Maalgudi Days

Posted on January 9, 2016 by Tennyson

What is the movie about? :: A little girl, Athena Adarsh (Baby Janaki) is going through a state of depression after losing her father to the sea right in front of her eyes. As she spends her time at home staring at the possessions of her father and not talking to anyone, her mother Swathy Adarsh (Priyanka Nair) decides to send her away from home to keep the kid away from the memories. For the same reason, she gets admission for Athena in Maalgudi Residential School which is located in the highlands. But Athena doesn’t make many good friends until she comes up against Milan Joseph (Master Vishal) who is the mischief maker without friends, having a history of being brought up by a single parent and being quite unpopular. They form a gang of two, separate from the other kids around.

So, where and how does the twist of events occur? :: One day, while playing on the ground, the ball goes outside the school limits, and the kids come across an injured man called Zephan (Anoop Menon) who is wanted by the police. He has a mysterious past, and there is not much known about him except that he is an artist. The kids help him with water and food and develops a bond with him, as he leaves for another place, which is according to him towards his own child. The twist of fate happens when the kids gets caught in a situation from which there seems to be no escape. With nobody around to help them, how will they get back to their parents? Does anybody including their teachers actually even know that they are in such a situation?

The defence of Maalgudi Days :: One thing that you should have felt right from the trailer is that there is a certain amount of visual beauty to the locations, and if used well, can create a nice experience for the eyes – it happens right here. The surroundings used here happens to be perfect setting for the movie. Then there is the realistic ending to the movie, using the emotions to the right quantity rather than bringing what would go on to become melodrama. This is also a movie that touches the emotions at the base level, not within that elite level of romance to which reality is never that close. If you wish to support only superstar romance, go for it, but I would rather incline myself towards the sad realities and little goodness in life rather than the exaggerated infatuation. The goodness in this movie touches you on one side, and from the other side, the sad realities of life come in. It is from this ability to touch one’s emotion that this movie can be a favourite for the audience.

Claws of flaw :: Well, a near flawless movie was never expected in this case. The movie was never heavily promoted and never did it generate any hype. It just had an interesting song playing on television and came right into the theatres. It is nowhere close to being among the big movies with its content either, and that problem is solved by creating a fog of innocence which works. But the blind fans will neglect the same, because they can only get emotional when their superstar falls in love and losses his romance – the story of struggles of people never appeal to them. This bloody exaggerated romance seen in movies have made people feel only when the hero and heroine separate, and it will be a flaw, not with the movie, but with the brainwashed audience who are blind to the truth. This movie does have its own struggles in the middle, and a lot of scenes do seem half-baked. The material is not that well connected in between, and not made to appeal to people throughout its run. The first song with graphics was a terrible idea too.

Performers of the soul :: As you might have already noticed, Anoop Menon and Bhama forms the star power of this movie, and are the main actor and actress. Bhama does a fine job, but is present only in a few flashback sequences. Anoop Menon has his moments, and the best of them are in the second half. I am sure that a lot of blind fans would have appreciated their favourite actor in this role, and might spend most of their time praising this movie, if that particular person was acting in this, no matter how bad the performance was. But do not underestimate Anoop Menon who has done a commendable job, and at least once in a blue-moon, try to watch and appreciate movies without partiality. I had to add this to the review because of the conversation which I heard from some of the youngsters sitting behind me. Kids in trouble is a joke to some people, but their favourite hero getting beaten up or losing his romantic interesting is so sad – simply pathetic attitude.

Further performers of the soul :: Why don’t you people take some time to appreciate Anoop Menon choosing to act in this movie of debutantes, and coming up with a touching performance? Is it only with those overrated movies that your loyalty lie? Coming back to the movie, the child actors have done some very nice job here; there is a lot of skill in that age group, as the Malayalam movies which have given significant role of children in the last two or three years have revealed to us. This movie provides enough opportunities to the two child actors, and never hesitates to let them free. They have more to perform here than in a regular movie about children, and they come up strong. Priyanka Nair has a good role here; she was among my favourite actresses before she took that break. Saiju Kurup handles an important role, while Noby manages the lighter moments which are rather less and has least significance in this emotional flick.

How it finishes :: The situation looks rather bleak for the movie considering the number of viewers, but as there have been positive opinions, the number of people for the show will be more in the next few days. But the promotions have been rather less related to this one, and if you have noticed, this one is not present at Wikipedia, making this one more of a movie which is not out of the shadows yet. With the challenge posed by Charlie, Adi Kapyare Kootamani and Two Countries still there and with another possible challenge from the Bollywood movie Wazir, one has to be doubtful about how well it will do in the end, but coming from three debutante directors, this surely needs some attention considering how sincerely the attempt has been made. It surely has that single act of kindness which is supposed to shape the mindset of future generations, that too with one great self-sacrifice – are you ready for it?

Release date: 8th January 2016
Running time: 124 minutes
Directed by: Visakh, Vivek, Vinod
Starring: Anoop Menon, Bhama, Priyanka Nair, Noby Markose, Saiju Kurup, T.P. Madhavan, Irshad, Sathyadev, Abhi Madhav, Anand, Binoy, Janaki, Vishal, Alji Francis

@ Cemetery Watch
✠ The Vampire Bat.

Style

Posted on January 6, 2016 by Tennyson

Vampire Owl :: It is strange that we haven’t yet watched the first big movie of the year yet.

Vampire Bat :: Yes, and it was also going to be one of the last movies of last year until the release was postponed.

Vampire Owl :: Then we are going to watch a movie which has a two year presence.

Vampire Bat :: Well, if you wish to explain the delay of a movie in that manner.

Vampire Owl :: Haven’t we finished the rest of the big movies? I don’t think that we have the opportunity not to watch this one.

Vampire Bat :: Yes, we also need to begin this year’s movie watching experience without delay.

Vampire Owl :: Exactly; only a fine beginning can ensure that we will end up watching one hundred movies in the theatres by the end of the year.

Vampire Bat :: We have to get there. It is a century which I could have achieved easily if the first six months had more movies watched in the theatres.

Vampire Owl :: So, lets begin the journey within the first week of the year itself.

Vampire Bat :: So be it. We shall begin our battles at this theatre.

[Gets the tickets with some cheese popcorn].

What is it about? :: Tom (Unni Mukundan) is leading a happy life with his little brother Jerry (Master Ilhan) and parents in the city, as he also works with modifying cars while the family also owns a restaurant. His best friend in Kapra (Balu Varghese) working as a car mechanic who doesn’t know how to repair anything. It is during one of these days that Diya (Priya Kandwal) comes into his life with the beginning of the rainy season. They gets closer and as expected, falls in love, with Tom already infatuated with her. As Diya keeps driving her father’s specially modified car through the busy city, she drives her way into Edgar (Tovino Thomas) who is a rich gangster controlling the most powerful criminal empire in the city. Edgar doesn’t like anyone touching his car, as it is to him like the dog is to John Wick, but Diya’s driving doesn’t help.

The defence of Style :: As the name suggests, the movie does look good, and it is stylish; you will know that it is special with the looks right from the beginning itself. The visuals are splendid and there are some good stunts performed in here. There is the attempt to use this visual advantage all the time, and as the big action entertainers have gone so less in number, this one also tries to make something out of that side. The action sequences were mostly very good, but the best one is surprisingly the one from the villain which comes first; that one has the least slow motion sequences and special acts as it is done straight in a believable way; it also kept the style factor very high. There are some pretty good jokes in the middle and the extended sequence after the movie that comes with the credits become a welcome addition. There are some thrills too, even though it is the first half romance and comedy which entertains next after the villain who makes smaller appearances than expected.

Claws of flaw :: There is not much of a story around here, and things go on as predicted. As the makers had already mentioned in the posters, this is indeed the first cliche story of the year, and there is no attempt to add anything different to that anywhere in the story. The later stunts in the movie got a little too much of the flying bodies, and more heroism; the final stunt deviates into the extra masala territory with more villains beaten up – even as this is supposed to have cliches, may be there were elements which could have made this one more believable, but they are left untouched in the end. I am pretty sure that the Malayali audience would have wanted a more believable cliche story as we consider the time from around interval are concerned. The stage was set by the end of first half, and then the movie slowly goes to that too much predictable finish which is not that much for this generation – we are surely beyond that kind of heroism. There could have been more funny moments too along with better songs.

Performers of the soul :: It is the villain who steals the show in this movie, and even though he appears only in a few sequences, it is Tovino Thomas who gets all the appreciation from the audience after the critically acclaimed Ennu Ninte Moideen fame. But as everyone would have wanted, he needed to be there for more time, but we see that he will only be there when the need is there. The makers haven’t used the powerful image that this villain had in the beginning of this movie, to the maximum advantage. The psychotic side of the villain is not used to benefit the movie either, and there goes the bonus which could have lifted this movie to the next level. I would say that when you have a villain with such big screen presence, you shouldn’t restrict him – he should be allowed to thrive like the evil existence that he is supposed to be. But it is not really the case here.

Further performers of the soul :: Unni Mukundan does his role in a simple way, without adding anything grand. Action will surely work nicely for him, as proven. The movie should be a fine setting for him to reclaim the action hero image which he had displayed so well in Mallu Singh. Priya Kandwal manages to be a lot pretty in this debut movie, and even as she doesn’t have much to perform here except for being the fairest one around, she does her job without trouble. I am sure that Malayalam movies will see more of this debutante heroine. Balu Varghese is the one who handles most of the funny side, and he keeps his usual style here, and it works despite not that much humour being worked on here. Vijayaraghavan also has some humour elements to work with here. Also look out for the kid who has his own nice moments. Noby plays another character bringing some humour, but disappears soon. Shine Tom Chacko has just one scene which is not really relevant.

How it finishes :: Coming from the makers of the surprise hit Ithihasa, maybe the audience would have expected a lot more. The challenges are from the most awaited movie of 2015 which was Charlie, the funniest movie of 2015 which was Adi Kapyare Kootamani and the proven crowd-puller which was Two Countries. With Jo and the Boy also around at that time, the shifting of this movie to one week later was pretty much the good idea. With most people already watched the rest of the movie in the theatres, Style surely has a better chance – it is also the kind of movie which Malayalam movie industry has kept away from for quite some time; the entertainer filled with cliches. There will be the kind of audience who will be looking for this kind – there is one hero, one heroine and a villain who doesn’t like them both; you know what to expect.

