes, everybody knows why she is there, and the obvious fact that she is a reason for people to be happy even if everything goes terribly wrong. Meanwhile, William Fichtner turns out to be a good villain there. Then there are the turtles and one rat, plus the villain in the armour, all of them going in a typical comic book style, with nothing special there – add one possible boyfriend there too for the lovely young lady.

Soul exploration :: When we say Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles has no soul, it should be mainly about the characters in this movie, especially the major protagonists, and that is indeed the case here. There is just that collection of names of the Italian Renaissance painters which is not going to make Florence any happier. The movie attempts to go through their characters, and the one rat father figure, but that doesn’t work too well. The turtles remain weird and leaves not much to relate, while Megan Fox has a character to play with all the one-dimensional qualities reflected clearly. This should be a major reason why the rabbit might actually win the race for a change, and can we not bet on him for going past such lazy turtles with ease? Wasn’t that always supposed to happen? There was always that long lost animated series which we used to watch as kids, and loved – but this one doesn’t live up-to the strength of those works. May be we can somehow watch them and also get those comics which I never had the opportunity to read.

How it finishes :: Twenty one days after its release in the United States, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles finally releases in India. It has been a long wait, and considering the time spent thinking that it will release tomorrow, or another tomorrow, this didn’t prove to be worth it. This is also the highest rate I have paid for a movie in the last few months, and it did make me wonder if it was money well spent. Step Up: All In has also released here, and its fate is yet to be known. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles has still managed to bring in its own audience, including children, families and the youth, and it is quite surprising with the reviews it had got, not many positive ones there. There is a sequel coming up in 2016, and one has to wonder what fate it will bring, even as box-office seems to be bright for this movie – that is one thing it can boast about, being a financial success, something which can be safely associated with almost all the superhero movies with all the action and special effects. Otherwise, you can always watch a movie like this for Megan Fox – the centre of this solar system.

Release date: 29th August 2014 (India); 8th August 2014 (US)
Running time: 101 minutes
Directed by: Jonathan Liebesman
Starring: Megan Fox, Alan Ritchson, Jeremy Howard, Pete Ploszek, Noel Fisher, Will Arnett, Danny Woodburn, William Fichtner, Johnny Knoxville, Tony Shalhoub

@ Cemetery Watch
✠ The Vampire Bat.

Lucy

Posted on August 27, 2014 by Dr. Tennyson

Vampire Owl :: Cruel people here. How can they delay a Scarlett Johansson movie so much?

Vampire Bat :: May be the Indian censor board was busy. They have been concentrating on chopping things off from Finding Fanny. Even the dialogue that one is a virgin is to be cut off.

Vampire Owl :: So they were having a tough time with Lucy? But it is still given that “A” certificate.

Vampire Bat :: The censor board is making sure that we end up watching adult movies which have children’s content, so that we realize that we have grown up so much.

Vampire Owl :: But people will still think that we watch only adult movies.

Vampire Bat :: I would think that even Home Alone and Baby’s Day Out will be rated “A” if released these days.

Vampire Owl :: They are violent movies. The poor adult robbers and kidnappers are mistreated by kids. It sets a bad example for the new generation. They will not just give an “A”, they will just ban them.

Vampire Bat :: There is a conservative world coming up. I thought they would have at least found “being virgin” as a good thing.

Vampire Owl :: This is why I drop ice buckets at people.

Vampire Bat :: Can we just proceed for that adult movie?

[Goes to the ticket counter].

What is it about? :: Lucy (Scarlett Johansson) is studying and enjoying her life in Chinese Taipei, but she is tricked into working as a drug smuggler by her new boyfriend. But she is captured and a bag of drugs is put in her her abdomen so that she can carry them back home for the drug mafia. But while in captivity, a lot of drugs are released into her system as she is kicked again and again by her captors. As a result, she has improved mental abilities including mind reading, brain control, telepathy, telekinesis and many others, but the indirect result of the same being a possible death in hours. She gets the bag removed from inside her, and contacts the expert Professor Norman (Morgan Freeman) to know what is there for herself and the future of mankind. As time passes, she gets more and more powerful, and easily go through the drug mafia and gets their drug carriers captured. The mafia as well as the police are too weak in front of her, and the question remains for whom she is going to be beneficial and to whom she will turn out to be catastrophic.

The defence of Lucy :: Along with Scarlett Johansson’s wonderful performance as the protagonist, the movie can boast about taking that idea which is more of a myth and developing into something big. It has nice special effects and good, controlled action sequences which are taking in a more stylish manner – the whole thing is visually very good, and one has to admit that if the willing suspension of disbelief is rightly implemented and considered as a whole, there is not just a lot of fun, but there is also something for the intellect as it does keep the audience thinking within its own universe. It is difficult not to like Lucy, and no matter how hard you try, that option just isn’t there, unless you are short of the capacity to understand and follow – now that will make you not so human, right? There will always be people who fails to understand, and it is mostly with the bloody audience coming in groups and talking rubbish throughout the movie. It is surprising that they would go on to talk through the slide which tells them not to talk and disturb the movie experience for others.

