Neram - Hotel California - Bharya Athra Pora - My 3 in 1 Movie Review

Neram 

Simple story, events happening in the lives of fews people in Chennai city in a day, told in an entertaining manner by Debutant Director Alphonse Puthiren who is also the writer and editor of the film. The simple story told in non-linear pattern, even though common in Mollywood now a days, makes it look complex and exciting. The rusty color tone of the film is suited for a story set in Chennai. Another big plus is the BG score - one of the best works of the year without a doubt. Editing is crisp, and the film is racy under 1hr 50mins run length. Nivin Pauly was good. Nazriya bowled over everyone with cute expressions and acting and is here to stay [Heard that many big shot Telugu producers are waiting for her dates !!]. Shammi Thilakan & Manoj K Jayan rocked in the cameo length roles. Simha, the villain was also good. Its a must watch this summer - Go for it 3.75/5

Hotel California

Watched this movie after reading so many negative reviews, but I personally liked the film very much. A Perfect Priyadarshan type entertainer - Mistaken identities, confusions etc - suited for Adults Only. There is plenty of humor in the film. Even the BG evokes laughter in many scenes. Direction was Okay. Camera & Editing were good, made the film look chick, stylish and trendy.  Biggest plus of the movie is Joju, he rocked big time, the next Biju Menon for sure. Jayasurya never looked better on screen, even though had little to perform, he excelled in whatever he had to do. A non-brainer adult entertainer for the masses, loved it more than Trivandrum Lodge 3.25/5

Bharya Athra Pora

Verutha oru bharya team reunites in this family entertainer. BAP is like VOB reloaded, Jayaram once again plays the husband with some issues. Gopika plays the lovely house wife. They are on the verge of a divorce and something happens to their kid which changes their lives for ever. The film sadly is nowhere near VOB. The saving grace and the factor that holds the film through is Jayaram, he is incredible as the alcoholic school master. Rest of the cast doesn't get much scope. Compared to VOB its low in humor content and high in melo drama. Overall its an Average watch 2.5/5

Nadodikattu Part 4 confirmed for Onam 2014

 

Two of the most Iconic characters in Malayalam cinema history, Dasan & Vijayan, are coming back, FINALLY!!

Nadodikattu is one of the most loved Malayalam film of all time, where the characters CID Dasan & CID Vijayan appeared for the first time. The characters are so popular that still we can see refrences to them even in New-Gen Malayalam movies, the latest being Neram (Malayalam Version). The film had 2 sequels, the last one being directd by Priyadarshan, all of them being huge hits.

For the past few years many Directors were trying for the 4th part including the original director Sathyan Anthikakdu, Roshan Andrewws etc. But Srinivasan who penned all the 3 films couldn't come up with a complete script. 

Now after months of persuasion from all close quarters Jr.Sreenivasan, Vineeth has reportedly taken up the project. He will take few plot ideas from the script ideas that his father has had for the 4th part, but will be a completely different project to be entirely scripted by Vineeth himself. Presently Vineeth is busy with his next venture 'Thira' a thriller starring his own brother. The film will go on floors some time next year and will be a Onam 2014 release.

Looks like the hopes of many Malayali audiences are finally coming alive, hope this project doesn't get dropped mid-way like the other attempts to make a 4th part to the ever green Investigation-Comedy saga....

 

Vallatha Pahayan - Movie Review

Vallatha Pahayan Movie Review

 Directed by Niyaz Becker and Razaq Muhammed

Banner: Galaxy Films [Milan Jaleel]



*ing Manikantan Pattambi, Rachana, Vinod Kovoor, Niyaz Becker, Sreekumar, Sneha Sreekumar, Janardhanan, Mamukkoya, KPAC Lalitha, Kochu Preman, Narayankkutty, and Indrans

Writer- Vijayan
Cinematography - Utpal V Nayanar
Music- Bijibal
Art- Sujith Raghav
Editing- Sreejith VT
Costumes- Velayudhan Kizhillam
Make-up- Pradeep Rangan
Associate Director- Shibu Gangadharan
Production Executive- Deepak Kizhumury
Executive Producer- Manoj Menon

Story

Balan (Manikantan Pattambi) is an innocent man who leads a simple life in a village. His wife is Sumithra (Rachana) and they have two kids. Balan's attempts to bulit a new house and the political,social & economical hurdles that he and his family faces, forms the story of Vallatha Pahayan

This is the debut of immensely popular 'Team Marimayam' in Mollywood, as a group [even though most of them have already acted, individually, in various other films]. Being a huge fan of the show & especially Rachana, VP was a not to be missed in my list.