Release date: 2nd January 2016
Running time: 155 minutes
Directed by: Binu S
Starring: Unni Mukundan, Tovino Thomas, Balu Varghese, Priya Kandwal, Vijayaraghavan, Master Ilhan, Noby Markose, Dominic, Baiju, Shine Tom Chacko

@ Cemetery Watch
✠ The Vampire Bat.

Amar Akbar Anthony

Posted on October 20, 2015 by Tennyson

Vampire Owl :: Are we using the time machine this time?

Vampire Bat :: I don’t understand what you are talking about.

Vampire Owl :: You wanted to watch a Bollywood movie of 1977 in the theatre. It would require a time machine.

Vampire Bat :: I am talking about the Malayalam movie of 2015 with the same name.

Vampire Owl :: That is actually strange because Amar Akbar Anthony was already remade in Malayalam as John Jaffer Janardhanan starring Ratheesh, Ravindran and Mammootty.

Vampire Bat :: Yes, but this is not a remake, but a new story which goes full comedy.

Vampire Owl :: It is a strange title then. With a new story, this name of the movie makes me wonder about the possible reason behind such a choice.

Vampire Bat :: Even the name Jenny makes it to this movie.

Vampire Owl :: I need to consult my zombie minions on this.

Vampire Bat :: Well, this is from Nadirshah, and I am sure that he knows the pulse of the common audience.

[Gets the tickets].

What is it about? :: The movie tells the story of three young men who hope to go to Pattaya and enjoy the pleasures of life. These three men Amarnath (Prithviraj Sukumaran), Akbar (Jayasurya) and Anthony (Indrajith Sukumaran) focus on this one aim while their families hope that they do something for home instead. They keep wandering behind one beautiful lady of the locality, Jenny (Namitha Pramod) without any shame. They have a sister figure in the form of Resmiya (Srinda Ashab). With their parents asking them to become good men like their young neighbour Unni (Ramesh Pisharody), all these three men are looking for is to escape from their current situation. For the same, some time in Thailand seems to be the best option for them. But situations keep delaying their journey all the time.

The defence of Amar Akbar Anthony :: The performances from the three actors remain the big highlight of this movie. Most of the jokes are working, especially when involving these three, and the fans will love them. The best of them includes the dialogues like [indirect translation] “Can we have revenge tomorrow?”, “Its just what people say, I don’t know English at all” [/indirect translation] and the jokes related to their way of life, even though jokes related to drinking and Facebook are repetitive. There is also a message coming in the end, and even though it is not complete, there is something positive about it. The debutante director deserves the applause too, making something out this which could have gone awry without these performances and the way of presentation. Even if it isn’t really Kunjiramayanam with bringing laughter, this is the kind of thing which should attract the mass audience, the fans and the new generation youth. It provides the time-pass.

Claws of flaw :: There is nothing special related to the naming of the characters here. Even if they were with even stranger names, or belonged to a religion which is not known, it wouldn’t have mattered. Those who think that it would have any relation with the 1977 popular Bollywood movie with the same name are going to be disappointed. It was actually a chance to connect that is missed here. A lot of jokes are not really funny, and at times, the quality is significantly reduced. The songs were not really there to make an impact; they will just appeal to the big fans. The movie does deviate from its path in the end too, and this change of direction could have actually arrived a lot earlier, with some unnecessary jokes avoided. The slow motion action sequences in the end also negatively contribute to the movie. The message which comes too late could have also been provided in a better way. The story struggles in totality, and the twists are without effect.

Performers of the soul :: The pick of the movie is indeed Indrajith Sukumaran who brings the funniest scenes to us. There is something about him in this movie, and may be this character suited him very well even before the shooting ever started! Then there is Jayasurya who has handled his comic role with terrific control. Prithviraj has improved a lot from his comedy flicks like Teja Bhai and Family, and at moments he makes the biggest impact. The trio makes sure that this movie and its comedy works very well. Namitha Pramod is the biggest disappointment of this movie, and it is so wrong that she is made to play a character who has almost no memorable dialogue – it is a character which would have worked even if nobody played that role. They could have managed this character without even showing the lady! The twist involving her is also clearly a waste of time. She is the female lead, and she is given nothing – it is disappointing.

Further Performers of the soul :: But the good thing is that Srinda Ashab has a more serious role here, but she also has less screen presence because the whole thing is about the three main characters. Baby Meenakshi does a nice and cute job. Among the other female characters, K. P. A. C. Lalitha plays Prithviraj’s mother making the biggest impact followed by Bindu Panicker. Pashanam Shaji has his moments, but some jokes do fo overboard. Asif Ali’s guest appearance is memorable. Meanwhile, Kalabhavan Shajon’s character also goes nowhere, even though the beginning had him at a better status. Akanksha Puri and Mareena Michael Kurisingal makes small appearances as the former lovers of Prithviraj and Indrajith respectively, and Mareena is actually part of two of the funniest moments of the movie. Siddique also makes his small appearance memorable. Ramesh Pisharody nicely does his job too.

How it finishes :: This movie has surely worked with the common audience because of the humour, and one can thank Nadirshah’s display of skills with his first ever directorial venture and also with the three men whom he selected to play the lead roles. A blockbuster status is there to be taken. There is still some disappointment left with how much better the movie could have handled its message; for the social issue could have been worked with in a better way, and it could have been less mindless. There is a lot more which Amar Akbar Anthony could have achieved with some more care. I have a dream, that one day the makers will realize that slow motion action sequences are not fair to the audience, no matter how much the fans will admire them, and I also wish that when bringing a social issue to light, it comes early and with the strength which makes it stay above the rest of the movie! For those who are looking for seriousness and not entertainment, there is Lord Livingstone 7000 Kandi.

Release date: 16th October 2015
Running time: 142 minutes
Directed by: Nadirshah
Starring: Prithviraj Sukumaran, Indrajith Sukumaran, Jayasurya, Kalabhavan Shajon, Namitha Pramod, Srinda Ashab, Baby Meenakshi, V. K. Sreeraman, K. P. A. C. Lalitha, Bindu Panicker, Ramesh Pisharody, Dharmajan Bolgatty, Pradeep Kottayam, Sasi Kalinga, Abu Salim, Pashanam Shaji, Thesni Khan, Siddique, Asif Ali (cameo), Akanksha Puri (cameo), Mareena Michael Kurisingal (cameo)

@ Cemetery Watch
✠ The Vampire Bat.

Lord Livingstone

Posted on October 19, 2015 by Tennyson

What is it about? :: A few letters from a survivalist and nature lover Philipose John Varkey (Kunchako Boban) brings a number of people to a forest. The people include Madhumita Krishnan (Reenu Mathews) an expert in guns who is feeling lonely in her life; Beeran (Sunny Wayne), a street magician who is trying to escape his troubled past; CK Menon (Nedumudi Venu), a retired central defence employee who has run away from an old age home; Shanumgan Ilangovan (Bharath), an adventurer who is losing his health and confidence, Professor Neelakandan (Chemban Vinod Jose), a college lecturer who wishes to do something different with his life and Ananthakrishnan Iyer (Jacob Gregory), a science expert who wishes to break away from the chains put on him by his wife.

What is the plan here? :: Most of us know what we are to expect in this movie from the trailer, and it doesn’t try to deviate much from that central idea. These people are those who decided to start the trip and has reached the forest after Philipose had sent one hundred letters to people whom he thought might be interested in joining him or could prove to be of worth. The total head count is six, and with Philipose and his local friend Malavedan (Sudheer Karamana) added makes it eight. There is a mission in front of them though, and it is to save a village in the forest, known only by the name 7000 Kandi. It has this group of people trying to keep the corporate evil away from this village and its people, as modernity threatens to destroy the forest. The battle to save nature begins here.

The defence of Lord Livingstone 7000 Kandi :: As the viewers had expected from the trailer, there is a very nice visual experience guaranteed with this movie. The display of such beauty on screen actually begins from the credits itself The message to save forests and to stop deforestation is right there, in a crystal clear manner. The shots are done in such a way that we are sure to fall in love with nature and it will also inspire the audience to go for an awesome journey. It is like we transported to that world and there is the feeling of being there provided for the audience. There are moments which will make us appreciate the effort taken to bring them to the big screen. The cast is very much suitable for this story, even though one more female character would have made things better. Forget everything else, and we will feel that the intention behind this movie is nothing other than goodness.

Claws of flaw :: With the fight for nature and its people, we are provided the memory of Avatar which doesn’t do much good to this movie – our movie here is different, and it is from another man’s vision as he visualizes something to show his love of nature. But the common audience won’t understand it that well. There is also a struggle in characterization, with none of the characters given what they really deserve. The first half is actually superior to the second, and the finish seems rushed – a problem faced my many movies of these times. The comic side is not that well used with so much of scope, and the same can be said about the story. It is not full on seriousness either. The exploration of the life of the people in the village comes as another negative. The final scenes could have been a lot better planned and a few situations could have been avoided. I am of a strong belief that Lord Livingstone 7000 Kandi could have achieved something a lot bigger with its premise.

Performers of the soul :: In this movie from Anil Radhakrishnan Menon which can be ranked his third after North 24 Kaatham and Sapthamasree Thaskaraha, the names in the cast are strong. Kunchako Boban arrives late in this movie, and he is the pick of the actors here. Nedumudi Venu who has been in all movies from the director, has once again done his job with ease. Chemban Vinod Jose and Jacob Gregory handles the comic side, but the truth remains that they are very much underutilized, and it is a shame. Reenu Mathews seems like the right choice here, and Sunny Wayne is comfortable. Bharath is good even in a character which doesn’t get enough considering the fact that it was the most adventurous one. There were a number of actors and actresses who played the villagers including Rokiya Adam and Priya Lal, and even though not recognizable due to the high level make-up, come up with some nice work.

Soul exploration :: We know that Earth is not the private property of man, but the greed for money has always kept the mankind ready to exploit nature. No, it is not the poor men and women who struggle in the forests who are to be blamed, but the corporate evil. Well, the laws will always favour the man with lots of money, and so nature will only suffer more and more. We will never have the righteous government unless politicians become less political, but if it was to be so, they might never really win. It is surprising that people who vote in the name of religion, community and caste never really vote for saving nature. But even with the promise to save nature, is it not the poor man who is thrown away from home instead of stopping the rich from taking over large amount of land? May be Lord Livingstone 7000 Kandi will go on to become that movie which can add an extra message.

