"Ennum Eppozhum" - Same bus, but a more comfortable ride !

Disclaimer : I don't have a master degree in the art of review writing and forget about film making I haven't even seen a film shooting in my life. But still writing a film review and airing it in public does come under my freedom of expression and if someone avoids a film after reading my review then lets call it his /her freedom of choice. Until all these freedoms are intact, I have only one thing to say to critics of critics (including that Riggan Thomson in Birdman ) .. BITCH PLEASE !

Less than 50 words (recommended for the busy folks)
Anthikad bus might still be running in the same route and still have that usual drag in the middle, those boring background music etc. But at least by throwing out some of the heavy and obsolete items from the bus and with Lalettan in driving seat the ride is definitely more comfortable this time

Less than 2 pages (recommended for those who want to kill some time) --> SPOLIER ALERT
I am not a big fan of Sathyan Anthikad version II. But I have to admit that this movie not just met my expectations but at times, to my surprise, it went beyond as well. Allow me to elaborate

Meeting expectations :
When ever I plan to take my parents to a theater, choosing the right movie is always the tricky part. I need to strike a balance between not too "new-Gen" and not too obsolete. An Anthikad movie in the list will relieve me from thinking any further. It's a perfectly safe bet for a 'family' audience and it's probably the only reason I saw his recent movies in theaters. The expectation was not so different this time and was definitely not disappointed

Exceeding expectations
1. Embracing 'Lean' process : There is a method in our manufacturing domain called "Lean" where we eliminate waste in the process, in order to bring focus to what really adds value. The biggest waste in Anthikad's recent movies, with out a shade of doubt, is the excessive advices and an overdose of goodness especially in his main character. There were times where in the middle of the movie I doubt whether I am in a movie theatre or a counseling center. Here the advising is almost extinct and the hero is a lazy, irresponsible and occasionally rude fellow who is definitely not a role model, but surely more 'human' !

2. The well timed ending: The way things were moving in the first 2 hours I thought its going to take at least 5 hours to finish. Just when I was getting ready for a marathon, the movie did a sudden break and almost everyone in the theatre was in doubt whether its actually over. It was more like Anthikad had a timer watch and when it was exactly 2.5 hours he told "Cut and Pack up". But I still love that abrupt ending which avoided a possible kidnap, stunt and even a formal proposal at the end!

3. The Lalettan effect : He might have some flops recently both in and out of silver screen, but when it comes to satisfying an average Malayalee viewer especially with subtle humor, undoubtedly he is still the best in business. You can either put it on director for not giving enough space for other characters to grow or you can attribute it to Lalettan's brilliance, but the character that steal the lime light and is going to stay in your memory is Lalettan's  Vineeth N Pillai. You take out Lalettan effect and all that remains is just another below average family movie

 

1983 - 'a movie with a heart'

'1983' will remind you of a typical one day match. The first 20 overs of power play is stunning with big shots and lots of entertainment. Then slowly it drags back in the middle overs with singles and occasional boundaries. But finally towards the slog overs it gets the momentum back and ends in a flurry !

Sports movies are usually a risky subject and its not easy to give some thing to the audience more than what they already expect. I won't say that '1983' is a perfect movie or a sure-shot blockbuster but its a neat little entertainer with a lot of heart. Also the director deserves the credit for taking a different route and not following those typical underdog sport movies where the climax will irrespectively be a match in which protagonist ends up becoming the hero by hitting a last ball six or a last minute goal !

Highlights 

(+) Bringing back those good old days 
For lot of us, our younger days were filled with these backyard cricket with 'Dubber' ball or tennis ball and no matter what others think we know how seriously we used to see those matches. And in this movie from the the team 'selection' to the dialogues during the play, from the 'rules' for dismissals to those combined search for ball lost in the bushes, it was just as if the director took a page from our good old days and brought it back to us in silver screen

(+) Realistic story telling
When a man realizes his passion, then everything else in his life ends up secondary and this passion will not easily die with age or with the responsibilities life brings. If you understands this concept, then it will be easier to understand 'Rameshan' and the movie. Other than cricket the movie is also about 'Rameshan's life from his age 10 to 40 and I love the way the story slipped through each phase of his life

(+) Those LOL Moments
Cricket matches, the second 'Sachin' (especially that 'Kaakka' question.. I am still thinking about it !), first night scene... there are a lot of really funny moments which makes it a worthwhile watch

(-) Middle overs 
I still feel the middle portion could be a little trimmed. The 2.5 hour duration of the movie made me almost forget the first half entertainment by the time movie is over

Verdict - 
If you don't like cricket at all, still you might end up liking the movie, if you follow cricket, you will surely love it and if you played these gully backyard cricket at some point in your life then you better not miss this ..  !

