Movie Reviews

Vijay Sethupathi has got back to the rural routes after a long time with Karuppan, which released today for pooja holidays. Kathir (Bobby Simha) has an interest for Anbu (Tanya Ravichandran), but due to family situations, she gets hitched to Karuppan (Vijay Sethupathi). What does Kathir do, to separate Karuppan and Anbu, and does he finally get to marry Anbu? is what the basic premise of the film is about. Vijay Sethupathi proves again he is an effortless performer, who easily fits in any given role. Karuppan character looks tailor-made for Makkal Selvan, who makes no mistake in delivering it. His charismatic screen presence and body language are enjoyable. Unlike other mainstream commercial films, Karuppan's heroine has a meaty role with good screen time, fortunately. Tanya has an expressive face, and she has done justice to her role. However, it would've been better if Tanya had rendered her own voice, instead of opting for a dubbing artist. Bobby Simha's role as...

Gautham Karthik and Nikki Galrani’s adult comedy outing that has the quirky title Hara Hara Mahadevaki (HHMD) is directed by debutant Santhosh P Jayakumar. Has this adult comedy tickled a funny bone? When you enter a cinema hall to witness a 2-hour long film based on adult jokes, it means you are in to get entertained. HHMD which is based on the popular WhatsApp Swamiji has little actually to do with this segment. It only forms a part of the film which has a casting done just to make people laugh. The cast apart from Gautham and Nikki includes the usual combination of Motta Rajendran, Karunakaran aided by Bala Saravanan. It also has RK Suresh playing a cop and Manobala in a cameo. The usual likes of Motta Rajendran and Karunakaran are funny in portions, and the double meaning jokes strike a chord occasionally. As for performances, Gautham Karthik fits his role of a happy go lucky guy in love and running a funeral service business. Nikki Galrani has little scope for perfor...

Director AR Murugadoss, the man with an extraordinary box-office track record, teams up with Prince Mahesh Babu for the very first time for a bilingual in Telugu and Tamil. The expectations that Spyder entices is massive after ARM's previous Tamil hits and has the film satisfied its targeted audience or not? Read further to know more: Mahesh Babu plays an Intelligence Bureau officer who goes against the government norms to protect people from harm's way. How one failure leads him to a menacing psychopath serial killer, and how he encounters him is all Spyder is about. Mahesh Babu's performance in his first straight Tamil film is decent, just that he could have been little more expressive. Though it looks fairly straightforward, the way it is narrated makes it look complex and dynamic. SJ Suryah finds a meaty role with ample screen time and voluminous scope to prove his acting skills. ARM has made no compromise in establishing SJ Suryah's character knowing th...

ADAM JOAN  STORY : Adam Joan Pothen (Prithviraj), a young planter from Kottayam falls in love with Amy (Mishti Chakraborthy), a choir singer in his hometown, and marries her. The young couple’s romance goes for a toss when they start their lives with Adam’s family in Scotland.  ADAM JOAN  REVIEW : Actor Prithviraj seems to be on a quest for thrillers this year, and Adam Joan is his second such film this year after Ezra. Its debutant director Jinu Abraham has tried to infuse suspense and thrilling elements to keep the audience on the edge of their seats with the haunting background scores. The storyline of the film trails through the shadowy landscapes of Scotland where the romantic family man Adam transforms into a daring human being. Adam, a wealthy Kottayam achayan woos a middleclass girl Amy and marries her. The romantic life of Adam and Amy, who move to Scotland with his family including younger brother (Rahul Madhav) and his wife Swetha (Bhavana), shatters w...

PULLIKKARAN STARAA  STORY : To escape the bad name of being a womaniser in his native place, Idukki, Rajakumaran relocates to Kochi. However, two women cross his path only to change his life forever.  PULLIKKARAN STARAA  REVIEW : To convincingly show the image makeover of a man who has been labelled a womaniser from the day of his birth (yes, you read it right) to that of a star, it takes a sensible script, mature and thought-provoking dialogues and some characters with depth. Pullikkaran Staraa attempts a tale of this genre with none of it, and without much effort, it offers disappointment in no time into the movie. Rajakumaran (Mammootty) hails from Idukki, where he grew up earning one notorious label after the other, for no fault of his. He comes to Kochi to work in a teacher's training college, and bad luck follows him here too. His paths cross with that of two women, Manjari teacher (Asha Sarath) and Manjima (Deepti Sati). Their presence also cause a few twi...

