SAMTHEBESTEST

Kanchivaram (2008) : Brief Review -

The last good and original work by Priyadarshan? You know, you can see the poster of this film and get the idea of the whole tragedy, almost the entire story is alive there. The feet of a lady who is dead with a silk saree on her body. That's a brilliant metaphor to pursue character study and is smartly woven with human emotions. The film has several such metaphors, but the linear segments of two ladies (his wife and his daughter) in the protagonist's life have to be my favorite. The wife dies in his arms when he shows her the saree he was weaving, and then the same happens to the daughter. He ruined his life, reputation, and honesty for that saree but what came to his fate was zero. Kanchivaram is a story of Vengadam, a silk weaver, who hardly earns anything to dream big. Yet, he promises his newly born daughter that he will give her a silk saree on her wedding. Everyone in the village is shocked. Veda then starts saving money but due to other responsibilities, that's not enough. He then starts weaving the saree at home, but at what cost? Catch the drama in the film. The symbolic structure of the film is well built but a little unconvincing. Also, it's difficult to believe that he takes so many years to weave just one saree. The tragedies that happen with the protagonist feel more natural than dramatically curved, but the writing makes them look perfect because of the right timing. Prakash Raj delivers a performance to remember. Indeed, one of his best acts ever. Shriya Reddy looks so gorgeous in her first frame and then carries the same beauty throughout the film. Shammu has done well and the child artist was also fine. A special mention for the brilliant background score. It's so soothing, meaningful, and touching. It's hard to believe Priyadarshan actually made this film after directing several comedies in that period and interestingly, this was his original work! Overall, a pretty nice film.

RATING - 7/10*

By - #samthebestest.

Pulijanmam (2006) : Brief Review -

A double-layered Malayalam flick that uses a Folk God and a Modern Farmer to explain social issues of different eras. I never imagined that a film based on a folk God would also highlight casteism playing such a big role. Pulijanmam has Gurukkal as a folk God, who turns into a Tiger. He was an expert in martial arts, so the upper caste people sent him to the forest. He returns but is unable to regain his human form and goes back to the forest. Cut to the present time, an educated man Prakashan is haunted by this story and decides to recreate it in a stage play. Amid communal riots, he stays dedicated to the play and casts a Muslim girl as the lead heroine. They fall in love, but the atmosphere isn't right. It spoils their romance and their lives. By the time it ends, Prakashan realises that the ancient times aren't really gone yet, and whatever Gurukkal faced has happened to him as well during this process. The conversations between the two are difficult to understand and take too much time. The film has a runtime of less than 90 minutes but still has a few stretched scenes without reason. Since there is no specific villain in the story, it becomes easy to predict the climax and its impact. That's where the film loses some merits. Nevertheless, it's a brilliant idea for storytelling and you are bound to feel the impact of those two layers set in two different periods. Murali sir delivers a phenomenal performance in the dual role. That dancing scene and those screams were amazing. Sindhu Menon also shines in a dual role-both totally different from each other. The rest of the supporting cast lends solid support. The fact that director Priyanandanan actually tried to see beyond the boundaries of mainstream storytelling is exciting and commendable. One can't easily imagine having one hero for two different stories set against different setups and social politics, but that's the real game here. Priyanandanan and Pulijanmam both win there.

RATING - 7/10*

By - #samthebestest.

Day Of The Dead (1985) : Brief Review -

Third consecutive good film in George A. Romero's iconic Zombie franchise. Zombie films feel incomplete without this series, and especially without the first three entries. Night of the Living Dead (1968) is still the greatest zombie film ever made in my eyes, followed by the excellent Dawn of the Dead (1978). After that, fans had to wait seven long years, and finally Day of the Dead arrived. Thankfully, it lived up to the hype. This film feels a little lighter in tone compared to the previous two. Not because it's funny or a satire, but because many of the scenes take place in daylight, and the characters already know how to deal with zombies. That familiarity gives the movie a slightly less grim feel, even though it's still brutal and intense. The story follows a group of survivors living in an underground military bunker in Florida. They are stuck trying to decide what humanity's future should look like. One of the doctors, nicknamed "Frankenstein," believes zombies can be trained and controlled. His idea is to humanize them so that both sides can exist together. Of course, this doesn't sit well with the hot-headed military commander, who just wants to escape the bunker and kill all the zombies. Caught in between is a female doctor, balancing her duty, survival, and personal emotions. With the help of her companions, she eventually takes a stand and tries to escape. But by then, the movie turns into more than a battle of humans versus zombies-it becomes humans fighting each other out of fear, pride, and desperation. What I really liked is how the film adds a kindness angle and even tries to back it up with science. At the same time, it keeps you hooked with its pace. Yes, it's gory-bloody bites, torn organs, and gruesome deaths-but that's also its strength and identity. Overall, Day of the Dead is a very good movie and a worthy part of the franchise.

RATING - 7/10*

By - #samthebestest.