Loham

Posted on August 24, 2015 by Dr. 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 Dr. 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 Dr. 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 Dr. 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 Dr. 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 Dr. 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 Dr. 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 Dr. 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 Dr. 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

@ Cemetery Watch
✠ The Vampire Bat.

Iyobinte Pusthakam

Posted on November 10, 2014 by Dr. Tennyson

What is it about? :: The movie tells the story of Iyob (Lal) and his three sons, Dimitri (Chemban Vinod Jose), Ivan (Jinu Joseph) and Aloshy (Fahadh Faasil). Iyob was a young local boy who became the right-hand of Harrison (Sal Yusuf), one of the British people who established homes in Munnar, but he managed to rise after his death and had become the most powerful and the influential man in the area. Due to the commanding nature of his father and the atrocities of his brothers which are covered up with money, Aloshy leaves home and joins the Royal Navy from where he is dismissed as a result of a mutiny, which leads him back home. There, his troubles with his brothers begin, and Iyob is infuriated by his lack of obedience and also lack of display of admiration for his father, for which he disinherits him, and his brothers attack him and leaves him for dead. But Iyob doesn’t really know his other sons yet, and an enemy called Angoor Rawther (Jayasurya) shall soon come up.

The defence of Iyobinte Pusthakam :: Iyobinte Pusthakam is brilliant, and amazing beyond words in its visual splendour – it is something that we might have never seen before in Indian cinema, and one can get a peek at the same by just looking at the trailer – the complete stuff is a lot bigger and highly extravagant in its visuals. What you see in the posters are made a lot better in this movie, and not the other way around. The movie’s use of history and the variety in settings are also something to cheer about. We rarely have such good period thrillers in Malayalam, and even in Bollywood. The only things related to history that we have these days are related to killing white people – are we so much out of ideas that we have to talk about one thing again and again? No, not all, says Amal Neerad who has come up with his magnum opus here, which tells the story of the people of the land during the British rule and after, combining history and fiction. You can appreciate this one as long as you have the ability for the same.

Positives and negatives :: The movie might still be slow for a few, but I will say that there is absolutely no drag, and it is achieved by the beauty of the visuals – it is no bloody useless drag like Annayum Rasoolum, I can assure you that; this is more of a Left Right Left of this year. As you enter the world of unparalleled visual beauty, what you want might not be the story. The plot might look ordinary, but it is never about the story. Do watch and get taken into this amazing world, and the first movie from Amal Neerad that I liked – and this is one big like for him! Yes, I have never liked Big B, Sagar Alias Jacky, Anwar and Bachelor’s Party, and you fan-boys and girls can dislike me for the same. Interstellar was just a story that could never happen, but this one is a story of humanity in real, and it is up-to you to choose the one that you wish for this weekend, as both are for entirely different set of minds! Our Malayalam critics will never rate a movie from Kerala high, so just the “very good” rating for this movie would mean “out of this world”.

Performances of the soul :: Fahadh Faasil is nothing less than brilliant here, as he has another feather in the cap here. It is amazing how he has managed to thrive under almost every circumstance that has been put before him. How good can he be? We can never know the limits of his abilities as it seems. Lal is also nothing less than the powerful and later the helpless figure that he is supposed to be – there is nobody other who can be this character. Chemban Vinod Jose and Jinu Joseph are also good and the former is extremely efficient at times Isha Sharvani is extremely beautiful and suited for the role with her looks alone, otherwise she has much less to do; but that has still worked well for the character. Jayasurya is one impressive villain too, as he becomes the smiling assassin here. Padmapriya as Rahel also scores, coming out nowhere. Vinayakn is also nice. The characterization is so powerful and they nicely blend into the strength of visual beauty and that nice background score. I shall leave with some more thoughts below.

