TRAFFIC is Magnificent and Mindblowing

Traffic is an awesome movie that will remain with you much long, it is based on the actual 'Chennai traffic incident', which is exceptionally written to suit the screen by Bobby-Sanjay. I feel really happy to see some young movie directors in Mollywood starting to think different in terms of narratives and novelty of themes. 'Traffic' by young director Rajesh Pillai, who debuted with a below average movie 'Hridayathil Sookshikan' is back with a pure awesomeness.

This movie tells the story of a number of characters and an incidents that join them together on a 16th of September, the very day when superstar Sidharth Shankar enacted by Rahman is getting ready to have his latest film's release. On the same day, Traffic Constable Sudevan (Sreenivasan) is trying ways to join back his duty, after being suspended from service for a short period. The same day is also special for Dr Abel (Saikumar) who is celebrating his first wedding anniversary while Raihaan(Vineeth), an youngster is hoping to go big from his beginning as a TV channel reporter, that he is going to join that day. Planned as an emotional thriller, every character is of equal importance as the story unfolds.

The film follows a non-linear narration and the director executed it with magnificent ease. The direction is excellent,the script is flawless, the stories are human and complex and despite their melodramatic or sometimes tragic outcome, they still leave you with a shade of hope - maybe because the humanity that the author uses to create his characters. All the performances in this movie are mention worthy but I must say that Kunchako Boban, Sai Kumar and Asif Ali was nothing but brilliant. All the female protagonists did their part well. I believe that the future of malayalam film industry is now firmly in the hands of script writers like Bobby-Sanjay, James Albert and Blessy. Not that they make the best films, but that they have the current crop of ideas. Craps like Sachi-Sethu and UK-SKT should learn from Bobby-Sanjay that novelty of theme, substance and quality are integral part of film scripts.

"Traffic" is a film that can be watched by audiences who can appreciate and identify good and contentful movies. This film is certainly a whiff of fresh air to the Malayalam industry and it is simply THE best malayalam movie to have come out in recent times. It is definitely prescribed for everyone who likes fresher themes and initiatives in Mollywood. Highly recommended.

MY VERDICT : 4.6/5

MARYKUNDORU KUNJAADU: Pure Entertainment!

Shafi along with Benny P Narayambalam, once again comes up with a film that is a purely entertaining stuff with engaging and believable narration. The story is wafer thin and has been made keeping Dileep's homely image in mind. Anyways the film is all fun 'n' frolic as director Shafi and script writer Benny.P.Nairambalam could have made it a whole lot more cherishable especially in the second half as simplicity is forsaken for chaos but the director has been successful in keeping the audience interested in the movie by touching your humorous side through out the movie.

Dileep enacts the role of Solomon, who is known by the nickname ‘Kunjaadu’ (Lamb). This story is set in a remote hilly village where the majority are Christians where Solomon is the son of the local priest and is brought up in a similar fashion as a simple soul. He is a very silent personality, who fears everything around him, and hence the name ‘Kunjaadu’. The movie had two Mary's in its character list. The first is Mary, the mother of Solomon. The other Mary is played by Bhavana, who is the only daughter of a rich landlord Ittichan. She is in love with Solomon right from their childhood days. But Ittichan doesn’t like the relationship as he has a sober lover story to tell. That is about his old relation with Solomon’s mother Mary, which never got fulfilled. But with the arrival of a strong man with a harsh look into the company of Solomon, the story changes gears suddenly and forms the rest of the story.

Coming to the performances, its Dileep all the way and I was absolutely happy to see him do what he does best. He was offered a role which everyone knows he will be comfortable with and he did with consummate ease. Bhavana had nothing to do other than performing yet another a stereotypical herione. Though Berny Ignatious' music is a total let down, the technical crew has done an excellent job with Joseph Nellikal doing art direction and Shyam Dutt handles the camera.

Overall ‘Marykundoru Kunjaadu’ is indeed a hilarious humor riot that knocks you over the head with its well directed sequences. With its family audience marked out in precise strokes, the film very well caters to their tastes and appeals without doubt and if you are looking for movies that will make you think, look somewhere else. This movie is all about laughter. Forget yourself and your real life issues and just laugh out loud…, the whole theater is with you.

My Verdict : 3.5/5

THE SOCIAL NETWORK is worth a watch!!!

