Parava

Director :Soubin Shahir
Genre : Drama
Language:Malayalam
Year :2017

Irshad and Haseeb,two school going boys, lives in Mattancherry.Both of them wish to win the bird flying competion.They are training the pigeons.But what happened to Irshad's elder brother Shane,who spends his entire day in his room? And who was Imran?

Parava  is a visual treat backed by brilliant performances(Dq,Shane,Bhasi,Soubin,Siddiuque)and beautiful music.We can see different shades of love,innocence,friendship and revenge.It is realistic but it is never boring - that is brilliance of the director.It will be remembered as a Soubin film.

Beautiful watch.

Waiting for next from Soubin.

Marriane

Season : 1

Genre : Horror

Language : French

Network : Netflix

Emma Larsimon (Victoire Du Bois) is a world famous horror novelist.In her stories she writes about Lizze Larck, a girl who fights a witch called Marriane,a demon's wife.Emma just finished the last book of the sereis. On the day of publication of the book,a childhood friend, visits Emma and tells her to come back to her hometown,Elden. Emma don't want to go back.Emma don't want to go back because 15 years ago something terrible happened there..Something that connects her to Marriane - the witch from her stories - someone who she created based on her nightmares..And soon to her horror,Emma realizes that everything she writes turns into reality and Marriane is waiting for her to return to Elden - and so is her buried past and it's dark secrets...

Marriane is a Netflix original French horror series. It is an excellent watch with it's mysterious story and characters.The beautiful locations also adds to the beauty of the viewing experience and most important of all  it wins in the one thing a horror show is meant for -it scares the viewer....

So,if you are looking to binge watch something thrilling and scary,Marriane is the perfect choice..But be warned..Because Marriane never leaves empty handed...She will take something with her......something you love.....

Waiting for Season 2

Genndy Tartakovsky's Primal

Season : 1

Genre : Action,Adventure

Language : English

Network : Adult Swim 

Set in the pre historic era,the show tells the story of a friendship between a cave man and a female T Rex.Already sounds interesting? It is a 'bloody' brilliant show which is a must watch.First season contains 5 twenty minutes long episodes.First episodes shows how this uncommon friendship happened and the rest of episodes explores their adventures together...

Genndy Tartakovsky is my childhood favorite show 'Samurai Jack'-a major reason why I was eagerly wating for the show.In the modern age where every studio is trying various cGI animation techniques,Tartakovsky proves a well crafted 2 d animation tale is powerful enough to stop the audience from doing anything else while watching it - they don't even use any dialogues in the show.There is anyway,brilliant background music and hand drawn panels with vibrant colors and stories giving tributes to major iconic characters ranging from Dracula to Hulk.

If you are ready to watch a R rated animation adventure show,Primal is for you.

I loved every second of it.

Waiting  for Season 2....

In Tall Grass

Director :Vincenzo Natali 
Genre : Horror,Mystery
Language:English
Year :2019

Siblings Becky and Carl are travelling to San Fransisco .Becky is pregnant.On the road they stop the car near a church surrounded by a field of tall grass.They hear a child calling out for help as he is stuck in the field.Carl and Betty enters the grass field and soon they discover it was a mistake...The field is not a normal place,it is something with it's own mind - an evil mind which hungers for their souls......

Based on a novella written by Stephen King and his son Joe Hill,the film delivers everything to satisfy the horror fan in you.I mean King can make pretty much anything scary..even a grass will give you creepy feeling - that's how good he is with horror genre,The director has done a great job bringing his story into silver screen .The story is a bit confusing,but hey everything will make sense in the end.

A pretty good watch with it's scary background score and mysterious story backed by good performances.

Joker

Director :Todd Phillips
Genre : Drama
Language:English
Year :2019

Gotham City.
A city with streets filled with poor and ruled by the rich.There is no employment and social services are about to shut down because of the lack of funding.A city where there is no justice - a living hell....

All through his life,Arthur Fleck (Joaquin Phoenix) searched for happiness,but he failed to find it.His old mother calls him 'Happy' but that is just a meaningless nickname.He works as a clown in daytime and is trying very hard to get a carrier as a stand up comedian.He has a condition where he is not able to control his laughter.He is often bullied by everybody and he is not strong enough to defend himself .As he discovers more ugly truths about people around him,Arthur gradually transforms into an insane man,who calls himself Joker

