Balu Varghese and Lukman Lukku jump from one crime scene to the other to solve cybercrime and touch lives in the episodic 'Operation Java'. Tharun Moorthy's debut film excels in casting and the treatment of police work, but falls short in writing. Even if this series of operations never comes full circle at the end, it has its moments that make it worthwhile.
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Writer-director Jeethu Joseph strikes gold with Drishyam 2, his sequel to the 2013 thriller film. Jeethu adeptly guides the viewers through its ingenious narrative before leaving the movie and us in existential dread. Replace Drishyam's sappy morality with the film's serious existentialism, and there you have it - The perfect sequel.
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Writer-director Khalid Rahman asks us to make giant leaps of faith in Love, a bizarre thriller with one twist too many. It is an odd attempt at making a cautionary tale on the effects of anger on love. It is also a bit of a head-scratcher, to say the least.
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Jayasurya and Samyuktha Menon excel in a decent tale of an alcohol addict. More than the performances in Vellam, it is the casting that does wonders here. For instance, Murali is a man committed to overcoming his flaws played by an actor who is so committed to his craft.
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With The Great Indian Kitchen, writer-director Jeo Baby has taken his artistic sensibilities to the next level. His film works as a slap on the face of misogyny and patriarchy in Kerala society. Do find time to see it.
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Director Satheesh Paul's film is a police procedural whose inspiration is quite obvious, and whose treatment generic. It avoids many thriller genre cliches, despite not transcending these. It is for a sucker for the genre, and is available on a Pay-Per-View basis on the app Prime Reels.
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Zakariya Mohammed blends religion with cinema within a cinema to make a thoughtful work on love and kinship in Halal Love Story. Always engaging, and occasionally too simple to a fault, this love story is not overpowering as Zakariya's first film, Sudani from Nigeria. Nonetheless, it is a timely satire on the two things most of us feel but cannot quantify: kinship and love.
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Unfolding fully through mobile device and laptop screens, 'C U Soon' is an unprecedented format in Malayalam cinema. The portions of the actors were shot separately following social distancing norms, but C U Soon is a real-time conversational film. The basics of filmmaking and storytelling always apply, and Narayanan's film excels in both departments.
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For a travel movie, Jeo Baby's 'Kilometers and Kilometers' may not break new ground, but it finds fresh, respectable ways to tell a familiar story without many cliches. It is a story of Josemon, a handyman who finds himself stuck in Rajasthan with a foreigner and with many financial troubles running through his head.
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Maniyarayile Ashokan is the story of a man who marries a banana plant in a ritual to solve his marriage issue. The idea of the movie is interesting, but it does not work due to the makers' tendency to use songs and snippets as tools to communicate it.
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Sufiyum Sujatayum holds the distinction of being the first Malayalam film to release directly on a streaming platform. Sadly, the movie would be best remembered for that.In its concluding act, Sufiyum Sujatayum offers glimpses of a film that finally starts to find its footing.
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Trance is anchored by a powerful Fahadh Faasil performance. Also in the technical department, the film is exceptionally well made. Amal Neerad's career-best work as a cinematographer, Resul Pookutty's sound design, background score by Jackson Vijayan and Sushin Shyam, and most notably, Ajayan Challisery's art direction. Together with Fahadh Faasil, the technical members put in their A-game to make Trance quite a transcendent watching experience.
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