Latest Malayalam Movie Reviews

Jallikattu is director Lijo Jose Pellissery going berserk with his artistic arsenal, backed by the license to go for the ultimate, which he has earned over years of gutsy film making. Even in all those chaos, he is still the one in control.
It's a raw and original portrait of the "civilized barbarians" that we are. "They may move around on two legs but are beasts," says an elderly character.
The astounding cinematography by Girish Gangadharan forms the flesh and blood of the film. The unconventionally brilliant background score by Prashant Pillai and the terrific sound design by Renganaath Ravee adds considerably to this outstanding movie-watching experience.
This is a treat for cinema lovers and should be experienced ideally at a cinema hall than on any other platforms, not just for the best possible experience but also because it is the ultimate way of respecting the passion and efforts that go into the creation of such priceless contributions to cinema. less

Remember that one time you peeped over your shoulder to take a glimpse of your secret crush in class? Just a smile reciprocating your love for her would melt your heart and
days pass by like the pages of a romance novel. But, if she rejects you, everything comes crashing down like a house of cards.

What if your undercover love affairs weren’t the only struggle at school? Countless equations on blackboards, back to back examinations and to aggravate matters, enormous textbooks that come with obnoxious teachers. Yes! teachers were your nemeses. They catch you when you sneak a puff of a ciggie or exchange heart shaped glances at the school playground. Our homeboy Jaison (Mathew Thomas) isn’t an exception.

Mathew Thomas as Jaison conveys the ramshackle brain of a restless teenager who is pumped up with love bugs and a stern determination to succeed in his studies. Little does he know as he lights candles at the grotto that his life unfurls into a peculiar one. A maniac in the form of a teacher (Vineeth Sreenivasan as Ravi Padmanabhan) walks into his school life turning everything upside down. It’s evident that Jaison vehemently despises him.

Here’s why, for weeks, young Jaison had his eyes on this girl named Keerthy
in his class and now she gets scooped away in a blink of an eye by his brand new Malayalam teacher. Rumour has it that the girls are going head over heels for this chap. Worst of all, Jaison hates him and the teacher hates him back. Now, that’s a tough spot to be in when your sixteen years old. Is this all in Jaison’s head or is it just reality?

Padmanabhan, Jaison’s Malayalam teacher isn’t a mediocre teacher who walks in circles with a textbook. He steadfast dives into the young minds, with life lessons and fun sessions. He composes tunes for text book poems and wins over the kids in a jiffy turning the whole school against Jaison. That doesn’t stop Jaison from innocently confessing his feelings to Keerthy who casts him away. Torn apart by his first attempt on young love, Jaison shares his grievances with his closely knit pack of friends who rendezvous over a glass of shrivelled ice-cold watermelon coulis at a food shack next door. It’s a breath of fresh air as the boys exchange stories while gulping down their drinks in a hurry to get back in class only to tackle further problems. Will Jaison become a wannabe in his own class or win over Keerthy’s heart and stick up for himself? That’s a secret I’ll never tell.

The movie chimes everyday struggles of a middle class high schooler and director Girish A.D. has cast his story well. Thomas James of kumbalangi nights fame gets his own limelight to shine through this one as Jaison and gives his best, Anaswara Rajan as Keerthy aesthetically portrays a thick-skinned yet adorable high schooler and Vineeth Sreenivasan as Padmanabhan joyfully puts on an eccentric display.

Writers Girish A.D. and Dinoy Paulose don’t cook up a mellow drama instead they crawl into a teenager’s backpack sniffing out the epitome of events that make his teenage days worth remembering. What catches your mind is the attention to detail. The little mischiefs and shenanigans of the children that were captured on camera and snippets of Jomon T. John’s cinematography are oddly satisfying to sit through.

Thanneermathan Dinangal wards off the clichés in teen narratives bringing the story closer to the hearts of the younger ones and well equipped with sufficient gags for the older folks. Every time Jaison woke up for school or mustered up the courage to stand up to his teachers, we would hold our breath reminiscing the good old days. The story ladles fist fights and cricket matches which are all moments that drives us closer to the characters in the film. Watch if you want a breezy escape from a busy week.

