ahmedrockinblues

Grand and spectacular are the two words that haunts me after experiencing Vaaliban in theatre. Never seen before production values and set designs...just wow. To really enjoy this one of a kind cinematic extravaganza you need to watch at least two vintage Kurosawa Samurai productions, a couple from the Lone Wolf and Cub series,a Sergio Leone spaghetti,Wild bunch by Sam Peckinpah and Sholay...Madhu Neelakandan deserves international recognition for his class act with camera, music is a concoction of Ennio Morricone+Fumio Hayasaka+Rahul Dev Burman...and it's original. Lijo has taken crowd management to another level. Gravity defying Action scenes pay tribute to Ang Lees' Crouching Tiger. This movie will be talked about by generations to come. Lalettans' dedication and commitment has no parallels,it's totally a Mohan Lal show...what a 'star'. In a review I watched a clown imitating Danish Saits laughter without a clue why it was there. Chamataka is the evil fox/hyena character from Kaalia comic from 70s and 80s...the Chamataka from the movie laughs exactly like a scheming evil hyena. Lijo and P. S. Rafeeq has gone to such deep levels of subtle attention to details...you will hear the exact echoing gun shots from Sholay, the scene where Gabbar massacre Thakur's family to the last child. Barring some flawed stylised dialogue deliveries and length, should have trimmed the movie to less 2.5 hours, Malaikkottai Valiban is the first truly international Malayalam cinema...take a bow Lijo and crew.

A 'mallu' is murdered in Mumbai. Suspect is a wanted criminal under TN police radar. Normally all the police got to do is upload the suspected killers fingerprint which is strewn all over the murder scene in the police server and nab him in 2 days. Instead Maharastra police team tours the whole of Tamil Nadu..creates situations to let Biju Menon flex his shrinking muscles and wastes an in form Kalai in a comic cameo. A person whom the police suspects of having Jaffna links is let off after accepting a bribe!!! This shows TN police in a very bad light and its a criminal folly from the writer and director. Dileesh Pothen should stop making mediocre movies to keep his production house running..we look forward eagerly to every news from you guys..dont disappoint us.

This is the best of all the celluloid cow manure series directed by Shaji Kailas simply because of Jakes Bejoys' rocking Bangda bgm and action choreography. A very much out of shape Vivek Oberoi adds to the value,for first time there's a formidable bad guy in a Shaji kills feature. So much cringe I watched it twice 😬 .There's a chase ,Vivek Oberoi driving a 35 bhp Maruti omni , pursued by Officers in 40 bhp Mahindras,the scene 😆😆 is shot using drones!!! No compromise production values. A totally foolish guy comes in between to assassinate Kaduva ruining paalappallys' flow , poor guy soon becomes caramel pulp. Prithviraj grunts and smirks and points finger,no match for Lalettan swag. The climax fight has some crazy concoctions by Jakes Bejoy. Need more of these Shaajyettaaa...

In a world of high speed internet and Google maps a Danish family decides to visit a completely unknown and quirky Dutch family nestled up in a hell hole somewhere in Netherlands gleefully,without any research or precautions. Even after getting a chance to get away,after encountering a disturbing situation involving their daughter the fools go back to their doom because the child cries for a missing bunny doll. Slow burning and brooding like most of the movies in this genre. Excellent cinematography and grand locales. Gore and mayhem follows in usual European style.

Predictable fare, yet watchable.

Myself from Malabar area of Kerala,very much used to the slang and people featured in this crapfest.

Tovino and a couple of guys play the kind of completely annoying,hate-at-first-sight,jobless cornholes you find in every nook and cranny of Malabar. They will ruin your movie outing with family,especially if its english and horror by howling and spewing expletives. They will ruin wedding receptions..in short anything and everything normal people want to do in peace and quiet.

Since their main occupations are eating and lounging (the neychor and beef and porotta) these fat thugs always physically harm human beings around them in joy and 0 remorse. I still remember the premiere of Ghajini in my town.

