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

Kammath & Kammath - Movie Review

Evaluation

Any multistarrer is associated with the baggage of huge excpectations and no exceptions here as well. The songs posters and trailers were well received by public.

Story

Story is of Kammath brothers and things that happen with following the inaguartion of a restaurant in Palakkad.
Mammootty plays big brother Kammath, Raja Raja Kammath. Dileep plays Deva Raja Kammath. Rima Kallingal is the Palakkad muncipal commissioner and Karthika is her sister. The film is about Kammaths involvement with the sisters and the problems that accompany them. Narain is there in a cameo role. Baburaj plays the faithful assistant of the Kammaths in a full length role.

Evaluation

First things first, the review is based on the fact that the movie was promoted as a mass movie, so the review will also be  written with that aspect in mind.

The movie is a half baked, non-mass entertainer. The biggest crime reggarding KnK was promoting it as a MASS movie, when its not even remotely close enough to be called one. Its a film intended to be mass but failed miserably at the direction and script side.

The movie had a decent start with titles showing history of Konkini people and the flash back story of Kammath's. The into with Dileep also gave a feel that we might have the second hit of the year. But there after there is nothing in the film noteworthy.

The Story is as i explained above not interesting at all. But the script also failed to give the film a much needed lifeline. Dileep excelled as Kammath ans was a treat to watch. Baburaj, surprisingly, came 2nd in terms of impact with an absolute mass portrayal, with punchlines and actions (as Mammooty most of the time relaxed on top of his car in action scenes). Mammooty couldn't match upto Dileep (whoi looked comfirtable) in dialogue delivery, for most parts of the film. most of the comedy action scenes that he should have done was done by his side-kick Baburaj. Other than that Ikka did a good job, but remember its a Mass Masala Multi starrer.

The two heroines had some what lengthy role and they did a decent job. Narein's cameo was laughable. [Even more laughbale is the fat that even he was portrayed more massy way than Ikka].

Dhanush's cameo was completely un-necessary, he had no clue what was doing, he was reportedly paid 2crore for this [total expense] and it prooved to be a damb squib.

The songs in the film are hummable. Gopi sundar for the first time disappointed as BG scorer. Camera, direction was avg [should take tips from Vysakh immediately]. Editing was bad, ruined most of the scenes.

The first film of director Thomson was a hit eventhough critics thrashed it, but it was a full on Dileep-suraj show, here due to the constraints of multi starrer, he gets limited scope to save this movie.

But this doesnt mean that its a completely unwatchable flick. Its an avg watch, with full on DejaVu sequences that you can watch, with out getting bored for most of its run time

A Mass less Mass Entertainer

Verdict -- A generous Average tag

Rating 2.5/5

Box Office - If not for the 4.75cr payed by Mazhavil Manorama for satellite rights, this would have been a big disaster budgeted at close to 9crore

Asianet Film Awards 2013 - Complete Winners List

Asianet Film Awards 2013 - Complete Winners List

Special commemoration - 25 years in the Industry - Jayaram

Golden star - Prakaashraj

Best Film - Ustad Hotel

Best Actor - Mohanlal (Grandmaster, Spirit)

Best Director - Ranjith (Spirit)

Best Actress - Kavya Madhavan(Bavvotyude Namathil)

Popular Actor - Prithviraj (Ayalum Njanum Thammil)

Popular Actress - Mamta Mohandas (My Boss)

Popular Film - Spirit

Best Singer (Male) - Vijay Yesudas

Best Singer (Female) - K.S. Chithra

Best Character Actor - Biju Menon ( Run Babby Run , Ordinary )

Best Character Actress - Shwetha Menon (Ozhimuri)

Best Supporting Actor - Sanka Ramakrishnan (Spirit, Bavutide Namathil)

Best Supporting Actress - Lena (Spirit)

Best Lyricist - Rafeeq Ahamed

Best Music Dirrector - Gopi Sundar (Ustad Hotel)

Best Script Writer - Anjali Menon - (Ustad Hotel)

Best Villain - Murali Gopy 

Best Comedy Actor - Baburaj

Best On-screen Couple - Nivin Pauly & Isha Talwar (Thattathin Marayathu)

