Carbon : A Self Introspection

"Sameera,Is life all about just surviving" asks a wounded Sibi when all hopes on finding the treasure are on the dead end.This pretty much sums up his character.Sibi, an aimless youth wanted to make it big in life in all sorts of unorthodox ways.He maintains silence when asked about what has he done in his life.A shot of empty road follows.While all his peers have moved on with their lives according to the conventional norms of the so called society like getting a petty job or finding a partner and settling,he is clueless about his future. There is a Sibi in all of us, maybe not all but in most of us.
Carbon is all about his journey towards achieving that one goal that according to him will fix all his problems.The film is more like a character sketch of Sibi rather than being touted as an adventure thriller.

Director Venu's next outing after the much acclaimed Munnariyippu has an array of yesteryear actors like spadikam george,ashokan,kochu preman in great character roles which makes one realize how much they have been underutilized in the industry.mamtha mohandas also gets a meaty role as Sameera, who is shown as a traveller or as she says 'jungle junkie'. But the film entirely belongs to Fahad Fasil who enacts Sibi to perfection.You just cant take your eyes of him in the screen. Be it Sibis frustration, stubbornness or helplessness , its never a challenge to this actor. The director once stated in an interview that the script was tailor made for Fahad and indeed it is.Sharafudeen and Soubin also brings a welcome change from his usual comic roles.Manikandan also gets a good break after kammattipaadam and Chethan also gets a good role.

The First half is all about establishing Sibi's character through his behavior with wide range of people. He is just waiting for an opportunity to make his plans work whether its realistic or not. While all his plans are going down the drain,he gets an offer to live in a house amidst the forest in return for a good pay. In need of urgent money,he agrees to the offer. After reaching the house, he learns of a myth regarding a treasure nearby from the locals. on learning about it , a ray of hope occurs in his mind. Then enters Sameera, who agrees to travel with him towards the treasure along with some of the guys in the village. The second half deals with their journey inside the forest to the treasure and ends with an ambiguous climax as similar to Munnariyippu.The ending has fantasy elements which may not seem digestible to some audience however they can interpret it in their own ways

Coming to the downside,Some scenes are a bit stretched out throughout the movie which hinders the movie's pace. The movie could have been trimmed by an 10-15 minutes. Also, the entertainment factor is low which could put off certain audiences. The climax may tend to be a double edged sword.

Music department is handled by Vishal Bharadwaj is consistent with the proceedings of the movie. Cinematogrpahy by KU Mohanan was excellent. The visual beauty was evident in each and every frame

When compared to Munnariyippu, carbon tends to fall short. Nevertheless, Carbon will be a treat for multiplex audiences mainly due to energetic performance by Fahad.

Villain:Mohanlal is the only saving grace

As an ardent fan of thriller movies, I really wanted this to work and Mohanlal's stylish avatar and posters added to it. The plot regarding the serial killings was also interesting. But all goes down the drain as director B Unnikrishnan has yet again spoiled a golden chance of making a worthwhile movie

Unnikrishnan has tried to deliver a slow burning emotional thriller that stays mediocre at best as opposed to the trailers which promised a full fledged investigative thriller.The movie deserves some praise as an emotional movie but when coming to the thriller part, it fails miserably. The story consists of the usual proceedings that we have seen in the recent police thrillers. The movie starts with a triple murder case followed by the introduction of the protagonist, Matthew Manjooran who is preparing for voluntary retirement. Matthew is mentally damaged after a personal tragedy involving his family. As usual, the other officers are clueless about the murder case, which makes one wonder how did they end up in police department and want to rope in Matthew for solving the case. Matthew, who is least interested in solving another case is emotionally persuaded(or more like it) by his superior officer. Then, the investigation starts by Matthew who starts putting in all the pieces to track the killers. Murders happen again nd leaves a serial killing pattern. In parallel, Matthew's flashback sequences about his family life is shown. Then, towards the end of the first half we are introduced to the antagonists and the second half deals with their justification for the murders and Matthew's encounter with them.

