I think this might be the first Malayalam review I ever wrote. Either first or second. So, before reposting, I did some adding and subtracting and improving.
Such a great movie! I was smiling and laughing in delight the entire time. If you will have a chance to watch it, you can read the No Spoilers review, if you already know the whole story, or won’t be able to see the film, you can read this one. It’s fun to watch not knowing what will happen next, but it’s also fun to watch knowing everything, it’s just that good.
We skipped Helicopter Eela and saw this instead, and it was such a good decision! I recommend you do the same.
What an interesting movie! Good straight through, but the ending is chilling. The price of crime, the sins of the father, brought forward in a very strange kind of a curse.
This is a very long and detailed review, as is appropriate for such a deep and complex movie. So, prepare yourself! Strap in for a lot of detail and discussion!
I already did my No Spoilers review, you can read that if you have any hope of seeing the movie in theaters. But if you are stuck waiting for streaming that may never come and want to learn more about it, you can read this one.
A special treat! I saw a Malayalam film in theaters! So there will be two Malayalam reviews today, first this No Spoilers one, and then a SPOILERS one later. Fun fun!
Another Malayalam rerun next week! And another Pellisary film. Because he is very very good, and not enough people watch him, and his films are easily available.
Sorry, forgot when I “assigned” this film to be watched this week that my review is SO FREAKING LONG. Oh well, great art excites me. If you want to know why this film is just breathtaking, then you should read my no spoilers review. Because the amazing part of the film isn’t in the story it is telling and what happens, it is in how the story is told. But if you want to read a little more in depth discussion about the film and every aspect of it, not just the breathtaking parts, you can read on.
I already put up my part 1, which I am sure was not fully accurate and certainly not complete. But it is my stab at somehow pulling together what little I know into a cohesive whole, in the hopes that it starts a conversation and I can learn more from you all.
Well, I did it! I finally finished my Rajinikanth biography! Now I just have the Savitri, Hema Malini, and Shashi Kapoor biography on my to do pile. Plus various other film books that aren’t star memoirs. Anyway, now I am ready to very tentatively try to put together some kind of narrative of Rajinikanth’s life, based on the movies I have watched (far more than I realized!), and this book, and information I gathered elsewhere
This is a combined Malayalam/Telugu post, because this movie was a combined Malayalam/Telugu hit (and also because I am lazy). Well, “hit”. I guess more accurately it could be called a “not flop”. But it’s still interesting! That a movie was made with Malayalam artists, dubbed into Telugu, and did well enough to be considered a “not flop”.
An interesting movie! A heroine who I wouldn’t expect to be a heroine for many reasons, and she is supported not just by the narrative, but by actual literal angels within the film.
I already put up my No Spoilers review. I’m going to encourage you to read that one if you haven’t seen the film yet. Not because spoilers would ruin it, but just because this review won’t really make sense without having seen the film. It’s so much about what is implied instead of what is shown, reading the plot bare bones won’t give a feel for how it is within the film. Wait until you can see it, and then come back here.
First movie of the weekend! It could have come out last weekend, when there was no Hindi movie I planned to see, but nooooooooooooo, it had to come out this weekend, when there are 3 other films to juggle. Oh well, at least I got to see an Anjali Menon movie in theaters.
Interesting movie. Some of it I liked, some of it I didn’t, but most of all it had a middle aged working woman heroine going up against a young single guy antagonist! Very odd combination, very satisfying.
This was one of my first Malayalam movies, back when I was young and foolish and watching anything where Nivin looked cute on the poster. But now it is on Netflix, available for a whole new audience, so I thought I should circle back, being old and wise as I am now, and see if I had any new insights. (here is the old review for comparison). And also because I am still stumped by 2 questions about this film and I am hoping some of you can help me.
I was browsing through einthusan and I saw this movie and thought “oh hey, I’ve heard about this film a lot, I should check it out”. Not a great decision! Really a very odd and strangely regressive film that is supposed to be about two women but is really just about the man torn between them.
Time for a Netflix update! Which I only do once a month or so, so it’s not up to the minute accurate. But hopefully I make up for that with the descriptions I give them. (Accessbollywood.net does the real work of keeping this list updated, you should definitely absolutely subscribe to them for your day to day updates.)
Not a great movie. Really pretty flawed. But pleasant, and with nice chemistry between the leads, and once again proof that Mammootty really really knows how to pick age appropriate scripts. And also how to age gracefully, he is playing at least 10 years younger than his real age and I can believe it.
Mamootty picks the BEST story ideas for his age. After Bhaskar the Rascal, here is another one, Pullikkaran Staraa, that is age appropriate and interesting and could so easily be translated into a Hindi film. Especially since the Malayalam original was only moderately successful and of only moderate quality.
Look, I watched an actual good movie! A classic even. It just took all of you listing off the good movies for me on HotStar so I could avoid their gosh awful search function and go directly to what I wanted.
This is interesting. It’s officially the original version of Hindi Medium, but besides the essentially plot concept, there is really nothing in common. A sign of how very different the different parts of India, and different Indian film industries, see the world. Oh, and it’s “Monday” Malayalam, but coming on Sunday, because Tuesday is Madhuri day which took precedence over Telugu so everything moved back one.
Time for a Netflix update! Which I only do once a month or so, so it’s not up to the minute accurate. But hopefully I make up for that with the descriptions I give them. (Accessbollywood.net does the real work of keeping this list updated, you should definitely absolutely subscribe to them for your day to day updates.)
