Latest Malayalam Movie Reviews

Ezra is not your usual Malayalam horror movie, it seems to be inspired from the new wave of Hollywood horror films like the conjuring and in the aspect it succeeded, The film manages to create the aura and feel of a very good horror film what holds Ezra back though is the lack of genuine horror less

The look and feel of Veeram is very similar to Zack Snyder's 300, however the biggest flaws in the film are the weak screenplay and shallow characters and in movie like Veeram that had the potential to be a true epic is a shame. less

The story of Aby revolves around a young guy with the same name, who nurtures a big dream. He dreams to fly just like the birds and his big aim in life is to make an aeroplane on his own, one day. less

In a way this movie is a mix of Dileep starrer Karyasthan and Salman Khan starrer Prem rathan Dhan Payo (No accusation of plagiarism). Both movies were ultimately about a guy who solves the issues within/between two families. What Fukri is trying to establish is somewhat the same, but Siddique tweaks it a little bit in the end and makes it a less politically correct one. Like I said, it is the humor that gives the movie an edge. less

It is a all well done movie;
music
stunt
cinematography
costume

a famil entertainer for sure;

Title song "Manathe Marikurumbe" by Vani Jayaram. Will drop you and the whole hall deserted.
Stunts by Mohanlal and a chilling jump of Kamalini Mukherjee was a treat to watch.

Music by gopi sundar; is a optimum collition or harmony and situation. hats off to him.

Udayakrishna-Siby K. Thomas duo writers; the theme of the story is very facinating, even though there were many place which feel a lag in the film. less

It's after a long gap of 8 years that the legendary filmmaker Adoor Gopalakrishnan has returned with a film, Pinneyum. Perhaps the longest gap in his illustrious career so far, Pinneyum marks his foray into digital filmmaking, something that he had never attempted so far. Aided by a supporting co-producer, Baby Mathew Somatheeram this is also perhaps the first time than an Adoor film has received a wide Pan India release (with English subtitles) making it more accessible to people. Pinneyum also sees Adoor working with Dileep for the first time, similarly the film sees popular Marathi actor, Subodh Bhave making his Malayalam debut.

Naturally I was quite eagerly looking forward to the film and was quite astonished to see a good turnout for my show over the weekend. Pinneyum is a love story; a tad old fashioned and spread over a long period of time. The film talks of Purushothaman Nair (Dileep) and his wife Devi (Kavya Madhavan). Theirs was a love marriage but then today circumstances are such that their married life is in a state of disarray. Purushothaman is jobless and spends his time trying to apply for positions and attending interviews while Devi is a teacher who runs the household. They live along with their daughter in her family home, where her father Pappu Pillai (Nedumudi Venu), a retired school teacher and her brother (Indrans), a perennially sick man also live.

Things seem to change for the better when Purushothaman lands a job in the Gulf, leading initially to some much needed joy and cheer in their lives. But then an unexpected series of incidents goes on turn their lives upside down. Adoor Gopalakrishnan has tried to draw our attention to the fact that greed is dangerous and how it can impact the lives of a few seemingly simple individuals with middle class aspirations. The film shifts its tone from that of a romantic drama to a thriller after a while, something that one doesn't usually associate with Adoor's films. Hence the shift does look a little
shaky and doesn't manage to appeal as much as it could have.

However there are enough and more moments that remind us of the auteur in Adoor and the film puts us in a time freeze of sorts. Dileep and Kavya once again show why they have always been a popular pair, sinking very well into the characters of Purushothaman and Devi respectively. Nedumudi Venu, Indrans and Vijayaragahavan also lend admirable support. Pinneyum is not the best of Adoor, far from it in fact, but it is still refreshing in its own way and makes us hope that he doesn't take another long break now. less

After a successful foray into Tamil cinema with 36 Vayadhinile, a remake of his own How Old Are You, director Rosshan Andrrews has combined once again with his regular collaborators, writers Bobby-Sanjay to come up with another family film, School Bus. It goes without saying that Roshan and Bobby-Sanjay have formed a formidable combination, and except for the costly misadventure called Casanovva, they have more or less delivered impactful films. Hence the expectation from School Bus was that it would be an interesting film for the whole family, going by the title and the promotional material.

School Bus has a relevant premise, something that most of us especially those living in the big cities can relate to. In our daily vagaries of life with our busy schedules etc maybe we really don't seem to have enough time for our children or try to understand what is in their minds. Joseph (Jayasurya) and Aparna (Aparna Gopinath) live in Kochi along with their children Ajoy (Aakash) and Anju (Angelina). It is clear that they are quite affluent and both Joseph and Aparna are busy with their careers to manage, they are not very clued into what the kids are up to in school etc. The mischievous Ajoy gets into trouble in school unknowingly and runs away from home being afraid of his father's reaction. As Joseph and Aparna realize their mistake and are worried for their son's safety, in comes Gopakumar (Kunchacko Boban) as the cop in charge of the mission to bring Ajoy back.

As you would have realised by now the plot is fairly straightforward and there is nothing to discover as such. Despite moving from a drama to a thriller mode midway it is still easy to predict what is in store as the tale progresses. Bobby-Sanjay seem to have taken it easy by keeping the proceedings simple, reminding you of various other films with a similar subject. The lack of novelty is the factor which lets down the film, as otherwise its quite a well intentioned attempt. Cinematography is the main highlight of the film, not a surprise considering that the DOP is C.K.Muraleedharan acclaimed for his cinematography in various films like 3 Idiots, PK, Lage Raho Munnabhai etc. Both the kids are natural and lead from the front with their performances. Jayasurya, Aparna Gopinath, Kunchacko and the supporting cast do what is expected out of them.