While that’s about the story, first half is comparatively better with the investigation and Matthew's personal life eventhough we have seen the same sequences in movies of the past and even in Unnikrishnan's Grandmaster. Some sequences have turned out well though with Mohanlal's subtle performance. The interval block is the worst in recent times. Second half is also devoid of the thrill it’s supposed to offer and ends with a lackluster climax that is predictable which leaves the audience wanting for more.

The only thing that saves the movie from being a complete mess is Mohanlal. His portrayal of Manjooran as the sharp cop and as a man who lost everything in his life was mesmerizing. The hospital scene proves yet again that he is the complete actor. Apart from that, no one makes much impact. The need for a huge star cast was the biggest mystery of the movie. The much hyped Vishal and hansika did not have anything much to perform. Those roles could have easily been handled by the local actors.

The 8k factor was also another much hyped feature of the movie. The technical finesse seemed striking in some scenes but overall not worth the hype it created. The editor could have better as certain scenes went stretched particularly in the second half and climax.

The absence of a powerful background score was also evident throughout the movie. Sushin shyam has disappointed big time here. Only one song which was present in the movie was okay.The theme in the end was good and could have been used somewhere in the movie.

The screenplay and direction are the real villains of the film and only Unnikrishnan can be hold responsible for that. Some of the scenes were a rehash from his own movies. Here he seemed to provide some emotional content compared to his old racy thriller movies, It just didn't work out due to poor writing that provides neither thrills nor class baring few scenes. But the sad fact is the plot had substance for an enthralling thriller flick which could have worked wonders in the hands of an excellent director.For the audience, Villain can be watched for Mohanlal and Mohanlal alone. The fans don’t have much scenes to celebrate but can view the complete actor in form.

Solo:A mixed Bag

Anthology movies are hard to execute effectively due to time constraints.Bijoy Nambiar deserves a kudos for holding the viewer's attention almost towards the end.Liked his Shaitan so much that all his other felt underwhelming.When Dulquer joins hands with Bijoy Nambiar,expectations are nothing bit sky high.Well its a mixed bag in case of Solo.Certain things worked greatly for the film while others backfired.As the promos suggested,there are 4 stories that are themed into 4 elements-Water,wind,fire and earth.

Coming to the first one,we have a love story between a stammerer and a blind girl.This part has been a bit cheesy and uneven at the beginning.Even Dulquer was not fully convincing as a stammering person.Also the college setup felt pretty awkward at times.Dhansika gave a good performance as the heroine.Their combo scenes went fine.Rest of the cast didn't have much to do even though Soubin evoked some laughter.The emotional content at the end was pretty moving and is the soul of this portion.As the element of this story is water,its presence was evident in many of the frames.DOP and music were top notch here especially the BGM which was featured in the promos and the song by Agam.Considering the whole,World of shekhar can be considered above average and nevertheless was a good start.

Next on the lot is World of Trilok.The element is wind here and its indicated here and there.Neatly edited and slickly dircted,this is the best one in the film.Even though the role was a variation of his role in Theevram, Dulquer handled it very well.World of Trilok belongs to dulquer alone and none of the cast made much impact.

World of Siva can be termed somewhat as a gangster flick where fire is the element.Dulquer has nailed it as Siva with subtle body language and expressions.Personally,his best performance is in this segment.He only mouths few dialogues but portrays immense energy as a rogue.The songs aalayal thara venam by masala coffee is used in the introduction and fits in perfectly.However,Aigiri nandini was excellent during the shootout sequences.The main problem here is the weak characteriation of the heroine and the frames get blurred in some portions which was annoying.World of Siva ends up as a good one baring few hiccups.