How it finishes :: Lord Livingstone 7000 Kandi is not a movie for everyone, and it is something which needs to be told again and again. But another fact that comes with this realization is that it is a movie which needs to be watched. No, these two sentences don’t contradict each other because you don’t know to which group you belong until you have watched this movie. Still, there is one thing about which you can be sure, and it is that this is not an entertainer. But when we think about the same, Pathemari and Ennu Ninte Moideen were not entertainers either. Still, there is something that I would ask you to bring while going to watch this movie, and it is the love for nature – it is something that you always need, but these days, it is something that you need to be reminded of. Let us hope that even though not close to being the big movie, Lord Livingstone 7000 Kandi manages to do that up-to an extent for the attitude of the people. If you support good message and interesting innovation, there is something here!

Release date: 16th October 2015
Running time: 135 minutes
Directed by: Anil Radhakrishnan Menon
Starring: Kunchako Boban, Reenu Mathews, Chemban Vinod Jose, Jacob Gregory, Nedumudi Venu, Sudheer Karamana, Bharath, Sunny Wayne, Rokiya Adam, Priya Lal

@ Cemetery Watch
✠ The Vampire Bat.

Kohinoor

Posted on September 26, 2015 by Tennyson

What is it about? :: The story is set in the late 1980s, as Louis (Asif Ali) is a small-time thief who is looking forward to making it big. With the support of his best friend, Aandikkunju (Aju Varghese), he is hoping to make one huge heist which will mean that he won’t have to be a thief any more. Meanwhile, Haider has arrived in the town from Mumbai and is looking to commit a big robbery, and for the same, he seeks the help of two other thieves Nicholas (Chemban Vinod Jose) and Freddy (Vinay Forrt). As they hope to find a master thief who can pick almost any lock, Aandikkunju comes into the picture, and Louis comes up with a plan to create a twist and big gain for the two best friends. At the same time, Louis falls in love with Daisy (Aparna Vinod) who works at the place where they are to commit the heist. But Haider has more just a heist in his mind.

The defence of Kohinoor :: In an attempt to make an interesting heist movie which never bores, Kohinoor remains a success. There are enough funny moments and good songs to keep things moving forward well. The movie as a whole is a mixture, with comedy always being there and as a heist movie, there are enough twists and turns around. The final moments actually has the best of them, and the best thing about this movie is that it finishes off really well, and manages the entertainment well throughout its run. “Hemanthamen” is the pick of the songs. The use of nostalgia from the early age also works very nicely, with the looks of the times re-created and having references to the hit crime thrillers of the time, Irupatham Noottandu and Athirathram. The movie also nicely maintains a light-hearted feeling throughout it, and nostalgia works very well in favour of this. This is also a big improvement from the director after Kili Poyi.

Claws of flaw :: There has been certain love for thieves with Sapthamashree Thaskaraha releasing last year and the recently released Urumbukal Urangarilla – the audience might think that there is a little too much of the same, but Kohinoor is surely ahead of the recent flicks with the same theme. The movie could have also done without a few scenes which are meant for the masses, because this could have remained simple fun with just realistic twists. The romantic angle doesn’t really work either, as it only seems to stretch the movie and gives the opportunity for the hero to have a heroine, along with one extra song. One can also think that this could have gone full comedy, and also that there could have been more twisted heists added. Yes, there was even more scope. Some actors who were there only for a short time could have stayed there for a longer period of time.

Performers of the soul :: I would consider this as the best performance of Asif Ali in a movie having him as the leading actor. Some people will praise Nirnaayakam, but it was just a movie which had no direction, and that had affected Asif in return. But Kohinoor knows what it is and towards which direction it is moving, and it is its strength and also of the actors associated with the movie. Being self-aware is one the things that can make a movie better and its actors do better, and this movie clearly has that awareness. Asif is in full control, and Aju Varghese makes sure that the movie is a lot of fun with new looks and his impeccable comic timing. Chemban Vinod Jose and Vinay Forrt joins in taking the fun get to the next level. These three actors have been the difference makers for quite some time, and they have done the same here too.

Further Performers of the soul :: While Asif Ali has made this work in his own style beginning from that nice entry, Indrajith Sukumaran brings a top level performance. He has some very nice dialogues in the movie, and the way in which he handles things during trouble at the heist scene is the pick here. There will be moments to remember from him, that is for sure. There is rarely a movie in which Indrajith doesn’t bring the big impact, and we all know that. Aparna Vinod has just so less to do with the smiles, looking cute and remaining so till the end – instead the one who makes the impact is one of the twist-bringers, the lady who brings more to the heist out of nowhere; the name of the actress is not mentioned anywhere, but she is the beauty who manages to do a very nice job in this movie. If you find the name, let me know so that I can add her to the cast.

Soul exploration :: Most of the characters in this movie remains on the grey side, with only the shades of light and dark grey being available. Unlike Sapthamashree Thaskaraha which has more of the thieves made by situations, this one has people skilled in the profession in one way or the other. But almost all of them are still likable, no matter which side they are on. The world in this movie has a certain shortage of people on the good side, but there are still some nice moments of goodness in this movie. If there is a mixed genre called feel-good comedy heist, this one can fit right in there. When everything comes together, things only get better, in more than one way. Just as the name of the movie, there is something “Kohinoor”istic in this movie, majestic and like the mountain of light, and it is something which is rare if we consider only those heist movies.

How it finishes :: Kohinoor goes battling against Life of Josutty and Ennu Ninte Moideen this weekend which is a tough job, even though it has more creativity and smartness behind it compared to these two movies. It replaces Urumbukal Urangarilla, and has enough in it for a long run. The best thing about this movie is that it is not overrated like Ennu Ninte Moideen; I watched the Kohinoor with less expectations and ended up with a certain happy feeling. This is one advantage of not overrating movies and not putting stuff about the movie everywhere on Facebook while copying from others. There is a certain nice feeling when someone reads different opinions from different people about a particular movie and come up with an opinion by oneself – it is how things are to be done, and not by keeping on telling others about one movie and forcing others to watch it.

Release date: 24th September 2015
Running time: 143 minutes
Directed by: Vinay Govind
Starring: Asif Ali, Indrajith Sukumaran, Aju Varghese, Chemban Vinod Jose, Aparna Vinod, Vinay Forrt, Pradeep Kottayam, Sudheer Karamana, Riza Bava, Mamukkoya, Saiju Kurup, Kundara Johny, Bijukuttan, Bhavana (cameo), Harikrishnan (cameo)

@ Cemetery Watch
✠ The Vampire Bat.

Urumbukal Urangarilla

Posted on September 20, 2015 by Tennyson

Vampire Owl :: I see the title about ants not sleeping. I have to say that just like them, neither do we sleep at night.

Vampire Bat :: But I do sleep most of the night.

Vampire Owl :: What? Why do you sleep that much? We, vampires are not supposed to sleep that much at night.

Vampire Bat :: You should actually think about it. Lady Death and her evil twin sister have stopped walking around at night after someone said that it is against our great tradition. After we made a pact with them related to the blood and souls of the dead people, it is useless for us to walk around at night because anything we do could be a violation of that agreement.

Vampire Owl :: Oh! That is very sad. I don’t really read newspapers and listen to news because they are so depressing. I was hoping to go on a blood dinner with Lady Death some time.

Vampire Bat :: You can go for a dinner with her in the morning. Choose to follow the time zone of some other country which has night at that time, and call it a dinner.

Vampire Owl :: This is so complicated! I hope that there are exemptions at the graveyards!

Vampire Bat :: Zombies there got no brains. We should contact a yakshi so that more information can be obtained.

Vampire Owl :: But what bothers me a lot is if the ants really sleep?

Vampire Bat :: We shall send a message to their world to confirm.

[Gets the tickets for the movie].

What is it about? :: A man called Manoj (Vinay Forrt) meets a retired thief and master of the art, Kelu (Sudheer Karamana) who decides to help him in becoming the awesome thief that he could be. As Kelu has retired from the profession, he asks his former disciple and another experienced player in the field, Benny (Chemban Vinod Jose) to guide the new thief on his way to becoming the pride among the thieves. Benny is a man who keeps certain principles related to stealing. On his way to finding the new tricks, Manoj will know more than what he needs to, but it will prove necessary, as there more than one thing to accomplish for him. They will meet other thieves like Rajappan (Sreejith Ravi) specializing in robberies during the rainy season and Karlose (Kalabhavan Shajon) who will do anything for the riches. Sheela (Ananya) will also have an interesting role to play in these situations.

The defence of Urumbukal Urangarilla :: The interest of the audience in this movie should begin with the name of this movie itself, and there is a certain skill in how ants are made related to the main protagonists; I can’t dare to say that the process is complete, but there is a good finish to the “ant world” in the end. The story nicely begins and ends with most of the things that come in between justified. The climax sequence is the strongest point of the movie, and the flick also successfully leaves the audience with some interesting messages about being good as well as how evil gets punished in the end; the cast nicely supports the same with their dialogues. There are moments which give the audience more hope, for sure. The thrills, even though not there through most of its run-time, makes a fine return by the end.

Claws of flaw :: With such a talented cast around, one has to surprised that a lot of comic moments and opportunities to create such situations go missing. The movie is also too long and comes up with many uninteresting sequences which can’t be enjoyed by people who regularly watches movies. There are so many half-baked moments in this movie, which makes it struggle, and even drag. This movie which lasts just a little less than two hours and twenty minutes should have been limited to about one and half hours after removing some of the unnecessary sequences. The songs are not at all interesting, and just elongates this movie further. It is certain that this movie wanted to be Sapthamashree Thaskaraha, but couldn’t be there because of the clueless feeling here and there. The situations to create fun just disappear too quickly!

Performers of the soul :: Even with not that many opportunities to make the audience laugh as in Sapthamashree Thaskaraha, Chemban Vinod Jose manages to do so all by himself; he makes the wonderful thief yet again – still one ends up wishing that the character was used a lot better to evoke laughter as the chance was there. Vinay Forrt comes up in a different role here, and manages things with ease. Aju Varghese has a smaller role even though bigger than what he had in Jamna Pyari, and he does that well. Ananya remains strong even though her presence is limited to the beginning and the end. Innocent has a smaller presence and so does Sreejith Ravi. Kalabhavan Shajon makes a late entry into the movie, but leaves a very nice mark. Sudheer Karamana’s character evokes mixed response. Janaki Krishnan has a small role which she manages with a certain amount of inherent cuteness.

