The Overrated List

I usually hear that Premam and Thattathin Marayathu are overrated, and even though they did happen to have too much hype, there are others which were even more overrated considering the reception! Yes, these choices are hundred percent personal, but if you watch them and compare the critical opinion as well as the box-office collections, you will understand that there was surely more achieved than what was deserved. There are also some messages that these movies provide, and they are really strange. Keep in mind that this is not a critical evaluation of these movies.

Annayum Rasoolum (2013)
Suggested better title: Infatuation: Full Slow Motion
Message: Patience is a virtue, and all movie viewers should understand that because you will be waiting for a long time, and sometimes with nothing happening, the opportunity to wait might be all you have.

The speciality of this movie is that nothing really happens for most of the time. We waited and waited in the theatre, and my friend almost fell asleep. He even went out and came back, and understood that nothing really happened. You can have a lot of tea and even lunch, and even after that, you will realize that nothing has happened yet. It was a real painful movie which keeps the audience completely away from what happened on the big screen. There is no connection made with the people on the screen, and we really hope that all of the characters just go away.

Most of the movie is about how the characters look at each other, and it takes a very long time to make us feel that there is a very minute chance that something can actually happen here. It is not even realistic like some people claim to be. The hero just has an infatuation about the heroine and the whole movie keeps dragging and dragging due to the same. Nothing even gets close to having true love, and there is even some slow motion in this already slow movie. With the initial trailers and advertisments along with the half-time advertisements, this movie had stretched to three hours with material of only about half an hour.

If we wait for the movie to finish, it can feel like our whole life time until death.

Neelakasham Pachakadal Chuvanna Bhoomi (2013) 
Suggested better title: On a Motor-bike: Riders into Nothing
Message: Always be confused about making decisions, and come with a quote “my life/fate is my decisions”, and feel free to run away from the duties to the family on a motor-bike because you can.

This movie has tried to make use of the random desire of people to travel and gives them an excuse to leave home. Wandering away from home has been the trend for the youth, and this movie has successfully inspired many youngsters to stray away from their duties and wander around. After this movie, random young people have wandered around away from home much to the dismay of the parents. There are not many movies which have brought a negative influence like this one. We read about Premam being a negative influence, but the truth is that this is the biggest of those terrible influences.

The hero of this movie is a person who gives trouble to his family by loving a random lady, and then he brings the problems to the lady by bringing her home, which also creates tension at home. He keeps breaking the trust of the lady or the family as she deviates between both, and then he keeps traveling on his motor-bike with his friend. With not enough of the journeys shown in this movie and no real connection being made with the places were he goes through, the protagonist’s lack of ability to make decisions take the centre stage instead of bringing us a road movie as promised.

They could have chosen this boat for the travel instead – saves at least the fuel.

1983 (2014) 
Suggested better title: Brainwashed: Into the Abuse
Message: If anybody says anything which is not that positive about your favourite star or even show lack of knowledge, abuse him or her – for no reason, feel free to hate people.

We have often wondered why this movie received such appreciation depsite being nothing special. All the time, we were staring at the screen and there was nothing there to make a positive impact. The whole movie is about how a person moves away from his duties and decides not to do anything for his family. The protagonist is someone who deserves an instant dislike, and so are most of his friends in the movie who move away from being of use to the society. The protagonist even tries to force his own son into something rather than making him decide on his own.

The movie also tells its audience to abuse anyone who says anything against their heroes, and it was also the main reason why the abuse against Maria Sharapova happened. It makes the point that if someone has a role model, anyone who says anything not that positive about that celebrity should be abused. There should be just hero worship, and in the absence of the same, there should abuse – it is the message that the movie hands over to the audience. There is nothing positive about this movie which can be taken home by the viewers, and this one is also very much an empty movie.

***The photos used in this blog post were taken by me.

TeNy

Appreciation: Version Two

Ever since beginning its journey on 5th February 2013, Movies of the Soul was not a blog which I was expecting to be popular. It reached one lakh views just after its two year anniversary, but that was also not something which I expected so early to happen. Beginning with the movie Hansel and Gretel: Witch Hunters, it was not initially meant to post Malayalam reviews, as the idea was more Hollywood, which explains the 132 English movies which I have reviewed there.

This explains why I haven’t reached fifty reviews in Malayalam yet on Movies of the Soul, as the number of Malayalam movies which I watched at the theatre only decreased, and it came down in the last year while the number of Hollywood movies remained the same. It was not just about the quality of the movies which was the best for Malayalam in 2013; for it was also about the appreciation which was rather less for Malayalam movies which were like people only wanted to criticize whatever opinion you came up with.

The only significant change was related to the movie Angels, when my blog was mentioned in a video created by the Official Facebook Page of the movie, which was shared by the director Jean Markose and also the one skilled actor who played the central character of the movie, even though not the movie – Joy Mathew. It was important for me as I am not someone used to appreciation. Most of the people I know are only consider people who make a lot of money as “humans”.