Soul exploration 1 :: Iyobinte Pusthakam as King Lear :: Iyobinte Pusthakam is a lot like King Lear or a loose adaptation from the same – it is as much of Shakespeare as Haider is Hamlet, and it has nicely used the setting to support the same. Iyob is King Lear who divides his kingdom among two sons, disinheriting the third, and in the end, it turns out that he was always the righteous and the loving one who comes out to help the father. Goneril, Regan and Cordelia are all here, and there is the Earl of Kent who is joins with the villains this time as Lazar. Rahel does the job of Edmund here, standing between the two sons and making one kill the other. Meanwhile, going outside the play, Martha becomes the lady love that every movie needs, and Angoor Rawther is just the villain that every story should have. There are also those moments when Iyob seems to be descending into madness, and Oswald is also there, as the man who tries to kill our hero and gets himself killed. Also check for the The Brothers Karamazov kind of characters with the same names.

Soul exploration 2 :: Iyobinte Pusthakam as the Parable of the Prodigal Son :: Iyob himself mentions Aloshy as prodigal son when he returns from the navy, and the church priest mentions that he is to be given a warm welcome if it is so, just like in the Holy Bible. But here, Aloshy is not the prodigal son, but rather the lost son, who returns after gaining wisdom rather than losing money, and this illusion of the gone son being the prodigal son is directly reversed in this movie without any complication. But considering a few other cases, he is indeed unemployed and without money compared to what he has at his own home which was left behind. The money that he extravagantly spent are the years of his life, and the time which he should have spent with his family. The father does accept his son, but once again, the elder brothers don’t. The movie’s use of the dialogues about the parable gives us this idea.

Soul exploration 3 :: Iyobinte Pusthakam as the Biblical story of Job :: The main character of the movie is Iyob or Job even as the hero is Aloshy. Even as our character here doesn’t have the qualities of a righteous man, he is also someone who losses almost everything that he holds dear, and it includes his own children, his property, and up-to an extent, his health. But the answer to his problems is achieved sooner here, in the form of his earlier lost son Aloshy. During his last moments, he holds onto the cross and gives it to his son, something which he already had, but rarely mentions as his baptism was nothing that he or his people wanted. It is his faith in God that is replenished in his final moments, and even as there is no redemption like that of the Biblical Job here, he does manage to die a good person rather than the evil feudal lord that he had been.

*This is the finest movie of the year from India, among all those which I have watched. Don’t miss this one! It is out of the usual league. It also leaves us with thoughts about the oppressed becoming the oppressor when opportunity arises, and also with a message on equality among the masses.

Release date: 7th November 2014
Running time: 160 minutes
Directed by: Amal Neerad
Starring: Fahadh Faasil, Isha Sharvani, Lal, Jayasurya, Padmapriya, Chemban Vinod Jose, Reenu Mathews, Jinu Joseph, Vinayakan, Lena Abhilash, T. G. Ravi, Sreejith Ravi, Shebin Benson, Saritha Kuku, Nebish Benson, Sal Yusuf, Aashiq Abu (cameo), Amala Paul (cameo)

@ Cemetery Watch
✠ The Vampire Bat.

Asha Black

Posted on October 14, 2014 by Dr. Tennyson

Vampire Owl :: Is she the sister of Jacob Black?

Vampire Bat :: Absolutely not.

Vampire Owl :: Then, is she related to Sirius Black?

Vampire Bat :: I ponder over why you ponder over the name of a movie without making any sense at all. Note the double pondering – you know it is injurious to our vampire brains when not fed enough.

Vampire Owl :: It is because I have become very smart after successfully resisting the urge to watch Bang Bang! – they tried, but I was mentally “owl strong”.

Vampire Bat :: “Owl strong”? What does that even mean? I think that it is racist. I even think that you mentioning black is racist. See, vampire bats are black and you vampire owl is white.

Vampire Owl :: But you are not even brown enough. You should stand under the sun and do the “sun fall on my head” incantation to be even close to be black.

Vampire Bat :: Dude, Fair & Lovely usage among bats is increasing. Soon, they will have white vampire bats. It is all due to seeing the face of Yami Gautam on television during that fairness cream ad and getting addicted.

Vampire Owl :: Holy vampire dragon! White vampire bats? You will look like that cute little white bat from Honduras! Yuck! These fairness creams truly are the greatest brand ambassadors of racism.

Vampire Bat :: Well, can we just call the movie by its Tamil name, Nee Naan Nizhal?

[Goes to the ticket counter].