The Social Network is another wonderful film from director David Fincher, who has given us gems like The Game, Fight Club, Seven, Zodiac and The Curious Case Of Benjamin Button. He holds the film together and extracts excellent performances from his cast. His sensitive and realistic portrayal of Mark Zuckerberg’s personality should be applauded. This movie is about a dramatic,enthralling and interesting story of success. It is not mainly about Facebook as many would think, it is about the mastermind who invented it to attract this much people all around the world with a simple idea.

The Social Network is the story of Mark Zuckerberg enacted by Jesse Eisenberg, a Harvard University student and the founder of Facebook.com. It takes us through the creation of the website, how it made Mark a billionaire and made enemies out of his friends. The seamless and exciting screenplay is the backbone of the movie and it is also excellent in the way it brings out the story of Mark Zuckerberg. The dialogues are natural and memorable. The director narrates Mark's personal life and the chronology of founding of Facebook very well. Although the screenplay moves between the past and the future, the transitions are beautiful, revealing different aspects of Mark’s personality one by one. There is a lot of talk in the film but the intense dialogues, coupled with the excellent performances, make the drama believable and interesting to watch. Jesse Eisenberg’s portrayal of Mark Zuckerberg is outstanding and he enacts with ease the vulnerability of Mark’s character with consummate ease. Justin Timberlake fits well into the shoes of the eccentric Sean Parker. David Fincher is one of those directors whose style is in everything that he makes and while at first that may not seem appropriate for a film about Harvard students creating a social website, it somehow makes the film better. Were this in the hands of another director, I don't think the film would have been as well received. The choice in music, camera angles, editing, lighting and the cast is all brilliant.

All in all, The Social Network makes for a good watch. It is one of those films that is rare in its ability to spark conversation. When the film ends, you can't help but turn to your friend or family member and instantly start talking about what you saw. I can safely recommend this movie to anyone who believe in good contentful cinema and if you are missing it, your education in films has not begun.

FOUR FRIENDS is emotionally irritating!!

Coming from the maker of Ivar Vivahitarayaal and Happy Husbands, ‘Four Friends’, is an emotional tearjerker which move in through well sketched out regular routes. Completely copied from the classic Hollywood movie 'Bucket List', this movie is a torture and can be advised to the family audience, who are regulars of formulaic television stuff.

Though you may not expect a great film from the director Saji Surendran, you will expect at least a cliched and mediocre movie. But here, director Saji Surendran is back with this silly made movie, Four friends, all about melodrama. If you are not ready to get an infectious bit from what is shown on screen, then you're best advised to leave this highly melodramatic movie alone and pretend it never existed. I'm not going to give an outline about the story of this movie. You people better go to a DVD store and grab a copy of the Hollywood classic 'Bucket List'. The Bucket List is a great and delightful movie to watch. The movie sways the viewers into an emotional level that continues to resonate even long after the film had ended. But this movie is a highly cliched mega serial like drama which can be avoided.

There are only two things which I liked about this movie. One is the electrifying cameo performance by universal hero Kamal Haasan. Other is actor Jayasurya. Must say that he delivered a commendable performance. He proved that he's got a far far better acting caliber and talent than the so called 'Young Superstar' of Malayalam cinema. All others in the lead including Jayaram, Kunchako and Meera Jasmine are just okay for their roles and nothing mention worthy. The technical side keeps in sync with the movie with mentionable cinematography from Anil Nair and co. The shots in the climax from the suicidal bridge was a treat to watch. This movie has some very ordinary songs. BG tracks and mechanical performances are at times making negative impact.

The director, Saji Surendran and the scriptwriter Krishna Poojapura has miserably failed to make the film an engrossing affair with none of the sequences inviting attention from the audience. All together ‘Four Friends’ is not an imaginative, impressive affair to a regular film goer. If you are on to this, just expect a pedestrian stuff.

My Verdict : 2/5

ENTHIRAN is spectacular

Any movie of Rajnikanth is always a festival; but this time with the never before pomp and show of Director Shankar, ARR, and Aishwarya Rai the biggest budgeted movie Endhiran hit screens worldwide with tickets sold out house full. I was dumbstruck when I heard that the tickets for this movie were finished in the first ten minutes after opening the bookings in a theatre in U.S and I even thought it was just getting a hype like all other Rajni movies. But this one is completely different from the others. This 3 hour flick deserves the budget, the wait, the applause and all the appreciations from the fans.

In this movie, Rajnikanth is a scientist, Vaseegaran who develops a robot. He names it ‘Chitty’ and teaches every single thing in this universe. ‘Chitty’ is programmed to learn and know everything except for human emotions and when that is taught, how would you expect a machine to react? What happens next forms the rest of the story. All the credit for this extravagant movie goes to Shankar Sir. This man is an absolute genius. His creativity reaches great heights with this movie and elevates the Indian movie standard to an all time high. With every movie of his, the scale of movie-making grows tremendously. He got the best technology money can buy. Looks like the majority of the budget is spent on 'Animatronics' and this movie has got plenty of that.

