[myavu]

Originally Posted by Rajeevraj

'Happy Wedding' .All of them decent pass time watches.

Happy Wedding definitely took me back to my college (Mech) days. This man Sharafudheen is someone to watch for in future.

Pulimurugan has me worried. Anytime there has been a huge hype over one of his movies , it has failed in a big way. The trailer looks wonderful from the way it has been shot-Skeptical about the story content though.

Finger tightly crossed . If it clicks, I guess it will be the first 100 cr malayalam movie.

Cheers!

[Queryanalyzer]

Iru Mugan (Tamil) - 3/5
Something was amiss in the movie. I felt like there was some disconnect and it was not put together well. There is that hit song though. Nayanthra had a louder reception at the cinema (compared to Vikram's)! The evil-Vikram's character is good.

Don't Breathe (English) - 3.5/5
Good plot, with plenty of twists. Its listed under horror/thriller genre but its very much a thriller. A movie with just a few characters and it delivers.
PS: There was a boy (10-12 years old) seated next to me. I wonder how the family managed to sneak him in. The movie is A rated with some very inappropriate for kids scenes.

[swiftnfurious]

Originally Posted by Rajeevraj

.... Pulimurugan has me worried. Anytime there has been a huge hype over one of his movies , it has failed in a big way. The trailer looks wonderful from the way it has been shot-Skeptical about the story content though.

I wouldn't really bank on a script from Udaykrishna/Sibi Thomas. They make crappy mass market movies which suits hard core fans. While Vysakh has a better credibility, I'll wait till I hear enough responses.

[Rajeevraj]

Originally Posted by swiftnfurious

I wouldn't really bank on a script from Udaykrishna/Sibi Thomas. They make crappy mass market movies which suits hard core fans. While Vysakh has a better credibility, I'll wait till I hear enough responses.

Agree. Since this one is only Udayakrishna, hope the crappiness reduces by half . Vysakh is good at packaging. In any case, even I don't expect anything classy. Sincerely hope there is a story. All that we keep hearing is about Mohanlal hunting a tiger

[swiftnfurious]

Originally Posted by deetjohn

Saw 'oppam' and I liked it. Stellar performance by Mohanlal! ...

Originally Posted by Rajeevraj

Me too watched Oppam. Liked it....

Thanks for the reviews guys. After looking at www.nowrunning.com review (which I rate very highly), I thought of passing it, but you guys changed my decision and it was completely worth.

Very grippy and a good thriller. Kept the heat on till (almost) the climax. The comedy bit after the chief justice's murder (Chemban Jose interrogating Mammukoya) could have been avoided. That was a straight lift from 'Kakka kuyil" (between Cochin Haneefa & Jagadish), but otherwise good comedy too.

There are flaws in the movie, but am gonna overlook and not complaint since the movie is done so well.

Originally Posted by deetjohn

...Some of the shots are breathtaking...

In fact, I loved the scene when the beer bottle rolls over & over (when the rickshaw driver 'Aju' is killed in the school being renovated). The water droplets scattering looked beautiful as never before.

Originally Posted by Rajeevraj

...But after seeing the reviews my expectations were higher....

Where do you follow reviews? As I wrote, now running website gives very neat ratings. If the movie is rated 2 stars, it's a one time watch and progress above with better ratings. 3 is a definite watch in their terms and their rating scheme matches with my expectations and ratings.

Originally Posted by Rajeevraj

Agree. Since this one is only Udayakrishna, hope the crappiness reduces by half ...

[Rajeevraj]

Originally Posted by swiftnfurious

Where do you follow reviews? As I wrote, now running website gives very neat ratings. If the movie is rated 2 stars, it's a one time watch and progress above with better ratings. 3 is a definite watch in their terms and their rating scheme matches with my expectations and ratings.

Yup my primary source is also nowrunning. As you said, the ratings mostly match my expectations. Problem is that nowrunning reviews sometimes take 2-3 days to come and this becomes an issue for movies I want to watch in the opening weekend.

Another site I rely on is lensmanreviews. I find the reviews and ratings here mostly match my ratings.

For the initial pulse, I typically visit the forum called snehasallapam. By afternoon on the first day of release a high level opinion about the movie can be formed by posts there. And by late evening a lot of reviews pop up. If you follow for sometime, you can identify several members whose reviews are good and in line with your taste. Only problem is that you need to wade through a lot of one lines and tons of smileys to get to posts with good content.