Joker is perhaps the most famous villain character in pop culture.It started with classic Batman comics like 'The Killing Joke' (which inspired this movie),'A death in the family' etc.,backed by performers like Jack Nicholson,Heath Ledger (who won an Oscar for playing the character) and Mark Hamill (The Batman Animated series)In comics there was no specific origin story for the character.There were multiple stories which portrayed him as a helpless man who got bullied by Redhood gang and fell into a chemical which turned him into the maniac.But here the director is telling a whole new story - a more human one -removing the capes and cowls from the equation.Exactly the reason why I will call this one the most perfect portrayal of the character.It is more like an else-worlds story set in the 80s ,with serious influences from classic films like 'Taxi Driver' and 'The King of Comedy' (Both which I need to watch,but stil you can see the connection and hey we got Robert De Niro himself in the cast)The story is predictable to some extent with some nice twists and secrets.But what elevates the film to another level viewing experience is the brilliant performance by Phoenix.My favorite performance by him was Theodore from 'Her',but Arthur Fleck stands above that with ease.

This was a film which was awarded with Golden Lion in TIFF,but along came the controversies that the film glorifies mass killing and portrays the society in wrong way.As I watched the film I realized that I never felt the character is a hero - he is just a broken man with mental illness who lost control.He may deserve our sympathy,but his actions were never heroic - it was insane

So,I wish Warner Brothers will deliver something classy like this often,rather than trying to copy Marvel And I hope Phoenix wins an Oscar for this performance.

Tumbbad

Director : Rahi Anil Barve,Adesh Prasad
Genre :Fantasy,Horror
Language:Hindi
Year :2018

The  whole Universe was created by the mother Goddess. All the divine devas were her sons.Among them,she loved the youngest one-Hastar- the most.But he was a greedy being.He stole al the gold from his mother When he was going to take the food,he was captured by the other Gods.Mother Goddess was not strong enough to see her loved one getting killed.So she hide him in her womb again..Nobody was allowed to work ship Hastar again...So he waited in his mother's womb...Hungry...For some one to come...Some one who will remember his story...Some one who is greedy enough to break the rules....

19th Century..

India.

An old man Lord from Tumbbad village worshiped Hastar. He wished to find the treasure.The mother Goddess became angry..The village was cursed with non.stopping rain throughout the year.The old man died without fulfilling his dream.He has a son - a brave and greedy young man - someone who was ready to do anything to find the treasure - This is his story - story of his greed and it's consequences....

A well made masterpiece which delivers the best in every section of film making..An epic...

Jellikettu

Director :Lijo Jose Pellissery
Genre :Drama
Language:Malayalam
Year :2019

In a remote village in Kerala,a buffalo escapes from the meat sellers .The villagers try to catch the beast which is destroying everything on it's way.

Well,that is what I can say if you ask me to explain about the film in short.But actually it is more than that,something which is hard to explain in words because it is a visual and sound treat,along with some symbolic story telling,which is very unfamiliar to the normal Mollywood audience - exactly the reason why I will call LJP a brave film maker.In an interview I heard him telling that art must be universal,not regional.He said it is what he is trying to achieve through his films,to create something that a viewer from any part of the world can relate to,where language is not a barrier.

Here,there is no hero in the story,there is only characters -nobody is good or bad -everybody stays in the shades of gray The film explores the theme that there is only a thin line separating human being and animal .There is an animal hidden inside every human being - an animal which will do anything to get the two things it wants most - mate and food.In order to get the mate,one must eliminate any other strong contender - in case of animals,they fight each other .But when it comes to man,he uses his most poisonous weapon - betrayal .That is what Antony ( Antony Varghese ) also does - to eliminate his opponent, Kuttichan (Sabumon) Even if the main focus is on the buffalo ,the film explores another story also - a tale of greed and blood - one which asks the question - Are we human beings,really superior than animals or just like them or worse than them?By the climax,we can see that the line blurring and even disappearing ...So that is what the film is about.The wonderful thing is that according to the viewpoint of the audiece, the meaning changes.... May be you can find something I missed..Because there is so much symbolic representations hidden.

Now comes the visuals - magnificent is the word. There is a shot were thousands of people are running holding fire torches in their hands through the darkness-.the chase of people and buffalo.We can find plenty of examples great camera work through out the film- the capturing scene,the fight between Antony and Kuttichan, a frame showing both animal and human foot print together in the mud...the list goes on...Great work Girish Gangadharan...

The third aspect is the sound design - the background music -a mix of human breathing to convey the  feel along with the tribal music - all pointing to the message that man and animal are not so different.

So,here is the final words - Jellikettu is something very different from the normal malaylam movies - what type of experience will it give you - depends highly on your view points and perspective. It is a kind of film,which one must watch on the big screen, to experience it's beauty.,which I really enjoyed ..And I am happy to say that Malayalam cinema is producing films with a universal appeal. LJP - waiting for your next...