It has been a major feature of “The Theory of Relative-IT”, which Albert Einstein might have also thought about. I have been writing so much for no reason, and it was becoming a mechanized process of writing opinions when this appreciation came. It has been like that for quite long, with and even though I had tried hard to write even better, and wrote so many times about the movie Mili, there was almost no appreciation for my ideas. Then I thought that Angels would be the last review from me which would get noticed, but I was wrong.

It was some time since I watched a Malayalam movie; the last one being Fireman. So I finally watched the movie Ivide, and wrote on all those ideas which came to my mind after watching the movie. It was only later that I noticed that Priya Chokshi, the assistant director of the movie had chosen to retweet my tweet with the link to the movie review. She did share other opinions, but I was happy to see someone in the movie field actually choosing to share my review having the link to this review post.

I have been writing Hollywood reviews at Kiagia.com, and so haven’t been caring about the Malayalam movies much. Malayalam movie industry has been going on too much with its fans rather than the regular viewers. But I am glad that I watched this one in the end. The word “ivide” means here, and I am glad that I am here. The Official Facebook Page of Ivide also shared my review on their blog with what I wrote in depth. It is the first time that an Official Facebook Page of a movie is sharing my review too.

It surely feels good when I write about a multi-starrer movie with two of the biggest young stars in the movie, Prithviraj Sukumaran and Nivin Pauly, and that big name in the actress list, Bhavana, plus that amazingly skilled director Shyamaprasad – and then it get shared. It might not be that big for others, but for someone who is always blamed by the relatives in the name of not getting a job and not being married yet, it is the big boon from the heavenly abode.

***The images used in this blog post are from the Official Facebook Page of Ivide. For the review, please check: [https://moviesofthesoul.wordpress.com/2015/06/02/ivide]

TeNy

7 Video Songs: 2012 – 2014

***My favourite songs in the last three years – from 2012 to 2014.

Nenjodu Cherthu – Yuvvh (2012)
I don’t usually add albums music to any lists, but this one was special. Directed by Alphonse Putharen featured Nivin Pauly and Nazriya Nazim as something which came before Neram which was from these three, and having the same pair as the movie Om Shanti Oshana, this one is gives a mesmerizing feeling. It is too cute; special mention for the action if she brushed teeth before having tea, and she is like there is no need. I came to listen to this one much later, and that was a shame – I should have listened to people at least when they talked about music!

Etho Sayahna – 10:30 AM Local Call (2013)
I remember listening to this music somewhere while on the bus, and searched a lot, and finally found it while watching this movie on television. I didn’t know where to find this one as the movie wasn’t a hit, but it was actually a good one; the song had somewhat lost because the movie lacked big stars at a time when dumb movies with superstars did better. The lyrics are also too good, but even without knowing the meaning of them, this one is too good. Shritha Sivadas looks stunningly good in this song too. This has been my long time ringtone and dialer-tone.

Shyamambaram – Thattathin Marayathu (2012)
I do expect a lot of difference in opinion about this one, but this is my favourite song from this movie which made the future better for not just Nivin Pauly and Aju Varghese, but a lot of others. No offence to “Anuraagathin Velayil” and “Muthuchippi” which were the bigger hits and thus the better known ones, as even though they were beautiful too, I would prefer this song from the movie because I could feel this one having the heart and the soul of Thattathin Marayathu and that wonderful feeling. I define the movie with this song, and it is the only song from the movie that I still listen to.

Karmukilil – Bachelor Party (2012)
There are many other songs, and there is this one which has almost no match in the way in which it is taken. The movie itself is visually superior, but that is all that this movie could manage, and still the song could rise above the flick. In a movie in which everybody shoots all those who are in sight and nobody knows who is dead or why some others are not dying yet in a world of endless bullets, this song came like something of eternal beauty on the big screen. This also have those moments when you can’t do nothing but admire Nithya Menen, and you also have to applaud Amal Neerad for the visuals.

Oru Mezhuthiriyude – Visudhan (2013)
Kunchacko Boban and Miya George are part of this beautiful song in an average movie which had more scope. But this might have still been the most talked about song of the year, and there might be nobody who has talked bad about this one. Still, the ending of the movie is so touching and tragic; giving a powerful feeling, which it taks from this song itself. Here is another song which makes one strongly believe that the music will survive the ages, and is beyond all barriers.

Ven Megham – London Bridge (2014)
This has been my favourite for multiple reasons, as along with the music, I love the visuals which involve the beauty of England and Scotland with those places which I have visited, and the cast is like a dream – Prithviraj Sukumaran, Nanditha Raj and Andreah Jeremiah; plus those lyrics which seem to go directly into the heart, may be not that effective for everyone with their favourite destinations and viewpoints, but certainly working perfectly for me. The other songs in this movie are also visually too good.