The final segment World of Rudra which features Earth as the element is where things go wrong for the film.The ending was puzzling since the dialogues were so casually written that the audience could not recognize if the surprise element was serious because it was unintentionally funny.Dulquer and Neha made a cute pair and the rashomon song were the saving grace here.Dubbing also faultered with dino morea mouthing malayalam dialogues was strange.World of Rudra is the weakest of the four and also placing it as the last hampered the overall mood of the flick.Having a better ending would have worked wonders for the segment and for the film.

Bijoy had almost striked gold in Solo but the weak ending has proved spoilsport for the whole movie.However,Solo is worth looking at as an experimental flick.We also get to see Dulquer in his recent best in various avatars but its devoid of what fans aspire of him.So,be warned.

Thira:Thrilling at Parts

Thira is undoubtedly one of the better movies released in 2013.It belongs to thriller genre,not the usual suspense thrillers you see in malayalam.The story is not what we haven't heard or seen before but the treatment is quite different and interesting.Director Vineeth has improved a lot from his previous outing tattathin marayathu.This is his best work so far IMO.In this genre,Director has to work a lot to satisfy the audience.Inspite of flaws in the script,the movie has come out as a decent thriller which deals with the issue of human trafficking.

The story goes like this.Rohini is a cardiac surgeon who also runs a welfare home for women.She is dealing with the mystery behind her husband's death.Things go haywire when the girls at her welfare home is kidnapped by some people and she is on the run for bringing them back.On the other hand,Naveen is on his way to meet his sister only to witness her kidnapped right before his eyes.At some point,these two characters meet and together they set out to recover the girls.clearly the storyline bares some similarities to Taken about the kidnapping but it ends there.The movie also shows how the so called police and law enforcers shows its back to common people when there is a problem 

Shobana returns to the silver screen with an electrifying performance as the bold Rohini.Although she did a small role in Sagar alias jacky,it was rather unwanted.She proves again that she is one of the best heroines in malayalam.The media,which has been giving cheap publicity to those heroines whose expressions makes you just throw up seems to have forgotten about the veteran actress.The film did require an actress of her calibre and she just provide that.Dhyan gives an okay performance even though in some scenes like the one he shouts at the policeman went slightly overboard.His action scenes were good.Rest of the cast doesn't have much to do.Most of them are not familiar figures in malayalam.Despite being a malayalam movie,malayalam dialogues are few.Subtitles are provided for hindi dialogues though.

Camera work was rather irritating at times due to the camera shakes.Soundtrack was refreshing with teerathe neelune track at the titles and Thaazhvaram song near the end.Background music was in fact a part of teerathe neelune track which worked well at parts.

Script has some flaws but direction has been able to overcome that to an extent.The first half was pretty racy and enthralling.The second half however slows down a bit even though its engaging towards the end.There are some things in store at the climax for the sequel.

Thira is not a must watch or magnificent flick.Its worth a try for those who like this genre.

Rating:3/5

Mumbai Police:An engaging thriller

In one word,Mumbai Police can be termed as an Investigative Thriller.The film follows a non-linear narration at parts and that has worked out extremely well in holding the viewers gripped in their seats.Yet the climax and suspense element will not be favourable or acceptable to some.But the film should be praised for its tight screenplay,superb direction and variety climax.Everyone of us had been fed up with the usual formulaic thrillers which showcases the hero's intelligence and firebrand dialogues.Mumbai police succeeds in staying away from these usual cliches for god's sake.

The film opens with the accident of a police officer Antony Moses(prithviraj).He suffers from Amnesia after the accident.He is confused about his past and future.He was also working on a case which involves the murder of his collegue and friend Aryan(jayasurya).His superior and friend Farhan(Rahman) fills him with details regarding the case and the developments that he had made on the case.Farhan states that Antony called him up seconds before the accident stating that he found the culprit.Now Its up to Antony to find the killer again using the clues about his past.

