Role Models

Posted on June 25, 2017 by Tennyson

What is the movie about? :: Gautham Shekhar (Fahadh Faasil) is a man who is always concentrating on his work, and is so busy earning money, that the only person whom he regularly speaks to, is the mobile’s assistant app. He wakes up early in the morning and goes through everything according to the schedule. The boss of his company (Dileesh Pothan) is always calling him names in front of his colleagues despite his hardwork, and he lives his life according to calculations, drinking the maximum amount of water and even making sure that he goes to the urinal frequently according to plan. He has no friends and no love, and he is always busy, and when he is not busy, he is just asleep at night. If he ever gets any time to do anything, he dedicates those moments for studying too, and he has special interest in studies regarding astronomy. He has declared himself cent percent against having fun because it is of absolutely no use.

So, what happens next? :: His father and college professor Shekharan (Renji Panicker) is too worried about the same, and therefore contacts his son’s former best friends from college, Rexy Joseph (Sharafudheen) and Jyothish Narayanan (Vinayakan) whom he had himself evicted from the institution to make sure that Gautham wouldn’t be friends with the boys whom he found worthless and making nuisance. The two old friends are not that fond of their former enemy calling them, but decides to have the free alcohol and chooses to help their old friend with whom they had their best moments in life. They are joined by the third person, Shoubahn Khader (Vinay Forrt) who was the fourth member of their gang which used to be called Role Models during their time at the college. The group, along with the mischief making girl Christy (Srinda Ashab) used to create head ache for everyone in the college especially Gautam’s parents who taught there.

And what is to follow with the adventure? :: The three old friends are shocked to see the attitude of their former best friend towards life, as he had changed so much. He seemed to be exactly the opposite of all that he used to be. They try many things to get him back to be the happy and loving person that he used to be, including alcohol, friendship, and even misunderstanding Christy as his lost love from college. But then, they come to know that the real love of Gautham was Shreya Menon (Namitha Pramod), a girl who was more of an all-rounder, present everywhere, but stayed away from becoming a big name. Their search for her lands them in Goa, where she is a changed person. She is happy to see her old friends, but how will they make sure that Gautham can win his love back? Is there any chance for them to have their old friend back in the way that he used to be?

The defence of Role Models :: There are some nice jokes with which the movie begins – it has that kind of a cast with great comic timing, which improves the level, and keep striving for something better in that department. We have them coming quick and steady in the first half, and the trio handling the same never backs down from doing it. “Thechille Penne” song is nice, but you do feel that should have had more relevance in the movie. The movie also has some messages, even though we are not clear which of them needs to get our attention the most. We would figure out that it is more about parenting than any other. It is good to focus on the significance of parents supporting the children in studying what they really want to – almost every time, the father is the culprit, and due to this attitude of the parents and relatives, the youth are transformed into creatures that should just study for scoring high marks, get a good job with big salary and get married to someone rich and of high family value. Well, the movie does end on a good note despite the confusion. A cameo also arrives in the end nicely, but one has to wonder if it was there because there was no other idea available.

The claws of flaw :: Never does Role Models tries to overcome the limitations which it had put on itself, with not thinking much about the story and how it is told with the entertaining elements. The movie just goes on as if it is walking through sleep, as some characters and some incidents are there just for the sake of being there. Fahad’s action scenes were rather useless, and bringing that certain disorder and making it chaos was certainly a real bad idea. If the same was necessary for the makers to do, they could have at least made things more interesting, and presented in a smart manner. The audience often wonders where the movie is actually heading with so many things added as if they are taken from different movies. You feel that with Fahadh Faasil playing a character reminding you of the same in North 24 Kaatham will make things that good, but this one which has its own confusion running through, never becomes something close to that awesome flick which was critically acclaimed. A divergent movie is fair when it uses the divergence to the best effect, the movie makers should have remembered that.