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An artist’s life is a mysterious one. A handful of people to call your own, drudgery of everyday life to doodle on paper and a safe and secluded station to pin down your feelings.
Luca (Tovino Thomas) isn’t any different. Unlike Martin Prakkat's Charlie, the eponymous is a loud-mouthed bigot struggling with anonymous illnesses tied down to the strength
of true love.

Lurking in the shadows of his own thoughts relentlessly soaking the neighbourhood walls in opinionated paintings of familiar caricatures, Luca’s mind unveils through his fingertips. When his artwork captures the heart of a dove-eyed science geek from Bangalore (Ahaana Krishna as Niharika); they hit off a dark romance which beams into a Bonnie and Clyde like tragedy.

It all starts one rainy morning, when Luca is found dead at his front yard. Resting peacefully in the arms of nature, away from the constraints of his Necrophobic past. Cops rush in and transfer the body for an autopsy considering the possibility of murder. It is later on revealed to us that Niharika was also pronounced dead by the police force in Bangalore a week earlier. With their murder still a mystery Akbar (Nithin George), a police officer who is dealing with his own lover’s quarrel ponders upon a Diary in Luca’s home. The Diary narrates the hot-headed encounter between Luca and Niharika.

As the Diary unfolds the story between the two we step into the lanes of Fort Kochi where the Biennale sets the mood for the film. A coffee date with Luca leads to another and the artsy town grows in Niharika. She moves in with Luca as a paying guest only to discover more about Luca’s battle with several demonic health conditions. She traces back the advent of events that led to his condition and pays close attention to his notions. Sometimes the strides he took to defend his near and dear ones were a far cry from his own difficulties.

Niharika fills with remorse as Luca proceeds with his dangerous endeavours and continues to cradle Luca in her own safety net protecting him from a series of atrocities. She feels liberated from her own struggles under his wing but Luca’s illness perpetuates leaving him hardly a few more weeks to survive. The Diary ends with a goodbye note from Niharika which concludes the narrative leaving her death still a mystery. Akbar and his team of detectives track down Niharika’s abusive uncle and suspects him of murder.

The investigation continues and gradually drifts Akbar closer to his estranged wife (Vinitha Koshy). They solve the mystery together within seconds making a great team. The story of Niharika and Luca might be the ending of one love story but the beginning of another.

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Back in the 1960s, far away in the woods of Ooty, patients of a mental asylum have been brutally killing themselves. Men in dungeons, nuns chanting death wishes, painters predicting the unknown and a screeching cry of a woman resonates in the middle of the night. All under one roof. These are just a handful of the underworld like creatures among the many locked away from the outside world. These patients are shut inside the infamous mental asylum perched in the middle of nowhere singlehandedly controlled by a tall lean Psychiatrist in his early 60s, Dr Benjamin Diaz (Atul Kulkarni).

Dr Benjamin’s evil ways of treating his patients are similar to the haunting images displayed on the walls of his premises. From restraint chairs, electroshock treatments & electronic head equipments to lobotomy (which involves drilling a hole into the mental patient’s skull). This asylum sets the right mood for a horror movie. But, just as you take a sigh of relief after a series of disturbing sequences, the story takes an unexpected turn. Or maybe a bit predictable one.

In the beginning the film takes us into the daily lives of the mental patients through the eyes of Dr M.K. Nair (Fahadh Faasil) who has been sent by the government to inspect the hospital. All five patients go about their days inside the asylum until it is revealed to us that there seems to be a sixth patient, named Nitya, unknown in records. Nitya is an autistic patient who is hidden away from the rest. Quite a look alike of Annabelle from “The Conjuring”. Director Vivek releases the girl into the world through Dr Nair and her story into the minds of his audience.

The movie jumps back and forth from Nitya’s past to her present, teleporting us to a whole new world of an autistic child. Once Dr Nair tries to revive her memory, the evil Doctor Benjamin’s asylum wouldn’t be as smooth sailing as he expected. So, he plants booby traps to lure him away. Dr Nair manages to escape the asylum alongside Nitya who doesn’t belong there. The rest is a mystery.