The story written by Malappuram stereotype expert Mu. Ri is very honest in portraying the life of these boorish barfbags..they pawn their mothers gold and open a 'cafeteria' (upscale) or buy an 'APE'( Lowrung) to show the society they are sweating ,then rack up a couple of lacs in debt in very short sweet duration. Then they are packed to Dubai..so predictable.

GOD knows after interval the movie turns around and becomes World of Apu, i honestly believe it will be more ego clashes ending up as cheques in Supreme Sundars' coffers.

Good things are- Tovino learns some cool moves..some crisp cuts..Vishnu Vijay..no or very little football Hope this is the last Malppuram kathi.

Born in the mide 70s,i was fortunate to witness each of the legendary stalwarts of 83 playing, on the field. The movie filled me with so much emotions,I was in 7th heaven. The movie helmed by the accomplished Kabir Khan will be remembered for its attention to detail. I just loved the intro of Sir. Viv Richards,the Stuart Surridge bat,the jamming Carribeans.. A movie for every Indian..a celebration of a very young 37 year old India..

After months of waiting got to see the sequel to my all time favorite action thriller, The Outlaws. Just like a million other reviews I have only good things to say about the Round Up and yes it thrilled me to bits. Unlike the first movie Deputy Ma has softened up and he is seen laughing and having fun. I liked the earlier version of Ma, he was damn serious and made everyone who watched him laugh..the Venom-Jang Isu compromise scene for example. The Round Up also has a flamboyant musical score, projecting Ma as 'the beast cop', very cliched. The Outlaws on the other hand had a subdued score which came alive ferociously only at the right time. The title scene and Ma and boys approaching the Venom thugs gave me goosebumps. MOWG..what a composer. In the Round Up the supporting cast gets a lot of screen time, Jang Isu, The rookies,Dong-gyun all gets to do some rollicking action.

Of course the icing on cake is Sukku Son, brutal and fits the role to the t. The final confrontation should go to some action hall of fame. Ju Seong-rims' camera and Kim Sun-mins' cuts are top notch.

With all due respect to Sang Yong Lee, kindly bring back Yoon Seon Kang as director and Mowg as composer for the franchise. Please..

This movie should be called Kaithi 2 and ANBARIVU should claim more than half of directors remuneration. Its a relentless rain of hand to hand combats, gun shots, stabbing and pyrotechnics, so relentless you get bored. Lokesh takes a lot of inspiration from the indomitable South Koreans, you will see the centenary celebration wrecking scene from The Outlaws in Vikram, here it's a marriage function ruined using some gas emitting gizmo. By default you get thumping,bone jarring bgm which will total your eardrums. Most of the well choreographed fights happen in darkness and it cuts half of the thrill on offer. Some really exciting moments come from the most unexpected people, like Agent Tina.

For high calibre performers like Fafa,VS and the Kadavul,the assigned roles are cakewalks. Almost every character has something to do and the credit goes to the writers. Hope the film does some big numbers.

This movie is a mega comeback for the thespian, Mammooka would've enjoyed the catcalls and genuine fanfare after a long time. The subject and and the script,most of the time predictable but the director has this unique prowess to keep the audience enthralled with ample support from Sushin Shyam who is becoming a true sensation with his hair raising background score. So the story is about Michael, ex (not really) gangster,now head of an extended family with every kind of issues ranging from patriarchal to greed and religion. As expected Michael has enemies in every nook and cranny and violence ensues.

The movie has an ensemble star cast and every one leaves a mark. Shine Tom Chacko deserves special mention. NeduMudi Chettan and Lalitha chechi garnered a lot of claps and left us teary eyed .Many generation will miss you,salut.

Attention to detail is exemplary for the movies late 80s setting. Superb cinematography , crisp cuts and production value.

End of the day..a satisfying experience.

