[balenoed_]

Originally Posted by SithDefender

The desert can be a hard, unflinching place even to those who have learnt to live in it for generations.

Just curious, what is this business that happens in the middle of desert that even those natives must be finding it hard to survive. Is this sheep skin business? What are they doing with growing goat and camels over there? Why can't it be done somewhere closer to civilization?

[saikishor]

The Family Star
Rating: 0/5

Please avoid going to the theatres for this film. You are better off watching a TV serial instead.

[balenoed_]

Originally Posted by Asish_VK

- BGM - ARR did a fabulous job here - helped the audience to immerse into the movie.

Except the cringe of adding his own name in the lyrics of Periyone song. 😀

[bblost]

Udal

Amazon Prime, Malayalam with English subtitles.

Content warning: Not for kids or the faint hearted.

An absolutely fast paced movie with lots of twists and turns. It slowly sets the pace and then starts breaking your knees.

There are no good or bad people in this movie.
There is true love and adultery.
There is a run for freedom and clawing revenge.

Do not read any review that gives you an insight into the story. Let it grab you.

[Pythonic]

Finally watched Manjummel Boys. Was worried that it was in Malayalam but half the dialogue was in Tamil so that worked out.

The plot has no substance for 2 hour in my opinion and typical south indian movies stuff like the tug of war climax were over done but not unenjoyable. The first half could’ve been done in an anirudh-esque song with a montage.

Made a good point about how when you’re in trouble you’re on your own and a few kind souls are what can help you out. With the reference to Atheism in the beginning I was expecting a scene or subplot where the protagonists interact with their faith or something of that sort when faced with incredible odds but that was just a random loose end.

Either way, well shot, the atmosphere of the movie was indeed scary, but a bit more suspense would have been nice, it was predictable from the second they skipped the fence. I think a movie where the guy is not recoverable and the friends have to deal with it would make a much interesting movie.

2/5 in my books

[naveen.raju]

Lover - Tamil



Wasn't really keen on the "rom-com" genre but went ahead with this as I had nothing else to watch and quite like Manikandan's movies.
It turned out to quite ok although the story is nothing new. Both the leads acted pretty well. It's a bit long and could have edited some bits and made it short.

Rating - 3/5 (Hotstar). Not bad. Not to be watched with children.

Rani Chithira Marthanda - Malayalam



Meh! Poor acting by all except for Kottayam Nazeer but he had comparatively less screen space. Unwanted songs and a very common storyline. Nothing new here and wonder why they even bothered with this.

Rating - 1/5 (YouTube). Can avoid it.

[GeneralJazz]

Originally Posted by balenoed_

Except the cringe of adding his own name in the lyrics of Periyone song. 😀

Err... that is not a cringe self promotion. Rahman and Rahim are two of the most common names attributed to god in Arabic. Quite a lot of prayers include these two names.

[somspaple]

Tillu Square : Telugu movie in theaters : Comedy

Those who would've watched DJ Tillu and liked the mannerism of Tillu and his comedy will thoroughly enjoy this as well. In fact I felt the sequel is better [probably because I watched the first part on OTT]. You would enjoy better if you can catch nuances and slangs of the language used in the movie [there is absolutely no use if this movie is dubbed in any other language or you want to use sub-titles to understand dialogues].

Even though it was a Sunday night show 10 days after the release, theater was partially full and everybody was enjoying the show. Been sometime that we had a hearty laugh while watching a movie.

Personal Recommendation:
Avoid/Watchable/Good Watch

[balenoed_]

Varshangalkk Shesham - 4/5

Vineeth Srinivasan never dissapoints and what a man he is. He has got a knack on making the film and always, always tries to get the best out of the actors and uplift them. Here is one another with Pranav who does a great job. But the real treat is Dhyan Srinivasan. I never had a regard of Dhyan and never cared to watch his film and I am sure many of you would be of the same thought, but then go and watch this and you will know the real talent of Dhyan. All credit to his brother in brining it out from him.

The first half was a bit of lag and you might wonder that is going to be a cringe but second half totally changes the tone, comes back Nivin Pauly with a bang and what a come back in a cameo role. He just steals the show for a while.