NJANDUKALUDE NAATTIL ORIDAVELA  STORY : London-based Kurian (Nivin Pauly) gets a call from his mother Sheela asking him to come home to Kerala. His family is then forced to face a situation that could turn their lives upside down. How each member of the family reacts to it, tackle it in their own ways and collectively, take the plot forward. NJANDUKALUDE NAATTIL ORIDAVELA  REVIEW : Nivin Pauly’s tryst with family dramas have been a happy one so far with last year’s Jacobinte Swargarajyam being the high point. So, naturally the expectations were high for actor-turned-director Althaf’s debut directorial, Njandukalude Naattil Oridavela. To his credit, Althaf doesn’t once make the movie feel as it’s a first-timer’s effort as he pulls the audience in right from the first few scenes. The movie starts with a montage that sets and carries the tone all the way through. It’s a natural glimpse into the life of an upper middle class family that has to tackle an unexpected adversi...

VELIPADINTE PUSTHAKAM  STORY : Located on a coastal area, Phoenix College always has its students from the city and the locality clashing in the name of one silly matter or the other. When a new Vice Principal takes charge in the college, their focus shifts onto a bigger cause. VELIPADINTE PUSTHAKAM  REVIEW : Benny P Nayarambalam and Lal Jose have offered some minty-fresh stories to Mollywood, every time they have collaborated. Velipadinte Pusthakam, starring Mohalal in the lead, is no different. With multiple get-ups of various actors and a different style of narration, the film spices up the story all the more. Phoenix College, a coastal area educational institution, has a campus like any other with its own set of silly clashes, quirky teachers and shortcomings. Though it was set up for youngsters from the coastal area, many city lads also take admission in the campus and the frivolous clashes between the two sections are everyday affairs there. Micheal Idikkula (Mo...

STORY : When a girl joins midway through the final academic year in an all-boys mechanical engineering department of an engineering college, all hell breaks loose. The boys are quick to anoint her the ‘mech rani’ and she is only too happy to enjoy the attention. Meanwhile, a one-way love track also develops, parallelly. REVIEW:  The arrival of a girl into an all-men world has often been a situation that offers enough fodder for laughs, fun and stories in our movies. Trivandrum Lodge, Ammayane Sathyam, In Harihar Nagar, and more can be lined up, if we think about Mollywood alone. Chunkzz too, borrows this situation and banks on a much-relatable setting for the present day youngsters, a department in an engineering college. The trick here is to bank on it by creating as much situational humour as possible, and showcasing some nostalgic imagery. In the film, ‘Chunk bros’ Romario, Atmaram, Riyas and Yudas are classmates in the mechanical engineering department of a college and...

SARVOPARI PALAKKARAN STORY : C I Jose Kaithaparambil is a classic, conservative Palakkaran who is on the hunt for his perfect life partner. While that’s on in his personal life, his boss assigns him a high profile rape case. Meanwhile, theatre artiste Anupama, who is quite a daredevil independent woman, crosses the path of Jose much to his annoyance. Will it all have a bearing on Jose’s life as well?  SARVOPARI PALAKKARAN  REVIEW : 'Sarvopari Palakkaran’s' title might make you feel that it’s all about the ‘Pala-ness’ and the much celebrated, fun stereotype of an achayan. If you are all set to walk into the theatre expecting an entertaining movie filled with some ‘Ennada uvves,’ marathon liquor sessions, church-influenced family folk and green rubber thottams, here’s a heads up. A story laced with it all is hardly what the film offers. Not that a Pala-based story can work only with these elements in place, but some solid fun triggered by their presence is something the a...

