Drishyam

Posted on August 4, 2015 by Tennyson

Vampire Owl :: So, we are now going to complete watching a trilogy of Drishyam(s).

Vampire Bat :: Yes, even though there are a total of five Drishyam(s) with only two movies having exactly that name and only four movies having similarities to that name.

Vampire Owl :: I was simply making a simple statement which is also true in another way.

Vampire Bat :: Yes, but the statement that I made is also true if you look deeply into it.

Vampire Owl :: I still appreciate this movie for keeping the title of the original. This way, I can tell people that I have watched Drishyam twice.

Vampire Bat :: Well, when you say that you watched a remake so many times, do make it clear that it is Drishyam and not Bodyguard. We have to keep certain horror standards.

Vampire Owl :: Do you know that I had no clue that this would be remade into this many languages when it had released with lesser hype than some of those mindless movies?

Vampire Bat :: Do you remember that this is the Drishyam movie that we are watching with the cheapest tickets?

Vampire Owl :: Is it? I have no memory about the bloody human currency. They can’t even keep one standard currency for their realm – how bad is that?

Vampire Bat :: Actually we paid Rs.116 per ticket for the Malayalam version, Rs.90 for the Tamil version, and it is Rs.50 for this one. So, this movie is actually very cheap and will surely give us the money’s worth.

[Gets the tickets].

What is it about? :: The story might be well known, but lets go for a recap. Vijay Salgaonkar (Ajay Devgan) is a simple man and a huge movie lover running a cable television network in a locality in Goa. He watches a lot of movies and lives happily with his family consisting of his wife Nandhani (Shriya Saran) and two daughters. But when an unexpected guest comes into their life to ruin the life of his elder daughter Anju (Ishita Dutta), their small world get a twist of events. The guest is dealt with, but the mother of that missing boy is IG Meera Deshmukh (Tabu) who is ready to go to any extent to find his son who came to the house of Vijay. The protagonist has his plans, but how far can a man with minimum education go to save his family against the angry IG and her husband (Rajat Kapoor)?

The new Drishyam :: Just like we have already seen in the original Drishyam, Papanasam and the other remakes, this begins as the family drama, but here it gets into the thriller side much earlier. In less than fourty five minutes, this one gets into the main action. The movie also has some fine visuals of Goa as it is never completely a rural setting, and the families are surely richer as you can see from the houses of both the protagonist and the police officer. This is also the lighter one among the three, as the police torture is lesser with no bones broken compared to the Tamil version, and the girl also accidentally hits the boy as she aims the mobile phone which is lifted over his shoulder – she never really has the idea of hurting the boy there. The bad boy’s car remains yellow in colour, but there is a certain upgrade here from Maruti Suzuki Zen in the other two verstions to a Hyndai Getz.

Positives and Negatives :: As I have talked about earlier, I have watched only three versions as of now, and so the comparisons are to be limited to them. The version here inherits only the positives and negatives of the original, expect for the small changes which have been made. The biggest visible change is that the elder girl was adopted by the protagonist – one has to wonder if it is because the girl is considered too old to be the real daughter of Ajay Devgan and Shriya Saran or if it comes as part of the goodness package for the hero who was to be established as the good man. I like the fact that this movie quickly got into the thrills, and it might also be the shortest in total run-time among the three, which is favourable. The police officer is also bigger cop, than the big mother figure, and even has her own slow motion sequences from the prison after getting random villains beaten up.

Performers of the soul :: The script is the hero as everyone knows already, and the rest of the factors are supposed to follow. Once again, there are no comparisons to be made directly between the leading actors of the three movies. Still, indirectly taking a look at the same, even though not making the impact as Mohanlal and Kamal Hassan who had made their roles memorable in their own ways, Ajay Devgan is also very good here even without being that intense or emotional. It is good to see different actors doing the same thing in different styles without moving that much out of the core thing. Shriya Saran might be the best looking among all the actresses among five movies, but considering the three, she makes the least impact, may be because the Hindi version has cut some of those family scenes and the opportunities are less. The cut happens in the first half itself.

More performers of the soul :: Ishita Dutta who makes her Bollywood debut here is also quite good in her role as the elder daughter. She did very well for a debutante, especially in those emotional sequences. Esther Anil of the Malayalam and Tamil was the best option for the younger daughter’s role as she has done the same in the Telugu version too; the choice here is just okay. Tabu stays very strong here, as she matches Asha Sarath of Malayalam and Tamil with her strong cop role. The original’s Siddique and Kalabhavan shajon have their mirror images in this movie as not that strong, and the same is the case when compared with Papanasam’s Anant Mahadevan and Kalabhavan Mani. But any problem here is mostly erased by the strong script, and the movie has risen high already. After watching all these versions, I feel that I might be having confusion with the comparisons and so I would stop here!

How it finishes :: With the fifth movie of a very long remake saga, this version of Drishyam also manages to come strong with the audience, and once again asserts the importance of one’s own family strongly. In a theatre having a complete non-Keralite audience, the claps were so many and people were clearly entertained. Those haven’t watched the original or the other remakes should surely watch this one, and even for others, this will provide that feeling of going through that nice experience all over again. I still do wonder why some people had to get out of the theatre early and miss that final moment of revelation – are they even aware about what they missed? There are not many shows of this movie at this part of the nation because everyone knows a lot about this story, and so one should catch this Drishyam soon!

Release date: 31st July 2015
Running time: 163 minutes
Directed by: Nishikant Kamat
Starring: Ajay Devgan, Shriya Saran, Tabu, Ishita Dutta, Prathamesh Parab, Rajat Kapoor

@ Cemetery Watch
✠ The Vampire Bat.

The Loft

Posted on July 30, 2015 by Tennyson

Vampire Owl :: Do you know that the Vampire Crocodile was actually taking about this movie?

Vampire Bat :: Why would he talk about this movie? He was never a vampire too interested in movies.

Vampire Owl :: Yes, but he starts fan clubs in the vampire territory.

Vampire Bat :: We also have fan clubs these days?

Vampire Owl :: Well, actually as we are not that dumb as the humans to blindly follow a celebrity, he and the Vampire Hamster are the only members of the organization.

Vampire Bat :: So, what is it this time? A Karl Urban fan club?

Vampire Owl :: No, it is called the Isabel Lucas Friends and Fans Association for the New Vampire World and the Isles of Death.

Vampire Bat :: Well, this is new.