What is it about? :: We see that there is a series of murders of unrelated men happening in Kuala Lumpur, and the Malaysian police are hoping to find a solution to the same as soon as possible, as the dead are all Indians, and people might soon end up calling it a racist hate crime and would affect the tourism a lot. The man in charge of the investigation is the Assistant Superintendent of Police Anwar Ali (Sarath Kumar), a Tamil Malaysian with a fine track record, and he finds out that these dead people had one common friend with whom they chatted – Asha Black. The other story is about Rohit (Arjun Lal) who is working with a music troupe consisting of his best friends, and is highly attracted to one girl with the nickname Asha Black (Ishita) who sends him a friend request and chats with him so often. As he seems to have almost no interest in his life in India any more, his friends ask him to go to Malaysia and meet the girl of his dreams rather than ruining his life in dreams. But as he reaches Malaysia, he understands more about the girl, and also what all happens around here, and it changes his life.

The defence of Asha Black :: The movie takes charge of a social message here, and it is a bold step by a director doing his first movie. There is complete and absolutely clear success in the way the social message is given to the audience here. The movie’s change from a romantic drama to a dark thriller is also easier, as the somewhat parallel narratives are used a lot in this movie, and this darkness is something that we are perfectly aware of right from the beginning. The way in which certain cartoon-like style is adapted for telling flashback of the mysterious girl is nicely done, and unlike a few other movies which used the same, it works here a lot better as the detail of the illustrations is nice and realistic to the characters. The cinematography is nice, and the theme of the movie has been given a lot of care as it never forgets what it is planning to do with its message, and even as there are things lost, this message is not among them. The characterization also doesn’t falter, and even as some people will question a few characters, I would say that they are the best like that. It even deals with the sensitive stuff like porn and paedophilia without going to the extremes.

The claws of flaw :: The message takes over the movie and becomes better than the movie itself – even as that would mean that the message is better conveyed, it degrades the movie as the work that it is, and sometimes message demands even more from the movie, and thus some scenes are created for further support to the message which gets better in the expense of the visual medium. Yes, that makes the movie slower and having more sequences than it should have, and those which involve our hero’s chat love story is rather too stretched, and the addition of songs doesn’t help much there. The thriller effect goes for a walk there and rarely comes back, as this becomes that drama with a small romantic side. There is a certain slowness rising now and then, even as I wouldn’t go on to call that a drag, as might be necessary to make the end much more effective with an extra emotional touch. The search for Asha Black should have been more detailed and so should have been the investigation, and the mystery around her should have been revealed in a more beautiful and yet emotional way. This could have been more interesting as a movie, no doubt.

Performers of the soul :: The movie has Arjun Lal of Thanmathra fame as the hero, or rather the romantic star of this movie, and he has done a good job, especially in the second half as he challenges more than one thing. There is a long path ahead of him, and this is just a start; a good one. Manoj K. Jayan is good as usual in yet another supporting role here as the man who helps our hero in his quest. Isthita has limited things to do as Asha other than being the symbol which is Asha Black, and she also has done enough. I did wish that Bhagath Manuel had a bigger role, and also had better lines. Sarath Kumar is nicely in control of his role, even as the investigation sequences had more power rather than just moving along. Kottayam Nazeer doesn’t really have his usual funny elements working in this one, and it is a disappointment. Overall, I would say that the performances are neat, but not much to cheer for there. There could have been more, but this is still quite satisfactory.

Soul exploration :: Some people might think that this movie is more of a seminar, but never in any moment that this movie directly goes to that level. What it has is its titular character Asha Black whose profile name completely reflects the darker side of the life that she is forced into, with incidents during her childhood and the lack of care from her parents. At the same time, we see a few others who choose that path because of being part of that generation which doesn’t care for their parents. Belonging to the former group and without hope, Asha Black is the symbol of the youth who are on a darker path due to circumstances, and as online world becomes more of a relief for them, what had followed them in real life comes to them there too, and just like lightning striking with all its speed and might, destroys the whole thing. It is the “black” areas of the internet that the movie focuses on along with the evils paedophilia and porn, and the tale is that of the innocent who is caught in a dilemma with asha or hope to be loved. Its message is powerful, emotional and worthy of being watched by families who don’t care for their kids or fails to watch their actions and instruct them. They are preyed upon by the shades of technology – take care of them!