The claws of flaw :: There is no huge action sequence which has our heroine transforming into the Black Widow and go Avenger on everyone. Except for some gunshots between the mafia and the police, the rest of the action remains of the mind. The movie’s idea of the ten percent of the human brain being used is rather weak in the circumstances, as without it and the supporting clips, the movie could have gone on losing nothing in the process. It is also too short, lasting almost one and half hours and nothing more than that unless you include the advertisements (look out for the awesome Dracula Untold trailer that comes before this if it does). There could have been more time taken here for the finish, and the possibilites of such immense mind power should have been further explored – but this one chooses to be short, but due to the same, drags nowhere. The violence is there, not much, but can be considered unnecessary by a few. The movie also needs the viewers who can use some part of brain when needed, and even in the multiplexes, it is difficult to find such people – they all want mindless action making no sense, right?

Performers of the soul :: Lucy is pure Scarlett Johansson show of the highest quality in a character which brings no challenge to her, and due to the same, she seems to blend effortlessly into that character which reminds the viewer of two others, Carrie White and Jean Grey who possessed similar powers. But Lucy is different because her powers are not part of her, and is causing her own destruction – Scarlett Johansson scores there, as you see her transformation from the victim to the all-powerful entity and also with those emotional elements. Known more for being the gorgeous one and among the sexier women alive, she comes up with an all-round performance here along with looking good. There was Natasha Romanoff a.k.a Black Widow, but this one is all-round all powerful. Morgan Freeman also comes in with an avatar that we can easily identify him with – a man of great knowledge and wisdom, who can be a guide as well as the one who deals with the explanations nicely. Choi Min-sik as Mr. Jang is a nice villain, and Amr Waked is good.

Soul exploration :: Scarlett Johansson needs a movie on Black Widow, and it is crystal clear that she can handle it, as she proves the same with Lucy. Yes, the movie is highly dependant on her, and what Angelina Jolie did for Maleficent, she is doing here. She takes full control of things, and one has to admit that this is a lot better than what Jolie came up with in that twisted fairy tale there. With the only other well known actor being Morgan Freeman, the movie was totally dependant on our superstar lady. It reminds us of Transcendence with its idea about that all powerful person who turns into something beyond human comprehension, and Morgan Freeman was the scientist Joseph Tagger there too. Then the movie is also a bit Carrie, with the central character, the lady getting immense mental capabilities beyond anyone’s comprehension. But this one is a lot faster and smarter than the former, and also quicker and with more happenings than the latter. Our heroine is also Jean Grey, but not being the mutant who is blessed wth powers.

How it finishes :: Lucy comes late to India, but it was never as much a much awaited movie as Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles which might release on this Friday here, but knowing what delayed Hercules, we can’t be sure yet. Lucy has a much silent sojourn here as not many people knows that it is present in the theatres with less number of shows. It should still enjoy limited success, as it doesn’t go on the Transcendence path and bore us beyond the limits of all kinds of boredom, and at the same time, it has Scarlett Johansson. It is still caught in a competition with The Expendables 3, and the shadows of Guardians of the Galaxy and Hercules, as it runs through the course. For those who wishes to watch a nice Hollywood movie which has its own identity, and even in its comparisons with many other movies, could stay different, there is always Lucy. There was always Carrie, and now there is Lucy, coming up with some improved mental capabilities, being another version of that mutated Jean Grey without the X-Men or any superpowered creature around.

Release date: 22nd August 2014 (India); 25th July 2014 (US)
Running time: 89 minutes
Directed by: Luc Besson
Starring: Scarlett Johansson, Morgan Freeman, Amr Waked, Choi Min-sik, Julian Rhind-Tutt, Pilou Asbæk, Analeigh Tipton, Nicolas Phongpheth

@ Cemetery Watch
✠ The Vampire Bat.

The Expendables III

Posted on August 23, 2014 by Dr. Tennyson

Vampire Owl :: I am outsourcing this. Counting sucks.

Vampire Bat :: It is impossible to count the superstars in this movie, especially because we predate Mathematics. Uncle Dracula survived for so long without it.

Vampire Owl :: I am hiring an owlification assistant.

Vampire Bat :: Leave it and just remember Sylvester Stallone.

Vampire Owl :: I just hope the screen is enough for all of them.

Vampire Bat :: I told you it was better to watch Scarlett Johansson.

Vampire Owl :: I have graveyard shift. How can I wake up for its early show?

Vampire Bat :: There is something called alarm. Try it at least once. I know you can’t stand that sound.

Vampire Owl :: Still better than being under an ice bucket.

Vampire Bat :: I am not wasting water on that.

[Goes to the ticket counter].

What is it about? :: Barney Ross (Sylvester Stallone) and his team of Expendables is once again in a conflict, but this time, they come face to face against the co-founder of the same team long ago, Conrad Stonebanks (Mel Gibson), who has transformed himself into a ruthless man. Barney’s team lose the battle there and are almost killed, with Hale Caesar (Terry Crews) seriously injured. He leaves his old team behind for their own safety and gets a new one including John Smilee (Kellan Lutz), Luna (Ronda Rousey), Thorn (Glen Powell) and Mars (Victor Ortiz) and goes after the new enemy, much to the dismay of the older members, especially Lee Christmas (Jason Statham), Gunnar Jensen (Dolph Lundgren) and Toll Road (Randy Couture). But would that be enough to take down the big man who has always been one step ahead of the current Expendables leader? Will the strength and agility of the new members prove better than the experience and smartness of the older members? Can the team even stand together in a battle for which they are not actually enough trained and prepared? Will they live up-to their name, or can they actually live beyond their name?

