[Geo_Ipe]

2018 - Theatres



The 2018 Kerala flood was the worst natural calamity the state has seen. So when a movie is made on the same, we expect a certain level of tributes to be paid! The movie showcases very few incidents, and has movie-ised the whole show to a very ordinary level. Too many scenes depicting cliche heroism for my liking. Visual effects were good, but not awe inspiring. Just couldn't accept the fact that there's not enough mention of the following sets of heroes of 2018
- Kerala Police
- Fire Force
- Army, Navy, NDRF
- Off roaders & Heavy commercial vehicles
- Thousands of volunteers!

Rating 3/5

[dragonfire]

Originally Posted by Geo_Ipe

Just couldn't accept the fact that there's not enough mention of the following sets of heroes of 2018
- Kerala Police
- Fire Force
- Army, Navy, NDRF
- Off roaders & Heavy commercial vehicles
- Thousands of volunteers!

Rating 3/5

Don't forget that it is a movie and not a documentary.

[green_ninja]

Movie: Yaathisai (Amazon Prime)

Language: Tamil
Rating: 3/5

A really good effort from an amateur crew. While there a few negatives like the somewhat poor and unnecessary VFX sequences and not so great supporting actors I still liked the movie for it's tight screenplay, no unnecessary bits and pieces like forced songs, comedy sequences etc. The Tamil spoken was very hard for me (native speaker) to follow and I needed closed captioning to understand. The BGM in most movies these days is louder than the dialogues and this movie is no exception.

A decent movie and a unique effort in the right direction for Tamil cinema.

[naveen.raju]

Vichithram



Nothing new here. Tried a horror genre with a not so convincing back story. Shine Tom acted well and that was it. The name suits the story - "Strange". The first half was pretty interesting with some horror elements that will keep you excited but the second half was a downhill.

Loved the Benz in the movie though - W115?

Rating - 2/5 (Amazon Prime)

Jawanum Mullappoovum



There isn't much to talk about. Poor acting, weird story and the movie title that doesn't even make sense. Don't even try watching this.

[Gansan]

Originally Posted by StarrySky

Note: I haven't read the books, so I don't know if the makers have deviated from it in any way.

I watched it at a theatre yesterday. It is very slick when compared to the part 1. Some deviation is there from the novel, especially Nandini's relationship with Veerapandiyan, but it is okay. It is claimed as an adaptation of the novel, so need not exactly follow it. The original canvas is so vast it is very difficult to make even a six hour film though in two parts. I don't think anyone could have done it better than Manirathnam.

I don't think any screen adaptation of famous novels exactly followed them. The Day of the Jackal and The Guns of Navarone, for instance. The movies were entertaining and successful though.

That period in Chola history is so full of intrigue, nobody clearly knows what exactly happened to Aditya Karikalan. We have only one stone inscription, a thousand years old, at a particular temple which talks of his killers being caught and punished, their property confiscated and their entire clan banished from the Chola country. And it happened after Rajaraja was crowned, some fifteen years after he ceded the crown to Utthama Chola. There is no answer as to why no action was taken in the matter during Utthama Chola's reign. Was he hand in glove with the killers?

The general consensus is, had Aditya Karikala become the monarch, he might have been a blood thirsty war monger and would have been the opposite of Rajaraja Chola. The Tanjore Shiva temple may not have come up.

Though it was his magnum opus, what Kalki wrote was historic fiction after all. Certain main events in the novel happened. The rest are gaps filled by him from his imagination.

[Scarlet_Rider]

For all folks interested in Marathi Classical music, the 2022 biopic on Pandit Vasantrao Deshpande, "Me Vasantrao" is on Jio Cinema for free streaming from today. His grandson and classical singer Rahul Deshpande plays the titular role.

https://www.jiocinema.com/movies/me-...arathi/3751217

[naveen.raju]

Ayalvaashi



It helped me with my afternoon sleep.

Pookkaalam



This was a really nice family movie with good visuals, BGM etc. Everyone acted well but hats off to KPAC Leela and Vijayaraghavan. It was Vijayaraghavan who stole the show. He wasn't acting, but living the character. He was just brilliant. I have always considered him to be one under rated actor like Siddique whose potential is not fully utilised.

Rating - 4.5/5 (Hotstar)

[Rajeevraj]

Bunch of movies seen:

2018- Theater- Deserves all the accolades it is getting. As of today it has become the highest Malayalam grossing movie ever. Can nitpick, but the effort, performances have to be applauded and really brings to the fore the nightmare Kerala went through during those floods. Rating: 4/5

Corona Papers- Hotstar: Did not have much expectations but quite enjoyed this. An investigation/thriller movie from Priyadashan. Remake of a tamil movie which in itself was inspired. Rating: 3/5

Maheshum Marutiyum- Prime: Boring. Keep it running in the background while you do some work at home type movie.

Pookalam-Hotstar: Liked it for the performances and unique theme. A little dragging in the middle portions. Rating: 3/5

Ayalvaashi-Prime: Same feedback as Maheshum Marutiyum.

Kadina kadoramee andakadaham- Sony Liv: Not a bad one, but a corona times movie and a fairly depressing theme. Rating 2.5/5

[ghodlur]

Raghvendra Stores (Kannada)

Streaming: Amazon

I had a lot of expectations from the movie as I am/now was a fan of Jaggesh, but this one failed miserably. There was no story in the movie plus some weird faces from Jaggesh made me switch off in 40 mins. None of the cast is worth mentioning.