As expected VP is a worth watching family entertainer that Mollywood used to produce in the 80's and 90's. The story is a simple one. The script couldn't rise above average, but its the perfomances of the actors and the subtle humor that makes the film worth watching. The writer has laced the film with enough comic  elements so that it will not be tiring or preachy. But still the film tends to get into over melodramatic mood in the second half.

Its the convincing and honest perfomances of the entire star cast that's the major positive of MP. Manikandan, Rachana & co has done a very good job. After a long time Janardhanan got a good role in VP. 2 songs in the film are passable. Background work is Okay. Direction is pretty average, often reminded soap operas, with some weird close-ups and camera angles. In the hands of a better director the film could have been much better. Editing is good, the film under 2hr 5mins never really lags.

Usually such films will have a character from Dubai, suddenly appearing from no where, near the climax, to solve all the problems of Hero, which is not the case in VP which I liked very much.

The location [Palakkad] is very good as well. So nice to see paddy fields and the good old villages which seems to be extinct in new--gen Malayalam films

Kudos for Galaxy films for investing crores in such a project and experimenting and bringing the hit TV group into the big screen

Overall Vallatha Pahayan is a decent watch for the entire family.


Rating: 2.75/5

Verdict:  Above Average

Mumbai Police - Malayalam Movie Review

Mumbai Police - Malayalam Movie Review

Direction : Roshan Andrews

Producer : Nisad Haneefa 

Cast : Prithviraj, Jayasurya , Rahman, Aparna Nair, Hima Davis, Kunchan, Riyaz Khan...

Story, Screen Play : Bobby & Sanjay
Banner : Nisad Haneefa Productions
Co-Producer : Nivas Haneefa & Niyas Haneefa
DOP : C. Diwakar
Music : Gopi Sunder
Production Controller : Aroma Mohan
Art Director : Cyril Kurivila
Action Director : Allan Amin

 Story

Mumbai Police narrates the story of three close friends: City Police Commissioner Faran (Rahman), Mattancherry Assistant Commissioner Aryan John Jacob (Jayasurya) and Ernakulam Assistant Commissioner Antony Moses (Prithviraj). These police officers are a cause of nightmare to the mafia and the underworld of Kochi city. The media calls these fearless and efficient officers Mumbai Police because even though they are in Kochi, they all have some sort of connection with Mumbai. MP is a investigative thriller that also focuses on the life of a Policemen, friendship etc

Mumbai Police is mainly a 'who-dunnit' cop thriller drama. Film begins with Antony revealing the identity of the Killer to some one, but before he could reveal the name of the culprit he gets involved in an accident and suffers temporary memory loss.So Antony has to start everything from the scratch, but this time its not just the identity of the Killer, knowing himself forms an even bigger puzzle.

First of all Kudos to Bobby-Sanjay team for thinking out of the box and coming up with an interesting, engrossing and a new kind of cinema - which definitely deserves a new generation tag because of the story and its treatment and not because the cuss words used or overdose of titillating scenes.

Prithviraj has done a very good job, the 2 contrasting phases of Antony has been brilliantly portrayed. The character goes through tons of emotions and changes throughout the film which he has beautifully played out. Rest of the cast were also good.

 The film maintains its pace through out, it keeps you on edge of the seats till the end. Its a mix of Drama and investigation, so don't look for a fast paced thriller.


Camera, editing works were really good, able to capture the mood of the film perfectly without any lag or uneven jumps/cuts. There are no songs in the film, but Gopi Sundar's BG play an important role in the narration, done again wonderfully by GS.

Direction looked brilliant at places but sloppy in others - so totally it was mixed bag. The climax could evoke mixed reactions and may even cause wave of discussions in online forums and social media, but apart from the logical aspect of the 'REASON' in current scenario it was brilliant from the part of the writers to think out of the box .