Vampire Owl :: He knows that variety will sell. He has only recently come to know about this movie and is hoping to cheer for her with a huge screen show arranged.

Vampire Bat :: In that case, we can be glad that we are watching it without him.

[Gets a cup of tea].

What is it about? :: Five friends, married men share a loft, which they use for extra-marital affairs. The men are Vincent Stevens (Karl Urban) who is the designer of the building, a psychatrist Dr. Chris Vanowen (James Marsden) who is a reluctant user of the loft, and three others, Luke Seacord (Wentworth Miller), Marty Landry (Eric Stonestreet) and Phillip Williams (Matthias Schoenaerts). When the body of a dead woman is found in that loft, the friends begin to doubt each other as none other than them got the keys to the place; they also wonder if one of their wives or mistresses is involved in the crime. The dead person is Sarah Deakins (Isabel Lucas) who knows them from a bar. Even though it was Vincent who last met the girl, he has no clue of how she ended up like that.

The defence of The Loft :: There is a certain amount of quality and style in how the story is told in this movie. It begins from the murder and the police arrests, and moves on through different timelines to give us clues and finally conclude to a point where everything comes together. There is a intellectual beauty in the narrative style, and you can actually connect these moments well enough while giving attention. There is something here to be suspicious at each of the five characters, their wives, some of the mistresses and even a few businessmen with whom they are involved. It is an entertainer, and there is a big chance that this movie might be remade into one or two Indian languages. So it will only help to have this one watched already instead of having a copy of the feeling that Anwar and Cocktail had original awesomeness when it released, but where just copies of Traitor and Butterfly on a Wheel.

Claws of flaw :: Unlike what some people might think, The Loft is not really an erotic movie; it is very much far away from it and is just the thriller or a mystery, and even with its suspense and the twists, it doesn’t have a huge surprise waiting. Most of the people might have wanted the twists to be even more twisted. The setting could have had more in store, but the finish is just of the quality of an ordinary thriller. The story struggles at some points and it is a missed chance at bringing the mystery to another level. People who are looking at this one as an erotic flick are going to be the more disappointed ones though. Some people can also have trouble with the narrative especially if he or she stops the movie in the middle to watch later. Some of the scenes might have been even made to confuse the viewer into believing that someone with no big relation to the incidents is the murderer.

Performers of the soul :: Karl Urban comes up with a very strong performance here in a movie has most of the characters getting equal importance, and is the pick of them all. It is actually depressing that this movie didn’t get much of box-office collection just like his other good movies – the critical appreciation has also been low. Well, when something like Dredd can’t be a box-office hit, you have to doubt the tastes of the move watchers. He is a very talented actor and needs a better recognition. James Marsden who has been playing Cyclops in the X-Men franchise comes next as he excels in the final moments of revelation. Meanwhile, Wentworth Miller has his moments too as the movie moves towards the finish. The rest of the actors who play the friends also contribute well.

More performers of the soul :: About the actresses who play the wives, they never really gather that much of attention are easily forgotten – still, the one to gather some attention is Kali Rocha. The two main ladies are really good here; Rachael Taylor and Isabel Lucas, both of them making the desired impact despite the weak characterization. The former has done a good number of horror/thriller stuff and looks very much suitable to her role here – I loved her in Shutter. The latter brings a dazzling effect here, and she has never looked prettier – her role is smaller here, but it is the decision-making one; she has always been there with smaller, but noticeable roles like being the pretender decepticon in Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen and the more significant and touching performance as the subsider vampire in Daybreakers.

How it finishes :: The Loft is an interesting thriller which maintains its collection of twists till the end, and it also works as a morality tale if we look at it from another angle. As you go to ending, even though there is nothing tragic, none of the cheaters in a relationship really manages to get a better life except for one exception and one not doing that bad, depending on how you see it. Being faithful should be considered a very important thing in life, not just with love and relationships, but also to oneself. There is no honour is hurting the people we love just for the sake of something temporary and wrong. In an ultra-modern world, all kinds of relationships go nowhere; remember Matthew Arnold’s Dover Beach:
“Ah, love, let us be true
To one another! for the world, which seems
To lie before us like a land of dreams,
So various, so beautiful, so new,
Hath really neither joy, nor love, nor light,
Nor certitude, nor peace, nor help for pain”

Release date: 14th October 2014
Running time: 103 minutes
Directed by: Erik Van Looy
Starring: Karl Urban, Isabel Lucas, Rachael Taylor, James Marsden, Wentworth Miller, Eric Stonestreet, Matthias Schoenaerts, Rhona Mitra, Valerie Cruz, Elaine Cassidy, Kali Rocha, Margarita Levieva, Madison Burge, Kristin Lehman, Robert Wisdom, Ric Reitz, Graham Beckel, Kathy Deitch

@ Cemetery Watch
✠ The Vampire Bat.

It Follows

Posted on July 28, 2015 by Tennyson

Vampire Owl :: You are talking about the Vampire Hamster. He always follows us for no reason.

Vampire Bat :: No, I am talking about a movie.

Vampire Owl :: You mean that you are not talking about those dangerous non-vampires and inexperienced vampire apprentices who stalk us for no reason.

Vampire Bat :: Absolutely not. This is a critically acclaimed horror movie.

Vampire Owl :: I hope that it is not about vampires. If they call us “it”, making a movie about vampires following humans, I am going to be really angry.

Vampire Bat :: No, it is not. I heard that it is about an unknown supernatural entity.

Vampire Owl :: Then, it is okay. I hope that the movie is not about dog spirits either. Then, the fake dog lovers will racially abuse us. The dog lovers have been doing it against their fellow Indian state of Kerala even when it was made clear that there was no mass killing of dogs in the state, and even when government is spending so much to save the dogs in the streets. I read that according to the new scheme, each dog saved will fetch a person five hundred rupees.

Vampire Bat :: Yes, even when they are using images of dogs being killed in their own states and its neighbours and are spreading it as photos from Kerala. They say that Keralites are doing it because their skin colour is black and it makes them demons or rather a lower class.

Vampire Owl :: They really judge people according to their skin colour, don’t they? It is surprising that we are allowing such racism to exist. Some people can’t stand their own fellow countrymen just because the culture and traditions are slightly different.

Vampire Bat :: Well, humans hate their own kind for many strange reasons. They murder their own people and pretend to love animals. We should make sure that we don’t meet many of them.

[Gets a cup of tea].

