A S Adwaith Krishna

A New and an Utter Unique Genre of Police Mystery Thrillers! Ratings: 8.9/10 Review: A well-crafted utter unique film that delievers a strong impact on the audience regarding the life's of the policemen. The cine-goers would love the unconventional execution of the film and the film's acting stints have garnered an immense response from both critics and the audience. The performance of Joju George, Kunjako Boban and Nimisha in the film has been getting terrific responses from all corners, thanks to their astonishing acting chops, which the audience could emotionally connect with. Their extraordinary performance is the backbone of this mystery thriller. In spite of their own share of troubles in their families, the trio gets involved with a case and the entire course of the journey is changed. The mood perfectly shifts to a survival game as the three gets framed for the case. The first half briefly shows the background of each character and the second half reveals more about them and how they escape from the case. Martin Prakkat smoothly sets the tone of a survival thriller by the interval. The political angle and election scenario give a realistic feel to the film. The narrative is straightforward yet one can't help but look forward to the second half. Nayattu emerges as a highly impactful theatrical experience. Storyline: Three police officers who are on a run for life, escaping the outbreak against them due to the unlawful arrest and torture of a civilian. It brings in a few shades of arrogant yet very much human police officers and their helplessness.

A New Genre in Malayalam Horror Thrillers after Ezra and Adam Joan. Ratings: 7.9/10 Review: It's a Dark "Jump Scares" thriller with a great screenplay and camera. "The Priest" shined in it's technical side but is led down by it's plot. Mammotty and Manju Warrier delivered a solid performance, but is restricted from their usual charm. The child actress Baby Monica steals the show in the case of performance. The plot has flaws and is kind-of hard to swallow. It could raise doubts and questions in the minds of the audience. Main problem of the plot is it's predictability. The first half is engaging but the second half is laggie and predictable. The violence in the film could be intolerable for kids and even for some adults. Best if you go without children. The backgroundmusic is nice, but could be irritating to some. "The Priest" may have draw-backs, but it is a new leap in the filming industry in terms of camera, screenplay and locations. Even for a professional director, that's an impossible task. Hats-off to Jofin and the technical crew of the film. Final Verdict: If you are a fan of horror thrillers, you will definitly enjoy "The Priest".

Ashwin’s film is born out of a simple idea: half-brothers. Think of Agni Natchathiram. Think of Cheran Pandian. Mandela is more on the lines of the latter, but it ends up correcting what the KS Ravikumar film flirted with. One of the things that really work in its favour is how honest and earnest the film remains till the very end. And this earnestness seems to come from a place of self-awareness, as Ashwin and the makers seem to be aware of their privilege. That, one suspects, is the reason why they have made Mandela as a satire. Sometimes, we laugh with them and sometimes, we laugh at them, which is the film’s achievement: to draw humour out of a serious issue like caste and vote-bank politics. It is self-aware because it understands caste structure. Take this scene, for instance. When Mandela (Yogi Babu, who just owns the film in the second half) is given a buffet of options (of names) to pick from, they narrow down on Nelson Mandela, the former President of South Africa. In that scene, Yogi Babu innocently remarks: “What if that was an upper-caste name?” That sense of fear is real. The film does not explore the conditions that made people like Mandela an outcast by the same people who are now vying for his vote. Instead, what it does get right is to not make the character feel apologetic, like last year’s Serious Men, about the offers that he receives from the caste leaders. The saviour template is (delightfully) inverted. Yet, it is a bit of a drag and sometimes too melodramatic. There is no explicit mention of caste names, or political parties. Everything is implied and reduced to background information, and we are left to draw our own conclusions. I particularly liked how Ashwin had used Ramki as one of the photos you find in Mandela’s saloon. People who grew up in the 90s would know how the actor, like Rajinikanth, was well-known for his hairstyle. For a film like Mandela, you somewhere begin to worry on how it is going to end. The suspense starts building within you, but Ashwin gives a fitting conclusion with a voiceover and a static shot — perhaps to indicate a larger point: it takes a village to stand up for one’s right.

Ratings: 7.1/10 A psychological thriller that revolves around a human who faces conflicts with the many shades of human behavior. Excellent Acting by Tovino Thomas. It's a Violent genre film. Great Cinematography, and Fantastic Locations. An Excelllent Technical Aspected film. Hats-off to the team.