Prithviraj excels in the role of Antony Moses.His performance as the man who lost his memory stands out in the movie.He is sure to get praises for his role even if the movie fails.Stunts were also good.Rahman also made a convincing performance.Good to see him in a major role.Jayasurya gave an ok performance,what was demanded out of him.Rest of the cast doesnt have much to do though Riyaz khan's cameo was good.

Bobby-Sanjay again delivered a superb script after the yesteryear Ayaalum njanum thammil.But here the challenge was of making a thriller and they have done their part very well indeed.They succeeded in connecting all the events that leads to the identity of the killer and his motive that may not be acceptable to some.That was evident in negative response after the movie.Roshan made a great comeback after the yesteryear debacle Casanova.His direction was superb and made the viewers hooked to their seats for most parts of the movie.BGM by Gopi Sunder was cool

Mumbai Police may not set the cash registers ringing but it is one of the best movies to be released recently.There are many cases where a good movie flops and becomes a dvd classic.Well who knows,Mumbai police might turn out to be a classic in the near future.Congrats to the crew for bringing out something different.

Rating:3.5/5

The Dark Knight Rises:A stunning conclusion to the series

 The most anticipated movie of 2012 is none another than The Dark knight rises.Nolan has certainly gained a great number of fans after the 2008 superhero film The Dark knight.which was not only a superhero movie but also an excellent crime thriller with the fantastic performance of Heath Ledger as Joker.Nolan returns with another batman movie which is termed as 'An Epic Conclusion'.Expectations were Skyhigh and as usual Nolan delivers an exciting and power packed thriller which concludes the series with a Stunning and Brilliant conclusion.After all,he doesn't have the habit of disappointing people.

Coming to the movie,The events of the film happens after 8 years from Dark knight when Batman takes responsibility for Harvey Dent's crimes and disappears to the dark.But he is forced to return from exile because of a new threat to Gotham namely Bane,a ruthless mercenary planning to destroy Gotham.With the help of his armed thugs,Bane is able to snatch a nuclear reactor to blow up the city.Eventually he encounters the Dark knight.But with his superior muscle power,Bane is able to thrash the dark knight and leaves him for dead.How the Dark knight will rise to save Gotham city and defeats Bane forms the rest of the story.There are also a good amount of supporting characters like Catwoman,Commissioner Gordon,A rookie Cop John blake,Lucius fox,Miranda tate,Alfred who plays key roles in the film

Christian Bale returns as the billionaire Bruce Wayne and also as the Caped crusader.He is excellent as the protagonist unlike the previous film The dark knight where Heath ledger as Joker stole the show.This is his best performance as Batman in the trilogy.He performed well in the action scenes and his dialogue delivery was cool.Tom Hardy as Bane is a plotting and tough villain but no where near Heath ledger's Joker.Yet,he manages to be a powerful adversary for the Caped Crusader.His fight scene with Batman at the beginning and the end provides some much required thrills.His dialogue delivery was not much audible because of the mask he wears but it was not much of a problem because of the subtitles that were provided.Anne hathway as Catwoman was cool.She has a key role in the movie and she does well.Marion Cotillard as Bruce wayne's love interest Miranda tate was convincing.Joseph Gordon Levitt was good as the rookie Cop John Blake in a major role.He had more screen space than expected and doesn't disappoint.Others were Batman films regulars Miachel caine,Morgan freeman,Gary oldman does justice to their roles..Liam neeson and Cicilan murphy plays brief roles as Ra's al ghul and Scarecrow/Dr Crane respectively.

 Music by Hans ziemmer moved the movie to the next level.Made the movie more thrilling.