How it finishes :: Asha Black is not everyone’s cup of tea. It doesn’t have the flavour that everyone would want to put in their tea, and the result is a possibility of liking or not liking this movie, but nobody can challenge the power of its message which is strong as well as relevant. Coming from a debutante director, it is indeed a wonderful effort, as the movie seems to have tried with all its heart to send the right message to its audience which should hopefully consist of the family, especially the parents and the teenage children. This movie, just like Mummy & Me is a need of the age, and even as this can’t considered that good as that Jeethu Jospeph movie, the message is even stronger in this one. It does have mostly positive and mixed opinions from the audience, but not that much from critics for whom this is just negative or almost mixed, and lets hope that this movie does good enough – it has disappeared from some theatres, and I had to travel far to catch it; hope it stays where it is now, for at least one more week, because it deserves it, and it is out duty appreciate such works for the effort itself its Tamil version is also there, as Nee Naan Nizhal.

Release date: 10th October 2014
Running time: 120 minutes (estimate)
Directed by: John Robinson
Starring: Arjun Lal, Bhagath Manuel, Sarath Kumar, Manoj K Jayan, Ishita, Devan, Lakshmipriya, Kottayam Nazeer, Riza Bawa

@ Cemetery Watch
✠ The Vampire Bat.

Sapthamashree Thaskaraha

Posted on September 11, 2014 by Dr. Tennyson

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

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

Vampire Owl :: I am the Vampire Owl.

Vampire Bat :: Yes, everybody knows that already.

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

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

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

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

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

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

[Gets the tickets].

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

@ Cemetery Watch
✠ The Vampire Bat.

Apothecary

Posted on August 14, 2014 by Dr. Tennyson

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Vampire Bat :: You need a blood shake.

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

Vampire Bat :: May that happen in this century.

[Goes to the ticket counter].

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

@ Cemetery Watch
✠ The Vampire Bat.

Naku Penta Naku Taka

Posted on June 18, 2014 by Dr. Tennyson

Vampire Bat :: There is a problem with your tongue?

Vampire Owl :: No, its the title of the movie we are going to watch. I couldn’t say it at the ticket counter. So I said this time for Africa.

Vampire Bat :: Isn’t that title in Swahili?

Vampire Owl :: Yes, but if it was in Malayalam, it would include the tongue being at Penta Menaka.

Vampire Bat :: I had first thought that it could be any non-English, non-Malayalam, non-Hindi movie.

Vampire Owl :: People do complain that Malayalam movies are using English titles. So, this should satisfy them.

Vampire Bat :: May be Swahili movies can use Malayalam titles.

Vampire Owl :: This was a big risk though, they were going to cancel the show stating there are not enough people.

Vampire Bat :: Happens with me for at least three out of every ten movies I watch.

[Enters the movie hall].

What is it about? :: Shubha (Bhama) is determined that she will marry only a man working in the United States of America. She and her father are so obsessed with the nation that her mother, uncle and the broker decides to present the next guy as an engineer working in America, instead of being the staff of a company in Africa. As Vinay (Indrajith Sukumaran) sends a visa to her right after their marriage, she can’t wait to get to America, but after told that they are going to the United States through Kenya, she arrives there only to be told that he works there and it was a plan spearheaded by her mother who was disgusted with her not getting an allience due to her need for a groom working in America. Even as he despises him in the beginning, she soon beings to get along. She also becomes friends with the Malayali neighbours who stay nearby, and even gets close to some natives. But then, a death will happen which will change their lives, and they will be on a run from police, gangsters and also a group of natives. At the same time, a man named Anton Kulasingam (Murali Gopy) also enters their lives, giving them no clue as to what is happening. They only know that they somehow need to get to India.