Soul exploration :: Even though the revenge factor does have the biggest role to play in the end, what comes here as the message is that poetic justice will be served in the end. There has to be honour in whatever we do, even if it is not the most appreciated job. The crimes of war seems to say the same thing. The truth is that some people who do lesser jobs and earning less usually has more honour than the rest; at least they are not slaves to the vanity which comes with money and fame. We all listen to those vain men and women as well as their parents who provide us classes on how good they are and how pathetic we are. They should also suffer for their sins, may be a little more because they are surely worse than the people who do something wrong because there is no other choice. We hear about corruption in crores, and the question this movie asks is about who the real thieves are.

How it finishes :: Those who steal our lives are the worst criminals, aren’t they? Those who don’t allow us to do anything with our lives and lock us in a cage of meaninglessness – they are a lot like those involved in corruptions; it is just that they corrupt our lives instead. So, it is not really hard to love the characters in this movie. They required a little more polishing and won’t be like those in Sapthamashree Thaskaraha or Meesa Madhavan, but they can have some appreciation for trying things differently. One thing I am very happy about is that this doesn’t go the way of the Malayalam movie of 2013, called Bicycle Thieves. It was one of the most terrible movies as almost all of my friends have confirmed, and Urumbukal Urangarilla rises to the occasion as it decides to win with the climax and make up for its other troubles. There is Kunjiramayanam still running in full power and the new release Ennu Ninte Moideen to bring the tough competition.

Release date: 19th September 2015
Running time: 139 minutes
Directed by: Jiju Asokan
Starring: Chemban Vinod Jose, Kalabhavan Shajon, Vinay Forrt, Aju Varghese, Innocent, Janaki Krishnan, Ananya, Sudheer Karamana, Sreejith Ravi, Vettukili Prakash, Santhosh Keezhattoor, Vanitha Krishnachandran, Thesni Khan

@ Cemetery Watch
✠ The Vampire Bat.

Loham

Posted on August 24, 2015 by Tennyson

What is it about? :: Jayanthi (Andrea Jeremiah) has reached Cochin from Mumbai in search of her husband Ramesh (Ashvin A. Mathew). She chooses the taxi of Raju (Mohanlal) as she continues that search. Nobody knows anything about him including his own mother (KPAC Lalitha). Meanwhile, there is certain gold smuggling taking place from Dubai to Calicut/Malappuram and Ramesh who is a customs officer is somehow linked to it. But Raju himself has a special objective which he hopes to accomplish. Meanwhile, another man called Albert (Renji Panicker) lands in Kerala from Cochin and is looking for help in achieving something. At the same time, a group of gold smugglers lead by Unni Mohammed (Siddique) keeps searching for their lost gold.

The defence of Loham :: There are those moments which make the defence, and almost every one of them is related to the twists related to Mohanlal’s character. The first half is surely the superior one, and it surely keeps us very much interested in how these things are going to come together, and the division of the two halves is surely done at the best moment. The funny moments are working and they nicely come to keep the movie more interesting. There is also some criticism of the things happening in the state which is sure to catch one’s attention. The thrills are working, the twists are interesting even though we can’t say the same about how the turns happening at every situation – there are times when the focus could have been at one twist only and build on that. There are some memorable dialogues in Loham too, even though some of them could have used a little polishing.

Claws of flaw :: The audience might feel that this is not what they wanted considering the hype. A better result was expected from the direction of Ranjith. There are moments which make one feel more and more that this is not something new, but consisting of thing that they have watched. The predictability exists here and there. Even though the premise is new, the most common comparisons made should be related to Prithviraj Sukumaran’s two movies, 7th Day and Sapthamashree Thaskaraha. There are too many characters in this movie, and they just keep coming to add nothing special. There are experienced performers doing these roles too, and one has to wonder if they were needed in this movie even though they did their job with ease. The movie doesn’t really finish that well as expected, and the songs are very much forgettable. The pace also has too much variation. The mass moments do more bad than good.

Performers of the soul :: Once again, there is no doubt about who steals the show, as Mohanlal seems to go through this character in his usual style, and due to the same, the protagonist is safe in his hands. There seems to be some moments which seems to be custom made for him, which he manage with elegance. He is surely bigger than this movie itself, and manages to bring that charm to his character which helps to keep the level of this movie higher. Even though it takes about fifteen minutes or a little more for him to come to the screen, he holds things together from his very first appearance. This movie needed him a lot, and he has brought the movie the much needed strength. The support that he gets in this movie is from a lot of people that if you note them down with their performances in detail, you can be sure to have a lot of ink and paper ready.

More performers of the soul :: Andrea Jeremiah is the lady lead in this movie, but she is not Mohanlal’s heroine, and neither does she have anything substantial to contribute to the basic story-line despite what we might expect in the beginning. But she manages to do her job very well – still, one has to wonder if she was needed in her third Malayalam movie for this role which could have been done by one from that long supporting list cast, and they could have done without one character which was not needed? After all, this is no Annayum Rasoolum or London Bridge. Ajmal Ameer, Suresh Krishna, Joju George and others make the team of villains among which the one big performer is once again Siddique who does well at many levels. This is another different role for him, and you have to admire his versatility once again!

Further performers of the soul :: Tini Tom, Sasi Kalinga, Thesni Khan, Muthumani and Shankar Mahadevan are just there for a few dialogues. Manikuttan, Pearle Maaney and Srinda Ashab are there, and you might not even have noticed. Mythili and her character’s flashback in the first few minutes never really gets us interested. One has to wonder if she could have just managed the role of the leading lady and this character could have been cut off. Aju Varghese could have also been better used considering the fact that his character had scope. Even someone with the calibre of Harish Perady has very short screen presence. Abu Salim and Renji Panicker are the two most interesting performers in the team of the protagonist – they make very good impact. Vijayaraghavan does the police role in his usual style easily.

How it finishes :: The long list of well-known cast actually work against the movie at times, as people tend to think that the characters are of more importance, but they never really are. Still, the one person who is not a big name, but still catches our attention is the debutante Niranjana Anoop who provides a cute, natural and lively performance – even though she is there only in a small role and the character having not much for the main plot. We know how big the expectations were related to this movie and what kind of hopes they were. We have been watching so many thrillers these days in different languages, and the number won’t come down. So, the opinions will surely be divided about Loham. But I don’t think that this is not entertaining unlike some opinions, because this surely is an interesting ride despite the flaws.

Release date: 20th August 2015
Running time: 129 minutes
Directed by: Ranjith
Starring: Mohanlal, Andrea Jeremiah, Siddique, Vijayaraghavan, Gauri Nanda, Renji Panicker, Joju George, Tini Tom, Ajmal Ameer, Abu Salim, Aju Varghese, KPAC Lalitha, Suresh Krishna, Mythili, Musthafa, Santhosh Keezhattoor, Muthumani, Niranjana Anoop, Mohan Jose, Thesni Khan, Manikuttan, Pearle Maaney, Srinda Ashab, Soubin Sahir, Smiju Tom Joy, Harish Perady, Irshad, Ashvin A. Mathew, Shankar Ramakrishnan, Sasi Kalinga, Kollam Thulasi, Jayan Cherthala, Shyamaprasad (cameo)

@ Cemetery Watch
✠ The Vampire Bat.

Mumbai Taxi

Posted on August 7, 2015 by Tennyson

Vampire Owl :: You have brought me to this theatre because you are a bloody regionalist.

Vampire Bat :: What? Not at all. I am a global citizen. My namesakes are there in English novels and Hollywood movies.

Vampire Owl :: I don’t believe that. You have taken me to this theatre at Alwaye because you are an Aluvaite and it says Always Alwaye’s on the poster. I doubt your secret intentions to promote your town.

Vampire Bat :: But I don’t even live at Alwaye anymore.

Vampire Owl :: Yes, but you have lived at Alwaye enough to be psychologically attached to it, and I understood that with your expression while watching Premam.

Vampire Bat :: But that expression was related to the UC College.

Vampire Owl :: I doubt that because UC College is at Alwaye, and you haven’t been to that college for more than a year, but you do visit the town very often.

Vampire Bat :: Well, my favourite restaurants are at Alwaye. There is the Surya, Mahnami, Indian Coffee House, Anna Gowri, Shenoy’s, Anna Lakshmi, Al Falah, Aaryas…

Vampire Owl :: No. I visited Shenoy’s last week and they told me that they haven’t seen you for an year. Why do you come to Alwaye to watch movies when there are theatres closer to your current location? Is it an automatic procedure?

Vampire Bat :: What? Can you just get the ticket please? You can analyze my decision to watch this movie at this theatre later. I am planning a detailed review on Mumbai Taxi!

[Gets the tickets].

What is it about? :: It is just another normal day in the city when a stranger reaches the town with plans to plant bombs at different parts of Mumbai. The Anti Terrorist Squad manages to get information on the same because of an anonymous caller, and even though they are not sure if it is real or hoax, they take no risks and prepare for the day as if the information is quite clear. The anonymous person even sends them a photo of the suspect, and they prepare to catch the person without leaking the information and causing panic among the public. For the same, they make a special plan. Meanwhile, a Malayali taxi driver is going on his daily duty, and hopes to find the perfect trip which can make his day better. But the day is not like any other day with the dark clouds of terror getting even darker, and whatever be the fate of the city, it will be known on that one day.

The defence of Mumbai Taxi :: A very interesting story unfolds well in this movie, and the biggest advantage of the movie is the skill in maintaining the suspense – there are many things here that you know, but there are things that are going to deviate from that knowledge. By the end, there is the enthralling introduction of that unexpected final twist which works very nicely. Well, it is not the only twist there, but when someone can bring the climax to a good effect a time when a number of other bigger movies have been tumbling down from the final stairs, that procurement deserves the most noteworthy applause. There are a number of things in this movie that comes together very nicely by the end, and what you think of as a cliche, might not be that! Well, you can guess about your own twists, but this one might have a different one in most cases. The shots are also very good, and even when there is chance, this movie doesn’t sink into a romantic song – applause for that!

Claws of flaw :: The jokes come as a big disappointment and they could have been avoided to make the movie more interesting, and flow would have also been better. It works as a slough of despond in this journey with all the unnecessary weight. The absence of the same would have made it a very engaging thriller finishing at almost one and half hours. The final slow motion sequences also come against the original flow of the movie which was supposed to be going fine without any of such extra ornaments. I won’t say for the others, but I personally wouldn’t prefer a one-man show for a movie which was more about going through a smart combined operation by a team of policemen, especially when the heroism of the particular person is not established beforehand with a sequence of events or at least stories. An interesting flashback for the villains, organization and their motives would have also been nice – at least for the main antagonist.

