Munthirivallikal Thalirkkumbol

Posted on January 22, 2017 by Dr. Tennyson

What is the movie about? :: The movie tells the story of Ulahannan (Mohanlal), his wife Anniyamma (Meena), and their two children, Jini (Aima Rosmy Sebastian) and Jerry (Sanoop Santhosh). Ulahannan is the Panchayath Secretary at a nearby village, and is living in a housing colony where his best friends are Venu (Anoop Menon), Jacob (Alencier Ley Lopez) and Monai (Kalabhavan Shajohn). He is extremely bored with his life, and his only relief remains the time he spends with his good friends having some alcohol. Each and every day in his life remains the same, as he just goes to work, returns home, and goes to sleep after having some drinks and food. He keeps minimum relationship with his family, especially his wife who often wonders if he knows that she exists. He still has a respectable position in the society due to his job and the serious character.

So, what happens next? :: With his friend Venu having relationships with many other girls on phone without his wife Latha (Srinda Ashab) knowing about it, Ulahannan also looks forward to such a relationship, with Julie (Neha Saxena). With her husband Augustine (Suresh Krishna) working abroad, she has been looking forward to begin a beauty parlour for women and kids, and she asks for help from Ulahannan as he is the panchayath secretary. Seeing his old romantic interest Indu (Asha Sarath) only makes him wish for more romance and become the one person he used to be. But one day, as he sees Anniyamma at the church, he realises that he has been wrong all the time – it was never about loving someone else to reclaim the romance, but it was better to love one’s own wife better. With one phone call, things begin to change for Ulahannan.

Where are things heading for? :: So, they finally end up finding the lost romance and everyone seems to be happy about that. This leads to the family ties getting a lot better. Ulahannan has problems at the office with the corrupt politicians including the former Panchayat president Chalakan (Sudheer Karamana) and the current president Thilothaman (Suraj Venjaramood), which he deals with easily. His friend Venu, who is less interested in his own wife Latha, also learns things the hard way after meeting with an accident. There is one question that remains – with changes in the parents’ relationship for the better, how will it affect the lives of the children? With Jini seeming to be very much attracted to a boy whom she only knows through Facebook, what message will the father and mother be able to provide her with?

The defence of Munthirivallikal Thalirkkumbol :: A treat for the families, this flick is a lot believable one as far as the common audience is concerned. The happenings in this movie are simple and enjoyable, and we get to see all things dealt with, in a realistic way. There are also some nice comedy moments in this one, and there is also the feel-good factor with which the movie finishes. The message that this movie leaves on with, is also nothing less than beautiful and applicable to our times. Even as this is a family drama flick, there is nothing like the possible melodrama in this one too. The movie is certainly in control of the emotions and keeps them in control to make sure that we have that nice feeling throughout the run here. The second half is also superior to the first, and there is that fine finish in this flick which will make sure that we leave the theatre with a smile of satisfaction on our faces, and it is a real boost for the families.

Claws of flaw :: There is a certain amount of drag in the first half of the movie, especially in the beginning. It is really tough to go through the first moments when the protagonist tries to find love outside his family – it is rather unnecessary and stretched beyond the needs even for those with very less imagination. The character called Julie is added without any good purpose, for Neha Saxena is to this movie, what Namitha was to Pulimurugan – an extra addition which will make the family audience feel strange, and others understand the meaningless of the same – still, one can safely say that this is a better movie than Oppam and Pulimurugan. There is also too much alcohol in this one, and the little moments of unnecessary heroism – something which doesn’t add that much of humour or style as one would expect. The songs are not that good, except for “Punnamadakayal” which does give the better feeling even with the thought that we have seen and heard this before.

Performers of the soul :: You see Mohanlal, as expected, leading the way here in his usual style, as everything related to the character has us interested. With a heavy chance of bringing a third big success in a row, he brings that side of him, which will appeal to the family audience more than anything else – it raises the bar above Oppam and Pulimurugan with its realistic treatment relating it to the common man’s life. Along with the same, we are always glad to have Meena pair up with Mohanlal, and she brings life to those interesting moments in a family. Another thing that you will love about this movie is the trio of Alencier Ley Lopez, Kalabhavan Shajohn and Anoop Menon who plays the best friends of the protagonist – they surely have the best moments of fun in store here. You will also get to see how good Aima Rosmy Sebastian is, as she gets more to do compared to her previous work in Jacobinte Swargarajyam. Srinda Ashab also moves out of the role which seemed to be becoming a stereotype, and Rahul Madhav’s short stay is memorable. Suresh Krishna also has once nice funny situation.

