Munthirivallikal Thalirkkumbol review

My first visit to Centre Square Mall Kochi and what better movie to kick-start it with than a Mohanlal starrer. 

I think this is a must watch for all generations in this time and age. It deals with the usual problems of a family that has been set to reflect the present time. 

The combination of Mohanlal and Meena as such is a huge crowd puller as reflections of pass success stories of this couple still resonate in our memories vividly. 

The eloquent delivery of loving the wife, I.e., regeneration of love that gets forgotten as time grows on us, it’s a gentle reminder to all people who are so preoccupied with life and forget to love. 

Be the role models for your kids that you want them to be. The upbringing is all that defines the boundaries of every persons grown up life. Cheers to parents who show us the right path like no other. 

You are being watched, whether you are willing to accept it or not.

It was gone and forgotten, but it came back again into my mind when I saw a trailer of the movie a couple of weeks ago. I knew I had to watch Snowden.

I reviewed a couple of documentaries in youtube before heading out to watch the movie last noon.

A few years back I got into a an argument with a couple of friends who were totally against sharing each and every minute of their lives on social media. They felt people pretended on social media, highlighting only the good times, making other people jealous, projecting only a particular facet of their lives.

Others felt when you are too busy having fun, there is no time to waste spending on gadgets. But it is important to understand technology has taken massive strides in the 21st century. Connectivity has erased distance in this huge world. Using any form of communication devices means you are being tracked. The extent to which is what Snowden revealed three years ago.  

The movie takes a lot of heart in it, based on the real life of a young vibrant individual who took a moral stand, one that would disrupt his entire life. For someone so young to even do something as bold as that, against the most powerful system in the world is crazy. But it exposed the harsh realities of the world we live in.

We as health workers are freaked out if we don’t take at least a consent, and in many cases informed consent. It is cause every human being on this earth has a basic right, which no one should be allowed to violate. Violation of such privacy for political reasons is simply unacceptable. A must watch movie.

The movie reminded me of this quote.

To have striven, to have made the effort, to have been true to certain ideals – this alone is worth the struggle. – William Osler.

Never lose your identity. Live up to your ideals and do not move with the flow.

Kali

We all at some point of time get angry. Some of us being short tempered know exactly how much our muscles twitch when things don’t go our way or don’t happen to our liking. Being one amongst those, it was no surprise I wanted to watch Sameer’s Kali.

 

Though the portrayal happens to be in a movie, it doesn’t in any stretch of imagination appear too dramatic. Personally having gone through stages when I had absolutely no control over it, over the years, I have tempered it down. But that doesn’t mean it disappears; that innate nature to outlet, is immensely relaxing. Though the series of events that ensue in a fit of rage are completely beyond comprehension.

 

Some of our personalities are driven by that component. And erasure might make us not being us at all. So it’s a bargain, a double edged sword. It’s fun to live and to die by it.

 

I thoroughly enjoyed watching Sai Pallavi acting beautifully with DQ as always playing the aggressor prototype. Though I would have longed some more heart ringing tones in the movie, I didn’t leave the hall disappointed, probably because I could relate myself to it.
Movies that do not exactly portray positive things never really ever come off ‘awesome’ reviews. They are much milder and cater to a smaller audience. And I guess that’s what’s happened with this movie. But then am sure lots thronged the theatres just cause Malar was in the lead!

Vettah Malayalam Movie Review

I was just browsing online this weekend when I realized ‘Vettah’ is playing in the nearby cineplex. When I saw the poster, I recollected it was Rajesh Pillai’s last movie. Six years ago, when I was in Kerala, I remember watching ‘Traffic’ (review here) and how it was the game changer in the Malayalam movie industry, allowing the new genre ‘new generation cinema’ to be stamped on all the future experiments. The number of movies releasing in a year, the numerous unidentifiable debutants in the industry, there was a notable wholescale change to approaching movies. Movies with teams averaging in the mid 20s were becoming a set pattern as actor oriented movies started disappearing from the face of Kerala.

I did not watch the trailer of this movie, nor did I know who were the lead in this till I went to the theater. But there was a sense of anticipation, a prejudice that I will leave the theater as glad I was after watching Traffic.

Six children in a family group of 14 shared the row with me. As the movie started unwinding, there were specks of extra marital affairs scattered with no moment of laughter, song shots at all in the first half. There was a plot, a good one, slowly unwinding as it kept the audience captivated throughout. The kids were not jumping around or fussy, all serious. The starring line up commands attention as the resurrected Manju Warrier looked elegant and professional as an IPS officer. Kunchacko Boban and Indrajit Sukumaran play equally key roles in the movie and it is definitely a treat. Vijayaraghavan is an actor I really like and I hope he gets the recognition he deserves, when he does decide to call it quits.

