SUDHIN RAJ. V

Prithviraj Sukumaran's directorial debut, Lucifer, is set in a large canvas with politics, crime, revenge and emotions mixed in a delightful way. Undoubtedly its a masala entertainer that is nothing less than a treat for the fans of Mohanlal with an unapologetic testosterone show on screen. The first half is all about the great aura and terrific screen presence of the complete actor Mohanlal. Well-framed with fine performances, the film, however, takes the formulaic and cliched route in the second half, that too in an engaging way. But Ironically, here the script feels like deep as well as lazy in parts and the movie depends more on stylized shots and background music to do the job, as it progress. Kudos to director, that he has tried to bring out the best version of Mohanlal the star with extraordinary screen presence and flexibility, really in a way we like to see him. Lucifer also stands out on how each character develops on its own. Vivek Oberoi is the apt villain and his dubbing, voice and mannerisms gelled well and there was no hic-cups in his dialogue delivery. Manju Warrior also carries her character forward with ease and delivers the most appealing performance in recent times. Tovino makes his best of his limited screen time. Prithviraj’s cameo as Zayed Masood, however, suits neither the actor or the star. But his brother Indrajith’s role as an activist, though minor, leaves a lasting impression. The director and Sujith Vassudev, the cinematographer, complemented each other in the most amazing manner. With excellent frames and visualisation, the 'Lucifer' cast has been able to lift a mediocre script to a new level, apart from some elaborated scenes, contrary to the promise made by the director itself, a couple of years ago that he would avoid all misogynistic representations of women in his films.  Atlast, As the title of the movie suggest- This Biblical Lucifer is no where close to hell, meanwhile much closer to heaven atleast for all masala movie lovers and hard core ettan fans. Don't miss it.

The anticipations were really high due to the reunion of Prithviraj and Parvathy in the lead roles again. Film also marks the entry of Roshni Dinaker as a film-maker. The film has its script penned by talented writer and actor Shankar Ramakrishnan and the audiences are definitely expecting something really special from this magnificent team. But here the story which is shared is as old as cinema itself. A lot of drama and cliches have made this effort in to a discontent. At times it feels like the filmmaker is bent on including every cinematic cliche known to the world - A rebellious rich girl, A rich fiance in a suit, An aspiring young man who is poor yet fun, her moneyminded father and more, all set as in the Titanic. The writer has tried to infuse some freshness in the script by taking the audiences back and forth with an unfamiliar track, but overdoing the same has created a slightly negative impact. The dialogues too are dramatic at portions. The movie is too much prolonged than it actually demands. Considering the film has a non-linear narrative and goes back to about 20 years in time, the appearances of the cast change very little. These imperfect replica roles actually shatter some wow moments too. A villain, who looks like a model for an expensive Raymond's ad walking here and there is also a little annoying.  Perhaps the true abilities of an actor can be judged only in a bad film. Though all are given the most unrealistic lines possible, Parvathy and Prithviraj manage to mouth them with conviction. It's ultimately their performances that make us sit through this fairytale gone wrong. Here too there are situations which these talents too displeased. At the end of it all, you are left wondering why they were in it. Shaan Rahman's music acts as a saving grace in most of the portions. The cinematography is splendid and it has some never seen before visuals set in Lisbon & Portugal, which at times pull the attention of the audiences. U My Story is not a disaster, meanwhile nothing best is here. It seems like an extravagant melodramatic experiment in mollywood which actually failed in recent bollywood flicks

Everyone remembers who the first man on the moon was, not so much the second and the third. Being first in India, for venturing into such a great task of a Space movie, Tik Tik Tik deserves some value and applause at the beginning itself. Tik Tik Tik starts with a severe problem – a giant asteroid is about to destroy half of India and kill over 4 crore people. Who can stop this minor apocalypse?... The answer to this, turns out is the base of whole movie which infact a total messup. It is not the scientists or even highly trained military personnel – it’s a Robin Hood-type magician who is the saviour when the country is at stake. Lets not bring our brain in to this & loose our logic at this point itself and watch the remaining film just as a usual tamil commercial flick. It will definitely impress you, else the whole film will be a disappointment.  Apart from you expected the film also delivers a father-son relationship and what happens to this, is an important plot point but the director barely invests any time in building their bond on screen. Film is having a quick rush to fix the premises and characters in a hurry to fly high into space. But infact these crisis explanations,father-son combo, magical gimmicks and space travel trainings have consumed the first half completely. Scenes for explaining space science asif for a child, may be a need for convincing general tamil audience, but for a so called space movie audience these seems a little awkward. The second half of movie is completely set on space with reasonable moments and twists. The appreciable vfx works and brilliantly reduced the duration (131 minutes) without any lag is the only saving factor here. Given that the budget is nowhere close to Hollywood flicks, the visual effects are impressive and convince us that this unlikely bunch actually is in space. Even if we don’t care about the characters crying, it’s fun to see their tears floating up. However, most of its potential is spent on mimicking or recreating scenes from other ventures, which speaks for the director's utter lack of creativity. In the end, Tik Tik Tik is nothing but the typical underwhelming commercial film set in space. Lazy scripting and blatantly unoriginal, illogical scenes spoiled this huge effort to a large extent. But it having some moments and scenes which is really enough for a clean family entertainer. Tik Tik Tik feels like a missed opportunity. It’s neither a proper Masala film, nor a Gripping thriller – but despite the fact that it never really takes off, it deserves a consolation prize for trying. A clean family movie is waiting for you if you are ready to leave your Interstellar/Gravity hangovers.