As far as I can remember, autism is not a mental illness. And an autistic child does not belong in a mental asylum. As a matter of fact, most autistic children are smarter than others. Sai Pallavi as Nitya unveils the symptoms of an autistic child serving justice to the film. Yes! There were scenes where the symptoms wore off. But, nobody could have done it better than her. Nitya’s special strength was the art of Kalari. Sai Pallavi doesn’t disappoint in kalari either. She fights her way through her action set pieces like a war goddess.

I couldn’t help but notice, the super natural feel to the movie which echoes the American drama series, “Teen Wolf”. Teen wolf fans watch out; the asylum does give a bit of a Lydia (Holland Roden) vibe. Another character that comes to my mind when I think of Dr Benjamin is Doctor Faustus from DC comics. While I try to match so many familiar characters with the ones in the movie, I’am reminded of the secretary role smoothly executed by actress Lena. Lena plays the sweet poison which drove away government inspectors from the asylum in the past.

Athiran certainly has peculiar characters, breathtaking performances & solid cinematography but in the end leaves behind a bitter taste. The several loopholes, untimely sound edits and a blurry plot twist irks its audience. The story even takes the form of a romantic mystery in the end which ruins the entire 2 hours of the movie. If swooping visuals and stunning creative conceptualisations are what pleases your taste buds, give this one a try.
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Growing older piles up decades of memories. The corridors you’ve once strolled through hand in hand with your classmates were now in the past. It’s pretty scary to know how quick time flies. 57 years later my grandma and 30 years later my aunt together set off to relive their nostalgic days at Maharaja’s college. And what they experienced was a walk down geriatric lane. Poomaram, teared them up, cheered them up & made them proud. They glared at the screen reminiscing bits & pieces of their college days while I sat there vexed. I was wondering why something that looked like an earnest feature film felt more like a monotonous talent show. That’s when it hit me that I shared no sentimental longing with the characters in the film and their urge to win the coveted championship cup.

Mahatma Gandhi Youth Festival is reckoned as the epitome of college life. Legend has it that the infamous tiff between St Teresa’s college & the Maharaja’s college for the trophy continues for eternity. In Poomaram, leaders of both the colleges chaperone their teams and the
team mates bid to do their best. The students strategize all night, practise all day and spend numerous days dreaming of bringing home the championship trophy. The preparations for the competition sets the mood of the film from the very beginning.

The sisterhood between the St. Teresa’s girls and the closely knit bond between the Maharaja’s students and their leader captures our unattended attention. Kalidasan Jayaram plays Gautham, the Benevolent leader of Maharaja’s who works in close liaison with his team mates. He is an aspiring poet who spends most of his time on screen either leaning on pillars crooning poems or having his team’s back. Even the slightest mishaps that happen within the team lands on his shoulders. Neeta Pillai as Irene is clearly cut out for her role. She delivers a promising performance as the chairperson of her team leading the team
steadfast with iron fists.

There are a few moments when love sparks between team mates and cupids fly across college boundary walls other than that the story is pretty much free from lingering feelings. The main leads on the other hand are busy chasing the championship title crossing paths with each other from time to time. The story flows in the form of a musical with snippets of the good old college days which you can flip through your brains in chronological order.

If youth festivals are your thing, then Poomaram will unshakle your treasure chest of memories.

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the movie was a simple one but it was not bad to degrade it...because of the over promotion that was given by mohanlal fans of kerala was one of the biggest mistake..but the movie was not up to the promotions...its doesnt says about the real odiyan...its a good one..an average movie..the acting of moahanlal was also very good..but the direction was so bad..the camera mevements and songs are also nice.. less

very good cinema after a long time i have seen hats of to everyone who made this happen . i almost cried .sathyan anthikad has his magic wand again thru this movie less