Solo

Director :Bejoy Nambiar
Genre : Anthology
Language:Malayalam
Year :2017


In Solo,four different stories are told based on a theme.The director depicts the four versions of Lord Shiva,connecting the heroes to four elements.In each story Dulquer Salman plays the hero.

*World of Shekar - Water

A love story between a young man and girl.The guy adapts to the situations and challenges and face them,just like water which can change to any form.

Not the greatest performance from Dq,but he has done well.

There were sequences which played in the wrong order and it made it uneasy to follow.

Dansika looked beautiful but the dubbing sucked.

*World of Trilok - Air

A revenge story told in a thrilling style.The hero is just like the wind - comforting and smooth but something which has the power to destroy.

Dq killed it as Trilok

Thrilling.Powerful.My favorite among the four.All the actors were good.

*World of Shiva - Fire

A gangster story set in Kochi and Mumbai.Shiva burns like the fire,not knowing how to calm down,burning everything that touches him.

Dq has given a powerful performance with minimum dialogues

It was a story which was told many times before. Even if it confuses in the middle,eveything connects in the end. Manoj K Jayan was good.Heroine was a disaster.

*World of Rudra - Earth

This was also a love story with a twist at the end.It felt like a fun ride,which ended with a twist. Rudra was like Earth,stuborn 

Dq pulled off Rudra quite well.

My second favorite among the four stories. Neha impressed as the cute heroine and all others were perfect for the roles.

The motion graphics and lines told with them was a good introduction to each story.

So,end of the day, a different experience.

Not the greatest from the director who gave us 'Shaitan' and 'Wazir',but not bad as many claimed.

Not everyone's cup of tea,but one need to drink it to know.I liked it...

96

Director :C.Premkumar
Genre : Romance
Language:Tamil
Year :2018

Ram (Vijay Sethupathi) is a photographer.One day he returns to his school.The place brought back all the good old memories .So he called his class mates and they plan a reunion of the '96 batch. Someone special came in that meeting - the only girl Ram ever loved -Janaki (Trisha Krishnan) - Ram's Janu.

'96 is a feeling that is very difficult to explain through words..It brings back the old memories - which we have hidden somewhere inside our mind - those which we tried to forget,but which are impossible to forget.

The music is pure magic and so are the frames...Sethupathi and Trisha gives their career best performances backed by the brilliant young actors - Adithya and Gouri.

This is first tamil film that I watched in a theatre.This is a film that I will remember forever.

End of the day..there is no place for grief....
Love and love only...

Titans

Season : 1

Genre : Superhero,Action

Language : English

Network : DC

Dick Grayson was Robin,the partner of Batman.But he walked away from that and left Gotham city.Now he works as a detective in Detroit.

Rachel always knew there was something evil inside her...Something that wish to come out and take control..When strangers come looking for her and kills her mother,she runs away..

Gar has a special gift - he can transform himself into a tiger.Not something he can share with people,so he pretends to be normal.

Kori doesn't remember who she is or where she came from.But she knew one thing - she is stronger than humans and can produce fire out of her hands.

Four teens,with special powers and dark past comes together to form a team.

Alone they are broken...

Together they are TITANS.

DC's Titans is a show with mature content,blood and curse words It got it's movements and plenty of DC comics references and surprise characters.

A good show which got the potential to be great..

Season 2 is airing currently Review soon,once it is finished...

Midsommar

Director :Ari Aster
Genre : Horror
Language:English
Year :2019

JaclDani (Florence Pugh) and Christian (Jack Reynor) are lovers.Dany is not a perfect girl friend for Christian because she struggles with her depression and recent death of her parents and sister.Christian's friend Pelle (Vihelm Blomgren) invites them for a summer festival set by his family and friends,in Sweden-the land of midnight sun.Along with some other friends the couple joins the group of people -people who still worships the nature and follow the pagan way of life-a way of life that hides many secrets from the outside world,because nobody who joined them ever returned to tell the truth...

What attracted me to the film was one sentence -'From the director of 'Hereditary'' - a film which gave me the most uncomfortable viewing experience.I was curious what the director will show to scare us because one of the most important element of horror genre was taken away this time- darkness,because the story is happening in a land where there is no night  And well,I was terribly wrong,,Aster does not need darkness to scare us -he can do that in broad daylight... 

The film is not something comfortable to watch - it is another horror masterpiece - with terrifying frames and unusual  background music...It is total chaos - a brilliantly crafted chaos....Sounds crazy? Go and watch the film and you will understand.....One more warning,never watch it with kids..