nidheeshnarayanan Reviews

Deadpool 2 (2018)

An appealing sequel

[9/10 · 2 June 2018]

Unlike its predecessor, DP2 is more about a mission which is not against a villain mainly though it was to bring back someone to life. DP himself was going through the extreme pain of loss & regret and still formed a team to fulfill his mission. However the movie's heart, soul & spine is the humor element :)

Dead Pool is a selfless mutant who got super heroic powers & abilities after being experimented to heal his cancer but also disfigured him. The first part narration was completely through hilarious voice over by Dead Pool himself, looked innovative. But Dead Pool 2 was ridiculously hilarious, such a charm to watch over the performance of each which turn our smiles to laughs and cherish the cinematic experience inside the hall. While the flick is hilarious - it's emotional too, it goes through loss, guilt & regret ... And in fact the movie starts with the suicide attempt of Dead Pool. It's hard to judge the joner of the film, DP2 is not just a Super hero movie, not an action movie too, not a hard core adult movie either. It's a mix of all, you get to experience extreme action sequences, vulgar killings, Sarcasm (Off course), comedy, thriller to the core etc . The action scenes are glorious without any doubt. It's entertaining in its own way. From the beginning to the end my eyes were glued on to the screen without being bored even for a sec. The movie is filled with small surprises too, like time travel.

Everyone performed fantastically, but Ryan Reynolds was great as such an ass kicking super hero. Cinematography was excellent, even on screen we can sense that there are no drop of shadow falling on frame during the scenes in extreme lighting conditions. The edits were crisp as well as the fantastic CGI / VFX deserve appreciation.

Spyder (2017)

Spyder Movie review

[6/10 · 27 September 2017]

Spyder ******* Synopsys – A surveillance intelligent bureau officer at a lower rank creates his own spy software for his rescue missions off course with help from his friends in office. His mission gets in to another level when he engages in tackling a psychopath who terrors the public.

When AR Murugadose collaborates with Mahesh babu the expectations were sky-high and undoubtedly, he delivered an engaging thriller with few lets downs in the Visual effects here and there. This time ARM shows how smart is the lead actor than how physically engaged he is in all the frames. And this time again ARM didn't get bogged by the star, the movie is purely based on the story & characters written. The Plot have had scope for a better script which would have become an action- packed edge of the seat thriller, however that lacks from the movie in some places. The extended family scenes distracted the audience inside hall, but loved the villain intro and flashback scenes, which others may claim that quite tedious to experience on screen. Through Spyder ARM applies the same formula of a CAT and mouse game, the battle between the good & bad. Neither the CAT nor the mouse would be aware of each other's actions until the plan is executed. ARM proves how vulnerable the human lives are though some sequences & the climax lengthy dialogue rendered by the hero.

Mahesh Babu once claimed that his directors are God for him - Only a director's own actor could perform absolutely stunning in all major sequences when the film is run by its script & story and not even marketed well with the lead actor's presence. He just amazed me with the performance. There was a moment when a women constable and teen- age student gets killed by the psycho villain and the director managed not to showcase us the blood and chaos, it's through his terrific performance on screen that led us to feel the depth of crime that happened.

I am unsure why SJ Surya's psycho character reminds me of epic role of Heath Ledger's Jocker in Dark Night. Here in the movie the villain kills people for fun, just to enjoy the way people weep. He keeps terrifying them. Murugadose managed to bring the fear among audience even before the introduction of main villain. SJ Surya just nailed portraying the role so perfectly that he just fits in the shoes of "Bhairava" quite comfortably. Just for the mandatory romance track of the film there was Rakul Preet Sing.

Harris Jayaraj's background score and Santhosh Sivan's cinematography are terrific. Santhosh's epic mirror reflection shot is the signature one that I personally loved watching on big screen. And especially during the villain's into with the magic of Haris's terrific BGM the way Santhosh showcased much confident eye of the villain was just mind-blowing. Haris Jayraj's songs were not that impressive as expected except the intro song "Boom Boom". Other songs did help the movie to extend little bit and managed to cop up the length.

The biggest let down of the movie is its Visual effects. They haven't much concentrated on the same. Both the VFX and Climax action scenes could have been much better.

Bottom Line – Spyder is not a mass masala movie and an edge of the seat thriller either. Spyder has a different tone from the very beginning. Expect an intelligent Cat & Mouse game and experience how through the smart move by the lead character tackle the psycho serial killer. Watch it on Big screen and experience the stunning visuals. Thumps up for Spyder.