Performers of the soul :: Once again, Fahadh Faasil makes this seem so easy, as he does his character’s both stages with such an ease that we wonder how he is there to make things better for even the least interesting movie. Keeping on rising with Maheshinte Prathikaaram and Take Off, this one will not be another big movie, but his performance is as usual, to be noted; signs were there in that song which became instantly popular. Sharafudheen-Vinayakan-Vinay Forrt combo is also nothing short of a nice call for laughter, and we have them executing the same really well. The friends just makes things so much better. It is also good to see Namitha Pramod back after Adi Kapyare Kootamani and Amar Akbar Anthony – she gets two times of the character’s life here. Srinda has an interesting and funny role too, after Munthirivallikal Thalirkkumbol and Adventures of Omanakuttan this year. Meanwhile, Renji Panicker is left with not much interesting to do and Suraj is rather wasted in this role.

How it finishes :: It is surprising how close to each other are the three Malayalam movie releases for the Eid holidays, starting from Avarude Raavukal, going through Oru Cinemakkaran and now standing at Role Models. All three of them released on consecutive dates, and are in quality, quite close to each other. They do provide a mixture of genres, and has the comic side as the one fueling everything right from the beginning, and there are twists in store in each of them. Is it a co-incidence that we have all these movies so similar to each other, and those watching it can only give them ratings so close to each other? Well, when Godha, Adventures of Omanakuttan and Achayans had released, all three of them were so different from each other, and we couldn’t consider them to be on the same level. Well, we have regular entertainment in store here for the festival season as Role Models becomes the third movie to release on the third day.

Release date: 25th June 2017
Running time: 131 minutes
Directed by: Rafi
Starring: Fahadh Faasil, Namitha Pramod, Vinayakan, Srinda Ashab, Sharafudheen, Rohini, Seetha, Vinay Forrt, Renji Panicker, Suraj Venjarammood, Aswathi Menon, Dileesh Pothan, Siddique, Bibin George, Harisree Ashokan (cameo)

@ Cemetery Watch
✠ The Vampire Bat.

Adi Kapyare Kootamani

Posted on December 30, 2015 by Tennyson

What is the movie about? :: The movie tells the story of four friends who study in the same college and stay at the very same hostel. Bhanuprasad (Dhyan Sreenivasan), Bruno (Aju Varghese), Remo (Neeraj Madhav) and Koshy (Vineeth Mohan) are those friends who enjoy their lives to the full with drinks and other activities. The warden of the boys’ hostel is Father Alfred Kattuvilayil (Mukesh) who is a very strict person, but the students manage to go on with their activities making sure that he doesn’t notice. Shaanthappan (Bijukuttan) desperately tries to let the priest know that his students are not what he thinks they are, but they youngsters manage to escape each and every time. But they will soon be part of something from which they can’t escape that easily.

So what is this suddden change of direction in life about? :: Bhanuprasad meets a girl named Adhishtalekshmi (Namitha Pramod) who offers him twenty thousand rupees just to get her inside the hostel and get her out in a few minutes. As he is desperately in need of money, he agrees to that, and gets her in when the other students are out for a movie. She has a special motive which she accomplishes, but it turns out that it is not that easy to get her out. The students return early and the next morning has a strike in the college which ruins their plans to escape. Their secret passage through the window is also blocked as Shaanthappan gets it repaired after informing the priest. Now, it is up-to Bhanuprasad and his three best friends to find a way to get her out before her father and his goons get to the place.

The defence of Adi Kapyare Kootamani :: This movie goes on the lines of Kunjiramayanam and Vellimoonga with the fun and its simplicity, with everything appealing really well for the family audience just like the youth. From the beginning itself, the movie’s direction is clear, and it is towards a really enjoyable comic side which can only get better as we gets deeper into the story. Even though the director is a debutante, there is not much of a problem there with how well this one has turned out to be. It needs skill to bring something special out of ordinary situations, and a lot of appreciation should be provided for the same. Cheers to Friday Film House in finding another new director and gifting him to the Keralite audience. The traits of Manichithrathazhu, Kaththi and In Ghost House Inn are smartly used too, and there is a strong funny side to the way of dealing with the same.