For those who expect films like CBI series it may end up as disappointment, but for lovers of cinema it is something to watch out for.

Verdict: Good

Rating: 3.25/5

Iron Man 3 : The Big Summer Blockbuster - My Movie Review

Directed by     Shane Black
Produced by     Kevin Feige
Screenplay by     Drew Pearce, Shane Black,

   Starring     

Robert Downey, Jr.
Gwyneth Paltrow
Don Cheadle
Guy Pearce
Rebecca Hall
Stephanie Szostak
James Badge Dale
Jon Favreau
Ben Kingsley

Music by     Brian Tyler
Cinematography     John Toll

Editing by     Jeffrey Ford
Peter S. Elliot

Studio     Marvel Studios, DMG Entertainment
Distributed by     Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures, UTV Motion Pictures (India)

Release date(s)     April 26, 2013 (India),     May 3, 2013 (United States)
Running time     130 minutes

Country     United States, China
Language     English
Budget     $200 million

Iron Man 3 (U/A - 2D)  My Movie Review

Big Man In a Suit Of Armour. Take That Away - What Are You? asks CAP in the Billion dollar Blockbuster The Avengers to which Tony Stark aka Iron Man says 'genius billionaire playboy philanthropist' - this answer is what explained in Iron Man 3 by series debutant Dir. Shane Black [Lethal Weapon Series writer]

Iron Man continues from where The Avengers left off [including the Shawarma scene ;-)] . Post the 'New York' incident Tony Stark is suffering from PTSD. Adding to the worries, is a previously unknown terrorist, Mandarin [Ben Kingsley] who brings Tony back to square one, right into the ground from the billion dollar mansion, super cars and tons of money, with nothing but his brain & brawn [& a 10 year old boy] to depend upon. This is where he answers the question that has been baffling him for years, The question that has been long baffling him, does the man make the suit or does the suit make the man?

 Iron Man 3 is the best movie in the series. The series is back on track, with a bang after a disappointing Iron Man 2 which was like Tony Stark himself - lots of money wasted with a lazy script which kinda looked like IM1 reboot. Coming after Avengers Shane had a lot to do and prove as IM3 marks the beginning of Marvel Cinematic Universe Phase 2 [followed by Thor 2, CAP2 and Avengers 2]. 

We like Super heroes when they are cornered and pushed to the walls - this is exactly what Shane Black did in IM3. Plus there are lots of quirky one liners, which is one of the USP's of the character, which only Tony Stark/RDJr. can pull off. This is the 5th appearance of RDJr., still we cant get enough of this character, that's the stars charisma and performance in a role that changed even his life of drugs, drinks and prison. His contractual obligation is over with IM3 hope he returns in avengers 2 and IM 4, 5 etc - because I personally can't imagine anybody else doing Tony Stark/Iron Man .

The story also has an investigative kinda touch to it - ie its not monotonous like most super hero movies. The are many well executed/written scenes like the one with Kid, Flight scene, climax, scenes with Mandarin etc

After Joker (The Dark Knight) we got another equally powerful cinematic villain in the Mandarin played excellently by Sir Ben Kingsley. 

Rebeca Hall gets limited screen time, but Gweneth Paltrow as Pepper Pots gets a meatier role this time, the best outing of the character in fact in the series.

Don Cheadle [War Machine/Iron Patriot] & Guy Pearce did good job as well. 

 The film doesn't look like needed 3d conversion [so don't waste your money and tire your eyes]. There are some things left unanswered. It is a stand alone movie, it doesn't hype Avengers 2 much [may use any one of the scenes later]. Nick Fury who was part of all previous 'Avenger' movies is absent in IM3 [& Thor 2 as well according to reports].

Jos Whedon after watching Iron Man 3, especially the climax, said it will be difficult to top this in Avengers 2, may be a little extravagant comment but still the movie and the climax can stand upto the grandeur & awe set by The Avengers.