Performers of the soul :: Badhshah Mohammed is a new face with fine potential, and the audience will remember the kid in Pappayude Swantham Appoos who has returned right here as the hero. That was a smart move to include the much remembered song “Olathumbathu” in the movie, which he himself sings on more than one occasion – and talking about his return, makes a very nice point. The second attempt at the same didn’t work that well, but the first dialogue about being back was like the punch dialogue, even better than those bigger dialogues at the end of the movie. He has done well here, and he is sure to do better as time passes, with bigger opportunities. I would like to take this occasion to wish him best of luck with his next movies. We will never forget that kid, that movie or that song; I am sure that all Keralites know him from long ago – child actors making a good return is like a double success story, isn’t it?

More performers of the soul :: I also felt that Riyaz Fazzan who played the police officer was solid – you can feel the determination there. The one thing I would like to add more than the others is about how good Mareena Michael Kurisingal performed in this movie. I haven’t known anything about her before I checked the releases for the weekend and saw the main cast. I had my doubts, but she has been a gargantuan surprise here. From the beginning to the end, she has kept things under control; there is the tough look and wicked smile – she makes a fine addition to our list of actresses. There are a few well known actors who have smaller roles mostly related to comedy. I apologize for not knowing more of the performers who have all done very good except for those smaller stumbles here and there. I wish they had listed the names somewhere, but there are only two at BookMyShow and there are the usual names which I know. For the rest, I had to keep searching only to find very little.

How it finishes :: I have often wondered if I should watch the movies from the debutantes because I doubted if I don’t like it, and they won’t be able to take criticism positively. But I am glad that I made the decision to watch this movie because it was one of the best movies ever with lesser known faces. I feel that it doesn’t matter what anybody thinks, but it is our duty to watch the movies without the hype and the big superstars and promote them if they are good. Mumbai Taxi is such a movie, and with a group of newer faces, it has done a very good job. We can thank Fazil Basheer for not going after the stereotypes which were surely the safer bets. At a time when the Malayalam movie is moving beyond the star value to bring quality, it is the need of the times to support the good beginnings by youngsters. I have done my job by watching this movie and giving it the positive support which it deserved. So, what will you do? I have watched most of the Malayalam movies which released after Premam, and among them, I rate this the highest. #MumbaiTaxi definitely works!

Release date: 7th August 2015
Running time: 103 minutes
Directed by: Fazil Basheer
Starring: Mareena Michael Kurisingal, Badhshah Mohammed, Riyaz Fazzan, Sreejith Ravi, Shivaji Guruvayoor, Sunil Sukhada, Tini Tom
***I would appreciate an expansion of this list to make this review on Mumbai Taxi better 🙂

@ Cemetery Watch
✠ The Vampire Bat.

Chapter 32 Verse 23

Posted on June 19, 2015 by Tennyson

***Full title in Malayalam: 32aam Adhyayam 23aam Vaakyam. Translated into English for convenience because of the length.

Vampire Owl :: I thought that you were going to watch something else.

Vampire Bat :: Yes, but I decided to promote Malayalam movies which are getting caught in the web of the movies in other languages. It is the responsibility of each and every Keralite to make sure that the Malayalam movies are saved.

Vampire Owl :: That sounds so awesome. What were you going to watch otherwise?

Vampire Bat :: It is what comes after ABCD.

Vampire Owl :: Okay, you mean EFGH.

Vampire Bat :: What? No, not all.

Vampire Owl :: Then is it IJKL or MNOP?

Vampire Bat :: No. What is wrong with you? It was ABCD 2!

Vampire Owl :: Well, in that case, I feel that this is an interesting decision.

Vampire Bat :: Yes, lets see.

[Starts the car].

What is it about? :: Ann (Mia George) is a journalist at Cochin and her husband Freddy (Govind Padmasoorya) who is working at the United States returns home only for a few days with a small break from work and expecting a promotion. They are celebrating their first wedding anniversary and gets a book as a present from a friend. As Freddy is having a lot of free time while Ann is at work, he starts reading that book and instantly begins to have a certain liking towards the work. He begins to imagine the life of the protagonist as his own, and it affects his personal life. Ann and their family friend Ravi (Lal) feels that he is somewhat losing his mind. But as he gets more interested in the incidents of the book and its number twenty three, he finds a few things from his past and will also uncover another mystery which has been unsolved for years.

The defence of 32aam Adhyayam 23aam Vaakyam :: The visuals are very good with this one. The movie explores the 23 enigma for the first time in Indian movies as far as most of us know, but there is still doubt it. As everything gets connected to the belief, this becomes one of those movies which tries to be different, and also choose to make an attempt on things which are not common in the Malayalam movie industry. The plot is good, and has scope. Still, it is an obvious risk, but a fair step in the right direction, and even if this might not work as much as expected, there is the hope for more of similar attempts. Also, you have to like how everything comes together as the movie gets near the end. The suspense is successfully maintained, and coming from a new team, this needs to be applauded. The songs are also pretty much okay and background score is nice.

The claws of flaw :: The movie doesn’t focus that much on the 23 enigma which was supposed to be the main point. Even the title of the movie itself is revealed to be relevant only in the end with the Holy Bible. The sequences which show the fiction from the book are quite bad. It was quite unnecessary, and one can guess what such things can be to audience if there is a chance to check how Natholi Oru Cheriya Meenalla turned out to be. It was like just adding to the drama in a ridiculous way instead of boosting the thriller side. There are moments when the movie also seems to struggle to make the point. There are no scares using the big number enigma and the first half struggles to get to the point. There could have been some horror elements added related the “number”. I haven’t watched the movie The Number 23, and so I won’t be the one talking to you about similarities and differences between the two flicks.

Performers of the soul :: Govind Padmasoorya manages to do his role well enough, except for those moments inside fiction where the same can’t be said. It was a world of disaster inside that imaginary world anyway. There is the need to expect nothing exceptional though. Mia George is very good here even though the focus was almost completely on the protagonist. The journalist role is something which seems to automatically suit her right from Memories despite the fact that there has been no movie based on media for her yet. Lal has a smaller role which he manages to do well in his usual style. The movie is basically around the leading actors, and so the contributions from the rest was always going to be less. But there is not much lost in the acting department.

Soul exploration :: The movie’s plot can be seen as an attempt for the protagonist to go through a novel and at the same time find his own past, with the support of incidents helped by fate. In the end, not only will the man have known the truth, but also would have become a better person. There is murder, but that which happened very long ago, and this movie would have worked even without that, because what matters more is a secret and also a belief which are searched and brought to light. This not about romance, and neither is it about a murder mystery. The story is about the mind rather than a sequence of thrilling events. It is sad that the same point is not really brought on the screen with its full energy, and it doesn’t make full connection with the audience as it was clear in the theatre. But the idea is the right one.

How it finishes :: 32aam Adhyayam 23aam Vaakyam could have been big if the idea was better transformed on the screen, but it isn’t. Still, the movie has enough to go on till the end as an okay thriller. The Malayalam movie industry has been regularly coming up with average or above average thrillers for quite a good amount of time, and it is time to move back up to the level of Drishyam and Memories. This year is struggling to have better Malayalam movies as a while despite the big success of Premam and the nice little wonder which was Mili. I would like to hear about something the Hollywood movie The Number 23 from anyone who has watched it. May be the makers could have chosen the number thirteen because it was a more accepted one. But for now, lets try and watch the variety with this movie and see what they have tried differently, can’t we?

Release date: 19th June 2015
Running time: 116 minutes
Directed by: Arjun Prabhakar, Gokul Ramakrishnan
Starring: Govind Padmasoorya, Miya George, Lal, Arjun Nandakumar, Sunil Sukhada, Sasi Kalinga, P.Balachandran, Balachandran Chullikkad, Rahul Karthik, Sreejith Pokkan, Gowry, Sasha Gopinath, Sharan

@ Cemetery Watch
✠ The Vampire Bat.

Nirnaayakam

Posted on June 5, 2015 by Tennyson

Vampire Owl :: Do you know that I am still officially missing?

Vampire Bat :: Yes, it is actually the only thing that everyone clearly knows about you right now. Some people still say that you are dead. But I haven’t really believed it yet.

Vampire Owl :: Forget it; people are just crazy, especially the Vampire Crocodile and his long lost Ramesh-Suresh 5 Star brother, the Vampire Alligator. I have connected to you through telepathy to let you know that I can’t be here for this movie.

Vampire Bat :: Yes, everybody knows that already. When was the last time you were there for a Malayalam movie for first day first show? Seriously, you will only go for Bollywood and Hollywood these days?

Vampire Owl :: But I was planning to be there for this movie called Nirnaayakam which is supposed to be something special with a certain amount of social relevance.

Vampire Bat :: I thought you were looking forward to watch Premam instead.

Vampire Owl :: What did you just say? I don’t like such words. I declare them banned. No love stories for me in this life until further notification.

Vampire Bat :: Well, I thought so. And we can’ t watch Lukka Chuppi because it has too much of drinks, as it seems in the trailer. No romance, no drinks, no smoke – it is being recommended to be the next vampire policy against watching these sybaritic movies from humans.

Vampire Owl :: Humans will still watch them, but let’s go for those movies with social relevance then. You should go and watch this and movie and let me know more about it when I establish the next telepathic connection.

Vampire Bat :: Or may be you can use a mobile phone.

[Cuts the connection].

What is it about? :: Ajay (Asif Ali) is a young man who always wanted to be a soldier, even though he was never a person known for his courage. In the end, when he is going through the training at National Defence Academy, he decides to quit as he feels that it is not his purpose and can’t do it. As he returns to his home at Mysore, his father who had left the family long ago, calls and asks him to visit him as his health is pretty much bad. So he returns to Kerala for meeting his father, as he also feels that the change will only do him good. There he understands that his father is suffering from cancer and needs a bone marrow transplant from him. Another thing that he understands is that his father who is a lawyer has been working on a case which would do big changes to the life of the common man.

The defence of Nirnaayakam :: There was a definite opportunity to make this one a megalith among the stones even though it is not really taken. The social drama and the commentary do the work of the paladins of this collection of elements. They are the conquistadors of the heart and mind of the audience in the battle meant for vanquishing the rest of the material in the journey. The moments in the court remains the highlight of the movie, and there was the need for more of the same. When we realize where we are heading to, things get more interesting. The climax is nice, and the arguments are well done. May be the focus could have shifted to the social side rather than keeping it personal for too long – the movie’s genre should have been social drama or social thriller, and it was to be the cornerstone all the time instead of its late arrival here.