My heading is not an overstatement. For the first time in an Indian movie you get to witness the kind of mind numbing savagery we saw in Irreversible or Martyrs or I stand Alone. It's not the gore but the remorseless execution by the director and unbelievable performances by an almost completely rookie cast. The story focuses on the misfortunes of Khadeeja who is from a very backward family, uneducated and a burden for her somewhat well to do husband and in-laws. Once her missing brother is accused of joining Isis her life turns upside down. She's divorced, abandoned and ostracized by the religious bigwigs. With a mentally ill mother at her disposal and left to fend for themselves Khadeeja takes on the society on her own terms. I don't want to further spoil the following mayhem. Keeping apart all the kudos the film has , its director has a political agenda and it's definitely right wing. The director very subtly establishes the existence of the love jihad propaganda through a muezzin or a Muslim cleric who is the greatest living socialist, who calls prostitution just another job. On a cinematic plain it's effective but in the current scenario many will find it offending. The star of the movie Kani Kusruthi is a volcano. She just gobbles up every challenge thrown at her with the nonchalance of flowing lava. Looking forward to more movies from this real 'lady superstar'

Dileesh Pothen is a living legend. When he joins hands with Shyam Pushkaran, scripts that challenge the best of Europe , Americas and Asia are born. Then this skinny little guy named Fahad translates it into visuals with his uncanny talent, uncanny in the sense he just lives the character, like Thilakan of Namukku paarkkan Munthiri thoppukal, Lalettan of Amrutham gamaya, Mammookka of Thaniyaavarthanam, Madhu of Swayamvaram..what an actor.

The movie is a crime thriller and Iam stopping at that..this is something to be enjoyed like the best wine and lovingly cooked meat. This script is the epitome of black comedy , a Dileesh pothen festival. Every supporting actor has played their roles with a lot of heart, BGM is stupendous, cinematography flawless with some spectacular drone footage.

Dileesh is the only living director who can the throne of P. Padmarajan..i wish he remade every MTV movies mauled by I V Sasi and Hariharan.

Mysskin is a director I respect and i personally believe his best movie was Anjaathey. Psycho when compared to gutter trash like Ratsasan is an achievement but Mysskin can definitely do better.This movie will be remembered for its exceptional soundtrack by Maestro Isaignani Ilaiyaraaja and visuals by debutante Tanvir Mir.Great production values and set pieces also adds to the positives of the film.Story wise theres' nothing new, a serial killer with the cliched abusive past murders and beheads his victims and gets away 15 times or more in this era of cctvs and well lit streets( everything happens in and around a bustling city in Tamilnadu).A blind but well off Udayanidhi goes after the killer when his fiancee gets abducted.He later joins forces with a paraplegic ex cop, Nithya Menen.Those who watched Eli Roths' Hostel or Jee Woon Kims classic 'I saw the Devil' will feel at home whenever the killers' lair and his apron is shown on screen. Mysskin manages to arrange the proceedings somehow convincingly though the killer is not menacing enough. Aditi Rao Hydri in the final moments lip syncs to some stupid preaching in the voice of a 12 year old and manages to kill all seriousness of the mayhem that happened thus far.And Raaja walks away with the crown playing Thaayin Madiyil.

The movie is definitely inspired by Andres Bais directed 2011 thriller La Cara Oculta or The Hidden Face.Apart from the basic premise Helen manages to hold on with superlative performances from the lead cast. The movie starts with establishing Helens character, a nursing graduate with aspirations to go abroad, earn and help her father played to perfaction by Anna Ben and Lal.Helen works part time in a restaurant and is seeing a muslim boy.unexpected turn of events brings in ruthless cop Aju Verghese into the frames, which leads to a night of desperate hunt for Helen who goes missing. Power packed performances and fuss free direction from debutant director Mathukkutty Xavier makes the movie a convincing and compelling watch

For all the hype and the accolades from TIFF , the movie fell flat on its face , for me at least. After AD and E M Y i was expecting the moon from LJP. No matter how much i tried i couldn't connect with the movie and ended up as a chaotic exercise by rednecks trying to wrangle a beast on run..on a very limited budget.Tried to find the allegory, tried the PoV angle of the beast , tried the political analysis..result was the same. Some striking visuals , rousing background score.. that's it..LJP is missing

I am one. Soska sisters have their own colors and angles to capture visuals and i love their vision, like the red kinda religious attire at the surgery table.Quirky , i would say..otherwise mundane

This movie is disturbing and unsettling , especially if you are a parent.For me this movie belongs to the horror genre.The music less 2 hours are filled with magnificent performances.A very predictable climax has been turned into something everlasting by the talented caste.