The defence of The Expendables 3 :: Here comes the nostalgia of The Terminator, Rambo and a few others on the screen, and it is something that can’t be matched. It is something like a 20-20 cricket match in which there are so many superstars with two all-star teams playing, with legends running all around. It is that kind of an opportunity which comes only with this franchise lead by Sylvester Stallone and his team(s). It is where the movie scores easy points, an advantage which no other movie or franchise got, and something like this might not be easy to come either. The action sequences are also there are expected, but they are really less here, and they come late. There are lots of stylish and powerful sequences there, and it is not just good to see them together – it is more than that to the fans. There were lots of claps in the theatre, especially for three people, Sylvester Stallone, Jason Statham, and Arnold Schwarzenegger, the last one even without doing much. That much is the power of these people, and the movie can run nicely with that.

The claws of flaw :: The movie has a population problem in there, with the density of population being too much for a flick which lasts just over two hours – there is not enough for everyone, and the plot also suffers due to the same; it seemed to want to do something for all the stars, but fails miserably in doing it. The result is a certain amount of drag which comes in between, and for showing all these people on the screen for enough time with something given to them all, the movie misses out on being engaging. The action sequences are missing for quite a lot of time, and the first half thus goes into a slower mode. It struggles so hard to be not the shadow of itself in a world which itself is losing in strength. The dialogues also lack punch, as if the stars are losing their powers to entertain along with becoming older. There is no innovation added to the movie in this sequel, as it depends on its own superstars who have been crowd favourites for such a long time. It is repetitive, and is surely going to do the same again.

Performers of the soul :: I had expected this to be the movie of Sylvester Stallone and Jason Statham, but that was not the case to be. The movie has scenes and sequences for almost everyone there, and it tries to give something to all. Arnold Schwarzenegger and Jet Li are wasted in their roles, as they are left with nothing much to do other than being there only to get some action just as the end nears – the latter actually seems lesser known to audience here these days while the former at least gets some claps when his face is shown on the big screen – thanks to those awesome flicks of his wonderful times; same is the case of Stallone and Statham. This population explosion on the screen has actually made their characters suffer a lot. The worst hit might be Antonio Banderas who is caught in a role which never really seemed to suit him, and yet he has tried so well. The question would remain what was the need for him to take a character which was better suited for someone like Jet Li – meanwhile, Mel Gibson and Ronda Rousey steals the show – there is no second opinion about it.

Soul exploration :: The Expendables III is undoubtedly the worst movie of the franchise so far even as it is not bad otherwise. Its inability to live up-to the expectations is actually depressing and not anything else. As it has those superstars whom we loved for such a long time, and even defined our childhood, it needed something for us to remember and recollect. But this one just comes and goes, leaving nothing behind. It surely shows us our favourite stars, but does nothing to support them. With all this talent brought together, is this all they could do? The 34% critics rating at Rotten Tomatoes is not a surprise, and you will know it from the first half itself, and the second half also struggles to provide anything good to these stars other than what they are getting paid. This won’t be a movie in which they will be remembered. It is a sad situation for our memories, but at the same time, it does awaken that nostalgia – so we can’t keep blaming them for giving us something to cheer about, right?

How it finishes :: The Expendables III is not of the power that its franchise used to have, as it is struggles to keep itself going. It is unable to find any special ingrediant for the movie as it goes on with its usual style which is less interesting at this stage when they are coming up with a third movie on the same path as its predecessors. But still its major competitor this weekend from Hollywood is just Lucy, as Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles is yet to arrive here, and Guardians of the Galaxy, Hercules and Into the Storm remains in the theatres. The Hindi movie of the weekend is Mardaani and the Malayalam one is Munnariyippu. There is not much challenge in store for a movie which has so many superstar in a world which is governed by celebrity worship. Still, the power is undoubtedly reduced this time, as this is the third movie of a franchise which has no innovation – but it is always good to see these superstars who were there during our childhood, right?

Release date: 22nd August 2014 (India); 15th August 2014 (US)
Running time: 126 minutes
Directed by: Patrick Hughes
Starring: Sylvester Stallone, Jason Statham, Antonio Banderas, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Jet Li, Wesley Snipes, Dolph Lundgren, Kelsey Grammer, Randy Couture, Terry Crews, Kellan Lutz, Ronda Rousey, Glen Powell, Victor Ortiz, Robert Davi, Mel Gibson, Harrison Ford

@ Cemetery Watch
✠ The Vampire Bat.

Apothecary

Posted on August 14, 2014 by Dr. Tennyson

Vampire Owl :: My owlification procedure didn’t work yesterday.

Vampire Bat :: Why? You fell into one of those holes which used to be a part of what used to be our roads?

Vampire Owl :: That was last week. This time, I was trying to pronounce the name of this movie so that I can say that correctly at the ticket counter.

Vampire Bat :: The movie name is one of its kind. I don’t think you will need to pronounce it. They will just give you the tickets.

