China Town: Mindless fun!

Cross-posting my FK review. Visit FK for reactions and comments.
Theatre: Kairali
Show: 15/4/2010. 9:30 PM
Status: Houseful

China Town neither offers a fresh story nor a unique presentation. Story is a blend of comedy, action, revenge, and everything else that Raft and Mecartin could concoct. The movie sticks to a formula which works most of the time. A good blend of three great stars in our industry. Unlike Christian Brothers where all the other actors felt sidelined, China Town has given the others some more space to perform.

I loved the look of senior Mohanlal circa 1986. The "youngster" looked very much out of shape and old to be frank. But the man has given a brilliant performance with lots of energy that lets the audience forget and perhaps forgive the looks. Probably the most energetic performance in a long time. Good action scenes and good comedy scenes wherever he was required. Still not back to his midas comic timing, but adequate. As a Mohanlal fan, I really hope none of his future movies would sport a thirty something character trying to romance twenty somethings. (Casanova is a special exclusion!)

Jayaram sports a horrible wig but otherwise has given a good performance. Dileep drives the comedy section and does a great job. Great to see Captain Raju back. Ladies have nothing much to do. Look Pretty. Dance. Job done. The villains are typical northie villains that you get to see in Malayalam movies. The Sumo wrestler was a good addition. The theatre lit up with laughter when the man was first shown. Surprisingly, Suraj was good throughout and one of his rare roles in recent times that I thoroughly enjoyed.

Direction and script are good in the first half. The second half things go a bit awry. Thanks to the duo, what could have been a brilliant comic caper has been turned into a decent, fun entertainer. Hangover inspired parts were ok for me. Camera work is really good and editing is top notch. Songs sounded good in the theatre.

China Town may be just another multi-star to get the cash registers ringing, but for me its a new path that our film makers need to exploit. May such formulaic movies lead to great movies like Ocean's series and Heat which absolutely require multiple high-caliber actors.

TL;DR: China Town is a fun ride. Lock your brains at home, loosen your tie, and enjoy yourself.

Rating: 7/10

Urumi: A magnificent epic

Cross-posting my FK review. Visit FK for reactions and more discussions on Urumi.
Date: 1st April 2011
Theatre: Innovative Multiplex, Bangalore
Status: Houseful

First of all, I would like to say cheers to Prithviraj and Santhosh Sivan for their belief in Urumi. A huge risk when you consider the reach of Malayalam cinema and its two-faced audience.

Visually, Urumi is stunning. Leaves you breathless at certain instances. I could feel the water running down my face, the grass crunching under my feet, and the fury of battle in my nerves. Santhosh Sivan as a camera man has exceeded himself here. Probably the best visuals I have ever seen from him. I cannot recall better visuals in an Indian movie from whatever limited viewing experience that I have.

While its kudos to the Santhosh Sivan, the camera man; pebbles to Santhosh Sivan, the director. The direction is sub-par, especially in the beginning and many scenes feels too rushed without enough character development. The modern-ancient integration didn't work out properly as well as Vidya Balan's appearance in the ancient era. Not sure if its an issue with the script or direction, but I guess its a combination of the too.

Script is pretty good with some excellent dialogues, especially the ones with sexual innuendo. Some more punch dialogues would have helped raise the audience pulse, but whatever is present now seems adequate to me. Hats off to Shankar Ramakrishnan for a good work.

Prithviraj did well. The role was physically demanding and he delivered. He didn't have much to portray his acting skills. Script should have given more space for his character development. For me, Vasthavam and Vargam remains Prithvi's best works to date. Genelia was an excellent choice. She excelled in a demanding role and was exceptional in the action scenes. Lip sync was an issue and Director should have reduced close-up shots or found different ways to convey the effect of such shots. Prabhudeva was also good and played the sidekick role to perfection. Refreshing to see a full length role from him after a long time. Nithya Menon was good, but her modern role didn't make any sense at all. The script totally let down the sync between the modern and ancient roles. Jagathy was awesome throughout. One of the most amazing performances in recent times. Amol Palekar was also terrific.

Music was good and probably the best songs in Malayalam for quite some time. BGM at places where excellent. Sound design was also pretty good. Editing was slick and visual effects didn't feel artificial. Urumi should be sweeping the technical awards for this year.

I am very curious about the trimmed down international version of the movie. I suspect it would be better without all the songs and some fluff.

Rating: 8.5/10
TL;DR: Urumi is a visual spectacle with an awesome cast and excellent dialgoues. Must watch!

Edit: Personally, I liked Urumi more than Pazhassi Raja!