Claws of flaw :: There is nothing much about the story which is happening here, as it just goes on creating the funny situations. A good number of people might find this one too simple, but that is also an advantage of this movie. The rush in the end and a little bit of too much confusion can belittle the final moments. But as a sequel has already been announced, we can be sure that some of them will be solved. In the movie, the whole thing is mostly located at one place, and you are not going to see much variety there except for the comedy which has the special strength. The songs are not really memorable either. We can also note that the smaller number of scenes which happen outside the hostel doesn’t really work that well. Maybe the sequel can work harder to solve the problems left in its predecessor – we can wait for that!

Performers of the soul :: The group of Aju Varghese, Dhyan Sreenivasan, Neeraj Madhav and Bijukuttan are here in this movie too, bringing the same fun to us yet again. Vineeth Mohan nicely joins them in this adventure. Dhyan does a pretty good job here, and Vineeth Mohan supports, but it is Aju Varghese with Neeraj Madhav brings the best fun here with their coming timing; look out for the former fainting and providing signal along with the latter tearing his shirt apart and also looking for the Kaththi blue-print. The ideas to get the lady out of there are rather too funny. Namitha is really good, and it is nice to see her back after that “nothing” role in Amar Akbar Anthony, as she once again gets the chance to be the integral part of a movie rather than walk around. Bijukuttan scores, and he does the best in the Manichithrathazhu scene which is a big bonus; he even has a special Christmas song.

Further performers of the soul :: Mukesh is rock solid fun as the priest who believes that his students are angels and also that everything is under is control all the time; he scores the best with the moments of advice for the students and the situations of fear. The one thing which you can be sure about here is that this one is a real team effort. Most of the characters get similar chances to perform here, and the power of the youth in the Malayalam movie industry is more than just evident here. As everything is simple and possible to be connected for the audience, everything depended on the cast and how well they managed the comic side, and the movie gets all the success there. On one side, there will be movies releasing with huge hype, and on the other side, there are the small movies like this one which brings us so much of fun. Well, we will be looking forward to this director’s next movies, and it is not any easier to wait for the sequel to this movie.

How it finishes :: Coming from Sandra Thomas and Vijay Babu under who produced Philips and the Monkey Pen, Zachariayude Garbhinikal and Aadu Oru Bheegara Jeevi Aanu under Friday Film House, the expectations were to be pretty good on this one. The movie also has three of the big stars of the big comedy entertainer of the year, Kunjiramayanam. With positive opinions already going on, this one will provide the competition to the other competitors like Two Countries, Charlie and Jo and the Boy with the next competitor Style changing the release date. Christmas will surely be interesting season with all these movies which have got pretty good opinions battling each other, and there is also one Star Wars movie which is wandering around the corner along with two Bollywood flicks which can also be found at places!

Release date: 25th December 2015
Running time: 133 minutes
Directed by: John Varghese
Starring: Dhyan Sreenivasan, Namitha Pramod, Aju Varghese, Neeraj Madhav, Vineeth Mohan, Mukesh, Bijukuttan, John Vijay, Devi Ajith, Bhagath Manuel, Pradeep Kottayam, Vijay Babu, Sabu

@ Cemetery Watch
✠ The Vampire Bat.

Amar Akbar Anthony

Posted on October 20, 2015 by Tennyson

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

[Gets the tickets].

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

@ Cemetery Watch
✠ The Vampire Bat.

Ormayundo Ee Mukham

Posted on November 18, 2014 by Tennyson

Vampire Owl :: Did you say the word soul?

Vampire Bat :: Yes, I said that this movie talks about soul-mates.

Vampire Owl :: Dude, that is totally so evil. Like the souls in The Conjuring?

Vampire Bat :: Not that soul, the one that they say related to romance, like in Romeo and Juliet, Uncle Dracula and Mina Harker in the undead form or even like cardamom and tea.

Vampire Owl :: How disappointing. You should go for it alone then. It doesn’t fit my plans at all. I won’t recommend that for you either, as you are a cynic.

Vampire Bat :: But I can take that. I can have even tea, lime juice and milkshake together. I can take them all together.

Vampire Owl :: Yes, you are the one who watched three movies of entirely different genres at two different malls on one day and survived to tell the tale. Yes, I know that.

