2015 in Review

Posted on January 1, 2016 by Tennyson

Happy New Year, everyone. This is the annual review summary time! Here are my choices for the year, the movies which make it the list with the positive and negative elements for the year 2015. This is going to be the list with most of it having the side you won’t be able to agree with 😛

Best Malayalam Movie: Mili
This is one of the first movies which I watched in 2015, and it is also the only movie in the year which I watched twice – a fine inspirational story starring Amala Paul playing an introvert girl as the protagonist. Click here for review.

Best Hindi Movie: Baby
There is absolutely no doubt about this one, and this one actually made me expect more from Bollywood this year, but that was not to happen. I should have watched this Akshay Kumar starrer more number of times. Click here for review.

Best English Movie: American Sniper
This one released here later, and so happens to be part of the best movies list for this year – it is not a 2014 movie for the regular viewer; I would make that clear. I believe that this movie deserved a better appreciation at the Academy Awards. Click here for review.

Best Action Movie: MI5: Rogue Nation
The Tom Cruise starrer, the fifth movie of the franchise always had a big chance to be the best action flick of the year, and from what I have heard and read, I am sure that a lot of people can easily agree on this choice. Click here for review.

Best Horror Movie: Crimson Peak
Not really the usual horror of these days, this one brings some old fashioned horror and uses its surroundings to the best effect. There is something more than just supernatural about the ghosts of this Guillermo del Toro movie. It is also a contendor for the next award. Click here for review.

Best Comedy Movie: Adi Kapyare Kootamani
The best comedy entertainer managed to arrive in the last few days of the year, and this Christmas release was the one which made sure that the fans had a lot to enjoy and be happy about. The best thing is that it will also have a second part. Click here for review.

Best Visual Experience: Jupiter Ascending
The world of Jupiter Ascending is the kind of universe which we feel the need to go right from the moment we see it in the trailer. It also has a story which can be further developed with even more visual splendour if a sequel ever manages to come up. Click here for review.

Best Thrills: Ex Machina
There has been a shortage of good thrillers this year, but Ex Machina which is one of the best flicks of the year is a slow and steady thriller-drama science-fiction which burns making you think, and makes us feel the intensity throughout its run-time. Click here for review.

Big Surprise: Mumbai Taxi
You can’t claim this one to be something huge, but with a group of new faces, this thriller has managed to create an impact unexpected. This didn’t go on to make it big, but is still worth the position for the genuine attempt without the big stars. Click here for review.

Righteous One: My God
This one successfully takes the righteous path, even though it didn’t do that well as people might have expected. With Suresh Gopi doing what he does the best, I believe that this inspirational movie will do better when it comes on the television. Click here for review.

Magical Movie: Charlie
With some magic in the store related to how its titular character as well as the journey is presented, this Dulquer-Parvathy is the movie which finishes the year with some special feeling for the season of Christmas. Click here for review.

Powerful Experience: Rani Padmini
This Manju Warrier – Rima Kallingal starrer brings the message and inspires its viewers quite a lot. Among the movies which needs to be watched for a wide variety of things, this one with two lady protagonists going on a journey, is a must watch. Click here for review.

Game Changer: Kunjiramayanam
This one was supposed to be the movie with the least star power during the Onam season, but ended up as being the one which gathered the best opinion, with the number of shows only increasing as time progressed. This movie surely knew its audience Click here for review.

True Inspiration: Su Su Sudhi Vathmeekam
Jayasurya has made some nice choices of movies and this is undoubtedly one of them. Telling the story of one man who rises above his limitations, there are surely no better inspirational movies during these days which are applicable as widely as this flick. Click here for review.

Personal Favourite: Avengers: Age of Ultron
I have been waiting for this movie for a very long time, and I consider this one better than its predecessor which is often overrated; it also has that kind of a villain and the thrills which makes it completely worth the one hundred rupees ticket. Click here for review.