Kaala isn’t a film about a gangster but a film about revolution.A gangster King of Dharavi, fights for keeping the land safe from mighty politicians and the land mafia.In this world, where the importance of land is high, the suppression of the downtrodden and the greed of the power-hungry politicians is clearly shown. The story is simple, that land is common man's right. The movie turned out to be 50:50 mass-class moments with both Rajni- Ranjith touch.The slow-motion walks, the 360-degree shots, the close-ups — that every Rajini fan craves for. But, Ranjith has endearingly humanised the on-screen Rajinikanth. Rajini and Easwari (an extremely flavoursome performance) share a chemistry that is adorable. Ranjith has proved a point — you don’t need younger actress to show romance on screen.The supporting cast is as impressive. Easwari Rao makes her mark, and the fiery Anjali Patil appears as one of Rajinikanth’s son’s lover. Nana Patekar is left to play second fiddle as a menacing antogonist in white. Moreover, Ranjith places several easter-egg moments that deal with gender equality. Women claiming her right to occupy a space in a protest and not let anyone use her gender against her wishes. The moment speaks volumes. Undoubtedly, Kaala is a better effort than Kabali, even though there is nothing new in the story. There are scenes in the film that will surely resonate with fans of Thalaivar. The interval block scene stands out among these. Meanwhile it loses some of its pace in the second half, is slightly sluggish and somewhat predictable. This Loud and lag movie may not be a cup of tea for family audience but definitely a blockbuster on the way.

പ്ലാചോട്ടിൽ കുട്ടൻപിള്ളയും അയാളുടെ ഒന്നരയേക്കറിലെ വരിക്കപ്ലാവും പ്രേക്ഷകർക്ക് സമ്മാനിക്കുന്നത് മണ്ണും മനുഷ്യനും തമ്മിലുള്ള ബന്ധം മാത്രമല്ല . മറിച്ച് നാടിനെ നടുക്കിയ സംഭവകഥയുടെ ഓർമ്മപെടുത്തൽ കൂടിയാണ്. ചില ഓർമ്മകൾ മറക്കാതിരിക്കാൻ ഇത്തരം ചില സിനിമകൾ മാധ്യമങ്ങൾ ആവാറുണ്ട്. അത് നൽകുന്ന സന്ദേശങ്ങൾ മാറ്റങ്ങൾക്ക് കാരണമാകട്ടെ. നല്ല പ്രേമേയം സ്വാഭാവികതയിലൂടെ സംവദിച്ച അണിയറക്കാർക്ക് അഭിനന്ദനങ്ങൾ . മലയാള സിനിമയുടെ ഓരോ താരങ്ങളുടെയും അഭിനയ മികവാണ് ഇവിടത്തെ യഥാർത്ഥ വിജയം. കൊട്ടിഘോഷിക്കാൻ ഏറെയൊന്നുമില്ലെങ്കിലും വ്യത്യസ്തമായ ഒരു പരീക്ഷണം എന്ന നിലയിലും പൂർണ്ണതയിലെത്തിയ ക്ലൈമാക്സ് vfx ദൃശ്യങ്ങൾക്കും വേണ്ടി ആർക്കും ബോറടിക്കാതെ കണ്ടിരിക്കാവുന്ന സിനിമയാണ് കുട്ടൻ പിള്ളയുടെ ശിവരാത്രി.

