Mayanadhi (2017) - 135 min

Mayanadhi is a Malayalam romance film directed by Aashiq Abu.
Starring Tovino Thomas, Aishwarya Lekshmi, Maya Rajesh, Harish Uthaman & Leona Lishoy.
Mathan works with a gang that do illegal business. Things go awry when police shows up and Mathan manages to escape from the scene without any injury. Mathan flees to his hometown to get back his girlfriend.
Mayanadhi can be easily called as a slow poison that injects into your blood cells. Tovino Thomas offers you a  realistic performance than acting and Mathan's simplicity was evident in his eyes. Tovino had a wonderful year and got a solid opportunity to end the year with a bang which he did with Mayanadhi. Aishwarya who made her debut with the movie Njandukalude Naattil Oridavela makes a strong point that she is capable of doing lead roles. The combination scenes between Tovino and Aishwarya reminds me of my college days and I too had some trust issues. The simple dialogues by Syam Pushkaran & Dileesh Nair favors the story positively. Aashiq Abu's decision of trying a new formula literally got me this time and it is entirely different from his previous movies. The visuals, music and bgm all are apt to the ambience and mood. Overall, it's a movie that needs some appreciation and try to watch it in theatres to feel the love.
Verdict: Great

IT (2017) - 134 min

It is an American horror film directed by Andy Muschietti.
Starring Bill Skarsgård, Jaeden Lieberher, Finn Wolfhard, Sophia Lillis & Jeremy Ray Taylor.
A clown shows up after 27 years and kids starts to disappear without any trace. Six months after the disappearance of his little brother Georgie, Derry teams up with a bunch of children's to unfold the truth behind the mystery of kids missing.
It's a scary movie that focuses mostly on instant jump-scares. The usual horror formulas were also used in the movie like entering dark rooms alone and following a particular sound to know what's out there which is cool until it scares you. Skarsgard's Pennywise is a very attractive character to watch on screen and enigmatic enough to even scare you when not in sight. The key factor of the movie is it's character building process which Muschietti does an impressive job. Overall, it's a movie you don't want to miss and can be easily called as the movie of the month.
Verdict: Great

Theeb (2014) - 100 min

Country: Jordan
Director: Naji Abu Nowar
Cast: Jacir Eid Al-Hwietat, Hussein Salameh Al-Sweilhiyeen & Hassan Mutlag Al-Maraiyeh.
Hussein and his little brother Theeb are members of a Bedouin family of pilgrim guides. One night a British army officer visits their camp and asks them to escort him on a journey to Mecca. They start their journey gently and eventually a group of bandits join the party.
The only Jordanian movie ever nominated in Oscar for the Best foreign language category. A truly memorable debut feature for Nail Abu Nowar that balances revenge and survival dish perfectly. The desert landscape of Jordan and surprising music make the plot very effective from the beginning. Child actor, Jacir Eid-Al-Hwietat nails down the leading character of Theeb with his innocence look. Overall, it offers everything a non traditional western adventure movie demands and will not disappoint you in any manner.
Verdict: Good

The Killing of a Sacred Deer (2017) - 121 min

The Killing of a Sacred Deer is a psychological horror film directed by Yorgos Lanthimos.
Starring Colin Farrell, Nicole Kidman, Barry Keoghan & Raffey Cassidy.
Steven is a successful surgeon who lives a pleasant life with his beautiful wife and two children's. He shares a strange friendship with a boy named Martin, whose father died during a surgery conducted by Steven. On a fine day Martin tells Steven that one by one his family members will fall to paralysis.
Lanthimos, the director of Lobster movie once again come up with a weird story that tells psychological revenge or beyond my imagination. From the opening scene you know it's not going to be a friendly movie to watch with family. Both Farrell and Kidman gives their best, so as the rest of the crew. The wide shots and slow zoom in or zoom out close up shots reminds the old classic horror film 'The Shining'. Overall, it's a creepy movie to watch for sure and if you like his previous works like Dogtooth and Lobster it's worth a shot.
Verdict: Good