Best Love Story: Anarkali
Unlike the other movies which have been forced on the viewers by the blind fans who want everyone to agree with them even before watching the movie, this one is one of the best love stories which have released for a very long time, and is supported by great visuals. Click here for review.

Unnoticed One: Love 24×7
Unlike the other movies of Dileep, this one got surprisingly very less amount of attention, and not much of the audience interested in it. It is not something huge, but it is an interesting flick which should have got better collections at that time. Click here for review.

Worst Malayalam movie: Thinkal Muthal Velli Vare
Rimi Tomy had decided to act, but that was as much a wrong decision from her as Jayaram made the decision to be part of this movie which is not funny and it never even gets close to making people laugh. From the beginning to the end, this movie continues to have something which nobody can call comedy.

Worst Hindi Movie: Tamasha
Beginning with the usual “girl meets boy and the sing songs and have sex” story, this one has a journey from France to Japan through India, and in the middle, there is an idea which is presented in the worst possible way. This is one of those situations were I walked out of an almost empty theatre and I was not surprised.

Worst English Movie: Kingsman: The Secret Service
Here is one movie that believes violence is the only way to make things funny, but there is absolutely no fun in this movie which had the audience throwing all the abuse towards the makers, and this time, I couldn’t really blame them. There are many ways to make a good, funny spy movie, and this one surely isn’t the right way.

Most Undeserving Hit: Prem Ratan Dhan Payo
I was really surprised about this movie’s run. This felt so outdated, and I am sure that even a lot of old vampires will feel the same about the movie. It was the fourth highest grossing Bollywood movie of all-time, and was still going when I last looked at the list. No, I haven’t watched Dilwale, if you are going to claim that for this title.

Worst Drift: Jilebi
Absolutely no focus on delivering what it really promised, this Jayasurya starrer completely deviates from what it promised offer. There is no real feel-good factor about this, and the message also takes a flight to the Bermuda Triangle to meet its end, making the movie with nothing. It is depressing, because the chance was there; but not taken.

Worst Drag: Shaandaar
As it keeps dragging more and more without bringing anything positive, the movie has nothing that invokes interest except for its silliness which is beyond the borders of the known world, and the only thing that it can boast about is about being one of the dumbest movies around. Thankfully, this one cost me only fourty rupees; that kept me from being depressed.

Worst Emptiness: Rudra Simhasanam
Supposed to be a horror movie with some black magic, this one is another movie in which Suresh Gopi shouldn’t have acted in, as the main role goes to Nikki Galrani with her worst performance ever in a Malayalam movie; she can be happy that not many people watched this. The movie has stylish sets, but everything else is empty, making this the great empty flick of the year.

Worst Lie: Mariyam Mukku
With the whole story based on something that doesn’t really happen, the ending seems to say otherwise. With not knowing what is truth and what is lie throughout its run, this movie along with a heavy dose of boredom makes its cast also part of the whole thing. This was the first Malayalam movie which I watched in the year, and sadly it failed, ruining the beginning.

Worst Stupidity: Utopiayile Rajavu
A fine source of irritation comes in the form of this movie which maintains its stupidity as Jewel Mary has a terrible debut because this one released before her critically acclaimed flick. This one was claiming to be a satire, but it is never even close to being that, and the magic realism is used in the worst possible way to make the movie seem more stupid.

Unbearable One: Kingsman: Secret Service
I would like to provide this award and title to this movie too, as it is one movie which I won’t dare to watch again even if I have nothing to do other than watching this one television. I would rather be bored than watch this miserable spy flick again. There are too many negative categories to which this one can belong, and it is that terrible a movie.

Clueless One: Kanal
Despite a pretty good beginning, this movie deviates from what it could have been. Going through a clueless journey, Kanal only becomes all that it shouldn’t have been, and it affects not only the flow, but also the performances of the cast. With such a nice cast, this movie doesn’t do well enough, and it is a case of shame. Maybe the plan was something else – who knows!