Vampire Bat :: Yes, and I repeated that performance.

Vampire Owl :: You have even transformed me into a movie watcher. You are a bad influence. I should go back to my intelligent evil plans to conquer the world.

Vampire Bat :: Yes, do take the shovel to dig up your buried plans.

[Starts the car].

What is it about? :: Gautham (Vineeth Sreenivasan) is a young businessman with an MBA from the United Kingdom, but is struggling with handling his father’s business at home due to his tension, lack of confidence and inability to memorize significant things related to business. His mother Vasundhara Devi (Rohini) struggles to keep the business going all by himself, and helping them in all that, is Gautham’s best friend Apoorva (Aju Varghese). Nithya (Namitha Pramod) enters their world as Gautham is forced to marry the daughter of a family friend as is attempting to make an escape. She is a sand artist and an orphan, with only the support of her sister Neethu (Soumya Sadanandan) and a family friend Dr. John Kuruvila (Mukesh) who is treating Nithya for her short term memory loss. Even as Nithya and Gautham gets really close, she doesn’t remember who he is, when they meet on the next day. Even as his well-wishers warn him against falling with love with her, he is adamant on making her remember him and stay in her mind forever.

The defence of Ormayundo Ee Mukham :: The move is cute, and there is no need for summoning an oracle from Delphi to tell you that, as it was evident from the trailer itself. The songs are good and nicely complimenting the movie, even if not that much to remember when standing alone. There is the feel-good factor and it also exists with the power to strike the hearts. The funny side is strong, with Aju Varghese handling things so well, and there are some really memorable moments with him and Soumya Sadanandan, and some more when Facebook, Whatsapp and some of the big movies and its dialogues or even songs are made fun of. Coming from the debutante Anvar Sadik, this is a great start for him, especially when experienced ones struggle a lot – no don’t look at Bollywood, that should be a shocking scene. The cinematography is excellent too. There is also the beauty of love, even as it is overdone with some dialogues, work nicely against the world of dumb new generation pseudo-love which we have to suffer from on many occasions. This one is extremely sweet and successfully delivers the feel-good factor.

Claws of flaw :: The movie seems to have been inspired by the 2004 movie 50 First Dates, but the director here has given the fact that he is influenced by Hollywood romantic movies just before the beginning of this flick. There is also the mentioning of a number of movies in the middle of this, and may be that will keep those who are complaining happy. Well, romance and comedy are two things that can be taken and changed to suit a different world and culture, and therefore, that trouble should be forgiven. This is also quite predictable with not much in the story and struggling to make things happen, especially for those who have watched a lot of romantic comedies from English, especially the Adam Sandler starrer. The end is just what we expect, and there is the extended final moment which shouldn’t have been there. They could have tried harder with this one, as there are moments which seems to be at a loss. There is the weakness of the central portion that this movie has, compared to what happens in the beginning and right after the middle. Yes, there is the stupidity in love too, but that is expected.

Performers of the soul :: Vineeth Sreenivasan wins the show, mostly with his funny side rather than anything else, and his presence in this cute movie is rather like the need for fire inside a fire-breathing dragon, and it is by his presence and his usual style that he has controlled things here, without trying anything different or special. But, if the movie is going to work for a certain extended period which becomes an infinite period of a slice of eternity, the credit for the same should go to Namitha Pramod, and the way in which she has handled her character. There is nothing big as if to slay Smaug the stupendous being demanded there, but she has done the job with so much neatness. Supporting her is Soumya Sadanandan who has done an unbelievably good job, making one wonder if she is a veteran. It felt so natural with her performance, and I hope to see her a lot more on the big screen, as she seems to handle every department so well. Aju Varghese handles the entertainment, and once again comes with a big score.