How it finishes :: It has been a long break from Malayalam movies as far as the fans are concerned. They have been waiting for so long for another movie, but due to the protests, nothing really came up – only those English, Hindi and Tamil movies score in between. Now, with Munthirivallikal Thalirkkumbol and Jomonte Suvisheshangal having arrived, we are truly back to the movie world. We missed so many of them during the Christmas season, and with Ezra, Fukri and Georgettan’s Pooram also ready to release, we are sure to have some more treat. Among all these movies, Munthirivallikal Thalirkkumbol is sure to have a prominent place, as it is certainly something which will be taken over by the family audience, and Mohanlal is certain to make it three out of three with Oppam, Pulimurugan, and this one from the director of the big surprise hit, Vellimoonga. After watching this movie, let us hope that everyone also feels that “my life is my wife”, and also that “family is everything” – a lot of people need inspiration to love their own, don’t they?

Release date: 20th January 2017
Running time: 154 minutes
Directed by: Jibu Jacob
Starring: Mohanlal, Meena, Aima Rosmy Sebastian, Sanoop Santhosh, Anoop Menon, Srinda Ashab, Alencier Ley Lopez, Kalabhavan Shajohn, Reshmi Boban, Bindu Panicker, Lishoy, Suraj Venjaramood, Sudheer Karamana, Sharafudheen, Neha Saxena, Rajesh Paravoor, Suresh Krishna, Rahul Madhav, Ganapathi, Sohan Seenulal, Meghanathan, Joy Mathew, K. L. Antony Kochi, Leena Antony, Asha Sarath (cameo), Sasi Kalinga (cameo)

@ Cemetery Watch
✠ The Vampire Bat.

Kattappanayile Rithwik Roshan

Posted on November 20, 2016 by Dr. Tennyson

Vampire Owl :: Why isn’t the name spelled Hrithik Roshan?

Vampire Bat :: Because a change of spelling will make all things right.

Vampire Owl :: I am really annoyed with any bad spelling.

Vampire Bat :: Dude, this is intentional.

Vampire Owl :: Which is why I am intentionally protesting against it.

Vampire Bat :: I don’t understand your intentions.

Vampire Owl :: You only need to get me one cup of tea, vegetable puffs and cheese popcorn. It is a good understanding of intentions.

Vampire Bat :: You needn’t fight for that. You can have them with ease.

Vampire Owl :: A fight is cent percent needed. See, all things are lies. They say there is no money, and see the number of people who are here to watch this movie.

Vampire Bat :: Well, even we are here. It is a crowd-puller as you can see.

[Gets the tickets with tea and caramel popcorn].

What is it about? :: Geo (Siju Wilson) is ditched by his lover Neethu (Swasika) who is about to get married in a grand function. Disappointed and feeling hopeless in losing the girl whom he thought was his true love, Geo decides to commit suicide. But when standing at the suicide point, he finds a letter under a stone which was written by a stranger named Krishnan a.k.a. Kichu (Vishnu Unnikrishnan). He continues to read on, as he finds his whole life there. Kichu’s father Surendran (Siddique) was a fan of Jayan and wanted to become an actor like him, but becomes a failure. So, he decides to make his son a hero in the movies, but seems to fail in that too, as everyone think that Kichu is not fair enough, and there is also a mark on his forehead which gives him only smaller negative roles in movies. But Kichu doesn’t stop trying to reach his aim.

So what happens next? :: Kichu’s only good friend is Dasappan (Dharmajan Bolgatty) who has always been there to support him, right from the childhood. They can’t stop being jealous of Giridhar (Rahul Madhav), another person who seems to have everything including the looks and money. His neighbour Kani (Lijomol Jose) has been in love with him for a long time, he fails to notice it, as his dream is to marry a very beautiful girl. She still tries to catch his attention all the time. It is when he keeps getting the roles of thieves and criminals that the director James Antony (Kalabhavan Shajohn) provides him with role of a main character in the movie. At the same time, he falls for the rich, beautiful girl who comes to live in the town, Ann Maria (Prayaga Martin). But there are twists waiting to happen in his life, and it is a little bit too early for him to be happy. Will he survive the upcoming tests?

The defence of Kattappanayile Rithwik Roshan :: There is fun in store in this movie, that is for sure, and an attempt at message is made, just like it was done in Amar Akbar Anthony. But this one is a better movie than the directorial debut of the man at the helm, and an improvement in the overall quality. This one also pretends less than the other one, as Amar Akbar Anthony is supposed to have done something gargantuan, but it didn’t, except for pretending to be this and that all the time. Here we have some genuine scenes which invokes laughter, and they are the ones which save the day more than any other. Even though occasionally overdone, most of the characters in this movie are common people with whom we can relate. With them right in the camera, the humour works better than Amar Akbar Anthony which was a little bit of a low class pretender. Kattappana is also well captured. Yes, the message is there to be taken, if you want it.