Reducing Kumbalangi Nights to a drama film with some comic elements would be gross injustice.This is high art and one more proud moment for Malayalam cinema, which is on a new high with the advent of a bunch of highly talented young movie makers and technicians who honestly loves the art of visual story telling.If ordinary is something invisible, the writer director duo of KN are Gods because they have created something never seen before from things and incidents we see,hear and dismiss or forget every day.The stories protagonists are our friends or friends of our friends.There are brother s who fight and lovers who can't unite.There is a bad guy with whom every one in the theater would fall in love.Photographed by someone who loves his job, KN is a visual treat.. name's shyju Khalid.Sushin Shyam gives a score that adds to the visual splendour. Actors simply lived their part..every one of them.Shyam Pushkaran keeps on writing and tirelessly mesmerizes. Madhu.c.Narayanan has arrived

Debutante Jose Sebastian triumphs with a simple but honest movie aided by excellent performances from veterans as well as the Young guns.The plot is essentially Islamic at heart, polygamy which is often attributed to this particular religion has been dealt with subtlety and it never offends.The movie is new in the sense, we get to see Lucknow and it's splendour which I have never seen before in Malayalam cinema.The camera gives you glimpses of the vintage architecture and it's affinity to art,a bit of Lucknowi cuisine too has been thrown in.Hameed played by Tovino is one day left in the lurch by the death of his father who was a free spirit and an artistic vagabond.Hameed has no clue who his mother is and the orthodoxy of his community ridicules his orphan status, denying a proper marriage.When Hameed gets to know that his father had multiple wives, he sets out to find his biological mother.The journey that follows has black comedy and warmth and pathos in the right doses.The climax which often falters and ruins most movies which start well is a gem, thankfully in this movie.. though predictable.Cinematography is easy on the eyes and background score is pleasant.A very good effort indeed

A couple of weeks ago I was put through two and hours of gutter crap called 'Ratsasan' from my neighboring state of Tami Nadu.Watching Joseph after Ratsasan was like getting cleansed from something evil that was sticking to me for the last two decades.Director Padmakumar is a veteran of sorts in Malayalam movie industry.As an ardent movie lover my personal take on this director is,he was just average.He could never rise above a script, an ordinary script remained ordinary ,he could never make it special with the so called ' treatment' which we often associate to masters like Padmarajan.So more than the director I want to credit the writer Shahi Kabir, never heard of him before, for the success of Joseph. Joseph,the titular character played to perfection by Joju K George is a retired low ranking cop still highly respected by his seniors as well as new entrants for his natural instincts in solving complicated crimes.He lives alone drinking , abandoned and wasted.He was once a happily married family man.The reason for his wife,Stella, leaving him has an emotional backdrop which forms the Crux of the story which I don't want to spoil.He finds solace in his 4 friends from the force with whom he travels and drinks. One day Joseph gets the news of Stella,now married to another man, being a victim of a hit and run incident.Joseph is devastated.She soon succumbs to her injuries.The hospital authorities pressures her new husband to donate her organs on humanitarian grounds to which he agrees.Later a chance visit to a police station where Stella's mauled scooter which she was riding when she was hit is lying neglected.Joseph finds something odd in the whole incident and he decides to investigate on his own.What Joesph unravels is a web of deceit and greed that has no regard for human life and ultimately ends in a heart-rending sacrifice. A man who deserves standing ovation in this particular work is Anil Johnson who scored the back ground ( not songs).Like the earlier mentioned Ratsasan he could've ripped apart the viewers brain and hearing system with all the tools he had in his kitty.Here,Mr.Anil heightens tension,generates panic, sometimes pours love and affection..by using one simple Technic, being mellifluous.This track deserves a release.Outstanding.For a thriller this movie has a surprising number of songs and young Ranjin Raj has come up with songs that have retained long lost Malayalam sensibilities..often reminding vintage Ilayaraja.Manesh Madhavans camera is crisp and bright and never brooding contrary to the mood of the cinema. The movie is populated by Malayalam industries powerhouse performers.All of them are ordinanary looking and tailored for the part they played.The director deserves a pat for casting and the effectively executed accident scene near the climax. To conclude Joseph is a highly satisfying experience for those who love their hours getting spent inside a dark hall expecting something worthwhile.