Biggest Hype: Ennu Ninte Moideen
This is one of the movies which I liked and surely has its true love, but the hype related to this one has been unbearable. With the blind fans copying the same messages everywhere as if it is spam and abusing everyone who don’t agree with it, this movie is the great overrated flick along with Amar Akbar Anthony which comes second on the list. Click here for review.

*This is only based on the movies I have watched and it remains my personal opinion with all the specialties; the fans don’t need to go psychopath on the comments section.

PS: Most read movie reviews of the year:
1. Kunjiramayanam
2. Anarkali
3. Rani Padmini
4. Premam
5. Ivide

2015 Theatre Status:
*84 movies watched on the big screen this year, with 70 of them reviewed. There were 26 English movies, 40 Malayalam movies, 14 Hindi movies and 4 Tamil movies. Total Reviews including honorary ones and short-films = 89.
+Movies inspiring more than one theatre visit: 1: Mili {2 times}

Theatre Status from Previous Years:
*89 movies watched on the big screen in 2014, with 66 of them reviewed. There were 44 English movies, 32 Malayalam movies, 10 Hindi movies and 3 Tamil movies. Total Reviews including honorary ones = 73.
*103 movies watched on the big screen in 2013, with 71 of them reviewed. There were 44 English movies, 43 Malayalam movies, 12 Hindi movies and 4 Tamil movies. Total Reviews including honorary ones = 109.

Most visits from outside India in 2015
1. United States :: 2. United Arab Emirates :: 3. United Kingdom :: 4. Australia :: 5. Qatar :: 6. Canada :: 7. Russia :: 8. Switzerland :: 9. Singapore :: 10. Netherlands

And I once again wish you a great year ahead 🙂

@ Cemetery Watch
✠ The Vampire Bat.

2013 in Review

Posted on January 2, 2014 by Tennyson

Happy New Year everyone. I was waiting for WordPress to give me my year in review, but no such summary and statistics came up for this blog, and so I thought I should come up with a movie summary instead. I had posted this without detail on Facebook, and I guess I would share this in detail here for the new year.

Best Malayalam movie: Celluloid
Its awesomeness approved by Kerala State Film Awards and the National Film Award committee of India. Prithviraj starts the year well. Check for review: https://moviesofthesoul.wordpress.com/2013/02/16/celluloid/

Best Hindi movie: Madras Cafe
There is absolutely no doubt about this one, as even with actors not known for their acting, this movie nails it. Check for review: https://moviesofthesoul.wordpress.com/2013/08/28/madras-cafe/

Best English movie: The Conjuring
I had thought long and hard about this one, but a horror movie always deserves an extra push and this one deserved it. Check for review: https://moviesofthesoul.wordpress.com/2013/08/04/the-conjuring/

Best Animated movie: Frozen
Unlike Brave, this year has a respectable animated movie at the top. People of no age group can afford to miss this one. Check for review: https://moviesofthesoul.wordpress.com/2013/12/01/frozen/

Best Action movie: Pacific Rim
Guillermo del Toro doesn’t miss out as he makes the right robot movie in our world plagued by Transformers. Check for review: https://moviesofthesoul.wordpress.com/2013/07/12/pacific-rim/

Best Visual experience: Gravity
This visually superior movie is all set to make it big on the Academy Awards next year, that is for sure. Check for review: https://moviesofthesoul.wordpress.com/2013/10/13/gravity/

Best Thrills: Drishyam
The director Jeethu Joseph maintains his cent percent record with another thriller, his second super hit of the year. Check for review: https://moviesofthesoul.wordpress.com/2013/12/23/drishyam/

Big Surprise: Philips and the Monkey Pen
Not that inspiring from the name, and not at all hyped, this movie is a beautifully crafted allegory with children as main characters. Check for review: https://moviesofthesoul.wordpress.com/2013/11/12/monkey-pen/

