Kabir Khan's unabashedly old-school 83 is a documentary-like rendition of India's triumphant 1983 Cricket World Cup campaign. The movie contains too many reaction shots, artificial cricketing moments, and stretches of predictable storytelling.
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Even if you watch it without all the comic book elements, Basil Joseph's superhero movie Minnal Murali may still work for you. Basil Joseph and Tovino Thomas have a winner in Minnal Murali, a film with its heart in the right place.
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A temple festival idea lends itself well to a mass commercial film, but Ajagajantharam is all action and little substance. Tinu Pappachan's work is more a great piece of logistics and a sensory experience than a great film. But the authentic treatment of the idea is striking at a cinematic level.
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Bheemante Vazhi is an engaging and entertaining film that offers us something to ponder over. The movie plays to its strengths and thankfully never becomes preachy, serious or philosophical. It also has an excellent performance or two.
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Maanaadu is a heady, high-concept action thriller. Writer-director Venkat Prabhu gets the concept of time loop down to a science. So, even if you have no idea about how time loop works, the movie will make you think and entertain you a lot.
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Marakkar: Arabikadalinte Simham is about a rebellious warrior and an empire's fall. It won a National Award for Best Film but is not all it is cracked up to be. Watching it unfold over three hours, alongside its marketing fuss over the last few days, one can only say how the mighty have fallen!
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Writer-director Nithin Renji Panicker's Kaaval is an action drama about an older adult who takes his kith and kin under his wing. If it makes you nostalgic about Suresh Gopi's yesteryear hits in a good way, join the club. I wonder whether it is the only motive behind the movie, though, as it should have been a lot more.
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Jan.e.Man is a hilarious dark comedy about the three certainties in life: birth, loneliness and death. It is so hard to get a situational comedy right in Malayalam. With a stellar ensemble cast, excellent characterization, and many funny moments, Jan.e.Man has everything going for it.
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Almost every scene in writer-director Ratheesh Balakrishnan Poduval's 'Kanakam Kaamini Kalaham' is meant for laughs. The movie on Disney+ Hotstar is a satire that does not take itself too seriously. The film has hit-and-miss gags as well as fine performances across the board.
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There is beauty in Nimish Ravi's camerawork in Kurup. Sushin Shyam's background music and a Shine Tom Chako performance complement the camerawork. But Srinath Rajendran only serves up a stylish thriller without enough substance and with a charming Dulquer Salmaan.
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At the heart of this dramedy is a conflict between an adamant father, who feels his elder daughter brought disgrace on his family, and a woman fighting for her choices. It is easy to make the audience sympathize with one or two characters in this kind of film. But Senna Hedge and his co-writer Sreeraj Raveendran create a script that treats the characters in a non-judgemental manner while mining comedic gold out of this material.
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Shoojit Sircar's Sardar Udham on Amazon Prime is based on the life of freedom fighter Udham Singh. The film takes way too long to get going but benefits greatly from the authenticity of the makers and the conviction of Vicky Kaushal as Udham.
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