In India when we think Travel movies, we tend to picture cool dudes whizzing off on roaring bikes or in even cooler cars with some moments of manly bonhomie thrown in. It’s very rare that we come across a movie about a girl backpacking her way about....And two girls?? Almost never! Which’s precisely why this next movie is like a breath of minty fresh air! Rani Padmini is a 2015 road film by Aashiq Abu on two females- Rani & Padmini (enacted by the supremely talented duo- Manju Warrier & Rima Kallingal), as different from each other as chalk from cheese, who cross one another’s paths in the midst of their respective diverse, personal journeys.
Growing up, Padmini was the quintessential “Miss Goody Two shoes” who had always lived her life traditionally by the rule book. So also, later when it comes to potentially life-changing decisions, she docilely lets her close ones decide for her, only to realise to her naivety that if one doesn’t speak up or put one’s foot down when required, one will be expected to toe the line forever & live the rest of your life living somebody else’s idea of life!
Rani, in contrast, was always the rebellious tomboy at heart- forever getting into fist fights with boys. They both embark separately on a trip to Himachal for very different reasons- Padmini to meet her husband who’s participating in the Himalayan car Rally there & resurrect their failing marriage, while Rani is forced to be on the run to flee from some local Delhi gangsters with whom she had a run-in with! The crux of the film lies in the coming together of both these diverse characters & the warm camaraderie & joie-de-vivre shared by them on this journey to self-discovery, whilst also learning some invaluable Life-lessons along the way, from each other as well as from the people they encounter. As Padmini reasons to herself before setting out “The dangers a girl would encounter on the road are not much different from the ones she would perhaps encounter sitting at home”!
The film’s plus point lies in the fact that it doesn’t take its lead characters too seriously, unlike the typical movies with female leads; not hesitating to laugh at itself and finding humour in the unintentionally comical situations they find themselves in. And while at it, it takes the viewer on an invigorating trek through the lush green carpeted valleys of serene Manali & jaw-dropping vast expanses of Leh-Ladakh to the awe-inspiring visuals of the snow-peaked majestic Himalayas- This is one of those movies which makes you wanna crave to set out back packing yourself ! The downside is the script, which could have been a tad tighter, with a more engrossing storyline. After all, all the king's horses can't save a film from tanking if the content itself is weak- and this is the weakest link of this on-road flick. less

Premam, a 2015 release directed by Alphonse Puthren, is a typical coming-of-age movie treated in an ‘atypical’ manner to dish out an engrossing, adorable affair. The storyline is fairly simplistic like its tagline that reads 'nothing extraordinary in it' and deals with the heartaches & infatuations George (Nivin Pauly again), your average young man, goes through growing up, while scouting for the elusive “true love”. The film traces his life & heart’s journey over a period of two decades, via his three crushes :–
First, a pretty girl from his school, who is basically sought after by most of the boys from his neighborhood but who is in a relationship with another guy- thus leading to his first heartbreak. His second crush is his young & sassy college professor, a Tamilian lass (a charming act by newcomer Sai Pallavi), for whom he falls hook, line & slinker. She also seems to reciprocate his feelings but in a tragic turn of events, loses her memory in an accident and can barely recognize him or even recall her present, leave alone the special bond they shared. This leaves him devastated for a very long time. Eventually with time and some maturity, George mellows down and gets over this traumatic loss . Setting up his own business, he immerses himself into it completely. And that is when he runs into his final lady love, who eventually ends up as the love of his life!

This movie reflects the Director’s competence to raise a mediocre plot to a ground breaking level, purely based on its content-detailing & treatment. The film has been made with a perfect blend of comical elements which keep the tempo of the film zingy & entertaining. Some of its characters and punch lines have acquired cult status among the masses, with the film going on to become the highest grossing Malayalam movie at the worldwide box office! Its phenomenal success has propelled its remakes in other South Indian languages like Telugu.
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The movie Vikramaditya is the completion of the slogan the weakest can be successful. The movie showcases the story of 2 brothers who want to become SI. But the life takes a turn for Adityan and he becomes an ACP. The movie has been directed with precision and in keeping in mind the theme the movie wants to show. The movie also shows how life can be successful with hard work and determination. The movie also breaks the stereotype fo the job roles for certain people less

Good action by Manju. Mature direction by SAJID. Good script. Good music. Title song awesome. Good to watch all age groups. One thing is an over exaggeration. Overall nic to watch less

A good movie watchable with family members. Suspense and timing of the story well maintained. All characters have justified their roles. Climax well handled with a social message by Mamooty. Villain's role played well by Stunt Silva. less