Four Friends - a real disappointment

Cast: Jayaram, Jayasurya, Kunchacko Boban, Meera Jasmine

Producer: Tomichan Mulakupadam

Director: Saji Surendran

Music Director: M Jayachandran

Saji Surendran's Four Friends has been clearly inspired by the emotional Hollywood tearjerker The Bucket List, and instead of two friends in the original talks of four friends who go on a final journey before they kick the bucket.

Jayaram gets to play Roy, the desi version of Jack Nicholson's Edward Cole, a multimillionaire who takes a man (Morgan Freeman) whom he befriended at a cancer care center on a world trip. Krishna Poojappura has substituted Morgan with three characters, Soorya (Kunchacko Boban), Amir (Jayasurya) and Gouri (Meera Jasmine).

The four friends plan a trip to Malaysia in Saji Surendran's film, since the Hollywood film journey that takes the pair along different countries like France, Egypt and finally India must have sounded slightly unrealistic, budget wise. What follows though, is pretty much the same and they age a battle emotions and family ties along with the much dreaded illness.

Bottom Line

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Four Friends - a real disappointment

Four Friends might be a real disappointment. The best thing to do would be to head to the local video store, get a DVD of The Bucket List, and watch the infinitely better done version in the quite confines of your living room.

Sadgamaya - makes no impact

Cast: Sureshgopi, Navya Nair, Jagathy, Ambika, Thilakan, P.Sree Kuamr, Balachandran Chullikaad, Sivaji Guruvayoor and Lakshmipriya

Producer: M Nandhakumar

Director: Harikumar

Music Director: M Jayachandran

Dr. Ravi Varman (Suresh Gopi) is known in his professional circles to be a wizard in what he does. The psychiatrist has a peculiar work schedule in that he takes care of a single patient at a time.

He also insists that the relationship between the doctor and the patient should end where the treatment ends. So he sees to it that his patients communicate with him only through letters after they leave his clinic.

Yamuna (Navya Nair) who has been admitted to the doctor's clinic soon leaves the hospital after the doctor confirms that she is much better. A few months later, she decides to get married and sends the doctor a wedding invitation. What she receives back is a letter from the doctor asking her to meet him urgently.

Bottom Line

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Sadgamaya - makes no impact

Sadgamaya might very well be an earnest attempt to make a solemn film. But the end product is cloudy, and all the angst associated with mental derangement that it hopes to take on is never eventually tackled.

Cocktail - looks pretty fine but lacks originality

Director: Arun Kumar

Producer: Milan Jaleel

Music:Alphonse

Cast: Jayasurya, Anoop, Samvrutha, Innocent

Ravi Abraham (Anoop Menon) is one of the key brains behind the success of a construction firm. He has rivals within the office and outside, jealous of his success. On the personal front, he is having a happy married life with his wife Parvathy (Samvrutha Sunil) and daughter Ammu.

But things go terribly wrong for Ravi one fine morning, with a total stranger named Venky (Jayasurya), getting into his swanky SUV. Venky started things in a mild way but his tone changes soon and he begin to blackmail Ravi and even Parvathy, who was also there in the vehicle.

The couple withdraws money from a bank and gives it to Venky as per his instructions, which he burns and throws outside. They are made to obey several things one after the other and hours later, Ravi realizes some strange truths about life.

Bottom Line

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Cocktail - looks pretty fine but lacks originality

If you don’t insist on originality in a film, well, Cocktail looks pretty fine. The film has its moments and can keep you mostly engaged. Now the choice is yours.

Anwar - remarkable style and technique

Cast: Prithviraj, Mamta Mohandas, Prakash Raj, Lal, Salim Kumar

Producer: Rajesh Zacharia

Director: Amal Neerad

Music Director: Gopi Sundar

The movie presents an interesting debate before us as to what is right and what is wrong, and whether one man's right could be another man's wrong.

Prithviraj plays the lead role in the film, that of a Muslim youngster who is lured by the ideas of radicalism. Mamta Mohandas plays his female lead. Prakash Raj and Lal also do key roles.

Anwar (Prithviraj) is a hot blooded youth who falls pretty easily into the charming theories of Babu Sait (Lal), a rich man who finds it quite normal to help the terrorists, in the name of religion.