The defence of Naku Penta Naku Taka :: The name of the movie means “I Love You I Need You”, not the title which suits the movie the best, but still there is a nice song in there with the same lines, and it is beautifully done. The big advantage of this movie is that even when the thrill factor is low, the movie uses its ground advantage to work in its favour; with its power of variety, even when it is a little stupid, this one remains cool. The first half an hour of the movie remains really funny, with our leading characters taking control. Then the world goes the thrilling way, and it manages the transformation quite well and the suspense is maintained quite nicely, especially in the first half. Even as the three major incidents which change their lives are different, they are nicely managed and connected as one couldn’t have occurred without the previous one, and the highest points of tension are reached, but not without some amateurish weakness that can be mostly forgiven. The beauty of Kenya is nicely captured and the cinematography department needs some special applause, as Africa’s landscapes and wildlife becomes known to us through this piece of work. We need such movies which are not shot in the usual places like Europe, North America, Middle East and the South East Asia (Thailand, Malaysia and Singapore) – good to see this one going different.

The claws of flaw :: The name of the movie has undoubtedly kept people away from the theatres – even I was sure that this was no Malayalam movie until I was told. It hasn’t succeeded in making the fans believe that the poster is not of a dubbed movie, and only those who follow the films news regularly can know that this is a Malayalam movie with a Swahili name, even as the English name for the other African movie Escape from Uganda was not interesting either. Most of the theatres don’t have this movie being screened either, and that should mean missing lots of business in the local theatres. The movie doesn’t make full use of its resources, neither of the funny side that it begins to explore nor of the thriller side where it attempts to reach. Both areas could have been a lot stronger, considering how well it started and maintained the variety in its presentation. The villain also doesn’t become evil according to the day’s standard, and shooting people is not that bad these days since Joker made The Dark Knight appearance. The ending has no strength, and it is as if it was getting drainer of its power from a few minutes ago. The second half is also inferior to the first half and a few more minutes after the interval which keep us thriller and hoping for something huge. The thrill factor is often low in the latter parts of the movie.

Performances of the soul :: Indrajith Sukumaran, that name is oftten enough to watch a movie which promises variety. Amen and Left Right Left were his class acts last year, and when he comes up with the first big variety of this year (Masala Republic not included), we are indeed interested. He excels in the funny scenes and continues his form into the rest of the story in a nice way. His inherent acting skills is only matched by the cuteness of Bhama who gives a peaceful performance with all its beauty and her own. You have to love her a lot in the beginning stages when she comes to Africa and realizes that her husband lied to her about America. A little more of such stuff could have given her more opportunities, that is for sure. Anusree has just some screen time, and would disappear for a long time only to appear later for a few minutes. Murali Gopy looks stunning throughout the movie, and proves that he is the right option for being Hitman Codename 47 if the game is adapted into Malayalam – well, people copy anything and everything these days, so who knows? It would have been better if he had more evil deeds to commit rather than shooting people; he is menacing in his style and way of talking and acting, but that is all the character has.

Soul exploration :: Naku Penta Naku Taka is a story of love and survival, even as it doesn’t go deep into either of them. As Indrajith and Bhama forms a nice on-screen pair, and the latter is incredibly cute in her expressions, especially with anger and blushing, may be it didn’t feel the need to get them through terror which has even half the power of the hell’s abyss. But the main theme of the movie remains the same, something which it decides to keep away from the dark side up-to an extent. It is the struggle of a husband and wife to escape from the problems that they face in Africa, seemingly similar to Escape from Uganda, but still finding an identity of its own, and the character of Murali Gopy plays a major part in helping the movie to do so. The expectation that this will work out in the level of Left Right Left is clearly wrong, and with the same protagonist who impressed us in that movie as well as Amen, this movie is just the entertainer with variety, not something which one can ponder over for long – Amen and Left Right Left still remains in my mind, and the characters stay there and so do the situations. Naku Penta Naku Taka is not without ideas, but doesn’t make an attempt to try hard with it, or add fire to the same.

