"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

 

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 ?

"Spirit" - Movie Review

Should movies be just for aesthetic satisfaction OR should it focus on social responsibility as well ?
The topic is always debatable. But after watching 'Spirit' I felt Renjith was trying too hard for the latter one giving not much consideration to the former. But unfortunately it turns out to be a rare anticlimax as the movie ends up lagging in both parts ...

Performances are pertty good, songs are fresh and different, camera work is ok. But movie sadly lacks in a tight story/screenplay coupled with a mediocre editing.. There are some good sequences and enjoyable moments in between but the number of loose ends in the story and lack of flow makes the movie loose its focus more often that it should.

Plus :
1) Lallettan - The best(or only) ingredient that makes Spirit stronger is the presence of this versatile old wine that seems to get better with age. Just like the 'Grand Master' he takes the movie on those broad shoulders with his familiar effortless acting. The role was tailor made for him and he made himself fit into it with an amazing ease.

2) Effort for a noble social awareness 

Minus:
Almost every thing else

Final verdict:
Watched the movie first day with a Himalayan expectation and finally when I was leaving the theatre my feeling was similar to what i felt after watching "Thalsamayam oru Penkutty" Like some one made me sit and hear a lot of documentary type advises and finally relieved when the class was over... 

I can assure you that this movie was surely better than that T K Rajeev kumar's disastrous effort ...But when you even consider comparing a Renjith's movie with a Rajeev Kumar's type of movie that itself says a lot ... isn't it ?

"Casanova" - MovieReview

Stunt/Style : **** ABOVE AVERAGE
Comparing to fellow Molly wood movies the stunts are good (may be a tad less stylish than 'slow motion specialist Neerad ji). I strongly feel majority of the Budget went for this part.

Songs/Dance : *** AVERAGE
Couple of good songs and a energetic dance from Lalettan 
But one song was released years back and thus don't have its charisma now !

Performance : *** AVERAGE
Rated three stars mainly for Lalettan, who again did manage to do justice to a Role which possiblly cannot be done more perfectly by anyone else in Molly wood. For all others I feel there was NOT enough space or chance to act itself.

Direction : ** BELOW AVERAGE
Did NOT expect such a futile effort from Raosh Andrews. With all the hype it gave, the direction is far below par.The control which Roshan had over the movie in his previous efforts was missing and its too direction less one.

Story/Screenplay : * POOR
Its so hard to believe that the people who wrote Notebook, Traffic is behind this crap story.There is Nothing new in the story with all the same old cliches.
The screenplay was a disaster and there were too many potholes, may be more than our state roads after monsoon !

Final verdict
After watching this movie on Release day, this was what I lost and gained
Loss : 50 Rs, 2.5 hrs
Gain : A very frustrating head ache

... and I am sure most of the other fellow Lalettan fans in that theatre will also be feeling the same way
Do I need to say more !