What is it about? :: The first thing that we see as the movie begins is a girl who runs away from home and gets murdered. Then we are taken to the present story, as Jaime Height (Maika Monroe) goes on a date with a man who tells her that he has infected her. He tells her that an ancient curse has passed on to her through the intercourse and now a supernatural entity will haunt her. It will try to kill her, unless she passes it to another person through an intercourse. She has to try not to die, because after her death, it will come back to him. He hopes that she will increase the number of people in the queue so that his life will be extended. With the help of her sister and friends, she hope to find a solution to this strange problem which makes no sense to her or anyone around.

The defence of It Follows :: There are not many overused horror tactics here, as It Follows takes a different path. It is a simple but effective path which is followed here, as shots are nicely presented and the background score is amazingly good. The creepiness reigns throughout the movie. It knows how to use the horror elements in an efficient manner, without the help of the extra CGI or gore which has come naturally to the horror movies in the last few years. This one proves that it is not that much of a needed thing, as a fine story with interesting moments and good performances can make it work. It might be the scariest simple movie of all-time, with its focus on the uncertainty and the loss of hope. A seemingly unstoppable force will also help to add more to the horror. It succeeds where The Babadook failed.

Positives and negatives :: It Follows is not your usual horror story. There is no big scary monster from the other world which keeps moving things around or jumping out of nowhere to get you out of the seat. There is no real form for the creature as it becomes many people, including those which we love and also ourselves as it try to make way through and get to the victims. It just comes towards you in a form, and then you die; it is as simple as that. The terror in this movie exists throughout even when not on the screen and never goes down in strength. The return of horror to glory is inevitable here. It would still depend on your taste for horror, and what kind of terror you are looking for. If you prefer to have a movie which doesn’t thrive on the jump scares, but creepiness, this will work better. You will feel the slowness too, but it is not always the negative.

Performers of the soul :: This one is Maika Monroe’s movie in many ways, and it only gets better as the film progresses. She has acted in another thriller, The Guest, and she will also be there in Independence Day: Resurgence. In the absence of those big special effects, the performances were going to be vital, and she has done this prefectly as she seems to be very much the best choice. This might be the movie for which she will be remembered for a long time. The rest of the cast just got to support her, and that is what they do. Well, not many movies can strike this well without the scary imagery and having a slow pace. The actors have played a big role in making that happen. It is slow and steady, and so it should win the race for most of the audience.

Soul exploration :: When someone says “it follows” related to a horror movie, it gives the feeling of a certain paranormal stalking. Even though the supernatural dealer of death does stalk its later victims, when we take a detailed look at the title and we see what happens, what follows here is something from which it is almost impossible to escape, and it has more than one feature. The supernatural entity here reflects factors like guilt and regret, about the things we have done and those which we haven’t done. They never leave us, and there will be a haunting experience throughout our lives. It really follows; it chases us through our daily lives. There are things that we do that makes us feel that there is a chance to escape, but we are never really out of it. Sometimes, it takes some time, and still it finds us.

How it finishes :: When I saw the critical appreciation for this movie, I first felt that this was overrated like it was the case for The Babadook. It had almost no real scary moments at all and it is rather irritating for most of its time. But thankfully, It Follows works a lot better. May be the effect of watching that strange movie with irritating characters influenced me to like this movie more. But if you want a horror movie which is completely based on entertainment and jump scares, It Follows, is surely not the movie for you. The strength of It Follows is the inability to escape from the inevitable, and this hopelessness takes the terror to another level – you keep running from it, eternally. There is no safe place as it just follows you everywhere in different human forms. But that also means that there is almost no visual horror. So you have to choose wisely.

Release date: 17th May 2014
Running time: 100 minutes
Directed by: David Robert Mitchell
Starring: Maika Monroe, Keir Gilchrist, Daniel Zovatto, Jake Weary, Olivia Luccardi, Lili Sepe, Bailey Spry, Debbie Williams, Ruby Harris, Leisa Pulido, Ele Bardha, Ingrid Mortimer, Alexyss Spradlin, Mike Lanier, Don Hails, Erin Stone

@ Cemetery Watch
✠ The Vampire Bat.

Papanasam

Posted on July 6, 2015 by Tennyson

Vampire Owl :: We have missed two remakes of Drishyam and might miss another one after watching this movie.

Vampire Bat :: Yes, if and only if there are no more remakes of the same movie.

Vampire Owl :: I don’t think that there will be another remake as the Bollywood version is coming this month-end.

Vampire Bat :: Yes, Bollywood is the finishing line for all copies and remakes, I guess.

Vampire Owl :: Absolutely. Wait! What is the notice that you are carrying?

Vampire Bat :: It is a mandatory statement which I recreated for this movie. It says that as we have watched the original so many times and as it is the one more related to our lifestyle, it is possible that the rating which we give here might not be suitable to be compared to the oiriginal, or with any other movie which is not a remake.

Vampire Owl :: I like that statement. With this warning, we can be sure that the brainless fan-boys won’t go psycho.

Vampire Bat :: Not just the fan-boys, but also the pseudo-intellectuals.

Vampire Owl :: Yes, the judges on the other side of the river of blood who think that they are the only intelligent people on the surface of Earth. I understand.

Vampire Bat :: The statement will work as long as they read at least the beginning and the end of this review.

[Waits in the queue].

The defence of Papanasam :: Even though I had watched all these before multiple times, I felt very good, and it is the success of Papanasam. Jeethu Jospeph once again has things running well, and we can see shots of his other movie Memories when the protagonist is thinking about saving his family – another shot is from the movie Anwar. I could actually go through that wonderful feeling that I had while watching the original without losing strength at any moment. The suspense and the thrills are abundant, and there are some beautiful shots of nature too. The story of the man who tries to save his family from breaking down after an unintentional murder committed by a member out of hopelessness, goes on to work wonders once again. I am not going to go through the story again; you can read it from my review of the original at Drishyam Movie Review. Outside the review which I wrote at that time, I don’t need to say much in defence here because the story is the biggest hero and you know that plot.

Positives and Negatives :: Papanasam happens to be a remake which had a tough task to meet the quality of that amazing original. So, what we have here is a nice achievement, but unless the remake manages to come up with something special which was not there in the original, I wouldn’t consider it as good as the original. The original felt more original to me, with no bones broken during the beatings and slightly better for me as it was less brutal, less emotional and still having the same intensity. But still, if I say that one of them is better than the other, it might not do justice, which is why I am using “me” a lot. Drishyam was better for me, and I am sure that a lot of people who have watched the original and about ninety five percent of the Malayalis will think so. But from a neutral point of view, they might be the same. I did feel that the songs were just bad though. The first half was too stretchy too. I am also personally against the title change.