The claws of flaw :: For some reason, Kattappanayile Rithwik Roshan suffers from a complete lack of brains, something which would surely save it from the zombies, but makes the intelligent viewer feel the pain, for even a movie in the comedy genre like this one can use it to make the funny side clever rather than foolish – but that is a rare thing between the cliches that stretches its arms towards climax and the finish. The movie is also hypocritical in its core, often working against whatever it seemed to convey, a terrible beauty of a quality which Amar Akbar Anthony also possessed. A lot of comedy scenes are repetitions, or something we have heard before – we knew that from the trailer itself with the use of the word “photogenic” which is a comedy that goes years back. The emotional side is also only partially working. The songs are just terrible, and the predictability factor is so strong.

Performers of the soul :: Vishnu Unnikrishnan does a fine job in this movie, and we are glad to see him performing as the protagonist. He has no trouble in going through the different stages of the hero’s career. Meanwhile, Salim Kumar makes a great comeback, and in the flashback scenes, he and Siddique are too good – the two manages to use their years of experience to the best, and makes us laugh. All humour is kept steady by Dharmajan Bolgatty though, and most of his jokes are right on target – the exceptions can be forgotten considering how well he has managed his character with nonstop fun, and even an emotional side that comes in the end. Among the actresses, Lijomol Jose is the pick, and once again after Maheshinte Prathikaram, in this second movie, she is amazingly good as the simple girl. Prayaga Martin doesn’t have much to do, and she is there looking good – no part of the movie is really about her character. Siju Wilson drops in to score too.

How it finishes :: The movie’s first half is cent percent superior to the second half, and we end up hoping for more in the second due to the same. The humour here is the reason why you can go for this movie, and for everything else, there are other movies. If you can go beyond the stereotypes and a certain amount of drag which comes along in the second half, this is surely going to be a fun experience without much to take home, of a better level than Amar Akbar Anthony. I would have liked to skip the final scene though, where Nadirshah makes an appearance – that was totally unnecessary, as it should not have been due to the trust on the audience that he would have casted our hero, but due to the need for bringing a skilled young man as the hero in a good movie – by placing the trust in the viewers, it has gone completely against the overall message of the movie, which is disappointing. But think not about it when you enjoy this entertainer.

Release date: 18th November 2016
Running time: 140 minutes
Directed by: Nadirshah
Starring: Vishnu Unnikrishnan, Prayaga Martin, Lijomol Jose, Dharmajan Bolgatty, Rahul Madhav, Siju Wilson, Salim Kumar, Swasika, Kalabhavan Shajohn, Thara Kalyan, Sethulakshmi, Neena Kurup, Devika Nambiar, Kottayam Nazeer, Nadirshah, Kottayam Pradeep, Jaffer Idukki

@ Cemetery Watch
✠ The Vampire Bat.

Oppam

Posted on October 30, 2016 by Dr. Tennyson

What is it about? :: Jayaraman (Mohanlal) is a blind man who works as a lift operator and attender at an eleven-storeyed apartment right in the middle of the city. He hails from a huge family, but is in debt right now as he has to pay twenty five lakhs for his friend Bappootty (Siddique) who was supposed to provide the amount to the money lender and is currently in the Middle East. He is struggling to make enough money for the wedding ceremony of his sister, which is to happen soon. Even though he is blind, he possesses a better sense of smell, hearing and touch which he uses to his advantage whenever there is the need. His good friends are Veeran (Harish K.R) and Kunju Mohammed (Mammookoya) as well as Devayani (Vimala Raman) who also work there. Whenever there is a need, Jayaraman is there, and he is that readily available helping hand for everyone.

So what happens next? :: A retired chief justice, Krishnamoorthy (Nedumudi Venu), also lives in the same apartment, and Jayaraman is his best friend and aid, as there are secrets concerning his past, and there are problems haunting him. Devayarani is in trouble with her former husband, a police officer named Madhu (Kalabhavan Shajohn) with whom Jayaraman also locks horns. One day, when Krishnamoorthy is killed, things go out of control. Jayaraman becomes the prime suspect, and the police officers in charge, Padmakumar (Renji Panicker) and Anandhan (Chemban Vinod Jose) refuses to believe in his claims of innocence, and Madhu makes things only worse. Only Ganga (Anusree), the police officer who knew him earlier, believes him. With the murderer right behind him like a shadow, will Jayaraman be able to prove his innocence? Can he face the man who seems to be a psychopath, all alone?