Mazhaye – Pattam Pole (2013)
The song and the movie are the opposite extremes, with the latter making a sadistic approach to eat the brains of the viewers with unparalleled zombie power. But the song is like an eternal tribute to the rain and the monsoon of Kerala. I have hoped for not having seen the movie to enjoy this song more, but I have watched that terror, and I do try to forget that terrifying experience of artificial love and romance which is difficult to get rid of. But lets listen to this beautiful song from the movie and hope that it goes away! Let Pattam Pole go and let the song in!

TeNy

Mili Lost on NH10

It has been months since I watched and reviewed the movie Mili (https://moviesofthesoul.wordpress.com/2015/01/27/mili) and also wrote a number of related posts which talked about flick and a few things which are directly or indirectly linked to a movie. Even after these many months have passed, there is a question which keeps lingering through my mind, and it is about why people are unable to comprehend the good intentions of the movie and how well it has managed to stay out of the masala elements and make a fine movie close to life.

Yes, some people just can’t relate to the character. But that doesn’t make Mili a mean character, but a girl suffering due to circumstances. Just because they are not introverts, these certain movie watchers think that people who are not extroverts don’t exist or don’t have the right to live inside their smaller worlds. These people have a certain problem with “the other” which they will keep exhibiting because they feel that they will have the support of people of their kind because they are used to hate.

Well, in that case, I choose not to relate with these people who have no empathy at all. I am surprised or rather shocked that people are still choosing the masala entertainers with the heroes who are so negative in their treatment of law and order/women/truth, and they refuses to accept movies with positive messages having a protagonist who is true to life and trying to find her feet in a world of chaos. Well, there are too many bullies out there who wishes to keep the people with problems away from their lives, and it is their easy solution.

This is the world of fans, and they are of that kind who supports the movies of either those heroes who are past their prime or those newer heroes who are there just because their parents have some influence in the movie industry; sometimes the fans also pass on to the next generation. May be if we stop watching the movies of these so called superstars who are forced on us by birth, such fans will also cease to exist. There is no choice of superstars here, because some are born and labelled so and are brought to the audience with the title. What is more surprising is that the fans even talk about “killing the movie” – honour killing for their superstars? That NH10 model? Well, the talks from some people seems to indicate that it is also possible in the future.

We should get out of this family business in movies, and only then the fan menace can be dealt with, and then the situation will get better in the theatres too. The lack of acceptance of a movie just because the so called superstar hasn’t acted in a movie and adding dumb excuses for the same, is rather shameful. I have heard similar comments while watching NH10 – why is people hoping for the end of a good character when the heroine has done so well in the role? Is it a new generation trend? Some people have the attitude of those villains of NH10 when facing a good movie with a message – they just can’t take it.

Why do people think that only the speeches done by their role-model are worth the applause? Why is it that goodness on the screen go over the head of some new generation people and a few old generation pretenders? Why is it that these fans make so much noise in the local theatre for the movies which don’t have their favourite stars and one can do nothing but watch the same only in the multiplexes? Is empathy and sense clearly lost? The situation of NH10 exists in the minds of people – I will say the same about the incidents which are depicted in the Anushka Sharma starrer.

Yes, there can be no method of teaching empathy and sense to these people, as it had to be taught at home. Some people have surely spared the rod and spoiled their children. But there seems to be no hope for the movie watcher who wish to get into the shoes of the character and see things from his or her angle, as well as wander through that world which exists within hte screen. There is just terror in the theatres, with ridiculous judgments clearly lacking in sense, empathy and an actual desire to watch the movie. They are people of NH10.

***The images used in this blog post are from the Official Facebook Page of the movie Mili. When I say NH10, please read it as “the movie with the same name”. *Also a reminder to those who are fighting over IPL – it is not real, and neither is the title of “the best team of all-time”. The worst fans title should be shared with the new generation cricket fans.

TeNy

A Man of our Times

There have been so many movies in Malayalam with the feel-good factor provided throughout them intending to target the family audience. But among them, one flick stands apart due to being not only a feel-good movie, but also a satirical comedy which ends up being more thought-provoking than most of the other movies which have been brought to the audience of Kerala. I know that this might not that have been one of those Malayalam movies which did manage to have a place outside Kerala like Amen, Drishyam, Memories and a number of others, and so lets speak something about this movie which I can watch so many times.

As one of the movies which I watched on the first day itself standing in the queue for about one and half hours, Ranjith’s Pranchiyettan and the Saint was a movie which was worth every single moment of the wait. The Malayalam movie industry wasn’t going through good times then, and a number of mindless superstar movies were threatening to take over. But then, there was this movie all prepared to stand strong between all the superstar nonsense which were making its way to the audience, along with another good movie Elsamma Enna Aankutty.

Some of those blind superstar fans didn’t like this movie, but this was far above their intellect. There is no stunt or overreaching romance here, as this movie tells the story of a man who is just like anybody else and also thinks like a regular person. He is a simple rich man who is troubled with one thought only; that is – what others think about him and how he can be a better person in the eyes of the others, as even with so much money that he has earned through business, he remains with very less education and even after getting so old, remains unmarried.