Shaan did the background score and music direction. I am a huge fan of his; he creates music which always has a Godly essence to it and I went crazy listening to Rinu Razak delivering his songs in Om Shanti Oshana. And this time around, he gives her another peach of a song, which is simple yet got a transcending effect in the context of the storyline.

The first malayalam movie to watch in Kuwait after coming here, maybe not for the kids, but definitely watch it for Rajesh Pillai. I will miss his storytelling. May your soul rest in peace bro.

Ennum Eppozhum

Vishu… to new beginnings.. well it was a new beginning indeed when I decided two years ago to go meet a potential marriage candidate. Two hours of conversation two years ago changed my life. As I enjoyed this Vishu Sadhya with my confidante, we had already decided to spend the next two hours watching a family entertainer. We weren’t driven by the reviews, rather limited by the options of available movies to watch in our town.

I had not watched the trailers so I wasn’t under any impression of the movie. Considering I had just watched Oru vadakkan selfie 3 days ago, this being another genre, still had enough and more mettle (at least on reel paper) to beat it all ends up – A Sathyan Anthikad feature, Mohanlal Manju Warrier duo, unmatched acting and direction prowess.

What turned out though was quite the contrary. Accepting Mohanlal as he is, pretty far from his physical prime, he eased into his role. After a record setting return to the industry, watching Manju Warrier in yet another role carved out to fit not only her physical form but her acting adeptness was kind of a lull. So many cliche dialogues riddled with confusing reel/real life situations made it a bit of an agonizing journey ahead.

With the available talent in hand, somehow the moments wherein Lena and Manju share the screen, the audience is left wanting more out of the two wonderful acting persona.

The movie eventually played out akin to one scripted to play the actors rather than the other way round. Worth the miss!

 

Oru Vadakkan Selfie – The right ingredients for a blockbuster

It is after all the viewers that make or break movies. In a time frame when movies disappear much faster than the time taken to make them, certain elements come together to ensure few of them survive to top the charts.

The proximal half of the movie is difficult to even be called ‘scripted’ as it literally pops out of real life. The nuances and moments of life of an Engineering student who fails to make the cut (and there are quite a lot of them out there all right), the way the present generation is ‘enlightened’ by their smartphones and ‘phablets’ are brought to us with such amiable humor that it is hard to not enjoy the light mood.

The amount of pondering the second half of the movie provokes is predictable yet with the right message intended, it makes all the more sense to go out there and spend those little two hours of our life. With the internet bringing people closer through e-social life, the vulnerables’  are yet again caught out in this movie. The emphasis on cyber crimes is well envisaged here as it sheds some light on how organized crime could get.

Apart from the comic elements the movie conjures to keep us entertained, there are plenty of take home messages that needs to be taken pretty damn seriously!

Movie Review: 7th Day [Malayalam]

David Abraham [Prithviraj], suspended IPS officer of crime branch, is seen enjoying the mood in a club on a Christmas week.  The movie begins with a party number composed by Deepak Dev with a female vocal crooning tones that account for the “A” part of the U/A rating of this movie. Pretty much as a stamped on marker of ‘new generation’ films, the use of profanity and sexual innuendo seems quintessential to pull the crowd, at least in the beginning of the movie to get things going.

As David meets with a road accident, bumping into Shaan  and Vinu, the story interleave unfolds with David offering to hitch them a ride to the hospital. Vinu runs away from the hospital only to be found dead the following day.

The movie then builds over the investigation of the death of Vinu, well orchestrated by the background score and the power of Prithviraj’s onscreen presence.

Just like any murder mystery, we start churning out possibilities of suspects one after the other, but for a story at this day and age to pull off a murder mystery has to have a befitting ending. (Yes I am suggesting this movie does have a twist 😀 ).

With a fairly youthful novel casting, the energy is maintained all throughout the movie with the ending carved out to bring the best out of Prithviraj.

It is definitely worth a one time watch. The movie is devoid of humor, romance or dance numbers to tap your feet to, but it is a crime investigation and it deserves the merit this Vishu kaalam. I haven’t seen Janani Iyer before, but she doesn’t have enough screen time to churn a moment.

With a story line and a competent actor to orchestrate it, this is one crime thriller that won’t disappoint you.

My rating: 3/5