Latest Malayalam Movie Reviews

Darvinte Parinamam (Darwin's evolution) is definitely an unusual name for a Malayalam film, that was what I really felt when I heard of the film for the first time. Considering that it was a film featuring Prithviraj and also produced by August Cinema, a production and distribution house of which he forms an integral part, there was something to look forward to from the film. The trailer did not reveal much but looked promising to me. As I watched the film I also realised that director Jijo Antony's intention is to clearly do something different within the popular or mainstream space.

Anil Anto (Prithviraj) shifts from Kottarakkara to Cochin along with his pregnant wife Amala (Chandni Sreedharan) in order to escape the constant taunts from his mother. With the help of some friends and with some luck, Anil and Amala slowly start rebuilding their lives. Darwin (Chemban Vinod) is a notorious don in Cochin who is a little uncouth and brash by nature. Anil and Darwin have nothing in common and they do not know each other at all. However one day an unexpected event triggers off something that goes on to connect them together in a way that neither of them would have expected.

The film starts off on a promising note as we see Darwin being introduced as the hero of the tale and Anil as the villain, quite the opposite of what one would expect. The first half is quite serious and at the interval point the confrontation is very well set up and one tends to look forward to an engaging second half. However Jijo Antony shifts the narrative to a more light hearted fashion which after a while makes the proceedings drag along. It's good to see Prithviraj allowing Chemban Vinod to share the centre stage and both of them are effective enough. The cinematography (Abhinandan Ramanujam) and action sequences are impressive. Eventually the film is a mixed bag of sorts, not as good as Prithviraj's last 4 films, but not among his worsts either. less

Except for certain humorous counter dialogues from the supporting cast, the film doesn't have anything to keep us entertained. The screenplay is way too dull and the making is entirely sloppy filled with cheesiness. The basic formula of making a film has this one thing called conflict and this movie doesn't have one. The climax portion of the movie looked really awkward as it all got finished within seconds. The aim seems to be just filling some outdated jokes in a very thin one liner story. less

Dileesh Pothan who has been an assistant director and actor,makes his directorial debut with Maheshinte Prathikaaram which has been produced by his mentor, Aashiq Abu. The film features Fahadh Faasil in the lead along with a wonderful supporting cast. Fahadh hasn't been having a good run at the box office of late, with some strange choice of subjects in the recent past. But with Maheshinte Prathikaaram we see the debut of a talented director and a return to form of the leading man.

Set in Prakash City of Idukki which in reality is just a village of sorts, Mahesh Bhavana (Fahadh Faasil) runs a photo studio and lives with his aged father who used to be a photographer himself. Mahesh has been wanting to marry his childhood sweetheart Soumya (Anusree) but she gets married to someone else instead. An unexpected incident in a public place brings him in confrontation with some unknown people,leading to an altercation where he gets beaten up. Hurt and humiliated, Mahesh swears not to wear footwear any more till he takes his revenge.

At the very core this is quite a realistic and simple tale that is engaging all the way. Dileesh Pothan makes sure to incorporate some wonderful moments in the film, Bijibal's songs and Shyju Khalid's cinematography lend a lot of charm to the film. Anusree and Aparna Balamurali as the romantic interests of Mahesh are effective, while K.J.Antony as Mahesh's father, Alancier Lay as Babychayan and Soubin Shahir as Crispin are wonderful. Ultimately the film is a triumph in every sense and will leave you smiling indeed. less

First off, kudos to the late director Rajesh Pillai for his efforts to keep pushing the limits of thrillers in Malayalam cinema. His passing is a great blow to Mollywood. He was a trendsetter of sorts with the 2011 hit Traffic being regarded as a benchmark movie in Mollywood and also remade in Tamil and Kannada. The Hindi version is also on cards. He will be missed.

Yet, thrillers in Malayalam cinema can be classified as pre and post Drishyam. There is an obvious sense of the need to bring about the feel that Drishyam did. Whether or not directors succeed, is a matter of how the audience perceive it. There is nothing wrong in directors trying to do that, but, when it starts taking a toll on the other elements of the movie, it becomes a problem.

This is the problem with Vettah. It is the fact that it strives hard to be something it needn't be. You feel that unnecessary urge from the director to push the audience to the edge of their seats. It is forced. You don't need that kind of a push here. The background music is good, but repititive to the point of irritation. There are a lot of smirks, cliched dialogues about how the feeling of being cheated gives the greatest pain of all, complicated characters, parallel narratives, and most importantly, there are a lot of questions, all of which are answered only in the last few minutes. We all love it when our judgement is tested and put to question. We like being teased by the prospective of twists and turns. Vettah has a lot of those. A tad bit too much.

Kunchako Boban, Manju Warrier and Indrajith Sukumaran have done a decent job, which is exactly what you would expect under the able direction of Rajesh Pillai. Had the audience not been coerced into believing that they are watching a thriller, the impact would have been real. Otherwise, Vettah is an apposite watch. less

There are only two things that can happen when you go for a Dileep flick:

1) You end up really annoyed OR

2) Have a fantastic time

Now generally Dileep is known for his slapstick style comedies and some of them have been successful while others have bombed at the box office. Under which category does Two Countries fall? Well, 2 Countries is thankfully one of those films that you will thoroughly enjoy. If you enjoyed My Boss, CID Moosa and Romeoo then be rest assured that 2 Countries will please you. Now my review is a bit delayed, considering this film released in December but nevertheless felt that it is a film worthwhile reviewing.