Righteous One: North 24 Kaatham
This movie is so simple and yet scores with the simple thoughts about goodness, righteous and happiness, and it has the power to change lives. Check for review: https://moviesofthesoul.wordpress.com/2013/09/18/north-24-kaatham/

Magical Movie: Amen
This movie is magical with or without its clear share of magic realism, and it is one of its kind, to be remade in other Indian languages. Check for review: https://moviesofthesoul.wordpress.com/2013/03/27/amen/

Powerful Experience: Rush
For a movie which can bring even non-Formula One fans to feel the emotions, there is no evil to be said about this one. Check for review: https://moviesofthesoul.wordpress.com/2013/10/25/rush/

Game Changer: Go Goa Gone
This movie might be the best thing that has happened to Bollywood in 2013, and I hope that this zom-com brings good changes instead of mindlessness. Check for review: https://moviesofthesoul.wordpress.com/2013/05/11/go-goa-gone/

Personal Favourite: Memories
One of the two brilliant movies from the director of the year, this movie establishes Prithviraj as the Malayalam actor of the year. Check for review: https://moviesofthesoul.wordpress.com/2013/08/12/memories/

Unnoticed One: 10:30 am Local Call
This movie had lots of good things about it despite a small cast except for Lal. This is a thriller as well as a love story with strength at both levels. Sadly, it didn’t get the attention or the appreciation it actually deserved.

Worst Malayalam movie: Kammath and Kammath
The movie provides us a world of nonsense and one can’t even understand what they say or intend to say. It wastes two actors and two actresses in a few hours of crime which they call a film. The side-effects of this movie include an eternal hatred for dosa which I could overcome only by hating idli.

Worst Hindi movie: Besharam
The shameless movie of the year has one of the so called young actors of the future in one of the worst roles anyone can do. This movie is a disgrace to Gandhiji as it released on the day of Gandhi Jayanthi. Taking in a whole family of actors and adding bad jokes which are older than our leading actor doesn’t help either.

Worst English movie: Mortal Instruments
This movie wonders who is the lover of whose brother and demons, vampires, hunters and werewolves have never been this retarded. There is this nonsense which makes Twilight look better. One comes to know that Lily Collins is incredibly cute, but the story or the characters makes no sense even when they are not on screen.

Most Undeserving Hit: Chennai Express
This is a painful watch as its take on the South – the actress has a Hindi accent which is not from the South of India, but from outside the nation, and the movie isn’t even funny enought to be taken lightly, and its romantic side is terrible. This is a clear case of stereotyping, and with all due disrespect to Krrish 3 and Dhoom 3, this will remain the undeserving one.

Of a Mental Asylum: Olipporu
From the moment it begins, to the end, the movie has tried to do something intellectual, that is for sure – but at most times, it makes no sense and with this movie, I have stopped watching Malayalam movies on the first day, alone. In the movie Nadan, Jayaram tells a few words which are applicable for this movie.

Worst Drag: Annayum Rasoolum
This had three hours of nothing but drag – the hero looks at the heroine, and keeps looking at her till the end of first half, and in a relationship of few words, they kiss, he goes to jail and she dies in a world of pathetic pseudo-romance. To add to an already slow movie, there is slow motion – what is wrong with these people?

Worst Drift: Bicycle Thieves
This movie drifts again and again with no idea where to go and what to do with its characters. There are twists of no sense and characters of no use. After stealing the title from Vittorio De Sica, this one comes up with a heroine who looks many times younger than the hero, and lead by her being weird. almost everyone acts strange, wonder why.

Worst Emptiness: Kili Poyi
This one has nothing, but smoke inside it, with clear glorification of drugs and a loose lifestyle, and its characters are so plain that one can hope to have just smoke inside it and feel the emptiness throughout the world. The movie itself is a black hole which has unfortunately made an impact of nonsense.