P.V.Thambis' novel on Keralas' folklore and religious mysticism was a rage when it came out in the early eighties and as a young lad then i remember people excitedly sharing the news of the book turning into cinema with stalwarts like Vincent master and P.Bhaskaran at the helm.With an immensely popular Mohan Lal , not yet a superstar, in the lead the movie was bound to be a money spinner.We children were terrified and my cousin sisters screamed at the sight of the Yakshis and monsters and were equally enthralled by the magic and mantras performed by Lalettan.It was a low budget affair and today one would laugh at the 'special effects' and bgm intended to scare you off. Yet the two and hour footage is populated by malayalam cinemas highly respected performers starting with Mohan Lal and followed by Jagathy Sreekumar.Jagannatha Varma.Balan K Nair, Oduvil Unnikrishnan..the list goes on.The soundtrack by the epic duo K.Raghavan-P.Bhaskaran ,is immortal.

The director is obviously a serial killer movie fan and made a movie which is almost a tribute to all the books by Thomas Harris and James Patterson.The lead actor is an aspiring movie director who has laboriously collected pictures and text from all the past news making serial murder cases.Somehow he ends up as a cop and there's a serial killer on the loose killing teens and terrorising the suburbs.What follows is the hunt for the killer and all the expected turn of events familiar to fans of this genre.The movie starts off well butbut veers off into a ridiculous Mish mash of stupid characters and pointless Investigation.The killer character has a motive and somehow convincing but ends up a joke.Looks like the the prosthetic department is still having a Dasavatharam hang over.

Lead actor Vishnu Vishal looks fit and apt as the cop.The director manages to keep the pace of the proceedings. Back ground score is too obtrusive for this kind of movies and murders the eardrums.When compared to the last A R Murugadoss movie which belonged the so called 'psycho' Tamil movie genre , this one is way better.If somebody finds this edge of the seat and horrifying I recommend Jee Woon Kim's ''I saw the Devil' as a cure

Aks is an eye opener from Tamil cinemas one of the most promising talents.The movie starts very ordinarily with a choreographed song and some oft heard 'Vaada machi'college jokes.One may well think this is just another teen romance time waster.A very ordinary looking guy and a smart girl in their late teens fall for each other.A few song routines follows and the couple gets adventurous and takes their relation to the next level.The girl gets pregnant and tensions build up.Remember this is suburban chennai not Beverly hills where kids surprise their parents with 'dad we just got married' phrase.The families of both the kids are middle class yet highly respected.The girls parents wants a wedding quickly but the boys household sticks to certain conditions.Verbal duels ensue ,the lovers and their friends try on their own to unite and messes things further.From here Suseendran conjures some unexpected twists and comes up with a rather commendable climax. Iam giving this movie a solid 8 just to pat the director for coming up with an intelligent and tight script that carries on its own without any star power or crowd pleasing tricks.Yuvan shankar rajahs background score is exceptional.If not for Udit narayns chewing of nuts and bolts Alai payum nenjile would have been the song of the year.Manisha yadav puts on a spirited performance and Arjun as karthiks friend gets noticed.Jaya Prakash is becoming a benchmark for restrained yet solid character acting.Cinematography is OK but editing is crisp.The movie is worth spending your time and money just for its last 6 minutes.A must see for every Indian parent with teen aged progeny's.