He has had a certain number of failures, with the school as well as his first love, and he also has that title of being a rice merchant even as he is in gold business now. What he is in urgent need of, is to have a popular face in the society. He demands that people see him as more than just an uneducated man who took over the rice business of his father and grandfather. He is ready to do anything for the same, and has got a number of advisors who keep helping him in achieving his aim of being the big name in the town, hoping that they would also be rewarded for the same.

For the same, he attempts to run for the post of president of a club and losses, as he completely losses his focus due to a silly talk from his rival who is married to his former romantic interest. He tries sponsoring the felicitation for an Oscar award-winner, but that also fails. Then he tries to be honoured with a Padmashree, but a corrupt politician who gives him the offer for the recognition cheats him and steals his money. He is also unable to express his love towards the girl whom he admires, and believes that he is too old and has lost too much.

As our protagonist has a conversation about all this and his latest attempt to adopt a boy to Saint Francis of Assisi at the local church (fictional conversations come quite naturally to him), the saint shows the man three visuals which makes him realize that what one thinks is a loss might not be a bad thing, and that good things come to those who wait. He acknowledges that we see as success might not always be that, and a certain amount of failure doesn’t decide future lives. Whatever impression we make in the eyes of the society doesn’t define us as an individual.

Pranchiyettan and the Saint is a movie to watch for each and everyone who think that being rich and famous is everything, and also to those who are depressed that they have been a failure throughout their lives. The movie is highly inspirational and with creating the fictional conversation between the protagonist and Saint Francis of Assisi, there is the divinity and a certain amount of innovation which works in favour of the movie, and nicely brings the climax to the next level. The movie is also a lot fun! Everybody needs to watch this one! [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pranchiyettan_%26_the_Saint]

***The images used in this blog post are taken from http://www.impawards.com/

TeNy

Of Fans and Cinema

We have always known that celebrities have blind fans, and some of them are a long way ahead in the level of stupidity. We have had our own ridiculous cricket fans, and there are those fans of the movie stars who take things to the next level. These days, we can see the bad and the more terrible fans as they are everywhere. It is hard to even recognize a good fan – it is a rare thing.

I have been watching less Malayalam movies these days. It has never been the plan, and there was never such an idea to avoid them. But the tendency to watch these movies are becoming so less. Some people say that the piracy is the reason for people not coming to the theatres to watch Malayalam movies, but the truth is that, it is the fans – they are the ones who are responsible for the decrease in the number of viewers in the theatres.

The multiplexes in the malls are better choices, but can you guess for how long?

These fans make life miserable for others who try to watch the movie in peace. The only thing which they can do is to keep yelling, clapping and howling depending on whose movie it is, and to which celebrity do they have that feeling of worship. It is a terrible feeling to be there at the local theatres, and even in multiplexes, they often try to create a pathetic situation. Yes, they do that when they are not abusing people who don’t like the movies of their favourite stars.

Well, sitting in the darkness of the theatre and between a number of friends, some people think that they can say anything even in the presence of families with kids. They have the privilege to make that kind of noise which makes it difficult for the others to watch the movie. They also got the right to shower abuses in the darkness of the movie hall because they think that the world is only theirs – they are like “Bane” with the exact meaning and also as that villain of Gotham.

A list without the presence of Malayalam movies is also possible in the future.

You get to watch Malayalam movies at any theatre near you and it is an advantage for the industry, but why are people, especially families and those who actually have a working intellect stay away from the movies for most of the time? It is because of these so called movie fans who provide a very unpleasant movie watching experience. When some people even choose to smoke inside the theatre, why are the authorities not ready to throw them out?

Is being decent too much to ask for? Is the use of respectable language that difficult? We keep watching that no smoking advertisement, and I have seen people smoking through it. We need an advertisement against indecent talks and behaviour, but that too will go over the head just like those smoking advertisements. Do these people even respect the views of others? The answer would be another question – why do they?

It is not easy for the fans to respect the opinions of others, but the more surprising thing is that they can’t even respect their fellow human beings. It is time that the theatre owners take a tough stand, and the movie stars should also try to make the situation better. The family viewers have already begun to prefer the multiplexes only, and with the same, they are moving to Hollywood and Bollywood. It is time for the Malayalam movie industry to have a cultured young audience, and in the absence of the same, there will be almost no family audience. The families have been the strength, and if the Malayalam movie industry no longer seems to feel the need for that section, it is a definite reason for a future downfall.

TeNy

When Movies Come Alive

From 2006 to 2014, you have known where the history comes to life, but it is time that I make clear where the movies come alive. From 4th June 2014, I have been the member of a movie community called Flixpack where I stand more than seven hundred and fifty movie reviews strong, or rather “the movie punches strong” with the exact usage at the site being “punching movies”. I feel that it is a nice usage, because sometimes movies give us a punch or two, and it our right to give a few in return. Life often needs some retribution, right?