A New Genre Thrilling Malayalam Movie! after Anjaam Pathira and Memories. Ratings: 8.7/10 Review: Kunjacko's extraordinary performance is the backbone of this thriller. In spite of his own share of trouble in his life, he gets involved with a boy and the entire course of the journey is changed. The mood perfectly shifts to a thrilling mystery game. The first half briefly shows the background of each character and the second half reveals more about the murder events. Director Appu N Bhattathiri smoothly sets the tone of a mystery thriller by the interval. The narrative is straightforward yet one can't help but look forward to the second half. A Memorable acting by the entire cast especially Kunjako Boban, Nayanthara and Izin Hash. Appu N. Bhattathiri with Arunlal S. P. edits the film while Deepak D. Menon handles the cinematography. Sooraj S. Kurup composes the original songs and background score. The film is produced by Anto Joseph Film Company and Melange Film House in association with Tentpole Movies. The film is directed by Appu N. Bhattathiri and written by S. Sanjeev. It stars Kunchacko Boban and Nayanthara in the lead roles and features Izin Hash, Rony David, Saiju Kurup and Divya Prabha in supporting roles. Storyline: John Baby, who is recouping from a traumatic accident, meets Nitin, a young boy who interests him with murder stories. When Baby explores the possibility of Nitin's stories by mapping the events, it matches with the real-time incidents.

A Classical Mass Film. Ratings: 8.6/10 Another genre of Mass film in the list of Karthi's films after Kaithi. It is a Must Watch film. It's the story of the life of the Sultan family. Memorable acting by Karthi, Rashmika, Lal, and Yogi Babu. Though the concept is routine, the cine-goers have been loving the endearing chemistry between the lead actors and the unconventional execution of the film which is appreciable. The duo's acting stints have garnered an immense response from both critics and the audience. Notably, the film marks Rashmika's debut in Tamil and as expected the actress' role as a village belle has left a mark with the cine-goers. The performance of Malayalam actor Lal, who plays father to Karthi in the film has been getting terrific responses from all corners, thanks to his astonishing acting chops, which the audience could emotionally connect with. Written and directed by Bakkiyaraj Kannan, the film revolves around a young man who plays saviour to a village seized by a group of rowdies. How he fights the troublemakers and powerful men behind them serves as the crux of the film. Great Locations, Great Cinematography, Great Camera, Great Screenplay, Epic Stunts and Fights. Epic Storyline and an Awesome Plot twist! Hats-Off to the entire team.

A New Genre in Horror/Mystery Films after the Priest and Ezra. Ratings: 8.7/10 Review: Manju Warrier's extraordinary performance is the backbone of this Mystery/Horror drama. In Chathur Mukham, smartphones and even selfies become sources of horror, helping it connect immediately to a large section of the audience. But merely making these things part of the narrative would not be enough. It needs to be backed by scenarios that are convincing and a plot that is somewhat organic, both of which are achieved by the film. The gist of the plot or even the trailer might give one an impression of a run-of-the-mill horror movie, yet the makers have stored quite a few surprises within, peppered at regular intervals. There is often an attempt to provide a scientific explanation for the happenings on the screen, with some of the characters even poking fun or dismissing the traditional Malayalam horror movie ingredients of black magic and exorcism. Yet, the script does not fully dismiss the supernatural elements, which are very much part of the plot too, but coated with a thin veneer of scientific reasoning. Some of these horror elements might appear over-the-top, but are treated in a much more controlled manner. The makers, who are all from the field of technology, also get a touch philosophical on how there is no escape from the ‘signal’, which keeps you hooked to one electronic device or another for every waking hour of your life. They seem to tell us that exorcising that ghost might be an even harder task than handling the usual ones. Despite the minor flaws, Chathur Mukham emerges as a highly impactful theatrical experience. A Great Technical Efforted film. The film has a great screenplay, awesome techno-scenes, great visuals, great camera and thrilling background score. Memorable Acting by the entire cast especially Manju Warrier and Sunny Wayne. It's a great leap of Malayalam Cinema from Ezra to the Priest and now Chathur Mukham. Hats-off to the Technical crew of the film. Storyline: An ambitious young woman faces a supernatural force through technology. Will she be able to survive the onslaught and solve this unheard phenomenon?

A New Genre Political Thriller after Lucifer and Ramaleela!!! Ratings: 7.9/10 Review: A One Time Watch Film. It's a slow paced film and a different genre in the Malayalam Film Industry. Despite the minor flaws in storytelling, One emerges as a highly impactful theatrical experience. The role of the chief minister is completely excelled in the hands of Mammootty. A Memorable First half and Interval Block. Second Half is Laggie though. Great Screenplay, Great Camera, Great locations and most of all we get to see the Life of a Chief Minister which has never happened in Malayalam Cinema. Many say it's based on Pinarayi Vijayan, but I hardly felt that because Mammootty has made "A New Great Imaginative Politician" which is far more different than current leaders. The Acting of the cast especially Mammootty, Murali Gopi, Salim Kumar, Joju George was excellent and memorable. Mammootty's extraordinary performance is the backbone of this moving political drama. Hats-Off to the team.