#Spyder #Spyderreview

Pulimurugan (2016)

Let's rush to theaters to experience the extravaganza :)

[10/10 · 13 October 2016]

Synopsis – Pulimurugan revolves around lead character called Murugan who himself becomes a wild hunter due to some tragedies in the past and his conflicts with real world man & wild animals within.

Director Vyshakh is well known for his colorful visuals as well as delivering some mass sequences which is quite convincing to Malayalee audience. But when it comes to Pulimurugan, he simply delivered his masterpiece as a film maker. The story-line strongly requires such a canvas and above all to raise the perfection level there is none other than Mohanlal. The movie is such a cult-classic adventurous saga which filled with lots of breathtaking action moments throughout. This one is sure shot Winner! Though the movie is too lagging at 2 hours 45 minutes, trust me this one will surely keep you engaged till the end. That's just a dinner to the critics :P. The script by Udayakrishna of Udayakrishna – Sibi K Thomas combo as expected he written a decent one which had enough of emotional as well as engaging moments. Vyshak's effort of making an ordinary script to extraordinary flick is much appreciated. Through Pulimurugan undoubtedly Vyshak just raised the mercury bar of bench- marking an action film in Malayalam Film Industry. The best part of this action adventure is leopard hunting and it's brilliantly done. It's clearly visible that they have researched a lot to conclude how a Man vs Animal sequence would convince the audience and moreover how they can shoot these visuals. And the result is outstanding – the maker's effort paid off completely.

Exceptional talent in doing action scenes at this age of 56 without dupe, delivering a heavy emotional scene with ease, innocence portrayal, extreme shyness and someone who is capable of dragging you to his own deceptive world were in you feel astonished by seeing his performance on screen, then the actor should be one and only Lalettan. He simply proved why he is called as The Complete Actor through Pulimurugan. Kamalini Mugharji did justice to her lead role as a lovable & nagging housewife. Lal could deliver some match-able performance alongside Lalettan. Suraj was there as a comic relief and actress Namitha's presence brought that regular spiciness to comic sequences. Jagpathi babu marked his official debut in Malayalam film industry by playing a typical villain who provokes the innocent wild hunter. All the known and unknown actors including Sudheer Karamana and Kishore did well to deliver their best on screen.

Cinematography was innovative in many places and could deliver some stunning visuals. Peter Hein's action choreography gifted never seen before kinda experience especially in any Malayalam films. Big thanks to his exceptional effort. Gopi Sunder's music is another highlight which just enhanced the movie experience to yet another level. "Kaadaniyum" sung by Yesudas & K S Chithra was both ear soothing and soulful. Editing dept also deserves applauds still lacking some perfection in joining scene by scene because the movie handles quite a lot of flashbacks to make it more convincing to the audience.

Bottom Line – Pulimurugan is an extraordinary film flavored with exceptional making, soulful songs, breathtaking adventurous action sequences as well as Lalettan's tremendous performance. Let's rush to theaters to experience the extravaganza :)

Oozham (2016)

Oozham : A Retrospect

[7/10 · 5 October 2016]

Synopsis - As the name implies it's the story of Surya who takes revenge against the murderer of his entire family as he lost hope for lawful justice.

When Drishyam director Jeethu Joseph is back with yet another thriller pairing with Prathviraj, the expectation was very high. Except for the dramatic narration, I thoroughly enjoyed watching Oozham on big screen. Jeethu introduced us a new genre called "Family Thriller" through Drishyam and he continues to do so through Oozham as well. Unlike his previous ventures (Memories & Drishyam), Jeethu eliminated the element of suspense and demanding the audience to sit back and watch – how he executes the revenge. This time Jeethu has chosen a non-linear narrative were in the movie begins with the climax chase by injecting the events leading up to it, which is completely new to the Malayalam audience. Oozham does have few negative points too - The Script. The plot was excellent, however that is travelling through a weak tread of script which failed to manage the tempo / pace in the first half. Another one is the overflow of English dialogues.

As far as the acting department goes, Prathviraj & Neeraj Madhav stands out among all. Thanks to Jeethu for making the family moments quite memorable. Divya Pillai, Balachandra menon & debut-ant Rasna Pavithran excelled in essaying their characters on screen. Though Pasupathi rendered quite impressive performance as Captain its V Jayaprakash (The main Antagonist) could have been more energetic.

Viswaroopam fame Shamdat's Cinematography was decent enough for Oozham. The innovative explode scenes reminded me of 360 angle sequences in Viswaroopam. Editing was excellent along with its VFX.