The claws of flaw :: Nirnaayakam‘s social message comes very late; we keep waiting and waiting, and by the time it arrives, a quarter of the second half of the movie had finished. The family drama is some real pain, and completely fails to connect with the audience. The romance is lost in the eternal abyss of hopelessness. A complete dose of social commentary which can keep running through full movie could have done the flick a lot of good. The socially relevant content should have been right there at the front rather than taking the backseat throughout a first half which fails to impress. It is a tiresome journey, and the end results might not be enough for some people. These are the reasons why the audience can question this movie, but they surely cannot doubt its intentions.

Performers of the soul :: Asif Ali remains strong throughout the movie, and he does make one feel those emotional moments closer and with depth. His direct influence on the strong point of the movie, the court-room drama is rather less though, and that denies him any gargantuan moment in the core of the movie, which is rather unfair. But the paramount skills of the veteran actor Nedumudi Venu comes to rescue there as he steals the climax, and Sudheer Karamana gets his chance with some nicely written lines. I would also like to add that Malavika Mohanan has improved from her disaster which was Pattam Pole; even in a smaller role, she leaves a mark as the heroine even though romance is dead in this movie – the Vampire Bat acknowledges that she is very pretty. Prem Prakash gets a fine role which he manages with efficiency. Rizabawa, Saiju Kurup, Ashokan, Sanusha Santhosh, Lena Abhilash, Hemanth Menon, Shanker Ramakrishnan and a lot of others can be seen in smaller roles.

Soul exploration :: It is the early reluctance in treatment of this subject of relevance that makes the soul go weaker in this movie. Even when this movie gets lost in the meaningless family drama, there is the hope for that social drama which is expected to come at any moment. We are given a chance to look at what happen with our lives due to the politicians getting the special treatment, and the police as well as the administrative service allowing the same. When the rich and those in power gets special treatment, the common man has less value. The story of the movie focuses on the incdient when a girl dies because she couldn’t get medical care when needed, as a political leader’s procession block the city and causes a heavy traffic congestion. The core of the movie which comes around in the second half deals with how the common people get the verdict in their favour.

How it finishes :: Nirnaayakam‘s trailer was interesting, and it gave the feeling of a thriller coming up with something of high social relevance and leaving behind a message, but in a number of sites, it is mentioned as a family drama or even romance which twists its case. There is a lot of court-room drama promised in the trailer, but the action there is also limited, and the romantic side is like now you see it, and then you won’t. Caught between its confusion of the genres, Nirnaayakam does fail to focus on what was its strength of Brobdingnagian proportions, the social commentary – the perfect opportunity to gain the support of the normal audience who were to give this movie all the needed support on the very first day is not really used. But still, if you are judging a movie by its intentions, this one has the heart and soul at the right place.

Release date: 5th June 2015
Running time: 112 minutes
Directed by: VK Prakash
Starring: Asif Ali, Malavika Mohanan, Tisca Chopra, Nedumudi Venu, Adil Ibrahim, Prem Prakash, Sanusha Santhosh, Lena Abhilash, Sudheer Karamana, Hemanth Menon, Saiju Kurup, Ashokan, Anoop Chandran, Krishna Prabha, Shankar Ramakrishnan, Rizabawa

@ Cemetery Watch
✠ The Vampire Bat.

Ivide

Posted on June 2, 2015 by Tennyson

What is it about? :: Varun Blake (Prithviraj Sukumaran) is a police officer in the Atlanta Police Department, with the Indian origins as he was adopted by an American couple from a church-run orphanage at Kottayam. Roshni Mathew (Bhavana) is his ex-wife who had decided to separate from him due to his violent behaviour and never-ending insecurities. Krish Hebbar (Nivin Pauly) is her new boss at the new job, and he is someone who used to be her classmate. He is also her newly found love interest at the time of crisis. At the same time, there are murders happening in the city, and the murdered people are all immigrants of Indian origin. As Varun goes after the case and discovers a link, but he might be presented with a choice in the end, which will define his quality as a person and a police officer.

What is it really about? :: We are introduced into the story and are provided with narration when needed in the voice of Prithvraj who himself talks in Malayalam, a language his character is not able to speak. It makes things clear, that it is his subconscious speaking in the only language which he knew during his childhood, and the movie is all about how he finally manages to let go and becomes a better person. He is a man of bad temper and insecurities, but as the movie reaches the end, he becomes a changed man, and all the other characters and incidents are just reasons to bring him to that end. Yes, it is all about Varun Blake, the Indian child adopted into an American family, as he moves towards that change which is rather too radical for him – everything else including the murders are reasons.

The defence of Ivide :: Ivide has the touch of the highly skilled director, Shyamaprasad who refuses to let this go as an investigative thriller, and rather takes it into the minds of the characters who are just simple human beings caught in the web of life. There are reasons for each and every action which defines the lives of the main characters and everyone around, as things come together and there is one touch of integrity, vanity or brutal ambition which creates that butterfly effect exhibiting a ferocious core. Ivide is not really that thriller that you were looking for, but powerful drama of the modern world which makes one question the past, the present and the future. This is set in a beautiful world which has been well transformed on to the screen by the camera – love those skyline shots and the natural beauty on screen; the songs are pretty good too.

The claws of flaw :: The movie is slow; surely a lot faster than movies like Annayum Rasoolum which asks you to go and have Chicken Biriyani and come back only to know that nothing has happened and then you need to go for tea and see if anything good occurs on the screen. In contrast to that, Ivide‘s lack of pace is beautiful, and it adds to the mood of the movie, but still it is drag for the common man. The thriller element is completely lost while the movie deviates to other territories, and thus it does give the fans of the genre certain disappointment if they were just looking for that, and nothing else. Ivide also has other minor struggles here and there with its progress, but if you can get into the rhythm, you might be able to forgive most of them. Even with mixing of genres, the focus on murders is rather lazy. The entertainment factor rather misses out for the regular audience too.

Performers of the soul :: This had to be Prithviraj Sukumaran’s movie, and it surely is. It is all about his character as he moves through that life in which there was always the need to let go, but it is only realized much later. The identity crisis and the confusion about love and care are portrayed very nicely with all the complexities as Prithviraj becomes the true show stealer. He also gets the most memorable lines, and once again establishes himself as the right one to play the cop. Nivin Pauly’s character becomes a major reason for all these to happen, but he is left with less to do, and in a not so challenging role, he does fine. Bhavana is also nice, but once again she and Nivin just do the support in the game lead by Prithviraj. Prakash Bare makes a good appearance too. The foreign actors and actresses also create the needed impact.

Soul exploration :: The movie takes a ride through roots and the absence of knowledge about it, love and the search for it, hope and the desire to believe in it, and love and the search for it in a modernized world in which we can’t go through by looking though just one perspective. There are many things which are dealt with in this movie, and it starts with the racial alienation, and it goes on to explore the insecurities felt by different people because of a wide variety of reasons. There is inability to belong somewhere or with someone, and there is consistent feeling of not being what someone is. There is the corporate evil also in display. Well, even in the end, the fact remains that there is absolutely no reconciliation with his girlfriend and adoptive mother for the main character, and it is a let down for the movie which explores themes like these.

How it finishes :: If you are looking for an investigative thriller in the model of Memories or Mumbai Police, you might need to look for another options, as this is not that kind of Prithviraj movie meant to keep you guessing about the murderer. It is not intense by that order, but surely is intense by the feelings, if and only if you can relate to the character Varun Blake played by Prithviraj. You need to get that emotional connection here, and unless you try early enough and realize the need, you might not get there, and might miss out experiencing the hidden beauty of this movie. It might make you believe that a thriller is in store in the beginning, but do not fall into that trap, and instead fall for the emotions and begin having that emotional connection with the characters right from the start, and then the ride will take that twist of fate and go the right way. Be warned though, about so much of English in this one – still, there are enough subtitles in Malayalam.

Release date: 29th May 2015
Running time: 159 minutes
Directed by: Shyamaprasad
Starring: Nivin Pauly, Prithviraj Sukumaran, Bhavana, Alexandra Bartee, Prakash Bare, Jia Patel, Dhanish Karthik, Deepti Nair, Sathi Premji, Haridev, Sunil Veettil, Shaun Xavier, Tim Naddy, Juan Alexander, Kirstein Gilbert, Robin Cole

@ Cemetery Watch
✠ The Vampire Bat.

Fireman

Posted on February 20, 2015 by Tennyson

Vampire Owl :: I believe that you are talking about Kane.

Vampire Bat :: No, Kane sets people on fire. This is about saving people.

Vampire Owl :: So he saves those people who are set on fire by Kane. I know that the fire still burns.

Vampire Bat :: No, this is only about saving people from fire.

Vampire Owl :: He should save a few cricketers then. During the last India Pakistan match, I heard from many people that Virat Kohli was on fire.

Vampire Bat :: What? I think that this is too early for you. Go back to sleep, it is only ten thirty in the morning.

Vampire Owl :: What about the English movies this weekend?

Vampire Bat :: There are only Oscar nominated movies in the theatres this weekend. Nothing has been released. By the time they finish cutting Fifty Shades of Grey, even our immortality would have expired.

Vampire Owl :: I am hoping for a job at the censor board. Then I can display my cruelty by cutting parts of a movie. I hope to become Mr. Cruelty for the next Global Vampire Cruelty contest.

Vampire Bat :: First, you can try to come to your senses at least at 10:30 AM.

[Goes to the theatre].

What is it about? :: Vijay (Mammootty) is a firefighter who is highly dedicated to his work and considers helping the public as his main motive. Lakshmanan Pillai (P Sreekumar) is his senior who is almost ready to retire from service, and Shahjahan (Unni Mukundan) is a young man who works under him. One day, he faces a problem that he never had before. A tanker losses its control, and the tank which it carries is tossed around. As a number of his comrades including his senior are killed, Vijay has to take control and make sure that there is no explosion of the tank, and with the help of the City Commissioner Sherin Thomas (Nyla Usha) and her reluctant police force, he has to get things under control. The local political worker Iqbal (Siddique) also offers to help. But it is not an easy situation here with the need to evacuate the surroundings, one of the nearby buildings being the central prison.

The defence of Fireman :: There is the certainty of thrills with this movie and the tribute to the Fire-force of Kerala is present as well as acknowledged. There is also the presence of twists, and the audience is kept glued to the screen. The background score is good and nicely keeps the level of the movie high. The dialogues are smart and powerful, mostly left for Mammootty. The way in which the movie transforms from a possible disaster movie to a possible investigative thriller adds to the power of that twist. Yes, once again, there is more than what meets the eye. The climax has some nice moments. There are a few more things that I could add here, but that might destroy the suspense at least up-to an extent and I choose not to. Then there is absolutely no romance here, and for that, I am more than just glad. Yet, the heroine has her moments too.

