Change Your Image
giridhargopinath
Ratings
Most Recently Rated
Reviews
Minnal Murali (2021)
An entertainer(7.8/10)
With amazing celluloid cinematography,impressive production design,modest special effects,great music and stellar performances from the leads,Minnal Murali is a one-of-a-kind movie in Malayalam Cinema which,though not worth the hype,is a great watchable and entertaining flick. Basil Joseph spearheads this new style of youngster cinema and has cemented his position in the industry. Similar to The Dark Knight,this film is going to be well remembered for its amazing villain though the protagonist did an amazing job too. This film does sometimes crumble under its own weight and slightly weak screenplay which faulters every now and then even though the story and the concept are amazing. Overall entertainer and must-watch as a novelty.
Ambili (2019)
A failed imitation
Ambili is basically Forrest Gump but done badly. Except for Soubin's performance as the dimwitted optimist,nothing about this movie delivers what it tries to do. Soubin manages to turn this badly written character into an enjoyable one even though he sometimes over-does it. The road movie arc(another Forrest Gump characteristic) about finding true value of human relationships and oneself and all was just too bland and did not deliver at all. And I'm personally not that big of a fan of Forrest Gump either.
Jai Bhim (2021)
Decent Cinematic venture which is a good entertainer despite the shortcomings
This review will focus on why I am demoting it from 10 stars to 8. Majority of people have it 10 and this review will be explaining my rating
I went into the film with a pre-existing judgement that it will be a very preachy unoriginal story relying on identity politics and though I can't say I was completely proved wrong,I have to admit that I did enjoy the film well.
'Jai Bhim' has a very boring unoriginal first act and a short second act and has a very black-or-white approach with only three class of humans:The Oppressors,The Opressed and The Savior. The real world never works that way and there needs to be a lot more nuance in depicting an issue of such magnitude. When I said three classes,I meant that those belonging to any label has no other personality trait other than being Extremely Evil,Extremely helpless or Extremely Virtuous. This type of apporach would work well for a film like 'Karnan' which has a very dreamy,mythical and fairy-tale approach,a reason why the film is so great. But for a film like 'Jai Bhim' which is supposed to be grounded in reality and only having slight dramatization,this falls flat and feels very "rubbing it on the face".
But after the first 1/3 rd,the film becomes a very entertaining court-room thriller despite its dramatisations and takes a more nuanced approach to the issue and its depiction even though 'The Saviour' character of Surya still remains an unrealistically holy and virtuous persona.
The final act where justice is served was satisfying and brought this entertainer to a decent end. However the film could have made some effort to show that the actual trial which the film is based on actually took years to reach its final verdict instead in the film it feels like everything became well and fine within a couple of months which in the harsh and cruel reality of the Indian Judiciary,never happens
Surya,who now has matured as an actor gives a very decent performance with just enough drama to make it entertaining while not over-doing it to the point of meladroma. Lijomol Jose gives her career-best performance though I found the use of black-face to be slightly offensive.
The digital cinematography is just ok and does not have much signifance as this is heavily plot driven. I did see some fan theories of hidden symbolism. Editing was good. An odd thing about this script and screenplay is that it feels like it was written by two different people. It is clumsy,unrealistic and rushed in the first third while the rest two thirds is solid and straight. The score and songs of this film was really magnificent.
It is the turn which the film takes after the second act which made me give 8 stars instead of 7 while it is the overall clumsiness which prevents me from giving this 9.
In essence,a decent cinematic work with high ambitions and low execution but which offers good entertainment.
Aanum Pennum (2021)
Disappointing anthology saved by the third film
If I could rate the movies seperately I would give
Savithri- 3/10
Rachiyamma-5/10
Rani-9/10
The first film was just boring and without any substance and a forced "message"(Joju George was good though)
In the second film one sees a decent and nuanced Asif Ali with an overacting almost comical Parvathy though the character was well written. Apart from that the film fails to deliver the potential it had
The third one was just an absolute modern masterpiece. Each frame and each dialogue and each interaction was pure and organic and thrilling to watch
In the end you get an ironic mixture of a Bad Movie,an Okayish Movie and an Amazing Movie.
Velaikkaran (2017)
Tries too hard
Apart from the impeccable performance by Fahadh Faasil as the antagonist,nothing in this film is smooth or subtle. The character transforms from newbie to the highest moral authority in just a snap. It tries too hard to deliver its message and ends up not giving an emotional impact of any kind.
Chennai Express (2013)
Just another shallow Bollywood blockbuster
What would have been a good 5/10 star score for being a decent entertainer is demoted to 4 due to its racism.
A Suitable Boy (2020)
The Largest Disappointment
What would have been an easy 8 Star rating with its cinematography and screenplay based on the first few episodes was let down by the writing,direction and acting from the middle onwards.
People are rambling about the kissing scene in the temple but that is something I don't mind. The main problem lies in the fact that the series goes on to be a very artifical portrayal of Indian society at the time. It is very much possible to write a fantasy based on a true outline which is exactly what Vikram Seth did in the original novel. Performance wise,Tabu was hands down the best in the series and was consistent. All the other actors gave good performances on and off and was very messy and inconsistent. The end result is a floppy and sloppy mess.
Thanmathra (2005)
The heart wrenching masterpiece
Thanmatra with all its brilliance is an amazing movie which deserves 8 Stars. The cinematography is pretty decent and characteristic of the 2000s era Malayalam Cinema,direction is good,summary script is simple and well,it has lots of good performances by the supporting cast and so on. Its an overall watchable piece otherwise. However two aspects elevate my rating from 8 to 9 and give it its "Masterpiece"-Rank. First is the brilliant screenplay by Blessy based on a short story by Padmarajan which is so meticulously crafted and nearly perfect. The second and most important of all is Mohanlal's extremely poignant and soul-touching performance as the smart Government employee with high hopes for his son slowly descending into the horrible grips of Alzheimer's. Mohanlal absolutely deserved the National Award which he was snubbed off,due to Amitabh Bachchan's political game. Each expression,each gesture,each body movement and each sound he makes speaks massive volumes about the character's hopelesness and misery. The performance is one which would blast open the flood doors of our tear ducts. Mohanlal's performance in Thanmatra is honestly one of the greatest pieces of screen acting one could ever hope to watch. It is definitely in the same league as the masterful performances by Daniel Day-Lewis,Marlon Brando and Robert De Niro.
C.I.D. Moosa (2003)
The Pinnacle of Malayalam Comedy
I do not think any Malayali born before 2010 has not watched CID Moosa atleast thrice. It is not so much about the cinematic prowess or emotinal story line which made this film such a classic. It is all about the timeless slapstick comedic moments,music and hilarious performances by the actors which has etched this piece into the hearts of malayalis and give it its endless rewatch value.