In other news, just saw this. Prithviraj's first directorial venture starring Mohanlal and written by Murali Gopi. Named "Lucifer". Definitely something to watch out for.

Source Link

[Rajeevraj]

Originally Posted by myavu

Finger tightly crossed . If it clicks, I guess it will be the first 100 cr malayalam movie.

Cheers!

Originally Posted by swiftnfurious

I wouldn't really bank on a script from Udaykrishna/Sibi Thomas. They make crappy mass market movies which suits hard core fans. While Vysakh has a better credibility, I'll wait till I hear enough responses.

Looks like Pulimurugan is living up to its hype. Hearing good reports. Anyone watched yet

[swiftnfurious]

Originally Posted by Rajeevraj

Looks like Pulimurugan is living up to its hype. Hearing good reports. Anyone watched yet

My friend watched and was NOT impressed. He said it's a typical (mass) masala movie which entertains the fans, nothing more. The initial reviews are flowing from the first day first show viewers (fans) and I'd not give a lot of credit to it still.

I'll wait for the www.nowrunning.com website review.

Edit:: Between, Thoppil Joppan "jokes" have already started pouring in. Initial WhatsApp reports point to the movie to be a flop. It's sad to see a (claimed) failure being celebrated by the fans of other star(s).

[myavu]

Originally Posted by Rajeevraj

Looks like Pulimurugan is living up to its hype. Hearing good reports. Anyone watched yet

My friend watched and he is thoroughly impressed. Don't know the fan element yet. Anyway I am watching it in coming days. Let us see. One can't ignore the visual treat and technicality it provides. And of course the Lalettan factor

Cheers!

[swiftnfurious]

Watched the below movies & my feedback on those.

Pavada:

A one time watch. The story of some drunkards. There are enough moments to make you have a genuine laugh. And it takes a serious turn after that.

King Liar:

A good movie and good comedy too.

Jilebi:

Jayasurya at his natural best. But then the movie is again a one time watch at the best. The kids have done a great job.

Appavum Veenjum:

Just about a one time watch, you may even skip. Ramya Krishna is the only interesting apsect of the movie and she still manages to look good. Every time I saw her in the movie, she reminded me of her character in Padayappa, though she obviously is a lot less younger now.

Lord Livingstone 7000 kandi:

A localised version of Avatar is what I felt. Avoid as it has nothing going for it. Felt the whole movie very very funny especially once the focus shifts to the forest they want to save.

Fireman:

Another movie which can be avoided. A superstar should never be made to act in movies like this where it's all over hyped. Very poorly executed movie.

Jo & The Boy:

Felt very dragging. Manju Warrier tries to be a character who she doesn't fit anything into and fails. Here, again the kid star takes the lime light. The locations are awesome though.

Kanal:

Avoid. One of those Mohanlal movies which doesn't leave a good taste after watching

Monsoon Mangoes:

Not much to tell, but I liked the way the whole movie is done. Very different from the usual picturisation. I'd say you should watch it just for the variety; don't keep a lot of hope though.

Mannar Mathai Speaking 2:

AVOID. Just lifting the comedy bits from the previous movie and tried to milk it is atrocious!

[pjbiju]

Pulimurugan

Just came back home after watching Pulimurugan. Definitely worth watching in the theatre. While the story itself is not something new or pathbreaking, the way it is picturised and put together is really great. The background score also makes a huge contribution to the movie and that effect will be missing if you watch it at home, unless you have a very good home theatre system. I loved it and my family (whom I had reluctantly taken along) loved it even more. I think the movie lives upto its hype. Especially the stunts etc. I felt is not really overdone like many other movies including Bahubali. The visuals are also superb.

There are many scenes of a beautiful hillside road with a lot of twists and turns and smooth tarmac - any idea which road is that? I hope it is somewhere in Kerala.

[Rajeevraj]

Pulimurugan-Malayalam-Mohanlal

A long in the making big budget movie from Vysakh. The pre release hype was huge. Fortunately the movie manages to live up to its hype to a great extent. To be frank, the movie is nothing but a mass masala entertainer packaged with the tiger connection. The basic storyline is about a hunter -Murugan, who helps kill man eating tigers that create havoc in a village bordering the forest. At one point due to a series of incidents Murugan is forced to temporarily stay away the forest and then the human villains and a drug cartel etc pop in. Typical udayakrishna stuff. The film is not uniformly good and is slow and loses track in a few sections. But the excellent action sequences coupled with a great performance from mohanlal makes the whole package a good watch. He seems to have done most of the stunts himself and that adds to the thrill factor. Vysakh has packaged it well and Peter Hein deserves a special mention for the stunts. Cinematography and background score is also good. Performances from the rest of the cast is good, but they are mostly there to sing praises of the hero or at some point get beaten up.