#IrumbuThirai A solid commercial cyber crime thriller. What makes the film tick is its topicality with the Aadhar controversy and recent Facebook Cambridge Analytica scandal. This film surely makes you think how digital India is growing. Unless some mandatory love scenes and dramas on the downside, the second half has a terrific part to play with a few nagging logical loopholes. Debutant Director P.S.Mithran deserves a thumbs up and so as Arjun Sarja who nailed the role of a brilliant villain.Thanks for not failing the villain atlast so miserably. Tamil movies once again proves their technical advancement and novalty after magnificent #Thanioruvan & #Maayavan. All Kudos to the entire team for exhibiting such thought provoking movie.This is a must watch film. Show this to your parents and let them know whats happening / what could happen. In post credit scenes "Cashless India Careless Indians" are really a true lines, hope people can understand how important their data to secure it.Worth to watch in theater.

കാഴ്ച്ചപാടുകളാണ് എന്നും തെറ്റും ശരിയു വേർതിരിക്കുന്നത്. എന്നാൽ തെറ്റിധാരകൾക്ക് മാറ്റങ്ങൾ ഉണ്ടാകാൻ വൈകും തോറും പൊലിഞ്ഞു പോകുന്നത് നിർദോഷങ്ങളായ ചില ജീവിതങ്ങളാണ്. ഇത്തരത്തിലൊരു വിഷയമാണ് ' ഞാൻ മേരിക്കുട്ടി' ചർച്ച ചെയ്യുന്നത്. തന്റെതല്ലാത്ത തെറ്റുകൊണ്ട് എന്നും സമൂഹത്തിൽ അപഹാസ്യരായ ഒരു ജനതയുടെ വേദനയും വീറും ഒരു പോലെ പ്രതിഫലിക്കുന്ന ഒരു ഒറ്റപ്പെട്ട ശബ്ദമാണ് മേരിക്കുട്ടിയുടെത്. അധികം ശ്രദ്ധിക്കപെടാത്തതും അറിയാത്തതുമായ ഒരു പശ്ച്ചാതലമായതു കൊണ്ടു തന്നെ, സാവധാനം സഞ്ചരിക്കുന്ന ഒരു തുടക്കമാണ് സിനിമക്ക്. എന്നാൽ പതിയെ മേരിക്കുട്ടിയുടെ സ്വപ്നങ്ങളും സങ്കടങ്ങളും പ്രേക്ഷകരിലേക്കും പെയ്തിറങ്ങുന്നുണ്ട് . കൃത്യമത്വം കലരാതെ തന്നെ മേരിക്കുട്ടിയെ, ജയസുര്യ ഗംഭീരമാക്കുന്നുണ്ട് . ഭിന്നലിംഗക്കാർ നേരിടെണ്ടി വരുന്ന മാനസികവും, ശാരീരികവുമായ സംഘർഷങ്ങൾ അതിന്റെ മൂർധന്യ ഭാവത്തിൽ ഈ നടൻ വരച്ചു കാണിക്കുന്നുണ്ട്. അത്തരതിലുള്ള രംഗങ്ങൾ തന്നെയാണ് ചിത്രത്തിന്റെ ശക്തിയും. ഈ ചങ്കൂറ്റത്തിന് നടനും, സംവിധായകനു നിറഞ്ഞ കൈയ്യടികൾ.

അടുത്ത കാലത്ത് കണ്ട ഏറ്റവും, മികച്ച മമ്മുട്ടി ചിത്രം.മമ്മൂട്ടിച്ചിത്രമെന്നതിലുപരി സംവിധായകന്റെയും തിരക്കഥാകൃത്തിന്റെയും സിനിമയാണ് അബ്രഹാമിന്റെ സന്തതികൾ. പ്രേക്ഷകർ ചിന്തിക്കുന്നിടത്തു നിന്ന് തെന്നിമാറുന്ന കഥാശൈലി.  ആരാധകർക്കായുള്ള ഘടകങ്ങൾ മാത്രം ഉൾക്കൊള്ളിച്ച്, കണ്ടു മടുത്ത ഒരു കഥാപരിസരവുമായി തുടങ്ങിയ ചിത്രം, പീന്നീട് പതിയെ പ്രധാന കഥയിലേക്ക് കടക്കുമ്പോൾ സ്വീകരിച്ച എഴച്ചിലും, emotional drama സ്വഭാവവുമായി അവസാനിച്ച ആദ്യ പകുതി, തികച്ചും പ്രേക്ഷകന്റെ പ്രതീക്ഷകൾ കുറക്കാൻ സഹായിച്ചിട്ടുണ്ട്. അതുകൊണ്ട് തന്നെ ക്ലൈമാക്സ് അടുക്കുമ്പോൾ കൈവരിച്ചു ചടുലതയും, ഞെട്ടിക്കുന്ന ട്വിസ്റ്റുകളും നന്നായി ആസ്വദിക്കാൻ സാധിക്കുന്നുണ്ട് .