The Claws of Flaw :: The special effects are quite depressing to watch. Some of the moments should have been just talked about and declared happened, rather than showing them on the big screen. Just those fire effects were needed for this movie, and the rest could have been left for the imaginations – our viewers are very much used to creating something by themselves. The name itself is a repetition with its tagline, as you might have noticed – the publicity was also not enough. The movie also takes some time to get into the thrilling side. The movie is not without some loopholes with certain exaggeration, and the final action scene was rather unnecessary. The focus on the hero as always being the smartest of them all is also a little too much to digest. The other characters do have a certain tendency not to be that good.

Performers of the soul :: I haven’t watched a movie having Mammootty since Gangster, because it was the lowest that the great veteran actor could reach, may be with the exception of Parunthu, Love in Singapore and Pattanathil Bhootham. With some better movies being there in between as read here and there, I went to watch this movie, not without doubts – only to be happy that I made the right choice this time. This one is strengthened by that power packed performance from Mammootty that each and everyone of his fans deserve to see on the big screen. As the whole thing is centred around him, he continues keeping things under control. Unni Mukundan is good, and Siddique manages things with his usual ease. Nyla Usha comes up with her best performance ever, and I would consider this one the best supporting role from an actress in a police role. Salim Kumar’s character doesn’t really work.

Soul exploration :: We used to see the police officers acting at the right time to save the day, and even collectors – this time it is all about the fireman. The movie pays tribute to the fire workers who come to the aid of the common man as soon as there is the need with the number 101. The movie’s soul strikes the right place with its tribute, as we see the hero as fireman and not those usual roles which have been tried again and again. There is a question being asked about how many people want to be a fireman as much as having a desire to be a police officer or an army man? Well, hope this movie inspires more people to see the fireman as a hero and hope to save the lives. I am glad that this movie turns out to be a fine product on the screen, and it celebrates the efforts of those people who strives hard, but are often not in the spotlight.

How it finishes :: Fireman has a big chance this weekend with no Hollywood release and this one being the more awaited among the Malayalam movies with its change of release dates. The opinions have been positive too, as you can know from the audience. I did doubt our director here with his movies Tejabhai and Family and Crazy Gopalan, but his Winter had its thrills – I could also feel the confidence when he was there in the program Onnum Onnum Moonu with Unni Mukundan and Nyla Usha. This should be the first movie in India to have Fire-force and their activities at the centre – I still can’t say that with confidence because I don’t watch every movie in every language, but it seems to be so. Fireman is a movie that deserves to be watched, and it is not just a good start to Mammootty, but also the best thriller of the year so far.

Release date: 19th February 2015
Running time: 110 minutes
Directed by: Deepu Karunakaran
Starring: Mammootty, Nyla Usha, Unni Mukundan, Siddique, Sreerag Nambiar, Salim Kumar, Hareesh Peradi, P Sreekumar

@ Cemetery Watch
✠ The Vampire Bat.

Saaradhi

Posted on February 13, 2015 by Tennyson

Vampire Owl :: Happy Friday the 13th. May the vampire force bring us all the vampiric awesomeness that we can imagine.

Vampire Bat :: You were waiting for this day to scare some humans, right? But considering the present situation, you should make sure that they don’t scare you with their deeds lacking any humanity.

Vampire Owl :: I shall power myself with a movie today. Choose a movie for me this weekend. I am owlified ready on this special day.

Vampire Bat :: There are no Hollywood movies releasing this weekend here.

Vampire Owl :: What? No! What is horror without Hollywood? After all, it is where all ghosts, vampires, werewolves, demons, zombies and even aliens visit first during their journey from the other world.

Vampire Bat :: I think that Hollywood actually scared the censor board here with their horror for the weekend.

Vampire Owl :: Lets go for some local thriller then. Anything available in that category?

Vampire Bat :: There is the Hindi movie Roy and the Malayalam movie Saaradhi.

Vampire Owl :: No Hindi on a Friday the 13th. They don’t match intellectually. These people release bad movies even for National Holidays and so no Bollywood for now. Lets go for Saaradhi.

Vampire Bat :: Let it be so then. Get the horror popcorn!

[Gets the tickets].

What is it about? :: An ambulance driver named Christy (Sunny Wayne) gets another one of the duties, and he has to deliver a dead body to a place which is not correctly mentioned. Three men and two women accompany the corpse, but strange things happen on the way and things are not as clean as it looks. One man has a gun, and none of them are really as sad as they seemed to be outside the mortuary. Christy had thought that he could visit his lady love on the way back too, but now, the whole thing is so complicated and he has to escape with the dead body. Sathyanathan (Baiju), a corrupt police officer seems to have something planned about this corpse, and a powerful politician known by the nickname JJ (Madhupal) also has some relation to this. There is police chasing him as well as some criminals and it is forest all around him.

The defence of Saaradhi :: Saaradhi comes to the screen working on that genre which has too many risks associated with it considering our audience whose tastes cannot be combined with all kinds of thrillers. But the movie had already managed to catch our attention with the trailer. The script is actually very good in parts as it seems, even if not that much as a whole – there is some intelligence used, but it needed to stay all the way. Coming from a debutante director, this is a fair effort too, and there is sincerity in the way in which the social message is given here, and it is for the common audience that it has been provided – remember Passenger and Arjunan Sakshi with the idea here. The latter part of the second part is actually the best part of the movie, and the thrills reach the right level there. There are some nice shots of the high-ranges to help the viewers too.

The Claws of Flaw :: The first few minutes are nothing less than torture. There is Sreenivasan catching a thief in a sequence which was not needed, and the item song is a mess. The only watchable moments are about the lady wearing the lungi – otherwise the song stays at the deepest area of the abyss. This is also not the final product that this script deserved, as it struggles to thrill all the way, and the interesting moments come too late. It is safe to say that the first half drags, and the characterization also faces a struggle. It is also time people realize that dead people talking in visions or hallucinations is bad, especially when there is some serious stuff going on. The weaker parts of the script needed the polishing, and then one can’t imagine how much better this could have been. This one also needs a Wikipedia page – is it a very difficult thing to attain? See all those movies inferior to this one having that kind of publicity. Ambiguities and slight lack of logic are there too with predictable moments.

Performers of the soul :: I don’t feel anything of high quality here. There are no big stars here either. The best performance was from Sreenivasan and it is something of no doubt. He has done another Passenger kind of character here, but with more power in the role. Sunny Wayne has his highs and lows in this movie – you have to avoid those phone talks and some of the highly emotional scenes, and he has done fine. Nedumudi Venu’s character looked like a ridiculous creation, but even then he seemed to have managed it as much as he could. The female characters make almost no impact in this movie, and those moments which have them at the centre rather makes things dull. Madhupal is very good while Dharmajan has too small a role. The small moments of comedy comes from Sunil Sukhada and up-to an extent from Sreenivasan. Baiju has a role like he played in Angels, just a lot more on the bad guys’ side. Sunil Sukhada surely needed a bigger role.

Soul exploration :: Saaradhi has an ambulance driver who makes its title worthy. He is not just the driver of a random vehicle, but also the one who drives forward a few lives. There is the story of the common man that goes on here. On its background, there is the continuous struggle of the common man to make things happen – it should have been focused more here, but we can think about that as an after-effect. This should have reached that Passenger level with that, but it is not there. But what we can see once again is a decent, average thriller which has managed to rise above its limitations and also score on the social message side. With lesser expectations, this movie can actually manage to be much more. A regular dose of thrillers and those which give the good and interesting message are the ones which we need. Also remember that this also about one man making the difference.

How it finishes :: Saaradhi comes from a debutante director who seems to has dared to come up with some experimentation and due to the same reason, has also taken some risk here. It is the kind of people who tries to think different that we need in our industry, and in that case, this movie needs to be applauded. Another new director would have taken a safer formula, but this one has chosen that difference, a variation which might not work with everyone. This effort in bringing something something that doesn’t follow the usual easy path, even when on his debut is the factor that we need to see here. At the same time, there is also the same at work here. The expectations that I had while watching the trailer had me hoping for a lot more, but I am expecting that the usual movie audience will end up liking this more than I did. I really hope that this movie becomes a success, because only then can more “different” movies can be made in a better way.

Release date: 13th February 2015
Running time: 138 minutes
Directed by: Gopalan Manoj
Starring: Sunny Wayne, Sreenivasan, Nedumudi Venu, Vinutha Lal, Vishnu Raghav, Sruthibala, Baiju, Sunil Sukhada, Madhupal, Thalaivasal Vijay, Dharmajan

@ Cemetery Watch
✠ The Vampire Bat.

Seconds

Posted on December 8, 2014 by Tennyson

Vampire Owl :: I can’t spare seconds. No, I am owlifying right now. Don’t you realize that?

Vampire Bat :: Seconds? What about seconds? I am talking about sparing hours for the movie called Seconds.

Vampire Owl :: I doubt if I am available. I am at work. I have already prepared the giant globe of domination to owlify the world. I just need a suitable power source. I can’t risk losing my focus due to a movie now.

Vampire Bat :: I see this as your evil plot to blame me after I watch this movie alone.

Vampire Owl :: I don’t understand why I would do that. You are the movie watcher and I am the side-kick for now. But after owlification, all of you will be my side-kicks.

Vampire Bat :: I don’t see how your plan is going to work. Lets watch the movie instead. This will make four Jayasurya movies in a month in the theatre. Isn’t it something new?

Vampire Owl :: Four? That is shocking – even I can’t play four roles in my life.

Vampire Bat :: Yes, Iyobinte Pusthakam, Lal Bhadur Shastri, Mathai Kuzhappakkaranalla and now Seconds.

Vampire Owl :: I see the level of movie coming down with each of them. This is why you should place your head on the rails for that movie train too.

Vampire Bat :: Even the boogeyman has been more generous with movies.

[Starts the car].

The people of the story :: An insurance agent, Veeramani (Jayasurya) lives in an agraharam with his wife (Anusree Nair) and is troubled by the lack of confidence and due to a certain amount of fear that he seems to have, he struggles to sell and achieve his target. He gets an appointment with a psychatrist and hopes to solve his problems. Meanwhile, a sales manager named Teena (Aparna Nair) is hoping to pay off her family’s debts which has risen up to a sum of twenty five lakh rupees which is clearly beyong her abilities. At the same time, a wedding photographer called Feroze (Vinay Fort) is trying to reach somewhere high in his profession with good contacts and is also hoping to buy a building for a new shop. A goon who spends most of his time in jail, Thampi (Vinayakan) is the next person on the list, and he wanders around having drugs. There is the point of view of each of these characters taken into consideration, and they are brought together in a lift.