Vampire Owl :: It is okay then. I can’t pronounce it yet. Still working on it.

Vampire Bat :: Never mind. I call it Eco-Pathiri.

Vampire Owl :: That reminds me, I need pathiri.

Vampire Bat :: You need a blood shake.

Vampire Owl :: Yes, that too. Then I will pronounce it correctly.

Vampire Bat :: May that happen in this century.

[Goes to the ticket counter].

What is it about? :: The movie has the protagonist Dr. Vijay Nambiyar (Suresh Gopi) leading a wonderful life as a neurosurgeon and one of the most respected employees of Apothecary Hospital – a super speciality hospital intended for the high class people which charges an incredibly heavy price for the service that it provides. He is known to be someone who is able to have the grace of God in healing people, and has saved the lives of many people who had lost hope. He is married to Nalini Nambiyar (Abhirami), a gynaecologist working at the same hospital and with two kids. Subi Joseph (Jayasurya) is one of the poor and illiterate patients admitted to the hospital, and along with a few others, he is also a contendor for being a guinea pig for illegal drug tests which are going on in the hospital. Dr. Vijay is also forced to agree to the management’s demands for illegal drug tests on patients, but as he himself is admitted in the same hospital after an accident, things change. There will be a lot happening in one man’s mind – no doubt.

The defence of Apothecary :: Along with the wonderful performances from the cast, this movie can also boast about a straight-forward approach in its path. It doesn’t add any masala in its realistic world and keeps things as it should be. As Kung-fu Panda already found out with the dragon scroll, there is no secret ingrediant in this movie, and it is simple noodles. Every extra masala that you add to the movie noodles won’t always give the result that it is expected to give, and there are times when it has to stay real, and even in the imaginations, the movie achieves the same. Its social relevant theme and the message that it carries with pride are among the things that its makers can be proud about. It leaves the audience with thoughts far above what meets the eye, and this stimulation of the intellect should be made mandatory in the movies which end up crossing the limits of buffoonery and they should be chained to the pillar of sense at some point. The whole thing might have been a risk, but it is good to see that the director has chosen this theme and has given out the right message. It might not have been easy, but it is done. The end dialogues are excellent, even when preachy.

The claws of flaw :: The movie drags, and it does so for quite a long time. The movie can be considered too long for its theme and it stretches itself with repetitions which could have been something else. For someone who gave us Melvilasom on his directorial debut, this is a letdown. That movie was something special, one of the best ever made in the history of Malayalam movie industry, and measuring from that perspective, this movie has gone down. Such a comparison was expected as there was the line “from the director of Melvilasom” on the poster, and even as it can be avoided, the hopes remain partially crushed. Then there is that sentimental background music which runs through the movie and keeps coming out of nowhere to make us irritated. It should have been made shorter and to be capable of connecting better with the audience. There had to be a little more clarity on a few things related to the hallucinations and thoughts of our protagonist. There was to be some better editing too. The first part of the second half seems to drag the most, and almost makes this just an art movie.

Performers of the soul :: Suresh Gopi plays the protagonist and easily steals the show in a character that seemed to work for him like a beautiful dream sponsored by a genie. His moments of emotions as well as the preachy side are very much nicely handled. Jayasurya is also there giving life to a character which is simple and at the same time touching for the audience. Subi Joseph is a representative of the common man who comes to the universe of the elite, and it is well done. Asif Ali has a lesser job to do, but he finishes that well. Meera Nandan’s role is also small, but she is very good as Daisy, and the sadness that she displays is so effective for everyone who watches her on the screen. Abhirami has so less to do, as most of the time, she remains crying, but that is still not that much of a lesser job to do. The supporting cast is mostly okay even as there seemed to be some trouble with it as the characters of the doctors were a little too much on the same side which could have been avoided to add some neutrality. In total, it is good to be part of this movie.

Soul exploration :: Here is a special movie for the viewers. Unlike the usual expectation, this is not a medical thriller, but more of a medical drama. It is meant to make people think and there is no doubt about its success in the same. The whole movie is set inside a hospital and a lot of it inside the ICU, like the director’s last movie was completely shot inside a courtroom. It has been all about one building till now. As the earlier movie had talked about the prejudice that was there among the equals, this one talks about the patients’ existence as commodities as hospitals turn into big business ventures looking just for profit. That one had absolutely no drag though. But here, the relevance of the topic is much higher, as it is something of contemporary nature a lot more than anything else. It is just the same as educational institutions becoming places for business – there are always the hospitals. There are basically two types of commodities in our world – the student and the patient, both being good for business, and to be used as a medium to extract money from their loved ones.

How it finishes :: The movie is incapable of surviving in the theatre of much time, and it was evident from the expressions of the common people who were watching it. Surprisingly, they will like fake movies like Bangalore Days, 1983 and Neelakasam Pachakadal Chuvanna Bhoomi is rather a surprise for me though. After the box-office reports come, lets hope that truth won’t have to take that much of a fall, but the sad and depressing fact is that it will. There is no hope for movies like Apothecary in our theatres. It is not because of any other reason – it is because of the attitude of our own audience who are looking for just stupid fun, not even some intelligent entertainment. People ask for entertainment and they are provided the same, most of the time in a very low quality, but surprisingly, people are more than happy with the same. They come and see their favourite stars, sons of the stars or any relative of their favourite superstar on the screen and watch all the nonsense and clap like there is no tomorrow. The hope is just not there for the meaningful movies.

