How Old Are You

My review: How Old Are You

It is difficult to miss the similarities in its basic premise and the character arcs protagonist's family members with that of "English Vinglish". Just like Sri Devi tried to make a comeback, successfully at that with the former, "How Old Are You" (HOAY) is Manju Warrier's attempt at return to the big screen after a long sabbatical. But unlike "English Vinglish", HOAY is more down to earth and more realistic. There is hardly any over-the-top cinematic moment or a bid sermonizing in the end where the protagonist asserts her views on her family. This simplistic and minimalistic approach to the movie making and powerful yet effortless portrayal by the lead actors make this comeback vehicle a jolly good ride with enough food for the thought of the viewers, without remotely being preachy.   

As the vigour and courage of the youth gets submerged by the mundane routine of the adulthood, the ability of the mind to dream gets drowned in the ocean of stagnation. The threshold for emotional numbness reaches its peak, but when the threshold is breached then it can either lead to eruption of emotional volcano or mind regressing to the previous phase of development. Not everyone can fight the two and remain calm and composed to aspire for a new beginning and pursuing new goals at that age. Our protagonist Nirupama Rajeev exactly does that with a bit of help from her soul-mate who has seen her from close quarters as a doer rather than a passivist. Thus HOAY portrays the lives of millions of middle aged working women who loose their dreams in the midst of chasing the dream of their loved ones. HOAY is one of the best coming-of-age or a introspective movie that has graced Indian cinema. "Queen" and "English Vinglish" come a distant second. 

It is a terrific comeback for Manju Warrier. She could not have hoped for a better script for her return to the big screen. And her emotive skills are intact, in fact one must say has got polished with age. The subtlety and effortless emotive skills come to the forefront. Even after she makes a point, the body language and swagger of a demure housewife still stays but the new found confidence in her own abilities and pride of having accomplished something shows. It is difficult to bring about these subtleties in one's acting, but Manju has just managed it with flair. For her character to shine it need a perfect hard rock to polish it, Kunchacko Boban is exactly that rock. His rock solid performance and the actor's understanding of the script helps in magnifying the character arc of Manju. Kudos for him to play second fiddle to the female lead, that too a role with grey shades especially considering the purple patch he has stuck with his career off-late. Movie boats of power-packed performances  from all the support cast.

The makers have banked on the content more than technical wizardry. Movie is technically good. Gopi Sunder's musical score is a pillar of strength to the movie.

On the whole, "How Old Are You" is a must watch, cathartic for some, introspective for the others, thoroughly entertaining for the all. 

Bottomline: Brilliant and soulful. 

4/5

God's Own Country

My review: God's Own Country

"God's Own Country", yet another Malayalam movie presented in the hyperlink screenplay format, is a fast-paced thriller that handles a myriad of topical issues along the way. Vasudev Sanal has deftly handled the written matter of Arun Gopinath, Anish Francis and Praveen Kumar to provide the viewers with wholesome entertainment. Though movie has its moments of over-the-top-heroism, the presentation is such that one may overlook the same in the pace with which things happen. Same holds true as far as the logical loopholes are concerned. 

Movie has three main plots intertwined with many subplots with these main plots spicing up the narrative. Though the movie has so many plots and subplots, at no point in time one might get confused, the credit goes to the writers as well the director. The difference in the colour tone of the frames which the makers have employed to differentiate the three main plots starts off well but after a point gets redundant. However the seamless confluence of all the plot in end is in itself a testimony to the intelligence of the writers. 

The ensemble cast full of talented actors enriches the narrative a great deal. Fahad Fasil is effervescent as ever, this time trying his hand on action and he comes out well. Sreenivasan in another author backed role does his part with aplomb while Lal in an underplayed role once again proves the prowess of the veteran. Mythili and Lena give credibility to their roles. 

Gopi Sunder's background score lends more than a helping hand in keeping the narrative engrossing. Technically movie is as good as any movie of any other language. Aravind Krishna and Arun James are the cinematographers. 

On the whole, "God's Own Country" is a fast paced entertainer that will leave you breathless in the end. 

Bottomline: Fast and furious 

3.5/5

Law Point

My review: Law point

Lijin Jose's "Law Point", written  by Devadas is a suspense drama that take its own time to the point where the twist is revealed. The twist too is not that a strong one that might give the audience a jolt. If one was open to the possibilities and had a keen eye on the proceedings, the twist might not come as a surprise. The screenplay is a long drawn out keeps ambling along at a snail pace until the point when the twist arrives.