Flixpack is an interesting place to post your opinions about movies in the form of “punches”. One thing that you can be sure about here is that the setup is intensely interesting even in its beta mode. There are movies in eight languages as part of an extensive list of movies, which are Malayalam, English, Tamil, Hindi, Telugu, Bengali, Kannada and Marathi. There is also the presence of the popular international movies which have the English dubbed version.

Flixpack Community comes up with a fair and supporting platform for sharing your opinions, unlike a few other places where the savage fans of certain actors wander around like cannibals waiting to pounce on the civilized person. Flixpack is more of a place having people respecting the opinions of others rather than those blind fans who always come up with a stupid comment or abuse whenever you say that a superstar movie is bad, the latest and the biggest addition to that list being Dulquer Salmaan fans.

There is that never-ending saga of dumb fan abuse as they feed on our brains like zombies needing brain noodles, but Flixpack makes sure about a community of mutual respect, and I have been part of it for months. It also makes things easy when you go for a movie. The list of the latest movies are on the right side of the homepage, and the latest trailers of the flicks are right below it. Flixpack makes sure that it is extremely difficult for you to miss a popular movie, and there is a need for this among the movie enthusiasts.

The first thing that you see when you load the Flixpack site are the movies that are trending on the site; those which have been recently reviewed, and you can also select the recently reviewed or commented reviews in detail from right below it. Your favourite like button is also present. There is also a list of the last year’s movies, and suggestions about movies and people to follow on the site along with a number of movies which are free to watch. You can follow people as well as become fan of the celebrities here.

The movie database is very easy to access. You can search for movies, celebrities and users from the search box at the top with ease. When you take a movie, for example, Jupiter Ascending, you can click on the genre “Science Fiction” to see more movies of the same genre, and also on the actor or actress, like Mila Kunis to see more movies in which she has acted in. There is the full cast and crew information as well as movie summary available. You can add the movies to favourites, watchlist, or the watched list and it shows on your profile.

Flixpack is only going through the beta stage, but the progress that has been achieved with the site is nothing less than gargantuan, considering the fact that there is a very long way to go. It has been a prerogative for me to be part of this wonderful initiative for the movie fans, and I believe most of you will like to have a look and spend some time at Flixpack and join the group. We need our movies, and we need to know about them as well as share our own opinions. Do take some time to check the Facebook Page from where the images are taken: https://www.facebook.com/flixpack

• Click here to join the Flixpack community! ✠

TeNy

Where Jupiter Can Go

Jupiter Ascending is the latest addition to the long list of science fiction movies in space as it follows the path of Guardians of the Galaxy. It is clear that the critics are biased on this one if we compare the ratings given to this one and a number of similar movies. May be they completely failed to get the point. Unfortunately, the 18+ rating mostly slams the door for it here too, when it could have been a big thing here otherwise with nobody knowing or caring about The Spongebob Movie: Sponge Out of Water.

They should have thought more about it – this might be one of the biggest mistakes that they have made with a movie which has kept the fans waiting for so long. They should have known the kind of audience to target – those who go for Captain America, Spider-Man, Iron Man, , Hulk, Thor, Superman and such audience. It might be a box-office flop because of the prejudice and the failure of people to catch on to ideas, but there are a few paths which this movie can follow with the story for a sequel.

1. The war between the successors: We are left with members of alien royalty not really able to stand each other as they hope for more conquests. Along with battling for the same worlds, there can also be war for acquiring those planets far away in other galaxies, and with our heroine basically against the idea of harvest, sparks should fly with this one, and the visuals should get the best boost. The action sequences can also be nicely packed with the visuals here. Mila Kunis will have a bigger and a stronger role to play in this one as the Queen of Earth and the rest of her share.

2. The defence against other royalty: Another possibility is the war against a better equipped alien race which can claim for the divided thrones, and in this case, even with hatred against each other, the members of the royal house can unite, but not without leaving chances for some treachery. The common enemy can be ruthless, but the differences remain, testing one’s allegience. Our hero would have a bigger role to play in this one, making those decisions which are beyond the direct control of royalty. There will be huge and better designed space ships, aliens and gadgets with a nice race of royalty entering the action.

3. The return of the master villain [spoilers here]: We know what happened by the end of the movie, and you better don’t read this paragraph if you don’t want to know before watching the flick. But otherwise, there was the supposed end of the biggest antagonist and the owner of Earth who hoped to harvest the planet for the serum that would give him eternal youth. Well, we can’t be sure that he was dead there, and in a movie like this, there is very low chance of people remaining dead. Ask Groot of Guardians of the Galaxy. Even Interstellar had our protagonist not dying even after going through the black hole. Megatron of the Transformers franchise know the best about how to keep coming alive. So, we can have him better here.

4. A background story of royalty: This one can go on without having to go forward with the tale. A prequel telling the original story of the royalty can do this movie a lot good as long as the plot is solid. Mila Kunis can keep her role, this time as the mother, and this origin of the harvest in Earth can have a better and clear explanation. Everybody needs an origin story, and what we have here only works as an origin tale for Jupiter Jones. A lot more goes back in the past, and that can be nicely explored to give this movie more power. It will also be a work of immense beauty on the screen.