How it finishes :: The 2013 movie Escape from Uganda was the first Malayalam movie to be extensively shot in Africa, and may be the only Malayalam movie to be shot in Uganda. If we look at those reviews on the internet, it has received almost the same kind of reception from the internet critics as for this one, or may be worse if we include some specific reviews. If we go outside Malayalam, the one movie we can remember easily should be Maryan, but that is clearly a different story. Naku Penta Naku Taka has to be appreciated for the effort which it has taken, and its bravery to choose to be different. There is one other thing that I like, and that is that this movie is sponsored by tea, as we can see the logo of Gokulam Love Tea on some of the posters of the movie – yes, how can I not watch a movie which has tea advertisements? Tea is such a big part of the life of the Vampire Bat, and this one inspires to drink more; not the best occasion to say this, but what is life without tea? Indrajith fans and future Bhama fans, take this opportunity to check out this movie. This is the movie that you need, to take a break from the inferior work that superstars have been providing us with, and lets take time to appreciate such lesser known works without huge stars; it will only be good for the industry.

Release date: 13th June 2014
Running time: 120 minutes (estimate)
Directed by: Vayalar Madhavan Kutty
Starring: Indrajith Sukumaran, Bhama, Murali Gopy, Shankar, Anusree Nair, Sudheer Karamana, Sunil Sugada

@ Cemetery Watch
✠ The Vampire Bat.

Mr. Fraud

Posted on May 27, 2014 by Dr. Tennyson

The Heist Stuff :: The heist movies have always managed to keep us interested (the Bollywood ones not included), and among them, I would rate The Italian Job as the best, followed by many others, including Ocean’s Eleven, Ocean’s Twelve and Ocean’s Thirteen, along with Tower Heist and The Art of the Steal, even Fast Five turning into a Rio Heist making one believe that heist was a kind of new successful genre to explore. Even Bollywood had The Italian Job remade as Players, and it was only a matter of time until Malayalam movie industry also came up with a heist movie, and it comes from B. Unikrishnan with Mohanlal in the lead, and it was called Mr. Fraud – quite a negative name for a heist movie (may be it is named from the point of view of the victims). There will be the genuine question about why these heist films are so popular. I would say that people are having more tendency to take risks, and it is basic human nature to desire for something that someone else has, and it is the envy that takes over – at that moment combined by the risk plus desire/envy, the robbery becoming the wonderful art of steal and there begins the world of heist movies. These movies usually have many twists, innovations and the robber is usually portrayed as the good or better person.

What is it about? :: The centre of attraction is Bhaiji or Mr. Fraud (Mohanlal), the man with many names and many faces, none of them real or revealed. He is a man who commits heists against impossible odds with the help of his assistants Abbas (Vijay Babu) and Priya (Manjari Phadnis) as well as special electronic gadgets. After stealing from the dowry of a billionaire’s daughter, they are ready for one final mission to end all heists, and it includes stealing the treasure from the basement of one of the old palaces which is kept there due to a dispute between two parties and a petition to make them public. The two rivals, the two sons and their sons and daughters are waiting for an opportunity to pounce on the treasure and claim the whole of it as Bhaiji comes in between disguised as the evaluator of the treasure. Inspector Sajan (Sai Kumar) also comes the scene hoping to make some profit out of it and takes over as the head of security. In the middle of hatred and discomfort that prevails in the palace, can the man of disguises steal what he has come there to steal or will he lose his way?

The defence of Mr. Fraud :: How many real heist movies do we see in Malayalam movie industry? The other one concerning robbery was Robinhood which was really dumb and that movie had absolutely nothing, and we surely can’t bring Lokpal to the equation when talking about movies which are above average, even as there was the movies like Gangster which won’t stand a chance in front of even Lokpal. This need has been answered by Mr. Fraud which has enough heist moments, along with that idea which is in the centre. Even as it is not anywhere near those awesome heist movies that we watch in Hollywood, this one has managed to do the stuff in the same style, but weaker in content and execution. The movie, even as it has limited thrills, is never boring – that is a new considering how difficult it has been not to bore the audience. They have also managed to come up with a superior first half and nice early second half. The cast is also superb and most of them have played their characters with beauty. The movie hasn’t tried anything too much, it seemed to attempt and be a decent one, with mediocre elements and that is what is has managed to achieve.