Release date: 7th August 2014
Running time: 150 minutes (estimate)
Directed by: Madhav Ramadasan
Starring: Suresh Gopi, Jayasurya, Abhirami, Asif Ali, Meera Nandan, Thampy Antony, Indrans, Kavitha Nair, Neeraj Madhav, Seema G. Nair

@ Cemetery Watch
✠ The Vampire Bat.

Guardians of the Galaxy

Posted on August 12, 2014 by Dr. Tennyson

Vampire Owl :: But we were expected to have watched Guardians of the Galaxy last week, right?

Vampire Bat :: Yes, but with Hercules being postponed for some dumb movies, this also seems to have been delayed.

Vampire Owl :: So Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles which was to release this Friday should release next weekend.

Vampire Bat :: And movies like Lucy will go missing.

Vampire Owl :: We have a long life-span. We can wait, may be it will release many months later.

Vampire Bat :: Yes, with immortality having its glitches.

Vampire Owl :: Are we going for Into the Storm?

Vampire Bat :: May be no?

Vampire Owl :: Fine, I thought I would need that for the owlification list.

Vampire Bat :: It does have more shows, even as critics have annihilated it.

[Enters the movie hall].

What is it about? :: Twenty six years after he was abducted from Earth by space pirates, Peter Quill (Christ Pratt) steals an orb for which many others are making similar attempts. His successful stealing of the item meant that there was a huge bounty on him set by the leader of the space pirates, Yondu Udonta (Michael Rooker) and an assassin Gamora (Zoe Saldana) is sent after him by Ronan (Lee Pace), a member of the scientifically advance war-loving race called Kree. Two bounty hunters – a humanoid tree Groot (Vin Diesel) and a genetically engineered raccoon called Rocket (Bradley Cooper) are also after the man who stole the orb, but a complicated fight with Gamora and Quill leads them to prison from where they come up with a plan, and supported by Drax (Dave Bautista) who is looking for revenge against Ronan, break out of the prison. They would initially look to sell the device, but after knowing how dangerous it is, they will have to join forces to save the galaxy against the man who look forward to destroying it, as he take the orb from them.

The defence of Guardians of the Galaxy :: This movie is all about the entertainment, and there would have been no doubt about that one. It is that fun ride which makes one laugh, go through the thrills and also add some emotions to the same. The characters are superb, and they remain interesting and most of the situations become further interesting due to them, and each has some special characteristic, and belong to a different species. That should remind us gamers about Mass Effect, one of those awesome games set in space, with the need to save the known universe from a group of alien invaders known as the Reapers (without that much detail and other stuff). But this movie is light and without the complications, and there it scores with the common audience. The visuals are great too, with the spaceships and awesome gadgets being used, and the world of space nicely using the power of technology to its advantage, and 3D is pretty much effective too. The computer-generated stuff rarely gets this good, one has to admit. You won’t need the super-powered heroes for this one!

The claws of flaw :: Guardians of the Galaxy has pretty much a predictable run with what is has, and it remains what we usually see. The movie has a lot more to do before it establishes itself completely, and I would guess that the same would be done in the sequel which is supposed to come out in 2017. There is a lot of background to be established, and this movie is without much power in its plot. The movie could have taken a few more minutes to establish a better universe and work on the worlds that exist within the same. The galaxy could have been better known before there were guardians for the galaxy, and these guardians themselves are misfits and outlaws who turn heroes, something which we have seen so many times. It has a good amount of silliness, which does work with its universe of aliens and spaceships, but not without them. This one has a long way to go before becoming something like the game Mass Effect with its character and universe. There is a lot of thinking to be done.

Performers of the soul :: Chris Pratt makes his character impressive, no doubt about that one, but the one who struck me more was Zoe Saldana as the green lady Gamora. She was blue in Avatar and was in space before in both Star Trek movies, and here she is green, and she plays that character to perfection. Dave Bautista makes a very strong appearance here, and his quiting WWE drama was rightly for this movie’s promotion – and it is good to see him having such nice role which suits him, along with making another comeback to WWE some time later. Interestingly, there is also a funny side to this tough character. Bradley Cooper and Vin Diesel gives voice to the two other guardians, and Cooper’s Rocket might be the fan favourite in this movie with the funny lines and the interesting moments. Karen Gillan’s Nebula came up as another surprisingly interesting character. Lee Pace’s Ronan is a strong villain, and makes a powerful impact, but the character Thanos leaves us wishing for more which could come to us in an upcoming sequel.

Soul exploration :: The movie is all about saving the world from the evil forces, and there is not much to think about it in a complicated manner. There is the orb which gives great powers and the most evil of them all wishing to take control of it to cause destruction and chaos all around. The heroes are all former outlaws who have lost something and are not really good or bad, but capable of goodness. The movie is sure to leave the audience happy and with no signs of disappointment, and there its success lies. If you have loved The Avengers, there is not much doubt about falling in love with these heroes who are in no way super with their powers, but do take their chances. They make up a strange team and become the guardians, and with a little expansion of the world that was in this movie, that too in detail, would work wonders for this franchise in the next entry of the franchise. That should be the masterpiece.

