[dragonfire]

Falimy - Hulu

Not a bad one, but a little lengthy for the theme. Should have cut away about 30 mins of running time. Some of the intial scenes were unnecessary.

But these kinds of simple movies are any day better than those pretentious ones like Neru and Jailer, not to mention the stupid ones like Animal.

[Rajeevraj]

Premalu-Malayalam-Naslen-Mamitha. Has all the template elements expected in a romantic comedy. A semi loser boy, a sorted and clear headed girl, well meaning friends on both sides, the 'third person', the love at first sight, the final acceptance. In short, with such a movie the audience already know what is likely to happen and for it to work, there are some key things that the team has to get right. The setting of the story should be attractive, the lead pair chemistry and performances should stand out, the comedies should work, the pace should not slacken.

Director Girish and his team nail all of these. The movie is set in Hyderabad, a deviation from the usual Bangalore or Chennai that we see such Malayalam movies set in. The leads- Naslen and Mamitha perform wonderfully well along with the rest of the cast. The comic elements well done creating a lot of laugh aloud moments. The fun elements keep popping up even as the movie goes through the serious parts. The movie flows smoothly across its 2hr 36 min runtime. You don't realise the time has passed.

Rating: 3.5/5

Anweshippin Kandethum-Malayalam-Tovino: It is a realistic police procedural that is a satisfying watch. Tovino plays the role of a smart police officer in a subtle and restrained manner. The 90's setting is replicated beautifully. Few things make the movie different. Making it about 2 cases with equal importance with a loose tie helps ensure that one situation is not dragged out. Hence makes it fast moving. Does not deviate from the investigation plot at all. No side stories. The cases seemingly are regular ones but still the twists are good. The setting is done very well. Actually felt like watching an inverse version of a satyan anthikkad film from the 90's... Supporting cast all do well.

Rating: 3.5/5

Good start for Malayalam Movies in 2024. With Ozler, Premalu and Anweshippin Kandethum getting good reviews and doing well at box office. Looking forward to Mammooty's Bhramayugam next week.

[ask_017]

Originally Posted by Rajeevraj

Premalu-Malayalam-Naslen-Mamitha. Director Girish and his team nail all of these. The movie is set in Hyderabad, a deviation from the usual Bangalore or Chennai that we see such Malayalam movies set in. The leads- Naslen and Mamitha perform wonderfully well along with the rest of the cast. The comic elements well done creating a lot of laugh aloud moments. The fun elements keep popping up even as the movie goes through the serious parts. The movie flows smoothly across its 2hr 36 min runtime. You don't realise the time has passed.

I agree, watched this in a packed theater, and it was fun. This is as cliched a story as it can be, but there is an overall charm to it. And after a long time, was able to laugh out loud in a theater.

[ghodlur]

Kateera (Kannada)

Streaming: Zee

An out and out Darshan film with lots of action, emotion, bulging biceps, whistle worthy dialogues. Its a mass film so acting is out of question. DBoss has a super screen presence and in some action scenes he looks above other action heroes. The new heroine does act well in few scenes but comes out mostly with a wooden face. Shruti & Kumar Govind supported well. All in all a must see movie for the DBoss fans.

Rating: 3.5/5

[dailydriver]

Originally Posted by ghodlur

Kateera

The new heroine does act well in few scenes but comes out mostly with a wooden face.

The wooden faced débutante is Aaradhana Ram, the daughter of erstwhile block buster heroine Malashree and late Producer Koti Ramu.

With a rich cinematic heritage behind her, hope she will find her groove soon and deliver better performances in the future.

[ghodlur]

Ayalaan (Tamil)

Streaming: Sun Nxt

What a bore fest. Switched off after 20 mins of watching the movie. Siva Karthikeyan needs to get out of the comical actor mould and try some serious acting. Avoid if you can. I simply couldn't digest an alien speaking Tamil.

Rating: 1/5

[dragracer567]

Bramayugam - 4.5/5

Now, this is a movie I never expected I'd watch but was dragged by a colleague who's a Mamooty fan. This movie had the kind of depth that only a Malayalam movie can have!