Tail piece - 1983 is a special year for me too. But unlike Rameshan I missed that the world cup match. What can I do since at that time I was still on my way from dressing room to the ground ;)

Drishyam - 'A fresh and thrilling visual treat'

Any movie is built by placing a lot of pieces together. And the foundation for any great movie is usually a good story and a strong script. In Drishyam its foundation scores full marks and all other pieces like direction, acting, editing also comes out with flying colors

(+) Loved the 'realistic' theme : I always wondered about this unbelievable memory power of the characters in our typical crime thrillers who while questioned by police is able to recollect very normal incidents happened weeks back with the precision of date and even time. My brain hardly remembers a not-so-important incident happened day before yesterday, unless there is a real need to remember it. The director seemed to have read my mind and made a movie where the the central theme is based on this basic character of human memory, where the brain only retains the things that it feels is relevant and others are ignored unless its followed up with another connected incident. After watching a lot of movies with these characters of 'remarkable memory', one might feel it a little odd when 3-4 persons are not able to remember when exactly an incident happened only a few weeks earlier. But in in a real world this is more close to 'reality' !

(+) A detailed based director : I loved the works of Jeethu Joseph, right from 'Detective'. After an okeyish 'Mummy and me' and 'My boss' he is back, first with 'Memories' and now 'Drishyam'. The flow he maintained in the movie is beautiful, where he starts off with a  lite and pleasant first half to a roller coaster second half. The story, also written by him, is almost flawless and even the minute things are taken care

(+) Lalettan leading the show : What more should I say ? With such a strong script and direction, people will like the movie even if any other actor did the role of 'Georgekutty'. But can anyone else do this role as natually as our 'Complete Actor' did ?... I doubt it. Whether its a naughty romantic husband or a caring father or a tensed family man he was effortlessly living in those scenes. All others like Meena, Shajon, Asha, Siddique pitches in with key roles and good performance. Also a special mention to the two child artists who had a major role and did exceptionally well

(-) A little old-fashioned outlook : One can argue that the 'Georgekutty's' reserved outlook of "Women should be staying at home and should not be  going out" and 'Rani's' fear of "mobile converting you to naked photos" is due to the lack of education those characters have in the movie. But after watching the whole movie I got the feeling that the characters are talking a little bit of director's outlook. And if it is the case, I am a little against ths outlook, as I believe hiding or running away is not the solution for the social issue shown in the movie

Verdict : There are not many movies which is liked almost every one. Watch it not just for Lalettan, but for a refreshing attempt by a director who has a long way to go !

Tail Piece - For the one who already saw the movie (Beware of SPOILERs)
The movie leaves you with a more important question. When a girl's video is taken using hidden camera in a bath room which is later used to black mail her, the family had to do the extreme step which ended in beating the guy to death. Question is what can be done in such a case, especially when the culprit is a big shot (like IG's son here). A tough question to answer. May be in an ideal world following sequence can happen,

1) Girl will tell the boy to go and f##k off and do what ever you want with the video

2) Boy puts the video in youtube, but society instead enjoying the video and harassing the girl, will turn against the boy who defamed an innocent girl

3) Boy will be put behind the bars and girl will be commended for her courageous attitude

Now only question is, how far are we from this 'ideal' world ?

"Punyalan Agarbattis" - An enhanting fun ride !

Let's keep it simple ! 

There are some movies which shakes you up and keeps you spell bound with its sheer magic. On the other hand there are some others where only thing you will remember, or rather regret at the end, will be about your time and money wasted over it. But our Punyalan is neither a jaw dropper nor it will make you regret your decision to watch it. All it gives you is a few hours of lite, humorous ride which will make your every rupee worth !

What stands out ?

A feel good comedy - Comedy is a difficult craft, both in art and in real life. All these double meaning jokes and slap stick comedies are used when you are unable to master this craft. "Punyalan Agarbathis' is a welcome relief in this way. Rather than trying to add some extra funny scenes to create comedy, they try to present each scenes story in a humorous angle as much as possible and this resulted in an engaging, 'never-a-dull-phase' movie

Hail the performers !

The pivotal role of 'Punyaalan Joy' seems to be tailor made for Jayasurya , who is undoubtedly one of the most flexible actors around. After Jayasurya its our "Thuthuru Thuthuruthu" fame Sreejith Ravi that steals the show. He seems to be a born actor who is able to perform in a pretty wide range. In short lets call it a team effort where each and every one gel together and played their little cameos to perfection

Ranjith Sankar does it again !

A good director is the one who can bring the best out of each actors. Ranjith Sankar, a promising director for future, seems to inherit this gift. To elaborate further,may be for the first time I saw our highly 'talented' actor Edavela Babu in a relevant role and believe it or not, even his role looks awesome in the screen. No more proofs needed !

A Hero who is not a 'Punyalan'

I like the role of 'Joy Thakkolkaran' a.k.a 'Punyalan Joy', not because he is a perfect protagonist, but rather because he is more human. He keeps you guessing what is actually in his mind and you never know if he is actually a honest guy with a lot of innovative ideas and vision who wants to make the world better or just a selfish opportunist businessman who just think about himself. In the movie he has an uncanny knack of convincing people and bring them under his spell. What ever image you give him, by the end of the movie 'Joy Thakkolkaran' will surely bring all of us under that magical spell

Area to improve

I got the feeling that there was an attempt to make the ending a little different so as to avoid those cliched climaxes. In the process they seem to have tried too many things towards the end, It was more like there were multiple options to choose in the script and after getting confused on which one to choose they might have taken a bit of every thing. It doesn't affect the movie a lot, but a little tuning in the script towards the second half could have made it a little better

Verdict

Go for it with family and you will be guaranteed a few hours of entertainment !  Don't expect too much beyond that !

Thumps up all the way :)