[procrj]

Asuran - Story wise its nothing new but the screenplay, acting and BGM take it to a different level. Dhanush has done full justice to the movie and absolutely enjoyed it. Would rate it a 4/5.

Jallikattu - very mixed bag as the screenplay and acting is nothing exceptional when compared to other contemporary movies. Ended up seeing it in bits and pieces over the weekend. Rate it a 2.5/5

[civic-sense]

Watched Android Kunjappan during the weekend.

It is a new AI based take of a story told a million times, but is a very refreshing watch given the novel premise. A very excellent first half, but loses its way slightly from the first shot post interval. But I will not hold it against this well made movie.

Soubin, for once, feels like a miscast in this role although he has given his best. Star of the movie is Suraaj who plays the main role with extreme conviction.

Also full marks to whoever was inside the droid suit.
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Watched first half of Jallikkettu in Amazon prime. Paused at the interval and didn't get the drive to restart. I hope there is something worthwhile that happens in the second half. Apart from the pointlessness, acting is bad all around.

Lijo's Amen was a visual and sonic treat. Although it had its share of drawbacks, I consider it one of the best movies in Malayalam. But I failed to see what the hype of Angamaly Diaries was all about. And Double Barrel was another nonsensical film.

[vb-saan]

Originally Posted by civic-sense

Watched first half of Jallikkettu in Amazon prime. Paused at the interval and didn't get the drive to restart. I hope there is something worthwhile that happens in the second half. Apart from the pointlessness acting is bad all around.

Lijo's Amen was a visual and sonic treat. Although it had its share of drawbacks, I consider it one of the best movies in Malayalam. But I failed to see what the hype of Angamaly Diaries is all about. And Double Barrel was a nonsensical film.

I agree! Amen was a good watch, but otherwise I have not warmed up to his movies. He seems to be the intellectuals’ darling, but I find his movies a bit too dark for my liking. Not watched Jallikettu, probably will skip.

[bvasista]

Originally Posted by vb-san

I agree! Amen was a good watch, but otherwise I have not warmed up to his movies. He seems to be the intellectuals’ darling, but I find his movies a bit too dark for my liking. Not watched Jallikettu, probably will skip.

I watched Jallikettu over the weekend (with subtitles). I felt that there was an internal theme/message that the director wanted to convey about the mob mentality and about the presence of beast in every man. I liked the movie and especially the background score was haunting.

There's a beast in every man, but it gets subdued with social restrictions (by Sigmund Freud?)

[Rajeevraj]

Originally Posted by vb-san

I agree!. He seems to be the intellectuals’ darling, but I find his movies a bit too dark for my liking.

Well said. Feel exactly the same way. Even last years Ee.Ma.Yau, could not get the hype around it at all.

Yes, there is a hidden meaning-But I am happy with Sreenivasan level hidden meanings. Suitable for the aam aadmi

[bblost]

Originally Posted by procrj

Asuran - Story wise its nothing new but the screenplay, acting and BGM take it to a different level. Dhanush has done full justice to the movie and absolutely enjoyed it. Would rate it a 4/5.

Completely agree with the rating.

One of those movie where every scene and dialogue is there because its needed.

[StarrySky]

Asuran: I thought the movie was pretty average with a story as old as the hills. Plus points are the performances, BGM and cinematography, but with plot points predictable from a mile away, the movie failed to hold my interest.

Jallikettu: More hype than substance in my opinion. There are some interesting bits like how various people take advantage of the situation. It is also interesting to note how what starts as a hunt for a buffalo turns into something else. However, the chasing scenes felt repetitive after some time. The movie felt long, even though the running time is only 90 minutes.

[Ithaca]

Kaithi (Tamil) dropped on Hotstar.

Ranarangam (Telugu) drops on Friday 28.11.2019.

[Rajeevraj]

Helen: Malayalam starring Anna Ben of Kumbalangi nights fame. A nice thriller and very well acted by Anna Ben. The build up is very well thought through and hence has a good impact in the 2nd part.

Rating:4/5

Also watched 2 movies with the Soubin-Suraaj combo. Android kunjappan and vikruthi. Both good ones elevated by excellent performances.