For banner/Hulk fans there is a cameo in the  end credit scene [not by the alter ego], which is a comic one, unlike the other IM, Thor, Cap movies had. It doesn't lead to Avengers 2. [May be they are waiting for the film to release in US, to add another end credit scene, on May 3rd, like they did with Avengers adding the Thanos scene]

Final Word: The Best in the series, best follow up to Avengers

Rating : 4/5

Verdict: Too Goooood for Super Hero Geeks and RDJr/Tony Stark fans, Others too will like it for sure

 

Box Office - Blockbuster Worldwide !!!! Hit-Super Hit in India 

Contact Reviewer Through : - https://twitter.com/BreakingViews4u

Immanuel - Exclusive Malayalam Movie Review

Immanuel - Exclusive Malayalam Movie Review

 Directed by     Lal Jose
Produced by     S. George
Screenplay by     A.C. Vijeesh
Story by     Pradeep Nair
Music by     Afzal Yusuf
Distributed by     Play House
Release date(s)     5 April 2013
Country     India
Language     Malayalam

 

Cast

    Mammootty as Emmanuel
    Mukesh
    Fahadh Faasil as Jeevan Raj
    Reenu Mathews as Annie
    Devi Ajith
    Aparna Nair
    Salim Kumar
    Guinness Pakru as Kavi Shivan
 

 

Story

Immanuel is the story of Immaneul who tries to cope up with MNC Insurance company and the New Gen wok ethics after the press publishing firm that he worked went broke.

 Evaluation

First things first- Immanuel is Mammootty's best outing since Best Actor which came 2 years ago. Its a typical straight forward feel good family entertainer without much gimmicks or masala. The Story is nothing revolutionary or unique. The story one-line has distant some with Rocket Singh - Salesman of the year.

Its a simple screen play beautifuly narated by Director Lal Jose, eventhough its no where near to his previous films. The surrounding of an MNC, especially an Insurance company is new to Malayali audience. The frauds, in-humane rules, fight for meeting the target has been explained in the film.

Apart from this there is a sense of Dejavu in most parts. Each & every turn that comes along are predictable. We have seen many stories of such Golden hearted Hero before, all elements find in thos movies can be find here too. But nothing appear forced or fake unlike Bavooty. The film belong to the Sathyan Anthikadu brand of feel good family dramas, but he only thing is that Immanuel is low in humor content. The movie drags here and there.

Mammooty has beautifully underplayed the role of man with Golden heart. There was nothing challenging in for him. He just needed to comedown from the over the top characters of his past few films and he did that efficiently. In an extended cameo as the main antagonist Fahadh Faasil simply rocked. Reenu Mathews has made a confident debut. The supporting cast are also good.

Songs are good, even though there was no need of the Carol song. The Background score is very good. Camera and Editing are beautiful.

Sukumari in a cameo role makes everyone's eyes wet. The claps that people gave for her is the the testimony of  what a great loss her death will be for us.

Family Audience will love this movie for sure. And for those who doesn't watch too many foreign language films this one will definitely be worth a watch.


Rating




2.75/5



Box Office - HIT

Sound Thoma - Exclusive Malayalam Movie Review

Sound Thoma - Exclusive Malayalam Movie Review

Directed by     Vyshakh
Produced by     Anoop
Screenplay by     Benny P Nairambalam
Story by     Benny P Nairambalam
Music by     Gopi Sundar
Cinematography     Shaji Kumar
Editing by     Mahesh Narayanan
Studio     Priyanjali Films
Distributed by     Priyanjali Films
Release date(s)         April 5, 2013
Country     India
Language     Malayalam
Budget     INR 5 Crore

 

Cast

    Dileep as Thoma
    Mukesh as Mathai
    Namitha Pramod as Sreelakshmi
    Nedumudi Venu
    Saikumar as Plapparambil Paulo
    Suraj Venjaramoodu
    Shiju as Joykutty
 

Story

'Sound Thoma' is the story of Thoma who sounds weird thanks to his cleft lip which his father left untreated. The film deals with Thoma, his pranks and antics, his romance with Sreelakshmi, who is an RJ in a local FM station, and the small/big tiffs & conflicts with his rich aristocratic modern age Shylock father Plapparambil Paulo.

Evaluation 

Ever since the first look of the film was launched there was immense hype related to the film. Vysakh the super-mass director, joining for the first time with Dileep who always takes special interest in portraying such unique characters and making them work - much was expected from this combo, but the end product turned to be damn squib thanks to the un interesting screenplay.