Soul of the movie :: Kamal Haasan was the right choice to do the role which Mohanlal did to perfection in the original. I do wonder why there was a doubt about the same – if someone had asked me, I would have told the same much earlier, despite an initial doubt about the same. But in that case, if you ask for the same about the Bollywood version, I would have chosen Aamir Khan. But that was never to happen, and Ajay Devgan and Akshay Kumar were to be my next best choices considering the need to cater to the audience. I haven’t watched many Kamal Haasan movies in the last few years, and I am glad that this is the movie which I had chosen to spend my money for. I loved his performance the most in the last few minutes, and if someone else was chosen instead of him, that would have left me not just disappointed, but angry – I can feel that.

Performers of the soul :: There is no comparison between Mohanlal and Kamal Haasan in their roles, because they have managed things in their own ways, in such a way that fault finding is not there as a property to be taken. You know when you see class, and you know the same in both these movies. Even though Gauthami was good, Meena has a slight edge over her, when we look at it without second thoughts. Niveda Thomas is undoubtedly a step ahead of Ansiba Hassan; there was a lot of emotion and power in her portrayal of the character. It is nice to see her doing this role; this should help her a lot in the future. I haven’t found such a fine performance from a very young supporting actress for a very long time. Winner of the Kerala State Film Award for Best Child Artist in Veruthe Oru Bharya has now reached this stage.

More Performers of the soul :: Esther Anil plays the younger daughter in three out of the five versions of the movie, and here also, she is so good. Bollywood should have had her in the cast too, but I guess that they were not looking for a fine proven supporting cast, but to make use of the power of the script which is always there as the winner. Esther might be the best available child actress at this time, and it has been made clear again and again. It is time to give her even more chances. Asha Sarath maintains the same intensity, just with more emotions this time, and Anant Mahadevan also becomes more emotional character compared to the sensible and stable one played by Siddique in the original. I loved Kalabhavan Shajon’s character in the original for it was balanced, but Kalabhavan Mani is rather ruthless here and it also works. Roshan Basheer also reprises his role as the bad boy.

[After the show].

Vampire Owl :: Why were those people sitting behind us comparing Mohanlal and Kamal Haasan?

Vampire Bat :: They are just clueless. They don’t know anything. Just think about how can we compare Lord Ruthven and Lord Dracula?

Vampire Owl :: Yes, both are legendary vampires with great skills, even though we are closer to Uncle Dracula – it won’t affect the quality of the performance.

Vampire Bat :: I hope that the fans won’t find our vampire comparisons offensive though.

Vampire Owl :: I am sure that those with even a small part of the brain active won’t. This is the best comparison that we can come up with because we are vampires with root-canaled fangs.

Vampire Bat :: You can never predict the living humans. If you want to predict behaviours, go and predict that of a dead human.

Vampire Owl :: I like that idea. May be we will watch the Bollywood version too.

Vampire Bat :: We have come so far. I don’t see why not.

Vampire Owl :: I shall call the whole team for that.

Vampire Bat :: Well, do that if it is even remotely possible.

Release date: 3rd July 2015
Running time: 181 minutes
Directed by: Jeethu Joseph
Starring: Kamal Haasan, Gauthami, Niveda Thomas, Esther Anil, Kalabhavan Mani, Asha Sarath, Anant Mahadevan, M. S. Bhaskar, Roshan Basheer, Charle, Delhi Ganesh, Ilavarasu, Arul Dass, Sree Raam

@ Cemetery Watch
✠ The Vampire Bat.

Terminator: Genisys

Posted on July 5, 2015 by Tennyson

Vampire Owl: I feel the nostalgia already. Do you?

Vampire Bat: Yes, I do. It has powered today’s movie journey. There is also our favourite Dragon Lady here. This a must watch!

Vampire Owl: Let’s just watch it then!

Vampire Bat: With no hesitation. He has to be back for real this time.

[Gets the tickets with extra popcorn and Mango flavoured ice cream].

✠ This was recently posted by me at Kiagia.com where I handle the Hollywood movie reviews division: http://kiagia.com/index.php/current-film-releases-movie/890-terminator-genisys-movie-review.html

There are many types of nostalgia, but there might be nothing like The Terminator for the movie fans of the 1990s. Arnold Schwarzenegger had become a lot bigger name with the movie and its sequel, Terminator 2: Judgment Day. The success meant that there were five movies in the franchise which has now reached Terminator Genisys despite the lesser impact that its predecessor Terminator Salvation had created. Due to the never ceasing power of the franchise, Arnold Schwarzenegger had to come back and give it another push, hoping to bring back some of the lost glory, and Terminator Genisys is the product of a need and a desire.

Years after the Judgment Day and machines taking over the planet, John Connor (Jason Clarke), leader of the Human Resistance against Skynet hopes to end the threat from the machines with two big assaults. The first one is to attack Skynet’s main core base, and the second to destroy a time machine located hidden and away from the main base. But despite what seemed to be a defeat for the machines at the main base, a T-800 killing machine was sent back to 1984 though the time-machine to kill John’s mother, Sarah Connor (Emilia Clarke) so that he or the Resistance wouldn’t be born. Kyle Reese (Jai Courtney) volunteers to go after the terminator and defend the lady.

This much is more like the expected side, as most the audience is familiar with the franchise so far, or at least until the second movie. The twist happens as the terminator as well as Kyle reaches the past. Now, in this timeline, it seems that Sarah is not someone who needs to be defended. She is already skilled with the guns and is protected by another T-800 machine called Guardian (Arnold Schwarzenegger) who has protected her right from her childhood and prepared her for what was to come. They easily get rid of the T-800 and finish off T-1000 with a trap much to the surprise of Kyle. But with this change to the past, what is it that the future has in store for them?

There are many twists in store in this movie along with the altered timeline. It is regarding Skynet and Genisys, John Connor, the working of the machines and our old T-800 model. It is more like a desperate effort to make the most out of all that is available, and the positive thing is that it is mostly successful in doing that. The problem is that it might seem repetitive, and this problem called Skynet and time travel has such big relationship that it can tire the viewers at times. The same also means that this is not simple action movie anymore and things are only prepared to get even more complicated. It is better for the intellect, but not that much for the regular fan.