Rating: 3/5

[hemanth.anand]

Gantumoote (Kannada)

A gem of a movie! I was transported back to my school days more than 2 decades. The movie has portrayed so many adolescent issues of the 90's in such a delicate and sensitive way. Amazing work by director Roopa Rao. Thankfully I've come out of that stage unscathed, But I've seen many from that time who struggled to handle the pressures.

Each frame is so wonderfully constructed and the attention to details is brilliant. Doordarshan, Kinetic Honda, receiving calls on the neighbour's telephone, the background sounds of Bajaj Ad, Washing clothes on a stone, Bill error discussions. The Friendly maths teacher that everyone loves, Vidya book, Nataraj geometry boxes, Holiday dress of Tshirt and Pyjamas, Hero Puch 3G, correcting test papers that are tagged, Matador for excursion...I can go on and on...Just beautiful. For the person that I am, I couldn't help but notice Force Traveller vehicle which wasn't existing back then. Also the BMTC bus number from outside is KA01F2530 from outside (added by video graphics) but from inside it's actually KA01F2111

While there was a happy feeling of nostalgia, there was a scary feeling now as a parent thinking of the future.

Unfortunately such movies don't go on to become a commercial success and I must thank Amazon Prime for the opportunity it gives us to watch such Genres.

I'd rate the movie 4.5/5

[Ithaca]

Ranarangam (Telugu)
Sun Nxt

Movie was released on Friday 28.11.2019.
The usual revenge drama and a good time pass.
Sharwanand does a good job.

Kaithi (Tamil)
Hotstar.

Enjoyed this movie. No heroines, no songs, no item numbers.
Plain story from start to end.
Got boring a bit in the middle but all the mass elements are there.
A mass hero needs a couple of mass fights.
Enjoy this movie. Worth a watch.

Off Topic - War (Hindi) now available on Prime

Saw this super trailer for Avane Srimannarayana (Kannada)
Available in 5 languages online.
Here is the Kannada trailer with subtitles.
Eagerly waiting for it to release.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dj-HNEZ59Z4

[hemanth.anand]

Mookajjiya Kanasugalu (Kannada)
Based on a Jnanapitha award winning 1968 Novel by Dr. Shivaram Karanth, this movie was a good way to end my weekend.
I hadn't read the book, I hadn't seen the play...I went there with a clean slate.
One thing that was evident is the forward thinking, open minded thoughts that Karanth had more than half a century ago.

The movie is very well made by director P.Sheshadri. The locations, the costumes, the language, the cast, everything was beautiful. Don't think anyone else apart from B.Jayashree could've suited the role of Mookajji better. All the other actors too have done wonderful justice to their characters.

For that era, conveying a different perspective than the mainstream societal views towards topics like extramarital relation, child sex abuse, child marriage, non-vegetarianism etc in a way not hurting others is something nice in the story.

The best thing I liked was the shadow play to tell a small sub-story.
The local language could've been still better. The aspect ratio looked like 4:3...probably 16:9 would've been still better.
It's an offbeat movie and not everyone's cup of tea.

The second most important character of Subbraya played by Aravind Kuplikar was present in the movie hall. I spoke with hin and got a selfie too

I'd rate it 4/5

[fundagenie]

Vikruthi Malayalam

A beautiful simple movie. Great acting by Suraj Venjaramoodu.

FundaG

[Ithaca]

Film Companion - Tamil Directors Round table (with Subs)

Featuring Vetri Maaran, Gautham Menon, Parthiban, Lakshmy Ramakrishnan, Chezhiyan and Rathna Kumar.

Nice to hear Vetri Maaran talking about other platforms for the future like OTT.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=opX_bYvhu48

[naveenroy]

Asuran - 2/5:
As soon as 10 minutes into the story, I kinda knew how the rest of it would pan out and I only watched it to see what the hype was all about. Isn't a must watch for sure. Dhanush has played his part well but meh.

Trapped - 4/5:
I loved this movie so much that I watched it twice. Once alone and then with friends. I thought Rajkummar Rao acted really well!

Raatchasi - 3/5:
I liked this movie because of the simple story. To be honest, there were atleast a few instances in the movie where I expected something to happen but it didn't. A decent feel good movie.