Weekend Movie Reviews: Masters [Malayalam] (2012), The Pirates! Band of Misfits (2012) & Dark Shadow

Cast: Jagathy Sreekumar, Vijayaraghavan, Suresh Krishana, Anil Murali, Manikuttan, Prithviraj, M. Sasikumar, Ananya, Piaa Bajpai, Mukesh, Salim Kumar, Biju Menon, Siddique
Director: Johny Antony
Music: Gopi Sunder
Cinematography: Madhu, Neelakandan

Masters take place in Kottayam where Milan (Sasikumar) works as a reporter (of repute) and Sreeramakrishnan (Prithviraj) is the Assistant Superintendent of Police. Milan and Sreeramakrishnan are friends from college days and friend’s still. The story takes a turn when Sreeramakrishnan begins investigation of a series of killings and one suspect is Daksha (Pia) who has reportedly planted a bomb. The killings don’t stop and how Sreeramakrishnan unveils the mystery forms the rest of the story.

Prithviraj is fine in his role, decent debut by Sasikumar. Prithviraj and Sasikumar carry whole movie on their shoulders. Sasikumar dubbing could have been better. Pia Bajpai, Sandya and Ananya are adequate in their small roles. Siddique, Jagathy Sreekumar, Geetha, Bijumenon and Sai kumar supported the main characters well.

 Jinu Abraham script starts off slow, but gets better with every scene as the investigation starts. . Johny Antony comes up with an interesting storyline, delicate script and okay narration. Direction of the movie is pretty average. Climax could have been lot better. Madhu Neelakandan cinematography is neat. Music by Gopi Sunder is okay & BGM is good in parts. Editing is alright, could have trimmed a bit more in the second half. On the whole, Masters is worth a watch movie for its crime-thrilling episodes.

Survi Review: 2.75/5

Theatrical Trailer:

Movie: The Pirates: Band of Misfits
Voice-Cast: Hugh Grant, Brendan Gleeson, Jeremy Piven, Brian Blessed, Lenny Henry, Salma Hayek, Martin Freeman, David Tennant, Imelda Staunton, Russell Tovey
Run-Time: 88 Minutes

The Pirates: Band of Misfits follows a pirate captain (Hugh Grant) and his crew, they set out on a mission to defeat their rivals and the evil Queen Victoria, in order to get the award for Pirate of the Year. Voice cast is great. Hugh Grant voice in the lead is perfect. Grant is probably not known for his many action roles, and that’s precisely why he’s chosen here. The contrast between his slightly hesitant and timid play and a seemingly gruff pirate makes it all that funny. Martin Freeman as a pirate with a scarf, it does nothing to fault. The stop-motion technique employed in The Pirates! Band of Misfits, and I really like to see Aardman still employing it instead of falling into the easy trap of digital animation, except the animated water nothing is computer generated. Everything is handmade, a brilliant effort from Aardman. Screenplay of the film is slow and predictable. The screenplay is so flat that it doesn’t generate any excitement or too much interest in the characters. Storyline is very thin. Music is fine. Direction of this film is mediocre. On the whole, The Pirates: Band of Misfits unfortunately just charmed with the art work, thought the story well uninteresting and a protagonist not much fun.

Theatrical Trailer:

Movie: Dark Shadows

Director: Tim Burton

Running time: 113 minutes

Music: Danny Elfman

Dark Shadows based on the 60’s TV series with same name.

Barnabas Collins (Depp) is a vampire, imprisoned for 196 years in a coffin by his arch nemesis and lover-to-the-end-of-time Angelique Bouchard (Eva Green), and wakes up in 1972, only to find that he is in a different place, different time, and that his family fortune is all but none. He heads back to his home in Collinsport and seizes the opportunity to help his living heirs and hopefully destroy Angelique once and for all.

Most of the movie was solid but not great, with a few scattered amusing moments. The rather trippy finale was entertaining though. Johnny Depp is alright, Eva Green is excellent as the witch. Michelle Pfeiffer supported with her character. Rattling Chloe Moretz’s character seemed a bit out of place and extraneous, they should have scripted her differently. The Art work, Costumes and Music are all spot on. On the whole, Dark Shadows  is a film of STYLE over SUBSTANCE, Looks Great, Nice Performances & Music but lacks Poor Script, Story Line, Predictable narration and Lack of Entertainment.

Survi Review: 2/5