 First half starts off promisingly on an interesting premise but soon the movie changes its focus becomes a road movie all of a sudden. Then after the intermission the flashback portions with all its cliched occurrences (may be intentionally so) will test one's patience. Finally when you resign yourself for a cliched ending, the twist happens, but one can't help but have a feeling of wanting for more. May be a more radical thinking or a more heavier twist might have made matters better.  

Kunchako Boban is good as the intelligent advocate Sathya who thinks he can get away with his intelligent play totally unaware that he himself is being taken for a ride. Namitha Pramod's role does evoke queations in one's mind initially when you see there is not much substance in it but towards the end the importance of the role just manifest itself onscreen. Good support cast have given credible support to the narration.

Technically movie is good. Bijibal's background score amplifies the narrative strength of the writer. On the whole, "Law Point" is an average movie. One needs loads of patience to sit through it with only solace being its climax. 

Bottomline: Mostly pointless...

3/5  

Vallavanukku Pullum Aayudham

My review: Vallavanukku Pullum Aayudham

Remake of Telugu hit "Maryadha Ramanna", "Vallavanukku Pullum Aayudham" (VPA) suffers from the Telugu hangover. Known to be loud and brass when you remake a Telugu movie into Tamil one must tone it down a great deal for it to be palatable for the Tamil audience. But Srinath however fails to do that and hence the overt brandishing of loud, crass and over the top making ensures that VPA fails to take off inspite of it having quiet a few laugh out loud moments. If only the makers vouched for some degree of subtlety things would have been different. 

Nonetheless VPA is not entirely despicable and is a decent launch vehicle for Santhanam as a solo hero. He does his parts well, excels even in the slapstick comedy, yet unexplored trait of his. As unusual he excels in his timing comedy and sarcastic one-liners, which is his forte. It is when he tries to "act" he gets unintentionally funny, especially when he tries to show of petrified affect. He does well in the song sequences choreographed to suit his persona. 

The first half is a drag, with those tiring sequences on the train testing one's patience. In the name of comedy the whole sequences that involves director Rajakumaran and his gang is infantile. It is only in the second half the story actually unfolds and the proceeding become engrossing. There are quiet a few genuinely funny sequences in the second half. However the Telugu cinema cliches and unwarranted and dreary songs keep intruding with the seamlessness of the flow. 

Ashna Zaveri doesn't look like a heroine material and her acting skills needs a lot of honing. Nagineedu and his group of villains overdo their parts which might be ideal for the Telugu version but in Tamil you need to tone it down a bit more. Mirchi Senthil is okay while director Rajakumaran is plain irritating. 

Technically movie looks rich with neat visuals by Richard M Nathan and Sakthi. In Siddharth Vipin's music, "Takkaru takkaru" is a foot tapping number while "Otrai devathai" is a good melody, though one can sniff the Telugu flavor in all the songs.  

On the whole, "Vallavanukku Pullum Ayutham" is funny in parts, but fails to sustain interest. Too much of Telugu movie idiosyncrasies spoils the movie's overall appeal.

Bottomline: For few LOL moments here and there.

2.5/5 

1 by Two

My review: 1 by Two

Backed by impressive set of films "Ee Adutha Kaalathu", "Left Right Left", Arun Kumar Aravind turns up with his latest offering  "1 by Two" written by Jeyamohan, starring Fahad Fazil, Murali Gopi and Honey Rose Verghese. A psychological thriller, movie explores the psyche of a patient affected by the dissociative identity  disorder (multiple personality disorder) and touching the illegal drug testing in human patients along the way. 

The screenplay is taut and keeps you engrossed on the proceedings until the last 15 minutes or so when the movie turns filmy. Otherwise the suspense if neatly built up and the psychological aspects are also well tought out and performed. Movie's real star is Murali Gopi who outshines all others with his terrific performance. It is one of the best from him yet and the nuances with which he brings out subtle changes in the various personalities be it the body language, facial expression or the dialogue delivery is astounding. Not in every movie in which Fahad Fazil is also there would you see someone outshining him. But here Murali effortlessly does that.  

Fahad Fazil's is more of an extented cameo, but he too excels in the limited time space he is on screen. Honey Rose has nothing much to do while the support cast perform their level best. But it the writer's overzealous approach of trying to showcase the mental makeup of each and every character which makes it tiring for the viewers after a point. 

Gopi Sunder's background score thrills while Jomon Thomas' cinematography gives it a classy feel. The movie is technically rich.

The writer seems to have done a good deal of research on the medical terms and lingo. However too much of dialogues in language other than Malayalam including English and Kannada and loads of medical and psychological conversation might deter the wider audience from enjoying the movie holistically.  

On the whole, "1 by Two" is a neatly packaged psychological thriller with terrific performance from Murali Gopi.

