Team-BHP (https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/)

-   Shifting gears (https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/shifting-gears/)

-   -   The Regional movies thread! (https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/shifting-gears/56597-regional-movies-thread-96.html)

Watched three Malayalam movies (all in theaters) this vacation,

Prathi Poovan Kozhi

Roshan Andrews directed movie with Manju Warrier in the lead. Went with high hopes. In the end, had difficulty in keeping awake.

Too many movies these days with a "social awareness" theme and a very weak story line and this is one of them. Harassment of women is the topic but in my opinion there are ten thousand better ways to deal with the topic instead of casting Manju Warrier as someone hell bent to seek revenge - a type of role in which she appears to be a total misfit. The only merciful thing was the movie was only around 1 hour 45 minutes - a rarity these days for Malayalam movies to be anything under two hours. In this case it was a welcome relief.

Driving License

Already reviewed here. Prithviraj, Suraj Venjarumoodu starer. A good screenplay and a plot which keeps you engrossed from beginning to end. Was expecting a "made to order: script glorifying Prithviraj but what turned out as a clean enjoyable family movie . Definitely worth a watch with children.



Kettiyolaanu Ente Malakha

A movie which quietly held its own amidst big name competition. This one was actually released in late November and was still running in Trivandrum and Kochi to decent crowds in the second week of January, when I watched the movie. Directed by debutant Nissam Basheer with Asif Ali in the lead, this was the best movie by far of the three. A simple story line, beautifully and honest told with no un necessary attempts to infuse humor when there is none. One of Asif Ali's best performances so far.


Some activists particularly after the movie released to a wider audience recently through Amazon Prime have been critical of the movie because they feel the topic of marital rape has been trivialized. This is not the case and the movie deals with the circumstances like fear, insecurity etc which led to the incident. Fortunately for Malayalam cinema, most viewers have understood the movie for what it is, a honest portrayal of an issue rarely told in Malayalam cinema namely marital insecurity. Watch it if you can but not with young children although the film has a U rating.

Anjaam Pathira - Malayalam

A nice taut thriller featuring Kunchako Boban. Basically a serial killer murder mystery types. Been hearing rave reviews ever since it released in Kerala 2 weeks back. Surprisingly came to Bangalore only last weekend.

Fast paced, well acted, no unnecessary deviations or songs etc. There are some loopholes, but can be overlooked. Very well acted too. Good start to 2020 for Malayalam films.

I saw the movie. Interested to know the loopholes without giving out too much. Thanks.

My assessment is that the screenplay was taut but the story is full of loopholes/plotholes/unbelievables/coincidences. Unfortunately listing them would be tantamount to listing spoilers. But here's one - by about 20-30 minutes into the movie, we see that 2 cops are murdered. But the investigating team shows no inclination to look at the past careers of these policemen seeking points of intersection.

Outside of the main plot, we have an "MA in Psychology" fellow telling a young girl suffering from depression that "I'm not going to prescribe any medication for you".

Driving License
Amazon Prime

Added to Prime this week & I enjoyed watching this movie last evening.
A couple of great cars were seen in the movie too.
It won't surprise me if it is remade in Telugu & Tamil since mass hero culture is very vibrant in these states.

Mamangam is also available on Prime. Will watch this weekend.

<Slight Spoiler Alert>

Maybe they did, but there was nothing to find.. :) Kind of addressed in the last interrogation scene..

Once upon a time in Hollywood and Avane Srimannarayana release in prime today.

Where sir? It's not available in prime yet. Can you please confirm

Links below :

Hey I'm watching Once upon a Time In... Hollywood. Check it out now on Prime Video!
https://app.primevideo.com/detail?gt...share_mv&r=web

Hey I'm watching Avane Srimannarayana. Check it out now on Prime Video!
https://app.primevideo.com/detail?gt...share_mv&r=web

Thanks sir, I can see it on prime now. Will watch "Avane Srimannarayana" want to see what the hype is all about.

How did they release on Prime so soon while it is still doing good business in the theaters. Good for people like me who doesn't watch regional movies in theaters 'coz can't stand the mostly dumb songs of our beloved Kannada movies of recent times. Good times ahead for meclap:

I watched this movie with family at the theatre over the weekend, and quite liked it. I agree with your review. :thumbs up

My only note of advice is for those with children : Please understand that there are murders and related details within the movie, which can put off young kids. My 10 year old daughter wasn't happy, and I saw other families with young kids where the kids were asking to go home during the movie.

I wanted to watch this in the cinema but its rated NC-16 here in Singapore, which means that I cannot take my 11-year old daughter; will wait for the online release now.

Avane Srimannarayana(Kannada)
Watched on Prime Video yesterday evening. What a waste of 3hrs of my time!! An useless nothing movie hyped as though it's second to none. A plot which has no substance and a playtime that stretches so much that even a chewing gum is put to shame. The female lead's accent to the 100s of useless characters bored me like anything that I wanted to stop watching it many times. But still endured through it hoping that the cast who have done some good movies in the past may pull off something nice in the end. All I was left with is a thankful feeling...thankful because I didn't waste money on it to watch in a movie hall. If only they could put all that money into something better!
Don't waste your 3hrs...I've warned you!
Rating 0.5/5 :Frustrati

Thambi - Directed by Jeethu Joseph (Drishyam Fame) is available on Netflix. Didn't get time to watch it.

Some malayalam movies that I watched on Amazaon prime

Driving Licence
An easy watch movie. Nothing that pins you to the seat or anything. Just keep watching and thats it. Some good comedy here and there.

Rating : 3/5

Trissur Pooram
Oh man. I felt the movie should have been called Kathi (knife) Pooram. Right from the start to the final climax the movie is all about someone stabbing or slitting throat of the other using knives. No comedy, no drama, no nothing much to write about, not even Trissur slang. Jaysurya seems to have wanted to do a new gen tough man movie with some Trissur background. But in the end it was just a goonda movie with knives and lot of stabbing and slitting. No plot or subplot or even a comedy scene.

Rating : -1/5

Mamangam
Now this is one movie that surprised me. As per all the reviews I had read, was expecting a total disaster. But turned out it was not that bad. The movie might not be in standards with Mamooty's past hits like Vadakkan Veeragadha or Pazhashi Raja, but at the same time it was not boring like Odiyan or even the above Trissur pooram. I think what didnt work in favor of Mamangam was the music, no power dialogues and to an extent that Mamooty didnt have too much heroism act. And the action was slightly pathetic. Felt the jumps and twirls done by the yesteryear actors - Prem Nazir, Ummar, Jayan etc in the black & white movies on similar story lines were far better. With movies like Bahubali, expectation for such war action scenes are always on the higher side. Seems the director totally missed that part.

Rating: 3/5