Rating: 3.5(If you are a lal fan). 2.75 ( if not)

Seems to have clicked in a big way with huge crowds and extra shows being added. Struggled to get tickets in Bangalore too.

[pramodpk]

Originally Posted by Rajeevraj

Pulimurugan-Malayalam-Mohanlal

A long in the making big budget movie from Vysakh. The pre release hype was huge. Fortunately the movie manages to live up to its hype to a great extent. To be frank, the movie is nothing but a mass masala entertainer packaged with the tiger connection. The basic storyline is about a hunter -Murugan, who helps kill man eating tigers that create havoc in a village bordering the forest. At one point due to a series of incidents Murugan is forced to temporarily stay away the forest and then the human villains and a drug cartel etc pop in. Typical udayakrishna stuff. The film is not uniformly good and is slow and loses track in a few sections. But the excellent action sequences coupled with a great performance from mohanlal makes the whole package a good watch. He seems to have done most of the stunts himself and that adds to the thrill factor. Vysakh has packaged it well and Peter Hein deserves a special mention for the stunts. Cinematography and background score is also good. Performances from the rest of the cast is good, but they are mostly there to sing praises of the hero or at some point get beaten up.

Rating: 3.5(If you are a lal fan). 2.75 ( if not)

Seems to have clicked in a big way with huge crowds and extra shows being added. Struggled to get tickets in Bangalore too.

Completely agree with your review. Being a Mohanlal fan, I enjoyed the movie. Watched it yesterday at Q cinenmas and it was full. There was continuous applause during action scenes.

[Rajeevraj]

Quick reviews of some recent watches. All Malayalam

Thoppil Joppan- Mammootty - Well, Nothing good to say and nothing bad to say. A time pass watch. Mammootty looks dashing and does a great job with his typical brand of comedy. Set of 4 sidekicks support him. Overall reminded me of Thuruppu Gulaan. Salim Kumar manages to raise some laughs.

Rating: 2.5/5- If you like Mammootty and enjoy his brand of humor. If you expect a strong story and screenplay in your movies-Stay away.

Guppy: Missed this in the theater as it did not run well and caught it in DVD. The reviews indicated it was a superb film. Story of a boy and his dream of buying a wheelchair for him mom and his conflict with an engineer who comes to his village to build a bridge. A nice little film which some great acting from the kid and also from Tovino Thomas who plays the engineer.

Rating: 3/5

Vismayam-Malayalam(Dub from Telugu)-Mohanlal. Actually a Telugu movie with Mohanlal in the lead (A first straight full Telugu Movie for him). Started watching without much expectations, but ended up being a good watch. 4 parallel stories which intersect in a nice climax. Mohanlal plays a commoner supermarket supervisor. Nothing that we have not seen before in umpteen films in Malayalam, but still does a great job. Rest of the cast, especially the little girl, have also acted very well. The movie in Telugu got great reviews, but was a commercial failure. Now the makers themselves put it up on Youtube and it has garnered 1 million + views in 5 days.

Rating: 3/5

[swiftnfurious]

Pulimurugan (Malayalam)

Couldn't resist all the hype and inspite of getting "average" rating from reliable sources, went to a cinema hall to catch the movie. The primary reason was not wanting to miss the supposedly "best graphics" ever in a Malayalam movie. And it definitely is!!

As a whole, it's a one time watch for a person like me (who is not a hard core Lal fan). The stunts had a lot more perfection; dare I say 95% and I think Peter Hein deserves all the credit for this.

Thankfully no major valugarity either, expected from the script writer duo and made it a decent watch (Just Udayakrishna having scripted this movie, I feel Sibi is the one who contributes all double meaning jokes for their joint scripts). Quite sad to see Kamalini Mukherjee being wasted with just one expression (a grouchy wife) throughout the movie. Otherwise a long list of cast, punch dialogues and regular masala items mixed to produce a mass movie.

My rating : 2.5 / 5. Just loved the size of the tigers in the movie and the locations. Mohanlal deserves credit to put that kind of an effort in stunt scenes at this age.

PS :: Though the BGM is good, repeat use of it got into my ears (& nerves) after some time and it started to get annoying.