How it finishes :: Into the Storm has more shows, but Guardians of the Galaxy should surely hold strong in this part of the world in the absence of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles which is yet to find its release here. The demand for disaster movies is not that much as it used to be, and storms come nowhere near things like the end of the world and global destruction. The found footage category doesn’t add anything positive either to an already dying genre of movies which has nothing else to offer other than destruction. But Guardians of the Galaxy belongs to that immortal genre which can prove interesting even after a lot of repetition added to it. Because of the same, Marvel gets another movie and a beginning to another franchise which they can use nicely as the success of The Avengers has been repeated here, even as this one doesn’t seem to be good enough to break those records. This is another big superhero movie indeed, and that too in space.

Release date: 8th August 2014 (India); 1st August 2014 (US)
Running time: 122 minutes
Directed by: James Gunn
Starring: Chris Pratt, Zoe Saldana, Dave Bautista, Vin Diesel, Bradley Cooper, Lee Pace, Michael Rooker, Karen Gillan, Djimon Hounsou, John C. Reilly, Mikaela Hoover, Glenn Close, Benicio del Toro, Ophelia Lovibond, Gregg Henry, Peter Serafinowicz

@ Cemetery Watch
✠ The Vampire Bat.

Hercules

Posted on August 2, 2014 by Dr. Tennyson

Vampire Owl :: But we were expected to have watched Hercules last week, right?

Vampire Bat :: Didn’t they already prove that good movies are prevented from releasing in India or postponed? Remember The Purge Anarchy, Devil’s Due and Deliver us from Evil? They had just taken all the screens for something like Kick.

Vampire Owl :: We were lost last weekend; like Count Dracula who knew about a blood pool and couldn’t find it.

Vampire Bat :: Yes, but the moment has arrived.

Vampire Owl :: So we will finally watch Hercules.

Vampire Bat :: Yes, with 22 Jump Street as a possible substitute in case of a houseful situation.

Vampire Owl :: See what they did with Hercules and delayed us our opportunity last week – this is why we should owlify this world.

Vampire Bat :: In the name of Madras Cafe, Amen, Celluloid, Drishyam, Memories, North 24 Kaatham and The Lunchbox, can you just delay the owlification procedure?

Vampire Owl :: I shall ask the owlifier.

Vampire Bat :: You do that later, now lets check the Rock.

[Enters the movie hall].

What is it about? :: Hercules (Dwayne Johnson) leads a band of mercenaries, Atalanta (Ingrid Bolsø Berdal), Amphiaraus (Ian McShane), Autolycus (Rufus Sewell), Tydeus (Aksel Hennie), and his own nephew, an inexperienced fighter but elegant storyteller Iolaus (Reece Ritchie) through a number of battles and winning them all. The legend is about Hercules being the son of Zeus, who has accomplished the impossible against all odds. His reputation is far beyond anything that is known in the Greek world, matched by nobody else. This makes sure that the princess of Thrace, Ergenia (Rebecca Ferguson) approaches them with an offer they can’t leave behind, as they are offered as much gold as their weight. They are asked to lead the Thracian army into battle against the barbarians who are supposed to lead by an evil man and his minions. Hercules and his mercenaries run through the enemies only to be confronted by a truth which was never really expected. After this twist, they have to make the decision which will change their paths forever.

The defence of Hercules :: The one thing that one can be sure about is that the movie delivers exactly what it was supposed to bring to the audience. Some might need a little more, but this a lot to be exact. The power-packed performance from the Rock as Hercules is there, and the mythological hero is given some other sides here, and some good companions are also added. There is so much strength in the action sequences, and the wars are nicely depicted and so are the heroic deeds. The 3D is very good especially with Atalanta’s arrows and the monsters around. The CGI with the monsters is also good and the Greek world is nicely re-created, and surely not overdone with splendour. I would say that the delay of this movie release in India actually made the result movie make us feel a lot better. In the end, we are left with the need for the more of the hero or may be a prequel or more about the twelves labours that he achieved. Just some information for the doubters – he is Hercules, a demigod and he can do a lot more than what is shown in this movie – no exaggeration there.

A few troubles :: Those who are not big action fans might find fault with this one, and a prejudice for the WWE superstars will also work against them. Unlike, some of those sons and daughters of superstars who get a free ticket to act in the movies, these people from wrestling entertainment can act very well – keep that in mind. If you don’t like action movies or The Rock, please do not watch this movie, and never even have a look at it and spoil its awesomeness. Its name was already spoiled by another Hercules movie released much earlier this year, in the name of The Legend of Hercules, and that proves how well this movie has managed. Then, if you don’t like the Greek mythology or don’t follow it, care not much about this movie, because you will need to develop some love for the same to enjoy this movie more. Well, if you don’t like this movie, I would guess that you would need to go and watch movies like Krrish 3 and Dhoom 3. May be Bollywood movies will suit you more, with random people performing bigger stunts than a demigod. Otherwise, you can show respect to the action-packed stuff which is this movie and watch it with pride.