Despite being marketed as a horror movie, there weren't many scary scenes per se except perhaps a handful. Rather, it's the combination of the haunted house + the monochrome shooting that contributes to the spooky experience - a very different and refreshing take on the genre. They did a good job portraying 17th Century South Malabar and the movie itself seems to have overtones of commentary about power politics in our society i.e. the movie almost surely has a deeper meaning which I didn't fully understand - you'd actually have to be from Kerala (which I'm not) & know the history to understand this better I guess.

The first half seemed somewhat slow, picking up in the second half but the movie was overall very gripping, keeping you at the edge of the seat! However, I didn't fully understand the climax though - perhaps someone who has watched the movie could DM me on this (to avoid spoilers)

Overall, this was some excellent peak cinema - Malayalam cinema is truly the GOAT!

[naveen.raju]

Bramayugam - Malayalam



Synopsis - Thevan, a folk singer of the Paanan caste, has a fateful encounter when escaping slavery, leading to discover an ancient tradition altering his destiny.

Now that movies are released quickly on OTT, theatre movies are restricted to horror genre thanks to my wife being totally against this. I do not favour any particular actor and tend to watch all movies but Mammooty somehow has a small edge for me especially the kind of movies he commits now (Not to sounds like a Mammootty fan).

I totally loved Rahul’s Bhoothkalam even though it got mixed reviews. The kind of potential he generates on a small scale is something commendable.

Coming back to Bramayugam, honestly speaking it wasn't all that brilliant. First half is very slow and long but picks up in the second half. The story is nothing new and it's loosely based on true incidents/folklore (I guessed it just before the interval). The movie is entirely shot in black & white in 2:1 ratio. So you have thick black borders on the sides but doesnt bother you since most of the scenes are pretty dark. I would say Arjun Ashokan nailed this and is one of his best. Siddharth supported him very well. But should mention the confidence of Mammootty as he simply lived trough the character. Not his best, but few scenes are haunting and shows his caliber (especially that wicked smile and laugh).

The talking point will be the brilliant art work (monochrome helps elevate it to give that antique/rustic feel), BGM (more noises/sounds effects rather than music to match the scene) and the best bit - cinematography, which rightly deserves a worthy mention or even an award. Rahul has come up with a really good one here and yet again he shows what he is capable of with just 2-3 characters and a single location.

No horror/jump scares here and if anyone follows this kind of genre should watch in theater. The sounds effects are way too good and cant match it on OTT. Am sure I wouldnt have liked this if I had watched on OTT.

Attention to detail - Even the censor board certificate and the initial credits were all in black & white.

Rating - 3.5/5 (Must theater watch. OTT wont do justice). Strictly one time watch.

[TrackDay]

Saw three Malayalam movies in the theatre this week !

1) Anweshippin Kandethum
2) Premalu &
3) Bramayugam

All three are honest to their genre and are definitely good. Would definitely recommend all three

It was back in college when I would watch this many movies in the theatres in a week. I guess when you put good movies out, the audience will find their way to the theatres.

[Asish_VK]

Bramayugam 4/5



Watched this very different kind of Malayalam movie. Though many people categories this as horror movie, I think it is more of a fantacy psychological horror drama.

The movie is 100% monochrome with a 2:1 aspect ratio.

+Ves
1. Brilliant cinematography & color scheme. The B&W treatment is very unique to Indian cinemas and it greatly add to the overall feel of the movie
2. BGM & sound design - Absolutely fantastic. This must be enjoyed in theater with good sound system. OTT won't do justice.
3. Acting - All the 3 leads did a fantastic job. Arjun Ashokan and Sidharth bharathan did their career best performance. And Mammootty, what an actor. The 2.0 version of Mammootty is in a different league all together. The introduction seen just makes your jaw drops.
4. Story, editing and technical side was brilliant and apt to the genre of the movie.

There are few loopholes, but don't affect the overall result of the movie.

Highly recommended.

[saikishor]

Saindhav

Rating: 0/5

What a colossal waste of time. The narration is stupidly flat and the story is just bad. I had thought of going to the theatre when it released but didn't go because the film had below average ratings. Now I know why it had those ratings. I just don't understand how producers approve such films. There is not a single point worth praising in this film. I actually saw the first half of the film a week ago, stopped because the film was so boring. Today, just because I had nothing else to watch, I finished the film and man what an awful movie this is. I can strongly say this has to be one of the worst films I've watched in a while.