 

The character of Thoma had great potential and Dileep tried his level best to save the movie but the serious flaws in the scripts couldn't be covered. May be its timew for him to understand that characters alone will not make a movie work.  Even Vysakh looked of color,  whose direction played a big role in all his past successful ventures. 

People who expect a complete comedy entertainer like My BOss or Mayamohini or Karyasthan will be hugely disappointed. Its inferior to even Pappi apacha. The film is more a serious drama than comedy. The story is a mix of various other films written by Benny, but still could have saved the movie had the screenplay been good. Gopi Sundar too couldn't do much in terms of Back Ground score, but 3 songs in the film (1 with titles) are good, with 'Thoma Style' being the stand out. And at 2hr 35mins felt like the movie didn't had any editor.The last 30 mins are really unbearable.

Dileep was superb, as i said before. Sai Kumar is the another noted performer in this unholy mess of a movie. Namitha was OK, but she had nothing much to either. rest of the cast were OK.

The movie needs trimming immediately for any chance to survive at the box office. Like all other recent Dileep hits if Kids and Ladies (his major fan base) likes the title character then the movie may sail through the box office, other wise an average fare.

The movie tagline say "Financially sound,but.....". Its sure that the producer is financially sound by selling all the rights to exuberant price, but......content wise its not so sound......

Rating

2.25/5


Box Office - Average may be above

Verdict: Go with zero expectations, you may not hate it......

Himmatwala - Exclusive Movie Review

Himmatwala - Movie Review by Sree Prasad Nair

Directed by	Sajid Khan
Produced by	Vashu Bhagnani Siddharth Roy Kapur
Music by	Sajid-Wajid
Distributed by	UTV Motion Pictures
Release date(s)	29 March 2013
Country	India
Language	Hindi

Cast

• Ajay Devgan as Ravi
• Tamannaah as Rekha
• Paresh Rawal as Narayandas
• Mahesh Manjrekar as Sher Singh (Rekha's Father)
• Adhyayan Suman
• Zarina Wahab as Ravi's Mother
• Leena Jumani Ravi's Sister
• Surveen Chawla in a Special Appearance
• Amruta Khanvilkar in a Special Appearance
• Sayantani Ghosh in a Special Appearance (Dhoka Dhoka Song)
• Rinku Ghosh in a Special Appearance
• Mona Thiba in a Special Appearance
• Sonakshi Sinha in Thank God It's Friday song
• Dheer Charan Srivastav

The Film is a remake of the 1983 blockbuster 'Himmatwala' *ing Jeetendra & Sreedevi, which itself was a remake of a Telugu flick Ooriki Monagadu of 1981.

Its a good old revenge story, also told in '80's style'. Last year we had Agneepath and this year its Himmatwala. The new Agneepath was a better and updated product in all terms, but sadly Himmatwala chose to go the same old fashion way which may not suit to everyone.

Ajay Devgan as Ravi did a great job, except in dance sequences. The punch lines, fights, ferocity in the eyes etc hit the bulls eye. Tamanna was OK in terms of acting and good in terms of glamour (which is what she has been doing down South for years). Tamanna Bhatia gonna make it big in Bollywood ! Got all the ingredients - Superb dance, Expressions, Cuteness but less scenes.

Paresh Rawal, Mahesh Manjreker were irritating. Paresh Rawal-Devgn combo rocked in 'Athidi kab Jaoge' but here it was epic fail.

Zarina Wahab was good, so is Leena Jumani, Ajay's sister! Junior Suman as usual wasted, so is Ritiesh Deshmukh's cameo!

The action sequences were cool, even-though over the top, except the 'Tiger' fight, which was the Biggest Comedy Scene Of The Decade.

Himmatwala first half was kinda lame, but second half was much better.

Songs were Okay, even-though the Dhokha song featuring 5 item dancers was just horrible.



Himmatwala is a Low Level Masala All The Way! Weird Tribute To Original Himmatwala! Still expect a Great business at Single Screens! Multiplex audience will hate it! Mass People will adore it! But film s nowhere near to Dabangg or RowdyRathore or Singham! One of the worst remake ever made n Bollywood! STILL Sajid Khan & UTV gonna have the last laugh! Leave your brains safe and sound at home and get yourself prepared for an 80's kinda film if you wanna enjoy this 'Himmatwala'

Rating -2/5

BoxOffice- Super Hit [Expected]

PS: Lets see if Sajid Khan's claim of the film crossing 150 crores will come true or not.

