INCEPTION -- A Connoisseur's delight !!!

Christopher Nolan's new movie is superb, engaging, mind blowing and indeed a MASTERPIECE. On your first viewing, you will quite possibly only grasp just a fraction of its complexity, but the brilliance of this movie lies in how engaging it is- even though you cannot quite fully comprehend what Nolan is trying to say. Indeed, it may take multiple viewings for one to absorb completely his audacious new creation that dares to tackle as dense and intricate a subject as that of dreams. Inception is a film that you can watch any number of times and each time you enjoy more. Its too brilliant a film. The screenplay is awesome. The non linear narration catch you off guard when you watch it first and may appear confusing but once you get the film you realize that it wouldn't have been better than this had it been told in a normal way.

The setup of the movie is fresh, with enough time spent on it that its logic makes sense and the plot structure holds. Despite the apparent complexity of the plot, once the rules are explained to us, we get it, and we can extrapolate from those initial rules and generate derivative rules from that, sometimes arriving at a new bunch of ideas or rules just as the characters do – almost never before. And as for the plot being complex, it isn't really, you just gotta be diligent, be engaged and awake, enter the cinema with a mind that is ready to work – and then it becomes moderately easy to follow; as there is a very simple layering pattern to the plot, you just need to orient yourself every time we transition from one scene to the next, and the filmmakers have done all that is within their responsibility to do to help you, the audience, along in figuring out where you are. SO DON'T F*****G COMPLAIN THAT YOU DON'T UNDERSTAND WHAT'S GOING ON. If you do, you might as well give up on yourself – why bother living?

One of the things I liked most about the movie was that it throws you right into the middle of the plot, with little scenes here and there that sorta explain what’s going on, and they help you understand the movie and draw your own conclusions. There was no nonsense scenes with random talking and crap like that and that's why I said earlier that the dialogues are so powerful.

But believe me, it is so well written that you will understand it all the way until the end of the movie. Or at least so you think. The last few seconds of the movie will, excuse my language, mindfuck you in all the right ways. It will leave you wondering what the hell just happened? Was everything you believed you just saw wrong from the very start? Was it all a dream? I guess you’ll have to watch it to find out. I've seen this movie 6 times in the last two and a half weeks and I will definitely watch it again. :)

My Rating : 5/5

APOORVARAGAM is Pathetic

Sibi Malayil , the director who had delivered many classics in could have looked upon for a better script for his relaunch, than this which is found to be wanting in many areas. If he is to go on repeating things like this, very soon he will be stamped as a director who can't go over the potential of the supplied scripts. Apoorvaragam is a totally disappoiting movie with an unconvincing script, overacted performances and horrible music.

In Apoorvaragam, Sibi Malayil tells a story of three youngsters, Roopesh, Nancy and Tommy. Three young hearts in love, and a tumultuous ride through their joys, their pains and frustrations. How they try to implement thier evil intentions, some expectable and unrealistic twists etc forms the rest of the story. The plot, even though half baked, is little appealing but it is the screenplay and the dialogues with double meaning and vulgarity that proved to be the biggest negatives of the film. The director, Sibi Malayil and the scriptwriters has miserably failed to make the film an engrossing affair, as the first half with cliched sequences is a little dragging with none of the sequences inviting attention from the audience. The narrative of the film is also structured in a strange fashion. In the beginning of the movie, you have all the necessary campus film requirements; be it the so called 'thattupolippan' songs ( It was horrible though) or the outdated jokes, the canteen banter or the weirdo dance steps. In fact everything except studies. And in the second half Sibi Malayil takes you into a world of so called 'twists' or the correct word will be some unrealistic mix-up's.

Apoorvaragam is filled with over acted performances. Be it the cute Nishan or Asif. Both failed miserably to get into the skin of the character. Nishan looks attractive but doesn't even fit into a ruffian role. The man who played the role of Nithya's father often reminded me of the character played by Innocent in Azhakiya Raavan ( Thollakkal Panchayathu ;)) He was so amateurish. Jagathy Sreekumar's character is half baked. Nithya Menon had nothing to do in this film but her looks were good. On the flip side, the picturisation is okay. On the acting front, the late Santhosh Jogi and the guy who played the third protagonist (Forgot his name) is persevering. But since his role is limited and constricted, he cannot save the film. Music by Vidyasagar is below average. The camera work is indeed mention-worthy.


Apoorvaragam is not impressive and tedious, the script was just a crap, and the only thing it leaves one to ponder is, "Why didn't I believe the critics on this one?" If you can, personally, find some meaning in "Apoorvaragam" I'm happy for you, but please realize that that meaning is purely a personal one and nothing that is inherently suggested. (That or you are just claiming to find meaning where there is none because you like to make people think that you are smarter than you actually are. Sorry if that sounds bitter, but I was really disappointed.) And there is no logic promoting these kind of films. Strictly avoidable.

My Verdict : 1/5

MALARVADI ARTS CLUB -- A feel good friendship tale!!