Best Child Actor - Master Dhananjay (Trivandrum Lodge)

Best Debutant - Gauthmi Nair (Second Show)

Best D.O.P - Jomon.T.John

Best Editor - Arunkumar (Ee Adutha Kalathu)

Popular singer - Remya Nambeeshan (Thattathin Marayathu, Megharoopan)

Multi Talented Personality - Vineeth Sreenivasan (Thattathin Marayathu)

Special Jury Award - Manoj.K.Jayan, Kunchako Boban, Anoop Menon

Most stylish Bollywood Actress : Jacqueline Fernandez

Mammootty's Bavuttiyude Namathil - Movie Review

Bavuttiyude Namathil Movie Review

Bavuttiyude Namathil

Directed by        G. S. Vijayan

Produced by      Ranjith

Written by          Ranjith

Starring                Mammootty

Kavya Madhavan

Shankar Ramakrishnan

Kaniha

Rima Kallingal

Vineeth

Distributed by   Capitol Theatres

Release date(s)               

    December 21, 2012

Country                India

Language             Malayalam

Any Ranjith movie is now eagerly awaited thanks to his last few movies. So this one was also  awaited, especially because it stars Mammootty and a list of other important artists. But it proved out to be one the weakest scripts by Ranjith (considering his past releases).

BN is the story of Bavooty (Mammootty) who is full time driver, care-taker and a part time actor. Sethu (Shankar Ramakrishnan) & Vanaja (Kavya) plays the couple for whom Bavooty is working for. Mariam (Kaniha) is their servant & Rima Kallingal as Noorjahan dons the role of a tuition teacher.

The movie can be called Raapakal 2 coz of the way the movie has been structured. Mammooty as an honest obedient employee who is dear to everyone in the family, who solves when the family is met with a crisis and makes everything ‘HAPPILY EVER AFTER’ for everyone.

The first half is just lot of interesting comical situations inter woven together which has nothing much to do with what happens in the second half.  The second half is more serious and is where the real story (or important whatever there is in the movie) takes place. 

The main intention of Ranjith was clear hear, just to give an entertainer  and may be a much needed hit to the Mammooty who hasn’t tasted success since Best Actor, by using the ‘Ranjith’ tag and going the non-risky way. Before release there was comparisons with Pranchiyettan, which is  a classic, and this one comes no where near to it.

But by no means this is a boring or unbearable film. It is definitely Mammootty’s best outing since Best Actor.  He has given and honest, good performance as Bavooty. There are a lot of funny, entertaining moments in the first half, eventough all of them looks forced.  Kaniha and Vineeth requires special mention, as their roles were surprising and they did excellent jobs. Kavya with Neeleshwaram slang was a treat to watch. Rima was wasted in an insignificant role. Shankar & Harisree Asokan were ok

All in all this belongs to ‘Sathyan Anthikkad’ brand of cinema. Nothing much to take home,  just a feel good film with some nice humor and good performances.

For me it’s a disappointment coz after all its Ranjjith film

Strictly Average - 2.5/5

Box Office – Might sale through at the box office coz of the ‘Ranjith’ & feel good factor, especially when other releases are not generating  such encouraging reports

Ps: Had to use SMS language in places, please bear with me & also forgive the spelling mistakes, if any

Mammootty's Face 2 Face - Exclusive Movie Review

Face to Face
Directed by     V. M. Vinu
Produced by     M. K. Nassar
Screenplay by     Manoj Payyannoor
Starring     Mammootty
Roma Asrani
Ragini Dwivedi
Music by     Alphonse Joseph
Cinematography     Ajayan Vincent
Editing by     Samjith
Distributed by     Googline Productions
Release date(s)    

    November 30, 2012

Country     India
Language     Malayalam

Expectations

ZERO - yup had no expectations from the movie after a series of flops that Molywood's Mega Star gave us, but decided to watch it FDFS since it belong to Crime/Thriller genre, one of my Favourite.

Story

Story is about Balachandran (Mammootty) an angry cop who is always fights with people and constantly in suspension. One day a kingpin politician's sun is brutally murdered and crucified. Eventhough under suspension Balan starts his own investigation. Whether he nabs the culprit forms the rest of the story.


