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Pravinkoodu Shappu Review

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  Picture Courtesy: Pravinkoodu Shappu FB Page In one of the most telling scenes in Pravinkoodu Shappu , Soubin’s character remarks, “I can see right through a guy who enjoys the accolades because I am exactly like that.” This line encapsulates the film's underlying narcissistic tone—a brilliant facade that crumbles under its own weight. The movie boasts of excellent characters, brought to life by actors who truly understand their craft. The dark humor scattered throughout the narrative is sharp and effective, and the script holds immense potential. However, much like the narcissist who meticulously crafts an image but falters with one misstep, the film loses its way in the second half. The initial brilliance gives way to unnecessary misogyny, cheap gags, and a mystery trick that is reduced to a simplistic device handled by commoners. Previously clever characters are sidelined into foolish bystanders, making the climax feel like a letdown. The promise of a gripping narrative fa...
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Rekha Chithram Review

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  Picture Courtesy: TV9 Malayalam News Happy New Year! It’s been exactly a year since I last wrote about movies consistently. Not because there weren’t films that moved me—2024 had plenty, with gems like, Bougainvillea , Ullozhukk , Meiyazhagan , Amar Singh Chamkila , Bhramayugam , Avesham, to name a few . But somehow, I just couldn’t bring myself to write. Let’s just say 2024 wasn’t a great year. I don’t know if this year will be any different, but I’m trying to go with the flow—in writing and in life. Fingers crossed. And what a movie to restart writing about than a mystery thriller around the magic of cinema! Rekha Chithram, my first theatre experience of 2025, is a captivating mystery thriller interwoven with the wonder of filmmaking. It beautifully demonstrates how modern technology can be used so effectively to make you fall in love with a yesteryear classic while delivering an intriguing new narrative. Picture Courtesy: Nana on X My memories of Kathodu Kaathor...
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Manjummel Boys Review

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  Picture Courtesy: NowRunning Manjummel Boys is a riveting survival thriller that shines through its simplicity, delivering an engaging cinematic experience that's worth your time. While excessive hype might detract from its straightforward narrative, the movie truly excels within its chosen framework. Personally, I initially hesitated to watch it, battling against a sense of fatigue from 'boys-dominated’ stories saturating the industry lately. So, I approached "Manjummel Boys" with a mix of curiosity and skepticism and yet, the movie defied my expectations, pulling me into its story. To be honest, in the first half-hour of 'Manjummel Boys,' I felt a tug of disconnection. As a woman watching a group of friends venture off on a cross-state journey without a secure financial footing, their ease in securing travel permissions from parents and their carefree pause in the journey, seemingly oblivious to safety concerns, felt like scenes from a different world. Y...
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Merry Christmas Review

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  Picture Courtesy: IMDb I am yet to experience a season as resolute in its determination to usher in joy and merriment, as Christmas. Preparations for the season commences months in advance, with nature, surroundings, and the bustling marketing extravaganza all unequivocally signalling its imminent arrival—almost a quarter of the year beforehand. It's almost like you're left with no other option but to embrace happiness, making you wonder whether it's a good thing or a bad thing. Does it offer a chance for people who are typically downcast to find a glimmer of happiness, even if fleeting? Or does it, sadly, make those with profoundly wounded souls feel compelled to shoulder the blame for not being able to join the world's celebration during this season? In my 33 years of navigating life's twists and turns, I've found myself on both ends of the emotional rollercoaster. As a kid, I couldn't help but wonder how families that seemed on the verge of fallin...
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Oppenheimer Review

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  Picture Courtesy:  PBS NewsHour Classroom To those who've inquired about my thoughts on God over the past six years since my transition into agnosticism, my response has remained consistent: "If God conforms to the description provided by those who seem to consider themselves as his managers, it would be in his best interest to remain non-existent. The magnitude of suffering attributed to him is beyond any conceivable redemption."                                          Picture Courtesy:  Atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki - Wikipedia This stance, I believe, extends to individuals who arrogate unto themselves the role of "playing God."  I read couple of recent articles which shed light on how the Oppenheimer movie not only stands as a masterpiece of technical cinema but also functions as a vehicle for Westernized whitewashing; that the film seemingly see...
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Badtameez Dil Web Series Review

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  Picture Courtesy: Amazon Prime Mini TV Having a celebrity crush on Barun Sobti won't be enough to endure the terrible pain that this new series is from Ekta Kapoor Universe. She has been running this formula for ages of cobbling together a half-baked, or should I say, hardly baked storyline, mix in a sprinkle of star power, add a pinch of random plot twists, and voila! You have yourself a series ready to hit the screens. Who needs a well-crafted narrative or compelling character development when you can rely on the allure of celebrity names to carry the show? It's the recipe for instant success, or at least that's what they want us to believe. The series written by Ritu Bhatia rehashes the tired and harmful trope that portrays healthier relationship traits as mundane while glorifying toxic traits as alluring, suggesting that these dynamics make a relationship captivating. It's disheartening to see yet another iteration of this clichéd narrative, which fails to recog...
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Nanpakal Nerathu Mayakkam Review

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  Picture Courtesy: Nanpakal Nerathu Mayakkam FB Page I am a huge fan of creators who doesn’t spoon-feed, rather leave interesting concepts open to audiences’ interpretation, trusting their intelligence and experiences. That’s the reason why I became an enthusiast of Lijo Jose Pellissery’s movies from Nayakan, probably his least popular movie. His ability to merge large groups of people so seamlessly into the story on screen and draw the audience into the world, is one of the trademarks of his creations. I always felt that LJP, held incredible creative prowess to turn any actor to showcase their organic best performance, within his artistic world, curated with precision. Picture Courtesy: Nanpakal Nerathu Mayakkam FB Page Add to that an actor who is ageing like fine wine, the man who is winning hearts with his ingenious selection of roles, that challenges his craft, Mammootty. I have to admit, growing up I have never been a fan of the actor except for some selective roles...
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