Arnold Schwarzenegger still has a big fan-base even in this part of the world, and it was clear with those claps which were heard inside the theatre. Even after these many years, people still wish to watch him on the big screen, doing action roles – he has been a symbol of the genre for the common man, a lot more than Sylvester Stallone could ever be. Time has passed, and new action heroes have emerged, but as far as Hollywood is concerned, people like to stick to this man. It is the same which the movie has utilized, for Arnold and Terminator is a combination that works better than anything else, and as he does what he has always done the best, this sequel stays powered.

Game of Thrones’ own Khaleesi, the Mother of Dragons, Emilia Clarke joins him on this battle against the machines, calling him Pops and making him her own personal Guardian Angel. You have to love her in this role too; the fans certainly will. With the rest of them also contributing very well, the cast is a fine reason why you can watch this one. The movie’s biggest strength is still nostalgia, and the action sequences are nice; the plot related to the timelines also leaves us something to ponder about. There are some moments of laughter too, most of them related to Arnold himself. Yes, it is visually very good too.

The alternate timeline meant that there was more freedom here, and the advantage of having things reset is that you don’t need a real reboot or remake to continue a franchise, and a sequel will always attract more people because it is supposed to recreate a lot more rather than remake or somewhat recreate the content. Still, just like Jurassic World, this one also doesn’t manage to become the grand remake which could use all the resources to make things better than how it was with the original. It is not that we were expecting such a thing to happen, but there are people who have waited so eagerly for this movie. This is still the best you have had since Terminator 2: Judgment Day.

Release date: 3rd July 2015 (India); 1st July 2015 (USA)
Running time: 126 minutes
Directed by: Alan Taylor
Starring: Emilia Clarke, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Jason Clarke, Jai Courtney, J. K. Simmons, Lee Byung-hun, Wayne Bastrup, Matt Smith, Courtney B. Vance, Dayo Okeniyi, Gregory Alan Williams, Sandrine Holt, Michael Gladis, Griff Furst, Teri Wyble, Nolan Gross

@ Cemetery Watch
✠ The Vampire Bat.

See No Evil 2

Posted on June 25, 2015 by Tennyson

Vampire Owl :: I feel that we shouldn’t watch this movie.

Vampire Bat :: Why? You didn’t like the first movie?

Vampire Owl :: No, not that; even if we tell others that we see See No Evil, we actually see the evil which is committed on the screen, but it should be about seeing no evil. So, it implies that we are lying. You will be writing about this movie. So, if you write that you saw See No Evil, that means that you saw all the evil deeds on the screen and in the end, it means that you saw evil instead of not seeing the evil. That is a lie. Vampires don’t lie.

Vampire Bat :: I don’t get this see-saw evil. What are you talking about?

Vampire Owl :: I am saying that this movie asks us not to watch it, and it is a fact.

Vampire Bat :: I don’t really think that you should create a complicated issue out of a horror slasher movie and its title.

Vampire Owl :: How can you say that? I demand the right to use my owlish brain.

Vampire Bat :: Why does it never work when needed?

Vampire Owl :: I can’t help it. I am an evil genius and my needs are different.

Vampire Bat :: So, it is true that the branch of a tree fell on your head?

[A few minutes of silence].

What is it about? :: Amy (Danielle Harris), Seth (Kaj-Erik Eriksen) and Holden (Michael Eklund) are working at a morgue late night. As it is Amy’s birthday and with her getting ready to leave, they get to know that the bodies of nine victims of a murderer are being brought, along with that of the killer, Jacob Goodnight (Kane); and she decides to stay and help them instead of going for a party. Due to her absence, her friends Tamara (Katharine Isabelle), Kayla (Chelan Simmons) and Carter (Lee Majdoub) sneak in to celebrate her birthday along with her brother Will (Greyston Holt) as they begin a party in the morgue. But what will they do when they find out that the killer is alive and is killing one after the other?

The defence of See No Evil 2 :: Coming from the Soska sisters Jen Soska and Sylvia Soska who came up with the movie American Mary in 2012, this is a sure improvement from there – that movie itself had some nice elements, but none that effective. They have also starred in the nice beginning credit scenes as corpses. There is nice treatment of this regular slasher movie which makes it rise above the ordinary. See No Evil 2 is surely going to be something of interest for the WWE fans. There is Kane doing what he has done in WWE for a long time; there is total devastation as he used to do with his opponenets. Jacob Goodnight is sure to become a character to be remembered for a long time, and the setting and the style only adds to the overall terror quality of the movie. The elements of fear nicely focuses on the killer and the environment. It is good fun with thrills.

The claws of flaw :: There are things that go on without reaching anywhere, with the attraction between the co-workers and the brother-sister relationship being just two of them. The return of the villain doesn’t have any explanations, as we can’t stop feeling that it is just an attempt to make things work once again with the same character and the actor. There is a certain supernatural feeling about the character with surely damages things. The flashbacks which go back to the first movie only makes things too strange and less interesting to follow as they break the continuity of the story. The horror elements never really go above a certain limit which has been set by the inability to do anything special. The killings are nothing beyond the ordinary, and the ending is just something which could have been better planned.

Performers of the soul :: Glenn Thomas Jacobs whom we know as the WWE wrestler Kane remains the biggest asset of this movie, and it surely was a good idea to bring the character back for him, as he seems to do this role with certain ease. Working as the brother of The Undertaker and being part of The Brothers of Destruction was a job too good with the mask, and this one has him returning with another mask. Danielle Harris is one of those scream queens who has been there in horror movies doing similar roles for a very long time, mostly related to two movies of Hatchet series and four belonging to the Halloween franchise, and the list doesn’t end there. She is right there with the role, but it is Katharine Isabelle, the other queen of horror who steals the show – the one from Ginger Snaps franchise and American Mary, not easily recognizable in this new style, but this is a different character for her as she adds humour and fun to this movie.

How it finishes :: With some fun and scares here and there, this one is a sure improvement from the first movie. The environment, the leading character and the two leading ladies are those factors which make sure that this works better than the previous movie. We have had some interesing killers including Jason Voorhees, Freddy Krueger, Michael Myers and Victor Crowley; so Jacob Goodnight will only add nicely to that list which has the stranger names like Rusty Nail and Chrome Skull. There is one certain thing about this franchise, and it is that the whole thing has managed to move away from the weaknesses of the first movie. See No Evil 2 works, and how much it works is dependent on the taste.

[After watching the movie].

Vampire Owl :: I think that we should follow the pattern.

Vampire Bat :: What pattern?