Worst Lie: Neelakasam Pachakadal Chuvanna Bhoomi
This movie is a lie from the beginning to the end, and has characters who use the mask of travel for being stupid and aimless. The leading character is a man who pretends so much that he obviously has no identity of his own, and the journey is useless. This is rather an Indian Born Confused Desi (IBCD).

Worst Stupidity: ABCD
This one uses that kind of jokes which can’t appeal to even the worst of brains, and it is surprising that it became a big hit. The story of two shameless people who live a shameless life to end shameless doesn’t bring up any interest, except for the fine debutant performance of Jacob Gregory.

Unbearable One: Sringaravelan
This year’s most shameful comic movie comes up with a hero who falls in love with the heroine in another strange and meaningless way and their adventure is indeed a mentally retarded one, with the only hope being the beautiful heroine. Why would someone subtitle a movie “The Romantic Fighter” is beyond all hope.

Clueless One: The Host
There are no Twilight movies this year, and this movie is the worthy successor to that legacy, coming from a work of the same author. From the beginning to the end, this is a clueless alien invasion with no sense. At the end of the movie, we are aliens and would wish to escape from that world.

Worst Hype: Django Unchained
A story of violence and racial hatred has the shoot-at-random-people theory going throughout it. If the colour is different, shoot more people, and dead people are so much fun in this movie. Show a grin after you shoot people, because murder and destruction is so much fun. I have written a review, but you needn’t read it 😀

Malayalam Only:
Best Actor: Prithviraj Sukumaran (Celluloid, Memories, Mumbai Police)
Second Best: Fahadh Faasil (North 24 Kaatham, Amen)

Best Actress: Remya Nambeesan (Philips and the Monkey Pen, Left Right Left, Nadan)
Second Best: Swati Reddy (Amen, North 24 Kaatham)

Best Pair: Fahadh Faasil and Swati Reddy (Amen, North 24 Kaatham)
Second Best: Nivin Pauly and Nazriya Nazim (Neram)

Best Performance: Prithviraj Sukumaran in Celluloid
Second Best: Prithviraj Sukumaran in Memories

Best Negative Shades: Indrajith Sukumaran in Left Right Left
Second Best: Indrajith Sukumaran in Ezhamathe Varavu

Best Villain: Joy Mathew in Amen
Second Best: Sreekumar in Memories

Best Supporting Role: Indrajith Sukumaran in Amen
Second Best: Fahadh Faasil in Immanuel

Best Comic Lead: Asif Ali in Honey Bee
Second Best: Kunchacko Boban in Pullipulikalum Aattinkuttiyum

Best Debut: Reenu Mathews in Immmanuel
Second Best: Keerthi Suresh in Geethanjali

Surprising Performers: Vijay Babu in Philips and the Monkey Pen
Second Best: Lena Abhilash in Left Right Left

Best Impact: Shobana in Thira
Second Best: Indrajith Sukumaran in Amen

Best Character: Georgekutty in Drishyam (Mohanlal)
Second Best: Sam Alex in Memories (Prithviraj Sukumaran)

Best Director: Jeethu Joseph (Memories, Drishyam)
Second Best: Lijo Jose Pellissery (Amen)

Best Child Artist: Esther Anil (Drishyam)
Second Best: Sanoop Santhosh (Philips and the Monkey Pen)

Best Song: Memories Never Die (Memories)
Second Best: Etho Sayahna Swapnangalil (10:30 am Local Call)

PS: Most read movie reviews:
Drishyam (https://moviesofthesoul.wordpress.com/2013/12/23/drishyam/)
Oru Indian Pranaya Katha (https://moviesofthesoul.wordpress.com/2013/12/22/oru-indian-pranaya-katha/)
Phata Poster Nikla Hero (https://moviesofthesoul.wordpress.com/2013/09/24/phata-poster-nikhla-hero/)

*103 movies watched on the big screen this year, with 71 of them reviewed. There were 44 English movies, 43 Malayalam movies, 12 Hindi movies and 4 Tamil movies. Total Reviews including honorary ones = 109.