Thalaivar's fan following ranges from small villages to international cities. He is magnificent in this movie. In fact, HE is the movie. He adds life to every single frame created by Shankar with his charismatic screen presence which no other superstar in India could deliver. But this movie has a different Rajni rather than the Rajni who always does stylish marks punch dialogues and awesome modulations to impress us. Aishwarya Rai's role is quite limited in scope, but she looks ravishing in most scenes and does her job well. Santhanam and another comedian (forgot his name) also did justice to their roles.

Technically this movie is a wonder. Shankar proved that it is not only Hollywood that uses Indian staff to create wonders, we could do it too. And as I said the movie is worth the Whooping budget of 150 crores. Though the movie is an animation feast rather than a animation treat there are few sequences that are not to be missed though you don't watch the movie like the train fight, saving the people from fire, KIDNAPPING , And of course the last 45 minutes which makes you think that you are watching a Hollywood movie. Am sure this would lighten up the hopes of many talented Indian animators. Cinematographer Rathnavel impresses us again after a brilliant visual treat in Vinnaithaandi varuvaaya. I felt ARR's music in this film was just mediocre except for the 'Kilimanjaroo' song. The locales in which these two songs have been shot are just breathtaking including locales like Macchu Pichu in Peru which added more charm to these songs. Is ARR getting a little overrated now a days????

Of course this movie is a "must watch" if you are a lover of good commercial entertainers. But do not go to the movie expecting a typical Rajini movie. This is a spectacular visual experience and a real treat. Now, the clock has been reset and the wait continues. For the next Rajni starrer...Long live Thalaivaar!!!

My Verdict : 4/5

'PRANCHIYETTAN AND THE SAINT' is a masterpiece

For all you people who has been shedding tears about no good movie gets made nowadays, it is time for you to stop worrying, well for the time being at least, because 'Pranchiyettan and the Saint' is a brilliant movie. Rarely will you ever come across movies with such depth. Director Ranjith's latest venture starring Mammootty, is one such movie which offers sheer joy and a captivating cinematic experience to the viewers.

In this movie, Mammootty plays a rice merchant named Chirammal Eaanasu Francis, popularly known by the name ‘Pranchiyettan' or 'AriPraanchi' hailing from Trichur. He is an immensely rich business man who had been traditionally into rice selling. He is a man who is out there with a helping hand to the people around him. Though he had every other fortune, Pranchiyettan feels that he commands no needed respect from the society, as he is uneducated. The movies tracks his hilarious ways into making more respectability and honour for himself. Throughout the film, Ranjith remains undecided between two equally lucrative, and challenging choices. The first, of making his film a satire – a celebration of the flawed corrupted system we live in (Making us realize even the Padmasree is for sale) and the second – of making his film a genuinely profound,intense and extremely witty. Both black humor and emotional quotients are amalgamated in the right proportion. Full credits to Ranjith sir for that as the film offers lots of quality rib-tickling moments throughout. The intermission point offers a small and surprising element that is totally out of the blue and keeps you hooked to the movie. The way Ranjith sir narrated with the story with a tinge of black humour with a rich flavor of Thrissur slang is indeed mention worthy.

Mammootty is an actor who delivers good performance every time and he delivered the mannerisms and the rich thrissur slang with consummate ease. He is supported by a huge cast of actors including Innocent, Siddique, Tini Tom, Jagathy Sreekumar, and Master Ganapathy who was highly impressive. Priyamani and Khushboo did justice to their roles. The technical side of this movie is pretty strong with veteran cinematographer Venu delivering a very good camera work. The only song in the movie is nicely picturised but they seem to lack a real tune. A nice melody wouldn´t have gone amiss. The crew have attempted to make the song and BGM appropriate to the story but the song is not really anything memorable, then what is the point of having it? Ranjith controls the goings-on in the story very well and extracts assured performances from all of his actors.

On the whole, 'Pranchiyettan and the saint' easily ranks amongst Ranjith, Mammootty and Innocent's finest films. One of the finest films to have come out in the last five years. Do yourself and your family a favour: Watch 'Pranchiyettan and the saint'. It's entertaining, it's real and it's captivating and if you are missing it, you are missing it big time!!

My Verdict : 4.5/5