I Am Legend (2007) - Alternate Ending

I Am Legend is an American post-apocalyptic horror film directed by Francis Lawrence.
Starring Will Smith, Alice Braga & Dash Mihok.
A doctor discovers a cure for cancer and it's a virus. After 3 years, the outcome of that virus makes Richard, the only one human left on the Earth and others turn into Dark Seekers. He spends his time in searching for a cure to convert Dark Seekers back to the human shape.
Will Smith, one of the finest actors who can easily pull off emotional scenes mixes the role with a half insane personality. The action sequences and forced perspective shots make the story gets going without any dull. The alternate ending was directors first choice and unfortunately due to the negative responses he shoots another one which is the original theatrical ending. There are many plot holes in the original ending like the dark seekers intentions and mean process not revealing the actual theme. After the release of alternate ending in home media, the entire plot changes with a crystal clear motivation of why dark seekers attacking Robert. Overall, the original ending was a pure mess and so I recommend this alternate version.
Verdict: Good

Mayhem (2017) - 86 min

Mayhem is an American action horror comedy film directed by Joe Lynch.
Starring Steven Yeun, Samara Weaving, Steven Brand, Caroline Chikezie,Kerry Fox & Dallas Roberts.
Due to a quarantine situation, a corporate law building is put on lock down. On the same day Derek is framed for a law negligence and the higher executives fires him. Every employee in the building is affected by the ID-7 virus, so as Derek.
The logic of the movie is you can do anything during the quarantine time. The violent behavior & physical attraction are the major emotions you feel when you are infected with the virus. Which means all you can see in the movie is fights, fire, blood and sex. Yeun, The walking dead fame plays the role of Derek superbly and the psychic girlfriend of Derek was portrayed by Samara Weaving. Overall, it's a fun ride with a bunch of characters and what to say more about it when there is chaos all over the building.
Verdict: Average

Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice (2016) - Ultimate Edition

Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice is an  American superhero film Directed by Zack Snyder.
Starring Ben Affleck, Henry Cavill, Amy Adams, Jesse Eisenberg, Diane Lane, Laurence Fishburne, Jeremy Irons, Holly Hunter and Gal Gadot.
The battle between Superman and General Zod kills thousands of innocent people, including  employees of Bruce Wayne. Batman decides to hunt down Superman at any cost and a young biotech billionaire, Lex Luthor sets stage for the battle between God and Man.
The theatrical cut damaged a lot of good things in the movie like actions, character development and more importantly the soul of some characters like Kahina Ziri . The Ultimate edition improves the narrative flow and a few establishing moments changes the whole course of the movie. Ben Affleck as Aging Batman was quite impressive and the perfect muscularity for a Batman character. Henry Cavil, Gal Gadot and Amy Adams were equally good in their roles. The worst performance is Jesse Eisenberg as Lex Luthor, who desperately wants to act like Heath Ledger's Joker. Overall, My previous verdict of the movie poor changes into average with the ultimate edition and this is far better than Captain America: Civil War.
Verdict: Average

Wadjda (2012) - 98 min

Country: Saudi Arabia
Director: Haifaa al-Mansour
Cast: Waad Mohammed, Reem Abdullah & Abdulrahman al-Guhani.
Wadjda is a young girl leaves in Saudi Arabia and she is fond of bicycles, thanks to neighborhood boy, Abdullah. But Wadjda's mother won't allow it and claims girls are not allowed to ride bicycles. Now the only option in front of her is to win first prize in the upcoming Quran recitation competition.
The official Saudi Arabian entry for Best Foreign Language Film at Oscars. This is the first film to fully shot in Saudi Arabia and another interesting fact about the movie is Haifaa Al Mansour becomes the country's first female director. She struggles a lot to shoot this movie and the limitations of women talking with men's in public force her to talk in walkie-talkies with the crew. In the end all the hard work pays off and the result is a good movie to watch for any type audiences. More than a coming-of-age movie, it shows the gender inequality that women face in every corner of the world.  Overall, The simplicity of the story and the motivation, it delivers is enough to watch this wonderful movie.
Verdict: Good

Stronger (2017) - 119 min

Stronger is an American biographical drama film directed by David Gordon Green.
Starring Jake Gyllenhaal, Tatiana Maslany, Miranda Richardson & Clancy Brown.
It tells the real-life story of Jeff Bauman, a living symbol of Boston Marathon Bombing. Jeff works at Walmart and he promised his old girlfriend who is going to participate in a marathon that he will be in the finishing line to support her.
Patriots Day also tells the story of Boston Marathon  Bombing which discusses the investigation procedures of the bombing and the manhunt. Meanwhile, Stronger confer a different perspective that is the mental state of the survivors. Gyllenhaal once again puts forward an energetic performance as Bauman. There are some characters in the movie that still stucks in my head and their emotional smile is enough to remind their faces. Overall, it's a movie that gets stronger when Gyllenhaal's face comes on the screen and a genuine tribute to actual heroes.
Verdict: Great