Vampire Owl :: This one tells us how to establish a base at the morgue. Why didn’t we ever thing about it?

Vampire Bat :: I am currently thinking that this is better than the predecessor.

Vampire Owl :: Yes, that is established already. What about the pattern?

Vampire Bat :: I don’t think that we should establish new vampire bases without permission from Uncle Dracula.

Vampire Owl :: Yes, the permission has to be taken, but this is one place where we can establish the base without further trouble.

Vampire Bat :: You don’t think that the current cemetery bases will be enough?

Vampire Owl :: No, there is something big coming. I can feel it. We need the morgue.

Vampire Bat :: It is Insidious: Chapter 3. Just make sure that you watch it.

Release date: 21st October 2014
Running time: 90 minutes
Directed by: Jen Soska, Sylvia Soska
Starring: Kane, Danielle Harris, Katharine Isabelle, Chelan Simmons, Michael Eklund, Kaj-Erik Eriksen, Greyston Holt, Lee Majdoub, Sylvia Soska, Jen Soska

@ Cemetery Watch
✠ The Vampire Bat.

Chapter 32 Verse 23

Posted on June 19, 2015 by Tennyson

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

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

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

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

Vampire Bat :: It is what comes after ABCD.

Vampire Owl :: Okay, you mean EFGH.

Vampire Bat :: What? No, not all.

Vampire Owl :: Then is it IJKL or MNOP?

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

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

Vampire Bat :: Yes, lets see.

[Starts the car].

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

@ Cemetery Watch
✠ The Vampire Bat.

Ivide

Posted on June 2, 2015 by Tennyson

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

@ Cemetery Watch
✠ The Vampire Bat.

NH10

Posted on March 19, 2015 by Tennyson

Vampire Owl :: I heard you were not anywhere close to here, and just a few hours ago, you were watching a movie here?

Vampire Bat :: Yes, I was on a trip, but now I am here, and I am back after watching NH10.

Vampire Owl :: I saw the SMS and thought you were travelling through NH10.

Vampire Bat :: You make too many guesses. You even read conclave as con-cave, and delegate as Delhi Gate. You need to think about this seriously.

Vampire Owl :: Yes, we owls find our own meanings and spellings rather than be dominated by any bat community. Do you know what the werewolves are doing these days?

Vampire Bat :: Don’t you think that we are too divided instead of becoming one Night Creature nation?

Vampire Owl :: Yes, the werewolves were the first to invent the Wolfine tapioca chips maker, which is one of the reasons why they think they are a superior community.

Vampire Bat :: First to invent what?

Vampire Owl :: You won’t understand. It is a complete wolf thingy. I am still working on it with the experts.

Vampire Bat :: Can you just go and watch this movie which I recommend?

[Leaves for the tea shop].

What is it about? :: Meera (Anushka Sharma) and Arjun (Neil Bhoopalam) are part of the metropolis and have their lives among the skyscrapers. But after an incident involving a number of unknown men at night, Meera is traumatized and even gets a gun for protection. But as they go on a trip to make up for the trauma, things only get worse. As they stop at a restaurant, a woman asks Meera for help. But she refuses and the unidentified girl and her lover are soon taken away by a group of goons despite Arjun trying to interfere. As they continue on their trip, Arjun notices the car of these people and gets out of the car to follow them hoping to scare them with the gun and thus stop them, despite Meera’s protests. But things change as they witness a case of honour killing, and it is then they are the ones who are hunted, and there might not be enough bullets in the gun for all villains.

The defence of NH10 :: This is like the first full horror slasher movie of India with a message. The movie keeps asking the question if people are actually safe beyond the lands where law has a role to play – are women safe? Does the weak or the less privileged ones, both men and women has a role to play in a society which is becoming more violent and mindless even in a modern world? How long is the list of the modern age subaltern? Is there a certain kind of automatic mindwashing that goes on which makes one hate the other religion or community? Shouldn’t human life be the most valuable thing and not rules or community/religious beliefs? Yes, the questions are endless. What this movie also brings is some violence which mostly stays off the screen, which is actually a nice idea. The thrills are always present and the twists also arrive to make the desired impact. This is also realistic for most of the run-time.

The Claws of Flaw :: The movie’s ending is rather dull, with just some adrenaline rush and everything finishes with the revenge. I did feel that it should have been better thought out and executed in a more interesting manner than quickly going through it. There are also some dumb actions done by the characters, about which I won’t talk much to give too much of the idea out. The songs are ridiculous, and it is totally unnecessary in a movie like this – why would they even think about putting music in between is totally beyond my comprehension, and if those songs were at least good for something, we could have at least be happy to listen to them separately. The darkness doesn’t look that good too, and it could have been better handled with some of the camera shots.

Performers of the soul :: Anushka Sharma manages to come up with a fantastic job and this is the kind of role that I haven’t seen her playing before. She has that scared look on her face for most of the movie, and then there is the anger, frustration and the moment when she knows that she needs to have that revenge – she looks so good. I haven’t watched all her movies, but I find it easy to say that this might be her best performance, and that much is the mark that she leaves on us. Yes, I can’t claim perfection, because there are dumb things that her character does, just like the others – something that the horror slasher movies cannot live without; Hollywood has its horror character doing similar things. She is too good here, and the rest of the characters seem like those of lesser power.

Soul exploration :: The question asked here is about the difference between what is built as an utopia in the cities and the dystopia outside the boundaries of the metropolis, that we see as a universe of development. Are we looking to divide the known world into two, one of development and the other hardly seeing any? I have been thinking about the same during a number of visits that I have made around India – why is the gap too much? Shouldn’t the difference in development be not that much? Shouldn’t we strive to fly high above the differences? And honour killings in this century – it is a strange world, indeed as there is absolutely no honour in killing. Human life should be the most valuable thing of them all. There is no substitute for it; each person has the right to life, no matter how he lives his or her personal life.

How it finishes :: NH10 doesn’t seem to have attracted that many audience here, but that shouldn’t define the quality of this movie. That may be because this was not the kind that they had expected. It has been some time since I watched a movie at the theatre, and tomorrow, it is to be a month since I have reviewed a movie here – I couldn’t let that happen, and so here is the review. This is also the last day on which I can watch this movie because it will change here on Friday and no remains of this movie shall be left here. I would suggest that those who still have this movie at their nearby theatres do give it a try, because it shows that there is promise coming from this year, as we have already watched and were impressed by Baby. It is not flawless, but it is a good and interesting deviation from the regular Bollywood – you don’t get to watch movies like this too often.