What is it about? :: The movie is about the above mentioned people coming together in a lift of a big apartment building in the city of Cochin, and three of the four people are murdered on the location. We are only shown that Teena murders Thampi, as the other killings occur when lift gets stuck in the middle with no power. The prime suspect is Teena as expected, but the question remains if it was Thampi who murdered the rest and tried to kill Teena as he is the typical bad guy and criminal. Out of the two other people, it seems that only Veeramani has a chance for survival. As the investigations progress, the answer to all the question lie somwhere in the flashback. But there seems to be no link between these people, and the question remains about the motive as it doesn’t seem to be there at all. Four strangers in a lift, and three dead; not the best case to solve for any police team – how will it go this time?

The defence of Seconds :: The movie starts with a full power sequence, a death and the murder which happens; from there, it goes on to the usual stuff which gets the power back in the second half, and ends nicely with a twist. The struggling middle manages to connect the beginning and the end to create the desired effect, even as the theatre response still seemed pretty bad. Its non-linear pattern of narration is actually nicely woven to create the desired suspense, even as the frequency of the same could have been reduced along with the repetitions that we notice. The reason why we avoid some of the faults is due to the hope that the mistakes are corrected by the next movie. Malayalam movies still have a lot to explore in the thriller territory, and let this movie be another step in the same direction – a very small one. The cast performances are also a plus for sure. Lets categorize this one as an action-drama-thriller; should work better that way.

Claws of flaw :: Seconds struggles to keep the audience interested, as it doesn’t have that much of a powerful characterization, and neither does it gives us the characters to cheer for. It also works on the drama side too much, and its thriller side is virtually absent throughout the half sans the first few minutes. There is a lot of drag between the first nice sequence and the final ones, as what comes between is just ordinary drama that we see too many times at different occasions. In that case, we can consider the movie to be too long, as without a better characterization, this show of the life of characters is rather dull. We could have gone from the first sequence to the second half without bothering much about the life of these characters, but that certainly wouldn’t have been possible considering the already short length of the movie – there comes the need for a longer investigation and more thrills. It is a problem with the plot as a whole, but it is good as parts. There is also too much of the breaking of narrative and the re-telling of the same scenes which affect the flow.

Performers of the soul :: Making us wonder if there was clumsiness or laziness in characterization as well as the script, the four protagonists emerge here, and among them, Aparna Nair needs the most applause as she does her job with a fine touch. It is nice to see her in a major role after some time. In a role that is no challenge to him Jayasurya also excels. Vinay Fort is very good, but is often undone by the character’s lack of stability. Vinayakan also goes through his role with ease like nobody else. Salim Kumar just has a cameo in which nothing much is to be done, and Indrans and Sasi Kalinga are also limited to a few minutes on the screen. Anusree also has less dialogues and presence. Shankar Ramakrishnan is okay. May be the actors had a better chance with a better characterization and a better idea about what the makers were trying to achieve with the mixture of things.

How it finishes :: The movie leaves one with a strange feeling, like it seems that the movie is okay, but there is so much of incompleteness about it, and it did contribute with some boring moments to add to the already monotonous life. The movie should have been more clear in what it tries to achieve. Its power is the suspense and the twist about the murder mystery, which should have been further explored – here, the investigative side is too weak. The message here is still about the looks though, on how it can be deceiving, and how each second affects the life of a person according to one decision that he or she makes during the same. This could have been better than Angels, and still it isn’t – but the fate for both movies seems to be the same, especially with Lingaa and The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies coming next weekend, and the former is expected to take a lot of audience away as it focuses on a similar audience. But lets hope for the best.

Release date: 5th December 2014
Running time: 105 minutes
Directed by: Aneesh Upasana
Starring: Jayasurya, Vinay Fort, Aparna Nair, Anusree Nair, Ambika Mohan, Vinayakan, Indrans, Salim Kumar, Riyaz Khan, Shankar Ramakrishnan, Sasi Kalinga, Narayanan Kutty

@ Cemetery Watch
✠ The Vampire Bat.

Angels

Posted on November 28, 2014 by Tennyson

*Avoiding the “Soul Exploration” paragraphs will be a nice idea if you wish to avoid spoilers. Deeper spoiler in the third soul exploration.

Vampire Owl :: No, absolutely no chance.

Vampire Bat :: But you promised to be back for the weekend.

Vampire Owl :: My weekend starts tomorrow. And why would I watch a movie named Angels? It is totally against my evil mastermind, evil plans and evil cupcake. Did I mention the evil icecream? No, because it would sound like “I scream”.

Vampire Bat :: But the movie still seems dark, worthy of evil.

Vampire Owl :: Even funny movies are too dark these days. I am not falling for that.

Vampire Bat :: You are still looking for an opportunity not to watch a Malayalam movie.

Vampire Owl :: Yes, if I come to watch this movie with you, I will have to watch two Hollywood movies with you this weekend along with this. There is no control. You should have some rest. You are watching movies like Uncle Dracula going to the Theatre of Blood.

Vampire Bat :: Why wouldn’t a vampire go to the Theatre of Blood every hour is beyond me. Uncle Dracula is actually setting a fine example.

Vampire Owl :: This is what I am talking about. You are addicted. It is like a deadly virus and you are spreading it to me too.

Vampire Bat :: You should be more bothered about what all diseases your zombie team is spreading.

[Starts the car].

What is it about? :: Hameem Haider (Indrajith Sukumaran) is investigating a case called “the cemetery murders” which involves the corpses of the victims being disposed on a random grave of cemeteries. He comes very close to catching the murderer, but is shot on the leg and it takes time for him to recover, only to lose the case to Ashok Kumar (Baiju) who continues the investigation reaching nowhere in the process. Meanwhile, a reporter for the ruling party’s television, Haritha Menon (Asha Sarath) who is looking for some crime scenario for her show in the channel meets Father Varghese Punnyalan (Joy Mathew) who promises her some shocking revelations about the lost murder case as he publishes his book, for which he asks for Haider. But at the show, he says that he himself is the killer, but Haider disagrees and tells him that as the investigating officer, he knows better. From there, the next group of attempts to solve this case begins again.

The defence of Angels :: Angels manages to hold the suspense strong from the beginning to the end. The climax is brilliant, and overtakes the build-up in style. The final moments gives us a lot more to cheer for. It is shot in a stylish manner, and the background score is nice. The investigation progresses nicely, and the characterization of the three main characters is splendid. Among them, Indrajith continues to give power-packed performances. This is what comes for him between Memories and 7th Day – a hybrid for this elder brother this time. Asha Sarath comes with another strong work, but among them all, the pick should be Joy Mathew who has the best lines in the movie, and takes over the whole thing by storm with his portrayal of the priest. Lakshmi Priyaa Chandramouli who play’s the protagonist’s wife also comes up with a fair job. The message that it leaves us with, also gives us something to think about. This is something that the debutante director Jean Markose can be proud of.

Claws of flaw :: The movie needed a lot more of the right promotion, giving more idea about what it is about. I was actually disappointed about the number of people in the theatre, which was too low for a first day show – hope it changes with the word of mouth. The story does seem to get a little stretched in the middle, but that is solved soon. It follows the style of Memories and 7th Day, and might be repetitive for some, and for those who didn’t like those movies by much can think twice about this one. There might be a few questions unanswered, especially with the connections between the murders and the strength of the motive, but still by not affecting the story by much. The villain also deserved a better scope in the climax instead of just being pointed out. There are a few points in the movie which can be guessed, but I could find out things about 7th Day in a much easier way, and so it is no big deal.

Soul exploration 1: A case against infanticide of all kinds (possible indirect spoilers here) :: The movie comes up with a message against aborting. No, it doesn’t say that it should be avoided at any cost, but it makes the stand that there is no reason why a child with a chance to live should not be given the opportunity to see the world. They have the right not to be killed, more than the right to life. It is also extremely powerful in how it comes up with the same, and one has to admit that it has more than enough to get the attention of people. It has the strength to make people realize how bad that act is, and how worse it can be when someone is forced to do the same. We know how prevalent is female infanticide in the developing countries, and India also needs to deal with that situation in a lot of backward areas. Here, it deals with how profitable an enterprise it could become, and how heartless the common man could be when they think about the unborn babies as “human waste”. It is a shame, and the lack of humanity; this movie takes over the message and brings it to the viewers.

Soul exploration 2: The depiction of “different” angels on Earth (possible indirect spoilers here) :: The idea of angels also go with the aborted babies in this movie. They are considered as the cherubs who go to a special and beautiful condition after death, as they are denied this situation and are given something else. The symbolism of the angels also work nicely here, and so does the comparison. The question about their choice to live in this world or directly become the angels that they deserve to be, which are not directly given to them, but are often decided by some people of this world. The movie’s title is justified only in the second half, and comes strong there. It is that powerful punch that they come up with here, that makes such a great impact. It is actually an innovative step taken considering that this is supposed to be an investigative thriller in full strength. Well, the three main characters are actually angels in another way, aren’t they?

Soul exploration 3: The crucifixion of the self and resurrection (possible direct spoilers here) :: The priest’s conviction of himself is a case of crucifixion, which will bring the truth to the light as he takes the punishment for the sinner, but the interesting part is that he is resurrected to his former self in a few days as the criminal is found. Well, the resurrection was near impossible if the truth was not to come to light, but in this case, it works, and his suffering for the sins of the others is short-lived. Fr Varghese Punnyalan not just becomes a symbol of a medium to find truth, but also the only reason why there is truth and justice. Do notice that there are crucifix and cross symbols at a lot of places in the movie, and the character of the priest itself says that he is different from the others, and hence more prone to the problem of being in trouble due to even simple misunderstandings than the others. Do watch this movie, and there might be something you need to add.

Release date: 28th November 2014
Running time: 110 minutes (estimate)
Directed by: Jean Markose
Starring: Indrajith Sukumaran, Joy Mathew, Asha Sharath, Lakshmi Priyaa Chandramouli, Baiju, Dinesh Panicker, Vijayakumar, Tharakalyan, Parvathy Menon, Baby Annie, Prem Prakash, Aneesh G Menon, Jinto K Thomas