The star of the film is director Christopher Nolan.He delivers the necessary goods as usual.Some of the one liners were awesome but not as that of the predecessor.The scene at which Batman produces the Bat signal using fire was brilliant.1st hour was merely a build up and was moving at a slow pace.The return of the Batman was the turning point of the movie.From there on the movie becomes exciting and leads to a explosive climax with planes,bombs and fights.The twist at the end was totally unexpected.In the end,the film delivers what was expected or even more.Crisp dialogues were always a part of Nolan's Batman series and its present here too.The climax of the film may not sound impressive to some.Yet,as a Batman fan,I liked the climax despite the mixed opinions.There was a standing ovation after the movie which again proves that Nolan is one of best in Hollywood.Looking forward to his next film.This trilogy will be a cult classic in the coming years and will remain an sincere and realistic portrayal of the caped crusader.Comparisons to the predecessors can be made But The Dark knight rises stands up to the level of Dark knight and Batman Begins.The series itself is a must watch to all Batman fans.

Overall,The Dark knight rises was worth the wait and a movie that finally stands up to its hype.Must watch for all Batman Fans and Nolan fans.As for me,I am going once again as this might be the last Batman movie I will be watching in theatre.

Rating 4.5/5

Shanghai:A brilliant political thriller

Dibakar Bannerjee's career seems to be picking up at a fast pace.Debuting with the excellent black comedy Khosla ka ghosla,He got the praise of critics.Then he made another of the same genre,Oye lucky lucky oye which was an Ok kind of movie.The pathbreaking one was Love sex aur dhokha particularly known as LSD which is one of the best movies in bollywood.Now he is back with a political thriller Shanghai,which is an example of brilliant film making.Packed with powerful performances,this one should not be missed

The Plot consists of nothing special.The story takes place in Bharat nagar which is soon to be developed by International business park,A project which is supported by the ruling government.But the social worker Dr Ahmedi(prosenjit chattejee) i has a different opinion.His opposes IBP and conducts rally against it.He also shares a kind of illicit relationship with his one of his  followers,Shalini(kalki).After his programme against IBP,he is hit by a truck driven by a drunk driver.This incident is viewed as an accident at first which turns out to be shocking conspiracy.Collector krishnan(abhay deol) is held in charge of the enquiry commission.Jogi(emraan hashmi) who is a cameraman claims to have a tape which reveals the conspiracy.The film deals with the efforts of these people to reveal the truth behind the incident.

Direction by Dibakar is top class.The movie,which is under 2 hrs is engaging from the start right till the very end.Ending could have been dramatized but film portrays it in a realistic way and does not go over the top.Absence of Background musicat most parts of the movie can be noted.Dialogues are good.This is not Dibakar's best work,yet the film will be another feather in the cap for him.

Coming to the performances,Emraan hashmi delivers one of his best performance till date.He had always been an underrated actor in bollywood and his potential was not much used by the directors.He comes in a never-before-seen avatar with his regular onscreen kisses missing which dissappointed his fans.He puts in a powerful performance as Jogi,a small time cameraman who finds his life turned upside down after the accident.With the evidence in his hands,He struggles to uncover the truth while endangering his life and that of others.His performance in the song Bharat mata ki jai is splendid.Kalki as Shalini does justice to her role and actually brilliant in some sequences and does better than her recent films.Abhay Deol is cool as the collector Krishnan.His tamil accent is just Ok but excluding that,He excels in his role of a tough officer.His performance near to the climax was excllent.Prosenjit Chatterjee as Dr.Ahmedi is good in a brief role.Pitobash Tripathy as Bhagu did well.Havent seen this guy before but he is certainly one to look out for.Rest of the cast does justice to their respective roles.

There are only 2 songs in the movie.Bharat mata ki Jai and Imported Kamariya.Baharat mata ki Jai song is well choreographed with excellent perfromance from Hashmi while Scarlett Mellish Wilson excels in Imported Kamariya song.I felt that Morcha song could have also been included in the movie.Its used as background in some parts of the movie.Other songs from the album are also absent but that could have slowed down the movie.

However,The film is not without its share of negatives.The plot is predictable to an extent and the movie has nothing new to offer.The direction and performances saves the movie and makes it a good thriller.This is not a regular bollywood film,the movies from Dibakar never has been and this movie also stays that way.Movie lovers cannot afford to give this one a miss.

Rating:3.5/5