Ant Man

The character of Ant Man is over 50 years old – 53+ to be precise.  It debuted in 1962 and about 17 years on, he appeared on Saturday Night Live.  Of course, it wasn’t remotely popular as the other “mans” around that time which would probably explain the 5 decades that we’ve had to wait for the big screen debut of a character which will be part of the Avengers next year.

Masaan

For the better part of the first half of 2015, a permanent fixture of weekly updates from most sites has been that of Masaan and its success across every available platform in the world.  Needless to say, I was mighty excited to get an opportunity to watch one of the most acclaimed movies in recent times, earlier this week.  Unfortunately, it is probably the hype around the movie that did it in – for me.

Baahubali : The Beginning

S S Rajamouli’s effort to be a household name in parts of the country other than South India received a huge boost through Eega aka Eecha aka Makkhi.  Bahubali : The Beginning will bridge any gap that was left over for certain.  Not only does it claim to be India’s most expensive movie on record at 250 crores ($40 Million or so) – It feels like there has been an effort worth 250 crores put in.

Bajrangi Bhaijaan

The magnitude of Salman Khan and an Eid release is indicated by the fear in the minds of all other production houses.  Not a single release other than Bajrangi Bhaijaan this weekend in India.  In fact there were a couple of withdrawals as well at the last minute.  But at the end of 2 hours and 25 minutes I would risk sticking my neck out and say this, “It has to be the end of the Eid Monopoly for Bhai”.

Pitch Perfect 2 (2015)

Elizabeth Banks moves from her position in front of the camera in Pitch Perfect (2012) to an additional responsibility that she is not too unfamiliar with per se.  She gets behind the camera. Banks’ acting skills have been impressive albeit over the top (including Pitch Perfect) and her direction seems to be headed the same way.  There are high points (literally) in PP2 but overall lands up barely meeting expectations.

Pitch Perfect (2012)

I decided to watch Pitch Perfect only because the sequel releases tomorrow.  Surprisingly – pleasantly at that – I didn’t regret it.  I tread with caution but within a few minutes I was hooked.  It is probably the only movie to date (I haven’t seen the sequel yet) that is centered on the acapella scene in the United States – at least it is the only one that I have seen to date.

Insidious : Chapter 3 (2015)

James Wan, after the hugely successful Conjuring, had mentioned in an interview that he will not be directing any more horror movies (except the sequel to Conjuring).  A decision that I would request, beg, beseech, plead Wan to reconsider.  There are not enough half decent directors in this genre.  Not much left to be desired if the one great director in the past decade decides to call it quits.

Inside Out (Animation) (2015)

Disney Pixar, should do something really special for Pete Docter and Ronaldo Del Carmen for coming up with a concept like Inside Out – something like a lifetime retainer.  Docter made Up in 2009 but first time director, Carmen, does not have too much to catch up with from the looks of it.

Drishyam (Malayalam) (2013)

It took me over a year to watch Drishyam (Malayalam) and I do hope that this review will prevent the rest of you from waiting so long.  Drishyam isn’t a brilliant movie by far in several aspects chief amongst them being its pace in the first half.  But make no mistake.  It is a very very good story and it has some superb performances that come together quite beautifully.

Georgekutty (Mohanlal) is a Cable TV Operator in a small village called Rajakkad in Idukki district.  Its up in the hills – the western ghats – of Kerala right in between infinite shades of green.  Georgekutty is married to Rani (Meena) and has 2 daughters Anjumol (Ansiba Hassan) and Anumol (Baby Ester).  Georgekutty is an orphan who studied only upto Grade 4 and has slowly but surely become reasonably successful.

Jeethu Joseph spends a whole amount of time – nearly an hour and 15 minutes – to build up the story about the middle class respectable life in Rajakkad. He builds the equation between Georgekutty and the local the corrupt cop Sahadevan (Kalabhavan Shajon). A little too much time before coming to the actual plot – one of blackmail, murder and a desperate Inspector General stacked up against a 4^th class pass whose only education comes from the world of cinema.

You will have to be extremely patient with Drishyam because for over an hour, you cannot quite figure out what is about to happen.  Even after you figure it out, Jeetu Joseph doesn’t pick up the pace dramatically till about 15-20 minutes from the end when it all comes together.  So be patient because you will not be disappointed at the end of it all.

The performances are simply superb – as usual from Mallu cinema.  A big part of the performances comes from the casting.  Mohanlal not only looks like your average ordinary middle class fellow from Rajakkad but carries it off with a conviction of your average ordinary middle class fellow from Rajakkad. 

The only minor error in casting – that is more than compensated by performance – was that of Asha Sarath as IG Geetha Prabhakar because she just looked too young to be a mother of a high school boy and the IG of Police.  But the woman can act I tell you!!!  But the pick of the lot had to be Kalabhavan Shajon as the despicable cop who will not shy away from hitting an 11 year old girl.  Class act this man!!!

You could watch Drishyam in one of many ways as under

1. Download at http://kat.cr/drishyam-2013-malayalam-brrip-1080p-x264-aac-5-1-e-subs-mbrhdrg-2gb-t10045310.html
2. Buy a BD version on amazon - http://www.amazon.in/Drishyam-Mohanlal/dp/B00KBN25FO/ref=sr_1_2?s=dvd&ie=UTF8&qid=1434780768&sr=1-2&keywords=drishyam
3. Watch on your mobile on hotstar - http://www.hotstar.com/#!/watch-drishyam-online-1000051783-m (but this doesn’t have subtitles)
4. Wait for the Hindi version that is scheduled to release on 31^st July 2015 – its an identical remake from the looks of it

Either ways – enzoy!!! 7.5 on 10.

Watch the trailer on https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eMASubc1y_k

ABCD2 (Hindi) (2015)

ABCD 2 begins with a stunning display of Electron (a form of dance) by a dance troupe called Illuminati - a celebration of neon green, blue, yellow and pink that gets your excitement sky high. The adrenaline rush generated by Illuminati is matched but not exceeded by a troupe called J5 (a Michael Jackson tribute dance troupe) that performs to Psycho Re from ABCD 1.