MovieStakes

Previously Johny blended with monsters as a human. Will he blend as a monster with former monsters who are humans now? Hotel Transylvania 4 is where you can find this out for yourselves. An animated, no-holds-bar entertainer - if you care to call it so.

More than a mere thriller, the movie KURUTHI is a dissection of the concept of hatred and it's sequences. A man is killed, the culprit is booked and is being transported for the legal procedures. The killing is on the background of communal tension and the offspring of the killed man wants to exact his own revenge. What happens has far reaching consequences in the personal lives of seemingly unconnected individuals because the element of communalism has been thrown in. Neighbours, friends and lovers till the very moment the difference rears it's ugly head, the innermost turmoils, aspirations and hatred of people are laid bare in the face of adversity. Prithviraj may be the lead, but down to the wasp nest, every individual, prop and situation in the movie has played an indelible role in the story. Though the canvas of cinema is to a certain extent bound by written and unwritten edicts, the screenplay and direction have seized the essence of communal tension with human touch to it. To a great extent, the film doesn't try to justify or sit on judgement on what is happening. Mammukoya is the voice of sanity among the din of hatred and the spark produced by his sharp tongue and unapologetic attitude refuses to die down even at the end. Roshan Mathew stands as tall as Prithviraj and Mammukoya in his role. The voice-over at the end says how hatred is running in our veins since eternity and is amply illustrated all over and especially at the end.

The priest (2021)

An entire family is wiped out by suicide. An oprphaned child is a chance witness to something abnormal in the last of these 'suicides'. Father Carmen Benedict (Mammootty) solves the case. Seems too simple for a movie plot? So you add the paranormal and let Father Benedict extend the plot and the thrills taking the orphaned child thread.

Perhaps the director thought that the star value of Mammootty would prop the movie where it was short of appeal. His stern face, bowler hat and the off roader in which he travels does look, well, 'different' to put it mildly. Apart from this, it is role which gives little chance to stand apart. The filming had been good at times but unfortunately only at times. The locations are lonely and buildings shown are dilapidated as expected for such a movie and the sprinkling of a few gadgets amidst the good old ghost theme is probably to keep up with the times. Nikhila Vimal is probably the only character portrayed with a smiling face at least to some extent. The child Monica has done an excellent job. Her morosity and her sudden blossoming into an amiable child when she sees the new teacher are well enacted.

At the end, one feels that the director has wasted a fair plot in using the 'suicides' case, as they aren't tied up to the main plot except to introduce the child and Father Carmen to each other. The movie does have a few unexpected twists but not enough to make it great. Would rate it watchable.

A matter of WHO (1961)

This is an old British comedy with a very in-vogue theme - tracing a contagion. When an American and his wife land in London from a middle east country, he turns sick in flight. A WHO scientist Archibald (Terry Thomas) takes the over the investigation as the illness proves to be a deadly contagion and goes full on trying to trace its origin. The American's partner Kennedy (Alex Nicol) joins him in the search as he suspects there was something fishy in the failed oil exploration expedition from which his friend has just returned. The two are thrown together in the chase, each with an entirely different agenda. An important enigma in the entire episode is Cooper's wife and her link with a suspicious millioner. The search for the source of infection and that of the mystery of the failed oil exploration runs parallel. Although the subject matter is serious, the treatment is entirely comic, hilarious in many places and also maintains enough seriousness making it an enjoyable suspense thriller.

Turn the key softly 1953

A British drama based on a novel by John Brophy, of the same name. Three women, convicted for different crimes, happen to be released from the prison on the same morning. What happens on that day to them is the story. Though it deals with only a day in their lives, it portrays the character of the lives of these three women. Directed by Jack Lee, the cast includeses Yvonne Mitchell, Joan Collins and Kathleen Harrison as the three leading ladies.

Circumstances play a role on the day of release for the emancipation of the three. Joan Collins being tempted to go back to old ways after meeting her former mate and her final turning the back on her past while walking away with her new found love is lovely but Kathleen Harrison's struggles don't end on the same note. Yvonne Mitchell being led back to the same situation which had convicted her, by her boy friend and her firm turning away from him and the situation, forms another bright spot.

The general theme that it is possible to turn around even from the brink is well portrayed by two of the characters, even though Mrs Quillium (Kathleen Harrison) misses the bus. Overall, it is a drama which keeps us interested even though it is predictable at times.

Rashomon 1951

There are movies and there is Roshomon. Some say truth is simple but this classic from Akira Kurasawa shows how far from truth this statement is. An incidence is narrated by three of the participants and all three give different versions. Stranger still, there is a fourth version, which makes it more baffling. And where does the truth lie ?(pun unintended)

It is said that the Roshomon effect is seen in many movies. But watching Roshomon itself is what which will make you realise what it really means. The expert use of the camera, bare minimal props and the minimalistic cast, the unique narrative style all make it a must watch for any student of cinema. One of the highest rated movies of all time, it will be found in any "must watch" movies list for years to come.

The mark of the whistler 1944

Film noir, by definition, deals with crime and that too in a stylised way. These films galore in Hollywood in the 40s to 60s period. One such film is this.

The story is narrated by an incognito narrator (the whistler) and is about a stone broke man who gets into the hotseat due to his greed for easy money. The storyline is simple, characters are very few and the filming is seamless. The suspense is kept intact, though it isn't a 'whodunit'. The protagonist gets his share for his part on the day of reckoning and there is one major suprise in the end too. Roughly an hour long, this drama is worth watching and you wouldn't regret it.

A plane crashes and of the survivors, a not so scrupulous woman (Signe Hasso) and her husband (Mr and Mrs Ballister) make the most, exploring the persons of others for something to salvage. They come across four wills bequeathing bonds worth a million each to one Albert Richard Kingby (Edmund Gwenn) . They also find that the wills can be set aside if the bonds are handed over to the bearer by revealing a passcode. As Kingby, in whose case they find these wills is unconscious, they steal the wills and set upon the quest to explore further. Meanwhile, the survivors are rescued and Kingby also starts his quest. The first of these "millioners" dies when he tries to evade Kingby and the circumstances take a twist introducing a smart lawyer (James Craig) who isn't averse to cutting corners, into the chase. What happens subsequently when the lawyer and the lady are thrown together in this adventure and who really is this Alber Richard Kingby forms the main plot. Probably as this is a war time movie, there is an unexpected change of heart for both Craig and Hasso when they come to know the source of the wealth.

Craig with his easy manners and acting plays the lead in this film noir and is ably supported by Hasso as the greedy woman. But Edmund Gwenn steals the show with his sauve presence.