Mollywood Times" is, in essence, a film that every aspiring filmmaker should watch before considering making films as the only career option to get an idea of how this industry operates (and maybe read Sidney Lumet's 'Making Movies' too). Some scenes and dialogues are likely to offend some, but these aren’t made up; these are actually valid points, whether someone likes it or not. If you don’t like it, try to deal with it. Why should a filmmaker suppress his/her creativity just to earn the brownie points of a select group? Take the caste element, for example, which is one of the things addressed during a few crucial moments. Some filmmakers make mediocre-to-terrible films, but they get a pass (along with a couple of awards) simply because of their background. It's a fact! And kudos to Abhinav for including it in the film.
Exceptional performances from the ensemble cast, coupled with strong technical elements like music and cinematography, contribute to the film's overall feel-good atmosphere and harmonious narrative
But the only horror scenario I can imagine here is that the writer-director of this movie got possessed by a male teenager who has been watching way too many Instagram reels — the ones that alternatively feature seductive women, grandmother sentiments, melodramatic teleserial clips, cringe-inducing jokes, embarrassing dance sequences and male posturing, and stunning visual effects — and combine them all into a
The second film, "Vaazha 2: Biopic of a Billion Bros", is relatively devoid of several interesting flourishes that made the first film richer and stronger. But that doesn't make it a "bad" film either.
Kalamkaval is a story in pursuit of the answers to not these two questions but many more. It's a perfect example of a thriller that demonstrates that sometimes more fun can be had with a crime story where the killer's identity is already known to us, but not to the sleuths. And Kalamkaval delights with numerous surprises, achieved through the combined virtuosic zeal of Jithin K. Jose's economical filmmaking and Praveen Prabhakar's seamless, magical editing. The surprises don't cease to come even when the end credits roll. Of course, some are bound to question the lack of completeness with regard to certain resolutions, but where's the fun in that? When two heavyweight talents like Mammootty and Vinayakan are involved, why settle for something ordinary? The latter’s police role is his best since the one in 2022's Oruthee.
Sajin Shrijith of The Week rated 3/5 and wrote, "The second chapter of 'Lucifer' is too pre-occupied with eyeball-catching visualisation than storytelling prowess, and suffers a little as a result."
While Rekhachithram doesn't quite reach the high bar set by those films in terms of narrative ingenuity, it has enough going on to make us pay attention. Perhaps its principal strength lies in the fact that it doesn't have lofty ambitions. Rekhachithram is a straightforward thriller that doesn't pretend to be anything more. There's an old-school quality to the film, and what I really mean by this is that you get the feeling of watching some of the yesteryear Malayalam thrillers like K.G. George's Ee Kanni Koodi or any of the K. Madhu-S.N. Swamy classics. Asif Ali's casting is efficient. He plays a police officer recently suspended for a gambling habit. While this character's past is not the film's primary concern, he is written with sufficient details that come in handy in situations,
Because this is a film that boasts some delightful surprises which prove to be its principal merits, ones that successfully overshadow its shortcomings. It's a film that feels more alive as it inches towards the intermission, and attains maximum power afterwards. But one thing I can say for sure: This is the most fun I've had from not just an ARM film, but from a Tamil mainstream action entertainer in a while. A major chunk of this has to do with the sincerity and innocence Sivakarthikeyan brings to his trauma-riddled character, Raghu, and the intensity with which he performs the action. Murugadoss presents him as a character who, in a strange way, is empowered by his trauma. He ends up doing benevolent acts in places where others remain mere spectators. To others, he is "abnormal", but not to Malathi (Rukmini), for whom he ends up doing some of the craziest things.
Sarvam Maya is loaded with feel-good vibes. It's not for someone seeking a dark and gritty movie where the protagonist grapples with the effects of a major traumatic event or conflict. No. There are other directors who are experts at that sort of cinema. Akhil Sathyan is not making that kind of movie. Yes, the protagonist has experienced a painful past event, but it’s not the extremely heavy sort. If you go in expecting the kind of cinema made by the same man who made Paachuvum Athbudha Vilakkum (starring Fahadh Faasil), you are most likely to come away feeling pleased. The writing is not exactly "masterpiece" material, but it's undoubtedly one designed to make the viewer feel completely at ease
The mood shift in Tharun Moorthy's films is quite interesting. Also interesting is the way he markets them. This filmmaker has always been cautious about revealing the true nature of his stories in the trailers. He knows how to mislead the audience. This approach doesn't work with every film/filmmaker. Tharun's way of doing this, however, is most admirable. He is only two films old, and he has surprised us both times — be it Operation Java or Saudi Vellakka, Tharun's way of getting us invested in his storytelling was different in each.
Don’t get me wrong, the film doesn’t lack the ability to hook us, but once the end credits started rolling, Abraham Ozler made me wonder whether it would’ve worked better as an airport novel than a film. Besides, whatever extraordinary quality or the impression of intelligence the film gives you initially dissipates once the dust settles. One can’t deny its ability to pull you into the illusion —the smokescreen if you will —of intriguing plot developments and preceding anticipation. The information delivery job is primarily of Jayaram as the titular Ozler, who is established as a man with a traumatic past, the after-effects of which trigger symptoms of severe insomnia. The remedy suggested by his shrink? To get too busy with work.
So how does Amal Neerad’s version, which thanks Mario Puzo, Ram Gopal Varma, Veda Vyasa and few others in the opening credits, fare? Brilliantly, I must add. Amal and writer Devadath Shaji impart Bheeshma Parvam with its own identity irrespective of its evident influences. Aside from having a string-pulling patriarch with a large family —some members adopted—at its centre, Bheeshma Parvam becomes its own beast later on. Michael is not Vito Corleone. Yes, they both share a criminal past and similar business establishments (grocery/supermarket; olive oil/automobile fuel), but Vito wouldn’t prefer to swing swords in an underground car parking lot. And Mammootty is not doing Marlo Brando. He is doing himself in a way that I wished to see on screen for a long time.
