Malayalam Movies

  • Movie Review: Elippathayam (The Rat Trap) 1982

    Movie Review: Elippathayam (The Rat Trap) 1982

    Today, we will look at a masterpiece from Malayalam cinema, an all-time classic art house film by acclaimed director Adoor Gopalakrishnan. It is a slow-moving tale of indifference and avoidance in a world that is rapidly evolving. The plot is set perhaps in the 60s, a decade or more after India gained her independence from… Read more

  • Movie Review : Joji (2021)

    Movie Review : Joji (2021)

    The Tragedy of Macbeth, one of Shakespeare’s most popular plays, has been adapted in its original form several times now. There have also been other interesting adaptations where the play has been improvised and set in other universes, with different backdrops, and with characters modified, added, or removed from the original version. Japanese director Akira… Read more

  • Movie Review: Jagratha (1989)

    Movie Review: Jagratha (1989)

    Mammootty reprises his role as the calm and collected Tamil Brahmin sleuth, Sethuraman Iyer. “Jagratha” is the second movie in the Malayalam CBI movie series and a sequel to “Oru CBI Diary Kurippu”. Like its predecessor, “Jagratha” is a slow-burn whodunit thriller that sharply focuses on the crime investigation without irrelevant subplots. Iyer returns in… Read more

  • Movie Review: Oru CBI Diary Kurippu (1988)

    Movie Review: Oru CBI Diary Kurippu (1988)

    ‘Oru CBI Diary Kuripuu’, directed by K. Madhu and written by S.N. Swamy, is considered a trendsetter in the Investigative Thriller genre of Malayalam Cinema and would spark the arrival of many more such movies in its wake. It introduces the Tamil Brahmin sleuth Sethuraman Iyer, played with elegance and grace by Malayalam Superstar Mammootty,… Read more

  • Movie Review: Anjaam Pathiraa(2020)

    Movie Review: Anjaam Pathiraa(2020)

    My quest to carefully unearth quality movies hit a roadblock when I watched the Malayalam crime investigation thriller, ‘Anjaam Pathiraa’, directed and written by Midhun Manuel Thomas. Do not get me wrong. By no means am I implying that this is the worst movie I have seen. I genuinely think Midhun’s intention was to make… Read more

  • Movie Review: Yavanika (1982)

    Movie Review: Yavanika (1982)

    As I have mentioned before, there are two movie industries in India that consistently deliver well-directed movies that appeal to the intellect with great plots, impressive screenplays, and talented thespians. One is the Bengali industry in Western India, and another is the Kerala film industry from southern India. It is no surprise that both states… Read more