Overall a feel good movie and get to see several familiar faces and lots of anecdotes.

[ghodlur]

Abraham Ozler (Malayalam)

Streaming: Hotstar

Based on the reviews on the thread, I expected a fast paced thriller but didn't quite meet the expectations. Rather it was a very slow movie and personally I felt the screenplay could have been more tighter. Jayaram wasn't any great in the acting histronics, Mammooty was good in the short screen space. One time watch for sure. The ending revealed a sequel was in the offing.

Rating: 3/5

[Asish_VK]

Originally Posted by balenoed_

Just curious, what is this business that happens in the middle of desert that even those natives must be finding it hard to survive. Is this sheep skin business? What are they doing with growing goat and camels over there? Why can't it be done somewhere closer to civilization?

They are grown not for the skin, but for the fur, milk and meat. Camels are to travel within dessert and round up the goats. By nature, goats are more resilient to harsh wheather and don't get sick that easily.

I'm not entirely sure, but I heard many goat farms were illegal. Growing them in common places near to civilization needed large taxes, facilities for the animals/care takers by law, hardship for getting approvals, strict laws of land etc. With a slave like Najeeb, it was easy for them to hide from authorities and run the farm without much expenses other than food and water.

Also though dessert is majorly sand, it have patches where very short bushes are available. In the movie, the goats are fed by grass which is brought in vehicles from outside. They take the goats out in the dessert to have walk around so that it will stay healthy.

[Pequod]

Premalu (Malayalam)

Was hyped to find out the magic that led to a 100 crore gross at the BO for this one. And the answer, it’s just a simple rom-com that’s unadulterated fun - no big messages, no taking itself too seriously, no unnecessary twists.

The cast comprises all new faces (relatively) and everyone’s done a good job, with each one competing for best comic timing and delivery. Good to see that Malayalam cinema is quietly going on about the business of nurturing new talent to carry its legacy forward.

Some of the climactic character choices might seem questionable but Premalu is a breezy watch, speaking through the universal and timeless language of young love, yet with a spot-on capture of the current-gen vibe. Streaming on Hotstar.

[vb-saan]

Varshangalkku Shesham | Malayalam (3.5/5.0)

A non-pretentious breezy comedy, and I can see why the movie was such a big hit in Kerala. The movie is not rushed at any point, and still manage to keep the audience engaged. All of the star cast did an awesome job, including a cameo by a notable screen-writer.

Once again the director (Girish A.D) showed his expertise in youth-oriented subjects. In his first (Thanneer Mathan Dinangal), the protagonists were in school, in the second (Super Sharanya) they moved to college, and here they are young adults :-)
Another feel-good drama from Vineeth Sreenivasan, and delivers as expected. The movie is super long (almost 3 hours), and you get to watch those slightly over-the-top emotional content (again expected). What really worked for me was the writing and delivery of the comical moments in the second half. Normally watch a Malayalam movie in a cinema in Singapore is like sitting in a library, but in this case it was like sitting in a cinema hall in Kerala – with loud cheers and laugher. The whole Vineeth Srinivasan school alumni is there in the movie, but Dhyan Srinivasan and Nivin Pauly really stood out in the cast (and a special mention to Shaan Rahman)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TDq05qUo1ww

[Rajeevraj]

Varshangalkku sesham was a very nice watch for me. Dhyan did a great job. It almost felt like Vineeth wrote this for Dhyan to prove to him what a good actor he is and to stop him from doing film after film. Apparently he just keeps doing films without any consideration of his role. Nivin was also quite good in his cameo.

The make up in the 2nd half felt a little average for couple of folks. Especially after experiencing Bramayugam and Aadujeevitham..

I did hear that Vineeth wrote scenes for Mohanlal and Sreenivasan for the 2nd half but did not work out. That would have made it absolutely brilliant.

Rating 3.5/5.

[ghodlur]

A different type of query here.

I have been trying watch a few telugu movies available on Aha and provided as a part of Tata Binge, however I am unable to see any English sub titles for these movies. Any idea how & where the sub titles can be turned on for the movies on Aha?