The two meet in jail and soon Anwar becomes his trusted henchman, as Babu Sait plans to conduct several terrorist attacks and bomb blasts. All along, the brilliant anti-terrorist cop Stalin Manimaran (Prakash Raj) is in pursuit of the criminals. Mamta Mohandas plays Ayesha, who is nabbed the police, after they find certain aspects that links her to a bomb blast.

Bottom Line

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Anwar - remarkable style and technique

Anwar has all that Amal Neerad's previous films had - remarkable style, incredible technique and an unparalleled panache in delivery. But unfortunately it also lacks what Amal's previous films did. With Anwar, the script fails Amal consecutively for the third time.

Chekavar - brainless masala-mix

Director: Sajeevan

Music: Rahul Raj

Cast: Indrajith, Kalabhavan Mani, Samvritha Sunil, Sarayu

Kasinathan (Indrajith) is a soft-spoken sub-inspector who is quite a family man. He is particularly close to his sister Gowri (Sarayu), who is studying for medicine and he is in love with his murappennu, Jyothi (Samvritha Sunil).

After certain unprecedented happenings, Kasinathan gets transferred to Kochi and comes face-to-face with a reformed don Garudan Raghavan (Kalabhavan Mani) and his brother Udumbu Rocky (Sreejith Ravi), a wretched criminal.

Rocky wants to marry Gowri and promises Raghavan that he would mend his erratic ways, if that happens. Obviously, Kasinathan is not ready for the alliance and more violence ensues from then on.

Bottom Line

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Chekavar - brainless masala-mix

If you are only looking forward to some brainless masala-mix at the theatres, Chekavar could be pretty okay, especially since the length of the film is only about 100 minutes. The rest of the world would lose nothing if you skip this one. The choice is all yours!

Oridathoru Postman - could have done better

Cast: Kunchacko Boban, Innocent, Sarathkumar,Meera Nandan, Archana Kavi, Kalabhavan Mani, Bijukuttan, Jaffer Idukki, Suraj Venjarammoodu, Salim Kumar.

Producer: Basheer Silsila , Shaji

Director: Shaji Aziz

Music Director: Mohan Sithara

Oridathoru Postman tells the story of Raghunandan (Kunchacko Boban). Raghu, who is a native of Chenankuzhi village is the son of Gangadharan (Innocent), the village postman. Gangadharan is a lazy man who is notorious for making serious lapses in his duty.

He is even known to have handed over money orders to people whom he likes. The problem is that it is Raghu who often bears the brunt of his father's actions.

Raghu on the other hand is a far cry from his father. He is quite hard working and does any job that comes his way. He works as a Postman at times, canvasses for mutual funds and even teaches at a PSC exam coaching class. And he is also in love with Usha (Meera Nandan), his student.

Raghu is adored by the villagers, and he plays the mediator in most of the village's major issues. In one such attempt to bring peace, he meets Yasin Mubarak (Sarath Kumar) and this meeting changes his life forever.

Bottom Line

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Oridathoru Postman - could have done better

Oridathoru Postman could have done infinitely better with a bit more coherence. As such, it looks confused, and keeps its fingers dipped in too many broths at once, and ultimately isn't able to savor the flavor of not even one entirely.

3 Char Sau Bees - an insult to the viewer, nothing less

Director: Govindankutty Adoor

Music: Jassie Gift

Cast: Govindankutty, Kalabhavan Mani, Dhanya Mary

Selvan (Govindankutty), Rahul (Rahul) and Zulfi (Anu) are pals living in a huge house and sleeping in the same bed. The three are classmates in an engineering college and to live in style, they become thieves! From fooling hapless strangers at the ATMs to robbing the safe from the cabin of the college-owner, they start making a fortune quite soon.

Their classmate Indu (Dhanya Mary) has some clues about the antics of the gang. But all that doesn't deter the three from vying for more. But as you would have expected by now, they soon become part of a muddle.

Bottom Line

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3 Char Sau Bees - an insult to the viewer, nothing less

Call it the height of impudence. TV anchor turned actor, scenarist and director Govindankutty Adoor's 3 Char Sau Bees is in simple words, an insult to the viewer, nothing less.