Jupiter Ascending could have had better business here with another certificate and more shows. Its sequel or prequel should do better than this one for sure. This was kind of a perfect week for its release considering the fact that there are no big challenges for its genre this time, and most of the theatres choosing The Boy Next Door instead of this is a big shame. People only need movies which brings things too direct like Guardians of the Galaxy or be the pseudo-intellectual like Interstellar, I guess. But if you haven’t watched the visuals of Jupiter Ascending in 3D, you have seen nothing. Check for my review on the same: (https://moviesofthesoul.wordpress.com/2015/02/06/jupiter-ascending)

***All the images used in this blog post are from the official Facebook Page of the movie.

TeNy

Appreciation Matters a Lot

Movies of the Soul is a blog which I started on 5th February 2013 as part of a desire to express my purely subjective opinions on the latest movies that releases in our theatres. The first review there was on Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters, a movie which I watched at Cinemax, Oberon Mall after the show got cancelled at Q Cinemas, Gold Souk Grande. Still, Annayum Rasoolum at Matha theatre, Aluva was the movie I watched first in the year. 2012 was already an year which saw me watching so many movies. It was my second blog after Travel Diaries: Of this World and Beyond not considering the abandoned ones.

The idea behind the same was based on the fact that I spend above ten thousand rupees an year (even when not including the travel, food and parking fees) for the movie watching experience in the theatre watching one hundred plus movies on the big screen to almost no result at all – not to forget the time spent. I have supported a lot of movies just because I felt that they deserved to, and even tried to watch those which I had less hopes as I felt they could use some support. But I had to do better that just staring at the theatre screen, because as a jobless person, the money I spend for the movies was too high – it had to work at least for the intellect.

A screenshot from the top half of the blog, Movies of the Soul.

The total number of movies I watched in the theatre last year was 103, along with the number of flicks I watched at home having a much bigger count – this year’s count is now close to one hundred. I visited nine theatres last year, a number which has increased to fourteen this year. I have travelled kilometres just for a movie that I really wanted to watch, and I have made journeys in a limitless manner in the circle of Ernakulam, Paravoor, Aluva, Angamaly, Perumbavoor, Muvattupuzha, Vytilla and Edappally on a two-wheeler in the rain as well as the extreme heat.

When the newspaper shows the wrong information and I end up on the wrong theatre to watch a particular movie, I travel more, until I find the particular movie. Sometimes, a cruel multiplex cancels a show saying that they can’t have the movie there unless there is a minimum number of viewers, and then I have to travel from one mall to the other. Sometimes, I watch two or three movies on a day continously in a theatre. That was with Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2, The Smurfs and Cowboys & Aliens at Q Cinemas, Gold Souke Grande. I have spent all my pocket money for the movies as if I didn’t have to eat or buy new clothes.

A screenshot of the Facebook page of Movies of the Soul.

I have spent too much of my time watching movies, and in the words of some people, rather “wasted”. I have also had Film Studies as my elective for post graduation. With all these, I did hope to be noticed. I have had a seventy five thousand plus viewers so far, so it is more about being “seriously noticed by Keralites”. I don’t know if this has happened before and if it did I have failed to notice the same, but I didn’t miss this one, thanks to my friend Ajai. It was shared by the movie on its official page itself (Angels) Malayala Manorama and PrimeGlitz, and was noticed and shared by the director of the movie, Jean Markose and one of the main actors, Joy Mathew. This one has a mention for my blog, even as they messed up the spelling.

I have had very less attention from Keralites for my blog, and with fan clubs making decisions around here, I was sure that the hope was very less. It is the same reason why I decreased the number of Malayalam movies I watched this year, and I even ended up missing a few movies which I really wanted to watch. Yes, my take Malayalam movies do get read more, but the appreciation has been very low for the opinions. People would be more like, “you don’t really have the right to opinion”, unless they are also blogger, and know the value of opinion. Meanwhile, I make clear that I have always wrote opinions on how I felt, without any prejudice.

Due to the same, I am glad that my blog gets a mention somewhere. Not that I am in desperate need for the same, as I have lived without the same for quite some time now, but this mention makes me happy and it is one of those things that assures me that I am not really wasting my ideas on a blog, and neither am I always a jobless person who is of not much use. At the same time, thanks to my blogger friends, who have made sure that there is a meaning for my blog and has kept me going all these years to this point, and it is something that I admire unconditionally, no matter how much appreciation I get from the world outside 🙂

Watch the video; the mention is by the end of it 🙂 

Do spend some time at https://moviesofthesoul.wordpress.com/ with the Vampire Bat and his partial best friend, the Vampire Owl 🙂 To go directly to my post on this movie which I strongly recommend, go to https://moviesofthesoul.wordpress.com/2014/11/28/angels/. I know that there were times when I have been a bit careless about the Malayalam movies (it also took me some time to develop my style in writing reviews), because I felt that nobody outside my blogger sphere really noticed them or cared what I wrote, but this small mention is a big boost to my confidence, and I will try to watch more of Indian movies and will try to explore them in a deeper and a more detailed manner. I do wonder if they changed the spelling of my blog intentionally though; after all, I am a cynic; but thanks nevertheless 😀