Bottom Line - This is strictly not for popcorn movie lovers, but for those who loves watching a thriller in all new way. Oozham is such a refreshing thriller to be enjoyed with family in this festive season.

Irumugan (2016)

Iru Mughan : A Retrospect

[6/10 · 5 October 2016]

Synopsis – The film is all about how the undercover agent Akhilan defeat a pharmaceutical mad-scientist named... "Love" who is ready to market his dangerous drug in and around the world. The drug which can transform an ordinary man to supermen for 5 minutes. (The director should be inspired from Hollywood film called "Limitless" & many more - No offence though)

Iru mugan started with an amazing top view of Malaysia, however simply failed to become an impressive thriller. Anand Shanker's first film "Arima Nambi" was quite impressive as it was a well- cooked light meal to digest for. When it boils down to Iru Mughan, it's just a high calorie junk food which just fills the stomach without supplying any minerals. The director cum writer Anand Shankar have had an excellent plot in hand, however the dragging script formation & laziness in showing the perfection in tailoring the scenes (Except Action) are clearly visible. The forced comic scenes by a Tamil Cop in Malaysia sits uneasily with the seriousness of Hero's mission. Why suddenly a flash back scene & a song while chasing the truck to locate the main villain? The script is however flavored with twist and turns which was highly predictable for me. Anand should come up with challenging / engaging thriller if in case he gets date from an acclaimed actor.

Without Chiyan Vikram & Nayanthara the movie could have been a crap, Anand should be thankful for their honest performance. Hats off to Vikram for his classic performance as both Akilan & Love. Nayanthara was looking beautiful in all frames irrespective of quality of the movie. Thampi Ramayah's performance was decent, however exaggerated comic element was irrelevant for such a film. Nithya Menen becoming quite Typo character as she continues to do supporting actor along with the lead heroin. The rest of the cast were decent enough to play their own roles.

When it comes to the technical side, Ace Cinematographer R D Rajashekar really deserves appreciation for brilliant delivery of frames and some moving close up shots. The top view of Malaysia, Kashmir & songs were excellently captured. However, bit disappointed with Bhuvan's editing department as I guess the songs were misplaced and the flashback scene didn't sink well with the story narration. And it affected the film's flaw drastically. The choreography team did well & innovative in all songs except "Helena". Hariss Jayraj strikes with his impact-full BGM & songs right from the opening credits.

Bottom Line –

The only reward if you spend time & money in theatre by watching Iru Mughan would be the music by Haris Jayraj & tremendous performance by Chiyan Vikram.

Oppam (2016)

Oppam : A Retrospect -

[9/10 · 5 October 2016]

Synopsis – Oppam revolves around Jayaraman who is blind by birth but with a sharp sense of smell, sound & touch and engages himself to tackle a phyco killer which he forced to do so.

For those who cherished watching movies by evergreen combo Priyadarsan & Mohanlal, Oppam is yet another addition to their must watch list undoubtedly. Oppam is such an engaging thriller were in the script is flavored with Priyadarshan's own comic elements here and there. Its refreshing to see the ace director experimenting with the all new way of story narration with the help of completely different plot. Oppam is in tune with contemporary film. The script was flawless and showed quality content throughout. Oppam marked as director Priyadarshan's epic come back with such a family thriller. As the movie kick stared it dragged me to the edge of the seat and my eyes were glued on to the screen till the end :).

The heart, soul & spine of Oppam is nothing else than Priyadarshan's brilliant direction & lalettan's effortless portrayal of lead character. Mohanlal was fabulous in essaying the role of Jayaraman. His tremendous effort on facial detailing of all other senses are incredibly captured by the director. A scene where Jayaraman senses the presence of murderer inside the lift stands out. Samudrakani portrayed his role perfectly. Vimala Raman, Innocent, Kaviyur Ponnamma and all other known and unknown faced did well in the movie. Special mention to Meenakshi Kutty .. :)

If you ask me three positive points about the movie, the third point after direction & acting would be its Cinematography. N K Ekambaram has nailed in terms of delivering all frames with perfect color balance & engaging camera movement throughout. And he managed to deliver Priyan's own frames in most of the scenes (Minnaminunge song is the perfect example). The editing department deserves applauds. Songs of 4 Music band are ear soothing and thanks to Ron for terrific / impact-full back ground score.

Bottom Line –

Priyadarshan continues to write history along with lalettan even with some box office failures in the past. Oppam is such a refreshing crime thriller which is a must watch for Mohanlal's exceptional performance.