School Bus ultimately is a harmless watch, but there's nothing remarkable about the film as such. less

The cinematography by Sijith Vasudev, the director, is the life of this film as he had given us some wonderful frames as we said above. James is an artist and the way in which Sujith's camera captured the life of James is artistically beautiful. That elevated the technical side of the film better. The editing by Samjith Mhd is also complimented the visuals and but the length of the film really made the viewers tired and make them yawn inside the theater. Gopi Sundar had tuned the music of this film and he had done a really good job. The background music was so lovable and the songs were soothing to the ears as well. less

Ranjith's Leela has been in the news ever since the project was announced a few years ago. To start with, it was a movie adaptation of Unni.R's popular Malayalam short story of the same name which was being worked upon for the big screen by Unni.R himself. Also the various casting choices for the main lead role of Kuttiyappan which included Mammootty, Mohanlal and Shankar Ramakrishnan kept viewers guessing as to who would eventually end up playing the iconic character. Eventually the role went to Biju Menon, a wise decision one would say after watching the film.

The tale revolves around Kuttiyappan, a wealthy carefree individual who goes about living life on his terms. His constant companion is Pillechan (Vijayaraghavan) who is there besides him on all his escapades. Kuttiyappan expresses his desire to hire an elephant and thus sets out looking out for one along with Pillechan and Dasappappi (Indrans). On the way they pick up a young girl (Parvathy Nambiar) with a traumatic past who is rechristened as Leela by Kuttiyappan. Their pursuit for an elephant leads them to the hill ranges of Wayanad where eventually the mystery behind Kuttiyappan's desire to hire an elephant and pick up Leela is revealed. Unni.R has gone on to make suitable changes to the overall concept in the process of converting his short story into the screenplay for the film.

But despite the changes the basic plot remains more or less the same, Kuttiyappan comes across as a bizarre yet interesting character with a lot of quirkiness in him. Prashanth Ravindran's cinematography is impressive and Bijibal's music is quite effective. Manoj Kannoth's editing leaves the film with a tight finish and with a run time of just 101 minutes, it makes you ask for more. Parvathy Nambiar is effective as Leela and leaves a mark despite having no dialogues, Indrans impresses once again and Jagadeesh as Thankappan Nair, the perverted father of Leela is a revelation in a role that's very different from his usual work. Vijayaraghavan delivers one of his career best performances as Pillechan, his body language, dialogue delivery and mannerisms are a treat to watch. Biju Menon as Kuttiyappan is a natural and sparkles in almost every frame, be it with his interactions with Pillechan and Dasappappi or with the various women.

As the film ends it might shock you, upset you, repel you or impress you but whatever be it I'm sure that it would leave a lasting impact on you. less

We all love to hear or watch stories of someone getting bogged down by circumstances and fighting his or her way back, don't we? Which is why time and again this is a premise that's been utilised by filmmakers regularly. Vineeth Sreenivasan's latest Malayalam film, Jacobinte Swargarajyam is again one such film, but this time the inspiration is from a true story, that of a family based in Dubai. So what's special about the film then you might ask? Well plenty to be honest, as the film has turned out to meet the expectations in the right way.

Jacob (Renji Panicker) is a successful businessman in Dubai and he lives with his family comprising of his wife Sherly (Lakshmy Ramakrishna) and 4 children, Jerry (Nivin Pauly), Abin (Sreenath Bhasi), Ammu (Aima Sebastian), and Chris (Stacen). Their happy World comes crashing down when Jacob hits a major financial roadblock, thanks to a business associate who cheats him. The rest of the tale is all about how Jerry is forced by circumstances to look after the family and bring them all out of the crisis affecting them.

Despite the fairly simple plot Vineeth makes sure to keep the narrative absorbing, coming up with memorable characters, wonderful dialogues and some notable moments. It is also commendable of him not to cash upon the popularity of Nivin Pauly and make the tale revolve around him alone, in the process there's a lot of scope for nearly everyone in the film to perform. Ashwin Kumar, Sai Kumar, T.G.Ravi, Dinesh Prabhakar are all effective, while Sreenath Bhasi, Aima Sebastian and Stacen leave a mark. Lakshmy Ramakrishnan is shown as a gutsy character, who doesn't sit and brood over her fate but instead help her son Jerry in rebuilding their lives. Nivin Pauly does well in a role that sees him slowly emerge from the shadows of his father.

Renji Panicker is fabulous as Jacob, the doting father, husband and successful businessman who loses everything just because he trusted someone. The scenes featuring Renji and Nivin are a highlight and leave a great impact. Overall Jacobinte Swargarajyam is a fine film and ideal to be watched with your family during this festive season. less

The Siddique-Lal duo has succeeded in making the first have worth watching, with the perfect blend of comical and romantic elements. But the second half enters into a more serious zone, which badly affects the entertainment factor. Bipin Chandran's dialogues are good at the first half, but turns out to be unnatural in the second half and climax portions. King Liar hasn't reached the usual perfection level of Siddique-Lal movies, but it is not a disappointing watch either. less

Deliberate lag is suitable for certain movies that have plots that convey the idea in the very last moment. Rajeev Ravi's films, Crime No 89 from Sudevan were recent movies that utilized this so called lag effectively. But in the case of Mohavalayam this sort of detailed making seems to have worked against the movie. The slightly caricatured characters also spoil the real feel we expect in a movie like this. Cinematography doesn't impress much. The background score was good. less