Team-BHP - The Regional movies thread!

Finally watched Iyobinte Pushtakam. Would call it a wonderful cinematic experience. Splendidly shot and brilliantly acted. Glad I got the Blu Ray disc. I don't think the experience would be anywhere close through a camera print CD or even VCD/DVD. Ideally should be watched in theater.

Liked the way that each character has been well defined and nicely executed by the actors. Good to see the 2nd level actors like Chemban Vinod, Jinu Joseph, Vinayankan, Padmapriya get a chance to display their talents. Fahad, Lal and Jayasurya are brilliant as usual. Especially loved Jayasurya. Background score was also brilliant.

Lastly, the cinematogrophy, Amal Neerad- the man is a magician with the camera. Wow.

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Originally Posted by vb-san (Post 3653620)

Ormayundo Ee Mukham
After Praise the Lord, this was another movie that can be considered as an endurance test. Everything about the movie felt wrong; especially the female lead's horrible attempt to be a modern and suave city girl.

I couldn’t take the torture for more than 45 mins (no mean feat), and hence cannot give a rating :)

Conratulations. I couldnt even bear it for half an hour. Picked up a DVD at the DC Books Outlet at Lulu, Kochi. Waste of 130 Rs.Should have picked up Apothecary or Ustaaad Hotel - I was wavering between the three :Frustrati

Watched Mili at PVR in Lulu Kochi. Went for a mid week 3 PM show in the middle of exam time in March hence hardly crowded. The auditorium had just about 25 people.

Personally I feel this was a much better movie than the over hyped ( purely personal opinion) "How Old are You". May be it was because it stuck a chord for me , having been subjected to high peer pressure in my younger days where if you did not make it to Engineering or Medicine after your class XII you were deemed a failure especially if one or both of your parents were professionals . Those days there was no Engineering College at virtually every other street corner in Kerala to make life easy for you.

The movie touches on the theme of peer pressure. It could have been an even better effort but still the sincerity of those whose have made the movie is never in doubt. And a with a growing up kid stil young enough and innocent enough to enjoy life and everybody around already telling the kid to go for IIT Preparatory courses from as early as Class VII, I guess it was a timely movie for me.

Malayalam Movie 'Ennum Epozhum'. Mohanlal-Manju Warrier-Sathyan Anthikad team. A decent watch. Nothing spectacular about it. The same even flow end to end. Built on a very flimsy plot and I think taken with the assumption that Mohanlal-Manju combination is enough to see the film through.

Works to a large extent. Unlike recent Sathyan movies, the plot does not take off on a tangent in the 2nd half. Some laugh aloud moments.

Mohanlal and Manju do a great job. Lal seemed quite relaxed and his comedy and expressions were the most natural we have seen in the recent past. But there is nothing in it to challenge these great actors. Also expected some strong scenes between the duo like we saw in Aaran Thamburan, Kanmadam or even Summer in Bethlehem. Nothing of the sort. In fact the actual combinations scenes itself were not too many. Jacob Grigory does a good job as Mohanlal's side kick. Innocent is around in his typical role in a Sathyan movie.

Overall got the feeling that it was more of a Manju Warrier movie with Lal happy to play second fiddle. Lot of focus on Manju's dance including a dance song which was not needed at all. Guess the target is to get the family audience into the theaters this holiday season and what better than a Lal-Manju-Sathyan movie to enable that. From that point I think they have succeeded. Families are going to flock to see Manju on screen again.

Compared to the recent Sathyan-Lal movies. This is much better than Snehaveedu and I personally liked it more than Rasathanthram and Innathe Chinda Vishayam.

My rating 3/5 (0.5 extra because I am a big Lal fan and happy to see him do sensible roles)

100 Days of Love (Malayalam)- 2.5/5.

This Dulquer Salman - Nithya Menon starrer had good potential, but is an average fare thanks to some poor direction IMO. It starts of counting days, and later levels as in video game - but that is lost in the plot later. It ends up as just another usual cliche love story. There are a few scenes to laugh your heart out though. Sekhar Menon does a good job, and another person who excels in his role is the camera man. Was watching the beauty of the camera work most of the time. :D

Worst part - Songs have been forced in and totally destroy the feel of the movie both the times IMO.

I used to like Dulquer as an actor for the kind of roles he picks. But with '100 days of love' I get a feeling that his roles are getting too repetitive.