Release date: 13th March 2015
Running time: 115 minutes
Directed by: Navdeep Singh
Starring: Anushka Sharma, Neil Bhoopalam, Darshan Kumar, Deepti Naval

@ Cemetery Watch
✠ The Vampire Bat.

Fireman

Posted on February 20, 2015 by Tennyson

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

[Goes to the theatre].

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

@ Cemetery Watch
✠ The Vampire Bat.

Saaradhi

Posted on February 13, 2015 by Tennyson

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

[Gets the tickets].

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

@ Cemetery Watch
✠ The Vampire Bat.

In Fear

Posted on December 12, 2014 by Tennyson

Vampire Owl :: But I do not know the meaning of Fear.

Vampire Bat :: Then what do you call that expression when you were chased by a dog last month?

Vampire Owl :: I was simply giving the dog a lesson in running.

Vampire Bat :: Then when you jumped over the wall, it was a lesson in high jump?

Vampire Owl :: Yes, but it was a poor little creature with such a small brain. It couldn’t jump over the wall.

Vampire Bat :: You didn’t take the flying classes when all the other owls were doing that, and now you want to pretend to teach others running.

Vampire Owl :: It is actually okay because you can’t fly either. You should attend my classes too. It will help you to run away from a bad movie.

Vampire Bat :: But this is still a good movie. This is simple, raw horror.

Vampire Owl :: I have watched this and won’t approve. I am bigger horror than this little movie.

Vampire Bat :: I would have made a bet for three hundred zombies that you can only say that about this movie.

[Goes to watch ISL].

What is it about? :: Tom (Iain De Caestecker) and Lucy (Alice Englert) are on their first trip after falling for each other, and even as they are planning to go to a music festival with friends, Tom suggests that they rest in a hotel on the way, to which Lucy agrees, despite having promised her friends that she would be there early. They follow a vehicle to the hotel where they were planning to stay, and after showing them the directions, that person drives off. They move on and looks for directions, but following them doesn’t lead them anywhere and it seems that they have seen the same place again and again – it is as if they are trapped in a maze. The rain starts pouring and Lucy keeps seeing a masked figure while going through the path and they are attacked once. They end up giving lift to another person called Max (Allen Leech) who claims to have been attacked too, but the tension only gets higher as there seems to be no way out of there.

The defence of In Fear :: Most of the movie is in the middle of nowhere and we have so much action inside the car which turns into a claustrophobic world, especially with the third person around. There is already a spooky atmosphere created as the darkness falls and the rain pouring, with nowhere to go. It is smart in its anxiety and tension, and the feeling of being nowhere in hopelessness is disturbing. Being in small pocket road with no lights and no signs of civilization around, having no idea how to get anywhere? Everyone needs to be scared about this, especially as some masked villain is ready to pounce if you stop the car – he might even find a way to stop the vehicle. You have the right to be scared here. The stuff is believable too, as this goes on without anything out of the world added to it. There is less stupidity from the characters as they seem to act more as anyone would have, if caught in such a situation. It is good to see something different being tried in the horror genre.

Claws of flaw :: The movie is not for everyone, especially as there is almost no jump scare at all. There is no big scary killer who keeps coming at you and creating all those gory scenes out of nowhere. The locations are limited, and there is darkness around. There is not much of a backstory, and things happen straight. There are minimum resources used here, and there is no murder shown happening on the screen – there is not even a cut on the screen even as there is blood after the cut. There are just three people in this movie and for most of the time, we see only two of them. Some horror fans can find this method uninteresting, and a few others might be more disappointed about the same. The power of the villain is not much, and the ending is actually a little too uninteresting, even as it has the mind not to bring something up in hope for a sequel. The inside the car setting might also disturb a few. There are still a few things unanswered, and the moments of stupidity does come into play when the protagonists are out of the car. There is nothing big in the plot either.

Performers of the soul :: There are just three people acting in this movie, even as there are others who we do from a distance; nothing much here is about another person other than what we hear our leading actors talk about them or contact them through the mobile phone – yes there is a scarecrow if you want to add him to the actors. Among the three, Alice Englert is the pick. The last time I had seen her was in Beautiful Creatures, and even as I did think that she was good, I doubted about her being in a horror movie – but then, I was wrong, and this young lady who was just nineteen when this movie premiered, has just nailed the role of the young damsel in distress in a believable manner. I couldn’t feel anything else but be surprised about the fact that she had made her character so much believable rather than becoming another lady in a horror movie. Iain De Caestecker comes only second, and becomes the weaker character leaving him with less scope. Allen Leech is good, but still not up-to the movie’s power.

Soul exploration :: The soul of the movie is in its atmosphere, and the success of the same is in creating that situation which can haunt any other person. It is a case of genuine fear, as it makes way into our known world. Ever got your car’s tyres punctured in the middle of nowhere at night, or have you ever got lost your way somewhere while taking a shortcut and there are no lights anywhere? There is no range in your phone with GPS already stopped working and rain also stops pouring down. So where do you go from there? In Fear has that situation and successfully drops us into the world of fear and nothing else. Fear might want many things, but this movie proves that what it actually needs is a realistic situation and happenings that can be connected by the audience. A better working of the plot and a better development of the situation could have done a even more for this movie, but for now, there is some realistic horror in its core.

How it finishes :: In Fear is a movie so much less known, and its existence might be something that so many people are unaware of, unless Alice Englert’s filmography keeps catching too much attention. It is a movie which has pretty much low rating at IMDb, but is something which has good ratings from critics. That should explain a few things. No, this doesn’t have the entertainment side working much, and its horror is something of the mind. It has less for the majority of the viewers who would hope for something that thrills outside the borders of realism. But this movie doesn’t have that, as the choice to go with realistic things can gain more critics and lose more viewers. But In Fear still maintains enough to gather the usual fans, at least in my opinion. For the same, one has to think more than what is seen on the screen.

Release date: 20th January 2013
Running time: 85 minutes
Directed by: Jeremy Lovering
Starring: Iain De Caestecker, Alice Englert, Allen Leech

@ Cemetery Watch
✠ The Vampire Bat.

Seconds

Posted on December 8, 2014 by Tennyson

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

[Starts the car].

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

@ Cemetery Watch
✠ The Vampire Bat.

Angels

Posted on November 28, 2014 by Tennyson

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

Vampire Owl :: No, absolutely no chance.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

[Starts the car].