In a recent interview Mamta Mohandas called Dileep The "Robin Williams" of Malayalam Cinema and after watching this film I must say it is very true indeed. Dileep is an actor who has proven his versatility in both serious and comic roles. However, there is no doubt that comedy is Dileep's fort. When I first saw the trailer for this film, I was a bit skeptical. But, the positive word of mouth encouraged me to give it a shot. Malayalam audiences and their love for comedy films is a greater love story than Twilight. The challenge that most Malayalam directors face while casting Dileep, is churning out a product that caters to both his fans, and the general audiences. Fortunately, Shafi has succeeded in this challenge.

Right from the very get go the film is filled with hilarious scenes and there is only one mission that Dileep and Shafi have in mind - "To Bring The Roof Down With Laughter". Some parts of the film will remind you of Madhavan's "Nala Dhamayanthi" but this is a good thing. Dileep is a powerhouse, but what happens when you spice the film up with Mukesh, Suraj and Aju Varghese? You get a fantastic comedy entertainer! Aju Varghese and Dileep handle the first half with ease while Mukesh and Suraj ensure to add magic to Dileep's masala for the second half. Our "Veluveluthoru Pennu" (Mamta Mohandas) too dazzles up the show with some good humour sequences and of course her glamorous avatar. Mamta Mohandas is like pure eye candy and this is most visible in the song "Veluveluthoru Pennu". After My Boss, Dileep and Mamta Mohandas share a wonderful chemistry . So, do not be surprised if they do a third film together.

Overall, it is fair to say that 2 Countries is a movie that will leave you thoroughly entertained. Go and watch this with your family and friends if you haven't already seen it! less

The film starts off with the tag line oru kothuku kanda katha. Except for the opening short, there isn't any mosquito perspective in this film. From the first scene itself, we can understand the level of drama in the writing with all those mind voice and flash back glimpses through the car windows. Then the usual drama of argument, female bitching etc. starts. The only interesting point is the half way mark where the disagreement reaches the peak. But with ridiculous ways of portraying a woman's affection, we sort of laugh at the movie for its immaturity. less

The plot is hardly convincing and is the sorest chord in the whole film. Yes, a jack fruit tree as the central character is something novel but translating that thought into an entertaining film calls for some brilliant, non-cliched packaging, characterizations and a sensibly engaging screenplay, all of which are absent in Hello Namasthe. less

A COMPLETE SUSPENSE FAMILY THRILLER WITH STUNNING CLIMAX OF MAMMOOTY.FIRST HALF OF THE FILM BRINGS TOO MUCH CURIOSITY TO WATCH SECOND HALF. STARTING THE SECOND HALF OF THE MOVIE BRINGS THE AUDIENCE BREATHLESS ESPECIALLY THE HOUSE WIVES. THE MOVIE SHOWS THE MODERN BEHAVIOURS OF THE YOUNG GENERATION AND THEIR LIFESTYLES. less

"good film,a realistic cop movie.the film is a police's story and this story mixed with comedy and little bit action.don't compare this movie with premam.this is a new type movie in the history of malayalam film less

Fahadh's portrayal of a driven, but confused, aspiring filmmaker is bang on target. The actor continues to impress with his subtle humour and expressions. Fahadh's Pallickal is not your regular hero, he is affable and often docile. The director also doesn't resort to any sort of gimmick to bring out his heroism, but rather lets his passive personality shine. less

Prithviraj enacts a variant of the character he played in Memories, but his lungi-clad, swollen-eyed act is mostly impressive. There are a handful of sequences where his performance is over the top, especially the song that shows the bonding between Babu and Joy. Thankfully, there is enough of controlled acting in the rest of the film to make up for those scenes less

Friday Film House is known for introducing new talent and attempting films across various genres. Carnival Motion Pictures which had been dormant of late joins hands with Friday Film House to bring to us Adi Kapyare Kootamani,which sees John Varghese making his debut as director. The posters and promos promised a youthful, fun entertainer, so does the end product turn out to be all that good?

The film has a simple plot and it is all about the happenings in the men's hostel of a college. Adhista Lakshmi (Namitha Pramod) doesn't want to marry the boy chosen by her father (John Vijay) and comes across Bhanuprasad (Dhyan Sreenivasan), a college student who is in need of money urgently. Lakshmi gives Bhanu the money he needs and in return makes him take her to his hostel for some unexplained reason. While getting into the hostel was easy, getting out seems to be impossible. So how do Bhanu and his friends Bruno (Aju Varghese), Remo (Neeraj Madhav) and Koshy (Vineeth Mohan) help Lakshmi in getting out and how do they manage to stay away from the prying eyes of the Warden, Father Alfred Kattuvilayil (Mukesh) and Shanthappan (Bijukuttan) is what the rest of the film is all about.

Director John Varghese doesn't waste any time in setting up the premise and there is no unnecessary footage devoted to character introductions. The premise has enough scope for humour and neither the writers (John Varghese and Abhilash S.Nair) nor the actors disappoint. There is an underlying undercurrent of horror/supernatural thriller but it is never distracting and the emphasis is definitely on making the audience laugh on a regular basis. Despite the rather wafer thin plot it is to the director's credit that the proceedings are engaging all the way. Mukesh gets good screen time but doesn't really have much to do in terms of the humour aspect, while Bijukuttan is quite effective as the hostel attendant who suspects the presence of a "yakshi" in the hostel.

Namitha Pramod as expected has done well while Vineeth Mohan leaves an impact as well. Dhyan Sreenivasan's role reminds us of his role in Kunjiramayanam due to similar shades. Aju Varghese and Neeraj Madhav continue to impress here as well. Overall Adi Kapyare Kootamani is a fun entertainer, not really a trendsetter as such, but guarantees a time pass outing at the cinemas for sure. less