Vineeth Sreenivasan has a very good track record in Mollywood. He is a successful playback singer, album director and even as an actor he proved his mettle. Now DIRECTOR Vineeth Sreenivasan has made bold with an absolutely new idea and to his eternal credit makes it work with finesse and flashiness. Malarvadi Arts club is a well made movie. He redefines the meaning of friendship in this well portrayed tale. Moreover, Vineeth Sreenivasan was successful in formulating a right script that revolves strongly on 'Relationships'.

The story of 'Malarvadi Arts Club' revolves around the life and adventures of five friends in a village named 'Manassery' in Malabar side. . These five friends have reached an important point of their lives, having completed their studies and are in the lookout for a job, they have no other place for a hangout than their old children’s club. The Club is at the edge of destruction with new generation children showing no interest in group activities, other than those related to their studies. The five men in the film are good at heart, but they have different temperaments and are unique in their own way. The five some decides to somehow run the Club and organize better activities with the help of the local men. The director clearly works out the ‘Nostalgia factor’ by clearly portraying the inherent innocence of a village and village men, their life, their joys, sorrows, etc. Everything is excellent about this movie. Be it the direction, the flawless realistic script, the performances from the lead actors , the music etc. Just everything perfect for me.

The actor who portrayed the role of ‘Prakash’ steals the show with his top-notching performance. He emotes fantastically to all situations. Let it be his relented shades or the emotional outburst in penultimate sequences; he’s awesome. Much accordingly ‘Santhosh’ delivers a stupendous act and Purushu – the romantic hero steals the show. On the grounds of hilarious lines as well heart-touching moments, the actor has gone ahead in places. The two new actresses does justice to their roles. Salim Kumar was impressive and quite good at parts. I felt Suraj Venjaramoodu was not effective with his usual gimmicks and mannerisms. Did I forgot to mention Nedumudi sir’s performance? Well this role was just a cakewalk for him. He exhibited his brilliance and portrayed the role with consummate ease. P Sukumar's cinematography has innovative placements adding to the touch of screenplay’s pace. Now winding up this section, Shaan Rahman’s music is fresh and entertaining. His beats including the BGM merge with the movie’s theme. His rerecording could have been better and could have included another singer but nevertheless, a great show! Hard work from cast and crew is evident in the movie and eventually it had paid off.

For all you people who has been shedding tears about no good movie getting made nowadays, it is time for you to stop worrying, well for the time being at least, because this is a terrific movie! Definitely advised for all, who love good, meaningful cinema. Highly recommended.

My Verdict : 3.5/5

Oru Naal Varum -- REFRESHINGLY DIFFERENT

Oru Naal Varum -- All connoisseurs of good, contentful cinema was eagerly waiting for its release for a long long time. July 9 was the day and I must say it delivered. It never came up to my level of expectation but I thoroughly enjoyed the movie to the core. It is of little doubt in Malayalam Cinema that Lalletan - Sreenivasan had been the best Writer-Actor duo to have ever come up on screen. They were exemplary pair which made super hits like Naadodikattu, Pattanapravesham, T.P Balagopalan M A, Sanmanasullavarkku Samadhanam, Udayananu Tharam etc. Apart from this big highlight, the movie featured T. K Rajeev Kumar- the director who gave us films like Pavithram and Chanakyan.


The movie shows glimpses of the magic that happens when Mohanlal and Srinivasan get together. My opinion is that they have been more entertaining in the past, but this movie is a rare treat in recent times. Oru Naal varum is another social satire film by Sreenivasan narrating the fate of a citizen trying hard to build a house of his own facing the harsh regulations of town planning office. Here Sreenivasan narrates the plight of an ordinary citizen who is forced to run after files paying bribes and offering presents to every officers on the way, to help him to realize his dream. I am not revealing much about about the storyline of the movie as there are some simple guessable suspense elements involved here. The first half of the movie is totally impressive with witty one liners, realistic dialogues and the second half would have been much much better if the narrative would have been delivered in a spicy and engaging way cutting off some of the melodrama. In the downside, the movie could have been trimmed a bit, particularly in the second half where it meanders around unwanted territories, with little results. The core issue in this film is corruption and I must say this film is firmly rooted in the current day social circumstances of Kerala and conveys a strong message.


Mohanlal as usual, has a cakewalk through the role of Kolapulli Sukumaran, who is never projected as a superhero(even though we had two stunt scenes forced to the narrative), but as a helpless ordinary man with right dose of emotions and strains. It was quite enthralling to watch Lalletan portraying the nuances, body language and inherent innocence of the character with magnificent ease. Sreenivasan makes his character memorable by delivering some of his trademark gestures. But he has played his part pretty well, in general. Another special role is of Nedumudi Venu who plays a retired havildar. Siddique, Lalu Alex and Sameera Reddy also play to the demands of their roles. The music department of this film is handled by M G Sreekumar and he delivered his career best performance. The technical side of the movie is also pretty good with cinematographer Manoj Pillai doing a good job.


All in all, ‘Oru naal Varum’ is a good attempt which ended up as just above mediocre. Had the makers packed the second half with some more dramatic, spicy and interesting events without much melodrama, the movie could have been a much better offering. Have a watch, as it definitely has some genuine moments that will interest you. This movie may work out well in the box office, if marketed intensively.

My Verdict : 7.5 / 10.