The first half was very interesting with plenty of one liners and moving entertainingly at a leisurely pace. Mammootty was in his elements and after a log time seems intrested in te proceedings with his uber cool suspended-cop act. But all hell broke loose in the second half. It is hard to beleive that the same guy wrote the 2nd half. Once again, after JOV, after a promising beginning everything gets ruined in the 2nd half.

If the 2nd half was better the film would have had better prospects at the box office.But now that's highly unlikely.

The supporting cast of Mamookoya, Mani, Siddique, the 4  teenage debutants where good. Heroine Ragini Divedi is a disappointment even in the 2/3 scenes she got

Dialogues were surprisingly good, there are many to please fans.

Songs were Bad. Direction was average, Editing was OK, keeping the run length under 2hr 10mins. BG was avg too.

Not disappointing, because there was no expectations, an average film for normal viewers, Fans can watch it for ikka's perfomance in the first half.

Rating 2.5/5

Box Office Flop


Final Word: So Close Yet SO Far !!!

Dulquer Salman's Theevram - Exclusive FDFS Movie Review

Theevram

Directed by	Roopesh Peethambaran
Produced by	V. C. Ismayil
Written by	Roopesh Peethambaran
Starring	Dulquer Salmaan Shikha Nair Sreenivasan Riya Saira
Music by	Roby Abraham
Cinematography	Hari Nair
Editing by	Kapil Gopalakrishnan
Studio	VCI Movies
Distributed by	LJ Films
Release date(s)	November 16, 2012
Country	India

Expectations

Nothing much was going for the movie as far as I am concerned, except the fact that it stars Dulquer Salmaan and the curiosity that whether he will score hat-trick hits.

 Story

The story is about  Harsha Vardhan's (Dulquer) revenge on somebody, due to some reasons. The first half is taking place in present where the revenge happens. The second half is in flash back mode where What, Why When are answered. Maya (Shikha Nair) plays his Wife/Girl Friend. S.I. Alexander, (Sreenivasan)is investigating officer and Vinay fort (Ramachandran) is his assistant. 22FK fame Riya Saira plays the GFs role of Harsha's friend (Don't know his name)

Evaluation

We have seen many revenge stories in the past like Thaazhvaram, Bhramaram nand many recent movies in Tamil. This one belongs to the similar genre. The story is not exciting or surprising. But the presentation and writing (some what) saves the movies, well supported by some good perfomances.

Dulquer is slowly raising his bar, which is evident from his choice of movies and performances. He has done a very good job, especially in the court scene which is one of my favourite scene in the movie. (There is a small teaser of him doing 'stylized' action as well in the film for his fans)

Sreenivasan as cop was good, eventhough many of his TM antics are getting repetitive and failed to evoke much response from the crowd. Viay Fort was very good. Riya saira and the guy who played her friend too was good. Heroine was OK, a known actress could have helped the movie a lot as viewers need to sympathise for the hero for his revenge (and the movie) to be accepted by the audience. here even though Dulquer tried his level best to bridge the gap.

Roopesh Peethambaran's presentation of the story is very good. I Think we got a new promising director in him, writing need to be a bit sharper i think. Camera, BG, Editing were good. One song & one bit song in the movie both of which gels with the movie.

The blue/black dark tint shade given to the movie in DI could be a problem (it was for me) especially in poor screens. In the dark hall, it was bit difficult to watch the movie (2nd half is normal color though). People were asking for torch and to keep the hall lights turned on :-).

Overall its one time watch movie, sans any commercial elements, liked it more than 2nd show though.

Rating: 2.75/5

Not Must watch, but not a disappoinment either

Box Office: should be a above average grosser, Hit if budget is low

Jawan of Vellimala - Exclusive Movie Review

Directed by    Anoop Kannan
Produced by    Playhouse
Written by    James Albert

Starring    

Mammootty
Sreenivasan
Mamta Mohandas
Asif Ali

Music by    Bijibal
Cinematography    Satheesh Kurup
Studio    Playhouse
Distributed by    Playhouse
Release date(s)    19 October 2012
Country    India
Language    Malayalam

Expectations

Expectations were huge from the moment the first look poster was launched. The writer is well known for giving intelligent entertainers giving a mystery/thriller feel to it. Also the Trailer, teasers, songs were interesting too.