[dragonfire]

Bramayugam

A little underwhelming given all the hype. No, it is a really good one, but the story is nothing new. It's a little slow in the begining, but post interval it speeds up. The B&W treatment elevates the experience, but at times I wished it was in color. The main highlight of the movie is the performances especially of Mammootty. Without him this movie would had been pretty mediocre.

BUT, would I give it a second viewing when it comes in OTT? Probably not. Given a choice I would watch Valiban a second time than Bramayugam.

[Rajeevraj]

Bramayugam is an experimental movie that has worked nicely for the audience including me. Another fantastic choice by Mammootty. Interestingly the other Big M experimental movie MalaikottaiVaaliban from Mohanlal did not work with the audience although there was a lot to like in it. Here director Rahul Sadasivan has succeeded in pulling the audience into the Bramayugam world. Several reasons in my view. Doing the movie in Black and White was a masterstroke. The set design is the next thing that draws you in. and then the sound design envelopes you completely. Icing on the cake are the performances. Mammootty, no words. Manages to give you the creeps every time he is on screen. Seems to have totally enjoyed doing the role, just throwing out a new level of acting that mesmerizes. Arjun Ashokan and Siddharth Bharathan almost match Mammootty with great performances. Bramayugam does not tell a very different story, actually has shades of similarity to 'Kumari' but the way it has been put together is what makes it successful. Must watch in theater. Preferably in an Dolby Atmos screen. Will not get the needed effect on OTT.

Rating: 4/5

Originally Posted by naveen.raju

Bramayugam - Malayalam
No horror/jump scares here and if anyone follows this kind of genre should watch in theater. The sounds effects are way too good and cant match it on OTT. Am sure I wouldnt have liked this if I had watched on OTT.

Attention to detail - Even the censor board certificate and the initial credits were all in black & white.

Rating - 3.5/5 (Must theater watch. OTT wont do justice). Strictly one time watch.

Definitely has to be watched in theater or a proper home theater system at home. I specially went looking for an Atmos screen to watch it.

Originally Posted by TrackDay

Saw three Malayalam movies in the theatre this week !
1) Anweshippin Kandethum
2) Premalu &
3) Bramayugam

Same here. Almost a movie every week with last weekend watching both Anweshippin Kandethum and Premalu. This year has started great for Malayalam Movies which has made regular trips to the movies necessary. Started with Abraham Ozler, then Malaikottai Valiban(which allthough it flopped, was a fantastic visual experience), then the 3 above. With many more promising movies lined up. Looks like will need to spend some money on movies this year.

Also noticed that shows in Bangalore have really been ramped up. I counted nearly 150 shows for the first 2 days of Valiban and saw shows kept getting added for the above 3 due to the demand. All of them were playing 60-70 shows in Bangalore in the first weekend. Bramayugam was playing close to 100 shows. Not sure if it is all driven by the Mallu crowd or there is significant viewership from other language folks especially considering there is pretty much no good releases from other industries currently.

[Asish_VK]

Originally Posted by Rajeevraj

Also noticed that shows in Bangalore have really been ramped up. I counted nearly 150 shows for the first 2 days of Valiban and saw shows kept getting added for the above 3 due to the demand. All of them were playing 60-70 shows in Bangalore in the first weekend. Bramayugam was playing close to 100 shows. Not sure if it is all driven by the Mallu crowd or there is significant viewership from other language folks especially considering there is pretty much no good releases from other industries currently.

I can see there is a significant increase of localites watching good Malayalam movies in Malayalam with subtitles.

I watched Bramayugam in Hyderabad and saw many Telugu and Tamil guys in the theater. I think it is right time for the makers to start shooting in multiple languages or release a proper dubbed versions along with Malayalam release. OTT gave the deserved recognition for Malayalam movies in large scale pan India.

Bramayugam is having the hype around it to reach new heights (say like Kantara), if promoted relentlessly with good multi lingual dubbed releases. It got the attention, just need to invest smart.

[saikishor]

Extra Ordinary Man
Rating: 0/5

I knew this film bombed upon release. I just wanted to see why it bombed. I watched about 1/3rd of the film, could not tolerate beyond that. Please skip even the thought of watching this.