Quote:

Originally Posted by nareshov (Post 3673759)

May I request those who watch these movies at out-of-state theatres (say, a Malayalam movie in Bangalore) to mention whether any English subtitles were shown or not (and the theatre where it was shown)? Thanks.

The recent Malayalam movie 'Ennum Epozum'- No sub titles (PVR Phoenix Market City). This is not a movie that non malayalees will like or enjoy. In fact only those wh are aware of the past history of this combination will relate to this movie.

Some of the movies in the recent past like. Picket-43, Bangalore Days had sub titles. Movies which appeal to a wider audience.

This is a review of fairly old movie but since DVDs of such movies are now available in plenty these days it may be still useful for a few who want to watch some of those good old family oriented movies.

Was browsing my DVD collection to kill a couple of hours and came accross Bhagyadevatha the 2009 Sathyan Anthikkad film. Good clean entertainer, and Jayaram and also KPAC Lalitha has done some great acting. Typical Sathyan Anthikkad movie with some strong social messages as well.

Good songs too with Ilayaraja the Music Director and the cinematography by Venu is excellent. Shot almost entirely in Kuttanad.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rajeevraj (Post 3668010)

Finally watched Iyobinte Pushtakam. Would call it a wonderful cinematic experience. ..
Liked the way that each character has been well defined and nicely executed by the actors. ...
Lastly, the cinematogrophy, Amal Neerad- the man is a magician with the camera. Wow.

Fully agree with you, Rajeev.
Following the success of movies like Drishyam and Bangalore days, I resumed watching Malayalam movies recently and trying to catch up fast with some good ones.
I watched Iyobinte Pushtakam last night on Blu ray and was mesmerized by the presentation - Cinematography, background score, acting, costumes, location etc. Everything was perfect and nicely presented.

Nagaravaridhi Naduvil Njan

This one suffers from a weak story line Watchable no doubt compared to many of the other debut efforts of first time directors now hotting the screens, the film is a clean family entertainer , but has none of the pep of some of the earlier Sreenivasan movies. The dialogues do remind you occasionally of those old gems, but overall the impression you get is Sreenivasan himself is struggling to go through the motions in this one.

It is sad to see actors like Srenivasan and Jayaram struggling through one disappointing film after another these days.

Ennum Eppozhum- Another Sathyan Anthikad movie and you know what to expect! For a change, the focus is more on Manju Warrier than Mohanlal. A full song (which itself was unnecessary) is dedicated to show the heroine's talent in classical dance. The same is repeated in another scene. Overall, I felt like the movie was made to market the actress. Nothing much to write about the story. Its about a middle aged journalist and a divorcee advocate and how their relation grows with time. If you've enjoyed the last few Sathyan-Lal movies, you might like this one too. For me, I was expecting nothing and got the same!

Oru Vadakkan Selfie- Expectations were high and heard a lot of good reviews too. But felt like it was a bit over rated stuff. 1st half has all these comedies associated with the life of an engineering student and the main story happens after the interval. 1st half had a good pace but after the interval the movie turns a bit serious. That's acceptable since the main theme is a socially relevant one. The climax was a let down and could have been much better. Overall its an average movie and can be watched as an time pass entertainer.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Anand123 (Post 3677781)

Oru Vadakkan Selfie- Expectations were high and heard a lot of good reviews too. But felt like it was a bit over rated stuff. Overall its an average movie and can be watched as an time pass entertainer.

I also felt the same. It's definitely a one time watch but as good as the reviews suggest.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Anand123 (Post 3677781)

Oru Vadakkan Selfie- Expectations were high and heard a lot of good reviews too. But felt like it was a bit over rated stuff. 1st half has all these comedies associated with the life of an engineering student and the main story happens after the interval.

Totally agree with the over-rated stuff. I went in hearing rave reviews, but totally disappointed. This is another one made to just make a cinema; I was never engrossed in it except for the very first opening scene of the hostel. It felt very dragging in the first half and the second half takes pace but definitely not nail biting. My personal appeal to Vineeth Sreenivasan is to keep himself behind the camera than in front of it. Nivin Pauly shows some strong character but is stereotyped. Aju Varghese typical stereotype, nothing more. Call me a critic, but I didnt enjoy any dialogues either.