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

@ Cemetery Watch
✠ The Vampire Bat.

Gone Girl

Posted on November 3, 2014 by Tennyson

Vampire Owl :: Which girl is gone?

Vampire Bat :: No, it is the name of the movie.

Vampire Owl :: Really? But you are going to a theatre which almost froze us to death last time.

Vampire Bat :: Yes, but it happened only once.

Vampire Owl :: Dude, only a Vampire Penguin can stand such cold. I think they are trying to start a new mortuary freezer at the theatre in collabration with the nearby hospital.

Vampire Bat :: Have you ever been to a mortuary?

Vampire Owl :: Yes, once when I was looking for a zombie to provide assistance to my owlification. Couldn’t find one though. I was freezing to death; no wonder there are no zombies in this part of the world. Even the undead dies in that cold.

Vampire Bat :: But people usually want this cold.

Vampire Owl :: It is already raining outside. Why would they want more cold? See, this is why I should not watch this movie and go back to owlification. Watching a movie here would be like watching Frozen without the visual effects.

Vampire Bat :: Be the Gone Owl then. Best of luck.

[Goes into the multiplex].

What is it about? :: Nick Dunne (Ben Affleck) returns home on the day of his fifth anniversary to find his wife missing. The situation does manage to find a lot of media coverage as she is daughter of the parents who wrote a very popular series of books with Amy Elliott-Dunne (Rosamund Pike) at the centre of it, called Amazing Amy. Soon, the media comes to the conclusion as he is the one who is responsible for the same and has murdered his wife, thanks to the revelations of Noelle Hawthorne (Casey Wilson) who says that he was not a good husband and she was pregnant. Nick acts strange and also sounds weird during the investigations making the cops suspect him, and there are also more evidences that point to him. Then there is his sexual relationship with Andie Fitzgerald (Emily Ratajkowski). Finding Amy’s diary and what seems to be the situation of their marriage, it becomes clear that he is in big trouble, despite the sincere efforts of his twin sister Margo Dunne (Carrie Coon) and attorney Tanner Bolt (Tyler Perry).

The defence of Gone Girl :: The movie has two sides, and the first half is entirely different from what is to follow in the second, and the PVR intermission is nicely created. The two halves are rather like two parts, with first one being an investigation of the mystery of the disappearance of a man’s wife, and the second being how it has been working for the wife, and how it goes on as everything comes together in the end. I found the second half clearly superior to the first, and there is a lot of truth as well as entertainment in the latter division. The first half’s mystery as well as the second half’s black comedy nicely compliments each other. This is comparable to the movies like The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, Enemy and Prisoners with its content. It brings the questions about modern marriage to light and talks about how it has changed in the recent years – the narrative is as good as it can get, and the plot is nicely managed. There is also that power of the performances.

Positives and negatives :: I have heard some people say that the novel is better than the movie, and I do ponder about it, but I don’t think I am going to read the book any time soon. For now, I can say that the movie is excellent. Some people might find the movie’s going forward and backward in time irritating, but I find it nice. It does have a strange twist in the end, and even as it has a certain beauty about it, some viewers might find it ridiculous – yes, some other usual kind of ending could have been the one for normal audience, but we are always equipped to take something different, aren’t we? Then there is the slow start which can take the interest off you, and the extreme length of the movie which has two and half hours taken away from us, making it a total three hours long with those advertisements – too many commercials and trailers, and I was frozen in the theatre by then. Thank God for the intermission we have here, for a long English movie is not what our audience ask for.

Performers of the soul :: Ben Affleck is playing a usual unsuspecting man, and it seems to work for him a lot. There is not much to do there for him to do other than being clueless and making at attempt at being better, but he does that nicely to convince us about his character. It is undoubtedly a good role for him as we wait for him to come back to us as the new Batman. I loved how Rosamund Pike played her amazing Amy, as there is as much mystery about it as well as the awesomeness in the portrayal. There is that moment when she reveals her thoughts, and it is one bloody awesome moment, and there is that thing that he does with the climax, and she is simply perfect right there. Neil Patrick Harris is pretty much wasted in his role which is pretty much a dumb one, and does nothing much. Emily Ratajkowski is there as the most gorgeous person around, nothing more about her character, but she is indeed lovely to watch. I did think that Carrie Coon was very impressive there. Tyler Perry was nice, I liked how he did his job. Lola Kirke and Casey Wilson also do their jobs nicely.

Soul exploration :: Gone Girl is a mixture of many genres, as it has its mystery and twist along with humour and crime investigation. There is romance, but one might not want to see that genre at the centre. The movie takes more of a satirical view on the marriages of the modern age, and during the same, black humour is implemented a lot. It also shows how easy it is for the media to manipulate the public opinion and devastate a man in the most disgusting and ridiculous manner, and that it is indeed easy for the woman to put the blame on the man and frame him for her troubles, because the society will always favour a woman as long as she can keep the mask of being in trouble. There will always be at least one stupid person whom a smart one can manipulate. It gives its viewers one more reason why one shouldn’t cheat in a relationship, and your wife might be a psychopath, but you will never know. Both the protagonists are liars, and there lies the strange beauty in the narrative. May be we can put this one into the psychological thriller genre.

How it finishes :: For one second, I thought that this had released here before it did in the United States, and then on the next second, I realized that this month is not October – the time does fly so quickly, and we are indeed coming to the close of this year’s movie watching adventures in less than two months with Christopher Nolan’s already much critically acclaimed Interstellar so close to getting released. Yes, Gone Girl becomes the movie which made a difference in the closing stages, unlike those other movies which were the more awaited ones. Even as I once again almost got frozen to death in the multiplex theatre, it was worth it. Yes, this is one question that I ponder over – why is it too cold in some theatres? What is the need for the same especially when it rains almost every day here? It is a wastage – they should surely keep it low and save some energy rather than creating the mortuary freezer effect which is rather a punishment.

Release date: 31st October 2014 (India); 3rd October 2014 (USA)
Running time: 149 minutes
Directed by: David Fincher
Starring: Ben Affleck, Rosamund Pike, Tyler Perry, Carrie Coon, Kim Dickens, Emily Ratajkowski, Neil Patrick Harris, Patrick Fugit, Casey Wilson, Missi Pyle, Sela Ward, Kathleen Rose Perkins, Lisa Banes, David Clennon, Scoot McNairy, Boyd Holbrook, Lola Kirke, Cyd Strittmatter, Leonard Kelly-Young