nairtejas

Thaanara (Who Are You) is mindless fun, the kind of slapstick comedy that I sorely miss in Malayalam cinema these days. Looking at Shine Tom Chacko's overacting in the intro gave me false hopes but then it picked up as Vishnu Unnikrishnan and Deepti Sati came on board in the plot. The trio have good comic chemistry, thanks to Raffi's writing, which helped me giggle a lot. The story is somewhat predictable, with its comedy of errors crux, but if you watch it as a laidback late night movie, I'm certain Thaanara will make you laugh. The film elevates itself because of the actors and especially Chacko who delivers a few great retorts between dialogues. Overall, a great mindless watch.

There is no plot in Narayaneente Moonnaanmakkal (The Three Sons of Narayani). Instead, it's a narration of a few days in the lives of the three sons as they get together at the wake of their mother's imminent death, not without the ghosts of their private and shared pasts. I had a peculiar (in a good way) feeling watching Narayaneente Moonnaanmakkal, with its mellow, meandering pace, performances that make it look like they're living it, and subtle music. It hit home with me because I've seen such family get-togethers get heated up personally, so it was a terrific watch. Save for one major story arc that seemed unwarranted, this film was worth it.

I Am Kathalan (I Am Lover) is a cool film to spend an afternoon on. Naslen assumes the titular role as he gets on with his cyber shenanigans to get back at a person who wronged him. This is a typical anti-hero film where you'll naturally root for the guy but it's the small pockets of humour and believable tech happenings that elevate the film into an enjoyable watch. Naslen is in his calm demeanour here (as last seen in Premalu) but I also like the other actors who put up a good show. Dileesh Pothan is as good as he gets but I'm starting to feel Anishma Anilkumar plays the same role in every film.