*Edited from the original post; another one, this time with the right spelling, blog mentioned second 🙂

Thanks to Anoop (http://anooppillaiz.wordpress.com/) for finding this one, and thanks to those behind this video 🙂

TeNy

The Phone that Saves

Inspired by the powers of the new ASUS ZenFone, I have taken over the responsibility to transform my little mobile phone into something like a superhero in a world which needs a lot of saving, from the bad movies which are released in this world. Taking the situation in our nation, Bollywood takes the opportunity to unleash hell on its people, the poor viewers are bombarded with bad movies one after the other, and this chemical attack leaves the fans incapable of watching any other movie in any other language.

The grand superpower that my mobile phone will have is to save the good people who wish to watch nicely made movies rather than the nonsense that are usually fed to the viewers in the disguise of movies. The level of movies have been declining day by day. Even Hollywood has to depend on the remakes of the old good movies at times, and Bollywood has absolutely no idea what they are doing, with coming up with the worst movies of them all. We don’t deserve them, and the movies don’t deserve us as audience.

My mobile phone and the old UK DVD collection which deserves a check 😀

But even such cases have their own supporters, just like any political or religious moment will have their own people. They are the fans who are completely and blindly into celebrity worship. More people suffer in this world due to fake reviews posted by fan-boys and fan-girls than those who don’t really read the reviews. Each and every fan comes up with an opinion that the movie of their favourite celebrity is good, and this has lead to the rise of the worst movies which are liked only by the fans, but the rest are also forced to suffer the torture.

The word-of-mouth opinion can no longer be trusted. This is where my super-phone will come to the scene and save the movie watcher’s world. This is why this phone will consider a scan on the theatre, find the people who are already in the theatre, check their reactions and also their own mobile phones to find if they are blind fans of any superstar attempting to praise or bring down the movie for no reason. It will also go through their mobiles to see their interests and previous history. It will also have a look at the theatre ambiance give a rating to the place in a score between zero and ten. It will also find good movie DVDs by just scanning through the covers.

It will identify the keywords which have been used about this movie by the neutral viewers who have a movie taste that matches me, and will find out what the flick is actually about and give it a rating according to how much it will interest me. For example, a horror movie will surely have a certain boost in the points, and if it is a movie like The Cabin in the Woods which is more than a horror movie, or You’re Next which finishes with a message, there will be more points added. The mobile will have the ability to know what I have written about other movies and thus used to my tastes. This super-power as well as the hero is called the Truth-On.

The mobile itself is a movie lover, keeping its own movie wallpaper of THG 😀

An advanced version of the phone will actually come up with a few points about the movie which the user will find interesting. For the same, the phone has to travel through the portal which gave it the superpowers, the Portal of the Oblivion, which further leads to the world of Absentia which lies between this world and the Other, from where no phone has yet returned without losing its battery or keypad if present. Not really recommended for any phone unless it is as powerful as a Zenphone – it is a risky procedure, but one day, my phone will take that path too.

Coming back to the new Asus Zenphone, I do hope that I will be able to buy one when I get a job, and if I do get one. It is undoubtedly one incredible mobile phone there. Then there are the looks and the name – how can someone not like that name? I am writing this post as part of contest organized by Indiblogger and ASUS about “Taking inspiration from the super powers of the ASUS Zenphone, give your phone a super power and tell us how it would help you see what others can’t see and do what others can’t do!” and the details can be found here: http://www.asus.com/campaign/zenfone/IN/

TeNy

A Question: Who’s Next?

The 2011 slasher movie You’re Next leaves one a message, and it is in no way having a redeemable quality considering the current situation. It talks about one quality that is gone, which is the power of blood relations and even those of romantic relationships. It pours acidic blood over all kinds of relationships and makes the viewers realize that chaos will come sooner or later and nobody can consider themselves free from it. You feel that you will see slasher horror with lots of blood and gore, but this movie is more than that as it reflects a consistently degenerating society that we live in.

It is a known fact that the current world is a quick one and possibly too fast for the traditional people. The new generation goes on trying to enjoy their life or to become successful so that they can enjoy life later, with a Carpe Diem attitude. Seize the day by hook or crook? The newly formed parents are also responsible for the same, asking their children to study and get a job rather than become a good person. This is why they ask every child go and choose science, because that makes more money. This concentration only on a future full of money leads to things such as what is depicted in this movie. Be aware that the next few paragraphs will have spoilers.

Sharni Vinson as Erin caught in the wrong family (screenshot from the movie)

You’re Next is a home invasion movie. It has sons who hire murderers to kill their brothers, sisters and parents, plus even their lovers as they are attending a big family re-union. The whole point is about getting the family inheritance for themselves. Now, you can’t put the blame on movies or some wild imagination of the film maker who wanted to make this gory movie more disturbing, because you read such stuff every day in newspapers, like father murdering the son, daughter murdering the mother, son murdering both the parents, mother murdering her newborn child for eloping with her new-found lover and such things which marks presence.