TIYAAN STORY :  The lives of a vedic scholar Pattabhiramagiri and his family come under threat after a godman and his goons try to displace him from his centuries-old ancestral home as part of building an ashram. The “curse” that befalls Pattabhiraman in the face of opposition leaves him broken, till a mysterious ally lends him his support. Their fight against the evil forces forms the rest of the plot. TIYAAN  REVIEW :  Director Jiyen Krishnakumar’s Tiyaan hit the theatres high on expectations, and the chief reason being its scriptwriter Murali Gopy’s previous films included Left Right Left and Ee Adutha Kaalathu. And as expected, for the most part of Tiyaan – Murali delivers with an intense script packed with potent dialogues, not just in Malayalam but in Hindi and Sanskrit too. The movie revolves around a fictional North Indian village named Shankar Ghat, located a few hundred kilometres from Badrinath. Vedic scholar Pattabhiramagiri’s (Indrajith) family has in...

STORY : All that Pokkiri Simon and his friends are bothered about in life is superstar Vijay and the umpteen films he has done. The aimless/single-minded friends' lives take a U-turn when they chance upon an unexpected event. How they deal with the crisis, and come out tops form the rest of the plot. REVIEW : The film offers a peep into the lives of frenzied film fans and how they perceive the world that goes round with their favourite star as the fulcrum. However, they are in no way goofy, as when the situation demands it, they become steadfast and triumph over hard times. In other words, Pokkiri Simon is not just about fanfare and frenzy, but also delves into a larger social menace, that's lurking in the background. The film's protagonist is Pokkiri Simon (Sunny Wayne), as he chooses to call himself, who is an unadulterated fan of 'Ilayathalapathy' Vijay. Son of a police inspector in Thiruvananthapuram, he is quite the antithesis of his dad and thanks to h...

Veedevadu', starring Sachin Joshi and Eesha Gupta in lead roles, hits the screens this Friday.  Here is our review. Story: Sathya (Sachin Joshi) is accused of murdering his newly-wed wife Shruti (Eesha Gupta).  He is brooding, doesn't talk much and looks rather absorbed in himself. Prakash (Kishore) and his assistant Haider (Harshavardhan) in their investigation keep collecting the threads of the incidents before Shruti's murder at the hands of her husband.  In the jail where he has been incarcerated, cop Albert (Supreet) is seething with anger over Sathya, who is believed to have killed his (Albert's) brother in a kabaddi match. Shruti's father (Prabhu) wants justice at the earliest.  Much as he tries to solve the murder mystery, Prakash only realizes that it's a conundrum for which there are no easy answers. Who is Sathya and what are his motives?  Does he really suffer from a personality disorder that a psychiatrist says he does?  Why did S...

How often have we celebrated women around us in real life? How often have we seen a film celebrating women? Here is Jyothika’s Magalir Mattum, for us, which is one such rare films, that wants the world to celebrate women.   Three best friends (Saranya Ponvannan, Oorvasi, Bhanupriya) who got separated after their school days, reunite once again after 36 years, with the help of Prabha (Jyothika). Prabha decides to take the trio on a three-day trip, and the film is all about the moments and incidents that these women encounter during this journey. Jyothika is seen more like another character, than as a lead. She has effortlessly pulled off her character, which is full of energy and cheer. Her characterisation is so strong, something that every woman would want to be. This would be one of the memorable films in her beautiful career. It is a hard task to pick the best out of the three women, as all three have given their true best. Saranya Ponvannan scores the best, in the COOKE...

Director Mysskin is back with yet another crime thriller with Thupparivaalan and this time he chooses an action hero as his lead. Not just Vishal, the film is packed with a bandwagon of stars like K Bhagyaraj, Prasanna, Vinay, Simran, Andrea, Anu Emmanuel and others. Thupparivaalan might look like it is inspired by few popular crime stories like Sherlock Holmes. However, you still need to give credit to Mysskin for adapting a Holmes type film to suit the local audience. Mysskin has developed a gripping plot and narrated in a style of his own. What if a trademark Mysskin protagonist meets Benedict Cumberbatch (Holmes)? That is how Vishal’s character sketch looks to have been framed. He wears a sober face and has a wacky mannerism. You could probably see a lot of Mysskin in Vishal. It is a difficult role to pull off, and Vishal has done full justice to it. Bhagyaraj gets to don a completely different role to what we have seen him do over the years, and he has one or two scoring situat...