Himmatwala - Movie Review by Sree Prasad Nair

https://twitter.com/i_spn

Mohanlal's Ladies & Gentleman - Exclusive Posters Set

Red Wine - Exclusive Malayalam Movie Review

Red Wine Exclusive Malayalam Movie Review

 Directed by     Salam Bappu
Produced by     A.S. Gireesh Lal
Screenplay by     Mammen K. Rajan
Story by     Noufal Blathur

 Music by     Bijibal
Cinematography     Manoj Pillai
Editing by     Ranjan Abraham
Studio     Gowri Meenakshi Movies
Distributed by     Reelax Eveents
Release date(s)         March 21, 2013
Country     India
Language     Malayalam

Starring

• MOHANLAL
• T.G RAVI
• ASIF ALI
• FAHADH FASIL
• MEGHNA RAJ
• MIA
• SAIJU KURUPPU
• ANOOP CHANDRAN
• SUNIL SUGUTHA
• MARIA JOHN
• ANU SREE
• MEERA NANDAN

 Plot

The movie RED WINE [means "this is my blood"] tells the story of true friendship, love, social commitment and sacrifice.

The story revolves around the lives of three characters Ratheesh Vasudevan (Mohanlal), Anoop (Fahadh Fazil) & Ramesh (Asif Ali). Even though  they come from different circumstances they share some common ideologies which being the reason for their boundedness .The story start off with certain incidents happening in the lives of 2 youngsters and that is when the third character, at certain point makes an entry into their lives and changing its course

Evaluation

Red Wine is designed as a 'who-dunnit' thriller, but the problem is that the anybody with commonsense can easily understand who, why, when and where midway itself.  The first half was decent but the its the below average second half that spoiled the party. We have seen plenty of films like this in the past, Red wine is neither different nor entertaining.

Fahad gets the maximum screen time out of the three heroes and has done a superb job as young comrade from Wayanad. The role of investigating Officer was cake walk for Mohanlal, IMHO the film/role didn't demand a legend like him, but still he tried in his way to make it look refreshing. Asif Ali did a decent job compared to last few outings. The supporting cast was also very good. Heroines didn't get much scope, only Mia got more than a couple scenes.

Salam Bappu, looks like have a lot to learn from his guru Lal Jose before making another attempt into direction. A director like Joshiy could have saved the movie, but Salam couldn't. The genre demanded much better execution. . Music was average, Background was loud and not effective except the signature tune. Camera looked Old school, may be the Director demanded it so.But It looked heavily pixalated in most scenes (don't know if it was the problem with the projection). Story was nothing unique and screenplay/dialogues couldn't do much to lift the film either.

Red Wine ends as an average, predictable thriller

Rating

2.75/5

Verdict

a Thriller that doesn't thrill or excites you - Average

Box Office

Below Average or Flop

Lucky Star - Exclusive Malayalam Movie Review

Lucky Star Malayalam Movie Review

 Written & Directed By - Deepu Anthikkad
Produced By- Milan Jaleel
Co.Producer- Nadir Jaleel
Music- Ratheesh Vega
Cinematography- Vijay Ulaganath
Edited By- V.T Sreejith
Exe.Producer- Manoj Menon
Production Designer-Razak
Production Controller- Baburaj Manissery
Stills-Hassif Hakkim
Designs-Antony Stephens

 

Starring

Jayaram, Rachana, Mukesh ,Pooja,Mammokoya etc

Expectation

The first attraction towards the movie was that it marks the debut of Mini Screen actress Rachana, who became quite popular through 'Marimayam' a weekly comedy sitcom. The Posters, Songs, Trailer etc increased the hype to even greater heights.

Plot Outline

The theme of the movie is centered on the life of Ranjith (Jayaram) who aims to become a rich man. To become billionaire, Ranjith foresee two ways; take lottery tickets or to become a movie star.

Falling too short of his dreams, Ranjith meets junior artist Janaki (Rachana Narayanankutty) and their friendship later ends up in marriage. Ranjith and Janaki who were not ready to compromise other than becoming rich thought of another plan. The idea was to think about surrogacy- an arrangement in which a woman carries and delivers a kid for a different couple or individual. Moving forward with the idea, Ranjith and Janaki meet Dr Joseph Chittilappally, an infertility specialist and share their purpose of visit.