Soul exploration :: Ormayundo Ee Mukham once again get itself into the true love theme, which is surely something that has been exaggerated again and again, and it similarities to 50 First Dates doesn’t help the cause at all. But it has the nice moments which deals with the same in a better manner than most of the other movies. Well, what was Thattathin Marayathu other than a veil-obsessed young man wandering around after falling in love with a random girl for almost no reason at all? Did Om Santhi Oshana have anything other than a strange infatuation? Well, those two movies were undoubtedly better than this, but we can’t let this one go just because it has inspiration from a Hollywood movie. It takes some brains to adapt something from there to here, especially in the case of romantic comedy, as the definition of the same are different here. It is not really easy to group movies like No Strings Attached, Love and Other Drugs, Friends with Benefits and A Lot Like Love into romance, which would be rather absurd looking from here. We always had the worst of such nonsense in the form of things like Banglore Days.

How it finishes :: Ormayundo Ee Mukham needs an applause for the transformation it has done with the material, and all that the cast has put into it. There is no emotional nonsense which gets into this one either, even when the emotions are on the high – and there is no other dumb fake romance related thing added to it. The movie surely works as an entertainer, and its skill in the use of its resources can be clearly seen. But don’t expect a Thattathin Marayathu at all, and if you have watched 50 First Dates and liked it a lot, may be you won’t like this that much. I am not that much of an admirer of Hollywood’s romantic comedies, as I don’t think it has that much of any real romance at all, almost completely dishonoring what defined the same, and keeping it for Disney and the children’s movies. May be if that wasn’t the case, I would have liked this less; but I am sticking to the old generation romance, and I say that this one strikes one good shot towards the boundary and it is up-to the commentators and the crowd to talk about it.

Release date: 14th November 2014
Running time: 140 minutes
Directed by: Anvar Sadik
Starring: Vineeth Sreenivasan, Namitha Pramod, Aju Varghese, Soumya Sadanandan, Mukesh, Rohini, Lakshmi, Idavela Babu, Bhagath Manuel, Raveendran

@ Cemetery Watch
✠ The Vampire Bat.

Law Point

Posted on May 2, 2014 by Tennyson

That point to be noted :: There are some movies which come silently and go unnoticed. This was going to be the case of Law Point as it didn’t release in a good number of local theatres where even The Amazing Spider-Man 2 released, and that comes as a big surprise considering the fact that a Kunchako Boban – Namitha Pramod pairing has some good scope to attract audience, not just the fans of Kunchako, since Pullipulikalum Aattinkuttiyum. Now, where is that much needed hype which should have been present here at least a little bit? A movie which released in silence and went on to become a big hit was Memories, but that belonged to another class, and also to a director who had never known to have evaded victory, and the creator of greatest hit of all time in Malayalam (Drishyam), Jeethu Joseph. Meanwhile, this one comes from Lijin Jose who directed the 2012 movie Friday. It was a fine movie, no matter how some of the audience might have rated it, and it surely gave the viewers a lot to think about. Now, thinking isn’t what most of the fan-boys do these days right? If they do that, they would never be the minions of actors, but a lot above that with their own individuality. Friday had given us a director who could innovate well in his directorial debut, and it is on that same director that I trust while watching this movie.

What is it about? :: Sathya (Kunchako Boban) is a brilliant lawyer who has the ability to do wonders at the court, and spends most of his time taking the cases of big-shots and saving them from the crimes which they have committed. He is proud and shows more interest in money than anything else. After saving a rape-accused, Kuriyachan (Suraj Vencharamoodu) from the law, a millionaire named Ramakrishnan (Nedumudi Venu) comes to meet him and asks his help to get his son out of trouble. The son was in a big problem as his girlfriend tried to commit suicide as he refused to marry her and they were going to file a case against him according to the last letter that she had written. Sathya agrees to become a mediator and solve the case for which he is going to get rupees twenty lakhs and the girl’s family is going to get a crore rupees. Even as her father Philippos (Joy Matthew) seems to agree a bit, the girl Maya (Namitha Pramod) is not ready to agree. Therefore, Sathya asks her to come with him for a ride in his Volvo, to which she agrees as she has been spending too much time locked in her house. As the simple ride gets longer than expected, a lot more comes out of it, and sooner or later, it will change the life of Sathya with a twist.