Even as the increase in such incidents is the result of this age, the greed and jealousy has always got the better of the blood relations. In the Holy Bible, the first murder was committed by Cain on his brother Abel which proved such relationships incredibly weak. This makes one wonder if some people of this age are the descendents of that same man who committed that sin and the crime. They can surely ask that question, if they are their brother’s keepers. May be they do have the mark of Cain on them. Meanwhile Kauravas did the unjustifiable fought their cousins Pandavas fought against each other during another time.

That doesn’t end that so many years ago. With kings being overthrown by their sons, nephews, brothers or other relatives, the royal world itself has seen such cruelty done to the bloodlines. But how can they do the same in the modern world? Weren’t humans supposed to have gotten better? There are people whom I know who have told that the absence of religion has made people better and all problems are due to religion. But here, we see the exact opposite. In a modern world with less religion, there is no respect for elders or love for the fellow human beings. The only contribution is a Facebook post which should automatically save people.

You’re Next has its big family re-union (screenshot from the movie)

You’re Next has people being murdered in the most gruesome manner, and all that for the money. But we see that one person who is not part of the family chooses to care for them. This is where the rare goodness takes itself in, proving that relatives are not everything. We have brothers fighting over a will and partition in about seventy five percent of the households, at least half of them actually showing them in public. We have brothers and sisters filing cases against each other and even against their parents, sometimes taking the matter into their owns hands. It happens in movies, and when it happens in real life, its real worse.

Some people do pretend to value such relationships, but that is just plain acting. Some of them does the same to a certain someone to keep others away and a few others to gain something by love. There are a few others who stick to their blood relations to hate the relatives of their spouse, but then the question remains how they can love their wife and children in that case? How can someone just hate a person just because he is his or her spouse’s relative, in an attempt to make one’s own relatives seem superior? How can someone fight his or her own bloodline over money even when there is something to take for everyone in the family? Why doesn’t family come first any more rather than the word “me”? If things go like this, “You’re Next”.

TeNy

Story of a Purge

There is something about the new generation people. They are angry, not just plain angry, but so angry that they need to go serial killer on their own people, even their friends and relatives. In that case, what is the chance of the common man whom they witness on the streets? Beware, people; the angry young men can take you on, and be careful when dealing with these people. You don’t know what they are capable of with the anger and frustration which have been going through them.

Some time ago, I had read something about a group of young men abusing and beating up an older man just because they found his vehicle ahead of their “super” automobile. This can’t be considered much different from what the cricket fans have been doing to Maria Sharapova, and yet this is also a case of disrespect to the elders which is the result of “spare the rod and spoil the child”, and the parents also suffer from a child who is not rightly disciplined, and it is such a shame.

This is where the movie The Purge comes to the picture. The angry young men need to purge their emotions and earlier they had chosen Sharapova for the same. A higher option is surely the life of crime and this movie talks about the need for a bigger purge, which means that people won’t have to abuse someone at frequent intervals, like Keralites have been doing with Renjini Haridas, Sreesanth, Prithviraj Sukumaran and Aashiq Abu. It is a shame that it has become so difficult to control negative emotions, and the need for such a purge is rather disgusting.

The purgers demanding their right to purge or abuse & kill (screenshot from the movie)

Coming back to the movie, it has a period of twelve hours every year set as the time for the purge in which every crime goes. All things become legal, and some people will have the resources to defend while the others will just have to become the victims. The number of purgers will be a lot more than expected, and even your best friends or relatives can kill you. It is a terrible situation, and all this hatred and abuse which is going on in the Facebook pages is actually a kind of purge, a harbinger of something worse.

The Purge has lots of elements which should terrorize people, with the absence of any feeling of remorse or regret among the purgers, the blood and gore, as well as the declaration that these criminals are good, educated youth. That should bring a question about the point of education as we have seen what kind of words a group of literate people use on Facebook, but that would be another story. Here, the purge is about the absence of a heart and a soul.

The Purge has a terrible thing at its centre. The idea of such a purge itself is horrifying, but in the end, this movie is a violent movie with a message against all kinds of violence and has a stance for equality and kindness among all. We all have the tendency towards violence and it can’t be ignored. But the problem is that people only care about violence happening towards their own, or those who are kind of like their own. Otherwise, these people seems to find it okay, and it is impossible for them to realize that it happens both ways.

Yes, the purgers are the educated youth (screenshot from the movie)

The tendency for violence will only increase among the upcoming generation as they are introduced to the world of blood and gore at such an early age. They are not disciplined and live the way they want to. Therefore, it is natural to get abused just because some young person rams the car into yours and start abusing you even as it is clearly their fault. You can’t argue with them, as they don’t listen to the voice of reason, and the new tendency is to completely avoid the word of God.

TeNy.