But what they expected didn't carry out as the couple land in trouble finding no way to get rid of it. 

 Evaluation

Lucky Star is a complete family film that delivers what it promised. The first half is full of humour, while in the second half the movie turn completely serious. The movie has a Sathyan Anthikkad flavour to it, who is a mentor and great inspiration for Director Deepu

The storyline is similar to the 1989 Mohanlal classic 'Dasharatham', which one of the characters also mentions in the movie. 

Jayaram has made a comeback through Luck star after a small gap. We also got glimpses of the old Mukesh, which sadly was limited just to the first half of the movie. Rachana has made a rocking debut in big screen, may be one of the most talked about/awaited heroine intro in Mollywood in years. Rest of the cast like Pooja Ramachandran [SS Music VJ, actress], Mamukkoya, Amu [Sun TV Anchor, VJ], Sreekumar [Marimayam fame] etc have also done good job.

Cinematographer has done a very good job, even though the DI [I think so] made it look dull in many scenes.  BG and Music was good. Editing was smooth and efficient.

The drastic change from comedy to serious can be a turn off for few people especially the mass, youth audience.  Serial like narration comes in places quite often. The 2nd half could have treated more lightly. The climax is similar to recent Sathyan Anthikadu movies - Haste and Unconvincing/Unsatisfying.

All in all Lucky Star will be a treat for Family audience, after a long gap, I think. 

Go to the theater have a nice time with Lucky and his family 

Rating: 6.25/10

Box Office: - Expecting a Family Hit

Shutter - Exclusive Malayalam Movie Review

Directed by     Joy Mathew

Produced by     Saritha Ann Thomas

Written by     Joy Mathew

Music by     Shahabaz Amam

Cinematography     Hari Nair

Studio     Abra Films

Release date 22/02/2013

Running time     134 minutes

Country     India

Language     Malayalam

Expectation

Nothing much was known about the film till it was screened at the 17th International Film Festival of Kerala where it won the Silver Crow Pheasant Award for Best Feature Film (Viewers Choice). It also received tremendous response when screened at  9th Dubai International Film Festival. The film was also a major contender in the Kerala State Film awards 2012.

Story

'Shutter' is about the events that happens in 48 hours in the lives of Rasheed, Suran, Manoharan and a Prostitute 

Cast

    Lal as Rasheed

    Sreenivasan as Manoharan
    Vinay Forrt as Nanmarayil Suran
    Sajitha Madathil as the prostitute
    Riya Saira as Rasheed's elder daughter
    Nisha Joseph as Rasheed's wife
    Augustine
    Prem Kumar
    Vijayan Karanthoor
    Appunni Sasi

Evaluation

Shutter is a very good emotional thrill ride in the likes of Passenger (2009) and Traffic (2011). The basic theme of the movie is similar to Diamond Necklace (2012) - People doing different things under stressful situations and how those decisions change their life (& character) for ever.

Production quality is average compared to the above mentioned film, may be because it doesn't have any bankable stars in cast & crew. Camera, BG editing looked ordinary, but not that bad considering the theme of the movie and its budget. Anyway all these small negatives are skillfully covered by the director Joy Mathew.

SHUTTER is the first film to be distributed by Director Ranjith's new distribution company, Gold Coin Pictures

The movie is fast. There are no Unnecessary songs [Just one, during the end credits)  or scenes in the movie. The run time of 135mins added to the raciness of the movie.

Sajitha Madithal, who won Kerala Governments 2nd Best actress of 2012 award for this role, did a terrific job as the unnamed prostitute (justifying the jury). Even though a popular personality, this will be her first main stream role and she is sure to get tons of roles after this.

A brilliant performance by Vinay Fort again after impressing everyone in 'Theevram'

Lal, Sreenivasan etc also did their parts very well.