Bottomline: 1 man show. 

3.5/5  

Yaamirukka Bayamey

My review: Yaamirukka Bayamey

Debutant Deekay's "Yaamirukka Bayamey" has struck that successful formula which resurrected Raghavendra Lawrence's career with his "Muni" series. The horror-comedy which genuinely scares at the same time has loads of humor to intertwine is a difficult mix to get it right. Deekay has got it right and keeps the audience in good humor at the same time on their toes with an engrossing screenplay and neat writing. Movie is not a masterpiece by any means nor it is bereft of any loopholes, but still there is something that is endearingly honest about this movie, which makes it tick with the audience. 

Deekay makes no pretensions. He is ruthlessly honest in presenting a full blown commercial cinema with it's share of double entendres, foul language, run-of-the-mill comical situations, contrived scenarios, almost juvenile flashback but still manages to entertain the audience. At no point in time one would feel bored or allowed to drift. And the humor in the most scariest of places leave you wanting for more. 

It is a good break for Kreshna who excels in with his comical talent. Be it dialogues or slapstick, he is equally good in making the audience laugh. But the real show stealer is  Karunakaran. With his unique body language and facial expression coupled with his timing dialogue delivery he is a riot. Rupa Manjari and Oviya do their parts well, though not much is expected of them. The veterans  like Mayilsamy and "Mahanadhi" Shankar  lend comical support to the proceedings. 

Songs are irritants with none sounding good, but Prasad S.N makes up for it with his good supportive background score which enhances the thrills at many instances. Rammy's cinematography makes the movie technically rich with classy and glossy frames. 

On the whole, "Yaamirukka Bayamey" is a thoroughly entertaining horror-comedy on the lines of the "Muni" series.

Bottomline: Not flawless yet honestly endearing, ruthlessly funny. 

3.5/5    

Naan Sigappu Manithan

My review: Naan Sigappu Manithan

Thiru's "Naan Sigappu Manithan" is a neatly written, nicely performed and a well made movie. Widely publicized to be a movie dealing with narcolepsy (though they have portrayed the most severe form of the illness here) one should say the writer-director Thiru has done justice to it. Not at any point do you feel that the illness in forced into the narrative for the sake of novelty. Here it forms the part and parcel of the character of the protagonist. Though the main plot is the plain revenge saga, the suspense and the twists inherent in the narrative makes it an engrossing watch.

Vishal once again gets into the skin of the character like his previous successful venture "Pandiyanadu". Getting to know pretty well where his strength lies in that movie he has polished it a higher degree this time. Lakshmi Menon doesn't have much to perform while Iniya has lots of scope and has utilized it well. Sunder Ramu is kind of getting typecast. Jegan succeeds in lightening up the screen at few instances. The quintessential mother and father of Tamil cinema Saranya and Jayaprakash do what they do it with aplomb movie after movie. 

G.V.Prakashkumar's background score is excellent. It helps to add spice to the manner in which the story is told. Richard M.Nathan's cinematography is brilliant. 

On the whole, "Naan Sigappu Manithan" is a neat taut action-thriller, thoroughly entertaining. 

Bottomline: Well made movie.

3.5/5

Vaayai Moodi Pesavum

My review: Vaayai Moodi Pesavum

Certain movies are bound to create extreme of emotions because of the subject it has handled and the manner in which it has been presented. Balaji Mohan's "Vaayai Moodi Pesavum" is a typical example of such  movie which will either receive full blown accolades or brickbats from the audience. 

At the outset one must congratulate Balaji for taking up such a challenging subject which is writ with risks. The experimental tenor of the script which must have received lots of skepticism in the beginning has not deterred him from persisting with the idea and translating the same onscreen. Basic premise of how effectively one should use the speech and the silence in life is told in a light-hearted yet inventive manner. 

Though there are instances which might test the patience of the viewers, such minor irritants are to be expected when one endeavor such a delicate path. There is a high chance of the movie becoming farcical especially in the second half  during those silent moments had the writer been a bit lackadaisical. But Balaji  astutely manages to tread home with dignity and drive home the point he set out to convey diligently. 

Dulquer Salman has a dignified debut in Tamil with this movie. His Tamil dialogue delivery is a revelation. In my opinion among all the Malayalam actors his diction is bereft of any slang, it sounded very native. Kudos to the young man. Nazriya unlike her previous movies has a more solemn role this time around. She has does her part well. Madhubala, Pandiyarajan, Robot Shankar have done their parts well. 

On the whole, "Vaayai Moodi Pesavum" is a movie with a message told in a light yet inventive manner. 

Bottomline:  Silence speaks louder than words.

3.5/5