The defence of Law Point :: Whatever is expected from Law Point, it has nothing to do with them, as it is not really a courtroom drama, suspense thriller or action romance or a mixture of any two of these combined in another combination. There is nothing about the court and neither is there much to justify its title. The movie chooses to be different and go in a path which might not be unexplored, but which is not expected to follow with such a cast and settings. The beginning setting is just the base for what is to be revealed in the end, and the whole thing that happens between works just to connect and make things interesting. The visuals are nicely captured, most of the best ones around Vagamon and the surrounding areas. The background music is nice (despite reminding of the Yuvvh music by the end), and the songs as well as their picturization are nice. The movie is very short for a Malayalam flick, lasting just above an hour and forty five minutes, and that makes sure that this becomes more of a fast food for the movie watchers. As the other Malayalam movies except 7th Day which has released since Vishu haven’t managed to work, Law Point might just work well with some audience with its points.

The claws of flaw :: The movie comes up with good drag in between, especially the time close to the interval, sometime before and after that. By the time the interval is reached, people might be left a little confused about where the movie is heading, as it doesn’t reach an interesting position by then. The first aim of the movie should have been to keep the viewers interested, but that is not the first preference here. The end might actually destroy the purpose of a lot of things which happen in the middle, but for others, there is good reason in the end. The end twist should have had a little more punch, and the lack of the dark side makes this one end up with a feel-good effect, but that won’t satisfy those with different expectations. The dark themes remain absent even as they threaten to come up in the beginning. The impact is less, and the movie ends when the viewers expect a little more twist or some addition to the romantic side or even a change of character from the protagonist who seems to remain the same proud young man with that over-confidence still failing to disappear.

Performers of the soul :: Kunchako Boban has a nice introduction, and comes up with a nice performance as the young lawyer even as he has just one scene in the court and the rest are all outside. He plays that kind of a proud and confident advocate who thinks that he can even save the devil himself if in trouble and he is that damn smart. His negative shade is nice, but kept under control throughout the movie. Then there is Namitha Pramod with her best performance ever, as she carries that character on her shoulder beautifully. There are times when one wonders if the middle period of the movie is meant to prove that she is pretty, something which doesn’t need any proof as far as any viewer is concerned. She looks better than ever, and her acting graces her beauty so well. They form a nice hit pair, second only to, may be the Nivin Pauly – Nazriya Nazim pair. Suraj Venjaramoodu has only the initial scenes, and there are the funnier scenes around. Meanwhile, Joy Mathew’s role is nice as usual.

Soul exploration :: Law Point plays a twisted game, something which looks rather plain in the first half, but it is not, as proven later. But this game of twists remain faithful to the lighter side. The centre of this movie is a suicide attempt. Yes, suicide is a punishable offence in India, and that is re-asserted in the movie. There have been something about repealing the same, but not active yet. Yes, the one who attempts to commit suicide and fails in the same is not just the victim, but also guilty in the eyes of the law. Here, that is often repeated in talking about the victimization, the culprit and the two sides of the same law, the only law point which keeps moving through the movie. Is it right to have the depressed suffer again just because he or she made the wrong choice at that moment of extreme emotions? As our lady protagonist asks, hasn’t everyone thought about committing suicide at some point of their lives? Still, isn’t each individual life so important that suicide is a sin? But there is that nice game that is being played, and after that twist, we come to know that all’s well that ends well.

How it finishes :: The current situation is favourable to Law Point, considering what else are the Indian movies running in the theatres released in the last few weeks. The movie needed a lot more publicity as well as a few additions here and there which could have made it complete. There is a lot that such popularity can do to this type of movies. I searched for its Facebook page and was disappointed not to find one, but found information about its release and other stuff from the official pages of the leading actors. It is a sure watch for the fans of both Kunchako Boban and Namitha Pramod. Kunchako has been a minimum guarantee star, and with Polytechnic and this one, he is coming back to the form slowly but steadily. Namitha’s success story has continued well so far, and even the lesser appreciated Puthiya Theerangal was a nice one, something which I can certify with ease. There is shortage of action and there are no real thrills, but the movie’s twists can pull it up from any trouble that it causes to the viewers.