As the name suggests 'Shutter' plays an important role in the film and all the events that happens are related to it. [The movie has nothing to do with the English/Korean/Japanese Horror  film 'Shutter']

So another impressive attempt from Mollywood for the world (at least Rest of India) to watch out for

Go Watch It - Its worth your every single penny

3.75/5

Post Your Comments Below :-)

Celluloid - Exclusive Malayalam Movie Review

Directed by Kamal

Produced by Kamal, Ubaid

Written by Vinu Abraham

Music by M. Jayachandran

Cinematography Venu

Studio Prime Time Cinema

Release date(s) 15 February 2013

Country India

Language Malayalam

'Celluloid' is the biopic on Jivanayakam Cyril Daniel Nadar (1893 - 1975) aka J.C.Daniel the Director, Producer, Writer, Cinematographer & hero of Malayalam's first film ever 'Vigathakumaran'. It also discusses the troubles women had to face during that time, especially those from the lower caste, through P.K.Rossie, Mollywood's first heroine. The film based on the book written by Chelangatt Gopalakrishnan who did extensice research on Daniel, fought even with Kerala Govt. who at that time refused to acknowledge or honour Daniel.

Prithviraj - J.C. Daniel

Mamta Mohandas - Jenet

Sreenivasan - Chelangatt Gopalakrishnan

Chandini - P.K.Rosie

First thing first, Celluloid is a fitting tribute to the 'Father of Malayalam Cinema' from master craftsmen Kamal.

Kamal is a director known for making both commercial entertainers and serious real life subjects. Celluloid belongs to the second category and once again he hasing colors. Celluloid is a 'GEM' of a movie that no lover of Malayalam Cinema or just Cinema itself, shouldn't miss. Biopics are rare in Indian cinemas, well this one gives courage to all the makers out there to try out the genre. 

Prithviraj has given his career best perfomance in Celluloid. Won't be a surprise if he wins both State & National awards for his brilliant portrayal of J C Daniel [He also appears as Harris Daniel, JCDaniels youngest son] 

New comer Chandini is outstanding as PK Rosie

Mamta, Sreejith Ravi and all the other supporting cast has done superb job.

The 2 Songs in the film are already a super hit.

Kudos to the cameraman, Music Director, Cinematographer, Art Director, Editor and the entire crew for making a wonderful movie

This one doesn't belong to the typical art house movies, its short, sweet and entertaining. 

I don't think anybody who loeves Malayalam cinema can leave the movie house without a  shed of tear in their eyes.
 Special care ahs been taken by the makers to get the feel of 30's and 60-70's .


Celluloid is a Brilliant, must watch for all Malayalam Cinema lovers -  4/5

David (Tamil) - Exclusive Movie Review

Story

The story revolves around the lives of two David's one played by Jiiva, a Guitarist in Mumbai in 1999 & Vikram a Fisherman in Goa in 2010. The lives of two Davids completely turn upside down due to some events that happen in their life and how it changes their life for ever is the story of David. 

David gives a message that name doesn't matter, its what you are made of, how do face things and live in this world that makes or defines you.

Many were excited with project thanks to the excellent debut film of Bejoy Nambiar, added to that a stellar star cast (Neil Nitin Mukesh is the 3rd David in the Hindi version which doesnt feature in the Tamil Version) and a rocking first look trailer.

But don't go with over expectations, its not unique or path breaking like Shaithan. Its just a normal film told in a different way. The technical detailing got more important than the script i think, other wise it could have easily became an outstanding product.

Film drags here and there, especially in the Goa episode Vikram did a very good job as the 24 hour drunkard, but many of his dialogues were not clear. The portion was shot in Hindi and dubbed to Tamil. Tabu, Isha Sharwani were good in the cameo length role they got.

The only portion shot in Tamil is the Jiiva story (and the very penultimate scene).May be due to that the story felt more engaging and interesting. Jiiva, Sheethal Menon, Naasar did a very good job. Liked the color tone of the film too. Lara Dutta is wasted in an unnecessary cameo.

Music was good, eventhough the Album offers plenty of tracks it has been used efficiently. Camera, BG/RR, Editing were too good. Bejoy Nambiar's the director was successful, but the writer wasn't that much.

So all in all if you go without any expectations chances are there that you might like this 2hr 8min star ride.

Rating 3/5

Verdict: Good 

Box Office: Response of the people were poor, so not expecting a long run

PS: Now eager to watch the Hindi version, heard Neil Nitin has done a terrific job.