PLOT

The story of Jawan of Vellimala revolves around a village called Vellimala , a dam, the people living there & Gopi Krishan (Mammootty) X-Military who is the pump operator in Vellimala Dam. Varghese (Sreenivasan) is a government employee at the Dam site and Koshi Oommen (asif Ali), another character reaches there for some personal need. Mamta Mohandas plays the role of a project officer at the Dam site. The story reveals the incidents happenning when these characters and the villagers meet together. The strange encounters GK had to face in the village, with some mysterious events happening around the dam forms the basic plot of JOV. How GK solves all the mystery and prove that he is 'brave' and a true jawan is the rest of the story

Evaluation

Another movie with over expetations fails to deliver. A movie which was said to be a thriller never thrills you, nor does Gopi Krishnan's plight makes you root for him. It is yet another half baked script by James Albert. The movie is not completely uwatchable either, it has its moments but provided by the supporting cast. The lead role played by Mammootty gets sidelined for mos ot\f the run time. Eventhough he gets his bit in the second half the damage was already done. Sreenivasan, Baburaj etc do provide quite few laughs. Mamta is wasted in an unsignificant role. Asif gets better scenes in the film, and as always he gives an average perfomance. Dialogues were good, but most of them mouthed by un-important characters, especialy the old man remembering the construction of dam.

Mammooty got a half baked role, so its not fair to blame him. He tried to overcome the short comings in the writing but didn't succees, the movie has a watchable first half, but its the second half especially the climax that ruins the party.

Direction was good. Music & BG were nice. Camera was top notch. Script is what fails the movie, and fails in the most important aspects ....

Looks like the long wait for Mammootty and his fans for an elusive hit will continue....

Verdict: Aerage

A Very Generous 2.5/5

With a budget of 6 crores, this one should be another flop for Mammooty & JAmes Albert

Onam 2012 Special Movies on Malayalam Channels - Complete List [UPDATED]

Karmayogi 25 August  5PM  Surya TV

The Metro Sat 25 August 2012  5 P.M  Asianet

Nidra Sun 26 August  5PM  Surya TV

Kanyakumari Express Asianet  Sun 26 August 2012  5 P.M

ASIANET

 

28th August 2012 at 9.00 A.M

29th August 2012 at 1.00 P.M

30th August 2012 at 1:30 P.M

29th August 2012 at 6P.M

28th August 2012 at 1.00 P.M

29th August 2012 at 9.00 A.M

 

31st Aug 1:30pm

28th August 2012 at 9.00 A.M

SURYA

28th August 2012 at 9.00 A.M

30 AUGUST

28th August 2012 at 5 P.M

29th August 2012 at 5.00 P.M

29th August 2012 at 9.00 A.M

29th August 2012 at 1.15 P.M

1ST SEPTEMBER

28th August 2012 at 9.00 A.M

28th August 2012 at 1.15 P.M

 KAIRALI 

29th August 2012 at 10.00 A.M

27th August 2012 at 2P.M

29th August 2012 at 6:30 P.M

31ST August 2012 6:30 PM

31 August 2012 at 10.00 A.M

AMRITA

MAZHAVIL MANORAMA  

28 August 2012 at 06.00 P.M

29th August 2012 at 6.00 P.M

29th August 2012 at 2.00 P.M

  29th August 2012 at 9.30 A.M

'Asianet Middle East' - Onam Special Malayalam Movies

28 August 2012 Tuesday (UAE Time)

 09.00  – China Town
  13.00  – Killadi Raman
17.00 – Confident Casanovva
  01.30  – Vilkkanundu Swapnangal

29 August 2012 Wednesday 

09.00 – Nayika
  13.00 – Spanish Masala
  17.00 – Arabiyum Ottakavum P Madhavan Nairum
  01.30– Engine Nee Marakkum

Correct Timings & Schedules will be updated as they are available