Dunkirk (2017) - 106 min

Dunkirk is a survival - war film directed by Christopher Nolan.
Starring Fionn Whitehead, Tom Glynn-Carney, Jack Lowden, Kenneth Branagh, Cillian Murphy, Mark Rylance & Tom Hardy.
It tells the story of the Dunkirk evacuation on the beaches of France during World War II. The Nazis drive the British and French soldiers to the sea and they all are waiting for the evacuation by the authorities. The main aim of this Operation was to rescue 300,000 British soldiers.
Once again Nolan is back with another time cycle principle. There are three different time periods as The Mole(One Week), The Sea(One Day) and The Air(One Hour). The three time cycles keep coming together and don't get confused with it. It's not that complicated,  just understand the basic idea. Right from the start, Dunkirk holds the tension factor tightly and the Interstellar cinematographer captures the striking visuals beautifully. The dialogues were less and the fear in the eyes of the cast talks the rest. The talented actors like Tom Hardy, Mark Rylance, Cillian Murphy and Kenneth Branagh were lightly used in the movie. Hans Zimmer's score can be easily considered as a prime factor of the movie, especially the intense ticking clock sound. Overall, it's a must watch if you like war movies and one of the best war movie of recent times.
Verdict: Great

Mad Max: Fury Road (2015) - Black & Chrome Edition

Country: United States
Director: George Miller
Cast: Tom Hardy, Nicholas Hoult, Rosie Huntington-Whiteley, Riley Keough, Zoë Kravitz, Abbey Lee, and Courtney Eaton.
Imperator Furiosa serves a monstrous leader, Immortan Joe and she was looking for an opportunity to escape from that place. Finally, the day came when she gets that golden opportunity when an escaped prisoner Max joins the escape ride.
First things first, this is not just a simple black & white version of the original movie. More than that what happens when you watch an old classic movie with latest soundtracks and visual effects. The answer is simple, that's is  Mad Max - Black & Chrome edition. Due to the fight sequences and visual effects, you don't get time to see the outstanding performances by the cast. And the most important thing that comes into my mind while watching this version was we can easily fix our eyes to the target. Miller always wanted to shoot this movie in monochrome and he believes that black & white will be the best version of this post-apocalyptic movie. Miller's logic is simple, the black and white images allow the viewer to focus more deeply into the picture. In colored images, the vibrant colors can distract your eyes and you can easily miss important notes. The looks of the characters and the total ambience changes with this chrome edition. Overall, it's an entirely different experience from the original version and I am really happy to watch this insane movie once again.
Verdict: Brilliant

Double Barrel (2015) - 160 min

Double Barrel aka Eratta Kuzhal is a Malayalam language gangster spoof film directed by Lijo Jose Pellissery.
Starring Prithviraj Sukumaran, Indrajith Sukumaran, Arya, Chemban Vinod Jose, Sunny Wayne, Swathi Reddy & Asif Ali.
Two precious rocks Laila and Majnu which worth a lot of money is now in the hands of a Don. He wants to sell it before his son finds it and Two foolish goons approach the don with an offer of 10 crores.
Like Stanley Kubrick once said, "If it can be written or thought, it can be filmed". Before the movie even starts, the director has already claimed this movie has no logic and the foreigners in the movie speaks Malayalam fluently. First of all, it's a gangster spoof comedy movie and Today I watched this movie for the nth time. Lijo Jose Pellissery, the mastermind behind this film actually shows that this type of theme can be made in Malayalam film industry. The only two cons I felt about the movie were some unwanted songs and they took lots of time for each gangs intro. Apart from that two disadvantages, the movie has few killer background scores and the Hollywood style of cinematography from Abhinandan Ramanujam will plainly charm you. If you step aside the so called logic for two and half hours, you can easily revel in a gangster spoof movie which is inspired from graphic novels. The performances were equally good and different like their exceptional costumes. Talking about the climax sequences, I was dumbstruck with the setup Lijo made in the final showdown. Overall, this is one of the bravest attempt from a Malayalam director till date and Frankly speaking I really enjoyed it.
Verdict: Good