The defence of Oppam :: There are many moments of interest, and a lot of thrills in store with this movie which won against its competitor Oozham which released on the same day. The final moments, despite strangely set, are well executed, and the movie finishes with a certain amount cuteness and feel-good factor in store. The beginning was also well done without the unnecessary introductions, and we are taken into the whole thing in a simple and effective manner. The visuals are very good throughout the run, and Mohanlal and Samuthirakani when they are together, make a nice combination against each other. Mamukkoya has some of the nicer moments of fun in this movie which has a certain amount of comic side which is just there for some relief. Chemban Vinod Jose also has some moments of fun, and the emotional side of this movie can also be termed as strong.

The claws of flaw :: One has to say that the movie is too long, and that feeling is due to the present of too many unnecessary songs, and none of them really makes an impact either – the Punjabi wedding song might be the one that works the least. There are also too many missing points here and there in this story, and the opportunity to come up with a better movie goes missing here. There are too many things here that comes as repetitive elements; the twist concerning the child and the killer is too predictable, and the police is also made rather useless – or rather so stubborn that one is made to wonder that these people are the most remorseless and brainless officers ever to be in a Malayalam movie. The final moments are also strange, as they try to be safe where it was never meant to be safe, and with the same, risk more lives. There were surely better ways to handle the whole thing!

Performers of the soul :: As expected, and without doubt, Mohanlal is the one who lifts this movie to the next level, and hides its problems with ease, as he plays the role with no trouble at all. There are those moments involving him and Samuthirakani that stands apart. Along with him being the blind character, it is our villain that also brings things in order. Last seen in Karinkunnam 6s in this part of the world, Samuthirakani brings all the strength that is needed in a villain like this. He is only let down on a number of occasions due to the predictability that creeps in and threatens to make this villain another ordinary creature of random hate, as the opportunity to become one terrifying psycho killer is lost at too many occasions. But he rises above the problems related to his character in this tale, and brings the menace to the big screen, making things more interesting.

Further performers of the soul :: Anusree is very good at this police role. Vimala Raman is kind of misfit as the maid here, even though we are glad that we are seeing her here again after a long time and looking good. Nedumudi Venu’s role is the kind which we see often from him, and he does that with ease. Baby Meenakshi is really good here, and surely better than how it was with Amar Akbar Anthony. Renji Panicker in the police role is surprisingly not that much used here, and Kalabhavan Shajohn just gets another opportunity to beat another character played by Mohanlal after Drishyam. Mamukkoya creates some funny moments with Harish K.R and Chemban Vinod Jose has a few of them too. Aju Varghese has kind of a smaller role of the viewers’ liking though, and Innocent is also there for only a few shots. In the end, we do wish that this movie was just not like too many other movies of the same kind – there are too many characters with less to do, and a little too much of predictability at times too.

How it finishes :: It has been a long time since we saw the best of Priyadarshan, and also the combination of him and Mohanlal, even though I didn’t think that Geethanjali was that bad a movie as it was projected by the critics and the audience. Well, one can safely say that he is back in form with this one. With Pulimurugan already there and running with full strength in the theatres, Mohanlal makes a magnificent push forward, the biggest since the critically acclaimed and heavily remake-spawning flick which was Drishyam. With two of his flicks staying heavy in multiplexes and attracting the audience in the local theatres too, one can be sure that there won’t be many movies coming up with challenge, except for Aanandam, which seems to be the one other movie which is making it big. Even in the Pulimurugan rush, Oppam is another movie that needs your attention; so if you have missed it, get to where it is still playing!

Release date: 8th September 2016
Running time: 157 minutes
Directed by: Priyadarshan
Starring: Mohanlal, Samuthirakani, Anusree, Vimala Raman, Nedumudi Venu, Baby Meenakshi, Renji Panicker, Chemban Vinod Jose, Mamukkoya, Harish K.R, Kalabhavan Shajohn, Kunchan, Idavela Babu, Aju Varghese, Manikuttan, Arjun Nandhakumar, Innocent, Kalasala Babu, Pradeep Chandran, Anjali Aneesh, Bineesh Kodiyeri, Devshi Khanduri, Sona Heiden, Arun Benny, Balaji Sharma, Poojappura Radhakrishnan, Sreelatha Namboothiri, Kaviyoor Ponnamma, Bindu Murali, Suchitra Pillai-Malik, Siddique (cameo), Antony Perumbavoor (cameo)