Performers of the soul :: There is no one like Dwayne Johnson who is suited for this movie, and there is nobody like the Rock in doing such roles. The former WWE star is one of those people whom I have always thought as the great hero from the Greek mythology. He once again proves why he was among the greatest entertainers in the history of professional wrestling and at the top of the WWE chart. He often becomes bigger than most of the other things in the movie. He has such a great screen presence and his physique helps him in being the incredibly strong demigod. The next person whom one will notice will be Ingrid Bolsø Berdal as Atalanta, the huntress making a powerful impact with her arrows which are shot with such speed and accuracy that this character often takes over a lot of action. She is another perfect fit for the character. Irina Shayk has only a small role as Hercules’ wife unlike expected. Ian McShane has some nice funny moments there, and Rebecca Ferguson is quite appropriate for the role of the princess even as there is not too much there to do. The other companions of Hercules are pretty good too.

Soul exploration :: Even as I have always preferred Achilles among the Greek heroes just like most of the people would, there was always something about Hercules and Odysseus, a lot more than a few others like Perseus, Thesues and Jason for sure. My interest for Hercules was there not only in his brutal strength and his demigod status, but also in his suffering. Along with his adventures known as the the Twelve Labours of Hercules, he has suffered a lot, and never had the great status as some other heroes did. He was never a greatly revered general or a king, but a man who went through a lot of trouble to accomplish some of the tasks considered impossible. Even among the monsters, there is nothing more interesting to me than Hydra. The physical strength element is there, and so is the divine side, but he achieved something even the gods of the times would have doubted on achieving. The demigod side is rather brought down in this movie, and Hercules here is rather made more mortal, bleeding and even captured and beaten up, and as he goes on with his companions, there is nobody who is considered as a lesser mortal among the group. This newly achieved mortality is rather a nice addition to this movie.

How it finishes :: This movie is as strong as its own hero and the man who leads the cast. The strength of the Rock as the powerful character as well as his own image is reflected in this movie. The Rock has made his best comeback as the hero right here. It is what the action movie fans have always hoped for, and it is what this movie delivers. It releases with 22 Jump Street here, but I would choose an action movie with The Rock in it instead of some stupid comedy with added adult stuff which had an overrated first part – I got a feeling that I might like that one too though. If you haven’t read much of such mythological tales, it might be time you read some. If you are looking for some simple re-telling of the Greek mythological stories, I would recommend Tales of the Greek Heroes by Roger Lancelyn Green – a part of Puffin Classics available in India. With the tagline “Walk amongst the gods and men”, this book gives a quick and easy reading of the tales of Hercules (Heracles), Theseus, Atalanta, Prometheus and many others. Well, I am surprised about what some of the Indian reviewers are writing about this movie, and I hope they continue enjoying some “extra special” Bollywood movies.

Release date: 1st August 2014 (India); 25th July 2014 (US)
Running time: 98 minutes
Directed by: Brett Ratner
Starring: Dwayne Johnson, Irina Shayk, Ian McShane, Ingrid Bolsø Berdal, Rufus Sewell, Joseph Fiennes, Peter Mullan, John Hurt, Aksel Hennie, Reece Ritchie, Rebecca Ferguson, Steve Peacocke, Joe Anderson, Tamina Snuka, Barbara Palvin, Tobias Santelmann

@ Cemetery Watch
✠ The Vampire Bat.

The Fault in Our Stars

Posted on July 23, 2014 by Dr. Tennyson

Vampire Owl :: Why do you have a beard?

Vampire Bat :: Do I need a reason for that?

Vampire Owl :: I think you are having a beard because you don’t want anybody to recognize you getting tickets for bad movies.

Vampire Bat :: How bad? I can even stand a movie with a zombie falling in love with a corpse.

Vampire Owl :: They have already made that in Bollywood. I think they put it in the romantic comedy genre and people seemed to enjoy it a lot. A box-office hit. Something worse was made in Malayalam. It was called Annayum Rasoolum. Another hit there.

Vampire Bat :: But this will be good.

Vampire Owl :: If it is good, the show will be cancelled. Nobody will watch it. They only want to watch dumb romance and superstar movies. I heard you watched Pizza in 3D?

Vampire Bat :: Yes, you mean to say you actually read my Facebook status?

Vampire Owl :: Yes, I am making a list of the bad movies you watch. Now go and watch a movie. Meanwhile, I will create an evil plan to owlify and take over the universe.

Vampire Bat :: And that is the evil Vampire Owl prototype.

[Begins the journey].

What is it about? :: Hazel Grace Lancaster (Shailene Woodley) is a cancer patient who is loved and cared by her parents Michael (Sam Trammell) and Frannie (Laura Dern) who decides to send her to a support group at the local church, feeling that she is depressed and need friends. There she meets Augustus Waters (Ansel Elgort) who also had cancer and had to lose one of his legs. They form an instant liking to each other, and soon their relationship develops. As it goes on, things get stuck at Hazel’s favourite novel which doesn’t seem to have a conclusion and she desires to know the ending of this story which is about a cancer-striken girl whose life parallels her. But the author of the book, Peter van Houten has moved to Amsterdam and not replying to fan mails. As Augustus tracks down Houten’s assistant, Lidewij and they finds out that the answer will be provided in Netherlands, they decide to travel to Europe together. Even as she is unhealthier, her parents and Augustus decides to make her dream come through. Through all these, a romance also develops.