The claws of flaw :: Mr. Fraud has had mostly negative or average reviews from the audience, and it has created a clear doubt when the memories of Lokpal comes to the mind. The biggest problem of the movie is that it is not sure about its own genre, and it deviates from its purpose more than once, adding too much emotions. The protagonist also doesn’t become the true fraud that he is supposed to be, not justifying the title – he is not even the exact opposite here. Some of the characters are not fully developed with so many of them there just for the sake of existing there under the shadow of doubt, and the ending is forced. The movie might seem to lose its steam during the climax, and all the action scenes which don’t involve the heists are quite bad, with the superhero side and slow motion taking over, but that is only about a few scenes. The superhero should have remained under or may be on par with the actor when we consider this movie. The background score often gets irritating and so do the songs which jump out of nowhere and the audience has to ask who let them out when they were not really needed.

Performers of the soul :: This is one of the triumvirate movies of Mohanlal which are expected to score big and release soon enough – Koothara, Peruchaazhi and this one, all three expected to be special for one reason or the other, and Mr. Fraud is the first one to reach the theatre despite so many delays. If I had to choose one among them earlier, I would have chosen Koothara to be the better one. This had to be his movie as it is, and from the family man role to this one, he runs the show as usual, and the good thing is that this doesn’t go to that level of Sagar Alias Jacky and there is the limit under control. His looks are nice and keeps things cool. Manjari Phadnis is there for the looks, but surely has her short moments, and Mia also got so much less to do even as she does that without any significant problems. Vijay Babu never gets to do a lot, but Siddique and Sai Kumar excel in the supporting roles as both are there in the roles which they have perfected before. Suresh Krishna in a bigger role would have been nice though, as the situation seemed to suit him, but that was not to be. Characterization, come up with more power next time!

Soul exploration :: There is the need for heist, and even Inception was about heist, wasn’t it? They were the ones who stole ideas, and planting an idea is just the same as stealing one, as one idea is lost while another one takes its place. Mission: Impossible also had its heists going through. Fast Five was a better heist movie than many of the full-time heist movies. So when the bogeyman steals our dreams and convert them into nightmares, isn’t he also a man who is part of this art? Can he be considered one of the first and the most efficient heist artists of all time? Even as it is nowhere near any of the mentioned, Mr. Fraud steals, and performs that operation well. For most of the people though, heist is an adventure, and in the case of such a ride, it has to be entertaining and having a better motive than just to steal. Heist is usually considered different from the usual robbery, and that word is often used positively, thanks to the heist films. The ambiguity remains in this movie too, if it is right to steal under any circumstance or not to; who is evil and who has the fountain of goodness flowing through? Well, the characters in movies like Big B was not with any goodness, and considering that people supported the main characters, the ones in heist movies are much better. Only if this wasn’t that mediocre, we could have come to a conclusion.

How it finishes :: Mr. Fraud is not as bad as some people might suggest, and a comparison to Lokpal is kind of ridiculous and the question of it being better than Gangster is answered with only one sentence – Gangster was the worst movie of the year, challenged only by Salaala Mobiles. It is brought down only by the hype it created, and by being mediocre. Well, Mr. Fraud has its advantages in the theatre, the most important one being the postponement of Bangalore Days which has such a multi-starrer cast that can bring every other movie down – How Old are You will hold onto its place for quite a long time as the family audience have taken it into hearts, and this position that Mr. Fraud was about to lose will be there for at least one week as Bangalore Days has been on a postpone-spree which might or might not end on the upcoming Friday. Kochadiiyaan is not creating the impact that it should have, and Heropanti is running low, so the only challenge that Malayalam movies have is from the English movies, but none of them can replace these movies in content, and they are miles apart in what they come up with, all three Hollywood movies in the theatre dealing with superheroes and super-monsters not really attracting the families.

Release date: 17th May 2014
Running time: 138 minutes
Directed by: B. Unnikrishnan
Starring: Mohanlal, Mia George, Manjari Phadnis, Vijay Babu, Pallavi Purohit, Dev Gill, Siddique, Sai Kumar, Vijayakumar, Rahul Madhav, P. Balachandran, Devan, Suresh Krishna, Rajeev Parameshwar, V.K. Sreeraman, Kalasala Babu, Sathaar, Balachandran Chullikkadu, Biju Pappan, Ashvin Matthew, Balaji, Amritha Anil