Release date: 1st May 2014
Running time: 108 minutes
Directed by: Lijin Jose
Starring: Kunchacko Boban, Namitha Pramod, Joy Mathew, Nedumudi Venu, Praveena, Devan, Suraj Venjaramoodu, KPAC Lalitha, Kalabhavan Prajod, Shari, P. Balachandran, S. V. Krishna Shankar

@ Cemetery Watch
✠ The Vampire Bat.

Pullipulikal and Aattinkutti

Posted on August 10, 2013 by Tennyson

This is the season of the Malayalam movies, and what these movies have done with the help of Chennai Express, to keep the English movies away from the theatre is quite dissappointing, to be honest. The typhoon of Malayalam movies started off with Kadal Kadannu Oru Mathukutty, followed by Neelaakasam Pachakadal Chuvanna Bhoomi, Memories and Pullipulikalum Aattinkuttiyum. I am not in favour of such a week boasting the absence of the new English movie releases, at a time when they do get released in other countries. But as I know that there can be a great next week, and all the Malayalam movie titles are interesting enough, that should solve the problem up-to an extent. There is no surprise about so many movies releasing during the Eid after a long season of drought, as the people have already rushed to the multiplexes as well as the local theatres for these movies, and the malls, or at least some of them are so crowded that the Vampire Bat had doubts if there were free Blood Biriyani being supplied there. There is also the signs of the local theatres taking the effect of these new multiplexes, as the difference in the rates of tickets has become considerably small. We had such an option, and we had to choose the multiplex – there is the shift of the balance of power.

Literally translated as “Leopards and the Little Goat” had the first signs of vulnerability and a display of what kind of audience they were targeting, with their first promo in the theatres, which had a cartoon involving three leopards, one goat and a bull. Who are the people representing these characters, is something which should be revealed with ease as one watches the movie. Its target of the family audiences has surely been achieved with this one, but the question remains if it has achieved exactly what the movie lovers wished for, and another doubt would be about its power to match the other movies from Lal Jose – in that case, this should be closer in significance to Immanuel. Otherwise, this is a little bit of what should be termed as Elsamma Enna Aankutty meets Marykkundoru Kunjaadu at Kuttand setting, with a weaker second half and a forced ending. But it is not to be denied that the movie is fun, and the first half is close enough to a laugh riot. With the beautiful settings at Kuttanadu second only to Amen, and the melodious songs score to make all the absences transform into some kind of presence, and keep the viewers attached to the world of backwaters.

The movie set in the rural area of Kuttanad centers around one hardworking youth who tries in vain to pay off his loan to the bank by running a houseboat which he might lose in case of a failure to pay the same. Chakkattutharayil Gopan (Kunchako Boban), in short – Chakka Gopan a.k.a Aadu Gopan, is the goat-man as he is widely considered to be for his beard resembling a goat. There was that character in the movie Nee Ko Njaa Cha, and an allusion to that one with a background sound of the goat might help to figure out this appearance of our hero. This is the protagonist who gets beaten up almost every day due to the bad deeds of his three big brothers, as well as his own little problems. There comes the similarities with Marykkundoru Kunjaadu, and its just that this time, the protagonist is not lazy, and can beat a few people up rather than getting beaten up all the time. He has to feed three of his brothers and mother, as well as make sure that he earns enough to keep his houseboat floating. The three brothers are the type of people who takes money even from him to keep him safe, and they never miss an opportunity to take money from others or even lie, cheat and steal. The feeling of Elsamma Enna Aankutty also runs through, but more as an invisible force. But the fact remains that all the three movies were those which I liked, and therefore, there is nothing negative out there other than a little absence of innovation.