The defence of The Fault in Our Stars :: There are many stupid romantic movies that are thrown at us thinking that we viewers have no brain, and this is one beautiful exception that we have here. It is not an exaggerated display of teenage romance that we have here, and it is not terribly realistic to the core, but it has kept away from exaggeration as much as possible consider the limitations of a movie which is to appeal to the viewers and more people are to know about the feelings that the patients have. The two major characters are beautifully portrayed, and Hazel is awesome. Almost every dialogue and every interaction concerning her catches our attention and we feel for her right from the beginning to the end, and when she replies “thank you” to the compliments that are given to her in a cute tone, it gives a lot of happiness to oneself considering the way she is going through her life. The beautiful young lady gives us silver lining to our life, finding hope with an extraordinary amount of faith while going through pain and being stalked by death, the certain visitor who is being delayed by prayers and medical treatment. The romance is also beautiful, and hundred percent of the soul rather than some retarded movies which only claim to be so.

Claws of flaw :: As the adaptation of the novel of the same name by John Green, the movie might have its points missing out, but I haven’t read the book yet, and so it is not up-to me to talk about that. The movie has certain coating to make sure that it doesn’t go uninteresting to the viewers, and the extra bit of sugar-coated romance added also adds to make sure that the teenagers flock to the theatres – yes, I could see a lot of them dying for more and more romance and left without the satisfaction of seeing what they needed in a stupid romantic movie, but this movie has given them more than enough in my opinion – this is not to be considered as just a romantic movie, and that much we owe to the real people who suffer from the disease. Well, how can we find fault with a wonderfully acted movie having two people trying to live their life in a beautiful manner despite having the knowledge that they are going nowhere other than the ultimate death, or “doom” or “oblivion” as the characters do call the end in a funny way? I guess there is no need to go deep down into it. Romance is actually an intruder into the seriousness, and I wonder how this would have turned out without it – got to have been better.

Performers of the soul :: Shailene Woodley as Hazel is the spirit and soul of this movie and she makes this movie even more than what is should have been. We did see her in Divergent where she matched Jennifer Lawrence – taking Beatrice Prior to the the level of Katniss Everdeen in a lesser movie, but this is an entirely different situation. We love the attitude of her character, and Hazel is not just Hazel, and as her lover calls her, she is Hazel Grace, proving herself to to be in the grace of God or the grace herself by being a wonderful person against all her thick walls of troubles. Ansel Elgort played Shailene’s brother in Divergent, and here she plays the next best character and one has to admire the way both of these characters are written, and these two have played them to perfection. They provide the viewers with some abiding sadness along with happiness and heart-break that comes. But they are within the limits of seeing the beauty of the world. There are two things that the characters do teach us, one is that “The world is not a wish-granting factory”, and the other is that “Funerals aren’t for the dead, they are for the living” – prayers are the ones for the dead, aren’t they?

Soul exploration :: The title alludes to “The fault, dear Brutus, is not in our stars, But in ourselves, that we are underlings.” from William Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar Act I Scene II. It has human situation, either good or bad, as the result of one’s own actions rather than by the power of the divine, or that human condition itself such a flawed one that divinity can play no role in it. But it is not true on most occasions, right? There are things beyond our control, and a desire to control our own fate can only be successful up-to an extent or not close to having any success at all. No, it is not our fault that we don’t achieve something or ends up on the losing side. There is always the element of luck or fate, and the existence of God’s grace that changes things. There is indeed the fault in our stars, and there is the society and the world around us that shapes us and define our lives – just too many factors which control our lives on which we sometimes have no knowledge and at other times no control, and things to do fall apart. We are all subject to the fault in the stars, and it is just that for some people, it is less visible on the outside. In some other cases, we know. We have to live through the faults, our characters did.

How it finishes :: Even as there this released last month in the United States, it has the presence here at the right time at theatres with Planes 2: Fire and Rescue 3D not creating the usual animated impact out there – only wish remains that it had more shows. For Keralites, some memory of Akasadoothu inspired by Who Will Love My Children? will be there in this movie and there is the feeling that these movies carry far beyond its own realm of existence on a big screen. The Fault in Our Stars is nicely romantic along with being tragic and still, it creates that effect which none of the movie can really create. We can only hope that people will support beautiful movies like this instead of fake and dumb romantic movies like Humpty Sharma Ki Dulhaniya which attracts audience so much. Unfortunately, for some people, they think that love is all about physical attraction and exaggerated fake romance – Bollywood continues to teach that very long story which it uses again and again without any shame or regret, just with the addition of something on bed. Sadly, such are the movies which come good at this part of the world.

Release date: 18th July 2014 (India); 6th June 2014 (USA)
Running time: 126 minutes
Directed by: Josh Boone
Starring: Shailene Woodley, Ansel Elgort, Nat Wolff, Laura Dern, Lily Kenna, Sam Trammell, Willem Dafoe, Lotte Verbeek, Mike Birbiglia, John Green (cameo)