Rating: 1.5

Virupakhsa (telugu)

Streaming: Netflix

I am sucker for thriller movies and this movie was one of them. But the plot became too clear by the first half and second half wasnt any exciting either. Dont understand the logic of weaving a love story in midst of the plot. The night scenes were shot well but didnt have the BGM to match the supposedly eeriness. One time watch maybe.

Rating: 2.5/5

Dasara (telugu)

Streaming: Netflix

I think Pushpa has influenced a new genre of Rustic Telugu hinterland with lots of gory scenes, native language slang etc and hero elevated to super human. Nani wasnt any different in this film, unfortunately he wasnt the usual Natural star in the movie. Keerthy Suresh's overacting was simply unavoidable. Like Faahad in Pushpa, Shine Chacko the Malayalam star was wasted in the movie. Can be avoided if not for Nani fan.

Rating: 2.5/5

[benbsb29]

Romancham - Malayalam



I must say the first 15 minutes or so was grose, but glad we put up with it as the movie soon got a whole lot interesting. As most know by now, the story is set among a group of bachelors based in Bangalore who in an attempt to while away time get busy with an Ouija board. What follows from there is some genuine comedy and horror, all the more noteworthy considering most of the cast are newcomers.

As mentioned by others on here, the story concept is not new, but the execution was spot-on, leaving us entertained to the end, where it was a slight letdown, and leaving the scene open for a sequel.

Rating : 3.5/5

[KL01toKA03]

Watched Enthada Saji on Prime. A good one time watch with a few funny moments.

Rating:3.5/5

[dragonfire]

Neelvelicham

A remake of the famed Bhargavi Nilayam. I hadn't watched the original before but had tried watching it a couple of weeks ago. Couldn't go past 30 minutes, mainly because the quality of the print was horrendous, and the acting was pathetic by modern standards. Suffice to say the movie hasn't aged well.

Now watching this remake, I feel that the story too hasn't aged well. Some of the dialogues sound straight off a street play. They should have done some work with the dialogues to make it less cringe. Like they toned down the mannerisms of the actors to make it more palatable to modern audience.

The background score is a weak point. All the regular horror movie sounds are employed, and they often overdo it. Doors creaking, dogs howling, thunder, utensils clanging etc. Some of these sounds continue into scenes where there is no scope for a scare.

The acting department is a mixed bag. Tovino does good as the lead, except that his diction does not do justice to the 60s. Rima is fine in parts but am sure she got the part because she is the director's wife. Roshan Mathew is horribly out of place. And then we have the ubiquitous Shine Tom Chacko. He tries, but although his crazy mannerisms should have helped his character, somehow the opposite happens.

I wonder why Ashique Abu chose to make a direct remake of the original and not try to re-imagine the story in modern times. The world has moved on from such stories and except for old gen people (like me) and people driven by curiosity, nobody would watch a movie with this sort of a story.

[vsathyap]

Raghavendra Stores (Kannada) - Amazon Prime



Rating: 2/5 (avoidable)

I remember seeing this movie in the theatres just a few weeks back and was surprised to see it on OTT already. Went ahead to watch it with limited expectations, specially after the disatser called Thothapuri .

As an ardent Jaggesh fan, I was disappointed with this movie. Goes to show that a weak script and story can bring even the best actors to their knees. I expected it to be a spinoff of the 40 yo virgin. However, the movie is a hodge-podge of all possible topics, ranging from politics in Karnataka to social problems, marriage problems, couples problems and everything in between, thrown in for good measure.

A real pity to see stalwarts like DattaNNa, Jaggesh and Achyuth Kumar being wasted like this. Overall, rating it a very optimistic 2/5. The movie is avoidable. Watch it only if you can tolerate Jaggesh making silly faces and random stories and themes popping in and out every 20min.

[KPR]

Pathu Thala in amazon Prime. 4/5. Separate 5/5 to AR Rahman for his midas touch. If you have good audio setup at your home watch this movie, listen to ARR songs and BGM then please comment here.


P.S: The director of the film is the same person who directed Chillunu oru Kadal and in particular gave us the evergreen Munbe Vaa song.

[naveen.raju]

Neelavelicham



Expected some good horror elements as it started really well. But it was all old school horror and nothing scary. I found the acting of all below average as well. He shouldn't have attempted to remake this.

Rating - 1/5 (Amazon Prime)

Pachuvum Athbutha Vilakkum



This was a decent movie with pretty straight forward acting by all. But the movie does loose it's track and find it's way to sub stories. It starts off with Fahad's life, then completely focuses on another family. You tend to forget characters like Mukesh, Innocent etc. A lot of characters were wasted. It's almost 3 hours but you sometimes forget that it's too long due to sub plots/stories in the movie.

I liked Vineeth in this. Felt very sophisticated.

Rating - 3/5 (Amazon Prime)

Kadina Kadoramee Andakadaham



This movie too takes off to a different plot. Nothing special except for good acting towards the end. Indrans showed his ability in few scenes.

Somehow felt the second half to be loosely similar to "Pathemari" and surprisingly both the locations were the same.

Rating - 2/5 (SonyLIV)