Along with dealing with his own lazy bully brothers and attempting to pay off his loans, Gopan faces the problem of not being able to attract enough tourists to his comparatively inferior houseboat, and asks the help of Mamachan (Suraj Venjaramoodu) for some attraction which could bring in more foreign tourists. The result comes in the form of Kainakari Jayasree (Namitha Pramod), a Mohiniyattam artist. With her assistance and also with the help of Suseelan (Harisree Asokan), his problems seem to get solved until his path crosses with that of Kavalykal Kuriyachan (Shammi Thilakan). While attempting to deal with his brothers’ unruly life and his love with Jayasree, he also has to deal with the rich businessman who seeks revenge on Gopan. At the same time, he comes up with some plans to deal with his brothers as well as to keep his love with Jayasree. Even as his and Kuriyachan’s path rarely crosses each other directly, there is always the unexpected harm that he would seem to give the man who would go on to become the villain whom he himself has to deal with, not as the goat which runs away, but as the super-goat-man if such a thing exists.

Kunchako Boban has come up with the comedy avatar again, and that should satisfy most of the fans. With his new looks and style, he has done complete justice to his role, and carries the whole world on screen with his shoulders. Namitha Pramod is also that good as Kainakari Jayasree, and never manages to move away from the character. It was nice to see her character, the other dynamic lovable one along with the character of the protagonist. Suraj Venjaramoodu and Harisree Asokan handles their own familiar territory with so much ease. We have been missing this Suraj for sometime, and the latter uses his home base of comedy to the efficiency of the movie. The three brothers might have carried on the legacy of Marykkundoru Kunjaadu‘s brother, but one might still miss Biju Menon. Shammi Thilakan’s Kavalykal Kuriyachan is a fine villain indeed, but not the scary, evil Satan or the one who sold his soul to the Devil, for he is the villain of circumstances, and the result of the people knowing about his own villainy. But the fact remains that he rises to this discovered throne of bad guy, and continues to do what he did with a mask, without any visage of artificially created vanity.

The movie’s success as a comedy movie is beyond doubt, and even with its lack of flow in the script, and an ending which was rather thrown into the middle of things, there is the beauty in simplicity, and the eventual victory of goodness portrayed without being preachy or pretending to be highly virtuous. There is the beautiful portrayal of nature which joins with the melodious songs to keep it working towards the end. The messages about the importance of goodness, hardwork and belief in oneself is asserted throughout the film in one way or the other. Marykkundoru Kunjaadu had the same, but some people just noticed the fear element in it. This movie is more logical in that case, making an attempt to touch the soul with a central character who is more useful to the family as well as the society, caring less about himself. He is another Elsamma in that case, and even his love interest is not of less significance in many ways. There has been an overflow of similar themes in the past, and this movie also reflects the same in such a way as to make an impact in a path more travelled. Whether it has made a difference or not is a question yet to be answered, and until now, the future looks bright enough for this goat-man and his own leopard people of the family.

This is recommended for those who loved Elsamma Enna Aankutty and even more recommended for those who loved Marykkundoru Kunjaadu, and even those viewers who loved both of these movies a little, might find this one impossible to run away from. Nature has been a great redeemer, and for some, there is music; for the missing laughter, the others need comedy. This movie has got them all, but while looking for the logically awesome movie with a great bowl of completeness delivered as a result of the horn of plenty, there is that awkward movie of detest. But, it is highly advised that such a cornucopia is not expected in the case of this movie – Amalthea, goat and nature; something should relate, but the release of Plenty might have served as nothing less than a Pandora’s box in the case of such a movie. Therefore, lets forget the little strange things which might give the indigestion of logic fed to your brain, and enjoy this movie for the little beautiful things it got, and flies directly to the heart. The movie shall win its battle with the titles which got bigger names associated with the cast, not by much, but by what is enough to make the lamb-sheep-goat-characters live on with their goodness, lack of violence and a certain amount of love which takes its own toll on the characters. Meanwhile, the title of this review has been adjusted to make it short – kindly don’t feel strange, for it is Pullipulikalum Aattinkuttiyum indeed.

Release date: 9th August 2013
Running time: 140 minutes (estimate)
Directed by: Lal Jose
Starring: Kunchako Boban, Namitha Pramod, Shammi Thilakan, Suraj Venjaramoodu, Harisree Asokan, Shivaji Guruvayoor, Anusree, Irshad, K. P. A. C. Lalitha, Bindu Panicker, Reena Bhasheer, Thesni Khan, Seema G. Nair, Ponnamma Babu